[CHAR] Who Wants To Go On An Adventure!!! (FULL)

[Kronshi]

Accepted Characters:

-Alula
Class: Oracle
Hp: 22/22
Gold: 0 pieces
Inventory: Staff, Cloth Armor, Robes
Powers:
-Moonlit Script: "Once per night while you sleep, your hands produce mysterious writing that pertains to the future." Alula often awakes to find strange words written all around her, often in the dirt or on paper and even her skin. Sometimes she can read them but other time she cannot.
-Lunar Prophetic Visionary: "Your oracular abilities give you a glimpse into the future." Alula can enter a deep trance to receive a vision of the future. The trance lasts for 10 minutes, during which time she can do nothing else. If she is interrupted, she must begin again. When she comes out of the trance, she will be extremely drowsy and difficult to communicate with. This can sometimes happen without Alula initiating it.
-Moonbeam: "You can fire a ray of moonlight as a ranged touch attack at any creature within 30 feet. This ray may blind target creature can be used 10/day
- Haze of Dreams: You fill an enemy's head with waking dreams, a reminder of the pleasures, delights, and terrors to be found in the dream world. While in this strange dream state, the target moves at half its normal speed. Can be used 5/day
Skills: Navigation (Night-only), Heal, Perception
Weaknesses: Walks with Limp, Slow Reflexes, Poor Memory

-Kelvin
Class: Engineer
Hp: 28/28
Gold: 2 pieces
Inventory: Repeater Crossbow, Backpack (4 torches, 20ft. of Rope, 5ft. of Cord, 10 metal stakes, 3 Sticks of Dynamite, Bucket, Canvas Tarp, Stack of paper, 10ft. of String, 1 Small keg of gunpowder, 15 crossbow darts), Toolbelt: (Hammer, 3 screwdrivers of different sizes, Shears, Flint & Steel, Chisel, Bear Trap, Pouch with 7 crossbow darts)
Powers: needs 10 minutes to make a bomb of any kind
Skills: Craft (Machinery), Craft (Explosives), Craft (Pyrogenics), Disarm Traps
Weaknesses: Can't fight, deaf in one ear

-Carver
Class: Paladin
Hp: 40/40
Gold: 10 pieces
Inventory: Longsword, Greatsword, Heavy Steel Shield, Full Plate Armor
Powers: Faith
Skills: Diplomacy, Knowledge (Religion), Endurance
Weaknesses: Can't lie, strict moral codes of paladin order, slow due to armor

-Separ Kurel
Class: Arcane Brawler
Hp: 20/28
Gold: 0 pieces
Inventory: Dagger, Cloth Armor, 4 Tents, Backpack, 8 Sleeping Bags, Medkit
Powers:
-Heated Hand (stance): By channeling mana into his hand, Separ can heat his hands up till they are as hot as a small campfire. The effect doesn’t last all that long, but it does hurt quite a bit if you get punched with it. Once activated, lasts until concentration is broken or caster ends it, can be used 4 times/day, must be concentrated on.
-Gut-buster: Separ throws a strong punch towards an opponents gut and sends a small shockwave of energy through them. The shockwave itself doesn’t do any damage, but it does have the chance of causing nausea in the opponent. A particularly lucky strike may even have Separ’s adversary throw up on the spot. (slight damage increase, may cause nausea) Can be used 5/day, must be concentrated on
-Flurry of blows (stance): Attacks an enemy rapidly at the cost of accuracy. Once activated, lasts until concentration is broken or caster ends it, must be concentrated on
-Emotional Aura: Separ gains a bonus to his attack based on his current hp (percentage, higher is better), as well as the emotions he's feeling at the time. The stronger his emotions the better, though obviously if he does not want to fight at all his power will go down. The aura itself emits a low blue light that gives off his position in the dark, but doesn't actually illuminate anything more than a meter or so away. (passive)
Skills: Unarmed Combat, Focus, Traverse Terrain
Weaknesses: Weak against larger oppenents, fear of undead... (Bring out the Hulking Zombie)

-Vis Starkweather
Class: Rogue
Hp: 16/20
Gold: 19 pieces
Inventory: Rapier, Dagger, Knuckle Dusters, Leather Armor, Stag Leather Bag, rock, Sling, 8 loaves of stale bread, pornographic scroll named "Succubus Monthly", Raider's tunic
Powers: Nope
Skills: Stealth, Climb, Streetwise, Wordthrowing
Weaknesses: Low Hp, Terrible Communicator, Blind and Partially Deaf on the left side, Face is wrecked on the left side, blind eye glows

-Furnace:
Class: Blight Druid
Hp: 22/22
Gold: 140 gold
Inventory: Broadsword, Smithing Hammer, Leather Apron, Net
Powers:
-Immolate: Furnace can naturally burn his own and readily available energy sources. The flames either fan out to scorch everything nearby or concentrate to melt metal. This requires concentration to manifest, but just energy or fuel to maintain. Can be used 5/day, requires fuel of some kind
-Enervate: Furnace can force energy to become positively charged, if he infuses this into a living being it heals wounds and energizes the creature. Can be used 10/day, heals 10 Hp
-Animate: He can also force energy to become negatively charged, this has the opposite effect as Enervate does. He doesn't know it, but he can use it to heal undead and temporarily animate corpses. Can be used 10/day, heals undead 10 Hp
-Energy Conduit: Furnace can absorb energy directed at him or from his immediate surroundings and channel it trough himself. He must send this energy away again directly or risk overload. As he expels the energy it fuels another of his abilities. Increases energy based powers by 20%.
Skills: Crafting, Spell-Craft, Appraise
Weaknesses: Socially Awkward, Naïve, Bullied, Clingy

-Suki Enkou (Calamity Queen)
Class: Necromancer
Hp: 12/18
Gold: 145 pieces
Inventory: Doubled-edged Scythe, Cloth Armor
Powers:
-Necropolis: The mainstay of almost all necromancy, this allows her to summon up either skeleton or zombie creatures. Skeletons have the advantage of damage dealing, but are more brittle than their fleshier counterparts, who in turn, deal less damage. The more numerous/powerful the summon(s), the more it costs. 2 Skeles/Zoms = 6 Hp, 4 Skeles/Zoms = 10 Hp, 6 Skeles/Zoms = 16 Hp
-Shadow Step: A more effective method of dodging attacks. Whenever an attack is about to hit, she will seemingly dissipate into the shadows, before appearing elsewhere. Can also be done for movement to a hard to reach location, or surprise attacks. Range and strength of natural shadows in the surroundings dictate how much life it costs. 10 ft = 8 Hp, 20 ft = 14, Bright light = +6 cost, light shade = +3 cost, Heavy shade = +0 cost, Darkness = -2 cost
-Devouring Kiss: A seemingly simple spell, this is also one of the most important spells that allows Suki to stay alive. She basically kisses someone, regardless of gender, and can either drain them of energy, or their life. The former has the advantage of not killing the target, but the later is more efficient in sustaining her. Heals 5 Hp, Killing heals to full Hp but can only be done 1/week
-Interweaving: A spell that is partially based on illusions and shadow play. Like how there are those people who attracts every gaze from the vicinity with their commanding aura or the like, there area hose who blend into the background. This ability does exactly that. It makes one more inclined to pass over Suki without noticing her. However, this does not work on those who've already noticed her. She would have to escape their line of sight, and mingle in the crowds, before they too become affected.
Skills: Seducing, Stealth, Streetwise
Weaknesses: Spells cost life, Can't dodge surprise attacks, Easily Flustered

