| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Solomon |
Posted - 19 Nov 2008 : 04:56:37
Hello everyone,
Once again I've returned to the forums to humbly ask for your help with a character background.
This time I'm looking for character concepts for a Half-Orc anti-hero hailing from the Moonsea region, specifically Zhentil Keep. In terms of rules, he'd be a hybrid Rogue/Fighter, and he's pretty intelligent (in a fiendishly cunning kind of way) by half-orc standards.
Character wise, he's a survivor, looking out for number one above all - it's part nature (his orc heritage and his bestial side, which he tries to keep under control) and part nurture (growing up in Zhentil Keep is tough, particularly when you're a half-orc). Unusually for someone in the employ of the Zhentarim, he's fiercely independent and a bit of a loner, and this caused recurring difficulties operating under the highly structured and militaristic Zhentarim organization. However, because of his undeniable effectiveness (conducting all sorts of missions ranging from enforcing, intimidation, caravan raiding, etc.) he was too useful to simply eliminate and was given a greater degree of freedom than typically allowed within the organization.
Basically, the campaign story arc will begin well into his Zhentarim career with a mission far to the West, likely a trip to Darkhold or some other area of interest in either the North or the Western Heartlands. The character, disgruntled for a number of reasons (the constant nagging/domineering of his 'superiors'; the impossibility of a half-orc of his nature ever attaining any true measure of equality or power within the organization; the near-complete hold the Church of Bane now has on the organization, a god he secretly loathes etc.) decides that this is the perfect opportunity to go rogue and leave the organization. Essentially, he kills the Zhentarim agents who accompany him on the mission and sets out on his own (thus beginning the campaign). The campaign will then follow his adventures across the North and/or the Western Heartlands.
What I particularly need help with is detail on his birth and upbringing. I did some research while developing the character and settled on the Moonsea (and particularly Zhentil Keep) as the home region, since it offered an organization which tolerates and incorporates half-orcs (according to 'Lords of Darkness', in which many of the sample minions can be half-orcs), and according to 'Mysteries of the Moonsea' 12% of the population of Zhentil Keep are half-orcs. Now, I know that (according to 'the Player's Guide to Faerun') there are tribes of mountain orcs in Thar. I also know that the Zhentarim sent orc armies to battle the Tuigan Horde, and that afterward many of them settled in Thesk. What I need to know (but couldn't find in any of the 2nd or 3rd Edition sourcebooks) is what role these half-orcs play in Moonsea society/how they are treated/what are their origins and so on. I need a convincing and interesting origin story/childhood/lead-in to how he was recruited into the Zhentarim, and basically my lack of knowledge of the region and the organization is making it difficult. Hopefully you all can help.
Thank you very much in advance to anyone who responds. |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Solomon |
Posted - 19 Nov 2008 : 06:52:51
Thanks a lot for your quick (and useful) response - it's much appreciated. I like the 'press gang' idea, and it certainly fits the flavor of the character.
Just a point on the Zhentarim/Zhentilar issue you detailed - I believe that this distinction was the case in 2nd Edition/during the period in which the Zhentarim were not in direct control of (but rather exercised discreet influence over) Zhentil Keep. The section on "Zhent Terminology" in the 3rd Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting defines "Zhentilar" as "A defunct term once used to distinguish the military forces of Zhentil Keep from the forces of the Zhentarim" (pg. 162). Still, I suspect this is highly relevant depending on the age of the player character, since it is possible that his origin story could take place during this period. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Nov 2008 : 06:24:54
Well, conscription is a usual tool for Zhentilar press-gangs. Local thugs go around capturing folks off the street and give them over to Zhentilar soldiers for training in return for pay. Some press gangs may simply be a unit of Zhentilar soldiers in need of replenishing their own ranks. Another option would be a group of half-orc mercenaries pulling whelps off the streets...also as press gangs.
From there he could have found his way into the personal soldiers of a Zhentarim operative. The key thing here is to remember that the Zhentilar (while controlled by the Zhentarim indirectly) are NOT the same thing as the Zhentarim. The Zhentilar are the military of Zhentil Keep...and even though they are controlled by the Zhentarim, they ARE a different group.
Orcs in the employ of the Zhentarim are usually not also in the employ of the Zhentilar...at least that is my understanding. The Zhentarim use humanoid troops a great deal more than the City of Zhentil Keep uses them...again, to my understanding.
Also, current 3.5e FR lore is confusing to me...I'm not sure if the orcs of Thar are Mountain (green) Orcs or Eastern (Gray) Orcs. It is the "Great Grey Land of Thar" after all...so you may want to ask others about that.
I do know that the orcs sent to Thesk are specifically GREEN orcs...so they are Mountain Orcs...but the Zhentarim has bases in the North also; so their orcs can come from anywhere.
If you are starting your campaign at 1st level...I would make sure your Half-Orc has some non-Zhent(ilar/arim) connections too that helped him pull off getting away from the group he was with. If not friends, then ambushing enemies that made it easy for him to lay low and escape. If he was headed to Darkhold, it could have been a Cormyr bunch or a group of Tunland Raiders...could have even been Bedine from the desert or goblins in the Goblin Marches.
Some of the cities in the North are lots less friendly to half-orcs; but they still exist there. I wouldn't worry too much about running from the "law" of the Zhentilar though...he could just change his name and they would never know any different of who he was before...especially if their soldiers were all thought to be dead.
Back to how orcs are considered in the Moonsea: enemy or mercenary. Orcs prey upon caravans, raid small settlements, and fight anyone and each other. They are also used as mercenaries, especially by the Zhentarim...and by default the Zhentilar; though I believe that group uses them too...like the orcs sent to Thesk were from Zhentil Keep and not from the Zhentarim.
Sorry for the big ramble on and on...its late after a long day of work and school; so my brain is in a jumble.
I may even be wrong on a couple points...but I'm pretty sure of them despite not checking any resources. |
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