[OOC] The Elder Scrolls V S: Sentinel

[Raineh Daze]

Pyromaniac lizard looks good.

[Dblade26]

Janus Faustus

Name: Janus Faustus

Race: Imperial

Gender: Male

Appearance: Unremarkable is perhaps the best word to describe Janus Faustus's appearance. He's of average height for an Imperial, neither slim nor wide though now long years of training means there's quite a bit of whipcord-like muscle definition under whatever clothes he happens to wear. He a face that even his own mother, if she still lives, would be hard pressed to pick up out of a lineup.

This is all the more convenient for him, as it makes his disguises and false identities that much more memorable for others by comparison, even if all some of them require is the addition of an extra feature or two. The only really notable thing about him are his eyes. Brown but lively, keenly observant, and always warm and often lit from within as if he's aware of some private joke. Granted, that's often because he is, and the person he's talking to just isn't savvy enough to keep up with the fact that he's just told them two lies for every truth.

Personality: Janus Faustus had been a conman for years before he was ever recruited into the Blades and lying comes as easily to him as breathing. The cons were never just a way to make a livelihood for him, they were a way of life and a vital part of his identity. Even now that he willingly agrees to serve The Emperor and believes in his cause, his ability to use the skills that he cultivated in his youth are a major part of his motivations. The thrill and enjoyment of balancing not just his own actions in espionage but those of his agents and contacts is far more important to him than any sense of patriotism, religious duty to the Dragonborn or the like, though he will readily admit that he believes he's also doing good in the world with his work, most of the time.

Birthsign: The Thief, meaning only that he's slightly faster, more graceful and more prone to odd twists of luck than the average.

Skills: Janus is a man of many skills, though first and foremost he depends on his wits and personality to achieve his goals. He's a consummate charmer, trader, negotiator, manipulator, disguise artist, liar and cheater skilled at blending in seamlessly in most environments like he belongs. He's a good swordsman and fighter when armed with The Blades signature Akaviri equipment, but with most Tamriel-based weaponry he's average at best and prefers to have others do the rougher work for him and avoid violence if possible. He's also a competent sneak, pickpocket, and burglar when he has to be, a leftover from his pre-Blades days. He's decently skilled at illusion magic as well, though mostly to supplement his manipulations through Charming others, or occasionally supplementing his stealth. Janus's only other magical skill is enough Restoration knowledge to perform the equivalent of basic First Aid.

Equipment:

Brief History: A street urchin and a thief from his earliest memories, Janus Faustus grew up in the Imperial City living mainly in an abandoned dockside shack, picking pockets and begging to survive at first. Soon though, Janus realized he had a particular talent for faking, acting and fibbing for profit. It all started simple enough: elaborate backstories when he went around begging for coins, flashy distractions as childhood accomplices snatched a purse, the occasional exaggerated injury in the street to play on a merchant's guilt. But the thrill of deception was too good for Janus to content himself with petty trickery for long, especially as it upped his earnings.

One of the dockside merchants who'd caught wise to his little false injury gambit had Janus thrown into prison
for a while in his early teens. But this only gave him access to the wisdom of more experienced thieves, and a place in Cyrodil's Thieves Guild. The Guild specialized more in smuggling and burglary than Janus's brand of thievery but nevertheless he learned and thrived with real tutors and resources to aid him. As he grew his lies became more complex and his targets grew in power and wealth, though it was always the risk and the 'game' that drove Janus more than money or status in the Guild. Merchants and guardsmen, mages and even nobles, eventually none were too high up for him to reach through cunning, or so he thought.

Janus became somewhat arrogant and his desire for both danger and excitement flared to reckless extremes. He decided he would become the most infamous conman in the world in the flashiest way possible: scamming the Empire itself by impersonating the Emperor. It began with getting description of the Emperor's armor and general impression out of soldiers who had attended military speeches, then several visits to an armorer and thorough application of black paint. Clad in feature concealing black armor, Janus Faustus made several 'appearances' as the Emperor, approaching numerous nobles and requesting donations of cash, lavish parties ans feasts or priceless family heirlooms in exchange for 'his august patronage'. Sometimes he would even insist that their new 'alliance' needed to be kept a matter of utmost secrecy 'until the time was right'.

Unfortunately but predictably, Janus eventually got in too deep and ran into retired Imperial General Tullius at one of these parties. Under scrutiny of someone far more familiar with the Emperor than himself, Janus Faustus's impersonation soon fell apart. Janus was sure that he would be executed for his crimes, so he was bewildered when he was brought before the Emperor in person. After having the true power of the Emperor less than gently 'demonstrated for him, Janus was recruited into the Blades, tasked with carrying out covert assignments for the good of the Empire, though his sentence was always left hanging over his head at first. Over time and with further training under the Blades, Janus rose up through the ranks until the Emperor gave him a very unusual promotion.

