Character Concepts

[secretoracle]

This is where you can repost those concepts from the recruitment section if it wouldn't be too much troule.

[cassbackward]

Sophia Bourne (alias Sofia Di Ravenna)
Visual:  Selma Blair

It would have been nice if the only daughter of Lord and Lady Bourne had overcome her natural advantages--wealth, cleverness, education, and magical talent--to become the sweet, sociable girl her parents deserved, but naturally, a child accustomed to having everything she wanted and no one to share it with became, instead, ever more demanding and selfish until the onset of adolescence turned her into a right miserable witch.  Which was to be expected, of course, as she and her mother were, in fact, witches.

Her exasperated parents, weary of Sophia's tantrums, had at last to resort to extreme measures.  They sent her away from her privileged lifestyle to live with an old family friend, Tanis Serean, who kept house in a crumbling, secluded tower on the outskirts of Tyr.  Gone were the household servants, who scurried to appease Miss Sophia.  Gone were the ponies, chocolates, and toys.  Now, when she wanted something, she had to fetch it herself or endure.

Serean guessed right when he intuited that Sophia's unpleasant behavior arose from having too much wit and too little to do with it.  He took to rewarding her for doing her chores with lessons in high magic, a series of intellectual challenges that made Sophia forget entirely the privations of her new lifestyle.  She became a voracious reader and quickly mastered the fundaments of magic--which left her bored and restless again, reverting to bad behavior and now empowered with the spells of a mage.

It might all have gone horribly wrong if Serean had not then received a plea for help from an old friend.  Instead of leaving her behind, as her parents might have done, he took her with him, and thus Sophia had the opportunity to assist him in the rescue of a village from the depredations of an gang of ruffians.  [Insert backstory here.  They have a series of Brisco-esque adventures on the Tyrrian frontier, wherever that might be, and she becomes a better person for it.]

When Sophia returned to her parents later that year, she had direction and purpose--the study of magic and the defense of the less fortunate.  And she begged to be sent back to Serean for schooling.

For seven years she spent all but her holidays with Serean.  She studied.  She followed him on more adventures.  She learned to enjoy the independence and simplicity of her school-year lifestyle and to develop a kind of dual personality.  Sophia, the mage, is plainspoken, rough-and-tumble, and possessed of the desire to help the less fortunate.  Sophia, the heiress, is flirty, coquettish, and possessed of the desire to help herself to more champagne, thank you very much.

[Mr. President]

Thom Ratcatcher

Thom's been catching rats for as long as he can remember. Almost as soon as he could walk, he was chasing vermin, crawling after escaped ferrets in places his father couldn't reach. His father is a ratcatcher, his grandfather was a ratcatcher, his forefathers were catching rats in the town before the town was even there.

Thom's not a complicated man, frankly, he's fairly simple, and his favorite pasttime is catching rats, snakes, and any other type of vermin that can bother a farmer, innkeeper, or homeowner. Of course that's not all he does, whenever there's a dangerous beast, or even the occasional bandit making life difficult for the townsfolk, Thom's the man they call to stalk it and bring it down. When he's not working, he wanders the streets of town, chatting with children and playing with the neighborhood dogs. He's something of a minor celebrity in an area which sees about one visitor a year. Said visitor being the taxman.

Of course, what the folks in town pointedly don't talk about is the time he spent "away." He spent several years out in the world serving his country. He's known in very small circles of military professionals as one of the tracker elite. His time among rangers, soldiers, and assassins have left its mark, and when the call came, he joylessly kissed his mother goodbye and grabbed his pack, disappearing without a word.

Thom's based on the D&D 3.5 Ranger. He relies on his stealth; tracking animals, criminals, and enemies of the state.
He's a man of average build and dark coloring, mid-to-late-twenties. His personality changes like quicksilver, for the most part, he's a happy-go-lucky fellow with a folksy charm and a love of animals, but as soon as he sets his mind to work, he's a completely different person; cold, quiet, brooding, business, a hunter-assassin.

[Mortarion]

Professor Thaddeus P. Quint

Backstory
'Professor Thaddeus P. Quint, Master of Synergy and Metallurgy, Tamer of Steam and Procurer, Aqquirer and Retriever of Rare and Magical Items' or at least, that's what the sign says. It is true that Professor Quint is very talented in all these areas, but it is also true that he likes to embelish his own capabilities and achievements.

