Duffy
07-20-09, 08:39 AM
Name: Duffy Bracken
Alias: ‘Tantalus,’ ‘Dagger,’ ‘Duff,’ ‘Monkey Man.’
Age: 22
Race: Human
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Green
Height: 6’
Weight: 129llbs
Occupation: Street Performer/Rogue
Real Accent: English, slightly cockney/Norfolk.
Languages: Tradespeak, Elven, Common
Literacy: Above Average
History: Duffy’s life began on the streets of the city Scara Brae as an urchin, padding between the alleyways and sewers, exploring the simple world with a child’s mind full of wonderment and joy. Through his early youth he discovered the art of pick pocketing, as well as learning to develop the skills required of a young individual in rooftops and graveyards at all hours and on all days. You couldn’t exactly call it a productive or lucrative life, but it was one he succumbed to, a life of danger, thrill, and ever changing scenarios that every boy truly dreamed of getting the chance to live.
He’s not entirely sure how he got there, or why he’s never left, settled down and found himself a cosy little citizen’s life, but the streets to him are his home and amongst the humdrum of the capital people whisper of a group of street performers known as the Tantalum. For the last three years Duffy has been the sort of, elected ‘leader’ of the group, he is the troupe master, the stage director, the principle writer and for the most part, an all round dogsbody for the continuation of the former master’s wishers, ways and wonderments.
Before he found the Tantalum, Duffy spent the first thirteen years or so as part of a street gang, mentored by Sly Finger Simon and his somewhat roguish gang of petty thieves. When he refused one day to steal from an elderly lady, his mentor, turned tormentor, beat Duffy to within an inch of his life and drove Duffy’s own dagger straight through his right hand. The scar from which still scars and aches today. Disdainfully turning aside from the life of petty crime he had begun to take, angered by his betrayal, and the loss of ‘honour amongst thieves’, Duffy took his skills and become a street artist, a performing artist of the slums, a wielder of juggling balls, batons, leaps and flames, all the while, stealing what was required in order to survive in an ever darkening kingdom.
It was one such performance, two years later, that garnered the attention of Ruby McCann, the then leader of Tantalum. Duffy performed his first Fire Dance with the Tinder Gear, a device of his own creation and wowed an audience in Vehement Square, a relatively poor but busy district of Scara Fae. Duffy received a mysterious rose and a note telling him to come to the house with the great domed roof if he wished to perform for a cause and to be amongst kindred artistes, (it took him fifteen minutes to pronounce most of it). He went, and has spent five years performing, learning, dancing and singing through the streets, growing ever closer to the small but honest and charming group of ribbon and belled ladies and boys of the secretive and illustrious Tantalum.
Of course, the Tantalum is but one of many gangs, troupes and institutions on the city, but whilst they are considered a criminal gang by the Guards, they are one who’re respected by the townsfolk, who eagerly await the next performance, which is never announced, it is simply at-dah! Staged there and then on the spur of the moment, and fades away with a grand finale just as the guards arrive. As time went by, Duffy became a father figure to the younger members, and Ruby saw his potential to become the next Troupe Master. She left him in charge just short of two years ago, to marry her lovely husband Jack and move to the outskirts to settle down at a ripe age of 28. She occasionally comes back to perform as a special and honoured guest, or to pay a visit, but more or less the Tantalum troupe is Duffy’s.
Personality: Despite being so young, in comparison to others, Duffy expresses youthful cheer behind a veil of sudden and compressed adult maturity. He is by all means ‘up for a laugh’ at every available opportunity, but with regards to his performance, work and the underlying duties which accompany it, he is resoundingly familiar with a stone faced expression. He responds well to conversation, be it civil, formal, common or day to day, but prefers to refrain from political discussion or that referring to the breaking of law (, for obvious reasons). Duffy is not typically one to take confrontation into his grasp, using his manoeuvrability and skills he prefers to escape in a flash, to a flash of pain – although it can be said, where applicable, that Duffy is a dab hand at deterring fights with his performances. (In much the same styling as the Bard). In terms of psychological stability, he is otherwise collected, but, like every mortal man or non elf, he can and will lose his temper, although his limits are relatively high, he is driven to physical reactions if pushed beyond normal limits of irritation.
