Kroom
06-13-14, 03:17 PM
Jak Roth Rute
Twenty-three years of age.
A human, of Salvar.
Black of hair.
Green of eye.
Standing five feet and ten inches tall.
Weighing one hundred and eighty-one pounds.
Working as a Journeyman armorer and a blade-for-hire.
Personality
The young smith tries to be terse and cynical, and has a sardonic sense of humor. Jak maintains a guarded demeanor, and carries a weight of memory that, despite his best efforts, bears down on the young man. He has had few friends, and those he has had proven themselves through time and trial, and then promptly died. Jak grows more cut off with each loss, yet his innate disposition is a gregarious and trusting one. This dichotomy is a crack in the geology of his spirit. For a young man who simply wants to be a smith, he has done a lot more killing than smithing, and has proven very good at killing.
Appearance
Jak's shape is muscular, with a strong upper body from working a forge and anvil. His skin, tanned and weathered though not yet bearing signs of much age, is scarred in places from burns and slipped blades. His hands are large, and his fingers seem dextrous beneath the mass of scars and callouses - though his left hand is missing the little finger. His face is lean and angular, with keen eyes and a sharp nose. He has a slight overbite, full cheeks, and rarely shaves. His slightly-wavy hair is kept at a length just below his jaw and occasionally pulled back tightly.
His clothes are stained by travel, but of good make and in decent repair. Jak wears a linen shirt that was once dyed a notable shade of green, but has since faded to a more drab hue, near grey. This shirt is tucked into a pair of leather trousers. Over this shirt is a hooded jacket of reddish-brown leather, with hook & loop closures in the front. Being a Salvic native, he also keeps a hooded cloak of thick gray wool near to hand, along with a scarf of white linen checked with blue. On his feet are sturdy leather shoes, somewhere between low boots and moccasins. On his hands are leather half-gloves. He generally also carries his few belongings in a shapeless leather satchel, slung on his back.
Skills
Journeyman Armorer
Tongues (Jak speaks most of the trade tongues)
Bladesman (swords & daggers)
Brawler (unarmed combat)
Sneak
Rider
Gambler
Archery (Skilled)
Pickpocketing
Hunter
Education - basic reading, writing, & arithmetic
Novice Healer
Novice Artificer & Machinist
Abilities
Spirit Hammer: A blacksmith shapes the world before him and is not shaped by it. A powerful smith is possessed of an equally powerful spirit, and Jak is just such a smith. He may drop the full force of his unbending will on one person like a smith's hammer. This ability is concussive and unpleasant, even painful. The resulting effect could be described as being punched in the spirit by an iron fist, leaving one dazed and disrupted. Jak can gather his will in this fashion thrice a day/battle. The effects require one post of recovery time.
Smith's Strength: Jak is much stronger than most men his age or size. He's been known to carry anvils over short distances, bodily lift and throw men larger than he, and once dislocated a man's shoulder with an enraged punch. (Roughly 2x.)
Rugged Conditioning: Jak, being a mercenary and blacksmith and living an active lifestyle, is in exquisite physical shape. His stamina is therefore twice that of an average human.
Shadowtouched: His encounters with shadow magic have left Jak with an affinity for darkness, if not a taste for it. He has excellent darkvision and is possessed of an unnaturally keen ability to hide himself anywhere that there is shadow or poor light. He would attribute this to his own skills, but there is a latent magic to it.
Weapons & Armor
A steel short sword, sheathed on his left hip
A steel dagger, sheathed on his right hip
An oak short bow, with twelve to fifteen arrows tipped with iron broadheads, kept in a stiff leather quiver.
Two steel throwing knives, tucked at his waist.
A shirt of exquisite steel scale-mail of Alerian make: light as leather armor and stronger than steel plate.
Leather vambraces & greaves.
Equipment
(Mostly carried in a sack slung on his back)
Iron shoes and shinguards, for when he is working with metal.
A thick leather apron and gloves.
Basic smith's tools: three different hammers, tongs, a rough file and a fine file, an awl, a whetstone and a flask of oil.
A flint & steel.
A needle & thread.
A money pouch on his belt.
A waterskin.
Familiars
None.
History
Jak Roth Rute was the son of Tom Roth Rute, the village blacksmith. Tom taught him everything he knew of smithing, from household implements to armor, and even a few decent blades. It was a forge accident that cost Jak his left small finger, when he was only ten: the tongs slipped and spilled hot metal onto the digit. In pain and panicking, he swatted at the burn - with the hammer in his right hand. The crushed digit had to be amputated at the base joint. Despite this and other accidents, Jak grew up with a love of metalworking, and enjoyed helping his father in the smithy. This went on until he was fifteen years old, at which time his father, hoping to improve the boy's prospects, managed to secure him an attachment with a traveling merchant; a half-elf named Teiran Ka'Thar. This lasted for five years.
