Arik Lostcub, Bearfolk Barbarian

[PatronSaint]

 

Name: Arik Lostcub
Race Bearfolk
Character Class: Barbarian

 

Ability Scores: Strength 16, Dexterity 12, Constitution 16, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, Charisma 8

 

Character Sheet: https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2629963

 

Description/Personality: Arik is below average in size by Bearfolk standards, although large by most other races, standing 6'7" and 230 lbs. His fur is white all over, save for a few black splotches around his muzzle. He has ice blue eyes. His muscular build is evident by looking at him although his fur obscures detail on his skin.

Arik is sometimes somber, sometimes a pessimist, usually lonely, seldom happy. He's not an edgelord by any stretch, but he just hasn't found much to be happy about lately. The pain of losing family hurts a Bearfolk more than other races, and time hasn't healed that wound, but rather has let it slowly fester, eating away the once optimistic cub. His generally gloomy view on life means he doesn't have all that many friends, which of course leads to a confirmation bias that reinforces loner behavior. Arik's outlook means he isn't passionate about many things, but when he does come to care about something, he's awfully stubborn about it. He'd rather argue with his heart than his head, and has a very hard time understanding how anyone could think differently. The big chink in his armor of obstinacy is tragedy, particularly anyone who has suffered one like his own.

How do others view you in social interactions? How optimistic is your character? How trusting? How assertive are you when it comes to making major decisions? How conscientious are you about following rules? How empathetic are you? How courageous are you in dire straits? How do you feel when faced by setbacks? How are your nerves?)

 

Character Questions: (Feel free to put this behind a spoiler tag - that way the world doesn’t have to see it, if they want to retain a little mystery. We’re following the basic 10 minute background, with some changes.) 

 

Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!

1) When Arik was a cub, he struck out to look for other families to meet/mooch off of in typical Bearfolk fashion when his own family was attacked and killed by undead. When he returned, Arik found only smoldering ruins where his home once stood, the only evidence of the perpetrators being a few ghoul corpses and several swords inscribed with Darakhul glyphs.
2) As pathetic as it may be, Arik is lonely. He wants friends, but his somber demeanor makes him poor company, so he's rather poor at making friends. If he were to gain friendship, he'd be desperate to keep that bond.
3) Unlike his race's reputation for ferocity and bravery, Arik is a bit of a coward. Unless he's either defending trusted friends (adventuring companions WON'T automatically qualify) or fighting undead connected with the Ghoul Empire, he's somewhat reluctant to enter a fight he's not sure he can win. This has led some ruder sorts of folks to compare him to the baser sorts of gnolls.
4) Arik is deeply jaded. Very little has gone right in his life since his family died and he's got a very Eeyore attitude much of the time. He tries to shield himself from disappointment and loss by telling himself it's inevitable.
5) Arik never got a proper title name from his family (which is why he took the name Lostcub). He wishes one of them were alive or he could contact their spirits so he could learn what his second name was supposed to be.

 

Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.

1) Arik wants to know what his second name would have been. He cares about this deeply as it is (I assume based on how it was presented in the Heroes' Handbook) an important part of bearfolk culture. Whether his family has surviving members or their spirits are available for communion, he's willing to do much to shed his self-appointed title of "Lostcub", which he bears with shame.
2) Arik wants revenge on the ghouls who destroyed his village and killed his family.

 

Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. 

1) Arik's village was not burned to the ground without reason (but he doesn't know this). The village elders had a relic and knowledge the Ghoul Empire wanted badly enough to launch a large raid to secure it. The nature of this relic and knowledge is of course up to the DM (especially since I'm a Midgard noob and wouldn't know where to start).
2) Arik hears soothing voices in his head at night, particularly acutely when he's near or in wilderness areas. He believes it's either his ancestors or perhaps nature spirits trying to comfort him. Whatever it is, he simultaneously appreciates the "thought" but it does little to assuage his mopey demeanor.

 

Step 4: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.

1) Arik's favorite food is mice and rats. Ratfolk, are not on the menu and he's not going to even think about eating any of them, but it's very hard for him to resist going after a rodent he sees in a tavern or wharf. (That was a fairly awkward sentence but I really wanted to make it clear his culinary preferences are restricted to small vermin, not bipedal, intelligent individuals).
2) He snuffles a lot, as though he had a runny nose.
3) Arik has an ugly scar passing just above his right eye. It might make him look fierce, and when asked about it he maintains stoic silence. He doesn't tell the story because the truth is rather uninteresting: he got it when he was little and fell off a table in a very unfortunate fashion.

 

Step 5: Arik was born in the Bjornheim. His family lived in a small, out of the way community. Despite his unusual white coloring and being on the small side for his race, his youth was fairly normal, living as a typical child for his first half decade, then his roaming behavior took over (again, as normal). Arik was slow to grow out of this phase, and didn't just roam to other families as bearfolk tend to do. In fact, he would more often go out into the wild and just listen to nature. The deeply spiritual bearfolk clan wondered if he would become a druid, the elders theorizing he might have an ear for the nature spirits. They even tried tutoring him a few times, although Arik never had much patience for it.

