Post by Adam on Sept 6, 2014 11:34:45 GMT -5
Disclaimer: I got carried away with the history portion of my character,(sorry, inspiration struck) so I have a brief summary below as well as a full story.
Name: Blank
Race: Drow
Age: 80
Background: Urchin
Appearance: 5', 100lbs, silver eyes, near pitch black skin covered in small scars from hard life, small and lithe body, shoulder length white that hangs loose most of the time, but put up when "working", youthful but attractive features, loose dirty clothing covering light armor and concealed weapons.
Mannerisms: Quiet and keeps to herself, moves in near silence out of habit, unwilling to speak about past.
Specialty: Infiltration, Espionage, Acquisitions
Personality Traits:
I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms.
I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets.
Ideals: I help the people who help me—that’s what keeps us alive.
Bond: No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through.
Flaw: If I'm outnumbered, I will run away from a fight.
Brief History: She was exiled from the Drow home city and ended up living in a village for a while, then she had to leave that and moved to a city where became a full rogue, finally she start traveling and ends up in the capital.
Full History:
Blank isn't her actual name. Nobody knows what it is, even she forgets it sometimes. She was exiled from her home at an early age for not adhering to the Drow ideals of slavery and cruelty.
By the age of 20, Drow are expected to have a fully developed revulsion of all other races, viewing them as inferior beings, existing solely for the enjoyment and whims of the dark elves. Blank never understood why this was the way things were. At first mention of these reservations, they were dismissed by most as simple naivety that she would grow out of. However as time went on and here questioning continued, it became apparent that she was never going to accept the Drow as the truly superior race.
A day came, that began as mundane as any other, Blank was accosted by several of her fellow elves and taken to the a room of inquiry. In most such rooms throughout the world, a person would be subjected to terrifying threats shouted at them and perhaps mild torture if the region was particularly cruel. However, the Drow in their hidden away refuges are far more sadistic and twisted than anyone can imagine, devising new and darker was of breaking subjects, both mentally and physically. For 3 days Blank was subjected to nearly every torture device and sadistic perversion that her captors could fathom. The pain and anguish was relentless with fresh tormenters arriving as soon as the previous were spent.
Finally, she was given a brief respite as the tortures were need to break in a new group of slaves freshly arrived. Sensing her only opportunity at escaping, Blank picked the lock on her cage with a stray shard of iron that had been embedded in skin the previous day. And then she ran. She ran as fast as she could, as long as she could, until the thundering shouts of the Drow became faint whispers of derision. Until a guiding beacon of hope became the blinding sun. Until the light of day became the embrace of night. Exhausted, disoriented and near death, Blank collapsed.
When she awoke, Blank came to the realization that she no had where to go, nobody to help her, or even anything of value. Starving and badly injured, Blank wandered to wilderness until she came upon an empty campsite, a steady fire burning with a rabbit being cooked over it. Not wanting to pass up her first chance at a meal in days and possibly someone to help her, Blank waited for the hunter to return. An hour had passed, Blank gave up on waiting and reached for the rabbit when an arrow shot by her, not an inch away from her face. She turned to see where it came from and beheld a human male wear the skins and furs of various animals knocking another arrow. She tried to tell him what had happened to her, but he just shouted back in a strange dialect and shot another arrow, this one grazing her arm and tearing her sleeve. As he drew yet another arrow from his quiver, Blank turned and ran. She heard the hunter yelling again, but still couldn't decipher what was being said. As a final arrow flew by her head, tears began to fall from her silver eyes. She didn't understand why this man had tried to kill her. All she knew was that she was still alone and no closer a place to belong.
Eventually Blank made her way to a village. It was fairly small with only a handful of cottages and just over a dozen residents. At first sight of the human villagers, Blank recoiled in fear and tried to run again. Her wounds and hunger had finally gotten the best of her however and she fainted once again.
