Character Survey: Norn Van'or
Jul. 9th, 2011 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penitence_roadI picked up this survey years ago and have gradually altered it to suit my needs. Apologies if any of the questions seem a little mysterious; I long ago shorthanded them down to where they would take up less space but I would know what they meant.
It was a little unusual to run a D&D character through this. That's not to say that my D&D characters are less developed or anything, but it's definitely a less...organic feeling than, say, any of the eight or nine Ars Magica characters I first ran through this with.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
1) What's your character's name? Nickname(s)? Norn Van'or. No nicknames thus far.
2) How old is s/he? A healthy 64.
3) Nationality? Birthplace? In a no-longer extant country in the northern mountains.
4) Academic Background: Whatever is standard for the dwarves. Pretty practical otherwise, though. Most of her knowledges are picked up on the fly, as it were.
5) Occupation/Job Experience: She was in the military for several skirmishes in her young adult life; somewhat later, she became a bodyguard for a diplomat, Nethun Tor'Una, who, amidst the terrible battles against the shadow-hordes, was desperately trying to arrange a truce with the drow beyond the dwarven kingdoms that would allow the dwarves to withdraw through drow territory rather than having to fight their way through the battlelines above ground.
6) Military Experience? As above. Nothing too terribly up the ranks.
7) Aptitudes? Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
8) Character's general intelligence level? Slightly above average, but nothing amazing. She's got a level head on her shoulders, though.
9) Past Successes? Well, she's lived this long.
10) What is the character most proud of? Pride's in somewhat short supply these days, but she's pleased to be of service to her god, and pursues it with fervor.
11) Past Failures? Little that it's worth it to hold against her. Everyone's had to live through things they wish desperately had gone another way.
12) What events caused this character to be ashamed? Caving in Nethun's skull with her axe in desperation and terror.
13) What opportunities have been missed? Hardly worth asking in these times. Most anything else she could have done would probably have resulted in her dying all the sooner, either for lack of opportunity to escape or insufficient skill to do so.
14) What does the character most regret? Even now, it's rare for a day to go by in which she doesn't remember the look on Nethun's face when the necromancer drained the last of her life and then raised her.
15) What does the character most fear? She's not actually sure if she can be raised from the dead, given who her soul will be bound to when she dies, but her experience with it is terrible enough that it's hard to be entirely free of fear. She's not afraid of dying, only of an unnatural end.
FAMILY HISTORY
1) Parents/Siblings? Te'van Math'Tethen (father) and Freynd Cor'they (mother). She understands that she's their second child, but her brother, Ulrin Van'ul, died long before she was born.
2) Marital status/history? She'd been a bit too dutiful to seek out marriage, in part due to feeling torn between feelings for Nethun and another warrior, a trainer named Thane Umar'than. Both are likely long dead now.
3) When and how did s/he discover sex? I'm not sure I can answer this without knowing how conservative Paladin's dwarves are. If she has at all, though, it was probably with Thane.
4) If single, is there a significant other? As answered above. She's a bit creepy now to be attracting a lot of romantic prospects.
5) Best friend? Whether she has any friends left at all probably depends on whether Paladin intends to start this game with the PCs having been together for longer than the run from the treeline to the castle gate or whether she was alone. She probably had a good friend in Nethun's complement of guards, though.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
1) Appearance: Tall for a dwarf, particularly a female one, but currently suffering from prolonged lack of regular sleep and food. Her normal toffee-brown skin cast is sallow, her strong features rendered hard and sharp by hardship. She's stocky, as is her race's wont, and sleeping on the run with no time for the niceties of hygiene has left her thick, dark brown hair knotted and wild. She has dark, intense eyes that sometimes seem nearly feral, and her movement matches this impression--contained and clipped save for bursts of violence that cleave through lesser opponents in seconds. In all respects, she looks like someone who's been on the run for two years, and alone for most of that time.
2) Any physical deformities/weaknesses/handicaps? Having healing magic means never having to keep scars you don't want. She hasn't been attached to any of hers.
