Thomas Thorne, the Unfortunate Mage
Despite his great power, this mage desperately wishes that he was just average, so people would stop trying to plant axes in his back.
Appearance
He appears, at least from a distance, to be rather small and defenseless. However, that illusion is shattered when you get closer. Standing at an incredible 6 feet, 6 inches,but barely weighing 180 pounds, this man is a tall, gaunt figure, as if a man took the dead body of a (relatively) thin hobbit and pulled on both ends until it had reached the height of a giant. Even so, one can instantly tell this man is incredibly strong, as his somewhat thin limbs have muscles of iron. He is Caucasian, but with a fair tan, along with brown hair and deep blue eyes. His clothes are always slightly torn and miffed, but seem to project an air of nobility... and the faint but tangible scent of whiskey. His clothing consists of almost knee-high marching boots with steel tips and metal soles, inconspicuous brown pants, a leather vest that would not look uncommon on a minor noble, an ever-present gray cloak that swirls around him, as if tryng to show off its many rips and tears, and a strange red sash he wears around is waist and across his chest, which seems to let off an aura of flame. He also is usually found with a notebook tucked into said stash, and a book about magical theory in his hands. He usually has an exotic saber glowing with flaming energy tucked through the sash as well. All he wears on his head are a pair of glasses. Strangely, he's been described as quite handsome.
History/Background
(Note: this is from the perspective of Thorne himself)
Ah, yes. My life, where to begin.... Well, you don't want to know about my birth, or my early childhood, or that bloody story about how I discovered magic by teleporting a goose onto the family table for our holiday feast- those things have a habit of boring people to tears. I'll start you off with the basics about my early life: it lasted about fifteen years, for reasons I'll explain later; I am the son of the Thorne knightly lineage; and I was rather unhappy during that time. I'd always wanted something to spice it up, and some sick bastard of a god was obviously listening, because it spiced up only when one of my spells accidentally set the Queen's prized dog, Mr. Biddles, on fire during a parade.
In a desperate attempt to save my neck from a meeting with the executioner, my parents sent me to a nearby nation to study- the prestigious nation of Callomaine, well-known for its sorceries. However, during my brief stay there, I developed the philosophy that any Callomaine mage who had managed to defeat a mage from another nation must have had a streak of luck running from here to Azerbaijan, because every proffessor at the academy I was sent to was a raving lunatic! Obviously, I couldn't stand the place, so I took what money I could and left, heading into the nearby country of Al-Sahri, a beautiful land well-known also for its incredible mages. Luckily, the rumors were true, and I happly spent my formative years studying magic at the Royal Academy of the nation's great Caliph.
Unfortunately, just as my magic had caught the Caliph's eye, so did it catch the eyes of his daughter, an attractive young lady named Shayira. She seduced me, and convinced me to retrieve for her a weapon of incredible power from her father's treasure vaults: the Sword of the Flaming Sand. She wanted this great item to aid her in launching a massive revolution the likes of which the world had never seen, so as to inherit the throne instead of her dimwitted brother. Eagerly accepting this task of regicide (I was 16 at the time, so I didn't really need much convincing), I dove into the great dungeon surrounding the vaults. For five weeks, I survived inside those danger-filled walls, fighting off monsters, searching rooms for the sword, and dreaming of the princess.
Finally, my search ended when I found the blade. Overjoyed, I rushed to the surface, brandishing the sword and exclaiming her name at the top of my lungs... Only to find out that the rebellion had already happened a week after I'd left- and that she won. Despite her manipulation, the princess has turned out to be the most just ruler in Al-Sahri's history. However, when I strode before her in her court, she pulled me aside and said to me, "Thomas, I'm overjoyed to see you again, and happy to see that your efforts bore fruit, but I'm queen now! You can't just run into my court and expect a friendly reception. What you know and what you've done for me could damage my Caliphate's legitimacy, and we're already on thin ice here. So, I think it would be best, if I just put a death warrant on your head and you never return. Okay? Okay. I'll give you a six-hour head start, so you should leave now. I'll let you keep the sword, you deserve it more."
So, with that, I was chased out of the country I loved the most in all of Kalos. Hunted by the agents of my homeland (for the flaming dog incident), Callomaine (for never completing my tutelage there), and Al-Sahri (I just told you that, and I'm not repeating it), I didn't know where to go. It was then that I heard of the Fringe Lands, and decided that living there would be a much better alternative to getting my bollocks chopped off on Kalos.
Only that it wasn't, and still isn't. Every bloody man out here is a bloody thug wannabe who's altogether too eager to beat up some mage, and every woman is some sort of seductive viper who tries to get you nice and vulnerable, then slit your throat. They won't stop popping up, and I'm sick of killing people! I've already been exiled from five different towns! As a result of this, I've become a wanderer, forever cursed to travel these lands, never staying in one location long enough to anger the locals.
