Name: James
Age: 19
Time zone: UTC (Going to be on UTC+1 soon because of British Summer Time and all)
Contact URL: trilbiesarecool.tumblr.com
IC:
Character Name: Token Black
Character Age: 21
Allegiance: Humans (loosely)
Class: Bandit (OOC: or Warrior, if that's locked in and I don't get a say in it, I can't really tell)
As far as personal histories go, Token's is rather unremarkable. He was born in Lower Ducktown, a place barely worthy of the word "town" very safely inside the human lands so the elves were never really a problem for him. His mother died of illness when he was eight, and his father, in his despair, hanged himself not long after.
Token therefore had to make do on his own, having no siblings. After the shock of losing both parents drained away from the town, he started doing odd jobs - mostly gardening or pest control - for people in his village in return for either money, room and board, or favours back. As it was a small close-knit place nobody ever really did him any harm, and on the rare occasions things turned sour those responsible would find themselves in the village pillory and coated in shit.
As he grew up he started to grow an interest in combat. While the town didn't really have weapons or a blacksmith, occasionally some would humour Token and play with sticks. While not really the same, it worked wonders for Token's adventure sense.
After a few years Token went on his way, eventually finding himself in Koopa Keep. He enlisted in the army for a while (he was technically not of age but he looked mature enough to pass) and while he did succeed in passing training, advancing his fighting skills significantly, more often than not his duties consisted of standing outside a gate. This not being what he'd signed up for, Token ran away to an outlying town for a few weeks and, once it was safe to resurface, returned to his old method of getting by by doing odd jobs for people.
As he grew up such jobs started to include less than legal things, and before too long he'd earned enough money to buy a reasonable sword and armour was calling himself a mercenary. He never has a permanent living arrangement, generally opting for inns or even back alleys over staying in one place for too long.
Several times he has found himself in the employ of the "higher ups" of Koopa Keep, and considers himself allied with them as far as a loose cannon can be allied with anyone. As previously mentioned though, for a good price he would happily betray them. His real allegiance is to the highest bidder.
One of the more distinctive things about Token is that due to his safe upbringing he does not so readily buy into the idea that all elves are dicks. He could even be persuaded to work for them for the right price. Generally, though, he needs a better reason than "because elves" to do anything against them.
While on the surface he seems to be a standard honourable gentleman when it comes to personal matters, such as trades, duels and deals, more often than not he can get very dirty very quickly. He'll drop all pretence within the blink of an eye and start swindling, stealing and generally being a bit dickish about everything. He knows how honour works, of course - he just doesn't go in for it.
He's very much a fun lover. He can be found hanging around taverns and public places entertaining himself, sometimes watching other people fighting and other times engaging in it himself, quite often getting into further trouble as a result. As such he likes to have an active job at all times, otherwise he gets very bored very quickly.
He has a level of suspicion towards magic users, mostly because he prefers the world to make sense and magic doesn't make sense to him.
While his adventuring is his living, Token has been known to cut his price for particularly interesting jobs that he found to be entertaining, and likewise has historically either charged extra (or even not completed and just kept the deposit) for dull jobs.
Token can "disappear" very easily, as he has been in trouble many times. In the event he does not wish to be found, something that has happened a lot, he knows how to leave false trails and where he can live quietly until the proverbial heat dies down. In more serious cases he will take care of whoever is causing him grief before resurfacing, whether that entails bloodshed, a job or a pay off. In a similar vein he has a way of 'blending in', making himself look unremarkable and uninteresting enough to not attract attention.
He has very good knowledge of first aid, as he has had to heal himself more than once over the years. He keeps with him at all times a minimal first aid kit, enough to see a person through a few hours of travelling. However, all these supplies are bought from markets - he cannot identify helpful plants in the wild.
He is extremely agile, and tough to get off his feet. He has been known to scale buildings from the outside with a high success rate, and generally has a good sense of balance when it comes to combat. On the downside, he finds it significantly easier getting up to a high place than getting down from it - while not an active phobia, high places have a tendency to give him minor vertigo.
Token is also a dab hand with his sword. He has a preference for curved blades over straight ones, but can make do with most blades. He can improvise with axes and blunt weapons, but will rarely (if ever) choose to deviate from his falchion in combat, as he knows what it can and can't do, its exact reach and balance, and is very attached in general.
Token's pain threshold is rather low. While he can endure it, it does make for quite a distraction in what could be a delicate situation, and what for most might be considered irritating for Token could very well be agony.
He is also claustrophobic. This is not crippling, he can certainly function indoors and such, but he will pay extra for a large room if need be, and likes having windows open. He will absolutely not travel in a closed wagon.
Another phobia of Token's is dogs. This is significantly worse than his claustrophobia - he will take ridiculous detours to avoid having to pass any manner of canine, once taking a long road around a forest that he swears he heard a wolf howl come from the night before. This added a week to that particular journey. If forced to confront a dog directly, he will take a kill or be killed attitude - this has gotten him into trouble many times. It's also half the reason he invested in flintlock guns.
Token is a little too trusting - he can retain scepticism about most people, but generally runs on an "assume trustworthy" system of engaging at length with people, rather than the arguably more logical "assume untrustworthy".
Of course, he can also be bought out of a job for a good enough price, so isn't precisely reliable.
1x falchion. Blade length of approximately 80cm (2' 7.5''), but a pronounced bend brings the straight-line distance from crossguard to tip closer to 70cm (2' 3.5''). Steel. Reinforced along the edge and tip to allow for both slashing and stabbing when the need arises. Hilt is wood wrapped in leather, with a simple brass ball at the pommel.
1x dagger. 15cm (6''), straight double edged steel. Kept on person or otherwise within reach at all times. Unremarkable.
1x crossbow. Kept slung across back, under cloak. Recurved limbs come with boon to acceleration at the expense of noise. Very slow to reload, very difficult to get out quickly. Used only to attack a single unknowing target from range, as an opener in combat, or as an absolute last resort. Carried since Token is hopeless with a bow or throwing weapons.
1x first aid pouch. Large leather pouch, kept on back of belt under cloak. Contains needle and thread, bandages, and a number of basic herbs and ointments in small supply. Designed as a "bare minimum", to keep an injured person going until they can get to a healer with a proper medicine cabinet.
Hardened leather armour. Tan to brown coloured, worn during all waking hours. Ideal for travelling around in, offers very reasonable protection from natural hazards but not great against swords. Useless against any kind of piercing. Armour includes some features:
Pauldron on right shoulder to protect sword arm. Multiple layers of hardened leather, leaves a little overhang.
Studded gloves. In the event of complete disarmament, steel studs on Token's gloves can still do a little bit of damage.
Cloak/cape. Hooded, dull green with face mask. Unremarkable, not of any particular advantage in combat. Worn more because Token thinks it looks kind of neat than for any practical purpose.
RP Sample: [removed for privacy]
