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| #1magooshMay 21, 2009 9:34:54 | Hey Everyone, Our group was lacking both a leader and a controller (everyone wants to play strikers) and so I decided to make a Warlord/Wizard. Character storylines and role-playing is extremely important to our group, and most major decisions about the characters (stats, feats, powers, etc.) will be made mainly based on what fits our characters. We're good enough that we are always successful even without having mechanically optimized characters. Anyways, I wanted to see if people had any helpful comments about my character background. It's a bit long, but if someone does get through it, just let me know if there is anything that I should correct as I'm not intimately familiar with the Eberron campaign setting yet. Here it is: Evarin Delmore Warlord/Wizard - Level 6 Height: 6'1" Weight: 185 lb. Age: 46 (152) Feats: Hybrid Talent: Tactical Presence, Armor Prof: Leather, Implement Prof: Heavy Blades, Heart of the Blade, Ritual Casting Skills: Athletics, Arcana, Diplomacy, History, Religion Character Bio: Background: Noble Born (+2 Diplomacy) The world in which we live is a chaotic place. Legends are made from those people who are able to approach that chaos and willfully carve out their own destinies. Whether for good or ill, they found a way to command and control the events around them. As such, good and evil exist when a person grabs a hold of some of that chaos and bends it to whatever ends. Some upon hearing it some call my logic crazy, but with my confident and steady demeanor I usually can convince them otherwise. After all, my own experience has dictated as much. I was born into nobility in the Kingdom of Cyre, 30 years before the beginning of the Last War. My family, House Delmore, were rising in prominence in the captial city of Metrol. My older brother Julian was already heir to the majority of my father's estate freeing me up to pursue my own ends without the responsibility that comes from managing a noble household. My skill for the arcane was discovered almost randomly. When I was 10, we had a Wizard named Phosarin Iuntir come to the estate to tutor my brother and I in the intricate arcane mechanics that run Eberron. We convinced him to do some spells for us after he completed the lesson. Being a kind older man he did some minor cantrips, ghost sounds, making small flames, causing small things to disappear and reappear, using mage hand to grab our papers and then pretending like it wouldn't give them back to him. My brother and I just laughed, but as he continues on, I began to examine his words and movements. Then without thinking I conjured my own barely visible mage hand and was tugging on Phosarin's arm. Phosarin prided himself in finding unsuspected talent and didn't even look twice, but just smiled out of the corner of his mouth. He called my brother and I over to help him with a ritual. We both thought that it was just for fun, so we joined him. He gave us precise instructions on how to help him. We smiled and did our best to follow his directions not knowing that this was actually a test to examine both of our arcane capabilities. After a short period of time a Tenser's Floating Disk erupted into existence. My brother and I were amazed at such a small thing, and took turns standing on it as Phosarin moved us around the room. We left thinking nothing of the lesson except that Phosarin was the best teacher we've had so far. As was customary my father gave Phosarin a room for the night and spent some time discussing politics, history and any other happenstance occurring at the time. After a few hours when Julian and I had gone to sleep, my mother came and woke me up. She brought me down stairs where my father and Phosarin were intently discussing something. When I walked in Phosarin smiled, and my father studied me with a grim expression. "Son, Phosarin here seems to believe that you may be gifted in the arcane arts." "Yes..." Phosarin nearly interrupting my father blurted out "...I examined you during our lesson and particularly during the ritual we performed today. I noticed a definite benefit from your assistance today in conjuring the tenser's floating disk causing it to be stronger then it normally would have been. Also the mage hand you created was quite impressive." My dad shifted his gaze from Phosarin back to me. "Son, can you do something now for me? I just want to make sure this is not just some nonsense." Needless to say I was a bit nervous, but as I focused my mind, I re-imagined the movements I used to create the mage hand during class and after a few moments, a ghostly hand appeared. I sent the mage hand to pick up the cup my father was drinking out of earlier and placed it in his hands." My father's grim expression instantly melted away and he gave a large smile and yelled "Hah! I never would have imagined such talent from you my son. Needless to say, you aren't built like many of the Wizards I've met before." He said this because even at my young age, I was taller and stronger then most other kids 2 or 3 years my senior. "Well Master Iuntir..." my father said as he jokingly bowed, "...I guess you have a new pupal at the "Esoteric Arcane Academy." My parents, happier and more proud then I'd ever seen and had our servants pack up my things to leave in the morning with Phosarin. My brother was