I got your backstory

Oh good lord, never let my use a pun like the one in the title again... Anyway, today's topic is: backstory...

There are many ways to create a backstory. Some are harder than others - for that reason it is a part of character creation that many of us leave out. I prefer to come up with original ideas for my characters but even what we may think original could be influenced by things we've seen or read. You could choose a character you admire from a book and use them as an idea for backstory. I briefly played a character based on the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - this MUST prove that effectively anything can be turned into a character seed (seed is another name for a background idea). Try coming up with a flaw or a strength of the character and ask yourself: "Why is he afraid of water?" or "How did she get so good at magic?" and so on - simple stuff. One other option is to play the game awhile and let your first four levels be your back story. I like this option as it gives your game a realistic-feeling backstory more often than not. In the end it's your choice. Maybe you have an idea for a source of backstory - post and share.

Names

Names are tricky most of the time. When asked to come up with a fantasy-sounding name on the spot even I will say 'Doug' or 'Tim'. You can always go with names from literature or movies but you might not feel as attached to them as you would a name you created. You might try turning your name backwards but why name a character Mit? Here are a few websites to try. They all have good name generators and a few other treats as well. Check them out:

Chaotic Shiny

Seventh Sanctum

Rinkworks (This site only has a fantasy name generator, but it churns out over 100 names at a time!)


So there you have it - some good sites for names. But before you use them, I suggest you try thinking of one yourself. It only takes three or four minutes and it is quite satisfying. One last hint before you go - think about what this character does or what kind of weapon it uses. Bree Three-Hands (from the shadow plague comic) is a perfect example of this. I assume she is named such because she steals so much. Just some food for thought.

Recap 1 - The Tomb of Gauhul (GAH-u-hal), "Heroes of the Fey Wild" and a loss of hands...

This is the first in a series of recaps about the Tomb of Gauhal (GAH-u-hal) - a homemade campaign, A campaign is a string of quests which are all set in the same world. The characters are:

Toc, Human Fighter/Berserker (A beast of a man, of some fame about the land)
Brug, Half-Orc, Fighter (Think Darth Maul...)
Alden, Dwarf Berserker (Hairy, Loud, and Smelly. Yeah, that about describes him.)
Damakos, Human Life-Stealer Warlock (The stench of death wards people away from him.)

Because there are an overwhelming amount of fighters, Damakos hires Toc, Brug, and Alden as mercenaries to help him find the legendary scythe of Gauhal inside the Tomb of Gauhal.

I was consulting "Heroes of the Fey Wild" when the book was immediately taken by Toc to change his fighter into a half-berserker. His attack and damage are only slightly less than a god... I mean in this adventure alone he rolled... well you need to read it to find out.

Part One - Ghosts, Mummies, and Sharks Oh my! Wait, Sharks?

The party crosses the last arid hill at mid-day, and sees the small trading city of Grimor. Their approach is closely watched by the Arabic-looking guards standing on either side of the gate. Damakos pauses briefly to inquire of the guard, "...the direction of the nearest inn?" The man replies, "The Dragon's Breath Inn, the city's finest, is just around the corner. However there are others for the less civilized among you." (His eyes rest on Alden briefly).

The party enters Grimor and is immediately assaulted by the stink of the city. People are sitting, leaning, even lying anywhere and everywhere. Folks bustle amongst brightly-colored stalls with portly merchants hawking everything from meat to jewelry. They have no trouble finding The Dragon's Breath Inn, and arrive just as a bouncer is throwing a man out. Using simple magic, they bluff their way into the inn. Alden immediately realizes that this place is far too high class for him and leaves to find a place more his style. The rest engage in drinking and talking to the boniface, a man named Marvo whose son died exploring the tomb. They persuade him to sell them a room for the night at a discount.

Alden, finds his way to "The Dancing Bear" and buys a room. The party goes about their tasks and prepares for the journey into the Ashen Hills and then to the tomb itself.

The next morning they awake well rested and ready for the challenges of life. Then Toc notices his axe is gone - in it's place is a note with a strange symbol (a star inside of an oval). Toc then goes on a murderous rampage destroying half the inn. He seizes the boniface by his robes and demands to know where it is. After a short inquisition, in which the party learns that a seer on the outskirts of town has the same symbol on his chest, they set off for this seer.

They arrive at a brightly colored tent, large guards flank the entrance. Toc pushes past the guards ignoring their protests that, "A seeing is ten gold!" The tent is larger on the inside ["Doctor Who" reference - hehe]. It is lavishly decorated with rugs and pillows of the finest silk. A robed man sits at the far end of the room in front of a table containing a large crystal ball. His face is covered by a long cowl. Upon seeing this man Toc again enters a fit of rage, stampeding over to him and yelling in his face. The man calmly asks if they would like him to find the axe for them. Damakos (level-headed as always) replies yes, gives the man the paper, and tries his best to restrain Toc. The seer after, consulting his crystal ball, tells the party that the Axe has been taken into the Tomb of Gauhal. Brug, asks the man how he knows the symbol on the paper. The seer removes his robes and shows the party that his body is almost entirely made of metal. He is attached to several large pumps. He looks up at them, his eyes mournful, and tells them his story:

When I was younger and capable of great magic, I was hired by a man who
called himself only the Cleric. He also hired Balmo (the son of Marvo) and Veris
(a thief). We entered the Tomb. We made it farther than anyone before.
In the last room, The Cleric turned on me (Balmo and Veris had been killed
earlier in the dungeon) I was knocked out. When I next awoke I was
outside in front of the entrance to the tomb with that symbol carved into my chest.
Luckily I was found by the villagers. In my weakened shape, I was no longer
able to perform magic. So I worked with the smith to forge a new body of metal.

