Tortoise

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

I am so tempted to make another character, specifically a beastman. If I wasn't lazy today...

@MagusDream

Take your time! But I do have a soft spot for beast folk

Further sheet reviews (and a reply to your PM, Magus) to be completed tomorrow.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

<Snipped quote by Tortoise>

I was originally going for a more unrepentant serial killer vibe, but I think this'd be more fun to play, and also mesh better with the cast. So, yay!

@TruthHurts22

Oh, big agree.

Besides, it gives him more complexity. Anyone can do a vapid serial killer- but, really? Evil is boring. As writers, we try to pretend that the morally black is fascinating, but real tyrants and murderers are usually so empty inside that there's nothing to explore. They did what they did because they wanted to, because it gave them power or satisfaction, and half of them frankly will tell you so themselves. There aren't any layers. It's only when you're in the struggle to be good that all the interesting stuff can really happen.

To help with making a calendar, how many days are there in a year for this world? What are the days of the week, the name of months? How many days are in a month, typically?

@Expendable

Alwyne is a massive world, so how different places do the calendar will vary as we explore. But for the sake of simplicity, we'll say that 365 days still make a year there, as they do here, and how months/weeks are divided up will depend on where we're at. (But it's the kind of thing I expect will never come into the RP, you know? I am a practical GM. I wouldn't worry about a calendar, if I were you, unless you just wanna make one for fun. And in that case, go wild and come up with something, just remember that other players might not necessarily use it for their destinations. :P)

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@TruthHurts22
Wilhelm is approved. I feel pretty bad for him, honestly.

EDIT: Answers to more questions and approval of Smike's sheets to follow

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@Tortoise Adjusted character sheet for Siri.

Siri the Witch

Siri

Siri

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Human, 25, 1 year

Appearance:
This woman puts you in mind of a mysterious raven. She has narrow blue eyes that are like two windows on the afternoon sky. Her thick, straight, coffee-colored hair is worn in a handsome, exotic style. She is tall and has a wasp-waisted build. Her skin is white. She has hollow cheeks. Her wardrobe is sexy.

History

Sireena grew up on the family farm with her mom, dad, three brothers, and an older sister, just outside of the tiny village of Upper Hythe. When she was twelve, she found a violin in a chest of an abandoned house, and spent a lot of time learning how to play it. Sireena would pop down to the village tavern The Old Wolf, begging for lessons from the wandering minstrels who'd visit.

When she was 14, Taryn the tavern keeper pointed out that Sireena was hanging around enough that he might as well offer her a job as one of the serving wenches, and she could play her violin for the crowd when they didn't have a minstrel.

The tavern keeper died a few years later, and his wife, jealous of the attention her husband had given Sireena, fired her on the spot. That night, one of the boys from the neighboring farm was a guest at the dinner table, sitting next to her. It didn't take her long to figure out that her parents were trying to set her up for marriage. She ran away the next day, disguising herself as a boy to avoid unwanted attention on the road.

A little over a week and three counties later she got robbed by some highway men. Angry at the meager coins in her purse, one of them grabbed up her violin, suggesting it might be worth a few coins. When Sireena tried to take it back, the gang jumped her.

She woke up in a feather bed in the house of Mother Lily, the local midwife, who had found her on the side of the road where the gang had left her. When she asked about her violin, Mother Lily sighed, shaking her head and told her the only thing that was left by the side of the road was her, and how like a musican to worry about their instrument before themselves. She then began listing Sireena's injuries, starting with the broken right arm and wrist.

Sireena spent the first week mourning her violin, but began to take an interest in Mother Lily's house with all the drying herbs, the massive medicine chest, her curious brewing apparatus, and her visitors. Noticing her interest, Mother Lily began sharing some of her work such as the making of medicines.

And then the highwaymen who'd robbed Sireena made the mistake of trying to burgle Mother Lily's house.

When it was over, Mother Lily guided a stunned Sireena to a wagon in the barn, hitched up her horse, then turned her attention to the cottage - which rapidly shrank until it was the size of a child's toy, which the then picked up and placed into a chest filled with straw. A toy-sized barn was careful place beside it, and more straw packed around them before closing the chest. Bare dirt showed where each had stood.

And so began her apprenticeship. Magic was alternated with lectures about plants, more details on the making of medicines, the brewing of ale, beer, the bandaging of wounds, lectures on the stars and the moon, suturing, winemaking and distilling, the telling of fortunes, brewing of potions, birthing babies, stitching of wounds, treating illnesses...

As well as readings from the Old Believers' bible Mother Lily kept hidden underneath a loose floor board, even though the last soldier of the empire had marched south long before Sireena was even born. Some of the stories were about the mischevious Lord Jester, a shapeshifting wolf who played pranks on foolish people to get them to mend their ways.

They'd also moved the cottage three times, changing their names and their looks each time to become new people so that the angry villagers whose cows had died or their crops had failed wouldn't find them.

One morning, returning to the cottage after a particularly difficult birthing to a farmer's wife of triplets (two sons, one daughter), she found Mother Lily sitting at the table, her body stiff and cold. There were also two glasses of last summer's wine on opposite sides of the table, but no sign who the visitor had been.

After she had buried Mother Lily after the rites of the Old Believers, Sireena decided to change her name to Siri and to join the pilgrimage.

Personality:
Warm and caring, it is concerning when she suddenly starts laughing out of the blue. Sometimes she seems very distracted, as if she's listening to people who are not there. Or talking to animals like they having a conversation.
Knowing some of the things Siri collects in the woods and fields, one wonders if she might be sampling her own wares...?
Still, she's a good doctor, loves to play the violin and collects 'miniatures'.

Motivation:
Tired of moving constantly whenever the villagers would blame them for the family cow dying, the crops failing, or the odd bit of property that vanished one night in lieu of payment, Siri has decided to join the pilgrimage and to see some of the places mentioned in Mother Lily's books and minstrel songs.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Animal Handling - Has a way with animals
Cooking - a master of the kitchen
Fortune-telling - It's almost as if she has a direct line with Fate.
Herbology - knows many uses of many plants, always eager to examine new plants
Hermetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sacrifice
Medicine - a master at tending to illness and injury, can perform minor surgery.
Potion-making - A journeyman in the creation of potions, odd explosions still happen sometimes.
Shrinking - able to reduce objects and later restore them to their normal size (See Sympathetic Magic)
Singing - Fair singer, knows a lot of songs.
Sympathetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sympathy.
Violin - Very good musician with the violin.

°Strengths
- Clever
- Dedicated
- Caring

°Weakness
- Makes a lot of assumptions
- Fondness for alcohol and sweets
- Sense of duty
- quirky sense of humor

°Tools
- Living wagon, home/workspace/surgery
- a small library of books.
- her shrunken collection of "miniatures"

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
Knowledge and new horizons

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Neutral Good

Three Likes:
- Books
- Music
- Alcohol

Three Dislikes:
- Tobacco smoke
- Needless violence
- Child abusers

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Their heart.

Worst Fear:
To be trapped

Favorite Color:
Red

Most Like The Animal:
A Swallow

Favorite Time of Day:
Sunset

How They Dress:
- Wide brim hat, either black or white
- Red dress
- Black bodice
- White apron
- Knee-high black boots
- Colorful... sweaters and scarfs when it gets cold
- A red hooded cloak
- Plague mask
- Leather satchel that holds various items and her journal
- Necklace with a crystal ball pendant.

