Tortoise

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@Timemaster Ye I'm a bit overwhelmed, I feel like I need to hurry.

@Dark Cloud

You don't

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

So this has me a bit curious. I have a couple character concepts I could use for this but for one I am wondering what the sort of tech available would be. Or in this case, would firearms be something that may be present in this world? I have a character concept who would use a black powder revolver or double barrel pistol. Though I know that's something that doesn't always work in fantasy settings.

@Remipa Awesome

Unfortunately, I can't allow firearms in this setting. It just breaks the medieval fantasy vibe, imo.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Character Sheet

Kurama

Picture

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
<sub>Caelum Goblin - a subspecies of Goblins. Their skin color ranges between bright white to a dark black tone depending on where in Caelum they live. Height-wise they are like dwarfs with the tallest Caelum Goblin being a head shorter than the average human. Their bodies are slender and while the main majority keep the usual scales which Goblins are known for, there are some who have adapted to Caelum and feathers started to grow alongside with hollow bones similar to birds.

Kurama is 24 years old which makes her a young adult between her people which can live up to 80 years and she has been with the Caravan for just a month.</sub>


History:
<sub>Kurama was born 16 years ago at the bottom of Caelum which, considering the tallness of the Caelum mountain, was still a kilometre up in the air. Enough for one to make out the shapes in the distance and villages. For Caelum Goblins, the higher they lived, the higher their status was in their society with the reigning Goblin King at the top of the mountain. This didn’t mean by any means that Kurama had a bad start in life, only that she was restricted in what jobs she was allowed to do and her freedom of movement on the mountain.

It all changed for her when she discovered, by mistake, the magic of Alchemy. A yet undiscovered branch of magic for the Caelum Goblins which usually specialised in illusion magic. Alchemy, the combination of plants, powders and whatnot to make elixirs with different results. This made her one of the most known Caelum Goblins and elevated her to a very high rank in their society.

She dedicated her first years of teenagehood to medicine. Finding plants and combining them in different potions helped her people much as minor cuts and even bones would mend themselves with only a few sips of her drinks.

Alas’ it wasn’t enough for her. After trying all the possible combinations that she could think of, producing many kinds of elixirs, she pretty much reached a point of stagnation. Nothing else could be learned about Caelum and with the secluded state the Caelum Goblins were in, there was only one thing she could do. Leave the place of her birth and explore the world.

With a bit of luck, she encountered the Caravan and saw a great opportunity for research. Travel with them, gather materials and maybe, just maybe Kurama would achieve her greatest dream. The Elixir of Full Regeneration. A medicine so strong it could bring back anyone from the brink of death to a fully healed state.</sub>

Personality:
Kurama is a very curious person and is not afraid of taking risks. She knows that sometimes sacrifices have to be made to achieve greatness but she also understands that other lives are important and will not risk them at her expense.

Motivation:
_{Creating the Elixir of Full Regeneration}

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Alchemist: Kurama is proficient in imbuing magic and combining different materials together into creating potions with various results. While most of her research was focused on healing, there were some explosive by-products which proved to be dangerous if not handled properly. In order for this to work, she needs to have materials and a place where she can cook them up.
Low Level Illusionist: While a skill she never studied, she did manage to learn how to cast very minor visual illusions by watching her fellow Caelum Goblins.
Untrained for Combat: Kurama is essentially useless in combat without the use of her potions.
Herbalist: Kurama knows how to identify plants and can determine their properties.
Doctor training: While not the usual type of doctoring, Kurama knows which potions and what quantities to use in order to heal others.
Little to no social skills: Kurama doesn't know how to express herself in a diplomatic way and most of the times she can come up as blunt.

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want: To invent a truly miraculous elixir.

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be: Chaotic Good

Three Likes: Research, exploring, experiments

Three Dislikes:Nosy people, stagnation, destruction of ecosystems

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?: Mind

Worst Fear: Never achieving her dream

Favourite Color: Green

Most Like The Animal: Owl

Favourite Time of Day:Any

How They Dress: Casual but with long sleeves over her arms, a hood and glasses to protect her eyes

Favorite Season: Summer

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any): Kathetikon the God of Knowledge

@Tortoise There she is 😁

@Timemaster

You're another player who hit on my weak points; I love both alchemy and goblins.