3) Style of Dress/Favorite Clothing/Jewelry Typically Worn? Half-plate that is badly in need of some attention from an armorer, gauntlets of ogre power, and a heavy, sturdy brown dress. She has a thick winter cloak (of charisma) lined in fur and dyed a deep, rich blue, fastened with a band of hammered gold discs and a brooch with Nethun's family insignia; she tries not to wear it too often, as it's the last thing Nethun ever gave her, but even trying to spare it, two years hard travel has left it worn thin in spots and splattered with mudstains. She tries to get it Mended when she can. She has two personal items of note. The first is her holy symbol; worn on a plain leather strip, it's a crudely carved symbol that's hard to make out, seeing as she carved it by hand with no craft skill and only a vague idea of what it was even supposed to look like. It's certainly effective, though. The second is a chunky gold hairband set with lapis lazuli, a gift from Thane before she left within Nethun on that last fateful diplomatic mission.
4) Color Preference(s)? She has strong feelings about the dark blue color of her two personal mementos, but it'd be hard to say she prefers it. She's kind of coming to like pale blue, a representational color of her god. It's soothing and cool when she hurts, or cold and sharp when she needs to hurt others. Otherwise, she prefers textures to colors--soft leather and hard, smooth steel, rough wool and cool, polished stone.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
1) How does the character see the future? It's hard to see much in it right now. Pre-game, she's very focused in the day-to-day struggle to survive; perhaps the castle will bring out some small glimmer of hope in her for anything beyond murdering every undead she comes across.
2) What makes life worthwhile for the character? Her service to her god, and knowing that with every necromancer or skeleton she puts down, another soul is spared the mindless hunger of deathlessness, or another twisted spirit is sent on to its right and proper justice. It's a spartan enough satisfaction, but it keeps her putting one foot in front of another.
3) What does the character see as worth dying for? Anything her god asks of her and not a lot else. She'll put up with quite a lot of punishment in combat because she can, because she's stronger than others, because the place for the strong is in bearing what the weak cannot, but there's a difference between helping someone with their burden and laying down your life for them, and with the world in the state it's in, she is more good to people alive to fight another day than she is dead guarding one retreat.
4) What does the character most hate? Necromancy, by any and all measures.
5) What does the character try to avoid? Shows of affection, both other peoples' and making any of her own. She's not entirely incapable of getting attached to anyone these days, but it hurts to let herself, and it leaves an unpleasantly bitter taste in her mouth to watch others.
6) What is the character most embarrassed by? Too many forward questions about her private life, I expect, particularly the parts that involve other women. Again, not something she's getting much of these days.
7) What is the character most fixated on? Living day-to-day, generally, though she tends to obsess about necromancers when she hears about/spots them out on the battlefield.
8) How does the character handle change? Not terribly well. She tends to buckle down, divert all energy to the shields, and do what she has to do as hard as she possibly can, without taking much time to think about anything good that might come of the change or fun that she might have along the way. She's very lawful that way.
9) Can the character easily empathize with others? A bit more easily than she'd like, and definitely more easily than she lets on.
10) Does the character experience severe mood swings? Even aside from the current rut, nah, I'd say her moods are pretty stable. It would take considerable effort to foul up a good day, and some real persistent needling to perk her up from a bad one.
11) How does the character see his/herself? Probably as a survivor. It feeds into her willingness to get into--but not die in--fights.
12) What kind of a person would the character want to be? Just stronger, really. Strong enough to deal more effectively with army hordes.
13) How far away is s/he from achieving this ideal? A lot of levels and a better Charisma. Some hope for the future wouldn't hurt.
14) What strengths does the character think s/he has? The strength of her god behind her, a formidable endurance, a bear mount, good dwarven plate mail, a level head...
15) And in actuality? Though of course her god is with her only insomuch as gods are with any cleric, her estimations aren't far off. She's not much of a group fighter anymore, though.
16) What weaknesses does the character think s/he has? Not a lot that she really thinks of as a weakness so much as a deficiency. She doesn't have a lot of knowledge, nor any handle on a craft, and is not any better at people-reading than she ever was as a diplomat's bodyguard.
17) And in actuality? A terrible Reflex save, below-average Dexterity, little ability to make money any way but fighting... Most particularly, she doesn't have much time or patience for people these days--she was never great at it, beyond the occasional insight, but lately she tends to zone out. She's a bit more knowledgeable than she thinks, though.
18) Aspirations/goals/objectives? Little enough not amply covered elsewhere.
19) Current driving motivations? Ditto.
