Otto VIII

Full name: Otto Bastum

Age: 27, or thereabouts.

Race: orc

Hair colour: black

Eye colour: amber

Skin colour: slate grey

Height: 230 cm

Weight: 150 kg

Occupation: freelance smith, do-gooder, musician.



APPEARANCE

Otto is a young orc adult, his stocky form moulded by a lifetime of manual labour and rounded off by a couple of years’ intense training in the CAF. He has slate grey skin with bristly patches of thick black hair on much of his body – chest, back, legs, arms, and head. His face and arms are often coated with singed hairs and soot from the forge, while old burn marks are more permanent adornments. The insides of his hands are pure snow white, the mark of his pact with Acmon.

Even for an orc, Otto cannot be considered handsome. He has a wide and upturned nose, jutting jaw and receding forehead with large eyebrows, deep-set eyes and high cheek bones. Two tusks protrude about ten centimetres up from his lower jaw. His thick and wiry hair is usually brushed or tied back, and he has grown his beard out by a few inches. The overall effect is not unlike that of a black mane. His arms are long for his body, nearly reaching to his knees. He is broad-shouldered, too, and has a slight hunch. His skin looks and feels like smooth, hardened leather.

He has a deep, rumbling voice, and speaks with a mild lisp due to his tusks.



PERSONALITY

Otto has grown into a confident, amiable fellow, if still somewhat reserved around strangers. He doesn't grow much more verbose with those he knows well, but the nature of his silence changes into something much more relaxed and comfortable. He occasionally allows to shine a dry, subtle sense of humour. And yet – at times, Otto lets loose; his time playing in a band has given him an outing for a long-suppressed sense of flair and extravagance.

It's not all gravy, though. Otto's sense of fun and gentleness arose in spite of – possibly even as a defence against – a troubled past. He grew up a mild pariah, always second fiddle to his brother, and then endured civil war, witnessed many violent crimes, and lost his share of friends over the years. There's a quiet sadness there, and even deeper than that, an anger.



HISTORY

Prologue

In CP 1687, Marten Smith found a swaddled infant on his Radasanth doorstep. Close inspection revealed the foundling to be an orc, accompanied only by the blanket he was wrapped in. Marten and his wife, Katarina, took him in and named him, though not as family; 'Bastum', it is believed, is likely where the word 'bastard' originates, and so his heritage was made plain. Somehow Marten acquired the services of a wet nurse for the orcish infant and raised him without major incident for a year, until the human couple’s first child – Emric – was born.

Possibly because of the strain of raising two dependents, Katarina never showed much affection for Otto, and Marten – while never neglectful or cruel – was at times gruff and impatient. From little past the age that he could walk, Marten had Otto assisting him around the forge. Otto would help carry raw materials, fetch tools and sweep the floors, but not until he was about nine did Marten allow him near the forge proper, or to port the finished products. At this time, Marten took the lad on as an apprentice, with the additional duties of assisting Emric when he began to learn the trade. Later, so long as Otto remained in Radasanth, he would be expected to work for Emric when Marten’s son took over the family business. Apart from the armourer's trade, Marten also instructed Otto in some standard blacksmithing that the old man had learned from his grandfather, who had lived at a time where there was much less demand from the military. Meanwhile, Katarina did her best to teach Otto basic literacy, so that he could help with some of the paperwork for the business. He was a very slow learner, constantly losing focus. His frustration with the (to his mind) dry and dull lessons was ever compounded by his lack of progress, and so he did not manage to get a solid grasp on literacy until much later in life.

Orcs are not the most numerous members of the populace in Radasanth, and Otto was cajoled and taunted by the other children his age. Still, there were two or three who didn't partake in this, and Otto usually spent what little spare time he had in their company, roaming the streets, wharfs and, occasionally, the rooftops of the poorer areas.

