Dietrich Von Richter
Character Summary
Name: Dietrich Cassius Von Richter
Aliases: The Scourge of Isgorov, Shnookums, Shade
Titles: Lieutenant in the now defunct Isgorov Army
Age: 53
Place of Origin: Isgorov
Kingdom: None
Gender: Male
Physical Attributes
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: grey, with streaks of silvery white.
Day To Day Attire: Generally dresses the same as his picture except he has an ornate pocket watch tucked into his waistcoat, rather than a wristwatch. When stepping outside he normally dons the overcoat he wore from his days in the Isgorov Military, a long black piece with silver trim and fur-lining, as well as a pair of high-topped black leather boots. He can also usually be seen wearing a bowler hat while outside.
Strengths: Strong as an ox, almost unshakeable, uncanny reflexes.
Weaknesses: Being more than half a century old, Dietrich's stamina isn't what it used to be. Since the death of his wife, Dietrich has increasingly been unable to see the world in a unbiased light, his own experiences tainting his every thought. The boy on the corner selling taffy, also has a box of snuff. The beggar lying in the curb is a spy for criminal element. The beautiful lady across the way is a prostitute, etc. To put it simply, the man is paranoid in the extreme.
Psychological Attributes
Nihilistic * Professional * Dignified * Polite
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Relationship Status: Widower
Personality: For as long as anyone cares to remember, Dietrich has been a cold, stone-hearted man. He may have been a carefree child, but all of that was swiftly tucked away somewhere even Dietrich would never find. The few honest friends he has would admit that the only warmth they ever saw from the man was when he was with his wife. With her gone, he fell deeper into the grim persona he has carried with him his entire life. Solemn, and quick to cut to the chase, he hates people who waste his time for whatever reason.
Dietrich takes himself very seriously, his clothes always freshly pressed, shirts starched and impeccably neat, shoes polished to a mirror sheen, when he talks, as well as walks, his arms are more often than not folded behind his back. Despite being proper in almost all regards, Dietrich can turn on a dime, switching from the refined and upstanding gentleman into a snarling monster from his younger days, savagely bashing in a man's skull against a countertop, or dragging them through the street behind a Clockwork Buggy.
Skills
A listing of skills, such as horseback riding or cooking. Levels include novice (1 pt), apprentice (2 pt), journeyman (3 pt), expert (4 pt), master (5 pt). Each character can spend 21 points & only two skills can be mastered. If your character knows magic, it counts as a skill.
- Marksmanship (Master): One does not acquire a name like "The Scourge of Isgorov" without having a particular talent for mayhem, in Dietrich's case, this talent is his uncanny skills with firearms, primarily rifles, extending to pistols, and even artillery provided he has time to accustom himself by testing the weapon.
- Firearms (Apprentice): Having spent almost his entire life around firearms of one sort or another, Dietrich is highly familiar with them, able to maintain them with his eyes closed, prepare his own cartridges and custom ammunition, as well as to make at least minor repairs.
- Underworld Connections (Journeyman): With the crowds Dietrich has ran with, you tend to pick up some things, and to make a few connections. In most cities, he can find himself a contact, or quickly integrate himself into the cities seedy underbelly. This can range from digging up information, hiring a smuggler, making contact with the local crime-lord etc. These type of services don't come cheap though.
- Stealth (Master): He's not the fastest man out there, but when it comes to not being seen, Dietrich is one of the best. Whether it be hiding in plain sight, lying in wait for his target, or infiltrating an enemy base. Years of practice, first hiding in the streets from guards and rival gangs, and later in life eluding an entire army, to the numerous jobs he accepted under the pseudonym of Shade, has honed his skills to a near supernatural art form.
- Brawling (Journeyman): Despite preferring to cut his targets down before they ever see him, Dietrich has had plenty of close encounters in his long life, and was involved in numerous bar fights in his younger years. He doesn't know any martial arts, or combative techniques, relying instead upon out-muscling his opponent, an iron jaw, and making use of whatever impromptu weapon is close at hand.
- Interrogation(Journeyman): A talent Dietrich discovered as a young man, and one he rejected for a long time. After the death of his wife, he threw himself headfirst into his work, exorcising his frustrations upon his victims when shooting them simply wasn't enough. Dietrich is exceptional at making a person suffer without dying or losing consciousness - forcing them to endure until they finally tell him exactly what he wants to know.
Magic
A listing of favorite or unique spells, if any. Maximum of four.
- Spell: Description
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History
Parents: Klaus Richter, deceased. Edeline Richter, deceased. Dietrich's father had been a cooper, his mother a seamstress, both passed away peacefully in old age.
Siblings: Roderick, his older brother, died during the siege, crushed by a falling building during an air raid. The two had been nigh inseparable before the incident. His younger sister, Hilde, and he, have been estranged for more than a decade. Dietrich likely couldn't contact her if he tried.
Childhood: Dietrich had a relatively normal childhood for what one would expect living in a port town, terrorising the fishmongers with his friends, nicking food from the market stalls, getting into fights with other gangs of children and imagining himself the lord of his own back-alley kingdom. As he grew older he and his brother began to fall in with the less reputable crowds of Isgorov, where he began to earn his way, and refine his skills.
Adulthood: Dietrich's life truly began to take off in his 21st year. For the previous 6 years he had been working for a 'entrepreneur' of certain notoriety, largely serving as muscle on the docks. After a disastrous night, Dietrich found himself in the stockades awaiting his sentencing, expecting the noose. Luckily enough, before he was hanged he was presented with an offer to enlist in the fledgling Isgorov Air Navy, which had found great difficulties in convincing the ocean-going Isgori to take to the skies.