-Arastoph
Class: Merchant
Hp: 20/20
Gold: 165 pieces
Inventory: Blunderbuss pistol, Stiletto Knife, Dagger, 2 handfuls of pellets, cloth armor, 10 glass vials
Powers: Money (Mr. Krabs much)
Skills: Persuade, Diplomacy, Appraise, Strategy
Weaknesses: Weak, Reliant

-Katya
Class: none
Hp: 8/8
Gold: 140 pieces (she took it from the cash register before the bakery was raided)
Inventory: Cloth-wear
Powers: None
Skills: Climbing, Cooking, Stealth
Weaknesses: Illiterate, Bratty, Rude, ill-tempered

-Des
Class: none
Hp: 12/12
Gold: 0 pieces
Inventory: Cloth-wear
Powers: none
Skills: none
Weaknesses: Defenseless, Taken advantage of, Amnesia

[MarsAdept]

Appearance:

My Hider

Name: Rose Anew aka "Phoenix"

Race: Human

Class: Spellsword

Main-Hand Weapon: Bastard Sword

Off-Hand Weapon: empty hand

Secondary Weapon: Rapier

Armor: Leather

Powers:

Fire whip- Creates a long whip of pure fire which she can manipulate to attack targets.

Ice Lance- Creates a spear of Ice that she can hurl at enemies

Etherial Armor- She can solidify magical energy into physical matter. She uses this to forge armor temporarily in battle. Upgrading her leather armor to plate for a short time. If she loses concentration the armor fades back into magic. Prone to shatter.

Skills:

Arcane Lore- She knows how to read, see, and understand the arcane arts. She knows much about magics history.

Field medicine- non magical healing. Bandages and herbs.

Cooking- Someone has to be.

Weaknesses:

Fear of bugs- all kinds, maybe butterfies are the exception.

Cannot swim

Personality: She loves to fight, brawl, and be on the front lines. When she is not doing those things she is usually preparing for those things. The way she fights, observers say, shows a hint of suicidal tendencies. She will take on bigger opponents just to see if she could win. Other then that, she is usually happy and fun seeking. She is very much a thrill seeker with a sever case of wanderlust.

Background: Rose was abandoned shortly after her birth. Raised in an orphanage, Rose discovered her talent for magic at a young age. Her talent is what got her adopted out of that place. She was adopted by a traveling wizard who planned to refine her raw natural ability. She learned a lot from her travels with her master. Arcane lore and magic's history all were learned with great thirst. In her mid-teens, however her master's past caught up with him. With a cold dagger plunged deep into his back, Rose's training was cut short. She wandered for a bit longer and picked up a sword to augment her incomplete training in the arcane ways.

Other: Theme Song

[The Wanderer]

Name: Kelvin
Appearance:

Race: Human
Class: Engineer
Main-Hand Weapon: Repeater Crossbow*
Off-Hand Weapon: Toolbelt*
Secondary Weapon: Backpack*
Armor: Cloth
Skills:

Explosives Master: Kelvin is extremely skilled in the handling, use, and creation of explosive devices. Given supplies and a bit of time, Kelvin can improvise a wide variety of tricks and distractions using his skills, as well as disarm explosive traps.
Tinkerer: Kelvin possesses a lot of experience in tinkering and crafting odd things, and has a decent chance at disarming traps, as well as being more than capable of setting them himself on the fly.
Problem Solver: Because of his knowledge, Kelvin is capable of jury rigging and improvising his way through problems (often unconventionally) using both what he has on him, and random local resources. (Can 'observe' and 'search' areas and interact with the environment in advanced ways.)

Weaknesses:

Combatively Incompatible: Kelvin lacks in the close quarters skills, other than 'run fer y'ur life!'.
Half-deaf: Explosions and the like have left Kelvin deaf in one ear, as well as missing a pinkie.

Personality:
Over confident and domineering when it comes to his specialties, Kelvin represents one of those “Stand back and watch this” types of guys. (But really, if he tells you to stand back, there is likely a reason.) In combat, he tends to hang back and shoot from the back, and isn’t afraid to run like the coward he really is. This guy tends towards the eccentric, but generally means well for all involved.
Background:
Not much to say, his father was a woodcarver and his mother a daughter of a hunter. Kelvin took interest in both crafts growing up, particularly enjoying making puzzle boxes and toying with the spring power found in bows. He dabbled in smithing for a bit, then alchemy, and finally found good mentor in a larger city. Now he is here.
Other:

Repeater Crossbow:

Designed for shooting ‘slugs’ with a fast winding mechanism, making it more like a two step semi-automatic. Their short stature and heavy design make the bolts focus on the impact rather than penetration. As far as accuracy, this weapon’s penetration range is maxed at about thirty meters.

Backpack:

4 Torches
Rope
Cord
10 metal stakes
4 Sticks of Dynamite
Bucket
Canvas Tarp
Stack of paper
String
1 Small keg of gunpowder
Extra crossbow darts

Toolbelt:

Hammer
Screwdrivers (3 sizes)
Shears
Flint & Steel
Chisel
Bear Trap
Pouch of crossbow darts

[TheWizardLizard]

Name: Carver
Appearance:

Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Main-Hand Weapon: Longsword
Off-Hand Weapon: Kite Shield, Steel
Secondary Weapon: Greatsword
Armor: Full Plate
Powers: None - his faith is all the power he needs.
Skills:
Diplomacy - Carver is a great communicator, able to get what he wants out of people by being straightforward with them. In additon, his palpable earnestness and good looks tend to make him very popular wherever he goes.
Knowledge of Religion - Having lived in a monastery all his life, he knows a fair deal about the various faiths of the realm.
Tenacity - With faith as his armor and honor his shield, there his little Carver cannot endure - he will get back up and get back up and get back up.
Weaknesses: Cannot tell a lie to save his life.
Utterly shackled to the (very rigid) moral codes of his order.
Personality: Carver is the quintessential knight - he is obsessed with justice, honor, courage, and compassion. He's a compulsive do-gooder and sometimes a bit of a stick in the mud, and sometimes he can be a little too sure of his own judgements, but he is really, fundamentally a good person out to spread good into the world. In combat, he is a protective fighter - a blow will not fall on his comrades if it may fall on him instead, and he prioritizes a solid defense over any kind of offense.
Background: Carver was born in a great city far to the north, and given over by his parents at a young age to the local order of holy warriors. He was brought up as a crusader, a servant of the goddess of the sun and compassion, and taught his whole life the virtues of justice, integrity, and faith. Now, as part of his Crusader's Rite of Passage, he has journeyed to the south, seeking to right the wrongs, uplift the downtrodden, and spread the radiant light of the sun to all dark corners of the world.
Other:

[Dragonbud]

Name: Alula

Appearance:

I found a bunch of pictures so just imagine Alula is the lovechild of all of these

Alula is relatively short, standing at only five feet and four inches, as well as thin. She doesn't have the bulk and muscle of a fighter or the height and lankiness of a ranger. But short and stout fits the oracle just fine. As for the clothing, Alula wears long and flowing robes, that mask most of her figure, that are embroidered with designs of the celestial sort like moons and stars. On her feet are thin canvas sandals, although she would much rather go shoeless. Atop her head is a dark, wide brimmed, hat. It isn't quite as tall and pointy as in the picture.

