Monday 22 July 2013

D&D characters need love too

I am about to take my first tentative steps into the world of Dungeons and Dragons, to help ease the transition I wanted my character to have a back story that would help guide him through the his adventures.  Here are the humble beginnings of Sir Cedric Roddington-Smithe III, the human paladin.

Part 1

As the second born son of the lord of Gobbledon, Cedric Roddington-Smithe the third was always destined to be a man of the cloth.  Despite his older brother being a half-wit with aspirations of being a successful bard, he would one day rule his father’s lands while the stronger, wiser brother, Cedric, wasted his talents in the service of the god Bahamut.

At the age of 5, clerics came for Cedric and took him away to begin his training.  Cedric was big for his age, much bigger than the other boys of comparable age at the monastery and carried chiselled facial features that gave away his noble background.  For the first few years, Cedric trained with the clerics, both human and dragonborn alike to learn how best to serve Bahamut.  He soon became a leader amongst the trainees and by the age of 12 he had become a strong and confident young man.

At that time, Cedric was taken under the wing of a kindly old cleric named Derek who offered to show him the deepest secrets of the order, what he gave however was very different.  Like many in the order, Derek was a fan of buggery and Cedric was his new favourite plaything.  Over the new few years, Cedric suffered silently at the hands of his so called protectors, being passed around the clerics like the mash potato at dinner.  As Cedric’s faith in Bahamut waned, his desire to leave the order grew.  At the age of 16, feeling that his god had forsaken him, a grim and determined Cedric ran away from the order in search of a better life.

Soon after leaving the monastery, Cedric discovered that the green is not always greener on the other side.  Surrounded by poverty and with no source of food or water, he was left joyless, hungry and on the verge of death.  With his last thought, Cedric realised that maybe the buggery wasn’t that bad after all.  With that thought, he slipped into a deep sleep that he did not expect to awaken from.

Cedric awoke in a golden room, much larger than any room that he had ever been in before.  Not only was he awake, Cedric felt stronger and more powerful than he ever had before.  Across the room, sat on a throne of bones, was the largest man that Cedric had ever seen.   Without the man speaking, Cedric knew who he was, it was the warrior god Kord.  Cedric started to walk across the room but then Kord stood and with one wave of his giant sword sent a shockwave across the room that knocked Cedric out.

Hours later Cedric awoke but he was not in that room anymore.  Looking around, he realised that he was back where he had initially passed out however he was no longer wearing the tattered rags that he had passed out in.  He was now wearing a glorious suit of armour and carried a great sword and shield bearing the mark of Kord.  Cedric knew instantly that he had been saved by the very god that he must now serve.

Before beginning his quest, Cedric decided to journey to the nearest town to have one last night of pleasure.  Due to his years of abuse at the hands of the clerics, Cedric has generally a joyless, grim individual that was unable to get any pleasure from other humans.  He journeyed to that town in search of the only thing that he had found that could bring joy into his life, halflings.


Time for a short break as Shane (my Soulstone Train co-host) started writing the start of his own character’s history.  He’s posted that on his blog, http://www.blogger.com/profile/05418819337905911000.  As we want to tie our characters together, I quickly put together part 2.


Part 2

It was early morning and Cedric was already regretting his decision to start his journey so soon. He could still feel the effects of last night's mead and he smelt of halfling, he was not presented in a way befitting a paladin of Kord.

In his impaired state, Cedric lacked his usual keen senses that would have provided a much earlier warning for what was to come that morning. He was not alone.

As Cedric slowly staggered down the road, clanging armour could be heard as his knees bashed together in a vain attempt to keep the valiant knight upright. In the shadows a figure lurked, was it friend or foe?

As Cedric reached a crossroads, a figure crept out of the darkness. Cedric attempted to quickly evaluate the situation to determine whether he was in immediate danger but he was struggling due to his impaired state. He suddenly realised that his eventual demise may be caused by a barrel of mead and a friendly halfling called Cybil.

Looking over the stranger, Cedric's eyes were immediately draw to the oversized sword that the man carried. Broad and straight with a ribbed leather handle, the man carried the sword in a way that Cedric had never seen before. The man seemed to love that blade, so much so that it made Cedric feel uncomfortable.

The second thing that Cedric noticed was the man's look, he couldn't quite decide what race he was. As Cedric reached for his sword, the stranger spoke but did so in a language that he did not recognise. Obviously sensing Cedric's confusion the stranger spoke again, this time in the common tongue. "Your sword will not be needed good sir, I mean you no harm" the stranger said. Although he didn't feel it, Cedric tried his hardest to appear and sound imposing. "I am Sir Cedric, knight of the order of Kord, state your name and purpose". "I am Sha-Karn" the stranger replied, "I am a sword Mage and currently have no purpose. I woke up in a strange place with little memory. I have been wandering since waking, you are the first person I have come across". Sir Cedric didn't entirely trust the stranger, he seemed to shuffle a little when he said that Cedric was the first person he'd met. Had there been another and if so, what had happened to them?

Cedric was ready to leave this man and continue on his journey but then he remembered his vows. "As you have no direction, who you like to travel with me for a while?" Cedric asked.


I’m looking forward to seeing how this character develops and how his emotionally crippling background affects him.

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