About eight years ago I created a sorcerer named Taliman with green dragon heritage. The heritage was not direct, as in one of his parents was a green dragon. The blood passed down a half-dozen generations. Anyways, to make a long story short;
Taliman was the son of a diplomat for a country in this world my DM had created. The neighboring country were strong anti-magic. One day, when Taliman was about nineteen or so, a group of extreme radicals attacked. Their entourage of guards were slain, and Taliman saw his father executed. Well, the rage of the dragon blood streamed through his veins. Bearing a secretive natural talent of arcane magic, he unleashed a torrent of magic upon the attackers and slew all of them. He mourned, made vows, moved on with his life and sought training to seek revenge. By his latter twenties, Taliman began his quest to find those responsible for his fathers execution.
To summarize the campaign, Taliman joined up with some people along the way, took down some bandits, goblins, found a handful of anti-magic extremists with no ties to his fathers death. Eventually he made his way into the country from which the assailants stemmed. Now, what some may classify as horribly overpowered (as Taliman was level 5 by this point), we followed the game mechanics (3.5) to the letter (my DM even raised the bar a bit just to make it more difficult), but Taliman successfully managed to use the simple "prestidigitation" spell to fool the jewelers of the countries capital city that he had all these remarkable gemstones. Making every DC that was thrown, Taliman escaped the country with over 25,000 platinum worth of coin.
Now, I take pause here to put this into perspective for those that may not fully grasp the gravity of this success. The balance between D&D standard economics vs. USD has been theorized to death. But as a general reference, with a more medieval standard of metallurgy, it is likely that a single gold piece is worth somewhere between 80 and 160 USD. 25,000 platinum equals 250,000 pieces of gold. Taking the average of the aforementioned gold to USD ratio, 250,000 x $120 = 30,000,000 USD. If the metal is 100% pure, then a gold piece is worth around 271 USD. That would make it 250,000 x 271 = 67,750,000 USD. In either case, Taliman made himself an instant richman.
Back to the campaign, Taliman successfully made his way across the sea to another kingdom ruled by an old Green Dragon named Rivosvent. During his travels through the kingdom on his way to the capital, Taliman freed a pure-blooded Orc barbarian from slavery in exchange for servitude (branded him with an arcane mark as per the laws of the kingdom, fed him, armed and armored him), saved a Kenku rogue from loosing his other hand for theft (again, branded, fed, armed and armored him), and then acquired an Elven Ranger (I cannot recall the specific details of this one, but it was in the same light. Taliman branded, fed, armed and armored him). Taliman treats them all with great respect, and for the duration of the RP to follow they responded in kind with admiration and loyalty.
Not long after the acquisition of the Elf, however, Rivosvent sent for Taliman. See, Taliman had caused a little disturbance with his saving of these three individuals, and rumors had begun to spread. Well, after a brief discussion in the presence of the Green Dragon who attempted to mock Taliman, Taliman lashed out with enraged words. Rivosvent attempted to dominate Talimans mind, but he actually managed to resist! (I rolled a fricken natural 20 which was the only way resistance would have been possible). Rivosvent was so impressed, not only with Talimans unique will, but it just so happens that the country Taliman single handedly sent into a depression was also Rivosvents economic rival! Badda-boom...Taliman becomes an Agent for Rivosvent (one of only a very few).
Now, for a few sessions afterwards my DM focused on trying to take Talimans massive amount of wealth away...even going so far as to pit him and his new gang against CR's 2-3 levels above what they should be able to handle. Taliman and his group managed victory every time, sure with sufficient injuries and even a KO on the Orc (that's what happens when a barbarian rages, gains temporary HP and then the rage ends and he falls below 0 HP XD). In any case, that is the background and I have not RP'd Taliman and his group for nearly 7 years now.
So, to offer a more specific view over the roles to be filled and mine:
Taliman (lvl 5 equivalent Half-Elf sorcerer): This would be me, and I would run the story. While I will admit I would strongly prefer someone else to run the story since I have been the active DM for my RL group for the past 7 years (if anyone is actually interested I would love to discuss it), for the most part it seems that since I bear the background knowledge, my running the story makes the most sense.
