| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 09:19:01
|
Earlier today, I was struck by lightning and blacked out. When I woke up, I found myself in a forest with no knowledge of how I had gotten there. However, it is not home; this I am sure of. It is a clear night, and I can see none of the familiar star patterns of Earth. An unfamiliar moon hangs overhead as I write this by its light. It seems to trail a stream of small moonlets, looking almost like tears or dewdrops among the stars.
And even if I did not have this evidence at this moment, I have something even more extraordiarily different. It seems that here, in this strange, new world, magic actually exists . . . .
-- An excerpt from the journal of Jack Archer of Earth
Jack Archer has always believed in magic. It’s something he has never admitted to anyone, but he has never lost the feeling that there was something just beyond the real world, like there were forces once known to man, but now forgotten, waiting to be used again . . . .
It was a foolish fantasy, he admitted to himself. He considered himself a person of science, however much he devoured fantasy novels and mythology texts. The notion of paranormal forces was something that had never been proven by anyone, and would defy physics as currently known. So, Jack contented himself with simple, idle wishing, and split his life between earning his degree in physics (with a minor in mythology, of course), and teaching and practicing fencing on the weekends.
He still like to dream about it. He felt like he could almost find the patterns that were ever just out of his reach; and he literally dreamed about harnessing them. It wasn’t much, but it had haunted him. It came alive at certain times, like when he went stargazing, or when he fully immersed himself in his fencing routine. Especially the latter, when it felt like his foil was charged with a little extra energy.
Jack often wondered if this was the spiritual energy that Oriental philosophy, especially that of the martial arts, said could be harnessed. But he never seriously thought this was real magic.
That is, until he woke up in a world called Toril.
Since some scribes here have expressed an interest in my highly non-canon character, I've decided to open a new thread on him. Actual stats will be pending confirmation by our esteemed Sage of Perth, but backstory should be fine.
I'm sure some of you have questions, so ask away. (Assuming you're bored enough.  )
|
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 09:55:51
|
Beautiful, Bookwyrm, just beautiful  I guess many of us can relate to such as this. |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
|
 |
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 13:26:02
|
I have only just recently gone over the complete profile (properly) you had sent me Bookwyrm.
I'll get to those stats this week. I've only a few lectures and a few days of work, so I'll have ample free time.
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 17:07:53
|
| This is very good, Bookwyrm. More! |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 18:03:40
|
| It is good BW,tell us more of Jack Archer. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 23:16:36
|
Wow, I like all the enthusiasm! 
I'll get to collecting some more. Would you like more on his personality and goals, or would you like to read some of the novelization of him waking up that I've written first? |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 23:43:34
|
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Wow, I like all the enthusiasm!
I'll get to collecting some more. Would you like more on his personality and goals, or would you like to read some of the novelization of him waking up that I've written first?
(1)Novelization of him waking.
(2)Personality and goals
In that order seems best to me,but don't trust the half-orc. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2003 : 23:46:55
|
| I'm agreeing with the half-orc. |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 00:02:39
|
Okydoky, folks. I'll give it quick once-over to make sure it's suitable for publication, then post some of what I've written. Just so you know, my writing style is much like how I am here -- wordy.  As Sage has already seen, I write in a very free-form style, at least initially. So it'll likely seem slightly rambling. Usually 100% gramatically correct, though.  |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 00:10:02
|
I call your style of writing "line of thought writing", and it works quite well, Bookwyrm.
I'm wordy too, so I shouldn't have any trouble,although our half-orc friend might have a bit.
By the way, William, *pats the half-orc on the head*, I think that gift might be up on the site tonight... |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 01:34:29
|
Here’s the first part. I know it cuts off rather suddenly, but that’s the first spot that looked okay to stop. It’s actually in the middle of a paragraph.
By the way, in factoring costs, I’m making the assumption that one US dollar is about equal to one silver piece. That’s because of looking at the one thing that wouldn’t really change -- the cost of food. (And before you get picky, I said ‘about.’)
