TinSoldier
12-06-2006, 01:42 AM
Dagaric is a human sorcerer in a Forgotten Realms campaign. Again, I'm not very familiar with the campaign materials. The DM and I worked out some of the details and this is what I came up with.
I originally started to think about sorcerers in the same way as the X-Men--that is their powers came unbidden. The powers were born to them and developed over time regardless of what the individual wanted. Even though magic is common in Forgotten Realms (again, something that I was unsure of at the time) Dagaric's powers were greeted with suspicion by his community.
I was originally going to give him mostly necromantic spells, but even though that is still my intent I realize that as a viable player character he needs more than just that to go on. Especially as a sorcerer.
For this second level, Dagaric decided to become a rogue since that made a lot of sense from his background. I wish that I had started as a rogue instead, but that is game-rules more than flavor. Flavor-wise, I think it works out pretty well.
Of the bunch, this is probably my favorite backstory. As he has played a bit in PBP games, I see him a lot as Arudin (http://www.dungeoncrawlinc.com/cast.html) in Dungeon Crawl, Inc.
The flames are all around me; everything is burning. Yet I still feel cold. I see shadows moving, shambling in the firelight. One is getting closer to me...
I wake up in a cold sweat, not knowing where I am at first. Then I remember. I get up off of my sleeping pallet and find the washbasin in the dark. I splash some cold water on my face. Looking outside, I see that it is still dark. It must be a couple hours before sunrise yet.
Same old dream. I have almost given up trying to figure out what it means.
I get dressed and gather up my gear. I might as well head out now. Checking what money I have, I wish I hadn't lost so much at the dice last night. All that money I cheated from those merchants two days ago... I guess I just couldn't do the same thing to these poor dirt farmers. Maybe they'll be able to use it better than I could.
After all, I'm no stranger to being poor; I was raised that way. Father ran his rickety fishing boat off of the coast of Calimshan. I guess we always had enough to eat.
I was friends with the son of the neighboring lord for awhile. Until that one day. We were just fooling around as usual. Like boys are wont to do. Chasing each other, playing tag, play fighting and the like.
Then he said something that made me angry. I don't remember what it was, now. In my anger, I did... something... to him. That was the first time my powers manifested themselves and I certainly couldn't control them at the time. He fell down and curled into a ball while I looked on, horrified. I ran for help.
His house was the closest, so I got his father. It took several days for him to get back to normal but the damage to our friendship had already been done.
My father got real drunk that night. I'd never seen him do that before. He told me that I had disgraced him and dishonored our family. Then he hit me! The man had never raised a hand to me in my life! I was shocked and hurt and I decided to run away.
I don't know why, but I headed north. It wasn't too long before trouble found me again, though. I was beaten and robbed by a couple of cheap thugs on the road. Unfortunately my powers were no avail to me. At the time I still didn't know how to call them at will. I was fortunate to escape with my life.
Travelling on, I came to an inn. I didn't have the money to pay for my stay but I was tired and hungry. The innkeeper let me sleep in the stables if I cleaned them out for him. He probably thought it was a kindness! Ha!
A couple of rich merchants came to the inn while I was still cleaning the stables. I took a chance and decided to see if I could lift a few coins from their purses. Lady luck smiled upon me and I was able to come up with three gold. And no one but the gods and me were the wiser!
I left that inn not long after that; no reason to tempt fate any more than I did.
At the next inn I came to I decided to pay for a room and enjoy a meal with the other clientele. I was able to hear more rumors of the goings on in the north. I also became fascinated by the dice game at that time.
I sat down with my coins to play a few rounds. I wasn't doing very well when suddenly I knew that I could... affect the outcome more in my favor. Next thing I knew I had a whole pile of platinum, gold, and silver in front of me; more money than I had ever seen before in one place! Unfortunately the group I was playing with either sensed something or were just a bunch of sore losers. Again I was beaten to within an inch of my life, robbed, and kicked out.
That taught me a lesson. If I'm going to bend lady luck to my will I would have to be much more discreet about it.
Later on, I was not only able to hang on to more modest winnings (mostly), that is also how I got my crossbow and long spear. Some people just don't know when to quit betting. Even adventurers who should know better than to put the tools of their livelihood on the table. Oh well, their loss and my gain.
In my time on the road, I've been able to practice controlling my powers better; I've also gotten quite good at using the weapons I've acquired. Let's see someone try something with me now!