20) What's the character's favorite fantasy? One day, she would really like to find any of her group that's left after the attack. She doesn't know how many of them escaped or left the battlefield at a mindless shamble, but she hopes that if the necromancer that raised Nethun has survived, she'll get to meet [him/her/it] and show what kind of power she really has now... And then she can insure the freedom of the rest, and Nethun can sleep easily.
21) Internal/External? Deeply, deeply internal.
22) How does the character know when he's doing a good job? Must the feedback come from outside of him/herself? Or does he or she just know? Depends on the work. She doesn't need to be told she's doing well in a fight--that's obvious enough--but the encouragement in other fields doesn't hurt. Once upon a time, she was very much a member of a team. It's hard to shake that entirely.
23) Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic learner? What's his/her second-strongest mode? Kinesthetic first and foremost, I suspect, with auditory being second, and visual rather last.
24) Does the character look at things from the perspective of what's in it for him/her? Or more from the what's in it for themselves and others? There was a time when she was very concerned with the needs of others. She still thinks of things like that, but from a more detached perspective, more out of a sense of duty than out of any real concern.
25) Does your character respond to the world by trying to find similarities? Or dissimilarities? Everyone has suffered. Everyone has lost someone. Everyone has lost a home. The similarities are so vast. Why cling to the dissimilarities--look what that has done to the world. What's the point?
26) What does it take to convince your character of something? If it's something she's really set on believing, you'd probably have to literally show her proof that it isn't true. She doesn't really have anyone whose word she trusts anymore.
27) Motivated by possibility or necessity? Does the character tend to do things only when he or she must? Or is he or she motivated by he or she wants to do, seeking out options, experiences, choices, paths? Necessity, except when it comes to her religious calling to break skulls.
28) Working style? Independent? Cooperative? Proximity? Pretty independent, though she can cope with proximity as needed.
29) Music Preference(s)? I haven't the foggiest. Traditionally dwarven, probably.
30) Athletics/Hobbies? Well, she's a better rider than a lot of dwarves. That's probably the closest she has to a hobby, though.
31) What does the character dream about? Periodic vivid nightmares about Nethun's passing are the most notable; otherwise not much gets through. She sleeps pretty hard.
32) Is the character combat-capable? Preferred styles/weapons? Man, I can tell I added this question on after having no place to discuss it for way too many other characters. What is this even doing in the psychological profile section? Anyway, yes, she is entirely competent in battle. She uses the traditional dwarven war axe and a shield for most combat, but when she sees her god's work ahead of her, she drops them both to take out the magical heavy flail to which she was lead two years ago, after escaping the encounter that scattered her group.
BEHAVIORS
1) Is the character typically a leader or a follower? She was content to be a mid-level follower with comfortable amounts of authority for most of her life; lately, she's pretty much a loner, by choice as much as neccessity.
2) What kind of public face does the character display normally? Either apathetically disinterested or creepily hanging on the words, depending on the situation.
3) How does the character show affection/love? Private declarations and observation of important days/mannerisms/requests. She begins to separate the needs of the individual out from the needs of the group, and begins to tend to them with equal dedication. Something you don't like talking about? She'll remember it and never bring it up. Birthday coming up? She'll have left something small for you where you'll find it first thing. Hurting over something? She'll bring you whatever she thinks will help the most, or just stay near if she can't think of anything.
4) How does the character show grief? She ties up a lot of her pain in mementos, I think, and releases the object when she's ready to release the pain. She's tried to be better about this since coming into []'s service, but that cloak and hairband probably aren't going anywhere until she's had any confirmation about the fates of the people she associates with them.
5) How does the character handle pain? With a grimace and a firm readiness to dish it out in return.
6) Is the character self-effacing? No, not really. Not openly, anyway. Her self-worth is a little low, but she internalizes more than she vocalizes.
7) Does the character have a temper? How is it displayed: actively or passive-aggressively? She's pretty hard to rile up these days, but it's probably pretty aggressive when she's at the end of her long fuse. Like I said, her emotions are generally pretty stable.
8) Is the character always there for a friend in need? If you're one of the few she actually thinks of as a friend, absolutely. Not many like that lately, though.
9) Does the character "crutch" on other people? Much, much less than would probably be healthy. She goes in the opposite direction, really.
10) Does the character like to be the center of attention all of the time? Oh, never. Not unless you're a Necromancer she's locked eyes with, anyway.
