[D&D-5e] The Yondering Lands

[Grouchy]

Originally Posted by Amarga

Great Characters so far, everyone!
I'm honestly already quite happy about the attention this has gotten, so as I mentioned earlier I'm now going to set the deadline for submissions as February 1st. I'll then have characters selected before February 7th.
I've also added a character table to the ad for organization (mostly my own).
I'll also be doing character reviews to help people answer any questions they might have had with their characters, so look for those coming up!

I'm always open for reviews to make my PCs better. Fire away!

[Leafsong]

Character Name: Zephyr
Race: Half Air Genasi, half High Elf
Class: Monk
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Background: Folk Hero
Personality: Zephyr is bubbly and always has a smile on her face. She likes to help others and sometimes offer them unsolicited advice. She is also very self-assured, leading to others calling her arrogant and overconfident.
Backstory: Zephyr was born to a genasi mother who abandoned her at birth because her elf father had died while she was pregnant, and she didn't feel ready to raise a child on her own. Luckily another genasi found her and adopted her. Zephyr grew up in the elemental plane very loved by her adoptive mother and sister. She met a dragon when she was young and learnt some valuable lessons from it. Since then, she was more careful and focused. She had a great love for styles of martial arts, and wished to learn and master them all. One day while training, she met a friend. They grew very close and shared all their secrets, but one day, Zephyr was forced to steal something from a shop for clout, and she regretfully did it. She felt awful afterwards and bought another for the shopkeeper. She paid for passage to the Yondering Lands with the money she made from adventuring and missions, in search of a new adventure and new thrills.

[Crocodile]

