Hektor Redgrove

[Basil_Bottletop]

Name: Hektor Redgrove

Race: Human

Occupation: 

Projected Class: Rogue

Background: Sage

Character Sheet

 

Background:

 

- The allure of a better life through magic propelled Hektor's parents to send him off to apprentice with a magewright when he became of age. The magewright, a gifted magi in his own right, turned out to be a terrible teacher. He could not teach, he could only do. Hektor found himself scavenging lessons on his own time and teaching himself what little he could.

- When the apprenticeship was over, Hektor had little in the ways to show for it. He certainly couldn't be a magewright himself. He became a tutor for a nobleman's house. 

- When the nobleman's house was usurped by soiled relationships and tilted socioeconomic collateral, Hektor again found himself without a job. He took his knowledges and his possessions -which had grown quite plentiful in his comfy life on the estate- and sought a fresh start away from the kingdom. A disconnection that all parties found to be in Hektor's best interests. 

- Hektor found Hearth to be entirely too small when he first arrived ten years ago, but it was also rather innocuous and that had it's perks. He used some of his own savings to begin a basic schoolroom for those children not yet attached to an apprenticeship. The burden of costs and the stigma of lost apprentices was soon placated by a series of circumstances initiated and maintained by Hektor. Most children come to him in the heat of the afternoon when their chores are done and before the evening meal needs prepared.

- Hektor keeps an apiary and has a rookery of messenger birds on his property and maintains them as a secondary profession. News still travels via the trader's wagon, but his birds have been known to get personal messages in and out with some regularity and at minimal cost.

- Hektor is neighbor to Bellamy and they are at odds with how the dwarf's activities around the village directly impact Hektor's bees, their honey, and his messenger birds. Things would be easier if the dwarf wasn't a right and proper trout all of the time too.

 

Personality:

Hektor Redgrove is a man of conviction, but it takes quite a bit of prodding for it to surface. He believes there is a right and a wrong way to do things and he does his best to steer clear of the latter. The perception of his actions are also of concern to him. He's been in a world where actions spoke quieter than perception, and so he knows that there is some truth to the ideology that 'what they think, matters'. 

Hektor has ruffled some feathers since arriving in Hearth, but he believes he's placated some of that with his soft spoken and well-meaning persona. It's no surprise that the children of Hearth like him; as he tends to talk to them as equals, he puts efforts into listening to their words, and he's surprisingly funny when he wants to be.

 

Crunch

Level: 0 (Choose Lineage, Background, and Class. Will receive half of half of Level 1 class feats)

Levelling Up: Will get up to Level 1, perhaps 2 depending on how long the game goes

Equipment: Background equipment. Any 1 simple weapon. Leather armor for those with a martial class. 

Additional Restrictions: The character is a villager who's lived in the Hearth for at least two years.

 

Roleplay

Two NPCs: 

Olivia Barlow - Eldest daughter of the town carpenter Javier Barlow and loudest opponent against Hektor's tutorship efforts. Upon his arrival, She'd already been too old and arranged to work with her own trades-master when he arrived and thus missed out on his schooling. Hektor has tried to remain cordial with her due to her family's position, but their philosophies on the future of Hearth -and the handling of children there in - are widely divided and it does not always end in friendly banter between the two villagers. 

 

Tervalio Cobb - The young man is up to something. He's been sending and receiving birds from another rookery for the past few months and he's always desperately secretive about it. Hektor does not pry, but given that most folks in town don't know the world beyond the surrounding forest and swamp, it's something quite curious about it. Tervalio has a history of trying to get coin in the easiest ways possible, and Hektor isn't convinced this isn't another scheme. 

 

Shared History: I'll help work with everyone on how your characters have known each other to establish friendships, rivalries, tensions, etc. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)

[Peacemonger]

Let's take a look...

 

Changes

Good here

Considerations

Also fine here

Clarifications

• Was Hektor's life in danger hence why he went to a place so remote? Was it more a matter of just needing to be away from it all that led him to find such an obscure village? Just want to make sure I understand the circumstances correctly.

