The beginnings of a new D&D character
Yes, a half-orc female paladin... raised by the orcish side. I always come up with the weird ones.
If you're not into roleplaying, feel free to skip all this...
If you are, read on...
Khol was born in an orcish settlement with a peculiar matriarchal structure;
the head woman was her grandmother, the shaman. Her mother, Iryesk, had
two other children before her mate died in battle. Distraught and angry,
she sought to torture the prisoners captured from said battle- one of whom
was a young paladin, Sir Arthur Trueblood. Khol was born as a result of that
somewhat unholy union. Arthur remained enslaved in the orcish community for
the next eight years; when Khol was old enough to realize who her father was
(from the taunts of other orcish children, mostly) she went to visit him
in the prison cells. Being the Shaman's granddaughter, she was indulged
in this peculiar habit. Her father treated her more kindly than anyone
had, as much as his circumstances allowed, and taught her the basics
of reading and writing by scratching letters onto the dirt floor,
and also to speak common. Khol's mother Irysek was the community's leatherworker,
and tanned hides which was a foul-smelling business. Khol much preferred
her father, and would listen to his stories of life in the places
beyond the caves, and sneak him bits of food to help him survive.
When Khol was eight, their home was besieged by an invading force
who killed a good portion of the fighting orc males, and freed the prisoners,
including Arthur. In order to avoid the rest of the tribe being slaughtered
(once they numbered close to 100, but now only 30 remained), they moved
from the caves and traveled many miles distant before finding a new place
to settle.
Young Khol was discovered to have a talent for healing and singing,
and it was thought that with her great intelligence (human breeding
is good for something!) she would inherit her grandmother's role
as tribal shaman. But she had never forgotten her father's stories,
and at the young age of 13, she ran away from the caves to seek
the human towns he had told her of, hoping one would know of her father.
She was surprised that the humans were not at all like her father had been-
they were unkind, and hostile- shouting things at her, and calling her
a half-breed, and not being very helpful at all in her great quest. She was
about to give up and go home, when she saw an amazing light of many colors,
more bright colors than perhaps she'd ever seen before - streaming from
a nearby window. Khol recalled that one of her father's stories had
mentioned such wondrous things - called Stained Glass Windows,
and that they had belonged to his church. Perhaps within she would find
her father! She hurried in to the building, opening the heavy oak door
without knocking, calling "Father, father!"
A kindly voice answered "Yes, my child?" She ran towards it, expecting
to see the tall, shaggy, ragged figure of her father- but it was not Arthur
at all! This man was small, with a bulbous nose, and thick hands, and a
very amused smile. After a bit of explanation she discovered that he was
a priest (not entirely unlike a shaman) and that she had been right -
this building was indeed a church. The old gnome, Gnicholi, allowed her to stay
at the place in exchange for helping with chores around the building.
He taught her of religion, and fighting, and soon realized that the unusual girl
had a gift. Calling in several favors, he arranged for her to have training
as a paladin.
Khol has studied hard, and learned much- she is proud of having learned the ways
of law and goodness, and works to serve her god in all things. But deep down,
she harbors a never forgotten hope that she will once again look upon her father's
face, and that he will be proud of the woman of faith she has become.
If you're not into roleplaying, feel free to skip all this...
If you are, read on...
Khol was born in an orcish settlement with a peculiar matriarchal structure;
the head woman was her grandmother, the shaman. Her mother, Iryesk, had
two other children before her mate died in battle. Distraught and angry,
she sought to torture the prisoners captured from said battle- one of whom
was a young paladin, Sir Arthur Trueblood. Khol was born as a result of that
somewhat unholy union. Arthur remained enslaved in the orcish community for
the next eight years; when Khol was old enough to realize who her father was
(from the taunts of other orcish children, mostly) she went to visit him
in the prison cells. Being the Shaman's granddaughter, she was indulged
in this peculiar habit. Her father treated her more kindly than anyone
had, as much as his circumstances allowed, and taught her the basics
of reading and writing by scratching letters onto the dirt floor,
and also to speak common. Khol's mother Irysek was the community's leatherworker,
and tanned hides which was a foul-smelling business. Khol much preferred
her father, and would listen to his stories of life in the places
beyond the caves, and sneak him bits of food to help him survive.
When Khol was eight, their home was besieged by an invading force
who killed a good portion of the fighting orc males, and freed the prisoners,
including Arthur. In order to avoid the rest of the tribe being slaughtered
(once they numbered close to 100, but now only 30 remained), they moved
from the caves and traveled many miles distant before finding a new place
to settle.
Young Khol was discovered to have a talent for healing and singing,
and it was thought that with her great intelligence (human breeding
is good for something!) she would inherit her grandmother's role
as tribal shaman. But she had never forgotten her father's stories,
and at the young age of 13, she ran away from the caves to seek
the human towns he had told her of, hoping one would know of her father.
She was surprised that the humans were not at all like her father had been-
they were unkind, and hostile- shouting things at her, and calling her
a half-breed, and not being very helpful at all in her great quest. She was
about to give up and go home, when she saw an amazing light of many colors,
more bright colors than perhaps she'd ever seen before - streaming from
a nearby window. Khol recalled that one of her father's stories had
mentioned such wondrous things - called Stained Glass Windows,
and that they had belonged to his church. Perhaps within she would find
her father! She hurried in to the building, opening the heavy oak door
without knocking, calling "Father, father!"
A kindly voice answered "Yes, my child?" She ran towards it, expecting
to see the tall, shaggy, ragged figure of her father- but it was not Arthur
at all! This man was small, with a bulbous nose, and thick hands, and a
very amused smile. After a bit of explanation she discovered that he was
a priest (not entirely unlike a shaman) and that she had been right -
this building was indeed a church. The old gnome, Gnicholi, allowed her to stay
at the place in exchange for helping with chores around the building.
He taught her of religion, and fighting, and soon realized that the unusual girl
had a gift. Calling in several favors, he arranged for her to have training
as a paladin.
Khol has studied hard, and learned much- she is proud of having learned the ways
of law and goodness, and works to serve her god in all things. But deep down,
she harbors a never forgotten hope that she will once again look upon her father's
face, and that he will be proud of the woman of faith she has become.