It’s basically for my own convenience when factoring the costs of the items Jack has on him when the transfer occurs. I doubt it will come up in the story, since I’m going to shy away from the idea of how many silver pieces are in a gold piece. It’s great in terms of gaming, but not exactly realistic in a society like the Realms to have it all divisible by ten, and my character (not to mention me) wouldn’t be able to pull any kind of explanation for it out of his hat.
I only mention it here because, first of all, I’ll be using him to put forth some “explanations” for things, or at least point out things that would be obvious from his perspective (like why there are so many intelligent species, and especially humanoids). For instance, he gets a glimpse of how magic works in the second part.
Mostly, though, it’s because he makes an estimate of the cost of a pile of discarded items in here, and I wanted you to know what my reasoning for it was.
Jack gradually swam back to consciousness, his head throbbing painfully. He covered his too-sensitive eyes from the sun with one arm, wondering why he was lying on the ground in a forest clearing. Gradually, pieces came back. He had been at the local SCA fairgrounds, having cancelled his fencing class for that day. He had been hoping to win the trophy this year at the dueling tourney, and had come dressed for the part; period costumes were a must at the SCA.
Jack felt around and found his highly valued rapier still attached to his belt. That was a relief; it had cost more than he liked to think about, almost as much as a dueling sword would have cost in the Renaissance. It had been a gift from his father when he had gotten accepted directly into Princeton's Honors program. He had actually commissioned it specially from a master smith in Toledo, Spain. It was a blade meant for serious fighting, not as a mere replica, and was as strong as modern metallurgy could make it. That smith took his craft as seriously as the Japanese masters he had learned his forging techniques from.
Jack started suddenly as the last thing he had experienced before blacking out suddenly returned. The freak storm that had come out of nowhere, the wild lightning hitting the ground all over the place, and finally the feel of the electricity surge through his body as he blacked out.
Ignoring the headache as best he could, Jack sat up, his hands automatically going to his blade once more. A moment later, he managed to draw it, and he felt a great surge of relief that it looked to be completely unharmed. No scorch marks, and he hadn't bent anything by falling on it.
A moment later, though, Jack realized that he couldn't say the same for all of his possessions. His doublet and trousers seemed to be fine save for some grass stains that would easily come out in a wash, and his curled-brimmed leather fedora hat was just fine. But not only was there several large rips in his cloak, his bootsoles were a melted mess.
He poked at them with a finger; it felt like the soles were about to fall off. The surge from the lightning must have passed through there; he had been lucky that he had had both feet "grounded," as it were, when he was hit.
Jack wondered about that lightning. Was this how it always felt when people were hit? He still felt a strange buzz, like he had a finger stuck in a low-volt socket. And this strange feeling of pressure in his head, but apart from the headache itself.
He stood up, swaying slightly -- his headache was receding, but not fast enough -- and he tried to get his bearings. The SCA faire was on what used to be some old farmland, he knew, and while he didn’t recognize the particular clearing, he must be in the woods just outside it. How he had gotten there was still a mystery, but right now he just wanted an ice pack and some aspirin. And some new shoes, of course. He’d sort the details out later.
First thing was to take stock of the current situation. He seemed to be in good health, save for the headache, some bruises, and sore feet. Still, he should get himself checked out by a doctor as soon as he could get one. There was a medical staff on the fairegrounds, if it was still open. Thinking of that, Jack glanced at his watch, wondering what time it was.
"Ah, jeez," he muttered. It looked like the electrical surge had wiped the watch's electronics. He fished in the pouch hanging from his belt, pulling out his phone. Yup, same there. Blast. That was a hundred dollars to replace, for both articles combined. And then there was the cost of a new pair of boots and a new cloak. That would pinch at his budget a bit.
Okay. So no calling for help. No real problem. It wasn't like he was stuck in a primeval forest, days from civilization; Crownsville was just thirty miles away, and he would surely hit someplace with a phone well before he'd gone too far. It wasn't like this forest was all that large, anyway. Couldn't even call it a forest, really.