Although some of her facial features are normally hidden in the shadow of her hat, She has a lovely face. Her face is a bit child like, making it easy to mistake her for someone much younger then her. Her eyes are large and round, dark blue, and seem to sparkle when she is excited about something. Unless, of course, if she is using an oracle ability. If that is the case then her eyes turn into bright lights, and afterwords they are dull and hazy.

Race: She appears human and yet she almost has the allure of something a little more...celestial.
Class: Lunar Oracle

(I'm moving this next section to the top of my sheet because everything has to do with her being an oracle.)

Lunar Revelations (Powers):

Moonlit Script: "Once per night while you sleep, your hands produce mysterious writing that pertains to the future." Alula often awakes to find strange words written all around her, often in the dirt or on paper and even her skin. Sometimes she can read them but other time she cannot.

Lunar Prophetic Visionary: "Your oracular abilities give you a glimpse into the future." Alula can enter a deep trance to receive a vision of the future. The trance lasts for 10 minutes, during which time she can do nothing else. If she is interrupted, she must begin again. When she comes out of the trance, she will be extremely drowsy and difficult to communicate with. This can sometimes happen without Alula initiating it.

Moonbeam: "You can fire a ray of moonlight as a ranged touch attack at any creature within 30 feet. This ray deals 1d6 points of damage. In addition, the target must succeed at a Fortitude save or become blinded for 1 round." Pew Pew.

Skills: Navigation (Only during the night), Heal, and Perception (Only to less obvious things).
Weaknesses: Being an oracle comes with drawbacks and curses, a lot of drawbacks, some worse then others. First of all Alula walks with a pretty bad limp, and thus carries a walking stick. She is also slightly catatonic, she is slow to react to things and sometimes moves as if she is in a dreamlike state. This poor sense occurs after she has used some form of her Oracle abilities, and can effect her for even days after. Alula biggest weakness comes from her poor memory. She struggles to remember things like names and instructions and can barely remember anything about her past. On top of this, oddly enough Alula is often forgotten by people who she doesn't spend extended periods of time with.

Main-Hand Weapon: Alula carries a staff, which doubles as a walking stick. There are designs carved into it and it clearly holds some sort of magical property, but she doesn't know what. Mostly used to hit people on the head with.
Off-Hand Weapon: She holds the staff with two hands.
Secondary Weapon: Alula does carry a dagger, inscribed with images of stars and moons, but prefers not to use it in battle. She cannot remember why but she believes it is very important.
Armor: Alula wears cloth armor underneath a beautiful and silken robe adorned with pictures of the stars, moon and constellations. She has no idea where this robe came from or when she got it. Sometimes these designs glow. She also wears a tall hat, one that would look more appropriate on a witch. Alula says it's because she doesn't like the sun in her eyes, but rumor has it that her eyes glow.

Personality: Most of the time there is this overarching feeling that she might not always be "there". Like she might not always understand what she is saying and what people are saying to her. She always gazes around with half lidded and hazy eyes, staring off into the distance and sometimes muttering nonsense. She is very easy to startle if you start yelling at her out of nowhere or try to test her reflexes by tossing something at her head, and she often needs a steady person to talk with or remind her what they are doing.

Regardless, Alula tries her hardest to keep a positive outlook and follow orders to the best of her ability. Alula loves to help people, always putting their needs before her own.

Background: Alula cannot remember anything this far back, but luckily we are not her.

Alulas origins were ones of humble beginnings. She was born to human parents in a small farming settlement outside a huge city. Alula appeared to be a normal child for many years and did her fair share of chores and farm work along with her family. Alula was always a happy kid growing up. She loved to play, no matter what time or what season. She could be seen running around the yard, bare footed, during the day catching grasshoppers and at night snagging fireflies right out of the air. She always was fascinated with the cosmos, but this didn't seem to bother her mother and father or siblings.

Alula left home young, like many people did in her hometown, in order to find herself a job and a living in the more populated cities. But only a day into her personal journey she fell dangerously ill. She broke out in a raging fever and was unable to move, unable to find help. She was just laying out in a field, under the stars she loved so much, waiting for death. But admix her feverish hallucinations a voice called out to her, in a language she didn't understand. And then a blinding light overtook her.

Something had saved her, and recreated her. But now she could no longer remember anything. She sat herself up, foggy eyed and confused. She had developed a limp and amnesia, but was alive. Alula then began to wander the world, no longer remembering who she was or who her family was, for a time. She wasn't sure how long she walked, lead by visions and hallucinations.

Other:

Relationships:

Relations

Friendship levels with Alula!

Kelvin: N/A (Not enough interaction has been made for her to make an impression)

Carver: 4/10 (Extremely patient and kind, she finds his paladin-y aura to be calming and grounding)

Separ: -1/10 (He lost major points in her book for starting the fight with the barkeeper, as well as using the same tactic despite it not working. She tries to find a positive, but the voices tell her otherwise.)

Vis: 2/10 (She feels pretty bad about pointing out his lisp, and almost killing him. And yet he has shown her kindness. Giving her his scarf will be a cherished memory, until she forgets.)

Furnace: 1/10 (He initially lost points for grabbing her robes, but the voices tell her they are rather similar. He seems to be pure hearted.)

Suki: N/A (Not enough interaction has been made for her to make an impression.)

Themes:

Themes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRv_YAnoc14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tohZgZEXJUY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiY_uUN7dEQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRmYiREDHo8

[gammaflux]

Name: Separ Kurel
Appearance:

He's doesn't look nearly as muscular looking
Race: Human
Class: Arcane Brawler
Main-Hand Weapon: Unarmed
Off-Hand Weapon: None
Secondary Weapon: Dagger
Armor: Cloth
Powers: Heated Hand: By channeling mana into his hand, Separ can heat his hands up till they are as hot as a small campfire. The effect doesn’t last all that long, but it does hurt quite a bit if you get punched with it.
Gut-buster: Separ throws a strong punch towards an opponents gut and sends a small shockwave of energy through them. The shockwave itself doesn’t do any damage, but it does have the chance of causing nausea in the opponent. A particularly lucky strike may even have Separ’s adversary throw up on the spot. (slight damage increase, may cause nausea)
Flurry of blows (stance): Attacks an enemy rapidly at the cost of accuracy.

Skills: Fighting Unarmed: Separ Kurel is skilled at fighting unarmed. His fists and feet are a deadly weapon.
Immense Focus: Separ Kurel has a large amount of focus, and is not easily distracted during battle or any other task that involves an attention to detail or a large amount of concentration. (See Weaknesses)
Mobility: Separ Kurel has no trouble moving or fighting on uneven/unstable terrain unless the terrain is extremely bad.

Weaknesses: Larger Opponents: Separ has trouble harming any creature that is more than twice his size. Punches and kicks just don’t seem to be as effective.
Scared of the undead: Separ is both afraid and repulsed by undead creatures such as (but not limited to) zombies, ghosts, and ghouls. He oftentimes will refuse to go near one of them unless it’s a desperate situation. He finds them to be unnatural, and will easily get distracted by them, especially if they’re rotting and/or targeting him specifically.

