[Characters] Paragons of Squalor

[deqtr]

Post your characters here, I guess

Oh yea, as part of the character creation process, make 3 npc's (can just be a name and a very very brief sketch) that include some sort of connection to your character (it could be another street urchin... or even like the mayor of the town, friend, foe, rival, whatever.) I'll try to draw from these to put together sub-plots and story hooks etc etc. (you can actually make as many npc's as you like, but I won't necessarily use all of them)

[Timeless Prophet]

Name: Leila Hollowbrooke
Race: Human
Class: That Girl (Bard using the Court Bard variant)
Age: 13
Alignment: Neutral
Description: Leila is a gangly adolescent girl of approximately thirteen years of age (or at least that is how old she is). She has pale skin and nearly platinum blonde hair. She braids the long golden locks into intricate patterns usually (if she can find some spare ones in the park) with some sort of flower. Her facial features are sharp and pointed giving the young girl a near elf-life appearance (minus the ears, naturally). Her thin lips rarely curl into a smile but are constantly on the move. Her eyes are a deep shade of emerald.

She often wears a slightly tattered and dirty white frock that is probably one size too small for the young woman. When not wearing that dress, she is often seen in a pair of tan trousers with a red linen shirt that clearly was made for a young man. In this outfit, she often rolls the sleeves up and wears a white sash tightly around her waist. She is rarely seen without some sort of footwear; however, she loves a pair of simple brown flats the most.

Notably, she also almost always cares a stuffed pig doll. Often she tucks the trinket into her sash or she carries it in the crook of her arm. The doll itself is a strange amalgamation of cloth patches. Originally a soft pink, the pig’s color has mostly faded and tears have been covered with an assortment of odd colored patches. Leila refers to the doll as Truffle, but many of the younger children that surround her call him Mr. Piggy. A long time ago, Leila removed the back stitching and inserted several sizable rocks into the doll. When need be, Leila wields the doll like a club. More than one disrespectful little brat has learned to respect Mr. Piggy.

Personality: Leila is whoever Leila wants to be. She has learned from an early age that people can be manipulated, conned, cajoled, persuaded, or straight ridiculed into doing what you want them to do. One minute Leila can be a perfect little angel and the next she’ll be cheering the fire starters on. She is rarely the first one to jump into anything, but she follows closely on the heels of those who do so she can offer helpful advice or bully the reluctant into coming along. She is rarely truly invested in what is going on. When the winds of changes (or adults) seem to be blowing, Leila will abandon ship the minute things are no longer looking favorable for her. Leila’s team is always the winning time because she rarely sticks around long enough to lose.

Despite her what may seem to be a callous heart, Leila has a soft spot for children, animals, and the downtrodden. People who get stabbed in the back by Leila often deserve it. They were probably troublemakers to begin with (ignoring the fact Leila may or may not have coaxed them along); however, she truly cannot tolerate a bully (after all, that is her shtick..or so she would have people think).

She holds a passionate interest in the world of adults as well. Although much of the conversation may be beyond her comprehension for the moment, Leila holds onto everything she hears and even mimics some of it in conversation with her peers. The world of grown-ups is slowly starting to fall into place for young Leila. As it does, she is more eager to listen in and pick up more and more information. She often weaves the bits she picks up into the stories that she tells and has gained a bit of a reputation among the children as an excellent storyteller.

History:Leila Hollowbrooke was born to a scullery maid, Emma, in a wealthy manor on the outskirts of Tillagiltchuck. No one ever came out and explicitly stated how Leila was conceived, but everyone in the house believed the lord of the manor, Emery Thistle, to be the father. Leila spent these early years in household that was less than receptive to her. The servants (besides her mother) treated her rather poorly and the noble’s family ignored her for the most part. She clung to her mother’s and watched as the world marched right along.

Eventually, a nephew of Emery’s came to live with his aunt and uncle. Mikah was the young boys name, and Leila observed that he was able to get basically whatever he by throwing a tantrum or being a sweet angel at the right moment. Leila detested Mikah. He never received the ridicule nor disdain that she did and was by far a more obnoxious child than Leila could hope to be. He also had a nasty habit of terribly mistreating smaller children and the house cat.

Leila, however, would not have to live with Mikah for long. Shortly after his arrival and somewhere around Leila’s seventh birthday, Emily died from fever. Leila was quickly sent out of the house and to a small village outside the manor. Leila becomes a little vague with details about her life during the next three years. She may offhandedly mention an incident with a fire-breathing chicken or a how a monstrous bathtub, but rarely will she reveal anything of particular substance. She does mention that she learned very clearly that people are much more willing to help a lost little girl than an orphan. She claims that she liberated Truffles from a particularly tyrannical noble child during this time as well.