Application Name: Kragbhar al-Gruun Race: Orc Class: Fighter Background: City Watch Personality: Straightforward and unbothered by the more complex issues of life, Kraghbar is very much an orc of appetites, concerned not only with satisfying them, but with doing so in the most taste-twisting manner possible. He has trouble thinking in any roundabout fashion, taking life one step at a time and fulfilling his needs as he sees them. If he is hungry, he needs to eat. Thirsty? Drink. Bored? Find fun. Liars? Hurt. He is absolutely guileless, and will enthusiastically jump headfirst into whatever he needs to do to satisfy his desires. This means he can come off as lacking in empathy when a situation arises before him which he cannot relate to, as lacking a frame of reference means he is left more confused than anything. But if there is one concept that he has a firm grasp on, it is that everybody loves good food, and everybody should have good food, regardless of station. To him, this means even the worst of criminals deserve to at least die with their bellies full. Physical Description: Grag's rotund form brings to mind vivid images of the changing states of matter, with the large orc being all rolling, jelly-like folds of skin one moment, and a solid wall of marble grey the next. In fact, with how rounded his countenance is, one would not be amiss in wondering just how he is capable of moving about at any appreciable pace above that of an emaciated tortoise. That would be the initial question at least, until the observing individual's unfortunate eyes noticed that the orc's arms and legs seemed more akin to living siege engines than limbs, both stiff with mounds muscle and jiggly with waves of fat as they moved about with heavy anti-grace, feet plodding about as if their very purpose was to test the limits of gravity's pull on the massive orc. Large tusks jut out the sides of the mouth in fairly good condition despite their yellowed sheen, but are still not the most prominent facial feature Grag possesses despite their length. A large nose which has been reset in so many places it could qualify as an art piece, cracked lips split in multiple places, a jigsaw of scars all across a face full of stubble to complement the angry old wounds which cover him from head smooth shaved head to mangled toe, all signs point to an individual who has lead a hard life. But when he smiles, despite the terror which comes from seeing the saggy mass of scars be pulled back in horrendous fashion, he seems to exude a genuine, innocent joy, with bright yellow eyes turned wide and beholding the world as if for the very first time, a new light shining behind the abused visage, seeking the pleasures of the world which he has clearly been sampling in abundance. Backstory: It had been centuries since the Immortal Sultan's dynasty had brought together the disparate tribes of the desert kingdom of Eransahr, and the 'wild orcs' had been no exception to this conquest. Civilizing the uncivilized it had been called, and though history was never so straightforward, the kingdom's prosperity had buried any lingering questions as to the ends justifying the means. The human nomads' ancestral knowledge of the dune sea designated them masterful scouts in the kingdom's service, the dwarves' metal and stonework now served to build splendorous monuments and deadly armaments, the elves were tasked with forever safeguarding and expanding the knowledge of the grand libraries, and the orcs, for the fierceness they had once shown in the days before all was one, were made the backbone of the royal guard and military, entrusted with keeping the peace and eliminating all threats to the kingdom from within and without. Kraghbar had been no different than any other orc raised under this regime, taught from a young age that his destiny was to fight and die for Sultan, to keep all in its place as it should be, and in so doing reap the rewards of true unity. And so he did, sacrificing his body against raiders, beasts, and rebels alike in order to preserve the Sultan's order. Many times he heard whispers of discontent from the masses, but he never paid attention to any of that. And why would he? He did as he was told, and when he was off duty, he got to sit down at his favorite food stall and eat one delicious meal after the next. So when the four adventurers came to stir up trouble, Kraghbar chased them just as he would any other dissident. When the Sultan demanded a tripling of the guard, he was on the streets kicking down doors and pursuing the rebels with as much gusto as the rest. When his favorite chef and their family was hauled away for treason against His Majesty... It all came to a head when the adventurers, through trial and tribulations unknown, had finally found themselves in audience with the Sultan himself, an immortal dao prince of the earthen realm who had decided to make his home in the prime material, surrounded by luxury untold and attended by humbled, bowed mortals for whom the wealth may well have been a mirage. The subjects they spoke of mostly went over the orcish guard's head, as he was too distracted by the marvelous spread of food that had been presented at the ornate long table. He had never imagined the palace had such tasty delicacies. In the middle of the banter back and forth between the adventurers and the Sultan, one of their number, a cheery, bright haired gnomish woman, offered a plate of food to an emaciated looking human child, one of the servants. The conflict on the child's face confused Kraghbar, but hunger won out in the end, and the child burst into tears as they bit into the delicious meal. The orc envied the young one, wondering when he would get a turn. Then an earthen fist grew from the ground and instantly crushed the child to a pulp. "Vermin do not eat from the master's table." Those were the last words the Sultan spoke before all hells broke loose, the adventurers drawing spell and blade in preparation for battle as the guards began to rush the interlopers. Except Kraghbar surprised even himself when his glaive was instead piercing through the back of one of his fellow clansmen. And he did not stop. Even when the throne room became far too dangerous for all but the most powerful of warriors, Kraghbar did not stop. As the battle spilled into the streets and loyalists clashed with rebels, Kraghbar held tightly to the face of the child, to the face of the chef, to the feast which had been laid before him and which he now knew he would never be able to touch for as long as the Sultan ruled. That nobody would be able to touch. The adventuring four were hailed as heroes as they held aloft the lamp which contained the once proud Sultan. With the dao imprisoned, the loyalists were cowed, and their surrender was swift. A new dawn was upon the kingdom, and the people celebrated as they threw aside the divisions of the caste system which had restricted them for so long. For Kraghbar, the celebration was bitersweet. Many of the loyalist faction had been his brothers and sisters of the orcish clans, indoctrinated from birth and never given a chance to be anything else but loyal shock troops. Whatever Eransahr would become, he knew that nothing here would taste as good as it once did, and that kind of existence was unacceptable to the large orc. Better he try his luck with the foods of other lands.

[SnakeOilCharmer]

Setting up the template for my application. Obviously WIP at the moment.

Character Creation Physical Description: Character name: Magg the Arsonist Race: Human Variant Class: Wizard (Going Evoker) Background: Sage Personality: Physical Description: Backstory:

[Remorazz]

Magg the Arsonist is a solid name.

[Drachenspirit]

