[OOC] The Gladiators of Arlen

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Sisyphus As Ammokkx says, you're good to submit a sheet, but we will be starting tomorrow. Though, it's not before Wednesday, it's by the end of it. Please, feel free to take a gander.

[Sisyphus]

Aleksander Vadimovich

Aleksander, The Wall

”Fight until the end, and for about seven minutes after.”

Profile

Full Name: Aleksander Dmitry Vadimovich
Titles/Nicknames: The Wall, The Bear of the North
Age: 26
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 260 lbs

Appearance: Aleksander is an enormous man, all muscle and bushy blonde hair. He’s as pale as one would expect from someone who lived their life in the cold, and his long hair and beard are kept tidy and organized, usually braided so as not to get in his eyes. On his back he has a massive tattoo of a brown bear, a holdover from his army days. When he’s not in the arena he usually wears light trousers and no shirt at all, citing the southern heat as a reason for this.

Personality: ‘Relentlessly grim’ would not be an inaccurate depiction of Aleksander. The man is a pessimist and a cynic to a fault, always grumbling about the weather, the chances of dying, and basically any other annoyance that comes to his mind. He’s not without humor, possessing a very sharp deadpan wit, and he’s surprisingly quick to make friends for someone who seems so stoic and harsh. He says what’s on his mind, always, whether that’s a compliment or an insult, and he is not given to overt displays of passion or violence in the arena. Instead, his most important trait as a gladiator is his iron will, his ability to shrug off pain, and his single-minded determination to accomplish his short term goals. One could argue that his grimness and sarcasm is the result of a deeply traumatized and emotionally vulnerable man trying to seal away the world, but who really knows?

Combat

Strength: 7
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5
Cunning: 2
Magic: 1
Willpower: 8
Endurance: 10
Charisma: 2

Weapons of Choice: Aleksander takes two tools into battle; his enormous round shield, big enough to cover much of his considerable mass, and a one-handed steel hammer that makes up in speed and crushing power what it lacks in decoration.

Armor/Combat Apparel: Aleksander still wears his old Tyrenian plate armor – a thick chunk of metal that covers his lower body and protects his legs, but leaves his arms and upper torso completely exposed. During his army days, he would normally throw some chainmail or a cloak over his upper body, to protect both from injury and the cold – he forgoes this in the arena, however. The crowd hungers for blood, and Alexsander knows he has more to spare than most.

Fighting Style: Alexsander is all defense, all the time. He keeps his shield up and his most vulnerable allies behind him, his attacks mainly limited to quick thrusts and short swings with his hammer designed to keep foes distracted and off balance. He’ll rarely ever go on the offensive unless he sees his foes in a complete rout, preferring to stay strong, stay rooted, and stay protecting those who need protecting.

Magical Affinity: None.

• Spell 1 None.

Legacy

Place of Birth: Tyren
Social Status: Deserter
Alignment: Earth

History: Every now and then in the frigid land of Tyren, some tribal chieftain or upjumped Warlord manages to get enough men and momentum behind him to make a real go of unifying the warring province under one banner. Lord Kalfsson was one such man.
Aleksander was born in a remote corner of Tyren, the only child of a single mother whose husband had been killed in the tribal infighting. War was a constant danger in the village, and the young man learned how to hold a weapon almost before he could speak. It was a childhood of cold, deprivation, and hardship, and it left Aleksander with an iron will and an ability to persist past almost anything.
He was seventeen when his life changed. It was the day Lord Kalfsson came to his village, seeking men for his cause. The lord was flanked by fifty knights in heavy armor, at the head of a massive army, and he told the young men of the village that he needed their assistance to bring peace to this shattered realm. They would not be warriors, or brigands, or tribal raiders; they would be soldiers. The distinction was important to them, then.
And so Aleksander left his mother and his village, journeying off with his friends and joining the army that would bring peace to the realm. It was good, for a few years – there was victory, and companionship, and more food and plunder than he had ever seen in his lifetime. Lord Kalfsson was a genius, his leadership unquestionable, his men the finest in the land; victory and peace were assured.
Defeats started. Winters settled in, and half of Aleksander’s friends died not in battle, but of hunger or frostbite. The army moved erratically, as if unsure of its course. Tribes they had already conquered rose up in rebellion. Lord Kalfsson put a stop to all audience with his men, retreating full-time to his tent. They started raiding villages and minor tribes for supplies, acting like the same savages they had set out to put an end to. Years passed like this, and Aleksander barely noticed them as he went.
One day, while he was overseeing the burning of a peasant farm that had refused to give up its supplies to the army, Aleksander finally realized that there was no such thing as a war for peace. He was the last survivor of his friends – all the other young men who had left his village with him were dead. He rode south almost immediately, selling his horse and what few belongings he had stored in return for passage to Risha. His weapons and armor, however he kept, knowing that his ability to inflict violence was his only real skill, and that there would always be someone willing the pay for that.

