What to do with my character "10 years" later - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What to do with my character "10 years" later

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
motteditor2
Aug 11, 2010 22:48:07
Last year, my group finished a rather long campaign, that saw us go from 10th to 16th level. We've moved on to a different campaign, but someone recently suggested doing another adventure with that group, about 10 years (and two levels) in the future.

(Not sure if it matters, but it's 3.* Forgotten Realms.)

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with my monk. The basic idea of the character was he was a young teen (14) who had all these abilities, despite not actually being a member of any faith (though he was a strong believer in Lathander). I left it up to the DM to come up with the backstory, so I as a player could discover it along with my character, but it just ended up coming up once in a while in the background, as the campaign was focused on other things.

He did send me the back story afterward, though I unfortunately lost it in a computer crash and continue to wait for him to re-send it to me. Essentially, though, in a previous life, he was a member of a monkish assassin's group (I'm blanking now if it was actually of the Order of the Long Death or not), who fell in love and fled with a woman, only for the both of them to be killed. (The woman ended up being the second PC I was playing in the campaign.)

At any rate, Dace was more or less a happy-go-luck teenager, who was thrilled to show off his supernatural talents. Truthfully, I ended up doing much more development with my second character (who ironically was going to be the monk's henchman originally) and Dace himself was played a bit more for combat and amusement. His signature moment was probably when an wizard (illusionist, though we didn't know that) we'd made an uneasy pact with "summoned an army of zombies to distract some monsters" Dace, seeing through the illusion, decided to use his hat of disguise to blend in and give it a little more punch -- literally. (His moaning "braaaaaains" just added to all the players' amusement.)

Now, though, the cleric will be off taking care of her post-campaign children and I'm trying to figure out what exactly has happened with the monk. I don't want to lose the sense of joy/exuberance he had that made him a lot of fun, but at the same time, I don't want him to be exactly the same not-a-care-in-the-world character.

I was thinking he might have managed to find out the details of that previous life and gone and taken over/subverted/killed his former order. Other than that, though, just could use some help brainstorming ideas for him. With the magic items he's gotten, his stats are pretty ridiculous (a headband of mental superiority gives him +6 to cha, wis, int; and he's got a +6 to his strength as well) but I'd like to come up with something fun but also befitting a character with a 26 or so wisdom. Between that and now being 24 or so, it seems odd to have him still playing a bit of the fool.

Thanks in advance.
#2
mellored
Aug 13, 2010 13:56:43 24's a great age to start a family. I mean, you've got 2 people who where in love with in their past life, dunno why it wouldn't repeat.
#3
motteditor2
Aug 13, 2010 15:49:32 Well, the cleric didn't reciprocate the monk's feelings, unfortunately (at least not in this life). She's settled down with the bard and is happily spawning children. Not much chance of Dace being anything but a friend.

I was debating some sort of family. Being an orphan, he's always been very focused on other orphans and especially homeless children in cities. Was debating him becoming some sort of radical, gathering the otherwise disenfranchised around him.
#4
jetshield
Aug 13, 2010 17:50:19 He's spent the last 10 years still on the road as often as not. When the others settled down, he just went solo. The money he makes has gone tward building/funding several orphanages, staffed with good people he knows and trusts.

He's realised his natural wit and boyish charm makes it a bit easier to get of friendly terms with people, and he's learned the fine art of making people laugh until just the right moment to sober it up and drop a few hints about shortages at nearest orphanage.

When he's not actively adventuring or fund-raising, he always has time for the kids. Not just those in orphanages, but the ones on the street for one reason or another. His non-judgemental treatment of these "streetrats" has earned him a new source of information, and perhaps a few contacts with the seedier side. Given that even a hardened thief can have a soft spot for kids, perhaps some of them allow their donations to go through Dace (it's up to you to decide weather he'd take the occasional stolen item as a donation - particularly if he has to fence it on his travels).