Favorite Season:
Spring, the renewal of the world

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
An old believer of the ancient gods of Oscana, admirer of Lord Jester.

@Expendable

Excellent. A p p r o v e d.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

When I was creating Siri, I realized that there would be some additional characters who step in from time to time as a part of her world, and I didn't want to surprise anyone when they did. Dia would be a companion to Siri and seen in her cat form most of the time.

And yes, I know it won't fool the fairies.

The Witch

Siri

Sireena Siri

_{"As per our contract, your name now belongs to me," the Fallen lord smiled, satisified. "You are now 'Siri'."}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Human, 25, 1 year

Appearance:
This woman puts you in mind of a mysterious raven. She has narrow blue eyes that are like two windows on the afternoon sky. Her thick, straight, coffee-colored hair is worn in a handsome, exotic style. She is tall and has a wasp-waisted build. Her skin is white. She has hollow cheeks. Her wardrobe is sexy.

History

Sireena Siri grew up on the family farm with her mom, dad, three brothers, and an older sister. When she was twelve, she found a violin in a chest of an abandoned house, and spent a lot of time learning how to play it, hanging around the village tavern begging for lessons from the wandering minstrels who'd visit.

When she was 15, Taryn the tavern keeper pointed out that Sireena Siri was hanging around enough that he might as well offer her a job as one of the serving wenches, and she could play her violin for the crowd when they didn't have a minstrel.

The tavern keeper died a few years later, and his wife, jealous of the attention her husband had given Sireena Siri, fired her on the spot. That night, one of the boys from the neighboring farm was a guest at the dinner table, sitting next to her. It didn't take her long to figure out that her parents were trying to set her up for marriage. She ran away the next day, disguising herself as a boy to avoid unwanted attention on the road.

A little over a week and three counties later she got robbed by some highway men. Angry at the meager coins in her purse, one of them grabbed up her violin, suggesting it might be worth a few coins. When Sireena Siri tried to take it back, the gang jumped her.
She woke up in a feather bed in the house of Mother Lily, the local midwife, who had found her on the side of the road where the gang had left her. When she asked about her violin, Mother Lily sighed, shaking her head and told her the only thing that was left by the side of the road was her, and how like a musican to worry about their instrument before themselves. She then began listing Sireena Siri's injuries, starting with the broken right arm and wrist.

Sireena Siri spent the first week mourning her violin, but began to take an interest in Mother Lily's house with all the drying herbs, the massive medicine chest, her curious brewing apparatus, and her visitors. Noticing her interest, Mother Lily began sharing some of her work, the making of medicines.

And then the highwaymen who'd robbed Sireena Siri made the mistake of trying to burgle Mother Lily's house.

When it was over, Mother Lily guided a stunned Sireena Siri to a wagon in the barn, hitched up her horse, then turned her attention to the cottage - which rapidly shrank until it was the size of a child's toy, which the then picked up and placed into a chest filled with straw. A toy-sized barn was careful place beside it, and more straw packed around them before closing the chest. Bare dirt showed where each had stood.

And so began her apprenticeship. It wasn't easy, she thought she would never light the candle with anything other than a taper from the fire. Until she heard a whisper....

The unseen voice named itself Lord Jester, and it seemed to toy with her, needling when she demanded answers, not veiled hints and strange exercises, but somehow Lord Jester's riddles and Mother Lily's teachings came together.

And then a rider appeared at their door.

"Open the door, Sireena Siri," Mother Lily sighed. "It's time."

GOOD EVENING, the hooded figure seem to say, standing in the doorway. It glanced curious at Sireena Siri, leaning close. DO YOU SEE ME, CHILD?
"Y...yes, milord."
MANY TIMES I HAVE STOOD HERE, BUT NOW IS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE SEEN ME, Grim sighed, straightening. WE WILL MEET AGAIN, AND NOT JUST AT THE END.
Grim took a step towards Mother Lily, then paused to stare at the crystal ball in the bookcase. AND ONE DAY, I WILL COME FOR YOU AS WELL.

Personality:
Warm and caring, it is concerning when she suddenly starts laughing out of the blue. Sometimes she seems very distracted, as if she's listening to people who are not there.
Or talking to her cat as if it was a person.
Knowing some of the things she collects in the woods and fields, one wonders if she might be sampling her own wares...?
Still, she's a good doctor, loves to play the violin and collects 'miniatures'.

Motivation:
Traveling in the caravan would be one way to avoid the angry mobs looking for someone to blame for when their crops fail and their cow dies, but her patronus Lord Jester has commanded it. Not that she minds too much, it's been an interesting trip, so far.
Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Animal Handling - Has a way with animals, but not with her cat....
Cooking - a master of the kitchen
Fortune-telling - It's almost as if she has a direct line with Fate.
Herbology - knows many uses of many plants, always eager to examine new plants
Hermetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sacrifice
Medicine - a master at tending to illness and injury, can perform minor surgery.
Potion-making - A journeyman in the creation of potions, odd explosions still happen sometimes.
Shrinking - able to reduce objects and later restore them to their normal size (See Sympathetic Magic)
Singing - Fair singer, knows a lot of songs.
Sympathetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sympathy.
Violin - Very good musician with the violin.

°Strengths
- Clever
- Dedicated
- Caring

°Weakness
- Makes a lot of assumptions
- Fondness for alcohol and sweets
- Sense of duty
- quirky sense of humor

°Tools
- Patronus Lord Jester
- Dia, when she chooses to help.
- Living wagon, home/workspace/surgery
- Her team of horses...? Best to avoid when their eyes turn red.

What They Most Want:
Knowledge and new horizons

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Neutral Good

Three Likes:
- Books
- Music
- Alcohol

Three Dislikes:
- Tobacco smoke
- Needless violence
- Child abusers

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Their heart.

Worst Fear:
To be trapped

Favorite Color:
Red

Most Like The Animal:
A Swallow

Favorite Time of Day:
Sunset

How They Dress:
- Wide brim hat, either black or white
- Red dress
- Black bodice
- White apron
- Knee-high black boots
- Colorful... sweaters and scarfs when it gets cold
- A red hooded cloak
- Plague mask
- Leather satchel that holds various items and her journal
- Necklace with a crystal ball pendant.

Favorite Season:
Spring, the renewal of the world

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
Lord Jester

The Cat

Dia, Half-Demon

Lanpendia Dia

_{"As per our contract, your name now belongs to me," the Fallen smiled, satisified. "You are now 'Dia'."}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Half-demon, 17, 1 year

Appearance:
- A black cat with green eyes.
- A black cat with green eyes and large bat wings.
-This girl makes you think of a dashing jaguar. She has green slitted eyes that are like two spheres of jade. Her thick, straight, black hair is worn in a simple style. She is short and has an athletic build. Her skin is black. She has small feet. Her wardrobe is uncomplicated.

History:
-Born in the Shadow realm, she quickly realized that her mother treated her different from her other siblings, a sort of cold resentment. It finally drove her from nest, only to be abused by both stronger demons and slumming Celestials as she tried to make a living for herself. There wasn't much to remember.

Caught one day outside of her lair by a group of lower celestials eager to prove themselves, they took turns punching and abusing her until Jester appeared towering over them in his Wolf form and drove them off.

For the first time in her life, Dia felt... safe. It didn't take her much to agree to sign away her name and become one of Lord Jester's most loyal minions, eager to please him.