Special Equipment
- The Sword of the FLaming Sand: in appearance, this magic blade is simply an above-average sabre- a single edge, a slightly-curved blade, and and no real ornamentation. However, when wielded by the right user, this blade shows its true powers: the blade suddenly begins to glow almost insufferably brightly, and the sword becomes even lighter than usual. The blade become hotter than magma, and can actually "slice" the air by moving it so quickly that a wave of heat moves like an actual blade through the air and is able to hurt enemies.
- The Sash of the Four Winds: This sash is something extra Thomas found in the vaults. This sash is a vivid red, and is usually worn around his waist and across his chest diagonally. This magic sash has two properties. First, it helps take pressure away from or completely stop any attack. Second, the sash makes him much lighter (personally: everyone else still thinks he weighs the normal amount), and enables him to pull off extreme acrobatic and athletic feats.
Possible Hooks
1. Wedding Time!: Queen Shayira has just turned twenty, and is looking for a husband to make king. Having found no-one in her court that suits her, she's decided to rescind Thorne's penalty and ask him to marry her. Thorne still loves her, but he's cautious about the possibility of being used as a political tool. The PC's have two options for this scenario: either convince Thorne to marry Shayira (possibly evil), or help him escape from her agents (probably good).
2. Bad Hair Day: a village's crops have been failing, and the locals are blaming it on Thorne. Thorne's become rather depressed as a result. The truth is that a spiteful witch (literally) is living in a nearby cave and casting a spell to cause the crop failure. The only reason she's here, though, is because a while ago, one of Thorne's stray fire balls accidentally burnt her hair off, and while it grew back, she's neve forgiven him. He's not even aware of her existence, though! As a result, the PC's have to talk Thorne out of his depression and get him to confront the witch, so as to clear his name. However, the witch never even saw him, either (all she saw was a fireball), so she may become infatuated with him when he confronts her, which brings up the question of whether or not the PC's should help him escape or just stay out of it.
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? Responses (15)
Updated: Just changing a few typos.
Not bad, I can't vote yet as it is still In Work.
Thank ye kindly! Would you happen to have any advice for me?
Okay, keeping with the Silly theme, the description in first person is cool. I like the style!
His items seem a bit powerful - the sash especially since it is worded to sound like it makes him invulnerable -"First, it helps take pressure away from or completely stop any attack" - if it can stop any attack, why would it reduce the pressure? Seems an odd turn of phrase. Slowing down incoming strikes, absorbing damage, etc, seem a more direct way to state that. Apart from its dramatic color - and resulting in him being more recognizable, does it have other drawbacks?
Well, the way I was thinking of it was this: when you attack somone with a melee weapon, any damage you cause comes from pressure exerted into the target from the weapon. For example, much of the damage from a battle-axe comes from the fact that all of the pressure exerted by a strike from such a weapon is distributed across a very narrow area, right? What the Sash does is NOT slow down the weapon. Rather, when the weapon hits, it distributes the pressure exerted by the attack across his whole body, meaning that no one area is badly damaged (unless it was an absolutely catastrophic attack). However, this does have the side effect of making him a little easier to smash around, since every part of his body is porpelled backwards with equal force. That's the major disadvantage of the Sash.
I'd agree with any edged weapon for sure, but pressure is still not the word I would use. Technically accurate, but it still sounds odd.
As for the side effect, unless the sash is somehow modifying the amount of kinetic energy (is it? if so, how about blunt weapons that have no real high-pressure point), the impact should be not able to toss people around. If I hit you with a hammer hard enough to send you flying, the impact would break my arm. I can stove in your skull or ribcage, but not send you flying.
And does the sash only protect what it covers, or the whole body?
Well, the thing is that when a blow that powerful hits him, instead of allowing all of the blow's energy to stay in one area and cause catastrophic damage there, the sash will insteadspread that energy across his body to minimize the impact. However, the original state of the energy remains the same. Also, the sash DOES ffect the whole body, but the effect is greatly reduced the further away from the sash the limb or extremity is. That's why he wheres it across his chest, in addition to around his waist.
Hunted by the agents of my homeland (for the flaming dog incident), Callomaine (for never completing my tuelage there), and Al-Sahri (I just told you that, and I'm not repeating it), I didn't know where to go. It was then that I heard of the Fringe Lands, and decided that living there would be a much better alternative to getting my bollocks chopped off on Kalos.
Character is ok, but I like how you write :) Funny stuff! Being that I just got around to reading Discworld, it seems to be in a similar vein. Welcome to the Citadel.
(fix tutelage spelling)
Hmm, it seems to be both an In-Work, so cant vote.
Updated: Just removing the In-Work status so that people can finally butcher my creation. Also fixed a few typos.
Updated: another typo.
Oops, timed out ^
This is quite succintly written and I like the sardonic, wry sense of humour that pervades the story. But is there some hidden reason as to why Thorne's spells keep causing damage that he has no intention of inflicting? Surely a competant mage like him would able to prevent such disasters.
Now there's a fun guy. You don't see often powerful wizards, that need to be paranoid around every mercenary. (And hey, that means adventurers too!)
A good character to include in a game.
A unique and certainly memorable addition to the PC's collection of friends and allies; one they'd likely want to keep visting simply becuse of how much fun/intruiging he is.