I found some old sketchbooks & notebooks while cleaning out my workroom. One of them had some cool GS-type stuff in it from over a decade ago, including some character background information that I had thought I had lost forever. How cool! It got me to thinking about backstories, especially for characters with substantial backstories developed for prior to when they began adventuring. (I'm looking at you, longer-lived races.)
So in light of that, and because everyone loves surveys (thanks, Sus), have one that's focused on character background! I'll respond to my own questions in probably a day or two.
--
1. When and where was your character born?
2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
3. When did they start adventuring?
4. Why did they start adventuring?
5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
- Overlord EK
>You now regard Eorgina with a warm demeanor.
HATESHI
ENCELADAN
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/06/2016 04:45 PM CST
>1. When and where was your character born?
Phannus, 8th of Imaerasta, 5081
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Aydan was a temple acolyte, having been dedicated to a temple of Lumnis in Phannus at a young age. Between that and his family, everything was taken care of while he was young
>3. When did they start adventuring?
If we're going by what I consider to be "canon" for the character, it was right around the end of the GSS, when the Dark Alliance had taken over everything.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Aydan was a newly-minted Templar for Solhaven's Lumnis temple (having been transferred there about a year before it) and was more or less one of the only ones capable of mounting any kind of defense for the temple.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
He could play the zither, believe it or not. He picked up blacksmithing in more recent years, which counts as a hobby I guess. Oppressing the freedoms of others outside of the Empire is probably a hobby at this point too, if you believe what others say.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Aydan's sister. Of all his siblings, they were the closest in age and the most alike. He wasn't exactly a sociable person growing up, so not having very many close friends meant staying close to her.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Probably the same thing that's happened the last few times she's showed up (always off screen.) Aydan would grab Shannivar and they'd take a few days to spend with her because he doesn't get to see his family that often.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Absolutely not. Despite any misgivings he might have sometimes about what he's doing and why, he in no way doubts that he's become what he was meant to be, and wouldn't change that.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
The basics of his character and demeanor were always present. Law-abiding, a strict code of what he considered right and wrong, devotion to higher ideals, they always existed. What changed for him is that under Sir Eahlstan's tutelage (and others, like Salnim Malwind, who have said things that resonated long after the fact) his thoughts and behavior regarding them became much more refined. That came from the understanding of why he believed these things, and why he acted upon them. It was something that had to be learned and trained.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Not at all. Knighthood and a banner were never expected. Whether this is an actual good or bad thing depends on who you ask.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
In 10 years? Hopefully back in Riverwood with Shannivar, possibly for good. And hopefully with children of his own, in addition to all the strays that Shannivar has managed to lure back with them.
100 years? There's a nice little clearing in the woods near their homestead in Riverwood. He expects to be a few feet beneath it.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
He'd probably resist the urge to take advantage of it. Despite things that have certainly gone wrong, far too much has gone right to risk changing that.
-AM
You note, "And if someone happens to stumble into it every now and then and fire, well, accidents happen."
Bristenn stumbles toward a glowing blue-white pylon before regaining his balance.
Bristenn steadies the blue-white pylon and fires!
Phannus, 8th of Imaerasta, 5081
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Aydan was a temple acolyte, having been dedicated to a temple of Lumnis in Phannus at a young age. Between that and his family, everything was taken care of while he was young
>3. When did they start adventuring?
If we're going by what I consider to be "canon" for the character, it was right around the end of the GSS, when the Dark Alliance had taken over everything.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Aydan was a newly-minted Templar for Solhaven's Lumnis temple (having been transferred there about a year before it) and was more or less one of the only ones capable of mounting any kind of defense for the temple.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
He could play the zither, believe it or not. He picked up blacksmithing in more recent years, which counts as a hobby I guess. Oppressing the freedoms of others outside of the Empire is probably a hobby at this point too, if you believe what others say.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Aydan's sister. Of all his siblings, they were the closest in age and the most alike. He wasn't exactly a sociable person growing up, so not having very many close friends meant staying close to her.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Probably the same thing that's happened the last few times she's showed up (always off screen.) Aydan would grab Shannivar and they'd take a few days to spend with her because he doesn't get to see his family that often.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Absolutely not. Despite any misgivings he might have sometimes about what he's doing and why, he in no way doubts that he's become what he was meant to be, and wouldn't change that.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
The basics of his character and demeanor were always present. Law-abiding, a strict code of what he considered right and wrong, devotion to higher ideals, they always existed. What changed for him is that under Sir Eahlstan's tutelage (and others, like Salnim Malwind, who have said things that resonated long after the fact) his thoughts and behavior regarding them became much more refined. That came from the understanding of why he believed these things, and why he acted upon them. It was something that had to be learned and trained.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Not at all. Knighthood and a banner were never expected. Whether this is an actual good or bad thing depends on who you ask.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
In 10 years? Hopefully back in Riverwood with Shannivar, possibly for good. And hopefully with children of his own, in addition to all the strays that Shannivar has managed to lure back with them.
100 years? There's a nice little clearing in the woods near their homestead in Riverwood. He expects to be a few feet beneath it.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
He'd probably resist the urge to take advantage of it. Despite things that have certainly gone wrong, far too much has gone right to risk changing that.
-AM
You note, "And if someone happens to stumble into it every now and then and fire, well, accidents happen."
Bristenn stumbles toward a glowing blue-white pylon before regaining his balance.
Bristenn steadies the blue-white pylon and fires!
HATESHI
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/07/2016 06:02 PM CST
Answering my own questions now!
>1. When and where was your character born?
Alisaire was born on 7 Eorgaen 4410, just outside of Sharath.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
She never had an actual career, though she did pursue several research topics with (research) partners in New Ta'Faendryl, and she was also a member of the guard in the New City for a decent number of decades. Take that, Sharath. For a while she even did museum curation. Fun times.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
She left Sharath in 4465 and has never since returned. Actual adventuring began.. 4976, though for the first quarter century she focused more on eastern Elanith. It wasn't until about 5000 that she finally visited the western part of the continent. I didn't roll her up until around 2001, so 'officially' she didn't start adventuring until 5101. It's kind of hard to fill 700 years' worth of backstory without some decent amounts of time spent traveling and whatnot, though.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Her longtime traveling companion had interests suddenly shifted to a hobby she didn't care much for, so as a result she took off on her own. It's amazing at what one is able to pursue when one finally has the freedom to do so.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Early odd jobs meant she learned a few odd skills to find somewhere with a roof and a hot meal. While she's no bard, she used to be fairly adept with the lute and performing some folk songs. A Nalfein woman also taught her to dance, ages ago. She doesn't much like performing at all though, be it instrument, song, or dance, so it's rare she'll do so in public.