Jack spotted his backpack lying on the ground about five feet away. He stumbled over to it, removing his cloak as he did so, remembering that he had some painkillers in there. He opened it, dug under his change of ordinary wear, and pulled out the familiar green bottle of Excedrin tablets. He swallowed one; he didn't think it was worth it to take two when the headache felt like it was fading anyway.
Looking around as he zipped the backpack up, he caught sight of something behind a large rock; shouldering his bag, he walked over to it. It turned out to be the sleeve of a robe of some sort, kind of a brownish color, with pale yellow trim. With it was a plain but thick hooded cloak, two studded-leather bracers, two boots, and -- Jack almost missed them in the grass -- two rings. One of the rings was made of plain gold, while the other was silver with a blue gem set in it.
It was all pretty well-made; this had probably cost some SCA member quite a bit. Jack wondered idly why someone had just left them here in the woods -- especially the gold one, since it looked very much like a wedding ring. That was probably one-fifty right there; same for the bracers, and the boots were probably two hundred. All told, with the cloak and robe, this was probably well over a thousand dollars. Why were they just left here?
Well, he'd find the owner, he was sure. Or, actually, he should just give them to the faireground overseers. The owner would probably try there first, and it would be easier on all accounts. In the meantime, though . . . since his own footgear was falling apart, surely the owner wouldn't mind it if Jack just . . . borrowed the boots, would he?
Jack sat on the rock to make the trade, feeling some dismay again as half of one sole fell right off when he removed that boot. They had been very nice pair, really. Not really period, but close enough to meet SCA requirements, and he used them for hiking and climbing as well.
Still, it looked as though whomever had worn the abandoned pair was close to Jack's shoe size. The arch support was a little wider and lower than his own pair, but he'd had worse with off-the-shelf pairs of shoes. Actually, his feet seemed to adjust pretty well to the shape. He stood up to do a little experimental walking, and found that it was surprisingly comfortable. A bit off, still, but he'd get used to that.
Then Jack shook his head a moment later -- he didn't want to get used to them, since they weren't his. He was just wearing them until he could get his own shoes on. Too bad he hadn't brought his sneakers along with his civies.
They were very nice boots, though. When he walked, it was almost as if the boots didn't weigh anything. Not like they weren't there, exactly, but they didn't seem to weigh him down. Jack also had a curious feeling about the boots, as well, like he had seen them before. Maybe he had seen them worn by whomever actually owned them.
Just then, Jack heard the sound of someone moving through the underbrush. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 01:50:36
|
| Very good, Bookwyrm. |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 02:15:19
|
That is good Bookwyrm,I wasn't expecting it this soon though. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 02:43:11
|
Well, like I said elsewhere, I've been needing something to do during lectures.
I've got more, but I'll let you chew on that first. Don't want to cause any indigestion. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 03:01:15
|
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Well, like I said elsewhere, I've been needing something to do during lectures.
I've got more, but I'll let you chew on that first. Don't want to cause any indigestion.
LoL,Its good but I thought you were supposed to take notes during lectures. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 03:05:45
|
I do in world history, but it's hard to take notes on math problems when they're all from the book (just mark which ones they are), and in Psych, the professor tells us exactly what we need to underline in the book or take dictation on.
Of course, now that concepts are getting more difficult as we get closer to Finals, I can't spare as much attention for writing. That's why I offered to do that map for Ariva. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 : 03:09:45
|
| Okay,I understand then,I have trouble with notes too,very visual person. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Bayne
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2003 : 01:45:26
|
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
I call your style of writing "line of thought writing", and it works quite well, Bookwyrm.
I'm wordy too, so I shouldn't have any trouble,although our half-orc friend might have a bit.
By the way, William, *pats the half-orc on the head*, I think that gift might be up on the site tonight...
The correct term would be "stream of concious", and yes, he's quite verbose, but I hold nothing against him in his writing style, as mine is almost exactly the same. |
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust |
|
|
|
Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2003 : 11:01:59
|
| Whatever the term is, the style is fairly easy to write in, and comes out quite well. |
|
|
|
Bayne
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2003 : 15:35:26
|
I think it would be interesting if/when he explains his world to any companions he may encounter.
