Post by ib1sly1 on May 15, 2020 22:33:02 GMT -7
wand of magic missles
salty wooden stick that will blow some head's off
Name: BBT Venandi
Aliases: Ret'xed
Race: Half-drow (half-elf variant)
Age: 88
Appearance and Style:
BBT stands the height of a medium sized man at 5-foot six. He has broad shoulders and walks slow; but during combat he is sharp on his feet. Vinandi has shoulder length dark hair with streaks of white hairs woven throughout that makes him look older than he actually is for a half-elf. He has piercing yet focused amber color eyes that tend to look through you and not at you. He can be seen wearing a slate colored robe edged with a black leather trim over chain-mail, and wears a nicely tailored set of boots. He carries a blackened wood shield over a steel longsword sheathed in hardened leather etched with black tears trailing down one side. It connects at his hip with a leather belt where several pouches are tethered.
Significant Qualities:
BBT acts with confidence but is not cocky and in most cases he remains quiet. He has a gruff voice and talks out of the side of his mouth due to a scar on the side of his face. Vinandi is well known at most of the taverns across the Coast. He can be seen studying strange books while flirting with the bar maidens. His ears perk up at storys of the occult such as witches, hags, necromancers and other ceremonial killings. He tends to do things his own way, often times with strange outcomes, but doesn't act carelessly.
Living Relatives:
The only thing close to Vinandi's relatives and his past are the orphans from Candlekeep. It is rare, but he sometimes stumbles across one of the orphans from his childhood as Vinandi travels across the Coast.
Currently, he reports to the Church of Torm - to a sect of like-minded inquisitors who believe in Torm as the Threefold God. The group of inquisitors identify one another in the order of "The Tears of the Eye" by using a 3 lettered sir name (BBT). They withhold the same beliefs of their predecessors - an group of clerics and inquisitors from Waterdeep and Silverymoon seeking to preserve their order of the Eye of Justice. He will pray at the Church of Torm, but if there is not one available, he is not opposed to a quiet visit to either the churches of Helm or Tyr. To Vinand and to the Tears of the Eye - Helm and Tyr are generally past manifestations of Torm
Five Things Your Character Fears (in order from least afraid to most)
- As an early teen, he was following a rumor of a witch cult, and tried to sneak into a barn to spy on them. He opened a dormer shutter to access the loft where it smashed into a hive of bees and he received multiple scores of stings. It kept him bedded for several days before he felt okay enough to move, so now he freaks out at the sight or sound of a bee... is kind of embarrassing for him to act that way.
- Vinandi fears he won't be easily accepted into groups so he tends to be shy and quiet at first; but that doesn't mean he isn't still confident once he's made a decision.
- Silence. He relies on all of his senses, but loss of hearing for him is terrifying. Nothing good ever happens after dead silence!
- He has tracked and observed, but not engaged, a werewolf. They are immense creatures with massive strength and speed that deserve his respect.
- He fears that there is a greater evil in the realm that even his order cannot conquer - he knows it is out there - and will bring the brutality of his death. But this also fuels his yearning to be stronger and provides courage to fight forces unknown to him.
Four Things Your Character Loves Dearly (in order from least beloved to most)
- Books - a lot of his childhood was spent in the library and learning about the world outside of the one-windowed reading room on the library's second floor, and where he first read about Bhaal; stories of recruiting assassins and his murderous schemes against evil fiends.
- His alchemy kit - he has spent a long time learning the craft and finding the materials needed to craft the items unique to his craft.
- His magic items and holy symbol - he relies heavily upon them to thwart evil and is always on the lookout for new items.
- Memories of his adopted father who taught him to fight, taught him justice and taught him the religious essentials of strange magic and rituals (i.e. drawing a pentagram in salt, stories of werewolves and witches and ghosts, etc.), and the extraordinary stories about the realm of Toril. Vinandi swears he heard a voice talk to him during one of the earlier rituals he and his father performed; and sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night with a foggy voice still lingering in his mind. It encourages him to do whatever it takes to be stronger than his foes. At first he was scared of the lingering voice that would generally end his dreams most night. Now the voice guides and comforts him.