Thaddeus P. Quint was born the son of a poor blacksmith some 30 years ago, he possesed a keen academical mind as well as an aptitude for the physical Sciences [which at that point were primative at best] and a talent for his father's profession which led many to wonder exactly what it was he would do once he left compulsory education. The answer, to him, was simple; he would pursue them all. He became an ecclectic mix  of Scientist, Inventor and Adventurer [and not a bad Blacksmith to boot] and he began roaming the globe in search of fame, adventure and ,most importantly to him, gold [and lots of it]. He soon learned that smooth-talking would get him further than blades and brawn, so he began to rely on this [quite potent] attribute [although he is a skilled combatant, especially with his Synergy-powered cane]. His second realisation came when he had just sold one of his inventions, one that took quite alot of time and effort to create, and he had recieved a less than admirable amount of money for it. It was then that he realised: Inventing is no way to become rich. Combining his brains and charisma he developed a new way of making money [and lots of it] he became a con artist [although this word probably doesn't exsist in this world, but that is what he became nontheless], travlelling from small town to small town [in a steam powered cart no-less!] peddling various alchemical and 'shiny' items to those who were to stupid [or too gulible] to tell that they were little more than water/junk. This is the way he is living now, steadilly running out of stupid/gullible townsfolk and looking for a new way to become even more rich and famous.

Professor Quint's reputation in the scentific community is relatively sound, due to various findings here and there, as well as his [quite sizeable] work on the Dragon Rail [which is why he added the title 'Tamer of Steam]. The only blot on his otherwise spotless record is his shady dealings [all to do with Magical/Alchemical items going 'missing' and reappearing in the hands of various shady characters, nothing was ever proved, but people talk all the same] and his con artistry, which is frowned upon, but doesn't exactly earn him the emnity of his collegues. What does get on their nerves, is his constant boasting and constant embellishments of his achievements

Personality
Quint is, for want of a better word, rather full of himself. This is for the simple reason that he really is one of the smartest people in the known world, and he likes everyone to know it. He's very good at 'fast talking' and lying through his teeth is one of his speciallities. He's a showman at heart, and he always likes other people to know who he is, how good he is at what he does etc... He doesn't like to use violence, preferring to talk his troubles away, but if it comes to it, he'll fight you, he prefers to pick and choose his combats, as well as trying to end them as fast as possible.

My Thoughts
I think Quint would be ludicrously easy to make in MnM, nigh-on impossilbe to make DnD wise [especially as I don't have v3.5] and I assume True20 as well [as I don't have True20, nor do  I have any experience of it]. I've got mountains of DnD3e experience, just no 3.5 experience [although I understand that they are very similar]. MnM can easily be converted to using d6s as damage though,so this shouldn't prove to hindering, it's all about what you want in the end though. I live in England, so I may have some trouble using Skype etc.. But I suppose I could stay up really late once in a while [so long as it was in the holidays, which end for me in early september]

[Disintegration]

Dr. Matthias Elgwin


Summary
The world is not a fair place; never has been and never will be. Some of its denizens are like Matthias, born with more potential than they know what to do with, and others are hobbled or cursed in some way. The only demons on his back are those of his own making, dragging the hems of his characteristic long coat and clinging to the heels of his high boots until they slow his wandering steps.

Once a common sight in the halls of the Harmonium, an order of technomages dedicated to the exploration and exploitation of new, novel techniques for combining the disciplines of science and magery, he has all but disappeared into obscure libraries, hidden ruins, and archaelogical dig sites. Gone are his fiery treatises on the subjects of egality and better living through the marriage of disparate paths, replaced with a wide-eyed stare and a too-oft unkept haggardness and road dusted attire. Now he bides his time and wanders ever farther afield, seeking something that he refuses to reveal to any but the most trusted confidants, often eschewing guides, advice, or even any supplies that cannot be carried on his person.

To his peers, it's the sad loss of a brilliant engineer and talented orator that stings the most, but his friends know that something has taken hold of Dr. Elgwin's mind and refused to let go. Once a proud bearer of the Seven Pointed Star, marking him as a fellow of the Royal Academy of Thaumaturgists, he has let all professional memberships lapse save those that do not require anything of him. When his name is spoken at all in the halls of academia, it is usually to the accompaniment of shaken heads and clucking tongues. For a man so young and so prodigal in his original field of study, his vagrancy is something of a mystery. Nobody can remember him falling to drink, drugs, or sexual depravity; in fact, he became more and more ascetic as the changes accelerated. Now he seems to live on what can be carried about his person, buying time in libraries and laboratories with trinkets and money that return from his expeditions.

