So I've got this fellow left over from a Skull and Shackles application, but I'm not sure if the short story would be compatible with Serpent's Skull. The original idea was that his previous ship was in a storm and sank, and he wound up on the ship in Skull and Shackles.
If the captain of the Jenivere is a bastard, the story could work, with the exception that the ship didn't sink. If he's more of a kindly fellow, he could have saved Aldern from his fate; either the previous ship indeed went down but he was saved by the Jenivere, or the previous ship survived the storm and the captain of the Jenivere bought out Aldern's debt from the other captain.
In any case, I think everything but equipment (namely, gold calculation) has been updated. Here's Aldern!
Background:
Lyssa Tane, the captain of a small smuggler’s ship, was fond of stories, boasts, and tall tales. Although most of her stories gained little infamy in all but the smallest of taverns, one of her supposed fables spread like wildfire – the story of how she chanced upon, seduced, and bedded a djinn. While the tale varied with each telling, and several of Lyssa’s crew had their own version of precisely who was seduced by who, the story held at least an inkling of truth. Nine months after the supposed encounter, Lyssa gave birth to a boy who looked mostly human, save for his white hair and the light-blue flowing markings that labeled him as a sylph.
Aldern spent most of his youth aboard his mother’s ship, and grew up knowing little of life on land, save for small port cities. When his mother grew too old to continue on as a captain, the sylph found himself at a loss as to what to do with his life; although he had experience aboard a ship, he was never much use when it came to harsh physical tasks. One of his mother’s crew encouraged him to enroll at a magic university, noting that those who could bend the elements to their will were ever welcome aboard ships. Lyssa was less supportive – she knew of her son’s desire for freedom and his tendency to gamble, neither of which lent themselves well towards a life of study – and bet her son that he wouldn’t last a week in the Arcanamirium in Absalom. Eager to prove her wrong, Aldern applied to the school, and was accepted due to his innate gift for air magic.
To his credit, Aldern lasted much longer than Lyssa predicted. After nine days at the Arcanamirium, Aldern was banished from the school grounds after betting a fellow student that one of the spell lords indeed wore a wig, and accidently creating a small, localized hurricane in an attempt to prove it.
Aldern has since studied magic wherever he could learn it, from dusty old tomes in libraries to lessons from less-than-reputable members of society. As a result, his learning has been incredibly slow, albeit one of a wide breadth. As his magical studies progressed, he learned to tap into some of the powers of his djinn heritage, the most important of which being his uncanny ability to predict the weather with near perfection. The sylph has spent the last several decades aboard various ships, serving as a minor weather forecaster and manipulator – and occasionally even as a sailor when extra bodies are required on deck. Although profitable, he often gambles away most of his gains, and it is not uncommon for Aldern to leave a ship with empty pockets. Nevertheless, he enjoys his lifestyle, and the freedom of the sea and sky.
Physical Description:
Although the billowing blue markings of the sylph are evident all over Aldern’s skin, very little of it is exposed. He typically wears long, flowing robes of a seafoam green, and his head is often obscured by a tricorne hat and full beard. Despite the fact that Aldern appears to be rather young, his hair is uniformly white in color.
Story:
Aldern gazed up at the sky for a third and final time, and spat several colorful curses into the wind. He’d been in his share of storms, but never in a ship so heavily laden with cargo.
”We need to dump some of the weight,” he said to the ship’s first mate, a stocky young man with a misshapen nose. ”The storm’s coming, and it’s bad.”
”Cap’n says to leave it be. We’ve weathered bad before, we have. Don’t call ‘er the Stormbreaker for nothin’,” replied the first mate with a lazy confidence. To further make it clear how little he cared about the sylph’s warning, he faked a yawn. ”’Sides, the sky’s clear! Might not even be a stor-oof!” exclaimed the man as Aldern pushed past him.
