So, I'm rolling a level 1 paladin of Iomedae and am having a surprising amount of difficulty putting together an interesting background. Most of my background tend to be some kind of "victory over adversity" story transitioning them from pedestrian existence to an adventuring lifestyle. This time, I'm trying to take a little more traditional, I guess you could say, tack with the paladin. She's a noble, had a privileged, if sober, life, attended war college, and so on complete with the "Chosen of Iomedae" trait.
The thing is, it seems like I have the rough ideas in place, but piecing them together is hard. It almost feels foreign. I also question if it's too much for level 1. I also question if it's too bland. She's lived in the typical Varisia hot spots of Korvosa, Magnimar, and Sandpoint. I'm thinking about having her actual origins start in Westcrown as she's of "pure" Chelish descent. I figured this would help having well-known cities at play, but it's not as much as I thought.
I've played one other paladin and that character was devoted to Sarenrae. The diplomatic and civic works aspects to redemption made that story actually quite easy to put together. I also wonder if Iomedae having more of a "faith militant" feel is what's standing in the way. "Zealot kills bad things" isn't interesting. However, the why they're a zealot can be interesting. Unfortunately, the best answer I have for that right now is simply that's been her life. Do I embrace just how not special her reasons are? Do I write up an ease of faith angle pitying those who don't see "the truth?"
The point of posting here is that I'd be very interested to hear what any of you might think in an either feedback or critiquing manner. I'm not asking for anyone to write my background for me, just trying to get some ideas to get the ball rolling.
What if her privileged life has led her to be a paladin of Iomedae, but her faith isn't really cemented yet. She believes, but feels she only believes because it's all she knows, all she has experienced. She's never had that "calling" to the faith or that experience with injustice or a cruel world to bring out the yearning for justice and desire to protect others yet.
That would make sense. She would see it as her duty but hasn't quite been in it herself yet.
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Something else to consider is the "lawful vs. good" angle and how she deals with it. She comes from an exceedingly lawful background, but maybe she's encountered a situation where she knew the LAWFUL thing wasn't the RIGHT thing, and when forced into that situation, had to trust her instincts, and realizing Iomedae smiled on her for having the courage to make that decision.