Anyway, it's approved.

-------

OK, I have something to show right now. I might add something more and revise it but I just want to showcase my character.

Young Mage of Secretive Origins

"I'm just your run-of-the-mill mage-in-training with the wish to be an archmage and a scholar. And I'll make my dream come true, you can certainly bet on it."

---

Basic Information

Name: Ark Andraste
True Name: To be revealed.
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Race: Magician (Human)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Time in the Caravan: Just joined the Pilgrim's Caravan 2 days ago.

---

Appearance and Fashion

Appearance: Ark is a 1.60m (5'3) tall young man. He is slender, not having any muscles to show off, and is clearly uninterested in building a muscular physique since, according to Ark himself, doesn't fit his image as a mage and scholar. His hair is white by default (he hasn't bleached his hair), his eyes are blue and his complexion is white. His clothing is composed of a black bodysuit with white crystals attached to parts of it (for reasons Ark doesn't know how to properly explain), and his white cape with red strings adorning it.

Dressing Style: Ark's fashion style revolves around using casual clothing. However, because of his own clothing, he's known to have an "eccentric" taste and likes to actually experiment with various types of combinations. In tandem with these facts, Ark hates using formal dressing and cannot stand to wear a tuxedo.

---

Personal Information

History: Ark is the only son of two magicians in a small village from the deep eastern ends of Alwyne. He was born on a cozy and rather lovely farm, where his parents both decided to use their magic for a small and peaceful life instead of aiming grand towards the magister courts from the kingdoms in the world. And so, Ark has been freely training magic in order to actually inherit the farm and become its next owner, where he would keep working until the end of his life.

But that wasn't exactly his plan in life. Ever since he was a child, Ark had a dream of becoming an archmage, dominating various elemental magics (except for Dark types), and becoming a scholar. His dream is to build an academy for magicians from scratch, even though this idea might or might not have been done by someone else, while also allowing normal humans and other non-magical creatures to develop the passion and desire to learn about magic, control it, and use it.

Ark studied hard to grasp whatever elemental powers he could control, but his mana as a child only allowed him to master Light elemental magic (which he sticks up to this day). And because his parents were against his dreams, they limited how much research material Ark had any access to, and how much they would teach him about magic, and didn't let Ark leave the farm to pursue other places in the village to study. This, in conjuncture with his age, made Ark a "prisoner" and he wasn't accepting it.

When he finally completed 15 years old, Ark packed his things and ran away from home. He grabbed a trustworthy horse and some money he had gained from some errands and went away to the next town. He never returned back home, so he doesn't know if his parents are still after him or not. Ever since his escapade, Ark started a new life of doing some quests here and there, going around towns in order to continue studying his magic and pursue his dream.

However, Ark ended up getting into some trouble when he hit 17 years old. His horse ended up dying because of age and it was in the middle of a storm. He managed to go to another town on foot but had to stay in that town for more than what he actually wanted to. He did some quests on his own but still had to stay stuck in town for over a year because he wasn't being able to afford another horse with the money he had.

That's when he met the Pilgrim's Caravan and asked to join them in order to keep traveling and pursue his dream. After some talk and settlement, he became (possibly) the most recent member of the Caravan, and perhaps the youngest of the whole squad. And so continues the story of Ark Andraste, who's now a member of the Pilgrim's Caravan while continuing his own research for the time being.

... At least that's the story he tells whenever asked about his origin. Where Ark truly hails from, though, is a mystery. As far as he knows, no one doubts him (or at least shows some doubt) and he hasn't been fully questioned about everything. Yet.

Personality: Ark is bibliophile at heart. He loves to dig himself into books and has a passion for studying. While he doesn't limit himself only to the studies toward his dream goal, he tends to focus specifically on the study of other elemental magic, as well as the history of magic himself. Another quirk is that he gets really passionate whenever discussing these topics with others and can go for hours and hours talking about magic.

