Rekkuza

Through a Wayward Glimmer -- to a Faraway Place

"A pleasure, Arthur. I am pleased you found our product to your liking. When we know it is for construction, we try to prioritize wood with straighter grain, and with fewer defects. With so few prospects out here, we have to be competitive against people trying to source the wood themselves. Did you have any issues using it, and was the customer fully satisfied?"

"Oh, no, no issues at all! At least, none that had to do with yer product. Like I said, mighty fine lumber ya make. Gettin' the bricks fer the walls was actually the bigger problem. Delivery kept gettin' delayed, was drivin' the boss-man crazy!" Arthur laughs, a loud, boisterous sound. For almost a full week, construction had to be paused, the workers unable to do anything without materials. His employer had been losing it, forced to pay the workers to keep them from leaving to find other work, yet not having any progress be made.

"Now, I wasn't exactly chummy with the boss, didn't really speak with him much outside of negotiatin' my pay, but he seemed happy 'nough with the result. Delivery was always on time, too, that had to be a good point in yer favor, after the bricks fiasco." Arthur claps a heavy hand on Robert's shoulder, still grinning, before turning towards the meeting hall. "Now, seein' ya in there, I suppose ye'll be searchin' for that Lady that's disappeared too, eh? Guess we'll be seein' more of each other then!"

With those last few words, he waved goodbye and started lumbering towards the meeting hall. From all the people he'd seen leaving, most had decided to sleep at the inn, which meant there would most definitively be a spot for him to squat in for the night. Why pay for accommodations, when he had four walls and a roof to sleep under, right in front of him, for free? This was already more comforts than he usually had, so used to camping he was, and a coin saved is a coin earned, as they say. And he did like to earn coin.

Calling All Heroes and Villains!

What's up, Doc?

_{Art by me. Done on MS Paint and paint(.)net.}

Name:
Dr. Joseph Angioni, M.D.

Alias:
Doc

Alignment:
Hero/Vigilante, although he doesn't think of himself that way.

Powers/Abilities:
Stasis
Joseph has the ability to instantly "pause" an object. All motion will cease, all biological activities will pause, and outside forces will have no effect on the object. This is only temporary, however: as soon as the object is "unpaused", motion will resume as if uninterrupted, and everything that happened during stasis will happen all at once. For example, debris falling at terminal velocity will smash into the ground even when "paused" only a few inches from it, and a "paused" glass pane will remain whole when hit with a hammer, but shatter the moment it is "unpaused".

Joseph himself is an exception to the "outside forces" part of his powers. For reasons he does not fully understand, he can still fully interact with "paused" objects. He has used this property to "pause" severely injured people and move them without deteriorating their conditions, or to perform emergency surgery in his home.

The activation range of Stasis is short, only able to "pause" objects up to 3 meters away, although once "paused", the state can be maintained from further away. The bigger an object is, the farther away it is, and the more forces it is subject to, the harder it is to maintain in stasis. Keeping multiple object "paused" or trying to "pause" living people is also much harder, especially if the person fights against it. Maintaining this power necessitates concentration and causes mental fatigue, and straining it too hard will cause devastating migraines or even loss of consciousness.

In ideal conditions, in which the object is at rest and Joseph maintains physical contact with it, Joseph could keep a unresisting person in stasis for about 2 hours, a resisting person for a minute or two, a small rock for over a day, and a car for a couple of hours. In less than ideal conditions, Joseph could maybe "pause" a resisting person at a range of 3 meters for 10 or so seconds at most. Joseph can put himself in stasis for up to 3 days, before he becomes too fatigued to keep it up.

Weaknesses:
No real long-range option: Stasis has a rather short range of activation, and maintaining it over longer distances is extremely draining.
Physically fragile (for a hero): Joseph is very fit and has excellent cardio, but he's still just a normal person physically. His strength, speed and resilience are that of a civilian.
Non-combatant: Joseph can defend himself and has some knowledge of self-defence and firearms (although he doesn't own a gun), but he is not a trained fighter. Most heroes and villains would defeat him in a 1-on-1 battle.