She always wanted to learn to draw properly and admire those who have a natural talent or years of hard-earned skill. She's never committed the time to learning much beyond the basics.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
I'll avoid the obvious (Khein) and instead go with an individual who she met in New Ta'Faendryl, among the Palestra there. She encountered him more than a few times in the several centuries time she spent in the New City. His father was a mentor of sorts to her, and for a time he was a suitor. It could have been nice. But clearly it didn't work out.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd remain fairly polite but guarded, likely content to catch up on any of his recent family developments while not committing to spending much more time than that in fairly cursory discussion. She'd likely excuse herself toward the end, cutting short any further dialog.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
No. She did not fit in at Sharath, and while she did enjoy much of the time she spent in New Ta'Faendryl, there were other aspects to her past there that she would not want to revisit exactly as it was when she was there. Returning to the New City now is a possibility, and I've said from time to time she's gone to visit acquaintances there, but I doubt she'll ever have a real desire to return to Sharath unless something fairly serious happened in the world of the Dhe'nar that would compel her to do so.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
While she's always had her own code of ethics, that has truly been reinforced and refined over the the years. In spite of her allegiances, she still believes that Truth is the greatest ideal to strive toward - and thus upholding oaths even made at the worst of times is the only way to maintain one's personal Honor. In her attempts to do so while still balancing those tasks she is obligated to complete, she has begun to perfect the art of deceit through suggestion and omission. It kind of amazes me sometimes at how effective she can be, and I likewise hope that the players behind those she interacts with realize that everything she does and says is intended to be purely IC for when those inevitable repercussions occur.
I had never intended her to be a Lawful Evil character, but that's how she ended up; from the start, she ever viewed herself as either Lawful Neutral or (possibly) Lawful Good. It similarly fascinates me that simple perception can be the dividing line between Lawful Good and Lawful (or Chaotic) Evil. That's another character point I've really enjoyed playing with more lately.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
In many ways, she is so far apart from how she began that she is very nearly a different person. For the positive, she's a great deal more self-confident and capable than she once was, mentally and emotionally. For the negative, well, she's sold her soul to Luukos and now helps lure others to do the same. Wait, that's not a negative... .... ..........
In another aspect, she believes that she's progressed further down the path toward Ascension than she ever thought possible - and beyond what she's ever witnessed of any other Dhe'nar. In that she has partially merged with extraplanar, demonic shadow entities, she's followed in the footsteps of the mythical Shtaq from her culture. That's certainly not something she ever would have anticipated even half a century ago, and in her minds it's an extremely fortuitous development. Most others would vehemently disagree. It's really not a good thing at all.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
She sees herself as still adventuring for the most part, for both noted time frames. The lifestyle has grown to suit her. She might consider pursuing another bit of research with some old or new (research) partners, but that would depend entirely on circumstances.
Beyond those 1000 years... She believes that on the 30th of Jastatos, 6102, her mortal life will end as it exists currently, and she will complete the merger with the shadow entities, thus culminating with her own Ascension. Multiple seers have confirmed this outcome to her over the years, which has further reinforced her conviction that it will come to pass. I'm sure that some intrepid adventurers will be there to stop her/them before she/they do too much harm to Elanthia.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
As tempted as she would be to not meddle in the past, at this point the curiosity would be too great. She'd want to go back to a precise moment shortly before she left Sharath - and likewise just before she petitioned another to leave with her. She'd tell her younger self to simply leave right then, to leave alone, and to never return.
It'd probably turn out better for everyone if it happened that way. But where would be the fun in telling that story?
- Overlord EK
>You now regard Eorgina with a warm demeanor.
>1. When and where was your character born?
Alisaire was born on 7 Eorgaen 4410, just outside of Sharath.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
She never had an actual career, though she did pursue several research topics with (research) partners in New Ta'Faendryl, and she was also a member of the guard in the New City for a decent number of decades. Take that, Sharath. For a while she even did museum curation. Fun times.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
She left Sharath in 4465 and has never since returned. Actual adventuring began.. 4976, though for the first quarter century she focused more on eastern Elanith. It wasn't until about 5000 that she finally visited the western part of the continent. I didn't roll her up until around 2001, so 'officially' she didn't start adventuring until 5101. It's kind of hard to fill 700 years' worth of backstory without some decent amounts of time spent traveling and whatnot, though.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Her longtime traveling companion had interests suddenly shifted to a hobby she didn't care much for, so as a result she took off on her own. It's amazing at what one is able to pursue when one finally has the freedom to do so.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Early odd jobs meant she learned a few odd skills to find somewhere with a roof and a hot meal. While she's no bard, she used to be fairly adept with the lute and performing some folk songs. A Nalfein woman also taught her to dance, ages ago. She doesn't much like performing at all though, be it instrument, song, or dance, so it's rare she'll do so in public.
She always wanted to learn to draw properly and admire those who have a natural talent or years of hard-earned skill. She's never committed the time to learning much beyond the basics.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
I'll avoid the obvious (Khein) and instead go with an individual who she met in New Ta'Faendryl, among the Palestra there. She encountered him more than a few times in the several centuries time she spent in the New City. His father was a mentor of sorts to her, and for a time he was a suitor. It could have been nice. But clearly it didn't work out.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd remain fairly polite but guarded, likely content to catch up on any of his recent family developments while not committing to spending much more time than that in fairly cursory discussion. She'd likely excuse herself toward the end, cutting short any further dialog.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
No. She did not fit in at Sharath, and while she did enjoy much of the time she spent in New Ta'Faendryl, there were other aspects to her past there that she would not want to revisit exactly as it was when she was there. Returning to the New City now is a possibility, and I've said from time to time she's gone to visit acquaintances there, but I doubt she'll ever have a real desire to return to Sharath unless something fairly serious happened in the world of the Dhe'nar that would compel her to do so.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
While she's always had her own code of ethics, that has truly been reinforced and refined over the the years. In spite of her allegiances, she still believes that Truth is the greatest ideal to strive toward - and thus upholding oaths even made at the worst of times is the only way to maintain one's personal Honor. In her attempts to do so while still balancing those tasks she is obligated to complete, she has begun to perfect the art of deceit through suggestion and omission. It kind of amazes me sometimes at how effective she can be, and I likewise hope that the players behind those she interacts with realize that everything she does and says is intended to be purely IC for when those inevitable repercussions occur.
