Character Background: Trewyggol Aristocrat

It's been months since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sculpting Aibhilon during the absence. Lately I've been working on the pantheons and deities, but there's still a lot to work out before there's something to present. So, as I get back to the business of updating this blog, I present a 5e background for characters whose noble lineage can be traced back to the fallen city of Trewyggol.

In Trewyggol, there was the aristocracy and then there was everybody else. Your family’s outlook may have changed when they escaped the riots and plague, or they may be as proud and elitist as ever. Either way, you have been raised to be accustom to a certain level of privilege.

Your family’s wealth and power are a shade of what it was before their flight; yet this hasn’t stopped them, or you, from standing above the common peasant. Fur-trimmed robes, artistic pursuits, intellectual studies, and a hedonistic vice or two signify your wealth and status to others. Whether you are a spoiled dandy or a hardworking magnate, you are comfortable navigating the gossiping and scheming of high society.

Skill Proficiencies. Persuasion, Performance

Tool Proficiencies. One type of gaming set, and either one musical instrument or one type of artisan’s tools.

Equipment. One set of artisan’s tools, musical instrument, or gaming set; a set of fine clothes; a signet ring; and a purse containing 15 gp

Lifestyle. Wealthy

Feature: Family Legacy

Even if other nobles don’t know you personally, they at least recognize where your family hails from. Those that don’t respect your loss still grant you a show of measured difference, whether out of pity or because they view your family’s plight as an amusing curiosity. Between Trewyggol’s displaced nobility, however, there is an unspoken bond of empathy. You can always secure an audience with a member of another noble family that had ties to Trewyggol.

d8	Personality Trait
1	Life can be tragic, but I will endure.
2	I can have anything I want, it's only a matter of how much it will cost.
3	Life is short; therefore I will enjoy it to the fullest.
4	If I work hard enough, I can better my life even more.
5	I come from a privileged family and frequently remind people of that fact.
6	I look down upon those who do not live in the same expensive life style as me.
7	I am appreciative of those who must toil to support my lifestyle.
8	My decorum is what sets me apart from the common peasant.

d6	Ideal
1	Protective: I must look out for those that are not as fortunate as I. (Good)
2	Reckless: I can survive any ordeal, no matter how perilous the situation. (Chaotic)
3	Authoritative: The role of a government is to protect people from themselves. (Lawful)
4	Selfish: People are just another tool for me to use to achieve my goals. (Evil)
5	Revitalized: The destruction of Trewyggol has given everyone the opportunity to change their lives if they chose to. (Any)
6	Superficial: It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you look good doing it. (Neutral)

d8	Bond
1	The fall of Trewyggol took nearly everything I had. I cannot let that happen again.
2	Compared to most noble families in Trewyggol, mine had a meager fortune. Escaping the ruin of that city has provided me with an opportunity to change that.
3	Everyone must work together, regardless of their wealth or power, if we are to endure.
4	To get ahead in life, it's all about who you know.
5	I have dedicated myself to the Church.
6	There is great evil in this world and it is something to be feared.
7	My family secretly supported the rebellion. I intend to honor them by continuing their fight against tyranny.
8	I must help the nobility maintain their power if order is to survive.

d8	Flaw
1	I am untrusting and fearful of anyone who appears to be ill.
2	I must always look and act the part of an aristocrat, regardless of what is happening around me.
3	People must believe that I am wealthier than I really am.
4	I only trust the word of people with money and social status.
5	Certain members of my family sided with the rebels. I am terrified of being ousted if someone were to learn my secret.
6	I am careless with my money and overly generous to those who need it.
7	I expect others to do things for me even when I am capable of doing it myself.
8	I go to great lengths and expense to ensure that I stay healthy.

Catafalque: A Breif History (Part One)

The origins of the city of Catafalque began with the frontier settlement of Trewyggol.  Kaldian explorers claimed the land from its native inhabitants through coercion and bloodshed. Once subjugated, the ruling Kaldians convinced the native's druidic leaders to consecrate the fledgling village. Superficially, the blessing was an affirmation of the community's perseverance and prosperity. In truth, however, the act was designed by their Kaldian rulers to be an acknowledgement of the natives' submission. The blessing, however, was also a cleverly constructed curse.

The hamlet’s first boon was its proximity to valuable natural resources, including an abundance of lumber and ore deposits. In time, after the trees had been cleared and the ore veins ran dry, the town turned to raising livestock, becoming a hub for textiles and trade goods. Within its first 200 years, the quaint hamlet developed into a bustling city. Several more generations would pass as the city continued to prosper; becoming a major center of trade and its nobility playing important roles in imperial politics. The wealth and power of Trewyggol’s nobility, however, came at the price of its lesser citizens. Increasing taxes and even harsher living condition only grew worse from one sovereign to the next. The peasants protested and riots would occasionally erupt in opposition of their torment, but these were dealt with swiftly.

Eventually, a charismatic leader among the peasants organized a concerted revolt against the aristocracy. As an organized force, the disproportionate number of commoners quickly threatened both the wellbeing and empowerment of the ruling class until the city was in a state of all-out civil war. Although the rebels were far more numerous, the city militia and house guards were superiorly equipped. Each side struggled to achieve a permanent dominance. When rumors began to circulate of outside assistance arriving for the rebels, the nobles began to panic.

Gossip mongering and flights of fancy accuse the ruling family of striking pacts with a demon, granting their mages the power to definitively quell the uprising. Supposedly, they used their demonically enhanced magic to create a plague that caused the peasants of Trewyggol to rapidly grow ill and die. Indeed, there are many unusual details about the plague that cannot easily be explained, although no proof of demon worship has ever been unearthed either. Although the revolt quickly subsided, the plague continued on unchecked, afflicting nobles and commoner alike. The pestilence, whether of infernal origins or not, decimated the city’s population and eventually the city gates were ordered sealed in an effort to quarantine the city. This triggered a second series of riots. This time, the chaos was embraced by all social classes as peasant, merchant, and noble alike fought to flee the infected city. Portions of the city that escaped initial destruction wrought by the peasant's uprising were subjected to the renewed chaos; and the body count climbed even higher.

The highest lords and ladies of Trewyggol refused to abandon their kingdom, however. Most historians presume their stubbornness was a result of an irrationally engorged sense of entitlement commonly bred into the ruling class. Others speculate that this was somehow the druids’ curse binding them to the land that their ancestors once took through blood and steel. Regardless, many of the noble families still residing within the inner city insisted on remaining with their holdings. To protect themselves from the death and pestilence that ravaged the rest of their city, the gates to the wealthy, less populated, inner city district were also closed. Those that had retreated to the inner city found refuge while those that did not found themselves trapped in a city tearing itself apart. This was the end of Trewyggol as the world knew it.