My roster of characters, oh me oh my!

Hiya! So, the fantastic blogs Throne of Salt and Mad Queen's Court recently posted rather lengthy, personal posts talking about their past characters, and their general history in the hobby. I've decided I'd like to do something similar, and list off my old characters. 

Of course, I have no real sense of chronology with any of them, so I'll just mention who's older and newer than who. I'll also try to group them by system, and game. 

Small note, all art used within this post I own; I either made it myself, or paid for it in a commission.

My 5e Characters.

I don't really play 5e much anymore, as I believe I've outgrown the system, and honestly there's a lot of it that I take many issues with; but, I've a fondness for it, as it's where I started to get into the hobby seriously. I've been playing since 5e was released, and own and buy all the books for it, even if I've no interest in the system anymore.

Aima Duren, Human Sci-fi Assassin Rogue. 

My first 5e character, made way back when the system first came out. Back then, I played the game in person with a close friend as my DM, and his siblings and some other mutual friends. Aima was originally made for a one-shot for the DM's birthday, that eventually moved into a rather short-lived campaign. Scheduling issues, and the fact that none of us could drive ourselves, killed that game. I can't really speak much for Aima's exploits, because I truthfully don't remember a whole lot of it. I can assure you however, we were all a bunch of dumb teenagers, and I'm not exactly proud of how I played Aima- I remember a tendency to steal the spotlight a lot, and really take control of the game. I'm glad I've grown past that.

Aiden, Human Fiend-pact Warlock. 

My second 5e character, Aiden was made for a more proper game with said DM from above, and his brothers. You know the concept of selling your firstborn to the devil in return for power? Aiden's that firstborn. His father sold him for power before Aiden was even born, and when he came of age, the demon decided to collect. A shy and awkward teenager, Aiden's forced to do some terrible things he never wanted to do, all because his warlock patron essentially owns him. He's seeking revenge on his father for selling him into this- and originally, the game ended before I could finish his character arc. But, with the discussion of a friend of mine, we've decided that he met a warlock in a similar situation, who is helping him break his need for revenge, and wants to free him from servitude. I'd love to come back and play Aiden, finish up the game he was in, but unfortunately the DM who ran him is no longer with us. I've thought about using the character in other games, and in my own personal writing projects, though.

A drawing I did of Aima

Aima Ilduri, Elf Moon Druid. 

Yeah, I re-used the name. I liked it, okay? This Aima was made for an online west-marches style discord server, and at this point I was still rather new to 5e. This Aima came about right around when Aiden was made. Aima was essentially the youngest of a rather rich and successful house of Elves, all renowned as scholars and politicians; well, Aima wasn't about that life, and went to spend three centuries in the woods, smoking pot and trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. In this time, he learned the ways of the Druids, and decided that's the lifestyle he wanted. Eventually the party bard Redford found him, and the two joined the local adventurer's guild. Part of a group within the guild called the Not Dragons, Aima, Redford, and Walkul the mute monk, were nigh inseparable. Evidently so, because I've become close friends with those two once internet strangers.

My favorite Aima story is that he got his iconic burnt and tattered red cape by fighting a group of cultists trying to summon a demon into the material realm, and Aima single-handedly took out a group of cultists, and dueled their leader, winning. Aima takes prizes from all his wins, and his greatest win was against the chief cultist- that, and he wore it as a symbol that he would make them burn for what they wanted to do. He once risked his life inside a massive camp of cultists just to get his cloak back. Aima's also been thrown into the air by a mechanical gorilla as a puma, in an attempt to knock down a flying Demon. Aima fell to the ground, and then Redford was thrown and fell next to him. The two gave eachother thumbs-ups.

Abather Crowley, Human Great Old One Warlock, Pact of the Chain. 

Hooooo boy, this one has some history to it. So, the DM for the game with Aima the Druid took me, Redford and Walkul's players, and one more player, and made a new campaign with all of us. A world where magic is mistrusted, and the gods have abandoned the world; all played over text, on discord. Abather was originally a farmer, turned escort for merchants, as travelling the wilds between cities was quite dangerous. Along his journey Abather met Nuria Quill, one of the first women to receive power from the gods in centuries. The two fought an ancient evil under Colley Hill, a mining town, before Abather got cursed by a witch with magical power, becoming a warlock. Wanting to be like Nuria, and put his newfound- if poorly understood- magical power to good use. So, with his misguided sense of heroism, he set out to free some slaves, which eventually became his entire quest, as he went on to use his magical might- which was slowly driving him mad, mind you- to free the slaves of the Teeth, and disband the gladiator rings they were put in.