I had never intended her to be a Lawful Evil character, but that's how she ended up; from the start, she ever viewed herself as either Lawful Neutral or (possibly) Lawful Good. It similarly fascinates me that simple perception can be the dividing line between Lawful Good and Lawful (or Chaotic) Evil. That's another character point I've really enjoyed playing with more lately.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
In many ways, she is so far apart from how she began that she is very nearly a different person. For the positive, she's a great deal more self-confident and capable than she once was, mentally and emotionally. For the negative, well, she's sold her soul to Luukos and now helps lure others to do the same. Wait, that's not a negative... .... ..........
In another aspect, she believes that she's progressed further down the path toward Ascension than she ever thought possible - and beyond what she's ever witnessed of any other Dhe'nar. In that she has partially merged with extraplanar, demonic shadow entities, she's followed in the footsteps of the mythical Shtaq from her culture. That's certainly not something she ever would have anticipated even half a century ago, and in her minds it's an extremely fortuitous development. Most others would vehemently disagree. It's really not a good thing at all.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
She sees herself as still adventuring for the most part, for both noted time frames. The lifestyle has grown to suit her. She might consider pursuing another bit of research with some old or new (research) partners, but that would depend entirely on circumstances.
Beyond those 1000 years... She believes that on the 30th of Jastatos, 6102, her mortal life will end as it exists currently, and she will complete the merger with the shadow entities, thus culminating with her own Ascension. Multiple seers have confirmed this outcome to her over the years, which has further reinforced her conviction that it will come to pass. I'm sure that some intrepid adventurers will be there to stop her/them before she/they do too much harm to Elanthia.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
As tempted as she would be to not meddle in the past, at this point the curiosity would be too great. She'd want to go back to a precise moment shortly before she left Sharath - and likewise just before she petitioned another to leave with her. She'd tell her younger self to simply leave right then, to leave alone, and to never return.
It'd probably turn out better for everyone if it happened that way. But where would be the fun in telling that story?
- Overlord EK
>You now regard Eorgina with a warm demeanor.
LEDUCC21
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/17/2016 09:33 AM CST
1. When and where was your character born?
2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
3. When did they start adventuring?
Divone was brought to Solhaven around 2009, 2010. Just after the Cataclysm.
4. Why did they start adventuring?
Story goes, her father deposited her on the docks of Solhaven, a spoiled rotten merchants daughter, to find her own way.
5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Divone's two main passions have always been art and the sea. Her room was swamped with piles of sketch pads and paintings. She haunted her father's ships and often went on small jaunts with him when he still ran one of his ships himself.
6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Divone's father. He was a self starting, wealthy merchant that aquired a small fleet of merchant ships. He was a smart and fair trademan and a respectable seaman.
7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Unfortunately, Divone's father was lost in the ill fated ships launched out of Estoria and making their way to Landing. He wasn't part of the Navy but agreed to ship supplies and food for the long journey alongside them. Divone's beloved brother, the eldest of all 12 Lerade children, was lost as well.
8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Divone returns often and keeps in close contact with many of her family. She spent a year fighting the Krolvin on board her ship, The Niima's Grace and just recently came back to Solhaven.
9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
Not everything will be handed to you. Earning your way is more rewarding to oneself, even if accolades do not follow.
10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Divone was a fly by the seat of my pants kind of character. I rolled her up, starting going along and when people asked questions, I answered. I surprised myself at times over the answers but I wouldn't change a thing!
11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
She sees herself much where her father was before his death. Overseeing a small fleet of merchants ships, happily married and raising a family.
12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
I don't think I would change anything for her or have her future self tell her anything different. She would smile and watch the flustered brat, freshly tossed on the docks and know in her heart, that was where her true life began...good and bad...it would make her better.
LEDUCC21
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/17/2016 09:37 AM CST
EDIT button needed...Two questions missed.
Born - Idolone.
Do before Adventuring- Whine to her father to give her a ship. He didn't. Avoid her mother trying to make her a darling of the Idolone courts. She wasn't. :P
KLIEST
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/17/2016 02:28 PM CST
1. When and where was your character born? Mynon Felcroth was born on the 27th of Niiman, 5086, in Idolone.
2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
He was born in a successful military family, with a long string of officers in Idolone's navy in their history. He is the youngest of three sons, and the second youngest of six children. Much of his teen and young adult years were spent with various clergy, to whom he was sent to for education after it became clear that he was ill-suited for a naval career, despite his desire to follow in his father and brothers' footsteps. An interest in the martial aspect of the church, due to his desire to serve his patron and country in some manner befitting his family, led him to service in a Voln manastery, where he learned, and then served, into his mid twenties.
3. When did they start adventuring?
When Rinhale Hurrst was murdered in Wehnimer's Landing, and Earl Hurrst chose to send a fleet to attack the town, Mynon chose to leave the monastery, to see if there was some way he could support his earl's fleet, from land. He made his way north with his sister, Maretta, learning of most of the fleet being diverted, on the way. He later discovered the awful fate of the remaining Estorian forces, at the the hands of the krolvin and their demonic allies, a few weeks after arriving. Determined to wait for another opportunity and to serve Voln's purpose, in the meantime, he based himself in Solhaven, and got to work.
4. Why did they start adventuring?
Primarily, a desire to follow in his family's path of martial service, serve Voln's purpose, and to avenge the death of Rinhale, on behalf of the Hurrst family.
5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Mynon was an avid reader, and took great interest in the Turamzzyrian Empire's military history, especially. He has since discovered...many things, but still loves to read.
