Once I have my character fleshed out I have lots of room to interact with the others. Lou in particular I'm thinking of you as we talked earlier.

Are we supposed to be PMing our character ideas out to you, Brom, or are we suppose to be posting that information here?

Like I said, I'm thinking of a wizard type character. The more I think about it, the more I like the Arwen-esque type character -- and noble elven mage.

So, that's my deal... what are the rest of you thinking as far as characters are concerned? Brom, can you post what people are sending via PMs?

Well I always PM the DM my ideas at least until they are approved… and I sent him my backstory as well. If he approves the character concept and wants the backstory posted then I will oblige.

I do hope to have at least one, maybe two people who are ‘friends’ with my character, but I cant make any commitment till I get my character approved.

I'm taking my time on some of these getting a real feel for the character, but so far everything appears fine. Feel free to post the beginnings of your characters here to start working through the relationship demands. I'll start the process of character sheets for the more detailed.

...have a little teaser of the plot? Maybe a smidgen of story? Pretty please?

I'm starting to expand a bit on my concept. Stuff will be finalised for relationship development this weekend.

I'm down for having previous party exp with anyone.

... on my character.. which kind of describes him in a fashion… I think some might want to avoid as they have a bad relationship with a similar character of mine in another game

Anyone interested in having been one of his friends in a previous adventure.. let me know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sna’kti Sarassi’ka, or ‘Snickers’ to his few friends, slipped smoothly down the side streets of the Capital City of Portua in the Nation of Pardinal. Many gave notice to the large hulking shape, but few thought to attempt to accost him even though he delved deeper into the seedier areas of the port city.

Maybe it was his size, or the fact that his entire body was covered in fur from the top of his head to the tips of his talon tipped toes, or maybe it was the beast’s reputation about the city; whatever it was it was enough to persuade any from messing with the large catlike creature as he move along with a grace that was implausible for someone of his girth.

Sna’kti was a Kazari, a fierce warrior people from the land of Capasha, beyond the impenetrable Titan’s Walk Reefs of the southern seas. When standing fully upright he stood just even at 6 feet tall; his grey striped fur concealing rippling muscles which were not overly large but still masking strength that some underestimated, to their lament.

The Kazari reminded most people of a large tiger which walked erect on two feet; they even had whiskers, a tail, talons, and very sharp teeth. This one wore a simple loincloth, a dak’tar, with a weapon belt around his waist and a wide strap that crossed his chest and over his left shoulder. A curved sword of strange manufacture rested on his left hip, and several daggers reside upon the wide strap across his furry chest.

Most people, who encountered this ominous and scary visage, beat a hasty retreat thinking they were some type of wild animal that had somehow found its way into the city. Few of his race made it here to the mainland of Antaron, since their homeland lies beyond the deadly Titan’s Walk Reef, which claims almost all ships that venture too near. Those that do dwell here among nations of Antaron were often brought here through some accidental means.

Sna’kti remembers clearly the day he found himself far from home, among strange people in a strange land.

It was several years ago, he was still not yet considered an adult among his people even though he had proven his courage in battle several times. His father had taken him on a raid of a rival clan that was trespassing on their land along the northern coast of Capasha. Their small ship carried forty of his tribe’s finest warriors, a third of them females who fought just as savagely as the males, along with his father and older brother.

The plan had been simple, strike out to sea heading North then West and circle around and make landfall beyond the enemy’s encampment and attack from the opposing side. They were unlikely to expect and attack from that quarter as they had surely left no enemies to their backs. It was a good plan and most likely would have worked, except for the great storm that rolled in while they were far out to sea.

The storm battered their small ship, ripping sails from their masts, driving them off course with typhoon like winds and waves. Being a coastal tribe, all of his people had learned to sail since they could stand a deck aboard a ship. Yet before the storms might they were helpless and all they could do was strike the remaining sails and tighten up the ship and ride out the storm.

The great storm raged on for days, the small ship held captive by its great power. One day turned into two, two into three, three into four, then a week and still the ship was carried before the storm might. Then one night it happened, a loud crashing came and the entire ship echoed with the sounds of timbers breaking up sounding the doom of the small ship. Everyone grabbed what they could and leapt into the churning seas as the ship broke up on a giant reef and went down within minutes.