Personality:
-Anger bubbles away below the surface, appearing as a sort of bitter resentment one can hear in her voice and in her mannerisms. She does not engage in 'play' - pleasure makes you drop your guard, makes you vulnerable, open to attack. Is it paranoia when you know the world is really out to get you?

Motivation:
-To serve Lord Jester with all her being, fearing if she fails, he might cast her out.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Flaming claw attack
- Melee-fighting
- Shape-shifting
- Stealth
- Hermatic Magic

°Strength
- An internal reservoir of magical power
- A trust in Lord Jester
- Able to speak in any form, although the smaller the form, the deeper the voice.
- Her non-demon half allows her to cross over to the Material World without need of preparation or possession.
- Absorbs and converts heat into magic

°Weakness
- A sense of duty, of responsibility
- A lack of social skills

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
- Safety

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Lawful neutral

Three Likes:
- Lord Jasper's attention
- warmth
- a full belly

Three Dislikes:
- being touched by others
- those who abuse others
- Celestials

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
-The heart cannot be trusted.

Worst Fear:
-To be abandoned and alone

Favorite Color:
-Black

Most Like The Animal:
-Black Jaguar

Favorite Time of Day:
- The night

How They Dress:
- In human form, they may appear wearing a loose peasant's blouse and breeches.
- In either form, they wear a collar with a crystal ball pendant suspended from it.

Favorite Season:
Summer

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
-Lord Jester (The Old Wolf)

These next two are just NPCs that Siri and Dia interact with. They have no power in the campaign against the caravan or its people. Jester can't cross over to this world unless a place has been prepared for him, and nobody except a few can see Death.

Also, Jester is offering their grand unified theory on magic and Shadow Realm relations.

The Patronus (NPC)

Lord Jester (NPC)

Lord Jester

NPC Patronus
_{Although, to be honest, I do miss the old names....}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
-Fallen Lord, At the beginning, Never.

---

Fallen - a being from the Celestial realm who's been drained of magic and exiled to the lower realms
Fallen Lord - a Fallen who's managed to regain a significant measure of magic. What makes them dangerous is how they've managed this...

---

Appearance:
-This guy puts you in mind of a witty comedian. He has deep-set violet eyes that are like two windows on the evening sky. His luxurious, straight, salt and pepper hair is medium-length and is worn in an utilitarian, severe style. He is tall and has a wiry build. His skin is cream-colored. He has a large nose and wide feet. His wardrobe is complicated, with a lot of greys and blacks.
-The Wolf, black and gray fur with cream highlights, as tall as a two-story building. His howl can bring wolves from miles around.

History:
-We were there in the beginning, my brothers and sisters. Well, not before She, no one was there before She, not even Death. My brothers and sisters, we had charge of a small corner of the world, Oscana, and we guided those who lived in our lands, leading them out of savagery. Oh, the stories I could tell you of those days...
-But then Empire came. They wanted our part of it, our lands, our people. We were driven out of our place in the world and so we fell.
-Now, our names are forgotten, our temples destroyed, our people who would not submit wiped out as heritics and heathens, and with them our power gone from this world. Many of my brothers and sisters are now but dust and dim memories, their names only whispered by the wind.
-But then the old Empire and their gods too, in their time, were driven out.

Personality:
- Teacher
- Mischievous
- Curiosity

Motivation:
-With all the time that has passed, they now have only the merest toe-hold in the Material world and are eager to see what the child races have done since they fell.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Hunting
- Knowledge of the world from before their fall
- Medicine - how to treat injuries and illness
- Hermetic Magic - The Laws of Sacrifice
- Sympathetic Magic - The Laws of Sympathy
- Teaching - the ability to inform and bring about inquiry

°Strengths
- Access to a reserve of power they've accumulated in the Shadow Realm after many years.
- Very limited ability to portal beings between the Material world and the Shadow Realm.
- Shape-shifting

°Weaknesses
- They cannot set foot in the Material world unless a place is prepared for them.
- They can only experience what is happening in the Material world through their projection and through anchors such as crystal balls (stare into the void and see who blinks first) or their minions.
- Cut off from the Celestial Realm, they have only the fraction of the power they once had.

°Tools
- Their minions, through which they can spread their influence.
- Their shadow, a projection that allows them to limitedly view and communicate with the Material world or even the Celestial - however, takes power and is vulnerable to attack.
- The creation of artifacts

---

Magic

Rotation of the Material World causes magic to be depleted in the Shadow Realm. This, perhaps most of all, explains why the demons in the Shadow Realms hate the Material World, as it steals away their magic, keeping it low and the realm barren. However, some demons have learned how to create a reservoir within themselves and in objects to hold their magic safe, and to work with less. It's also the reason why demons can work such powerful magic in the Material World.

Fortunately, demons cannot cross into the Material world unless a place is prepared for them, such as using sympathetic magic to create a conjuring circle to thus alter the area within to match the Shadow Realm, or they may possess a host - and not necessarily a living one. (See Succubus, Vampirism, Hermetics)

This stolen magic forms currents within the Material World, in what is called Ley Lines, each taking up elemental aspects of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Those with the training can, if they are close enough, tap into these flows, although it can take time for them to gather this magic.

However, there is only so much magic the Material world can hold onto, so the ley lines radiate away this power where it collects in the Celestial realm, giving the Celestials a surplus of magic that they can use easily.

But ley lines may be too far for a mage to tap into. One way power may be gathered is through the study of Hermetics, also known as the Laws of Sacrifice. Many assume that sacrifice requires the death of a living being, but it can also be giving up some of the magic within all living creatures through the use of repetitious rituals like prayer or dance, directed to an altar. It's why so many gods have temples constructed, giving them a source of power they may tap into away from the Celestial realm.

One must be very careful in old temples and stone circles, as sometimes the altars has been depleted and will draw away one's magic if they connect with it. Some demons have this power too. If too much of the host's magic drawn away, they become shambling hulks, unable to restore balance within themselves.

Hermatics also works with the concept of equivalent exchange, of sacrificing items of equal value to what they desire. However, sometimes the value of the sum is greater than its parts, be careful in your trades.

Sympathetics is another field of magical study, sometimes called the laws of Sympathy, or like calling to like through similarities and symbols like runes. The tale of spinning straw into gold represents Sympathy magic. Those trained in Runes or symbolic magic can use these to gather and direct magic. When they say "words have power", they are right. One should wary giving up their true name.

---

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
-To return to power in the Celestial Realm and to be free to walk the Material world once more.

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
-Lawful Neutral

Three Likes:
-The Sun's warmth
-New life and new lessons to learn
-Clever people

Three Dislikes:
-Pettiness
-Meaningless Destruction
-Those who let evil pass uncontested because it does not inconvience them

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
- Their heart, but they're trying to control that.

Worst Fear:
- To be cut off from the Material world entirely

Favorite Color:
-The color of magic

Most Like The Animal:
-The Wolf

Favorite Time of Day:
-The moment that exists between days.

How They Dress:
- Polo shirt and khakis A suit of dark armor with a wolf's head on the chest plate and a wolf-skin they wear as a cloak - or the Wolf.

Favorite Season:
-Winter, when the Material world rests.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
-The immutable She who was there before Us and will be there past the End.

The Psycopomp (NPC) - Likes to show up when things get interesting. Or for parties. He's bored.

Grim (NPC)

Grim (NPC)

Oscana's Reaper of Souls

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Psychopomp, Eternal, From the Beginning

Appearance:
A skeleton dressed in tattered black robes, carrying a scythe, with a spark or flame burning in their eye sockets.

