Bad Company [Pathfinder rules, Homebrew setting]

[Ixy]

I'm looking for 2 to 4 players for a small group game using Pathfinder resources and rules to fill out a somewhat original setting. 

Your nation is a young one, free of any empire. Founded only two hundred forty years ago, this small nation was once a remote outpost of the great mage lords of Hargansi, one of a thousand such remote world's found through their extraplanar toying. Upon its discovery, apprentices noted its description and coordinates, then turned their vastly powerful seeking relics elsewhere.

Unremarkable and seemingly devoid of exploitable resources, the land attracted little notice.  Bought and sold repeatedly by speculative investors, it was lackluster... Some minor nobles built estates,  some zealots were allowed to seek residence.  But overall, the rustic and isolated world was left to itself.

The old world disappeared one hundred fifty years ago-- its gates darkening as one with some cataclysmic event. Since then, nothing has come through, no one can return, and this nation has been alone to forge its own frontier.

A civil war has ended, and the northern colonies have won to establish a nation of unity over the fragmented southern and western city-states.  The far west is sparse frontier land, a manifest destiny of dark possibility, terrible fate, and untold riches. 

Your survival rests on a blade's edge, an arrow's point, an alchemical cartridge's misfire. 

The outer dark waits.



The Brief Background
Baor Empire and Kuldhar
The origin of the Baor Empire begins about 5,000 years ago, tracing its roots to an empire rising from desert tribes who unified under powerful armies and developed technology to raise and store crops and knowledge.  They gradually spread across seas and land, over mountains, conquered nations-- wrote epics, built libraries, mastered magic, and over the past few hundred years, experimenting with inter-planar travel.  In fact, the Baori Mage Lords mastered enough technique and power to experiment with inter-planar travel and to reach other worlds-- the setting for this game is one of such worlds.  The peculiar, violet-shade of the sky at night spurred the early, romantic-minded explorers of this planet to name it Kuldhar-- the name of a magic-imbued amethyst from a legendary epic poem.

Some scholars believe Kuldhar is a planet created by the gods as part of an experiment in divine creation, and that it should be another star in Baori's sky-- however, astronomical studies had, at last determination, been unable to locate a common reference point in the night sky to locate it.  Geologically, the planet is different than Baori, or any other naturally-evolving planet-- deposits of ore are sparse, and typically limited to impact points and ancient craters, as if the metals of the planet came only from extra-planetary sources.  All life on he crust is shallow-- forests, seas, rivers, lakes, bogs and swamps exist, but there are no deep reservoirs of fossil fuels, and there have been no discoveries of ancient evolutions of life.  Some alchemists insist that this means that life did not evolve here, but migrated in a genesis of life-supporting factors.  It is smaller, but hosts similar gravity.  Sea travel is possible, but there is only one major continental landmass.  Despite a number of archipelagos, there is no observable live volcanic activity in the vast ocean.  Clerics, of course, eagerly support the theory of divine intervention, as life thrives here-- there are pine forests, ice caps, lowlands, a continental divide, deserts and basins, beaches-- as if for thousands of years, someone had shaped the surface of the world to bear life despite everything beneath the topsoil having been simply barren rock.  Scholars believe the rocks and fossils indicates that the planet is only about ten thousand years old-- preposterous to think a whole planet was cold, airless rock and ice when their own ancestors were already first discovering pottery and flint spears...

Because it can't have been.  There are ruins of civilizations of lizard-folk, fish-like beings, and intelligent cephalopod-worshiping beings that can, occasionally, be identified to predate colonial exploration by, perhaps, a thousand years.  The language-like markings found have never successfully been translated, but glyphs hint that these were created by primarily aquatic species, indicating that perhaps the land was, at some point, completely beneath the sprawling oceans-- and calling into question the astonishing lack of fossil residue on the land's surface.

Political Background and Geography: Three Regions
Region 1: The Hub
Northern cities and their outskirts are primarily manufacturing, mining, and fishing industries, as well as those who support them.  Sub-industries include pearl harvesting, reef-mining, salvage, gunpowder production, gem refining, etc.  Their close trade ties and interdependence made it highly beneficial for the settlements to form a federation-- the primary gates to the Source World appeared in the high-latitude north as indicated on the map, kept these areas under strict control and maintaining their loyalty/identity strongly Baori until The Break-- even afterward, they still consider themselves Baori in nature, though now independent, and the general belief is that they will continue the Empire's traditions and rule in this new world.