(Name) Pure-blooded Orc Barbarian (lvl 4 equivalent): I cannot recall his name, but I do remember that he fancied drinking (even played a drinking game with Taliman...of course Taliman lost! Sheesh), brawling, and bore a rather interesting sense of humor. In situations of conflict, he constantly placed himself in front of Taliman due to extreme respect, but never against Talimans wishes (diplomatic situations etc). While he does not fancy the elf ranger, they have a relationship akin to Gimli and Legolas from LoTR (but still in early stages where they argue a lot). The Orc's skills focus on brute force with a massive stick bearing a great deal of antlers on one end to smash and crush his opponents. His natural survival instincts are quite extensive when it comes to enduring the challenges of nature, and while more simplistic in his intelligence, he tends to notice things a well educated individual may not simply because he is not looking for a complex solution.
Tiku (lvl 4 equivalent Kenku rogue): Tiku has always been a street urchin. He grew up in poverty and stole his entire life to survive. These instincts are natural to him, so often he must resist the urge. The greater the value of something, the harder it is for him to resist (Abu from Aladdin is the best way to compare). However, Taliman not only saved Tiku from loosing his second hand, but Taliman also gave Tiku purpose to his life as well as removed him from a state of poverty. As long as Tiku remains in Talimans service, he wants for nothing. For this, Tiku is completely loyal, even if fairly shy and a bit cowardly. His skill with locks and traps is beyond what one might expect from a street urchin, but then...he's been stealing his entire life and has only lost 1 hand. Tiku's skills lie more in subversion and stealth. Skilled with a dagger, and once with a bow, he seeks opportune times to strike rather than jump into the fray.
Laviel (lvl 4 equivalent Elf Ranger): Laviel was the least developed of the three serfs in Talimans company. My DM did not devote a whole lot to his personality. What I do recall, is that Laviel did not have his animal companion as all rangers do (no explanation as to why was mentioned), and he was rather direct, blunt, but quiet. Taliman and Laviel did not converse much, and if they did it was typically brief. On the other hand, Laviel and the Orc tended to engage in bouts of words quite often, which Taliman found most amusing. Laviel's skills focused on tracking, hunting and navigation through the jungles of Rivosvents kingdom.While exceedingly skilled with a bow and a longsword, he relies more on dexterity and motion than brute strength.
Now, I am not against individuals altering the characters...in fact, I recognize that this is more an offshoot. I've tried to provide the most information I can recall as a foundation. Just let me know who you would like to play. If you would like to introduce a new character to join Talimans group I am not against that, though my main goal is to find people interested in filling the already established roles.
Taliman was the son of a diplomat for a country in this world my DM had created. The neighboring country were strong anti-magic. One day, when Taliman was about nineteen or so, a group of extreme radicals attacked. Their entourage of guards were slain, and Taliman saw his father executed. Well, the rage of the dragon blood streamed through his veins. Bearing a secretive natural talent of arcane magic, he unleashed a torrent of magic upon the attackers and slew all of them. He mourned, made vows, moved on with his life and sought training to seek revenge. By his latter twenties, Taliman began his quest to find those responsible for his fathers execution.
To summarize the campaign, Taliman joined up with some people along the way, took down some bandits, goblins, found a handful of anti-magic extremists with no ties to his fathers death. Eventually he made his way into the country from which the assailants stemmed. Now, what some may classify as horribly overpowered (as Taliman was level 5 by this point), we followed the game mechanics (3.5) to the letter (my DM even raised the bar a bit just to make it more difficult), but Taliman successfully managed to use the simple "prestidigitation" spell to fool the jewelers of the countries capital city that he had all these remarkable gemstones. Making every DC that was thrown, Taliman escaped the country with over 25,000 platinum worth of coin.
Now, I take pause here to put this into perspective for those that may not fully grasp the gravity of this success. The balance between D&D standard economics vs. USD has been theorized to death. But as a general reference, with a more medieval standard of metallurgy, it is likely that a single gold piece is worth somewhere between 80 and 160 USD. 25,000 platinum equals 250,000 pieces of gold. Taking the average of the aforementioned gold to USD ratio, 250,000 x $120 = 30,000,000 USD. If the metal is 100% pure, then a gold piece is worth around 271 USD. That would make it 250,000 x 271 = 67,750,000 USD. In either case, Taliman made himself an instant richman.
Back to the campaign, Taliman successfully made his way across the sea to another kingdom ruled by an old Green Dragon named Rivosvent. During his travels through the kingdom on his way to the capital, Taliman freed a pure-blooded Orc barbarian from slavery in exchange for servitude (branded him with an arcane mark as per the laws of the kingdom, fed him, armed and armored him), saved a Kenku rogue from loosing his other hand for theft (again, branded, fed, armed and armored him), and then acquired an Elven Ranger (I cannot recall the specific details of this one, but it was in the same light. Taliman branded, fed, armed and armored him). Taliman treats them all with great respect, and for the duration of the RP to follow they responded in kind with admiration and loyalty.
