I need an awesome backstory for a Feral Tiefling Wizard

[thegoldsmith]

Im making a back up character for an 5e campaign and I'm struggling to come up with any good ideas for my backstory.
Ok so basic character details. Feral Tiefling (Winged feature) Spy/Criminal background, Male, Dark blue. The world I am playing in has several cities most of them with a deep founded hatred to the less universally popular races (tieflings, half-orcs and half-elves and Tabaxi). One country is currently run by elves and demons so tieflings are seen as equals to humans there, and there is a single desert city that is primarily monstrous races and outcasts. For the past year dangerous powerful hive minded insectile monsters have been destroying the underdark and have recently surfaced. What im struggling to come up with is. (1) Why did he become a criminal (2) What was he doing before being a criminal (3) Was he a wizard while he was a criminal and what brought him to the high functioning sociopath with occasional bursts of pyromania. He specializes in area of effect spells in combat and some Illusions subscribing to the mentality that if he is some how caught in the act of a crime the best way to get rid of evidence is to blow the crime scene to oblivion. Any ideas will be welcome.

[Unoriginal]

Well, as part of a massively hated species, it's probably being a criminal is the only career that was open to him. Given that tieflings come from two or at least one human parents, you could say that he was born, then abandoned, then taken in by a local criminal who needed kids for dirty works. Maybe got sold to a wizard for experiment/sacrifice, or just to assist the spellcaster in a criminal endeavor, but the tiefling managed to cut the throat of the wizard, who was passed out drunk, and then took the wizard's stuff for himself.

As for the sociopathy, you're not "brought to" it. You're more or less born with it.

[thegoldsmith]

Well, as part of a massively hated species, it's probably being a criminal is the only career that was open to him. Given that tieflings come from two or at least one human parents, you could say that he was born, then abandoned, then taken in by a local criminal who needed kids for dirty works. Maybe got sold to a wizard for experiment/sacrifice, or just to assist the spellcaster in a criminal endeavor, but the tiefling managed to cut the throat of the wizard, who was passed out drunk, and then took the wizard's stuff for himself.

As for the sociopathy, you're not "brought to" it. You're more or less born with it.

Good idea and nice note about the sociopathy probably should have said something more along the lines of extreme survival instinct

[Crushgrip]

Im making a back up character for an 5e campaign and I'm struggling to come up with any good ideas for my backstory.
Ok so basic character details. Feral Tiefling (Winged feature) Spy/Criminal background, Male, Dark blue. The world I am playing in has several cities most of them with a deep founded hatred to the less universally popular races (tieflings, half-orcs and half-elves and Tabaxi). One country is currently run by elves and demons so tieflings are seen as equals to humans there, and there is a single desert city that is primarily monstrous races and outcasts. For the past year dangerous powerful hive minded insectile monsters have been destroying the underdark and have recently surfaced. What im struggling to come up with is. (1) Why did he become a criminal (2) What was he doing before being a criminal (3) Was he a wizard while he was a criminal and what brought him to the high functioning sociopath with occasional bursts of pyromania. He specializes in area of effect spells in combat and some Illusions subscribing to the mentality that if he is some how caught in the act of a crime the best way to get rid of evidence is to blow the crime scene to oblivion. Any ideas will be welcome.

Sounds like "criminal" is relative in that world! What levels are we talking about? He could be part of a "freedom movement" group that seeks to show the power and skill of the less popular races to the ignorant masses. He could be the inside man that infiltrates areas, social environments, or specific targets to help mission success thru use of illusion's and the sometimes necessary burn-away-all-evidence.

As to the why...maybe he is tired of the oppression and has seen unfair treatment of his people. Perhaps a sibling was persecuted for a crime that a human committed and your guy took vengeance on said human. Unfortunately, this human was the son of a powerful governor and your guy is now a marked man!

Edit: Thought of another idea:

Your character could have been from one of the major cities and after becoming a marked man, decided to fake his own death with the help of some "undesirables". As such, he became friends/influenced by some this criminal/underground organization. He still has family that he cares about in the major city and is currently trying to decide his path....does he keep watch over his family? Does he stay away for fear of letting them know he is still alive? Is he being used by this criminal organization for his knowledge of the major city and its inhabitants?

[thegoldsmith]

Sounds like "criminal" is relative in that world! What levels are we talking about? He could be part of a "freedom movement" group that seeks to show the power and skill of the less popular races to the ignorant masses. He could be the inside man that infiltrates areas, social environments, or specific targets to help mission success thru use of illusion's and the sometimes necessary burn-away-all-evidence.