Region 2: The Bawn
Those who sought to escape the rule of Baor's law, or who wanted to at least appear as such, were separated by a rule of law called The Bawn; to settle far enough south to found one's own estate, one had to be wealthy or powerful enough to petition the government to provide for one's own defense and pay a one-time settlement fee.  As such, The Bawn at one time referred to a geographic dividing line, but now refers to the spread of city-states or baronies that exist south of the Korthun River.  These are far more rural, and many were initially founded by the wealthiest elite or nobles wanting luxurious estates for recreation, for speculative investors wagering on their future value, by religious zealots founding their private utopias, or by fantastically successful criminals buying their permanent freedom.

Region 3: The Frontier
There's been a west as long as there's been a Kuldhar, but it is not for the meek.  There are rangers and druids who thrive there, but it's no secret that, of the intrepid souls who venture there for fortune or glory, few return.  There are forts as far west as the The Korthun River, some of which played small roles in settling border disputes in the War, and there are a number of stock-animal ranges within their reach-- but farther west is mostly wilderness, dotted by sparse settlements of hardened settlers driven by unbreakable spirit.  Trading posts drive permanent settlement, as trappers, explorers, and prospectors move in mobile communities due to the fluctuation of resources.
These insular and xenophobic camps are spring up and disappear when tin, sulphur, cobalt, or silver are found, or when communities of rare-pelted beasts migrate.  Occasionally, more civilized-- and less hardy-- adventuring camps are hired out or thrown-together from more cosmopolitan areas when rumors of ruins spring up, but the rule of thumb is that the camps are mobile from town to town because the resources rarely require more than two to three years to exhaust. 

The Break
Imperial trade flowed through the Hub along a heavily-guarded naval and overland route to the high-latitude region of Tzila, where a stone fortress with five layers of stone walls, twenty-four sentient ballistas, and dozens of golems, elementals, and unknown invisible magical beasts guarded one of only two functional gateways to Kuldhar's trade city of Gildhova.  It was often frigidly cold there, but the first snow was beginning to fall late, and it was rather serene.  Little of import was coming through from Kuldhar of late, so so the fortress had become a bit of a vacation spot for travelers to wait-- to enjoy the wintry weather as they waited for the gates to be opened to transfer crates of coinage and writs of debt, goods, and return archaeological findings, shipments of grass-fed cattle, tonnes of rare pelts and other exotic goods, samples of live magical creatures... and travelers.   Three-hundred and seventy or so, of varying ages.

The transfer was routine until the gate closed-- half a shipment of furs was neatly sawed in half, the clean edge frosty-cold and sizzling.  The fortress went dark instantly-- all the magically-illuminated lights going dark, the sentinels dropping or dissipating instantly.  Everything linked to the old world simply died... the mage lord Varid, overseer of all from his dark tower deep in the Hub, among them.  Some rumor that his last words were, "Oh, not that" before his eyes melted and his body shriveled, erupting into dust and brittle flakes in an instant.  Others swear that he simply disappeared, while others joke that he was with his mistress when he suddenly erupted in a gush of gore and blood from every-- EVERY-- orifice. 

A dozen other mages across the Hub were rumored to possess such power as Varid, but none can be accounted for.  They simply ceased to be.

On the rarity of gunpowder:
The manufacture of gunpowder was a major factor in the Civil War that tipped the balance between the federal New Baor and the confederacy of city-states of The Bawn.  The consequence of such heavy distribution and usage was a depletion of sulphur and saltpeter resources-- such a common element should have been easily obtainable, but there's a lack of refining process to extract it from everyday materials.  Previous stores of pyrite-- the most readily-available source-- were completely spent during the war, and the refined gunpowder caches that were not used up have been heavily raided for their street-value.  Small deposits of mineable sulphur are still available, but it is a very rare occasion that a militia has enough powder to deploy a unit in powder usage-- and to train them would be exhorbitantly expensive.  The heavy mortars and cannons of the war are simply too expensive to upkeep.  Those who excel in firearms are those capable of maintaining their own weapons, finding their own resources for powder, and training themselves.