Some did not make it off of the ship, but those that did clung to whatever wreckage they could find and held on for their lives. The next day dawned and the storm slowly passed, leaving only a dozen survivors floating on bits of timbers among the rocks and reefs. The survivors banned together and made a makeshift raft and managed to paddle their way among the rocks which seemed to go on for ever.

The most amazing sight they saw were these large white marble columns which rose from the great reef and protruded two to three hundred feet into the air. The Kazari were awed by the massive columns and several of them believed they must have died and these were the great pillars that lined the gateway to the great beyond, where they would fight forever for their gods of war in some great battle.

The next couple of days they moved slowly through the reefs finding many ways impassable; until the day the Dagots attacked. The ‘scaly Elvin-like sea creatures came up from underneath, their weird cries echoing across the waves, and attacked the makeshift raft, scattering the Kazari warriors sending them into the water. They fought valiantly but many were dragged under the waves to never rise again, among them his father and older brother.

During the battle, Sna’kti managed to slay the Dagot which was trying to kill him and fought his way to the surface, climbed aboard a large timber and collapsed with the effort. Somehow in the confusion he was apparently missed as the Dagots retreated to their underwater caverns to dine upon their recent victims; more lives taken by the Great Titan’s Walk Reef.

The sole survivor awoke alone and without any supplies and only his sword still clutched in his grasp. Two days later, half dead from exposure and thirst, his tiny raft was spotted by a merchant vessel, the Demeterius, out of Bayris on its way to the Capital City of Portus in Pardinal. They dragged him from the water and thinking him some sort of demon creature many of the crew wanted to kill him or throw him back; but the Captain of the Demeterius had seen a Kazari once before in his youth and stayed the murderous intent of his crew.

Sna’kti was rescued and delivered to Portus and not having any means of getting home, his family now dead, his mother having died years earlier in a battle, he decided to make this new land his home. He was intrigued by all the civilization and different people; he found their cities to be wondrous things containing more people then he had ever seen before.

He found many unable to except him as anything other than an animal, but he had made a few friends who valued his strength and skill in battle. He often hired out his sword to earn money, working as caravan guard, a merchant’s protector, or just a fight between factions; fighting was something he understood and enjoyed. He had found minor acceptance in Portus, as most of the city guard now knew of him and stopped responding to terrified peoples cries of ‘wild animal loose’.

Sna’kti found that despite the animosity shown his kind here, that he could live here very comfortably and earn a decent living doing what his people loved most; fighting. Right now, he was on his way to see someone out a possible job in which his sword might be needed. He was hoping for some action as, now that the wonder of the great cities were wearing off, he was bored and short on funds. He hoped it was outside the city, he longed to get out and stretch his legs in the wide open countryside. To once again fight in the open plain, the thrill of the hunt and the sensation as your blade cut deep into the enemy; was their a greater feeling in the world? He thought not!

Here is my full character profile - it's rather long, but I think I needed to include everything to really describe all the aspects of this character. I'm interested in coming up with character connections to others in the party after Maurius struck out on his own to become an adventurer...I've already talked with some of you.


Maurius Vispansius Dio

Background-

Maurius Vispansius Dio was the first son of Caius Marcus Dio, from a respected family of the mercantile class of Drannon. One of Maurius’ ancestors purchased citizenship for his family name, meaning that Maurius was born a citizen, a fairly respectable trait in Drannese society. When Maurius was five, his younger brother Anton Marcus was born. The two were always comrades in their youth, but somewhat competitive. When he was seven, his father’s brother died, and as per the Drannese tradition, Maurius’ father inherited all of his brother’s possessions, as his brother had no sons. That included his brother’s wife – he took her as a second wife. While Caius Marcus always believed that he was doing her a favor (taking care of her by taking her in after her husband’s death), Maurius watched as the woman began to resent him for not truly loving her, yet keeping her in marriage. This was one of the first instances of Maurius growing to resent some Drannese customs.

Maurius was being groomed to run the family business, which was one of the most lucrative in all of Drannon. But by the time he was 15, he was displaying an aptitude for music, composition and writing that was extraordinary. As a young man, he often snuck out to play at taverns, took day trips down the river with young girls and consorted with lower-castes. His father often forbade him from this type of behavior, and Maurius found himself scolded often. Ultimately, at the request of Maurius’ mother, Caius Marcus allowed Maurius to pursue a musical career. Maurius’ ultimate goal was to be accepted as a court musician in Drefast.