Abather eventually accidentally freed his warlock patron from captivity, unleashing an ancient evil upon the world; a very powerful Beholder, a relic from the age of gods. Gifted with newfound power for his mistake, Abather and his retinue of once-slaves went on a crusade across the Teeth, abolishing the slave trade, and appointing Abather as the King of the newly formed Free States. In the coming centuries, Abather would be venerated and worshipped by the Unitariat nations as a Saint, representing freedom, justice, and vengeance for those wronged.

Abather's one of my most successful characters ever, and he led to me meeting my closest friends. The campaign was magical, and I'll never forget spending very late nights together in calls, all stoked about what would happen next in the game. It's an experience I'll never forget.

Art of Ginerva, as done by FatefulShadow

Ginerva 'Tonic' Poppylocke, Human Artificer.

Admittedly, I didn't play Ginerva for very long. In the sequel game to our original text campaign (the one with Abather), Ginerva was my new character. Centuries after the first campaign, the world is quite different. Originally an archaeologist and tinkerer, Ginerva was quite interested by the history of the world, and the personal stories of the Saints in particular. I admittedly didn't play Ginerva long, as life eventually got in the way of my ability to continue to play. She remains an NPC in said game, and admittedly I'm not sure what she's up to anymore, but I know she's in good hands. Sometimes I use Ginerva for other, non-D&D related things. She's a fun character.

Yuanne! Art by Phosphosu

Anne Yvette 'Yuanne' Paewai, Human Wild Magic Sorcerer/Swashbuckler Rogue.

One of my favorite characters ever, Yuanne was part of a west-marches style game that I was in with a couple friends. She's wild, narcissistic, and over the top in oh so many ways. She was just a ridiculously fun character to play, and probably one of my more fleshed out characters overall. She's turned herself giant, lit everything around her on fire, turned her skin blue, lost and regrown her hair, and summoned a unicorn before, all in the span of a minute. I have the most art of her, being completely honest- and I still use her in some of my non D&D stuff. 

Narnt the Hero, Barbarian Folk-Hero

A short-lived character, Narnt was a barbarian along the lines of Conan. He was originally meant for a one-shot, and there's not a lot to say about him. His greatest achievement was that he stole from a dragon's hoard, and robinhooded it back into his home town, earning him his Folk-Hero background.

'Stockholm', I forget his class but it was some sort of Rogue.

Another short lived character, Stock was part of a steampunk type setting with mechs and shit, it was rad. Stockholm is a nobody from nowhere, who doesn't even have his own name. He's a master of disguise, and pretends to be other people because he's so unremarkable and such a nobody. He wanted more than anything to be someone, anyone at all. So, he killed the king, and incited a civil war because of it. He's the most wanted man in the world right now, and that's got his heart pumping. I'd love to keep playing that game, but unfortunately the game ended rather abruptly for reasons I don't remember.

My Pleismouth Characters.

Okay, so Pleismouth is a modern-adjacent Urban Fantasy setting, created and run by my buddy Tim, who played Nuria Quill in those text games. The core premise is that mythological and fantasy creatures have been wiped from all our records, and public consciousness; for all intents and purposes, they don't exist, and the concept of them never existed in that world. That's because, the more you know about something, the more 'real' it is, and the more it can affect you and be perceived by you. Goblins? They're real, but only if you know what they are.

Riley Jack Ferguson. Art by FatefulShadow

Riley Jack Ferguson, Human Wizard (Pathfinder)

My first and most successful character in Pleismouth, Riley was the brother to one of the other player characters. The token wizard, he was all about enchantment and illusion, and manipulating the minds of those around him. You have no idea how powerful erasing memories is in this setting, let me tell you. Riley and the Cavalier biker (he's in a gang), Snake, were quite an effective and hilarious duo together. When it was just them, they got a lot of things done, such as stake-outs, detective work, and other such activities, like tracking down an HQ for a bunch of cultists. Riley's one of the few characters I've had to see a campaign from beginning to end, alongside Abather. 