Other: Theme Song soon, probably

I seem to have entered some kind of fugue state for the past hour and a half and emerged with this. Here you go!

Oh, and I feel like I should qualify since I just submitted another burly northman, my intent isn't to take @Ammokkx's niche, but to serve as a foil - I feel like the characters are not only sufficiently different in temperament, history and personality as to not be redundant, but I think the interaction between the two of them could potentially be really interesting as a sort of 'two views of Tyren' thing. I hope that makes sense.

[Ammokkx]

I feel like the characters are not only sufficiently different in temperament, history and personality as to not be redundant,

@Sisyphus

Not to mention the way they fight.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Sisyphus Well, indeed I like him. Consider him as an honorary accepted character, friend - though, we will have to wait for @Atrophy if they intend a similar character. ^{_{Personally I'm hoping for a beast character, since nobody's actually quite gone for one yet}}
So don't move him just yet - just know that the place is yours as long as I can give it.

[Ammokkx]

^{_{Personally I'm hoping for a beast character, since nobody's actually quite gone for one yet}}

@CollectorOfMyst

Should've told me to go with the harpy idea, mang.

(Real talk, I actually chose not to make one back when I did because we had quite a number of females already. That, and I feel I've been playing nothing but females recently.)

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Ammokkx I never said that harpies were exclusively female, just predominantly. And I'm never going to tell people what sort of character they ought to make - that sort of defeats the point of letting them choose, and at this point it would just be singling out Atrophy.

[Ammokkx]

@Ammokkx I never said that harpies were exclusively female, just predominantly.

@CollectorOfMyst

I'm not one to go against norms- If something is a pattern, show it's a pattern instead of trying to subvert it before it's been established.

^{_{EDIT: I'm not going to lie, reminding myself of that harpy idea fills me with regret of not going for it. Curses.}}

[CollectorOfMyst]

Alright - I respect that.

[Atrophy]

@Sisyphus Well, indeed I like him. Consider him as an honorary accepted character, friend - though, we will have to wait for @Atrophy if they intend a similar character. ^{_{Personally I'm hoping for a beast character, since nobody's actually quite gone for one yet}}
So don't move him just yet - just know that the place is yours as long as I can give it.

@CollectorOfMyst

_{Oh but beasts are just so gross and ghastly.}

I'm more or less done with my sheet, just need to go over it and tweak things here and there. I don't think @Sisyphus has to worry about our lads being similar. My dude's more of a cowers-in-the-back, semi-supportive, sweet-talking, soft sniper boy who's more useful in setups, stagings, and winning over the crowd than in actual skirmishes. Basically, I made whatever the arena version of Flavor Flav combined with Paul Bearer would be.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Atrophy Well... I had to look those names up... and Paul scares me, from looking at him.

[CollectorOfMyst]

Also, hey, most of the gang's here! We're just missing @Enzayne!!

[Ammokkx]

Eternalized it before the moment passed.

[Innis]

I'm lurking in a cloud of anticipation for this roleplay.

[Sisyphus]

Thank you for the tentative acceptance - am I good to move mine to Characters, if @Atrophy says there's no fear of overlap, or do you still wanna wait? Either's fine, of course.

Really excited for this - I'm digging everyone's characters, and I love how active the OOC seems.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Sisyphus I would say so, yes.

Currently, I'm also rethinking Endar's fighting style, seeing as we seem to have a melee-heavy team. I have two considerations - making him an archer, but from the sounds of it that's more Atrophy - or giving him some talent in spells. The latter makes quite a bit of sense, given that he's Elfblooded on his mother's side.

EDIT: I have decided that I will indeed go for a magic-based character. The only question is whether or not to take away his dagger or take away his rapier. I kind of like the rapier.

[Ammokkx]

EDIT: I have decided that I will indeed go for a magic-based character. The only question is whether or not to take away his dagger or take away his rapier. I kind of like the rapier.

@CollectorOfMyst

Keep the rapier, it's a sign of nobility.

[Innis]

I'm with @Ammokkx on this one. A dagger is a common man's weapon.

[CollectorOfMyst]

@Innis Well, then. There will need to be a brief edit. wink wink

[Innis]

Hahaha that's a simple word replacement I believe. I'll fix it right away. ;)

[CollectorOfMyst]

...Oh god, I'm getting hyped. I really want to start this right now, but there's still a little bit that needs to be done. Plus, me and Ammokkx are working on something which I'm really into.