Hello mortals!

I'm starting to run out of ideas for backstories for my characters. I'm trying to work around the living your whole life in Candlekeep sort of thing but there is only so much I can do with that; especially when you play a naturey class like ranger or druid. Is the Candlekeep backstory limited or am I just not imaginative enough?

Regards

Jason

It might seem that way, but it can be used to justify any number of character classes. Firstly, the intro mentions being raised on various tales; it is always possible that some of those tales involved characters of a particular class or alignment serving as an inspiration to your character. Life inside Candlekeep also provides opportunity for fleshing those skills out from an RP perspective. A nature oriented class might have spent time with the animals outdoors, a rougish class might have gone the Imoen route of engaging in mild pickpocketing, and so on.

Living in Candlekeep does not mean your character is a prisoner there. He/she is under the wing of Gorion, a very cosmopolitan person by all accounts, so it is no stretch to imagine you ventured, with him, to all kinds of places, learning all kind of skills. It is very important to see it this way, when you consider that your starting character can be anything from a thief to a paladin. Don't limit your imagination; it's *your* role, so play it how you see fit.

I always figured the PC got beyond the walls of Candlekeep, but kept to the immediate vicinity. Never going as far as the crossroads. In the game, since Gorion's death and the PCs presence outside the walls you are no longer permitted to enter. I doubt there were hard and fast rules that if you set one step out the door you can't get back in (like my stupid highschool prom =P).

I figure that growing up the protagonist would engage in "childs play" in the wilds surrounding Candlekeep, using Gorion's tales as a basis for pretend adventures in which the protagonist was his or her chosen class. Thus forming at least the basis for their class. This would account for the classes that require a natural setting such as druid or ranger. Magical study could be had in the library. Combat training with the guard. Religious training at the temple and of course plenty of monks, guardsman and merchants to pilfer ;)

No longer permitted without Gorion's influence. The rules *were* hard and fast. It is stated in the narrative that:
"Candlekeep is near, but you will find no quarter there. The readers pay for their serenity with rather draconian entry rules, and without Gorion's influence their doors will remain closed."

Yup. That's what they say.

I suppose my backstory for a druid CHARNAME would involve him or her tending/spending time with the animals and plants in Candlekeep and developing a strong connection with them. In-game there's a garden around the central keep, and elsewhere in the keep a few different types of animals would be kept for food or work, I believe (there's a cow for sure, but chickens make sense, and possibly cats for the rats). Especially as a child, the animals could have been his or her friends and playmates in a setting surrounded by a bunch of stuffy adults. As he or she got older, collecting insects and studying/raising them (think butterflies in jars, ant farms, etc. -- which Candlekeep's wards prohibit but perhaps CHARNAME found away around them to the readers' frustration) would also fall within what someone in that environment might do IMO. Studying and/or working with plants and herbs would fit as well. It makes sense that books covering those topics would be available.

I'd then pretend that Jaheira helps CHARNAME "feel" nature in a more mystical sense and foster his or her druid-specific abilities on the way to Nashkel. One could pretend that the early druid spells he or she casts (pre-Jaheira) manifest through subconscious efforts and an affinity with nature, which he or she will learn to direct toward specific goals through training with Jaheira.

No "possibly" about it: we see some during the "kill the rats" quest. They've turned traitor and are happily coexisting with the rats.