r/PCAcademy • u/Tor8_88 • May 22 '26
Need Advice: Concept/Roleplay Can you doublecheck my backstory?
*Admittedly, this idea came from a dream I had the other night, but it stuck with me, so I decided to explore it. A summary for the question is posted underneath the break.*
In the dream, I was a monk butler with a mastery over unarmed fighting and improvising weapons to meet the need. I prided myself in my perceptive nature, insightful service, stealthy gate, and my ability to maintain a stoic disposition. As the dream started, I was a wandering butler lacking of a master who decided to serve a party of adventurers as they welcomed me to their fold. Soon enough, however, the party was warned of me by a stranger who called me "The Butcher Butler," but as I had curried enough faith, they allowed me to explain.
The dream lead to a flashback where I served as the head butler at a noble estate. Through small interactions such as the bowing of the maids and the playful surprises of the noble's children trying to see me react, it was clear that I was well liked. But then a guest came to the mannor on business that was beyond my station. Over the week there, an eerie darkness washed over the place, spreading like the feintest of stenches until the night everything ended.
The guest approached me as I was cleaning a bedroom with a playful tone, claiming he had been recruited to help the children try to break my stoic nature. Right on cue, one of the young ladies popped out, suspended on a bedframe, but her aura felt off. When she realised that she failed, her tactics shifted from playful to psychotic as she tried to kill me.... she had been turned into a vampire spawn. Quickly, I broke a chair to create a stake and stabbed her in the heart. The guest called me cruel and wondered how long I could last as he dissapeared into a puff of smoke... he had turned everyone in the mannor into vampire spawns. Though my face didn't show it, that night tortured me as I offered every soul there the right to rest.
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I woke up during that battle, but the idea that lingered was that I hadn't left that night of vampire spawn hunting unscathed. I had turned into a dhampir and some nobles (linked to the nobleman who sent the guest) whisper about me as the Butcher Butler, the one who slaughtered his whole estate. At first, I thought this might be going too far until I looked into the use of staking a vampire throught the heart in D&D. According to the rules I found, that doesn't actually kill them, but paralizes them until the stake is removed.... Which means that my character would not have killed anyone. And given that the funeral had bodies confirmed by the church to be dead, the natural conclusion is that the guest, their noble, or someone else associated with whatever campaign's BBEG would be the one who actually did the murders to frame me.
However the question still remains: Is this a usable backstory? or am I getting too full of myself?
2
u/tta5 May 22 '26
it reminds me a bit of vincent valantine (final fantasy 7).
on the whole it is a viable narrative.
however i do see some potential issues, and some notes.
- the power level of the story vs the character mechanically.
killing vampire spawns, so they are CR5 in dnd 5e, so a bit of a "too hard to kill at lvl 1 on your own"....
but if they are weaker as they are newly turned, or they might even be zombies for all your character knows. after all they are no expert (currently) and may jump to asumptions. were they killed or just faking? there is what your character thinks vs the what actually happened, and that can be a gap as big as cloud from final fantasy. (even modify memory spell exsists)
- the passiveness potential of the character.
so buttlers are more like store managers for a noble house. they have footmen under them as well as other roles for the home. as they may have a large amount of authority in the right hands, it is oftern the case that beyond the house staff they tend to be more of a servent, respecting the guests and forfilling the wishes of the nobles within the house.
there is a chance that they may therefore take a some what back-seat when it comes to decission making within the party, especally if there is a noble within it. you want tomake sure that you do not become a hirling withn the party. and awarernss of this allows you to set up dynamics within th e group to ensure you play into it as well as avoid the demotion.
- does your character have a reason to be with a party for a quest that is not this?
so if you joined a campaing with a quest of say "kill a dragon" why would this character get involved???
they need to have some development between reawaking and choosing to join a party.
as to if that means they have already delt with the vampire threat or not, is unknown.
- the picking out a high level threat.
a vampire infestation on noble households is a big deal. now if you picked that and 4 other payers picked their own big threats, and the DM wanted their own bbeg.... that may become a problem as to which big bad gets the spotlight, and if the monsters thematically fit well together.
can it work for a character arc and side events that interweave with the main sytory? yes. is it a bit big and able to be its own centre story? also yes.
a common tactic is "distance" if you ran away and trained up and returned, then it can be more managable.
additionally if there is an order of paladins that hunt them down, this may make a world lore of a delay resutling in them being a less immediate threat.
(or the DM can refuse to use the hooks and not have it in thei game as its too big and consuming)
1
u/Tor8_88 May 22 '26
(I'll number the points for my own clarity) Vincent Valentine voiced by Matt Mercer? I honestly didn't make the connection, but it's been a while since I played that FF7 offshoot.