Not long after the acquisition of the Elf, however, Rivosvent sent for Taliman. See, Taliman had caused a little disturbance with his saving of these three individuals, and rumors had begun to spread. Well, after a brief discussion in the presence of the Green Dragon who attempted to mock Taliman, Taliman lashed out with enraged words. Rivosvent attempted to dominate Talimans mind, but he actually managed to resist! (I rolled a fricken natural 20 which was the only way resistance would have been possible). Rivosvent was so impressed, not only with Talimans unique will, but it just so happens that the country Taliman single handedly sent into a depression was also Rivosvents economic rival! Badda-boom...Taliman becomes an Agent for Rivosvent (one of only a very few).
Now, for a few sessions afterwards my DM focused on trying to take Talimans massive amount of wealth away...even going so far as to pit him and his new gang against CR's 2-3 levels above what they should be able to handle. Taliman and his group managed victory every time, sure with sufficient injuries and even a KO on the Orc (that's what happens when a barbarian rages, gains temporary HP and then the rage ends and he falls below 0 HP XD). In any case, that is the background and I have not RP'd Taliman and his group for nearly 7 years now.
So, to offer a more specific view over the roles to be filled and mine:
Taliman (lvl 5 equivalent Half-Elf sorcerer): This would be me, and I would run the story. While I will admit I would strongly prefer someone else to run the story since I have been the active DM for my RL group for the past 7 years (if anyone is actually interested I would love to discuss it), for the most part it seems that since I bear the background knowledge, my running the story makes the most sense.
(Name) Pure-blooded Orc Barbarian (lvl 4 equivalent): I cannot recall his name, but I do remember that he fancied drinking (even played a drinking game with Taliman...of course Taliman lost! Sheesh), brawling, and bore a rather interesting sense of humor. In situations of conflict, he constantly placed himself in front of Taliman due to extreme respect, but never against Talimans wishes (diplomatic situations etc). While he does not fancy the elf ranger, they have a relationship akin to Gimli and Legolas from LoTR (but still in early stages where they argue a lot). The Orc's skills focus on brute force with a massive stick bearing a great deal of antlers on one end to smash and crush his opponents. His natural survival instincts are quite extensive when it comes to enduring the challenges of nature, and while more simplistic in his intelligence, he tends to notice things a well educated individual may not simply because he is not looking for a complex solution.
Tiku (lvl 4 equivalent Kenku rogue): Tiku has always been a street urchin. He grew up in poverty and stole his entire life to survive. These instincts are natural to him, so often he must resist the urge. The greater the value of something, the harder it is for him to resist (Abu from Aladdin is the best way to compare). However, Taliman not only saved Tiku from loosing his second hand, but Taliman also gave Tiku purpose to his life as well as removed him from a state of poverty. As long as Tiku remains in Talimans service, he wants for nothing. For this, Tiku is completely loyal, even if fairly shy and a bit cowardly. His skill with locks and traps is beyond what one might expect from a street urchin, but then...he's been stealing his entire life and has only lost 1 hand. Tiku's skills lie more in subversion and stealth. Skilled with a dagger, and once with a bow, he seeks opportune times to strike rather than jump into the fray.
Laviel (lvl 4 equivalent Elf Ranger): Laviel was the least developed of the three serfs in Talimans company. My DM did not devote a whole lot to his personality. What I do recall, is that Laviel did not have his animal companion as all rangers do (no explanation as to why was mentioned), and he was rather direct, blunt, but quiet. Taliman and Laviel did not converse much, and if they did it was typically brief. On the other hand, Laviel and the Orc tended to engage in bouts of words quite often, which Taliman found most amusing. Laviel's skills focused on tracking, hunting and navigation through the jungles of Rivosvents kingdom.While exceedingly skilled with a bow and a longsword, he relies more on dexterity and motion than brute strength.
Now, I am not against individuals altering the characters...in fact, I recognize that this is more an offshoot. I've tried to provide the most information I can recall as a foundation. Just let me know who you would like to play. If you would like to introduce a new character to join Talimans group I am not against that, though my main goal is to find people interested in filling the already established roles.
