Brokenfocus and Rpgventurer' thread

Welcome to the game everyone. This thread is to catch you up to speed, so you don't have to spend the next few weeks reading through the story (although you are more than welcome to if you wish to lol). The start of this story will sound very familiar to you both.

The original characters all come from a city called Lion's Head in the Sapphire Iles. The were travelling on board a colony ship and heading to an unknown new colony known as the New World when their ship was attacked by pirates.
The party managed to save the day and blow up the pirate ship but at the cost of their own lives as they were all caught in the explosion.

Miraculously, the party somehow survived the explosion and wound up washed ashore near a very small village called Berda Trading Post in the nothernmost parts of the Immerald Empire. The Empire is well known and quite civilized. The trading post however, is a company secret run by the Western Trading Company, an international company that is also behind the founding of the new colony in the New World.

Without their weapons and equipment, the players made a deal with the company representative Mr. Sigmar and are currently working as freelancers for The Western Trading Company in exchange for passage to the New World.

While solving a case of missing animals they discovered a dungeon built by a long extinct race as a proving grounds for their heroes. They battled their way through the dungeon and at the end of it they felt a certain, unexplicable calling. They don't know how or why but each of them found an object of great power.

One of the items, a glowing green shard could talk to Tomas (the sorcerer/fighter) and telepathically told him that it had been created and sent forward in time to stop a powerful necromancer from destroying the world.

One night, while the heroes were sleeping at the inn, a group of assassins attacked the party seeking the green shard. The party managed to fight off the assassins who exploded in a pool of blood. Before the assassins died they told the party that the master now knew of their whereabouts and was sending an army to destroy the town.

The party called a town meeting to decide what to do. The party has decided to stay and help the town even though their only chance to get to the new world is to go via the supply ship that arrives today. They are currently on their way to visit a strange old recluse called Alik the Mad, a powerful magic user who lives nearby in an old lighthouse.

You are free to come up with whatever backgrounds you like but at some point you all had a very odd feeling, you felt drawn to something due to some inexplicable feeling. You followed this odd feeling and it lead you to discover an item of great power. Please choose one from the list below:



Heaven's Call

This weapon is made from a single piece of jade. Looking along the weapon you see swirls of green lines flowing up and down the weapon as if they were channeling magical energies throughout the length of the weapon. One side of the weapon has been carved into as sharp of an edge as stone can take which is to say not very sharp at all but it will work to focus the power into more precise strikes.

Dawn's Tears

This tin flute enchants almost all who hear its haunting melodies. It’s intricately carved handle is covered with mythical fey dancing and playing.

Frostsong

A beautiful longbow that appears to be made from blue ice that glows with a faint blue hue. The bowstring seems to be made from some kind of frozen sinew.

Soul Drinker

The wicked looking blade of this dagger is formed from volcanic glass. Demonic sigils are engraved onto the blade and glow with a strange orange light. The pommel of the hilt looks like a human woman screaming in unescapable torment.

The Periapt of Immortality

This strange, uncomfortable neclace is shapped like an angel with its wings unfurled. It is too large to comfortably be worn around the neck and yet it hangs from a chain indicating that it was designed to be worn, perhaps on the outside of some armour? Anyway, the small figurine is made from a polished white marble like substance and radiates with serious power.

The Staff of the Hunter

This long wooden staff was cleary made for ceremonial purposes. It is made from solid oak and various teeth, tufts of fur and other hunting trophies have been tied to the top of the staff. To the experienced natural guardian the wood feels slightly different, almost as if it were alive.


Please post your backstory here and it should end with you feeling a strange almost compulsion to head north. You don't need to post fully in character just yet as there is a lot of information. Let's treat this thread as a workshop and if you need any additional information just let me know :)

Right now I'm working on a half-elf paladin. He grew up in an elven enclave hidden in the forest, but the compulsion to head north brought him to this area. He stopped in the town (before the PCs arrived) to ask about any wizards in the area and was pointed to the direction of Alik the Mad. I'm thinking the party passes him on way to Alik's -- the PCs see the paladin treating a wounded animal or small, lawful good creature.

@Brokenfocus: let me know if you would like to tie in our back stories. I can easily adjust my character's race or class, although I am leaning toward (1) paladin, to help counter any undead from the necromancer, or (2) ranger, to help with outdoor skills.

The periapt of immortality is the only object from the list that my character could really have any chance of using.

I have submitted an Aasimar druid flavored as a human alchemist that likes to test new substances on himself. If this is problematic @Arina, let me know.

