First fully conceptualized Character, Thoughts?

[Ozerati]

Pyrros Petulengro LG Verisian Human Sorcerer

Born of the Petulengro Varisian Clan. Think Traditional Gypsy Clan minus the thieving(for the most part)

Twenty three years ago Pyrros was born to Verania the clan sage and Makloin the clans farrier. He has 2 brothers Anduin and Chelios. 3 sisters Varma, Stefina, and Corday. Of the siblings Pyrros is the middle child after Varma, Anduin and before Chelios, Stefina, and Corday.

Pyrros has dark auburn hair and a 5day growth beard. He is ruggedly handsom and very fit given the work he does. travel and fight when needed.He is 6'1'' and 200 lbs with a scar across his left eye from an inch above to three inches below that he recieved fighting goblins.
He is the quinicencial gypsy in clothing choices colorful but not gaudy. Unless adventuring he wears traveling clothes.

The clan follows the Great Dragon Apsu( called by them just The Great Dragon) Pyrros is a devout follower of the Great Dragon. He follows the precepts to harm none that is innocent. To uphold the laws of the land you are in. to punish the evil that causes harm to others and to bring justice to the guilty

Pyrros is a very loyal friend and companion. He will give what he can to those in need. He will not run from danger but he will not rush headlong into suicide unless it means stopping evil that will save innocent people. He does not break the law, and will bring others to the magisters when they do if he catches it.

When Pyrros was young around 7 years old his mother bundled him up and took him on a long trip to meet a man. This man whom Pyrros did not know and to this day still does not know who he is or was. Pyrros was given to his care for what he thought of was a long time. (around 4 days) While he was with the man he did not talk to Pyrros other than tell him do you feel this or sit there or eat and go to sleep.He remembers colorful lights during his time there. The man scared him. When this was over the man talked to his mother without him present they left and went home.Durng the journey his mother told him not to speak of this or a curse will be upon you. This frightened him enough to never have spoken about it.

As he grew he became a welcome member of the scouting parties looking for the next place to stop and clear out any hazards to the clan. Such as removing any obsitacls for the wagons, removing any threats such as goblins and whatever else is out there that could harm the clan while staying at this place. He eventualy moved into the roll of tradesman which ment he got to travel with the groups to the nearby towns to trade goods to the local merchants. He became a good barterer gaining the notice of the Tradesmen in the clan and became the head of the group that traveled to Sandport.

During his time as lead trader to Sandport he became aware of strange things happening to him while having to fight off the local wildlife.
During intense situations and mortal danger he would grow claws on his hands. Also if he was specially scared for his life fire would burst forth from his hands. It did not happen all the time then. It was the cause for some concern to him and some of his clansmen but to the sages and healers this was cause for great joy. He was taken into a wagon that only the sages were to enter and was given a necklace with the symbol of the Great Dragon Apsu. These were incredibly sacred objects to his people and he did not feel that he deserved it. He tried to reject the gift but his mother said it is his do do so as he pleases but he can not leave it here. So he has kept it in his pack. He was also told that the Great Dragon was watching over him and if he kept his faith the Great Dragon would protect him.

On this most recent trip to Sandport he was fighting goblins and the claws and burning hands happend again. Upon arrival to Sandport he went to look for the Temple/Cleric/Paladin of The Great Dragon Apsu.He is looking to understand what is happening to him and how to control it. Is it a gift from the Great Dragon like his mother told him or is it a curse??

Possible character hooks:

Who is the man that his mother brought him to when he was young? What did he do? WHat did he tell his mother?

What does the Great Dragon necklace do? Does it do anything or just a symbol?

Where did these powers come from? The Great Dragon or was there a dragon in his family line? If there is a dragon in his line is he/she alive? Was/is said dragon good or evil?

Plan for this character is to go Sorcerer1, Paladin1 (or if you think it would take more time to become a paladin then sorcerer2 here)

Paladin2 or1given previous level, Sorcerer 2 or 3. Sorcerer3 dragon diciple xx.

So over all Sorcerer 3/Paladin 2/Dragon Diciple XX.

Reason for starting off as sorcerer is that it fits more in the gypsy line. I doubt there would be paladins wandering with gypsies.

[Vincent Takeda]

To me, the paladin part does seem more like a dip for mechanics sake than an appropriate 'in character' thing, but paladin as a subject is always a touchy one... One can have a just and noble outlook on life without being a paladin...

Other than that its not too bad. Except the name.

