About the Stitcher

[Alannahold]

Setting
You have been around the guild for a little while. As you get to know your fellow guild members, you occasionally happen to hear a few bits and pieces about where your fellow guildmates have come from, or who taught them their techniques.

One day, in the midst of a crafting session with several guild members, someone turns to you and asks if you've seen the newest quest. As you shake your head, suddenly you feel a hand on your shoulder. Standing there, your guild leader offers a smile.

"We wanted to learn more about all of the new recruits. Where you're from, who taught you or where did you find your inspiration..." As they trail off, you see a sparkle of an idea in their mind.

"Ah, yes! As a guild, we should all have a stitch and share! I hope you all know whatever you find acceptable to disclose, is fine. Know that we are your team, and guild, and we won't force you into doing more. But know that we have your back.. Especially now, as the winds of change blow through."

...What did the Guild Leaders, the High Council know?

It seems like now, something was stirring.

About the Stitcher
It's time to flesh out your character a bit more!

Now the question is what drives *you* as a stitcher Or rather, what your character is like. Why they want to learn. How they got into it. What they hope to get out of it. Etc.

Maybe a bit of a backstory about how your burly orc barbarian was taught to cross stitch by his grandmother and uses it to ease his anxiety before battle. Perhaps a fantastical tale of how your warlock plans to create a horcrux of sorts by stitching their very soul into a design. Or how your druid plans to take their learnings back to their home town to pass down this craft for generations to come.

We're not asking for an essay here. Just a fun excercise in creativity. It can be as vague or detailed as you'd like. Feel free to make up things that affect the world too. Names of cities, mountain ranges, cultures etc. We're building this world together

Remember, character quests HAVE NO DUE DATE. So no need to rush this. Just something to keep in mind when inspiration strikes. ;)

Resources

• 5 Steps to Writing a Killer RPG Character Backstory

• A Simple Guide For Writing A GREAT Character Backstory

• 6 Questions to Help You Create a Backstory for Your D&D Character

• Backstory Generator (Good for getting ideas if you're stuck)

• Character Generator (But with swearing. Good for silly backstory ideas though.!)

Feel free to also discuss in your guild or in the discord if you want to be from the same area, have grown up with, or otherwise weave your backstory in with someone else's. ;) Or if you just want to brainstorm ideas!

Turn In
All done? Reply here with your backstory! Maybe consider adding a short version of it to your forum signature if you plan to do some role playing over in the Guild boards. ;)

Reward

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Once you've turned in your project, please wait patiently. A council member will assign you the appropriate item soon. :)

[SpiritPixie]

Name: Drae'ya

Race: Half-Draegon (a Dragon kindred race), Half-TieflingFae

Class: Bard with a druid/cleric background

Buffs: Naturally armored with naturally occurring scales in vulnerable places. Can shift between humanoid and dragon forms on a sliding scale. Has higher than average strength. Can sense high-value items, and has a nose for a bargain. Her natural glamour talent is often used to blend in; it is assumed she is Draegon and Fae but in actuality, her fae parentage was a tiefling fae and some of the Infernal touch was passed on.

Nerfs: Nearby trinkets and treasures can trigger her dragon form, causing her glamour mask to slip, though helpful in finding high-value items, her form becomes more dragon-like and larger in proportion to the amount/size/value of the haul or horde. More than once she has revealed herself or become trapped due to the shift's unpredictable nature. The nature of her shifting form results in her being quite accident-prone.

Background: Found on the edge of the Dark Forest, by druids. Raised with little knowledge of her heritage or people. She picked up many artisan skills while watching the sages that though they were supposed to be family kept her at arm's length. Feeling the call of her deeper nature she left the order as a young adult to become an adventurer; seeking new experiences and the greatest treasure - knowledge. Her experience with healing allowed her to accompany many different groups and clans along her journey, falling easily into the role of Cleric or Medic. But often she found after addressing their physical wounds she found that the spirits of the embattled warriors needed just as much tending. Drae'ya here found her voice as a bard, weaving the truth of her life into the songs and stories she shared beside the fire earning a reputation as an effective Bard and Scribe. Drae'ya often hides her defensive and magical abilities (brawling, scouting, and spell-weaving), as well as her natural intuitions behind her other more passive talents. Though many who have received items she has crafted by hand claim that the pieces contain unique charms.

