isirga eth
First Post
Ahhh, PC stories...
Orin the barbarian came down from the mountains on a cold autumn morning, to see what the civilized world was all about.
Orin had almost no fleshing out, no idea about himself or what he wanted to be - he just had some good stats (18/90 Str), and was proficient in only a few, low-powered weapons, such as short sword and sling (My rationale was that, despite his stats, he had been raised as a farmboy, and he still was one at heart).
Soon after reaching the Big City, Orin joined a treasure hunt party ("mmm, so civilized hunters hunt treasures?"). We sought for a great treasure buried in a swamp.
The NPC who had the map had been put in a madhouse by the totalitarian Church-state, which believed that "magical treasures" didn't exist. This was no 20th-century asylum, mind you - it was a huge, brooding mansion of horrors, where men's sanitites were left to rot away in dirty cells, or even cages.
After we sneaked to the man's cell in the asylum to get info on the treasure, Orin was deeply moved to find an intelligent, sensible man, jailed for talking about things that offended the government. Our DM didn't want us to dwell on that fact and wanted us to move on to the treasure search, but Orin convinced the party to try and spring the man from his unjust incarceration.
It was a bad idea. Four guys couldn't fight the government, and we didn't have a good plan. Orin's friends were put in a dungeon, and Orin was made to sit on hot iron, and had needles poked inside his ears.
Never did he flinch, though the pain was unbearable. Never did he open his mouth, thought he didn't understand what was happening, or why. Great endurance rolls helped a lot, too.
The inquisitors tried to make him confess he was possessed by the devil in opposing the church-state, but he didn't speak a word. He feigned trying to confess, and when the inquisitor came closer, Orin spat on his face.
Orin didn't know what to do, or what was to become of him. He just knew what NOT to do - to surrender. To give in to fear and pain. To give his torturers what they wanted.
Finally, after torture, Orin was declared mad - without a confession, which they couldn't get out of him - and put in a man-sized cage, to spend there the rest of his days.
Orin was scared, angry and appalled. There he was, just arrived from the lush, beautiful north mountains, put in a stifling, ugly cage for trying to defend an innocent man from the horrors of an unfair law. And he could do nothing about it.
Then came the guards. They gave Orin a thorough beating through the cage bars, and informed him they were going to do that every day until his will broke.
But something else broke at that moment, not only in Orin's heart - it came as a realization to myself as well.
Orin realized it was indeed a very unfair situation, but the law and its horrid apparatus had been created by men alone. It was no unbeatable god who had put him there; it had been people just like him. And he didn't want to be caged.
As soon as Orin (and by the same token his player, i.e. me) realized that fact, he didn't care any more about being caged, or beaten. They couldn't cage him. It was not right. It could not be.
So Orin fought.
Even caged, he tried to fight back to his jailers. He tried to beat the guards. He tried to bend the cage bars, even though he could barely move, even though he was being beaten up from outside, from all directions. Even though the DM said "it's impossible. You can't bend those bars", he kept on trying. Even when his lips tasted like blood and all his muscleds ached from the bruises and the effort.
And then, the lock broke, the cage fell, the door opened, and Orin was free.
From then, I don't remember what happened - I really don't; Orin acted on instinct - but soon he had disabled and knocked a guard out, and he had a weapon. With it (and some excellent attack and defense rolls), he fought and killed the other three jailers - Call it coincidence or luck; I say it was inspiration.
Soon Orin had the keys and freed every last inmate from the asylum. He did it out of compassion, without thinking of the consequences. He didn't know how many of them actually deserved to be put behind bars; he just knew it was bad. He just wanted to set everyone free.
By the time he reached his friends' cell, Orin was, without ever wanting it or knowing how it happened, the leader of a revolt. The freed men (both sane and crazy) took what implements they could from the asylum and came out of its walls, setting the city on fire and playing hell with the church guard.