6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
His father, a captain in Estoria's navy, is something of a hero, to Mynon, for several reasons. First he wished to emulate his father as a naval captain. When that proved impossible, and he was sent to learn, he recognized, in time, that he was being given another type of opportunity to make his family proud, and was extremely grateful. Finally, his father died in the defense of Idolone, against the krolvin, during the war, cementing in Mynon the belief that a great or noble purpose is more important than a long life.
7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Mynon would be utterly floored, as his family grieved the loss of his father over a year ago. If it were in spirit, he would do all possible to insure that his father would be at rest, and able to pass through the Ebon Gate, rather than be bound to this plane.
8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Once in a while. he misses his family, but knows that where he is now gives him more opportunity to serve the Sun-throne, and Voln, directly, than something administrative, having to do with Idolone's recovery, would likely allow. More importantly, he is about to establish a new family with his fiance, Divone Lerade.
9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
It is important to allow what is good in those around him to manifest. When he came north, he held a distinctly ungenerous set of views about the people of the northern frontier. Those were challenged, and in some degree, changed, by what he saw in the War of Shadows. Today, a number of northern frontiersmen (even a few non-humans!) have some measure of respect from him, and while he has a profound dislike for much of what takes place around the Landing, he knows that there are people worth supporting, and defending, there. Going forward? Well, he is undertaking the greatest venture of his life, soon...
10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Not at all. Mynon came north on a mission to put those upstarts to the sword. Now he works on how best to serve the Sun-Throne, and Voln, with voice as well as martial skill.
11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Happily married! Possibly with kids, or not, but working on a career in service either to Baron Malwind, or Earl Hurrst, and certainly, in service to Voln.
12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
That opportunities to do one's duty can take many paths, and that having horrible seasickness may close the obvious ambition for him, but will present another.
MOURNE
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/17/2016 04:04 PM CST
These have been fun to read. :D
>1. When and where was your character born?
Nicolao was born thereabouts of early 5011, in the vicinity of Mestanir.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
Close to 80 years in a prison for criminally insane magic-users. Prior to that, an abusive apprenticeship. Prior to that, good clean begging and pickpocketing.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
Summer of 5115.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
A fellow has to eat, it pays better than telling fortunes, and he's a rotten pickpocket.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Prior to this past summer, hobbies included reading runes, harassing guards, writing memoirs and collecting stories. Since obtaining his freedom, hobbies have expanded to include voraciously absorbing information from any book he can get his hands on, harassing townspeople, feeding and entertaining the local stray cat population, and standing around invisibly listening to your conversations in North Market.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
The sorcerer with whom he apprenticed, who played the roles of father-figure, mentor, and betrayer.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Nervous breakdown. Might be messy.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
All the nope to the power of nope. Much more stable now, actual friends, and Mestanir is looking a bit run down these days anyway.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
That he doesn't have to be alone to keep himself safe or keep others safe from him. Still in the process of coming to terms with this concept, but it seems likely to keep him from slowly souring into a dusty, bitter, and brittle old coot.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Not remotely, and this is a very good thing. Expectations at various points in his life have included starvation, irredeemable lack of magical control, execution, life imprisonment, and gibbering insanity. All of these are still on the table, but none of them are the current state of affairs and he now has a fair bit of hope for positive outcomes.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
In ten years - hopefully still alive, at liberty, learning, and dogging the heels of a certain boisterous blond youth.
In a hundred years - dubious that he'll still be breathing, given his apparent favoring of his human blood. But if so, hopefully installed in a library somewhere, still learning.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Don't pick that guy's pocket, boy. Oh, and by the way, leave Mestanir before 5092.
---
With great effort you combine the value of your two bloodscrip, leaving you with a single parchment bloodscrip valued at 2112.
You think to yourself, "Another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man..."
>1. When and where was your character born?
Nicolao was born thereabouts of early 5011, in the vicinity of Mestanir.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
Close to 80 years in a prison for criminally insane magic-users. Prior to that, an abusive apprenticeship. Prior to that, good clean begging and pickpocketing.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
Summer of 5115.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
A fellow has to eat, it pays better than telling fortunes, and he's a rotten pickpocket.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Prior to this past summer, hobbies included reading runes, harassing guards, writing memoirs and collecting stories. Since obtaining his freedom, hobbies have expanded to include voraciously absorbing information from any book he can get his hands on, harassing townspeople, feeding and entertaining the local stray cat population, and standing around invisibly listening to your conversations in North Market.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
The sorcerer with whom he apprenticed, who played the roles of father-figure, mentor, and betrayer.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Nervous breakdown. Might be messy.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
All the nope to the power of nope. Much more stable now, actual friends, and Mestanir is looking a bit run down these days anyway.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
That he doesn't have to be alone to keep himself safe or keep others safe from him. Still in the process of coming to terms with this concept, but it seems likely to keep him from slowly souring into a dusty, bitter, and brittle old coot.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Not remotely, and this is a very good thing. Expectations at various points in his life have included starvation, irredeemable lack of magical control, execution, life imprisonment, and gibbering insanity. All of these are still on the table, but none of them are the current state of affairs and he now has a fair bit of hope for positive outcomes.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
In ten years - hopefully still alive, at liberty, learning, and dogging the heels of a certain boisterous blond youth.
In a hundred years - dubious that he'll still be breathing, given his apparent favoring of his human blood. But if so, hopefully installed in a library somewhere, still learning.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Don't pick that guy's pocket, boy. Oh, and by the way, leave Mestanir before 5092.
---
With great effort you combine the value of your two bloodscrip, leaving you with a single parchment bloodscrip valued at 2112.
You think to yourself, "Another toy that helped destroy the elder race of man..."
EMMAVARIA
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/25/2016 11:47 AM CST
>1. When and where was your character born?
