[D&D-3.5e-Forgotten-Realms] The Village of Eastpass

[Aotyr]

Might just be the ol' school vibe mentioned in the setting feel. A lot of folks think nostalgic D&D and single class/classic races spring to mind. Surprised no dwarves XD

[WildJessi]

I never did figured out why elves and dwarfs in the old D&D were called classes and not races

[PalladiaMors]

Because it was heavily influenced by Tolkein. Like... very influenced. So dwarves, elves, and halflings (hobbits) were just that. Their Tolkein-esque stereotype was their class.

[WildJessi]

weird

[Vesper]

Originally Posted by PalladiaMors

Because it was heavily influenced by Tolkein. Like... very influenced. So dwarves, elves, and halflings (hobbits) were just that. Their Tolkein-esque stereotype was their class.

PalladiaMors is 100% correct. 1st edition D&D is practically straight out of Tolkien, including Elves living for millennia, etc. I did always like how the 1st Edition Bard required you to be a Fighter, then a Thief before entering the Bard Class. Although by 1st Edition multiclassing rules you needed a lot of 15s and 17s for ability scores! It is sort of like Prestige Bards, Rangers and Paladins are presented in UA.

[Schism]

Name: Maru Hellspite
Race: Hellbred
Alignment: Lawful Good
Class: Duskblade

Description: Maru is a tall, muscular female with red skin and short white hair. She looks rather like a well-built tiefling, all things considered - her rebirth as a Hellbred gave her fiendish traits like the red skin, bat-like ears further up her head, a pair of long horns, a third eye in the middle of her forehead, and fangs at the corners of her mouth. She carries a massive spiked club as a weapon. Her clothing consists mostly of a chest-wrap and animal-fur kilt. She wears armor over these, of course. When she's not, however, it's easy to see that her body bears scars from battle.

 

Personality: Maru is serious in her self-imposed duties when it comes to confronting and combating evil, but she certainly doesn't forget to live along the way. She laughs when she's amused, fights for the places and people she loves, and enjoys life's pleasures when they present themselves at opportune moments. She knows to savor every drop of drink, every note of a song, and every moment in pleasant company, because she lives in the shadow of a simple inevitability: when Maru dies, her soul is bound for Baator. Supposedly redemption is out there, somewhere - but who knows if she's strong enough to earn it, let alone deserve it?


Background: There are two histories to the adventurer known as Maru: her life, and what came after.

 

Her first "go around," Maru was a small lizardfolk woman known as Maru Eknuko. A rough childhood that often saw her having to patch herself up lead to her having the skills to become a decent back-alley surgeon for a local crimeboss in her place of birth; A large town of just under four thousand people. Real "big fish in a small pond" stuff. But he'd picked her up early in life and she never saw a reason to care about people who left her to fend for herself, enjoying life as part of their little outfit. Until an extortion run went sideways and left a human child an orphan, leading to a crisis of conscience and introspection on cycles of violence and pain. Many people in her town suffered under his boot...

So when her boss was wheeled, bleeding out, into her operating room, she made the decision to not just let him die, but ensure it. She pretended to do her usual thing, snipping an artery and letting him die on her table. It wasn't exactly subtle, and the boss's goons took immediate revenge. Summary execution; like anyone else who crossed the boss. She'd been ready for that.

...

She hadn't been ready to find herself in what amounted to a celestial courtroom, a rakshasa arguing on behalf of the God Semuanya that her life had been led in the best way to survive and thus he had a claim on her soul, and an erinyes arguing that her innumerable sins had marked her for the Blood War since before she'd even reached adulthood. Apparently even the afterlife had intolerable levels of bureaucracy. The "Judge," an avatar of Tyr, eventually ruled that she had sought redemption in the end - atoning by sacrificing herself to stop a cruel and evil person a few seconds before she died technically disqualified her from instant condemnation to the hells. But doing so while knowing she'd die likewise disqualified her from Semuanya's afterlife, as throwing her life away, even in an act of redemption, was against his teachings.

Her soul was in a precarious place, with the devil's claim stronger but not solid. Then Tyr proposed she be given the chance to atone properly, being revived as a Hellbred - sent back to try and tip the balance of her soul towards good, while the devil's claim still held her until such a time as she had earned her place somewhere else.

Basically, cosmic probation with community service.

Apparently most such trials that Tyr oversaw ended with this verdict rather than outright condemnation of the guilty, and Maru couldn't be happier that legal corruption was alive and well in afterlife court. (Un?)fortunately, her soul was sent back before she could think to bribe anybody though.

 

Maru awoke near a cave entrance at the base of The Nether Mountains. She found herself dazed, but small bits of information trickled back in. She saw momentary flashes - people suffering that rent her heart, green, scaled hands cutting someone's vein with a flash of determination, Tyr's commanding voice declaring her "Hellbred." Enough for her to understand her basic situation. She did something bad. She felt bad. She died. She got a second chance, but she basically had to do something so righteous and just and impressive that even the devil that had the deed to her soul would be forced to admit that she could no longer be claimed.

