| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 16 Dec 2007 : 06:02:20
The Cast of Characters:
Lady Alaina Stevic of Ordulin, Human Female Paladin, LG (Lathander): Alaina's family is a small merchant family that years ago purchased their titles. While much of the Stevic line plots, schemes, and trades as most Sembians, Alaina's father and brother (as well as her aunt, whom she never knew) were drawn to serving the Morninglord as holy warriors.
Alaina's mother died in childbirth, and her father did not want her raised among the cutthroat merchant houses of Sembia. When her father and brother traveled to Featherdale to aid in the battle against Lashan of Scardale, her father sent for her so that she could stay at the the House of Morning in Feather Falls.
Alaina has not seen her father since the end of Lashan's reign of terror, and she has not seen her brother for quite some time as well. When Alaina felt the same call that her father and brother felt, her brother guided her and began her training as a paladin. For years, Alaina stayed in one of the few well appointed rooms in the House of Morning as a guest of Morninglord Jallian Horgontivar, who was left a generous sum to take care of Alaina.
Alaina is sure of herself, headstrong, and not afraid to correct others. She was raised with the notions of nobility, and as such, is sometimes unprepared when others assume that they are her equals. Despite this, she is also a true servant of the Morninglord, seeking to show mercy and grant a new beginning to those that have done wrong, so long as their crimes do not warrant greater punishment.
Rinly Gorm, Half-elf (Copper) Female Ranger, CG: Rinly's mother was a wood elf that, along with some members of her family, never heeded the Retreat. Wandering the old Elven Court, they fought many threats to the peaceful woods, and generally avoided the humans of the Dalelands, until one of them was inexorably drawn to a handsome human ranger.
The ranger earned the respect of the elves, and traveled with them for a time. While the elves appreciated him, they felt that eventually he would tire of their company and move on. Then he and the elven woman that was drawn to him had a child. Rinly was the product of their union, and to this day, “Rinly” is as close as she can remember to her mother's elven name for her, and Gorm was the name she remembers from her father.
Rinly was always prone to sleepwalking, and often wandered off alone, caught up in dreams that were laced with the vivid reality of elven Reverie. One too many times the young Rinly wandered off, and the nomadic band of wood elves, beset by foes and poor weather, never found the girl again. Rinly was still fairly young when she was found by the clerics of the House of Morning, and was raised, nominally, but the clergy there. Rinly was a caring child, and one with a natural gift for wilderness craft, but she had a wild air about her that the clerics never could fully cope with. These days, she wanders the hills and fields, hunting, and occasionally spending the night at the House of Morning when the weather gets bad, sharing her kills with her friend Lysander.
Lysander Fironith, Half-elf (Silver) Male Bard, CN: Lysander's father was a wandering elven hero that had a tryst with a local farmer's daughter. When the elf moved on, the woman learned she was with child, and was afraid to raise the child herself, especially with the lack of support she had from her own family.
Lysander was then given to a family in Feather Falls, until he was old enough to walk, talk, and aggravate others. He proved too much for his adopted parents to handle, and they sent him to the House of the Morning to serve there in some capacity. While he was certainly no priest, he had a strong singing voice and a curious mind, and was taken on as an apprentice to the Cantor Rysmaer Daystar.
Lysander tracked down his father's family name, and spent a great deal of time learning in the temple libraries. Lysander is drawn to the god Shaundakul, but also says a few prayers to Sune and Oghma as well, but ironically has never felt drawn to Lathander, despite the hymns he learned over the years. Lysander suspects that if Leira were still alive, the goddess of deception and the mists would be the one that most speaks to his heart. Lysander has gone so far as to read all he can on the lost goddess, and even has a favorite song about her that he sings from time to time, mourning the passing of a goddess he never got to know.
Lysander knows enough to talk his way out of trouble, though occasionally he still finds more than his share of it. At one time he was thrown out of the Blackwater Stout when he ran away to Blackfeather Bridge when he was fifteen winters. While Rysmaer brought him back, Lysander did get to hear some of the exotic performers that often spent time the small crossroads town.
