The first thing that you need to realize is that I play pretend alot. The folks that are involved in creating these tales are real; I’ve seen them, eaten steak with them, let them sleep on my couch. The characters they play, however, are completely fictional. We made them up with our very own imaginations, and have given them lives of their own. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
The second thing you need to know is that Kuralia is an old place. With the help of my friends, I’ve been building Kuralia since 1991, and I still consider it a work in progress. Many characters have visited the ancient forests of the Alafalans, traveled to the shores of the Vast Opal Sea, or climbed the Thesh Mountains. I could spend time – a great deal of it – looking back at those who have come before (and you know, I may do just that someday), but I think I’ll start off with the current campaign.
So, to get right to it, I’d like to introduce the cast of characters that are playing in my current campaign. After you see who is immersed in the world, I’ll take you on a trip through what my players have lovingly dubbed “that nasty garbage the DM dreamed up.”*
Sho Tao, the Seeker, is Gi, that is to say, he’s a human from the Far Reaches. The Far Reaches is an archipelagos isolated from much of what I call Central Kuralia. He was orphaned at a young age, rescued and adopted by an agent of The Conclave. I’ll talk plenty about the Conclave, but rest assured, Sho Tao’s adoptive father is a member of a very powerful, very influential group. Sho Tao does not care anything about some political machinations of a cadre of powerful wizards, though. He’s more interested in dragons. No, let me rephrase that. He’s more interested in becoming a dragon. He’s dedicated his life to discovering and learning everything he can regarding the Five Great Dragons of Kuralia. It is this passion that led Sho Tao to meet Ark-amedes.
Sho Tao, Male Gi Dragon Shaman, level 8 . He would be considered the “meat shield” and backup healer in combat, and makes a decent living as a storyteller. He is as close as the group has to a woodsman, and is the group’s tactician.**
Ark-amedes, The Lost Child, met up with Sho Tao because of common ground. No, Ark-amedes doesn’t love dragons, and he’s not Gi. He’s actually a runaway adolescent Rock-Gnome. What he loves, though, is knowledge, and he’ll go to the ends of Kuralia for it. He’s hoping Sho Tao is successful in finding the Great Dragons. That would be very impressive to find such rare knowledge. Ark-amedes is amoral, hyperfocused, and a little bit like a pre-teen with Asperger’s. He is a consummate archivist, and is traveling central Kuralia in search of hidden truths and secrets.
Ark-amedes, Male Rock Gnome Telepath 5 Metamind 3. He is the “Glass Cannon”, using his ‘Path powers to bring down dangerous foes quickly. He is a scribe and tattoo artist, making a good living in at least three of the ports of call they have visited. He is a walking library, and also makes for a very good spy when the time calls for it.
Grant Stoneridge, the Wayward Priest, was travelling with Ark-amedes when they arrived in the city of Morville, meeting Sho Tao. He is a brazen, zealous dwarf, a diplomat from the Temple of Arguth (one of the two Creator Powers, and the chosen diety of most dwarves and gnomes). Grant is on his Wandering, where he is charged with making a lifelong friend, righting a wrong, and finding something to which he can devote his life. Even though his an invested priest, he’s still working on all three of these goals. He is a very opinionated man, and is very heavy-handed in his service to Arguth, but he is a dedicated and stalwart companion to Sho Tao.
Grant Stoneridge, Male Thwendar Dwarf Priest of Arguth 6 Earth Dreamer 2. He is the “tank” and primary healer. He comes from a clan of weaponsmiths, and makes fine weapons from scrap metal, donating any proceeds to his temple. He is a Journeyman in the Morville Guild of Craftsmen. He is also a religious scholar.
XaXa, the Reluctant Compass, met the group after they had traveled for a few months, tracking down a handful of leads regarding the group’s greater goal. A bit of an aloof wanderer, XaXa has a mysterious past, being a half-orc of noble human descent. She doesn’t ken to anyone telling her what to do, and her sense of independence is empowering. XaXa is the newest member of the group, but leads by example. She is quick to temper and a tough negotiator, but has a mind for picking out the truth. It is her critical mind that has kept the group in check on more than one occasion. She is a tremendous diplomat, and her social talents combined with Sho Tao’s tactical knowledge have forged the group into a keen tool for uncovering the dark secrets before them.
