In response to a comment posted in last week’s Experience Points column about character background, I offer up several answers to the question; “How did your character become a [insert class name here]? Here are a few ideas about the events and circumstance that may have lead to your character’s chosen class. These are by no means complete backgrounds but they are solid foundations upon which to build your character’s story.

Avenger

• You were once an assassin for hire sent to kill a high ranking priest of Ioun. You were caught in the act but the priest spared you from death because of a vision he had and a prophecy revealed to him by his goddess. He made you his acolyte and trained you in the ways of Ioun. Eventually your skills were put to use for your new deity against the enemies of the church and the followers of Vecna.

Bard

• You were once a poet, scholar, and philosopher in an ancient empire. But when you ran afoul of a medusa and were turned to stone your memory passed from the annals of history. Centuries later you have been restored by a benevolent cleric and his allies. Now you roam the land telling the stories of ancient history and legend. People are astounded by how realistic and vivid your tales are. What they don’t realize though is that when you tell the stories of antiquity they are the accounts of an eyewitness, not merely legends passed down through the generations.

Barbarian

• Born a commoner in a small village you were once tortured and forced to watch the butchering and destruction of your village and family at the hands of enemy soldiers. Nearing death something primal awoke within you unleashing your warrior spirit as you destroyed your enemies in a hazy, dream-like rage. Even today you only recall your actions during rages through foggy, half memories.
• As a child you were the sole survivor of a ship wreak and washed up on the shores of a wild island. You were forced to fend for yourself and fight for your very survival. You learned how to take care of yourself by watching the creatures on the island. You learned how to fight like a bear and run like a deer. You learned how to stalk prey and vanish in the wilds like a great cat. You lived on the isle for more than a decade but several months ago you were discovered by explorers and you returned with them to the mainland and a home you can barely remember.

Cleric

• You were once a member of a criminal group ran by a worshiper of Tiamat. You were set-up to take the fall for the groups’ criminal activity and abandoned by your peers. While serving a ten year sentence you met a priest of Bahamut who ministered to inmates and you became a true believer renouncing your past life. Once released you set out to spread your deity’s word and bring the followers of Tiamat to justice.
• You once served a mighty empire as a military leader dedicated to Bane as a paladin of war. For more than a decade you conquered in both Bane’s name and the name of your emperor. During a campaign on a foreign shore you witnessed a young girl, barely in her teens stand defiantly against your troops in a misguided attempt to save her younger siblings. She was struck down by your men but something she uttered before her death struck you and changed you forever. You disappeared from the army, renounced your faith and struck off alone on a foreign continent. Eventually you happened upon a quiet monastery near a peaceful village. There you heard the word of Moradin and realized that anything can be re-forged, even a soul. Although thoroughly middle-aged you have begun your life anew, going forth and spreading the word of Moradin.

Druid

• It has always been the way of your clan to have the eldest child in each generation sent to live among the mystics of the Darkstorm Valley. There you learned the ancient and mysterious ways of the spirit world and the primordial power of nature. Recently the tranquil valley became victim to a foul plague that killed many of your kinsmen and twisted the landscape into something unnatural. You and your remaining allies fought the Far Realm invaders at tremendous cost driving them from the mortal world but not before they managed to forever corrupt the valley. Now you have struck out on your own hunting the foul aberrations of the Far Realm that escaped the valley so they may not destroy any more of the natural world.

Fighter

• The gladiatorial arena of Stormhaven is no more. When the new rulers of the city took power they swore to make the city more respectable and blood-sports were certainly not a part of their vision for the city. Never mind the fact that the battles were staged, the blood fake, and the rivalries scripted; the people loved their heroes and their villains. Now you find yourself out of work and the only skills you possess are the martial skills of a warrior; hopefully the fact that you’ve never actually killed anything won’t be a problem.
• You once served as the bodyguard for a powerful noble in the city of your birth. You lived a good life with high pay and easy duties. Unfortunately you grew lazy and complacent in your responsibilities and failed to do you job. Assassins killed your charge and left you for dead. Disgraced and unemployable you left the city and struck out on your own.