When she awoke she was in a bed with several of the people standing over her. She began to panic when one the females began to speak in that same unfamiliar tongue as the hunter. However this time the voice gentle and soothing, nothing like coarse bellows of the hunter. Blank still had no idea what this woman was saying, but felt the woman meant her no harm. Slowly Blank relaxed, feeling safe for the first time in what seemed like weeks. The woman continued make her strange noises to which Blank only stared at her in response.
"What's your name? Where are you from? How did you become so injured?", the woman asked. "I don't think she understands you Martha." "Well Theo, of course she won't if we don't keep talking to her." "I thought dark elves were supposed to be smart", chimed in a boy from the back. "Oh hush Erik, that's no way to speak about a guest, especially one in her condition." "Well Martha we're going to have to call her something while she is here." "What about Blank? That's the only expression she seems to have!" "Erik, get out." "Theo, be nice to the boy, he was only joking." "No I wasn't!" "Anyway, Blank is an acceptable name until she can tell us her real name."
The humans kept on chattering in the alien language as Blank simply looked on, wondering what was being communicated, the woman speaking in her gentle voice, the man in stern tones and the boys voice had what Blank assumed were sarcastic inflections. They kept repeating one word over and over, and so she tried saying it.
"Blank." "Oh my goodness Theo, she said her name!" "But that's not her name." "Well it's only thing she has said so far, so I say we go with it." "But that's not her name!" "Blank!" "See? She recognizes it! She must like it." "Forget it, I give up." And so began Blank's introduction to the common tongue. Eventually she learned enough to realize what everyone was calling, and she tried to correct them with her actual name. Unfortunately, elvish is a bit difficult to pronounce, especially to the uninitiated, so everyone just kept calling her Blank.
The villagers where kind and inviting, and once she had fully recovered she helped them around the village, doing odd jobs for various people. She felt safe and secure here, at night when she was alone she would catch herself smiling softly, happy she had found a new home.
Blank had lived in the village for 10 years. It had expanded from a patch of dirt with a couple of hovels to 20 homes with expansive fields. She had seen the children she saw from her first glimpse of the village, grow and have children of their own. She had shown no signs of aging however. She had also became the chief hunter in the village, her elven sight, hearing and agility allowing her to excel and tracking game at night. For a time it seemed that Blank had found somewhere she could belong. Life can be fickle and cruel.
One night, Blank left the village as she usually did, to go hunting. This time she was tailing a rather tenacious deer and was chasing it for several hours longer than usual. As she approached the village, she noticed it was eerily quite. She set down her kill and drew her weapons, slowly creeping up to the village in the shadows available, her eyes illuminating the night. Rounding the first home she came across, Blank saw it. In the center of village were the remains of the Theo. His head , while mostly undamaged, was several feet from his torso. Blank got up and ran straight toward the gore, only to be greeted by a truly horrifying sight. Outside of her house were the dessicated limbs an infant, it's blood drained to scrawl across the front of the building her elven name.
Blank knew that only the Drow would be this evil and spiteful. She fell to her knees, feeling that everything she had held dear had once again been taken away. The tears welled up instantly, and she sobbed slowly and softly at first, but slowly gave way to uncontrolled sorrow. Blank laid there, weeping until she felt her self lose consciousness.
As she awoke, Blank's thoughts raced. She wanted revenge against the Drow who perpetrated the atrocity, but she knew she couldn't do it alone. A feeling of helplessness swept over her, inciting more tears to the surface. She quickly shook it off, not wanting to sit there and cry herself into an early grave. After taking a moment to collect her self, Blank arouse. She didn't know what to do, and once again felt lost. She knew she couldn't stay there. Slowly she collected a few basic supplies and began to trek towards the nearest city, pausing briefly to contemplate looking upon the village on last time, before deciding against it and walking on.
When Blank arrived she, wasn't why she come here. The city was so loud and filthy, a far cry the simple living she had become accustomed to. She wandered for a time, taking in the various building and streets. Observing the people, she noticed that most of them seem to stare at her, or make a point of not staring. She had forgotten that Drow was a rare sighting for most and decided to make herself scarce, ducking into a nearby alley. She was about to meet someone who would change her life.