Appearance: Duffy is neither remarkably attractive nor incredibly ugly, he is of an ordinary, but perhaps curios demeanour, with normal features, graced with a nice smile and an immaculately kept measure of stubble and wetted hair. He is commonly found wearing simple loose brown trousers, tucked into the straps of his heavy boots, a triple banded belt, with an assortment of pockets and pouches, and a simple sleeveless top, beneath a vest and shoulder sling arrangement, underling his attire and holding the performance pieces in their place. There are long tubes down the back of his arms, strapped to the arms above the elbow, and beneath the reinforced leather braces at the wrist. His hair is a light brown, which is of medium length, and tends to flick in the slightest of breeze. There are three scars on his body, which are visible; a small cut on the palm of his right hand (, a dagger puncture wound) one on the back of the hand, and a burn scar on the back of his right shoulder, surrounding the shoulder blade. The latter is diminished but visible with close enough attention.
1832
(Add the belts, dagger, and a considerably more European rogue look, less anime, and a more roguish/stubbly face and you're about there. Better picture en-route once I find one.)
His hair is usually brown, but is often a different colour for whatever play they’re performing at the time, and his ‘general’ clothing are similar to the picture provided. His boots are always very sturdy and heavy, as parkour requires sturdy footwear to take impact and to give good leverage during a climb. He often wears bandanas with a long tail end, or ribbons and neck scarf to allow him some form of hiding his identity, the more he is known in general the better, as if he’s caught it could jeopardise the Theatre and the troupe.
---
Skills/Abilities: As a jack of all trades, an urchin of the streets, Duffy has a wide repertoire of skills, not necessarily a master of them all, but certainly he is likely to know something to point him in the right direction in most normal, and some unusual circumstances, represented as follows:
Rogue's Gambit; As the Tantalus, Duffy hears and sees allot that he shouldn't, and he has the rapport to talk his way into a location where most would resort to a large axe, to represent this, Duffy is considered to have persuasion, knowledge (, local, and arts/culture.) Duffy can apply these skills wherever applicable, although care and consideration should be applied both to his age, and to wherever or not a human would otherwise know the knowledge/facts being used.
Perform; Duffy is adept at the performance of most common dances, tango, waltz etc, as well as some of the Scara Fae variations/court dances etc. In addition to the dance, Duffy can sing and play the flute, common harp, harpsichord (, or similar) to a moderate level. Duffy can spontaneously play common styles, utilising the arts/culture knowledge skill, and can perform acrobatics as a performer/athlete, to within the normal confines of human physiology. He is a parkour/freerunner user, and capable of backflips/gymanstics/vaulting and wall leaping, this is considered above average. This is his best skill, and he’s often called Monkey Man as a result.
Combat Skills; Duffy is dagger wielder and adept/average with dagger-length blade weapons. He carries several about his person at once, be they tucked into his belt or down the length of his boots. He uses several styles, although he presumes it is a style developed through sheer trial and error, and several painful nights, which are typical of the weapon (, dual, reverse, thrust/parry etc.)
Thievery With Honour; Duffy is a pickpocket and an adequate thief, using his sneakiness, speed and agility to get into the pokiest of wholes (and often he can’t dig himself out!) However, despite his skill, he will never steal from the poor, and will only steal if it is absolutely required (money for food if performances are poor, and even then will feed the younger kids in the Tantalum first).
---
Equipment:
Tinder Gear; The Tinder Gear is both an artisan's tool and weapon system, depicting the balance between the everyday and the darker side of the street. It comprises of small, almost invisible packs of a fuel known as agelethien, which are pumped along the pipes visible on the backs of Duffy's arms, and a bracer/jettison system coupled with a pair of flint strip covered gloves. All the materials are available readily, leather/oil/simple metals and flint etc. The gloves, when brought together with force make a loud clap, like a firecracker, and when moved past each other sparks are spread, to 2 feet (, no combat use, but good as a fire lighting tool). With a punching movement, the packs under the arms and along the back are squeezed, forcing the material to spray outwards, and the sparks from the gloves ignite the fuel which can produce flame up to nine feet long in short bursts of 1-2 seconds, (which is a random time, as the fuel ejection cannot be controlled to any reasonable degree). This will cause burns or set clothes alight at best, and will never kill, although it can be used in a combat situation the fuel is too rare to be spraying every low-life thug Duffy is run into. Using a display of sparks, flames and zymology (, drawing images/circles on the floor then igniting them) Duffy conjures the core of his performance/entertaining ability - at the same time having a nasty surprise for any violent members of the audience.
Daggers; He carries several iron daggers, usually one slipped into each boot and one in a sheathe on his belt.
The Tantalus Menagerie: A thousand and one costumes and theatre props of all descriptions, musical instruments and writing implements, books on playwrights and records of plays.
---
Space reserved for a description of the Theatre House, and generic information about the Tantalum. Even though it'll name other members of the troupe, they won't be used in anyway except non-combat props/references, unless bio written and posted for approval before hand, if that's okay? Will be happy to make any amendments as required.