And while we're on the subject...

The War
The Imperial Hub won because it had the supplies, soldiers, and support to outlast its rivals during the eleven-year, slowly escalating conflict that is now called, simply, "The War".  Multiple city-states in The Bawn had banded together into a feudal state in a power-grab under the leadership of a council of "barons"-- mostly retired crimelords, they were bolstered by eccentric scholars and a fanatical cult of Nethys who believed that it was their duty to rekindle magic in the new world. Recognizing that The Hub would require a unified front, The Hub immediately combined its established infrastructure to provide protection for outlying towns and deployed its reserves of supplies to unify banners under a common cause. 

The War itself was initially no more than a guerrilla conflict, with Bawn forces struggling to to fill its ranks with fanatics and clan-son devotees, but the hub made strategic errors and occasional war crimes that turned more and more neutral city-states to the Bawn's side... when those who resisted the war were made its victims, more rich and influential figures became advocates for The Bawn, and as the war lingered on, those advocates more and more found reasons to become activists.  Soon, The War became the only way for young people to live OR die-- you either raised food for the War, you build weapons or structures for The War, you whored for The War's soldiers, or you chose a side.

The strategy of The Hub's soldiers, after a decade of The War to season them, became one of zero tolerance in victory.  As such, they were successful, but the resentment runs deep.  So much powder was spent that a quarter of the population is either deaf, has lost at least one limb, or is blind, and it is estimated that half the living population is below the age of 15.  While a wizard or sorcerer draws fascination in any town, an alchemist is everyone's best friend, and a cleric is outright hated-- where were you when I lost my arm?  Where were you when my daughter had a musket ball in her chest?  Where was your god when my family burned in the barn by night?

Nasty Beasties
Magical beasts are common in the wilderness of the west.  It's believed that forces of the wyrd and the fey are unchecked where there is no permanent residence of mankind, and that creatures mutate because of this in some parallel to the rapidly-evolving life of the young world.  There are sightings of owlbears, goblins, giants, giant insects, trolls, dire animals, kobolds, elementals, lizardfolk, gnolls, and orcs-- also legged leeches, serpent hybrids, bird-creatures, and other unheard of things.  The Hub seems to be plagued by oozes and such of late, while The Bawn has rumors of an undead infestation.

Character Applications
Your character is bad company.  A former mercenary for The Bawn, he or she will know the other characters, will travel with them, and must survive in a world where there is as much hate as fear as opportunity.
Determine what he or she wants from life, what laws they will break, what made them this way, and just how far they will go for their brothers and sisters in arms. 
Early firearms will be allowed (up to muskets and such).
Have some style, be it Victorian, Eduardian, Western, Renaissance--just have some class.
Every post must include some addition to the scene's sensory details and both a characters dialogue (internal or external) and actions taken.
Players must post two times per week or I will puppet your character like the dead dog it is.
Violence and sex are expected to be included in graphic description.  There will be story related nc but your writer limits will be respected.

No offense if I reject your application.  I'm just looking for specific things.

Background: One paragraph minimum.  Age 18 + or older equivalent by race.  Select at least a couple of pop-culture or literary inspirations.

Level: 4.  Epic fantasy (25 attribute points).  Starting wealth: 200 Gold-- 2 expendable magic items max (scrolls, potions, etc). 
Paizo classes, races, feats.  1 trait, no drawbacks.  Background skills allowed.  Not using hero points, etc.  Full HP at level 1, half thereafter.

Thank you for your interest.  Still accepting applications.

[Runi]

Very interesting setting! Given that it's a completely different world, is there any effect on magic in any way? Or unique weather, animals or plants that anyone has noticed in the last century? Given that the populace immigrated, are there any special racial restrictions? Only certain types of people got permission/could afford to move here, etc.

A fantasy wild west with the possibility of settling sounds incredible, I'm not familiar with your inspirations but I will do a bit of research and try to come up with a character concept for consideration.

