[D&D-5e] In What Dark Dreams May Come

[Red Leper]

Is this a 'young, coming into their own' sort of game or would a character that has seen some things and been hurt by the world fit in here?

I'm thinking about a criminal that is hiding out in Winterhaven to escape justice while they seek some kind of redemption or peace with themselves and their crimes/ atonement, at least.

[Nade]

There's no requirement for it to be coming-of-age, a hardened embittered ex-criminal type is fine as long as we keep the alignment to non-evil.

[leftyyy88]

Sadly I must withdraw. I wish everyone good luck.

[Aisede]

Name: Raenold
Age: Older than you think
Race: Do the scales not give it away? Dragonborn. White. The cold kind.
Class: As with most of my kind, I am blessed with the gift of sorcery.
Alignment: Quite the loaded question... For one in my profession, I would say 'Neutral' works best. A peddler can't be picky ~
Personality: What is there to say? I'm charming, handsome, and, above all, painfully humble. In some regards, I may be described as 'charitable' as well. We gotta keeps the kiddies happy, yeah?

I suppose... I may also indulge in the occasional act of avarice, and I am not always truthful. But it's just business.
Appearance: I clothe myself in only the finest fabrics. A comfortable wool tunic, spun from the fleece of a virgin ewe. Silk trousers- the stitching is impeccable. And yes, the boots are leather. Yeti. But enough of my ensemble, you wish to gaze upon the draconic form, yes? *Cue dramatic shirt removal* Behold! The pearlescence of scales like freshly fallen snow.
Backstory: It has been my occupation for so long... I fear there is little to tell before my days as a merchant, taking upon myself the mantle my father bore, and his father before him. It has granted me the unique opportunity to explore the world, and all it has to offer. Granted, I find myself returning often to the humble-yet-sturdy cottages of Winterhaven, the warmest village this side of the 'Spine.

[Aisede]

Idk how to resize the image to not fill up the entire page, but I did sketch this bust of the dude

[Red Leper]

Redemption: Name: Captain Tansy Cake Age: 27 years Race: Human (Variant) Class: Rogue (Potential Swashbuckler) Alignment: Chaotic Good Background: Sailor (Pirate) Personality traits: -My friends know they can rely on me, no matter what. Ideal: -Freedom: The sea is freedom, the freedom to go anywhere and do anything Bond: -I was cheated out of my fair share, my ship and framed for a murder I didn't commit, I'll see that everyone gets what's owed. Flaw: -Once someone questions my courage, I never back down, no matter how dangerous the situation. Personality: Tansy can be dashing when the mood takes her, taking risks when she feels the reward might be worth it and when true friends are involved, the reward is always worth it. She longs for her ship and the sea and can be solemn and thoughtful at times. She enjoys good food and better rum and will share with anyone who has it, her table manners aside. She never lets anyone question her courage even if her methods can be a little unorthodox at times. She'll try to talk her way out of trouble before using her sword but does enjoy a good bit of sport. Ever since she lost her ship, she plays a little closer to the vest with any information that might give someone else a leg up against her. Appearance: Captain Tansy is near to six feet tall with an athletic build, toned and honed from towing lines and living by the quickness of her blade. Her skin is dark, baked by the sun and her hair is long and curly, the color of raven feathers. Her eyes are dark brown like warm amber. Her features in combination mark her as being mostly Turami in origin. She likes her jewelry in gold, a medallion around her neck on a chain, her father's signet ring on a leather cord, gold earrings dripping from each ear, and at least thee gold rings on each hand. She wears a big, tri-corner hat, a long black coat, rolled at the wrists, a leather bodice and white blouse that shows off her ample bosom, snug trousers that hug her curves without limiting her movement too much, three belts cross her hips, a pirate cutlass with basket hilt hanging upon her left hip and a dagger on her right. Her boots reach mid-calf before flopping over at the top and are made of fine calf-skin. Backstory: As far as Tansy is concerned, she was born at sea, baptized in salt-water and drank rum out of her baby-bladder. Her father was Captain of the Sea Jewel and as customary with the dangerous life of a pirate, there aren't very many old pirates and when he passed away, she took over as captain. Tansy was captain of the Sea Jewel for five years, sailing pirate up and down the Sword Coast, when she found the treasure map to Captain Flintheart's treasure trove, the greatest hoard ever amassed by anyone that wasn't a dragon, or so the legend went. She hired a crew from Luskan and set out to find Flinty's treasure. They found the treasure, all right and scuttled the lot, filled the hold of the Sea Jewel nearly halfway and for part of the journey back to their hideout, the crew slept on piles of gold instead of their hammocks. Unfortunately, when they were getting close to their hideout, in the dead of night, whilst Captain Tansy slept, her first mate spotted a night-sailing vessel, a pleasure yacht, moving along in the water. The first mate gave the orders to open fire and board the yacht, capturing the Waterdhavian noble and his retinue. When Tansy awoke and protested her first mate's actions, they sprung their mutiny. Her first mate ran the noble through with his word and took his unique possessions and planted them on Tansy before tossing her overboard. After a day of floating on the current, she washed up on the shore near Waterdeep and was found by a fisherman. In the state she was in, she couldn't protest much as the missing noble's signet ring and embroidered coinpurse were found on her person. She was taken before the judges and found guilty of the murder of the Waterdhavian noble. By some miracle, as they were transporting her to her lifelong stay in prison, she was rescued by a certain Waterdhavian vigilante, The Velvet Varlet. The vigilante didn't give much reason why he had rescued Tansy except that things about her charge didn't add up and that he would assist her in reclaiming her innocence but she had to lay low for a time. The Velvet Varlet sent her to Winterhaven, the last place anyone would go looking for her.