[FroodMadeIt]

Name: Alianthe Forestbrook
Race: Wood-elf
Class: Sorcerer

Hailing from a long line of sorcerer-stitchers, Alianthe grew up in a remote village surrounded by forests; which are inhabited by all sorts of fascinating wildlife to this day. Her family had been there for generations and their stitch quality was the best in the surrounding area. They took commissions from far and wide, brought to them through traders who stopped by twice a month. Keen for his daughter to learn more than just the family business, her father Britoch taught her how to use a bow and also how to track a variety of animals. She was so good at it that she was regularly sent out to scout for dangerous animals that may have set off the perimeter alarms. Upon returning from one such scout on the eve of her 18th birthday, she found that her family had disappeared. Gone, without a trace, except for the faint smell of a curse that lingered in the air. She got the feeling that it was as though they had disappeared right where they stood.

Speaking to the villagers only frustrated her, as they could not provide any details as to how or why this happened. Whilst she excelled at tracking living creatures, her magical studies were far from complete. If only she could bottle that smell that she was sure was a curse! She knew that their family had competition but surely not to this extent?

After exhausting every lead she packed up her things and set out for Stitchwind. Traders had mentioned that this was a town for improving skills, both in the magical and stitch-able sense. The journey would take at least 3 weeks so she ensured that she had some supplies so she could stitch along the way. She hoped to impress the magic guild with these stitches and perhaps they'd let her join her ranks? Whatever happened upon arriving in Stitchwind, Alianthe vowed to learn the skills and crafts she would need in order to solve her family's mystery.

[AstralCat]

Quest: about the stitcher
Astralcat, spacecat, celestialfeline, they of many names, is one of a semi mythical species of space critters. They are know to just sort of appear when needed and then vanish back to the void when their work is done, unless there’s snacks. Astralcat themselves is a scion of multiple lines of stitchers and hobbiests and at this point considers themselves to be a semiprofessional hobby collector. What do they collect, stamps, rocks? No, dear reader, you miss understand. They collect hobbies. They enjoy the art of the craft of creation and the mastery of necessary skills.

[GothieBiovenom]

The Stitchening of Rayvyn

Left wandering around this world, unsure of their parents and now joining a magic guild in Stitchwind? Sounds like every dark and edgy backstory ever, but it is the truth for Rayvyn. Picking up life lessons on the streets Rayvyn found themselves working as a cleaner in a high class brothel, and it was here that they their calling.
Living on the streets Rayvyn learned that people walk a spectrum of good and evil, and that this can change rapidly. Being forced into dangerous and defensive situations became second nature and Rayvyn developed these skills. A high class brothel is still a brothel, and some people sometimes need a hand to get back in line. Rayvyn's particular magic skills made a name for themselves and they were often scolded for their anger outbursts. They suggested a range of anger managing activities, such as baking or needlework.
It wasn't until Rayvyn discovered they could imbue the threads they worked with all kinds of spells and curses that they really took to stitching. Rayvyn would take the clothes of customers for "laundering" purposes and imbue a range of spells into the seams. Weaving protective and defensive magicks into the clothing of the other employees.
It was the vengeance spells that drew the attention of Rayvyn's patron, and they formed a bond. A bond that saw Rayvyn leave to wander the world once more, with a new set of skills, a set of forever sharp needles and a clutch of floss with all the colours of the rainbow.
Rayvyn found their way to Stitchwind, and in need of a more stable place to reside, at least for the meantime they explored the various guilds, eventually finding the magic guild.
Rayvyn now spends their days imbuing projects with spells, researching new methods and magicks in the guild library and experimenting in the lab. You can always see a needle case, shaped like a wand, tucked behind their ear, nestled right next to a flowing tattoo of wasps.