During his travels, Jak learned and saw much. Together with the merchant, he traveled from the southern reaches of Salvar through Alerar, made voyages to Corone, and even found his way out to Scara Brae. Through this time, he learned to fight with Teiran's master-at-arms, Kellan Thrant. He learned to drink, barter, sail, ride, and steal. He even encountered the Alerian mechanical weapons and their alchemical firearms. The simple village boy became a world traveler. He took up a position as Teiran's right-hand man and bodyguard after Kellan's death - and more, Jak and Teiran had become friends.
A few of these adventures make for good stories. There was this one time, around the time Jak was nineteen, that Teiran and Jak came into possession of a certain scroll with great value to the magical community. Most of the mages who knew of it were content to attempt to outbid each other, but one certain cabal decided that they needed to have it more than the others did. They sent three of their best (they called them 'Shadecasters') to retrieve it. Jak and the other bodyguards met them with arrows and knives, spoiling their plan. One of the 'Shadecasters' attempted to escape, but Jak pursued and caught hold of him just as the mage was stuttering out a spell. For an instant, the two men vanished from sight, then reappeared twenty feet away, with Jak's knife buried in the man's chest. Tendrils of shadow were melting away around him - though some of them did seem to seep into Jak. He likes to tell that story when he's trying to get laid. They never did learn what the scroll was - at least, Jak didn't.
Then there was the time that Teiran tricked Jak into eating a bowl of absurdly spicy noodles and Jak actually almost died. He's got a wicked spice tolerance now, and actually really likes spicy food. Good times, good times.
Only a year ago, however, Jak's good life dried up. An assassin hired by a rival merchant got past him and killed Teiran. Just like that, Jak was jobless and friendless. The year since he has spent as a mercenary, a blade-for-hire, traveling anywhere he could or would find work.
Sneaks & Snakes
Jak took a job as an escort to a treasure-hunting merchant named Isstar Maloch. The hunt took them into the Salvic wilds, and to the tomb of an ancient mage named Nander-Thay. What they found there, they refuse to speak of. (to be continued)
The War in Eiskalt
Jak's mercenary lifestyle took him to the island of Eiskalt, where a civil war was breaking out. He fell in with the troops of the Order of the Crimson Hand, and wrought his bloody work among the allies of the Ixian Knights. The memories of his acts against civilians are something he does his best to suppress. During this time, he also learned some of the machinist's trade, acquiring a basic proficiency with artificing and mechanical construction.
Twenty-three years of age.
A human, of Salvar.
Black of hair.
Green of eye.
Standing five feet and ten inches tall.
Weighing one hundred and eighty-one pounds.
Working as a Journeyman armorer and a blade-for-hire.
Personality
The young smith tries to be terse and cynical, and has a sardonic sense of humor. Jak maintains a guarded demeanor, and carries a weight of memory that, despite his best efforts, bears down on the young man. He has had few friends, and those he has had proven themselves through time and trial, and then promptly died. Jak grows more cut off with each loss, yet his innate disposition is a gregarious and trusting one. This dichotomy is a crack in the geology of his spirit. For a young man who simply wants to be a smith, he has done a lot more killing than smithing, and has proven very good at killing.
Appearance
Jak's shape is muscular, with a strong upper body from working a forge and anvil. His skin, tanned and weathered though not yet bearing signs of much age, is scarred in places from burns and slipped blades. His hands are large, and his fingers seem dextrous beneath the mass of scars and callouses - though his left hand is missing the little finger. His face is lean and angular, with keen eyes and a sharp nose. He has a slight overbite, full cheeks, and rarely shaves. His slightly-wavy hair is kept at a length just below his jaw and occasionally pulled back tightly.
His clothes are stained by travel, but of good make and in decent repair. Jak wears a linen shirt that was once dyed a notable shade of green, but has since faded to a more drab hue, near grey. This shirt is tucked into a pair of leather trousers. Over this shirt is a hooded jacket of reddish-brown leather, with hook & loop closures in the front. Being a Salvic native, he also keeps a hooded cloak of thick gray wool near to hand, along with a scarf of white linen checked with blue. On his feet are sturdy leather shoes, somewhere between low boots and moccasins. On his hands are leather half-gloves. He generally also carries his few belongings in a shapeless leather satchel, slung on his back.
Skills
Journeyman Armorer
Tongues (Jak speaks most of the trade tongues)
Bladesman (swords & daggers)
Brawler (unarmed combat)
Sneak
Rider
Gambler
Archery (Skilled)
Pickpocketing
Hunter
Education - basic reading, writing, & arithmetic
Novice Healer
Novice Artificer & Machinist
Abilities
Spirit Hammer: A blacksmith shapes the world before him and is not shaped by it. A powerful smith is possessed of an equally powerful spirit, and Jak is just such a smith. He may drop the full force of his unbending will on one person like a smith's hammer. This ability is concussive and unpleasant, even painful. The resulting effect could be described as being punched in the spirit by an iron fist, leaving one dazed and disrupted. Jak can gather his will in this fashion thrice a day/battle. The effects require one post of recovery time.
