Concepts
As Mr. Carlyle and Auryn just finished their Vekeshi inter-mission, I'd like to take the time and discuss our character development a bit. Well, truth is Carlyle's player (who's also reading this thread from time to time... hi, Mr. Carlyle!) suggested that this might just be the perfect occasion to do so as our characters developed quite a lot since we first started playing Zeitgeist. Which was, by the way, over a year ago.
So Tizbiz mentioned somewhat earlier that Mr. Carlyle's player was a bit skeptical about the setting as he's a big heroic, if not epic fantasy fan and really loves WotBS where he's playing Cuin'halar, a character that felt natural to him since session 1. Mr. Carlyle, on the other hand, took some time to get warmed up to.
Originally, I saw the character as a deva who's been a crossover of an ex-Batman, his trusted butler Alfred and a member of the Downton Abbey household staff. However, he was not fully satisfied with his character's portrayal and also felt like he wasn't playing to the setting's full potential. Also, he wished for a more meaningful connection to both the world and my character, Auryn, and therefore to somehow ease Tizbiz' job.
So he took some time to think about his character's connection to the world's history and how he could intertwine both the Pathfinder mechanics and the Zeitgeist themes with what happened and formed the character of Gabriel Carlyle.
As you might know, Carlyle started as a deva stalker/alchemist gestalt, being a veteran of the big war between Elfaivar and Crisillyir that happened 500 years ago. He used both skillsets, which he acquired during his time in the Crisillyiri military, to serve the Vantrys family as trusted aide and, more or less unknown to them, as their “sword in the shadows”.
Carlyle's player wasn't really happy with the alchemist mechanics though and changed his class to arcanist during adventure 2, as he wished to provide more utility magic and also explore the theme of his (magical) divine spark and his connection to the goddess Srasama. He made it so that Carlyle had these strange visions of Eladrin and this habit of unconsciously writing theological and magical texts into an old tome which led to him developing a suppressive elixir so he wouldn't feel these foreign urges anymore. And after all the world-shaking archfey stuff that happened in adventure 1, he was kind of desperate, thinking that he wasn't really ready to face the threats that were yet to come. He knew that something powerful was hidden inside him, so he decided to release his suppressed magic, no matter the effect it could have on him. As he knew that Auryn was an Eladrin who was adept with the mystical ways, he asked her to help him learn to use his magic and understand the nature of the goddess, thus opening up the arcanist path for Carlyle.
So in the end, he came up with the following interpretations for his character:
Gabriel Carlyle didn't become a deva by chance, but by Srasama's choice. During the war, he quickly regretted what he had to do for his unit and especially resented the rather sadistic torture methods of one of his comrades. He never saw the Eladrin people as enemy and even felt sympathy for those who suffered, which is why he was much more susceptible than other Crysilliri for receiving Srasama's divine essence after her death. This led to him questioning and rejecting the Clergy after his first rebirth and an even stronger sympathy for the Eladrin. He also feels somehow responsible for those who survived after the Malice, especially women as they are the focus of Srasama's essence.
As Arcanist, he chose the Empyreal bloodline as source of his magic which switches his casting attribute from Charisma to Wisdom and also links his source of magic to a divine origin – in his case the divine spark of Srasama. This lets him gain the ability to call down heavenly fire, which is able to heal his friends and also harm evil creatures. Plus he gains the ability to channel energy once per day. So yeah, divine powers of life and fire.
For his Spirit Medium theme, he also used his first death as catalyst for his powers to see and speak to the dead. When he died during the Malice, a part of his soul went to the afterlife and got substituted by a part of the goddess who's dead as well. He also witnessed the deaths of thousands of people (soldiers of both sides, and especially Eladrin women) which traumatized him deeply.
After a long while (and putting quite a distance between what happened and who he was much later), he decided to become a guide for dead spirits. This is why he tries to connect to the dead on an emotional and personal level to send them gently to the afterlife where they may find peace. As he has a special connection to both Srasama and the dead Eladrin, he also thinks that he may expand this soothing influence to the living, especially Eladrin women like Auryn.
At this point I must admit that he played his role perfectly, as I didn't know about his character's interpretation for much of our play time and still got the feeling that Carlyle was able to calm Auryn's spirit whenever she was under duress, acting as both her friend and adviser.