Blank hid in the shadow of the nearest building, leaning against the wall. She slid down to the floor and started thinking about what she was doing. She had no idea of what to do, or how to do it or why she was even here in the city. She hung here head dejectedly, closing her eyes as she thought of all that was lost to her.
"Get up, you lazy bastard!" Blank shook from her thoughts, she jumped up to see where the voice came from. Towering over her was a middle-aged half-orc, easily 7 feet tall and well over 400 pounds. "What are doing down there, huh, nobody's gonna give you a hand out around here." "Who are you?" "Name's Crump, as in I'll crumple you if you keep moping around here. Now what the hells are you doing down there?" "I was doing anything!" "Exactly! If you want something you're gonna have to take it, not wait for it to given to you." "What do you know about what I want?! Maybe I want to just sit here and be left alone!" "And that's it? Just wait til ya die or someone kills ya and takes what ya got?" "Are you threatening me?" At this Crump grabbed Blank by the throat and lifted her to eye level, "If I was gonna kill ya, you'd already be dead. So either tell what you're doing here or get lost." Blank railed against the massive hand around her neck, kicking her legs at Crump, who barely registered he efforts. "I don't have anywhere to go," she struggled out. Crump let her go and she collapsed, gasping for air. "See, that wasn't so hard! Come on let me get ya something to eat." Blank was still catching her breath and was slightly confused, not sure if she heard right. "What?" "You've gotta be hungry, or was really as hard you kick? Now let's go!" "Um, okay..." Blank stood, slightly bewildered and followed Crump out of the alley.
Crump took her to a rather shabby looking inn, where he told about him and what he does. He was hired muscle for anyone in the city, whether they were a shopkeeper wanting to protect against thieves, or a cartel demanding protection money from the same shopkeeper. "Being a mercenary means you don't chose causes, only cash," was his philosophy. He began to teach Blank a few things about being streetwise, what various symbols on a wall meant, where to procure anything you may need for a job and most importantly, how to properly fight. Several months later, Blank realized something. "Wait, you never asked my name." "Doesn't matter much to me." "Oh." "Look, if you're gonna sulk about it..." "I wasn't sulking!" "Ha, fine. What is you name?" "Blank." "See, ya didn't even tell me you real name. That's fine, Crump isn't my original name either."
And so for the next 30 years Blank worked the city with Crump, slowly becoming one of it's most revered spies, although her name was always spoken in hushed tones. She was able to pick most any lock, and disappear in the faintest of shadows. She was always hired to steal something for someone, or plant something for someone else. She became rather well wealthy along with Crump who continued to brutalize any he was hired to. Of course, half-orcs don't live nearly as long as elves.
Crump was old, but still strong at 70, however the last 5 years, he was slowly withering. Blank however had barely aged a day. Blank hadn't taken any jobs in the last few months and instead stayed with Crump to care for him. "You gotta work if wanna stay respected, plus the money is too good to pass up." "We still have more than enough to last for a long while, besides, you need me more than the city does." "I don't see why your making such a bother over me. I was gonna die one way or another, at this least way I can say I survived the job." "That's true, but that doesn't I have to like the idea of you dying." "I don't remember teaching you to be so soft." "Oh, shut up."
Crump died a few months later in bed. He left everything he had to Blank, but she never really cared about all the money. She was happy just having a home again, and now that was meaningless if she was alone again. She stayed in the city for a while longer to oversee the construction of a new halfway house, spending most of what she and Crump had accrued over the years and donating the rest. She only kept enough for herself to get her to the next city.
For the next 20 years Blank travel the cities of Blackdawn, finding work suited to her skills. She kept to herself and rarely spoke more than a few to her employers, just enough to get the necessary information. She always wound up making far more money than see ever needed and would often give it to the poor she found in every city. Finally she arrived in Blackdawn City...
Hook: Blank has been hired by a minor local official to investigate the disappearances, in the hope that solving the mystery will lead to a great promotion.