[PhantomPistoleer]

I am interested, but I am not sure what you mean by “your character is outside of this world.”  Like, is he supposed to be an outlaw or something?

[Ixy]

Thank you for your questions-- in essence, magic items are exceedingly rare, and while the technology of industrial or magic-powered societies may be present, it is primarily defunct.

While magic user PCs can still function normally, they won't see many peers.  Divine magic still works, but gods never appear directly, and their churches often spawn splinter factions. 

Mechanically, items like scrolls and wands require an xp investment from the creator until they are expended, so don't count on them as a workaround for anything.

As for being outsiders-- your characters should be outcasts in some fashion and PCs should be primarily non lawful, but alignments are just guidelines and can fluctuate.  Your character background can be from many walks of life, but at the start of the story, the group is a band on the fringe of society in some way... Either outlaws, mercenaries, bounty hunters, social outcasts, rebels, iconoclasts, breakers of taboos-- your character will be on the road, in a sense, without a place in life.  That interpretation is up to you.

I'll continue to add as questions arise.

[PhantomPistoleer]

I admit that I am a little confused because it sometimes seems like you’re using “dimension,” “world,” and “nation” interchangeably.

So, let me get this straight:

More than 240 years ago, mages discovered this setting’s dimension.  240 years ago, our nation was founded.  150 years ago, we lost contact with the old world.  Since, the nations of this dimension have been at war.  Recently, the conflict came to an end.  Is that right?

Our characters live on the fringes of whatever civilization exists.  But what are they doing together?

[Ixy]

Phantom: yes.  As for what they're doing together-- I will elaborate on the setup, but would like to give a little more time for character concepts, in case something is better than my first concept.

However, my original idea was that they are a small band of mercenaries-- not combat troops, but specialists of a sort--  of varying skills and ideologies.  The band of city-states were resoundingly crossed, so without the war they have no employer (nor back-pay), and there are many parties who would still consider them irregulars and war criminals.

[PhantomPistoleer]

Phantom: yes.  As for what they're doing together-- I will elaborate on the setup, but would like to give a little more time for character concepts, in case something is better than my first concept.

However, my original idea was that they are a small band of mercenaries-- not combat troops, but specialists of a sort--  of varying skills and ideologies.  The band of city-states were resoundingly crossed, so without the war they have no employer (nor back-pay), and there are many parties who would still consider them irregulars and war criminals.

All right.  Do you know what the starting level of the characters will be?

[Ixy]

All right.  Do you know what the starting level of the characters will be?

Plan for level 4.  I might add one.  However, don't plan for level-adjusted wealth... No more than 500 gold worth each should be included for now.

[PhantomPistoleer]

WIP:

The Scientist

Class:  Wizard
Race:  Human
Concept:  Conspiracy theorist, anarchist.
Quote:  “A persistent lie is told and retold by those in power: that we cannot ever return to our homeland.  We are too busy fighting one another to realize that we are being tricked.  But I will find a way home.  And when I do, I will know the truth.  And someone will pay.”

Influences:  The Question (DC Comics character); Planetary (comic book); Spider Jerusalem (Wildstorm character); Dr. Frankenstein (from Penny Dreadful)

Music Influences:  “The Scientist,” by Coldplay;

Movie and Television Influences:  “The Prestige,” “Penny Dreadful,” “Pride and Prejudice”

[Ixy]

Good concept so far.  I'll throw out some details this weekend for you to selectively incorporate at your discretion.

[Runi]

Sorry for the silence, silly job and way too early hours. Stealing a few moments at break to say I've got what I hope is an interesting character concept. Will post in proper detail this evening, unless you'd like me to wait for the world building you mentioned, to incorporate it?

[Ixy]

Post it whenever you like-- we're still in discussion and we can discuss adopting setting features to enhance your backgrounds if necessary.

[Waldham]

Do you use the Road from  Cormac McCarthy ?

The characters journey across post-apocalyptic land some years after an extinction event.The land is covered with ash and devoid of life with cannibals.

The Horror adventures book from pathfinder can be a good idea, I think.

Will you use the old west as predominantly universe Lonesome Dove and Brokeback Mountain from Larry Jeff McMurtry and The Last of the Mohicans from James Fenimore Cooper ?