[leftyyy88]

oooh original art! very nice! I use ms paint to resize, not very high tech lol... idk what to use if you're on an apple or mobile device.

[The Rat Queen]

I use Token Stamp 2 to upload images. It creates borders around the image as well, if you like.

[DemonSlayer]

Hi there! I really liked the intro for this story in the campaign ad- I've been a long time fan of Lovecraftian stories, and I felt the dream sequence really captured the atmosphere of that type of story. So, I'd like to submit a character for this campaign- a dragonborn bard!

Any feedback is more than welcome!

Application Name: Balasar Zyrephualin Age: 19 Race: Dragonborn Class: Bard Alignment: leaning towards LG, but his good-ish tendencies may be overshadowed by a sense of dutyLN Backstory In Winterhaven, there stands a tall, three storey building, its walls a dark weathered wood, its windows nailed shut against both the cold and prying eyes. It was once an ill-fated inn, its prorietor a dwarf possessing a particular lack of vision. He had thought to make a living hosting visitors, in a town nobody wanted to visit, and went bankrupt in under a year. Deciding to try his luck elsewhere, the dwarf sold his failed inn to whomever would offer him a reasonable sack of gold, and left town forever. The eventual buyer, as it turned out, was a patriarch of the Zyrephualin clan. This group of white and silver dragonborn had recently split off from the main clan, as resources in their erstwhile domain had grown scarce. The Zyrephualins had come to Winterhaven hoping to find a new home- and among them was Basalar Zyrephualin, a young silver dragonborn who had joined the clan with few defined hopes, save a lust for adventure. In truth, Balasar had volunteered to find a new home simply because the question had been asked. For it was his nature to go along with the elders' plan, without really thinking too hard about what it was he wanted. And so Balasar and the others became a part of Winterhaven's community. However, whilst the clan of dragonborn was more than happy to lend their efforts to the town's survival, as a whole they took up a rather isolationist way of life. They were happy to share in the daily lives of other villagers, but adamant about keeping all eyes away from the former inn they called home. That was where the clan kept its eggs- the clan's future. And Winterhaven contained plenty of rowdy, careless individuals who, if they were to visit, might accidently break one of the eggs. Or worse, steal them, and sell them to the highest bidder. To prevent such behaviour, the clan elders kept their inn under guard at all times. Basalar spent most of his adult life- all four years of them- either standing guard at the only door the Zyrephualins hadn't nailed shut, or patrolling the streets at night to prevent any unruly behaviour. The latter service was part of the Zyrephualin's duties to Winterhaven, their cold scales making them well-suited to stalking the streets in the freezing night. That doing so let the dragonborn keep an eye out for any problems that might hurt the nest was an added bonus. And Balasar didn't mind doing the job; guard duty allowed him to stand around living in his own mind for hours at a time, thinking about the stories he'd heard of the legends among his clan, or inventing his own tales. It was an ideal job for the somewhat passive youth. There were times, of course, when boredom began to set in, making Balasar dream about what else he might do with his life, if he'd simply speak up to the elders about it. But dreams they remained, and Basalar slid into comfortable acceptance of his situation. What little spark of ambition for a different life remained in him was drowned in good company, games, and ale. That was, until one morning, when Basalar woke up and all of his tribe were simply... Gone. All of them, simply gone, without a trace to hint at whence they had gone. Indeed, there was not even a trace of his people leaving- it was as if they had all simply ceased t. His heart racing, Balasar rushed downstairs, then outside, and found that it was not just the dragonborn who had vanished. It was everyone. He stood alone in the snow-covered streets of Winterhaven, his