Character background

This week we were given a bit different, we are to design a character, give her background and game world. We will model these characters further on in the course. This is my character:

Strauss:

Strauss was never given a name through traditional means, but picked the name himself when he started working with alchemy in the great city. He named himself after a great pioneer in alchemical studies.

Strauss is a gnome, thus his Intelligence is far superior to most humans. However, it also means he is the victim of numerous mutations (see below).

Family:

Strauss never knew his family, he grew up with other gnomes in a small colony near the Great City.

Physical Health:

Strauss suffers from several physical disfigurements. His left side is generally weaker and more fragile than the right. He also suffers from obesity, though it does only affect the right side of his body. The unevenly distributed weight and weak left leg forces him into a leaning position. Strauss also have a hunched back and several skin diseases.

Age:

Strauss is 54, gnomes appearance start showing traces of age much earlier than on humans.

Early Life:

Strauss was constantly pushed down during his youth, even by other gnomes, mainly due to the weakness in is left side and uncommonly crooked body. This resulted in low self-esteem, uncommon among gnomes (who usually consider themselves superior to other people, due to their Intelligence). In his youth he migrated to the Great City in hope of being able to put his Intelligence to use.

Personality:

Strauss has a fear of conflict and violence, due to his fragility, when in an argument; he’ll attempt to talk himself out, and pretend the argument is not an argument, but a peaceful conversation. The sight of drawn weapons will make him panic and give him breathing difficulties. Despite his weaknesses, Strauss is a great power player, he can easily tell who to bribe, blackmail or kill, in order to get the fastest and safest way to the top. He has gained a vile reputation and is loathed by most inhabitants of the Great City. He is very lonely and has grown to hate most people (like most gnomes). However, he keeps a very positive attitude, as a defense from driving himself into despair.

Movement:

Strauss’ physical handicap makes movement very difficult for him. He move very slowly and with much pain and difficulty, he also require a cane to support his unevenly distributed weight.

Occupation:

Strauss is the master of the Alchemist’s Guild in the great city. He uses his powerful position to manipulate politics in the city. He decided to become an alchemist when discovered how alchemy could alter the properties of the body.

Associates:

Strauss doesn’t have any friends, however, he make a lot of dealings with the various nobles and politicians in the Great City. Among his closest associates are the master of the Engineers Guild, The Master of Command, and Lord Primrose, who’s daughter he wishes to wed.

Life Goal:

Strauss intends to become the most powerful individual in the great city. He also dreams of finding a cure to his condition by alchemical means, but nobody before him have ever been close to permanently changing a creatures body, thus is afraid of fueling that dream.

Clothing:

Strauss try and dress as a nobleman, as a desperate attempt to appear classy, rich and powerful, as well as distract from his bad looks. However, he isn’t quite rich enough, and his clothes, though designed to look noble, are made from very cheap material.

Religion:

Strauss often contemplates why his kind (gnomes), are seemingly forgotten by nature. While all other creatures are adapted to the environment they live in, the gnomes seem to be made to not fit in anywhere. Strauss dismiss all human religions, since none of them make any mention of gnomes and the reason for their state in the world. He chose to believe that there is some unknown purpose to why gnomes have been cursed with ugly broken bodies, yet blessed with supreme intelligence.

Gnomes in general:

Gnomes are small and ugly, yet intelligent creatures. For some unknown reason, most them suffer from several minor malformations, almost all are hunchbacked and have skin mutations, though other types of deformation also occur. Gnomes are known to have little interest in the company or welfare of others, as well as being hateful, greedy and power-hungry. If these are traits by nature or simply result of how they’re treated because of their condition. It’s also possible that only the hateful and greedy gnomes are the ones that appear among the higher ranks in the Great City.

Game World:

The game world which Strauss finds himself in is a European medieval bordering to renaissance fantasy world. The world is mainly inhabited by humans, though other moderately civilized creatures are also present in the world, such as giants, trolls, gnomes and dwarves. Strauss livens in Greenland, a feudal kingdom ruled by King Vindex from the Great City.

Religion:

There a are followers of three major religions in Greenland: The dying totemism of the nomadic Greenland natives. The faith in the Speaker, the religion followed by the majority of Greenland’s inhabitants, who believe the world was created by god by telling a story of what the world would be like. The final religion is branch of followers from the faith in the speakers, who believe the god once ruled the world in a physical form, and will be reincarnated as a mortal and once again rule as Lord of the World “Words of Power”.

Recent history:

There was recently a civil war between the followers of the speaker and the newly emerged followers of the Lord of the World, who rebelled in an attempt to put their messiah on the throne. the war ended in a stalemate, a peace treaty was signed, and the king pardoned all lords who had participated in the rebellion. The new religion was outlawed, though it is common knowledge that the pardoned rebels still carry their faith. However, the king is afraid he will provoke the rebels into another war by punishing them for their faith.

Politics:

Officially, the rebel messiah is a vassal of the king, along with most of the other powerful lords of the realm. However, the king has lost respect through his cowardly approach to the rebels, and so, he has also lost power over the nation. The king mostly sit idle, afraid to upset the peace, while lords do as they please. The followers of the Lord of the World try and spread their faith, and gain control over the country avoiding violent methods. Some try to push counter their advances to power, others simply try to satisfy their own lust for power, taking what they can get in the turmoil left after the war.

Morals:

While the general attitude of the society is “build a prospering nation” and “Unity is strength”, most people actually don’t care much for supporting the country as a whole, and most lords rather see themselves on the throne. It is mainly what gave life to the new religion. The followers’ purpose is to find the strongest leader, worship and aid him in his conquest of the world. The religion attracts followers among the lords, as the all see they could be the one seizing the throne, and be worshiped by everyone else. However, what the do not realize is that everyone wants to be worshiped, and none wants to worship.

The serfs of the nations could not care less for the power struggles of the lords. A few hold to the kings words, finding the opportunity to serve the nation to be the most rewarding aspect of life. However, most peasants are still close with the old ways, believing in the importance to travel in order to gain enlightenment and broaden one’s perspective. There is a common generalization that one who dies before having lived in at least three different villages, dies ignorant. People who had opportunities to travel, but never done so are usually referred to as “stilt roots”.

Gnomes in human Society:

Gnomes usually live in underground tunnels with dwarves. However, it is common that gnomes settle in the larger human cities to make use of their intelligence.

Gnomes, even though despised, are valued in human society due to their intelligence and craftsmanship. They are often granted  jobs in fields such as engineering, alchemy and economics. Many of the important occupations are eventually given to hard-working gnomes.

Gnomes are generally social outcasts, and despise humans as much as humans despise them. The only other humans they can tolerate (and be tolerated by) to some degree, are humans who are also social outcasts. This means that most guilds that start gaining gnome members, will soon be dominated by misfits.

Game Info:

Genre:

 RPG

Competitors:

 Fable, The Witcher, Dragon Age.

Visual Style: 

*Somewhat exaggerated, clear shapes and features.

*Three different mood themes, one for each religion.

-The old Ways: Vibrant, bright, open and peaceful.

-The Speaker: Tall pale and strict.

-Lord of the World: dark, vibrant and rebellious.

Well, that was a lot information to write down. I apologize if wrote the same thing more than once, or of it is really difficult to get a picture of what the world actually looks like, I have never written anything like this before.