d&d character concept in life stuff and misc.

THE CHARACTER IN ROLEPLAY

Stefan “Tev” Zeznic (a corruption of the Slovene for “celebrity” to fit his family and the Eastern European world flavor) comes from a family celebrated for generations as priests & priestesses of the prevailing knowledge god/dess (I forget the options mentioned). His mother, a prominent charismatic preacher in the service of that deity, his father a high functionary of religious matters within the deity’s following, like a qadi or a rabbinic judge. His younger brother and older sisters are all charismatic preachers in their mother’s fashion.

While perceptive and smart, he’s too awkward to be charmingly persuasive like his mother and siblings or intimidatingly authoritative like his father, either. This served him well, though, as a researcher in the archives of one of the faith’s monasteries. Despite tendencies to work slow-but-steady and to be ramblingly over-technical in conversation and his interpretations, his diligence and depth of study always ended with the best final product. He thought, perhaps, this would be his life. A little dull but fulfilling, perhaps tangential to his family traditions but reflecting well upon them in a different way. A black sheep but not embarrassingly so.

One day, however, his supervisor’s supervisor Donal claimed to have a holy vision that Stefan’s true calling was neither as dry researcher or as persuasive speaker, but rather going out into the world, gathering information and epic tales while doing worldly good as an adventurer.

Stefan was skeptical, unsure whether this was an actual vision, if the boss’s boss felt threatened by someone that talented and well-connected beneath him or if he simply found him boring and wanted to get rid of him. But he followed orders and took to figuring how to best use the gifts of his divinity to learn and adventure the only way he knew how, through intense study & research.

(This is reflected in the Variant Human feat Heavily Armored he possesses and the Warcaster feat he would pick up if he survives to another ASI.)

In preparing for his new life, he worked to have a deep if overly clinical understanding of how to survive in battle and how to use what divine magic he has access to in the service of protection and punishment and trying to figure things out.

He journals his travels incessantly. Knowledgeable and well-meaning but prone to overfocusing and talking in circles about details most folks wouldn’t care about, when enthused. Occasionally clamming up when less enthused, acutely aware he isn’t charming in the way his family can be.

With an equal combination of doubt and curiosity, he ventures outward, trying to do good while learning whatever new things he can while doing it, in service of the divinity he hopes actually wants him doing this, in hopes of being significant like his family, in his own way, somehow.
THE CHARACTER IN NUMBERS, SKILLS, EXPLORATION/COMBAT/INTERACTION

If we are picking a character background from backgrounds in the Players Handbook, I’d think the closest would be the Sage background, perhaps with the History proficiency substituted for an Investigation proficiency, reflecting his time as a researcher, since he’s going to get History from his Knowledge Cleric package anyway?

(From the PHB - Sage Feature: Researcher - When you attempt to learn or recall a piece of lore, if you do not know that information, you often know where and from whom you can obtain it. Usually, this information comes from a library, scriptorium, university, or a sage or other learned person or creature. Your DM might rule that the knowledge you seek is secreted away in an almost inaccessible place, or that it simply cannot be found. Unearthing the deepest secrets of the multiverse can require an adventure or even a whole campaign.)

------standard array, with modifiers---------

WIS 15 +1 variant human = 16 (+3)
STR 14 +1 heavily armored feat = 15 (+2)
INT 13 +1 variant human = 14 (+2)
CON 12 (+1)
DEX 10 (0)
CHA 8 (-1)

Saving throw proficiencies: wisdom, charisma

Proficiencies from background: Arcana, Investigation
Proficiencies from cleric: Insight, Persuasion (though low CHA, he learned a bit from his mom)
Proficiencies from knowledge cleric: History (doubled by KC), Religion (doubled by KC)
Proficiencies from variant human: Perception

cleric starting equipment: mace, chain mail, quarterstaff, priest’s pack, shield, holy symbol
sage starting equipment: ink, quill, small knife, common clothes, 10gp

human languages: common, halfling
knowledge cleric languages: elven, dwarven (these seem like the languages of deep research?)

SPELLS

at 3rd level, he has three cantrips:

Toll the Dead (attack)
Guidance (buff/utility)
Spare the Dying (healing/utility)

with a WIS of 16, at third level, he can prepare six spells of 1st or 2nd level

his default general preparation load-out at this point would be:

1st level - bless, healing word, guiding bolt
2nd level - aid, lesser restoration, prayer of healing (maybe sub. spiritual weapon if battle likely)

in addition, the always-prepared knowledge cleric spells of:

1st character level - command, identify
3rd character level - augury, suggestion

in non-magical melee: hit with mace, hope for the best
for magical ranged attacks: toll the dead, guiding bolt
to buff allies/self: guidance, bless, aid
to heal allies/self: spare the dying/healing word (triage), prayer of healing (larger heals)
to control enemies: command, suggestion
to learn things: identify, augury

In other words, he can do a little bit of everything, reflecting the depth of his study and devotion to his faith in knowledge and learning, even if he is hazy on whether he is directly following a calling by his deity or just using his gifts as best he can.

Also, if we’re going with base equipment, he’s tanky for low levels (chain mail + shield = AC 18) and okay in melee if he just has to swing his 1d6 mace with +2 strength and proficiency.

META NOTIONS

He’s built to be a vector to the world’s lore, in terms of out-of-combat skills, to help explicate the DM’s world-building… and built to use simple non-exploitive feats, understanding that the DM is hesitant to make feats too central to the game. (Heavily Armored basically just to get the armor proficiencies other cleric subclasses get, future feats like Warcaster or Resilient (CON) would just be about being a more effective caster when in melee range, etc.)