The music, the history, his academic career, his knowledge of physics (which should be used in there to figure out problems, if its gonna be a story), etc...It would be very interesting to me to see how the characters to react to him, and vice versa...*ponders* |
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust |
|
|
|
Minardil
Acolyte
Finland
18 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2003 : 16:40:31
|
| Bookwyrm, this is great. I'm anxious to see what's going to happen next. This is like my long-forgotten dream... |
Can we not be friends? After all, our dust shall be equal in the end. |
|
|
|
William of Waterdeep
Senior Scribe
USA
829 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2003 : 21:41:19
|
| Reminds me of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Carson Of Venus and John Carter of Mars.Thats a compliment Bookwyrm,I loved both series. |
Courage isn't the lack of fear but rather believing in and doing what you know is right even though fear is present.
|
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 07 Nov 2003 : 15:55:39
|
I know both series, William. The archtypes of transfer fantasy.
quote:
Originally posted by Bayne
I think it would be interesting if/when he explains his world to any companions he may encounter.
The music, the history, his academic career, his knowledge of physics (which should be used in there to figure out problems, if its gonna be a story), etc...It would be very interesting to me to see how the characters to react to him, and vice versa...*ponders*
Exactly why Sage and I were intrigued enough to want to do this. I'd already had a partial character for his PbeM before -- a rather unfriendly, antisocial fire-wizard from Calimshan. Jack Archer, though, just took off once I started working on him.
As for explaining his world, he will -- to some degree. He won't be trying to explain every little thing, of course. How do you explain the workings of an internal combustion engine to someone who has never even seen a steam engine, much less know how one works?
One thing he won't do is resort to "magical" explanations. I've read some pretty stupid explanations like that in books. My Son, the Wizard comes to mind, where the American returns to his home town with a knight in tow, who must have an Intelligence penalty or something. He tells the knight that tiny horses pull the cars, just so he could get the guy to shut up. That backfires -- the knight starts looking under the cars, trying to spot these wonderous horses.
Science is hard to explain in this context. I don't want to disturb the setting, but if I play him true to his character, then he'd better not run into any curious gnome inventors. A day with him, and soon you'll start building railroads.
Pure physics might help, though. As I mentioned to Sage, his explanations of how things work might aid another wizard in the creation of new spells.
History is a given. There's a lot he can teach people there. Changing systems of government isn't really disturbing the setting, but it's even harder. At the very least, he'll attempt to explain modern, representative democracy.
Music . . . well, he won't be taking levels as a bard, but if there's already one in the party (hopefully there is), Jack'll teach him some. The good stuff, though. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
Bayne
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 07 Nov 2003 : 23:38:00
|
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
I know both series, William. The archtypes of transfer fantasy.
quote:
Originally posted by Bayne
I think it would be interesting if/when he explains his world to any companions he may encounter.
The music, the history, his academic career, his knowledge of physics (which should be used in there to figure out problems, if its gonna be a story), etc...It would be very interesting to me to see how the characters to react to him, and vice versa...*ponders*
Exactly why Sage and I were intrigued enough to want to do this. I'd already had a partial character for his PbeM before -- a rather unfriendly, antisocial fire-wizard from Calimshan. Jack Archer, though, just took off once I started working on him.
As for explaining his world, he will -- to some degree. He won't be trying to explain every little thing, of course. How do you explain the workings of an internal combustion engine to someone who has never even seen a steam engine, much less know how one works?
One thing he won't do is resort to "magical" explanations. I've read some pretty stupid explanations like that in books. My Son, the Wizard comes to mind, where the American returns to his home town with a knight in tow, who must have an Intelligence penalty or something. He tells the knight that tiny horses pull the cars, just so he could get the guy to shut up. That backfires -- the knight starts looking under the cars, trying to spot these wonderous horses.
Science is hard to explain in this context. I don't want to disturb the setting, but if I play him true to his character, then he'd better not run into any curious gnome inventors. A day with him, and soon you'll start building railroads.
Pure physics might help, though. As I mentioned to Sage, his explanations of how things work might aid another wizard in the creation of new spells.
