Ettina
2015-05-05, 12:05 PM
Faeelas Duskgrove was a 2nd level high elf wizard apprenticed to a much higher-level wizard. He was mostly diligent and hardworking (and nice to animals), but then he made the mistake of taking mushroom powder (http://therafimrpg.wikidot.com/drugs-and-poisons) to help him pass a test. It worked, so he took it for a few more tests, and at some point, he failed his Fortitude save against addiction.
Since mushroom powder is expensive, he was pretty desperate for cash, and started stealing and selling magic objects from his master's collection - stuff he figured his master probably wouldn't miss. He felt bad about it, but he'd rather put up with guilt than withdrawal symptoms. Especially once his addition got stronger (from Medium to High rating).
Meanwhile, the neighbouring country had been destroyed by some evil called the Tanglegrowth, which turns dead bodies into horrific plant monsters. (I don't know all the details, I'm not the DM, but he gave me enough info to work it into Faeelas' backstory.) Faeelas' master was responsible for an epic spell keeping the Tanglegrowth out of their country.
Around this time, Faeelas was approached by some suspicious-seeming guy, who asked him to steal a specific item from his master in exchange for a hefty sum. Faeelas didn't really trust the guy, but the money was too much to pass up, so he did it, and bought a large amount of mushroom powder, enough to keep him going for quite a long time.
Soon after, the spell holding the Tanglegrowth back abruptly failed. It turned out that Faeelas had stolen an item that was key to maintaining the anti-Tanglegrowth spell (or maybe key to breaking the spell, it doesn't really matter). With their only defense gone, the elves were in big trouble.
Faeelas' master stayed to buy the people time to flee, but he could not stop the Tanglegrowth. Faeelas fled with the others, still taking his mushroom powder, but he got attacked once and his toad familiar was killed (dropping him to level 1). He managed to get away, and became part of the tide of refugees fleeing into the neighbouring country.
But his misfortune didn't end there. Some bandits decided to attack him, because he looked like a wizard and they thought he might have some useful magic trinkets. They stole the last of his mushroom powder and what little money he had left, and then beat him almost to death because they were annoyed that he didn't have anything more. He only survived because of the timely rescue by his new party members - one of whom was a tibbit who lived with his master as a sort-of pet. (Up until this rescue, he never realized she was anything more than a cat.)
Now, I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out his reaction to all of this. He's still suffering withdrawal, because he's been failing his Fortitude saves, so it's likely he'll be seeking out mushroom powder as soon as he's able. But otherwise, how is he going to react? He's undergone serious trauma, including the death of his familiar, so he'll probably be having a significant reaction to that.
(Incidentally, the tibbit is secretly chaotic evil, knows that Faeelas caused her wizard buddy's death, and is planning horrible revenge on him. But so far she's acting nice, so he has no clue.)
Since mushroom powder is expensive, he was pretty desperate for cash, and started stealing and selling magic objects from his master's collection - stuff he figured his master probably wouldn't miss. He felt bad about it, but he'd rather put up with guilt than withdrawal symptoms. Especially once his addition got stronger (from Medium to High rating).
Meanwhile, the neighbouring country had been destroyed by some evil called the Tanglegrowth, which turns dead bodies into horrific plant monsters. (I don't know all the details, I'm not the DM, but he gave me enough info to work it into Faeelas' backstory.) Faeelas' master was responsible for an epic spell keeping the Tanglegrowth out of their country.
Around this time, Faeelas was approached by some suspicious-seeming guy, who asked him to steal a specific item from his master in exchange for a hefty sum. Faeelas didn't really trust the guy, but the money was too much to pass up, so he did it, and bought a large amount of mushroom powder, enough to keep him going for quite a long time.
Soon after, the spell holding the Tanglegrowth back abruptly failed. It turned out that Faeelas had stolen an item that was key to maintaining the anti-Tanglegrowth spell (or maybe key to breaking the spell, it doesn't really matter). With their only defense gone, the elves were in big trouble.
Faeelas' master stayed to buy the people time to flee, but he could not stop the Tanglegrowth. Faeelas fled with the others, still taking his mushroom powder, but he got attacked once and his toad familiar was killed (dropping him to level 1). He managed to get away, and became part of the tide of refugees fleeing into the neighbouring country.
But his misfortune didn't end there. Some bandits decided to attack him, because he looked like a wizard and they thought he might have some useful magic trinkets. They stole the last of his mushroom powder and what little money he had left, and then beat him almost to death because they were annoyed that he didn't have anything more. He only survived because of the timely rescue by his new party members - one of whom was a tibbit who lived with his master as a sort-of pet. (Up until this rescue, he never realized she was anything more than a cat.)
Now, I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out his reaction to all of this. He's still suffering withdrawal, because he's been failing his Fortitude saves, so it's likely he'll be seeking out mushroom powder as soon as he's able. But otherwise, how is he going to react? He's undergone serious trauma, including the death of his familiar, so he'll probably be having a significant reaction to that.
(Incidentally, the tibbit is secretly chaotic evil, knows that Faeelas caused her wizard buddy's death, and is planning horrible revenge on him. But so far she's acting nice, so he has no clue.)