11) Habits/Mannerisms: She probably fidgets with things when she's thinking. She'll stare at the grain of the table or turn her weapon in her hands or toy with the straps of her shield. She tends to stare pretty fixedly when she's actually focused on the matter at hand; otherwise, her mind tends to wander.
HOW OTHERS SEE THE CHARACTER:
1) What is most likable about the character? Well, she's staunch, entirely willing to wade into battle, and doesn't hassle people about differences of race or opinion. If you actually win her loyalty or affection, she's as devoted as anyone could ask for.
2) What is most disagreeable about the character? Devotion aside, most of her virtues are currently coming from a place of deep despair. She doesn't give people trouble about much because for the most part she just doesn't care about them or whether they personally live or die.
3) How do others react to the character? She was well-liked enough by other dwarves before everything went to hell. As to other races, it's hard for me to say for sure, since I'm only playing her, but I imagine she doesn't leave very good impressions. She worships a death god and tends to come off as kind of creepy, cold and introverted.
CREATOR’S THOUGHTS:
Brief Backstory:
Insomuch as I have of it, I imagine she proved herself in her military skirmishes and was selected as a member of Nethun's company, possibly on the recommendation of a friend there. She became close to Nethun while also growing closer to Thane, a dwarf sergeant whose main duty was in training new soldiers. She was long uncertain which of these to pursue; on the one hand that she cared very much for Thane--and he was also the more traditional choice, a matter which for a dwarf is no small consideration--but also knew that she had feelings for Nethun that she wasn't sure if she could entirely shake off.
In the end, she didn't have to make the decision. Nethun had been the primary diplomat involved in trying to make a truce with dark elves that would allow the dwarves to retreat through their territory without harassment. At one such meeting, they were betrayed. They escaped up through tunnels, preferring to retreat to the ground above, where the light-sensitive drow would not follow. It was winter above, and Norn had lost her cloak in the battle. Nethun lent her her own cloak--a Cloak of Charisma, as it happens. It wasn't so much because Norn really needed it--her Constitution is quite ample--but as a gesture of thanks and friendship.
It was thus with an ugly wrench that the group returned to find the gates of the dwarven kingdoms broken and the valley clogged with the dark armies. In their stunned horror, the group was set upon by a necromancer and his enslaved undead. Already injured and depleted, the dwarves could not withstand the assault. Norn watched her companions be torn down and, at the last, had to turn her own axe against her dear leader, twisted into undead parody of the dwarf she once was.
She fled on her mount (an battle-worn bear she named Berveln), terribly injured and disoriented, in a direction that would prove to be south. Not many days into this icy trek, she stumbled upon an old shrine, long fallen into disrepair and much overgrown. With little to do until a particularly ugly patch of weather cleared, and not wanting to let herself dwell on the so-recent trauma, she cleaned up the place. That night, she dreamed of finding a hidden chamber beneath the altar, and underwent a harrowing trial in which the god of the temple demanded she give up a memento Thane had given her--in actuality, wanting her to let go of the agony of having lost him. She did and, when she awoke the next morning to find herself in the place she'd dreamed of, took the enchanted flail she'd found there and, with a new goal in life, went on her way.
She headed on south, bearing warning and growing accustomed to being disbelieved by cities that would be overtaken in their turn. She fought with them at times, but her goal was not to save the cities of men, but to bring down undead wherever she fought them. She has come at last to the final stronghold, bearing a hand-carved holy symbol, a potent grief, and an implacable intent.
The symbol is that of a god most have forgotten.
The grief is for a leader she has not yet laid to rest.
And the intent is to send as many souls, and as many filthy, heretic necromancers, to divine justice as is dwarvenly possible.
Bear Backstory:
Berveln, for his part, was raised from a cub as a mount. He's been Norn's since she first decided she would join a dwarven calvalry corps twenty-four years ago and selected him. He'd been a mount once already, but the dwarf died. It's more common for dwarves to pick young bear cubs, but Norn liked the look of the already-strong adult bear and chose him instead of one of the young ones.
He's spent the quarter-century since carrying Norn wherever she needs to go, and while he's no more intelligent than any animal, he's had a lot of time to develop personality and good instincts. He's exceedingly well-trained and loyal, but these days prefers to get his naps where he can--the need for hibernation is mostly bred out of him, but he still gets crabby when his naps are interrupted. He's trained not to attack things he hasn't been ordered to attack, but he's not above paw-bats and rolling on people. His grapple check is pretty ferocious even without the claws, after all.