Aliuvial Urthadar Name: Aliuvial Urthadar "Lady Aliuvial" Race: Human - Variant Sex: Female Class: Wizard - War Mage Physical Description: Aliu is six foot, two inches tall, weighing around 159 lbs. She's 25 years of age, has auburn hair that is usually worn in an unkept manner while adventuring with just a clip or two to keep it out of her eyes. When speaking to nobles, rulers, or attempting to act in an official capacity, she makes an attempt to have her hair more presentable. She is wearing Travelers clothes tailored to fit her well with a few small alterations to suit to her taste. She has on no armor, and only a sheathed dagger on her belt is visible as a weapon, sheathed at her side. She's more cute than pretty some would say, but those who mistake her cuteness for weakness only do it once. Personality: Aliu is almost always the first to act. At times it appears that she is brash and foolhardy by how quickly she acts in a fight, but in reality she always has a plan in motion swirling inside her head. She's quick to admit she's not perfect, and she may have been wrong, but she often says that in lieu of doing nothing to stand up to a foe, she'll do something even if it may turn out to be wrong. She's always helping others, and does so as if it's just who she is and doesn't expect anything in return. This is actually a product of growing up with a bunch of siblings always around her. This group, this new band of adventurers is now her extended family. Background: Knight of the Order: Knight of Myth Drannor, Official Title - "Lady Aliuvial" Personality Trait: I can stare down a Hellhound without Flinching. Ideal: The path to power and self improvement is through knowledge. Bond: Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. Flaw: I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family.   Aliu hails from Daggerford, just south of Waterdeep. She is the exact middle child in a family of eleven siblings. Singled out at an early age for her high intelligence, she was enrolled into the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors arcanist school in nearby Waterdeep at the age of 12. One month shy of her 2 year anniversary, she was in danger of being expelled due to her "inability to adapt to the logical order of the school", or so her Head Master had written. Upon letter of reference, she was dropped from the school and signed on as an apprentice to Blackstaff tower all in the same day. Once again, almost two years into her apprenticeship, she was in danger of being "shown the door" due to her "inability to adapt to the strict rigors and regime of a Wizard apprentice", or so her Head master wrote down, when someone stepped in and gave her life purpose. Dove Falconhand was on the lookout for a few specific types of individuals, and apparently, Aliu met all the requirements. For the next several years, she worked, studied, and squired so to speak in the Knightly Order of The Knights of Myth Drannor. A few years ago she was sworn in as an actual Knight of Myth Drannor. Recently, she was set loose in the realm, as she calls it, to combat evil. Oh, and to build alliances and friendship between the civilized races and goodly people of the realms, as is her official mandate as well. She had just recently signed on to investigate the "mysterious phenomenon with the waters in the sea", and was looking forward to solving this when... well. She has found herself in this strange place.   She isn't one to hold one's past against them, unless one is a clear cut murderer or something and is continuing in such a life and doesn't see anything wrong with that. That said, she's all about what one stands for now, and what they'll stand up for. She has no problem doing any duty or task for the group when a camp is struck or when living close together. This is so natural to her being from a large family, that she at times seems surprised by those who think they need accolades for during mundane tasks that need to be done. For Aliu, this goes so far as letting someone sleep with their head in her lap if confined or worse, wounded and in need of care. She isn't possessive of normal mundane possessions, and will sometimes only remember she lent someone her dagger when she see's it missing from her sheath. In fact, the only things she really fusses over is her ring, her spellbook, her wand, and the clothes on her back. A quick look at her pack means she'll ask you if you need anything from it. Getting to know her personally means you quickly realize she doesn't have more mundane things because she's either given them to a friend in need - not a stranger - or just plain forgotten them somewhere. She's quickly known as one who is quick to act, a product of her training as a War Mage, and her personality. With so many siblings, if you don't grab a roll from the table right off the bat when dinner is served, you may not get one; same goes for speaking up when asked if you need anything. She's a good friend to have, if not one that is tedious at times because you have to share a blanket or ration with her on occasion as she's just not brought any. The motto of never leave anyone behind isn't just a motto she subscribes to, it's just a part of who she is.   BARD: Speaking of the makeup of your group, why do you think you are the only Wi- ALIU: Don't... don't say Witch, or Enchantress, or any of that nonsense. I'm a Wizard. Pure and simple. Now, why am I the only one? I don't know the answer to that question, and before you dig, just let me say that if I knew I would tell you." BARD: What's your role in the group? I mean, what do you do exactly? ALIU: "Well, for your information, there's one thing, one thing that still holds true." After a pause, the Bard realizes she's not going to say what that thing is and if he wants to dazzle folks with tales of this group that's setting sail, he needs to keep pressing the tall auburn-haired woman. BARD: "And... what's that?" ALIU: "That's the hook. The hook of the Arcane. If you judge a Tome by the cover, then you surely know that you can't judge a look from a lover. Charming the weave, is always a new discovery, and me... I go from one extreme to another." BARD: "Wrapping that up in a rhyme will get you everywhere with me, but who's trying to spin a tale of adventure and excitement here, me or you? Now, what do you intend to find with this group that you can't find on your own?" ALIU: "When your world is full of strange arrangements, like tapping into the Arcane for me, and normal civility won't pull you through; well, It's easy to feel that I'm missing out on something, and that something depends on me. All I'm saying is that it takes a lot to deny who you are, and you, surely, you know that's true. For me, I can't say I've never found what I'm looking for. There's only one thing that turns my gray sky to blue. And what's that? Yes, the hook. And these like minded people will be my new brothers and sisters. So, why would I seek out the all that is important to me by myself?"