XaXa, Female 1/2 Orc Rogue 7 Nightsong Enforcer 1. She is the “sniper” and fast flanker of the group, hitting foes hard sight unseen. She is also the trap-springer and scout. She’s the de facto leader when it comes to the social machine.
—
*Please note that I’ll do my best to keep this blog rated “PG”, because I know that I would like to use this as a resource for my own kids, and so I might expect the same for other gaming parents. Understand that the player who said the aforementioned did not have “garbage” on her mind.
**We’re still using the D&D Third Edition Revised (3.5) ruleset. We are planning on migrating to GURPS or perhaps the Savage World System, but not in the middle of an existing campaign.
Yay! It’s finally up and running!
I have a question, to get you started. You know how we were talking about character versus DM point of view? I figured I may as well bring that up since you didn’t in the post. And I’m sure that a few of the players represented here would think that is nowhere near enough introduction to their character. Do you plan on writing out backstories extensively? Or would you like us to do that here (in comments or in the forums?)
Hey LG!
I think that you should make character comments here. I think it will be interesting to see the difference between my view and the players’ views.
I think that it would be more interesting to see a “This is how the DM sees it” versus a “This is how the Players see it” contrast, and that includes things like backstory.
Awesome, it’s a good start. Alot more would make sense after getting the history out, but also I can give you a start of the players views.
Hey, I’m Sho Tao. Ill give you a quick run down of my past followed by some thoughts I have for the future, but the future is never truly clear.
I grew on the isles of The Far Reaches, in a nomadic tribe called Zuihou. I grew up fascinated with the folk lore and stories I was told as a child. One, of a man who captured the Dragon of The Far Reaches. He was able to take her essence and become a dragon, but he was overflowed with power and became corrupted. I wish to obtain that power and use it for a more meaningful purpose. Yet my parents were killed during a raid on our camp when I was 8, and I was rescued by a traveling Wizard. He took me in showing and teaching me many things in the 7 years I was with him. Now torn between two cultures I am left free to decide witch to choose, and at this time is when I came to meet Grant and Ark-amedes. Now with current events unfolding, I wish to combine my two cultures in order to fix the ongoing corruption in the beliefs I was thought. I will find the power I have dreamt of in order to protect my comrades and more importantly the one I love.
Very nicely done LG and C love the look.
Hi, I’m Ark-amedes and I’m searching for Knowledge, and I will go anywhere and do pretty much whatever it takes to gain it. I left Stonefoot simply because I got bored and didn’t want to stay there knowing that there was more much much more out there. I’m not a baby and if it wasn’t for the group I would kill those that call me that, I also seem to be trying to find what my part is in the world as I am only 40 (7 in human) I still have a lot of growing up to do and my powers sometimes take me on a trip making the group wonder if I am really safe to be around. My purpose on this trip of knowledge is to gain as much as I possibly can even if it means meeting a lich face to face or doing dirty deeds.
Love the site
good job.
I’m known as Grant Stoneridge, devout follower of Arguth. Grant is now 56 years old and on his wandering. He likes to follow the rules, but he also understands that not all things can be done by following rules but instead by breaking them for the greater good. He was born and raised under a blacksmith’s way of life in Durgradain, the city of dwarves, and has learned the craft as a blacksmith. He yearns to accomplish something much greater than himself and must make friends to help him accomplish his goals.
He has met Sho Tao and Ark-amedes in hopes to make a friend or two as well as have protection to learn about the world. So far he has done well in these two priorities and will do well to aid him in a dilemma. He must right a wrong. He will right this wrong which now is much bigger than himself and he will do anything to preserve the way of life as Kuralia knows it.
Thanks, Kuraruku, but the only credit I get is for originally buying the domain name, prodding Chris to get going on this, and doing a bit of proofreading. Of course now, it’s time for me to really contribute…
So, I’ve tried like 5 times to write this bio for XaXa (pronounced like Zsa Zsa Gabor) out, and I finally realized why I was getting hung up on it. The rest of the group wrote out their bio in first person. I couldn’t find her voice, so I’ll have to narrate it as LadyGlutter. Oh, yeah, also, I’m probably the most nutty of the roleplayers, having to step into and out of my character, and other little quirks like that. I really do immerse myself in my character — I couldn’t even write the backstory in 1st person because she wouldn’t tell anyone all of this. For an example, I just realized that even though I cry very easily, I haven’t once gotten misty-eyed in this campaign, despite it being very emotional. XaXa does not cry, so I haven’t.
