[b]Name:[/b] Gregori Ostrovsky [b]Age:[/b] 43 [b]Sex:[/b] Male [b]Appearance:[/b] Gregori is a colossal beast of a man, standing just shy of 6'9" and weighing just shy of 270lbs, quite the hefty fellow, although not all of it is muscle. His biceps are as thick as tree trunks with shoulders as wide as an automobile, but his gut has a bit of a barrel shape to it. His skin is healthily bronzed from the outdoors, with the clear tanline of an undershirt present on his massive chest and torso. Atop his veiny neck sits a thick square of a jaw holding up his round head. His hair is short and blond, slicked back with pomade by morning and soaked in sweat and falling over his forehead by dinner. His eyes twinkle a light blue, and his hair comb mustache is bushy and full, like straw. An obvious scar runs down the center of his face, tilted slightly to the left, a memento from when a ladder fell and struck him on a job site. [b][u]History Types:[/u][/b] [b]Positive:[/b] Frontierman. Gregori survived his youth in the frozen, unforgiving lands of Mother Russia, doing what was necessary to get by and avoid a cold, hungry death. He continues to brave the elements with his work quite often, finding himself far from creature comforts. [b]Negative:[/b] Child Labourer. Gregori was never afforded the opportunity for an education, and instead had to work the fields or chop firewood or hunt and trap in his youth to ensure that his family could survive the winters or prepare for the next one. [b]Biography:[/b] Gregori Ostrosvky was born to a carpenter and homemaker, the second of five children, all boys, in the tiny town of Zarinsk in the not so tiny Russia. His family never had much money, just enough to get by, and more often than not they had to go without, eating a single bowl of oats meant for the donkey that day instead of porridge or having to wear clothes filled with holes. It wasn't easy to have four brothers to share it with, either. The Ostrovskys could ill afford to send a single one of them to school, let alone all of them, and Gregori found himself working in the fields in the planting and harvest seasons, chopping firewood before and after winter set in, and in the shoe factory all summer long. It wasn't a happy childhood, but Gregori played the hand he was dealt. He could not place the blame on his father or mother for his situation and instead accepted it as a normal part of life. When he came of age, Gregori was not so much sent off from home than he was kicked out, and he traveled north to Berdsk in order to find work. For a big brute like Gregori, work was plentiful in the field of labor. He was quickly chosen over other options for his size alone, which gave him a steady flow of work. It wasn't always good or easy work, but it put food on the table. Most of the time. He managed to see every sight there was to see in Mother Russia working on their rails, but was stranded in Yekaterinburg, north of Kazakhstan when the work dried up. He spent another year there trying to pass as a carpenter, but with little luck. After that harsh year he decided to travel south to look for more work, when he ran into some British folk near the border. Out on some kind of travels or some such. Their Russian wasn't the greatest, but they were offering work and Gregori was no fool to turn down free money. He ended up working and traveling with the Brits for that job and the next one, ending up in the African Savannah, looking for some kind of bad juju thingamabob. Couple of wackjobs, but the pay was damn decent. And so it went like this for the next decade or so, bouncing between rich British and American explorers and entrepreneurs that needed a steady and reliable hand searching for things that bordered archaeological gold mine and insane obsession with the occult, bouncing from mutual contact to mutual contact. He picked up a good amount of English, becoming nearly fluent, but never really learned to read the whole language. He never really found time for a wife and family, traveling around his own country and in others far too often. Which is not to say that he never found the time for a good woman. For the past couple years he's been a hot commodity on some of the more dangerous digs, because the experts knew who to look for when they needed a reliable and strong worker who knew what he was doing. Not asking questions or being frightened away by spooks has its rewards as well. As hard as it was to believe, some people could make mistakes on simple tasks like laying rail or building tower rigs, and Gregori could not only lay that rail, but stop the idiots from laying it wrong. With his more well-known points of reference, Gregori could guarantee himself a quick trip, some hard work, and some good pay. Gregori is the simple, good-natured sort, always with a story and one who enjoys a good drink at the end of a hard day. He's not particularly smart (he can't read, after all), but years of experience have taught him various lessons in common sense that do much more for him than schooling ever could. He's gentle in nature and generally compliant, following orders readily and easily, but is an incredibly powerful person with his great size and strength and booming voice. He knows to keep his head down, shut his mouth, and to rarely question anything that won't get him killed or injured if he wants to be paid for his skills. Gregori prefers to avoid confrontation of any sort, and will go to lengths to avoid interpersonal fighting. He likes telling jokes and gets along with most folks, and people call him a "living moral compass" because he tends not to like anyone who happens to be a bit lax on their morals. He's quick to forgive and doesn't hold a grudge, but one should beware the grudge he [i]does[/i] hold. Such a man is no more a man than an infirmary visit waiting to happen. [center][u][b]Technical Information[/b][/u][/center] [b]Career Path:[/b] Labourer [b]Specializations:[/b] -- Machine Man. Gregori is very strong and efficient, outlasting many other workers half his age in both speed and duration. -- Wayward Friend. Due to his jovial demeanor, Gregori easily makes friends with other no-collar workers. [b]Inventory:[/b] [hider=Weapons][b]Hammer:[/b] A simple claw hammer, mostly used for hammering nails into wooden boards. Mostly a tool, but can be used as a weapon of necessity, which is why it's here. [b]Shovel:[/b] A durable spade with a metal head and 4" wooden handle. Used to dig dirt. See hammer for why it's in the weapon section. [b]Pickaxe:[/b] Breaks rocks and hard dirt with ease! See hammer and shovel. [b]Standard Issue Military Sidearm:[/b] Your standard issue, 10 shot clip pistol. Based off of German engineering that has developed a machine pistol, but not quite that quality.[/hider] [hider=Armour][b]Civilian Clothing:[/b] You wear a set of civilian clothing, usually related to your line of work. Lets you blend in among others of similar garb.[/hider] [hider=Utility][b]First Aid Kit:[/b] Your standard First Aid Kit, including bandages, stitches, rubbing alcohol, and more. [b]Radio:[/b] A simple radio for contacting others. [b]Dog-Tags:[/b] A way to identify your corpse in the tragic case of your death. [b]Canteen:[/b] For holding water and other liquids. [b]Pocket Watch:[/b] A small medallion sized pocket watch, clockwork, keeps the time through grinding gears. [b]Gaslamp:[/b] A small hand lamp. [b]Torches:[/b] Three unlit torches. [b]Flint Spark Lighter:[/b] A simple ferrocerium lighter. [b]Tool Belt:[/b] A simple, leather tool belt holding various odds and ends for hard work, such as nails and screws, a measuring tape, marking chalk, and other related items simple in nature. [/hider] [b]Signature:[/b] I, Corporal Lance, agree to follow all applicable rules of this RP, and understand that the GM's word is law. I also understand that my character may be killed for any or no reason at any time it is deemed appropriate by the GM. In addition, I will not mention anything about certain people claiming ownership of certain breeds of fish. ------------------ Background is unfinished, lacking cities and personality paragraph. I'll finish it once my internet decides to stop having a seizure.