Personality: Separ is an alright guy. He’s nice, decently reliable, and likes helping other people out, though at times he can be a bit lazy, opting to relax and do the work later if it’s something he considers unimportant. He loves the thrill of a good fight, but doesn’t go out of his way to actually start a fight unless he has an actual reason to do so. He loves all kinds of food, and will happily chow down on most dishes. Flirting woman may cause him to become a little flustered, as he does not know how to react to their advances.
Background: Separ Kurel was born to your pretty standard family. He was an only child and lived happily with his parents. They weren’t rich, but they weren’t poor either and could afford a little luxury now and then. As Separ grew older he decided that he’d like to be an adventurer. Thoughts raced in his head, ones of him fighting dragons and demons, saving peoples lives, and the like. Of course once he was finally old enough, Separ realized he couldn’t decide on what path to pursue. The path of weaponry, or the path of magic.

A few weeks had passed without any progress on what would be the best profession to choose. One day Separ witnessed a fight though, one between an unarmed man fighting off one magic user, as well as a swordsman and hammerman. The unarmed man’s movements were graceful and fluid as he dodged, weaved, and countered each and every attack. Separ immediately was entranced and thought about becoming a fist fighter for a moment, but quickly realized he could still be easily killed with just plain fist fighting. However at that very moment the magic user charged up a particularly powerful fireball as the unarmed man was distracted punching and kicking the hammerman. He quickly turned around at the sound of the fireball and instead of dodging it his hands seemed to glow a bluish color as he punched the fireball breaking it apart with his magic power. At this the other three men surrendered and the man went on his way back home. Separ could hardly believe his eyes and after a moment of reminiscing about what had just happened moments ago before running after the man and begging him to teach him how to fight. The man agreed to give him a few pointers in exchange for beer money which Separ happily paid. The advice the man gave however, was rather shallow leaving Separ wanting to learn more. The man realized Separ was serious and decided to become his teacher for free (and more beer money)

The training was long, tough and arduous, but it eventually paid off as Separ could now channel mana into his body and limbs and fight decently using only his body. He was now ready for an adventure.

Other: Arcane Brawler spells are sophisticated enough so that they don’t burn their own clothes off. (Separ actually lost quite a bit of money replacing his clothes when training.)

[Voltus_Ventus]

Vis Starkweather

Appearance:
Vis stands at 6ft 4 inches tall and weighs 170Ibs, his figure would be classed as lanky though he has enough muscle mass to avoid that (but not enough to be called muscular), his skin is pale but not too pale, it is comparable to milk. He has snow white, pigmentless hair, courtesy of his father, which he generally has slicked back, the color of his right eye is a deep, electric blue, his left eye is a bright green (this one is blind as it was struck with a curse. He has a slim head with rounded features, not the sharp features of his elven father, though he does have the elven ears even though the left one is in tatters, hanging limpy to the side. On the lower left side of his face he is missing the skin and flesh of his jaw and lower cheek, exposing his gums and teeth, this occured from the same accident as the one that ruined his ear, a cross bolt that narrowly missed destroying his life, he covers up the facial scar with a black scarf.

Race: Half-Elf
Class: Rogue

Main-Hand Weapon: Iron Rapier
Off-Hand Weapon: Slim Iron Dagger
Secondary Weapon: Knuckle Dusters

Armor: 
When he is not traveling or not engaged in anything that could end his life, he wears a white puffy shirt, with long sleeves and buttons down the front, as for legs he wears grey trousers and a pair of black leather boots, the scarf around his face doesn't go unless he's in private. When he is traveling however he does wear armor, a set of grey leather armor with azure highlights in the place of tassels and the odd leather plate, the armor has a fur neckline and full segmented leather arms and legs. He always has his sword by his side.

Powers: Not Magically Inclined.

Skills: He has turned the simple act of stealth into an art, having mastered the shadows and the ways to be at one with them; he can hide like no other, may it be active or in plain sight, if he doesn't want you to see him, he won't be seen. Another skill that he possesses is the ability to climb and scale natural and unnatural surfaces, though he much prefers to climb buildings and other structures because he feels more at ease with them. And the final skill of note is that he is streetwise, using his logic and intuition to find who, what or where he wants to find, he can build an interactive map of the city around him, using key figures and places as guides to finding things, picking up on things most wouldn't notice.

Weaknesses: One of his major flaws is that, though he can dodge hits very well, he can only get hit a few times before he is down for the count. His slighter than average frame and and lack of heavy armor don't exactly help and his sword isn't the best for attacking heavily armored opponents. Another one of his flaws is that he's not precisely a people's person, it's not because he doesn't like to interact but because he feels that he can't do it due to his horrible lisping and bad temperament when people refer to the scarf that is constantly around his neck. On his left side he has sensory underload, he's completely blind and partially deaf, one caused by a witch's curse (the witch is now dead) and a crossbow bolt (like the witch, his assailant is dead), his inability to hear and see on the left side doesn't help when he's fighting in a croud or when he's trying to be perceptive (but he manages well). His cursed, green left eye glows in the dark, though this helps when he wants to see in the dark, projecting a cone of soft green light, when he is trying to hide, he needs to close it and cover it with a hand (he only has two and he'd rather have use of both).

Personality:
He has a rather quiet demeanor, not because he is shy but because he despises the way he sounds due to the hole in his mouth, though he still does prefer to listen because there is more to gain by doing so. He doesn't like arguments, usually finding a way to dodge them, usually elegantly but when that doesn't work he's not afraid to fight, though he usually doesn't raise his sword offensively. Vis is very fond of books, though his reading skills are weak he finds great pleasure in trying to desipher the ink; he is not the most intelligent, he can't tell you how magic works, or guess the mass of a brick by the light it reflects but he is crafty and cunning, able to put two and two together faster than most. Before he says things he tries to stop and thinks for a while to make sure what he's saying is right, he us cautious not wanting or willing to make mistakes if it will put him or the people he cares about in less then comfortable conditions.
Background:
He was the child of a human and an elf, his mother and father respectively. His mother was a baker's assistant in the kitchen of some duke who ran the area, she would go to the castle kitchen every morning at around dawn and returned every night after the sun had set, she wasn't happy with her job but the money was good so she stayed. However one autumn day she suddenly didn't dislike her job as much, there was a visit by a group of royal dignitaries, they must have been high up because they had a whole host of guards and courtiers with them, she knew because she had to back so much more bread and pastries but that is irrelevant. One evening she was taking some roles over to the dinner table where more were asked for, when she bumped into one of the guard, literally bumping into him and spilling all the roles onto the floor, however that wasn't on her mind at that moment, what was on her mind was the handsome elven guard she bumped into and likewise she was on his. That was the start of their romance, they spent evenings together and days eyeing eachother from across rooms and halls as they passed eachother, during this autumn Vis was conceived and by the time his father had to leave (he had to stay with the royal group because the winter had become too harsh to travel) he was born. However Vis had only seen his father by the time he was 6, he had to leave once the weather had cleared, which was a few days before Vis was born. He had made an instant connection with his father and visa versa, his father had decided to leave the employment of his former masters and become the head of guard of the duke's castle, with his baker's assistant wife. His father had taught him many things through his youth, primarly how to use a sword but other things as well, like how to skin a cat, however the one thing that he wasn't taught was how to read or write, he picked some of that up himself and it hasn't improved yet, most likely it's worse.
By the time he was a young man, he started getting restless, wanting to go out and see the world instead of being an assisstant to an assisstant baker. His parents told him time and time again to reconsider but Vis was too stubborn, and his father noticed this stubbornness as his own, the elf allowed him to go under one condition, that he was to practice his reading and send them letters. Vis agreed, rather too quickly, forgetting that he was horrible at both reading and writing, so he set off and had many adventures, most of them ending badly, some of them ending horribly and abruptly with an injury. But he adventured on undeterred, half blind, hard at hearing and with a hole in his maw. 
Other:

