Tiefling Templar Sorcerer-King Pact Background - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Tiefling Templar Sorcerer-King Pact Background

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
elidis
Sep 01, 2010 0:22:05 Hello all,

I will be playing a Tiefling Templar Warlock Sorcerer-King Pact Warlock in a DS game soon and I am stuggling with creating a decent background for my character.

The main aspects of what im stuggling with are the following:

Why would a tiefling be in a city state?

Why would a Sorcerer-King/Queen want a tiefling as their Templar Warlock?

Which Sorcerer-King/Queen would have use of a tiefling?

What I have decided on for the character is the following:

He is a Preserver and does not Defile (this is due to him being able to use arcane powers, he has felt the ebb and flow of life energies when he uses his powers and feels that his powers are not to be used irresponsably unless he becomes another cause of Athas' doom)

Does not like Slavers (One of the characters that I will be adventuring will be a Half-Gaint Gladiator Arena Fighter, and I will be killing her slave owner (probably not in a city state))

If you want more information please ask for specifics and I will give you the info. I would like to see what feed back and ideas people will give :D!

Thanks in advance!
#2
big_goon
Sep 01, 2010 11:14:35 Not many people on the forums really know what it means to be a Tiefling in Dark Sun. We don't know anything about their communities, their habits, their lifestyles. All I've picked up is that they tend to be outsiders, and have a heated attitude (pun intended). Check out the various Tiefling-related threads for some background ideas.

They are obviously accustomed to the heat of Athas, but that does little to help them survive everything else. A Sorcerer-King might be just as interested as us to know "what" a Tiefling is. The SK might be interested in the Tieflings ancestors, background or community.

You particular Templar will struggle quite a bit with being employed by a defiler and slaver. All the SKs defile and enslave, so why are you working for him/her? Is it forced employment? Do you not know any other way? Were you a slave yourself (or your parents)?

Note: you can be a slave without taking the appropriate theme: if can be just flavour.
#3
FlashbackJon
Sep 01, 2010 11:15:20 I think answering #3 will do a lot to narrow down the answers to the others. Tieflings, while new to the players of the setting, aren't specifically new to the world itself, and seem to be fairly well represented, even in the city-states.

That said, being a preserver who doesn't like slavers will be hard to reconcile with being a Templar, but I'm assuming this is the seed of discord that causes him to break away for his King in the first place.
#4
tavitin
Sep 01, 2010 12:06:07 If you're a She-tiefling, *maybe* Nybenai wants to know how youir children would look like, making you a Shadow Bride. At birth he took your child into hostage to study it and experiment on it.
#5
ayanel
Sep 01, 2010 12:33:31 Presumably he did not have arcane powers before the pact was made so what if that changed him?

He could have been a power hungry and ruthless but then as a side effect of gaining his powers he starts to feel the pain in the world around him and he's forced to confront the effects his actions has on those around him.
#6
elidis
Sep 01, 2010 15:13:46 Thanks for the feedback so far,

I will probably use the consept of that the chracter was forcefully made into a templar walock against his will (yes its going to be a male tiefling, so that idea about Nib wont be an option).

Atm I am leaning towards Abalach-Re or Lilila-Puy as the Sorcerer-Queen that my character is pacted to.

The reason for Abalach-Re is that Raam is pretty lawless at the moment and she could have made the character a templar warlock on one of her whims.

I reason for Lilila-Puy is that I like that she has a strong affinity with her people, thats pretty much it for her, though I dont like the enitre aspect of Gulg being an African styled state, while Raam is more Sudo-Egyption which is more appealing to me.

But I still need to come up with a reason why my character was in one of these city states and why was he made a templar warlock against his wishes?
#7
tavitin
Sep 01, 2010 15:22:01 Because he is Tiefling? I don't think other SKs have tieflings as their employees.

Maybe Lalali-puy or Abalach-re got interested in your heritage and seeks to exploit it somehow.

First you were a slave-catch, then trained and pacted against your will.

Deliberately forced to defile sentient beings as part of an 'initiation'.

Being a former slave, having lost part of your soul against your will and murdering weaklings with no gain whatsoever against your wishes could turn such a character into a 'tormented soul', completely disgusted by defiling and slaving.
#8
elidis
Sep 01, 2010 15:39:31 Thats pretty good Tavitin,

Anyone else got any other ideas or concepts?
#9
FlashbackJon
Sep 01, 2010 16:16:30
The reason for Abalach-Re is that [...] she could have made the character a templar warlock on one of her whims.

This is actually what I came up with while reading through the article on recruitment for the various SKs. None are quite so random that an unwilling templar would be a very valued one, except for Abalach-Re. As a bonus, you already have the tie-in: having a tiefling was something she was interested in at the time.