Riley's done things that include but are not limited to:

• Took a selfie with the Orc god, of which came in useful in convincing a group of Orcs to rebel against their dragon overlord. 
• Took a selfie of himself and the other members of the party beating up a Lich, at like level 5- I wanna get this event commissioned because it's so god damn funny.
• May or may not have accidentally bought a fairy slave that lives in his phone. His sister gives him shit for it.
• Alongside the party found a reality-altering artifact, and then used said artifact to hide it where it will never be found. Later, in the final fight with the big-bad in which the entire party was plane-hopping every few rounds, Riley found the artifact again and used it after the fight to re-write the rules of the world. He keeps half of the artifact as his wand.
• The spell that lets him erase-memories 6 seconds in the past has been used as a great story-telling device by the GM, in which we suddenly wake up after doing something, covered in cuts and blood, and with my spell slots missing. That may seem powergamey to some, but to us it was a brilliant tool to signal that something big and scary was nearby and we weren't ready to handle it- and it led to an amazing chase scene.

Amaretta. Art by FatefulShadow

Amaretta Faelman, Changeling Street-Oracle (Pathfinder)

Just a normal girl, with some rather unusual features, until recently; Amaretta has always been considered weird by everyone around her. Eventually, she found out why, by discovering that she wasn't human, and that she had supernatural powers given unto her by something else, for an unknown purpose. The daughter of a hag, she's yet to fully discover her true nature, and her place in the world. She's still coming to terms with the supernatural, and her newfound powers. She's my character for our second Pleismouth campaign, which is currently on hiatus for a few reasons. I'd love to get back to playing her, she's an interesting character.

Marrion G. Fisher, Gillman International Police Officer/Inquisitor (Pathfinder)

My character for a spinoff Pleismouth game, Marrion was rather short lived as that game got axed for a few personal reasons. Marrion however was incredibly fun and eccentric, as a non-human trying to fit into human society. He worked as part of a special government agency, with the express purpose of policing and dealing with warded creatures. I hope to play him again one day, he was fun, if brief.

My Divided Lands/AD&D characters.

Okay, so Divided Lands is my AD&D 2e game, run by our illustrious DM Tanis. I've known the people in this game for years at this point, some of them verging on 5+. I've been in the game itself for I wanna say three, four years now? We've gone through two campaigns already, and are currently in our third, with a fourth and fifth game planned. We intend to keep playing for as long as we're all alive, tbh. At this point it's filled with a lot of (dubiously balanced) homebrew and house-rules, and it's barely recognizable as AD&D anymore, for better and for worse.

Uthmael Sonoran, Human War Cleric

My first AD&D character, Uthmael was made for the proto-campaign that eventually became Divided Lands. There's not much to say about him, he only existed for about three sessions, I wanna say? I was figuring out the system, and still trying to figure out RP in a tabletop environment, so there's not much to him, admittedly. Maybe I'll re-visit him and flesh him out. if I remember right he died to a pack of spiders.

Ozimondiom, the Great and Wicked, Gnome Illusionist/Thief

Hoooo boy, he was one of my earliest characters, ever. Originally he was a massive shit-lord of a wizard meant to throw down fireballs and spit in the face of dragons. Unfortunately, gnomes can't be wizards in 2e, so I had to be an illusionist instead. I wasn't a very clever person at the time, so I figured that illusions where useless because I wasn't creative enough. That opinion has changed now, of course- I love illusionists now. I eventually abandoned Ozzy after a few sessions, and he became a minor villain for the DM to use. Fun fact, he's the reason the party was alive at all, because we accidentally came across a cave of Manticoras, and Ozzy had an untrained normal goat as his mount named Crowley. Well, the Lizardman barbarian decided to throw the goat to the Manticora to distract them, allowing us to cave-in the cave and escape. Fun times.

My heroforge model of Alister.

Alister Mithril, the Mythical Minstrel, Human Bard/Cavalier

My replacement for Ozzy, Alister was a good time. A bard who specialized not just in the lute, but was specialized in performing with horses, and riding tricks- he also had a knack for polearms and lances, and used them near exclusively. Alister was originally part of a roving troupe of performers, with the leader of the troupe as his girlfriend. After his relationship with her went sour, he stole one of her horses and left to go adventuring. He later left the adventuring party after the clumsy druid killed his horse, and had it set on fire- hereby destroying everything he owned. He later joined up with another retired PC, Eothod, to form a group of mercenary riders, who later appeared in the final battle of the campaign to fight the ancient dragon Astholosh, and his army of demons.