Aldern sprinted awkwardly for the captain’s quarters, the soles of his feet beating out a dull rhythm as they bounced off the ship’s wooden floor. The captain might be a greedy man, but Aldern would make him listen to reason. Force him to, if necessary. If it came to that, Aldern would like as not be put in the brig once his deception came to light, but at least he would be alive. Maybe once they saw that he had been right, they wouldn’t even keelhaul him. Maybe. But maybe dead was better than definitely drowned.
Aldern burst through the captain’s door, and immediately muttered an incantation. ”What the hell are you-“ growled the captain. As Aldern finished the incantation, the captain’s eyes became briefly unfocused, then found their way to Aldern. ”Ah, Aldern! To what do I owe this pleasure?”
”Ship…storm,” panted Aldern, out of breath. ”Need to…to offload some cargo. Too full.”
”Dear boy, have you gone mad? That cargo is worth its weight in gold! To offload it would be…most unprofitable. We’ll make the proper arrangements to weather the storm, of course. Quite clever of me to bring you on board,” chirped the captain.
Gozreh drown him. The spell makes me into his best damned friend, and he’s too greedy to listen to me even now. Aldern noticed his hands had balled into fists of their own accord, and straightened them. He fought to keep his voice calm. ”How about this, then? We play a game of cards. If I lose, I serve aboard this ship for a year with no pay aside from meals. If I win, you dump the cargo.”
The captain closed his eyes thoughtfully, and took a few moments to run some calculations in his head. Finally, he gave a curt nod of agreement that sent a wave of relief through Aldern’s body. Perhaps the captain would be furious once the charm spell wore off, but at least the sylph had saved the lives of everyone aboard the ship, especially his own. As the wizard sat down and the captain began to shuffle the cards, Aldern readied a spell; this particular spell, he knew, would allow him to win.
Sixteen hours later, Aldern lay curled in a ball in the corner of the brig as the ship rocked violently from side to side. How was he to know that the captain was the sort of bastard that would cheat in a game against his own “best friend?” ”Shoulda made an image of a royal flush,” the wizard muttered to no one in particular.
Annnd updated! Aldern's backstory and physical description are now in his profile, as is a (very) short story of his experience on the ship that went down in the storm.
Background:
Lyssa Tane, the captain of a small smuggler’s ship, was fond of stories, boasts, and tall tales. Although most of her stories gained little infamy in all but the smallest of taverns, one of her supposed fables spread like wildfire – the story of how she chanced upon, seduced, and bedded a djinn. While the tale varied with each telling, and several of Lyssa’s crew had their own version of precisely who was seduced by who, the story held at least an inkling of truth. Nine months after the supposed encounter, Lyssa gave birth to a boy who looked mostly human, save for his white hair and the light-blue flowing markings that labeled him as a sylph.
Aldern spent most of his youth aboard his mother’s ship, and grew up knowing little of life on land, save for small port cities. When his mother grew too old to continue on as a captain, the sylph found himself at a loss as to what to do with his life; although he had experience aboard a ship, he was never much use when it came to harsh physical tasks. One of his mother’s crew encouraged him to enroll at a magic university, noting that those who could bend the elements to their will were ever welcome aboard ships. Lyssa was less supportive – she knew of her son’s desire for freedom and his tendency to gamble, neither of which lent themselves well towards a life of study – and bet her son that he wouldn’t last a week in the Arcanamirium in Absalom. Eager to prove her wrong, Aldern applied to the school, and was accepted due to his innate gift for air magic.
To his credit, Aldern lasted much longer than Lyssa predicted. After nine days at the Arcanamirium, Aldern was banished from the school grounds after betting a fellow student that one of the spell lords indeed wore a wig, and accidently creating a small, localized hurricane in an attempt to prove it.