A core element of Darkest Dungeon is its Affliction system, a concept of a hero's stress level or resolve. Though a hero will have little stress when they are hired, it will worsen from a number of factors encountered while in a dungeon, such as adventuring without food or light sources, seeing the death or wounding of a fellow party member in battle, or from blights cast on them by enemies. If the hero's high stress remains unchecked, they may develop afflictions that will interfere with the behavior of the character, such as being frightened and unable to fight directly. Less frequently, a stressed character may develop virtues that enhance their attributes, such as becoming more invigorated within battle. Some afflictions, left unchecked, may become permanent quirks that remain on the character. Other afflictions can be removed back in the village and by performing special activities, such as drinking at a bar or repenting at a church, that occupy the character's time, preventing them from being part of a dungeon party. Allowing a hero to reach an extremely high stress level can cause them to have a heart attack, bringing them to the brink of death if not immediately tended to. Stress can be lowered while in a dungeon through camping offered at specific locations, or other restorative items, as well as when back in the nearby town. While camping, the characters will have another set of available skills that can be used to help relieve stress and help with other party members.

Will you use a similar affliction system ?

From Horror Adventures :
Fear
Sanity
Corruption
War for the Crown :
Persona

[Runi]

(Very) Rough Concept

Knag, Ratfolk Sapper (Alchemist Archtype)

Influences:
Jayne Cobb from Firefly

"I like to be spoilt for choice."
"Gee, sure wish we had some grenades!"

Vinny Santorini from Atlantis: The Lost Empire

"We done a lot of things we're not proud of. Robbing graves, eh, plundering tombs, double parking. But, nobody got hurt. Well, maybe somebody got hurt, but nobody we knew."
"Hey, look, I made a bridge. It only took me like, what? Ten seconds? Eleven, tops."

In a prolonged civil war, no one really wins. With growing losses on both sides and shortages of everything, slums and those that live there are inevitable. The ratfolk seemed a boon at first, when settling; plenty of room to keep them out of view and a surplus population willing to do the jobs no one else wants. They were among the first to erect the tent villages. And when population in squalor rises, soon follows disease, drugs and disposable lives.

Knag grew up in those slums near the end of the war. A drug addict, willing to scrounge supplies for the old alchemist that kept him doped, he was on hand when the old man blew himself and a small gang of other homeless to charcoal. In the debris he found the old rat's recipe book. Desperate to recreate that high, to control that power he had seen, and with nothing to lose, he threw himself into understanding the scratchings. Eventually he cracked it, and has been working to perfect that 'beautiful boom with the high high smokes". He almost carelessly adds unknown plants and animal bits to his 'boomers', and if they don't do anything he tries smoking the ingredients.

RP-wise, all extracts and discoveries will come from interacting with the unknown flora and fauna of this world. Could be randomly good or bad, he might get hurt or addicted. But Knag maintains that the only time he feels alive is when he's eating, breeding, off his whiskers or blowing stuff up.

[Ixy]

Very cool idea Runi.  The combination of style and grit sounds perfect.

Waldham: I think Darkest Dungeon would be more a stylistic inspiration, for tone and setting, etc.  Not mechanics, really.  I would prefer players think on their own character's mental and moral issues without systems.

[Callie Del Noire]

Hmmm.. still got room?

[Ixy]

I eagerly await more applicants

[Callie Del Noire]

Shal McCracken
Class: Fighter (or Bolt Ace)/Inquisitor of Cayden
Race: Female Elf
Concept: Reluctant good guy/gal with a repeating crossbow.

Influences: Captain Jack Sparrow
  “Where has all the rum gone?!l”
“I love those moments! I like to wave at them as they go by.”

Ash Williams
  “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.”

Inspirational Qoutes
“Terrible sight for a sober man..” Brown Tom, Legend
“This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord has intended a more glorious means of consumption. Let’s us praise our maker and glory to his bounty by learning about ..Beer.” Friar Tuck, Prince of Thieves


Many don’t remember the old world or what they truly lost when the gates closed. Shal does. Her father had brought her with him before they winked out of existence, she was maybe 9 or 10 at the time. They had come with a survey team. Her father, the Lord Mage who brought a team of engineers with him lead by a dwarf. He had stepped thru the gate to bring her mother back over with him. One moment she could see the towers of home, her parents walking towards her, then an empty stone arch. The dwarves took her in and raised her, the head engineer adopting her and teaching her as if she was his own lost daughter.

