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Penelomeeg
2017-10-21, 11:47 AM
I has a character die and decided I wanted to do somethin a bit different this time. I wanted to make a human fighter or barbarian with a simple backstory that's mostly left open for the DM to intervene as needed. I know she'll be stregnth based, fairly young, and trained as a blacksmith. I want her to be a level headed, vaguley no nonsense voice of reason who outside of serious matters is fairly laid back.

I also want her to be "avoiding" something. I just can't quite figure it out. The setting takes place in a mostly unexplored frontier of a scandanavian influenced coubtry where criminals are sent to be reformed aka offer cheap adventurer labor for the government and some asventurers flock to it to get their start.

Honest Tiefling
2017-10-21, 02:07 PM
I don't see anything wrong with this, but make sure your DM is on board. They might have plans for the story to be too urgent to involve backstory elements. Also, if you want them to be able to intervene with it, make sure to compromise on details such as last name, the type of blacksmithing (armor smithing versus smithing of general good or even some trait of her appearance.

That, and they might mistake an simpler backstory for 'I'll make it up as I go along' or 'I want to develop my character in game, not out of game'. So make sure they know what's up! Good luck with it, and I hope it works.

Avigor
2017-10-21, 02:08 PM
I has a character die and decided I wanted to do somethin a bit different this time. I wanted to make a human fighter or barbarian with a simple backstory that's mostly left open for the DM to intervene as needed. I know she'll be stregnth based, fairly young, and trained as a blacksmith. I want her to be a level headed, vaguley no nonsense voice of reason who outside of serious matters is fairly laid back.

I also want her to be "avoiding" something. I just can't quite figure it out. The setting takes place in a mostly unexplored frontier of a scandanavian influenced coubtry where criminals are sent to be reformed aka offer cheap adventurer labor for the government and some asventurers flock to it to get their start.

Quick answer: Apprenticed to a blacksmith, killed someone, ran off becoming a mercenary.
More detail: Who was killed is the biggest question; an easy option is an absurdly rude client who managed to trigger her first barbarian rage, possibly by doing something like slapping her after using a bunch of abusive slurs. Another possibility is she was assaulted by someone and defended herself but knew that due to who the assailant was she would be convicted of murder despite it being self defense (like the mayor's son got too grabby or something).

Mr Blobby
2017-10-21, 06:06 PM
First of all, the DM within me applauds your decision. Not every one of us has a 'good' [aka interesting] backstory to tell in RL, so why would it be any different in a game? I've before played characters who were utterly run of the mill backstory-wise, and the very reason they'd tagged along with the party was because they actually 'wished to do something'.

In Penelomeeg's case, the 'avoiding' could simply be 'a normal life'. The PC grew up, was apprenticed in a generic safe/prosperous village or small town somewhere distant enough not to impinge directly on the DM's sandpit. They saw their future; [work - husband - kids - inherit smithy - work - more kids - apprentice of own - work - get old - pass on smithy - grandkids - death] and simply decided 'erm, no thanks' and left.

It explains why they left, why they're with the party and requires no player-DM coordination to make sure the backstory fits the world's.

LibraryOgre
2017-10-23, 09:46 AM
Guild debts. The guild invested money in her training, and her apprenticeship and journey period was supposed to be part of paying that off... but she skipped out on them.

lunaticfringe
2017-10-23, 10:32 AM
She could be avoiding her betrothed/fiancee/Ex. She could have left them at the alter or skipped out before the wedding.

A weird cult believes she is their Prophet Reborn because of her odd birthmark.

She pissed off a powerful Wizard.

Avigor
2017-10-24, 11:08 PM
She pissed off a powerful Wizard.

Maybe she pissed off the wizard by sabotaging the wagon axle he ordered from her after he used a bunch of highly misogynistic insults against her while demanding she work for him at coppers to the gold... Of course, in any case the wizard had better be of a level that can't pull a scry and die, or otherwise has conjuration as a prohibited school for some reason.

Yes I like the idea of her responding poorly to someone who basically goaded her into doing something stupid.

Vogie
2017-10-25, 11:47 AM
She has no idea. She knows that she went out on a delivery for her smithy master, then when she returned, the smithy was dead, as well as the rest of the small village. She decided to leave before they discovered she was alive or returned.