By the age of eleven, Leila had found her way to Tillagiltchuck. She spent a few months on the streets telling stories to people for the occasional copper. She eventually just walked into the Ringworm Orphanage for Ugly and Unwanted Children. She sat down and started telling her stories to the children and was generally very well received. It took the staff a day or two for the staff to notice they had a particularly popular new resident (at least with the young children). Although a little older than the average resident, Leila was allowed to stay for a year or so before she was once again turned out onto the street. She has been invited back by Headmaster Ignovart on numerous occasions to share her stories with the children. She gladly has accepted every invitation and other odd job she can, but Leila spends most of her days telling stories in taverns for coins.

 

Josiah: Josiah is a young boy that Leila met on the streets one day while she told her stories. A street urchin himself, Josiah was enthralled by the tale of the bear spirit Nomtak who once fought the dark shadows of the land. He chatted with the Leila and informed her that he had seen Nomtak. Well seen maybe isn't the right word. The boy claimed to be protected Nomtak and the creature was in fact his best friend. Leila has run into Josiah a few more times on the streets. He streets through all of her stories and will beg her endlessly to tell the one about his best friend again and again. Leila usually is willing to oblige the young boy. She often tries to pry out of him how he manages to do so well on the streets, but the boy's only response is: "Namtok takes care of it!"

Emile Silvervein: Emile Silvervein is a genius wunderkind of the highest order. Gifted with intelligence and ambition, the teenager blazed her way through all of her prep schools and academic studies at a magical academic. A student of alchemy, Emile returned to Tillagiltchuck and opened up a lab with her parents backing. She often performs demonstations of various new scientific discoveries on the streets and that is where she crossed paths with Leila. At one of these demonstations, Leila pointed out that it wasn't so much a scientific wonder that was responsible for the interesting display but in fact a clever trick. Leila charged the stage and proceeded to demonstrate how the crude was being duped. Emile stammered out a response, but the crowd quickly turned and she was forced to flee. Since that day, Emile has fumed within in her lab. The girls have met a few more times since then and Emile usually uses those opportunities to ridicule Leila or "field test" some new creation in Leila's vincity.

Victoria One-Eye: Victoria One-Eye is a hedge witch who dwells in one of the slums of Tillagiltchuck. Typically concerned with reading runes or peddling cures from her hut, Victoria is a strange and aloof elderly half-orc. She sometimes turns to the children of the streets in order to gather some of her supplies or to deliver her various concoctions. Leila has done does various work for Victoria in the past, but the old woman typically turns to Leila when a particular child hasn't done what the crone has asked. Leila finds the children and receives compensation for her efforts.

Starting Items:
Truffles: Bludgeoning Weapon 1d6+str damage
A Book of Dirty Limericks, from which Leila has taught her self how to read.
A large metal Ladle
A cracked violin with a single string (the "D" string
A dirty beer tankard

[Silverbreeze]

"Sometimes the best lesson is experimentation."

Name: Tikara "Tinky" ke Halesi
Age: 13
Class: Alchemist (of some sorts)
Race: Human

Description When most people think about orphans and street urchins, they think of ragged, unwashed, haggard looking creatures. Add a fine layer of soot and a random scent that she has that changes on a daily basis, ranging from almost pleasant to week old rancid grease, and you have a rough descriptor of Tikara. She is a small child with -very- dirty blonde hair (and on most days it distinctly doesn't look blonde at all) that she likes to keep short and in either temple braids or pigtails, to keep it out of the way. She is a young child with a simple air of innocence about her and possessing a wildly curious and mischievous streak. She has slightly large, pale grey eyes that sometimes give away what she may be currently thinking about, and dance and shine as only a child's does as they experience the world around them. She also has a light dusting of freckles across her nose and the top of her cheeks. She has a rounded face that seems well suited for, and usually is, smiling, grinning wickedly, and blowing raspberries. Tikara wears a pair of over sized glasses that rest on said cheeks that, while they were not made for her, let her see better than she would without them. The lenses of these glasses are quite thick, which is good considering how many "accidents" Tikara has, and seem to keep up well with the worse of the abuse that is thrown their way. They are kept around her neck, bound with a fairly strong piece of leather so she doesn't lose them. She is commonly seen barefoot, even though she actually owns a pair of shoes... somewhere. Her simple urchin clothing usually involves wearing an old stained apron (knotted several times so it doesn't drag along the ground and trip her up), over a simple, worn pair of trousers that have been patched over several times, and a tunic. Most of one.