As to the why...maybe he is tired of the oppression and has seen unfair treatment of his people. Perhaps a sibling was persecuted for a crime that a human committed and your guy took vengeance on said human. Unfortunately, this human was the son of a powerful governor and your guy is now a marked man!

Edit: Thought of another idea:

Your character could have been from one of the major cities and after becoming a marked man, decided to fake his own death with the help of some "undesirables". As such, he became friends/influenced by some this criminal/underground organization. He still has family that he cares about in the major city and is currently trying to decide his path....does he keep watch over his family? Does he stay away for fear of letting them know he is still alive? Is he being used by this criminal organization for his knowledge of the major city and its inhabitants?

Right now level 13 knows a fair amount about demons and brings alot of magical power to the table with 19 INT score and wings. Mostly fire and Illusion spells some summoning for flavor and a couple powerful protective spells that require some prep

[thegoldsmith]

Sounds like "criminal" is relative in that world! What levels are we talking about? He could be part of a "freedom movement" group that seeks to show the power and skill of the less popular races to the ignorant masses. He could be the inside man that infiltrates areas, social environments, or specific targets to help mission success thru use of illusion's and the sometimes necessary burn-away-all-evidence.

As to the why...maybe he is tired of the oppression and has seen unfair treatment of his people. Perhaps a sibling was persecuted for a crime that a human committed and your guy took vengeance on said human. Unfortunately, this human was the son of a powerful governor and your guy is now a marked man!

Edit: Thought of another idea:

Your character could have been from one of the major cities and after becoming a marked man, decided to fake his own death with the help of some "undesirables". As such, he became friends/influenced by some this criminal/underground organization. He still has family that he cares about in the major city and is currently trying to decide his path....does he keep watch over his family? Does he stay away for fear of letting them know he is still alive? Is he being used by this criminal organization for his knowledge of the major city and its inhabitants?

The funny thing about your first idea is that my current character in that campaign (one i think my DM wants to kill off for reasons about to become obvious) is an Awakened Mystic Lizardfolk noble (read notable shaman) who is trying to set up a freedom movement through political maneuvering and the publicity as a world renounced hero and artist (He cheats at the second one by using mystic abilities to make him paint better)

[thegoldsmith]

Thank you guys for your help Ive decided on a backstory.

Born an only child to a sorceress and abandoned as a baby in the streets our hero was taken in by a group of smugglers who found him by the grate leading to their emergency escape route from the city. After raising him largely out of fear of infernal curses they taught him the tricks of being a criminal stay under the radar, if things go south drop everything and run and limit responses to slights dead people cant earn more money to be stolen. after his wings developed (feral tiefling) he was tasked by the leadership of the thieves guild in the city to start burglarizing towers and well defended keeps places where a flying person could easily slip in. But he was trapped on his first outing to a wizards tower, the books called to him somehow he then spent the next few months coming back to that tower and reading never seeing the wizard who owned the tower but every time he came there was evidence someone was there a fire in the hearth, a book propped open on a certain page even sometimes a forgotten drink on the table. It took him a long time but he slowly realized that the wizard was there when he found a scrap of paper in his pocket with details of who it was and what they were planning (to make him a wizard and set him up as a magical slave/assassin under his command) the note was in his own hand writing so he read about in other magical tomes and found out about the Modify Memory spell and Geas. The next morning the wizard was found in his tower alive but covered in horrific burns spread in strange patterns like the flame was alive, later it was discovered that his wand and solitary notebook was missing. Over the next few years crime in the city got much worse as the various gangs and thugs loosely under the control of a shambling thieves guild either disappeared or joined up under a new crime lord The Burning Lord. He ran crimes much like he was originally taught much like a business he would threaten and destroy only when needed, he cracked down on senseless crimes like random killing or wanton arson. to get rid of his competitors he would blackmail them with secrets or simply call the guards on them. so crime got worse in terms of robbery, smuggling and occasional kidnapping and ransoming but it got infinity better as murdering people to send a message stopped and various charitable donations to the upkeep of small local businesses started up as long as they paid subscription to certain organisations. Also no invaders could make it into the city through the city alive as the Burning lord claimed them for his own. And during a siege of the city to oust the monstrous races the entire army disbanded as over the course of several weeks their supply wagons were taken, their personal valuables stolen from right inside the encampment and they received several letters detailing the officers most embarrassing secrets delivered without being seen and posted where every solder could see it. (Invisibility and wings great combo). Overall he is Chaotic Neutral mostly because he will go to complete extremes in both regards. Again thank you to all who helped me make this I got alot of good ideas from all of you.