As the young man came of age, he began to question many elements of Drannese culture, and found it rife with hypocrisies. While women were supposed to be completely chaste, men were supposed to be skilled lovers by the time they were married. And while Drans valued order to the extreme, the nation was divided and controlled by greedy, warmongering lords. Additionally, every law on the books was negotiable if you had enough coin. All these contraditions troubled him. Meanwhile, Maurius found himself growing tired of the epic war songs and dreary tragedies that everyone wanted to hear bards play – this was another contradiction to him, as the Drans, in his view, hadn’t done anything worthwhile or ‘epic’ in decades. Additionally, he was being pressured to ‘hurry up and marry’ by his family, when all he wanted to do was sit back and play music. Eventually, however, he gave in, and took a wife – Sarah.

Shrotly after the wedding, Maurius resolved that the couple would travel south and move to Pardinal, where he had relatives, so that he could escape from the duties that plagued him in Drannon and simply live out his life in peace. The two set out, on horseback. They were not even out of Drannon, however, when disaster struck. A warlord was attacking the Lia villages, and during the confusion of the skirmish, a rider-less horse ran out towards the two, who were simply passing through. His wife was trampled by the beast, and she died shortly thereafter. Maurius briefly returned to Drefast to bury her and mourn the loss. He tried to decide what he would then do with his life – he thought of joining the army, but that would place him a step down as far as the social class structure in Drannon worked, which would be unacceptable to his family. He attempted to help his younger brother and father run the family business, but found himself becoming restless. Finally, he tried thieving, but found that he could not handle a life of crime on his conscience.

Ultimately, Maurius made the decision to leave behind everything in Drannon. What was originally the laid-back, passive attitude of a man who simply wants a quiet life had turned into a desire to mold himself into something worthwhile. Maurius wanted to leave Drannon and become an adventurer, a mercenary, or any sort of man that could make a name for himself. He left Drannon, as all that was left for him there was pain and broken traditions that he disassociated himself from in the first place.

Philosophy & Outlook

Maurius once wanted nothing out of life but to work a simple job and raise his family – he would be what one would call “True Neutral” (in traditional D&D terminology). However, the death of Maurius’ wife galvanized him into realizing what he truly believed – that old traditions, government regulations and the squabbles of the ‘powers that be’ are responsible for the inability of the common man to live his life to its fullest. He blames the meaningless conflict between two warlords for the death of his wife, and sees crusades, absolutist philosophies and power struggles as wastes of time and life. In a way, he almost despises the ‘Lawful Stupid’ Paladin as much as the evil wizard – while the dark wizard may be vile, at least he admits it. But the Paladin will end up killing or ruining the lives of hundreds in the course of his crusade, and this will never figure into his conscience, something that Maurius despises about those who believe themselves to be absolutely in the right.

Maurius now embodies the Aristotelian virtue ethic – he believes right and wrong are not defined by actions, but by one’s character. One should not ask – "is this action right?" One should ask – "am I acting in a way, overall, that is consistent with the character of a noble, virtuous person?" Maurius wishes to make a name for himself not to become famous or make money, but instead to shape himself into a ‘good’ person. While he despises bureaucracies and self-righteous enforcers of the law, he would draw his dagger in the blink of an eye to defend a commoner who was being wronged. Because of his interpretation of morality, he doesn’t believe in any steadfast moral principles – i.e. killing is never right, etc. Rather, he believes that you know, deep down, what kind of person you are based on your overall beliefs and actions, evaluating morality on an action to action basis is meaningless to him.

Skills-

Maurius is a skilled bard, storyteller and writer. As such, he is knowledgeable about the finer points of theater and music, and excels at performances and lying. His birth also afforded him a decent education, and he knows Drannese customs, law and culture very well. He prefers to think his way out of a situation rather than fight it out, and falls back on his perceptive ability and knack for bluffing or outwitting his opponents. He is good at impersonations and knows how to negotiate a good deal or bribe (come on…he’s a Dran!). He knows how to use a dagger or short sword and defend himself, but only because basic self-defense is a prerequisite for travel in Drannon. And as a Dran, he is an excellent rider – the Drans are known for their horses, whether it be breeding, riding skill or anything else…Maurius is no exception. Since Maurius dabbled in thievery, he has some thieving skills, but nothing to even brag about. And Maurius is humble enough not to brag about it, but he’s something of a charmer – if need be, he can use his good looks, warm smile and honest demeanor to get into someone’s good grace…or seduce someone. Because of limited past experience and the time he’s spent traveling, he’s discovered he has a knack for directional skills, navigation and survival in the wild.