Once Emric had started learning from his father, Otto was given the majority of the hauling and cleaning jobs, so that Marten’s son could have more to time to practice the trade. Otto, however, was bored and frustrated with the unskilled work, and desired more time at the forge. The orc had felt the satisfaction of creating something with his own two hands, and so the desire to learn and master the craft had been enkindled. Otto began waking before the others so he could finish carting in the iron and coal while the forge was lit, and he stayed back late to clean and tidy. Unfortunately for him, this occasionally meant a missed meal, and often a lack of sleep. Nonetheless, he persevered until Marten came up with a new duty for both him and Emric.

Marten believed that an adequate weaponsmith had to understand what it was they were making – which required first-hand experience. After a couple of weeks of practice at the hands of his master, Otto and Emric were sent up to the Citadel two or three times a week to spar with some of Marten’s acquaintances, who were members of the Corone Armed Forces. One week might be spent learning to move under the bulk of byrnie, the next on swordplay, and the one after that, on how to wield a polearm. Emric slowly developed his skill with all manner of swords, and these became his focus at the forge. Otto quite liked the heft and familiarity of a good hammer, and felt it was well balanced with the reach of a spear. As they trained, the apprentices learned of the influence that balance had on a sword, how much padding one required underneath one’s chainmail, the benefit of smaller, lighter weapons in protracted battles, and the like. Otto and Emric moved on to sparring each other, then other youths, and even the odd veteran who had time for them.

This carried on for twelve years until, with the civil war, Otto was drafted into the Corone Armed Forces.

Chapter I

Despite any perceptions as to his expendability, a decent armourer is an invaluable asset in times of war. Otto spent most of his time in the camp as opposed to the field, striking iron and not skulls. He did partake in a couple of low-risk skirmishes, but it was not until the war had entered its final stages that anything managed to pierce his isolation from conflict. That thing was Irinham.

Otto was not actually adjusted to real violence, despite frequent practice in the Citadel. When the Empire recalled its troops to Radasanth, his company was ordered to seize supplies from a village for the long march ahead. The villagers attempted to defend themselves, which gave the captain an excuse to plunder the settlement completely. Though some inhabitants managed to escape, many of them were massacred and Irinham was burnt to the ground.

Otto was stationed back in Radasanth at the end of the conflict, where he continued his duties as an armourer. Somewhere between Irinham and that, or slowly along the entire course of it, he had lost his edge. He performed his duties and took part in drills as instructed, but without enthusiasm. It was during this time, when the brass were consolidating the numerous gaps that had appeared within the ranks, that Otto was inducted into police work under lieutenant Francine Orman.

Even so, some semblance of ambition remained. When a fickle – malicious, even – forge spirit found its way to him, he engaged it and sought its tutelage. It set a series of challenges for the orc, which he met and, just barely, managed to win through. They made a pact then, that night, and Otto has been learning a style of smithing he had never dreamed of before the encounter.

After some time, several influences culminated in a change deep within the orc. Irinham had dampened his taste for combat, but when a sabotage attempt by one Aurelianus Drak’shal robbed him of two friends, Otto saw what the dereliction of his duty as a soldier had cost him. Perhaps, with care, one can fight monsters without becoming them – but sometimes, one simply must fight.

His new role as a peacekeeper was novel to him, effectively the antithesis of what he had been taught as a wartime soldier. Orman was a good officer, smart and responsible. Under her command, Otto found himself in a position to pay back some of the debt he had earned against the people of Corone during the war. It was redemption, or as near to it as he felt he had any right to.

Perhaps the most profound impact on the young orc was his encounter with the poet Erirag. Comrades-in-arms will die, and sometimes you can do nothing about it, no matter how great a warrior you are. Help, even save, as many people as you want, and all those other homes will have been no less razed, those crows no less sated. But in twenty-five years, the giantess had been the only person to look upon him for the first time and smile in joy. She took him under her wing, and any feeling he had of home prior to this paled in comparison to the companionship that he felt lay before him.