History is a given. There's a lot he can teach people there. Changing systems of government isn't really disturbing the setting, but it's even harder. At the very least, he'll attempt to explain modern, representative democracy.
Music . . . well, he won't be taking levels as a bard, but if there's already one in the party (hopefully there is), Jack'll teach him some. The good stuff, though.
so what is the eta on the full development of the character, etc? |
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2003 : 03:44:19
|
A good character is never fully developed. But, aside from waiting for Sage to okay it all, he's ready to go. Unless you count the story part; but in order to know how that ends, I have to know where the game will start. I still don't know.  I had to assume some stuff by putting him in a forest -- there may be a lot of them in the Realms, but it means that he can't start out in the middle of Calimshan or something.
If you're wanting the next part, I could put that up soon. I need to make sure it's all flowing right -- there's a battle in it between Jack and the ex-apprentice of the guy who accidentally summoned him. (Who's now vaporized. Oh well, he was just a literary excuse, anyway. )
The ex-apprentice, in case you hadn't guessed already (if you hadn't, shame on you!) is the "someone" Jack just heard. He's a hot-tempered, rather antisocial guy who likes magic as a tool for making himself better than others. As such, he likes to use invisibility and divinations to find things to give him an advantage -- possibly even blackmail. In short, he's a complete scoundral and rat. (And no, his familiar's not a rat -- it's a raven. The raven can listen in on conversations and such and makes a good thief when small objects are involved.)
His now-dead master thought that he was an impetuous child and wanted him to do better things, like explore the workings of magic. Think of him as the magical equivilent of a theoretical physicist, except he did experiments as well. It was during one such that Jack got caught. The lightning storm was due to an overload of magical energy on the Earth end of the project -- remember, magic works in Jack's Earth. It's just really hard to use. And it wasn't aimed at him or anyone else. Anything hit by the lightning was transfered, and Jack had that nice, metalic, lightning-attracting rapier on him.
(Let that be a lesson to you. Never go out in a storm with a rapier. You might get stuck in another world.) |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2003 : 14:42:10
|
From everything I have seen and read so far on the character of Jack Archer Bookwyrm, I must say that this is an impressive creation. You have so impressed me with the depth of your creation that I am now considering dusting off some of my own more favored characters and detailing them here as well. Although, I may have to summarise some of the very detailed backgrounds of those characters .
Anyway, as to your character, he does indeed appear "ready to go". I am now just waiting on the final word from three other players, one of which is a scribe here at the keep. The introduction adventure details are all written up (due to the Chapter 3 release of the PSCS 3e), and the encounters in the adventure are now all finally balanced, and more importantly fair.
I'll be contacting you soon with the details.
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
Bayne
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2003 : 23:00:40
|
I am both excitedly and eagerly anticipating the arrival of the rest of the story of our dear friend, Jack Archer.
I wish i had the creativity and ingenious enough to create such a character as Jack Archer. Alas I am left with the makings of such characters as Bayne, the Drow monk...
Of course, he is canon, but nonetheless, I should have a better story behind it than I do. |
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2003 : 15:38:52
|
Hmm. Haven't recieved a single thing yet, Sage. Well, it hasn't been quite a full week yet, so I guess I can't complain.
Bayne, the way I do it is just to work backwards, and in creating a PC that's even more important. Just start from where you want him/her to end up and work back.
In Jack's case, I wanted a fighter who absorbed the powers of a wizard. The issue, then, was how to bring in a fighter from Earth in the 21st century. He could be a reenactor who had trained with armor and all the trimmings, but that presented two problems. First, armor would interfere with spellcasting, and I really wanted to develop that. Second, and even more important (I think) was that I didn't want someone who was hulking and huge. I wanted someone who was quick and light on his feet. That meant fencing, which turned out to be perfect. (Especially after I got Sage's preliminary agreement to the trade-ins on armor, shields, and weapon proficiencies.)
