Character Background Help

[Colonel Snazzy]

We're starting a new campaign soon, and the DM would like character backgrounds for later use, and I'm kinda stuck for ideas.
My character is a LN/LE Human Artificer-Rogue sniper. I'd like to avoid the whole tracking-down-enemy-to-avenge-family cliché.
Any ideas/assistance anyone could provide would be much appreciated.
:smallcool:

[Sigreid]

How about a completely amoral mercenary type. Code of honor about completing a job once accepted, but doesn't care at all about the morality or greater consequences to doing the job. The consummate professional killer.

[Specter]

You could have been an artisan, who had his place of work destroyed. Since it was too expensive to start from scratch, he decided to make ends meet elsewhere.

Or, he could have been an apprentice to another artificer, who got seduced into the world of crime and then got dismissed by his master. He now wants to be more powerful than him.

[Sigreid]

If you want to get twisted, combine the consummate assassin with the art in artisan. "Each death should be a work of art." Create your very own cool and controlled artist serial killer.

[Colonel Snazzy]

How about a completely amoral mercenary type. Code of honor about completing a job once accepted, but doesn't care at all about the morality or greater consequences to doing the job. The consummate professional killer.
This was how I was planning to play him. but I was wondering about his backstory. e.g. why he became a bounty hunter and stuff.

[Sredni Vashtar]

Maybe he was bored with life in general, but somehow stumbled or otherwise got into a situation where he caught a criminal or someone and was rewarded with gold, but the true reward is that he enjoyed it. Finally, he found something that piqued his interest, got his blood pumping, and Hel, was both entertaining and profitable. Obviously, he's a professional about it, nobody wants to hire a sloppy amateur. He doesn't care who the job involves as long as it's interesting (killing fat merchants and catching halfling pursesnatchers are as boring as whatever he'd been doing before).

Here are the reasons why I suggested this background.

It takes into account his classes: Artificers and Rogues are typically smarter people, and smarter people tend to be frustrated with mundane surroundings if they know more is out there.
It twists the "consummate professional assassin" trope a bit by making him a bit of a thrill-seeker as well.
The desire for new, interesting targets helps him gel with the usual D&D fare of "fight monsters of increasing difficulty and variety as you level".



Obviously, take what you like from my suggestion and burn the rest.

[DanyBallon]

I'd go with the Bounty Hunter idea. The guy is devoted to track "bad" guys but enjoy it a bit too much and often goes into torturing them in the process (mentaly when tracking, like a cat plays with a mouse, and physilcaly once captured), anyway who would care if "bad" guys are injured in the process, they are all evil to him and evil must be brought down.

Such a background will stir you between LN and LE like you are considering while threading on the LG side as for the reason why he's doing this job.

[Sigreid]

This was how I was planning to play him. but I was wondering about his backstory. e.g. why he became a bounty hunter and stuff.

Have you seen Gross Point Blank? Perhaps he joinedible a military and was identified as having a "morally casual attitude" and recruited to his profession that way.

[nickl_2000]

Maybe he is the bastard child of a royal line. He grew up in a keep and was well educated and given time to tinker and learn. However, due to his royal (although tainted) blood he was able to get into places that a normal person would not be able to, so he was trained in secret to be an assassin for the king.

The King has now died and the new king has dismissed him from his services. Maybe the king even hates him and is trying to hunt him down

[Colonel Snazzy]

Maybe he was bored with life in general, but somehow stumbled or otherwise got into a situation where he caught a criminal or someone and was rewarded with gold, but the true reward is that he enjoyed it. Finally, he found something that piqued his interest, got his blood pumping, and Hel, was both entertaining and profitable. Obviously, he's a professional about it, nobody wants to hire a sloppy amateur. He doesn't care who the job involves as long as it's interesting (killing fat merchants and catching halfling pursesnatchers are as boring as whatever he'd been doing before).

Here are the reasons why I suggested this background.

It takes into account his classes: Artificers and Rogues are typically smarter people, and smarter people tend to be frustrated with mundane surroundings if they know more is out there.
It twists the "consummate professional assassin" trope a bit by making him a bit of a thrill-seeker as well.
The desire for new, interesting targets helps him gel with the usual D&D fare of "fight monsters of increasing difficulty and variety as you level".



Obviously, take what you like from my suggestion and burn the rest.

Ooh, this is really good. Maybe I'll make the whole "bored" thing as a way for him to make his rifle - by tinkering in between hunts or something. thanks a bunch!

[Typhon]

Have you seen Gross Point Blank? Perhaps he joinedible a military and was identified as having a "morally casual attitude" and recruited to his profession that way.

A classic movie in my book. But I totally could see a character going that route. Just look at Grocer, if I was to give him a D&D alignment it would be LE. Martin Blank, LN and working to be LG/CG. But it works.