Chardy, Human (Chondathan) Male Hedge Wizard, CG: Chardy's family has farmed land adjacent to the House of the Morning for years, until they fell upon hard times. Eventually they had to sell the farm to the Morninglord Horgontivar. The family line thinned to this point, and Chardy was nearly the last of the line.
Chardy entered the service of the House of Morning as a gardener, hoping to work off his family debt and eventually buy back the lands his family sold. Chardy knew this was a nearly impossible tasks, but set about it anyway.
When the Red Wizards of Thay came to Feather Falls to fight Cholandrothipe, Chardy's neighbor, a self proclaimed retired War Wizard of Cormyr, failed to help the town's doomed wizard. Chardy had always found Cholandrothipe to be a kind man, and an impressive wizard, and when he died, Chardy blamed his neighbor for not acting. One day, Alcrius Murod, Chardy's neighbor, carelessly left a spellbook lying out, and Chardy stole it.
To his surprise, Chardy wasn't struck dead when he opened the book, and after trying to read and learn from it for a while, he occasionally showed the book to his friend Lysander at the temple, who helped him translate some of the runes, though Chardy never showed him the spellbook, and Lysander never knew why Chardy was interested in such things.
Recently Chardy found himself able to actually able to cast a few minor spells, and is now both excited and worried at the ramifications of his newfound ability to wield the Art.
Tobias Plank, Human (Chondathan) Male Cleric, LG (Lathander): Tobias' family has always acted as “handy men” around Feather Falls. They help built houses, barns, and all sorts of wooden structures as needed. Tobias learned many of these skills as well. Tobias has also learned a thing or two about cooking, and had always shown a remarkable amount of common sense. His family always assumed that Tobias would follow in the family tradition as a good solid worker.
Tobias, however, felt he was being called by something greater. He felt that he should be a follower of Lathander, and began to receive instruction at the House of Morning. Tobias was always fine with performing repairs around the temple and preparing meals, and never complained about this honest work. But he knew there was something more coming.
Tobias is given to little fanfare, and simple devotions. When other priests will say long prayers from antiquity or write their own vows, Tobias is simple and straightforward. While Tobias is reverent and respectful of the traditions of the church, and has no problem following authority, he also has a tenancy to speak his mind, no matter what occurs to him. Occaisionally prone to loose his temper in chaotic or extreme situations, he often asks the Morninglord's forgiveness for his lack of patience and his outbursts.
Orlann “Orry” Rondell Glimdar, Gnome Male Beguiler, NG: Orry's father was a follower of Baravar Cloakshadow, and his mother was a skilled illusionist. Orry's father taught him that the Dalesfolk were good people, but they were human, and should be kept at arm's length. When Orry proved to be particularly adept at illusions, and was skilled beyond what his mother had taught him, she was often startled by Orry's skills at hiding and in using the Art naturally, and his father was often greatly amused by this behavior, which aggravated his mother to no end.
Orry was apprenticed to a locksmith friend of his father's, where he learned more about opening locks than bulding them. Eventually he returned home and met his father's friend, Cholandrothipe. When he was killed by the Red Wizards, he was devastated. Orry spent time in Feather Falls, known as an entertainer, illusionist, and locksmith, and one that often times at various festivals entertains the children there.
Orry's father left him an “emergency pack,” and soon after his family home was razed by goblin raiders. Orry could not find any bodies, and so holds out hope, but has now begun to search for answers about his family and their disappearance.
Orry is generally pleasant, but holds others at a distance, a lesson learned from his father. Few notice this enforced distance due to his natural charm and easy nature, until they try to recall any facts they know about their gnomish acquaintance.