Also – I’m not clear how you’re going to make this website PG with the storyline as is. I can avoid bad language in the posts, but writing my backstory isn’t PG. I’ll do my best, though.
XaXa’s beginning was a bloody, angry one. Her mother had been brutalized by a human noble who had strayed from the battlefield into a nearby orc village. He caught her unprepared, or else he would not have lived long enough to brag about the deed. As it was, her mother stole into his camp the next night, took her vengeance, and left silently, leaving his sleeping companions to awaken to a scene of hideous gore.
XaXa was raised in that orc village, knowing the story of her own conception from a very young age. She was constantly reminded that she wasn’t fully orc, and her entire tribe made sure that her rights of passage were especially rigorous. After a time, her human grandfather contacted her mother, trying to set right the wrongs of his deceased child and claim some connection to the only fleshly legacy he had on earth. Her mother, unreadable as ever, agreed. XaXa, already a misfit amongst the orcs, was sent off to live for a while amongst human nobility.
While she had been raised to regard them as the enemy her entire life, she also had been treated with suspicion and wariness because she was part human. She hoped to find a place where she belonged amongst the humans, and attended to her new studies and home with enthusiasm and imagination. She was disappointed to find that she was just as much an outcast here as she was at home. She did grow to have a warm relationship with her grandfather, despite his wrongheaded attempt at fixing his son’s sins.
After her paternal grandfather died, he left XaXa a small amount of fortune, a human title of nobility, and no home. She would not accept her place as a human noble, because she felt that any system that judged people worthy based on lineage was wrongheaded. She was not easily blinded by the prejudices she was raised under, having been a target her whole life, and she felt that this was just more of the same.
Physically, XaXa is statuesque and quite attractive by both human and orc standards. Her dark red hair is almost black, and depending on who you ask, her olive complexion is neither “too green” or “too pink.” Her straight, graceful bearing can be attributed to her noble standing, her fierce orc heritage, or, more likely, a strong sense of self-confidence.
XaXa’s time amongst people of very diverse cultures has served her well in adventuring. Her unique background makes her a very good judge of character, because she actually takes the time to read people as individuals, rather than taking the racial composite as the truth. She has spent so much time learning when to blend in and go with the flow, and when to stand up and take control. She has an iron will, a fierce temper and very little tolerance for any form of slavery or oppression. If she wants you dead, start saying your prayers. She is very patient, not because she’s indecisive, but because waiting for the right moment to act ensures success. Ask anyone she’s sneak attacked with her mace…. oh wait, can you speak with dead?
Wow, you people have a weird concept of character.
Seriously though, thanks much for taking a moment to put your thoughts about your characters next to my POV. It think it’s interesting, to say the least. Honestly, I can see us running through a workshop here to build new characters (when the time comes, not in the immediate future, as I have been told that I force “retirement” too early, too often. The campaign will take you guys to 20+, likely.
Yeah, it would figure that ol’ XaXa would be the character that makes it to 20+. That’s about right.
Ha. Sho Tao might end up killing himself later on, but I don’t know. He has a nack of being able to stay on his feet.
Lol, Ill be sure and try to be sure that doesn’t happen. I may be a deranged priest of Arguth but dammit im priest!
just don’t stick your finger in the wound… and the said thing is that Sho Tao has healed me more than you have by about 20 points hehe.
OH? Well ive got a hammer that can put me in the lead >:D MWUAHAHAHAHAHA! COME HERE SHORT STUFF!! haha
you miss what are you talking about
*looks at hammer then at gnome, then back at hammer* Ive got my eye on you smalls. You hurt yourself more than anyone has hurt you. Ill bide my time. JUST YOU WAIT LITTLE MAN!! *squinty eye*
Grant has bit the ash so to speak and Ark-amedes is still running around, haha!
So who shall Vonapier bring to the table now?