the most sad to see me go as he was now alone in the estate. He told me to come back as soon as I could. I arrived at the academy, just near Cyre's northwestern border with Thrane. It was an isolated community that offered security within it's seclusion. I began my studies quickly after I arrived and progressed faster then the majority of my peers. I especially excelled in my studies of the Arcane, Religion and History. I also however, put a lot of my noble heritage to work becoming quite the diplomat, often being able to out debate and convince just about anyone to see things from my point of view. We had a small contingent of arcane security forces made up of wizards, swordmages and a few martial guards. I quickly made friends with a lot of them and spent quite a bit of my free time in the barracks. I learned from all of them, how to use various weapons, and feel comfortable in sturdier leather armor. Of all the weapons I tried, I was more inclined to heavy blades none attracted me as much as the Glaive. More elegant then the spear, it was a fusion of Polearm and Sword allowing for a uniquely controlling feel as one wielded it. A lot of the swordmages who I befriended noticed my attraction to heavy blades and taught me how to use them as the focus for my arcane abilities. I practiced with them often into the late hours of the night and finally mastered their teachings. After a period of time I even became so bonded with my glaive, that I could call it to my hand from a short distance away. A lot of this extra training utilized some very rigorous and physically demanding exercises allowing me to continue to grow into a physically large and strong individual, dwarfing most of my other peers. My life continued much in this way until I reached the end of my education. I returned home to find my father severely ill. He had recently returned from a trip when they were attacked by a pack of diseased dogs. From a quick inspection I knew that my father was not long for this world. He called my brother and I into his room for one last talk. To my brother he said "Julian. My firstborn and heir to my estate. You're responsibility is to our family. I'm proud of the man you have become and I know you will keep the 'Delmore' name synonymous with justice and compassion." He then turned to me and said "Evarin. My youngest son. You are free to choose your own destiny in life. Don't let the weight of the world crush the good that I know is within you. We live in turbulent times, but the world can always count on those such as yourself that are able to pluck the good out of chaos." For the rest of the evening my brother and I spent the last moments of our father's life with him, joking about past experiences, making our father laugh as he slowly grew weaker and weaker. He passed just before dawn and my brother and I took him out back to his funeral pyre. I lit a torch and handed it to my brother, who, with a tear in his eye, committed our father to the infinite beyond. I spent the next 4 years as the lead adviser to my brother, and helped lead our militia in the defense of our estate. The times were growing difficult as political unrest began to creep into Khorvaire. Emperor Jarlot was reaching old age and had not yet named a successor for the Kingdom of Galifar. Our house, along with the rest in Cyre, sided with Princess Mishann of Cyre. However, because of the times, brigands and other malevolent forces tried to take advantage of the stressful political environment. Whenever our estate was threatened, it was I who carried out Julians commands on the battle field. I found the tactical side of leadership flow out of me almost as easily as the arcane. As a warrior-mage, glaive in hand, I always lead our militia to victory. My brother and I remained close as we established our family name. 3 years after our father's death, he took a wife named Illiana. She was the daughter of a nobleman in from the Kingdom of Thrane, and it was our hopes that we might be able to create at least one bridge between the two nations. Illiana and Julian were deeply in love, and she proved to be as much of a balancing force and as equal an adviser to him as I was. Although neither of us admitted it for over a year, my brother and I knew that my presence on his estate was no longer required. However I continued in the same capacity until I received a letter from the Esoteric Arcane Academy. It was from Phosarin. As he was growing old, he wanted to turn over the responsibility of the Academy to 3 of his most promising students. Myself, an Eladrin Andrea Salu, and a Deva Jol Anumarin. When I arrived to meet Phosarin I was immediately struck by the beauty of Andrea. Phosarin smiled at my expression and whispered to me from across the room "I hope you can contain yourself until after our meeting." Jol was the last one to arrive and without hesitating Phosarin immediately launched into his reasons for turning over the academy. "As you know I've been the master here for over 4 decades. There has always ever been one lead wizard at this academy since its formation over 500 years ago. However, with the times that we now live I felt it prudent to divide the leadership into 3 parts. Andrea will be responsible for the students, Jol for the administration and Evarin the academy's defense and outside relations. Each of you will also carry an equal weight of the teaching