A tall order for someone newly reborn into the world, buff but with little else. She wasted no time in picking up a large branch to use as a club and getting to it. She could feel that her new body was much better than the old one - somehow knew that it was physically bigger and stronger, and more conducive to wielding magic. She could draw on infernal power, but doing so without any training or practice just led to magical mishaps. For some weeks, Maru wandered. Game was plenty, and the weather was fair, so she got along. But it was obvious to her that surviving in the wilderness wasn't really the path to redemption she'd been set on - she'd have to seek guidance. The newborn hellbred made her way to the settlement closest to her at the time: Eastpass.

Her approach to the village was noticed by someone whom'd she'd later learn was part of the militia. He spotted her lone, large form approaching, carrying a thick tree branch embedded with animal fangs and claws - it wasn't a surprise that he ran to get others. It was a tense first contact; Maru being unsure if she'd have to fight the group of armed militia members who held her up and asked her business and intentions and what she was. There was obvious unease and distrust as she explained that she had been tasked by Tyr himself to root out evil in the mortal realm, but she didn't know where to start. It was Dawnbringer Jacob Parson who allowed her entrance to the city, citing that such things were not unheard of when it came to gods and absolution of wayward mortals.

His counsel helped her greatly; she was not unlike a newborn wild beast, possessed of just enough skill and knowledge to function. Dawnbringer Jacob taught her of Eastpass and the surrounding lands, as well as giving her insight into the nature of evil. While one could intuit that a band of orc raiders charging at someone was evil, people were more complicated and the concept became more nebulous. Maru herself was an example of a bad person not being evil - or at least being an evil person with the chance to become good. It wasn't as simple as picking up a club and killing every outlaw she met, but it was hard to teach. For the moment, she should just focus on familiarizing herself with the cities and people she'd be visiting most regularly, and train herself to be ready.

And thus did she spend the next few years just... preparing. Strength training, finding the limits of her new body, practicing magic, joining a caravan or two as a guard to travel. She had some adventures; killed some rats in a person's basement and caught a thief or two. Her typical activities were to take some low-grade mercenary work, spend most of that money at a tavern, and look for combat instructors. Her fellow mercenaries were mostly unwilling to share their own martial secrets, while the militia in Eastpass was too disorganized to teach her more than "swing club hard," which she already did for the most part. Most recently, she finds herself back in the village of Eastpass. She's been here for a few weeks, spending her gold from the mining guard job and keeping an ear out for something that sounded like a job she was suited to. The ale in Eastpass wasn't so bad, so why not stay here and unwind a bit?

She felt she was ready for more - she just needed to find a group worth setting out with.

 

META The last bit of her "Now" backstory is pretty much just a placeholder - I figure she's been active for a few years doing jobs, training her body and skills, etc. I'm happy to link up with someone else's app! Maru would likely pair well with a casty or healer; she's a duskblade so she could always say she learned to wield magic from a casty compnaion, or went with a healer to help with their goals. I'd like to make the exact link and story after I know who all is in, though - I'd be sad if I wrote up a whole story and background with, say, the bat girl and then only one of us got in. So batgirl needs to make new friends without a musclegirl oni or I need to do it without my wingy healer bff, you know? As an open invitation, though, I can see decent reasons for Maru to join and have adventured with just about every other application for various durations. I have it stuck in my head that she'd be with a mage or healer, but I could easily see her joining the ranger to have someone to track quarry with, or the rogue because she sees some of her past self in them and wants to guide them, or the bard because they play good music and get themselves in trouble a lot, etc.

[DraconigenaArma]