Chapter II

Almost immediately after his run-in with Aurelianus Drak'shal, Otto made the acquaintance of one Resolve Curie. The two became embroiled in a treacherous mix of police corruption and weapon-smugglers. Matters spilled over into Otto's family life, and the rift between himself and his foster brother widened. Nonetheless, Otto and Resolve prevailed, even if they found themselves to have been little more than puppets during the ordeal.

Otto then partook in one of the more harrowing investigations of his career. A pile of dead bodies and crippling watch incompetence put him in a dark place, but it was at this time that he also met another ally, the philanthropic Leopold Winchester. With friends such as Ms Curie and Mr Winchester, it was little wonder that the orc fell in with the Chronicle.

Chapter III

A new face in the watch, a child's murder and his own abduction brought the orc face to face with an aspect of himself he had spent the last couple of years suppressing. He emerged from the ordeal with some bittersweet memories and a clearer heart, and his first enchanted piece.

After he recovered, it was back to work. But it seemed he had attracted some outside interests, and was contacted by the Althanas Trading Company for placement. His induction was handled by Elthas Belthasar, and the two soon hit it off.



SKILLS

Singing: expert. Otto has a fine and versatile voice, honed during many nights spent in the solitude of the forge. His ear for pitch is quite developed, and while he will often get right on the note, every now and then it's a little off. Still, he has a fine baritone voice, and his enhanced vocal spectrum has also lent itself to improving his everyday conversational skills.

Instrument (plucked strings): expert. Otto's worked hard to learn the guitar, but his true skill lies in playing Lakoguurz-Ora. While he's a dab hand at most styles, his passion lies more in the heavy riffs of good, honest rock.

Deduction: skilled. Otto’s lieutenant seems to have taken the orc under her wing, and he has benefitted from her investigative expertise and on-the-job experience. Otto has some skill with assessing motives, evidence and events to determine their connections, as well as the likelihood of any such explanation being true.

Bluff: skilled. Otto has faced more crooks and criminals inside the watch than he ever met out of it. Learning to lie convincingly is not only a skill he's had to learn, but one that has surprised even him with how easily he picked it up.

First aid: average. What kind of soldier doesn't know how to treat basic injuries? Otto has a relatively untested knowledge of first response medical attention, which is more theory than experience at this point.

Gardening: competent. It's taken a while, but Otto can now look after a houseplant and not kill it. With Resolve to teach him, he might even manage a little garden of his own some day soon.

Blacksmith: expert. This covers metalwork that is not part of an armourer’s craft but is essential to everyday life, such as fitting horseshoes, toolmaking, and crafting various metal goods such as nails, railings, hinges, gears, etc.

Armourer: He can make high quality armour from lower tier materials, and make it to fit. He can also craft swords, axes, maces and such at a professional level, especially spears and hammers. Lastly, he can usually repair these items at a forge, or at least keep them from falling apart a bit longer. Though he has not had the privilege of working frequently on very high-quality materials, he does have sound theoretical and some practical knowledge about most such substances.

• Iron – steel: master. Plynt – delyn: expert.
• Hide & leather: master. Magim – young dragonscale: expert.
• Bone: master. Chitin – young dragonbone: expert.
• Common woods: master. Rywan – redwoods: expert.
• Common cloths: master. Silk – spidersilk: expert.

Tradespeak

• Verbal: skilled. Otto is well-versed in Tradespeak, and his speech is peppered with the colloquialisms and turns of phrase native amongst the common folk of Radasanth. He's starting to learn some of the big words now as well, like 'perspicacious' and 'malingering'... not what they mean, of course, but he knows they're real words, sure enough.
• Written: average. Good enough to struggle through invoices, receipts, and work orders, but don’t expect him to make any valuable contributions to the Radasanth Weekly Book Club.

