Greenfield
Adventurer
This is sort of the complement to the other thread with the similar name.
I used the D&D 3.5 tag, but it's applicable to any version.
When I create a new character for any system, I try to envision the person I want to play, more than the class or abilities or anything else. Once I know their personality, who they are as an individual, I pick the class(es), skills and feats needed to complete them.
One of our group wants to take a quick spin through 5e, and his opening scenario is the "Adulthood Challenge", a more or less trial dungeon. Everyone who wishes to be considered an adult has to take this challenge in their 18th year*. (*18 for Humans, with other equivalent ages for other races.) Those who fail the challenge, or who refuse to take it are shunned, and driven from the community.
I'm planning a Rogue, though of course no one in their right mind would ever openly admit to being such a person.
Having a sense of humor, I'm calling him Maurice Bessler. It's an old family tradition that all male children have names beginning with "M", so the family business can keep its name unchanged: "M. Besseler and Sons, purveyors of fine goods."
The trade of the family is that we're merchants. Sometimes we trade under the table, in that the "fine goods" we handle may belong to someone else.
Another tradition in the family is that we complain about the Adult Challenge, which presumes that everyone in the region has a future as a dungeoneer. It also restricts trade, as no one is permitted to sell anything to an adult who isn't displaying the mark of having passed the trials. That's bad for business. (The mark is a ring, pin, pendant, belt buckle or something similar with the town's crest on it.)
The third great tradition is, naturally, that we always cheat at the trial. My Rogue is skilled as Jeweler, as well as a Forger. He'll go into that "trial dungeon", and he may even find his ring/pin/pendant/etc. But he's taking no chances. His father knows he plans to cheat, and his only requirement is that Maurice do it well. Family honor and all of that stuff.
There is going to be at least one Paladin in the group, who Maurice will probably razz a bit. The Assassin, he'll say, is the more honest man. He kills for money and makes no bones about it. The Paladin kills, and takes money, but he blames it on his god.
Adventurers in general kill people and take their stuff. As a Rogue, erm, salesman, he just takes their money without having to kill them for it.
Now some will say that monsters aren't really "people", but if you see some adventurers coming into town with captured armor, weapons, jewelry, gold or magic items, you know they weren't out hunting the wolves that were preying on the sheep. Animals don't have stuff like that, people do, whatever shape they may take.
Okay, that's a character concept. With that in mind, the hard part is done. All that's left is numbers.
Now, given the community I've described, somebody else come up with the personality write up for a Cleric or a druid, or some other class.
Let's have some fun with this. Note that this is just for fun. We're not worried about nifty class or feat combinations or optimizations. We're just talking personalities.
Who's next?
I used the D&D 3.5 tag, but it's applicable to any version.
When I create a new character for any system, I try to envision the person I want to play, more than the class or abilities or anything else. Once I know their personality, who they are as an individual, I pick the class(es), skills and feats needed to complete them.
One of our group wants to take a quick spin through 5e, and his opening scenario is the "Adulthood Challenge", a more or less trial dungeon. Everyone who wishes to be considered an adult has to take this challenge in their 18th year*. (*18 for Humans, with other equivalent ages for other races.) Those who fail the challenge, or who refuse to take it are shunned, and driven from the community.
I'm planning a Rogue, though of course no one in their right mind would ever openly admit to being such a person.
Having a sense of humor, I'm calling him Maurice Bessler. It's an old family tradition that all male children have names beginning with "M", so the family business can keep its name unchanged: "M. Besseler and Sons, purveyors of fine goods."
The trade of the family is that we're merchants. Sometimes we trade under the table, in that the "fine goods" we handle may belong to someone else.
Another tradition in the family is that we complain about the Adult Challenge, which presumes that everyone in the region has a future as a dungeoneer. It also restricts trade, as no one is permitted to sell anything to an adult who isn't displaying the mark of having passed the trials. That's bad for business. (The mark is a ring, pin, pendant, belt buckle or something similar with the town's crest on it.)
The third great tradition is, naturally, that we always cheat at the trial. My Rogue is skilled as Jeweler, as well as a Forger. He'll go into that "trial dungeon", and he may even find his ring/pin/pendant/etc. But he's taking no chances. His father knows he plans to cheat, and his only requirement is that Maurice do it well. Family honor and all of that stuff.
There is going to be at least one Paladin in the group, who Maurice will probably razz a bit. The Assassin, he'll say, is the more honest man. He kills for money and makes no bones about it. The Paladin kills, and takes money, but he blames it on his god.
Adventurers in general kill people and take their stuff. As a Rogue, erm, salesman, he just takes their money without having to kill them for it.
Now some will say that monsters aren't really "people", but if you see some adventurers coming into town with captured armor, weapons, jewelry, gold or magic items, you know they weren't out hunting the wolves that were preying on the sheep. Animals don't have stuff like that, people do, whatever shape they may take.
Okay, that's a character concept. With that in mind, the hard part is done. All that's left is numbers.
Now, given the community I've described, somebody else come up with the personality write up for a Cleric or a druid, or some other class.
Let's have some fun with this. Note that this is just for fun. We're not worried about nifty class or feat combinations or optimizations. We're just talking personalities.
Who's next?