Speaking of his social skills, despite being a bibliophile, Ark isn't a loner. He's actually quite well versed in socializing with others and his very charismatic towards other people, whether from the Caravan or not. As a result of his travels, Ark can easily speak with people and has no problems approaching strangers, which doesn't fit too much with his love for books but it works in his favor.

Ark's also very noble and is ready to make sacrifices for those who don't have the same power or conditions as him. He's a very compassionate and kind-hearted fellow, to the point that Ark can be somewhat invasive. He's a good listener but wants to listen and will insist to have a conversation with people going through some trouble until they snap at him.

One thing Ark actually hates speaking is about origins, because of whatever he is hiding at heart. Whenever the topic of speaking about the past or something of the sort, he's the first to leave the table or the room. He is, in no way possible, open to speaking about it and gets extremely defensive if he has to talk too much about it.

Likes:

• Books on studies of the history of magic, elemental tomes, summoning, and alchemy;
• Traveling around the world and learning about different cultures.
• Wolves. Ark's a wolf person.

Dislikes:

• Drinking, the smell of alcohol and drunkards;
• Abuse of power and dealing with the snobs of rich people;
• Talking about his past.

Worst Fear: Returning home without fulfilling his dream.
Favorite Color: White.
Favorite Time of Day: Daytime.
Favorite Season: Winter.
Heart/Will or Mind/Reason?: Despite being a bibliophile, Ark follows his heart/will more than he follows his mind/reason.
Motivation: Ark's motivation to join the Pilgrim's Caravan is to continue his travels and to keep learning about the world. He also believes that he'll be able to learn about summoning if he keeps traveling with them.
Lifelong Dream: Ark's lifelong dream is to build an academy of magic, where people can learn about it, about how to use it, and discover a new way of living life.
Spirit Animal: Despite loving wolves, Ark considers his spirit animal to be an owl.
Faith and Beliefs: Ark isn't very faithful or religious, since he has a notion that religion can be used as a way to trick and deceive people who don't know any better. He does pray sometimes to Marietta, known as the Goddess of Protection, whenever he and his current team are on missions.

---

Battle and Equipment Information

Skills: Ark, as a magician, specializes in ranged attacks by casting magic. This is his primordial skill, which means that he's one of the party's main magic-specialized attackers in battle. His magic, currently, consists of light elemental magic. This means that, through his mana, Ark's able to generate and manipulate light, as well as cast offensive spells based on this element, as well as creating shields and barriers of this element.

What Ark also learned throughout his journey is the ability to cast support spells related to stat buffing. This means that he also takes a supportive role of being able to cast buffs on his teammates, such as strength boost, defense boost, speed boost, etc. His supportive spell array also includes the ability to give light elemental affinity to his allies as well as to raise their resistance against light elemental attacks.

Outside of his magic skills, Ark is a great and fast reader, as well as a rather good teacher (if necessary). He's able to grasp information from a book in a matter of minutes and quickly tries to put it into ways to explain it to others in a way people can understand without using too many technical words.

He also has good negotiation skills and is able to work his way around with words. He also, somehow, is very skilled in dealing with nobles, but how and why are some things that no one knows, and Ark himself doesn't explain.

Strengths and Weaknesses: As a light elemental magic user, Ark is a great counter for dark elemental magicians considering the affinity between the elements. This means that his magic deals extra damage to dark elemental damage users. However, he also takes extra damage against dark elemental users, so while he is a good counter against them, he has to be careful since he has a weakness in this certain regard.

It's also important to notice that Ark loses if fighting against physical attackers because he lacks a weapon that's actually helpful in a fight. The fact that he has the stamina of a bibliophile also means that he can get exhausted quite easily because he doesn't do much physical exercise in the first place.

Weapons and Tools: Ark's "weapon" of choice is a light magic tome containing intermediate to advanced spells that he can use. Other than that, he carries a bag with some spare clothing, his wallet, some family belongings he took with him when running away (in case he needs to sell them for some extra money), and two other books with water and wind elemental magic, although he hasn't learned them yet.