Character Sheet
Let me know if something needs to be changed.
Name: Blank
Race: Drow
Age: 80
Background: Urchin
Appearance: 5', 100lbs, silver eyes, near pitch black skin covered in small scars from hard life, small and lithe body, shoulder length white that hangs loose most of the time, but put up when "working", youthful but attractive features, loose dirty clothing covering light armor and concealed weapons.
Mannerisms: Quiet and keeps to herself, moves in near silence out of habit, unwilling to speak about past.
Specialty: Infiltration, Espionage, Acquisitions
Personality Traits:
I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms.
I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets.
Ideals: I help the people who help me—that’s what keeps us alive.
Bond: No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through.
Flaw: If I'm outnumbered, I will run away from a fight.
Brief History: She was exiled from the Drow home city and ended up living in a village for a while, then she had to leave that and moved to a city where became a full rogue, finally she start traveling and ends up in the capital.
Full History:
Blank isn't her actual name. Nobody knows what it is, even she forgets it sometimes. She was exiled from her home at an early age for not adhering to the Drow ideals of slavery and cruelty.
By the age of 20, Drow are expected to have a fully developed revulsion of all other races, viewing them as inferior beings, existing solely for the enjoyment and whims of the dark elves. Blank never understood why this was the way things were. At first mention of these reservations, they were dismissed by most as simple naivety that she would grow out of. However as time went on and here questioning continued, it became apparent that she was never going to accept the Drow as the truly superior race.
A day came, that began as mundane as any other, Blank was accosted by several of her fellow elves and taken to the a room of inquiry. In most such rooms throughout the world, a person would be subjected to terrifying threats shouted at them and perhaps mild torture if the region was particularly cruel. However, the Drow in their hidden away refuges are far more sadistic and twisted than anyone can imagine, devising new and darker was of breaking subjects, both mentally and physically. For 3 days Blank was subjected to nearly every torture device and sadistic perversion that her captors could fathom. The pain and anguish was relentless with fresh tormenters arriving as soon as the previous were spent.
Finally, she was given a brief respite as the tortures were need to break in a new group of slaves freshly arrived. Sensing her only opportunity at escaping, Blank picked the lock on her cage with a stray shard of iron that had been embedded in skin the previous day. And then she ran. She ran as fast as she could, as long as she could, until the thundering shouts of the Drow became faint whispers of derision. Until a guiding beacon of hope became the blinding sun. Until the light of day became the embrace of night. Exhausted, disoriented and near death, Blank collapsed.
When she awoke, Blank came to the realization that she no had where to go, nobody to help her, or even anything of value. Starving and badly injured, Blank wandered to wilderness until she came upon an empty campsite, a steady fire burning with a rabbit being cooked over it. Not wanting to pass up her first chance at a meal in days and possibly someone to help her, Blank waited for the hunter to return. An hour had passed, Blank gave up on waiting and reached for the rabbit when an arrow shot by her, not an inch away from her face. She turned to see where it came from and beheld a human male wear the skins and furs of various animals knocking another arrow. She tried to tell him what had happened to her, but he just shouted back in a strange dialect and shot another arrow, this one grazing her arm and tearing her sleeve. As he drew yet another arrow from his quiver, Blank turned and ran. She heard the hunter yelling again, but still couldn't decipher what was being said. As a final arrow flew by her head, tears began to fall from her silver eyes. She didn't understand why this man had tried to kill her. All she knew was that she was still alone and no closer a place to belong.
Eventually Blank made her way to a village. It was fairly small with only a handful of cottages and just over a dozen residents. At first sight of the human villagers, Blank recoiled in fear and tried to run again. Her wounds and hunger had finally gotten the best of her however and she fainted once again.
When she awoke she was in a bed with several of the people standing over her. She began to panic when one the females began to speak in that same unfamiliar tongue as the hunter. However this time the voice gentle and soothing, nothing like coarse bellows of the hunter. Blank still had no idea what this woman was saying, but felt the woman meant her no harm. Slowly Blank relaxed, feeling safe for the first time in what seemed like weeks. The woman continued make her strange noises to which Blank only stared at her in response.
