I know this is a lot ,but I am very new to D&D and I was going to Play a ranger none of the backstories seemed to go with the character I was creating, I made my own backstory and I am wonder if is is viable and Good
Race-Wood Elf Name-Selcar
Early life: grew up in the cloakwood forest of the sword coast. since the forest was very dangerous his father Emerin taught him many skills to defend himself if he ever had to. On one of his many hunts with his father and younger brother selcar accidently hurt his brother Harion mortally and Harion later died because Selcar and his father couldn’t get him help in time. After that there was some distance from selcar and his parents ,but his father still tried to reach out to him. Sadly years later is was revealed that Emerin was a thief stealing from the rich and poor for his own gain. Selcar didn’t couldn’t believe it. He went to run and tried to get his mother to come with him and she wouldn’t believe the charges on her husband. Selcar stayed
for his mother ,but the soon learned that authorities had captured and executed his father. His mother broke down and ended up burning down her home in order to end her life. Selcar barely escaped and he vowed and would make sure this would happen to any other family. No he travels helping all he can with his skills and hopes to atone for his sins and the sins of his father who he blames for the collapse of his family.
Personal Goals: Kill the Orcish warchief Grogmar- The Warchief Grogmar ended up killing Selcars team of rangers which included selcar's best friend and lover because of a tactical mastake of selcar's.Now 5 years later selcar is still hunting the Orc in order to avenge his fallen team. He learned of a possible connection between a group of Goblin raiders around Phandalin and Grogmar. He has now headed there to hopefully get any information on Grogmar no matter it takes. (Favored enemy Orc)
Stats
Skills- Investigation,Nature and Survival
Languages- Goblin
Music-Pan flute
Special skill- Aid: Because of your ties to the Emerald Enclave you can call on any help from any nearby enclave members and the commom folk are more inclined to accept and Help you when in need.
Items-
Studded Leather
Betl Pouch
Hooded Cloak
Enclave Patch and Ring
Longbow
HandAxe
Dagger
Huntng Trap
SpyGlass
Explorer's Pack
Peronality-I am quick a Quick to judge others only because I judge myself too much and I am almost always ready for a fight.
Ideals-
-Survival-strives to weather anything
-Justice-seeks to end those who harm the innocent
Bond-I Seek to attone for the past misdeeds of my own and my father
Flaws-
-Sometimes too quick to judge or act
-suspicious of strangers and suspect the worst of them.
Str-14 Dex-18 Con-16 Int-13 Wis-16 Cha-9
Generally I'd say you should ask your DM. Your DM has to check if the backstory fits into the campaign setting and so on. Unless he said any backstory is fine in the first place.
Well, yeah, you should talk to your DM about the background. But it would seem to be a very curmudgeonly DM who said that you investment in a unique background is going to hurt the game, and you have to take a one-size-fits-all store-brand one.
These are the things I might look at.
You have a lot of detail about how your father's crimes destroyed your family. But you won't be encountering either of your parents, nor does it seem to have changed you much. What does this do for your character exactly? I don't see what behavior it compels. Theft isn't a great motivation, because everyone agrees that it's bad. Aside from that, all I see is suicide counseling. There's no personal "quest" or growth you need to undergo.
How does it play with your motivations or values? All I see now is a hatred of theft and arson. It's dramatic and fertile ground, but it's not developed. Maybe you have a soft spot for kids; you're distrustful and sour around adults, but you turn nice around children, because they aren't jaded yet. Just one idea.
You do mention killing your brother, but that still doesn't seem too motivating. What did you learn? Just being an accident makes it unfortunate, but there's not much you can do about that. Was it your rash decision-making that made you fire too early? Did you leave him on his own when he was attacked, like you did with your group? Did that cause your father to spiral into despair and turn to crime?
The background about the orcs and your group is more compelling currently. It's a good "this is why I'm in the group" motive. It could go beyond that. Like I said, the rest of your background doesn't really say much about what you want or what you'll do in the future. Do you plan for this character to continue after getting their vengeance on Grogmar? If so, adding some deeper significance to the ambush event - for example, "this will never stop until every orc is eradicated," or "law needs to be brought to the wilderness" - would give you more longevity.
Your background feature (I believe that's what you've called "special skill") mentions an Emerald Enclave, which hasn't been hinted at anywhere else. Exactly how you contacted them and what you do would be useful details for a background. You can tie this in to your other background events for a more solid narrative. All it does currently is "I can contract NPCs to get things done faster," which is really just a benefit of faction membership, rather than something that defines your character.
If you look at other backgrounds, some let you leverage your reputation to influence certain people, some give you unique avenues of finding info, some let you help your party out in specific environments, etc. Your party should be able to say "oh, that problem? Hey, we've got Selcar with us! His experience is perfect for this!"
One idea: your experience in the area an rapport with the people means you can act as a judge in criminal matters in wilderness settlements with no law around. This ties in with your background (you can love justice and still be Chaotic, if you want), gives you access to small amounts of information and support from trusting civilians, and can be used to introduce quests (maybe before you judge someone's guilt, you need to investigate), but you don't have enough real authority to abuse it.
Macv12 wrote:
AndrewJO wrote:
Nothing says that you must only have one ideal and flaw. We players have many, why shouldn't your imaginary self? Pick 20 if it helps you play your character, and have the DM understand them, better if you want.