Perhaps, while your warlock was favored by her, he was accepting of his new powers and responsibilities, but when she turned away and he was essentially discarded, he came to see exactly what it was he had become, and resolved to change it.

#10
tashalatora
Sep 01, 2010 17:43:51 A Tiefling could secretly be the half human child of a sorcerer king...
#11
sirkaikillah
Sep 02, 2010 2:58:49 The tiefling could be seeking power or even the stability of life as a templar in a city state. A sorcerer king may show interest in a tiefling that shows promise in the arcane arts.

In my Dark Sun campaign I have two eladrin templars of Nibenay a mother and daughter pair. Ivanatrix fled the land in the wind with her young school age daughter Deuxmia more than a hundred years ago. Seeking a new life for herself and her daughter, Ivanatrix seduced then married a wealthy noble of Nibenay, Yansi Yen. An accomplished psion, Ivantrix quickly "guided" her husband into the position of Patriarch of the Yen family. Ivanatrix secured the best education for her daughter, a budding psionic talent herself.

It was Deuxmia who first became a Templar Bride of Nibenay, to further the standing of her step father and her own personal power. Ivantrix followed some decades later, becoming a templar bride after the death of her husband Yansi. Ivanatrix has become Head Consort of the School of the Way in the Temple of Thought. Deuxmia is a Consort Teacher at the school as well. Both Ivanatrix and Deuxmia harbor a strong distain for defiling arcane magic, but have fully adopted thier new lives as Templar wives of Nibenay, leaving both with a strong sense of guilt and self loathing which only fuels thier evil demeanor.

Ivantrix and Yansi Yen had two children (half-elf), Se Yen, and Sodoma. Se Yen was assassinated by a rival noble family. Sodoma has also become a Shadow Bride of Nibenay, fully embracing the defiling arcane power given to her by the sorcerer king. Ivanatrix now has six grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren All refer to her as "Momo Ivana". She has used her position and political saavy to aid in placing and advancing the careers of her progenies' The sorcerer kings new found interest in governance, now worries Ivanatrix as she has nurtured her families as a Templar Bride of Nibenay.

