Barebarian
2019-08-01, 05:36 AM
So I'm supposed to play a character tomorrow who has 1 level of rogue, 1 of monk and 3 of bard, and is a human girl of about 18 years. She's from a culture that is based on China crossed with Japan and Rome, and (thanks to the awesome Tawmis! :smallwink: ) has a wonderful backstory written up!
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My mother enjoyed the life of being a concubine to Meiyo, an elegant and kind lord, with one wife whom he loved, and six concubines to satisfy his other urges. He was a retired and honorable warrior known throughout the land for his acts of kindness.
My mother enjoyed her life, because Meiyo took care of her, and his other concubines, and because he had several, each of them had the freedom to do what they had wanted, while others tended to Meiyo. This allowed my mother free time to spend with me. One of my favorite things my mother enjoyed was singing. Whenever she wasn’t tending to Meiyo, she would sit with me and teach me how to sing. Most of her songs were stories of warriors in the land – warriors like Meiyo – who were so great that people had made songs to honor them.
Because I was the daughter of a concubine, my mother told me a man of honor will never marry me. But life as a concubine could be a wonderful life, such as the one she had, if I found someone who treated me right. By the age of sixteen, my mother began training me on the ways of being a lady, so that by the age of eighteen I could find a suitor who might accept me as their own concubine.
One night, I had caught my mother, singing and dancing, but also incorporating a sword into her dance. I watched for several minutes, before clearing my throat to let my mother know I was there. She quickly stopped and dropped the sword.
“I’ve never seen you do that before,” I said, leaning against the wall. “It was beautiful how you incorporated your song, with the dance, and used the blade to accent the intensity. Where did you learn to do that?”
“That,” my mother, Utsukushi-sa flushed, “was from a life long, long ago,” she assured me.
“I’ve known Meiyo for eighteen years of my life, but none of his other concubines have children,” I stated, something I had always wondered. “Why is it that you do?”
“Meiyo is not your father,” she whispered. “Meiyo is unable to give children.”
I had suspected that Meiyo was not my father for the last six years. He and I bore no similarities from the color of our hair, down to the color of our eyes, even our mannerisms. I had wondered who my father truly was, but my mother never spoke of him, so I never pushed it.
“This other life,” I finally said, after an awkward moment of silence. “Was it with my father?”
My mother’s face turned pale as she cleared her throat. “He may have been the one who placed the seed for you to grow, but he was never your father.”
My mother placed the sword on the mount over the fireplace.
Several months later, Meiyo introduced me to a friend of his named Senshi. When meeting him, I was dressed as beautifully as I could be – and with Meiyo’s kind funding, I was the most glamorous I had ever been.
Senshi was an older gentleman, a few years older than Meiyo. They’d been warriors that had fought in the Silverstorm War, and Senshi had reconnected with Meiyo. Meiyo had spoken wonderfully about my mother and explained that she had a blooming daughter, of age, that was looking to find someone to take care of her.
When Senshi met me, I saw his eyes were surprised, and his breath escaped him. “She is,” he whispered, “far more beautiful than I had imagined.”
I flushed red, I could feel my cheeks and ears burning.
I accepted a partnership with Senshi and gladly became his concubine. Senshi, though older, had treated me wonderfully. I was the youngest among his concubines, and they never treated me with jealousy. They took me in as one of their own. Some of them taught me such things as finding my center in spirituality which enhanced being in touch with not only my own body, but when I was with Senshi as well. Most of his concubines were much older, and beyond the age of baring children. I had hoped that I would be fortunate enough to know what it was like to have a child and bring it into the world.
That day sadly never came. One day my mother came rushing into Senshi’s home, covered in blood, screaming for me. When I saw her I was horrified, but thankful that most of the blood had not been hers. Her weeping told me that it was probably Meiyo’s, but she was too frantic to speak clearly. She only repeated, “You must run. You must leave. Hide. Never come back! Do not let him find you!”