My current plan is to have the character wandering the forest looking for new ingredients. We definitely could have come into contact there before noting the magical items we both have and join together. Maybe we've been together for a week or more at this time.

There is safety in numbers and my character doesn't care where he's going, as long as he hasn't been there yet. I would likely follow you if you would have me. Also, 2 healers together makes for a good pair.

I like your idea of meeting in the woods. I need to finish up the my character sheet but I'm going with aforementioned paladin. I am picking Heaven's Call as my magic item.

I submitted my character, although I still need to pick spells, finish the equipment and add more background information. The fey chose and trained him to help keep the peace in this part of the world.

This is the rough of my backstory before we meet.
All of this is open to be changed if it would help @Arina.

Yorrick grew up in a potions shop with his mother, father, and sister. His older sister is a potion creation prodigy and quite the salesman. Yorrick's exceptional traits as an alchemist are his ambition and insistence that what doesn't kill him only makes him stronger. This always left him in his sister's shadow, but he did not hold any ill will against her.

He is naturally curious and is not above using himself as a test subject. He is/was human, but he has created a potion that allows his body to accept mutagens temporarily. This potion has had side effects that have altered his body permanently giving him the aasimar traits, thick shimmering green blood, and bright green eyes. The downside is that he must consume this concoction daily or he begins feeling the adverse effects. He no longer consumes food, but needs water just like anybody else. (If food is tracked, I would like the rations that are normally used to be the same value for the chemicals that he needs to stay alive. These effects can range from exhaustion like going days without food to temporary insanity with the effects amplifying as he goes days without. He also has created a large array of potions that replicate many spells. The problem is that they are fairly unstable so they can't really be sold. Some work for allies if they are drank quickly, but others only work on his specific anatomy.

Yorrick decided to take up adventuring as a way to test himself and his alchemy as well as collect new ingredients. The new world is the perfect place for this.

He is generally a pretty friendly guy and is fiercely loyal to those that he sees as friends. He is calm and reserved, but will keep track of every slight and lie.

@Brokenfocus, I have added an additional item to the list of items that has a slightly more druidish flavour to it. However, you're more than welcome to stick to the Periapt if you like.

Actually, the periapt could definitely be the cause of his change in nature instead of his potions if you like. That is part of what it does. And you won't need to continuously consume potions either.

@Stalwart: I just need your spells. Everything else looks right.

I think I will keep the periapt.

@Ariana, may I choose Sylvan as my third language? If not, are they any humanoids that frequent the woods?

That's fine, as long as you write it into your character's background I'm ok with it.

Also, there is a group of rangers who range throught the nearby wilderness hunting game and taking their pelts to sell.

There is also a druid's grove to the west of Berda Trading Post.

I have a lot of interruptions this evening so I'm still going through the PHB figuring out how the the paladin's spells work these days.

Meanwhile, would the following be OK to add to the half-elf's background?
His elven mother's family are bowyers for the enclave; his father (now deceased) was a member of the group of rangers who frequented the woods.

Prepared spells are picked. Looking for an avatar now.

Berda Trading Post is a very new operation. Its two years old, so it would be difficult to tie your father to them, unless he accidently slipped into the Feywild. Time works differently there, so there's a little room to add something...

What do you think?

That sounds good. After Jond was born, the fey dropped me off in the elven enclave to be raised in the real world. When Jond came of age, the fey took turns training me on different subjects.

Perhaps Jond’s mother is an Eladrin who lives with the high elves?

Works for me. Feel free to create whatever backstory you like, I'll only ever change it if it doesn't work with something I have previously created.

@Both of you. I'd love you to tell me how you managed to come across your item of power (and it is indeed very powerful!).

@Arina, based on something I read in one of the other threads, Heaven's Call belonged to another half-elf paladin that is no longer in the game. How did that character exit the game? I would like to tie my backstory to that paladin -- to include how "the torch was passed", as it were.

My backstory in quick bullets so far. I will write this out when I have a bit of time.

Born to a family of alchemical shop keepers in the old world.
Older sister was much better at the business part of the job and will be taking over the store.
Decided to take his chances in the new world.
Made it part way before running out of money.
Does odd jobs and wanders the forest a bit looking for interesting ingredients.
Goes out to find a testing area.
Blows up a cave and is hit with a relic.
Heads back to town for a few days.
Feels a call to head out into the woods (might just be a part of the concussion), so he packs up and wanders off.
Meets a friendly paladin that is heading the same direction.
End up discussing the relics, possibly because of the remainder of a large head wound on Yorrick. (Maybe this is when he tells the story above.)
I don't know where we're going, but it's better than sitting around in town.