Invoker

• You don’t clearly remember the events leading up to your death but you do remember the powerful, yet soothing voice that spoke to your disembodied soul as it drifted toward your eternal reward. Fate is not through with you yet and The Raven Queen has work for you to do in the mortal realm. As her instrument and with her guidance you may yet reach your true destiny.
• You never asked for the visions, or the prophetic dreams, or a healing touch, but then the gods rarely ask mortals if they are interested in becoming their chosen agent. Your birth was heralded by strange omens and unusual events. You have been chosen by a god to be their divine emissary in the world. Although you are barely in your teens your path is one that follows the will of your god and not your own interests. What your future holds is unknown even to you, but at night, as you drift off to sleep, you feel the coming of a dark and wicked storm. A storm you hope you’re strong enough to weather.

Paladin

• When you were younger you were taken in by a vampire and made her unwilling thrall. For years you were forced to perform unholy acts of sin and debauchery by your dark mistress. Nightly you prayed for release from a tortured existence but when adventurers destroyed your mistress they showed mercy on you. An elderly servant of Pelor removed your curse. You swore form that moment on to seek redemption by serving as the will of Pelor and helping those plagued by the undead.
• As a teen your parents and the village elders had you sent to an asylum when you told them about the voice that spoke to you and told you things; secret things, mysterious things, divine things. Although incarcerated you stood-fast in your belief that the voice in your head was that of a god and that you were destined to do his divine will. After several years in the asylum your god showed you the way. You escaped and now follow the divine voice in your head in order to do your god’s work.

Ranger

• You once served as a scout in the king’s army patrolling the frontier boarder of the kingdom. When a hobgoblin legion invaded from the wild-lands you were taken captive and held as a slave. For eight long months you were kept prisoner until your kinsmen finally drove back the army. You still suffer the scars, both physical and mental, of being a prisoner of war, as well as a deep-seated hatred of goblinoids.
• You were born to a well respected family of accomplished wizards and arcane spell-casters. Your pedigree included some of the most famous magic users of the age and your family had high expectations for you. Unfortunately you were not born with a sorcerer’s blood, nor a wizard’s intellect, or a warlock’s force of will. As both an utter disappointment and an embarrassment to your family you were given a small stipend and the close on your back and exiled from your family estate. You became a loner, a wonderer, and a self-made survivor.

Rogue

• As the only child of wealthy nobles you spent your formative years in an elite academy while living the life of a dilettante. While away from home a rival noble house managed to have your families’ name disgraced, your ancestral home seized, and your parents’ coffers drained. Your father was executed as a traitor to the crown and your mother committed suicide. You of course have no proof that your family was set-up, but the events that transpired have permanently altered the course of your life.
• Growing up on your own in the big city you did what you needed to in order to survive. You turned your natural charm and cunning into a mastery of the con game. Eventually you found yourself in with the local thieves’ guild and a trusted confidant of the guild master. That’s when you got greedy. You managed to pull of a major con against the guild master and the guild itself. Now you find yourself with a bit of coin, a strange artifact, and a price on your head.

Shaman

• You were once a powerful invoker who served the gods by the will of Kord. However you and the adventurers you traveled with were responsible for the release of an evil entity of elemental evil. You had the opportunity to stop the entity but it would have meant allowing one of your companions to perish. The one companion that you truly, and secretly loved. Instead of seeing her die you allowed the entity to escape. As punishment for your failure the gods stripped you of your power. You now have turned your back on both the gods and their foolish war with the primordials. You have found another path to power, an ancient path. A path that is of the world, not apart from it.