There were sounds coming from behind her – and then I saw a man, adorned in Samurai armor, with a Red Phoenix symbol adorned on his chest. My mother looked at him, then over to me, and whispered, “Forgive me.” And with one violent shove, pushed me out the window where I fell two stories into the bushes. My mother looked out the window and screamed, “Run!” And then I saw a sword go through her chest, the blade, glistening crimson under the moonlight.
I ran as far and fast as I could. I lived off the land for weeks until I found the town of Seiiki, where I was forced to live off the streets. I stole only what I had to in order to survive. Life, though dirty and something I was unaccustomed to, I learned to adapt. Several Monks even took mercy upon me and brought me into their establishment, so I did not have to live on the streets through the night. But it wasn’t long until the Red Phoenix order showed up in Seiiki. I quickly escaped and stowed away on a ship set for a new continent…
In this new city called, I adopted the new name Autumn Lily and wondered what the world had to offer me here in this new place…
Lily is a kind, sweet, simple girl who just wants to get back to her hubby and have some kids!* She doesn't want to be a fighter! She learnt her monk skills from her friends in Senshi's harem to improve her flexibility and bed skills!** She's a dancer and a singer and a romantic and I still haven't picked a bard archetype for her yet. So far I'm planning on giving her Performance and Acrobatics Expertise, and having her fight with a Jian and shortbow (eventually, at first she's just gonna use her body. She doesn't want to kill anyone yet! But the order of the red pheonix are likely gonna force the issue on her D:).
I'd like her bard archetype to somehow reflect the sword-dancing her mother was doing while also carrying elements of her sweetness, though I understand TOTALLY if that's too much to ask. Also I think she'll take another two levels of monk, in which case I'd like to design an archetype based around her flexibility and beauty.
Also, my dm is one of those kind souls who lets us have a feat each, Lily used hers to be able to use her Charisma instead of her Wisdom for unarmed defense, but now I'm thinking maybe her monk or bard archetype should do that and she should take something else?
Any and all suggestions are appreciated!
*Lots of kids. So many kids. ALL THE KIDS.
**Senshi has a LOT of Con, all his ladies have at LEAST 1 level of monk.
=====================
My mother enjoyed the life of being a concubine to Meiyo, an elegant and kind lord, with one wife whom he loved, and six concubines to satisfy his other urges. He was a retired and honorable warrior known throughout the land for his acts of kindness.
My mother enjoyed her life, because Meiyo took care of her, and his other concubines, and because he had several, each of them had the freedom to do what they had wanted, while others tended to Meiyo. This allowed my mother free time to spend with me. One of my favorite things my mother enjoyed was singing. Whenever she wasn’t tending to Meiyo, she would sit with me and teach me how to sing. Most of her songs were stories of warriors in the land – warriors like Meiyo – who were so great that people had made songs to honor them.
Because I was the daughter of a concubine, my mother told me a man of honor will never marry me. But life as a concubine could be a wonderful life, such as the one she had, if I found someone who treated me right. By the age of sixteen, my mother began training me on the ways of being a lady, so that by the age of eighteen I could find a suitor who might accept me as their own concubine.
One night, I had caught my mother, singing and dancing, but also incorporating a sword into her dance. I watched for several minutes, before clearing my throat to let my mother know I was there. She quickly stopped and dropped the sword.
“I’ve never seen you do that before,” I said, leaning against the wall. “It was beautiful how you incorporated your song, with the dance, and used the blade to accent the intensity. Where did you learn to do that?”
“That,” my mother, Utsukushi-sa flushed, “was from a life long, long ago,” she assured me.
“I’ve known Meiyo for eighteen years of my life, but none of his other concubines have children,” I stated, something I had always wondered. “Why is it that you do?”
“Meiyo is not your father,” she whispered. “Meiyo is unable to give children.”
I had suspected that Meiyo was not my father for the last six years. He and I bore no similarities from the color of our hair, down to the color of our eyes, even our mannerisms. I had wondered who my father truly was, but my mother never spoke of him, so I never pushed it.