and no major decision about the school will proceed without a unanimous decision from the three of you. I trust you to be able to work out your differences and keep this academy running with the utmost prestige and dignity." He went into more details about the specific requirements for each of us, and remained for another 2 years as an adviser, overseer and teacher to make sure everything ran as smoothly as he hoped it would. Andrea and I hit it off immediately. Although she was busy managing the students, and I was busy keeping the security of the academy in tact and making sure that our relationships with the outside world remained peaceful, and both of us had teaching requirements, we always made time to spend with one another. After a number of years we were engaged and married. We both knew that the chances of us ever having children were slim to none, and although she knew she would live on long after I was gone, we were just happy to have each other. The academy flourished under our trinity of leadership which also made it a bigger target for bandits and brigands. I found myself having to spend more and more time commanding the security force against surprise incursions and invasions. Even still, the academy was always safe and continued to thrive. Everything changed however when Emperor Jarlot died. He named Princess Mishann of Cyre his successor and for a brief time we rejoiced. It seemed that Cyre's prominence would established for decades to come. However, things quickly changed as a great war erupted across the face of Khorvaire. Although Andrea was Eladrin, her family had lived in Cyre for 3 generations and was very patriotic. She suggested that we send all capable students to join the Cyran army. Jol and I however adamantly disagreed and thought it was better that we remain below the radar until this settles down, after all, we had enough trouble of our own to deal with. Over the next few years Andrea's demeanor began to change. She became more distant and bitter. She got to the point that she no longer could be reasoned with, but she couldn't make any drastic decision regarding the academy while Jol and I still disagreed with her. In spite of the problems the society was facing, our academy remained a safe haven. For years, we didn't have any major problems and everything seemed fine. However, after awhile students began to disappear from the grounds. The three of us met to try and get to the bottom of the issue, but none of us knew what was happening. The next few months passed by and even more students disappeared and Andrea began to blame me as I was in charge of security. However, in all of my investigations, I had no idea how this was happening. There was never any sign of a struggle, and all of our students, although still learning, were each formidable in their craft and would at least put up a fight, but there was nothing. That was until one night. I heard a loud argument inside the courtyard of the academy. Leather armor on and Glaive in hand I ran down to see what was happening. What I saw caused my heart to sink. Andrea with a group of students had surrounded Jol as Andrea was trying to convince him of her political reasoning. Jol, not one to often be intimidated stood his ground. He yelled to Andrea "You have betrayed the trust of those here at the academy! You have destroyed the wishes of Phosarin who in all his wisdom appointed three masters to balance each other and to faithfully run this academy! In your selfishness you have doomed many to die in a war they cannot win!" Andrea responded "All that I've done is for the preservation of the kingdom that we love and I would lose everything to save her! These proud students will reflect the prestige of the academy as they help lead our armies to victory! I will not let you stop me from doing what I know is right!" Jol drew his orb and held it in front of him. With a steady and slightly sadden voice said "I cannot allow you to do this Andrea. I have a duty to the lives of the students here. You will not take them." I saw fire engulf Andrea's eyes as lightning lept from the tip of her wand towards Jol. Without a thought I charged, lept in front of Jol and activated my shield deflecting the bolt harmlessly into the sky. Andrea's face contorted into pure hatred towards me and Jol. "FOR CYRE ATTACK THE TRAITORS!" The group of 10 or so students armed themselves and turned towards me and Jol. With a quickness that only comes from experience, Jol put the entire mass of novice students to sleep. Andrea knowing that she could never take both myself and Jol at the same time, feystepped away and fled into the catacombs just below the academy. I yelled to Jol "Restrain the students who attacked us, and to get the rest of the students safely out of their rooms and away from the grounds. I have no idea what Andrea is capable of, but I will take the security force and apprehend her." He nodded and quickly bound our attackers and headed inside. I called for my forces and went into the catacombs hoping to find Andrea before she does something drastic. The catacombs were a maze of tunnels that ran down and away from the academy. We often trained the more advanced students down here as there were always some dangers lurking in the dark. I split up the security forces and told them to contact me as soon as they found Andrea. Randomly, however it was I, and