Sifr — Roleplayer Guild

Welp, here goes one (1) character. I had three in mind, but one of them I decided against by looking at the group's already existing characters and worrying they'd be too same-y, and the other one I can't finish until my question is answered, since technology is intrinsically linked to her background and such (thank you ERode, what I've written so far is working off of that assumption but I do wanna wait for the GM). Once the question is answered I'll let the group vote on who they want in most I guess, if both are approved by the GM.

Anywhom. Here we go.

Hildegunde Nachtnebel

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Hildegunde is a tall, lithe woman, with angular features, tanned skin, piercing green eyes, and long, brown, scruffy hair. Her attire tends to skew dark and neutral in coloration, and plain and unassuming in design, as if to help her blend into her surroundings. Curiously, her hands always have pen marks on them.

(I'll be drawing her or whoever is selected later, note that my styles tend to skew relatively cartoony but I can try to do a more anime-esque one)

Hildegunde is a fairly quiet woman, preferring to listen rather than speak for the most part. Let it not be mistaken, however, that Hildegunde is a polite woman, or that she is a reserved one. While she might not be much for words, she is by no means shy; her actions are bold, and her words, when spoken, are said without much shame or hesitancy. She's a bit of an eccentric, and has a disregard for rules ranging from societal norms to legal law. 'Quietly unhinged' might be the best way to describe her.

She's got a sharp eye, a sharp tongue, and a sharp mind, as well as something of a stubborn streak. Her people skills are somewhat lacking, thanks to her upbringing.

Speaking of people, she tends to keep people at an arm's length; not because she prefers solitude, but because she is afraid of two things. The first is being unable to use her Ethos freely in an emergency, and getting herself hurt or killed as a consequence. The second is accidentally getting someone she cares about hurt, or god forbid killed. Given the nature of her Ethos, and indeed, the history of its discovery, it isn't much of a surprise that she decided to keep herself from getting too attached.

Born to a family of hunters in a small lodge not too far north from Seer's Loft, Hildegunde learned how to shoot a gun before she learned how to read or write. Fairly disconnected from society, Hildegunde's main source of social interaction outside of her family were visits to Seer's Loft, in which Hildegunde's family would shop, as well as trade and sell their wares; hides, furs, meat, sinew, beads of bone, and the like. In lieu of social connection, she became deeply connected to the natural world, in tune with the rhythm and cycles of the earth, and in time learning its magic.

That is not to say that she was a lonely child growing up. Indeed, she was quite close to her parents, as well as her older brother, Gunther, whom she was equal parts full of admiration and envy of. In classic younger sibling fashion, she felt slighted by her brother having more perceived priviledges than her, as well as his perceived unfair advantages. He was smarter than her, quicker than her, stronger than her...it felt as if he simply did everything better than her, with little room to ever surpass him.

That is, with one exception; marksmanship.

Gunther was by no means a bad shot; indeed, he was, at the time, better than her. But the space between them in skill wasn't as steep as it was in other areas, and Hildegun began to dedicate herself to becoming the best shot she could be. It turned towards obsession; she had to make her mark. She had to be better at this one thing, or she would live in his shadow forever. Perhaps it was this obsession with hitting her mark that manifested her Ethos. Perhaps she would be a happier person if it didn't. 

It was an accident, of course. She became addicted to praise, to power. It wasn't as if she knew the ins and outs of her Ethos yet; all she wanted was for her to continue to hit with each shot. She knows her gun wasn't pointed anywhere near him when it happened. But alas, Gunther paid the price for her hubris, and in a way she never wanted, she was forced out of his shadow.

The two were hunting alone when it happened, and to this day she has not admitted to anyone the truth, instead framing her accidental murder as his intentional suicide. The guilt, along with the fear of hurting someone again, has made her a lone wolf. She became well known for her skills; skills that she now honed exclusively outside of the use of her ethos.  But it lays there, in wait, of course. Her emergency button. 

As her skills increased, she became more and more reclusive and her mental health deteriorated. Her parents began to worry for her. Eventually, the decision was made to abandon their fairly self sufficient and secluded way of life and emigrate to the Vaal Shakta, hoping to get her professional help, as well as hoping that a more social lifestyle may help her recover. This has had mixed results; if nothing else, being overwhelmed by city life has at least alleviated a lot of the guilt and gloom that once hung off her.

She has applied to Wingram since, in hopes to hone her primal magic, and maybe even her Ethos. If nothing else, the idea of being a hero of any kind appeals to her ego, even if her personality isn't quite yet worthy of such a title.

Marksman - Freikugeln

It was said that, once upon a time, a marksman made a deal with the devil. He was granted seven magic bullets; the first six would serve the will of the marksman, but the last of which would be at the will of the devil. While Hildegunde has (presumably) never made such a deal, the concept from the fairy tale rings very familiar. Maybe she had made such a deal in a past life.

When Freikugeln is evoked, two bullets will meet their mark with pin-point accuracy. The third, however, is one that Hildegunde lacks total control over - but will always hit something. Perhaps, with time and dedication, she will be able to sway the devil's favour, and gain the fabled six shots.

For obvious reasons, she tries to avoid actually using this outside of emergencies.

Outside of her Ethos, she has primal magic, gained through a connection to nature.

Marksmanship - Hildegunde's got a pretty good aim with guns, with rifles being her specialty.

Survivalist - She's also got a fair amount of general knowledge that has served her well when roughing it out outdoors. Foraging knowledge, how to set traps, fire making, knot tying, that sort of deal. And, of course, hunting.

Butchery - Likewise, she also knows how to butcher an animal, as well as use different parts of it for various uses, such as skinning, bone carving, etc.

Stealth - Hildegunde 's got a very good knack at keeping herself out of the sight and mind of people and animals alike, able to blend in, keep still, and keep quiet to alarming efficiency.

Discerning - Years of hunting has made her very attuned to slight movements, sounds, etc. 

Endurance - Hildegunde can go a long time without getting tired, and is very good at handling hunger, thirst, and pain.

Hunting rifle

Bullet brick

Pen and inkwell

Swiss Army Knife

Dried venison

-The Ethos is drawn from the folkloric figure of Der Freischütz, or The Marksman.

-The earliest iteration of what would become the fabled figured of Freischütz was actually an archer and not a marksman, making him an arrow ace. Hildegunde is, similarly, an aro ace. (You may now throw tomatoes at me).

-Hildegunde's biggest weakness is her pride. It's a quiet pride; she is not boastful or arrogant, so it might not even be apparent to most that she even has a massive ego. But she does indeed, and it fuels many of her actions; her refusal to ask for help, her belief that she can do it better than others, et cetera.

-Her biggest strength is, similarly, her confidence. Hildegunde is not one to doubt; she is decisive, quick to act, and not easily swayed or made to falter.

-The pen marks on her hands are to keep track of what metaphorical 'bullet' she is on.

Hawine Jibari

--TBA--

Alright, reading through the lore, my main question I think pertains to technology. Obviously this is an alternate universe from our own given the, well, everything. But some locations (Eg; Vaalin Union) seem to have some very modern looking areas, whereas other places seem to be more clockpunk in its aesthetics, and transportation is specified to be by carriage in one of the descriptions. In short; where are we at exactly, technologically? What do we have VS what we do not have. Is it one to one with the technology of our universe's year of 1526?

And in the particular case of dwarves, if they exist in this setting, are they mostly metal workers, or do they tend to skew towards technological (mainly clockwork) skills?

Expect a character sheet or two in a bit, and apologies if this was answered and I missed it ^ ^"

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