Aldern has since studied magic wherever he could learn it, from dusty old tomes in libraries to lessons from less-than-reputable members of society. As a result, his learning has been incredibly slow, albeit one of a wide breadth. As his magical studies progressed, he learned to tap into some of the powers of his djinn heritage, the most important of which being his uncanny ability to predict the weather with near perfection. The sylph has spent the last several decades aboard various ships, serving as a minor weather forecaster and manipulator – and occasionally even as a sailor when extra bodies are required on deck. Although profitable, he often gambles away most of his gains, and it is not uncommon for Aldern to leave a ship with empty pockets. Nevertheless, he enjoys his lifestyle, and the freedom of the sea and sky.
Physical Description:
Although the billowing blue markings of the sylph are evident all over Aldern’s skin, very little of it is exposed. He typically wears long, flowing robes of a seafoam green, and his head is often obscured by a tricorne hat and full beard. Despite the fact that Aldern appears to be rather young, his hair is uniformly white in color.
Aldern's left leg has been severed just below the knee, and he wears a wooden peg leg to compensate.
Story:
Aldern gazed up at the sky for a third and final time, and spat several colorful curses into the wind. He’d been in his share of storms, but never in a ship so heavily laden with cargo.
”We need to dump some of the weight,” he said to the ship’s first mate, a stocky young man with a misshapen nose. ”The storm’s coming, and it’s bad.”
”Cap’n says to leave it be. We’ve weathered bad before, we have. Don’t call ‘er the Stormbreaker for nothin’,” replied the first mate with a lazy confidence. To further make it clear how little he cared about the sylph’s warning, he faked a yawn. ”’Sides, the sky’s clear! Might not even be a stor-oof!” exclaimed the man as Aldern pushed past him.
Aldern sprinted awkwardly for the captain’s quarters, his wooden leg beating out a rhythm as it bounced off the ship’s wooden floor. The captain might be a greedy man, but Aldern would make him listen to reason. Force him to, if necessary. If it came to that, Aldern would like as not be put in the brig once his deception came to light, but at least he would be alive. Maybe once they saw that he had been right, they wouldn’t even keelhaul him. Maybe. But maybe dead was better than definitely drowned.
Aldern burst through the captain’s door, and immediately muttered an incantation. ”What the hell are you-“ growled the captain. As Aldern finished the incantation, the captain’s eyes became briefly unfocused, then found their way to Aldern. ”Ah, Aldern! To what do I owe this pleasure?”
”Ship…storm,” panted Aldern, out of breath. ”Need to…to offload some cargo. Too full.”
”Dear boy, have you gone mad? That cargo is worth its weight in gold! To offload it would be…most unprofitable. We’ll make the proper arrangements to weather the storm, of course. Quite clever of me to bring you on board,” chirped the captain.
Gozreh drown him. The spell makes me into his best damned friend, and he’s too greedy to listen to me even now. Aldern noticed his hands had balled into fists of their own accord, and straightened them. He fought to keep his voice calm. ”How about this, then? We play a game of cards. If I lose, I serve aboard this ship for a year with no pay aside from meals. If I win, you dump the cargo.”
The captain closed his eyes thoughtfully, and took a few moments to run some calculations in his head. Finally, he gave a curt nod of agreement that sent a wave of relief through Aldern’s body. Perhaps the captain would be furious once the charm spell wore off, but at least the sylph had saved the lives of everyone aboard the ship, especially his own. As the wizard sat down and the captain began to shuffle the cards, Aldern readied a spell; this particular spell, he knew, would allow him to win.
Sixteen hours later, Aldern lay curled in a ball in the corner of the brig as the ship rocked violently from side to side. How was he to know that the captain was the sort of bastard that would cheat in a game against his own “best friend?” ”Shoulda made an image of a royal flush,” the wizard muttered to no one in particular.
Righty-o, still working on the background and physical description, but my crunch is all up to date, I believe. I'll post up when I'm finished with the flavor.
Aldern Tane, sylph wizard. He will mostly be focusing on buffing and battlefield control in combat, weather manipulation in ship combat, and general utility outside of combat; Spontaneous Divination is a huge boon in this area. He will also be taking the Craft Wondrous Item feat at level 3 or 5, and will be ranking up Craft (ships) as the campaign goes on.