Then there are the three (like in three aspects of Srasama) stalker art disciplines which define his fighting style:
First the “Riven Hourglass” which utilizes time and space. Carlyle already mentioned that time is his friend and that he'll always be a constant in the flowing river of time as he is basically immortal. Which is why he chose to utilize and manipulate time. Also, Srasama's theme of the three stages of womanhood symbolize aging, which fit this “time” aspect perfectly.
Second, the “Thrashing Dragon”, a dance-like, aesthetic, disciplined and still wild dual wield style. This style is both elegant and passionate as well and a fitting link to an Eladrin goddess. Oh and did I mention that this style is quite similar to Auryn's?
Third, there is the “Veiled Moon”, a style that uses crossing dimensional borders and hiding in the shadows. We all know that Fey Step is a signature power for Eladrin and Carlyle has learned to use this sort of ability as well.
What's remaining of his alchemist path (Tizbiz allows him to gain some low level alchemist abilities as well as they don't really power up the character) is the chirurgeon archetype which is more or less a healer type. (Hi, Dr. von Recklinghausen!)
Regarding Auryn, I discussed a lot of her design process here:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?544918-Designing-Auryn .
Setting-wise I'm more of an omnivore, so I quickly fell in love with the setting and especially with its otherness. Conceptually, I combined the flamedancer bard archetype as an interpretation of her connection to the fire of Srasama and her growing ability to lead and inspire others with the inspired swashbuckler who mixes personality, wit, beauty and perfection (plus a really superior defensive) to create a unique kind of swordplay. Also, her bard magic is really a legacy of her fey blood.
She started off as being overly cautious after being a captive (or, as he'd call it, “property”) of Fordren, and losing Zahir to the pirates, which lead to her hiding her true heritage and shielding herself off from the influence of others. Auryn had one person she fully trusted: Morris Dawkins, the man who freed her during Yerasol IV, who initiated her to the Vekeshi and who recommended her for the RHC. (There is another NPC, the Aurora's ship doctor named Telluriel Rommath who was her second best friend, but we haven't really seen her yet)
Carlyle had just recently started a new life (quite literally) after his death during the assault at the Vantrys estate when he became part of the RHC. He had been basically the same butler for centuries before, so the prospect of change was unknown territory and, possibly, even scary. So he tried to stick to what he knew and what he could do best: Disciplined work and following the rules.
Auryn had avoided the one Deva in the RHC because she didn't know how to handle him. She had been told that Crisillyiri were the enemy and thought that Deva had somehow stolen the essence of her goddess, but she could sense no ill will from this man, and so she let him be. Carlyle on the other hand saw right through her disguise, but didn't know how or even why to approach his colleague who so obviously tried to look like someone else.
This all changed after the first adventure when it became clear that whatever they had gotten themselves into was much bigger than they thought and also somehow related to the Eladrin people. The civil war on Axis island had left Auryn sickened and she saw herself unable to deal with the fact that so many people had died right before her eyes. That was the first time Caryle tried to reach out to her, telling her of his own experiences in the Malice war and finding himself to be able to see the dead who still haunt him.
Carlyle on the other hand felt the need to re-open his suppressed magical connection to the goddess and, after seeing Auryn dealing quite naturally with all sorts of fey magic and mysticism, decided to ask her for guidance.
Over the course of events, Carlyle learned that he'd need to tap into all aspects of his powers, including skills he originally wished to bury in the past. He got the impression that nothing that happened to him had happened by chance, but rather because it was his fate, his destiny. The world is about to change and he's going to be a part of this story, so he needs to be ready to fight for the people and ideals he cares for. So he's right now training both his commando skills and embracing his connection to Srasama. For his stoic following of the rules... this is about to change as well, but I don't wish to spoiler too much of adventure 4
Auryn tested the limits of her powers and as she grew more powerful, she also learned to slowly let go of her fears. She started proudly showing off her eladrin heritage and to trust in her own skills. Meanwhile, she opened up to Carlyle, who turned out to be her equal (unlike Zahir), leading to her relying on him when things turn ugly (she's constantly buffing the hell out of them both, knowing that Carlyle is going to knock out their priority targets no matter the obstacles). She's also growing as a leader and has a special knack for connecting people. Speaking of becoming a leader, Auryn is always re-evaluating her ideas of a perfect society, as she wishes to become a matriarch in time, and she knows for sure that she won't sit idly while other people risk their lives for her.