This is a tie-in we wrote for one of my players backrounds. She is a halfling rogue. It ties her tightly to Tidwoad, which can be used in many ways, depending on what need arises...
...10 or 15 years ago, Tidwoad was visiting this gnome because Shamil’s father was a friend from a long time ago. The two hatch up a plan to start a gem and other related goods store in the capital of Greyhawk. Shamil’s father takes most of the family's money supply and promises to pay for the rest of his family’s move as soon as he can afford it.
After shop is set up, Shamil’s father sends home letters every several months. This continues well, with the father becoming more optimistic in his letters and Shamil expects to be living in Greyhawk in around a year’s time. Then, the letters stop. Shamil doesn't worry at first, since the last letter said that her father would be increasingly busy. Eventually, after the good part of a year has gone by, Shamil decides something has gone wrong and pleas with her mother to let her go to the Free City, but because of her age, her mother refuses.
After five or so more long years, her mother passes away, and she takes the rest of the family's money, having no siblings and treks to the CoG. On her way to the CoG, she stops in Diamond Lake, where she runs into her father's business partner and learns the truth.
Five years ago, her father and Tidwoad were doing well, the shop had nestled into a niche in the large city and a decent stream of money was flowing into the business. Enough money that a local group of thugs noticed the small store and planned to sack it. Their first attempt was thwarted by the clever gnome Tidwoad. On the second day, he had left the shop for a small time, leaving Shamil’s father in charge. The group attacked then, and her father was unprepared for the thugs despite his father’s short sword+1 he had brought to work after being warned by Tidwoad about the thugs. The thugs had slayed Shamil’s father in the process of looting and almost made it out before Tidwoad returned. He managed to kill one of the intruders but the rest escaped.
After the theft, he tried to recover, but constant harassment by the group forced him to leave. Taking with him all his possessions and a silent vow never to be stolen from again, Tidwoad fled the thugs and the CoG to the nearby town of Diamond Lake. He had heard rumors from clients about the cairns and had decided to check them out. After learning that they were just rumors, he gave up on that idea and again opened a shop. To keep his vow, he hired Festus the shield guardian and then settled down in the gem trade.
Learning of this truth, Shamil appeals to Tidwoad as a family friend and is allowed to stay in one of the rooms above his workshop.
Shamil has been in DL for around a year or so when the adventure begins, and is ready for a change. She doesn't like leeching off Tidwoad, who has been allowing her to stay while she does minor tasks around his shop, and his shop has been suffering lately, as has the town. She decides to act on a rumor she heard from a customer about an unexplored cairn that has multitudes of wealth. Her motivation is to gain enough wealth to travel to the CoG and open up a shop of her own, since she has no close family left to return to. Learning of her plan, Tidwoad presents her with her grandfathers short sword +1 a small sum of money, and the best of luck. He tells her that he will always have a room for her, but they both know that its unlikely she will come back...