"What's your name? Where are you from? How did you become so injured?", the woman asked. "I don't think she understands you Martha." "Well Theo, of course she won't if we don't keep talking to her." "I thought dark elves were supposed to be smart", chimed in a boy from the back. "Oh hush Erik, that's no way to speak about a guest, especially one in her condition." "Well Martha we're going to have to call her something while she is here." "What about Blank? That's the only expression she seems to have!" "Erik, get out." "Theo, be nice to the boy, he was only joking." "No I wasn't!" "Anyway, Blank is an acceptable name until she can tell us her real name."
The humans kept on chattering in the alien language as Blank simply looked on, wondering what was being communicated, the woman speaking in her gentle voice, the man in stern tones and the boys voice had what Blank assumed were sarcastic inflections. They kept repeating one word over and over, and so she tried saying it.
"Blank." "Oh my goodness Theo, she said her name!" "But that's not her name." "Well it's only thing she has said so far, so I say we go with it." "But that's not her name!" "Blank!" "See? She recognizes it! She must like it." "Forget it, I give up." And so began Blank's introduction to the common tongue. Eventually she learned enough to realize what everyone was calling, and she tried to correct them with her actual name. Unfortunately, elvish is a bit difficult to pronounce, especially to the uninitiated, so everyone just kept calling her Blank.
The villagers where kind and inviting, and once she had fully recovered she helped them around the village, doing odd jobs for various people. She felt safe and secure here, at night when she was alone she would catch herself smiling softly, happy she had found a new home.
Blank had lived in the village for 10 years. It had expanded from a patch of dirt with a couple of hovels to 20 homes with expansive fields. She had seen the children she saw from her first glimpse of the village, grow and have children of their own. She had shown no signs of aging however. She had also became the chief hunter in the village, her elven sight, hearing and agility allowing her to excel and tracking game at night. For a time it seemed that Blank had found somewhere she could belong. Life can be fickle and cruel.
One night, Blank left the village as she usually did, to go hunting. This time she was tailing a rather tenacious deer and was chasing it for several hours longer than usual. As she approached the village, she noticed it was eerily quite. She set down her kill and drew her weapons, slowly creeping up to the village in the shadows available, her eyes illuminating the night. Rounding the first home she came across, Blank saw it. In the center of village were the remains of the Theo. His head , while mostly undamaged, was several feet from his torso. Blank got up and ran straight toward the gore, only to be greeted by a truly horrifying sight. Outside of her house were the dessicated limbs an infant, it's blood drained to scrawl across the front of the building her elven name.
Blank knew that only the Drow would be this evil and spiteful. She fell to her knees, feeling that everything she had held dear had once again been taken away. The tears welled up instantly, and she sobbed slowly and softly at first, but slowly gave way to uncontrolled sorrow. Blank laid there, weeping until she felt her self lose consciousness.
As she awoke, Blank's thoughts raced. She wanted revenge against the Drow who perpetrated the atrocity, but she knew she couldn't do it alone. A feeling of helplessness swept over her, inciting more tears to the surface. She quickly shook it off, not wanting to sit there and cry herself into an early grave. After taking a moment to collect her self, Blank arouse. She didn't know what to do, and once again felt lost. She knew she couldn't stay there. Slowly she collected a few basic supplies and began to trek towards the nearest city, pausing briefly to contemplate looking upon the village on last time, before deciding against it and walking on.
When Blank arrived she, wasn't why she come here. The city was so loud and filthy, a far cry the simple living she had become accustomed to. She wandered for a time, taking in the various building and streets. Observing the people, she noticed that most of them seem to stare at her, or make a point of not staring. She had forgotten that Drow was a rare sighting for most and decided to make herself scarce, ducking into a nearby alley. She was about to meet someone who would change her life.