History:
WHEN THE FIRST SPARK OF LIFE APPEARED, I WAS VAGUE AND UNFORMED. WHEN DISEASE RAN RAMPANT IN OSCANA, I BECAME AS I AM NOW. I SHALL REMAIN THIS WAY UNTIL THE END OF THIS UNIVERSE.

Personality:
Dispatched curiosity. HE finds life to be... odd, in its quirks.

Motivation:
Duty, especially to the old believers.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Collecting Souls
- Cooking
- Horse Riding
- Reaping

°Strengths
- Walls younger than a millennia are mere insubstantial shadows.
- Ignored by the living.
- Comes for the souls of Gods, Kings, Heroes, Mages & Witches, and the Old Believers, scattered by the old empire.
- Can control the passage of time, slowing it down, speeding it up.
- Able to ride anywhere in the world or the other realms to collect a soul.

°Weaknesses
- Curiosity
- Can be seen by Gods, Mages, Witches, Drunks, Ghosts, Small children, & Cats.

°Tools
- Scythe

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
Order

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
True Neutral. It's of no importance to Him what the living do, His job begins when their lives end.

Three Likes:
- Cats - it's nice to be seen
- Libraries - full of dead thoughts
- Parties - although they tend to go downhill at midnight, when the party goers try to take His 'mask' off.

Three Dislikes:
- Being called a killer, a thief, or blamed for suffering - He claims no lives, He merely claims what he is due. With Him, suffering ends.
- Those who try to cheat Him to gain some extra life. That's not His department.
- With the fall of the Oscana, the fall of the old Empire, and the scattering of the few remnants of the Old Believers, He has a lot of time on His hands.

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Mind.

Worst Fear:
Disorder and chaos.

Favorite Color:
Black.

Most Like The Animal:
A lion.

Favorite Time of Day:
Night

How They Dress:
Tattered robes. Scythe. A black horse.

Favorite Season:
Winter, a very busy time.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
SHE

@Tortoise Okay, ready for your review.

@Expendable

Siri is approved!

That said- the use of Character Sheets for gods and god-like entities is a little awkward. I would prefer that you didn't try to fit the Lord Jester and Grim into sheets that were designed for caravanners; it just doesn't function well. Plus, it causes confusion over what is and isn't a player.

They could have both been explained in hiders in Siri's sheet, or just outlined here and given more detail IC.

Also, many of the claims in Lord Jester's "magic" section can't be accepted here. Such as:

Many assume that sacrifice requires the death of a living being, but it can also be giving up some of the magic within all living creatures through the use of repetitious rituals like prayer or dance, directed to an altar. It's why so many gods have temples constructed, giving them a source of power they may tap into away from the Celestial realm.

One must be very careful in old temples and stone circles, as sometimes the altars has been depleted and will draw away one's magic if they connect with it.

This has far too many implications for every other player whose character has a religion. It would force everyone's gods to follow these rules, and it removes all the mysteries of faith.

I'm all for worldbuilding here, but that's mostly meant to be done IC, not with sweeping exposition in a CS. Honestly? I think this would seriously damage players who want to be paladins or priests or wandering ministers or whatever; now they have to make sure their character's faith fits all that you wrote.

So I have to reject Lord Jester, Grim and Dia's sheets completely. I'd rather you just mention somewhere in Siri's sheet that she follows a god called Lord Jester, and maybe offer a few paragraphs of exposition regarding what she believes about that god. You can do the same with the cat. But all this definite exposition about gods and demons? It's just a bit too far. We're only building our characters at this stage.

---

Ooooh thanks @MagusDream. Idk if I'll use them long-term, but I'll make an effort to start off with it.

@Expendable I was discussing this with Tortoise in a PM haha. Cause Mergoux is a servant to Death as well, albeit a much different form of her. Sort of like your Death, she's not likely to do much other than maybe pass on a message or two or something, but just for kicks here's her quickie CS just for kicks. BTW, is your death based on Sir Terry Pratchett's death at all?

The Morrigan (NPC)

"I am she who is Death. All meet me, though few wish to."

Race: Elder God
Age: The fifth eldest god.
Time in caravan: NA

Appearance:
A gaunt, pale-skinned woman, with large black wings. What would be pink on a person, (lips, fingernails, inside the mouth) are black, as are her eyes. From a distance, her eyes appear much much larger, due to the intense black circles under them from millennia without enough rest.

History:
Born when the first thing died, she has carried the duty of collecting the souls of those who have passed, so that they might pass on to whatever afterlife is coming to them.

Personality:
Irritable, short-tempered, aloof, but not cruel. Sympathetic to a degree, but often to cranky to show it.

Motivation:
It is the task she is given, so shall she do it.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:

Strengths
Flight
Physically very strong and durable

Weaknesses
Not very practiced in combat.
Bit of a softie for kids.
Easily distracted or angered.
Narcoleptic

Tools
2 Sickles, which can be merged magically into a scythe when needed.

Near eldest of all the gods is The Morrigan, The Crow Goddess, Death herself. So feared is she that none speak her true name, so long has this tradition been in place that the name itself is long since lost. Instead the call her The Morrigan, and those still more fearful refer to her only as 'the goddess'. Resembling a pale-skinned woman, so wan and withered as to look like a corpse warmed over. Her voice is a harsh croak, her eyes shining and black. Yet for all her appearance, she is no great evil. She is simply the end. All the harshness attributed to her comes from the simple fact it is her task to collect the souls of the dead, yet she is not some being who may travel across the earth in a shroud of darkness. Instead bearing great black wings upon her back, she flies across the world, collecting slowly the souls of those whose time has ended. It is a thankless task, a ceaseless duty, and it wears thin on her patience towards mortals. Death is inevitable, death is immortal, death will come for you, but above all death is simply exhausted.

Like other gods, she will occasionally take on servants, or apprentices. The Morrigan makes her choices carefully, often seeking those who give her the most work. Those killers who bring death in droves, they are given a choice, to serve her or to meet her for that final time. Presented with such a choice, few choose the latter. What tasks they are assigned is a closely guarded secret, even amongst the other servants of the Lady Morrigan, but all know the punishment should they ever fail...

@Overlord Thraka

I have to reject this as well, for all the same reasons as above.

As a general rule: don't make a CS for gods or nations or concepts or whatnot. Those are just for our characters, and I don't really want to make definite rules about the metaphysical as this early stage.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Announcement

Everybody, I'm officially starting the RP this coming Sunday, December 11th! I'll be making the first post and, though later Destinations will be created by players, I'll take the liberty of creating our first Destination myself. I want the chance to get to set the mood, try to show what we can do with a solid setting.

Now, if you haven't yet completed your CS, there's no cause for concern. (Neither have I, even.) You can join the Caravan at any point along its journey- if you're done tonight or in three weeks, so long as the RP is still going, your sheet will still be read and reviewed.

Thank you all for your patience. I look forward to both exploring and building this world with you all <3

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@Tortoise, things ramped up on my end; I might not have the time for this, sorry.

@Letter Bee

Best of luck.

When I was creating Siri, I realized that there would be some additional characters who step in from time to time as a part of her world, and I didn't want to surprise anyone when they did. Dia would be a companion to Siri and seen in her cat form most of the time.

And yes, I know it won't fool the fairies.

