Here is a list of the heroes in this campaign:
- Abelhelm Reichert, Young human Gambler from Talabheim
- Felix Vogel, Human Bonepicker from Stirland
- Gotrak Mittnachson, Dwarf Pit Fighter from Karak Norn (Wissenland)
- Lothar El Kaloffi, Arabian Protagonist
- Mandred Vogel, Human Apprentice Wizard from Ostermark
- Otfried Orsten, human initiate from Ostland, (deceased)
- Solar Listersildra, Elf Light mage
Collective Backgrounds:
About the collective Backgrounds: The idea was taken from this article with some adjustments. The idea here is to create a short BG story for each of the heroes. It is inevitable (and, in fact the purpose) that it will result in plausible reasons for our heroes to be together.
The original idea in the article said this: "I also had my players, on a note card, write down the story of the event that got them noticed by the Empress personally. Then, I had them pass the cards to the right, and the next person had to write down how they were personally involved in those events, without discussing it with the original author. Some players used the opportunity to create alliances between their characters, while others took antagonistic roles in each others’ stories.
Finally, I had them pass the card one more time, and the next player had to write how their character’s life was personally touched by the events described"
I have changed this concept only slightly. All players write down a single event that had an impact on their lives. The only limitation I imposed was:
In general, the combined stories interweave and give you a "collective background" that insures all player have a link to each other and generally provide believable situations why the random group of heroes know one another, provides motivations and interminable goals and incentives for adventuring.
This method is highly recommended for all new crews and should stand apart to any individual backgrounds but best done before any PC BG is conceived off.
These are the results during our chargen session*:
*You may notice that one of the heroes does not appear in this process, Felix Vogel's player had to quit early but this does not mean he cannot have a tie in to other characters, in fact, he rolled "Vogel" as his last name. which insures at least that he is family of Mandred Vogel. the actual background will depend on the combined efforts of both players yet without the advantage of working on the combined background ruse.
About the collective Backgrounds: The idea was taken from this article with some adjustments. The idea here is to create a short BG story for each of the heroes. It is inevitable (and, in fact the purpose) that it will result in plausible reasons for our heroes to be together.
The original idea in the article said this: "I also had my players, on a note card, write down the story of the event that got them noticed by the Empress personally. Then, I had them pass the cards to the right, and the next person had to write down how they were personally involved in those events, without discussing it with the original author. Some players used the opportunity to create alliances between their characters, while others took antagonistic roles in each others’ stories.
Finally, I had them pass the card one more time, and the next player had to write how their character’s life was personally touched by the events described"
I have changed this concept only slightly. All players write down a single event that had an impact on their lives. The only limitation I imposed was:
- To take something the player did not think of yet during character creation
- Be original, take something outside the box.
- Next the paper is passed to the left, this player described how he influenced this event
- The paper is passed once more to the left, this player describes how the (combined) event influenced him.
In general, the combined stories interweave and give you a "collective background" that insures all player have a link to each other and generally provide believable situations why the random group of heroes know one another, provides motivations and interminable goals and incentives for adventuring.
This method is highly recommended for all new crews and should stand apart to any individual backgrounds but best done before any PC BG is conceived off.
These are the results during our chargen session*:
*You may notice that one of the heroes does not appear in this process, Felix Vogel's player had to quit early but this does not mean he cannot have a tie in to other characters, in fact, he rolled "Vogel" as his last name. which insures at least that he is family of Mandred Vogel. the actual background will depend on the combined efforts of both players yet without the advantage of working on the combined background ruse.
Abelhelm Reichert:
The yearly fair in Talabheim where he saw gypsies for the first time.
During a battle with orcs, the dwarfs inadvertantly caused a mass migration, many humans joined the gypsies.
The battle caused the destruction of the local church of Sigmar, forcing the young Otfried Orsten to join these gyspies.
Otfried Orsten:
After geing robbed & beaten, he found an amulet of Sigmar, seeing this as a sign, he decided to devote his life to His Holiness.
Mandred found Otfried after the attack and carried him troughout the night trough a dangerous forest to a temple (of Sigmar by chance) to heal.
Lothar was in this temple, practising his newfound religion.
Gotrak Mittnachson:
Gotrak suffered a humiliating defeat in the Pits, this made him in debt to somebody.
Otfried found him after scaring off his attackers and healed him. Gotrak vowed to protect the priest.
Via Otfried, Mandred became a good friend of the dwarf. Onconsciously, he became a father figure to him.
Mandred Vogel:
Mandred's father, who was a warrior, died. His mother married an academic. This new family laughed at the strong and dim youth. He started to study magic to prove his smarts.
Lothar met Mandred in The Greasy Goat, local pub for students of magic. Together they extorted lunch money from them.
Young Abelhelm, at age 10 frequented this tavern as well, cheating and scheming the rich students out of their money. He joined the racketeering of the two thers.
Lothar El Kaloffi:
Was hired to bully a wealthy merchants mistress but ended up in bed with her.
Abelhelm sold this information to the merchant.
The merchant owned pit fighters, one of them was Gotrak, who had to suffer a humiliating defeat in order to let his master pay back debts.
As you can see, this ruse works like a charm. There are only a few things left open but perhaps this will be incorporated into individual backgrounds. Only our Priest and our wizard have provided individual backgrounds so far.
The yearly fair in Talabheim where he saw gypsies for the first time.
During a battle with orcs, the dwarfs inadvertantly caused a mass migration, many humans joined the gypsies.
The battle caused the destruction of the local church of Sigmar, forcing the young Otfried Orsten to join these gyspies.
Otfried Orsten:
After geing robbed & beaten, he found an amulet of Sigmar, seeing this as a sign, he decided to devote his life to His Holiness.
Mandred found Otfried after the attack and carried him troughout the night trough a dangerous forest to a temple (of Sigmar by chance) to heal.
Lothar was in this temple, practising his newfound religion.
Gotrak Mittnachson:
Gotrak suffered a humiliating defeat in the Pits, this made him in debt to somebody.
Otfried found him after scaring off his attackers and healed him. Gotrak vowed to protect the priest.
Via Otfried, Mandred became a good friend of the dwarf. Onconsciously, he became a father figure to him.
Mandred Vogel:
Mandred's father, who was a warrior, died. His mother married an academic. This new family laughed at the strong and dim youth. He started to study magic to prove his smarts.
Lothar met Mandred in The Greasy Goat, local pub for students of magic. Together they extorted lunch money from them.
Young Abelhelm, at age 10 frequented this tavern as well, cheating and scheming the rich students out of their money. He joined the racketeering of the two thers.
Lothar El Kaloffi:
Was hired to bully a wealthy merchants mistress but ended up in bed with her.
Abelhelm sold this information to the merchant.
The merchant owned pit fighters, one of them was Gotrak, who had to suffer a humiliating defeat in order to let his master pay back debts.
As you can see, this ruse works like a charm. There are only a few things left open but perhaps this will be incorporated into individual backgrounds. Only our Priest and our wizard have provided individual backgrounds so far.