Orcish

• Verbal: competent. Thanks to Erirag’s patient instruction, Otto can stumble through a conversation, and usually make himself comprehensible.
• Written: average. It's Erirag's fault; she pushes his language lessons more than Kat ever did. It helps that Erirag herself has written a book or two, of the three-big-words-to-a-page variety.

Combat

• Hammers: expert. Otto knows his way around a good, single-handed hammer at the forge and on the field. Frequent use has made such weapons feel like an extension of his body.
• Spears: expert. Otto’s pole-arm training has been supplemented with prolific field application.
• Other melee weapons: variable. Otto understands their theoretical use, and can certainly craft them well enough, but he is not really familiar with anything other than hammers or spears. Weapons vaguely similar to those (staves, axes etc.), however, may be wielded with average skill, and close cousins (pikes, lances, maces, morning stars etc.) with competence. But things like swords and flails, well... he may as well attack someone with a loofah.
• Thrown weapons: expert. Past experiences have taught Otto that sometimes, even a spear isn't going to cut it - you need more reach. He has begun practicing with javelins from the armoury... but, in his opinion, you just can't beat the weight and heft of a good crossbow (he still hasn't grasped the idea that they're not for throwing).
• Shields: master. Otto favours round shields, and is accustomed to hefting one in combat. He has considerable skill in using a shield to catch incoming blows whilst minimizing trauma, using it as a counterbalance and even as an extra weapon, if need be. He can also rest it on his knees and use it as a table. Neat, huh?
• Brawling: expert. This is the no-frills art of using any part of your body as a weapon. Years of Citadel battles, a tour of duty during the civil war, run-ins with the city’s underbelly, and several bar-room brawls have given Otto plenty of schooling in this subject.

ATTRIBUTES AND ABILITIES

Insight (x5): you met all sorts in Otto's old line of work. His current one, too. Constant exposure to people suffering the full spectrum of human emotion, oftentimes trying to hide it, has taught him a few things about reading others. Unless the person is highly gifted at bluffing, Otto can spot when someone is putting it on.

Endurance (x7): Otto isn't necessarily fast, or even smart - but he just keeps on coming. Even in full military kit, Otto has no problem undertaking a whole day's march. Debilitating effects such as poison and blood loss are much slower to put him down than the average human - though they will certainly still cripple him. This also determines how often Otto can use certain powers before resting: Otto has a number of 'endurance points' (EP) equal to his ability modifier (x7), which are consumed by some abilities, but may also be depleted through normal strenuous activities. Otto regains spent EP through rest.

Precision (x7): when wielding a hammer, Otto is capable of easily striking typical thrown weapons directed at him (rocks, javelins, shurikens, knives etc. - unless he is bombarded by several at once), and has about a 66% chance to do the same for faster projectile weapons. His attacks with hammers rarely go wide by more than half an inch, those with spears can be relied on to land within one, and he has unerring coordination with other hand weapons - though the effect can be rather spoiled when his targets don't stand still.

Reflex (x6): Otto has only become more skittish during his time serving the Empire, and endless drills have hardwired in quick responses to perceived threats. From weapon strikes and ringing alarms, to misplaced words and an approaching officer, his reaction time to danger has been reduced to one twenty-fifth of a second.

Scent: Otto has an excellent sense of smell, and can easily detect animal traces on the wind or left behind where an individual has resided for some time. Smells which stand out are sweat, urine, faeces, and, in particular, blood. This made growing up in a medieval(ish)-era city about as enjoyable as you’d expect. In regards to the mentioned odours, Otto’s sense of smell is as good as that of a canine in the middle of the olfactory sensitivity spectrum, and half again for other scents.

Strength (x7): Otto has a single-arm lift capacity of 147 to 420 kg, depending on whether the angle is favourable or not, and a maximum punch force of 585 kg.

Tapetum lucidum (x5): Otto's people evolved as dwellers of caves and nighttime hunters, be it man or beast. Otto can see at light levels five times lower than what would be visible to humans, but can give off eyeshine if strong light is reflected off his retinas.