Personality:
Irritable: Stress and overwork has left Joseph very irritable and with little patience for the nonsense of others while off the clock. He tries not to let it affect his bedside manners, though.
Pushover: Joseph has trouble saying no to people, and simply cannot refuse a genuine plea for help, even when he know it's a bad idea.
Nerdy: Joseph legitimately enjoys reading medical journals, and doesn't simply do it out of professional obligation. He also owns the entirety of Star Trek: TOS and Star Trek: TNG on DVD.

Background:
Born in Ironclad, Joseph comes from a working class family. His father, a first generation Italian immigrant, worked as a construction worker; his mother was a grade-school teacher. He was raised Catholic, with his parents insisting on the sanctity of life and the importance of living a virtuously. These lessons stick with him to this day, even though he no longer is as pious as he used to be. He quickly developed an interest in medicine, wishing to help people for a living, an ambition his parents gladly supported. Through hard work, and a bit of luck, Joseph managed to obtain a decent scholarship, letting him afford medical school and graduate with relatively few student debts. He first began working as a surgeon, but after a few years decided to return to school, and switch to being a general practitioner, as he felt closer to his patients that way.

His powers first manifested some time after grad school. He kept them secret, only revealing them to his family; he didn't want people bothering him and detracting him from his work because of them. After all, what did it matter that he could pause things? He had a residency to finish!

His work as "Doc" started due to coincidence. A fight had broken out between two super-powered criminals, and as usual for when superpowers got involved, there were damages. And injured people. Looking around, Joseph realized that 1. Emergency services hadn't yet arrived on the scene, and 2. Even if they had, they couldn't simply run in, not with the fight still going on and so many newly unstable structures around. If only you could just freeze the debris in place, then you could get these people out. And freezing things in place, Joseph realized, was something that was entirely within his power. He ran around, getting people out of tight spots, and tending to the worst of the injuries. And when one of the villains went down, and the other had already left the scene, Joseph tended to him too.

The day Joseph met Jackie also was the day he became Ironclad's resident back-alley doctor. It started when he found her in an alleyway while walking home from work, beaten and bloody after she was caught trying to steal a car from someone who visibly didn't appreciate it. He dragged her barely conscious body back to his flat, where he patched her up. Now, what he didn't know, was that Jackie had many friends with similarly illegal tendencies, and she was a real blabbermouth. The word quickly spread about the doctor who treated for free, no questions asked, and Joseph quickly found himself regularly visited with other small time crooks and criminal in need of some patching up. He couldn't in good conscience refuse medical care to people who needed it, and so he took care of them (and told them to shut their trap about their work, he at least deserved to keep plausible deniability). Then the super-villain he'd treated heard of it, and he started getting super-powered visitors in need of patching up.

Nowadays, Joseph juggles his general practice, his hero/rescue work, and his... less upstanding patients. The stress, huge workload, and unpredictability of it all has severely affected his work-life balance for the worse. His personal life and relationships outside of his work have been degrading, to the point that a long-time partner of his recently broke things off, citing him "acting so shady all of the goddamn time" as the main cause. It's gotten to the point where he's even picked up smoking. But despite everything, he simply can't bear to not offer his help to the people that need him, to let them suffer when he could offer some degree of cure, no matter the cost to himself.

Appearance:
Joseph is a stout 49 year old man. Standing at a very unimpressive 5'6'', he is not the kind of man that leaves much of an impression, should you pass him in the street. He shaves his head because he has male pattern baldness but keeps a short, greying beard. He favors business casual clothes in his day-to-day, and wears bottom rimmed glasses, which both accentuates his dark eyes and helps to hide his deep eye bags. Deep frown lines mark his forehead, a testament to the strain he's been under for a while now. He is not the type to wear jewellery, but still wears a small silver crucifix, a memento from his late grandmother.

Doc's hero costume is simple: a Kevlar vest to protect himself, a white coat with a large red cross sewn on the back to show his intentions, and a balaclava to conceal his identity. It is purely utilitarian, a result of necessity and nothing else, and so Doc doesn't bother with any embellishments.

Affiliations:
Small time crooks, super-villains and vigilantes of Ironclad
Doc will never refuse treatment to anyone who needs it, criminals included. These small time criminals, who often have no other places to seek treatment, have become rather protective of Doc, and will not target him, even trying to outright protect him when possible. After all, attacking a medic is already in bad taste; it becomes downright foolish to do so when that medic is the one that stitches you up whenever something goes wrong.