Orin and his friends ser the city on fire, and then fled from the king's armies when they arrived to find full of free people. Nobody ever found or caught them.
From then on, Orin had that bright light in his heart and soul: the security that nothing was insoluble, and no one deserved to be subject to the whims of others.
He went to live a simple life as a fisherman, until his adopted town was attacked by church guards who wanted to recruit freemen as soldiers against the rebellion. Orin put himself between the people and the crossbows, letting the soldiers know that, even if they were armed and outnumbered him, they would NOT prevail in a fight against him. Because his eyes were now those of a man who knew that nobody could make him do something he didn't want. So he offered himself to the recruits as a soldier, and didn't let them take a single man more from the fishermen's town. His freedom was a small price to pay for that of the whole town.
During his week as a church soldier, Orin met a gypsy who had been imprisoned by the government for thievery. His name was Dario, and was a smart con man from the gypsy mountains. Dario had all the qualities Orin lacked - subtlety, tact, smarts, and a very keen strategic mind.
Dario devised a plan that allowed both of them to flee the tower they were in, and soon they became partners. What Dario lacked in muscle, presence and sheer courage and will, Orin provided; and Dario gave Orin what the savvy he needed to understand the world as it was.
They became a feared and very effective couple, and once even freed an entire gypsy village from the army camp they were put in.
After setting Dario as head of the gypsy revolution against the church state, Orin went to live as a woodsman, alone in the mountains. During this time, he befriended the forest elves, and defeated an entire orc tribe using only his fists and his wits.
Among the gypsies, he was remembered as a deliverer; among the church state, he was known as a madman. But Orin was a free man, body and soul; nothing more.
Besides being the only character with which I have REALLY felt true, absolute suspension of disbelief while playing; besides his great ability scores and luck with the dice; even besides being the most in-depth personality I ever developed for a character, and feeling that I knew him as a real person - as a friend; I love Orin for what he taught me - for that is how I see it - about life and the human spirit.
I love Orin because playing him made me a better man in real life.
Thanks to let me talk about this...
Orin the barbarian came down from the mountains on a cold autumn morning, to see what the civilized world was all about.
Orin had almost no fleshing out, no idea about himself or what he wanted to be - he just had some good stats (18/90 Str), and was proficient in only a few, low-powered weapons, such as short sword and sling (My rationale was that, despite his stats, he had been raised as a farmboy, and he still was one at heart).
Soon after reaching the Big City, Orin joined a treasure hunt party ("mmm, so civilized hunters hunt treasures?"). We sought for a great treasure buried in a swamp.
The NPC who had the map had been put in a madhouse by the totalitarian Church-state, which believed that "magical treasures" didn't exist. This was no 20th-century asylum, mind you - it was a huge, brooding mansion of horrors, where men's sanitites were left to rot away in dirty cells, or even cages.
After we sneaked to the man's cell in the asylum to get info on the treasure, Orin was deeply moved to find an intelligent, sensible man, jailed for talking about things that offended the government. Our DM didn't want us to dwell on that fact and wanted us to move on to the treasure search, but Orin convinced the party to try and spring the man from his unjust incarceration.
It was a bad idea. Four guys couldn't fight the government, and we didn't have a good plan. Orin's friends were put in a dungeon, and Orin was made to sit on hot iron, and had needles poked inside his ears.
Never did he flinch, though the pain was unbearable. Never did he open his mouth, thought he didn't understand what was happening, or why. Great endurance rolls helped a lot, too.
The inquisitors tried to make him confess he was possessed by the devil in opposing the church-state, but he didn't speak a word. He feigned trying to confess, and when the inquisitor came closer, Orin spat on his face.
Orin didn't know what to do, or what was to become of him. He just knew what NOT to do - to surrender. To give in to fear and pain. To give his torturers what they wanted.
Finally, after torture, Orin was declared mad - without a confession, which they couldn't get out of him - and put in a man-sized cage, to spend there the rest of his days.