The Witch

Siri

Sireena Siri

_{"As per our contract, your name now belongs to me," the Fallen lord smiled, satisified. "You are now 'Siri'."}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Human, 25, 1 year

Appearance:
This woman puts you in mind of a mysterious raven. She has narrow blue eyes that are like two windows on the afternoon sky. Her thick, straight, coffee-colored hair is worn in a handsome, exotic style. She is tall and has a wasp-waisted build. Her skin is white. She has hollow cheeks. Her wardrobe is sexy.

History

Sireena Siri grew up on the family farm with her mom, dad, three brothers, and an older sister. When she was twelve, she found a violin in a chest of an abandoned house, and spent a lot of time learning how to play it, hanging around the village tavern begging for lessons from the wandering minstrels who'd visit.

When she was 15, Taryn the tavern keeper pointed out that Sireena Siri was hanging around enough that he might as well offer her a job as one of the serving wenches, and she could play her violin for the crowd when they didn't have a minstrel.

The tavern keeper died a few years later, and his wife, jealous of the attention her husband had given Sireena Siri, fired her on the spot. That night, one of the boys from the neighboring farm was a guest at the dinner table, sitting next to her. It didn't take her long to figure out that her parents were trying to set her up for marriage. She ran away the next day, disguising herself as a boy to avoid unwanted attention on the road.

A little over a week and three counties later she got robbed by some highway men. Angry at the meager coins in her purse, one of them grabbed up her violin, suggesting it might be worth a few coins. When Sireena Siri tried to take it back, the gang jumped her.
She woke up in a feather bed in the house of Mother Lily, the local midwife, who had found her on the side of the road where the gang had left her. When she asked about her violin, Mother Lily sighed, shaking her head and told her the only thing that was left by the side of the road was her, and how like a musican to worry about their instrument before themselves. She then began listing Sireena Siri's injuries, starting with the broken right arm and wrist.

Sireena Siri spent the first week mourning her violin, but began to take an interest in Mother Lily's house with all the drying herbs, the massive medicine chest, her curious brewing apparatus, and her visitors. Noticing her interest, Mother Lily began sharing some of her work, the making of medicines.

And then the highwaymen who'd robbed Sireena Siri made the mistake of trying to burgle Mother Lily's house.
When it was over, Mother Lily guided a stunned Sireena Siri to a wagon in the barn, hitched up her horse, then turned her attention to the cottage - which rapidly shrank until it was the size of a child's toy, which the then picked up and placed into a chest filled with straw. A toy-sized barn was careful place beside it, and more straw packed around them before closing the chest. Bare dirt showed where each had stood.

And so began her apprenticeship. It wasn't easy, she thought she would never light the candle with anything other than a taper from the fire. Until she heard a whisper....

The unseen voice named itself Lord Jester, and it seemed to toy with her, needling when she demanded answers, not veiled hints and strange exercises, but somehow Lord Jester's riddles and Mother Lily's teachings came together.

And then a rider appeared at their door.

"Open the door, Sireena Siri," Mother Lily sighed. "It's time."

GOOD EVENING, the hooded figure seem to say, standing in the doorway. It glanced curious at Sireena Siri, leaning close. DO YOU SEE ME, CHILD?
"Y...yes, milord."
MANY TIMES I HAVE STOOD HERE, BUT NOW IS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE SEEN ME, Death sighed, straightening. WE WILL MEET AGAIN, AND NOT JUST AT THE END.
Death took a step towards Mother Lily, then paused to stare at the crystal ball in the bookcase. AND ONE DAY, I WILL COME FOR YOU AS WELL.

Personality:
Warm and caring, it is concerning when she suddenly starts laughing out of the blue. Sometimes she seems very distracted, as if she's listening to people who are not there.
Or talking to her cat as if it was a person.
Knowing some of the things she collects in the woods and fields, one wonders if she might be sampling her own wares...?
Still, she's a good doctor, loves to play the violin and collects miniatures.

Motivation:
Traveling in the caravan would be one way to avoid the angry mobs looking for someone to blame for when their crops fail and their cow dies, but her patronus Lord Jester has commanded it. Not that she minds too much, it's been an interesting trip, so far.
Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Animal Handling - Has a way with animals, but not with her cat....
Cooking - a master of the kitchen
Fortune-telling - It's almost as if she has a direct line with Fate.
Herbology - knows many uses of many plants, always eager to examine new plants
Hermetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sacrifice
Medicine - a master at tending to illness and injury, can perform minor surgery.
Potion-making - A journeyman in the creation of potions, odd explosions still happen sometimes.
Singing - Fair singer, knows a lot of songs.
Sympathetic Magic - still a journeyman in the study of the Laws of Sympathy.
Violin - Very good musician with the violin.

°Strengths
- Clever
- Dedicated
- Caring

°Weakness
- Makes a lot of assumptions
- Fondness for alcohol and sweets
- Sense of duty
- quirky sense of humor

°Tools
- Patronus Lord Jester
- Dia, when she chooses to help.
- Living wagon, home/workspace/surgery
- Her team of horses...? Best to avoid when their eyes turn red.

What They Most Want:
Knowledge and new horizons

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Neutral Good

Three Likes:
- Books
- Music
- Alcohol

Three Dislikes:
- Tobacco smoke
- Needless violence
- Child abusers

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Their heart.

Worst Fear:
To be trapped

Favorite Color:
Red

Most Like The Animal:
A Swallow

Favorite Time of Day:
Sunset

How They Dress:
- Wide brim hat, either black or white
- Red dress
- Black bodice
- White apron
- Knee-high black boots
- Colorful... sweaters and scarfs when it gets cold
- A red hooded cloak
- Plague mask
- Leather satchel that holds various items and her journal

Favorite Season:
Spring, the renewal of the world

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
Lord Jester

The Cat

Dia, Half-Demon

Lanpendia Dia

_{"As per our contract, your name now belongs to me," the Fallen smiled, satisified. "You are now 'Dia'."}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Half-demon, 17, 1 year

Appearance:
- A black cat with green eyes.
- A black cat with green eyes and large bat wings.
-This girl makes you think of a dashing jaguar. She has green slitted eyes that are like two spheres of jade. Her thick, straight, black hair is worn in a simple style. She is short and has an athletic build. Her skin is black. She has small feet. Her wardrobe is uncomplicated.

History:
-Born in the Shadow realm, she quickly realized that her mother treated her different from her other siblings, a sort of cold resentment. It finally drove her from nest, only to be abused by both stronger demons and slumming Celestials as she tried to make a living for herself. There wasn't much to remember.

Caught one day outside of her lair by a group of lower celestials eager to prove themselves, they took turns punching and abusing her until Jester appeared towering over them in his Wolf form and drove them off.

For the first time in her life, Dia felt... safe. It didn't take her much to agree to sign away her name and become one of Lord Jester's most loyal minions, eager to please him.

Personality:
-Anger bubbles away below the surface, appearing as a sort of bitter resentment one can hear in her voice and in her mannerisms. She does not engage in 'play' - pleasure makes you drop your guard, makes you vulnerable, open to attack. Is it paranoia when you know the world is really out to get you?

Motivation:
-To serve Lord Jester with all her being, fearing if she fails, he might cast her out.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Melee-fighting
- Shape-shifting
- Stealth
- Hermatic Magic

°Strength
- An internal reservoir of magical power
- A trust in Lord Jester
- Able to speak in any form, although the smaller the form, the deeper the voice.
- Her non-demon half allows her to cross over to the Material World without need of preparation or possession.

