Help With A PC's Past

[Knightcrawler]

Okay here's the deal one of my players is running a half-orc female. In the random tables that I use to generate a characters background she rolled to have a former great love when she was young and an enemy from when she was young. They could be one and the same or they could be two different people. So I'm looking for ideas.

But some background first. The campaign is in the Forgotten Realms in Silvermoon. The character is a member of a half orc tribe that lives about half a days journey outside of the city. The tribe is peaceful (for half-orcs at least) and supports the government of the Silver Marches. They are a martial tribe and have been hired out in many instances by Silverymoon and other signatories of the Silver Marches. The clan is matriarchical and the characters grandmother is the head of the clan.

A couple of notes the character has had some training for social situations. She went to finishing school, don't ask. Oh and by the way she has an intelligence of 7.

So let the ideas flow. The more twisted the better.

 

[bret]

The great love could be anything: poetry, a pet, an Uncle or Aunt, perhaps even a grandparent that cared for her. Since she is young, I probably wouldn't make it a romantic interest.

The enemy is pretty easy. Someone who resented her mother taking a human lover. Perhaps another woman who was competing for his interest, perhaps a male who felt spurned by her. Make him somewhat cowardly, perhaps the shaman? Talks big and tough, likes to bully others. When the pressure is on, he tends to duck and cover.


It would help a bit if you stated what the character's goals were. That might have some effect on the comments.

Since some of us are unfamiliar with FR, a short description of Silvery Moon would have also been useful.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

Knightcrawler, do you have Silver Marches? (or any 2e info on Silverymoon?)

you may want to consider having the PC be from one of the Uthgardt tribes. it would set her home farther away from the city, but there's a lot you could work into her background.

Black Lion Tribe - the PC could hate that her tribemates have abandoned the old ways and have become more civilized...

Black Raven tribe - the PC could despise her own tribe for being thieves and bandits and she's escaped to live more honorably...

or she could be from any of the other tribes (except Gray Wolf) and just be out to see the world. you could even adapt an existing tribe to match your idea of a matriarchal half-orc tribe.

 

[Voobaha]

Some hopefully fun and melodramatic ideas:

#1) Her Great Love was a half-orc barbarian hero; brave, strong and not too bright either. Another female half-orc competed with your PC for his attentions. He was torn between the two women, and left the tribe on a "vision quest" to figure out which to choose. He never came back. The PC seeks to find him over the course of her adventures, and has a romantic rival who (unreasonably) heaps all the blame for the hero leaving on your PC. This enemy is also seeking him, and will occasionally appear in the campaign to hinder your efforts.

If your character is strong and dumb, make the rival smart and weak (maybe a bit of a tribal outcast). A rival who is the PC's opposite is more interesting, IMHO.

#2) Her Great Love was her grandfather. The enemy (an evil orc chieftain, a tribal traitor, human slavers, etc) attacked your village and he died protecting you from being taken. You have sworn vengeance on the enemy (a la Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride), but the reason why the enemy wanted to kidnap you in the first place is a mystery.

#3) Her Great Love is a Tribal Hero turned traitor. He murdered a person of some importance in the PC's tribe, then fled. Torn between loyalty to her tribe and her love for the traitor (and influenced by her 7 Int), she spared her lover during the manhunt for him and helped him escape. As he was getting away, he stabbed her in the back and left her for dead. She seeks him now to redeem her honor and find out why he turned traitor. She still loves him, though. When she finds him, she doesn't really know how she'll react.

#4) Her Great Love was an accomplished wizard (possibly from Thay) she met while on a trip to Silverymoon as part of her families' diplomatic entourage. She fell in love with him after he seduced her, but he turned out to be a spy. When she found out he was using her, he cast a powerful enchantment of unknown origin on her to keep her quiet. It manifested in the form of a terrible fever that distracted her family long enough for him to make good his escape. The magic was never fully dispelled, and the PC suffers under a residual curse that lowered her intelligence to 7. All attempt to dispel the curse have failed. The PC seeks this mage to discover his mysterious origins and force him to lift the curse.

 

[Knightcrawler]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Keep them coming. Actually this is a character that has been running for a little while. I just never got around to completely filling in her background. Now the parties of 7th-9th level and I want to throw different things at them. Also at the time of the characters creation I didn't have the slightest idea how to incorporate her story into the campaign.

The character definitely enjoys fights more than social occasions so it should be interesting. I have the Silver Marches book now. When the character was made it wasn't out yet.

 

[Knightcrawler]

Okay a description of Silverymoon. Oh at to all the FR fans out there this is my version of Silvermoon so don't flame me for any changes that I have made.

Silverymoon (metropolis): Magical; AL CG; 120,000 gp limit; Assets 205,345,00 gp; Population 42,000; Integrated - humans 49%, elves (all types) 29%, haf-elves 12%, shield dwarves 10%, lightfoot halflings 5%, gnomes (all types) 2%, others 3%.

Silverymoon is the rarest of things, a bustling city dominated by trees and beautiful stone buildings. Old oaks, shadow tops, and duskwoods compete with tall, thin spires to touch the sky, and blueleaf trees shade flagstone sidewalks along most of the cobbled streets.

Silvermoon is the foremost center of learning and culture in all of norther Faerun (the main continent of FR). THe city is a happy place were folk of many races dwell together in peace. Much of the feeling of saftey and goodwill is due to the influences of powerful local mages and the Harpers (a continent spanning group of secretive do-gooders).

Hope thats enough for you non FR people.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

...

Did you really mean a tribe of half-orcs?

How would you get a whole tribe of half-breeds? (unless they breed true?)

btw.

Her love was her twin sister, the enemy therefore the (insert malicious soothsayer class) who sacrificed the twin for a divination. (if the enemy was from the tribe, thats why she left at earliest opportunity)

Oh! You said twisted...

introduce the background plot by having the TWIN reappear.

cheers

 

[alsih2o]

great love- a young human male she met at the school, possibly the headmastrs son. he loved her too(maybe he has a low int too) but the headmaster disapproved and had them split up because of his own racial bias.

the great enemy- the headmaster

this could add in a whole family and school taking one side or the other in a racial stirred debate about the rights of the stupid to love who they want.

 

[Knightcrawler]

Well you know how half-orcs are ostracized by both orcs and humans sort of the way half-elves are. Several got together and started a tribe (more like a family) so that explains that.

 

[Knightcrawler]

*BUMP*

Come on..Iknow more people have ideas.