Smith's Strength: Jak is much stronger than most men his age or size. He's been known to carry anvils over short distances, bodily lift and throw men larger than he, and once dislocated a man's shoulder with an enraged punch. (Roughly 2x.)
Rugged Conditioning: Jak, being a mercenary and blacksmith and living an active lifestyle, is in exquisite physical shape. His stamina is therefore twice that of an average human.
Shadowtouched: His encounters with shadow magic have left Jak with an affinity for darkness, if not a taste for it. He has excellent darkvision and is possessed of an unnaturally keen ability to hide himself anywhere that there is shadow or poor light. He would attribute this to his own skills, but there is a latent magic to it.
Weapons & Armor
A steel short sword, sheathed on his left hip
A steel dagger, sheathed on his right hip
An oak short bow, with twelve to fifteen arrows tipped with iron broadheads, kept in a stiff leather quiver.
Two steel throwing knives, tucked at his waist.
A shirt of exquisite steel scale-mail of Alerian make: light as leather armor and stronger than steel plate.
Leather vambraces & greaves.
Equipment
(Mostly carried in a sack slung on his back)
Iron shoes and shinguards, for when he is working with metal.
A thick leather apron and gloves.
Basic smith's tools: three different hammers, tongs, a rough file and a fine file, an awl, a whetstone and a flask of oil.
A flint & steel.
A needle & thread.
A money pouch on his belt.
A waterskin.
Familiars
None.
History
Jak Roth Rute was the son of Tom Roth Rute, the village blacksmith. Tom taught him everything he knew of smithing, from household implements to armor, and even a few decent blades. It was a forge accident that cost Jak his left small finger, when he was only ten: the tongs slipped and spilled hot metal onto the digit. In pain and panicking, he swatted at the burn - with the hammer in his right hand. The crushed digit had to be amputated at the base joint. Despite this and other accidents, Jak grew up with a love of metalworking, and enjoyed helping his father in the smithy. This went on until he was fifteen years old, at which time his father, hoping to improve the boy's prospects, managed to secure him an attachment with a traveling merchant; a half-elf named Teiran Ka'Thar. This lasted for five years.
During his travels, Jak learned and saw much. Together with the merchant, he traveled from the southern reaches of Salvar through Alerar, made voyages to Corone, and even found his way out to Scara Brae. Through this time, he learned to fight with Teiran's master-at-arms, Kellan Thrant. He learned to drink, barter, sail, ride, and steal. He even encountered the Alerian mechanical weapons and their alchemical firearms. The simple village boy became a world traveler. He took up a position as Teiran's right-hand man and bodyguard after Kellan's death - and more, Jak and Teiran had become friends.
A few of these adventures make for good stories. There was this one time, around the time Jak was nineteen, that Teiran and Jak came into possession of a certain scroll with great value to the magical community. Most of the mages who knew of it were content to attempt to outbid each other, but one certain cabal decided that they needed to have it more than the others did. They sent three of their best (they called them 'Shadecasters') to retrieve it. Jak and the other bodyguards met them with arrows and knives, spoiling their plan. One of the 'Shadecasters' attempted to escape, but Jak pursued and caught hold of him just as the mage was stuttering out a spell. For an instant, the two men vanished from sight, then reappeared twenty feet away, with Jak's knife buried in the man's chest. Tendrils of shadow were melting away around him - though some of them did seem to seep into Jak. He likes to tell that story when he's trying to get laid. They never did learn what the scroll was - at least, Jak didn't.
Then there was the time that Teiran tricked Jak into eating a bowl of absurdly spicy noodles and Jak actually almost died. He's got a wicked spice tolerance now, and actually really likes spicy food. Good times, good times.
Only a year ago, however, Jak's good life dried up. An assassin hired by a rival merchant got past him and killed Teiran. Just like that, Jak was jobless and friendless. The year since he has spent as a mercenary, a blade-for-hire, traveling anywhere he could or would find work.
Sneaks & Snakes
Jak took a job as an escort to a treasure-hunting merchant named Isstar Maloch. The hunt took them into the Salvic wilds, and to the tomb of an ancient mage named Nander-Thay. What they found there, they refuse to speak of. (to be continued)
The War in Eiskalt
Jak's mercenary lifestyle took him to the island of Eiskalt, where a civil war was breaking out. He fell in with the troops of the Order of the Crimson Hand, and wrought his bloody work among the allies of the Ixian Knights. The memories of his acts against civilians are something he does his best to suppress. During this time, he also learned some of the machinist's trade, acquiring a basic proficiency with artificing and mechanical construction.