Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Nina Locke is by and large a very jovial person, able to see the good in most things and with a positive outlook that may very well come across as obnoxious at times. She is loud, boisterous and with a possibly dangerous tendency to laugh in the face of all but the most dire situations - situations that her thirst for adventure and action often bring her into. Indeed, be it a quick bar brawl or a trek into the wilderness, there are few shenanigans Nina would not get into with a smug, confident grin and, most importantly, no plan at all. It is another facet of her that some people might find irritating at best, her overconfidence, relative lack of tact and over-reliance on blind luck to solve her problems. Life is a game, and Nina is set on having her fun, no matter what!

Of course she, too, has a limit, and it usually is a good indicator that a situation is particularly dangerous, desperate or plainly serious when the jokes stop. When confronted with a situation that warrants it, Nina tends to turn uncharacteristically silent, her features and mannerisms twisting into something that might be best described as ferine: her single-minded focus is represented by a tense body, darting, narrow eyes and a low stance. Once the situation is resolved and the danger has passed, however, she is quick to flip a mental switch, so to speak, and return to her usual, amiable self, perhaps suggesting a drink to unwind.

Indeed, Nina's closest friend and confidant is the bottle, and her natural habitat is the tavern. She would not define herself an alcoholic (but then, who would?), merely a healthy adult who indulges - occasionally - in a night of drinking. That might be true, as long as 'occasionally' is understood to mean 'daily' and 'night' is understood to mean 'morning, midday, afternoon, evening and night'. Alcohol tends to amplify her natural personality, turning her from a careless, boisterous scoundrel to a reckless, joyful idiot with little in the way of restraint. Nina is a frequent sight in the taverns around Rharne, and she can often be recognized when she makes a show of herself, singing, dancing and possibly getting into a little brawl... or twelve.

The observant person might notice an almost dead-on affinity for Ilaren, and it shouldn't be a big surprise to anybody to learn that she, indeed, is an almost fanatical worshiper of the Lightning Mother. Every other drink an offering and every brawl a hymn, Nina's life and, of course, person have both been influenced greatly by the image of the Immortal, and she lives every day with those ideals in mind, aspiring to join the ranks of her Thunder Priestesses one day and, why not, meet her in person! It would be a day to remember, for certain.

• Alcohol
• Ilaren
• Discovering new taverns
• Brawling

• Hangovers
• Silence
• Being alone
• Being sober

Nina was born and raised in Rharne, the second daughter of one of the city's many brewers and a jeweler in decline. This combination of relatively wealthy jobs afforded her and her sister, Tina, something perhaps resembling a comfortable lifestyle—not lavish by any means, but there was always bread on the table, and the occasional toy for the kids.

The dichotomy between the two children began manifesting almost as soon as they began developing their own distinct personalities: where Tina always was shy and reserved, focused on studying her father's profession to continue the family line, Nina was the stereotypical 'black sheep', the loud kid who always got into fights and bullied smaller ones to pass her afternoons, the one who disrespected her family and cared for nothing but causing trouble for herself and her family. The one thing the two shared, especially as they got older together, was a great bond, a willingness to put everything on the line for the other sister without a second of thought.

To Nina's credit, she grew out of her 'bully' phase relatively quickly once she developed some degree of maturity, and it is something that shames her to this day, an unpleasant lingering memory of discomfort and pain caused to those who most certainly did not deserve it. She still has something of a reputation for this in the city, particularly among her peers, some of which have never quite forgiven her for her behaviour.
What she never quite managed to grow out of, however, is her affinity for causing and getting in trouble, and even to this day nobody is surprised when Nina is found at the heart of a tavern brawl, perhaps even having caused it for some reason or another.

Despite all this, her parents loved her just as much as Tina, something that made it all the more heart-wrenching when her mother died of a sudden illness—a pneumonia worsened fatally by the inclement weather of Cylus. It was so immediate, so brutal, seeing her mother slightly sick in the morning and completely gone by the evening, that this fear of sudden loss still accompanies Nina to this day, a constant, dreadful reminder that time is short and life is unpredictable.

The loss of their mother brought Nina and Tina's father to the bottle, a habit which the former came to embrace in time and the latter abhorred. It should not be a surprise that it was one glass too many that drove their father to an early grave, as well, leaving the two teenaged sisters alone in the city. Over time, thieves and repossessions whittled what the two had to nothing, merely a small house in a middle-income quarter of the city—the last thing that was truly theirs. Father's tools, mother's jewels. Everything was gone, but the house and each other.