Vis' Companion

Name: Katya "Khat" 

Age: 9 or 10

Appearance: Kat is a spindly girl of around 5'2", weighing not much more then a sack of flour. Her slim body boasts no fat and little muscle, though she is full enough to avoid the shape of her bones coming through her skin. She has fair skin, lightly dusted by the rays of the sun and with faded freckles peppered across her cheeks and nose. Her face is small and clustered around a small area, she has a small nose and wide lips that are naturally red, with a protruding chin and large ears to fram her head. Her hair is long and flat, rough to the touch and rolls to the small of her back, it is dull copper in color, with subdued tones of richer reds, browns and auburns. Her eyes hazel, though mostly green have flecks of brown, gold and blue in them. On her left hand, the pinky and the ring finger up to the middle are missing, her forearms are also speckled with black burn marks and small scars.

Race: Human (Of the Ginger variety)
Class: None, at the moment...

Clothes: Kat where's on her head a tightly wrapped white linen bandana, it conceals everything above her hairline and ends at the back of her head with a tightly wound bun, all her hair is concealed; she often takes it off and uses it as a scarf though, when she is not working. On her body she wears a grey woolen poncho over a lime green tunic, covering her legs with a leather skirt that goes down to the base of her ankles; on her feet she wears black boots and instead od socks a pair of white leggings made of close fitting cotton. On her hands she wears fingerless gloves that are open at the top and secured around her wrist by a strap and a button.

Weapon: Nothing (Vis' Dagger in due time)

Skills: One of her skills is climbing, though she is fairly new to it, she can climb fairly well but at a slow pace compared to Vis, she often uses her skills at climbing to explore or hide from someone or thing. Another of her skills is that she knows how to cook, often sticking to recipes she knows but still willing to try something new, though most people would not really care about cooking, when on the road good cooking can make a long journey bearable. Hiding, a mixture of her small size and ability to be very quiet, she can become invisible, helped by the neutral color of her visible clothing.

Weaknesses: She is completely illiterate, not even knowing how to write or read her name. This is a problem when it comes to bring on the road, as she can't read signs or maps. She reacts badly to critiscm or negative situations, often yelling and crying and being a roucus child. She can't keep her mouth shut and often talks at inopportune times, saying things she shouldn't say or at the wrong moment, often speaking her mind instead of keeping it there. Doesn't know how to control anger very well, often vents it as tears or yelling and punching.

Personality: Kat is a rather brash individual, often blurting out and avoiding general manners like thanking people and asking politely, often being rather blunt and indifferent to people's opinions. When not at work at the bakery, she often finds herself getting into trouble, often finding her way into "adventures" that she shouldn't be partaking in. Though her attitude is rough, she has some kindness to her, not knowing when far is but understanding when too far is and realizing when to back off and when to approach with an (awkward) gentles hand. Kat is also a fairly curious person, often asking things she shouldn't and getting into situations that could otherwise be avoided with s level head, not saying she thick. She had the ability to pick things up quickly, it's just that she's not given the opportunity to try often. 

Background: Kat was born in the spring, on the morning of last frost, her mother was a baker and her father a forester. From a young age, her parents struggled to get her affection and this struggle developed into a heated fight for Kat's heart. This ultimately tore the marriage apart, the end signaled by the father running off in the middle of the night and taking Kat with him. She was relatively calm with the situation and lived with her father, until he was killed by a bunch of thugs for not being able to pay back some debt. Her neighbors helped her get back to her mother,  and it appeared that all was smooth sailing, working at the bakery. That is until the attack...

[Kimiyosis]

Hider

Name: Suki Enkou
Nickname/Title: Calamity Queen
Appearance:(ignore the gunblade), and add a black cloak with a hood.
Race: Human, although she views herself as a shade.
Class: Necromancer
Main-Hand Weapon:Double Edged Battle Scythe
Off-Hand Weapon: Find someone who wields a normal scythe with one hand effectively :P
Secondary Weapon: Her lips
Armor: Cloth
Powers:
-Necropolis: The mainstay of almost all necromancy, this allows her to summon up either skeleton or zombie creatures. Skeletons have the advantage of damage dealing, but are more brittle than their fleshier counterparts, who in turn, deal less damage. The more numerous/powerful the summon(s), the more it costs.
-Shadow Step: A more effective method of dodging attacks. Whenever an attack is about to hit, she will seemingly dissipate into the shadows, before appearing elsewhere. Can also be done for movement to a hard to reach location, or surprise attacks. Range and strength of natural shadows in the surroundings dictate how much life it costs.
-Devouring Kiss: A seemingly simple spell, this is also one of the most important spells that allows Suki to stay alive. She basically kisses someone, regardless of gender, and can either drain them of energy, or their life. The former has the advantage of not killing the target, but the later is more efficient in sustaining her.
Skills:
-Seducing: She has gotten rather capable of seducing someone, mostly to keep herself alive. With her looks complimented by the dress, it isn’t too hard to do.
-Stealth: When required, she can be extremely stealthy, moving silently at an acceptable pace, which is something one can’t exactly do with heavier armor.
-Information Gathering: Combining both her abilities to seduce someone, and her stealth capabilities, it’s not surprise that she can gather information.
Weaknesses:
-Dying Life: Necropolis and Shadow Step have a cost. Compared to most spells and magic styles, which consume the caster’s energy, necromancy based spells consume the caster’s life. Thus, requiring the caster to consistently drain someone to keep herself alive.
-Active Dodge: Despite having the Shadow Step spell, it is an ‘active’ spell, meaning she has to deliberately cast it. If a surprise attack hits her, it’s going to hurt, especially with the cloth armor.
-Thin Armor: Cloth armor, while extremely light and allows for agile movement, doesn’t give way much in terms of taking hits.
-Easily Flustered: Despite having to kiss to keep herself alive, Suki is flustered quite easily. This is evident when she tries to kiss someone she knows
Personality: Cautious and prone to hiding, one might find Suki hard to associate with. Not because she's violent, or unsocial or anything of the like. It's just that you might have a hard time finding her. And even when you manage to get we to talk, she seems to talk rather softly.

However, once you get to know her, and gain her trust, she becomes a rather useful and adorable companion. Whenever tired, she would not be afraid to use someone as a lap pillow, nor be used as a hug pillow herself, despite blushing very profusely. Also, she will come to you for a kiss quite often.

Whenever scared, she has a habit of squeezing herself into a small corner or a tight space between furniture, the look of doom gloom on her face.
Background: Coming from a village that had religion as a pillar of support, it isn't too hard to imagine what kind of suffering Suki had went through just for being born with the powers of a 'demon'. Consistently being chased away from others, even having rocks thrown at her.

Having to survive on her own, she found her way through rather underhanded methods. By far the most effective seemed to be seduction, before draining her victim into unconsciousness.