Notably, when we first came across the first city destroyed by Astholosh, Alister found an orphan girl that lost her leg and family to the dragon. Alister allowed her to ride his horse, and gave her his hat, in order to cheer her up. Remember this orphan girl, she'll become relevant later.

My Heroforge model of Sneeze.
I used to have a physical model, but it broke.

Sneeze, aka Ghoz Vahk, Jintaari (Lizardman) Rune-mage turned God.

Where do I even begin? Perhaps my longest lived, most famous, and most beloved of characters, Sneeze. The very same Lizardman who eventually became Ghoz Vahk, great Vulture Dragon god of hunger. There's just so much to say about him. Okay, so basically, after Alister left the party, Sneeze joined very soon after; a borderline unhinged lizardman practicing a very dangerous form of magic, with a strange accent. He was a hit from minute one. To give some idea as to what a Runemage is, essentially it's a type of wizard that carves runes onto surfaces, for magical effects; it's basically mixing and matching words for spells. Sneeze was one such wizard.

In his first encounter, nobody expected much from him, as he was just a very skinny Lizardman who didn't seem to have much physical prowess- however, Sneeze had a very important Rune under his command, Propel. Like King Bumi, he essentially stopped hunching over, and then shoryuken'd a man into a ceiling, launched a table across a room into a Demon, and then when the Barbarian lodged his sword into a giant Demon, it was Sneeze who used his propel rune to allow the dwarf cleric to hit the sword with his hammer, slicing the demon in two. It was an epic moment and really showcased how awesome Sneeze could be in a team-fight.

Ghah there's just so much I wanna say about him. Eventually, he got a power where once per day (and eventually three times per day) he could essentially randomly generate three words for a random effect, as determined by the DM. This has gotten Sneeze into and out of so much trouble; like when he was falling of the back of a flying dragon, he randomly evolved wings to survive, and then used that opportunity to punch the dragon with the earth. Or that time he tore a hole in the sky and caused the Ark's robots to go crazy (the entire setting takes place on a high-tech Ark ship, nobody in the setting knows this). Near the beginning of the campaign the party fought a succubus, and mid-fight Sneeze became a vampire, giving him his iconic insatiable hunger for flesh. He also made the sky grow a beard once.

He had a talking skull named Dead-man, and when he went to go retrieve Dead-Man's body, he accidentally became the god of a bunch of hyper-intelligent goblins, which eventually led to his ascension as Ghoz Vahk, the great eater. In the final battle of the campaign he began to realize his new godlike power, and ascended mid-fight, literally eating the previous goblin god mid-combat in front of hundreds of people. During said fight he became the Vulture-Dragon we all know and love, and blessed his followers (the Lizardman Barbarian notably, who became not only his champion, but the king of the Jintaari). 

Ghah I could ramble on about Sneeze forever. I love him. I miss him.

Lace. Art by one of my AD&D partymembers

Tania 'Lace' Splintertoes, Human Barbarian/Blade Bard

After the first campaign wrapped up, I needed someone to play that was already pre-established in the world. The second campaign took place a decade after the first, and the world was a different place, now! I wanted to feel connected, and have the impact of Astholosh's war inbuilt to the character. So I went to thinking, and I remembered someone. Remember that little orphan girl that Alister gave his hat to? This is that girl. After Alister found her, Nhakik (the Lizardman Barbarian) rounded up all the orphans in the city and taught them how to live off the wild, as a barbarian. She lived at this life for a while, but considering she was crippled and weak, she didn't last long in that lifestyle; though her skills, and acquired rage from it, remained.

She took up the life of a bard, after the man who showed her kindness and hope for the future, and kept his hat dearly, a reminder things can be better. She looked for that man all her life, hoping to return his hat to him. Unfortunately, she fell into a few poor life choices, and ended up with a group of baddies for a while. Unfortunately when we played her, the majority of the party was evil, where Lace was more ambivalent, so I decided to change her out to keep from clashing with the party, She's still out there somewhere, and I intend to play her again in our third campaign.

