#since she /IS/ a paladin. and if oaths comes from a person’s conviction and less from a deity’s blessing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wanderingnork · 1 month

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Tav asks 2, 13 and 24!!

2: Answered here!

13: What is your Tav’s main color palette? Why do they choose those colors?

Blue! And gold! It's an amazing genuine coincidence that the starting gear for an Oath of Devotion paladin is blue and gold, because that's been Kubide's color scheme since basically day one. (We don't count her thing for awful eye-killing plaids though.) Her favorite color is blue, all variations, and while she errs on the side of humility...she does like shiny sparkly things. In her DAI incarnation, that's the dragon talking. In BG3, that's her wife encouraging her to indulge her taste for the finer things in life.

Also people tend to give you shiny sparkly things when you do quests for them, so she's just kinda naturally ended up with lots of those.

24: What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw?

Pride. Thinking she knows best even when she doesn't. Acting impulsively because she doesn't question her impulses. Believing she's worthy of being the final arbiter of even the most complicated moral judgements. Not questioning her own choices once they're made.

That's how she ends up breaking her oath. Impulsive action. Not questioning her own choices. Thinking she always knows best.

Even when she manages to reclaim her oath, looking at the world through new eyes, she's...still prone to this. Some of it comes naturally with being a paladin: the ones who question themselves too much tend to lose their oaths. Conviction, and a willingness to stand by even choices other people don't like, is crucial to upholding an oath.

But a lot of it comes from her. Less impulsive, when everything is said and done, and more able to look critically at her actions. Still, when the chips are down...she'll take on the role of judge, jury, and executioner. And she still thinks she's the best person for the job.

It's a flaw and she knows it.

#nork rants

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longshotlink · 4 years

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Zenée Cinderscar

I’m feeling a little proud of my latest d&d character and want to share with people, but I hate feeling like I’m imposing on others by showing or asking them if they want to read it, so instead I’m just going to fling the backstory I wrote for her out onto the internet. Yay. Here goes:

My name is Zenée Cinderscar. The…Cinderscar part doesn’t really matter anymore. I was born in a tower of my family’s mansion. I grew up alone, more or less. There were people around, but no one I was particularly close to. I had no siblings, no friends, not close ones anyway. I’d occasionally play with children of staff of my household, but that was almost more out of obligation rather than a desire for closeness. My mother disappeared when I was young. I…have no idea what happened to her. She just…vanished one day. My father spent a long time searching and grieving over her disappearance, but I was sort of left behind during that time. And afterward, my father viewed me as an unpleasant reminder, rather than his daughter.

While I lived in a mansion, a building designed to display opulence, I was never connected to it. I lived modestly, not that I knew what that meant at the time. I had few things I’d call my own, I didn’t speak much or interact with many people. I didn’t ask for extravagance, or much at all, but I had comfort and what I needed.

The disconnect from my father and from the entire lifestyle I was supposed to be a part of made sticking around home extremely unappealing. One day, I left home and boarded a ship and started a new life as a sailor. I never stuck to one ship. I would for a while, but then I’d get restless or my contract would end and instead of seeking to renew it, I found a new ship to work on. The working, the traveling, that was what I cared about. I saved money where I could, though I didn’t need it much. The time between ships was small, and you tend to get fed while working, since they need you fed to work.

Working on a ship will definitely build muscles, and it did so for me. Lots of climbing and jumping, running across the deck in storms and picking yourself back up when a wave throws you to the deck. I got strong, but it wasn’t until my first run in with pirates that I realized I’d need more than brute strength to protect those around me. Despite fighting back and receiving the scars on my face (courtesy of a buff Lizardfolk person), the pirates were merciful and no one on our crew was killed. They raided our supplies and our cargo and let us sail away with just enough supplies to make port.

This kindled in me a desire to learn to fight, knowing a different pirate crew would have murdered us wholesale and set our ship aflame. I took three years off from sailing to learn my way around weapons, first from a tutor who could only teach me so much. He told me I would never learn more from someone else, but I’d spent enough time with him to learn he was desperate for control. When I left his tutelage he swore an oath of vengeance on me. To this day I’m still not sure how much sincerity there was in it.

After that I served with a mercenary crew where I would further hone my skills. They were an eclectic bunch, but I became friends with them quickly, the first time this had happened in my life. We toured around for a while and taking jobs. We’d work bodyguard jobs, security, pest control (mindless creatures only. I had and have strong convictions about the slaughter of sentient beings who can be reasoned with), and even caravan escort.

We visited a lot of places, and while doing this I came across a small shrine to a minor deity. The caretaker there told me about Yzmos, the Uplifter. They were the patron deity of the downtrodden, the oppressed, the slaves. Their followers do what they can to raise up those who have been trampled by uncaring or domineering feet. Clerics and paladins of Yzmos are often called Chainbreakers. He pulled out a pendant from his robes and handed it to me. On it was a dark-skinned hand clasped in a fist around a chain with broken ends on either side. When I held this symbol, I believe I felt Their presence, and I felt my first connection to the divine. I never felt compelled to become a Chainbreaker, but I could understand the desire to raise up those around me. From then on, I’ve been a follower of Yzmos, doing my best to follow their tenets.

My wanderlust was served working with the mercenary company, but I missed the sea, I missed boats. It was with great reluctance that I chose to leave the friends I had made. They understood, even as they wished me to stay. An alchemist on the team even gifted me a Potion of Healing as a parting gift. It was a nice gesture, as he was normally very stingy about the concoctions he created.

The leader of the group and I had become firm friends in the years I’d been with them. She diverted the group to the port city I was headed to so that they could escort me and see me off. It was really sweet to realize the companionship I’d finally come across. We knew how to contact each other. She had a small guildhall in a faraway city I could send messages to, and I’d check in at any port I come to for any mail she sent. It was in this way that my estranged father reached out to me.

He’d known I was working on ships, and had sent a letter and a satchel of gold for me whenever I could pick it up. His letter spoke of regret at the deterioration of our relationship, and that he knew it would be difficult to repair it. Considering I was six when he turned an indifferent eye my direction, this was a reasonable assumption. He expressed that he wished to talk with me, even through written correspondence. Aside from the gold he’d sent, he informed me of a stipend he’d set aside for me. If I needed help or wanted to live less frugally, I would only need to request funds, and much of my costs would be taken care of.

I don’t like the idea of my affection being bought, but I also realize it’s the only way he knows to interact with the world. I returned the letter and the gold with a message of my own. I told him stiffly that I wouldn’t be bribed into being his daughter again, but if he was sincere, I would talk with him when I could. I told him I’d contact him if I’d be in a port for a long period of time, or just where I’d be easiest to contact. I still haven’t met with him in person, but I do feel our relationship is mending, one conversation at a time.

At some point in the last five years, I received an invitation from the mercenary group I’d traveled with. She had joined a group called the Harpers, and knowing my faith, thought it would be up my alley. I did some looking into them, surprisingly difficult considering how quiet they try to be, and realized it would do me good to take more active roles in supporting oppressed people. I agreed to join, occasionally taking jobs from them in places that I could reach by working a ship. It was rewarding work, and I truly enjoyed helping others.

#my writing #d&d character #character backstory

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