Toughness (x7): someone with strength comparable to that of an untrained human will have just a 1 in 200 chance to break one of Otto's ribs, though a professional pugilist would have closer to a 1 in 20. Otto has remarkable muscle density, and his skin is about as resilient as toughened leather.

Willpower (x6): Otto can happily subject himself to harsh conditions - such as wading into icy water or walking barefoot over scorching sand - without any ill effect to his focus and faculties for 22 minutes. The mental discipline that has been drilled into him also lets him allay fear and resist to some degree those certain influences that daze, dampen and confuse the mind.

Consummate Tradesman: one doesn't work for the Althanas Trading Company without picking a few things up, and that's without two decades worth of experience in the business. Otto knows his materials, knows the playing field, and after having become such a keen student of human nature, knows the players, too. He receives a 10% discount when purchasing tier 2 materials or goods, or a 5% discount for tiers 3 and 4, on top of any other price cuts that may be applied.

Sense of Iron: Otto knows when iron is nearby. He can sense its shape, its concentration, and patterns in the metal left by the shaping process. The ability to sense iron also depends on how prevalent it is; a pure lump of the stuff will shine like a beacon, while a rusty pin would glimmer like a half-reflected moon on water. Otto can sense iron and its alloys down to one-twentieth purity (by weight) up to a range of forty metres away. The only exception to this rule is blood; although there is so little iron present in it, something about Acmon's magic is attuned to the stuff. Spilled fresh blood he can sense clearly, if there are more than a few millilitres of it, but not old blood or that still held within a body. Like any sense, it has a range. He can barely perceive the presence of iron at forty metres, can begin to pick out microscopic structures at twenty, and is able to discern the atomic composition within five. The sense can also become overloaded, so that Otto has difficulty picking out individual items when there is an abundance already around him. As this is a supernatural ability, it can be influenced by magic-dulling and magic-enhancing factors.

Infusion: Otto can identify enchanted iron within the range of his 'Sense of Iron' ability, as well as the kind of enchantment in an item. He can also work such enhancements into any iron-containing workpiece which he forges himself. The item must comprise at least one-quarter iron by weight, although enchantments will benefit from the inclusion of augmentative metals such as Damascus or Prevalida. Enchanting can only occur under specific conditions, by drawing on the surrounding environment – be it the significance of the tools used, something regarding their history, Otto’s mood, aspects of the location where the item is made, and so on.

Empower: Otto can, at will, double the enchantment strength of an item within five metres of him.
Cost: 3 EP

Iron in the Blood: Otto can draw upon the life-giving properties of iron and use it in a restorative capacity. This allows him to purge either himself or someone he touches of toxin and disease, to clean infected wounds, and counteract the effects of blood loss. The process is incredibly painful to the recipient and quite draining to Otto.
Cost: 2 EP



EQUIPMENT

• Linen undergarments, shirt and trousers
• Woollen overcoat
• The Woeful Wayfarers (for your own sake, avert your eyes)
• Oilskin cloak, patterned with small, stylistic flames around the hem (acquired here).
• Leather belts, hoops/catches for weapons/shield
• Leather boots, knee height
• Leather apron, fire resistant
• Linen tabard, CAF insignia on scarlet (military issue)
• Iron-shod oaken round shield, 1 metre in diameter (self-made)
• A bronze guardsman’s badge, identifying Otto as a member of the city watch
• Iron plate greaves, shin and lower thigh (self made to fit over boots)
• Iron plate gauntlets over supple leather (self-made to fit)
• Iron helm (sallet), with adjustable visor, pointed tail, and bevor (self-made to fit)
• Iron-headed war hammer with reverse spike atop oak handle, single handed, 75 cm long (self-made)
• Iron-tipped oak spear, 6’ (self-made)
• Steel-tipped pila, two, one with an iron shank and the other with steel, both atop a yew haft (acquired here)
• Steel-headed hammer with Dehlar core, mounted on a 3'6" Akashima Redwood haft (acquired here)
• Masterwork steel dagger (acquired here)
• Bronze amulet of Trisgen on a thin leather cord (self-made)
• Iron blacksmith’s hammer, with stylised flame and dragon scale designs (Acmon’s tether, acquired here)
• Iron and leather maintenance equipment (oils, small knife, whetstone, file)
• Burlap rucksack & field gear (canteen, tinderbox, linen bandages)