[ClueOfTheBrokeNeedle]

(I got kind of carried away.. what started as a description turned into a full narrative of an inciting incident)

Saffron (Saff) Marbleblossom (she/they) is a halfling of about 30 something (don’t ask them how old they are, they’ll spend about ten minutes trying to figure it out). They spent most of their time at home helping out in the garden, which grows countless fruits and vegetables which the family shares with the small community. At the end of a long day, or in the cold season, they discovered the comfort of cross stitch. No one else around really knew much about it, but appreciated and hung with pride the gifts Saff whipped up seemingly by magic. The obsession with the craft grew, until they learned all they could from the few old books in the local library. For a while this was enough, along with some experimental techniques of their own creation.

One day, while perusing one of these old books for the hundredth time, a tapestry needle with a broken eye tumbled out from between the pages. They definitely didn’t leave that there… was there someone else in the village that shared the hobby? After examining the needle and finding no clues other than the fact it was decently new and shiny, they looked back down at the pages the needle had been between. It was a history anecdote about the city of Stitchwind, and how many techniques had been developed there. They’d read the passage before, but never once considered they might want to visit. Now, however, such thought crossed Saff’s mind. Was this needle a sign? They copied down all the relevant information about Stitchwind and replaced the book on the reshelve cart and went to speak to the librarian. Apparently, a stranger had been to the library just yesterday and was seen perusing that book, and they may still be in town. After thanking the librarian, Saff rushed to the one local inn to inquire about this stranger with the broken needle.

Upon arrival, it was obvious who this stranger was. Huddled in a corner booth with skeins of floss carefully piled on a clean placemat was a halfling woman with a tiny hoop held inches from her face. After a brief inquiry with the bartender as to what this stranger had been drinking, and a purchase of two vanilla black teas, Saff approached the woman and made the offering. Slightly startled, but welcoming of the refill, the woman invited Saff to sit and introduced herself as a traveller who had been living in Stitchwind for most of her adult life and was wandering towns-less-travelled-to to collect crafting traditions that maybe the guilds hadn’t heard of yet. She continued working on her stitching, and Saff pulled out the small they carried for any down time.

While sharing the drinks and stitching together, the traveller regaled tales of her beloved Stitchwind and Saff felt the urge to visit well up until it was almost a certainty. It felt like minutes, but after a few hours had passed and the sun was setting, both stitchers looked up having finished their tiny projects practically simultaneously. In an unspoken moment, they swapped their finishes as gifts. Saff had been stitching a carrot motif, heavy with blends and backstitch, very representative of their gardens. The traveller stitched a purple emblem with an open book and a needle sticking up from between the pages.
“This is the logo of my guild in Stitchwind, I’ve modified it just now to have a broken needle instead of the usual solid one, since my accident leaving it in that book lead to this lovely meeting.”
Saff knew in that moment: having solved the clue of the broken needle, they had more mysteries to solve in Stitchwind.

[Mogrann]

Name: Algar Cy
Sex: Female
Race: Half Orc
Companions: Badass and Speedy (father and son)
Armor: Well cared for Leather Armor
Weapon: BattleAxe
Hair: Short hair on left side dyed a bright red and Long hair on other side dyed a Turquoise.

Algar enters the tavern looking around the room to see if this is a safe spot for her and her companions. She does not recognize anyone which is a good sign as that mean no enemies, at least, that she knows of. She makes eye contact with the tavern keeper and nods respectfully as she makes her way to a seat by the fire. Algar always sits with back to the wall so no one can approach from behind. Badass is beside her, a large male turtle, with spikes on the top of his shell. People in the tavern can tell that they are companions and not owner and pet. Perched on top of Algars shoulder is a smaller turtle (Speedy), who Algar gently places on the small table in front of them. When the barmaid approaches Algar orders a large salad (no dressing) and a small salad (no dressing) as well as two bowls of water. Now that her companions are taken care of she orders for herself a large glass of house ale and an assortment of meats, cheeses, nuts, and breads.
She then pulls out what is shocking to most people and that is some kind of crafting project involving linen, and colored string. You just don't see many half orcs doing this.