Damakos thanks the seer and leaves followed by the others. They leave town and head toward the tomb.

They find the tomb after searching awhile and enter the wrought iron gates just as the sun is setting. A large stone building sits ominously in the center of the field. The party enters the building, Alden taking up the rear and closing the door behind them. It is dark until Damakos lights a torch and passes it to Brug. The room is fairly nondescript, the only feature of note is a large statue of a man at the far end. The statue holds a scythe of stone in both hands. A brass plaque below says, "Here lies Gauhul 4th King of the Azure Throne this is his tomb and none living shall enter!" The group notices that the word "Tomb" is slightly indented. Damakos places his hand in the groove and pushes. His hand slips into the stone, there is a brief whirring noise, then a chopping sound. Damakos withdraws the stump that is now without his hand. The statue withdraws revealing a set of stairs descending into the earth. Momentarily losing his cool and screaming, Damakos is grabbed by Toc, and Alden while Brug cauterizes the wound. After a brief rest they descend into the dark.

The halls are made of sandstone. The air is dry and musty in the hall going north and south, with several doors lining the wall. Toc, again in a fit of rage still looking for his axe, proceeds to kick open the closest door. The wooden door splinters under his mighty foot. Inside several startled ghosts turn and wail at the loss of their door. They attack viciously. [I must note this is where the players had a turn of good luck. They rolled at least three critical hits - a 20 on a twenty-sided dice. There's only a 5% chance of doing this, in this encounter alone. Toc himself dealt out about 125 points of damage maybe more. Anyway...] The party makes quick work of the ghosts, save one who escapes into the next room. Toc gives chase to the fleeing ghost followed by Brug and Damakos. Alden decides to head down the south passage [If you haven't figured it out by now, Alden is free-spirited]. Alden enters a large octagonal room. At the far end, shoved blade-first into the wall, is Toc's axe. Alden decides to grab the axe [We're not entirely sure weather he wanted to give it back or keep it...]. As he crosses the room a pit opens in the floor and Alden is plunged into icy water. An iron grate slides into place above the pit as Alden feels something brush against his legs. He cries out and is pulled below the surface...

Meanwhile Toc opens the second door (much the same way he opened the first) to find lots of undead nasties. He quickly closes it and goes to help his friend [Whom we decided through dice rolling had called out before going under]. Toc enters the room and sees his friend underwater locked in fierce combat with a Flesheater Shark. Toc also sees his axe. Toc crosses the grating in two quick moves [Two, because the first time Alden grabs his foot and Toc kicks him off -real nice, Toc!]. Toc claims his axe and lifts it above his head with a triumphant roar! Withdrawing the axe from the wall causes the grating to slide back allowing Alden to crawl out only slightly bruised and bleeding from a nasty bite on his chest.

Will Alden survive? Will Toc's axe prove more deadly then ever? Will Damakos's hand ever grow back? All this and more next time!

Defender Loses Ties

Well, we played D&D last night... if you call talking loudly and taking frequent breaks D&D. In reality we just hung out and rolled dice. But enough about me.

Today's topic is this: In Player's Handbook 1 (remember 4e) the defender loses ties. I disagree and so do my players. AC (Your Armor class or amount of armor) should win in a tie. If you have an AC of 23 and a monster attacks you with a 23 shouldn't your armor just, protect you? So what they are really saying is that your AC is one lower then you thought! What's your opinion?

Play by Post and Other News

I haven't gotten around to posting a recap yet... but on the bright side we are playing again tomorrow and well... as it says in Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, actually I hate that song, but you get the point.

I hope everyone got the news about D&D 5th edition (if you haven't just do a Google search or click here)? I personally hope everyone hates it as much as 4th edition. "Why", you ask? I spent a lot of money buying books for 4th edition and now, not a year later, they tell me those will become obsolete by 2012 (if we're still alive)? No, I think not. The good news is that my group has already agreed to continue playing 4e despite the shiny new edition.

Lately, I've been playing a lot of play-by-post D&D on Myth-Weavers.com (Link here). It's an okay way to play:

GOOD:

1. It's easy to find a game (in most systems).
   
2. Their online character storage is spot on (better then any pdf sheets I've found).
3. The other forums on the site are a great way to get answers to questions (e.g. "What does 1[W] mean?) Ok, don't laugh - I have asked this before. I really didn't know what it meant. and for those of you out there who don't know what it means it is 1 weapon damage which can be calculated only with the weapon chart found on page 218 through 219 of Player's Handbook 1 4e (4th edition).
4. The World of Farland is a community designed world for use with the 4e system. It's a great resource for first time players or those who need a quick world.
5. And last but not least... the site tools! I don't use them much as they are made to work with D&D 3.5e but they are still worth a look no matter what system you are playing.
   

BAD:

1. Play by post is really slow. If you're like me, your D&D games need to be fast-paced and exciting (this does not necessarily mean all combat. A good Dungeon Master knows how to keep skill challenges and even just talking to people exciting). A cure for this is to play multiple games with different people. And then treat it like facebook... checking religiously, every five seconds.
2. It's not personal. I've evolved a close relationship with my players (well I like to think so...)
3. The application process for games means that you won't always get in.

I highly recommend joining and even playing a little. (If you ever are in a game with Kire Arual, it's me!)

That's about it for now. More soon...