Three Things Your Character Is Embarrassed About (from least embarrassing to most)
- How he sounds when he talks. When the mirror shattered in his face (see backstory), it scarred the one side of his lip making him talk out of the side of his face.
- He can't help himself at seeing a bee and how it freaks him out; he feels embarrassed afterwards about how he acted.
- If he does something that is ultra good (like saving a child from a burning building); he does not like the attention focused on him and his embarrassment will often anger him.
Two Things Your Character is Proud of (from least to most proud)
- He has eliminated, directly or indirectly, much evil across the southern coast of the Faerun. There are few stories talked about him, but he knows what he did.
- He finally feels like he is starting to master the use of alchemy. Having been taught at a seemingly early age by his father, he has worked and studied hard at understanding chemical and mystical elements - and useful material combinations.
One Thing They'd be Willing to Kill or Die for (state whether they'd kill or die for it)
- Working towards the destruction of a powerful evil entity. He values his life; but he also understands the pact he took with The Tears of the Eye, and the importance with following through with orders. Although he doesn't check in with The Tears as often as he should, because he prefers to have flexibility working outside of some rules set by The Tears.
Birth:
As far as he knows, BBT was born just outside of Candlekeep, where he grew up in an orphanage until the early age of ten and was then adopted by his Father - Stephaan Vinandi?
Childhood:
Being half-drow, he didn't seem to grow as fast as the other kids, but his mind was sharp and inquisitive. He learned to read and write Common as did the other children in the orphanage in Candlekeep. The headmaster was a strict old soldier who maintained order and discipline during our studies. Yeah, he did like to pretend to sword-play with sticks and image he was slaying great monsters; but just as much he liked to sneak off to the library and read stories about the rest of Faerun. He yearned to get out of the dreary and gray stone walls of Candlekeep and see mountains and rivers and the deep snows north of Neverwinter.
Young Adult Life:
When he heard he was considered for adoption, he was both thrilled and terrified. He may have been ten, but his face was thin and his body small, easily passing for half his age. He never asked his Pa why he was chosen, but assumes he sounded smarter than he actually was for a six year old.
Happy to be outside of the dreary castle walls, he didn't get far. His new home was just across the bay from Candlekeep where they lived in a modest 2-story home with large tracts of land overlooking the ocean at the tip of a jetty. On a calm clear day, he can see the dull gray stones of the castle spires reflecting on the horizon.
It did not take his father long to let him acclimate to his new home. First thing his Pa did, was shove him on a horse and show him their land, and it's edges. He taught him to track animals, map his surroundings and the workings of a small crossbow. It did not take long before a swordstick was shoved in his hand - and this time not for child's play; his Pa was not at all lenient in his study. The cool ocean water was good for soaking those bruises, especially on days when Pa made him sail back to Candlekeep, where he was usually left alone to walk the markets or spend time in the library while his father disappeared on 'serious business'. Sometimes it was days before his father's return; but the boy was always well taken care of at what used to be known as Winthrop's Wicked-Inn, more commonly known as Candlekeep Inn, located on the north side of the town.
BT enjoyed the time with his Pa most, which was often. He would like to say they were best friends most of the time, but Pa wasn't afraid of good ole discipline either. On one of the trips to Candlekeep, he ran across one of his orphanage brothers in the market and heard an amazing tale of a group of witches who convene in a barn on the outside of the keep. Pa was gone, so heck yeah he was going to go check it out! He spent a good part of a day scouting the farm and specifically the barn, where he formulated his plan. He would climb the tree at the corner of the barn, shimmy across the roof, and break into the dormer at the second floor. He would use his knife to pry some floor boards where he could observe the witches below. But his plans fell through when a massive beehive was growing behind the closed dormer shutters, when he pried them apart, bees clouded his vision stinging his face, neck and arms as he realized he was sliding down the roof towards it's edge. Come to find out, they weren't witches at all, but a group of house-wives gathering to wager on a few games of bones. BT isn't sure what hurt more, the ankle sprain received during the fall, or the switch marks on his backside after Pa found out.