Ivastaen 29, 5015, in Mestanir.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
While not techically homeless or abandoned, Marijka was in an abusively neglectful home situation until she was abducted by a sorcerer. As far as she knows, she lived on the streets, which was sort of true given how little care her parents had for her. She grew up thinking she had been adopted, not abducted.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
At age 14, after running away from her failed apprenticeship.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
When Marijka showed little aptitude for sorcery, and only the vaguest inclination to keep up with her studies, the sorcerer terminated her apprenticeship and demoted her to de facto servant. It didn't take her long to get fed up with that situation, and she ran away.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Most of her time and energy were spent just on scraping together food and money to survive, though she's always had a casually malicious streak and sometimes felt active pride in hurting somebody who got in her way. She's not only kept up with that malicious streak, she prides herself on the technique and inventiveness she's developed over time.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
The sorcerer who abducted and tried to apprentice her. Actually, this is the same sorcerer from Nicolao's backstory -- they met in his home and spent four years in his care.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd freak the hell out -- he's not supposed to be able to do that. He's dead. She killed him herself.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Only in the most abstract sense. She's gained quite a taste for living well, and has no particular affinity for Mestanir other than for its signature style of beer. However, she feels a compulsion to seek out and stay near Nicolao which she's never been able to explain. In that one small sense, she does want to relive those days.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
Swordplay. She's always been dextrous, so along with shadier pursuits, an early lover began instructing her in two-weapon combat using a longsword and a main-gauche. She has since developed a fascination with blades of all sorts that approaches obsession, in a "very much not okay" sense.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Marijka never spent much time imagining a person who she thought she would become. She lives in the moment, seeing what she wants and taking it. Patience has come only with grudging difficulty to her in her adult life.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
See above. She's pretty certain that eventually she's going to run up against somebody better than her, whether another killer or a justice type. She doesn't expect to survive all such encounters, and figures it's a matter of time before Lorminstra stops sending her back. She doesn't see much benefit in long term plans.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Life could have been a lot easier had she stuck a dagger in the throat of the sorcerer the night she left, rather than years later -- and had she loaded herself down with as much of value as she could carry.
Ivastaen 29, 5015, in Mestanir.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
While not techically homeless or abandoned, Marijka was in an abusively neglectful home situation until she was abducted by a sorcerer. As far as she knows, she lived on the streets, which was sort of true given how little care her parents had for her. She grew up thinking she had been adopted, not abducted.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
At age 14, after running away from her failed apprenticeship.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
When Marijka showed little aptitude for sorcery, and only the vaguest inclination to keep up with her studies, the sorcerer terminated her apprenticeship and demoted her to de facto servant. It didn't take her long to get fed up with that situation, and she ran away.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Most of her time and energy were spent just on scraping together food and money to survive, though she's always had a casually malicious streak and sometimes felt active pride in hurting somebody who got in her way. She's not only kept up with that malicious streak, she prides herself on the technique and inventiveness she's developed over time.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
The sorcerer who abducted and tried to apprentice her. Actually, this is the same sorcerer from Nicolao's backstory -- they met in his home and spent four years in his care.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd freak the hell out -- he's not supposed to be able to do that. He's dead. She killed him herself.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Only in the most abstract sense. She's gained quite a taste for living well, and has no particular affinity for Mestanir other than for its signature style of beer. However, she feels a compulsion to seek out and stay near Nicolao which she's never been able to explain. In that one small sense, she does want to relive those days.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
Swordplay. She's always been dextrous, so along with shadier pursuits, an early lover began instructing her in two-weapon combat using a longsword and a main-gauche. She has since developed a fascination with blades of all sorts that approaches obsession, in a "very much not okay" sense.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Marijka never spent much time imagining a person who she thought she would become. She lives in the moment, seeing what she wants and taking it. Patience has come only with grudging difficulty to her in her adult life.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
See above. She's pretty certain that eventually she's going to run up against somebody better than her, whether another killer or a justice type. She doesn't expect to survive all such encounters, and figures it's a matter of time before Lorminstra stops sending her back. She doesn't see much benefit in long term plans.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Life could have been a lot easier had she stuck a dagger in the throat of the sorcerer the night she left, rather than years later -- and had she loaded herself down with as much of value as she could carry.
KAERADS
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/25/2016 06:03 PM CST
> 1. When and where was your character born?
Kamiel Lyeista was born on Lormesta 21, 5089 within the aelotoi slave warrens on the world of Bre'naere.
> 2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
As slave labour to the Kiramon, her basic needs were provided for, to minimal standards.
> 3. When did they start adventuring?
30 Jastatos 5103: a very specific date; the date when the Aelotoi refugees came swarming through the portal from Bre'Naere into the Wraithenmist.
> 4. Why did they start adventuring?
Kamiel grew up in the Mrae'ni tribe, thus a de facto student of tradition and history in addition to her empathic schooling. She was thus keenly aware of what Aelotoi civilization once was, and consequently felt the weight of their slavery even more heavily than those who never had this knowledge. When she heard the chaos and the disruption surrounding the discovery of the portal, she snuck away against the strict orders of her elders and fled.
> 5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
As she was only fourteen when the Portal opened, she had few hobbies beyond desperately avoiding her responsibilities within the warren and wishing for a better life.
> 6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Kamiel's partner, the first time she was force-bred in the Kiramon eugenics programs. After playing his part, he was so consumed by guilt that he committed suicide-by-Kiramon in a pointless, futile attempt to protect and stay with her. The memory of seeing him torn into pieces before her, on her behalf, has stayed with Kamiel her entire life.
> 7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She would assume that she has lost her grasp on sanity. That event itself might well undo much or all of the emotional healing she's managed in the ensuing years.
> 8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Absolutely and emphatically not. It would mean returning to a life of unquestioning slavery in a desolate, blasted wasteland.
> 9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
Although she is not herself a priestess or cleric, she considers herself L'Naereen'dar -- one of the faithful of the Aelotoi goddess L'Naere. Having a greater power upon which to focus her hopes and beliefs has enabled her to sometimes escape the physical, mental, and emotional trauma of the first half of her life.
> 10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Kamiel would consider herself to be a stronger person than she would have imagined possible -- she hated and feared the pain implicit in empathic healing, but has been able to work past it to grow reasonably capable and respected as a healer. No matter how much she fantasized, she would not have imagined a life where she could live in freedom. Both of these are emphatically good things.
> 11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Kamiel hopes to be essentially the same person, though older and wiser, in ten years. Possibly to have made a better attempt at actually healing her traumas instead of mostly avoiding them.
> 12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
There is a better world; a better life. Take the days one at a time -- count the passage of minutes if you must -- but eventually a day will come. Survive. You can survive anything, any violation, for just a few years if you must. If you can be strong enough mentally and emotionally, then when the day of freedom comes, you'll be far more whole.
Kamiel Lyeista was born on Lormesta 21, 5089 within the aelotoi slave warrens on the world of Bre'naere.