Blank hid in the shadow of the nearest building, leaning against the wall. She slid down to the floor and started thinking about what she was doing. She had no idea of what to do, or how to do it or why she was even here in the city. She hung here head dejectedly, closing her eyes as she thought of all that was lost to her.
"Get up, you lazy bastard!" Blank shook from her thoughts, she jumped up to see where the voice came from. Towering over her was a middle-aged half-orc, easily 7 feet tall and well over 400 pounds. "What are doing down there, huh, nobody's gonna give you a hand out around here." "Who are you?" "Name's Crump, as in I'll crumple you if you keep moping around here. Now what the hells are you doing down there?" "I was doing anything!" "Exactly! If you want something you're gonna have to take it, not wait for it to given to you." "What do you know about what I want?! Maybe I want to just sit here and be left alone!" "And that's it? Just wait til ya die or someone kills ya and takes what ya got?" "Are you threatening me?" At this Crump grabbed Blank by the throat and lifted her to eye level, "If I was gonna kill ya, you'd already be dead. So either tell what you're doing here or get lost." Blank railed against the massive hand around her neck, kicking her legs at Crump, who barely registered he efforts. "I don't have anywhere to go," she struggled out. Crump let her go and she collapsed, gasping for air. "See, that wasn't so hard! Come on let me get ya something to eat." Blank was still catching her breath and was slightly confused, not sure if she heard right. "What?" "You've gotta be hungry, or was really as hard you kick? Now let's go!" "Um, okay..." Blank stood, slightly bewildered and followed Crump out of the alley.
Crump took her to a rather shabby looking inn, where he told about him and what he does. He was hired muscle for anyone in the city, whether they were a shopkeeper wanting to protect against thieves, or a cartel demanding protection money from the same shopkeeper. "Being a mercenary means you don't chose causes, only cash," was his philosophy. He began to teach Blank a few things about being streetwise, what various symbols on a wall meant, where to procure anything you may need for a job and most importantly, how to properly fight. Several months later, Blank realized something. "Wait, you never asked my name." "Doesn't matter much to me." "Oh." "Look, if you're gonna sulk about it..." "I wasn't sulking!" "Ha, fine. What is you name?" "Blank." "See, ya didn't even tell me you real name. That's fine, Crump isn't my original name either."
And so for the next 30 years Blank worked the city with Crump, slowly becoming one of it's most revered spies, although her name was always spoken in hushed tones. She was able to pick most any lock, and disappear in the faintest of shadows. She was always hired to steal something for someone, or plant something for someone else. She became rather well wealthy along with Crump who continued to brutalize any he was hired to. Of course, half-orcs don't live nearly as long as elves.
Crump was old, but still strong at 70, however the last 5 years, he was slowly withering. Blank however had barely aged a day. Blank hadn't taken any jobs in the last few months and instead stayed with Crump to care for him. "You gotta work if wanna stay respected, plus the money is too good to pass up." "We still have more than enough to last for a long while, besides, you need me more than the city does." "I don't see why your making such a bother over me. I was gonna die one way or another, at this least way I can say I survived the job." "That's true, but that doesn't I have to like the idea of you dying." "I don't remember teaching you to be so soft." "Oh, shut up."
Crump died a few months later in bed. He left everything he had to Blank, but she never really cared about all the money. She was happy just having a home again, and now that was meaningless if she was alone again. She stayed in the city for a while longer to oversee the construction of a new halfway house, spending most of what she and Crump had accrued over the years and donating the rest. She only kept enough for herself to get her to the next city.
For the next 20 years Blank travel the cities of Blackdawn, finding work suited to her skills. She kept to herself and rarely spoke more than a few to her employers, just enough to get the necessary information. She always wound up making far more money than see ever needed and would often give it to the poor she found in every city. Finally she arrived in Blackdawn City...
Hook: Blank has been hired by a minor local official to investigate the disappearances, in the hope that solving the mystery will lead to a great promotion.
Character Sheet
Let me know if something needs to be changed.