[pine]

name: Woad
species: half-elf/human

Woad was a quiet child, even when e lived amongst the trees of a hidden grove in the Neimos Forest. Eir parents were an astronomer and navigator that followed the stars, and when Woad was old enough, e was sent to a wizard tower in the city.

Woad spent eir time at the wizard tower learning magic. To expel some of eir stress over exams and work, e taught emself many crafts, lost in side research projects. When Woad made the decision to flee from the wizard tower under the cover of night, e left behind eir name and magical focus, but kept eir familiar (a housecat) and crafts.

[Skwishee]

Name: Tonnau Arvodir (Pronounced : Ton-eye Ar-voh-dear)

Race: Elf

Tonnau was born into high elf society, where it is expected for ladies to learn sewing, music and the arts. What was not expected, was for young elves to run off into the woods, come back covered in mud and claim they had become 'one with nature'. For this was precisely what Tonnau did. She could not put her finger exactly on what it was, but she could hear natures song and would follow it.

While out one day she came across a druid named Breya, who lived in the woods and was part of the Circle of Beasts. She would regularly visit Breya with many questions, and Breya who could see her natural bond with the wilds told her should she wish to be initiated into the circle some day, she required a beast with which to bond with for life. Tonnau is unsure how anyone meets such a companion.

Tonnau's experiences out in nature and learning from Breya became intertwined within her and she weaved nature into her sewing, music and art creations. This was frowned upon by her parents, who wanted her to find her place within their society. But Tonnau decided her place was in Stitchwind, where she could grow her craft without judgement. It is her aim that once her studies are complete, she will seek an animal companion with which to join the Circle of Beasts.

[UEKnitter]

I hadn't initially planned to make a whole separate character, but reading about more recent TTRPG takes on Paladins got me thinking about how such a class would look in a world of fiber arts, aaaaaand inspiration struck.

N'elle Graybough, Halfling Paladin (she/her)

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N'elle comes from two families devoted to their crafts, surrounded by creativity and the wisdom of many different mediums. She herself trained to proficiency in multiple crafts, which granted her much knowledge and honed a keen eye for detail, but in turn it also exposed her to the darker side of her nearby communities: craft circles hoarding knowledge and skills while claiming themselves superior over those who didn't know what they did, self-proclaimed Snobs dismissing the work of crafters whose materials and methods didn't live up to their standards, and thieves looking to profit off of the work of others. All this and more left many spaces feeling judgemental and unfriendly, discouraging new crafters from finding communities to join and sometimes giving up on their crafts altogether.

Having a strong sense of justice that made it impossible to stand idly by, N'elle swore an oath to ensure creativity not be stifled or shamed by exclusionists and self-appointed critics. Taking up weapons and words, she stood up for the crafters new and old who could not immediately create the perfect stitch or access the finest materials, vanquished the thieves who thought themselves untraceable, sought out knowledge and ensured it remained available for all to learn from, and put her life and honor on the line to defend all expressions of life and injustice in the creations of others. She traveled from town to town on her trusty steed, Nutmeg, her determination to keep art and creation accessible to all bringing her fulfillment and guiding her true in her own crafting journey.

But even as progress was made in her noble quest, the challenges continued to grow; the thieves became more clever in their ways, the stolen works growing harder to identify, and attempts to liberate knowledge and resources were met with increasingly stronger defenses and higher walls, their refusal to negotiate or duel grinding her progress to a halt. Then tragedy struck N'elle in much more personal ways; illness claimed the lives of two of her closest family members, leaving her emotionally shaken and causing the constant movement of her crafty fingers to go still. Had her drive and creativity deserted her completely? How could she continue to uphold her oath when the increasing spread of theft and exclusivity, along with her own grief, left her and her faith so shaken?

It was during a long respite from her duties that word reached her of the guilds of Stitchwind, where stitchers from all across the land gathered to hone their craft and share their expertise. Perhaps it was the hope of discovering new ways to fulfill her mission, a desire to find like-minded champions of creativity, or simply a need for a change in scenery to try and soothe her grief, but it didn't take long for N'elle's mind to be made up. She packed her tools and supplies, bid her family and townsfolk farewell, and set out with her dear Nutmeg for the far-off city of Stitchwind.