Mestamiralephes' Heroforge model

Mestamiralephes, the Magnificent, Skeletal Evocation Wizard

Okay, so I needed someone evil for the evil party. Well, I went all mad-scientist wizard and came up with Mesta. Essentially, he was working on a spell so stupidly dangerous and brazen, that his colleagues had him assassinated to stop such a spell from coming into the world. Well, after the assassin killed Mesta, he accidentally triggered a trap and blew up the tower, killing them both. Later, the two were raised by the necromancer of the party, and recruited to server her. Oh, and he was a skeleton now.

His quest essentially led him to find revenge on his old wizard colleagues, unleashing his spell-to-end-all-spells, and dueling the strongest sorcerer to ever live- Garuin Palefire, the sorcerer of last campaign, who now served Ghoz Vahk and the Jintaari expanse. SOMEWHERE along the way, some wacky time shit happened, and he was never assassinated, which means he was never a skeleton; so he was a fat human once again. They eventually found a health facility that erased his fat and left his muscle, giving us a buff, attractive, mad scientist wizard hellbent on mayhem. He was stupid fun, and kinda  what I envisioned for Ozzy.

My Heroforge model for Tynan

Tynan Warsworn, Ex-Paladin, Human Fighter.

My followup to Mesta, for when I finally got tired of playing him. Once an honored and respected paladin of the war-god, Tynan was later disgraced and banished to the underdark by his god, as punishment for refusing to take part in the final battle with Astholosh. Why? Because his son had just been born, and he refused to let his boy go without a father. Unfortunately as a paladin of war, not appearing for the greatest battle of the century was a massive disgrace, and in so doing he was banished, leaving his son fatherless anyway. Now jaded and bitter, Tynan joined the necromancer and her evil party in order to seek revenge on the surface. The war god wished for him to wage war, well- he was certainly going to do that, now.

At some point in the second campaign, we accidentally summoned Garuin Palefire, who was hunting us for murdering one of the great Jintaari war heroes, and for attempting to kill one of Nhakik's dragon-sons. He slaughtered nearly everyone who wasn't a PC, and caused everyone to scatter and split up. We decided at that point that none of them had any reason to get back together, and so gave them over as NPCs; villains, for the DM to use for campaign 3, with our guidance as to their motives and methods. Alongside the necromancer, the vampire, the Tanarruk ork warchief, and the cultist of Tiamat, Tynan is gathering an army to wage war on the surface, as one of the main villains of campaign three. And that, I can't describe how awesome it feels to make and play the very villains you set up for another game. We've not seen Tynan yet in game three, but when he shows up I'm gonna yell in joy.

Thiery Gammidge, Halfling Wizard/Cleric of Chaos

Thiery's a character I've had in the back of my mind for a loooong time. Years. He was part of a two-character set, as his twin brother was a rogue played by another character. Unfortunately, when we finally got the chance to play our duo, said player in question got hit with burnout, so he left the game for a bit. That left me alone. Ah well, Thiery was an extremely fun time, as he swindled people out of money, and caused all sorts of harmless and carefully crafted mischief (I never wanted him to be annoying, only entertaining, and I think I succeeded. He never caused chaos for chaos' sake, as his take on his god was more "shit happens, go with the flow'). He trained pet rats to pickpocket for him, and had all sorts of pigeons.

Unfortunately as fun as Thiery was, he died to a high-tech grenade. Sad, I know. I'm heartbroken over it. Maybe I can play him again somewhere else.

Meretricious Cheat, Runeborn Arcane Trickster Rogue

Cheat is an odd case, and he's my current character. He's essentially a robot built for being a court jester- but he has some hidden talents, at espionage, assassination, and combat. Not even he understands why he has these skills, but from what me and my DM have worked out together, Cheat was part of a thieves guild meant to collect and sell information, as well as do assassinations. Cheat was caught in the attack when Astholosh decided to level a city, so Cheat has been stuck in un-meltable ice for ten years ish. Finally let out, he's become the property of the party, as he doesn't understand freedom or independence. Currently, he's trying to discover his mysterious background, as well as test the limits of his newfound independence. Oh, also, he's got a hatred for fleshlings and finds all living things repulsingly disgusting, despite having to follow all their orders. He's a fun one, and the youngest character here.

Art by yours truly, of Carter.

