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An urchin by birth, Cassius spent his youth scrounging for foodscraps and loose coin at the bottom of unattended pockets. The streets of Baldur’s Gate were unforgiving, especially under the watchful eye of the Flaming Fist. The boy survived, thrived even, until his early teenage years. A careless attempt to pick the pockets of a savvy mercenary almost resulted in a long and probably fatal sentence to the stockades. It just so happened that the pocket where Cassius’ fingers landed belonged to one Flarghin Ironstone.

Flarghin happened to be in a good mood, decided to settle the matter with this pitiful urchin himself rather than involve the Flaming Fist. He offered the wretched child a job, and with it a chance to turn fate in his favour. Begrudgingly, Cassius accepted. He became a valuable member of Flarghin’s band for a time, his deft hand skilled at disabling traps and picking locks, and in return he was taught the fundamentals of fighting. Indeed, by the time the pair parted ways almost two years later Cassius had well and truly grown into a fine young adventurer.

He continued to work as a sellsword, travelling from the Sword Coast through the savage frontiers and beyond. The money was good, yet Cassius always managed to find ways to spend it. His debts amassed from a frivolous lifestyle had begun to add up, and when he received the letter from his dear old friend it was as if the gods themselves had reached out to lend a hand. Without hesitation, Cassius packed what he had and departed for Damara.

Most likely some kind of skill monkey / melee fighter hybrid. Possibly looking at the slayer class. Cassius will definitely be equipped to handle traps and locks, and probably backup on a few other skill checks.

Cassius is a chaotic, sometimes careless young man. He can be overconfident, usually to the point that it causes him trouble. He has a heart of gold, due in no small part to his life on the streets and the kindness that Flarghin showed to him. I feel that he will slot into most parties as a lovable vagabond, and will forge bonds with other PC’s rather quickly (Cassius is very appreciative of versatility, and inquisitive as to the talents of others).

Anyone who has spent time on the streets of Baldur’s Gate may know of Cassius from his street urchin days. Otherwise he has taken a variety of jobs, from simple caravan guard work to fighting trolls in the savage frontier. He has travelled as far north as Luskan, working for some months on one of the ships as a hired hand while trying to escape some old gambling debtors.

Born to a merchant family in Bryn Shander, Lothar lived a relatively ordinary life. His youth was spent hunting game in the frozen north, fishing and dabbling in the popular art of scrimshaw. Disinterested in pursuing a trade, he joined the town’s guard when he came of age yet still failed to find the sense of fulfilment he sought. He spent time at the House of the Triad, taking particular interest in the teachings of Torm.

A chance encounter with a group of mercenaries changed the course of Lothar’s fate. It was this very encounter, where he met the Dwarf Flarghin Ironstone, that led to him packing up his meagre belongings to depart the Ten Towns in search of a greater purpose. For months he travelled with the mercenaries, developing his skills and learning much of the lands outside his home. Eventually he parted ways with his newfound companions, driven to pursue something that would satisfy his search for meaning.

Eventually, he discovered the faith of Kelemvor and for the first time felt as though he had answered his calling. He spent the next few years learning the teachings of his new church, ultimately becoming ordained as a Paladin. When the Knights of the Eternal Order formed to combat the undead scourge near Iriaebor, Lothar desperately tried to join their ranks. He was denied, in part due to his age and inexperience, and so when a letter from his old friend Flarghin arrived proposing “one last job”, Lothar decided it was time to once again expand his horizons.

I’m probably going to keep Lothar mechanically simple. Vanilla paladin, bastard sword and shield. Skill wise he will probably serve as a back-up face, with a little bit of religious knowledge. I imagine him as a relatively experienced traveller, so I plan to use his traits to give him access to some typical adventurer skills as opposed to the knightly/courteous skills typical of a paladin.

Lothar has found his purpose in pursuing the religion of Kelemvor. He is relatively new to the faith, as I imagine most of Kelemvor’s church is at he current time, and really wishes to make an impression on his deity and church. He is driven to display the tenets of Kelemvor’s faith, not necessarily by espousing the values of the religion to those who aren’t interested but instead by living in accordance with the Judge of the Dead’s values. He is motivated to learn more about all kinds of people, to help alleviate the fear of the dying and what happens in the afterlife. Most of all, he abhors undead and wishes to prove his skill as a combatant with the hopes that he may one day join the Knights of the Eternal Order.

Lothar is around 24 years old, having spent the last 8 years away from home. He travelled with Flarghin for many months, and may have met others PC’s during this time if they did the same. Otherwise he has spent some time living in Iriaebor in the Western Heartlands, and may know other PC’s who have spent time in the region.

I have nil by PBP experience, though I am currently about to begin recruitment for a dnd 5E run of Curse of the Crimson Throne. I have played tabletop dnd 3.5 and 4e roaming Faerun, GM’ed a few campaigns across Golarion with the Pathfinder rules and recently my Roll20 group finished the Lost Mines of Phandelver. As all of my other games have dried up I've decided it's time to dip my toes into some PbP. I feel like the super slow pace of a forum game could lead to some great character development, and less knee-jerk reactions to situations, so I’m excited to see how this changes my insight into developing a PC outside of a bunch of numbers and a sword.

I’m pretty invested in the Critical Role live game on the Geek and Sundry twitch channel, I like to keep fit and I enjoy spending time with my stepson and two daughters (one of whom lives with her mother on the other side of the country.)