Heroes of the Grim Reaches
A mercenary band, led by Bjorn the Tall, that journeys from Kingdom to Kingdom to engage Dagon IV's minions. Often, they travel to the areas that need help the most, but that are beyond the reach of conventional means. They are known as the Heroes of the Grim Reaches, as they are based on the ever moving frontiers of Dagon IV's Empire. It is said that they work closely with the Scarred King, although this is something their leader will often deny, even to himself.
Name: Bjorn the Tall, of [player-state]. Sometimes simply referred to as, "The Barbarian".
Nationality: [player-state] - Preferably one that is resisting, or succumbing.
Occupation: Veteran warrior, former [player-state] captain.
Religion: The Gods are a lie, they are of no use to us in these dark times!
Appearance: Bjorn the Tall is named as such, because of his gigantic stature. Standing easily at seven and a half feet tall, he is considered a mountain among men and a freak of nature in equal measure. His muscular torso almost resembles an upside down triangle, and gives support to two tree-log thick arms. His flesh is pale, and bears not only several scars, but also blue body paints depicting various "Celtic" symbols.
His hair is kept shaven, with the exception of jet-black pony tail that hangs as low as his waist from the rear of his head. It is bound in position by several decorative silver bands.
Bjorn's face gives the impression of once being handsome, but is now marred and ruined by what appears to be a lifetime of brawling. His nose is crooked, and almost zigzags down his nose. His left eye appears smaller than his right, owing to a fractured cheek bone sustained some years ago. His teeth are all mostly silver, with the originals long lost to a life lived in violence.
Bjorn wears little armour, preferring the flexibility of leather leggings and the refreshing wind on his bare chest.
Personality: Bjorn is slow of wit, but strong of heart. He has little patience for philosophy or deep debate, and prefers actions over words. He is brave beyond measure, but is also overconfident. He's empathetic to the suffering of the countless masses, and sees it as his purpose in life to save them or to die a glorious death in trying.
Biography: Bjorn was born to two human parents, both of whom were around five and a half feet tall. Imagine their surprise then, and indeed, his mother's horror during labour, when this hulking giant came storming into the world.
A large child, Bjorn had to be separated from his younger peers to prevent any accidental injuries (or deaths) that may have occurred from him getting too over excited in a game of "tag". This put a few funny ideas in Bjorn's head as he grew up, always being separated, always told to mind his strength. He realised he was different, he was bigger, stronger than
everyone else. They all feared him, and it felt good.
Following his father into the blacksmithing trade did not dull the giant's lust to embrace an inner calling to put his superior strength and stature to the test. He promptly abandoned the family business, and threw his lot in with a local Lord's men-at-arms.
Not surprisingly, Bjorn soared through the ranks, having proved himself a terrifying adversary but a loyal soldier. It wasn't long before he was appointed the rank of Captain, and took charge of his very own regiment, known as the Battle Boar Berserkers. He filled his ranks with blood-crazed individuals, who cared little for a volley of arrows, but who cared much for being the first to collide with the enemy.
Dagon IV's invasion of [Player State] saw Bjorn's regiment enter several engagements with the legions of Aldebaran. Each time, Bjorn and his men retreated with the rest of the kingdom's army, even though the Battle Boars had left a carpet of dead in their wake. Each time, Bjorn lost more battle brothers, and eventually, both his regiment and the army at large were exhausted.
Refusing to give up the fight, and feeling that Dagon IV's unholy crusade was a blight on the world, Bjorn took to the wilderness to raise his own band of mercenaries that would fight the menace from the shadows. It was at this time that he was tracked down by the Scarred King, who provided Bjorn with both the Blade of Liberty, a silver Great Sword, and the funds he needed to wage his guerilla war.
Equipment: Blade of Liverty - Silver Great Sword (enchanted, but not known), gifted to him by The Scarred King.
Skills: Skilled sword fighter, famed commander, brute strength.