Sarn, Goliath Male Fighter/Rogue, N: Sarn is a goliath that in some ways exemplifies his race, and defies tradition in others. He is fiercely competitive and often looks for ways to prove himself, sometimes to the point of hindering himself to make his accomplishments more impressive, but at the same time, he lacks the wide eyed innocence of many goliaths, and possesses a sharper tongue and a more developed, more subtle sense of humor than most of his people.
Sarn was from a settlement in the Desertsmouth Mountains, and his tribe's skywatcher had pronounced many of his fellow goliaths has having “bad markings.” Many had been cast out of the tribe in recent years. Sarn was among those with inauspicious markings, which the skywatcher told him would mark him as one that would bring ruin to those he loved.
Sarn found that the skywatcher was actually selling those cast out of the tribe to the D'tarig, who in turn were selling them as slaves to the Zhentarim caravans in Anauroch. Sarn attacked a band of these Zhent slavers, and at least one of them survived and escaped. Sarn returned to his tribe to confront the skywatcher, but in the ensuing combat, a member of his family that was serving under the skywatcher was hurt. The skywatcher admitted to Sarn that he was selling the “weak” to keep the tribe strong, but also told Sarn that his markings were those of one that would bring ruin. He did not lie.
Sarn left his tribe, and wandered from the Stonelands, through Cormyr's wilderness, and eventually into the Dalelands. Occasionally mistaken for a half-orc or half-ogre, while he has never quite been accepted, he has managed to stay out of trouble by moving on from place to place quickly.
Sarn is most fond of fighting unarmed or using an opponents weapon against them in order to challenge himself and hone his skills.
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| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 05 Feb 2008 : 02:04:55
Hammer 1st, 1365 DR
On the first day of the Year of Sword, the cleric Tobias Plank receives his rank as a Dawnbringer of Lathander. Tobias is a man of singular common sense, in touch with his roots as a carpenter even as he yearns to follow the will of Lathander. Tobias is approached this day by Dawnlord Vaslim Dolrim, a visiting cleric from Ordulin.
Vaslim values Tobias' common sense, and invites him to look into the Order of Lathander's light, an organization that is concerned with rooting out hidden evils. When Tobias wonders if this is an inquisition style organization, Vaslim tells Tobias that it is not intended to be, so much as an order that investigates and reveals hidden evils. Tobias agrees to think about this offer, and to visit Ordulin eventually.
Chardy starts his day studying his pilfered spellbook and practicing his modest spells. He has learned a spell to make an item radiate a magical aura, and he rummages around to find an item to "enhance." Eventually he finds a chamberpot and casts his spell on it. Chardy visits Alcrius Murod, a man that has lived in Featherdale since just before Cholandrothipe's death, and one that claims to be a retired Cormyrean War Wizard. He is the man that Chardy stole the spellbook from years ago, and he is regarded as a hermit and a coward in Feather Falls for his failure to aid Cholandrothipe.
Chardy tells Alcrius that he has found a magical "artifact," and asks the old wizard to cast a spell to see its magic. Alcrius throws a gold piece at Chardy, "to get him to go away," and slams the door on the aspiring young wizard.
When Chardy arrives home, he settles in to study his spellbook further, and hears a knock at his barn door, where he practices his magic. A middle aged, attractive woman is at the door, telling Chardy that she has no place to stay and cannot afford the boarding house affiliated with the Temple of Lathander.
Chardy doesn't know what to say, but wordlessly motions to a bale of hay where the woman can sleep for the night. Chardy keeps a wary eye on the woman, wondering who she is and what she wants.
Lady Alaina Stevick is making her rounds of the temple, when she is introduced to one of the visitors that, despite the poor winter weather, has arrived at the temple. He is an agent of Baron Wildhurst, a Sembian noble living near a town called Thistle, who knew Alaina's brother, and fought with her father and brother against Lashan. He invites Alaina to Wildhurst Keep when the weather breaks, and she is excited at the prospect of any news of her brother.
At night, the half-elf bard Lysander is bedding down for the evening, when he hears a voice calling his name from outside of the temple grounds, drifting on the wind. The voice has a musical quality, and he is drawn to it. Eventually he follows the voice down to the falls, and he sees the ghostly form of an elven woman.