> 2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
As slave labour to the Kiramon, her basic needs were provided for, to minimal standards.
> 3. When did they start adventuring?
30 Jastatos 5103: a very specific date; the date when the Aelotoi refugees came swarming through the portal from Bre'Naere into the Wraithenmist.
> 4. Why did they start adventuring?
Kamiel grew up in the Mrae'ni tribe, thus a de facto student of tradition and history in addition to her empathic schooling. She was thus keenly aware of what Aelotoi civilization once was, and consequently felt the weight of their slavery even more heavily than those who never had this knowledge. When she heard the chaos and the disruption surrounding the discovery of the portal, she snuck away against the strict orders of her elders and fled.
> 5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
As she was only fourteen when the Portal opened, she had few hobbies beyond desperately avoiding her responsibilities within the warren and wishing for a better life.
> 6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Kamiel's partner, the first time she was force-bred in the Kiramon eugenics programs. After playing his part, he was so consumed by guilt that he committed suicide-by-Kiramon in a pointless, futile attempt to protect and stay with her. The memory of seeing him torn into pieces before her, on her behalf, has stayed with Kamiel her entire life.
> 7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She would assume that she has lost her grasp on sanity. That event itself might well undo much or all of the emotional healing she's managed in the ensuing years.
> 8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Absolutely and emphatically not. It would mean returning to a life of unquestioning slavery in a desolate, blasted wasteland.
> 9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
Although she is not herself a priestess or cleric, she considers herself L'Naereen'dar -- one of the faithful of the Aelotoi goddess L'Naere. Having a greater power upon which to focus her hopes and beliefs has enabled her to sometimes escape the physical, mental, and emotional trauma of the first half of her life.
> 10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Kamiel would consider herself to be a stronger person than she would have imagined possible -- she hated and feared the pain implicit in empathic healing, but has been able to work past it to grow reasonably capable and respected as a healer. No matter how much she fantasized, she would not have imagined a life where she could live in freedom. Both of these are emphatically good things.
> 11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Kamiel hopes to be essentially the same person, though older and wiser, in ten years. Possibly to have made a better attempt at actually healing her traumas instead of mostly avoiding them.
> 12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
There is a better world; a better life. Take the days one at a time -- count the passage of minutes if you must -- but eventually a day will come. Survive. You can survive anything, any violation, for just a few years if you must. If you can be strong enough mentally and emotionally, then when the day of freedom comes, you'll be far more whole.
SEIZER525
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/28/2016 02:52 PM CST
>1. When and where was your character born?
Atherion was born the 21st of Koarotos, in 5071. He was born close to Jantalar.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
His father was a steward for the local lord. Atherion often helped his father by doing simple work around the manor. Atherion did learn how to use a blade during his adolescent years, and was encouraged to be better by his father. This led him to join the imperial Jantalarian army. He served with the army until the fall of Baron Lerep Hochstib.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
In 5109 around midyear.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
You need a 20ft pry bar for this one. Basically, though after the fall of Hochstib, it was noted that he was gifted in magical arts. He was sent to pursue this gift.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Reading history books. He still enjoys reading about history, especially Empire and human history. He’s picked up smoking as a hobby.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Baron Lerep Hochstib. Taught Atherion that the Empire needed to be stronger for itself, and that the pursuit of a strong Empire requires unique sacrifices.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Not happening he’s dead.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
No. Refer to 20ft pry bar.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
He’s learned to open up a little more. It’s changed his outlook on others and life in general.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Essentially yes. Good or bad thing hmm that’s tough to answer. Going to go with a vague response of its neither good nor bad.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Doing his own thing still, not answering to anyone, living his life as he sees fit. Perhaps assisting in matters of the Empire that will strengthen the Empire.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Never trust nobles and don’t look to the gods for guidance.
Atherion was born the 21st of Koarotos, in 5071. He was born close to Jantalar.
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
His father was a steward for the local lord. Atherion often helped his father by doing simple work around the manor. Atherion did learn how to use a blade during his adolescent years, and was encouraged to be better by his father. This led him to join the imperial Jantalarian army. He served with the army until the fall of Baron Lerep Hochstib.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
In 5109 around midyear.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
You need a 20ft pry bar for this one. Basically, though after the fall of Hochstib, it was noted that he was gifted in magical arts. He was sent to pursue this gift.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Reading history books. He still enjoys reading about history, especially Empire and human history. He’s picked up smoking as a hobby.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Baron Lerep Hochstib. Taught Atherion that the Empire needed to be stronger for itself, and that the pursuit of a strong Empire requires unique sacrifices.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
Not happening he’s dead.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
No. Refer to 20ft pry bar.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
He’s learned to open up a little more. It’s changed his outlook on others and life in general.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Essentially yes. Good or bad thing hmm that’s tough to answer. Going to go with a vague response of its neither good nor bad.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Doing his own thing still, not answering to anyone, living his life as he sees fit. Perhaps assisting in matters of the Empire that will strengthen the Empire.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Never trust nobles and don’t look to the gods for guidance.
SYNATHAESIA
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
01/31/2016 07:36 PM CST
Okay, I'll bite.
1. When and where was your character born?
Maretta Felcroth was born on the 19th of Charlatos, 5093, in Idolone
2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Maretta is the youngest of six siblings with a large gap between the time Mynon and she were born, so it can be assumed she was a bit of an oops. She grew up admiring her father and brothers and longing to venture with them to sea whenever they went, but was held back due to the expectations of her gender, which she grew to resent and quite often fought against societal norms which caused many a headache for those around her.
3. When did they start adventuring?
Same time as Mynon, if not technically shortly afterwards.
4. Why did they start adventuring?
Maretta ended up coming to Solhaven with her brother as a way to give their mother a break from her antics as well as give her a way to expend her energy in more creative ways than sewing or knitting. Shortly afterwards, though, she got a bit stir crazy when she realized life wasn't that much different than at home, and friends were harder to come by so she ran off seeking glory and adventure at sea by stowing away in the cabin of a ship and fighting during the war.
5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
She used to go to the docks and hang out with wharf rats, much to her family's chagrin. She wanted to learn the ins and outs of a ship, which her mother was less keen on.
