Username: Chicken
Character Name: Dirk Fulster
Race/Species: Human (Imperial; Hochland)
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Career (if any) and Skills: Dirk's about as good with a bow as you can get without being an elf, having honed his skill over a lifetime of hunting, poaching, and banditry. He is an adept woodsman and tracker, and he's not bad at creeping through the underbrush either. His eyes are keen, his ears keener, and he can tell which herbs will kill you and which make good eats.
Dirk also has some untrained skill in Amber Magic, though he does not realize it. It manifests as a connection with wild beasts, but could be honed into something more with tutelage.
Weapons: While some hunters might favor a rifle or crossbow, Dirk uses a moderately sized bow. It's not a weapon of war, and its draw isn't as strong as a longbow. However, he can fire rapidly and contend with most lighter armors well enough.
For melee weapons Dirk keeps a military hatchet and a sharp dagger. He also keeps a couple small bombs on his person. The fuses are
carefully guarded.
Attire: An old gambeson, a cloth hat, patchwork cloak, dark gloves, and traveling boots make up Dirk's attire. He's not a wealthy man, and it shows. Still, his armor might save him from a sword slice or two.
Equipment/Other Dirk keeps a couple pouches of medicinal herbs. He also has a hip flask, waterskin, bandages, whetstone, sewing kit, flint, tinder, rope... Really, he has most mundane things that are useful to a mercenary adventurer. You name it, he probably has it.
It may be surprising, but Dirk has an old harp. He's actually quite good at playing it.
Physical Description (as detailed as possible please, pictures not accepted.): Dirk hasn't quite reached middle age, but he's getting closer. He's not a tall man, standing a whopping 5'5", but he's muscular and sturdy. His beard is a curly brownish-blond mess, as is his short hair, and his skin is leathery and tough. Wrinkles have formed on his forehead, and though he's still a strong and capable fellow, he doesn't have all the vigor of youth. His brown eyes are dark and insightful. Dirk is usually little dirty and smells faintly of the woods and his own sweat.
Mental Description/Personality: A quiet, bitter fellow, Dirk doesn't care to share much about himself. Some call him standoffish; the kinder call him pensive. He's a closed book, rather preferring to listen to others while interjecting on occasion with a phrase or two. Actions speak louder than words, so he was taught, and he'd rather do something than talk about it. He's not good at seeking permission from his superiors, either.
Along with snubbing his nose to his superiors, Dirk generally has a problem with authority figures. He doesn't care much for nobles or generals or anyone like that, and he's more willing to lend his ear to other common folk like himself. He doesn't give a rat's ass what bloodline some Bretonnian has, and foreigners can go back where they came from. Except dwarves. Dwarves are alright, so Dirk reckons.
While he may not be very sociable, Dirk likes to play his harp in his free time. It calms him and lets him remember the good times. It helps him forget the bad times.
Background/History: Dirk doesn't talk about his past often. He is, as said, a closed book. It's the best defense he knows against having to think about the past, and against bounty hunters coming after him.
Dirk was born in a small Hochland village. The name doesn't matter. He was a peasant like anyone else, only he wasn't happy cutting trees or working in a mill. No, he wasn't. But he was good with a bow, and that was what mattered. He never was keen on joining the army. Being barked at by badge-wearing bastards wasn't his idea of a good time. So, he dodged recruitment in his village and lived a self-sustaining life. It was easy, and he could have lived like that 'til the end of his days.
Then Dirk had to go and fall in love. He met a pretty girl, some merchant's daughter. She had red hair. It was fiery like her spirit. They married when he was twenty-four, and things were fine at first; but it's harder to support a family than it is to just support yourself. He had to poach to make end's meet. Some years times were even harder, and Dirk had to play outlaw. He hated working with bandits and murderers, but it was a good way to avoid capture by the law, and he made a fair bit of coin while he was at it.
Dirk's crimes eventually caught up with him, however. When he was thirty-three he got captured by an Imperial patrol, having been left behind by his "brothers" when they were caught raiding a merchant caravan. Luckily for Dirk, good archers were in high demand, as there was a greenskin incursion: forest goblins had started raiding, and they needed to be put down before they got mad enough to make a proper army. So, Dirk spent the next two years of his life fighting for an Emperor he didn't give a damn about, fighting monsters when what he wanted was to be back home with his wife and his children.
Eventually, Dirk simply deserted the army, having no intention of staying afield on endless marches. The pay was shit, and he wasn't getting nearly enough money to feed his family, nor was he able to see them. He became an outlaw, and what better place for an outlaw to take refuge than in the company of mercenaries?
So, Dirk has spent the last few years working as a mercenary and sending money back home. The work's more dangerous, but the pay's not half bad. Plus, he gets to choose who he works for.
