Love stumbling on stories that just fit and flow. I didn't even intend for it to get traumatic but hey it's the forgotten realms, who doesn't have a sad backstory? Like Briar is old, maybe a similar age to Lynette but possibly older. I just wanted to throw my new child in the woods, and somewhere tieflings could feasibly be. Except the Reaching Woods isn't an idyllic setting. Her home/childhood was slowly ravaged by goblins and gnolls claiming the region. There was little to no outside help due to the fear of cultists. Leading her to learn how to fend for herself and her family to counteract the threat, i.e. a self-taught monk / not through a monastery. Eventually they are vastly outnumbered, and must find a safe passage out. She survives, loses some important people along the way, and her home region remains unliveable leading to some remaining regrets. It' definitely feeds into why she's so protective of innocents.
She finds herself applying her skills to help escort travellers through dangerous territories in the wider regions surrounding Elturgard and beyond. When things hit the proverbial wall, she's roped in with the Elturiel refugees. Perfect for her since she's one of the few who has experience travelling and can sympathise with their displacement. Just don't know yet where/when she is picked up by the nautiloid. Long-winded ramble just to say that act 1 is like a brick to the face for Briar. She's confronted with a mirror of her past: refugees, druids, knolls, and goblins. Navigating it all holds a lot of emotional baggage. Briar carries a strong sense she will make things right this time around, and at the very least she'll see to it that the tieflings find their peace.