Ironclad emergency services
Doc and Ironclad's EMTs have a mutual respect for each other, and have created a sort of unofficial partnership. It's often too dangerous for unpowered EMTs to try and rescue people in the middle of a super-powered altercation, as they'd only add themselves to the victim count; Doc, with his powers, is in less danger. When a fight breaks out between a superhero and a super-villain, Doc will try to stabilize and rescue civilians, as well as injured heroes and villains, and bring them to the EMTs.

Motivations:
To save as many lives as possible. When Joseph swore the Hippocratic oath, he swore before God to treat all that come before him, no matter their past or background. His rescue and "back-alley doctor" work are an extension of that oath: he has the capacity to give medical care to those civilians, heroes, and villains, and thus he has a duty to do so.

Relationships:
Nicola Angioni: Joseph's father. Now living the sweet retirement life in Solhaven. Unaware of his son's hero work. Hoping Joseph will one day get married.
Marina Beauregard: Joseph's mother. Also retired, and living together with her husband in Solhaven. Suspects her son may be Doc, but doesn't push the issue.
Jackie: A 22 year old car thief keeping her ear to the ground for super-villain rumors. Will relay what info she can gather to Doc, so that he can prepare for his rescue work in advance.

Base of Operations:
His apartment in Ironclad, a nice 2 bedroom flat, in which he converted the study room into a makeshift doctor's office/surgery room. Considered neutral ground: when you step inside, you stop being a hero or villain, and simply become a patient, which means all grudges and conflict stay outside if you want to receive treatment.

Signature Gear:
A trauma kit, a defibrillator, EMT shears, and a flare gun. Doc doesn't need nor have access to fancy gear: all he has, and all he really needs, are medical supplies. The flare gun serves to signal heroes and emergency services for help, and can double as a weapon if ever needed.

Public Perception:
The general public has a positive view of Doc, as his main goal is to help and treat people. Municipal authorities don't mind him: he helps the emergency services and, unlike so many other superheroes, does not cause any property damage. Heroes, on the other hand, are somewhat split in their opinions. Some admire his dedication to helping people, but others are frustrated or suspicious due to the indiscriminate nature of his care, which includes villains and criminals.

Combat Style:
Joseph is a non-combatant, but should he ever be forced to defend himself or one of his patient, he'll prioritize non-lethal ways of disabling his opponent(s). He's a combat pragmatic, not afraid to fight dirty or outright cheat if it means minimizing harm. Basically, while he'll never outright kill someone, as that would go against his oath and entire code of morals and ethics, if he can't reason or otherwise immobilize his opponent, he won't hesitate to stab or shoot them in the leg if that'll make them stop (and then treat their injuries, of course).

Through a Wayward Glimmer -- to a Faraway Place

A large man, who had been standing near and contemplating the town, perks up as he hears Robert introduce himself.

"Oh, yer from Second Chance, heh?" He says with a grin. "I worked construction a few months back, we used yer lumber. Good quality lumber, that it was." He closes his eyes and scratches his beard pensively, as if remembering the feel of wood under his fingers.

He approaches, towering above most of the people gathered near. "Funny coincidence meetin' ya here, lad. Yer family does great work, ya can be proud of it." He offers one large calloused hand for a handshake with a warm chuckle, seemingly truly happy about meeting this stranger to which he had only the most strenuous connection.

"Agh, where are my manners? Name's Arthur, nice to meetcha." He bows his head politely towards Sonia, only briefly glancing at her horns. It would be rude to stare, and it's not like that's any of his business either. "And you as well, ma'am."

Through a Wayward Glimmer -- to a Faraway Place

Name:
Arthur Mercier

Appearance:
A tall, heavyset man in his mid-to-late 30s. His hair is normally brown, although the Sun has lightened it to a dark auburn, and he keeps it cut short, but lets his beard grow out. His skin his tanned from long days spent outside walking or working under the sun, and his hands are large and heavily calloused from years of hard, manual labour. Arthur bears a variety of scars across his body, though none are serious or even especially grisly. His eyes, which are brown, look somewhat small on his face, but they still glow with warmth and good humor. His nose is a bit crooked, probably from a past break. He prefers to wear sturdy, undyed travel clothing in his day-to-day, and only puts on his armor when he needs it (it's rather heavy, you see).