It burns at her, just below the surface of her cutting wit and sarcasm, most days what she’s lost. Her parents, her adopted clan family, lovers who seemed to buzz by like mayflies. She’s learned to hide her pain and praise Cayden and show his bounty thru the land. Of course that bounty requires gold and she uses her crossbow to hunt bounties thru the land.

Note: I’ll finsh up tomorrow

 

[Waldham]

The Drifter

Class:  Cavalier or Shaman
Archetype : Spellscar Drifter
Race:  Human
Concept: A surviving drifter
Quote:  “I am the one who runs from both the living and the dead, hunted by scavengers, haunted by those I could not protect. So I exist in this wasteland. A man reduced to a single instinct: Survive.”

Influences: 

Music Influences:  Mad Max - Fury Road

Movie and Television Influences: The Dark Tower, Wanted, West World.

[Chanticleer]

When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender
This I could not do
I took my gun and vanished.
                                                — Leonard Cohen, The Partisan

Calum Wrack

Class: Bolt Ace/Ranger
Race: Human
Concept: The rebel who refuses to surrender even after the war is lost
Character Influences:   A cup of Natty Bumppo blended with a sprinkle of William Munny of The Unforgiven, and a dash of Malcolm Reynolds dusted with bitter almond. Serve over cracked ice.

Other Influences: Walter Defends Sarajevo, Army of Shadows, Savior, Children of Men, The Dark Tower

Inspirational Quotes:
“But the wicked are like the raging sea, that can not rest, whose water foameth with the mire and gravel. Even so, there shall be no rest for the wicked, sayeth my God.” — Isaiah 57:20-21 Coverdale’s Bible, 1535
"A heart is the only thing that has value. If you have one, get rid of it." — Longbaugh, Way of the Gun
“I believe in something greater than myself. A better world…I’m not going to live there. There's no place for me there, any more than there is for you... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.” — The Operative, Serenity
“I aim to misbehave.”  — Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity (Yep, I'm blending them both: the rebel who has talked himself into doing dark things to save his country)
“What you have lost will not be returned to you; it always be lost. You’re left with only your scars to mark the void. All you can choose to do is go on, or not. But if you go on, it’s knowing you carry your scars with you.” ― Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain


Calum used to be the equivalent of a Ranger, patrolling the back country and looking for folks who were in trouble or who meant trouble. He managed to avoid fighting in the war until the Northerners invaded, but then he watched them gun down a family — women and children alike — for sheltering a single fleeing rebel soldier. Now, he’s taken enough bad decisions under fire to know with certainty that he’s killed women and children, too…But he didn’t do it, as he would say, ‘purposeful.’

...Of course, some days he thinks that makes him worse, not better.

He doesn’t pretend to be a good man, but he secretly wishes he didn’t have to keep making hard choices that he knows will damn him. He has one goal. Drive the enemy out of his homeland, or kill them. A year ago he avoided killing if he could; now, he wonders if he really tries as hard as he used to. Lying comes easy, now, even to himself, and he’s afraid that casual murder can’t be far behind (killing soldiers isn't murder...he's still at war...but why do so many of his countrymen insist on supporting them?!).

The one good impulse that he could rely on, if he dared believe himself, is that he can’t seem to stop himself from taking on the role of protector of the weak or helpless, no matter how hopeless the situation.

Musical Inspirations

I see our names on railroad posters
Sayin’ we’re wanted all around this land
Got ambushed by 16 enemy soldiers
At the creek just north of Choctaw Canyon

Bullets spread out over the horizon
There was no fear in our eyes
Hear they sent 16 in to get us
Word is that only two survived.

                                 - Whiskey Myers

American Outlaws - Whiskey Myers

The Partisan - Leonard Cohen

EDIT: Added music and a couple of other quotes

[Ixy]

I'm seeing some excellent ideas.  I will provide more of the promised background details soon, as well as concise creation guidelines.  Additional interested parties are still welcomed.