It was about the time I got better using my magic that the dream started. And it is why it is the rare night that I get a full night's sleep.
I quietly sneak out of the inn and continue my journey north.
I originally started to think about sorcerers in the same way as the X-Men--that is their powers came unbidden. The powers were born to them and developed over time regardless of what the individual wanted. Even though magic is common in Forgotten Realms (again, something that I was unsure of at the time) Dagaric's powers were greeted with suspicion by his community.
I was originally going to give him mostly necromantic spells, but even though that is still my intent I realize that as a viable player character he needs more than just that to go on. Especially as a sorcerer.
For this second level, Dagaric decided to become a rogue since that made a lot of sense from his background. I wish that I had started as a rogue instead, but that is game-rules more than flavor. Flavor-wise, I think it works out pretty well.
Of the bunch, this is probably my favorite backstory. As he has played a bit in PBP games, I see him a lot as Arudin (http://www.dungeoncrawlinc.com/cast.html) in Dungeon Crawl, Inc.
The flames are all around me; everything is burning. Yet I still feel cold. I see shadows moving, shambling in the firelight. One is getting closer to me...
I wake up in a cold sweat, not knowing where I am at first. Then I remember. I get up off of my sleeping pallet and find the washbasin in the dark. I splash some cold water on my face. Looking outside, I see that it is still dark. It must be a couple hours before sunrise yet.
Same old dream. I have almost given up trying to figure out what it means.
I get dressed and gather up my gear. I might as well head out now. Checking what money I have, I wish I hadn't lost so much at the dice last night. All that money I cheated from those merchants two days ago... I guess I just couldn't do the same thing to these poor dirt farmers. Maybe they'll be able to use it better than I could.
After all, I'm no stranger to being poor; I was raised that way. Father ran his rickety fishing boat off of the coast of Calimshan. I guess we always had enough to eat.
I was friends with the son of the neighboring lord for awhile. Until that one day. We were just fooling around as usual. Like boys are wont to do. Chasing each other, playing tag, play fighting and the like.
Then he said something that made me angry. I don't remember what it was, now. In my anger, I did... something... to him. That was the first time my powers manifested themselves and I certainly couldn't control them at the time. He fell down and curled into a ball while I looked on, horrified. I ran for help.
His house was the closest, so I got his father. It took several days for him to get back to normal but the damage to our friendship had already been done.
My father got real drunk that night. I'd never seen him do that before. He told me that I had disgraced him and dishonored our family. Then he hit me! The man had never raised a hand to me in my life! I was shocked and hurt and I decided to run away.
I don't know why, but I headed north. It wasn't too long before trouble found me again, though. I was beaten and robbed by a couple of cheap thugs on the road. Unfortunately my powers were no avail to me. At the time I still didn't know how to call them at will. I was fortunate to escape with my life.
Travelling on, I came to an inn. I didn't have the money to pay for my stay but I was tired and hungry. The innkeeper let me sleep in the stables if I cleaned them out for him. He probably thought it was a kindness! Ha!
A couple of rich merchants came to the inn while I was still cleaning the stables. I took a chance and decided to see if I could lift a few coins from their purses. Lady luck smiled upon me and I was able to come up with three gold. And no one but the gods and me were the wiser!
I left that inn not long after that; no reason to tempt fate any more than I did.
At the next inn I came to I decided to pay for a room and enjoy a meal with the other clientele. I was able to hear more rumors of the goings on in the north. I also became fascinated by the dice game at that time.
I sat down with my coins to play a few rounds. I wasn't doing very well when suddenly I knew that I could... affect the outcome more in my favor. Next thing I knew I had a whole pile of platinum, gold, and silver in front of me; more money than I had ever seen before in one place! Unfortunately the group I was playing with either sensed something or were just a bunch of sore losers. Again I was beaten to within an inch of my life, robbed, and kicked out.
That taught me a lesson. If I'm going to bend lady luck to my will I would have to be much more discreet about it.
Later on, I was not only able to hang on to more modest winnings (mostly), that is also how I got my crossbow and long spear. Some people just don't know when to quit betting. Even adventurers who should know better than to put the tools of their livelihood on the table. Oh well, their loss and my gain.
In my time on the road, I've been able to practice controlling my powers better; I've also gotten quite good at using the weapons I've acquired. Let's see someone try something with me now!
It was about the time I got better using my magic that the dream started. And it is why it is the rare night that I get a full night's sleep.
I quietly sneak out of the inn and continue my journey north.