Quote Originally Posted by WadeWay33 View Post
Hey! I wanted to preface saying I LOVE the work you do, and it's always amazing! Anyway, is it possible you can write a background for a Whispers Bard named Warner Leroux, who is part of a society that is devoted to keeping magic safe, and out of the wrong hands. They hoard all secrets they can find, keeping it for the 'greater good' (Think Harpers + Zhentarim). He is relatively new to the society, and doesn't know that it has darker intentions beyond collecting information. He is a pessimist and he's ambitious. If this is too little or too much to work around, then either let me know or don't do it, I don't want it to be too difficult.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, he's a human. He's probably Lawful Neutral as well.
Heh – people need to not worry about if it’s too little/much/difficult. The entire idea that triggered this for me was having people who had these character concepts – no matter how little or how much information – and give me the details they have – and allow me to challenge myself to write something for them in less than an hour’s time. So if it’s too difficult (I’ve had some that have been difficult, like the MTG ones), too easy (some just speak to me), or right now the middle – I want folks to feel comfortable posting it, knowing – I will, at the very least, give it a try. There’s some I am going to hit the mark on perfect, and folks will love it – sometimes, I am going to be off the mark, but may provide enough for them to change some of the details and spur their own imagination!

So that said, let’s see where Warner takes us today…
As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
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I was like your typical hopeless romantic.

I had tried to use song and poem to sway the hearts of women I thought were beautiful into my arms but they’d always wanted to the “bad boys” – preferring the stronger, burlier, and typically much dumber men in the city.

Tired of having my heartbroken and certain I was never going to find love in Silverymoon. Frequently called the Gem of the North, it was nothing but a constant reminder of heartache.

So I did what any torn, broken, and emotional teenager would do; I ran away from home when I was sixteen years old thinking I had the world figured out and that life had to be better “out there.”

I traveled south with some merchants, one of whom had been a bard named Tyrell Stormshadow. He was an older gentleman but knew how to play the lute in such a soothing manner and during the stops where we formed a camp we’d sit around the campfire and just listen to his stories. He had a voice that was both commanding and soothing. One the night before we reached Everlund he sat next to me and looked me over. “Runaway?” he asked, matter-of-factly.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Seem to be running into a lot of those these days,” he sighed. (1)

He took a deep drink. “So what’s your story? Why did you run away?”

I itched my head, giving it some thought, because it was going to sound childish. “Well, I kept getting my heart broken… I just thought, getting a fresh start might allow me to do something with my life… break the cycle I was stuck in.” I was surprised that I spoke the truth when I had a lie on the tip of my tongue. How had that happened?

Tyrell heaved a deep sigh and took another drink of his tankard. “So what I see in your words… you used to try and sway the ladies with your words and songs and it just wasn’t working out?”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised he knew so much from so little spoken. “Something like that,” I admitted.

“Part of what makes someone like me be able to do what I do is experience,” Tyrell explained. “You can read a story about how some adventurers rescued a princess from some dragon in some distant tower; but until you’ve felt the dragon’s breath on your back, the beating of his wings deafening your ears, and the fear in your heart; and the victory at the end…” He tapped me on the chest, just above my heart, “When you sing from the heart, it will be hollow. In order to truly ‘wow’ the crowd with a song or story, you have to have lived it. Or… lived something similar to it. For example, there’s a haunted Manor in the southern tip of Neverwinter Forest called The Havenfall Manor… Entering the house would be… a terrifying experience… and probably fatal… but during The Hollowing Season… homes are emulating actual haunted houses and can cause the same nerve racking fear, without the true risk of death… Experience that, and you could easily weave a tale of how you braved the Havenfall Manor and came out of it alive. No one would be able to counter your story, because no one else is brave enough – or perhaps – foolish enough, to actually enter the Manor.”

He took another swig of his tankard and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. “What you need to do is live a little. Why not come with me? See what we can discover together? Learn from me, listen to me, watch me – and see how I weave a story just as a seamstress weaves her thread; with a beginning, a middle and an end, and when it’s all done, it’s a beautiful image they’re left with.”

I traveled with Tyrell for three years, being his assistant. Getting him different musical instruments to play for the crowds he would gather. I listened as he spoke of various things; such as the tragedy of Havenfall Manor, and how he had gone in, all by himself, to see if he could find out what was the curse behind the Manor… he explained that an evil being, far too powerful for him, resided there and that he had barely escaped with his life, encountering ghosts and the like that still haunted the Manor grounds.

Three days later, at another town, much smaller, he had told me to tell the story. It had not worked out so well. They could tell – even though I had memorized how he told the story, word for word – that there wasn’t the emotion behind it.

I traveled with him a few more days, feeling down that I couldn’t make him proud. It was then that he had stopped me and looked back and said, “I am proud of you.”

I looked up at him, wondering how he had read my mind.

“I can’t read minds,” he suddenly said.

“Then how – “ I started.

“Because of your body language,” he explained. “It’s shouting, almost deafening.” He slung his arm around me, as we walked into Olostin's Hold. “Listen, you just need to build up experiences in your life. Don’t try too hard. Just let it happen. But while you go stumbling through life, beware of those who wear masks and hide behind them. After tonight’s performance, you and I will have to part ways. I have some other people that I need to see – and can’t have anyone with me. Private business, I am sure you understand. Besides, you’ve learned a lot traveling back and forth between these few towns. It’s time for you to stop living beneath my shadow and live your own life, create your own experiences and your own songs.”

That night at Boukar’s Tavern & Drink, I sang a song about how I would miss a dear friend of mine in the near future, and the crowd was on their feet applauding me. When I turned to look at Tyrell to make sure he saw – he wasn’t there. The stool he’d been sitting on was empty. I felt a sting of pain for a moment by it was put at ease when I felt a hand on my shoulder. A man, one of the actors of the play coming on after me, wearing a beautiful snake mask said, “Hey kid, that was pretty good. We could use you.”

“We? You mean the play?” I asked.

“Well, the play is a part of it,” he whispered. “But it’s a College, if you will. Listen, we travel around various cities, as a part of this play – but what we’re doing is having our donation collectors who constantly walk around the crowd, listen to our patrons – because there’s a lot of magic in this world, and people are using them for all the wrong reasons. We’re out there to try and find these items and stop them from getting into the wrong hands. It will land you a gig with us and be quite an experience! You in?”

I quickly shook his hand, and whispered, “I’m in.”




(1) This is a reference to: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...&postcount=530 where I used the same Bard name. Tying these two origins loosely together, though not needed – it’s something in this thread that’s been called “The Tawmis-Verse.”
(2) What’s this business about Havenfall Manor? Oh! It’s a module I wrote! https://www.dmsguild.com/product/291...avenfall-Manor