“This other life,” I finally said, after an awkward moment of silence. “Was it with my father?”
My mother’s face turned pale as she cleared her throat. “He may have been the one who placed the seed for you to grow, but he was never your father.”
My mother placed the sword on the mount over the fireplace.
Several months later, Meiyo introduced me to a friend of his named Senshi. When meeting him, I was dressed as beautifully as I could be – and with Meiyo’s kind funding, I was the most glamorous I had ever been.
Senshi was an older gentleman, a few years older than Meiyo. They’d been warriors that had fought in the Silverstorm War, and Senshi had reconnected with Meiyo. Meiyo had spoken wonderfully about my mother and explained that she had a blooming daughter, of age, that was looking to find someone to take care of her.
When Senshi met me, I saw his eyes were surprised, and his breath escaped him. “She is,” he whispered, “far more beautiful than I had imagined.”
I flushed red, I could feel my cheeks and ears burning.
I accepted a partnership with Senshi and gladly became his concubine. Senshi, though older, had treated me wonderfully. I was the youngest among his concubines, and they never treated me with jealousy. They took me in as one of their own. Some of them taught me such things as finding my center in spirituality which enhanced being in touch with not only my own body, but when I was with Senshi as well. Most of his concubines were much older, and beyond the age of baring children. I had hoped that I would be fortunate enough to know what it was like to have a child and bring it into the world.
That day sadly never came. One day my mother came rushing into Senshi’s home, covered in blood, screaming for me. When I saw her I was horrified, but thankful that most of the blood had not been hers. Her weeping told me that it was probably Meiyo’s, but she was too frantic to speak clearly. She only repeated, “You must run. You must leave. Hide. Never come back! Do not let him find you!”
There were sounds coming from behind her – and then I saw a man, adorned in Samurai armor, with a Red Phoenix symbol adorned on his chest. My mother looked at him, then over to me, and whispered, “Forgive me.” And with one violent shove, pushed me out the window where I fell two stories into the bushes. My mother looked out the window and screamed, “Run!” And then I saw a sword go through her chest, the blade, glistening crimson under the moonlight.
I ran as far and fast as I could. I lived off the land for weeks until I found the town of Seiiki, where I was forced to live off the streets. I stole only what I had to in order to survive. Life, though dirty and something I was unaccustomed to, I learned to adapt. Several Monks even took mercy upon me and brought me into their establishment, so I did not have to live on the streets through the night. But it wasn’t long until the Red Phoenix order showed up in Seiiki. I quickly escaped and stowed away on a ship set for a new continent…
In this new city called, I adopted the new name Autumn Lily and wondered what the world had to offer me here in this new place…
Lily is a kind, sweet, simple girl who just wants to get back to her hubby and have some kids!* She doesn't want to be a fighter! She learnt her monk skills from her friends in Senshi's harem to improve her flexibility and bed skills!** She's a dancer and a singer and a romantic and I still haven't picked a bard archetype for her yet. So far I'm planning on giving her Performance and Acrobatics Expertise, and having her fight with a Jian and shortbow (eventually, at first she's just gonna use her body. She doesn't want to kill anyone yet! But the order of the red pheonix are likely gonna force the issue on her D:).
I'd like her bard archetype to somehow reflect the sword-dancing her mother was doing while also carrying elements of her sweetness, though I understand TOTALLY if that's too much to ask. Also I think she'll take another two levels of monk, in which case I'd like to design an archetype based around her flexibility and beauty.
Also, my dm is one of those kind souls who lets us have a feat each, Lily used hers to be able to use her Charisma instead of her Wisdom for unarmed defense, but now I'm thinking maybe her monk or bard archetype should do that and she should take something else?
Any and all suggestions are appreciated!
*Lots of kids. So many kids. ALL THE KIDS.
**Senshi has a LOT of Con, all his ladies have at LEAST 1 level of monk.