Rollenspiel-Bonn.de - Das Rollenspielforum von NRW

Boendal Dosîmlimul (“Wise-Gold”)

The first thing I remember is a shining golden angel. At least he seemed like one to me with his platin-golden armor in the sunlight. He welcomed me and my family with the uttermost respect and showed us the way to the next inn. I was just a little dwarfling and didn’t have more than a fuzz of dark hair under my nose, when my parents seeked a new beginning in the merchant city Baldur’s Gate. The next thing I remember of my angel is the dark blue cloak over his shoulders as we left him standing at what I later learned was the Black Dragon Gate. On the cloak was an emblem with a crimson fist surrounded by flames. I looked at the symbol and from this moment on I knew: I want to become an angel like this.

You can pretty much say I am a Baldurian to the bone. I grew up in the merchant city on the Sword Coast and also spent pretty much all my life within the reach of the city. Most of them were good years. My childhood was untroubled. My mother found work as a smith really fast and also my father, a well trained scribe would have a job from time to time – mostly educating the children of merchants or writing trade agreements for a guild. I remember no bad days during my childhood as I spent most of my time with my father/mother or playing with the kids of the city watch in the barracks. I watched carefully how the “angels” kept order in the city and secretly wished to be already one of them.

As soon as I could walk, read and hold a spear I joined the city watch: The Flaming Fist. Even though I still didn’t have much of a beard I was already proud as ten dwarves the day I received my very own cloak. Finally I was one of my childhood heroes! Sometimes I wonder why my parents let me join the city watch with only 35 years, but I guess they knew at the time better than me what duties I will get. As a dwarf and especially as a son of a scribe I was immedeatly put to office duty. And I didn’t mind much as long as I was allowed to wear that crimson seal over my shoulders. As I’m not bad with numbers I soon became more and more important in the administration of the Flaming Fist – and after only 7 years I was assistant to the bookkeeper of the whole mercenary company (my first promotion: gauntlet (=corporal)). But being in the office didn’t make me lazy: I am proud to say, I haven’t missed a single mandatory fighting training in all my time of service.

When the bookkepper died, 22 years later it was clear that I had to pick up his duties. The following 20something years were even better than the ones before: I had money and I had prestige (who would argue with the guy in charge of the next payment). With my long time of service and my unbreakable loyalty to the city watch I rose through the ranks without ever seeing a real battle. At the rank of manip (=sergeant) I already had more money than I could spend on my own. So I bought and ate only the best things money can buy, I wore the most expensive and most shining armors and lived in the best inn of Baldur’s Gate: the Three Old Kegs. Hell, I was even invited for dinner with one of the Four Grand Dukes once. Granted… it was a big dinner with more than 300 people, but still: I was one of them. At this time, I was so happy, not even the death of my parents (first my mother and then, not a year later my father out of grief) could change that. With 87 years I was already an adult and they were old. As I had no other siblings or family in Baldur’s Gate I alone inherited the little they had– and spent it.

I can’t remember a really bad day, not even during the undead crisis of 1437. Sure there were long days and days where the city was on the brink of turmoil – but the Flaming Fist always resolved these issues. And that meant that there was always a payday coming for me. All in all my time of approxidameantly 90 years in Baldur’s Gate were a full success.

That was until last year. I was just promoted to flame (=lieutenant), Baldur's Gate was Faerûn's most powerful and important city, and I oversaw the pay of every member of its military class. After another very successful job – financially speaking – of the Flaming Fist in the Western Heartlands there was a big bonus coming towards all of us. It was at this time that I was approached by a high member of the Merchant’s League. He offered me a chance to invest into his new trading route to Sembia. He charmed me with his sweet words and especially with the sweet wine he constantly offered me. I had the opportunity to become a very rich person – rich as the nobles in Baldur’s Gate. He offered me a partnership, as he would call it, in his next business adventure. I looked over the numbers, everything he said was also there – written in black ink. I took it as a sign of Waukeen, that I was after 50 years of hard work, in her favour. I signed the contract the same night and paid my share the next morning. (I granted myself a little advance on my upcoming bonus for that)