J. Carter Douglass, Psionicist Pilot

Okay this one is cheating as I haven't actually played him yet, but I've had him planned for several years at this point, for the sci-fi game my AD&D game my party has planned. Carter is essentially a martian ex-race car driver, who was a pretty established veteran in both professional and underground circles, before he had a crash that took his legs, killed another driver, and ended his career. It wasn't an accident, either; a crime syndicate rigged his car to blow if he didn't cooperate to their demands and throw the race. 

Now, he spends his time as captain of a small starship, charting unexplored stars, smuggling, and acting as an intergalactic taxi to get by. His best friend is his ex pit-stop captain, the robot engineer (who after all these years still doesn't have a name). He's psychic, and used that fact to cheat at quite a number of races. I can't wait to play him, one day.

Miscellaneous.

These are my other various characters from across time and space.

My Wheel of Time Male Channeler
I forget his name, but I played that Wheel of Time d20 system for a while (though the game eventually transitioned to Open Legend, best decision we ever made). He was a Cairhenen noble who played the great game, and left home entirely because he found out he was a channeler and destined to go mad. He eventually became quite powerful, and went toe-to-toe with other powerful channelers in the setting.

Hal fu'zee Oerk, Half-Orc Cleric (AD&D)

My DM for the game with Abather wanted to try some classic AD&D modules, and I was happy to oblige. Originally classless, Hal became a cleric of the goddess who cursed all on the island to be stranded there, for desecrating her temple. Hal spent the night cleaning her church, and then prayed for her forgiveness, earning him the right to be a cleric. Yes, in the tradition of many a classic AD&D adventurer, his name is exactly what he is.

Sir Osric Willoughby, art by FatefulShadow

Sir Osric Willoughby, Phantom Thief Rogue (Pathfinder)

This one was an incredibly short lived character, but he was originally an NPC in my own home game that I decided to play a younger, less experienced version of. It was a bit of a mistake, as I excised any heart and soul the character had, and essentially got rid of any semblence of the original character. The original Willoughby was a very eccentric, if energetic and jolly old man, with a hobby of indiana-jonesing through ruins for magic artifacts because he's a bored old man. He runs the organization WAND (Willoughby's Acquisitions of Numinous Devices), all for the express purpose of entertaining himself. The character I played in the brief pathfinder game was a bitter and cynical teenager that was more robot than human. I regret that decision, and will stick to the proper NPC version of him,

Perrin, Half-Elf Paladin (Pathfinder)

My very first character ever. He had all the mistakes a very young lad would make- a class chosen because I want swords and magic, a strong race that I considered 'cool', and an edgy 'too cool for you losers' attitude. I didn't really get RP at the time, or really the system itself. Nobody explained how it worked to me, and I pretended to know how it worked- leading to me often rolling straight d20's for everything because I had no idea what I was doing. Don't be me. Learn your systems, kids. And DM's: teach your system to your players.

Notes/Observations.

• I've only started playing Pathfinder about a year or so ago, but I absolutely adore it. There's a lot of it I don't like, and I almost certainly prefer PF2e over it, but I consider 3.5e/Pathfinder the pinnacle of D&D's design, personally. Probably a hot take for an OSR-centric blog, but hey. It's not my system of choice/personal favorite, but I've no qualms with playing it.
• I've played a LOOOOOT of 5e, and in that time I've realized I hate 5e. It's just so... Boring. I dunno, after several years of it being out it's only had one new class, and only one actual non-setting related supplement. There's just a lot about it I don't like and that bugs me, and I'm glad I'm moving away from it.
• I've played a lot of AD&D! With houserules, mind, but I've played a lot of it. And honestly, I like it a lot, despite all it's weird quirks and problems. I honestly wonder why AD&D doesn't have a bigger presence in the OSR blogosphere, there's a lot of stuff there ripe for picking. Maybe I should fill that niche myself? Hmm.
• Despite only playing it like 3 times, Cleric is my favorite class, bar none. So much RP potential, so much flavor, so much utility! I just love our favorite divine caster. And overall, casters are my favorite thing. Love me some wizards.
• For how much I love the OSR conceptually, I haven't actually played any OSR games, I now see. I've run Black Hack 2e once, but I've never actually played GLOG or OSE or BFRPG or anything like that. I want to fix that. Please help me fix that, I wanna experience a lot of the cool OSR systems out there.