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View Full Version : Roleplaying Does this seem reasonable for a warforged backstory?



Efrate
2016-10-05, 12:21 AM
Hey giant. I am going to play a warforged cloistered cleric into binder into maybe something incarnum in an upcoming campaign (dnd 3.5), and my DM gives a variety of small bonuses for a backstory. And I love doing them. I took the idea that warforgeds as far as I know are effectively immortal unless destroyed and ran with it. I also tried to at least give a cursory plausible reason as to why my classes are going to be what they are. Its a bit long so I spoilered it, be prepared for a reasonably long read though shorter than most I do.

Azure was forged to protect the Monastery of the Shimmering Veil in ages long past. He was made as an eternal guard to protect those within as they studied their forbidden lore. The monastery was known for having powerful magic and he was told to expect an attack at any time. Years past with him in eternal vigil, and then one day the monastery was attacked. A great blast of magic toppled a wall which fell on top of him and disabled him, for an unknown period of time. He knows not how long he lie under the rubble, but it must have been some time. He was restored to functionality by repairs from a then unknown to him cleric. The cleric named himself as Ashatari, and he was following legends of great power and magic which lied on top of this desolate mountaintop in ages past. He called the warforged he found buried Azure after the color of his plating, and hoped to use him to help unravel the secrets of the former order.

Azure's knew little of the order, and had only the most cursory knowledge of the former monastery which looked like just another part of the mountainside now. Whatever devastation had befallen the Order of the Shimmering Veil had been so thorough that there was nothing of the outer structure remained as anything but fallen rocks overgrown with lichen. Azure did know where a small entrance once was, and with the help of Ashatari's pair of undead minions cleared centuries if not millennia of debris over the course of a week or so of constant labor. Once past the fallen rocks and tumbled stone an old hallway greeted them, which seemed in a fair if long unused state.

Having almost never left his post, Azure - as he had taken to calling himself - was little help in navigating the labyrinthine passageways andodd rooms that compromised the inner structure of the monastery. There was little debris thankfully, and curiously no bodies. After searching they found a library which seemed sealed against time by some obscure method. Ashatari seemed delighted in this find, and spend a long time studying the door. Pools of "liquid blackness" would flow across his skin and shape themselves into odd shapes which would last a while then flow into something else. Occasionally the blackness would turn white or bluish white but always returned to black. Eventually satisfied, Ashatari breached the library and after a brief perusal of the volumes sighed and said "This will be a lifetimes work, but with luck that should be well within my power as I unravel the secrets here. Come Azure, lets finish repairing you, for henceforth you shall be my apprentice and my guardian."

They wandered a brief bit to find a storeroom where various tools were still mostly neatly arranged and labeled. Over the next few days Ashatari finished repairs and Azure, and found him a weapon since his old one was lost to the ravages of time. Ashatari constantly questioned Azure about his creation, seeming fascinated in the process of creating something he called a "soul" from nothing but magic. Azure knew little of it, but what he did remember he shared. Seeing how naive his new apprentice was, Ashatari sighed and bemoaned that he thought his days teaching children were long behind him, even if he did carry them with him. Azure mentioned that he was fairly sure he wasn't a child, and looked perplexed and asked where do you keep the children as he looked over Ashatari. Blinking in astonishment, Ashatari let out a heartfelt laugh. "Marvelous! You can even tell jokes! Truly your creation was inspired!" As for the children, he caused the black energy to flow about his person. "I carry their souls with me as Necrocarnum, but there will be time for that later. For now, I must educate you. You will learn, you will be granted magic, and you will assist me in uncovering all the secrets of this place." Azure guessed he should follow the orders, seeing as how Ashatari had fixed him and his duty to protect all in this place was still ongoing. Though he wasn't sure he needed to anymore, the zombies seemed strong and capable, but a chance to do something but stand and look over the mountain was exciting, and though he knew not why he was looking forward to a change.

Ashatari taught him the languages his knew, the way of repairing armor "Your body is repaired in the same way, a hammer, some tongs, a bit of scrap and some and you can fix yourself. Since magic seems less than potent on you, this will likely be more effective." Azure agreed and using various supplies turned into a respectable smith. Capable of self repair and creating armor for others. The zombies soon were outfitted with masterwork full plate and shields. They didn't use them well but it did help save them from a few more mundane defenses as they explored more of the monastery.

After basic literacy training, Ashateri devoted several hours a day over several years to teach Azure the way to call upon the power of divine magic. "I hold no affinity for gods. They are merely abstractions of concepts given form, I prefer to devote myself to the concepts rather than the gods of such. A god of death will one day die, Death itself will always be around. As will War, and Knowledge. Stick to what will always exist, or what has passed beyond existence, not what is long lived but shall one day fall. That way your power is secured for eternity. And being what you are Azure, you might very well get there. Hopefully with me." Ashatari taught him this and much more, but that phrase stayed with Azure forever.