Little did I know, was I now not only the main benificiary of the new trading route, but also the main shareholder of a newly founded merchant association. What that implies I had to realize only two months later. When news arrived, that the first trading expedition was raided by bandits and all the goods were lost I didn’t only loose all my investment. Suddenly the citys magistrate… well his servents came to me and asked for a compensation payment for the other shareholders. At first I couldn’t believe them. I asked a fellow advocate for his council and he told me that according to the contract I signed the main shareholder had to reimburse everybody else for eventual losses on any expeditions within the first year (even the merchant who offered me the contract). I was devastated. I felt betrayed. The merchant who proposed the contract to me never told me of such risks. When I tried to talk to him his doorkeeper wouldn’t let me in. After weeks of trying to meet him I gave up. I had more important things to do in the meantime anyway: The city magistrate sent me letter after letter requesting immediate payment of my debt. In the end I had to sell everything I owned. My jewellery, my furniture, my expensive wardrobe, my armors and weapons. I even had to move out of the inn I lived in for 20 years and move to the Outskirts. In the end I still owed my own merchant association a lot of money. A debt that I couldn’t pay – not for a long time, even with my job as bookkepper of the city watch. It was very close that my own company, The Flaming Fist, would imprison me for fraud. Thankfully I wasn’t.

One day I got a letter from the citys magistrate telling me, that all matters regarding my merchant association and debt were resolved. How and why that happened I never found out. I didn’t even finished reading the whole letter. Relieved that all was over, now I finally had time to really think about the last few months and everything that happened to me. I felt dissapointed and frustrated at the same time. I went drinking. Then I went drinking some more. And then some more. I didn’t show up to work for at least a week. I don’t know if I was missed.

One night I ended up completely drunk in the temple of Waukeen. It was late and I was alone. I don’t really know how I got there or why. I was never a templegoer – even though I always prayed to Waukeen before any big payment or trade. But this one night I found myself in her temple. I went to the altar and kneeled down. I was angry. Angry at the world, angry at the trader who lied to me, angry at myself. I wanted to shout at Waukeen for letting all this happen to me. But I couldn’t. I just kneeled there and cried silently with my eyes closed. Tears ran over my face for a very long time. I don’t know how much time had passed, when I finally opened my eyes. I felt dirty, my beard was wet from tears and my knees hurt badly. But somehow I felt better. Before I stood up I saw something shimmering next to the halfempty bottle of cheap ale I had brought with me. I looked closer and saw a small gold coin lying next to the bottle. At first I didn’t believe my eyes. How did it get there? And why didn’t I see it before? Unsure of what to do I took the coin into my hand. I turned it around and saw the left turned face of Waukeen herself. Until today I cannot say for sure what happened that night, but I want to believe that the Lady of Gold found mercy on me, comforted my soul and sent me this sign. A sign not to give up and that hard work and a rightgeousness mind will again pay off. I stayed in the temple for the rest of the night, reflecting on my life and praying to Waukeen. In the morning I felt better and stronger than I have in a very long time.

The next day I quit my job and went to the port. I previously had heard that King Derid was looking for mercanaries to stabilize his islands, the Moonshae Isles – and that he was willing to pay good money for that. I may have spent most of my days in the office but I am still capable of fighting – I am after all a flame (=lieutenant) of the Flaming Fist.

Hi,
Here you have the tragic backstory of Cedric, the half-elf old ranger.
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Cedric lived in forest, near a human village under Luskan domain. He never cared much for the villagers nor their nobles, but protecting them from the dangers of the forest was his task, which he performed diligently for 80 years.

He lived isolated, except when trouble afflicted the villagers; rabid beasts, petty raiders, or giants demanding excessive tribute. He would deal with them one way or another, without asking much in reward as his mother and master taught him.

Ten years ago he married a human. He had been with humans before, but she was different.
She understood the ways of the elves, the implications of being a half-breed, and accepted the solitude of a rangers' life.
They got 4 children, but the idyll was short lived. A plague transmitted by feral raccoons decimated the village. He drove the raccoons away, but by then it was too late. His family was infected. He begged the clerics for aid, but their spells were saved for the the nobles and their families. They let his family die.

Desperate, he resorted to a traveler he once escorted. She never paid him, but promised him help on a moment of need.
She was a wizard, versed in the dark arts of necromancy. She fulfilled her promise and brought them back, the way necromancers tend to bring things back from the beyond.

Cedric tended to them for several months at his hut. He tied them to their beds so they wouldn't hurt anyone, and fed them all the meat they needed. On Sundays he would even give them a bit of his own flesh. But word of this got out. Clerics and nobles raided his house, and tied him to a pole while fire "cleansed" his family.

He protected their sorry lives for 80 long years, gathered herbs for them, escorted lovers at night from one village to another so that they could live their secret romances without being devoured by beasts. He even tried to teach their incompetent nobles to shoot, and now they burnt his family in front of him.