Probably more the fault of my eyes and my brain than your imagination.
When I see threads like 'A paladin and his alignment...' my brain finishes it off with 'are soon parted'
When I see threads like 'A family that plays together...' my brain finishes it off with 'DIES TOGETHER! MuHAHAHAHAHAhhhhhh!'
When I see Pyrros of course I think fire. Thats probably intentional on your part.

When I see Petulengro suddenly my brain wants to spend the rest of the campaign calling your character 'Pyro the flaming petulant pedo negro'... Again. Probably more a problem with my imagination than yours... But now that its in my head I'm having a hard time getting it out. I'm starting to think of ways of incorporating a petulant flaming pedo negro into my own campaigns... Perhaps the oatmeal's sririacha bear combined with pedo bear... Like a pedo-sriracha-werebear...

So I guess overall I like the concept outside of the paladin dip and the funky last name. Though I can totally see a dragon disciple being named Pyyros, as its narratively poetic that his mother would have that motherly instinctive 'feel' that naming him something firey is appropriate.

[Ozerati]

Ok I understand you name issue but you should know. Pyrros his first name is pronounced pier-ohs. Petulengro is an actual gypsy tribal name from the 1500s. the reason for paladin is not just for mechanics.

As stated Pyrros is very dedicated to his diety. The reason for his taking paladin lvls is not in this because this is the bacground before that happens. He will upon arriving in Sandport go to the temple to speak to the clergy there to understand what is happening to him. The reason he becomes a paladin is to further understand his gods will for she changed him this was(at least he will think so at first DM and i have not concreted that) and he will want to become her faithful servent.

[MurphysParadox]

You're not necessarily bound to the Paladin class. The background sounds well suited for either an Oracle (if you can accept the curse; blindness isn't bad and tongues/draconic would probably fit too, heh) or an Inquisitor. The Oracle indicates a connection directly with the deity, by-passing the need for training with the church. The inquisitor indicates time with the church but the goal of being an enforcer, rather than a champion. Even a basic cleric would do it, indicating time spent learning at the church and a dedication to support others.

Choosing Paladin would suggest not just a devotion to the deity, but a full blown indoctrination in the church's teachings. You took the formal path to a full blown battle champion that spreads the word and holds his god's law as paramount in his life.

Just something to consider. Paladin is a hard class to play and generally harder to explain how you went from a spell casting sorcerer to a martial champion of doctrine. Plus I just really like Oracles, heh.

[Ozerati]

I see alot of people opposed to the paladin clas because its too "hard" to play. I dont know why this is. As for me though I love the concept of the hard as nails straight arrow. Where white is white and black is black. So I'm going with it.

Although oracle is nice we are only using the core book.

[Vincent Takeda]

On the first point, being a bit of a linguist, I quite know how to pronounce Pyrros so no worries there. I still feel etymologically [?] like the meaning of it ties strongly to the concept of 'fire'.

I'm not saying it matters to me about the paladin part breaking versilimitude or continuity or proper logical progression in terms of a 'can it be done' sort of review... But your original post wasn't 'can it be done?!" or even 'does that sound about right?'

Your original post was 'thoughts?'

I just told you what I think after reading your concept. My thoughts are 'hmm. I'd like it better without the paladin bit. You can be every bit as much a 'faithful servant' without having game mechanics that are tied to it, thus I feel at best it's tacked on and at worst, a way to squeeze in some paladin bonuses.

I'm sure petulengro was a great legitimate historical gypsy family, but thats not what my brain does when I read it.

My 'thoughts' at this point are that you've made up your mind what you're doing, so disparaging opinions about it aren't going to change your mind, but your original post was 'thoughts' so I'll at least do you the service of telling you what your concept puts 'on my mind'.

You asked...

Now I *didn't* post that when I read 'my character concept is that 'ancient gods think I'm special and I probably have dragon blood'' that my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I giggled a little bit... I didn't avoid posting that because it didn't happen, its just that I can't post that as a 'thought'... It's more of a reflex by now.

Its cool though. Dont let anyone tell you not to play how you want to play. Totally play what you want to play, because, as long as you're doing that, the campaign you're in should continue to be interesting and challenging and memorable. Its just that even if all the thoughts I have about your concept are wrong, they're still my thoughts about your concept. If you saw some of the concepts I'm playing right now you might very well have the same thoughts.

[Ozerati]

Sorry if my post sounded like I was disgruntled at your comments. I't was not ment to. It is so hard to convey tone through message boards and emails.