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PhantomVector
2018-01-29, 05:10 PM
So I’ve been mulling through character ideas and I’ve some interesting in making a wizard. However my ideas are pretty boring. So far I might have only two interesting ideas so far. Some lore modified for homebrew/just not knowing the lore. Not a total noob, but I’m not in anyways more then maybe an advanced beginner.

Wanted to try bladesinger, and tiefling.

My character is a tiefling born/adopted to/by half elves. Despite the circumstances of his birth his parents did indeed love him and decided to not kill the tiefling baby. He was sheltered from the world, and somewhat naive for it. But a reliable friend should you prove to be such. Much like his parents and other ancestors he was trained in the arts of magic and blades. Mastering the basics of the bladesong. Now he looks to travel and experience the world he was sheltered from for most of his life.

Tiefling Rogue/Wizard

Perhaps the only good thing about being a circus freak was that you had a large family. They’d always supported him. Especially when he showed more then a little aptitude for magic. Helping him with saving gold, or the occasional scroll to study. Eventually he’d managed to save enough to afford attending the local wizarding college. Sure it was tough, and people generally mistrusted him. But most people learned prettt quick when they crossed him it generally didn’t end well for them. Now a graduate, adventures to raise enough gold to pay back his family.

Most of my other ideas end up being more basic wizarding graduates or Gandalf. Even these are pretty basic to be honest.

What sort of backstories do you make for your wizards, and don’t mind possibly used by someone else :3 Or maybe just some ideas to expand on the backstories I have.

Arbane
2018-01-29, 07:41 PM
My current Pathfinder character is Gorbok the Inexplicable, a Half-Orc Illusionist Wizard. His father was an evil wizard who took control of an orc tribe as part of some scheme, and wasn't too picky about women. Gorbok grew up weaker but smarter than the orc children around him, and had a decidedly unhappy childhood. "Orcish swirilies are terrible. Running water not invented yet." But his father did realize this runt was his offspring, had his familiar teach him to read, and eventually even the basics of spellcasting.
The wizard came to a sticky end at the swords of a group of adventurers, and Gorbok decided to sneak out the back while the tribe's warriors were getting killed. Now he's wrestling with the external problem of prejudice, and the internal problem of really enjoying messing with people's heads even when he knows it's a bad idea. He's sick of the brute-force approach to problems, and would rather step back and let the combat-happy types take the hits glory.
He still carries a greataxe, though, Just as a backup.

PhantomVector
2018-01-29, 10:56 PM
My current Pathfinder character is Gorbok the Inexplicable, a Half-Orc Illusionist Wizard. His father was an evil wizard who took control of an orc tribe as part of some scheme, and wasn't too picky about women. Gorbok grew up weaker but smarter than the orc children around him, and had a decidedly unhappy childhood. "Orcish swirilies are terrible. Running water not invented yet." But his father did realize this runt was his offspring, had his familiar teach him to read, and eventually even the basics of spellcasting.
The wizard came to a sticky end at the swords of a group of adventurers, and Gorbok decided to sneak out the back while the tribe's warriors were getting killed. Now he's wrestling with the external problem of prejudice, and the internal problem of really enjoying messing with people's heads even when he knows it's a bad idea. He's sick of the brute-force approach to problems, and would rather step back and let the combat-happy types take the hits glory.
He still carries a greataxe, though, Just as a backup.

That’s an awesome backstory. Lol.

BWR
2018-01-30, 06:48 AM
You could try a different approach. I rarely make backstories before I start play. I make a collection of stats, maybe with a cardboard personality, then adapt and develop the personality and backstory through play. Without a detailed setting I can work with and without much history to be based off of, I find it hard to have a personality worth mentioning. So having a cookie cutter background is fine if you can alter and embellish it as time goes on.
OTOH, I find it easy to make backstories when the backstory is already written. Playing children of established characters, with parents, friends and enemies already developed through play of other characters, makes such things a no brainer.

SirGraystone
2018-02-01, 10:19 AM
I usually start with a list of note like where the character is born, how it pick that class, how did he get that background, etc... then link them together in a story. My last character was an yuan-ti sorceress with a charlatan background named Shin'thrass, I ended with this story.


Shin was born in Luskan from an human courtesan. Her mother always claimed her father was a powerful ship captain but she has no idea if its true or who he was. (But he had to be a yuan-ti since her mother wasnt.)

She was 11 when her mother dies, and she had to take care of herself on the street, at 14 some rich merchant noticed her beauty and tried to take advantage of her. In her trauma her powers manifested themselves for the time and she killed him with magic fire.

Afraid of what the city guards would do to her, she stole some fine clothes and coins from the merchant's shop and left town quickly.

She bought passage on the first riverboat she found, and ended up in the city of Mirabar. Once there she used the fine clothes and her last coins to create her personna of Lady Shindal Bronzescale. She spent 3 years in Mirabar but after a misunderstanding with some nobleman she thought wiser to travel south.

She made her way to Yartar where she became Kashina Coppertail, using her charm and skills her fortune back. But after only 3 month, she got caught trying to push her "luck" in the Golden Geese casino. She barely escaped by jumping in the Dessarin River. She stole an horse and made her way toward Neverwinter, when an ambush by a pair of goblins broke her horse's legs. She had been walking for the last 2 days.

MintyNinja
2018-02-01, 04:09 PM
Zerrian Donnodel was a high elf Acolyte of Mystra that was raised by humans in the Waterdhavian temple. When his oldest friend and father figure was finally succumbing to his age, Zerrian chose to explore the world instead of facing the slow death of his parental figure. He'd perform marriage rites, funeral rites, and even started constructing another temple to Mystra in the (homebrew) city of Altonshire. This was before SCAG and Xanathar's Guide, so I didn't have access to the Arcane Cleric or Ceremony spells, but he was still an interesting Wizard.

TheYell
2018-03-23, 06:17 AM
My character is a tiefling born/adopted to/by half elves. Despite the circumstances of his birth his parents did indeed love him and decided to not kill the tiefling baby. He was sheltered from the world, and somewhat naive for it. But a reliable friend should you prove to be such. Much like his parents and other ancestors he was trained in the arts of magic and blades. Mastering the basics of the bladesong. Now he looks to travel and experience the world he was sheltered from for most of his life.

Interesting. And apparently a divergence from the usual bladesinger story, because they train singly.

I'd have it be a clan of half-elves who travel by caravan from place to place, doing repairs and crafting to earn some coin for food. They are mistrusted by outsiders and learned bladesinging generations ago as a self-defense technique.

Your tiefling was accepted well enough, but recently attempted to marry into a wealthy family within the clan. The horrified family called for a clanmoot where it was decided the tiefling must never marry anyone in the clan. Discouraged and humiliated, he has left the clan for his own adventures.