Then I worked on his background. Not so much his history, as I wanted to concentrate on how he would react to this new world. I didn't want him to reject magic, so I had him believe in the depths of his soul that magic existed, dispite how it violated the science he held so dear. I love contrasts, so I didn't want him to just accept the gods and divine spellcasters; thus he became a Christian who believed in the truth of God.
For another example, I created the NPC he's about to fight in the same way. He's beligerant, arrogant, and short-tempered, and believes anyone without magic should be subservient. He doesn't think things through. I worked everything off of that until recently, when I started working on his character sheet. Unless you mean his spell selection, of course -- that was one of the first things I did, since every spell he had becomes Jack's after this battle. I had to keep reminding myself that the spells were for someone other than Jack. If it had been the other way, it would have been more battle-oriented, with plenty of touch spells to enchant his rapier with as well as spells to enhance his defenses. Making the balance was harder than it seemed it would be.
My advice, Bayne, is to work on your character's personality first. The more you do that, the more real and consistant (s)he is. Then you can work back and figure out how (s)he got that way. Background history is easier to get ahold of than personality, since it's more a collection of facts. (It's easier to keep from contradicting itself.) |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
Bayne
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2003 : 20:52:33
|
quote:
Originally posted by Bookwyrm
Hmm. Haven't recieved a single thing yet, Sage. Well, it hasn't been quite a full week yet, so I guess I can't complain.
Bayne, the way I do it is just to work backwards, and in creating a PC that's even more important. Just start from where you want him/her to end up and work back.
In Jack's case, I wanted a fighter who absorbed the powers of a wizard. The issue, then, was how to bring in a fighter from Earth in the 21st century. He could be a reenactor who had trained with armor and all the trimmings, but that presented two problems. First, armor would interfere with spellcasting, and I really wanted to develop that. Second, and even more important (I think) was that I didn't want someone who was hulking and huge. I wanted someone who was quick and light on his feet. That meant fencing, which turned out to be perfect. (Especially after I got Sage's preliminary agreement to the trade-ins on armor, shields, and weapon proficiencies.)
Then I worked on his background. Not so much his history, as I wanted to concentrate on how he would react to this new world. I didn't want him to reject magic, so I had him believe in the depths of his soul that magic existed, dispite how it violated the science he held so dear. I love contrasts, so I didn't want him to just accept the gods and divine spellcasters; thus he became a Christian who believed in the truth of God.
For another example, I created the NPC he's about to fight in the same way. He's beligerant, arrogant, and short-tempered, and believes anyone without magic should be subservient. He doesn't think things through. I worked everything off of that until recently, when I started working on his character sheet. Unless you mean his spell selection, of course -- that was one of the first things I did, since every spell he had becomes Jack's after this battle. I had to keep reminding myself that the spells were for someone other than Jack. If it had been the other way, it would have been more battle-oriented, with plenty of touch spells to enchant his rapier with as well as spells to enhance his defenses. Making the balance was harder than it seemed it would be.
My advice, Bayne, is to work on your character's personality first. The more you do that, the more real and consistant (s)he is. Then you can work back and figure out how (s)he got that way. Background history is easier to get ahold of than personality, since it's more a collection of facts. (It's easier to keep from contradicting itself.)
Much thanks for the advice, Bookwyrm, and I'd like to add that I too have a developing story...It's not too far along, and I may post it to see what you all think, and maybe get a few pointers, if you all wouldn't mind helping out. |
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elyhinn dal lil alust |
|
|
|
Cyric
Senior Scribe
Norway
388 Posts |
Posted - 16 Nov 2003 : 17:59:26
|
| make him a follower of Cyric and a butiful story |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2003 : 15:14:55
|
::whacks Cyric over the head with a Nerf club::
Enough of that already! 
Besides, didn't I mention his religion? ::scrolls back up:: I guess not. Well, in the character sheet, in the "Deity" field, it says "God (Judeo-Christian)." Jack was raised Catholic, and while he's never been really focused on that, he'll get stronger in his faith as he's confronted with the gods of Faerun. He'll also become convinced that the gods aren't really worth worshiping, since they're very mortal in their conduct. In effect, it's the same attitude Socrates took. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Jack Archer of Earth