---

Music Themes

Main Theme (Ark): Pascal (NieR: Automata)
Main Theme (???): Song of the Ancients / Popola (NieR: Replicant ver 1.22)
Battle Theme (Ark): Snow Sisters (Under Night IN-Birth)

@MagusDream

This is a good one! Some slight tweaks: under your Skills section, we have this bit here-

What Ark also learned throughout his journey is the ability to cast support spells related to stat buffing. This means that he also takes a supportive role of being able to cast buffs on his teammates, such as strength boost, defense boost, speed boost, etc. His supportive spell array also includes the ability to give light elemental affinity to his allies as well as to raise their resistance against light elemental attacks.

-whereas we have not done anything with stats or other such numbers in this game. My intention is for Pilgrim's Caravan to be more narrative, about the character's experiences. We won't be dealing a lot with stats and combat numbers.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Thanks for both responses. I just like to check first because sometimes open doesn't mean really open. That and if there's too many to handle well...

CS:

Mergoux

Mergoux

Race: Half-Elf
Age: 87
Time in Caravan: Newcomer

Appearance: Six-foot and slender, Mergoux's muscled frame presents as a pillar of strength. Though nearing her nineties, she still resembles a woman in her late twenties. Her shoulder-length coal-black hair is usually worn with braids to keep it from her face but otherwise loose. Her face is plain and unremarkable, neither ugly nor pretty, its most memorable feature being a vicious scar that travels from immediately under her left eye to the edge of her jawline. She has numerous tattoos across her body. Most visible is the word "Vengeance" tattooed vertically down her chin and onto her throat. On her wrists, she has tattooed manacles, which attach to chains that coil up her arm to the elbow, where they shatter and turn into vines. The vines coil up her arms to her shoulders, where they encircle a flower with eight petals on her left shoulder and a stack of eight coins on her right. For clothes, she usually wears a form of leather jerkin or medium armor, prioritizing freedom of movement. She also wears an enormous amount of earrings in her ears, enough so that they'll clink and jingle if she turns her head to quickly. Finally, she is never seen without her helmet, a sleek metal piece that covers all of her face but for around her mouth and chin, and has two jutting metal spikes.

History:
Born Thalia Coldstone, Mergoux was the child of a meadow elf Elaina, and a Nordic merchant. Unfortunately in her home country, such couplings were seen with ill-disguised hatred by the majority, for though in that land Meadow Elves were known for peace, their cousins the High Elves were known for quite the opposite. Young Thalia faced such prejudice, that following an incident when she was eight, her father decided it was time for his family to leave. Bundling them into one of his trading caravans, they set off for greener pastures. They did not live to see that happy future.

Partway through their journey, their caravan was attacked by bandits, but this was no mere rabble. Unbeknownst to them, a great Shaman, proclaiming himself the Bandit King, had risen to power in the hinterlands, commanding a crime organization so vast it rivaled some smaller nation's own military might. Young Thalia's parents were killed, and she was captured as a slave, and brought back to the hidden fortress of the Bandit King. There, for the next thirteen years, she worked as a slave. First, as a kitchen wench, then as she grew older, bigger, stronger, they sent her to the mines, then finally to work as a logger to keep the fortress's fires burning bright. There, she finally managed to escape, traveling down the mountainside with no food, no water, and little to account for the bitter chill of a winter's storm. She would have frozen to death had it not been for a chance encounter with a band of mercenaries out for bounties on bandits.

They made their way down the mountain but only barely made it to the capital city, most of their party slain along the way by more marauding bandits, desperate to stop young Thalia from revealing the location of their hidden fortress. It was only by the hand of a god she was spared recapture and her new allies spared death.

When brought before the Queen, she revealed the location of the bandit stronghold and more information about both the mysterious Bandit King and his organization than had ever been known. In return, the Queen offered her whatever she might desire. Thalia asked for three things. A weapon, the training on how to use it, and to be allowed to be the one to kill the Bandit King. The Queen agreed, and Lord Horrus, god of heroes, further agreed to bring her to his training grounds, where the greatest heroes were taught under him.

However, all was not as it seemed, for while she was away learning to use the weapon she'd been granted, an ancient blade from the Kingdom's history, enchanted and powerful, the Bandit King was toppled, his organization obliterated, and his bandit hordes scattered. Of himself, however, there was no proof of his death. Thalia was furious at this betrayal, wanting to personally avenge her parents' deaths, but there was little else she could do.

