4e Character, need help with background.

[RationalGoblin]

So, I have a 4e (boo, hiss, right?) character; a Deva Warlord (or perhaps Warlock) named Zalamet.

The gist of his background is: Zalamet was your typical Deva, a defender of good, a persuasive diplomat, etc, and knew he was destined to fight injustice forever, to be reincarnated eternally, until an unearthly, vile power shuddered through his body during a recent battle against the forces of evil, causing him great discomfort, but fortunately not harming him.

Concerned about this strange event, Zalamet sought out priests, fortunetellers, hedge wizards, auguries, the lot of them. None could tell him what the power was.

Frustrated, Zalamet did the unthinkable: He summoned forth a demonic presence to answer him with the truth. The demon replied simply: The gods were not going to reincarnate him. The power Zalamet felt was his body realizing this fact; that it would never have another soul within it after this one.

Zalamet paid a dear price to the demon to force it to tell him the truth, as most of his power was stripped from him. Learning that the gods had effectively abandoned him pushed him over the brink, and Zalamet vowed to regain his power and more, to rage against the gods for their betrayal of his eternal loyalty, to gain glory and godhood for himself.

But what Zalamet won't admit to anyone, even himself, is that the only reason he was a fairly good Deva was because he knew he would be reincarnated, that he would simply start over with a second chance. He has a terrible fear of death, and the god's seeming abandonment of him fueled his fear, turning it into hatred and spite.



So yeah, I have that so far as a rough draft. But the help I need with the background is thus: Should I simply have Zalamet be a Warlord, recruiting others through newfound sheer will and charisma to his banner of destroying the gods, or should I have him strike a further deal with the demonic presence he contacted, giving him infernal powers through a new pact?

Also, I need help in streamlining and editing this background, help on that would be nice.

[1of3]

Technically, Infernal means Devilish. Not Demonish. And demons do not usually make deals with mortals.

Nevertheless a very cool concept. Have you considered going Hybrid? (Not sure that this is the most effective thing to do, but that does not seem to be your main concern anyway)

[Drakefall]

Taking a look at the classes, Zalamet wouldn't make the best infernal warlock as he neither a CON or INT boost. He would make a good fey pact warlock because of the Deva CHA boost though. As an inspiring/bravado warlord he would have a boost to his secondary stat so that works in his favour. Although there's really nothing stopping you from making him whatever you want, stat bonuses be damned, he'll still be able to contribute well enough.

What alignment do you envision Zalamet to now be? If he's evil either class works fine but otherwise warlord strikes me as a better choice. I've never really liked the emoness that a non-evil infernalock tends to inspire, though a neutral "sacrifices must be made" type could possibly work in this regard.

Speaking of alignment, how do you see Zalamet's mission of destruction? What's his prime reason and to what lengths will he go to? I see this pretty much taking one of two directions:

- Zalamet feels utterly betrayed by the gods and this has led him to hate pretty much anything. He'll go to any length to have his revenge no matter the cost to himself or others. This fits an evil warlock perfectly.

- The gods are fickle creatures of whim. They will discard their followers without warning nor reason. They are an affront to the free will of the people. For this they must be destroyed. This way is more open than the above and depends a lot on his morals and methods.
- Willing to sacrifice others but only if absolutely necessary: neutral
- Willing to make any self-sacrifice to attain his goal: neutral - good
- Not willing to sacrifice his morals, nor anyone else: neutral - good

Even destroying the gods can be a good thing... though dnd does like to put preference on actions over intentions so that does make it pretty hard to put a good spin on this if it ever actually comes down to killing a non-evil god.

If Zalamet is evil or is perfectly willing to make the necessary self-sacrifice for power then infernal warlock is a good fit. If not, he's more likely to stick to warlording.

[RationalGoblin]

Hmm... I'd say that Zalamet isn't exactly evil at the moment, just willing to stop at nothing to, punish or kill at least one of the gods for their refusal to reincarnate him. Perhaps he might have a certain god that he served, and that he hates the most. He may turn evil, but for now, he's just an enraged and scared Deva.

He intends to gather enough followers to either murder/punish a god, or obtain godhood himself, so that he will have enough divine power to punish his former masters anyway. And also to avoid his final death. He sees the gods' seeming refusal to reincarnate him as a heinous betrayal of the highest order. His fear of death drives him to be devoted to destroying or punishing a god.

He will see his possible 'followers' as devoted friends, and hesitate in sacrificing them in his goals, but will probably be resigned to doing so, as in his mind, no-one will stop him from getting his revenge.

Hmm... You're right, he'd probably be best as a Warlord. And the source of the presence he contacted doesn't have to be demonic. Honestly, it can be any source, demonic was just the first that came to me. If I actually go Warlock, it'd probably be better as a Fey presence.