In many respects, Maurius is a jack-of-all-trades, but master-of-none. He speaks a bit of a number of languages, but only common fluently. He knows how to use most simple and widely-used weapons, but none to the point of mastery. He has a working knowledge of the geography and customs of most places in the world, but the only place he is an expert on is Drannon. Often, Maurius finds himself getting out of situations or succeeding by the skin of his teeth with the aid of some cobbled-together skills, which is why he worships the goddess of luck, Shinara.

Appearance & Personality-
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Dark brown, wavy
Skin: Lightly copper-toned

Maurius, for the most part, looks like a typical Dran, with short, slightly-wavy hair and no facial hair. He is extraordinarily tall for a Dran, but of typical height among others. His green eyes are seen as a mark of beauty in his culture, and his features are overall what one might call ‘attractive’. He has a warm smile and charming demeanor, making him a natural-born stage performer and ladies man. His skin and hair are somewhat lighter than what is normal for the Drannese – it is said that one of the ancestors of the Dio house married a Pard.

Maurius carries himself with confidence. What was previously a devil-may-care attitude and playful outlook on the world has become a steeled desire to make himself into something other than a rich, privileged merchant’s son. He is less jovial than he has ever been because of the death of his wife – he is searching for something, though he’s not sure what, which usually leads him to have a far-off look when he’s quiet. However, he hides his grief very well, mourning internally, and can still be very personable. This sometimes leads to him being playful and jocular one moment, then pensive and somewhat adversarial the next.

Maurius often dresses in the Drannese style of ‘bigger is better’. As the soon of a clothier, his bags are packed with the best threads on Antaron, often bright red, gold and yellow (for special occasions), or powder blue, light green, silver, or white for normal dress. Maurius is rarely seen wearing the beige or brown garb of an average adventurer. Even outside of Drannon, he avoids wearing colors of the classes to which he does not belong – perhaps a part of Drannese culture embedded in him. While he does not normally wear jewelry, he has a few gem-encrusted medallions and rings if he wishes to look important. But while Maurius dresses in style, he is not ‘fussy’ in any sense of the word; he spent his youth rough-housing with his brother, performing and singing drinking songs at the taverns, and making day trips down the river. Maurius is more than prepared to ‘rough it’, he simply roughs it in style. And besides – you never know when having someone important or ‘noble-looking’ might come in handy when traveling.

Because of the death of his wife, Maurius is apprehensive about women and relationships, almost to the point of a phobia. He develops friendships with women, but is scared of such a relationship turning into anything intimate.

Other general information:
Age: 32
Race: Human, Drannese
Nation/Birthplace: Drefast, Drannon
Religion: Equal worship/admiration for Telamor and Shinara

.. very nice Cap'n .. Sounds like a deep character... hope he has lots of songs to sing!

Name: Gen Archais Menbren

Status: Unknown

Race: Human

Languages Spoken: Common and Elven

Age: Twenty-Five

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Class: Ranger

Armour: Light

Weapon proficiencies: Rapier, bow and arrow

Religion: Kith-jora

Height: 5’9

Weight: 147 lbs

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

Place of Birth: Pardinal

Group Affiliation: None

Coat of Arms: A falcon diving in attack

Physical Description:

Gen is, by most respects, a handsome man. He has dark, golden-tinged eyes, full lips and smooth cafe au lait skin. His features reflect his exotic heritage. He is a bit of a Gypsy. He has long dark hair with golden highlights, a straight, noble nose and a baby face. He is often seen sporting a closely clipped mustache and goatee. Once the ugly duckling of the family and bit of a runt, he has redeemed himself. He is slender of build and not particularly tall, reaching about 5'9.

His appearance is impeccable and stylish but still with a slightly devil-may-care air. He prefers wearing ankle-length plain robes but can be seen in travelling/warrior attire occasionally. A leather cuff embellishes his right wrist and red beads are on his left wrist. He is thin and exotic looking, soft-eyed and quiet of nature.A thin scar over his right eyebrow marks where he got into his first battle with his brother Bennie. He has a small tattoo over his heart of a phoenix, his proverbial guardian.