Every stopover sees him furiously working as much as his body will tolerate, which has become a considerable time under the hardships of his self-imposed isolation and wanderlust. New devices with odd designs, strange materials, and even more mysterious purpose are commissioned from artisans or fashioned by his own hand. Cryptic scrolls and missives find their way into his possession, copied meticulously from dusty volumes on forgotten shelves. Steadily, his eyes become wilder and his skin more leathery, flayed by the wind and sun until there is nothing but the road left.

The only sideline to his relentless pursuit of some inner truth has been a brief stopover with the Tyrran Intelligence Service during the recent war, a mutually beneficial arrangement that put his mind to work for the country while giving him access to doors that would have remained closed otherwise. It's sharpened the edge of his already well honed paranoia as well, tempering it with a steely discipline and training that his former tutors would never have thought to offer.

Personality
Once gregarious and vivacious, both the substance and the animacy of life seem to have been sucked out of Matthias by the harshness of his existence. His sunken eyes and sharp cheekbones are about as offputting as his calculating demeanor, married to a voice with a tendency to crack harshly when he gets excited. Cracking, in this case, meaning that he sounds like he's been screaming for days or breathing a sandstorm without protective clothing. The only sign of any spark left is in the shine of his too-bright eyes and the quick, spidery motions of his clever hands. When not engaged in research or fascinated by something intriguing, he has a tendency to brooding silence and significant looks. Acting as the only exception, he will spill forth a torrent of words if ever engaged on matters near and dear to his heart - social philosophy, linguistics, archaeology, magical theory, or technology.

[OmegaUltrapower]

Maj. Publius Caecilius Maro (Cecil)

Cecil had the luxury of a private-school education and officers' training school while most people his age were being conscripted as soon as they were old enough to ride a horse or bear a sword.  His parents wouldn't have anything less for their only son.  Now-retired Gen. Gaius Antoninus Maro is the penultimate in an honorable tradition of decorated Maro officers, and Cecil's mother Meredithe Maro (born Meredithe Laumont), career politician, has recently been appointed Privy Councillor.

Precisely as expected, Cecil consummated his own arranged marriage just after graduation (another family tradition). During the last years of the Great War he grew from a privileged and sometimes jealously reviled lieutenant into a pragmatic and honest captain.  When his father the general retired, Cecil received a perfunctory promotion to his current rank, and he finally got to spend three years at home.

Cecil became acquainted with his wife like an amiable freshman roommate [details of wife's background are left to the GM].  He's proud of his bright young daughter and intends to protect her from anyone who might jeopardize her Draco-given right to freedom--especially from his parents.

Receiving a summons from the Ministry of Antiquities is no surprise.  Surely there were better qualified candidates, but he immediately presumes that he's getting the assignment because "someone who knows what's best" (he hears this in his head in all-too-familiar voices) assisted in the selection process.

[Nashira Tremont]

Alighan Gallagher

Born to a poor family, Alighan's intelligence was obvious fairly early in her life. From the age of ten, she no longer found joy in playing with the other children, instead preferring to bury her nose in a book or take notes on her latest magical thoughts and ideas.  When she was fifteen her parents were both killed by an illness that swept through her village. Alighan was spared, she believed by the concentrated collection of Synergy that she kept directly under her bed.

An only child and left to her own defences, Alighan took a position in the library of Corinth college, Corinth city, Tyr. Her work was barely enough to house and feed her, but she would take extra shifts to pay for classes. The study of Synergy soon encompassed her every free waking moment.

As she grew, her slight figure remained undernourished first because her parents could barely afford food and later because she herself cared more for her books and studies than for her appearances. her clothes were usually second hand, patched and far out of season. Her unusually willowy form, pale skin and dark chestnut brown hair with bright blue eyes did however catch the attention of another synergy expert, Professor Thaddeus Quint who took her under his wing and began to teach her everything he knew about the mysterious Synergy. 

After graduating with flying colors, she decided the best way to pay off her college debts would be in service of Tyr. And so, this book worm began a series of studies for Tyr into the uses of Synergy and ways in which it can be used to better daily life.