Alias: ‘Tantalus,’ ‘Dagger,’ ‘Duff,’ ‘Monkey Man.’
Age: 22
Race: Human
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Green
Height: 6’
Weight: 129llbs
Occupation: Street Performer/Rogue
Real Accent: English, slightly cockney/Norfolk.
Languages: Tradespeak, Elven, Common
Literacy: Above Average
History: Duffy’s life began on the streets of the city Scara Brae as an urchin, padding between the alleyways and sewers, exploring the simple world with a child’s mind full of wonderment and joy. Through his early youth he discovered the art of pick pocketing, as well as learning to develop the skills required of a young individual in rooftops and graveyards at all hours and on all days. You couldn’t exactly call it a productive or lucrative life, but it was one he succumbed to, a life of danger, thrill, and ever changing scenarios that every boy truly dreamed of getting the chance to live.
He’s not entirely sure how he got there, or why he’s never left, settled down and found himself a cosy little citizen’s life, but the streets to him are his home and amongst the humdrum of the capital people whisper of a group of street performers known as the Tantalum. For the last three years Duffy has been the sort of, elected ‘leader’ of the group, he is the troupe master, the stage director, the principle writer and for the most part, an all round dogsbody for the continuation of the former master’s wishers, ways and wonderments.
Before he found the Tantalum, Duffy spent the first thirteen years or so as part of a street gang, mentored by Sly Finger Simon and his somewhat roguish gang of petty thieves. When he refused one day to steal from an elderly lady, his mentor, turned tormentor, beat Duffy to within an inch of his life and drove Duffy’s own dagger straight through his right hand. The scar from which still scars and aches today. Disdainfully turning aside from the life of petty crime he had begun to take, angered by his betrayal, and the loss of ‘honour amongst thieves’, Duffy took his skills and become a street artist, a performing artist of the slums, a wielder of juggling balls, batons, leaps and flames, all the while, stealing what was required in order to survive in an ever darkening kingdom.
It was one such performance, two years later, that garnered the attention of Ruby McCann, the then leader of Tantalum. Duffy performed his first Fire Dance with the Tinder Gear, a device of his own creation and wowed an audience in Vehement Square, a relatively poor but busy district of Scara Fae. Duffy received a mysterious rose and a note telling him to come to the house with the great domed roof if he wished to perform for a cause and to be amongst kindred artistes, (it took him fifteen minutes to pronounce most of it). He went, and has spent five years performing, learning, dancing and singing through the streets, growing ever closer to the small but honest and charming group of ribbon and belled ladies and boys of the secretive and illustrious Tantalum.
Of course, the Tantalum is but one of many gangs, troupes and institutions on the city, but whilst they are considered a criminal gang by the Guards, they are one who’re respected by the townsfolk, who eagerly await the next performance, which is never announced, it is simply at-dah! Staged there and then on the spur of the moment, and fades away with a grand finale just as the guards arrive. As time went by, Duffy became a father figure to the younger members, and Ruby saw his potential to become the next Troupe Master. She left him in charge just short of two years ago, to marry her lovely husband Jack and move to the outskirts to settle down at a ripe age of 28. She occasionally comes back to perform as a special and honoured guest, or to pay a visit, but more or less the Tantalum troupe is Duffy’s.
Personality: Despite being so young, in comparison to others, Duffy expresses youthful cheer behind a veil of sudden and compressed adult maturity. He is by all means ‘up for a laugh’ at every available opportunity, but with regards to his performance, work and the underlying duties which accompany it, he is resoundingly familiar with a stone faced expression. He responds well to conversation, be it civil, formal, common or day to day, but prefers to refrain from political discussion or that referring to the breaking of law (, for obvious reasons). Duffy is not typically one to take confrontation into his grasp, using his manoeuvrability and skills he prefers to escape in a flash, to a flash of pain – although it can be said, where applicable, that Duffy is a dab hand at deterring fights with his performances. (In much the same styling as the Bard). In terms of psychological stability, he is otherwise collected, but, like every mortal man or non elf, he can and will lose his temper, although his limits are relatively high, he is driven to physical reactions if pushed beyond normal limits of irritation.
