Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition - Diary of a Tiefling

Ever since I got into LARPing, I've gotten good at really getting into character backstories and really feeling like I'm part of my tabletop characters. I never really played DnD until my friends suggested it during a boardgame night some years ago. I've played 3.5, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Aliens, Starship Troopers & now, recently I've joined a 5th Edition Group. (I played 1 intro game of 4th ed, but the GM that ran it seemed like a pompous elitist ass, which made me dislike the game).

So, I rocked up to the first game with a rough concept of my character. For those that have seen the movie "The Craft" starting the delicious Neve Campbell - then you'll know what I was thinking about.

Andokai (the 4th, yes, I have problems with coming up with new names) is a Tiefling. Her pale red/dark pink skin is a little more vibrant than most humans, but it's close enough to get by without drawing too much attention, especially when her hood is up. Spending most of her time in leather pants, black shirt & corset, she hides under black robes with blue/purple trim. Her horns curl up and back, with thick, long, dark purple hair & Deep Red eyes.

As a youngster, trying to find her way in life, she met 3 other tieflings, they seemed to get on well, despite the initial distrust most Tieflings have. They got one well and would spend days doing things together. One uneventful day took a turn for the worse, when Zaitari told the group of 4 that she'd found an old Tome. Filled with various spells that would allow them to interact with their ancestors. Andokai had had trouble growing up as a Tiefling, un-trusted and looked at with distain, she'd tried hard to leave the Evil side of her bloodline behind, not drawing peoples attention to it. However, as the others were interested so was she, perhaps she could learn more and understand what she had come from, she could then understand where she might go.

The group gathered late one night, deep in a forest grove, were they prepared to do magic. They had agreed they would summon a spirit from a demon realm, something small and easily controllable, after all, they were amateurs. As the girls sat around their crudely drawn pentagram, candles flickering in the light, barely noticeable wind, they went through the ritual again, so each understood their role and what to do. They each sat at one of the compass points and they all started their incantation. Things seems to go well, the wind picked up, thunder cracked through the area although no clouds could be seen. Suddenly a portal opened in the middle of the girls, like water down a drain, the air around them started flooding through the portal, noises and visions flooding back, then the smell. It was rancid, causing a couple of them to gag, then a loud POP - a small green imp appeared in the centre. At first it was stunned, shocked at what had happened. It started to talk, Andokai understood it, a warning, what had they done, they've angered him, something was coming. It got hysterical, demanded they send it back, to release it from the bond they had put on it. But the girls, they sat there mute and unable to understand what they'd done, how far they got. Next thing they heard was a roar, a loud roar that shook the ground. And then it happened, a large winged beast came through the portal, the girls jumped up and ran back, it looked around, grabbed the Imp and tossed it back through the portal. What ever this thing was, it had the power to disrupt what the girls had done. As it continued to scan the surrounding area it spotted Belkaria, stomping towards her she cried out. IT grabbed her and headed back towards the portal. Nathala was the only one in the right mind to do something, she stood up and threw something at it, incanting a short spell he looked at her a roared, seemingly unaffected by what she had done. So she moved in and went to grab at Belkaria, but this huge beast knocked her back and stepped through the portal. Then the portal closed and all was calm and silent. Andokai had seen it all, but as the youngest of the group hadn't known what to do, if anything. Nathala started yelling at Zaitari, asking what went wrong, what had they done etc. But the only reply Zaitari could give, was "I don't know" and after repeat questioning, Zaitari just screamed "I DON'T KNOW!" and ran off. Nathala grabbed her stuff and like Zaitari, fled into the forest. Andokai, left alone at the scene was grief stricken, the only ones she knew and trusted enough to be around had gone, she was alone. She packed up the items left behind, and started walking slowly back in the direction she remembered, or at least thought she did, back towards the closest town.

From that day forward, Andokai never really trusted anyone again. Her natural state of caution crept back into her life. But she never forgot that day in the Glade. She vowed she would find out what they had done and why this thing had taken Belkaria. She set off to the closest city, far from the judgemental attitude of the village folk she'd spent most of her time around. For the next 5 years, Andokai would spend most of her time researching demon summoning rituals. She realised that she'd also need to learn the basics of magic, so she went looking for tuition, most of the places she looked, she was turned away from, no one wanted to be known to teach a Tiefling magcic, least she turn to evil ways. After on such rejection, she was approached by a boy, not more than 12, who told her of an old man who used to be the best teacher, alas he had lost his sight, so was forceably retired by the Collage of Magic. The boy was the old man's runner, going from place to place fetching and delivering messages, or items, medicine and information. He led Andokai to Griswold and introduced her to him. The old man's eyes narrowed and seemed to look over her, even though he certainly didn't have mundane vision to see her. Griswold thanked the boy and sent him on his way. He talked to Andokai about what she wanted from study, he told her in detail what she had seen and that she wanted to find a way to find Belkaria, where ever she was & get her back. Griswold was surprised at this, even he knew that Tieflings were selfish and had no care for others. But then he also saw something in her, something genuine about her feelings for this Belkaria.

It's been 5 years since the incident, Andokai has spent a lot of time researching magic and the basics of the various schools. Although her main priority is demons and the outer planes, she realises that the basics must be understood and controlled before she can master the harder more specifics of the various schools. She was on her way to another library, that Griswold had suggested she visit for more research. Recently she arrived in Drachenburg, hearing of a caravan heading to the border town of Semple, which was on the way to her next destination. She approached Adze the Dwarven merchant, who advised she could travel on the wagon as she had offered to pay, which wasn't required if she had her own food. There was another human, Daneeka or Danika or something. A half orc entertainer & halfling warrior of sorts had arrived, they would be extra guards apparently. Apparently there was to be one more joining them, then they would be off. AT which point, this ... dwarf? came down the road. It was carrying it's armour and hammer in the strangest way, as if in a rush he'd just scooped up his stuff and ran out of the room. Why he'd not spend time to put it on was beyond Andokai, but still he'd arrived and now they can move out.


So ends the backstory of Andokai, Tiefling Wizard-in-Training. Next game is on the 11th of December. Will probably write up 1st & 2nd Sessions in a single diary. Going forward, will probably write it up as a 1st person perspective as she writes things in her journal.