Instead, she resigned to take on a role of a soldier in the Kingdom's army, for though the bandit threat was over, there were still many wars to be fought. For fourteen years, she was a soldier, promoted several times until she achieved the rank of Champion, a specialist in the army, promoted for their fighting prowess instead of their skill at command. However, when she was thirty-eight, a controversy occurred, and she was branded a scapegoat. Her time in the army had been hard, for many of her fellow soldiers harbored the same hate in their hearts that had forced her family from their home, but this was the final offense. Booted from the army, she sunk low, her life, her career, taken from her, those few she had found a sort of family in, lost from her again.

Little is known of what happened to Thalia Coldstone after that. Her record vanishes, but half a decade later, there arrived Mergoux. She was a servant of the god of death, now one of her sworn killers, and she was very good at what she did. A lifetime of abuse had turned her into a hateful, vengeful soul. She wanted death, to bring it, and have it brought to her, yet she could not bring herself to throw her life away. She had a new purpose. To slay every bandit, every criminal, every single being who might do to others what had been done to her. To harm them in any way was to earn a death sentence from her. For a time, this brought the mysterious helmeted mercenary a level of fame in her homeland, then a level of infamy, then after murdering a local mayor for unjustly evicting local farmers so that he might claim their land, she was finally branded an outlaw and a criminal herself. From there, she carved a bloody path South and vanished over the border, her stories fading into legend. Yet still, thirty years on, tales come back of a helmeted warrior woman butchering evil-doers. It is these tales that criminals use to scare their children into bed, lest Mergoux the Butcher come and lop off their feet, then make them walk home.

Personality:
Outwardly, Mergoux appears more than an empty shell of a person. She finds no personal joy in the world, yet is granted a deep satisfaction by her actions, and what little enjoyment she has in the world she finds most often with a blade in her hands. Yet behind that exterior, she is a broken woman, robbed of family and friends time and time again. Those who did not die by the sword, she was forced to watch grow old while she remained young. She puts all she has into her task, viewing it as the only positive thing she has left that she can do, for all through her life she has buried most of her emotions so deep, she's unsure if she could ever dig them out again. All manner of hope, peace, love are gone, left by a bitterness that leaves her off-putting at best. She is Mergoux, and she is hate.

Motivation:
Once again on the run from the law, Mergoux joins the caravan as an escape, and to perhaps further her goals of slaying wicked men on the road. Bandits are those she hates most, and bandits are always on the roads.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Skills/Strengths: Mergoux is a skilled warrior, trained initially under the god of heroes for five years, then further improving her own skills through a long life as a warrior. She is an unmatched master with her enchanted greatsword and to a lesser degree, a master of very nearly every other style of swordswomanship. She is further adept with most weapons and is noted as a proficient markswoman with a crossbow. Through her long life she has also become adept at hunting and tracking. She also possess a keen eye and a cunning mind, often allowing her to outwit her foes, though she's no great intellect. Finally, when she wants to be, she can be highly intimidating, and interrogation was a specialty of hers in the army. She also possesses rudimentary medical knowledge, as she's often forced to patch herself up rather than attend any healers nearby.
Finally, as a half-elf, Mergoux possesses both a speed both of mind or of movement faster than any human could attain. She also possesses an incredible sense of hearing.

Tools: Mergoux's armory and personal possessions are limited by what she can carry, but she always takes with her two magic items. Her sword, gifted to her by order of the Queen. Vainoth's Bane is a two-handed greatsword nearly as tall as she is. It is indestructible bar for perhaps melting it in magma, and is enchanted so that to the wielder, it weighs near nothing, allowing her to move faster and strike harder with the otherwise extremely heavy blade. The second is her helmet. It covers all of her face and head, except for the eyeholes and the area around her mouth and chin. It is enchanted that it nullifies any force that strikes its exterior. A giant could smash a tree on her head and it would connect as little more than the lightest of taps.