two other members from my security force who found her. As I turned to meet her gaze, she looked at me and smiled and for a moment I was again lost in her beauty. How could this beautiful woman, who was always filled with compassion have become so twisted. There must have been something I missed. I said to her "My love, please don't make this harder then it already is. Come with me and we can leave all of this behind. We can start a new." She continued to smile at me and drew near, looking at me in the same way she did when we were first married. Without any change in her expression she smiled and said "Restrain him." I was instantly grabbed by the two guards I had brought with me. Before I could react I was gagged and my arms bound. "You've betrayed your queen, the Queen of Galifar. You've betrayed me Evarin. As a ranking agent in the order of the crown I have been given jurisdiction to deal with traitors in any manner I see fit. Death and the sweet release to the infinite is too merciful an act for traitors, so I've developed my own source of punishment." And with a wave of her hand I was immediately immobilized. The guards holding me quickly backed off as I lost all feeling in my feet. The numbing sensation slowly crept up my legs and into my torso. I looked down to see myself slowly being turned into stone. With an evil sense of pleasure I heard Andrea say "Enjoy your eternity of non-existence." and everything went dark. Almost as instantly as I lost consciousness I felt life returning to my face as a warm jolt shot through my entire body. I gasped for a breath of air and collapsed, weeping for the loss of the woman I loved. I knew that the Andrea I married was no more. Suddenly I was startled by a booming voice, "What is your name!" My arms still bound I took in my surroundings. I was in a dreary camp in an area I didn't recognized. The land around me was scourged of life, and the air felt bitter cold as it was hard to breath. There were about 10 men clad in armor and looking down at me. "What is your name!" the voice repeated. "Evarin Delmore. Master of the Esoteric Arcane Academy." As I said this there was a loud burst of cheers coming from the men around me. Confused I looked around as one of the men cut my bonds and two more lifted me up. A burly man quickly examined my face and with the same voice that startled me said "I can't believe we've found you." The two men holding me up, set me down in a chair. I looked up and said "What do you mean? What happened? Where am I?" "We are just outside the ruins of the former wizard academy here." The phrase barely resonated and I asked "What? Who are you?" Two men brought a chair over as the man sat down. "My name is Lucian Delmore. I am the great grandson of your brother Julian Delmore. You have been missing for over 100 years." Someone brought me some water and after drinking I said "That's not possible." He replied, "You've been perfectly encased in stone. We found you beneath the ruins of your old academy." He proceeded to tell me all the events that occurred after my imprisonment. The decline of Galifar, the destruction of Cyre and so forth, not having the strength to argue I just listened. "From the day you went missing your brother Julian send men looking for you. Upon the request of his wife, Illiana, he even moved his estate to the Western border of Thrane to be closer to the place where you disappeared, unfortunately no one was able to find you before his death." The words "his death" echoed in my ears. Everyone I knew was gone, my own brother was gone. "Julian passed the task to his son, who passed it to his and down the line to me. Finding you remained a quest for honor in our house. I'm sorry to have this thrust on you so suddenly, but we have to move. The Mournlands are not safe, we can talk more once we reach my estate on the border within Thrane." As we travelled I noticed that my abilities have severely diminished over the course of time. I am now only at a fraction of the strength that I was when I was at the academy. "We've contacted someone you may know. He will be waiting for you once we arrive home." After a few days travel we entered Delmore keep. I was led to a great chamber where I saw a face I never thought I would see again. Jol turned to greet me with his standard half smile. He said "I never imagined I would see you again my old friend. The night you disappeared Andrea destroyed the academy. I managed to get most of the students out, but she recruited the rest into her band of followers. The called themselves the "Black Cyran Army", had you survived I would have gone after them, but I could not leave the rest of the students alone. Your brother Julian took us in with open arms, as long as we agreed to assist him in his search. However, Andrea was always one step ahead of us and eventually had House Delmore labeled as traitors to Cyre. Every attempt to get you was blocked by the Black Cyran Army. Yet no matter how much time passed, your brother never ceased in his mission to retrieve you. He spent a large portion of his inheritance hiring mercenaries and anyone else who would assist him in his search for you. I lived to watch each of his sons after him carry on this search with the same passion as your brother once did. While I no longer work for House Delmore, I do offer my services to them whenever they call, and what remains of our