only companion the howling wind. For the longest time, Balasar just stood there, thinking what on earth he was going to do next, now that he had noone to guide him. Then he returned inside, and found he was not alone after all. One white egg with swirls of silver remained, all that was left of his clan. Balasar swore then and there, that he would protect this egg, for it was all that remained of the Zyrephualin clan. For now, that was his only plan- but perhaps there was someone left in this village, someone who could tell him what he should do next... Or did he have to figure it all out himself? Personality Balasar is a caring individual- his whole life, he has put the good of the clan before his own, sacrificing ambition in service to his duty. He is a dreamer who loves a good story, and can recount the story of pretty much any of his clan's legendary heroes flawlessly, save for the embellishments he himself makes. His penchant for living in his own head makes Balasar prone to choose the path of least resistance, following his superior's orders rather than questioning them or worse; taking the initiative to make his own plans. But those days of content acceptance are over- with his clan gone, Balasar alone is responsible for the care of the Zyrephualin's last remaining egg. He will have to learn to be independent, to navigate the world without the guidance of those he trusts. Given that he trusted the clan's now vanished leaders implicitely, and never had much contact with those outside the clan's home, his learning curve will be steep. Appearance Balasar is tall and slender, his neck quite long and serpentine. He has a remarkably thin snout, and particularly light scales- not the dull bluish gray of young silver dragonborn, nor the deep silver of the elders, but an almost white silver resembling platinum, almost. The back of his head sports two long, slender ridged horns, and a collection of smaller, webbed horns underneath. The dragonborn's vibrant blue eyes form a stark contrast, sparkling with youthful enthusiasm and sense of wonder. As someone accustomed to standing guard and patrolling for hours on end, Balasar has come to appreciate comfortable, sturdy clothing. A brown leather vest for protection, with dark green pantaloons of wool underneath, all of it obscured by a worn, beige cloak, as thick and warm as it is ragged at the edges. From a distance, Balasar comes across as a quiet, calm figure, serenely watching and listening rather than drowning others with his own shouting. Nonetheless, there is joy and contentment in the dragonborn's heart. He is friendly and social, even if he prefers civil gatherings and quiet conversation to a rowdy night at the bar. NPC Erudite, tiefling teaching Erudite, lovingly nicknamed Ditey by Balasar and nobody else, is a young Tiefling woman who came to Winterhaven about a decade ago. She was brought there as a child by her parents, who sought a life free of their kind's persecution, all too common in the bigger cities. Her father made a living as a hunter and woodsman, while her mother worked as a cook. Erudite, however, had always loved books. She possesses the largest collection of books and stories in Winterhaven- perhaps not an impressive record, but a record nonetheless. When she turned fifteen, she began helping out at the local primary school- for even in a frontier village as remote as Winterhaven, children need to learn how to read and do basic addition. Or at least be looked after while their parents do the heavy work. A year later, seven years ago now, the old teacher decided to retire, and Erudite took over the school. She has a carefree and slightly mischievous personality, and a great love for stories- which is what she and Balasar initially bonded over. The pair decided to work on writing fairy tales together, adding to the school's collection of children's books. There is, undeniably, a spark between Balasar and Erudite, but neither has acted on it so far- the rough life in Winterhaven does not allow for many social gatherings, and Balasar is often occupied by his duties, while Erudite has the children to care for. Still, Erudite is easily Balasar's closest friend- a sentiment reciprocated by the tiefling.

