Sword Coast Legends: my thoughts

This is a short review of what I have seen so far regarding an upcoming DnD video game called Sword Coast Legends.

The Strike of Saarii

A series of posts detailing a journey a group of players went through in a DnD session I mastered.

Teraqa Akil, the Egyptian Earth Mage

The first female character I decided to create and roleplay as.

Aíma, the Blood Mage

A Blood Mage I created and roleplayed as in a single day DnD session.

Should you use dice other than the d20?

Ideas which can be used in DnD, as well as other board games, regarding the use of different dice, not just the d20.

Showing posts with label elven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elven. Show all posts

Sunday, 23 November 2014

Fighters of Midgard - Part 2


These are characters my friends created for a session I Mastered. After the session, I took it upon myself to give them a bit of context and bring them to life through a bit of history. Their background is useful to understand the following post - The Strike of Saarii. 
This post is a continuation of the previous post, which can be accessed here.

Uuragan Oakwale was born on a cold winter night to dark elves Ertrilgor and Uurgael Oakwale, around 150 years ago, high up, somewhere within the range of the White Mountains. His father having the ability to control water and ice, while his mother controlled air, Uuragan inherited a balance of the two. Not much the social type, Uuragan spent his time practising air and frost spells, some times with his older brother, Uuniath. However, during one of they adventures, Uuniath fell to his death off a ledge while the brothers were practising some air spells. Uuragan never knew whether it was his fault or not, nonetheless, he always blamed himself. The only thing left of his brother was his ice sword, the reason why most of their tribe believed Uuragan's story of his brother's tragic death. However, there were those who never liked him, and much less upon learning of his brother's death. Playing a prank on him, these elves almost killed Uuragan in a similar way; only to be saved by a dark elf called Laenia. Becoming the best friendship Uuragan ever had, Laenia taught him much, as she was much older and experienced, especially in air spells. After some time, they decided to move down to civilisation, their road leading them to the city of Enligt; where they eventually joined the army, as it was in dire need of mages to complement the sword and arrow of the rest of the soldiers.

Born to Lord Ansgar Dalgaard of Enligt, Dean Dalgaard had to endure the misfortune of a brutal assault on this noble family for their wealth, at the age of three years old. Dean's sister, Sandela, seventeen years old at the time, managed to escape with him while their parents fought off the brigands who attacked their home. Sandela took her little brother to Bjorg, an elven friend who offered to protect the kid as long as he lived in the White Mountains with him. Dean never saw his sister again, but he did find out his parents were massacred on the night he left Enligt for the first time in his life. Growing up, Dean learned how to wield bow and arrow, hunting bear and wolf for meat and fur at the foot of the mountains, returning home in the snow with enough resources to help the tribe that helped him all his life. During one of his hunting trips, Dean was assaulted by bandits, who took all his loot, money, arrows and his bow. During his return to the mountain, he ended up surrounded by four bears; and without his weapons, defenceless. A dire wolf, chased away the beasts, saving the hunter. Naming his new friend Vargo, Dean returned to the mountains with his new companion who followed and helped him in all his adventures, During his time as a hunter for the tribe hi lived with, Dean found out that the men who attacked his family in Enligt were mercenaries from the island of Saarii, south of the mainland. He also learned the Lord Runo of Enligt was planning an invasion of the island, the perfect opportunity of the Dalgaard family to finally find vengeance.

Saturday, 22 November 2014

Fighters of Midgard - Part 1

These are characters my friends created for a session I Mastered. After the session, I took it upon myself to give them a bit of context and bring them to life through a bit of history. Their background is useful to understand the following post - The Strike of Saarii. 
This post is continued in the next post, which can be accessed here.

Dan Scott, son of Dun, from the dwarven family Scott. Dun was one of the famed Fighters of the North, from a dwarf from Joki. From a young age, Dan learned what he could on the art of war, hunting for orcs who dare camp close enough to the military base with his father's guild. Learning how to ride a horse without falling off, he joined the Joki Cavalry when he was 68 years old, he joined in the hunt for frost trolls closer to the mountain range North of Joki. At the age of 76, he was cut off from the rest of the fighters on a hunt when his horse died, facing then a group of five trolls, each about twice as tall as he was, each of them ended up beneath his feet after a massive strike of his trusty two handed war hammer. At the age of 130, he joined the Army of Joki, being enlisted to any war Lord Runo declares and to protect the lands of Midgard from invaders.