Dietrich quickly accepted and waspressed into service aboard a fast-flying sloop. Dietrich took advantage of his fortuitous assignment, working with his former employer, and his new comrades, (many of them old) to establish a prosperous smuggling business, under cover of the flag of Isgorov. This is also when he first discovered his knack for marksmanship, being able to maintain remarkable accuracy upon the rapidly shifting deck of the sloop.
Sadly, he was not the only one with such ideas. The Isgorov Air-ship project was a disaster, and quickly fell apart due to internal corruption, lack of commitment, and public outcry at the waste of taxes. After 5 years the entire project was scuttled, most of the assets auctioned off, the crewman (Most former criminals like Dietrich) were discharged, and the skeletal remains were quickly absorbed into the Isgorov Military. Unlike most though, Dietrich quickly re-enlisted, having found himself growing accustomed to military life, and already having set aside a tidy lump-sum thanks to his smuggling activities.
His time within the military was short-lived, 2 years after enlisting, war came to the city of Isgorov. For centuries, the city had been almost impregnable, the high cliffs, and rocky coastline making landing an invading force next to impossible. With the arrival of the sky-ships though, Isgorov had lost its greatest natural defense's, and then, after the utter failure of their Air-Ship program, its enemies decided that the time was ripe to take the valued trading hub.
Thus began the Siege of Isgorov, Air-ships high overhead dropping explosives, and thundering with the roar of cannonfire, while in the streets bloody battles were fought house to house. For the first time, Isgorov's underworld fought alongside the honorable protectors of the city, their differences cast aside to defend their home. Dietrich doesn't remember how many people he killed during the battle, hardly having time to confirm his kills as he scrambled through the rubble. The siege lasted for 8 months, and in the end, Isgorov fell to the superiour numbers of the invading kingdom.
Dietrich managed to escape the city with his parents and sister, aboard the very sloop he had crewed what seemed like an eternity ago. Thankfully his employer had snatched it up when the opportunity presented itself, and upon realizing that his home had no hope of surviving, quickly gathered his trusted friends and allies, escaping under the cover of night, and aided by a generous bribe to an enemy major to drown himself in a bottle of whiskey for the night.
Thus began the third chapter in his life. The ship made landfall in Grusk, the Isgori finding the mountain peaks, while imposing in their own right, provided them with a sense of comfort, isolation, and safety that their own high cliffs had once promised. Dietrich and the other men quickly set about making names for themselves. This is also when Dietrich first earned the alias of Shade among the less savoury parts of society. The Steamwork Rifles of Grusk well suited to the man.
It was in his 3rd decade that he finally met his wife, a serving lady at a tavern he frequented often. One day she casually pointed out that he had blood on his shirt, and how he should have more respect for himself. After a particularly callous remark from Dietrich - One he swears not to remember - He awoke several minutes later lying in a puddle of ale, a cracked stein laying near him. His soon-to-be wife was busily serving other customer's not a trace of the potent rage that must have possessed her visible on her beautiful face. The two were married before the end of the year.
Special Moments: The death of his wife, murdered by a man who felt aggrieved by Dietrich, after he had spared the man but killed his brother. Dietrich never knew the name of either of the two. The Siege of Isgorov, where he made his name as the Scourge of Isgorov, repeatedly holding off entire battalions, pinning them down from unseen vantage points - though few can connect the name to his face.
Current Events: He is currently semi-retired, living out his older years in Eagrose in relative peace and relaxation, he finds the quaint antiquity of the people charming, as well as keeps him from being reminded that his best days are far behind him.
Relations
* ☠ Enemy * ⚜ Unfriendly * ☯ Neutral * ☮ Friends * ღ Ally * ♥ Crush/Significant Other *
- Frau Isabelle Von Richter ♥: Deceased. Isabelle was Dietrich's wife, and true love. He tends to avoid talking about her.
- Herr Ludwig Hofmann ღ ☮: 76. A grand old man, and lifelong friend of Dietrich. Ludwig gave Dietrich his first job, helped him escape Isgorov, prevented Isabelle from murdering him the first time they met, and has consistently provided for Dietrich. In many ways he was a second father to Dietrich.
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Extras (Optional)
Character Quote: "Always take the shot."
Theme Song:
Aura Color: Stormy rolling grey, shifting to white at the fringes.
Scent: Dietrich smells equally of boom powder, tobacco smoke, and hard alcohol - usually bourbon.
Anything Else: Has a respectable fortune amassed over the years, and a sizeable armory with all manners of weaponry.
I still need to write up the information for Isgorov, though to sum it up, it was a City-state situated upon an island with high cliffs and rocky shores surrounding it, save for a small shore used for a dock, that was easily blocked with a chain. It's primary value was as a necessary resupply stop for sailors. With the advent of Sky-ships it lost its greatest defences and was invaded and conquered. The people of Isgorov had reputations as sailors and as mercenaries. AS well as having a large criminal element in the city. Would anyone like to volunteer their nation as the aggressor? If not I was hoping @Lyla could help, I simply didn't want to say it was one nation or another without getting approval first. I can also make another nation should you like.
TBH though @Evil Snowman if you are accepted (And I am as well xD) I was hoping you would volunteer Ludora?
I could elaborate, should you decide it necessary 