Anyway I think it is cool to break the stereo type. But make sure there is a story behind such an odd character. Dark Sun is such a unique flavor, you do have to be careful about what you add and how you portrayany character. There are a lot of DnD tropes that just do not work well Dark Sun.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 elidis Sep 01, 2010 0:22:05	Hello all, I will be playing a Tiefling Templar Warlock Sorcerer-King Pact Warlock in a DS game soon and I am stuggling with creating a decent background for my character. The main aspects of what im stuggling with are the following: Why would a tiefling be in a city state? Why would a Sorcerer-King/Queen want a tiefling as their Templar Warlock? Which Sorcerer-King/Queen would have use of a tiefling? What I have decided on for the character is the following: He is a Preserver and does not Defile (this is due to him being able to use arcane powers, he has felt the ebb and flow of life energies when he uses his powers and feels that his powers are not to be used irresponsably unless he becomes another cause of Athas' doom) Does not like Slavers (One of the characters that I will be adventuring will be a Half-Gaint Gladiator Arena Fighter, and I will be killing her slave owner (probably not in a city state)) If you want more information please ask for specifics and I will give you the info. I would like to see what feed back and ideas people will give :D! Thanks in advance!
#2 big_goon Sep 01, 2010 11:14:35	Not many people on the forums really know what it means to be a Tiefling in Dark Sun. We don't know anything about their communities, their habits, their lifestyles. All I've picked up is that they tend to be outsiders, and have a heated attitude (pun intended). Check out the various Tiefling-related threads for some background ideas. They are obviously accustomed to the heat of Athas, but that does little to help them survive everything else. A Sorcerer-King might be just as interested as us to know "what" a Tiefling is. The SK might be interested in the Tieflings ancestors, background or community. You particular Templar will struggle quite a bit with being employed by a defiler and slaver. All the SKs defile and enslave, so why are you working for him/her? Is it forced employment? Do you not know any other way? Were you a slave yourself (or your parents)? Note: you can be a slave without taking the appropriate theme: if can be just flavour.
#3 FlashbackJon Sep 01, 2010 11:15:20	I think answering #3 will do a lot to narrow down the answers to the others. Tieflings, while new to the players of the setting, aren't specifically new to the world itself, and seem to be fairly well represented, even in the city-states. That said, being a preserver who doesn't like slavers will be hard to reconcile with being a Templar, but I'm assuming this is the seed of discord that causes him to break away for his King in the first place.
#4 tavitin Sep 01, 2010 12:06:07	If you're a She-tiefling, maybe Nybenai wants to know how youir children would look like, making you a Shadow Bride. At birth he took your child into hostage to study it and experiment on it.
#5 ayanel Sep 01, 2010 12:33:31	Presumably he did not have arcane powers before the pact was made so what if that changed him? He could have been a power hungry and ruthless but then as a side effect of gaining his powers he starts to feel the pain in the world around him and he's forced to confront the effects his actions has on those around him.
#6 elidis Sep 01, 2010 15:13:46	Thanks for the feedback so far, I will probably use the consept of that the chracter was forcefully made into a templar walock against his will (yes its going to be a male tiefling, so that idea about Nib wont be an option). Atm I am leaning towards Abalach-Re or Lilila-Puy as the Sorcerer-Queen that my character is pacted to. The reason for Abalach-Re is that Raam is pretty lawless at the moment and she could have made the character a templar warlock on one of her whims. I reason for Lilila-Puy is that I like that she has a strong affinity with her people, thats pretty much it for her, though I dont like the enitre aspect of Gulg being an African styled state, while Raam is more Sudo-Egyption which is more appealing to me. But I still need to come up with a reason why my character was in one of these city states and why was he made a templar warlock against his wishes?
#7 tavitin Sep 01, 2010 15:22:01	Because he is Tiefling? I don't think other SKs have tieflings as their employees. Maybe Lalali-puy or Abalach-re got interested in your heritage and seeks to exploit it somehow. First you were a slave-catch, then trained and pacted against your will. Deliberately forced to defile sentient beings as part of an 'initiation'. Being a former slave, having lost part of your soul against your will and murdering weaklings with no gain whatsoever against your wishes could turn such a character into a 'tormented soul', completely disgusted by defiling and slaving.
#8 elidis Sep 01, 2010 15:39:31	Thats pretty good Tavitin, Anyone else got any other ideas or concepts?
#9 FlashbackJon Sep 01, 2010 16:16:30	The reason for Abalach-Re is that [...] she could have made the character a templar warlock on one of her whims. This is actually what I came up with while reading through the article on recruitment for the various SKs. None are quite so random that an unwilling templar would be a very valued one, except for Abalach-Re. As a bonus, you already have the tie-in: having a tiefling was something she was interested in at the time. Perhaps, while your warlock was favored by her, he was accepting of his new powers and responsibilities, but when she turned away and he was essentially discarded, he came to see exactly what it was he had become, and resolved to change it.
#10 tashalatora Sep 01, 2010 17:43:51	A Tiefling could secretly be the half human child of a sorcerer king...
#11 sirkaikillah Sep 02, 2010 2:58:49	The tiefling could be seeking power or even the stability of life as a templar in a city state. A sorcerer king may show interest in a tiefling that shows promise in the arcane arts. In my Dark Sun campaign I have two eladrin templars of Nibenay a mother and daughter pair. Ivanatrix fled the land in the wind with her young school age daughter Deuxmia more than a hundred years ago. Seeking a new life for herself and her daughter, Ivanatrix seduced then married a wealthy noble of Nibenay, Yansi Yen. An accomplished psion, Ivantrix quickly "guided" her husband into the position of Patriarch of the Yen family. Ivanatrix secured the best education for her daughter, a budding psionic talent herself. It was Deuxmia who first became a Templar Bride of Nibenay, to further the standing of her step father and her own personal power. Ivantrix followed some decades later, becoming a templar bride after the death of her husband Yansi. Ivanatrix has become Head Consort of the School of the Way in the Temple of Thought. Deuxmia is a Consort Teacher at the school as well. Both Ivanatrix and Deuxmia harbor a strong distain for defiling arcane magic, but have fully adopted thier new lives as Templar wives of Nibenay, leaving both with a strong sense of guilt and self loathing which only fuels thier evil demeanor. Ivantrix and Yansi Yen had two children (half-elf), Se Yen, and Sodoma. Se Yen was assassinated by a rival noble family. Sodoma has also become a Shadow Bride of Nibenay, fully embracing the defiling arcane power given to her by the sorcerer king. Ivanatrix now has six grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren All refer to her as "Momo Ivana". She has used her position and political saavy to aid in placing and advancing the careers of her progenies' The sorcerer kings new found interest in governance, now worries Ivanatrix as she has nurtured her families as a Templar Bride of Nibenay. Anyway I think it is cool to break the stereo type. But make sure there is a story behind such an odd character. Dark Sun is such a unique flavor, you do have to be careful about what you add and how you portrayany character. There are a lot of DnD tropes that just do not work well Dark Sun.