Descent into Avernus character idea help.

[Snig]

Hey guys I've never played this campaign before, and I'm trying to come up with a character concept, but I need some help from somebody familiar with the setting.

I want to play a female Monk 2 / Knowledge Cleric X. She belongs to an all female monastery who are the keepers of forbidden lore and are rumored to dabble in the occult.

I'm looking for a hook or a plot as to why she would leave the monastery to take part in this campaign? I like something along the lines of her monastery wants to curry favor with the nine hells or one of the rulers, but I don't know enough about the details to come up with something that would make sense.

What are some other reasons why she would want to delve into avernus?

I also need to pick one of the factions, and I was leaning towards her monastery being a cell of the zhentarim, but does it sound like another of the factions may be more suitable?

[Ettina]

Candlekeep is a place nearby to Elturel that focuses on being a repository of knowledge. Entering it requires giving them a piece of writing for their library, and they've got a ton of information there. It'd make a lot of sense for your character to come to the region to visit Candlekeep.

The PCs are supposed to go there to get information on a McGuffin they get very early on in the adventure. They end up getting help from a couple wizards associated with Candlekeep, one who studies the Lower Planes and another who she gets to planeshift you to Elturel.

So, depending on your DM's plans (the start of Descent into Avernus is terrible as written, so most DMing guides suggest reworking it), you could join the party at Candlekeep, or you might have been sent by someone in Candlekeep to bring back info from Baldur's Gate. Maybe regarding Elturel's disappearance, maybe unrelated.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Check with your DM, but it's a lot better if your character has connections to Elturel as opposed to BG. As the other poster said, this is not how the adventure is written, which is a little wierd.

[1Pirate]

Avernus being involved is sort of a mid-campaign twist that got spoiled by the module's cover, so your PC shouldn't have a hook that immediately involves Avernus.

Do you know if your DM's having the party come up with a dark secret? Otherwise, your monastery/temple might have had a branch/or VIP that was in Elturel when it disappeared and you came to Baldur's Gate to talk to the refugees.

[Snig]

So after doing a bit of reading I think it would be a great idea if my character was a member of The Sisterhood of Zariel? Her mission is to descend into Avernus and to claim the sword and redeem Zariel?!

Do you think this would be a fair quest for a single PC?

[Avonar]

So after doing a bit of reading I think it would be a great idea if my character was a member of The Sisterhood of Zariel? Her mission is to descend into Avernus and to claim the sword and redeem Zariel?!

Do you think this would be a fair quest for a single PC?

I would speak to your DM, but I don't think this is great. Having a character associated with hell might not make a lot of sense unless you work with your DM for how to tie into all the behind the scenes stuff. A lot has happened.