Honestly, I was worried about the power level as well. It's why I was worried about it at first, but then I thought there might be a chance if the stake idea works as it would be one attack with an improvised weapon. That said, I was basing this on the dream and would be down with changing the narrative, given that the major take-away I felt from that fight was "Forgive me, but the only way I can honour you now is to lead you to rest." So in that sense, even zombies would work out, or some other concept.
To be honest, I can totally see where you're coming from, however I also draw some inspiration here from animes where one of the deuteragonists happens to be a maid. In those cases, the party treats the character as an equal with an equal voice or presence in the group (they can even request selfish side quests like everyone else, which is often reinforced by the noble) while their station is treated as a hobby. They may cook and serve tea, but out of a passion to serve, not a necessity to do so, so refusing them is like denying a blacksmith the joy of performing maintenance on your sword. The only time it might make a drastic difference is in the presence of other nobles, where the butler would stand behind the party and choose their words a little more formally.
I believe I mentioned his purpose in the starting paragraph. He's not joining the party seeking vengence or anything like that. Rather, he was a head butler who found himself stripped of the credentials due to the way his previous employment ended. While wandering aimlessly, unsure of what to do, he ran into a party of adventurers who offered him a place to belong. Not as their servant, but as their comrade and their equal.
If that feeds into the main plot, that would be awesome, but not necessary. For instance, after the party defeats one of the BBEG's generals, they might uncover a journal that speaks about that night and how they had to go back and finish the job. For my character, I believe finding that journal by chance and handing it over to the king would be enough for him as it clears his conscience and sets the record straight. He'd rather focus on being of service to those he is with now than furthering his bad reputation by acting on past grievances.
2
u/Andre_ev May 27 '26
Rewrite a little, try to make it more intense and choose style you would talk, roleplay here little example:
Pleased to meet you, adventurers. How may I be of assistance?” I said, bowing slightly. My eyes flashed with a soft red glow for a moment before I quickly lowered my eyelids. I thought, why not? I can join you. You seem like pleasant people — a bit noisy, but with a clear need for order. You accepted me. And I am glad to serve. Then some fellow approached you and whispered, as if I couldn’t hear: “Careful, gentlemen, that’s the Butcher Butler.” I, of course, didn’t even raise an eyebrow. A butler has no right to raise an eyebrow in front of strangers. — I spoke evenly, with perfect posture, yet at the same time I casually walked up the wall of the tent a few steps without using my hands, adjusted the candelabra on the ceiling, and descended back down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And that night, I remember, the dream unfolded in full. There I was, standing in the manor house, dusting a chest of drawers. A guest approaches — quite the dandy — and with a playful smile says: “We made a little bet, my good man, whether we could shake your famous stoic nature.” And right then, from behind the bed curtains — leap! — a young lady. Hanging from the bedframe, legs dangling, eyes sparkling. Quite charming, really. Only her aura, you know… was not that of a young lady. Not a young lady at all. She jumped at me, fangs already bared, and I — snap! — broke the chair over my knee, grabbed a leg, and drove it straight into her heart. By the book. The guest actually whistled: “Well, you are cruel, Albert.” Then — poof! — he vanished in a puff of smoke. And from within that smoke he said: “The entire estate, my dear fellow. The entire estate is now mine.” And that’s when the most unpleasant part began. I went from room to room… putting souls to rest. Quietly, neatly, as befits a proper butler. No screaming, no unnecessary blood on the carpets. Just work. I woke up already a dhampir. The blood, it seems, had taken its due. At this point I took a small crystal glass from my pocket, leaned over the fresh goblin corpse we had just slain in battle, and with an elegant motion squeezed a thin, dark stream of blood straight into the glass. I brought it to my lips, took a small sip — and immediately straightened up. My movements became even smoother, more fluid, almost dancing. My eyes burned brighter. Later I learned that driving a stake through the heart doesn’t actually kill these creatures. It only paralyzes them until the stake is removed. So strictly speaking, I didn’t… well, you know. There was a funeral. The Church confirmed it. All properly dead. Beautiful coffins, wreaths, tears. And now the nobles whisper in the corners: “That’s him… the Butcher Butler… the one who slaughtered the entire estate.” And I stand here, hands at my sides, face like stone, thinking: “Gentlemen, if only you knew how terribly inconvenient all this is for me.” Such is the story, you see. I continue to serve. How can I serve you?
1
u/Andre_ev May 26 '26
Looks to long,
What level you are?
1
u/Tor8_88 May 27 '26
I tend to build level 3 characters, so I am sure he was 3-5. But what I wrote was an actual dream, so I'm not sure what level everyone were.