Questions

• Hearth has a very "act first" mentality, one that stands in contrast to critical thinking and considering one's actions. There's pros and cons. How has Hektor reconciled the need for people to jump to action when a roof needs fixing, or a pony's escaped, with more long term planning and thinking?
• Olivia has a strong personality and knows the village through and through, but she hasn't the intellect and words Hektor does. In their debates and arguments does he leverage this against her, spinning her in circles with better reasoning and logic, or does he hold back so they're on more even footing? Something else?
• Does Hektor want to eventually leave the village? If so, what might prompt him to do it? What will keep him staying there for the rest of his days if anything?
• A few in the village know simple cantrips or even a first level spell. How does Hektor feel about this having not been able to learn himself despite supposedly having more resources? Does he chalk it up to natural talent? is he jealous? supportive? something else?
• Sa'Sasril has just arrived at the village, an individual who can match his wit, education, and worldly experience. What does he think of that? Has he been keen to approach her? Feel like she's a threat to his position? 

Additional Setting Information

• Most of the village sides with Hektor that having some more education is a good thing. A few adults have even wanted to take some informal lessons and pick up on a few things.
• Hektor's keen political and economic mind knows that Hearth has very little to be concerned about. It's too far removed to be in between warring states, even bandits would be too far removed from any trade route. It's the perfect place to law low.
• In light of this, any true growth of the village will be hard fought. They would have to find some sort of niche, something for everyone to contribute to in order to compete with larger communities. That would require many people giving up their general trades in order to specialize.
• The children range from clever to dull, making it a challenge to teach them all the same way, but Hektor is up to the challenge.

 

[Basil_Bottletop]

Clarifications

I was rather vague here because the original idea was to have him running away from a noble spat. Essentially, he became guilty by association. I didn't know if it added anything to the background once I had it fleshed out, but I also didn't remove it. I think it's fair to say that his services were no longer needed and he was paid handsomely to walk away, thus the chance to live for a time in Hearth without providing some service/item for sale.

 

Questions

1. His tongue has proven to be both a gift and a curse. When a task needs doing immediately, he's been gracious about assisting if he can by asking the right questions and achieving the goal in the way the owner of the problem intended. It's the aftermath that gets him in trouble. He continues to ask questions until a root to the problem is provided and a solution can be put together, regardless if the villager he's working with cares to find a long-term solution.

2. He bests her when the words are the only weapons slung. He does not weaken his blow just to mend her feelings. That's because she's been known to wage war through some of the worse-off students. If a child does not learn their numbers for one reason or another, she's quick to remind the parents -and the village- that their time could have been spent mending, sewing, or tending to the fields. In a civilized place, her actions would be considered horrible and ungodly, but the village is still a bit undecided on what Hektor's place is in it, and so there are always at least one ear bent in her direction.

3. Hektor's profession was meant as a stopgap of sorts. His coin was beginning to dwindle, as too was his interest in any hobbies. The school got him propped up again and his mood returned. Is it a long-term profession to bring literacy to backwoods villages? It's hard to say. But it would take quite an undertaking to get him to pivot. Maybe a life-altering would suffice.

4. The art of arcana or magicka has become something of a taboo subject for Hektor. His former plight as a student of the arts offered him insight into the inner workings of it, but his failure as a caster forever placed the entire act in the realm of envy for him. He's matured on his feelings since those early years, but still have a peeve about casters being flippant about their talents. If a child shows promise or practices their newfound abilities around Hektor, he tries to nurture it but he grows increasingly impatient if they treat the event as something less than a phenomena. 

5. He was elated to find a world-traveler had come to town, may have even tried to pry some worldy news out of her that he thought was above Olivarth's normal prattle. The the longer she remains, the more he feels like the other shoes is prepared to drop. He feels obligated to keep an eye on her, to keep her from making these small town folk look foolish.

Edited May 3, 2023 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)