It was a little unusual to run a D&D character through this. That's not to say that my D&D characters are less developed or anything, but it's definitely a less...organic feeling than, say, any of the eight or nine Ars Magica characters I first ran through this with.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
1) What's your character's name? Nickname(s)? Norn Van'or. No nicknames thus far.
2) How old is s/he? A healthy 64.
3) Nationality? Birthplace? In a no-longer extant country in the northern mountains.
4) Academic Background: Whatever is standard for the dwarves. Pretty practical otherwise, though. Most of her knowledges are picked up on the fly, as it were.
5) Occupation/Job Experience: She was in the military for several skirmishes in her young adult life; somewhat later, she became a bodyguard for a diplomat, Nethun Tor'Una, who, amidst the terrible battles against the shadow-hordes, was desperately trying to arrange a truce with the drow beyond the dwarven kingdoms that would allow the dwarves to withdraw through drow territory rather than having to fight their way through the battlelines above ground.
6) Military Experience? As above. Nothing too terribly up the ranks.
7) Aptitudes? Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
8) Character's general intelligence level? Slightly above average, but nothing amazing. She's got a level head on her shoulders, though.
9) Past Successes? Well, she's lived this long.
10) What is the character most proud of? Pride's in somewhat short supply these days, but she's pleased to be of service to her god, and pursues it with fervor.
11) Past Failures? Little that it's worth it to hold against her. Everyone's had to live through things they wish desperately had gone another way.
12) What events caused this character to be ashamed? Caving in Nethun's skull with her axe in desperation and terror.
13) What opportunities have been missed? Hardly worth asking in these times. Most anything else she could have done would probably have resulted in her dying all the sooner, either for lack of opportunity to escape or insufficient skill to do so.
14) What does the character most regret? Even now, it's rare for a day to go by in which she doesn't remember the look on Nethun's face when the necromancer drained the last of her life and then raised her.
15) What does the character most fear? She's not actually sure if she can be raised from the dead, given who her soul will be bound to when she dies, but her experience with it is terrible enough that it's hard to be entirely free of fear. She's not afraid of dying, only of an unnatural end.
FAMILY HISTORY
1) Parents/Siblings? Te'van Math'Tethen (father) and Freynd Cor'they (mother). She understands that she's their second child, but her brother, Ulrin Van'ul, died long before she was born.
2) Marital status/history? She'd been a bit too dutiful to seek out marriage, in part due to feeling torn between feelings for Nethun and another warrior, a trainer named Thane Umar'than. Both are likely long dead now.
3) When and how did s/he discover sex? I'm not sure I can answer this without knowing how conservative Paladin's dwarves are. If she has at all, though, it was probably with Thane.
4) If single, is there a significant other? As answered above. She's a bit creepy now to be attracting a lot of romantic prospects.
5) Best friend? Whether she has any friends left at all probably depends on whether Paladin intends to start this game with the PCs having been together for longer than the run from the treeline to the castle gate or whether she was alone. She probably had a good friend in Nethun's complement of guards, though.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
1) Appearance: Tall for a dwarf, particularly a female one, but currently suffering from prolonged lack of regular sleep and food. Her normal toffee-brown skin cast is sallow, her strong features rendered hard and sharp by hardship. She's stocky, as is her race's wont, and sleeping on the run with no time for the niceties of hygiene has left her thick, dark brown hair knotted and wild. She has dark, intense eyes that sometimes seem nearly feral, and her movement matches this impression--contained and clipped save for bursts of violence that cleave through lesser opponents in seconds. In all respects, she looks like someone who's been on the run for two years, and alone for most of that time.
2) Any physical deformities/weaknesses/handicaps? Having healing magic means never having to keep scars you don't want. She hasn't been attached to any of hers.
