I have been playing tabletop role-playing games for a few years now. I love creating a new character and experiencing them grow. My favorite part of the creation process is coming up with a backstory. The Players Guide does a good job of suggesting backgrounds, but I take its suggestion and add a personal touch. Usually, I end up with one to two pages of backstory.

My first character was a sorcerer named Marth. Marth was a trust-fund kid, and he wasted his parent’s money on booze and whores. He lost a family heirloom and was cast out by his family. While looking for it, he became a part of a group of adventurers. As a sorcerer, he thought it would be a good idea to strap a bear trap to his chest, and to try to hug a monster; it didn’t work out. He died, and the group laid him to rest.

My replacement character for the campaign was a magus named Guy. His backstory was filled with betrayal and tragedy. He started training as a sorcerer, but then showed promise as a fighter. A fighter took him under his tutelage. His master betrayed him. The character was overpowered, but fun. I joined the group as Guy, but then we stopped playing my friend’s campaign after a few more sessions.

The next game I played with a different game master. He ran a pre-made campaign, but he improvised quite a bit. I played as a halfling named Rufus. He did not have much of a backstory. He was an alchemist and liked to throw bombs. We stopped playing, because people got busy. You can read about it here.

A different friend ran the next campaign. I created Leovon (Leo), the halfling barbarian. My inspiration was simple: Leeroy Jenkins! He had a simple backstory. His parents were killed by gnolls, and some barbarians found him fighting off the remaining creatures with a stick. They adopted him, and he became the smallest, most brutal barbarian to ever live. He loved to drink and fight. The rest of the group made him take baths and dressed him in fancy clothes. He did not like that, but he enjoyed his new friends. The campaign ran for a while and had an epic ending.

For many years, my next character was my favorite character. His name was Markax, the cleric dragonborn. He was raised in an evil dragon clan. He loved killing others in combat. However, when his clan slaughtered an unarmed village, he started having conflicting feelings. A few years later, his clan captured a paladin. The paladin convinced him to follow an enemy god – a lawful good god – and he turned his back on his clan. His was conflicted with his new beliefs. As a dragonborn, he had trouble finding anyone who would accept him. He finally found a group of adventurers who liked him, and they gave him a chance. Alas, he sacrificed his life to save one of the other adventurers.

I liked my replacement character for Markax. Her name was Katrina (Kat), and she was a fighter. She was the runt of the family, being the youngest with seven older brothers. She had some daddy issues; her father was always disappointed in her no matter how many merits she earned in the militia. She gained the favor of a deva by saving its life. She found the group of adventures after they stumbled into her plane. She drew from the Deck of Many Things and got a deed to a keep. She killed a dragon. She found love. Our campaign came to a sudden end when we went to yet another plane, and our ranger turned into a lion. Maybe we will revisit the campaign.

Another friend wanted to run an Eberron campaign, and I created Jix. Jix is a changeling who is a belly dancer. A belly dancer is a homebrew class. It basically combines a monk with an assassin. He is a lot of fun. Changelings are not well-liked in the world, so he takes on a human form. He calls himself Zia. Zia is a smooth talker, and a great performer. She is, also, not too bad with a scimitar. We are early in the campaign, but we have managed to find ourselves in a lot of trouble, including being wrapped up in an assassination plot. I will have to see where Jix/Zia ends up.

My miniature for Zia
My miniature for Zia

The whole point of this post is to catch you up with my favorite character, Tevye. I have been playing him for a few years. He is a firbolg druid. He has experienced a lot of traumas in his life. The group rescued him from an evil army. The army tortured Tevye and left some deep emotional wounds.

I recently retired Tevye. The group rescued him and allowed him to heal. They provided friendship and made him feel useful. However, his goals stopped aligning with the group’s. The group wants to fight the army, which is a noble goal. However, Tevye wants to help people in a more direct way. He befriended another firbolg, and she invited him to help heal a forest; he couldn’t say no.

It is the first time I have retired a character. It was a tough decision, but I feel good about it. He is not dead. We are still playing the campaign, so he can still interact with the group. Maybe I will get to play him again someday.

Sometimes I write stories about my characters. Usually a story from their background. I have a story about Tevye that needs to be shared. My next post will be that story, and I wanted to prepare you for it. I hope you like it.

I finished creating a new character this week. I am sure a few stories will manifest from her, too.