Appearance: Duffy is neither remarkably attractive nor incredibly ugly, he is of an ordinary, but perhaps curios demeanour, with normal features, graced with a nice smile and an immaculately kept measure of stubble and wetted hair. He is commonly found wearing simple loose brown trousers, tucked into the straps of his heavy boots, a triple banded belt, with an assortment of pockets and pouches, and a simple sleeveless top, beneath a vest and shoulder sling arrangement, underling his attire and holding the performance pieces in their place. There are long tubes down the back of his arms, strapped to the arms above the elbow, and beneath the reinforced leather braces at the wrist. His hair is a light brown, which is of medium length, and tends to flick in the slightest of breeze. There are three scars on his body, which are visible; a small cut on the palm of his right hand (, a dagger puncture wound) one on the back of the hand, and a burn scar on the back of his right shoulder, surrounding the shoulder blade. The latter is diminished but visible with close enough attention.
1832
(Add the belts, dagger, and a considerably more European rogue look, less anime, and a more roguish/stubbly face and you're about there. Better picture en-route once I find one.)
His hair is usually brown, but is often a different colour for whatever play they’re performing at the time, and his ‘general’ clothing are similar to the picture provided. His boots are always very sturdy and heavy, as parkour requires sturdy footwear to take impact and to give good leverage during a climb. He often wears bandanas with a long tail end, or ribbons and neck scarf to allow him some form of hiding his identity, the more he is known in general the better, as if he’s caught it could jeopardise the Theatre and the troupe.
---
Skills/Abilities: As a jack of all trades, an urchin of the streets, Duffy has a wide repertoire of skills, not necessarily a master of them all, but certainly he is likely to know something to point him in the right direction in most normal, and some unusual circumstances, represented as follows:
Rogue's Gambit; As the Tantalus, Duffy hears and sees allot that he shouldn't, and he has the rapport to talk his way into a location where most would resort to a large axe, to represent this, Duffy is considered to have persuasion, knowledge (, local, and arts/culture.) Duffy can apply these skills wherever applicable, although care and consideration should be applied both to his age, and to wherever or not a human would otherwise know the knowledge/facts being used.
Perform; Duffy is adept at the performance of most common dances, tango, waltz etc, as well as some of the Scara Fae variations/court dances etc. In addition to the dance, Duffy can sing and play the flute, common harp, harpsichord (, or similar) to a moderate level. Duffy can spontaneously play common styles, utilising the arts/culture knowledge skill, and can perform acrobatics as a performer/athlete, to within the normal confines of human physiology. He is a parkour/freerunner user, and capable of backflips/gymanstics/vaulting and wall leaping, this is considered above average. This is his best skill, and he’s often called Monkey Man as a result.
Combat Skills; Duffy is dagger wielder and adept/average with dagger-length blade weapons. He carries several about his person at once, be they tucked into his belt or down the length of his boots. He uses several styles, although he presumes it is a style developed through sheer trial and error, and several painful nights, which are typical of the weapon (, dual, reverse, thrust/parry etc.)
Thievery With Honour; Duffy is a pickpocket and an adequate thief, using his sneakiness, speed and agility to get into the pokiest of wholes (and often he can’t dig himself out!) However, despite his skill, he will never steal from the poor, and will only steal if it is absolutely required (money for food if performances are poor, and even then will feed the younger kids in the Tantalum first).
---
Equipment:
Tinder Gear; The Tinder Gear is both an artisan's tool and weapon system, depicting the balance between the everyday and the darker side of the street. It comprises of small, almost invisible packs of a fuel known as agelethien, which are pumped along the pipes visible on the backs of Duffy's arms, and a bracer/jettison system coupled with a pair of flint strip covered gloves. All the materials are available readily, leather/oil/simple metals and flint etc. The gloves, when brought together with force make a loud clap, like a firecracker, and when moved past each other sparks are spread, to 2 feet (, no combat use, but good as a fire lighting tool). With a punching movement, the packs under the arms and along the back are squeezed, forcing the material to spray outwards, and the sparks from the gloves ignite the fuel which can produce flame up to nine feet long in short bursts of 1-2 seconds, (which is a random time, as the fuel ejection cannot be controlled to any reasonable degree). This will cause burns or set clothes alight at best, and will never kill, although it can be used in a combat situation the fuel is too rare to be spraying every low-life thug Duffy is run into. Using a display of sparks, flames and zymology (, drawing images/circles on the floor then igniting them) Duffy conjures the core of his performance/entertaining ability - at the same time having a nasty surprise for any violent members of the audience.
Daggers; He carries several iron daggers, usually one slipped into each boot and one in a sheathe on his belt.
The Tantalus Menagerie: A thousand and one costumes and theatre props of all descriptions, musical instruments and writing implements, books on playwrights and records of plays.
---
Space reserved for a description of the Theatre House, and generic information about the Tantalum. Even though it'll name other members of the troupe, they won't be used in anyway except non-combat props/references, unless bio written and posted for approval before hand, if that's okay? Will be happy to make any amendments as required.