When they released him, he run. He needed answers. Why would the gods reward his dedication like this? Why? Why? Why? Something whispered in his head.

Once he finds his answers, he'll allow himself to go back. He'll forgive them, perhaps, or perhaps he'll murder the children and make the parents watch.
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So this is Cedric. A character with low social skills and full of hatred and remorse, but that cares about his people. Now he is at a crossroads. Will his path lead to redemption, or to vengeance?

„Are you just going to freeload, old geezer?“ asked the barkeep. „You were advertised as a storyteller. Start entertaining my patrons or meet Roggers cudgel!“ The old skald looked towards Rogger, a great brute with an ugly, often-broken nose. A story seemed like the better option. He did not feel like receiving a beating.
He wrestled himself out of the chair and moved towards the hearth. This miserable island...

„I have been told you wanted a story...“ he slumped down into a large wicker chair. The patrons mostly looked puzzled. One excited youth stood up. „Tell us about the blade of Clan Hallaran!“
„Clan Hallaran, eh?“ Eíhn mused. And old story, but an interesting one.

„Clan Hallaran was mostly unremarkable for many years. They were powerful, but hailing from the far north of Norland, their authority was rarely challenged, and all challenges well met. They didn't partake in raids very often, they mostly kept to themselves. The most famous sire of that house was Angus, the Gathering storm.
Born in the depth of winter, Angus stood as large as many southern men as a youth, ultimately standing almost 7 feet tall. He was taught in the arts of battle, as all clan youths are, and quickly developed great martial prowess. And it was well he did, as he was very low in the sucession. He fought as a champion for the House as young as 15. That day he killed his first man. When he wasn't learning the ancient ways, he was exploring the forests. He was fond of animals, especially of dogs and bears. After he passed into adulthood, Angus took up the mantle of a journeyman, and fought for many clans, and decided many feuds. His reputation was building.
But that was not how he earned his Name. One evening, he was trying to sell his ale to a barkeep in a small village in southern Norland. There was a big commotion on the town square. Seeing that his negotiation went nowhere very quickly, Angus decided to watch the hubbub. He saw the town's mayor cornered by four oddly dressed men. Mercenaries that wanted to loot away from their drillmaster's justice. This rubbed Angus the wrong way. The people in this town were hardy folk, following the Old Ways, but they had no riches. He advised the armored men to withdraw, friendly and collected, as was always his way. They declined. Again, more firm, Angus advised them to retreat, again. Again, they did not. This scene repeated five more times, Angus' anger building each time.
After the seventh exchange, which was mostly yelling, Angus drew his large sword, and quickly slew the four men.
He was cheered on by the townspeople and was given the Name Gathering Storm.
Over the next years, he became one of the most famous Named Men in all of Norland. Shortly before his thirtieth year, Angus was hired by the Bruce to fight in their feud with a neighbouring family.
What happened next, we don't know. All we know is that the Chief and Lady of House Bruce were left dead, and Angus fled from Norland. He became a sellsword on Alaron.
A few years later, he was hired as a caravan guard, and...“

Eíhn heard the whistling of Shaughnessy, the cartwright. Time to go.

„What happened, grampa?“ asked the youth who stood up earlier.
Eíhn sighed. „That is a story for another day. As is the question that bothered Angus until his final breath.“
„What question“
„ ,Am I a good man?' “

Hey mates! here is Nikté-Xa's story... or at least what she knows about it.....
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Nikté-Xa is a 37-year-old, small (as you already realized... 3 ft tall) Halfling Rogue. She's an Acolyte in the temple of Waukeen in Baldor's Gate. She has pale skin, hazel eyes and fire clay long straight hair, mainly braided or attached in ponytail. Her clothes are simple in dark colours (mainly purple and dark blue) with some decorations (like buttons and stitches) in gold.

She knows very little of her past, she doesn't even know where exactly she comes from. As a baby, Nikté-Xa was left in the door of the temple in a basket covered with a blanket. She had a medallion, like a coin with the image of Waukeen around her neck, which she carries till today as her holly symbol, her amulet.