°Weakness
- A sense of duty, of responsibility
- A lack of social skills

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
- Safety

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Lawful neutral

Three Likes:
- Lord Jasper's attention
- warmth
- a full belly

Three Dislikes:
- being touched by others
- those who abuse others
- Celestials

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
-The heart cannot be trusted.

Worst Fear:
-To be abandoned and alone

Favorite Color:
-Black

Most Like The Animal:
-Black Jaguar

Favorite Time of Day:
- The night

How They Dress:
- In human form, they may appear wearing a loose peasant's blouse and breeches.

Favorite Season:
Summer

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
-Lord Jester

These next two are just NPCs that Siri and Dia interact with. They have no power in the campaign against the caravan or its people. Jester can't cross over to this world unless a place has been prepared for him, and nobody except a few can see Death.

Also, Jester is offering their grand unified theory on magic and Shadow Realm relations.

The Patronus (NPC)

Lord Jester (NPC)

Lord Jester

NPC Patronus

_{Although, to be honest, I do miss the old names....}

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
-Fallen Lord, At the beginning, Never.
Fallen - a being from the Celestrial realm who's been drained of magic and descended into the Shadow Realm
Fallen Lord - a Fallen who's managed to regain a significant measure of magic. What makes them dangerous is how they've managed this...
Appearance:
-This guy puts you in mind of a witty comedian. He has deep-set violet eyes that are like two windows on the evening sky. His luxurious, straight, salt and pepper hair is medium-length and is worn in an utilitarian, severe style. He is tall and has a wiry build. His skin is cream-colored. He has a large nose and wide feet. His wardrobe is complicated, with a lot of green and black.
-The Wolf, black and gray fur with cream highlights, as tall as a two-story building. His howl can bring wolves from miles around.

History:
-We were there in the beginning, my brothers and sisters. Well, not before She, no one was there before She, not even Death. We had charge of a small corner of the world, my brothers and sisters, and we guided those who lived in our lands, leading them out of savagery. Oh, the stories I could tell you of those days...
-But then They came. They wanted our part of it, our lands, our people. We were driven out of our place in the world and so we fell.
-Now, our names are forgotten, our temples destroyed, our people who would not submit wiped out as heritics and heathens, and with them our power gone from this world. Many of my brothers and sisters are now but dust and dim memories, their names only whispered by the wind.
-But then They too, in their time, were driven out.

Personality:
- Teacher
- Mischevious
- Curiousity

Motivation:
-With all the time that has passed, they now have only the merest toe-hold in the Material world and are eager to see what the child races have done since they fell.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Hunting
- Knowledge of the world from before their fall
- Medicine - how to treat injuries and illness
- Hermetic Magic - The Laws of Sacrifice
- Sympathetic Magic - The Laws of Sympathy
- Teaching - the ability to inform and bring about inquiry

°Strengths
- Access to a reserve of power they've accumilated in the Shadow Realm after many years.
- Limited ability to portal beings between the Material world and the Shadow Realm.
- Shape-shifting

°Weaknesses
- They cannot set foot in the Material world unless a place is prepared for them.
- They can only experience what is happening in the Material world through their projection and through anchors such as crystal balls (stare into the void and see who blinks first) or their minions.
- Cut off from the Celestial Realm, they have only the fraction of the power they once had.

°Tools
- Their minions, through which they can spread their influence.
- Their shadow, a projection that allows them to limitedly view and communicate with the Material world or even the Celestrial - however, takes power and is vulnerable to attack.
- The creation of artifacts

Magic

Rotation of the Material World causes magic to be depleted in the Shadow Realm. This, perhaps most of all, explains why the demons in the Shadow Realms hate the Material World, as it steals away their magic, keeping it low and the realm barren. However, some demons have learned how to create a reservoir within themselves and in objects to hold their magic safe, and to work with less. It's also the reason why demons can work such powerful magic in the Material World.

Fortunately, demons cannot cross into the Material world unless a place is prepared for them, such as using sympathetic magic to create a conjuring circle to thus alter the area within to match the Shadow Realm, or they may possess a host - and not necessarily a living one. (See Succubus, Vampirism, Hermetics)

This stolen magic forms currents within the Material World, in what is called Ley Lines, each taking up elemental aspects of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Those with the training can, if they are close enough, tap into these flows, although it can take time for them to gather this magic.

However, there is only so much magic the Material world can hold onto, so the ley lines radiate away this power where it collects in the Celestial realm, giving the Celestials a surplus of magic that they can use easily.

But ley lines may be too far for a mage to tap into. One way power may be gathered is through the study of Hermetics, also known as the Laws of Sacrifice. Many assume that sacrifice requires the death of a living being, but it can also be giving up some of the magic within all living creatures through the use of repetitious rituals like prayer or dance, directed to an altar. It's why so many gods have temples constructed, giving them a source of power they may tap into away from the Celestial realm.

One must be very careful in old temples and stone circles, as sometimes the altars has been depleted and will draw away one's magic if they connect with it. Some demons have this power too. If too much of the host's magic drawn away, they become shambling hulks, unable to restore balance within themselves.

Hermatics also works with the concept of equivalent exchange, of sacrificing items of equal value to what they desire. However, sometimes the value of the sum is greater than its parts, be careful in your trades.

Sympathetics is another field of magical study, sometimes called the laws of Sympathy, or like calling to like through similarities and symbols like runes. The tale of spinning straw into gold represents Sympathy magic. Those trained in Runes or symbolic magic can use these to gather and direct magic. When they say "words have power", they are right. One should wary giving up their true name.

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
-To return to power in the Celestial Realm and to be free to walk the Material world once more.

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
-Lawful Neutral

Three Likes:
-The Sun's warmth
-New life and new lessons to learn
-Clever people

Three Dislikes:
-Pettiness
-Meaningless Destruction
-Those who let evil pass uncontested because it does not inconvience them

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
- Their heart, but they're trying to control that.

Worst Fear:
- To be cut off from the Material world entirely

Favorite Color:
-The color of magic

Most Like The Animal:
-The Wolf

Favorite Time of Day:
-The moment that exists between days.

How They Dress:
- Polo shirt and khakis A suit of dark armor with a wolf's head on the chestplate and a wolf-skin they wear as a cloak - or the Wolf.

Favorite Season:
-Winter, when the Material world rests.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
-The immutable She who was there before Us and will be there past the End.

The Psycopomp (NPC) - He doesn't always show up, just when it's interesting. Or there's a party.

Death (NPC)

Death (NPC)

The Grim Reaper, Collector of Souls

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Psychopomp, Eternal, From the Beginning

Appearance:
A skeleton dressed in tattered black robes, carrying a scythe, with glowing eye sockets.

History:
I CAME INTO BEING WITH THE FIRST PROTOCELL. I SHALL BE THERE WHEN THE WORLD ENDS.

Personality:
Distatched curiousity. HE finds life to be... odd, in its quirks.

Motivation:
DUTY

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
- Collecting Souls
- Cooking
- Horse Riding
- Reaping

°Strengths
- Walls younger than a millennia are mere insubstantial shadows.
- Ignored by the living.
- Comes for the souls of Gods, Kings, Heros, Mages & Witches

°Weaknesses
- Curiosity
- Can be seen by Gods, Mages, Witches, Small children, & Cats.

°Tools
- Scythe

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
ORDER

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
True Neutral. It's of no importance to Him what the living does, His job begins when their lives end.