Bio:
Born to a farming family, Arthur quickly heard the call of adventure (and potential profit) and, at 16 years of age, set off on his own, taking up various mercenary work. Throughout the years, he has done almost every odd job you could think of, from construction work, guard duty, deer and wolf culling and monster hunting, to less... reputable work, like bounty hunting, debt collection, helping fix underground fights, participating in underground fights... the list goes on.

While Arthur is not an evil man, and would never stoop so low as to take on hits or participate in more serious criminal enterprises like smuggling or trafficking, his moral compass does still heavily revolve around his purse, and he does not mind skirting around or outright breaking the law if the job pays well enough.

Nevertheless, as the years went by, Arthur grew to yearn for a slower, kinder life. He had done his time on the road, and was ready to settle down, to finally meet Mr. or Ms. Right, maybe even start a family! Seeing the Duke's notice sealed the deal: one last job, enough to secure funds, and perhaps even land, and then he'll retire from this life, for good.

Skills:
Adaptability: A life on the road of doing odd jobs has left Arthur a pro at adapting and improvising on the spot.
Weapon handling: He is skilled with the sword, and has a good aim with the crossbow, although ranged weapons aren't his usual go-to.
Physical strength: Arthur is tall, large, and very, very strong.
Amiable: Arthur is a very friendly, jovial man, who tends to get along with most people. This is both his default way of being, and a great boon when looking for work.
Sewing: Arthur knows how to sew, and can patch up clothing, or even make simple shirts and pants if given enough time and material.

Equipment:
- Brigandine (a type of inexpensive armour, made of cloth or leather -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigandine)
- Camping equipment, containing a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox and a few days of rations consisting of hard tack and salted pork, all neatly rolled together and carried on his back
- A rucksack
- A well sharpened hunting knife
- A buckler (small shield used for close-quarter combat)
- An arming sword (typical double-edged sword)
- A relatively well-stocked money pouch

Trivia:
- While far from being an intellectual, he has acquired a wide range of odd knowledge from the various jobs and he had and people he met over the years.
- Coming from a peasant family, he's never had a formal education, and can't read or write very well, or do complex math.
- He has 3 younger siblings, 2 sister and a brother, and 1 older brother. He hasn't seen them since he left home, almost 20 years ago.
- He has a weirdly good sense of direction since childhood, and he is almost always able to find the north, even when not outside.

Calling All Heroes and Villains!

I think I've got a fun character concept here, even whipped up a quick portrait for him! Lemme know what you think!

What's up, Doc?

_{Art by me. Done on MS Paint and paint(.)net.}

Name:
Dr. Joseph Angioni, M.D.

Alias:
Doc

Alignment:
Hero/Vigilante, although he doesn't think of himself that way.

Powers/Abilities:
Stasis
Joseph has the ability to instantly "pause" an object. All motion will cease, all biological activities will pause, and outside forces will have no effect on the object. This is only temporary, however: as soon as the object is "unpaused", motion will resume as if uninterrupted, and everything that happened during stasis will happen all at once. For example, debris falling at terminal velocity will smash into the ground even when "paused" only a few inches from it, and a "paused" glass pane will remain whole when hit with a hammer, but shatter the moment it is "unpaused".

Joseph himself is an exception to the "outside forces" part of his powers. For reasons he does not fully understand, he can still fully interact with "paused" objects. He has used this property to "pause" severely injured people and move them without deteriorating their conditions, or to perform emergency surgery in his home.

The activation range of Stasis is short, only able to "pause" objects up to 3 meters away, although once "paused", the state can be maintained from further away. The bigger an object is, the farther away it is, and the more forces it is subject to, the harder it is to maintain in stasis. Keeping multiple object "paused" or trying to "pause" living people is also much harder, especially if the person fights against it. Maintaining this power necessitates concentration and causes mental fatigue, and straining it too hard will cause devastating migraines or even loss of consciousness.

In ideal conditions, in which the object is at rest and Joseph maintains physical contact with it, Joseph could keep a unresisting person in stasis for about 2 hours, a resisting person for a minute or two, a small rock for over a day, and a car for a couple of hours. In less than ideal conditions, Joseph could maybe "pause" a resisting person at a range of 3 meters for 10 or so seconds at most. Joseph can put himself in stasis for up to 3 days, before he becomes too fatigued to keep it up.