The dark elf, Duryraen dar'Vuzmur, son of Filaren and Ahlysaaria, should have been dead a long time ago, which was the plan of the bandits who attacked his family when they were travelling from Portti to Enligt when he was still very young. Unreal as he thought it was, a group of large spiders emerged from the woods , killing most of the bandits and scaring off the rest, saving the young dark elf. Unfortunately, he was the only survivor of the the family, The spiders took Duryraen and raised him as best they could, but he left them at the age of 19 for civilisation. Capable to defend himself, he continued the journey towards Enligt, the journey that led to the death of his parents and little sister. Having nobody to help him on his arrival, he turned to the Thieves Guild of Enligt for help; he helped them acquire whatever they wanted, giving him a cut of the profits, which was more than enough for Duryraen. Although it was not what he intended to turn to, at times, he did resort to killing people who stood in his way, driving his daggers into a man's chest or slitting his throat if it was necessary. Learning of the prize set by the Lord of Enligt to every able bodied man or woman to join the army for an attack off the shores of the mainland, Duryraen quickly left the Thieves Guild and joined the army, where he could make a fortune while earning a living as one of the noble warriors of Enligt instead of being the face on a wanted poster.

Of human descent, Amal Cal grew up with the priests of Eir, the Goddess of healers, in one of the temples in Enligt. Many warriors came back from battles with grievous wounds and hunters with bites and scratches were healed at the temple, impressing the young Amal, he started learning alchemy to help them in making revitising potions and other cures to help the recovering patients. However, when he was of age, it was revealed to him that he possessed magical power, and given aid by the priests, Amal gained the much revered skill of healing magic. Never knowing who his parents were, he never had any ambition to find them, the priests of Eir were his family and he became a healer just like the men who raised him, using the spells he learned to cure illnesses and wounds alike. At the age of 48, he joined a group of soldiers from the Army of Enligt who landed in Kalastaja to help get back to Enligt to report back to Lord Runo.


Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Málion, Ice Arrow Master

This was the first character I ever created for D&D, the first time I joined my friends and played the game.

Málion, born to a couple of ice mages forming part of a tribe of nomadic elves, grew up to appreciate nature and to care for it, but also capable of surviving it even if alone. The tribe's history fraught with magical battles and gruesome deaths, led his family to move away from the rest of the elven mages to seek shelter in the forests. Finding himself face to face with innumerable dangers within the forests, Málion learned to hunt wild animals for food, leather and fur, tracking them for hours, laying traps and shooting arrows at his prey. His preferred method for hunting is archery, securing a kill from miles away. He also developed heightened mobility skills in rough terrain, together with a keen eye, prone to rapidly spot prey and hunter alike.

Although his parents tried to shelter their son from magic, as it was the source of all the mishaps they endured while living with the tribe, Málion discovered that the little he had already learned could be highly useful for his everyday hunting duties. He used the power to manipulate ice to create arrows out of thin air, creating an endless supply. These arrows also freeze the area they hit, be it land or animal, making it easier to track larger animals such as bears.

As he grew up, he decided to leave his family to go and live in a city, however, he soon found out why the tribe his parents used to live with was primarily made up of mages. Magic was frowned upon in every city in the area; and once people noticed that Málion used magic, he was immediately cast out. Returning to the forests, he could not find his parents again, assuming that they had moved to somewhere new to find better conditions, or worse, he decided to adopt the nomadic lifestyle and move around the forests according to the climate and hunting possibilities.
As he reached adulthood, he had mastered most of the ice techniques known to elves, turning to other elements to challenge himself. He learned how to create arrows out of rock, losing the properties of the ice element, but gaining a sharper tip, penetrating even the thickest of skins.



I could not find an image of a male archer using ice arrows, so this was the image I gave the rest of the group for the to get an idea of 'who I am'.
Image Source