They survived together for several arcs, with Tina using what she had learned for small-time odd jobs and Nina... doing very little, in truth. She had no marketable skills but her aptitude at brawling, and it's remarkably hard to live off of the meager winnings from the occasional fight. The sisters argued nearly constantly, with Tina trying to steer Nina to a more respectable lifestyle, to abandon the bottle and take up a decent profession—and Nina refusing. This constant feud ground their once-great relationship to nearly nothing, and it all came to a head when Nina returned home belligerently drunk one evening. At her wits' end, Tina couldn't take it anymore: she packed her bags and, overnight, left for parts unknown. Nina has not heard from her since.

To say she regrets it more than anything would be a huge understatement. Her search for Tina—to apologize, to beg for her return—has proven fruitless so far, nothing but a fool's errand, but Nina hasn't given up hope yet, and she never will. Every day she strives to be a better person, to do at least a little good by her fellow people. To have something worthwhile to tell Tina when she finally finds her again. Yet, she steadfastly refuses to keep her drinking under control, perhaps the cause for the split with her sister. She keeps partying and fighting the night away to this day, burning at both ends without a clear purpose, always chasing one more moment of fun.

That is not to say Nina doesn't have a purpose in life: her mind is set upon the Lightning Cathedral of Rharne, home of Ilaren and her Thunder Priestesses. Fervently religious for her entire life, there are few things that would give Nina's life direction more than being accepted in the Cathedral and given her own set of white robes. Yet, it is something she has put off for several arcs, perhaps afraid of failure—of losing her chance of a new start on life.

Knowledges

Here is where you record all the skill points you receive (Startup XP, CS Approval Rewards and, of course, Thread Reviews!) and all the points you spend on your skills. Again, below is an example which you can edit.


When you want to put another row in there, just pop the following code in after the last /tr] and before the /table]

This post will record any mark (Immortal Blessings / Curses) you might accrue as a PC.

A full list of Blessings & Curses can be found here
A Guide to Religion & Marks can be found here

When you are first awarded a mark, the awarding Prophet will give you the code to put in here.

• Clothing:
  • 1x set of basic everyday clothes;
    A simple round-collar white linen shirt with a few off-color patches and a pair of brown canvas trousers, tucked into a pair of hide boots and held up by a rope belt.
  • 1x set of basic travel clothes;
    A loose, hip-length linen tunic with billowy sleeves and rough, uncolored cotton pants. A rope belt and brown hide boots complete the outfit, alongside a thick cotton travel cloak with a deep hood.
  • 1x set of average everyday clothes;
    A sleeveless leather vest closes over a white linen shirt, its neckline dipping into a 'v' shape, with dull brass buttons. A leather sword belt holds up a pair of brown wool pants, the hems of which cover a pair of leather travel boots.

Nina is living in a very much modest three-room house in Rharne that once belonged to her family. Due to her inability to maintain it, it has fallen into a mild disrepair: the roof leaks water into the living room, which contains a small wooden table, its legs bent, surrounded by three equally rickety stools and a water-damaged rug. Against a wall is a brick-lined hearth, though presently too damaged and clogged with soot to be lit—to do so would likely result in an uncontrollable fire. A well-used and stained cushioned chair is next to the fireplace, and a set of rusted pots and pans hangs from the wall besides. This living space connects to the outside world with a relatively sturdy wooden door and, by the way of two thick cloth curtains, to an underwhelming bedroom, merely a straw-filled cot in the middle of a small square room, and a cramped pantry.

Here, you keep a track of your Character's Wealth Tier and the spending of Wealth Points. Information here!
When you need to put another row in there, just put this code in below the last /tr] and before the /table]

The person who approves your CS will award you "Starter Renown".

Useful Information : The Renown System Guide: here
When you gain more renown, just add the following to the table above, after the last /tr] and before the /table].

Well done! This is the end of the CS. This post will be used to record past and current threads.
Just before you apply for approval, think about the following:

• Do you want to apply for any NPCs? guide here! . Once your NPC is approved, you must record them in your CS, but you can put your character up for approval before, during or after the process of applying for a NPC
• Are you going to apply for a Mark (Immortal Blessing / Curse) via the PSF? You can put your CS up for review before that is approved, or before you apply!
• Have you thought about what job your pc would like? Read about that here , but it's not part of the approval process.
  
  Once you've completed your CS you can post here and put a link to this thread - showing that your Character Sheet is ready for approval.
  
  You are allowed to post IC as soon as your completed CS is up for approval. You won't be able to get any rewards from finished threads until you're approved, though.