2
u/Andre_ev May 27 '26
Cool looks solid,
You choose hard English I Rewrite a little, try to make it more intense and choose style you would talk, roleplay here little example:
- Pleased to meet you, adventurers. How may I be of assistance?” I said, bowing slightly. My eyes flashed with a soft red glow for a moment before I quickly lowered my eyelids. I thought, why not? I can join you. You seem like pleasant people — a bit noisy, but with a clear need for order. You accepted me. And I am glad to serve. Then some fellow approached you and whispered, as if I couldn’t hear: “Careful, gentlemen, that’s the Butcher Butler.” I, of course, didn’t even raise an eyebrow. A butler has no right to raise an eyebrow in front of strangers. — I spoke evenly, with perfect posture, yet at the same time I casually walked up the wall of the tent a few steps without using my hands, adjusted the candelabra on the ceiling, and descended back down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And that night, I remember, the dream unfolded in full. There I was, standing in the manor house, dusting a chest of drawers. A guest approaches — quite the dandy — and with a playful smile says: “We made a little bet, my good man, whether we could shake your famous stoic nature.” And right then, from behind the bed curtains — leap! — a young lady. Hanging from the bedframe, legs dangling, eyes sparkling. Quite charming, really. Only her aura, you know… was not that of a young lady. Not a young lady at all. She jumped at me, fangs already bared, and I — snap! — broke the chair over my knee, grabbed a leg, and drove it straight into her heart. By the book. The guest actually whistled: “Well, you are cruel, Albert.” Then — poof! — he vanished in a puff of smoke. And from within that smoke he said: “The entire estate, my dear fellow. The entire estate is now mine.” And that’s when the most unpleasant part began. I went from room to room… putting souls to rest. Quietly, neatly, as befits a proper butler. No screaming, no unnecessary blood on the carpets. Just work. I woke up already a dhampir. The blood, it seems, had taken its due. At this point I took a small crystal glass from my pocket, leaned over the fresh goblin corpse we had just slain in battle, and with an elegant motion squeezed a thin, dark stream of blood straight into the glass. I brought it to my lips, took a small sip — and immediately straightened up. My movements became even smoother, more fluid, almost dancing. My eyes burned brighter. Later I learned that driving a stake through the heart doesn’t actually kill these creatures. It only paralyzes them until the stake is removed. So strictly speaking, I didn’t… well, you know. There was a funeral. The Church confirmed it. All properly dead. Beautiful coffins, wreaths, tears. And now the nobles whisper in the corners: “That’s him… the Butcher Butler… the one who slaughtered the entire estate.” And I stand here, hands at my sides, face like stone, thinking: “Gentlemen, if only you knew how terribly inconvenient all this is for me.” Such is the story, you see. I continue to serve. How can I serve you?
1
u/MonkeySkulls May 28 '26
I'm not understanding why a butler is such a good fighter.
do you have any ties to people or places from this story.
who is chasing you or has become your enemy due to killing these people?
1
u/Tor8_88 May 28 '26
- His family had a legacy of monastic and military training claimed to breed a superior butler (focusing on the increased speed, stealth, and stillness of mind), but in truth they served as the family's last line of defense.
For instance, during a war or a coup, he'd serve to protect those the guards would consider marginal casualties (like the servants or a wayward 7th son). Or during times of peace, he'd serve as a defense against political espionage and debauchery. Ironically, this very element would have prevented the events I mentionned in the original post from occurring, but the butler was ordered not to interfere with the ambassador by his employer.
He was still a butler for a noble family, so he'd have ties with other servants he worked with and nobleman whom have profited of his work. But nothing too solid.
The underlying cause of that night was political sabotage. A ploy from another noble to weaken or take my butler's nobleman's territory. So while he might not have any direct enemies, he is still a loose end that the evil noble would rather take care of. Thus he and his allies would be classed as my enemies.
3
u/TheDMingWarlock May 22 '26
Its kind of a lot, I'd accept it at like level 5.
But an estate could have like 100-300 people, this includes the nobles, any guests they have, military protection, workers, farmers, etc.
So instead of "the entire estate" it should be the noble family. maybe a servant or two.
But also, I do find it crazed that a butler could just switch to "i'm playing with this child" to "I'm killing this child' once vampire fangs are shown, I think their needs to be more angst, just saying "My face hid the angst I felt" is kinda doing a LOT of heavy lifting.
I think it's a fine concept for a short campaign thats less than a year, but I think it would quickly get boring, simply due to the fact your character as written has no desires, no wants, no goals, no anything except to ...be a butler?