6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Her mother, and not in a positive way. They often butted heads when it came to what Maretta was expected to do and what Maretta wanted to do. The expectation was to groom her to be a proper lady and wed her off to some noble's son, as was the plan for the other sisters (who were more than content with this life plan). This included stuffing her into gowns that were too small causing her to look like a sausage about to bust out of its casing (when she was more pudge than anything else) and refusing her fair portions of food despite her generally enormous appetite. It was rather overbearing and had a negative affect on Maretta's psyche.
7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd give up. It is safe to assume if her mother made an appearance, it was to drag her back to Idolone and force her into an arranged marriage where she would slowly fade away.
8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Yes, eventually, when she can prove she forged a path for the better, despite her mother's leanings.
9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
In the time that she was off at sea, she developed a bit of a drinking problem. Just recently, after she'd pretty much destroyed her life, she forced herself to go cold turkey and is sober, although it's made her rather depressed as she copes with what she actually went through at war.
10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
She's not. She thought there was glory in being a decorated non-descript gender neutral seaperson at war, but it was more overwhelming than she originally thought. Again, coping.
11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Unknown. She lost the will to even get out of bed most days.
12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Running away doesn't solve your problems. They'll still be there when you decide to come back.
1. When and where was your character born?
Maretta Felcroth was born on the 19th of Charlatos, 5093, in Idolone
2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Maretta is the youngest of six siblings with a large gap between the time Mynon and she were born, so it can be assumed she was a bit of an oops. She grew up admiring her father and brothers and longing to venture with them to sea whenever they went, but was held back due to the expectations of her gender, which she grew to resent and quite often fought against societal norms which caused many a headache for those around her.
3. When did they start adventuring?
Same time as Mynon, if not technically shortly afterwards.
4. Why did they start adventuring?
Maretta ended up coming to Solhaven with her brother as a way to give their mother a break from her antics as well as give her a way to expend her energy in more creative ways than sewing or knitting. Shortly afterwards, though, she got a bit stir crazy when she realized life wasn't that much different than at home, and friends were harder to come by so she ran off seeking glory and adventure at sea by stowing away in the cabin of a ship and fighting during the war.
5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
She used to go to the docks and hang out with wharf rats, much to her family's chagrin. She wanted to learn the ins and outs of a ship, which her mother was less keen on.
6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
Her mother, and not in a positive way. They often butted heads when it came to what Maretta was expected to do and what Maretta wanted to do. The expectation was to groom her to be a proper lady and wed her off to some noble's son, as was the plan for the other sisters (who were more than content with this life plan). This included stuffing her into gowns that were too small causing her to look like a sausage about to bust out of its casing (when she was more pudge than anything else) and refusing her fair portions of food despite her generally enormous appetite. It was rather overbearing and had a negative affect on Maretta's psyche.
7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
She'd give up. It is safe to assume if her mother made an appearance, it was to drag her back to Idolone and force her into an arranged marriage where she would slowly fade away.
8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Yes, eventually, when she can prove she forged a path for the better, despite her mother's leanings.
9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
In the time that she was off at sea, she developed a bit of a drinking problem. Just recently, after she'd pretty much destroyed her life, she forced herself to go cold turkey and is sober, although it's made her rather depressed as she copes with what she actually went through at war.
10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
She's not. She thought there was glory in being a decorated non-descript gender neutral seaperson at war, but it was more overwhelming than she originally thought. Again, coping.
11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)
Unknown. She lost the will to even get out of bed most days.
12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Running away doesn't solve your problems. They'll still be there when you decide to come back.
JADZIABLUE
Re: Another Solhaven Survey Thinger
02/04/2016 11:57 AM CST
Wow... you post a survey and I didn't even see it. I'm clearly failing here.
>1. When and where was your character born?
The 18th of Lormesta, 5082 in The Swale (Chastonia)
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Raelee was effectively born into the Hall of Mages. She represents the 4th generation of her family to have membership, but the first of the women. She was not quite 4 when her first tutor was hired to prepare her for the Hall (the Hall teaches you magic, not reading and math... I've always imagined that a certain base level of education is required before entry, with likely exceptions for extreme and uncontrolled talents), and from that day forth... all she ever did was study. She was about 8 when her magical training started in earnest. She studied in The Swale until she was about 13, then she spent the next few years studying at the college in Elstreth instead.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
She was around 18 or 19 years old, so around 5100. She gradually traveled north from Elstreth via Tamzyrr, looking for something to capture her interest. She didn't make it to Vornavis until she was 21, where she stumbled headfirst into the GSS.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Admittedly, this is one of those vague gaps in the story of Raelee I've never QUITE resolved. She's always been a silent troublemaker - she's good at hiding how many messes she's knee-deep in. I always figured she did something or was involved in something that would have gotten her into a LOT of trouble with the Hall. She didn't get caught, but she knew the likelyhood would increase if she stuck around. So, she decided to take a sabbatical and explore... to see the Empire outside of the Hall and to experiment with magic in a less "laboratory" setting. At least, that was the official reason. In truth, she was just trying to get out of dodge before anything blew up.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Raelee was born and bred to be a workaholic. She's never allowed herself to have hobbies.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
That would be her father, Grand Magister Redomer Svala III. He is probably the most responsible for molding Raelee into what she is today. He recognized her potential (over that of her brother - the guy who was SUPPOSED to carry on the family tradition). He saw that she was educated. He pushed her. And in all of this, somehow Raelee learned to be far harder on herself than her father ever was. Thus, of course, she never left him disappointed. His standards were incredibly high. Hers were higher yet. Still, that relationship is likely responsible for a lot of Raelee's neuroses... though I don't think she has the self-awareness to recognize how much it has impacted her.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
That sort of happened a year or two ago. When Cross into Shadows visited the Hall in the Swale, it was basically like the entire Landing was being given a tour of her childhood. She did NOT like this. She's very private and this was just letting everybody get too close. We never saw her Father, but he was very nearby (and his existence was definitely acknowledged). It... stressed... her... out. She does not like having him watch her (which is part of the reason she finished her education in Elstreth). She felt like an utter failure when she temporarily lost her magic and ended up on the doorstep of her childhood home looking for help.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Yes. She very much does. It doesn't have to be The Swale specifically, but she wants to go home. She wants to go deeper back into the Empire, to a city with a proper Hall of Mages college, where she can resume the life of a proper scholar and get out of magical crisis management. (Elstreth or Nydds would probably be better than The Swale.) Ever since she sank Solhaven, things have just gone from bad to worse... and thus she wants to put some distance between herself and the chaos, so she can maybe find some success in stability. All she ever wanted to do is learn. She'd like to try doing it in peace.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
I think she's learned that she's just as human as everybody else. It is still hard for her to admit that though... and it's definitely added to her neuroses. To be the emotionless logic and knowledge machine that she viewed herself as often works at odds with the simple human condition.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Definitely not. In her eyes, it's a very bad thing. As I said before, nobody is harder on Raelee than Raelee. I think she thought that by this point in her life... she'd have achieved more. She was raised to think she would be amongst the best of her peers - a true star of the Hall. In recent years, she's grown more and more disappointed in herself.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)and
In 10 years, she'd like to be in Nydds... possibly holed up in a laboratory, spending her mornings in the libraries.
