reviewed Kawner Hurrk -- Aarakocra Courtier Warlock of the Archfey

[Lwmons]

Name. Kawner Hurrk

Character Concept. A jovial but arrogant man with a taste for fine wines, fine companionship, and at the perpetual beck and call of the Feywilds.

Lineage, Background, Planned-Subclass Class. Aarakocra, Courtier, Archfey Warlock of the Talisman

Description. More than his plumage, his wings, or even the noble colors in which he clothes himself, the first thing someone will notice about Kawner are his eyes. They seem otherworldly, swirling with light and color, though just as easily could look like normal, brown human eyes. Once his gaze is broken, however, people can easily notice the extravagance of his attire, the flamboyance of his colors, and the dynamic way in which he moves. He carries himself with all the arrogance and strut of the wealthiest noblemen, acting above so many trivialities, an act only accentuated by his wings and feathers, which move to accentuate his mannerisms and exaggerate his motions.

His expressions are usually difficult to read, due to the lack of motion his beak provides, but his mood and pinions can usually be derived from the movement of his feathers. Puffed out means angry, shaking means excited, and so on.

Your Character’s Plothook. More than anything else, Kawner has undertaken this journey at the behest of his patron, unquestioning of her goals or motivations. However even beyond that, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in the Nightstone Inn. There's always new pleasures, new drink, and new company to be had in the most unexpected of places, after all. And, of course, he does considre himself a skillfull enough mediator to aid Lady Velrosa Nandar in his diplomatic disputes.

Past is Prologue. The Hurrsk family, though not native to Baldur's Gate, has several well documented generations of history within it's walls, detailing a rich history of the family selling themselves as house servants to living amongst it's highest society members. Kawner himself was no exception to this, serving in the court of the Exeltis family, known for their Ice Wine. Despite his luxurious mantle and taste for high society, Kawner was quite sequestered from much of the rest of the world, kept in his own little bubble of his own making, truly ignorant to the wiles and woes of the rest of the world.

This may very well have been how he spent the rest of his life, were it not for the Exeltis' family's slow decline and treacherous business practices. The family, deeply in debt to money lenders from Waterdeep, was at risk of loosing their farms, and devised a plan to send Kawner, as well as a token group of retainers and guards, to the City of Splendor, to either negotiate a more amicable deal, or act as their sacrificial lamb to buy them more time. He was, of course, ignorant to this second option, and proudly accepted the arrangement, confident in his ability to perform his courtly duties.

He never even made it to Waterdeep. Barely a week into the journey, the small camp was set upon by goblins, barely a dozen, but more than enough to completely tear through the nobles and inexperienced guards. His last memories before losing consciousness were the goblins tearing out his feathers and clawing at his eyes.

Were it not for the timely intervention of a curious archfey, admiring of his beauty, this would likely have been his death. In exchange for naut but his undying loyalty, he was saved by the Oak Princess Verenestra. As he tells the story, though he may very well have been embellishing due to being blinded at the time, the Oak Princess plucked the eyes from her very face, bestowing them to Kawner, asking only that in exchange for her eyes, she can use his. Though not wholly understanding of the deal, he gratefully accepted, and Verenestra bid him to continue north as he was originally intending under her protection. His original destination of Waterdeep was forfeit to him, and he will find a new task waiting for him in Daggerford. With a literal new perspective on life, he continued north, to Daggerford.

Loyalties. Although his principal loyalty is to his patron, he has found himself courted by the Emerald Enclave due to his connection to the Feywilds. He's had a number of friendly discussions with one of their members, a half-elf by the name of Dorenas, another in Verenestra's employ, though he has yet to commit to joining.

Is Might Right? Might shouldn't make right, though in practice it often does. Wealth, influence, and indeed physical ability have their place in the world, though he does not see them as the divine ordainment so many treat it as. Unfortunately, however, in his own life as a magistrate, he's seen all too often that all the wishful thinking in the world doesn't change the fact that people seem to bow to the mighty, the wealthy, and beautiful. Of course, he'd be a hypocrite if he said he was above using his own status or beauty for personal gain. Of course, he never said he wasn't a hypocrite.

Deity. Although not technically a god(though she might tell you otherwise), Kawner is a passionate follower of Verenestra, The Oak Princess, Archfey of the Seelie Court. He considers himself wholly devout to her, not only as his patron, but as his savior, as she provided him not only with purpose, but a new chance at life, complete with a new pair of eyes.

 

Edited March 28 by Lwmons (see edit history)

[Lwmons]

 

Kawner Hurrk

Aarakocra Courtier Archfey Warlock

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IC: “My words,” Kawner said. | ‘My thoughts,’ Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Game thought. | My actions . . .

Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Game did some things. He said some things. He did some more things.

OOC

I don’t always put OOC content in my posts, but when I do, I put it in here.

---

To Whom It May Concern . . .

@Kamishiro_Rin Put Player mention tags, and any particular notes in here.

[Kamishiro_Rin]

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Name. Kawner Hurrk

Neat picture! When I was a kid back in the 80s, I was just so fascinated by peacocks!

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Character Concept. A jovial but arrogant man with a taste for fine wines, fine companionship, and at the perpetual beck and call of the Feywilds.

He's gonna be in for a real shock in the savage frontier!

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Description. More than his plumage, his wings, or even the noble colors in which he clothes himself, the first thing someone will notice about Kawner are his eyes. They seem otherworldly, swirling with light and color, though just as easily could look like normal, brown human eyes. Once his gaze is broken, however, people can easily notice the extravagance of his attire, the flamboyance of his colors, and the dynamic way in which he moves. He carries himself with all the arrogance and strut of the wealthiest noblemen, acting above so many trivialities, an act only accentuated by his wings and feathers, which move to accentuate his mannerisms and exaggerate his motions.

His expressions are usually difficult to read, due to the lack of motion his beak provides, but his mood and pinions can usually be derived from the movement of his feathers. Puffed out means angry, shaking means excited, and so on.

Interesting description.

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Your Character’s Plothook. More than anything else, Kawner has undertaken this journey at the behest of his patron, unquestioning of her goals or motivations. However even beyond that, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in the Nightstone Inn. There's always new pleasures, new drink, and new company to be had in the most unexpected of places, after all. And, of course, he does considre himself a skillfull enough mediator to aid Lady Velrosa Nandar in his diplomatic disputes.

Good that you made it your own!

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Past is Prologue. The Hurrsk family, though not native to Baldur's Gate, has several well documented generations of history within it's walls, detailing a rich history of the family selling themselves as house servants to living amongst it's highest society members. Kawner himself was no exception to this, serving in the court of the Exeltis family, known for their Ice Wine. Despite his luxurious mantle and taste for high society, Kawner was quite sequestered from much of the rest of the world, kept in his own little bubble of his own making, truly ignorant to the wiles and woes of the rest of the world.

This may very well have been how he spent the rest of his life, were it not for the Exeltis' family's slow decline and treacherous business practices. The family, deeply in debt to money lenders from Waterdeep, was at risk of loosing their farms, and devised a plan to send Kawner, as well as a token group of retainers and guards, to the City of Splendor, to either negotiate a more amicable deal, or act as their sacrificial lamb to buy them more time. He was, of course, ignorant to this second option, and proudly accepted the arrangement, confident in his ability to perform his courtly duties.

He never even made it to Waterdeep. Barely a week into the journey, the small camp was set upon by goblins, barely a dozen, but more than enough to completely tear through the nobles and inexperienced guards. His last memories before losing consciousness were the goblins tearing out his feathers and clawing at his eyes.

Were it not for the timely intervention of a curious archfey, admiring of his beauty, this would likely have been his death. In exchange for naut but his undying loyalty, he was saved by the Oak Princess Verenestra. As he tells the story, though he may very well have been embellishing due to being blinded at the time, the Oak Princess plucked the eyes from her very face, bestowing them to Kawner, asking only that in exchange for her eyes, she can use his. Though not wholly understanding of the deal, he gratefully accepted, and Verenestra bid him to continue north as he was originally intending under her protection. His original destination of Waterdeep was forfeit to him, and he will find a new task waiting for him in Daggerford. With a literal new perspective on life, he continued north, to Daggerford.

Short and to the point, but very good. I like it. Also creepy exchange of the eyeballs. Eew.

On 3/27/2024 at 12:17 AM, Lwmons said:

Is Might Right? Might shouldn't make right, though in practice it often does. Wealth, influence, and indeed physical ability have their place in the world, though he does not see them as the divine ordainment so many treat it as. Unfortunately, however, in his own life as a magistrate, he's seen all too often that all the wishful thinking in the world doesn't change the fact that people seem to bow to the mighty, the wealthy, and beautiful. Of course, he'd be a hypocrite if he said he was above using his own status or beauty for personal gain. Of course, he never said he wasn't a hypocrite.

Eheheh. Nice!

Alright. I'll mark this as reviewed and unlock the Pre-Game IC-Thread for you.

[Lwmons]

Double checked some information on Faerun, turns out the financial troubles the Exeltis family were having was actually back in the 1370s, about 120 years out of date for this particular campaign >.>

 

Going to tweak things a bit, probably involve a different family, but the gist of the backstory should remain unchanged.