Janus was sent to Hammerfell to reinforce the Blades weak presence there as its' new Grandmaster, tasked with bringing the estranged province back into the fold directly by the Emperor.

Just need to figure out equipment

[Raineh Daze]

Well, I've been involved in the bio thus far, so there's nothing there I disapprove of.

[Raineh Daze]

For anyone interested that has yet to post, or just coming along, here is the rundown on the current Emperor: though widely agreed to be Dragonborn and having come from Skyrim after the Civil War resolved, fine details are hardly forthcoming. Those loyal beforehand seem reluctant to expand upon them in detail and the Emperor has yet to make a public appearance without being fully armoured in Ebony, most likely forged from the mines in Solstheim.

Their social reluctance has obviously lead many to claim that there is no fixed Emperor--but the occasional report, and the constancy of the Thu'um when they are called to battle, disputes this claim.

[Hank]

@Raineh Daze Will you be playing a character of your own or just controlling NPCs and GMing?

[Raineh Daze]

NPC's and GMing. I don't think this is a setting I can get away with trying to do two jobs at once, particularly if I need to develop something like the local fighter's guild.

[Stitches]

Looks interesting, might join with a character of mine.

[Raineh Daze]

As ever, ask me any questions you might have. And just make sure you've got a reason to be in the area.

[Hank]

Ibram Crowe

Character Sheet:

• Name: Ibram Crowe.
• Race: Breton.
• Gender: Male.
• Appearance: It would be difficult to pick Ibram out of a crowd of his fellow Bretons at first glance. He is of middling height and stature and his figure is one of lean muscle, none of which is unusual in High Rock, and his half-long messy brown hair & forest green eyes are similarly typical of his race. More distinctive characteristics are the small smile that seems to play around his lips at any given moment and the old, faded scar that runs down the left side his of halfway-handsome face from his brow to his jawline. He moves with the graceless purpose of a peasant but there is a certain elegance in the firm, calculated strikes of his blade and the smooth, fluid motions of his archery.
• Personality: Ibram is both dedicated to the Imperial cause and relatively selfless, which make him a perfect local asset for the mission. He is cunning, quick on his feet and perceptive in both spellcraft and problem-solving. There is a certain roguish charm about him and a touch of daredevilry that makes him appealing to certain people, but to say that he is socially gifted or wildly charismatic would be an overstatement. He finds humor in every situation and can be found cracking jokes in even the hairiest of fights.
• Birthsign: The Lady.
• Skills: Ibram's most honed skill is with the longsword, which one could argue to be the Bretons' most characteristic weapon. He uses his bastard sword one-handed as well as with both hands, depending on the situation, and switches quickly between various styles. He prefers a measured, defensive stance that relies on using the momentum of his opponents against them but he is capable of recognizing when more aggression is required. Ibram is also reasonably capable with the bow and arrow, though far from a true marksman, and reserves his bow for when stealth and the element of surprise are paramount. When wielding his sword one-handed, Ibram uses his free hand to cast various cantrips and minor spells from all the different schools of magic; most notably, he can conjure a wolf-like Familiar, send out bursts of flame and electricity, and use telekinesis to manipulate his environment -- or, in a pinch, even his opponent's weapon. Outside of combat, Ibram can patch up small wounds, illuminate the way ahead and even use magic to show him the path to his objective. Last and most certainly least is alchemy. Ibram can brew a grand total of two potions, one to restore his health and one to restore magicka, and both of them are pretty weak compared to the good stuff from a proper alchemist.
• Equipment:
  - Steel bastard sword.
  - Wooden hunting bow, 18 steel-tipped arrows and a quiver to match.
  - Padded leather armor reinforced with chainmail, complete with hood and all-weather cape.
  - Pouches and vials for alchemy ingredients & potions.
  - Map of High Rock.
  - A bag containing nearly one-hundred septims.
  - Whetstone.
• Brief History: Ibram's life began inside a rickety old house, cradled in the arms of his wet nurse, in absolute destitute poverty. His mother died giving birth to him, leaving just his father,
  Maurice, to raise him. Maurice was a peasant farmer serving one of the many lords of High Rock (this one,
  in particular, lived in a castle near Daggerfall) and not a particularly successful one. Maurice had been an adventurer and a guardsman before and only turned to farming after a nasty injury to his right hand prevented him from properly holding a weapon. He was bitter about it and even moreso after Ibram's birth took the love of his life, his wife, away from him, and Ibram faced the brunt of his father's misery despite the man's best intentions.
  
