Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 richard_k Sep 23, 2004 5:19:53	Hi all. I've started to write up a planescape adventure for some new people to the setting. I decided to have them start at level 4 so that atleast there chars might sustain a few hits before they go down. Since none of my PC's no much about the setting I was going to have them all start out with amnesia so that everything they encounter is new to them. However i thought atleat they could pick theyre own names and stuff so I thought i would write up a random last memory for them so that atleast they'd know there name but a part from that they have no memories. At the moment I have 3 last memories. One where the PC gets knocked around a bit by some abishai, pulled to safety by smoe stranger and watches someone precious to the PC die (well the guy before he got his memory erased). The second is someone makes a deal with some Baatezu and gets a drink from the styx over some mysterious contract thing he had with them. The last is one where the character is actually made new. Its one of teh touchstone in the Planar handbook where its a forge that can make anything, any way the PC wakes up inside it. I need 3 more backgrounds and my brain at the moment is to muddled up to think of anymore. Thanks for reading this semi-rant.
#2 sildatorak Sep 23, 2004 8:36:54	Waking up covered in blood with a last memory of a women yelling, "Castor! No!" would be interesting and leaves the character open to most alignments since we know nothing about this woman.
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 23, 2004 8:46:41	There's also the possibility of having a character who isn't just an amnesiac, but assumes that s/he is because of the rest of the party. For example an illusion cast in the Ethereal plane that took on life - but with no memories of anything before being created by the Illusionist. Another possibility is someone who in their previous life was a being of unsurpassed power and evil, but with the loss of their memories (no doubt as a result of one of their nefarious schemes backfiring) is now a bewildered innocent, with no knowledge of their previous skills or mindset. The last memory could just be lots of enemies charging forward to attack, or a long fall into the river Styx - giving no hint as to why people want the character dead.
#4 enoch_van_garret Sep 23, 2004 11:10:43	A few sample last memories: -- the bloody final seconds of a brutal duel to the death with someone who looks exactly like the character - with the PC remembering losing and being slain. -- a beautiful view of a celestial castle just before it explodes in flames and plummets from the clouds. -- an exhilarated escape from a castle while cradling a powerful and coveted magical item (nowhere to be found, now). -- a humble acceptance of the throne of a kingdom. -- the joy of mastering an epic spell (the average level 4 PC will be particularly confused by this one). -- a terrified attempt to flee from an unseen and horrific pursuer. -- a sensation of falling from a great height, as reentering an atmosphere, with the memory stopping abruptly just before the point of impact. -- a confused welter of emotions and sensations, as if the PC was an entirely different or morphic creature. -- a grim and driven hunt for a pursued enemy (especially fun when someone else in the party has #6). (use the following at your own risk, as they are much more intriguing but much more difficult to make function) -- a memory of being flayed by The Lady of Pain. -- a memory of smiting an impudent mortal from a divine realm. -- a memory of existence as a fire elemental. -- a memory of slaying a god. -- a memory of becoming a darklord. Any one of these can be made to work with any background, backstory, or alighnment. My suggestion is to start with a few ambiguous clues that could mean anything, watch your characters for clues as to how they behave, and mold their backstories as you go along to be consistent with how they act and what they do. Don't be afraid to toss out clues that don't actually have any meaning when you plant them, like a bartender in a random city attempting to kill one character for an unknown reason or a magic item the character craves but doesn't know why. Revisionist history is very slick and subtle when you have enough ambiguous material to make it work.
#5 nedlum Sep 24, 2004 21:32:58	For a rogue modron (or, more interestingly, someone else) You stand in a chamber. Threads of silver light waft away from you, vanishing into the recesses of the room. You stare at a dark shadow. He stands proud before you. "... and I don't actually need you alive to acomplish what must be done here."
#6 factol_rhys_dup Sep 25, 2004 8:27:53	For a rouge modron (or, more interestingly, someone else) A "rouge modron", sounds like a new caste: "Attention: Pentadrone. It is my analysis that the shade/hue/color/colour of this lipstick is 5% ±1% more efficient in enhancing the shade/hue/color/colour of my eye sensors. Request confirmation of my analyses." ~Unit 4651, Rouge Modron I've seen a lot of people spell it like that. You probably meant "Rogue Modron".
#7 zombiegleemax Sep 26, 2004 7:58:53	A town being gutted by Abishai. A blue electric crackle. Of course for the gutting of the town it'd be appropriate to throw in all of the sights, sounds, and smells. IE monsters roaring, people screaming, buildings burning.
#8 nedlum Sep 26, 2004 12:22:37	What are you on about? ... I swear they changed the class from "Thief" purely for the typo jokes