Saturday, October 4, 2008

Astillar the Dragonborn Fighter 10 minute character background

write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum.
1. Somewhat despondent, doesn't have purpose at the moment, hasn't for several years. Gets some pleasure out of fighting skills. that's pretty much it.
2. Shares grudgingly. Usually only shares with folks she deams worthy.
3. Fighters are the most noble. Bravery should be rewarded.
4.She's a bit ... not xenoPHOBIC but she believes that dragonborn are the best at everything. They are inherently better at just about everything except being stealthy. There are a few who don't live up to their nobility and responsibility and their skills (her parents, for example, see below), but that's not their fault. She likes the weaker races though, finds them amusing and they like to hire her for the protection she can offer. She feels that the weaker races, because of their weakness and frequent lack of insight, are capable of great cruelty. She feels that dragonborn are the most ethical, and should really be the ones who rule. However, she would rather serve a dragonborn ruler with her sword rather than rule herself.
5. She avoids things she's not good at. Situations where stealth or diplomacy are required, for example.
6. Although she feels that dragonborn are the shit, she defers to other races and local customs as much as possible. She likes to observe other traditions and social interactions - random silly things other people do amuse her. Plus, she doesn't like to stick out much or draw attention her way. People tend to get a bit unnerved around firespewing two hundred pound scaly creatures, and being loudmouthed in addition gets you no friends, only enemies.


List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned.
Goals:
1. To not fuck up too badly.
2.

List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
1. Knows: Dad (or mom, doesn't really matter) died a coward's death, running from the battle field with infant Astillar to some random family of tolerably nice people, so she could be raised in safety. Last words of last surviving parent as he/she died from battle wound / internal bleeding: something stupid. Uh, "protect the infant." or something.
2. Doesn't know: That bit about the cowards death was made up by aforementioned well-meaning family that lived near dragonborne folk but didn't know shit about nobility or battle. Astillar's parents both died valiantly on the battlefield. Astillar hopes to die on the battle field rather than old age to fix a flaw she mistakenly feels her bloodline has.
3. None of my business.

Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
1. Honor: She perceives them as super weak, but she respects and honors her non-scaly adoptive parents. She left them fairly early to hone her inate fighting skills, but manages to message them somehow every six months to 2 years or so. She usually receives a message back a few months later. She just heard from them about their average harvest. Their messages are usually boring, but endearing.
1.a. Honor: She feels a general responsibility to honor other followers of Kord.
2. Enemy: I donno. Some hometown jerk (um... let's name him Gargan) who accused Astillar of burning down his family's barn and eating three sheep. I mean, yeah, she breathes fire and told him he was a jerk in front of the entire town after a planting festival dedicated to some boring god of the fields. Although she protested that her fire was for the battlefield and not for the growing fields, she realized it was best to leave town. She didn't like to kill the weak, even if they were really stupid. She's learned to not let everyone in the world know about her firepower though...
3. Romance: really, she's rather afraid of people not being strong ... not that she fears that she'll be let down exactly, but her parents were just completely contrary that everything a good warrior should be. So let's just drop this subject, ok?

Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
1. Her first wound. She was surprised. She was angry. She didn't handle it well. It was on the underside of her left arm, where her skin is not as tough. It was a sneak attack by a terrible fighter. An average sized, quick moving human, let's say it was her childhood enemy Gargan. It was unexpected. She was big enough to sit in the tavern and drink what she liked. Gargan was not. Maybe he was younger, or maybe it was because he was smaller, or maybe the town people were already unreasonably afraid of Astillar. Anyway, he was upset that she was there, stabbed her in the arm with some ridiculously tiny knife, and challenged her right to be there or exist at all. She leapt up, angry at the pain that she now realizes was as ridiculously tiny as that knife, and flailed about accidently smashing things. The stools at the bar weren't meant to withstand the crashings of dragonborns. She still acts like a fool when she's wounded since it happens so rarely. She now usually likes to sit against the wall, facing the room and tried to lay back and observe rather than be in the center of the room.
2. Something about a prophecy about her lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead. ha! No. I donno.
3.

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