Before starting the adventure, she had not much friends (or contact) with creatures beyond the temple walls, she was in the city just to do the necessary stuff, she's quiet and shy, kind of insecure reason why she's always sneaking trying to be unnoticed (and she got quite good on it). She's good with some small weapons, she learnt to use them in the temple, in order to protect it (and herself) in case of need. She thought her family abandoned her because they didn't want her until she had a dream. A couple of weeks before starting the adventure she had a strange dream... or nightmare. It's not very clear in her mind, but she's sure she saw a couple of creatures, maybe halflings, her parents (they looked like her) fighting, it was dark in the middle of the woods, she couldn't see (or can't remember) against what they were fighting, but the whole scene made her anxious and scared. She had the need to find out what happened and who were these people. After this dream, she talked to the higher priest, the one who took her in, she needed to know more, how she was found and why she was left there. The priest took out a very cryptic letter that was with her the night she was found. The message was not clear besides the request of taking care of her and the recurrent mentioning of the city Caer Callidyrr in the Moonshae Isles. She decided that that was a good starting point to search for answers.


Alignment:

Nikté-Xa is good, between neutral and chaotic

Personality trait:

I've spent so long in the temple that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world.

Ideal:

Charity: I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost.
Faith: I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well.

Bond:

I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my parents left me. High priests of Waukeen temple

Flaw:

I put too much trust in those who wield power within my temple's hierarchy.
I am suspicious of most strangers and expect the worst of them.

Main Goal:

Find answers about her past and her family

Naimara - Wooden Elf
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Naimara had a very elven childhood, only daughter of two guardians of the Outer city's forests, despite her naturalistic lifestyle, or perhaps because of it, she felt always attracted by the explanation of natural processes. She enjoyed reading much more than hunting and she would often refuse to join her parents and relatives in their feasts. She learned well how to use her small bow and arrows and was quite proficient at it, but her heart was not in it. Her interest in science didn't decrease with time as her parents expected, and as a young adult she convince them to invest in her education and pay for the service of a renown wizardry Mentor from Garden District (insert name here). It was not easy to convince the parents nor the Mentor to accept her. But after the latter tested her knowledge and realize that she was self-taught, someone who despite not having access to libraries, only to the modest book collection of her small town, had managed to intuitively learn small spells. The day the mentor accepted to teach her, was one of the best days of her life.

She spent around 6 years learning the ways of the wizard's school of Abjuration and concentrated in improving her overall knowledge, not only spell-wise but also scientific and literary. She truly believes that the goal of a life of study is the betterment of oneself. During her schooling, Naimara had a somewhat strange episode, something that would change the course of her life. She went to a small library in town, old and full of dust and she thought of it as a small treasure, so she would go by herself as often as possible. One day, the owner gave her a book that he said would help her learn the ways of the wizards faster. She didn't know that by reading the conjures there written, she was conjuring a demon, one that appeared and left so suddenly that left her shocked. He offered her the world of knowledge, and asked only for an insignificant part of her, one she wouldn't need once she left the world. The transaction seemed reasonable and she naively accepted. After that, the more she read the pages of the book, the more hooked she was, even if for the rest those pages looked empty, to her they were full of information. Endlessly she learned more and more.

A few days later, an emergency call was brought by a raven, demanding the help of her Mentor immediately in the town of (insert name here). He left all his students and told he shall be back soon. Sadly it never happened. The Mentor had gone missing and no one could tell/retrace what happened. The students return to their homes and Naimara said she'd also go to her family but she left the school with the secret purpose of finding what had happened to him.

Greetings,
Are there 1-2 slot in a group here, or another mostly-English-speaking group?
_
short introduction: My wife* and I are interested in playing.
We want to make new friends, play table-top games, and find cool ways & places etc since we moved from across the ocean to the Rhineland recently and are still new to the area.
_*She speaks German reasonably well already, and is extroverted.
__I speak very little German, understand only some/half, and I am more introvert than I am extrovert. I need to learn more anyway though, so maybe this is good motivation for me to practice German by starting where it is less critical ... like, for example, in the small towns where, many people speak almost no English
*She can have health issues suddenly, without warning, that could stop her from leaving home sometimes. So if there can not be unreliable players in the group, then it is no problem for just me to play. She is just as happy to be reading, shopping or talking anyways.
_ _
*She prefers settings in pre-modern world (not current time or future Earth; so historical) and/or fantasy. Also if it has elves and/or vampires, then she is even more happy.
I am OK playing whatever, and maybe could DM some in future (not much exp as DM yet, but we read lots and I have a good imagination).
_ _ _
__Should I post more information about us here?
____Should I create a new thread with name something like "starting new RPG campaign (English)"?
I have heard good things about Cypher System. They say you can play anything with it, like GURPS but better maybe?
_Anyone have experience with Cypher or other Monte Cook systems? Systems similar?

I would say so Kaed, not sure about Arend but as he has not been responding. I would imagine him to be quite full as well. Starting something new could be a lot of fun though.