academy still exists and functions under the protection of the Delmores." He turned to smile at Lucian. "They have been good friends and I will continue to help them in whatever the need." After this he shifted his gaze back to me and said, "Evarin, I need to examine you. Being under the affects of petrification for so long can have an adverse affect on you." He performed a quick ritual as arcane energy pulsed through me. "Physically you are slightly weaker then you were before you were petrified, but still healthy. However, your arcane abilities, your reactions and your thought process have diminished. They will all return in time, however it may take years to fully recover." I spent the next month resting in Delmore Keep and reading as much as I could to familiarize myself with my new surroundings. After awhile I felt as if I could no longer sponge off of House Delmore. This was my brother's legacy, as my father told me all those years ago, I need to forge my own path. With some supplies and a little bit of gold, I thanked Lucian and started out. Before I left I told him that I am available to serve him whenever he needs, I owe him my life and I will always honor him and his good will, but I must set off. I left and began my travels around Eberron. It is now that I've come to realize that my own life, even existence itself is a random and chaotic series of events. In order to rise above this one has to be able to grasp and control this chaos. The ability to do this comes differently for each person. For my brother it was loyalty and passion. For Jol it was study and perseverence. For others it is sheer force of will. Some just ride the wave of chaos and allow it to carry them wherever chance puts them. Good and evil exist through the actions of people attempting to control this chaos and bend it to whatever ends. If good is to exist in the world there has to be people to order and control events to force good results. I have to believe I can alter this world to bring about that greater good. I know that I can change this world for the better. Whether commanding the hearts of people, or by controlling the raw powers that dictate the natural laws in this world, I can make a better world for us to live. Step 1 – 5 Background Concepts: 1. Evarin is from the old noble house of Delmore. 2. He is sometimes a little out of touch having been encased in stone for over 100 years. 3. He believes in the greater good, but that good will sometimes trump the laws that govern a particular region. 4. He is tall and strong, with a dark brown hair, a few scars on his arms and chest, but his face is surprisingly unscathed. 5. On the battlefield he blends tactical prowess with arcane combat. Both Wizard and Warlord he truly controls all parts of a battle by both creating opportunities for his allies and hindering his enemies. Step 2 – 2 Goals: 1. Evarin seeks to create a better world, the true realization of what this actually means will happen upon accepting his Epic Destiny. 2. As a player I would like to see Evarin leave every town in a better position then he arrived. He sees every quest as a chance to make the world a better place. Step 3 – 2 Secrets: 1. A secret the knows is that within the catacombs of his old academy there is are passages to the entrances of many ancient Cyran vaults and one secret passage that leads to Kyber often referred to as the "Underdark". 2. A secret that he doesn't know is that Andrea is still alive and has rediscovered his existence. Step 4 – 3 People Tied to my Character: 1. Lucian Delmore – The decendant of his brother Julian Delmore and the current heir for that estate. He is Evarin's only family and Evarin will give his life for this man if it is asked. 2. Jol Anumarin – Evarin's former partner and master of the Esoteric Arcane Academy. A powerful wizard no one truly knows what Jol does with the majority of his time. However he is a dear friend to both Evarin and Lucian Delmore. 3. Andrea Salu – Evarin's former wife and leader of the Black Cyran Army. She sees Evarin as a traitor to Cyre and will stop at nothing to kill him. Andrea is also a very powerful wizard equalling Jol and currently out powering the weakened Evarin. Step 5 – 3 Memories: 1. Early life with his brother Julian. 2. Training under Phosarin. 3. Being betrayed and petrified by Andrea. Future Plans: Paragon Path - Weaver of Chance: This path accepts that the world is chaotic and seeks to command and control that chaos to the benefit of the individual. Epic Destiny - Plane Shaper: Discovering an unclaimed Astral Seed, the Plane Shaper seeks to build his own dominion, a paradise under his absolute control. This would allow Evarin to make that truly good world he has always dreamed of, allowing refuge for those wishing to escape the chaotic darkness that surrounds Eberron. |
