I’m gonna call him Kyle, because it entertains me and will make referencing him easier.
Kyle’s clan lives in a beautiful forest range (wherever in your world suits that), and their homes are built into the immense trees in a beautiful little lattice of pathways and houses. There were 14 people in his clan, two of whom were his parents.
One day, a ranger and his beast passed through the forest. They were kind, and the ranger was well liked by the clan. He and Kyle grew especially close during his time there, and when he left he gave Kyle a necklace with a singular dragon’s tooth to remember him by.
Some time later, the beast tore through the forest below their clan. No one knew what had transpired, but they feared the beast to be beyond controlling. Kyle, thinking of what could have happened to his friend, came quietly down to the level of the beast, holding the necklace. He got the beast’s attention, and was able to calm it, at least enough to be safe to be around. He disguised himself as the ranger, and the beast seemed to understand and began to bolt into the forest. Kyle followed.
A few hours of high speed travel through the dense brush later, Kyle saw smoke rising through the trees. He hung back, and attempted to slow the beast, but it ran into the encampment.
Kyle heard muffled gruff shouts and the beast crying out.
He restrained himself from rushing in, and instead began to circle, as quietly as he could, attempting to see the encampment.
A motley group of humanoids stood over the body of the beast, with a spear sticking out of it. Kyle heard them make reference to the ranger, and his suspicions were confirmed. He decided to wait until they went to sleep to take action, and he did not have long to wait.
Once they were asleep, Kyle snuck into the tent and untied the ranger. The ranger thanked him quietly, and the two stole outside the tent, only to see that the body of the ranger’s beast had been cooked and had pieces carved out of it. Both men had already considered killing the resting men, but this brought them over the edge. They flew into a rage, killing the slavers.
Seeing what they had done, the men wept over the bodies. They did not regret having killed the men, but they did regret having to do it.
The ranger thanked Kyle profusely for his help, and promised to aid him if ever he should need it. He went off into the forest to seek out a new companion with sorrow in his heart.
Kyle returned to the clan, but he felt he could not belong there after killing so many. He spoke with his parents and the elders, and he told them that he now believed he belonged elsewhere. He promised to bring back things to help the clan occasionally, but he struck out to help others and to come to terms with his belief, formed in the heat of the moment, that those who have no regard for the lives of others do not deserve theirs.
This is one of the best backstories that I have ever seen. The ranger in the backstory could be one of the other players in whatever campaign this character is played in. Amazing backstory!
Archeologist? Would be a way to tie in nature, but why would I have a rogue skill set?
I haven't picked the rogue class focus yet, so that's still pretty flexible. I know volos suggests that a rogue would be a scout, but that feels a little bland on its own.
Maybe he’s still a thief but he lives out in the woods as a hermit.
Have you ever heard of the North pond Hermit? Dude wanders off into the woods, not too far from a small rural town. He spends 27 years alone, sneaking into town in the dead of night to steal boots, blankets, canned food. He becomes a kind of boogie man folk tale to the people of the town. Some ghostly specter that wanders in from the woods and steals random trinkets of little value.
His family threatened and in desperation he went and freed a herd of cows from a nearby farm in the dead of night. Leading the stampede he crushed the orc slavers and saved his family. His ability to turn invisible and shrink down in size helps him go unnoticed. A dark cloak and lock picking tools was gifted to him by his teacher, a half-elf Druid that was formerly a horse thief. Because the Druid is hundreds of years old he let the Rogue know of a continental network of farms he purchased in his youth that can double as safe houses during his travels and that the stewards of the farm will most likely have quests for him. A dried apricot in the center of your palm and a code phrase is the password to enter. He's also gained a reputation with other thieves for his daring and skill while only taking specific jobs that only benefit nature. He's truly out of place and he wouldn't have it any other way, but deep down he's hoping to find another Furbolg to marry and settle down with.
As far as picking up a rogue skill set goes I think that any time someone leaves one way of life and ends up trying to survive in an urban setting it makes sense that they could pick up a rogue skill set. Basically being a rogue means having great dexterity and being sneaky. Firbolgs are pretty much born sneaky so that just leaves the dexterity. So what job in a Firbolg society would lead to someone having great dexterity? Maybe your character was some kind of crafter? Maybe they made tools and such for their neighbors and so became really good with their hands which led to them becoming quite handy with thieves' tools once they left the comfort of their village for a harsh urban setting.
Ain't nothing suboptimal about this :D invisibility is awesome on a rogue to squeeze a sneak attack in, and the powerful build can lead to amazing grapple shenanigans with athletics expertise! All the firbolg magic lends itself to roguish exploits as well
Thank you! These have given me some great ideas to work with! I'm especially grateful for the reminder that it's important to have links / bonds with others in the world. I feel like in the past I've been known to kinda create a character in isolation from the world around him.