 

Over time, his wanderings began to go further and further afield, to the point he'd sometimes be gone for days. His parents always scolded him for wandering in the dangerous wilds, but he'd learned to forage just like everyone else and had the "it'll never happen to me" attitude so common among cavalier youngsters of many races. Three years ago, a particularly long wander through the wild ended with Arik coming upon his village destroyed. A few corpses littered the ground, bearing bite and claw wounds (most of the corpses had been raised as new ghouls and so had left of their own volition). Arik found a discarded sword bearing the glyphs of the Ghoul Empire within the wreckage, and kept it initially to defend himself. It wasn't until he (lacking a home and needing some form of direction) was persuaded by a trade caravan heading south to join up take up guard duty, since he had the size and strength of a strapping young man. It was in that initial journey that he learned the origin of the sword he found, and what its presence implied.

 

He's been drifting between jobs since, never feeling fulfilled, almost always alone. Off duty, he can be found at bars, scratching runes into the tables when the barmaid isn't looking while drinking just enough to not get kicked out for loitering, or chopping firewood to relieve stress after he gets kicked out for sifting through the garbage for food (the best place to find mice, after all). The experience of losing his family has shaken him and he hasn't gotten over it.

[PatronSaint]

Arik Lostcub - Bearfolk Barbarian

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Mechanics   ___________________________________________________ Main Hand: Nordmansch Greataxe Off Hand: Nordmansch Greataxe ___________________________________________________ Action: Your action goes here. Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here. Move: Your movement goes here. Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

Character Sheet   Arik Lostcub - Bearfolk (Grizzlehide) Barbarian 1  ___________________________________________________ STATS Str 16 (+3) Dex 12 (+1) Con 16 (+3) Int 10 (+1) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 8 (-1) HP 15/15 Resistances: Cold HD 1d12 AC 14 (unarmored defense) Speed 30 ft.  Passive Perception 11 Initiative +1 DM Inspiration Yes Languages Common, Darakhul, Northern Background Outlander Feature  Wanderer You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people per day, provided the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth. ___________________________________________________ WEAPONS Nordmansch Greataxe +5 attack, 1d12+3 slashing damage Bite +5 attack, 1d6+3 piercing damage Bear Hug* (3/day) +5 attack, 4 bludgeoning damage plus target is grappled. ___________________________________________________ PROFICIENCIES Proficiency +2 Saving Throws Strength +5, Constitution +5  Skills Athletics +5, Stealth +3, Nature +2, Perception +3, Survival +3, Intimidation +1 Instruments Drums +3 Weapons All Armor Light, medium ___________________________________________________ FEATS    ___________________________________________________ RACIAL FEATURES Natural Armor. Your hide is thick and tough, granting you a natural AC of 13 + your Dexterity modifier. Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. Bear Hug (3/day). When you take the Attack action, you can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. If you hit, you can grapple the target in addition to dealing damage to it. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Thick Coat. You are resistant to cold damage. ___________________________________________________ CLASS FEATURES Rage (2/day) In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action. While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren't wearing heavy armor: You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table. You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging. Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action. Once you have raged the number of times shown for your barbarian level in the Rages column of the Barbarian table, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again.   Unarmored Defense While you are not wearing any armor, your armor class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Equipment   ___________________________________________________ General Inventory (86 lbs.) Nordmansch Greataxe - 10 lbs. 4 x Javelins - 8 lbs. 2 x Handaxes - 4 lbs. Hunting Trap - 25 lbs. 8 x Torches - 8 lbs. 10 x Rations - 20 lbs. Tinderbox - 1 lb. Waterskin - 5 lbs. Backpack - 5 lbs.   Coin Purse (0.2 lbs.) Platinum: 0 Gold: 9 Electrum: 0 Silver: 6 Copper: 0   Encumbrance Max Load: 480 lbs. (30 x STR (powerful build)) Current Weight: 86.2 lbs.

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Edited July 18, 2022 by PatronSaint
editing for expended resources (see edit history)

[bwatford]

Arik Lostcub - Bearfolk Barbarian (MW Character Sheet)

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AC: 14 | HP: 15/15 | Resistances: cold | HD: 0/1d12 | Initiative: +1 | PP: 11 | Bear Hug: 2/3 | Rage: 2/2 | DM Inspiration: 1/1

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The crowbar came loose a second time in a jarring "chunk" noise, and Arik cursed very colorfully in Darakhul. He barely restrained himself from hurling the crowbar across the room in frustration, instead contenting his humors by hawking and spitting an ugly wad of phlegm on the ground. Whether this was out of desire to avoid another lecture about the "holiness" of the thing or to avoid making more noise was immaterial. "Not getting through like that." He grunted and stomped off to see what Moondancer was up to.

Arik nodded in approval at the barricade placed over the oubliette. Good call. It would guard a flank they really didn't need, since they had enough problems to worry about already. His good humors evaporated at the sight of a gory trail down another flight of stairs, and another door which was most likely trapped. Clutching his axe again, he pointed to the door and spoke much more quietly to anyone nearby "I guess we'd better check that out. Who wants to do the honors?" His tone made it clear he was NOT volunteering, but the bearfolk nonetheless held his axe ready and moved to watch the back of anyone who did.

 

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Mechanics

Main Hand: Nordmansch Greataxe
Off Hand: Nordmansch Greataxe

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