 

Balasar Zyrephualin, SilverDragonborn Bard (soldier)

HP: 10/10
AC: 13
Speed: 30
Senses: PP 9

STR	14	+2
DEX	14	+4
CON	14	+2
INT	8	-1
WIS	8	-1
CHA	16	+5

Stats & Saves | Athletics | +4
Deception | +5
Intimidation | +5
Performance | +5
Persuasion | +5
Land vehicles |
Lute |
Lyre |
Viol |
Cards |
Common |
Draconic |
Skills & Languages |

• Spear: +4, d6+2 piercing, thrown 20/60, versatile (d8)
• Dagger: +4, d4+2 piercing, thrown 20/60, light, finesse
• Leather Armor: AC 11+ DEX

Combat |

• Spell Save DC: 13
• Spell attack modifier: +5
  
  

  Cantrips	Dancing Lights, Vicious Mockery
  Lvl 1	Faerie Fire, Heroism, Speak with Animals, Unseen Servant

Magic |

• 10 GP
• Diplomat's pack
• Insignia of rank
• Trophy (necklace of bear fangs)
• Deck of cards
• Common Clothes

Equipment |

• Military Rank: Soldiers from former army might still recognize your authority. May requisition horses and simple supplies from them. Gain access to friendly encampments/forts.
• Draconic Ancestry: Silver
  * Breath weapon: Once per long rest as an action, breathe a 15' cone. Creatures in the cone must succeed on a [8+Con+from] save or suffer 2d6 cold damage (half on success, 3d6 at 6th lvl, 4d6 at 11th level, 5d6 at 16th lvl).
  * Damage resistance: Resistance vs. Cold.
• Bardic Inspiration: As a bonus action, grant a creature within 60' a bardic inspiration die (D6). Once within the next 10 minutes, that creature may add it to an attack, save or ability check. May be used Cha/long rest.

Special

Expendables
* HD: 1/1 d8
* Lvl 1 slots: 2/2
* Breath Weapon: 1/1
* Bardic Inspiration: 3/3

[Aisede]

I like how this game is just attracting a bunch of dragonborn, lol. I was actually thinking my guy might be a bard. It'd fit the travelling merchant theme well, I suppose. But Raenold isn't exactly the musical type, nor inspiring. More a trickster, who'd rather use charm and wit. Charisma focus, which I suppose also works with the sorcerer.

I was also thinking of connecting Raenold to other PC's, but idk if that would count... Like, maybe he brings little Zeedee candy from his travels, and spends his time shacked up in Balasar's inn, trading tales from his travels. What do you think? @DemonSlayer, @97mg?

[Ysolde]

Name: Artiya Frostflower
Age: 18
Race: Tiefling
Class: Cleric (Life)
Alignment: NG

Personality: Distant and somewhat wary of others. Has a hard time trusting. Underneath she is a friendly kind girl.

Appearance: Blonde hair, purple eyes, fluffy blonde ears, taloned fingers, and long forward curved horns

Backstory: When she was born Artiya’s parents received great attention for their strange child. So much so that, at a young age, they decided to be rid of her. They took her deep into the mountains into the snow, ice, and endless cold. However, the young girl was the only one to return to town and when asked she only had wild stories about angels and the heavens. Rumor quickly came about that she’d killed her parents to survive and she was cast out.

Somehow she lived long enough in the frozen wasteland to be found by the Village Healer, Cynthia Frostflower. Since then she has studied under her healing the sick and yet her past still haunts her. She tends to be distant and wary, she avoids crowds and socializing, but under it all she wants friends.

NPC
Cynthia Frostflower is an old human woman and the village healer. She can knit bones and cure colds. She is trusted by everyone and has spent the last five or so years trying to help Artiya out of her shell.

[Revlar]

Thordin's finished. Sorry that took me so long.

[Nade]

Lets stick a closing date on this of Monday 27th January. I'll update the table shortly.

[Aisede]

I'd really like some input on my idea. If we're going to be a team, it'd be cool if we could interconnect our stories/backgrounds.

[Nade]

While I'm perfectly happy for people to work on links if you so want to, I think it would make more sense to hang fire until I make the final selections and we all know who the party is rather than making connections and then having to go back and amend it all out again if person A or person B isn't selected.

Its up to you all though.