Later in his teen years, he was becoming very proficient with using his crossbow, rabbit was a common item on the dinner table. Usually after a good dinner, his father would pour a second glass of wine and tell wild tales of men slaying monstrous werewolves, or destroying a coven of witches. The tales were very vivid, as if his Pa was watching the scenes unfold in his head. What was even more amazing is how the men would use a variety of magic items, or kill spawns of evil with feats of magic.
Pa eventually let BT hold a steel sword - okay yeah, he admits was scared. There is a big difference between a bruised knuckle and a lost finger. BT learned the value of properly knowing how to wield a shield and how a sword and shield must be used in concert during combat. When to parry his body and when to thrust his sword. Using the shield to block a bow or push a man off balance, or as a means to retreat.
BT will not forget though, that night when his future path was laid and would establish his core values. One night a man dressed in dark red and black robes came to the door. He looked like a cross between a fighter and a mage, his cloak draped over chain mail. Although the man held a blade, BT could tell there was more to the man - so he ran and got his Pa. He followed behind as Pa walked the man down the dock where there was lots of whispers and looks in BT's direction. His Pa looked angry at the man, but eventually turned away from the unknown man and grabbed BT by the tunic pulling him back to the house. His Pa disappeared to the back bedroom, returning shortly, pulling a similarly looking red/black cloak over his own chain mail shirt. He tossed BT a balled up lump of gear, consisting of a long sword, dagger, crossbow, belt and cloak. As it unraveled in the air, BT dropped it, the contents sprawling across the floor. He paused as he inspected the sword - a sharpened steel long sword with a skull bookmarking each side of the hilt. The scabbard is blackened leather with red tears embossed down the sides coming to a decorative steel chape at it's tip.
Pa didn't stop as the boy picked up his belongings, walking sternly past him through the door and down to the docks. BT remembers having to close the door behind him fumbling with his belt as he followed. This time they sailed to the north across the longer bay where they tethered the boat and walked the shore ever closer to the forests of Cloakwood. Behind a large boulder at the edge of the inlet, the pair met two more men - one of them he met earlier. The other man fully dressed in a similarly colored hooded robe but he carries a long wooden staff and carries a short sword on his hip as well as several other leather pouches tied to his belt. The robed man motions them to be quiet and begins to lead them further into the forest. In the distance BT can see the flicker of a fire reflecting in the canopy of tall pines, and what appear to be screams and laughter. As the group closes in on the fire, shadows of dancing figures can be seen circling the flame as the robed man and the man on the docks split ease into the shadows using the trunks of the pine trees as cover. They pause and move closer until they are within twenty feet of the camp. What BT originally though were the playful screams of young women, he can now see is three old women with wiry hair and large warts growing from their faces. Flickering from behind the flames, BT notices a body strewn atop flat stone, on it's torso is carved with a familiar pentagram, but encircled with bloodied runes he does not recognize. Not paying attention, BT missed the signal to attack. His Pa and the other two companions rushed towards the three hags. His Pa led the charge. It was the first and only time he saw him cast a spell. He saw his father run into the clearing while he muttered words into the air and swirled his hands in circles. A small black ball of shadow formed over the flames of the bonfire just before expanding into a sphere that covers all three of the old women. It is utter black but with silvery shadows of figures swirling in and out. BT hears the women scream in paid, but almost immediately sees two of them dart from the shadowy ball; vines explode on the ground grappling both the robed man and the other unknown man before reaching out to his Pa. BT stood motionless, afraid, but the screams coming from the women and his party remained real. Snapping him out of his fear, BT steps from behind his tree and dashes forward to help his Pa - from the corner of his eye he sees the two hags grab the unknown men by the necks in clawed hands. A flash of light comes from the robed mad as his neck snaps backwards with a loud crack. The other man having thrust his sword through the body of the retched purple skinned woman who screams in agony as she dies on the lifeless body of the man. Thorny vines creep higher over his father and surround him as the bloodied hag closes in on him. His Pa does not see it coming, his focus on preserving the magic of his deadly sphere, as the screams of the deadly woman inside fades. BT watches as the vines wrap around his Pa, dragging him to the ground. His father screams in pain as the shadowy sphere he created fades. BT cannot see life of the third hag and he also sees no remains. Blood pumping in his veins, BT nears the remaining hag as he draws the long sword from its sheath. His father spins, sword in hand, slashing down the front of the hag, as her claws rip down his back. BT smashing into her with his shield as thorns rip into his pants and he falls sideways into a small clearing merely feet from her. But the hag continues to swipe and her claws rip down the face and neck of his Pa, his sword barely reaching her shoulder.