Once indoctrined fully, they held a small ceremony in which Ashatari gifted Azure his old holy symbol. "I've made one out of the scraps we found when we fixed you, this is yours now, so you always have a momento of me. The symbol was an open book with a skull pierced by a sword on one page, and the words "Treasure the eternal, reject the ephemeral." in Infernal engraved on the other page. Then they got to work.

For years they studied at the library, learning of supposed beings beyond time and space and possessing great power that they could, if persuaded, gift to mortals. Most of it was speculation, and tales of failure. Interposed with treatises on these so called 'vestiges' were tales of wonderous beasts, histories, manuals on plants from all the multiverse, a large selection of planar lore, and many heroic tales detailing various figures throughout the ages. After they finished the first library, they searched the second and the third, and started on the fourth, the biggest of the lot, and hidden. A zombie stumbled into it when another of the many traps failed to penetrate its armor and locked in place. An unknown room lay behind the wall, and it was a veritable gold mine of information. Ashatari was white haired and his eyesight failing, but he seemed invigorated beyond his years, and went through it with an uncharacteristic gusto.

For another ten years they scoured this find, and made progress. Successful tales of people at the monastery summoning vestiges and gaining their power abounded, and they found what the needed. Each vestige has a seal, then you had to bargain, and often needed something special. Sadly, the seals and what was needed were deliberately obfuscated and sent them on massive searched through all four libraries. They found many false seals, and Ashatari grew irate, but continued despite his vastly advancing age. One day he hobbled to Azure, barely able to move even with his cane. "Azure my apprentice the time is come. This body has been keep alive through my use of necrocarnum, my magic, and my burning desire to find true immortality for more than a century. However, I feel times press upon me heavily. Maybe I should have pursued lichdom as I had thought, but it causes issues with my necrocarnum, and is a betrayal of Death which I will not do. I keep my Faith though it dooms me. Mayhaps in the next life I shall find my answers. You, however, may succeed, your time is limitless or close enough. I know not the exact process that made you, but I leave you my legacy. Find the seals of these vestiges. Learn to bargain, and take their power for yourself. Achieve what I could not. I do not command you, you are your own person Azure, but I would be greatly honored if you should succeed where I failed. I wish whoever attacked this place in antiquity had failed, but they did not. Or maybe they did, we see no evidence of any survivors on either side, so take comfort in the fact that Death in its eternal splendor took all involved. I believe that. I am sending the zombies away, taking back the power I invested into them. I grow weary, I will rest, mayhaps for the final time." and with that Ashatari went to bed. The zombies crumbled to lifeless tissue as he passed them. He would never wake.

Azure tried to repair him, but even using the flesh from the zombies he could not fix Ashatari's body. He tried (sloppily) replacing all the interior parts with other ones, but nothing seemed to work. There was little place to bolt new pieces on. He was free. And was confused. With nothing better to do, he kept to his routine, saying his prayers, preforming the rituals, and researching. After some amount of time, he was directed to a lone book which had all the seals. Another several years, after memorizing that one, he found a book of requirements. He memorized that as well, but has yet to call upon its power. He finished the fourth library, taking approximately another two decades. He learned more of necrocarnum, and its opposing power incarnum, between Ashatari's lessons and more volumes he found buried among an uncatalogued stack. They were labelled as a possible aid to give the vestiges more of what they want and possibly increase their power. Results so far had been inconclusive. Not having any souls to steal nor having one itself in the traditional sense he learned it merely for the sake of acquiring knowledge. He then faced a dilemma. Stay here for as long as he could, even though his charge was fulfilled, there was nothing living in here to protect anymore, and he had read everything. Or he could leave, maybe write a book to add to the libraries later, hen decided it was time to leave. He had nothing here anymore.

He scrawled messages in the four languages he knew both inside and outside the monastery, detailing the entrance and where he left the vital information. He also scrawled a four fold message above the bed where Ashatari's very well decomposed body lay "Here lies Ashatari. His soul and the ones he stole have gone. In the next life, may you find power and the immortality you wanted, and that you deserve." He wasn't sure why he did it, but it felt right. All his carvings into the stone might eventually fade with time, but hopefully not for long. Halberd in hand, he leaves the Monastery of the Shimmering Veil to find what awaits him. For the first time in his ancient existence, he is leaving the only place he has ever known. He is excited? he thinks is the word. Adventure awaits.

I am going for a naivete of most things including his own emotions and I think befitting of the cloistered in cloistered cleric. This is the first warforged I have ever played and I don't own any Eberon stuff so I don't know physiology or psychology, so trying to play up the almost Johnny 5 vibe to start and going from there.