Motivation: Wants to see Dagon IV destroyed, but is driven to this more by ideals of glory than the moral implications.
Name: Anya Sorrowsong
Nationality: [player-state] - Preferably one that has succumbed.
Occupation: Ranger, former slave tracker.
Religion: The Gods are a lie, they are of no use to us in these dark times!
Appearance: Anya is tall for a human woman, coming in at six feet. Her build is athletic, but her toned arms and wrists tell of someone who is used to pulling bow-strings.
Her brown, shoulder-length hair almost fully covers a strong, frowning face. Dead amber eyes, set delicately within their sockets, have a way of tearing through an individual's confidence. Scar tissue reaching from just under her left eye, running towards the tip of the nose and ending above her right eye gives one the impression that at some point she was on the receiving end of a near-fatal blow.
Usually, Anya wears her ranger garb; a motley collection of blacks, browns and greens. A heavy hood protects her from the rain, and a yellow bandanna obscures the lower half of her face.
Personality: Anya comes across as somewhat emotionless, and very cold. However, if one would pay attention to her body language, and her word usage, sometimes she'll betray a seething guilt and a raging sorrow buried deep behind her otherwise unfeeling exterior.
Typically she is very patient, preferring caution over reckless violence.
She dislikes the sight of children, of any gender or race.
Biography: Anya is thirty three years old, and for thirty years of her life, she was raised and then recruited as a Slaver Tracker in [player-state]. Her life was one of horror, though not for her, but for those slaves who sought to escape Dagon's clutches, and whom she was required to track down and kill.
Easily the best Slave Tracker of her generation, Anya's skills were relocated around Dagon's expanding Empire, time and time again, to help train new Slave Trackers and to deal with existing problems. Her notoriety grew, as did her power and wealth.
She lived as a sort of celebrity in Dagon's ranks, and ended up upsetting several of the Emperor's minions who felt that a mortal woman's place in the world belonged on the sacrificial alter.
And so, one night after returning from tracking a herd of escaped slaves, she was ambushed by several masked assassins. She fought well, but was ultimately over powered and imprisoned. Her assassins reported her as dead, killed by the very slaves she sought to kill, but in secret, she was tortured into near insanity.
One result of this torture, was the birth of her child whose father was indeed one of the many torture masters. The labour almost killed her already weakened body, but as she finally squeezed the infant into the world, one of her tormentors instantly crushed it with a hammer. The whole experience was a horror that Anya will never overcome in her living days.
This misery lasted another year, until Bjorn the Tall mounted a raid on the building - which was in fact, the Castle of Brackmere - with his mercenary band. The barbarian warrior, who stormed into the torture chamber and dismembered the torturers with his huge gleaming Great Sword, freed all of the castle's prisoners.
Several joined the barbarian, and took up arms to assist him in bringing Brackmere to ruin. Anya however, was broken of both mind and body, and was found by Bjorn laying in some soiled rags. He picked her up, and despite her weak protests, hurried her away to safety.
It took many weeks and Bjorn's best battlefield physicians to nurse Anya back to some form of health, but she remained somewhat unthankful, and forever distant. Nevertheless, she became possessed with an insatiable blood-lust for the lives of Dagon's legionnaires and his puppets. She would vanish from Bjorn's camp for several days, only to return with an empty quiver and a belt full of scalps.
Bjorn was impressed by Anya's mysterious combat prowess - uncommon for a woman - and recruited her into his ranks permanently.
She has fought by his side ever since, although her Slave Tracking past remains hidden from him and the rest of the group.
Equipment: Yew Longbow, Steel-Tipped arrows, Bloodfang Venom, Steel Short Sword.
Skills: Marksman, can move almost unseen in forest environments, can track man and beast.
Motivation: Will stop at nothing to destroy Dagan's Empire, and to repent for the sins of her past life.
Two more characters, if the guy in charge is happy with what I'm doing here.