Nowadays, she moves around consistently, since most of her victims would be out to look for her, and churches would be out to hunt her down.
Other:

Pictures

[akje]

Furnace

Appearance: Tall for a gnome, short to anything else. His skin is sickly pale and long straw like white hair has a hint of faded red.
His limbs are scarred with fire and chains. He wears grey rags and a thick leather apron. He is covered in soot and grime.
His jet black eyes suggest his fey herritage, the grey lines under it suggest he hasn't enjoyed much sleep lately, or even ever.
Race: Bleachling Gnome
Class: Blight Druid
Main-Hand Weapon: Steel broadsword sized and balanced for an Orcish Warlord.
Off-Hand Weapon: the broadsword is too large for Furnace, so it becomes a two-hander for him.
Secondary Weapon: smiting hammer
Armor: rags and a leather apron
Powers:
Immolate: Furnace can naturally burn his own and readily available energy sources. The flames either fan out to scorch everything nearby or concentrate to melt metal. This requires concentration to manifest, but just energy or fuel to maintain.
Enervate: Furnace can force energy to become positively charged, if he infuses this into a living being it heals wounds and energizes the creature.
Animate: He can also force energy to become negatively charged, this has the opposite effect as Enervate does. He doesn't know it, but he can use it to heal undead and temporarily animate corpses.
Skills: Crafting(Forging weapons and industrial tools), spell-craft(specialty: energy flows) , appraise (he can tell the structural integrity and purity of objects and materials, he has no concept of monetary value though.)
Weaknesses: He has never met a real person. Thus he has no idea how anything social works. Everything is new and wondrous to him.
A former slave he has a weak will and no instincts to speak of. He can easily be bullied around and clings to anyone who shows him kindness.
Personality: Annoyingly submissive, unnaturally calm, depressingly accepting, surprisingly hopeful.
Themesong

Background: At a very young age, before he had a chance to acquire memories or even a name, Furnace was taken from his home in a bandit raid.
The bandits spared his life when they had seen his race's knack for magical fire, so they decided to "raise" him for that purpose.
This meant stick him in a small cell made of stone and devoid of light. The only opening and sliver of light was the entrance to their war furnaces. Which he was forced to keep alive day and night for as long as he could remember. Though he never got to see his captors, just the weapons of war he made, he was able to catch parts of conversations through the roaring blaze. This way he managed to learn the language but not much else. Since they never bothered to name him he concluded his name was Furnace.
Alone and shackled Furnace toiled through in timeless darkness until one day, months, years or decades later a voice spoke from the earth.
"What do you desire child?"
He had pointed at the small light at the end of his jail.
"Freedom? One day.."
For years to come the voice would come back sporadically and talk to Furnace.
Never did the otherworldly being reveal his origin or goals.
Furnace didn't care. He learned to channel his energy rather than burn it into the air.
He learned of other creatures, races, worlds outside.
And with every bit of knowledge his craving for freedom grew.
The voice always preached patience.
One day there was a loud commotion outside the forge. Screaming and the clash of weapons.
Weapons which sound Furnace recognized, against those he didn't.
Hopefully he dared to let the fires die.
A hand reached into the pit and helped him out, broke the shackles. Furnace was free and blinked as he saw the sun for the first time.

Other: There is a strange creature from other worlds who's taken an interest in Furnace.

[Spoopy Scary]

Name: Arastoph Xylem
Gender: Male, AMAB
Race: Human (supposedly)
Age: 25
Class: Merchant (trades, invests, entrepreneurs; also sort of cross-trained as a rogue)

Appearance: Arastoph is a tall, lanky man who stands at 6'3” and weighs at 143 lbs. His body isn't particularly toned or muscled, and he doesn't possess much fat. You would expect a little more fitness from him by the way he carries himself with his upright posture and proper poise. With this posture, he also holds his head high and chin up, as though taking a glance at anyone was beneath him, or that his status was something too great to behold amongst the like of commoners. His skin is pale and lacks much of a hue to it. There isn't a whole lot of visible scarring on his body, although you would see it upon close inspection of his hands, knees, and feet from his childhood days. He walks patiently as though he were pacing and taking his time, mulling over whatever thoughts he has in quiet contemplation.

His gaunt face reflects his body's long and thin demeanor. Along with it, there is a various number of sharp features. His cheekbones are high and pronounced, and the cheeks themselves somewhat sunken in comparison. A long, sharp nose bridge comes down to form a beak-shaped nose, and beneath that are laugh lines which surrounds his thin-lipped mouth. His chin is sharp and angular, and is rather big all things considered. Above his nose are intense steel-gray eyes (which is little more than a dull blue) constantly following you, and the eyes themselves are sunken with the bottom side of his sockets forming what appears to be bags beneath his eyes, but are actually the outline of the bone in his face. This is bordered by long, thin eyebrows that curve gently over his eyes. On the sides of his head, his ears possess attached ear lobes and are left unpierced.

Arastoph has a pretty big forehead, it would seem, but seems to do more in highlighting his hairline; a sharp widow's peak is formed in the center of his head. Long, black, and silky hair falls down around his shoulder blades and is always kept nice and neat – free of oil and is carefully combed so that it drapes gently over his shoulders. His hair is not often frizzy and manages weather well. Usually during intense activity can you see his hair bunching up and getting out of place and messy. On his chin he has a soul patch, long enough that it barely comes a half-inch off his face.

His clothes are fancily made and tailored to fit his body. He often wears long-sleeved undershirts, of which there is no particular color that he chooses over the other, but in the case of where we will start the roleplay, it will be defaulted to a plum color – a rich, dark purple. Over this, Arastoph wears a padded black doublet. The chest of which is puffed out, making him appear as though he is a bigger man than he really is, and has buttons crawling from the bottom to the top, just below his chin, and conceals any and all parts of his neck. There is also an insignia embroidered into the doublet, resemblant to a Rub el Hizb, or two overlapping squares with a circle in the middle (۞ ).

With his doublet, there are what's essentially shoulder pads, largely resembling armor pauldrons in a way, and is made with a tough, hardened cloth, but no leather or metal is in the stitching of it. Along it are two grooves and, closer to the neck, it is bordered off by a length of smooth rope; apparently more for the decoration of the clothing article than anything. The doublet ends at his biceps and isn't particularly fancy or decorated, and has simply two gray stripes on opposite sides. Over his waist is a brown leather belt, with a number of buckles and contraptions meant for carrying any number of devices, such as his holster for a dragoon. On the other side is his stiletto sheath. The buckle that it attaches it to his belt is a special little thing that when you press a little button to the side, it unlocks and is able to spin, and locks again when it rotates 180 degrees. This allows the stiletto handle to point either upward or downward, and can be situationally useful, assuming the situation calls for subtlety.

His pants doesn't have the same kind of elaborate setup like the rest of his attire does. They are a pair of unassuming black wool jodhpurs, hand spun and knitted. They have all that he requires: comfort, practicality, fashion, and deep pockets. The bottom cuffs are tucked into knee-high black leather boots where laces and conchos go from the ankles up to the top of his boots. However, much of his appearance is hidden by a hooded gray cloak. Buttons crawl on either side of the cape to keep it from billowing and revealing his body, and has a number of pockets inside to store a lovely amount of whatever he needs. He also possesses a wooden mask, which he mostly uses when interacting in underworld business or wants to keep his identity secret. It is unimpressive for the most part, if not slightly unnerving, and has two eye holes carved into it and a space for his nose to fit. Black horse hair has been sewn into the top of the mask.