[Ixy]

I apologize for the double-post, but please note that there's been a big chunk of background added to the original post.  More to follow.  If you want a specific race, faith, or background tidbit, throw it in and we'll work on it.

[Xerial]

"A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be." - Steven Brust
"Loyalty is a fine quality, but in excess it fills political graveyards." - Neil Kinnock

Rainer Faust

Class: Brawler
Race: Half-Elf
Concept: Pickpocket; Con-Man; Scrapper; Imperial Hub Deserter

Visual Media Influences: The Quest, Peaky Blinders
Literary Influences:: A Land Fit For Heroes - Richard K. Morgan, Heroes Die - Matthew Stover, Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch
Musical Influences: "Blood on my Name" - The Brothers Bright, "Blood on the Water" - Grandson



Rainer grew up parentless among the gunpowder slums of one of the Hub's more stratified cities. He escaped an Imperial orphanage at a young age and took to running scams with the older kids, often acting as a distraction or the hook. Due in part to his fey half-blood he was slighter than most of his peers, and he learned to leverage that to his advantage. People saw in him weakness and fragility, and so he played that into the cons he was part of. The young half-elf was prideful, however, and that often meant he took a beating at the hands of more brutish folk, and often at the hands of the law. He took the beatings in stride, grew more resilient with each one, and did not let them break his spirit.

As he grew older he began to grow more ambitious in his endeavors. He recruited his own small gang of orphans and began to conduct business in areas he thought overlooked. They ran increasingly more bold scams until one day he came up against the wrong sorts. The more organized criminals of the city, those with monied backers, took offense to the upstarts in their midst and sought to bring them to heel. Rainer was savvy enough to pay lip service to them. He capitulated early, swore a measure of loyalty to them, and started directing his crew toward operations his new masters designed. This was all part of a longer con, and after the better part of several years he had winnowed his way into a position of trust that he was soon to betray. On one bold night he and his crew, along with several dissatisfied members of the larger gang, took four storehouses and two underground gambling operations for everything they had. They rallied at the edge of the city and made off like specters in the night. They traveled the breadth of the Imperial Hub to a new city where they sought to make a new home. Of course Rainer and his lot were still young and foolish. They were in unfamiliar turf so they expected that they could travel unseen. They lived a little too large for their own good and drew the wrong eyes. Soon enough people with connections to the gang back home caught wind of them, and they spread the tale of the upstarts with too many means for their own good.
Rainer's crew enjoyed two months of high life before the gang descended upon them. He was out for a night when they came, and when he returned to the home where they had taken up residence he found a row of his friends' bodies laid out on the street, throats cut and what was left from scavengers of their ill gotten wealth scattered about them. It was the most brutal of statements and it unlocked something in the young half elf's mind.

The perpetrators of the massacre thought themselves beyond touching. They were only two blocks away in a tap house run by associates of theirs. Well insulated from the law and protected by good company, they were still toasting the fate of the orphan crew when the half-elf rode a stolen wagon right through the frontage of the establishment. So fired up from the loss of his friends, and beyond caring for his own well-being, he leapt from the wagon brandishing a torch in one hand an a hand ax in the other and he laid low everyone who crossed his path. When he walked from the burning establishment it was into the midst of an astonished half-ring of city guard.

That was the day he was conscripted into the war effort and shipped south to fight for a cause he cared not a whit for. He served for six months on the front-lines before his head cleared enough to realize the path he was going down. As soon as the opportunity presented itself he made good his desertion. Not before he knocked out the company commander he was attendant to, however, and carried the man across the lines. The act of turning over his former commanding officer to the forces of The Bawn won him clemency from execution. It did not, however, buy him trust. It took another two months to finagle his freedom, and the cost was simple: he would fight among the members of the mercenary bad companies.

[Xerial]

Can't resist applying for a Pathfinder game. Though how I managed to forget what will likely be the chief influence on Rainer's character (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence) is beyond me. That'd be the edit.

[PhantomPistoleer]

I am going to abandon my previous submission and start another one.

Ixy, this is a really interesting setting.  I hope it drums up a lot of submissions for you.