3) Style of Dress/Favorite Clothing/Jewelry Typically Worn? Half-plate that is badly in need of some attention from an armorer, gauntlets of ogre power, and a heavy, sturdy brown dress. She has a thick winter cloak (of charisma) lined in fur and dyed a deep, rich blue, fastened with a band of hammered gold discs and a brooch with Nethun's family insignia; she tries not to wear it too often, as it's the last thing Nethun ever gave her, but even trying to spare it, two years hard travel has left it worn thin in spots and splattered with mudstains. She tries to get it Mended when she can. She has two personal items of note. The first is her holy symbol; worn on a plain leather strip, it's a crudely carved symbol that's hard to make out, seeing as she carved it by hand with no craft skill and only a vague idea of what it was even supposed to look like. It's certainly effective, though. The second is a chunky gold hairband set with lapis lazuli, a gift from Thane before she left within Nethun on that last fateful diplomatic mission.
4) Color Preference(s)? She has strong feelings about the dark blue color of her two personal mementos, but it'd be hard to say she prefers it. She's kind of coming to like pale blue, a representational color of her god. It's soothing and cool when she hurts, or cold and sharp when she needs to hurt others. Otherwise, she prefers textures to colors--soft leather and hard, smooth steel, rough wool and cool, polished stone.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
1) How does the character see the future? It's hard to see much in it right now. Pre-game, she's very focused in the day-to-day struggle to survive; perhaps the castle will bring out some small glimmer of hope in her for anything beyond murdering every undead she comes across.
2) What makes life worthwhile for the character? Her service to her god, and knowing that with every necromancer or skeleton she puts down, another soul is spared the mindless hunger of deathlessness, or another twisted spirit is sent on to its right and proper justice. It's a spartan enough satisfaction, but it keeps her putting one foot in front of another.
3) What does the character see as worth dying for? Anything her god asks of her and not a lot else. She'll put up with quite a lot of punishment in combat because she can, because she's stronger than others, because the place for the strong is in bearing what the weak cannot, but there's a difference between helping someone with their burden and laying down your life for them, and with the world in the state it's in, she is more good to people alive to fight another day than she is dead guarding one retreat.
4) What does the character most hate? Necromancy, by any and all measures.
5) What does the character try to avoid? Shows of affection, both other peoples' and making any of her own. She's not entirely incapable of getting attached to anyone these days, but it hurts to let herself, and it leaves an unpleasantly bitter taste in her mouth to watch others.
6) What is the character most embarrassed by? Too many forward questions about her private life, I expect, particularly the parts that involve other women. Again, not something she's getting much of these days.
7) What is the character most fixated on? Living day-to-day, generally, though she tends to obsess about necromancers when she hears about/spots them out on the battlefield.
8) How does the character handle change? Not terribly well. She tends to buckle down, divert all energy to the shields, and do what she has to do as hard as she possibly can, without taking much time to think about anything good that might come of the change or fun that she might have along the way. She's very lawful that way.
9) Can the character easily empathize with others? A bit more easily than she'd like, and definitely more easily than she lets on.
10) Does the character experience severe mood swings? Even aside from the current rut, nah, I'd say her moods are pretty stable. It would take considerable effort to foul up a good day, and some real persistent needling to perk her up from a bad one.
11) How does the character see his/herself? Probably as a survivor. It feeds into her willingness to get into--but not die in--fights.
12) What kind of a person would the character want to be? Just stronger, really. Strong enough to deal more effectively with army hordes.
13) How far away is s/he from achieving this ideal? A lot of levels and a better Charisma. Some hope for the future wouldn't hurt.
14) What strengths does the character think s/he has? The strength of her god behind her, a formidable endurance, a bear mount, good dwarven plate mail, a level head...
15) And in actuality? Though of course her god is with her only insomuch as gods are with any cleric, her estimations aren't far off. She's not much of a group fighter anymore, though.
16) What weaknesses does the character think s/he has? Not a lot that she really thinks of as a weakness so much as a deficiency. She doesn't have a lot of knowledge, nor any handle on a craft, and is not any better at people-reading than she ever was as a diplomat's bodyguard.
17) And in actuality? A terrible Reflex save, below-average Dexterity, little ability to make money any way but fighting... Most particularly, she doesn't have much time or patience for people these days--she was never great at it, beyond the occasional insight, but lately she tends to zone out. She's a bit more knowledgeable than she thinks, though.
18) Aspirations/goals/objectives? Little enough not amply covered elsewhere.
19) Current driving motivations? Ditto.
20) What's the character's favorite fantasy? One day, she would really like to find any of her group that's left after the attack. She doesn't know how many of them escaped or left the battlefield at a mindless shamble, but she hopes that if the necromancer that raised Nethun has survived, she'll get to meet [him/her/it] and show what kind of power she really has now... And then she can insure the freedom of the rest, and Nethun can sleep easily.