Personality: Cunning, intelligent, conniving, deceiving, charming; there is a number of ways to describe the merchant, and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is truth and what is a guise. At Arastoph's core, he is unscrupulous and not necessarily bound by any moral constraints. He doesn't take up issue doing what he can to get what he wants and to survive, but has the foresight and wisdom to not do anything rash if it is too risky. Neither does he break the laws of the land for the sake of breaking them. He prefers to work within the legalities, but if the legalities come to be too restricting to obtain a particular necessity, he would bend or break it without hesitating. It almost seems as if he has come to believe as if the rules do not apply to him; given the potential he possess to become powerful, that may very well be the case.

His money isn't the most powerful virtue he possesses, though; cunning and wit supplies him the know-how to properly utilized his tools to his greatest advantage. In a world of people going off adventuring, farmers, miners, peasants; a number of people living their lives without formal education, Arastoph stands out in the crowd by having taken the bull by the horns and taking his education for himself. A formal, top-of-the-line education without noble blood. So he knows a great deal about the general maths and sciences, history, literacy, politics, some religion, and of course mercantilism. He possesses a brain made for thinking things through and thinking outside the box. He can quickly process what goes on around him, but prefers to take it slowly. So his cunning and witty demeanor is derived from this, allowing him to formulate plots and machinations that'd be out of the realm of a typical peasant.

Arastoph is a very ambitious and self-driven man. However, his motivation isn't benevolent or malicious, if just uninspiring. Half of it is just the curiosity of how far can he get, if the mountain is endless or eventually plateaus off. The other half is to convince himself and the world of his worth. He has his own personal secret that he attempts to hide, even from himself. He sees it as a crutch that holds him back, and is the aspect of himself that he hates – and self-loathing is a very painful experience for a man as selfish and self-absorbed as he – but at the same time, attempts to embrace. He tries to take it and use it as his reason for his superiority and his success. After a period of time, he has come to succeed in convincing himself of this. As a result, he has come to view most – if not all – other people with inferiority, treating the rest of mankind with contempt and revulsion.

You wouldn't know it by looking upon him, though. Arastoph is still a trader, and a sly one at that. He can put on a front that can leave you wondering which man is the real man. His front his charming, polite, and hospitable, which betrays the sense of danger and unease most people receive from him. This sophistication augments his skills of persuasion and negotiation, sensitively picking the right words to change your mind on a dime, or perhaps using his articulate nature for more insidious means such as intimidation; selectively applying the right words to get crawling under your skin and playing off of your fears. If there is one thing we have to hand to him, however, is that he is efficient. While not all of his contracts are necessarily “fair” he doesn't cheat. At least, not if the other party doesn't have it coming to them. He feels that, if you're good at what you do, it is easier to be honest than to cheat. While not an emotional guy, he does form bonds with what is “his”. If you threaten his business, or his associates, or whatever he considers “his”, he takes it as a threat and wouldn't waste a second in removing you. It is because of this trait of his that many traders and workers and smugglers seek his protection.

Main-Hand Weapon: A dragoon, or blunderbuss pistol decorated with brass. The butt has a brass cap designed so that it appears to be a man with curly hair and a beard, and resembles Greek artwork.
Off-hand Weapon: A stiletto.
Secondary Weapon: A wide array of poisons and drugs hidden amongst his person. Some of them are probably illegal.
Armor: Cloth, albeit his clothes are padded and thick, and provides some additional protection - negligible though it is.
Powers: The power of money, my friend!

Skills:
Persuade: A skilled trader knows how persuade, or even manipulate all but the toughest of customers! Howe'er, dare not deceive thyself by thinking this falls solely within trade negotiation; oh no, his skills of persuasion falls under even typical social environments! He has the silver tongue of a snake.

Diplomacy: More appropriately: “negotiation”, or at least that is how traders put it. Regardless, the differences are void, and Arastoph can negotiate the terms of a trade agreement swimmingly or play ambassador for politicians. Having learned charming and tactful behavior back in his years of education has lent to him to turn deals for his own favor.

Strategy: Any good trader knows to look into the future to determine when the proper time to make their move is. A cunning trader of Arastoph's caliber can plan the movements of his whole cartel while determining the movements of his competition. This carries over even in tactical circumstances in the midst of a battle – though his specialty clearly lies in psychological warfare.

Appraisal: General merchants have to learn a few tricks to keep themselves from receiving a raw trade or bad deal. They don't specialize in any one product, and instead, take it upon themselves to learn and recognize the value of all sorts of items. Upon inspection, Arastoph can determine the worth of an item.

Weaknesses:
Non-combat: Some martial training from a lord, but neither of them are really suited for fighting battles. The most he can do is to utilize some effective tools to do all the work and get the job done, but his actual prowess is laughable.

Reliant: Even though he grew up with a rough childhood, he was hardly in tune with his survival instincts. He has lived most his life relying on his resources and wealth to provide for him. Without protection and his resources, he doesn't possess the necessary skills that allows him to survive on his own for a long time.

History: To be upfront about an excluded detail, Arastoph was born half-tiefling. Regular tieflings are rumored to be half-demon, which would mean that the merchant's blood is 25% demonic. Naturally, this would call for a rough, bumpy upbringing. Arastoph was the product of a violent raping of a women in a small village inflicted by a runaway criminal tiefling who had followingly fled the scene and retreated off into the wilderness, never to be seen again. A broken woman was left feeling violated and powerless behind her own shack of a home. Unexpectedly, she had become pregnant – an ill omen for her, who detested the idea of one of those things growing inside her womb, but too afraid of pain to take her own life or to abort the fetus.

Arastoph was born seemingly human despite the blood that ran through him, although his health as a baby was shaky. The mother, despite looking upon the child with shame at every glance, could not bring herself to kill him or abandon him. The baby had looked too human, not enough like his bastard father, for her to hate him like she did the tiefling. This did not, however, mean her shame and disappointment waned over the years as she took care of the child of dirtied blood. He was granted a name that'd mark him as an outsider, something so radically different from typical people, “Arastoph”, and he bore the surname of the tiefling, “Xylem”.

Living in a small village, not much remains secret for very long. Even as a young'n, Arastoph was subjugated to the torment of the villagers. Even mothers, who had set an example for their children, who had soon followed suit. Even at home couldn't he find refuge, for he was a shameful creation in his mother's eyes. During these years, a seed of contempt and disregard for mankind had been planted in the boy, even weak as he was.

The village's main source of income came from fishing, as they were situated next to an inlet. Along the coast docks were fisheries and warehouses. It was in one of these warehouses did a 13 year old Arastoph eavesdrop on some sailors who were smuggling goods in and out. One night, he found the illegal drug that they had been whispering about, and hurried off back home.

There, the following night, he poisoned his mother with a paralytic and hallucinatory drug by spiking the dinner bowl. Unable to move or scream for help, she again helplessly watched her son take whatever little heirlooms she had and what little savings she had and took a step out the front door. Arastoph looked back for only a cold glance at his mother's eyes and left without a word.

