Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Angelus_the_white_Gnoll 01-20-06, 04:20 AM	Angelus the white Gnoll Alignment: Lawful good Angelus was born to a unique tribe of good Gnolls. The fabled morale’ tribe. Her parents were great warriors of the tribe, both powerful rangers. The tribe leader refused to worship any of the traditional Gnoll deitys and instead praised the good natured dragons in the world. Angelus was a pup at the time and she thought all Gnolls were like these and wanted to meet others. The leader traded with other tribes and was a good friend of the leader of the nearby lizardfolk tribe. When disaster struck evil Gnolls from beyond the mountains heard about these good Gnolls and attacked. The tribe tried to fight them. But they were outnumbered and the leader was killed. The rest of the tribe either fled or were killed. Just before Angelus was killed a Silver dragon swooped in and protected her. The dragon wiped out the enemy and picked up Angleus. The dragon said something to her, but it was in common and she could not understand. The dragon gave her to the lizardfolk tribe who did not know what had happened to the Gnoll tribe. The leader took her in and raised her as her own he noticed a white sheen to her fur but thought nothing of it. As Angelus grew up she learned the ways of the ranger like her parents, she was befriended by a young lizard man named Strike. They became firm friends and stuck together. When she was fully grown her fur became totally white and it seemed to glow. She thought she would stay with them, although she did want vengeance for her family. When suddenly the leader was struck by a terrible disease and died. The new leader was the strongest in the tribe which hated both Angelus and Strike. They were banished from the tribe. They now travel together for two different goals. Angelus wishes to find her lost tribe and to sate her terrible anger at her warmongering evil cousins. Strike wishes to gain power to win back his tribe. But they are the best of friends. Combat Being a ranger she carries a bow and a large supply of arrows, she can kill most enemies in one shot. With her point-blank shot even if they get close she can still kill enemies easily. In emergencies she will use her longsword but most of the time will stick to her bow.
Flushpuppie 01-20-06, 07:57 AM	I love these kind of things, no rows of stats but a description. I wish my players came to me with something like this. ontopic: yes, it is good, maybe a little over the top with the dragon but if your DM agrees it's ok :D
Angelus_the_white_Gnoll 01-20-06, 02:39 PM	Thanks. I love dragons and wanted a background with one in. It also gave me a reason how she ended up with the lizardfolk. They could have rescued her but the lizardfolk tribe is also with another player "Strike" who hasn't really decided what his background story is apart from he was banished with me. So I tried not to involve them...and one more thing. I love dragons!!! Ok, I'm done. Thanks for replying. (I don't like the stat thing either, at least not in the middle of the description anyway.)
Secrets Untold 01-20-06, 06:00 PM	I suggest posting stats separatly, so we can see if they fit the backround story. Can I use this as an NPC, if you do post stats?
celtredleg 01-20-06, 08:35 PM	Great story, and good luck with the game. No reason the story wont work for any reasonable DM. As for stats and so forth, if your DM is cool with what you have, doont worry about it.
Elven Doritos 01-20-06, 09:04 PM	Very neat, I like the concept. One minor nit-pick: I was under the impression that Angelus was a masculine name? Of course, real-world naming conventions need not dictate game-related gender. -Elven Doritos
Appollyon 01-21-06, 05:16 PM	Heh, I'm playing a gnoll ranger/barbarian that was raised by elves as a 'social experiment', so heck yeah I like your character. It seems well thought out, and it's definetly thinking outside the box. I would let my players play something similar to that. Gnoll power!
Nidair 01-22-06, 05:29 PM	There is no need to be uncertain about your character. Her history looks far better than the crap I used to get when I DM'ed for some college students. You have made an interesting turn of events, and a clear goal for your character. Enjoy.
cynical 01-23-06, 12:28 AM	The problem with threads like this is if i give an honest opinion I would be accussed of flaming, trolling, or the most hienous of crimes in modern society "being insensitive". I wonder how many other people are biting their tongues for the same reason?
