Originally posted by kael
Zom (dwarf fighter/barbarian)
Zom comes from a long line of slave soldiers who served the sorcerer-king of Urik. He had risen to the rank of sergeant and was often given independent command of small groups of other slave soldiers.
Recently, a young and upcoming templar was put in command of his unit. The templar seemed to hold a lot of promise as a commander. Guiding and protecting the new officer became Zom‘s focus, but he soon realized that the young man was not what he seemed to be, and was in fact a sadist who enjoyed watching his own men be slaughtered by their enemies and would purposefully adopt tactics that caused more of his men to die. Zom’s unit soon had the highest casualty rate in the Urikite army. During a particularly bloody battle with a raiding tribe, the templar refused to secure his flank, allowing the raider cavalry to kill over half the slave soldiers. As he watched his fellow soldiers die, Zom felt a burning rage bubble up inside him. Without thinking he drove his spear into the body of his commanding officer, killing him. Horrified at what he had done, he fled the battle, running into the desert.
Having betrayed his focus, Zom now believes that after he dies, he will spend the rest of eternity as a banshee. He travels the wastelands in a half-hearted attempt to find a way to redeem himself, but does not believe that it is possible. The fear and depression he feels is beginning to wear him down and he has become surly even by dwarven standards. While under stress, such as during combat, he again feels the rage bubbling up and explode over his enemies.
Shi’jen (Halfling earth cleric)
Shi’jen has heard of people getting lost, but this is ridiculous. A few weeks ago he was exploring a set of ruins with some of his clansmen when he found a doorway covered in strange markings. After stepping through the doorway, he suddenly found himself in a different place, a hot and desolate place, full of strange people. He has no idea were he is or how to get back home. Only his faith in the spirits of the mountains and the powers they grant him have kept him alive.
A couple of days ago, Shi’jen stumbled upon a small village under attack by gith. The whispers of the spirits told him to aid the villagers, so he helped them drive their attackers away. The villagers seemed overjoyed to receive his help, but as soon as he began the Feast of Victory, they became enraged and drove him away. He can only assume that he violated some obscure law of etiquette. Perhaps he should have offered the village chief the first bite? Shi’jen is now committed to learning the language and customs of this new land. He is a guest here, after all, and does not want to offend anyone else.
Corden (half-giant fighter/wizard)
For a half giant Corden is a genius. Even by human standards, he is extremely bright, but his intelligence has often gotten him into trouble. The life of a mercenary is rarely intellectually stimulating, and after awhile on a new job he would become bored and begin to poke his nose into places it did not belong. No one likes to have their half-giant guard give them advice or seem to be too aware of their business dealings, so he never lasted long in any one place.
While working at a merchant outpost, Corden discovered that one of the merchant agents was in fact a wizard. The wizard, impressed by the half-giant’s raw talent, agreed to teach him how to use magic.
Corden was overjoyed; for the first time in his life he was not bored! Unfortunately, the wizard was soon killed when a group of templars discovered his ability to cast spells. Unwilling to return to the boredom of being just a paid thug, Corden left the outpost and begun to look for someone else to teach him magic.
I thought of another one:
Kedo (Elf psion/pyrokineticist)
Kedo likes to watch things burn. He does not want to be a fire cleric with all the boring chants and mumbo-jumbo that goes along with serving the elements. He just wants to set things on fire! He was banished from his tribe after he set fire to several stalls in a market and causing the templars to ban the whole tribe from ever trading in the city again. Now he dreams of returning to the city and burning the whole place down, or any city, or maybe a forest. That would be fun!
Note: If anyone tried to play a character like this in one of my campaigns…well, it could only end in violence. 