Three Likes:
- Cats
- Fishing
- Parties

Three Dislikes:
- Those who try to cheat Him
- Being called a killer, a thief, or blamed for suffering - He claims no lives, He merely claims what he is due. With Him, suffering ends.
- Those who drown kittens

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
MIND

Worst Fear:
DISORDER

Favorite Color:
BLACK

Most Like The Animal:
A lion.

Favorite Time of Day:
NIGHT

How They Dress:
Tattered robes.

Favorite Season:
Winter, a very busy time.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
SHE

@Expendable

It was a busy day for me, work-wise, but remind me to check this one out upon the morrow.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

At work atm, so I'm not able to respond to posts here, I just wanted to let you know that an update on when the RP is officially starting is coming tonight

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@Lady Lascivious
[@Irreedemable]

Hoo goes there?

Hoogarth ‘the Hooligan’ Hooghes

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan: Hoogarth is a strigiforme, a somewhat rare variety of demi-human beastman who arose several centuries ago in a murky, magic-blighted region known as the Velvet Wood, where the aftermath of a legendary magical disaster known as the Hypnagogia left the entire forest valley irreversibly changed. With their obvious resemblance to owls, strigiformes are also called ‘hoomans’, and they have a reputation for being quaint, folksy naturalists, being both skilled hunters and oafish buffoons. Extremely light on their feet, keen of eye, and silent in motion, they are pure carnivores, and more dangerous than most people give them credit for, perhaps purposefully so. Their lifespan is shorter than humans, so Hoogarth is considered an adult at 14 years. He’s only been with the caravan for five days

Appearance: A proud member of the strigiforme race’s Great Horned Lineage, Hoogarth stands tall at 6’6”. The fluffy feathers that adorn his body are a desaturated dark brown with a slight mauve sheen in the light, a tint which persists on the bare gray skin of his five-fingered hands and two-toed feet with their short, sharp talons. His most prominent features are his big, expressive eyebrow tufts, which he uses to convey most of his emotions, although at rest their diagonal angle make him look surly. His eyes gleam like golden coins

History: Above the trackless pine expanses of the windy northeastern highlands tower the remote Samotny Mountains, which in turn shelter a forested valley once known to very few. Following the Hypnogogia, however, that place changed, the earth and forces of nature themselves forever altered. As if its bottom had simply fallen out, the valley became a massive pit stretching miles into the earth, where gravity extends omnidirectionally from the center. The result was a forest in the shape of a gargantuan tunnel, with plants and trees that grow at odd angles, and giant redwoods capable of twisted all the way from one side to the other. This Velvet Wood, clad in eternal twilight, is the home of the strigiforme race. The clans who remain here have hunted down the worst of the monsters and other threats that arose after the Hypnogogia, solidifying the woodland’s gentle silence, and with it their quiet dominion.

Many strigiformes emigrated from the Velvet Wood over the centuries, however, and Hoogarth’s clan is among them. Borne to Whoodrow and Mathoolda, he’s the oldest of three brothers, and from childhood he, Hoobert, and Hoosea were thick as thieves. Strigiformes found outside of their ancestral home often put on airs of sophistication and importance while styling themselves ‘Nobles from Afar’ as they settle into lives as merchants, clerks, and officials, but others serve as messengers or hunters, and Hoogarth’s family fell into that latter group. From an early age he got used to a fast and loose way of living, traveling from place to place propelled by the winds of fortune. Rather than go their separate ways like most strigiformes who came of age, however, the three brothers decided to stick together as the memorable Hooligans. Using gliders they ranged far and wide. Together they got into all sorts of scrapes and mischief, never thieves but always earnest practitioners of ‘finders keepers’, making plenty of friends and a couple enemies along the way. Sometimes they ate richly, sometimes they went hungry, and more than once they got chased out of town, but through ups and downs the brothers always had one another’s backs.

Still, after a while the trio yearned for something different, and they decided to split up to see what they could get up to on their own. Before parting ways, however, they swore to meet up again every six months, always agreeing on the next place to meet when they reunited to swap stories over a hot meal and strong drinks. During their most recent reunion, Hoogarth caught wind of the Pilgrim’s Caravan, and he decided to see what sort of adventures he could embark upon with that renowned motley crew.

Personality: One need only spend a couple hours with Hoogarth to realize that the stereotype of owls as stoic, wise, and mysterious is almost entirely off-base. He is emotive, outspoken, bombastic, short-tempered, and hot-blooded, not quick to fight but quick to say exactly what’s on his mind, and quicker still to poke fun at people, including himself; if he had a sleeve, Hoogarth would wear his heart upon it. Like most strigiformes, he thinks he’s a lot smarter than he actually is, and is a shameless boast with a boatload of confidence especially when it comes to tomfoolery, even if he constantly ends up putting his foot in his beak afterward. That said, he will also shamelessly bail on situations he feels bad about. He loves hype and adventure, so both the exciting journey and the rewarding destination keep him moving, especially because he tends to squander his money on fine dining and luxury the minute he gets his claws on any. There isn’t a great deal of depth to a freewheeling owl without two brain cells to rub together, but he does see himself above the rules, regulations, and norms of human society, reasoning that if he’s determined to be an outcast by birth, he’s not going to give a damn about what anyone else thinks of him. Life’s too short to give a hoot!

Motivation: Live life to the fullest!

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:

• + Hunting: Hoogarth is an expert hunter, with a great deal of knowledge and experience when it comes to hunting small to medium animals for food and basic materials. He is familiar with common creatures’ traits and behaviors, including where to find them, how to kill them, and how to make the most of their remains. His knives are all he needs to do so, but he can also use traps pretty well
• + Jerky Afficionado: Preparation is everything, and Hoogarth has mastered the craft of preparing the ultimate food. Tasty, protein-rich, and long-lasting, jerky is his ration of choice for the road. He has a kit that takes the form of a knapsack, which contains pouches of salt and whatever spices he can get his hands on, a miniature smoker, a tinderbox, and a couple other odds and ends that allow him to marinate, cure, and dry meat into jerky so long as he has enough time
• + Stealth: Though not quite to the immaculate standard of real owls, partially because they cannot fly, strigiformes are uncannily good at silent movement. Their natural instincts translate well to sneak attacks and even assassination. Some tools that play into Hoogarth's roguish ways are caltrops, bolos, spare throwing knives, and smoke bombs
• + Mobility: Physically fit strigiformes are fast and light, great jumpers and acrobatic maneuverers. Moving around especially in vertical environments comes easy to them, and they’re naturals when it comes to hit-and-run attacks. One extra tool Hoogarth possesses is a glider that he can unfurl after leaping into the air, allowing him to coast along at a good clip until he reaches the ground again
• + Vision: The gift that strigiforme kind supposedly sacrificed half their brain power for, according to jokers and critics. Their night vision is excellent, bordering on magical, and thanks to necks that can rotate 270 degrees, not much can escape from their sight
• - Weak: Even the biggest and most martially skilled strigiformes are not good at traditional fighting. They’re too light, without the sturdiness or muscle for a sustained brawl, so they can’t take much damage especially from blunt force that could break their hollow bones. They also can’t lift or carry as much as humans of comparable size, which includes weapons and armor
• - Pigeonholed: Due to being on the weaker side physically, strigiformes are limited when it comes to combat. They cannot reliably take on any defensive roles, and even the strength it takes to draw bows is beyond them, forcing their rangers to use shortbows, hand crossbows, bolas, and boomerangs. Many strigiformes pursue their innate magical arts as a result, but Hoogarth never bothered to cultivate that talent, so the tricks and traps of a dextrous rogue are all he’s really got
• - Dumbass: Enough said. Outside of his areas of expertise, he’s pretty much a country bumpkin