Special items:

Vogal-Far ('Little Seed')
A masterwork steel hauberk, wrist and ankle-length, made to fit Otto. It is quite plain except for a band of twining sea holly sprouting leaves and flowers from one side of his breast up to his shoulder. Once per day (given about eight hours of sunlight), Otto can use the command word "lul-an" ('flower'; verb). Anyone (but only one person per use) who is touching the blooms will be partly healed over the course of a few seconds. The ability is strong enough to close shallow cuts and fade bruises, to staunch and stabilise moderate wounds, and to buy a few more moments of consciousness and life for the grievously injured.

Lakoguurz-Ora ('The Woven Wind')
An iridescent steel-weave shield, in a design similar to a shield-knot. It is as lightweight and hard as mithril, and the tension of underlying wire supports can be adjusted to be tuned and played to sound like a stringed instrument of the user's choice.

Hak ('Revenge')
A prevalida spetum, two-metre haft surmounted by a one-metre winged blade. It is always frigid to the touch. Whoever wields it feels uncomfortably clammy as long as they do, and gains no warmth from the sun or fire. They also feel emotionally distant: all desires pale to insignificance, replaced by a calculating hatred towards all winged, fire-breathing reptiles. The chilliness manifests itself in a much more useful form as well: the weapon grants an 85% resistance to fire and other forms of heat.



PETS, FAMILIARS, AND OTHER

Acmon
Known to Otto only as ‘Anvil’, this critter is a form of house spirit (or god) – but rather than being dedicated to the farm or homestead, it is a creature of the forge. One can gain its favour through thanks (worship) and offerings of food, but like its kin, it usually shies away from social interaction. Well, ‘shies’ is probably not the right word; ‘responds with bloody retribution’ may be more accurate. Although one may speak, and even work, with it, to lay eyes upon its visage is to invite its wrath. Even as its latest pupil, Otto is not exempt from this rule. The spirit will usually only speak at night, almost always when in private, and never to any but Otto.

Acmon is under a geas to teach Otto for a period of twenty months, as he is to give it work and offerings. Acmon does not just instruct Otto in the mundane forms of metalworking, but in the spirit’s own forté: enchantment. Also, atomic and subatomic physics... but that will come later. Once Otto can get his head around magic, then he may be ready for quantum mechanics. Unfortunately for the orc, Acmon is not required to lend him any aid, and would be disinclined to do so in any case. Though Otto may perish, the spirit might be happy to wait around for a century or two until the next poor sap comes across it, and takes the tether back to a forge. Only in the direst of circumstances, where Acmon itself is at risk of being lost forever, will it make an effort to assist its protégé... and even then, only through advice presented as a riddle. Spirits such as it are fickle things, and often appear to enjoy toying with mortals more than seeing to their own long-term survival. As such, Acmon may never be used in competitive RP.

The spirit resides in a tether – an item of iron. At the moment, this is Otto’s smithing hammer. Though it can manifest itself corporeally outside of it, it cannot do so more than a couple of dozen feet from the tether. The spirit also gains strength from being in the presence of iron and activities to do with iron; as such, a forge is ideal. It can also consume food to give it power, but blood... blood is something else entirely. Blood is life, and iron is in the blood. Were Acmon to receive a full blood sacrifice as in the days of yore, it could forge an artefact of unbridled power – or, just perhaps, break free of its limitations, and turn from symbiont to predator.

Approved - direct transfer.