Weaknesses:
No real long-range option: Stasis has a rather short range of activation, and maintaining it over longer distances is extremely draining.
Physically fragile (for a hero): Joseph is very fit and has excellent cardio, but he's still just a normal person physically. His strength, speed and resilience are that of a civilian.
Non-combatant: Joseph can defend himself and has some knowledge of self-defence and firearms (although he doesn't own a gun), but he is not a trained fighter. Most heroes and villains would defeat him in a 1-on-1 battle.

Personality:
Irritable: Stress and overwork has left Joseph very irritable and with little patience for the nonsense of others while off the clock. He tries not to let it affect his bedside manners, though.
Pushover: Joseph has trouble saying no to people, and simply cannot refuse a genuine plea for help, even when he know it's a bad idea.
Nerdy: Joseph legitimately enjoys reading medical journals, and doesn't simply do it out of professional obligation. He also owns the entirety of Star Trek: TOS and Star Trek: TNG on DVD.

Background:
Born in Ironclad, Joseph comes from a working class family. His father, a first generation Italian immigrant, worked as a construction worker; his mother was a grade-school teacher. He was raised Catholic, with his parents insisting on the sanctity of life and the importance of living a virtuously. These lessons stick with him to this day, even though he no longer is as pious as he used to be. He quickly developed an interest in medicine, wishing to help people for a living, an ambition his parents gladly supported. Through hard work, and a bit of luck, Joseph managed to obtain a decent scholarship, letting him afford medical school and graduate with relatively few student debts. He first began working as a surgeon, but after a few years decided to return to school, and switch to being a general practitioner, as he felt closer to his patients that way.

His powers first manifested some time after grad school. He kept them secret, only revealing them to his family; he didn't want people bothering him and detracting him from his work because of them. After all, what did it matter that he could pause things? He had a residency to finish!

His work as "Doc" started due to coincidence. A fight had broken out between two super-powered criminals, and as usual for when superpowers got involved, there were damages. And injured people. Looking around, Joseph realized that 1. Emergency services hadn't yet arrived on the scene, and 2. Even if they had, they couldn't simply run in, not with the fight still going on and so many newly unstable structures around. If only you could just freeze the debris in place, then you could get these people out. And freezing things in place, Joseph realized, was something that was entirely within his power. He ran around, getting people out of tight spots, and tending to the worst of the injuries. And when one of the villains went down, and the other had already left the scene, Joseph tended to him too.

The day Joseph met Jackie also was the day he became Ironclad's resident back-alley doctor. It started when he found her in an alleyway while walking home from work, beaten and bloody after she was caught trying to steal a car from someone who visibly didn't appreciate it. He dragged her barely conscious body back to his flat, where he patched her up. Now, what he didn't know, was that Jackie had many friends with similarly illegal tendencies, and she was a real blabbermouth. The word quickly spread about the doctor who treated for free, no questions asked, and Joseph quickly found himself regularly visited with other small time crooks and criminal in need of some patching up. He couldn't in good conscience refuse medical care to people who needed it, and so he took care of them (and told them to shut their trap about their work, he at least deserved to keep plausible deniability). Then the super-villain he'd treated heard of it, and he started getting super-powered visitors in need of patching up.

Nowadays, Joseph juggles his general practice, his hero/rescue work, and his... less upstanding patients. The stress, huge workload, and unpredictability of it all has severely affected his work-life balance for the worse. His personal life and relationships outside of his work have been degrading, to the point that a long-time partner of his recently broke things off, citing him "acting so shady all of the goddamn time" as the main cause. It's gotten to the point where he's even picked up smoking. But despite everything, he simply can't bear to not offer his help to the people that need him, to let them suffer when he could offer some degree of cure, no matter the cost to himself.

Appearance:
Joseph is a stout 49 year old man. Standing at a very unimpressive 5'6'', he is not the kind of man that leaves much of an impression, should you pass him in the street. He shaves his head because he had male pattern baldness but keeps a short, greying beard. He favors business casual clothes in his day-to-day, and wears bottom rimmed glasses, which both accentuates his dark eyes and helps to hide his deep eye bags. Deep frown lines mark his forehead, a testament to the strain he's been under for a while now. He is not the type to wear jewellery, but still wears a small silver crucifix, a memento from his late grandmother.