21) Internal/External? Deeply, deeply internal.
22) How does the character know when he's doing a good job? Must the feedback come from outside of him/herself? Or does he or she just know? Depends on the work. She doesn't need to be told she's doing well in a fight--that's obvious enough--but the encouragement in other fields doesn't hurt. Once upon a time, she was very much a member of a team. It's hard to shake that entirely.
23) Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic learner? What's his/her second-strongest mode? Kinesthetic first and foremost, I suspect, with auditory being second, and visual rather last.
24) Does the character look at things from the perspective of what's in it for him/her? Or more from the what's in it for themselves and others? There was a time when she was very concerned with the needs of others. She still thinks of things like that, but from a more detached perspective, more out of a sense of duty than out of any real concern.
25) Does your character respond to the world by trying to find similarities? Or dissimilarities? Everyone has suffered. Everyone has lost someone. Everyone has lost a home. The similarities are so vast. Why cling to the dissimilarities--look what that has done to the world. What's the point?
26) What does it take to convince your character of something? If it's something she's really set on believing, you'd probably have to literally show her proof that it isn't true. She doesn't really have anyone whose word she trusts anymore.
27) Motivated by possibility or necessity? Does the character tend to do things only when he or she must? Or is he or she motivated by he or she wants to do, seeking out options, experiences, choices, paths? Necessity, except when it comes to her religious calling to break skulls.
28) Working style? Independent? Cooperative? Proximity? Pretty independent, though she can cope with proximity as needed.
29) Music Preference(s)? I haven't the foggiest. Traditionally dwarven, probably.
30) Athletics/Hobbies? Well, she's a better rider than a lot of dwarves. That's probably the closest she has to a hobby, though.
31) What does the character dream about? Periodic vivid nightmares about Nethun's passing are the most notable; otherwise not much gets through. She sleeps pretty hard.
32) Is the character combat-capable? Preferred styles/weapons? Man, I can tell I added this question on after having no place to discuss it for way too many other characters. What is this even doing in the psychological profile section? Anyway, yes, she is entirely competent in battle. She uses the traditional dwarven war axe and a shield for most combat, but when she sees her god's work ahead of her, she drops them both to take out the magical heavy flail to which she was lead two years ago, after escaping the encounter that scattered her group.
BEHAVIORS
1) Is the character typically a leader or a follower? She was content to be a mid-level follower with comfortable amounts of authority for most of her life; lately, she's pretty much a loner, by choice as much as neccessity.
2) What kind of public face does the character display normally? Either apathetically disinterested or creepily hanging on the words, depending on the situation.
3) How does the character show affection/love? Private declarations and observation of important days/mannerisms/requests. She begins to separate the needs of the individual out from the needs of the group, and begins to tend to them with equal dedication. Something you don't like talking about? She'll remember it and never bring it up. Birthday coming up? She'll have left something small for you where you'll find it first thing. Hurting over something? She'll bring you whatever she thinks will help the most, or just stay near if she can't think of anything.
4) How does the character show grief? She ties up a lot of her pain in mementos, I think, and releases the object when she's ready to release the pain. She's tried to be better about this since coming into []'s service, but that cloak and hairband probably aren't going anywhere until she's had any confirmation about the fates of the people she associates with them.
5) How does the character handle pain? With a grimace and a firm readiness to dish it out in return.
6) Is the character self-effacing? No, not really. Not openly, anyway. Her self-worth is a little low, but she internalizes more than she vocalizes.
7) Does the character have a temper? How is it displayed: actively or passive-aggressively? She's pretty hard to rile up these days, but it's probably pretty aggressive when she's at the end of her long fuse. Like I said, her emotions are generally pretty stable.
8) Is the character always there for a friend in need? If you're one of the few she actually thinks of as a friend, absolutely. Not many like that lately, though.
9) Does the character "crutch" on other people? Much, much less than would probably be healthy. She goes in the opposite direction, really.
10) Does the character like to be the center of attention all of the time? Oh, never. Not unless you're a Necromancer she's locked eyes with, anyway.
11) Habits/Mannerisms: She probably fidgets with things when she's thinking. She'll stare at the grain of the table or turn her weapon in her hands or toy with the straps of her shield. She tends to stare pretty fixedly when she's actually focused on the matter at hand; otherwise, her mind tends to wander.