nastynate 01-23-06, 01:24 AM	I wonder how many other people are biting their tongues for the same reason? I was...but now I can't resist. I applaud the OP for trying something different none-the-less. Just because I don't like his background story, doesn't mean I can't appreciate the effort or attempt. Playing a good gnoll is interesting, even if I don't much care for the story behind it. You could completely nix the the dragon and the lizardfolk from the back-ground, and just have the good tribe, wiped out out by another hostile tribe. It's more realistic when you keep things simple, and the story as presented provides no explaination for the connection between any of the factions involved. As I see it, there is the good gnoll tribe, an evil gnoll tribe, lizardfolk of a mixed alignment, and a dragon, none of whom seems to have anything in their dynamics tying them together. What in the nature of the lizardfolk/gnoll relationship ties the tribes together? Just trade? If so why did the gnoll pup get taken in and raised by the lizardfolk? You do know that lizardfolk live in swamps, and gnolls live in the plains right? Try to make connections between the various tribes, and tribal leaders that make sense. The evil gnolls of this back-ground story had no incentive to cross a mountains and destroy the good tribe. You need some motivation to go to all that effort. Just because they were evil, doesn't mean they would go out of their way to kill randomly. Is there some omen pertaining to a white gnoll in their culture that they sought to prevent? Were they on a mission of conquest, and the good tribe just got in the way? Was there some history of rivalry between the tribal elders, or a vendetta to settle? Fill in the blanks, and this will make much more sense. The supernatural glowing white fur has no basis in its manifestation, other than alignment. Not all good people have glowing auras of goodness, so what makes this gnoll so special? Is he a half-celestial? Or is he just an albino? What purpose does this interesting detail serve in the back-ground? There are some meaningless details with no relevence to the character, that should be eliminated (or at the very least explained) within the story, and some unanswered questions that need answers. Please don't take my criticism to heart; I'm just trying to help. Good luck and happy gaming. :D
Tytalus 01-23-06, 02:09 AM	I wonder how many other people are biting their tongues for the same reason? *raises hand* Honestly, for my taste it's rather cliche (and I realize that other posters had different opinions on it). The whole "my clan/family/etc. was killed by XXX, now I hate them", for example, is way overdone. nastynate gave a good summary of most of the problems, but let me just add: it seems you want to set yourself up for some DM love. The dragon talking to you, your glowing white fur, ugh. The whole lizardmen/gnoll interaction is confusing (see above post) and - quite frankly - useless (yet I assume you want to create a common background with a fellow PC). It doesn't show much about your character. Seriously, despite all the magic 'dragon/good gnolls/evil gnolls/lizardmen' stuff there's really no indication what your gal is really like - except for the hatred thing, which is rather unoriginal. And what's the deal with the "she can kill most enemies in one shot. With her point-blank shot even if they get close she can still kill enemies easily"? That seems more appropriate for a bragging contest between D&D kids than for a character background. But there are some good parts, too: I like the idea of a white gnoll - there's potential. Just drop the whole "glowing" stuff. Focus on what it was like to be an albino gnoll - have you had a hard time because of that? Were you admired, feared, or hated? I can see the tribe shaman trying to get you to become his apparentice (believing the white fur is a sign of potential/prodigy), but it just wasn't your thing. Things like that can, for example, help form your attitude towards spellcasters, especially if the shaman was pushy/cruel/etc. it's conceivalbe that you now distrust all spellcasters somewhat. And you leave out parts that offer plenty of opportunity to tell something about yourself: after you left the tribe, you must have come across humans/elves/whatever. How did those first encounters go? How do you feel about cities? How do people react to seeing a gnoll (and a lizerdman)? and this is just the very basic stuff. Equipment: 'I'm a ranger, I like bows'. Extremely cliche. This can almost be taken for granted. Focus on the unusual stuff. E.g., you feel ashamed about your white fur (based on bad experiences with your tribe), so you prefer to wear long travel cloaks over your armor. Or, you have a passion for jewelry (given that jewlery was unheared of in the gnoll/lizardmen tribes you know). Or, you collect a tooth from each of your slain enemies since you believe it does XXX for you. Even if you have to focus on the bow, make it something interesting, like 'it's made out of the wood of the white plains willow and is encarved with intricate symbols of XXX'. Needless to say, that should not mean that it has special powers. Dragon love: try something more realistic, with you not being the focus of a being so powerful. E.g., your tribe was not attacked by the evil gnolls, but by an evil dragon looking for food or just punishing the tribe for neglecting to pay her tribute. Or, you once witnessed a fight between a silver and a red dragon (neither won) and have been enthralled by the power of these beings ever since. Or, better, the next day you found an engraved silver bracelet (nothing of high monetary value of course) at the place where the fight happened - you believe it's the silver dragon's, and you are determined to give it back.