This is when BT first heard the voice. It came from the darkness but clear in his head "The sword is not the only solution my son. For I am a part of you, as you are a part of me. I have always been there for you, as you for me, simply ask my guidance and I will provide." His sword lunging toward the hag, thrusting through it's side; BT screams out words he didn't realize he knew. A beam of light cracks down his arm and into his sword. A sizzling sound can be heard as BT and the hag are thrust in opposite directions. BT stands to see the dead hag laying still on the dirt floor, and stains on the ground caused by the blood of his father, his last action removing a silver pendant from his neck and handing it to BT s the boy prayed to his gods to heal his father, but his request was not granted that day.
He doesn't remember how long it took to burn the two remaining bodies of the hags, and to dig three graves in the dense forest floor. It may have been a ten-day. But he knew that responsibility of some sort now lied in his hands, specifically because of the pendant given to him by his father. And starting from that night, at first he was afraid, but now a comforting voice, speaks to him in his dreams.
Where you are today:
BT spent many a years going back and forth between his father's home and Candlekeep. He was now enthralled with mystical evil creatures of all sorts and the extensive library was his weapon. Hours turned into years, literally. He still tracked wild and mystical stories. He heard of a werewolf around Baldur's Gate, so decided to leave home and travel north. He reached the town of Baldur's Gate just before a conflict between the guard and the citizen's. A group of hero's on each side battled for months.
But that wasn't the business BT was interested in, he wanted to know more about the supernatural. Most of the tales BT stumbled across ended up being just that, tales. But this time, it was real - there was a man in Baldur's Gate who actually shape changed while handing out candy to children! He was quickly restrained and removed. BT hung around several of the inns, listening and learning of news of the man, but nothing ever emerged. He did, however, manage to meet several like-minded clerics who were preaching a caravan of newcomers outside of the wall. They were fewer than three, but hey held a dogma and message that resonated with BT. Evil must be disposed of - to keep it from spreading across the lands of Faerun. Justice must be maintained at any cost. And to aid those willing to join their cause. BT was lost and alone, and needed to feel a sense of belonging, so he agreed to join the clerics. At first he was an outsider, doing small errands here and there for them, but quickly earned their trust. They asked him to murder a small tribe of 'evil dominion' east of Silverymoon. It turned out to be a necromancer attempting to turn undead orcs. BT quickly disposed of the necromancer, and jailed several of his followers with no trial. Shortly after BT was asked to return to Baldur's Gate. In a late night ceremony, a knock came to his door. The three clerics, donned him in a burgundy red cloak trimmed with black leather edging. He was lead through several underground passages, that opened up into a large room adorned with black and red tapestries. BT was lead to the center of the room, before a door opened and BT is approached by a man with a confident walk.
The priest's, in unison, chant stores of the unknown man, praising past prophetic events of the hero-mage Alundro. "As I am a descendant of Alundo, so you too BT, are a descendant of Bhaal. For you were forged in the bowels of another realm, brought here to serve our Lord in desecrating evil and the foes of our Lord Bhaal. The purge begins with us!" The priest screams aloud. "In darkness shall you find light; and in light shall you find darkness" The priest continues, "In the red tears of blood, shall you find peace. In the darkness of death, salvation. Join the Red Tear and aid Bhaal to cleanse evil from the land" Recites the cleric.
Views on the world:
BBT never understood the ceremony he agreed to, but he does believe in the eradication of evil across Fearun, and the ideal behind Bhaal's murderous eradication of evil. His order, as directed by Bhaal, is to even take out those who would seek to act in service of Bhaal, but not in the credence laid out by The Red Tears. BT changed his name to BBT, after agreeing to serve Bhaal, which now represents the first B in BBT. He dispenses justice to those who commit crimes, and to those who justice is worthy.[/font][/font]