Stephen Hascodem

[Venefyxatu]

• General description
• History
• (Magical) abilities
• Items
• Physical description
• Personality
• Relationships
• Other

Edited July 20, 2005 by Venefyxatu

[Venefyxatu]

~General Description~

 

There's something odd about this character - I didn't wait with his name until I thought of one that would suit him but rather named him after seeing Pillow's post in the "Adventurers wanted" booth.

I've been wanting to do something with a blind ranger for quite some time now, but even though I don't know that much about him yet he's already turning out to be quite different than what I had in mind - and that's not a bad thing.

 

Tanny has created a profile for him which I like very much.

 

Veiled in darkness, bathed in light, prowess coming from sharpened skills...   A staff swings - enemies fall Arrows fly - to never miss. A fine humor, a steady friend, the ranger rests (smokes and puffs) feeling from earth what he can't see.   ~Tanuchan

 

Name : Hascodem, Stephen (full name : Stephen von Hascodem de Tinservale, but he refuses to use it)

Race : Human

Age : 34

Gender : Male

Edited September 10, 2005 by Venefyxatu

[Venefyxatu]

~History~

 

 

Stephen was born to a wealthy family. His father, Marcus Hascodem, was a rich goldsmith who became even richer through an inheritance. Marcus bought his way into nobility, changed his name to Lord Marcus von Hascodem and sold his shop, which brought him up to the richer levels of nobility. When he married the Lady Sepultra Irene de Tinservale, Lord Marcus became the third richest man in the city.

 

As magic is deemed to be fashionable in the country of Dulsterion (as is obvious in the frequent contests being held), Lord Marcus started dabbling in it as well. Just like the other nobles he strove for ever greater arcane knowledge and skill to impress the others with, in spite of the limitations caused by being near the mana border.

 

As the son of a nobleman, Stephen had one magic teacher after another, but never even got as far as lighting a candle. Some of his teachers claimed that he had an innate resistance to magic, others claimed he didn't really try.

Magic wasn't the only point on which Stephen didn't fit in : he never got the hang of the intricate social interactions either, although he realized that nobody did anything for nothing, and that everyone was likely to backstab anyone else. Because of this, he spent a lot of time alone and was often seen as the odd one out.

 

Fortunately for him, his parents' talent for politics kept him safe from any real harm, up until a certain point. Of course, he was expected to join in several social events such as hunting, which he despised the most. An entire group would ride out on horseback and have animals chased in their direction by a group of servants. Then they'd kill as many as possible with their spells and weapons. When Stephen noticed he couldn't change this, he started hanging back more and more, which made him even more of an outsider.

 

On one of these hunting trips, he got caught in the blast of a spell. The others pretended not to notice and left him for dead. When asked about the hunting trip, they simply stated that a few spells had had unexpected consequences, that they suspected Stephen got caught up in one of them and they hadn't noticed due to his habit of falling behind. Even though he survived, his sight was lost.

 

After that he decided he was fed up with humanity and its mages and stayed in the forests, living off the land and learning about the animals he'd once tried to avoid hunting. In the years that followed he became closer to nature, learning not only to understand the animals, but also about plants and herbs and how to recognize them by their scent and the locations they prefer growing in. Whenever he did have to deal with humans, he made a habit out of not moving his head, both as an act of pride and as a silent pledge for revenge.

 

As time progressed, however, he started to forget about the idea of vengeance, mostly because he began to see that it wouldn't do him any good, only lower him to the nobles' level.

 

 

Mostly re-written on September 10, 2005

Edited September 23, 2007 by Venefyxatu

[Venefyxatu]

~Abilities~

• Blindness : Stephen can't see. No kidding.
• Sensitive : Stephen trained his other senses to make up for his lacking sight, even his nose, which might seem contradictory with his smoking habit. He claims the smoke clears his nose...
• Extend senses : By concentrating, Stephen can extend his senses into the earth and gain a lot of information about his surroundings - more than the ever could gain with his eyes. This also seems to enable him to mindspeak.
• Can walk without leaving audible or visual traces. A very sensitive nose (like that of a dog or a wolf) can still track him, if it can bear the smell of cigarettes...
• Hopeless smoker : Stephen smokes. A lot, which is not something most rangers do as far as I know. He usually manages not to when he needs to remain undiscovered but he has surprised many an enemy in combat by being creative with his cigarette or the smoke...
• Despite his handicap, Stephen is still quite good with his quarterstaff and his bow...

Edited July 8, 2005 by Venefyxatu

[Venefyxatu]

~Items~

• Quarterstaff : it has one sharpened end, so it can be used for stabbing as well as hitting. Of course, it makes for a nice walking aid as well whenever necessary.
• Bow : your regular longbow, used to shoot your regular arrows with ...
• Wooden Wyvern sculpture : this was a gift from Tanny. Aside from helping him focus his mind to mindspeak with any creature linked to earth, it also allows him to mindspeak with Tanny without having to link to earth.

[Venefyxatu]

~Physical Description~

 

Stephen wouldn't really stand out in a crowd : he's not particularly short or tall, nor very bulky or thin. Even though he spends most of his time in forests, he manages to look well-kempt and cleanly shaven. His grey eyes are surrounded with scar tissue that indicates something went wrong once. His dark brown hair usually hangs down his back in a long tail.

 

He prefers clothes in shades of green and brown, and wears a lightgrey cloak.