Sorcerer

• As a young adult you served a powerful wizard as part of his household staff. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time when a ritual went horrible wrong resulting in the death of the wizard, the destruction of his manor, and the infusing of your body with barely controlled magical energy. You escaped the destruction and now wonder the land thrilled at the new found powers you posses. Never again will you live the life of a commoner, there is a much greater destiny in store for you.
• Your “gift” first manifested as a young teenager. At first it was just odd occurrences in your presence; strange noises, weird lights, the occasional floating object. But as you entered puberty it got worse, much worse. Plants wilted, animals were still-born, and rumors circulated amongst the locals that their village must be haunted. Your parents discovered that the strange events happening were your doing and they called you a witch and turned you over to the village elders. You were deemed an abomination and set to burn at the stake. As the bonfire grew around you your uncontrolled magic took over burning the crowd and allowing you to escape. Now the deaths of your friends and family still haunt you as you try to learn to control your power.

Swordmage

• You were born and raised in the Astral Sea. At a very young age you were selected to enter a special academy ran by a guild of arcane spell-casters. There you were trained, monk-like to wield sword and spell as one in order to serve as a guardian to one of the guild’s members. Recently, while on a secret expedition to the material world, your master and the rest of his retinue where killed leaving you lost and alone in an unfamiliar world.

Warden

• When the revolt came your family lost the crown they had held for generations and you alone survived the bloody coup. Your nanny fled into the countryside with you in tow. She died in the flight from your ancestral home but you were taken in by a group of lycanthropes living in secret in the primeval forest. There you were raised to feel the spirits of the world and channel their primal power. You have left the protective woods you once called home to discover the truth of your ancestry.

Warlock

• As a child you were sold into slavery by desperate parents. A hard life of labor, turmoil, and mistreatment by your owners filled you with the burning desire to escape your shackles by any means necessary. So when forces called out to you from beyond the mortal realm you were all too eager to except the offers they made even if the price one day may be your own soul.
• As a young man you were a famous actor on the largest stage in your home city. Fans threw roses, ladies swooned when you entered the room, and you were the toast of the town. You had it all; fame, wealth, and your choice of any woman you desired, but it wouldn’t last. When a powerful noble caught you with his wife he nearly killed you. You managed to escape with your life but your face was horrible scarred, your body badly wounded, and your career was over. Eventually you hit rock-bottom and contemplated taking your own life. As you sat there with a dagger in hand a strange being appeared before you and made you offer. The creature promised to restore the fame, power, and life you once had, you only had to make a simple pact…

Warlord

• Orphaned at birth you were raised in a Spartan-like, hobgoblin monastery dedicated to Kord and Bane. The intense training forged your strong body into a deadly weapon and your agile mind into that of a keen tactician. You eventually left the monastery to find your way in the world and to reconnect with your race.
• You hail from a long line of accomplished military leaders and officers. Your legacy got you into the finest military academy in the empire and there you became its star pupil. As you were nearing graduation and approaching the time when you would take command of a company in the emperor’s army, you left the academy without warning. You left your entire life behind in pursuit of true love, unfortunately the object of your affection turned out to be a succubus. Having destroyed your career and reputation the devil disappeared saying only that her mission had been accomplished. Now you make your way in the world as a mercenary and adventurer.

Wizard

• Always curious and inquisitive you grew up devouring every bit of knowledge you came across. You read every book, parchment, and scroll you could find but longed for more. You knew that real knowledge, and real power, could only be gained through the understanding and mastery of magic. You served as the apprentice to a well known wizard in the city you grew up in. After several months as an apprentice you discovered a horrific secret about your mentor, he was actually a lich. Keeping the secret to yourself you managed to steal the creature’s phylactery and hold it over the lich’s head. Since that day you have played a dangerous game of blackmail, demanding access to the lich’s knowledge in exchange for not destroying the well-hidden phylactery.

For additional tips on character backgrounds click on the links below:

• Character Motivations: Why Adventure? [part 1]
• Character Motivations: Why Adventure? [part 2]