Doc's hero costume is simple: a Kevlar vest to protect himself, a white coat with a large red cross sewn on the back to show his intentions, and a balaclava to conceal his identity. It is purely utilitarian, a result of necessity and nothing else, and so Doc doesn't bother with any embellishments.

Affiliations:
Small time crooks, super-villains and vigilantes of Ironclad
Doc will never refuse treatment to anyone who needs it, criminals included. These small time criminals, who often have no other places to seek treatment, have become rather protective of Doc, and will not target him, even trying to outright protect him when possible. After all, attacking a medic is already in bad taste; it becomes downright foolish to do so when that medic is the one that stitches you up whenever something goes wrong.

Ironclad emergency services
Doc and Ironclad's EMTs have a mutual respect for each other, and have created a sort of unofficial partnership. It's often too dangerous for unpowered EMTs to try and rescue people in the middle of a super-powered altercation, as they'd only add themselves to the victim count; Doc, with his powers, is in less danger. When a fight breaks out between a superhero and a super-villain, Doc will try to stabilize and rescue civilians, as well as injured heroes and villains, and bring them to the EMTs.

Motivations:
To save as many lives as possible. When Joseph swore the Hippocratic oath, he swore before God to treat all that come before him, no matter their past or background. His rescue and "back-alley doctor" work are an extension of that oath: he has the capacity to give medical care to those civilians, heroes, and villains, and thus he has a duty to do so.

Relationships:
Nicola Angioni: Joseph's father. Now living the sweet retirement life in Solhaven. Unaware of his son's hero work. Hoping Joseph will one day get married.
Marina Beauregard: Joseph's mother. Also retired, and living together with her husband in Solhaven. Suspects her son may be Doc, but doesn't push the issue.
Jackie: A 22 year old car thief keeping her ear to the ground for super-villain rumors. Will relay what info she can gather to Doc, so that he can prepare for his rescue work in advance.

Base of Operations:
His apartment in Ironclad, a nice 2 bedroom flat, in which he converted the study room into a makeshift doctor's office/surgery room. Considered neutral ground: when you step inside, you stop being a hero or villain, and simply become a patient, which means all grudges and conflict stay outside if you want to receive treatment.

Signature Gear:
A trauma kit, a defibrillator, EMT shears, and a flare gun. Doc doesn't need nor have access to fancy gear: all he has, and all he really needs, are medical supplies. The flare gun serves to signal heroes and emergency services for help, and can double as a weapon if ever needed.

Public Perception:
The general public has a positive view of Doc, as his main goal is to help and treat people. Municipal authorities don't mind him: he helps the emergency services and, unlike so many other superheroes, does not cause any property damage. Heroes, on the other hand, are somewhat split in their opinions. Some admire his dedication to helping people, but others are frustrated or suspicious due to the indiscriminate nature of his care, which includes villains and criminals.

Combat Style:
Joseph is a non-combatant, but should he ever be forced to defend himself or one of his patient, he'll prioritize non-lethal ways of disabling his opponent(s). He's a combat pragmatic, not afraid to fight dirty or outright cheat if it means minimizing harm. Basically, while he'll never outright kill someone, as that would go against his oath and entire code of morals and ethics, if he can't reason or otherwise immobilize his opponent, he won't hesitate to stab or shoot them in the leg if that'll make them stop (and then treat their injuries, of course).

Through a Wayward Glimmer -- to a Faraway Place

@spiral origin Awesome! I'll be sure to join the Discord :). I haven't found a good picture for him yet, but here's my current character sheet, lemme know what you think!

Name:
Arthur Mercier

Appearance:
A tall, heavyset man in his mid-to-late 30s. His hair is normally brown, although the Sun has lightened it to a dark auburn, and he keeps it cut short, but lets his beard grow out. His skin his tanned from long days spent outside walking or working under the sun, and his hands are large and heavily calloused from years of hard, manual labour. Arthur bears a variety of scars across his body, though none are serious or even especially grisly. His eyes, which are brown, look somewhat small on his face, but they still glow with warmth and good humor. His nose is a bit crooked, probably from a past break. He prefers to wear sturdy, undyed travel clothing in his day-to-day, and only puts on his armor when he needs it (it's rather heavy, you see).