HOW OTHERS SEE THE CHARACTER:
1) What is most likable about the character? Well, she's staunch, entirely willing to wade into battle, and doesn't hassle people about differences of race or opinion. If you actually win her loyalty or affection, she's as devoted as anyone could ask for.
2) What is most disagreeable about the character? Devotion aside, most of her virtues are currently coming from a place of deep despair. She doesn't give people trouble about much because for the most part she just doesn't care about them or whether they personally live or die.
3) How do others react to the character? She was well-liked enough by other dwarves before everything went to hell. As to other races, it's hard for me to say for sure, since I'm only playing her, but I imagine she doesn't leave very good impressions. She worships a death god and tends to come off as kind of creepy, cold and introverted.
CREATOR’S THOUGHTS:
Brief Backstory:
Insomuch as I have of it, I imagine she proved herself in her military skirmishes and was selected as a member of Nethun's company, possibly on the recommendation of a friend there. She became close to Nethun while also growing closer to Thane, a dwarf sergeant whose main duty was in training new soldiers. She was long uncertain which of these to pursue; on the one hand that she cared very much for Thane--and he was also the more traditional choice, a matter which for a dwarf is no small consideration--but also knew that she had feelings for Nethun that she wasn't sure if she could entirely shake off.
In the end, she didn't have to make the decision. Nethun had been the primary diplomat involved in trying to make a truce with dark elves that would allow the dwarves to retreat through their territory without harassment. At one such meeting, they were betrayed. They escaped up through tunnels, preferring to retreat to the ground above, where the light-sensitive drow would not follow. It was winter above, and Norn had lost her cloak in the battle. Nethun lent her her own cloak--a Cloak of Charisma, as it happens. It wasn't so much because Norn really needed it--her Constitution is quite ample--but as a gesture of thanks and friendship.
It was thus with an ugly wrench that the group returned to find the gates of the dwarven kingdoms broken and the valley clogged with the dark armies. In their stunned horror, the group was set upon by a necromancer and his enslaved undead. Already injured and depleted, the dwarves could not withstand the assault. Norn watched her companions be torn down and, at the last, had to turn her own axe against her dear leader, twisted into undead parody of the dwarf she once was.
She fled on her mount (an battle-worn bear she named Berveln), terribly injured and disoriented, in a direction that would prove to be south. Not many days into this icy trek, she stumbled upon an old shrine, long fallen into disrepair and much overgrown. With little to do until a particularly ugly patch of weather cleared, and not wanting to let herself dwell on the so-recent trauma, she cleaned up the place. That night, she dreamed of finding a hidden chamber beneath the altar, and underwent a harrowing trial in which the god of the temple demanded she give up a memento Thane had given her--in actuality, wanting her to let go of the agony of having lost him. She did and, when she awoke the next morning to find herself in the place she'd dreamed of, took the enchanted flail she'd found there and, with a new goal in life, went on her way.
She headed on south, bearing warning and growing accustomed to being disbelieved by cities that would be overtaken in their turn. She fought with them at times, but her goal was not to save the cities of men, but to bring down undead wherever she fought them. She has come at last to the final stronghold, bearing a hand-carved holy symbol, a potent grief, and an implacable intent.
The symbol is that of a god most have forgotten.
The grief is for a leader she has not yet laid to rest.
And the intent is to send as many souls, and as many filthy, heretic necromancers, to divine justice as is dwarvenly possible.
Bear Backstory:
Berveln, for his part, was raised from a cub as a mount. He's been Norn's since she first decided she would join a dwarven calvalry corps twenty-four years ago and selected him. He'd been a mount once already, but the dwarf died. It's more common for dwarves to pick young bear cubs, but Norn liked the look of the already-strong adult bear and chose him instead of one of the young ones.
He's spent the quarter-century since carrying Norn wherever she needs to go, and while he's no more intelligent than any animal, he's had a lot of time to develop personality and good instincts. He's exceedingly well-trained and loyal, but these days prefers to get his naps where he can--the need for hibernation is mostly bred out of him, but he still gets crabby when his naps are interrupted. He's trained not to attack things he hasn't been ordered to attack, but he's not above paw-bats and rolling on people. His grapple check is pretty ferocious even without the claws, after all.