Application Name Leostaer Race Human Class Warblade   Leo is a little over six feet tall, with a squashed flat face, ruddy skin, and curly brown hair. There are small scars on his face, and elsewhere on his body, and his nose has that bent look from being broken a few times. He is well proportioned and strong, with broad shoulders and thick legs. When not in armor, he tends toward loose fitting and comfortable clothing, primarily close-fitting but well-tailored pants, knee high boots, shirts which are open at the neck, and solid colored tunics under hoods. He appreciates embellishment and leans towards embroidered trim and other accents in his clothes compared to something gaudy, like brocade across the entirety of the fabric. There isn’t a bone in his body he hasn’t broken and that’s reflected in the straightness (or not so much) of his fingers when held out flat. He doesn’t really smile, so much as he grins. A thrill seeker by nature, Leo tends toward foolhardy bravery and a willingness to get in over his head. Not knowing how to do something is rarely a valid reason not to give something a try once or twice, or three or ten times. Likewise, he tends toward not recognizing when it's time to quit which works to his detriment as often as it serves him well. Both young at heart, and young in maturity, he has yet to be worldly enough to realize there is much in the world which needs to be taken much more seriously than he does. But this youthfulness also manifests in an intense loyalty and willingness to protect and defend those who he considers close friends. Considering the circumstances by which he came to live in Eastpass, he quickly confuses friends and family, treating those he's attached himself to as kin.   Leo is an orphan, first found and taken in by the Gur, and as such spent much of his toddlerhood on the highway, traveling all across Faerûn in a caravan of mercantile trading, odd jobs, and reading bones for delighted (if unconvinced) farm folk. Superstitious to a fault, they sought guidance from Selûne and the portents of Savras after his birth and were horrified at the boy’s prophesized future. All the omens and divinations held firm, and LEo was to be a great and famous warrior hero. All these things were far outside his adopted parent's cultural norms, none of them valuing much in heroism or fame or warrior-hood. This fortune did not do much to please others in the caravan either. They were too honor bound to ignore a blatant sign, and too worried about cosmic retribution if they attempted to subvert his destiny. None of this stopped them from refusing to lift a finger to steer him in that direction. Perhaps, they reasoned, if he was not encouraged, it may not manifest itself in the way they most dreaded. No stopping destiny, as Leo grew up, every toy was a weapon; every stick a sword, every broom a polearm, every plate a shield. He would play soldier, and even in play would wield these fake arms as if born to do so. Apart from this, he also grew into a deep and innate drive to help. The Gur, despite whatever rumors about their shady under-dealings and criminal affiliation, are a generous people as a rule. Leo exemplified this no was not in his vocabulary: sometimes it was difficult to get him not to help. For all his generosity, he also had an unhealthy fearlessness and was always easy to goad into reckless action. He found fun in things like jumping from wagon to wagon while moving, dodging charging horses at the last minute, climbing to the top of buildings, etc. and if it was not his own idea it was easy to dare him into it. Anything worth doing was worth doing in as fierce a manner as possible, and as rambunctious as possible. Why walk when you could run. Why run when you could race. Why take the stairs when you could climb the wall. Why cross the bridge when you could swing across! The more dangerous, the more entertaining. He had a penchant for fighting, not as a hot head who lost his temper, but because he reveled in the competition. It was “chance” that brought the caravan into Eastpast the same time as an old blademaster decided to retire there. The man was withered and old. Despite the impending retirement, Louie saw something in Leo, the way he played with sticks, the way he never backed down and decided to take Leo on as a pupil. Though his parents initially resisted, in the end, they knew in their hearts it was what Selûne wished, and so they bought Leo a blunted sword to train with and gave Louie a bag of coins for his room and board as a parting gift. They promised to visit every time the caravan swung this way. The conflicted ten year old was melancholy to see his family move on without him, but these training sessions and Louie’s mentorship were like a bucket of water for a fish on shore. He poured himself heart and soul into the craft. He found, once he knew how to fight instead of just being willing to not back down, his success to beat-down ratio inverted dramatically. Now a man of twenty years, Louis has long since passed leaving Leo a book of notes and journals to continue his own study. Leo keeps this with him at all times, and frequently puzzles over it, though he does not understand much of it. Able bodied and strong, Leo makes much of his money doing odd jobs and manual labor such as helping dig up the potatoes at harvest time, hauling water for the baker, taking turns on watch with the militia, helping protect the goat herds when someone’s sick, responding to a goblin incursion, etc. He also makes a small bit of coin when there are tourists, dueling for sport. He grows restless, knowing there is more he can do in life aside from carrying bricks and trying to pretend he is the only one who comes by The Goat to see Lara and not for the thin ale.

[Vesper]

I love seeing so many 3.5 apps, it shows people are still interested in this edition. Of course it is more competition too....

[Aotyr]

WOO, just a few days more until sheeting potentially! And an excess of good character submissions... >.>

[Schism]

Yea, 3.5 games are always popular when they come up. I'm pretty stoked one came up after another I was in just ended. Here's to a good ol' time slappin' bad guys and helpin' good guys :3

[WildJessi]

my favorite character to play in 3.5 games is a succubus. Unfortunately, haven't found any games that start off in higher levels. Only two, one was fun, but fame died quick, then 2nd tie, DM didn't allowed Savage Species book. Ah well.

[Schism]

I found myself rather enjoying playing a yuan-ti/naga snake person, the lower-half snake upper-half human thing was a fun idea for a while. Same issue with people not playing a high enough LA or Savage Species to play it. Currently I'm into Oni/giants, and just playing Tiefling/Hellbred and calling them big n' ripped like Oni lol

[Alatere]

If I have asked you for extra information I would recomend also adding it to the post with your app in it (even if you keep it secret) as that is where I will be looking when I complete my final review / select succesful applicants.























3.5 is still my favourite edition going. (joined by pathfinder though it feels like an extension of 3.5 to me)

[Schism]

[triedtherest]