I'm not sure what your DM has planned, but this kind of backstory serves the secondary purpose of giving him/her the perfect person to have picked up on whatever horrible event is looming on the horizon that just may be bad enough to make the others leave homes and families in the care of others to put an end to it before it gets out of hand.
#5
motteditor2
Aug 13, 2010 19:12:17
Given that even a hardened thief can have a soft spot for kids, perhaps some of them allow their donations to go through Dace (it's up to you to decide weather he'd take the occasional stolen item as a donation - particularly if he has to fence it on his travels).

I like a lot of this idea. Considering Dace's best friend in the group was probably our (fat, balding) thief, I think he'd probably be all right with fencing things occasionally. I'll have to check with his player, see if he wants the two to have stayed more closely in touch throughout this decade.

#6
noneedforaname
Sep 03, 2010 15:33:06 Being jilted by the woman he loved made Dace much less sure of himself and his lot in life, he realized that he was not destined to be the same person he was in his previous life. He could choose his own life and make his own way as he always had but that just added more complications because he wasn't sure what that meant. So he wandered hoping that some revelation would find him somewhere out there. He sought challenges that would surely kill lesser men because he hoped to gain insight through his martial arts, but ultimately found none. He was a hero to some, a villain to others, but to himself he was never really sure who he was. He meditated in locations far secluded from society (other planes even) but gained little wisdom, much less absolution. Now, ten years later, Dace isn't any closer to the truth and decides to return to his friends and perhaps find a place where he once again fit.