In 100 years, she doesn't want to be dead. There's a part of her that's never going to want to behave and restrict herself to the normal notion of "possible" - she wants to be alive, inexplicably young, and working out of a private laboratory/estate hidden in the remote foothills of Aldora.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Get out of Vornavis as soon as you can. Keep moving. Your life will stall here.
Signed,
Raelee and her Strings
>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."
>1. When and where was your character born?
The 18th of Lormesta, 5082 in The Swale (Chastonia)
>2. What did they do before they started adventuring to ensure that their basic needs (food, water, shelter) were met?
(Ex. Did they have a job? Were they from a well-to-do family? Did they beg/steal on the street corner? Did they have several jobs, or perhaps even a lifetime worth of careers?)
Raelee was effectively born into the Hall of Mages. She represents the 4th generation of her family to have membership, but the first of the women. She was not quite 4 when her first tutor was hired to prepare her for the Hall (the Hall teaches you magic, not reading and math... I've always imagined that a certain base level of education is required before entry, with likely exceptions for extreme and uncontrolled talents), and from that day forth... all she ever did was study. She was about 8 when her magical training started in earnest. She studied in The Swale until she was about 13, then she spent the next few years studying at the college in Elstreth instead.
>3. When did they start adventuring?
She was around 18 or 19 years old, so around 5100. She gradually traveled north from Elstreth via Tamzyrr, looking for something to capture her interest. She didn't make it to Vornavis until she was 21, where she stumbled headfirst into the GSS.
>4. Why did they start adventuring?
Admittedly, this is one of those vague gaps in the story of Raelee I've never QUITE resolved. She's always been a silent troublemaker - she's good at hiding how many messes she's knee-deep in. I always figured she did something or was involved in something that would have gotten her into a LOT of trouble with the Hall. She didn't get caught, but she knew the likelyhood would increase if she stuck around. So, she decided to take a sabbatical and explore... to see the Empire outside of the Hall and to experiment with magic in a less "laboratory" setting. At least, that was the official reason. In truth, she was just trying to get out of dodge before anything blew up.
>5. What hobbies did they have prior to adventuring? Have they kept up with any of them since? Have they picked up any new hobbies?
Raelee was born and bred to be a workaholic. She's never allowed herself to have hobbies.
>6. Who is one influential person from their past who actually isn't played in game? What role did they play?
That would be her father, Grand Magister Redomer Svala III. He is probably the most responsible for molding Raelee into what she is today. He recognized her potential (over that of her brother - the guy who was SUPPOSED to carry on the family tradition). He saw that she was educated. He pushed her. And in all of this, somehow Raelee learned to be far harder on herself than her father ever was. Thus, of course, she never left him disappointed. His standards were incredibly high. Hers were higher yet. Still, that relationship is likely responsible for a lot of Raelee's neuroses... though I don't think she has the self-awareness to recognize how much it has impacted her.
>7. What would your character do if said influential person were to arrive in town where they are now?
That sort of happened a year or two ago. When Cross into Shadows visited the Hall in the Swale, it was basically like the entire Landing was being given a tour of her childhood. She did NOT like this. She's very private and this was just letting everybody get too close. We never saw her Father, but he was very nearby (and his existence was definitely acknowledged). It... stressed... her... out. She does not like having him watch her (which is part of the reason she finished her education in Elstreth). She felt like an utter failure when she temporarily lost her magic and ended up on the doorstep of her childhood home looking for help.
>8. Does your character want to return to where they started? (Location, job, status, etc.) Why or why not?
Yes. She very much does. It doesn't have to be The Swale specifically, but she wants to go home. She wants to go deeper back into the Empire, to a city with a proper Hall of Mages college, where she can resume the life of a proper scholar and get out of magical crisis management. (Elstreth or Nydds would probably be better than The Swale.) Ever since she sank Solhaven, things have just gone from bad to worse... and thus she wants to put some distance between herself and the chaos, so she can maybe find some success in stability. All she ever wanted to do is learn. She'd like to try doing it in peace.
>9. What is one significant thing that your character has learned (or learned how to do) since they began adventuring? How has this changed them?
I think she's learned that she's just as human as everybody else. It is still hard for her to admit that though... and it's definitely added to her neuroses. To be the emotionless logic and knowledge machine that she viewed herself as often works at odds with the simple human condition.
>10. Is your character who they thought they would be before they started adventuring? Is this a good or bad thing?
Definitely not. In her eyes, it's a very bad thing. As I said before, nobody is harder on Raelee than Raelee. I think she thought that by this point in her life... she'd have achieved more. She was raised to think she would be amongst the best of her peers - a true star of the Hall. In recent years, she's grown more and more disappointed in herself.
>11. Where does your character see themselves in 10 years' time? (Or in 100 years' time?)and
In 10 years, she'd like to be in Nydds... possibly holed up in a laboratory, spending her mornings in the libraries.
In 100 years, she doesn't want to be dead. There's a part of her that's never going to want to behave and restrict herself to the normal notion of "possible" - she wants to be alive, inexplicably young, and working out of a private laboratory/estate hidden in the remote foothills of Aldora.
>12. If your character could travel back in time to a point before they started adventuring, what one thing would they want to tell their younger self?
Get out of Vornavis as soon as you can. Keep moving. Your life will stall here.
Signed,
Raelee and her Strings
>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."