Extra Details

Greatest Desire: To live forever!
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Three Likes: Red meat, good snoozes in soft beds, ego trips
Three Dislikes: Getting wet, heavy loads, staying up late
Driving Organ: Heart
Worst Fear: His own mortality!
Favorite Color: Gold
Most Like The Animal: Some kind of bird, maybe…?
Favorite Time of Day: Just after midnight
Style of Dress: Like most strigiformes Hoogarth prefers to wear loose, baggy clothing that does not tamp down his feathers, so his garb is a set of ruddy brown hide supplemented pads that incorporate a dense weave of mint-green fibers, light but thick and tough to help dispel blunt force that could otherwise take a toll on his hollow bones. There are no extraneous elements that could make extra noise. Two knife scabbards cling to his belt, and tied to his left forearm is the skull of the largest Dire Rat he’s ever killed as a makeshift shield. Overall, his clothing gives gives him a look that lands smack dab in the center of a three-way Venn diagram between hunter, bandit, and shaman
Favorite Season: Winter
Beliefs: The strigiformes of Velvet Wood have a quiet reverence for the entity they call the Quiet, whose near-awakening formed the crux of the infamous Hypnogogia hundreds of years ago. While the band of heroes who quelled that threat and prevented untold disaster destroyed the Hypnogogic Order responsible for that event, with even the very name of their eldritch deity scrubbed from the annals of history, a faint vestige of its unfathomable glory remained in every root, leaf, and briar of the Velvet Wood, seared into the hearts of the first strigiformes who awoke amidst the arcane fallout. They both fear and revere their ‘creator’, assured that someday it will awaken in a world ripe for change. So they watch and wait, making the most of the lives granted to them, until the Quiet comes

@Lugubrious

Oh, a perfect sheet. Approved.

Understandable. I wasn't planning to make him just, like, some edgelord stabman type, definitely not blatant about it and possibly clever and charismatic enough to not get found out easily. I can fiddle with the specifics to more your liking, moreso wanting to feel out if you'd prefer characters with more scruples or not.

I got other character ideas in mind even if this one falls through, too!

@TruthHurts22

I would just say- don't make him too out-rightly evil.

<Snipped quote by Crusader Lord>

TwT

@Tortoise

@Crusader Lord

Sorry! Sometimes questions just get lost in the sheets and all.

Yeah, your idea sounds acceptable. I was briefly into occult-y stuff IRL before being the super Christian boi that I am today, acthually :P

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

<Snipped quote by MagusDream>

I've been working on origin locations for my characters! I'm so excited to see what others are working on. Ehhh! Excitement overload.

@Katakuri

Honestly, visiting the areas our various characters our from is one of the things I'm most looking forward to in this RP. Like, yes, lemme see y'all's weird hometowns.

here's my guy!

Fern

Fern
Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Undead, around 120 years old (~21 when he died), 4 months

Appearance:
Fern is a tall and gangly guy, with slouched shoulders and a permanent slump to his walk. His skin is a sickly, light green with splotches of blue, and feels ice cold to the touch. It’s also always a little… wet. His auburn hair looks like, if he took care of it better, it would fall in beautiful ringlets to his shoulder – however, being who he is, it’s just a mat of messy curls pulled up into what may in some eyes constitute as a bun. His eyes are a dull brown, peering out from permanently downcast eyelids, and a nasty scar runs across his face from temple to chin in a diagonal. He’s usually dressed in dark, drab clothes a few sizes to big for him. If it’s not the undead thing that stands out, two other things might; the amulet with an eyeball set in the centre that he wears around his neck, or the frilly doll that he’s always carrying around.

History:
Fern (born Fernando Aguez in a dark, distant past) drowned over a century ago, and he doesn’t much like to talk about it, okay? Yes, he fell into a river, yes it was tragic and also kind of stupid, but do people keep having to bring it up? Anyway, yeah, so he’s been dead for a bit, and waking up washed on shore with mottled green skin definitely comes in the top ten of worst ways he’s ever been woken up. Point is, he’s not alive but he sure ain’t dead either, and that kind of sucks when it comes to like, society and stuff. Because people are very good at putting things in boxes: either you’re alive, or you’re dead, and you’re sure as hell not a freaky in between, whatever that may be. He wants to ask those people what they think he is then, but generally when he comes near them they start running and screaming and grabbing the pitchforks, so he’s gotten quite used to not asking those kind of questions in small, religious towns. Bigger cities are a bit more openminded, and not being able to die (or live, mind you) comes in quite useful when you’re trying to kill (unalive, that is, for those a little squeamish) some assholes who didn’t pay their bar tabs. No, it ain’t the cleanest work, but it pays.

Personality:
I’m sure you’ll have figured out by now that Fern is maybe not the most friendly of guys. Can’t even blame it on dying and being resurrected; he was a bit of a dick before that too, but undeath certainly didn’t make him more cheerful. Regardless, he’s a loyal sort and a hard worker if you put him to work with something that interests him. Most of his grumpy façade is just that: a façade. When it comes to it, he does care for things, it’s just hard to care for people when most of them are ageing and you’re stuck with algae growing on your ribs.

Motivation:
So, about that killing people. Yeah, turns out there are authorities looking out for that, and maybe sometimes you leave a bit too much evidence and then it turns out that, hey, is that guy even breathing? Oh shit we got a murdering zombie on our hands.
Yeah, that. The caravan seemed like a good respite for a while; see some new places, maybe find somewhere to work. And it’s a good place to hide when the guards are on your ass. That helps too.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
So, first off, unable to die. That’s a thing. Doesn’t mean he’s not able to be damaged, though; if you were to cut him up into multiple pieces and then scattered those pieces across the globe, not much he can do about that. Other than probably complain a lot. With undead comes some benefits, such as not having to eat, drink or breathe, and not ageing, however, it has its downsides as well. While it doesn’t hurt him, sunlight makes him weaker and can dry him out. He’s fast in water and rain makes him stronger, but just about anyone can outrun him on land. He’s pretty strong, physically, at least stronger than his lanky figure suggests, and undeath gave him a nasty set of sharp teeth and nails.

What They Most Want: If you’d ask him, he’d say big money, but really, he wouldn’t mind being put to rest. Undeath becomes tiring and boring after a while.

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be: Chaotic neutral

Three Likes: Salmon, preferably raw; stacks of that good cash money; rainy evenings.

Three Dislikes: The Sun™; nuts (he’s not allergic, he just doesn’t enjoy the texture); authorities

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?: Heart, for sure. Why think when you can just go and worry about the repercussions later.

Worst Fear: Being left out in the desert.

Favorite Color: Gold. It’s ironic because it’s also the colour of the sun.

Most Like The Animal: Is it ironic to say a very grumpy fish. Realistically though, he’s more like a crab, always up for violence and perfectly willing to drag other people down in the bucket with him.

Favorite Time of Day: Sunset. Begone, sun.

How They Dress: Shoddily. He likes shiny things, but wearing expensive clothing is kind of useless if you’re always dumping yourself in fresh sewage.

Favorite Season: Autumn. Lots of rain, but not yet cold enough to freeze water.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any): None, neither before or after his death. He’s not a spiritual sort.

@astrifer0us

Your sheet made me laugh audibly, more than once. Accepted.