Orin was scared, angry and appalled. There he was, just arrived from the lush, beautiful north mountains, put in a stifling, ugly cage for trying to defend an innocent man from the horrors of an unfair law. And he could do nothing about it.
Then came the guards. They gave Orin a thorough beating through the cage bars, and informed him they were going to do that every day until his will broke.
But something else broke at that moment, not only in Orin's heart - it came as a realization to myself as well.
Orin realized it was indeed a very unfair situation, but the law and its horrid apparatus had been created by men alone. It was no unbeatable god who had put him there; it had been people just like him. And he didn't want to be caged.
As soon as Orin (and by the same token his player, i.e. me) realized that fact, he didn't care any more about being caged, or beaten. They couldn't cage him. It was not right. It could not be.
So Orin fought.
Even caged, he tried to fight back to his jailers. He tried to beat the guards. He tried to bend the cage bars, even though he could barely move, even though he was being beaten up from outside, from all directions. Even though the DM said "it's impossible. You can't bend those bars", he kept on trying. Even when his lips tasted like blood and all his muscleds ached from the bruises and the effort.
And then, the lock broke, the cage fell, the door opened, and Orin was free.
From then, I don't remember what happened - I really don't; Orin acted on instinct - but soon he had disabled and knocked a guard out, and he had a weapon. With it (and some excellent attack and defense rolls), he fought and killed the other three jailers - Call it coincidence or luck; I say it was inspiration.
Soon Orin had the keys and freed every last inmate from the asylum. He did it out of compassion, without thinking of the consequences. He didn't know how many of them actually deserved to be put behind bars; he just knew it was bad. He just wanted to set everyone free.
By the time he reached his friends' cell, Orin was, without ever wanting it or knowing how it happened, the leader of a revolt. The freed men (both sane and crazy) took what implements they could from the asylum and came out of its walls, setting the city on fire and playing hell with the church guard.
Orin and his friends ser the city on fire, and then fled from the king's armies when they arrived to find full of free people. Nobody ever found or caught them.
From then on, Orin had that bright light in his heart and soul: the security that nothing was insoluble, and no one deserved to be subject to the whims of others.
He went to live a simple life as a fisherman, until his adopted town was attacked by church guards who wanted to recruit freemen as soldiers against the rebellion. Orin put himself between the people and the crossbows, letting the soldiers know that, even if they were armed and outnumbered him, they would NOT prevail in a fight against him. Because his eyes were now those of a man who knew that nobody could make him do something he didn't want. So he offered himself to the recruits as a soldier, and didn't let them take a single man more from the fishermen's town. His freedom was a small price to pay for that of the whole town.
During his week as a church soldier, Orin met a gypsy who had been imprisoned by the government for thievery. His name was Dario, and was a smart con man from the gypsy mountains. Dario had all the qualities Orin lacked - subtlety, tact, smarts, and a very keen strategic mind.
Dario devised a plan that allowed both of them to flee the tower they were in, and soon they became partners. What Dario lacked in muscle, presence and sheer courage and will, Orin provided; and Dario gave Orin what the savvy he needed to understand the world as it was.
They became a feared and very effective couple, and once even freed an entire gypsy village from the army camp they were put in.
After setting Dario as head of the gypsy revolution against the church state, Orin went to live as a woodsman, alone in the mountains. During this time, he befriended the forest elves, and defeated an entire orc tribe using only his fists and his wits.
Among the gypsies, he was remembered as a deliverer; among the church state, he was known as a madman. But Orin was a free man, body and soul; nothing more.
Besides being the only character with which I have REALLY felt true, absolute suspension of disbelief while playing; besides his great ability scores and luck with the dice; even besides being the most in-depth personality I ever developed for a character, and feeling that I knew him as a real person - as a friend; I love Orin for what he taught me - for that is how I see it - about life and the human spirit.
I love Orin because playing him made me a better man in real life.
Thanks to let me talk about this...