| #2johnthedm7000May 21, 2009 17:55:42 | Very interesting, and quite well thought out. I do have a couple of questions however, that might end up helping you out: 1. When did he first kill an intelligent creature? Was it a humanoid or was it some sort of beast? How did he feel about it, knowing that he ended the life of someone who was likely just fighting for the good of their country? 2. There have no doubt been advancements in magic, technology, dress, etc. in the 100 years since he was petrified. In what ways does he show this "future shock". 3. How does he feel about the gods? Does he feel a special connection to a particular one? Does he feel like the world would be better off without some gods, or without some pantheons? Is he religiously tolerant? What would strain this tolerance? 4. Could he ever love again after his betrayal by Andrea? Under what circumstances? What perspective does he have on the subject of love? Is he optimistic, pessimistic, permissive, or rigid? 5. What is the best sort of government in his eyes? Does he support a particular noble as someone who will lead Cyre into a new golden age? Does he see himself as a likely candidate for such an event? |
| #3magooshMay 21, 2009 21:22:52 | Very interesting, and quite well thought out. I do have a couple of questions however, that might end up helping you out: Thanks for the questions, it really had me thinking about the intricacies of my character. 1. The first time he killed an intelligent creature probably would have been training in the catacombs underneath the Academy. Trying to forge a better world often necessitates the demise of those who attempt to worsen it. Evarin would have no problem killing goblins, orcs, kabolds, cultists and the generally evil aligned npcs. When it comes to the gray areas such as wars between countries he would try to take a neutral stance, favoring mediation and diplomacy over brute force. Unless one country is simply seeking to conquer another with no other reason then a tyrannical reign. Under those circumstances he might deem brute force necessary. 2. Evarin shows his future shock by being overly curious about how the new technology works. He will have studied and known about the more basic devices, but things like the lightning rail he would marvel at and either ask constant questions from the conductor on how it works, or do a few tests to see if he can figure it out for himself. Maybe the same way Thomas Edison would look at a TV. 3. The gods to him are powerful beings who view occurrences that can drastically change someone's circumstances as mundane. He sees them as distant creatures who show little to know concern about life on Eberron. He likes this however as their constant direct involvement would disrupt the chaos that life exists in now. He feels that religion is another driving force that can be used for good or evil, and as such he isn't as concerned about what a person believes but rather the application of that belief to their life and actions. The god that he respects the most is "The Traveler" as he is the only one who is rumored to have direct contact with people on a regular basis for both good and evil purposes. He sees him as a bit of a wild card and he likes that. 4. Evarin has had two powerful examples of love. The love between Julian and Illiana was a powerful balancing force in their lives. Because they shared a mutual respect with each other it allowed them to better their lives and accomplish something greater together then the two of them ever could on their own. The other example however was between him and Andrea. The love there was also powerful but in a different way. It caused Evarin to be blind in the areas where he needed to be vigilant, and allowed Andrea to betray him, and because of that he could never love her or anyone else again. For his life love is too much of a risk. That being said however, he is not against love, but sees it again as another powerful life altering force. When love is mutual and respectful it can bring about a good balance in a persons life and the lives of those around them. When it is selfish it can allow a person to be manipulated and blind to those things they need to watch out for. Once again hes not as concerned about whether or not two people love each other, but how that love affects their lives. 5. Evarin prefers any government that works in making the lives of its citizens better overall. Whether it is a powerful individual or group of individuals, as long as it succeeds in bringing good order, he is satisfied. Just emerging from petrification he is not brought up to speed on the current political situation so cannot throw his support behind anyone yet, and isn't quite sure yet whether or not his role in making the world better is tied into the political arena (by time he reaches his epic destiny he realizes that politics isn't the answer for him at all, that something more drastic needs to be done). On an individual level Evarin will gladly follow a nobleman who seeks to bring about good in the world and will defiantly stand against one who doesn't. He will often disregard laws that he believes are unnecessary or unhelpful and holds himself to a higher standard of morality. He doesn't do good because he is told to or to obey someone else. He does what is good for the pure sake of goodness itself. |
| #4magooshMay 29, 2009 11:58:34 | The one and only bump. Just seeing if anyone else has any other helpful critiques or insights. |
| #5androkguzMay 29, 2009 14:13:04 | Wow, man, this is kind of a long post, so give people a chance xD |
| #6superdeadsmurfMay 29, 2009 19:18:30 | I totally just skimmed bits of this post, so I might have missed a lot of important stuff, but a note: your Character's name is Evarin Delmore, and is from a noble family in Eberron, but is missing the ir honourific. As is the rest of your noble cast. Don't forget the irs and ds for nobles! Evarin ir'Delmore sounds cool too! |