  Seeing how his father struggled to make ends meet, Ibram resolved from a young age not to follow in his footsteps and instead allowed himself to explore other possibilities. He was inspired by a traveling mercenary and monster hunter who came to their village in order to drive out a lurking lycanthrope. It was a risky profession, sure, but the white-haired man's successful hunt and the subsequent display of the creature's head bouncing against the flank of the mercenary's horse made such an impression on young Ibram that he was never able to put that image out of his mind again.
  
  His father, somewhat to Ibram's surprise, enthusiastically agreed with Ibram's decision to take up combat training. Eager to show him the ropes, Maurice taught Ibram what he knew, which was enough for Ibram to be taken on as a novice at the local fighter's guild hall at the age of 17, and he visited the local hall of the Synod for training in magic on his days off. This was right around the time the Dragon Break in Skyrim was happening and Ibram greedily consumed all the news that came in the following years. Having no particular horse in the race of the petty squabbles between the various lords of High Rock as a lowly peasant, Ibram found the dream of a unified Empire very appealing. Alas, what was he to do in the game of thrones? Ibram kept to himself, eventually departing from the fighter's guild to establish himself as an independent mercenary and s(p)ellsword, and has built a modest reputation for skill and dependancy within the area of Daggerfall. At the age of 26, one year before the start of our quest, Ibram decided he wanted to see more of the world and has slowly made his way to Sentinel, sustaining himself with minor jobs like guarding trade caravans and dealing with pest infestations, unaware of the journey ahead.

[Raineh Daze]

Yeah, that's accepted.

As small a number as it is, four characters hits my threshold for starting this thing and I'll get on that soon. It would be nice if they went into the character tab now, though. xD

[Cu Chulainn]

Aye aye, relocated! It was jarring seeing that the Characters tab was always unread, but my post seemed to fix that!

[Stitches]

Ah I'm sorry guys, this looks interesting but I don't think the character I had in mind would fit here. Thanks anyway and good luck!

[Hank]

Quick note: canonically, the Mages Guild doesn't exist anymore. The current Imperial centers of magical knowledge are the Synod and the College of Whispers. Are you retconning that particular piece of information?

[Raineh Daze]

They're being forced to work together again outside of the Imperial City. Obviously, this has made internal relations rather... strained.

[Hank]

Hah, cool. I can dig it.

[Raineh Daze]

The explanation, for now, is being left at "all the damn elves have magic, we can't have three different arcane sources bitching at each other all the time".

[Hank]

How do you propose we begin? Are there any particular jobs of interest in the area, like somebody hiring people to deal with the undead menace in the mausoleums? Is there a member of the Blades in Sentinel that will recruit us and guide our efforts?

[Raineh Daze]

One of the other players has the Blades guy. And most combat jobs are going through the Fighters Guild as usual. Unless you'd like to try your luck going through the noble families directly.

[VitaVitaAR]

• Name: Tylane Carth
• Race: Breton
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, pale skintone, armor mostly silver, hammer is dark silver and gold. She's a little short, but not excessively so.
• Personality: Tylane is, above all, one who is dedicated to the idea of a paladin. Virtuous, dedicated to hunting the evil and defending the innocent, standing as a heroic figure who cleanses the wicked and is a shield to the weak. These ideals motivate her through thick and thin, and prompt her to do as best as she possibly can no matter the situation. In this regard, Tylane is a generally nice and caring individual who carries a great deal of care in her heart for the plights of others, but a merciless approach to those who willfully commit evil acts. That being said, it can't be ignored that Tylane has something of a temper, both in reaction to foolish behavior(which can be responded to with serious-minded admonishing) and when encountered with what she feels are seriously evil or cruel action. Indeed, if something is bad enough, she is prone to flying into a rage-fueled determination to punish the perpetrator. That being said, the safety of the innocent always takes priority in her mind.
• Birthsign: The Warrior
• Skills:
  Two-Handed Weapons, Heavy Armor, Restoration
• Equipment: Tylane has a set of fine clothing to wear outside of battle, a set of plate, and an enchanted two-handed warhammer imbued with cleansing flames that burn those who survive its initial impact.
• Brief History: Tylane was raised in a deeply religious household, one that paid special attention to Stendarr. Her family brought her up on ideals of heroism, and of course of honor and knighthood. A minor noble, she eventually became a junior knight of the Order of the Rose, and continued her combat training from there. She was also trained in Restoration, in order to heal the injured as well as harm done to herself. An enchanted warhammer belonging to her family became her weapon, and with it, a suit of armor came as well.
  Recently, she has heard word of the undead menace threatening Sentinal, and traveled without hesitation in order to assist in destroying it.

Sketch is... not my best work but I think it gets the idea across. ^^; Might replace it with a better image later on but wanted to actually get this bio up finally.

[Raineh Daze]

Yeah, that's accepted, so long as the fire is... minor. She's going to be going through a lot of soul gems in the end.