Weaknesses: Social skills. Mergoux is unlikeable, and has a hard time forming bonds outside of those formed in combat. Her elven ears often also present the problem of being overly sensitive to sudden loud noises, occasionally even leaving her disorientated briefly if the din is deafening enough. She also has extreme motion sickness and cannot ride a horse, a wagon, or a boat without extreme discomfort and nausea. Finally, Mergoux received little to know formal education before her 20s. While she'd picked up a lot, including the skills needed to read and write, she lacks a lot of more basic knowledge that someone might acquire through a more standardized education.

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
What Mergoux wants most is something she knows is unattainable. True peace. An end to violence and bloodshed and the harm done to those she sees as innocent. But she knows this will never happen, and so merely does what she can to mitigate such occurings.

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
I'd say Chaotic Good, but it's up for interpretation.

Three Likes:
Her sword, her helmet, and hurting other people.

Three Dislikes:
Seeing those she considers innocent hurt, bandits, greed.

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Mergoux follows her heart, using her mind. She's unlikely to act rashly, but she will act decisively.

Worst Fear:
Ever being imprisoned or worse yet, enslaved again. Nothing is worse than having one's freedom taken away by others.

Favorite Color:
Blue, like her mother's eyes.

Most Like The Animal:
A fox.

Favorite Time of Day:
Night, dark.

How They Dress:
Typically in pants, heavy boots and a sleeveless leather jerkin. In colder weather with a heavy cloak and thick padded gambeson. Her armor is medium, greaves, breastplate, bracers, a pauldron or two, prioritizing movement for her fighting style.

Favorite Season:
Summer.

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
They worship none, but respect all. Having trained under the god of heroes, and later serving under the goddess of death, she knows it is far better to respect them than anything else.

@Overlord Thraka

Wowza, it is rare that a CS is this much of a pleasure to read. You're an excellent writer. She's approved. Wonder what happens if Mergoux finds out about caravan members with criminal pasts?

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

I'm just starting a few things and I am still recovering from a surgery, but is it possible if the caravan can be joined mid-route?

@POOHEAD189

Of course. Part of my intention with this RP is that folks can join and leave freely, since the Caravan is always dropping people off and picking up new people. So yeah, no rush. Good luck with your recovery, my dude, you're in my prayers.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

@XoXKieroBombXoX
Oh, excellent updates. Yes, he's approved.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

<Snipped quote by Tortoise>

Both seem fine to me if the aesthetic doesn't fit 100% I'm fine changing his overall appearance, his personality and history were the driving factors for me

Edit: He's also technically a soul in a metal body rather than a robot. Warforgeds have feelings and conscious thoughts

@XoXKieroBombXoX

Excellent! Once his appearance has been updated a bit, he's approved and you can drop him in the Char tab :)

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

<Snipped quote by Expendable>

You never can go wrong with having another doctor or two on board. Also, doctor is being used in very lose terms. lol

@Katakuri

If it's at all relevant to anyone's characters, my dude is dying. Like, literally dying. He's cursed and will continue to grow weaker and sicker until he passes away one day, possibly during the course of the RP, if I decide I'm ready to move on to another character.

So, there's always a potential roleplaying opportunity with doctor-y characters, since he might need medicines or magical painkillers or whatnot from them.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Jormon Bjarg

Jormon Bjarg

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Human, 46, 13 years with the Pilgrim’s Caravan.

Appearance:
Jormon Bjarg is a 6’7 tall mountain of a man. His frame bulked up with lean muscle from years as knight in a secret order before moving on to traveling with the Pilgrim’s Caravan. Since joining the caravan, he has grown his beard out and let his hair grow longer. He still keeps himself well groomed. Taking pride in his appearance.

History:
Jormon is careful to not disclose much about his past. Though he claims to come from humble beginnings.
Jormon was born to a farmer and his wife. When Jormon was three, a particularly hard winter struck, and the family’s crops died. Cold and starving, they pleaded to the local noble, who asked for Jormon in exchange for helping the family. The noble ensured Jormon’s parents that the boy would be well taken care of.
The deal was reluctantly agreed to, and the noble gave Jormon’s parents food, and gave Jormon to a shady hermetic order to repay an old dept.

