[CHAR] An Expedition Beyond the World: A Low Fantasy Exploration Game (Sign-ups open!)

[LeonVon]

Name: Francis Corrado

Age: 29

Gender: Male

Role: Scientist - Naturalist

Place of Origin: The East

Personality: Francis has an almost scary fascination with nature fueled by an insatiable curiosity. He prefers the company of plants and animals (especially birds) over humans however, leading to a somewhat stunted social life.

Appearance: Around 5’11 (180.3 cm), short light brown hair, green eyes. He has more muscle than fat on his body, but lacks a whole lot of either.

Clothing

This minus the hat.

Skills: Naturalist Skills (combination of botanist and taxonomist).

Above average trapping skills used to catch animal specimen for research.

Inventory:
Science Equipment: Insect nets, small and large animal nets, live animal traps (snares and cages), binoculars, microscope with slides, magnifying glass, dissection tools (scalpels, tweezers, syringes, scissors), shears, trowel

Recording Equipment: An assortment of bags, jars, and boxes for collecting samples. Multiple empty notebooks for keeping records of new animals and plants discovered. Pencils. Sketching supplies.

Personal Items: Carved walking stick. Small set of books about the Empire's known plant and animal species.

Bio:
Francis didn’t have a fantastic childhood. His father was a drunk and disappeared on his way to a tavern one day while Francis was young, while his mother was a whore who had a different man at the family cottage every week. Rather than stay at home and deal with his dysfunctional family, Francis spent his days exploring in garden, parks, fields and forests. When he was 17, Francis fled his home and traveled to the Heartlands. There he met an aging botanist-turned-farmer who happened to be short staffed. For the next 3 years, Francis worked for the farmer during the day, maintaining the orchard and gardens. In the evenings he was tutored in the ways of botany, learning all he could about the plants of the Empire and the different methods of studying them. Looking back, these are some of Francis’ happiest memories.

At the age of 20, Francis decided to leave the farmer and travel back East to study in one of the universities as a naturalist. Thanks to the farmer’s connections and Francis’ natural curiosity, he quickly made a name for himself as a top tier field researcher and travelled the Empire studying the flora and fauna. While he occasionally clashed with fellow botanists and zoologists over various issues, Francis mostly stayed out of the social side of academia. For six years, Francis worked his craft, and even released a book on dissection techniques. Unfortunately, after upsetting one of the more established botanists at the university, accusations of conducting vivisections, human dissections, and other unethical practices (most of which were untrue), would lead to Francis being driven out of the city. He eventually would find a secluded hamlet on the coast where he could conduct experiments and research in peace. It was here that a former colleague would find him and offer him a chance to redeem himself. All he had to do was join the Expedition and return to the university with something “earth shattering”.

[Sypherkhode822]

And now for your handy dandy NPC
Work in Progress
Name Walter Keth
Age 35
Gender Male
Role Leader. Head honcho. Big cheese.
Place of Origin The West
Personality Patriotic, dedicated, intelligent, hard working, straight laced
Appearance A tall, classically handsome man, Keth is well toned from a life of living outdoors and soldiering. His tanned, lean face holds slightly crooked white teeth. His eyes are a striking grey, and his short curly black hair makes ringlets against his broad forehead. He has many scars, though they all increase his attractiveness, indicating a life of danger, instead of making him look deformed. His wide hands are nicked and cut, and his left ring finger is missing. The only adornments he wears is the ring of valor given to him in reward for his exemplary military service, and a small amulet of the Sanguinary Mother around his neck. He dresses in the buckskins of an outdoorsman, though he will wear proper regalia when needed. He wears red leather gloves, a sign of his being a priest of the Sanguinary Mother.
Skilz The Leader is a combination of the Officer, Survival Outdoorsman, and Cartographer. He is a proven military commander, having led multiple raids and skirmishes against Southern bandit gangs. His early life has left him with the knowledge of how to survive in the harsh Western mountains, tracking wildlife and living off the land. And, like all good commanders, he knows his way around maps, and can even make rudimentary ones.
Keth is also considered a priest of the Church of the Sanguinary Mother, having read all of the books of bloodshed the ritual 8 times, and is allowed to wear the red gloves of the priesthood.
He can also juggle, though he hasn't had the need to demonstrate that in a long time. He practices when he thinks nobody is watching.
Inventory military sabre, Imperial military regalia (complete with dress sword), his old repeating crossbow, journals for recording his experience, and a polished compass with the Emperors seal on the back.
The 34 Books of Bloodshed
The red gloves of a Sanguinary Mother priest
5 weighted pins for juggling.
Bio
Born and raised on the far outskirts of civilization, Walter Keth was raised alone by his father, a trapper living in the North-Western mountain range. Walter accompanied his father on his month long excursions into the wilderness, hunting and trapping the wild animals that provide the furs for many of the fashionable clothes of the courts. Walter was taught to be self-sufficient, and his father, formerly a soldier in the Imperial army as a scout, inspired his son with old campaigning tales. Walter was taught by his father rudimentary reading and mathematics, and despite what limited knowledge his father had, Walter was a quick study, reading and rereading the holy books of the Church of the Sanguinary Mother, the only reading material that made it so far out, spread by wandering missionaries. Walter became highly devout, a faith that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. When he turned 18, Walter left the Western mountains, traveling until he reached the closest city large enough to have a military garrison. He enlisted that day. He didn't spend long there, a Southern city was in rebellion, and the Empire needed to bring in soldiers that weren't from the region to be sure they would stay loyal to the cause. So, young Keth traveled to the South, along with the rest of his regiment. By the time he reached the South, the rebellion in question had been put down. Most of the soldiers then returned to the West