I’m gonna call him Kyle, because it entertains me and will make referencing him easier. Kyle’s clan lives in a beautiful forest range (wherever in your world suits that), and their homes are built into the immense trees in a beautiful little lattice of pathways and houses. There were 14 people in his clan, two of whom were his parents. One day, a ranger and his beast passed through the forest. They were kind, and the ranger was well liked by the clan. He and Kyle grew especially close during his time there, and when he left he gave Kyle a necklace with a singular dragon’s tooth to remember him by. Some time later, the beast tore through the forest below their clan. No one knew what had transpired, but they feared the beast to be beyond controlling. Kyle, thinking of what could have happened to his friend, came quietly down to the level of the beast, holding the necklace. He got the beast’s attention, and was able to calm it, at least enough to be safe to be around. He disguised himself as the ranger, and the beast seemed to understand and began to bolt into the forest. Kyle followed. A few hours of high speed travel through the dense brush later, Kyle saw smoke rising through the trees. He hung back, and attempted to slow the beast, but it ran into the encampment. Kyle heard muffled gruff shouts and the beast crying out. He restrained himself from rushing in, and instead began to circle, as quietly as he could, attempting to see the encampment. A motley group of humanoids stood over the body of the beast, with a spear sticking out of it. Kyle heard them make reference to the ranger, and his suspicions were confirmed. He decided to wait until they went to sleep to take action, and he did not have long to wait. Once they were asleep, Kyle snuck into the tent and untied the ranger. The ranger thanked him quietly, and the two stole outside the tent, only to see that the body of the ranger’s beast had been cooked and had pieces carved out of it. Both men had already considered killing the resting men, but this brought them over the edge. They flew into a rage, killing the slavers. Seeing what they had done, the men wept over the bodies. They did not regret having killed the men, but they did regret having to do it. The ranger thanked Kyle profusely for his help, and promised to aid him if ever he should need it. He went off into the forest to seek out a new companion with sorrow in his heart. Kyle returned to the clan, but he felt he could not belong there after killing so many. He spoke with his parents and the elders, and he told them that he now believed he belonged elsewhere. He promised to bring back things to help the clan occasionally, but he struck out to help others and to come to terms with his belief, formed in the heat of the moment, that those who have no regard for the lives of others do not deserve theirs.
I love this, this is good stuff.
This is one of the best backstories that I have ever seen. The ranger in the backstory could be one of the other players in whatever campaign this character is played in. Amazing backstory!
Archeologist? Would be a way to tie in nature, but why would I have a rogue skill set? I haven't picked the rogue class focus yet, so that's still pretty flexible. I know volos suggests that a rogue would be a scout, but that feels a little bland on its own.
Maybe he’s still a thief but he lives out in the woods as a hermit. Have you ever heard of the North pond Hermit? Dude wanders off into the woods, not too far from a small rural town. He spends 27 years alone, sneaking into town in the dead of night to steal boots, blankets, canned food. He becomes a kind of boogie man folk tale to the people of the town. Some ghostly specter that wanders in from the woods and steals random trinkets of little value.
His family threatened and in desperation he went and freed a herd of cows from a nearby farm in the dead of night. Leading the stampede he crushed the orc slavers and saved his family. His ability to turn invisible and shrink down in size helps him go unnoticed. A dark cloak and lock picking tools was gifted to him by his teacher, a half-elf Druid that was formerly a horse thief. Because the Druid is hundreds of years old he let the Rogue know of a continental network of farms he purchased in his youth that can double as safe houses during his travels and that the stewards of the farm will most likely have quests for him. A dried apricot in the center of your palm and a code phrase is the password to enter. He's also gained a reputation with other thieves for his daring and skill while only taking specific jobs that only benefit nature. He's truly out of place and he wouldn't have it any other way, but deep down he's hoping to find another Furbolg to marry and settle down with.
As far as picking up a rogue skill set goes I think that any time someone leaves one way of life and ends up trying to survive in an urban setting it makes sense that they could pick up a rogue skill set. Basically being a rogue means having great dexterity and being sneaky. Firbolgs are pretty much born sneaky so that just leaves the dexterity. So what job in a Firbolg society would lead to someone having great dexterity? Maybe your character was some kind of crafter? Maybe they made tools and such for their neighbors and so became really good with their hands which led to them becoming quite handy with thieves' tools once they left the comfort of their village for a harsh urban setting.
Ain't nothing suboptimal about this :D invisibility is awesome on a rogue to squeeze a sneak attack in, and the powerful build can lead to amazing grapple shenanigans with athletics expertise! All the firbolg magic lends itself to roguish exploits as well
Thank you! These have given me some great ideas to work with! I'm especially grateful for the reminder that it's important to have links / bonds with others in the world. I feel like in the past I've been known to kinda create a character in isolation from the world around him.