Personality:

Although the Menbren family in Pardinal are often seen as scheming and self-serving, Gen is a kind person, but has his rougish moments. He is sensitive and has a very close association with nature.He is optimistic and is the sort of man who can run between the raindrops, keeping different parties happy. He is a wanderer at heart, a roamer. He is gregarious but quiet, in his own world at one moment, in the midst of a party at the next. He has low self-esteem and can be quite needy at times, but he is fiercly loyal to his friends and his lovers. He is often shy and in spite of his wealth, is not arrogant.He is to be fair,not an eccentric; rather he is an individualist, which is something quite different all together. He is simply more lively then others, an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of goldfish.

He is very intelligent and soft-spoken, and possesses an increditably vivid imagination. He is easygoing, becoming enraged only if his culture is spoken poorly of. However, he does tend to get muddled up a bit in his words, mostly from the fact that he is not used to speaking to anyone.He possesses a strong dislike for liars and is very honest and chilvrous.

He is charming , provided he can be coaxed to talk, but not manipulative and seems absolutely obvilous to his good looks.He can be childlike at times, possesing a wonderous view of the world and tends to live each day as his last. He is a bit of an odd dreamer, and is more than often in his own little world. His unhappy childhood as the unwanted child has not made him bitter. Instead it caused him to be especially perceptive to other`s feelings. He strives to be kind and understanding to others, perhaps remembering his past as the outcast.

History:

Gen Menbren the Second was born into the royal family of Menbren. Gen was an unwanted child, born to a family that had already received their heir, his older and slightly homicidal brother Bennie Menbren. Gen was born a perplexing creature, the runt of the litter, and throughout his entire childhood he was all but ignored.

While his parents worried and fussed over his older brother, Gen was urged to entertain himself and he did so by employing his vivid imigination, fasinating himself for hours on end with places he had never been to,and people he had never met. While his brother caused havoc, Gen quietly stayed out of the way.

When he spoke at all he was a source of puzzlement to family and company.When Bennie was asked of his life ambition,he dutifully replied that he wished to serve the kingdom. Gen, when asked replied to the smiling and bewildered faces of his mother`s guests that truthfully, he would much rather be a hedgehog.

He had an unhappy childhood despite being provided for. His mother died when he was quite young and his father, the king was exceedingly busy, leaving his young sons in the care of a less-then interested nanny. His older brother tormented him, often culminating in acts of abuse. His father King Julhoun the First currently rules Pardinal. Gen's brother, Bennie, claiming that Gen had been planning treason against the crowd, convinced their father to banish him. Gen was banished from the kingdom, and to cover up the young prince's banishment, Bennie spread a virulent rumour that Gen had abandoned his elderly father because of the king's intention to marry the young prince's childhood sweetheart.

Gen ran off as a teenager and hid out with the elves, who accepted him in spite of corrupt heritage, and grew attached to the soft-spoken young man. He learned the skills of the woods from them, and became a ranger, famed for his way with animals. King Julhoun, sixty and in ill health is in a precarious situation, with the malicious Benjamin set to rule.

The exiled prince waits for the time when he can regain his people.

For more on Gen go to my site:

http://www.freewebs.com/mydisasterarea/pheonixrising.htm

Nice work, guys! Wow! Dem be some serious backgrounds.

Loving it!

Hey, I found the basic rules for Fuzion online at their website.

I take it that you are planning on using Character Points and Option Points? If so, how many CPs and OPs are we starting with? I know you told me that we would be roughly the same "power" level as, say, Aragorn. But a specific number for the CPs and OPs will really help me out.

Sorry, if I sound all caught up with the rules. I'll admit, I find free-form stuff really hard to work with, and prefer to read through a rules system and then go about creating my character. For instance, I had started making a character, working from Decipher's LotR Coda system (which, btw, seems pretty close to Fuzion). I really like the whole "subtle magic" stuff going on in LotR. So, I have something started, but I'm not sure if it will work anymore, after reading through your Magic section in the Q/A.

Also, how do we determine how many spells we actually know?

Thanks!

Blammm

..... pondering my character!

Great Character Posts by the way!

Got room for one more? If CP ends before this starts, then I'll definitely be able to commit to it, if you'll have me.