Bio:
Born to a farming family, Arthur quickly heard the call of adventure (and potential profit) and, at 16 years of age, set off on his own, taking up various mercenary work. Throughout the years, he has done almost every odd job you could think of, from construction work, guard duty, deer and wolf culling and monster hunting, to less... reputable work, like bounty hunting, debt collection, helping fix underground fights, participating in underground fights... the list goes on.

While Arthur is not an evil man, and would never stoop so low as to take on hits or participate in more serious criminal enterprises like smuggling or trafficking, his moral compass does still heavily revolve around his purse, and he does not mind skirting around or outright breaking the law if the job pays well enough.

Nevertheless, as the years went by, Arthur grew to yearn for a slower, kinder life. He had done his time on the road, and was ready to settle down, to finally meet Mr. or Ms. Right, maybe even start a family! Seeing the Duke's notice sealed the deal: one last job, enough to secure funds, and perhaps even land, and then he'll retire from this life, for good.

Skills:
Adaptability: A life on the road of doing odd jobs has left Arthur a pro at adapting and improvising on the spot.
Weapon handling: He is skilled with the sword, and has a good aim with the crossbow, although ranged weapons aren't his usual go-to.
Physical strength: Arthur is tall, large, and very, very strong.
Amiable: Arthur is a very friendly, jovial man, who tends to get along with most people. This is both his default way of being, and a great boon when looking for work.
Sewing: Arthur knows how to sew, and can patch up clothing, or even make simple shirts and pants if given enough time and material.

Equipment:
- Brigandine (a type of inexpensive armour, made of cloth or leather -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigandine)
- Camping equipment, containing a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox and a few days of rations consisting of hard tack and salted pork, all neatly rolled together and carried on his back
- A rucksack
- A well sharpened hunting knife
- A buckler (small shield used for close-quarter combat)
- An arming sword (typical double-edged sword)
- A relatively well-stocked money pouch

Trivia:
- While far from being an intellectual, he has acquired a wide range of odd knowledge from the various jobs and he had and people he met over the years.
- Coming from a peasant family, he's never had a formal education, and can't read or write very well, or do complex math.
- He has 3 younger siblings, 2 sister and a brother, and 1 older brother. He hasn't seen them since he left home, almost 20 years ago.
- He has a weirdly good sense of direction since childhood, and he is almost always able to find the north, even when not outside.

Calling All Heroes and Villains!

Hiya! I was wondering if there might still be an open spot? I've got an idea for a character that I think could be interesting :)

Through a Wayward Glimmer -- to a Faraway Place

Hello! I saw that the join status was still set to "Apply" and I was wondering if there was still maybe a spot open! I've got some ideas for a character and I can probably bang out a decent sheet tonight ^_^

The Symphony: Modern Magic

Gonna poke my head in and say I'm definitively interested!

Greetings from Canada!

Hi everybody! Nice to meet you! I'm Rekkuza :)

I'm a college student from Canada. The French parts of Canada at that, so please excuse me if my English is ever a bit stilted or sounds overly formal/literary: I'm bilingual, but a second language is never quite as fluid a your mother tongue, and since I've mostly learned English through reading, well, it shows.

I've pretty much only ever role played through tabletop RPGs, of which I am an avid fan (I regularly DM at my local D&D club, and I've been playing for close to 7 years now!). I also play a lot of RPGs where I like to solo role play, but that's less applicable. I've lately been wanting to scratch a slightly different form of RPing, so I'm trying out play-by-post (anddd potentially LARPing later this year but that's a whole 'nother story lol).

I'm obviously a huge high fantasy fan (being a long-time D&D player) but I also really like more grounded stuff like noir fiction, or even sci-fi and post-apocalyptic stories (Fallout 1, 2 & NV my beloved). I'd probably even prefer those non-fantasy genre for a while, just to cleanse my palate of the Forgotten Realms a bit. Pretty much the only thing I'm not super-duper into are horror-heavy stories (I'm more of a campy horror flick enthusiast, less of a horror RPer) and romance-focused scenarios, although I do still appreciate a good romantic subplot.

Aside from role playing, I like playing video games, reading, taking nature walks, birdwatching, crowdwatching, crochet-ing, and making pixel art!

Once again, nice to meet you all! Thank you for getting through my admittedly rather long intro, and I hope we can have loads of fun together!