The woman demands that Lysander sing for her, and when she hears his voice, she tells him that he might very well do, and fades away. Lysander, confused, decides not to share this incident with anyone that he knows just yet.
Rinly finds herself wandering the northern edge of Feather Falls. She sees a mist rising from the snowy ground, and feels something creeping towards her. A sense of dread overtakes her, and crawling in the mists she sees the dead and diseased bodies of many folk of the dale clawing toward her, and she screams as the bodies crawl up her and pull her down into the mists.
Rinly awakens, have walked in her sleep to a small hill overlooking the way north to the town of Sundril, shivering from the sweat on her body in the cold Hammer evening. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 05 Feb 2008 : 01:42:24
Chapter One: Mission of Mercy
"Nothing of any importance ever happens in Featherdale"--The Sage Zeboaster of Ordulin, 1355 DR
Wherein the heroes go on a mission of mercy, and find that some help comes too late, and some threats are larger than imagined. |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 19 Dec 2007 : 21:41:40
Y'know, Knight... Between Chardy's & other's books, you've got a wonderful theme of books in your campaigns (heh). Not that I mind at all, it's wonderful fun because, although the general item is the same, the theme of the books are different. Some are useful, some are forbidden. Here's for more fun.
/d |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 18 Dec 2007 : 04:14:49
The markings are a great story hook for goliaths, and for some reason the mountains surrounding Anauroch seem to be a natural place to put goliath tribes. I suggested the D'tarig go betweens mainly because I wanted to introduce the D'tarig to make them a little higher profile. Foghorn really envisioned this one in a manner that was easy to work into the Realms. |
| Xysma |
Posted - 18 Dec 2007 : 04:02:37
That's odd, the background for the goliath is very similar to the background I created for a goliath I am playing in an upcoming campaign. Anauroch, Zhent slavers, "bad markings" and a confrontation with the slavers (only most of the slavers survived and left me for dead.) |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 17 Dec 2007 : 00:56:47
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Well, he told Sarn really emphatically that he didn't lie, for whatever that's worth . . . 
My gut feeling says it's not worth all that much!
quote:
One of the first things that everyone said when we started this campaign is that we didn't want to do the whole "you guys all meet in a bar and happen to decide to adventure together" thing. And these guys did a really good job of using the Featherdale background info I sent them in their character backgrounds.
Darkmeer is one of my players, so hopefully he might chime in here when he gets the chance, especially once the actual entries start to get posted (hey, I have time off for the holidays soon . . . ). I'll let him decide if he wants to reveal which character he plays, but he did play Grim in my last campaign, if that helps any at all.
Oh, I almost forgot that Foghorn is registered here now too. Perhaps he'll be moved to chime in as well.
I think your players did a great job with the backgrounds, and I look forward to seeing some more entries. |
| KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 16 Dec 2007 : 23:57:02
Well, he told Sarn really emphatically that he didn't lie, for whatever that's worth . . .
One of the first things that everyone said when we started this campaign is that we didn't want to do the whole "you guys all meet in a bar and happen to decide to adventure together" thing. And these guys did a really good job of using the Featherdale background info I sent them in their character backgrounds.
Darkmeer is one of my players, so hopefully he might chime in here when he gets the chance, especially once the actual entries start to get posted (hey, I have time off for the holidays soon . . . ). I'll let him decide if he wants to reveal which character he plays, but he did play Grim in my last campaign, if that helps any at all.
Oh, I almost forgot that Foghorn is registered here now too. Perhaps he'll be moved to chime in as well. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 16 Dec 2007 : 23:48:32
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
The skywatcher admitted to Sarn that he was selling the “weak” to keep the tribe strong, but also told Sarn that his markings were those of one that would bring ruin. He did not lie.
How do we know?
I think these are all great character backgrounds, by the way. I like how they are all tied together. |
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