Jormon doesn’t talk about his life as part of the order, aside from the odd out of context story, like that time he had to fist fight a grizzly bear that knew karate, or beat a dragon in a chess game. It’s unclear whether these things actually happened, or if they are just stories he tells to amuse his fellow travelers, but it is clear to those that spend time with him that he didn’t leave the order with fond feelings. He pushes back and becomes quite snappy if pressed about his time in the order.

Jormon Bjarg has been quite clear with those in the caravan. His life started when he joined the trope. Having been with the group for thirteen years, he is among the few people who have been with the caravan that long. In the transient lifestyle of the Pilgrim’s Caravan, he has seen people come and go, and become a staple of the trope. While he started out as simply working security for the convoy, after more then a decade on the road he has picked up extra responsibilities. Mainly taking it on himself to look after and help those less experienced travellers.

Personality:
Jormon has two sides, loving and supportive father figure, and cold, distant killer. Which side you get depends on how you present yourself to him.
Jormon values independence, but understands that noons can do everything by themselves. He respects the courage it takes to ask for help, and will often jump to help someone that has asked for it. His brand of belong is often teaching, rather than outright just doing the job for them. He wants them to understand how he did it, so they might do it themselves next time. However, if you simply expect him to do your work for you, he will quickly lose patience and leave you alone to suffer.
He has no time for those too arrogant to ask for help.

Motivation:
Jormon is running from something. That much is clear. The order he was once a part of holds a grudge, so Jormon keeps moving. The found family, and the chance to be a father figure he missed growing up is just a bonus.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
Jormon is a trained knight and has the skills that come along with that, as well as a few little order specific suprises.
Trained to use a greatsword with frightening proficiency. Jormon is a monster is a monster hunter. Experienced at fighting beasts and humans alike. While predominantly a swordsman and physical fighter, his most unique skills are the battle runes and field alchemy of his former order.

Battle Runes

Jormon is adept at casting the battle runes of his former order. They are simple spells and enchantments used by the primary fighting force of the Order. They were developed by the Order’s high mages to give their martial fighters more versatility. Special runes were inscribed and taught to their knights. These runes are cast through simple hand gestures. The runes Jormon knows are listed below.

• Puh (Thunder) - A single hand gesture creates a wave of thunderous force.
• Noselgo (Break) - By casting this gesture with both hands, a single non magically enhanced item shatters.
• Tarn (Winter) - By casting this rune with one hand, Jormon runs his hand along his sword, imbuing with the power winter. Frost forms along his blade dealing extra cold damage.
• Haruduch (Shadow) - By casting this rune with both hands, he can cloak himself in shadows, giving him an advantage in stealth in darkness.
• Illume (Light) - Casting this rune with hand creates a bright light. He can infuse that light into an object so that the object emits the light.
• Taikha (Storm) - casting this rune with hand, he can imbue the power of lightning into his sword by running his hand over the blade, or clench a fist around the rune to imbue his next punch with lightning damage.
• Aevus (Time) - Using both hands, Jormon borrows time when he casts this rune.
• Flaris (Fire) - Casting this rune with one hand, it can imbue Jormon’s sword with fire, or be used without the sword as a sort of flamethrower.
• Pell (Feather) - A quick one handed rune used to slow a fall, preventing fall damage.

There are many more runes, but Jormon doesn’t know them. If he were to find one of the tomes written by his order that detail other runes, he should be able to learn them.

Field Alchemy

A trait that was drilled into knights of the Order was preparedness. As such they were taught the basics of alchemy, and taught to use commonly available resources as reagents. While the finished products aren’t as good as professional alchemical compounds, they will do in a pinch. Jormon can pretty easily create a poison coating for blades out of foraged ingredients.
He can also create a sort of health potion, that while won’t restore someone to health, will stabilise them and stop them from getting worse.

@Sanity43217

Oh, I really like this guy. Your errant knight is very approved.

Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

Working on my app piece by piece by the gist of my gnoll is that they’re a former raider of some sort, makes use of a specific school of magic revolving around magnetism, lots of launching metal bits and pieces at people.

@Smike

We gotta have a scene where they throw all of Cogman at someone.