Or something. Hell, maybe he just crawled into a whiskey bottle and lived there for 10 years. Have him come back to his freinds fifty pounds overwieght and bitter at everyone, especially the cleric for falling for a bard (how predictable, bards get all the chicks). He curses constantly, passes out in the middle of combat and gets thrown out of every town he goes into.
#7
FearOfTheDark
Sep 05, 2010 12:32:35 Since it's ten years and your character has already had one big adventure, make him more of a mentor figure for the others (especially young ones) in the group. Something like Obi-Wan and Auron from FFX. It would give him a lot of good insights, and would be a really cool way to see your character grow.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 motteditor2 Aug 11, 2010 22:48:07	Last year, my group finished a rather long campaign, that saw us go from 10th to 16th level. We've moved on to a different campaign, but someone recently suggested doing another adventure with that group, about 10 years (and two levels) in the future. (Not sure if it matters, but it's 3.* Forgotten Realms.) Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with my monk. The basic idea of the character was he was a young teen (14) who had all these abilities, despite not actually being a member of any faith (though he was a strong believer in Lathander). I left it up to the DM to come up with the backstory, so I as a player could discover it along with my character, but it just ended up coming up once in a while in the background, as the campaign was focused on other things. He did send me the back story afterward, though I unfortunately lost it in a computer crash and continue to wait for him to re-send it to me. Essentially, though, in a previous life, he was a member of a monkish assassin's group (I'm blanking now if it was actually of the Order of the Long Death or not), who fell in love and fled with a woman, only for the both of them to be killed. (The woman ended up being the second PC I was playing in the campaign.) At any rate, Dace was more or less a happy-go-luck teenager, who was thrilled to show off his supernatural talents. Truthfully, I ended up doing much more development with my second character (who ironically was going to be the monk's henchman originally) and Dace himself was played a bit more for combat and amusement. His signature moment was probably when an wizard (illusionist, though we didn't know that) we'd made an uneasy pact with "summoned an army of zombies to distract some monsters" Dace, seeing through the illusion, decided to use his hat of disguise to blend in and give it a little more punch -- literally. (His moaning "braaaaaains" just added to all the players' amusement.) Now, though, the cleric will be off taking care of her post-campaign children and I'm trying to figure out what exactly has happened with the monk. I don't want to lose the sense of joy/exuberance he had that made him a lot of fun, but at the same time, I don't want him to be exactly the same not-a-care-in-the-world character. I was thinking he might have managed to find out the details of that previous life and gone and taken over/subverted/killed his former order. Other than that, though, just could use some help brainstorming ideas for him. With the magic items he's gotten, his stats are pretty ridiculous (a headband of mental superiority gives him +6 to cha, wis, int; and he's got a +6 to his strength as well) but I'd like to come up with something fun but also befitting a character with a 26 or so wisdom. Between that and now being 24 or so, it seems odd to have him still playing a bit of the fool. Thanks in advance.
#2 mellored Aug 13, 2010 13:56:43	24's a great age to start a family. I mean, you've got 2 people who where in love with in their past life, dunno why it wouldn't repeat.
#3 motteditor2 Aug 13, 2010 15:49:32	Well, the cleric didn't reciprocate the monk's feelings, unfortunately (at least not in this life). She's settled down with the bard and is happily spawning children. Not much chance of Dace being anything but a friend. I was debating some sort of family. Being an orphan, he's always been very focused on other orphans and especially homeless children in cities. Was debating him becoming some sort of radical, gathering the otherwise disenfranchised around him.
#4 jetshield Aug 13, 2010 17:50:19	He's spent the last 10 years still on the road as often as not. When the others settled down, he just went solo. The money he makes has gone tward building/funding several orphanages, staffed with good people he knows and trusts. He's realised his natural wit and boyish charm makes it a bit easier to get of friendly terms with people, and he's learned the fine art of making people laugh until just the right moment to sober it up and drop a few hints about shortages at nearest orphanage. When he's not actively adventuring or fund-raising, he always has time for the kids. Not just those in orphanages, but the ones on the street for one reason or another. His non-judgemental treatment of these "streetrats" has earned him a new source of information, and perhaps a few contacts with the seedier side. Given that even a hardened thief can have a soft spot for kids, perhaps some of them allow their donations to go through Dace (it's up to you to decide weather he'd take the occasional stolen item as a donation - particularly if he has to fence it on his travels). I'm not sure what your DM has planned, but this kind of backstory serves the secondary purpose of giving him/her the perfect person to have picked up on whatever horrible event is looming on the horizon that just may be bad enough to make the others leave homes and families in the care of others to put an end to it before it gets out of hand.
#5 motteditor2 Aug 13, 2010 19:12:17	Given that even a hardened thief can have a soft spot for kids, perhaps some of them allow their donations to go through Dace (it's up to you to decide weather he'd take the occasional stolen item as a donation - particularly if he has to fence it on his travels). I like a lot of this idea. Considering Dace's best friend in the group was probably our (fat, balding) thief, I think he'd probably be all right with fencing things occasionally. I'll have to check with his player, see if he wants the two to have stayed more closely in touch throughout this decade.
#6 noneedforaname Sep 03, 2010 15:33:06	Being jilted by the woman he loved made Dace much less sure of himself and his lot in life, he realized that he was not destined to be the same person he was in his previous life. He could choose his own life and make his own way as he always had but that just added more complications because he wasn't sure what that meant. So he wandered hoping that some revelation would find him somewhere out there. He sought challenges that would surely kill lesser men because he hoped to gain insight through his martial arts, but ultimately found none. He was a hero to some, a villain to others, but to himself he was never really sure who he was. He meditated in locations far secluded from society (other planes even) but gained little wisdom, much less absolution. Now, ten years later, Dace isn't any closer to the truth and decides to return to his friends and perhaps find a place where he once again fit. Or something. Hell, maybe he just crawled into a whiskey bottle and lived there for 10 years. Have him come back to his freinds fifty pounds overwieght and bitter at everyone, especially the cleric for falling for a bard (how predictable, bards get all the chicks). He curses constantly, passes out in the middle of combat and gets thrown out of every town he goes into.
#7 FearOfTheDark Sep 05, 2010 12:32:35	Since it's ten years and your character has already had one big adventure, make him more of a mentor figure for the others (especially young ones) in the group. Something like Obi-Wan and Auron from FFX. It would give him a lot of good insights, and would be a really cool way to see your character grow.