Personality Tikara is not the most outgoing or adventurous child, but she does get into her fair share of trouble with her antics and situations she gets herself into because of her curious nature. Tikara is the type of child who must experience things with her own two hands, or watch it with her own two eyes before she is satisfied. You cannot simply tell her that something is hot, she wants to put her hand in it or on it to figure it out for herself. Despite this, she tends to be the "thinker" of her friends, usually considering the pros and cons of a situation, and how much trouble it can get her into, but also prone to throwing caution in the wind if the risk matches the reward. She is quite playful and imaginative, frequently found daydreaming and being completely oblivious at the most random of times, and she enjoys tinkering and experimenting with things. Tikara gets along well with other kids, and has no problem speaking with adults. The kids she made friends with in the orphanage gave her the nickname "Tinky" mostly because of the difficulty with pronouncing her actual name, and because it fit well with her usual pastime. She is a very intelligent child, and people older than her are usually quite amazed with what she knows with so few years under her belt. This, combined with the fact that she is sharp of eyes, ears, and nose, tends to let her execute her trouble making plans quite easily, escape when trouble (or discipline) is on it's way, and charm her way out of situations where she cannot.

Background Tikara can't remember exactly what happened to make her an orphan. Where had her parents gone, and did they die? She just remembers a pair of house fires that happened while she was playing, and since then, she's been staying at the orphanage. Well, she was staying at the orphanage until recently. She liked it well enough, but they never really feel like home. Not that she actually knows what home is. Life at the orphanage is always on the rough side, and always hoping to be the one picked and being denied wore one down rather quickly. It didn't take long before Tikara gave up hope on ever being adopted. The parents who would enter the Ringwood Orphanage weren't looking for a girl as plain as her or as short as her, with hair that threatened to destroy any grooming item thrust in it's general direction. While she is a bright-eyed and playful child, her smiles always promised mischief to these would be parents, and they tended to stray away from those who would cause them trouble or monetary damages to their property when properly unleashed. When you're picking from Ugly and Unwanted children, you want the best of the lot, and Tikara was far from that. What's the point in getting all cleaned up (as best as someone like her could) just to stand in line knowing you'll never be picked when you could otherwise be outside playing or doing something more interesting? Tikara has an interest in alchemy, sparked when she was younger by watching a merchant making a bubbly brew by mixing two liquids together. Not knowing that these were specific liquids that made this happen, she set out to duplicate this feat, much to the distress of Ignovart and those around her. There are some things that aren't meant to be mixed together, and react in quite volatile ways when they are. Usually the best reaction of Tikara's experimenting was nothing happening after she managed to procure whatever sludge or random liquid she could get her hands on. At other times, they ended in small explosions, melted vials and burnt fingers, terrible smells that caused rampant nausea throughout the orphanage, and the act that got her kicked out of the orphanage, setting a small section of it on fire. Not that it really mattered, no one was going to adopt her anyway. In recent times, Tikara has been busily working at putting together her own alchemy set (complete with dirty vials and chipped jars, a rickety table, a ready supply of different colored stuff to mix together, and other odds and ends. It's currently her pride and joy, and the center of everything she does these days. People around her who witness her strange experimentation may coin her as some sort of alchemist (and a poor one at that), because that's generally what people of that profession do in their free time isn't it? Mix random things together and blow things up? Not that she cares much for titles and professions, she just wants to have fun and experiment and enjoy what life throws at her, and see what she can make out of it.

I'm not quite sure how in depth you want us to go with our friends, but here's a rough description of some of Tinky's friends.

Friends   Kyle is a crazy kid, and kid is a bit loose of a term. He's in his late teens but acts like a kid. The oldest of Tikara's friends. He's tall and has a good bit of muscle tone. He's the type of guy you're friends with because you're curious of what he'll do next, and also because if he does something crazy, you want to be his friend so he doesn't do it to you. Loves to play pranks of the most random variety, for the sheer thrill of it and so he can laugh and tell all his friends about it.   "Boomjack" as he likes to call himself, is Tikara's resident alchemist friend. Like his namesake shows, he likes alchemy of the explosive variety. He seems to be quite competent at the craft, as he still has all his fingers, although he does have some blackened spotches of skin. Tikara's closest friend, as he teaches her many of the things she knows and she usually goes to him for advice. He might also have a small crush on her.   Zimmy is a professional. At the age of 16, he's patched up most of the people he calls his friends and has also saved a couple of their lives, especially during some of their more elaborate pranks. When it comes to making plans, or thinking of things to do, Zimmy is the cool and calculating type, dealing with the intricacies and other things that the younger kids tend to forget about. Unlike the other kids, who see what they do a part of their everyday life and something they do for fun, Zimmy is almost always serious. Seeing what he does as a start of a career where he can become a physician and make something of his life.

Starting Items:
A basic alchemy set, per your own description
A pack of candles, count 10
No way to light them
A book of Herbology (with pictures), "Borrowed" from Boomjack
An assortment of liquor bottles, "disinfected" to the best of Tikara's ability