He ran away from the village off the roads in an effort to get to the next town over. It was a long and hard trip, especially for a boy his age and size. In the end, though, he managed. He crawled around before finding a lord – nobility. Arastoph begged the lord for education and for a home, and offered him all that he had taken from his mother. Of course, the value of the items was negligible and the amount of money offered was paltry. However, the lord took pity on the pathetic child, and praised the runaway for his foresight, and praised his understanding that things didn't come to people for free. The lord agreed to take Arastoph under his wing.

He was taught that the most valuable thing in the world was wealth. The greatest power, money. With money, any power can be bought for you. A far easier and better turn-out profit than becoming a sorcerer or warrior – those people can be hired to work under your name. Arastoph received the education that would be received by nobles and pages; reading and writing, maths, the sciences, history, politics – and most importantly, mercantilism. Although the lord was not much of a martial combatant himself, most lords did receive some kind of martial training, and fencing and dueling was his. Arastoph sought out this education every single day, driven by his urge to become something worth more than the blood in his veins.

With help of the lord's debt investment, Arastoph started his own stall at age 17. It was the first of its kind in the town he was in: a general store. Where everyone else had a trade specialty, Arastoph's own specialty was trade itself. Because he wasn't spending time hunting, farming, or making weapons and whatnot, he had more time to focus on trade itself. He bought a variety of items from other sources, and sold them all at one stall at a higher price than when he bought them. It was a risky idea at first, but it payed off when people realized that the new kid on the block – while the prices were a little higher, likely had what they needed. With local reputation, even adventurers who went treasure hunting came into town and heard that the best and easiest way to sell their loot was to the general stall. He could convince the treasure hunter to sell it for a few increments lower than the item's actual value (of which the adventurers likely did not know about). It was only a matter of time before he was able to accumulate enough money to upgrade into a full-blown shop and become a bona-fide merchant.

Howe'er, there was the... minor issue of the lord, under whom Arastoph had trained. Even with the years under his tutelage, the lord seemed to have little issue with bleeding his pupil's shop of a substantial sum of money with his investment. Arastoph payed it off immediately, and asserted that he no longer needed his support, much to the chagrin of his teacher. The merchant was hounded and harassed, insisted to that his business would crumble without the lord's protection. Instead of arguing, Arastoph cut the prices of the produce in his shop. The lord's claim to fortune was his farm, and with Arastoph undercutting him to ridiculous degrees to the point where he was actually losing money with each sale, the tactic eventually managed to forcibly drive the lord and old teacher out of the region in search of a new market, albeit with a grudge. This also meant that with some competition out of the way (and a headache, for that matter), he was able to set his produce at a higher price than he used to (benefiting both him and his suppliers) and was free of the debt that had been bleeding him.

It taught him one lesson, for sure: that it was a pretty easy way for a person to make money off income investments. Having earned enough money, he was able to hire his own employee and walk around without having to work and still make a profit. However, not in his nature to be lazy, he started doing the same thing that had made him tired of his teacher, and offered investments to small or starting shops so to support them and give them an opportunity make business. Not only did this stimulate the town's economy, it also provided to Arastoph a small percentage of their shares, and was able to make money off of other shops. If the shop in which he put the investment in failed or wasn't terribly active, Arastoph was capable of bleeding them dry or buying out their shop entirely and making it his own. As a talented merchant, he was able to redesign the fundamentals of the shops and turn them back around to be more successful, and then put in charge the previous owner of the shop and allow them to manage it and behave as though nothing ever happened. For all intents and purposes, nothing has changed, except that the business is actually under Arastoph's name.

This little slice of heaven off in some corner of the land came to be known as the Xylem Cartel. Even with the youth that Arastoph had, his cunning and the opportunities he took advantage of allowed his career to evolve alarmingly quickly. It has happened more than once, for that matter. Arastoph wrested control a fair portion of the town's small businesses and stalls. His shady practices did grab the attention from some connections from the underworld economy, inquiring the prospect of business opportunity. Naturally, Arastoph obliged.

Now, Arastoph travels the continent with payed protection in search of spreading his influence and gaining connections all over the land as to gain a foothold in the underworld. Whether it be putting people unto his service through debt or buying out small companies, or entering trade agreements, he does seek to turn his new cartel into something deserving of awe and respect, and to monopolize various markets. He brings with him a fungus from the swamp next to his adoptive hometown. It was a highly controversial piece of contraband that instilled euphoria and hallucinations in those who ingested them. With it, he intends to introduce its value to potential connections and see if he can get them on his side with this new product, to farm and harvest it, and then sell it under Arastoph's name.

However, there are some roadblocks; rumor has it that Arastoph's old teacher – the lord – is back and is looking for some revenge. Word also has it that the dilapidated old dog has his own set of connections. If the rumors are true, then it might just mean there's the smell of war on the wind. In addition, on Arastoph's excursion to establish his connections, the village which he had met one of his contacts was overcome with goblins and ettins, and a group of foolish adventurers handled it sloppily. His contact was killed beneath a toppled ettin. Arastoph intends to make them either pay or be indebted to him for the damages they committed that resulted in his losses.

Mask

Relationships

Alula: 1/10 (Her divination perturbed him, so he generally doesn't want much to do with the oracle. However, she was quick to act on a whim and give him all of her money and stuff to get something back. She seems harmless enough.)

Carver: 2/10 (They initially went off on the wrong foot, but Arastoph has a certain liking for Carver despite that. While they do not get along, he appreciates what he perceives as Carver's child-like naivety and sees opportunity in playing the paladin's rigid moral code against him. An excellent tool to utilize.)

Des: 0/10 (Annoying and too dumb for his own good, Arastoph feels, and the only thing stopping him from selling the child into slavery is... well, nothing. Maybe if the paladin doesn't notice?)

Furnace: N/A (Lack of sufficient interaction.)

Katya: N/A (Lack of sufficient interaction.)

Kelvin: 3/10 (The engineer is far wiser than he appears, and is apparently at least more silver-tongued than his comrades. Arastoph doesn't take this as a threat, but he sees much opportunity in having this man as an ally.)

Separ: 0/10 (Arastoph wouldn't care if Separ's carriage fell down the mountainside. He doesn't deem the brawler worthy of his notice, and can't find it in himself to respect someone that he considers a fool that doesn't think of what he says and in the context that he says it.)

Suki: N/A (Lack of sufficient interaction.)

Vis: 0/10 (He thinks the half-elf is stupid. He's still juggling around the idea if he should keep this monkey alive as a source of entertainment of if he should just find a way to get rid of him. Whilst outside the radar of the others, of course.)

Moosic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLWYuJe7LdA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFNeSWNjPyQ

[Kronshi]

Name: Des
Race: Human (as far as any one can tell)
Class: None (For now)
Main-Hand Weapon: none
Off-Hand Weapon: none
Secondary Weapon: None
Armor: Cloth
Powers: None (For now)
Skills: None, but can learn them very quickly if one of the party members were to teach him
Weaknesses: Defenseless, Taken advantage of, Amnesia
Personality: Des is usually a quiet kid, observing the party on their adventure, but when he speaks it is usually his evaluation of someone. Similar to Alula he tends to know who a person is and what they are hiding, but he doesn't use any cryptic messages, he just flats out says what he thinks
Background: He forgot, but remembers waking up in the woods to the sounds of someone banging steel together
Other: has Amnesia, always says things exactly as he means them which can make him sound rude, hates people who keep secrets