1, 3, 18, 27, 49 for Ridanu? Either or both versions are good :D
I’ll do a Warden one eventually, but here’s my Watcher Ridanu infodump!
1. Age, Birthday, Star Sign
Ridanu is 55 at the start of PoE 1. His birthday is 1 Majestu. Star sign would probably be Gemini according to the Western zodiac, although in personality he’s definitely closer to Libra, being open-minded, fair, and easygoing with an ability to see both sides of most situations and a tendency not to pass judgment until he’s fully investigated a situation.
3. Orientation and Relationship status (single, taken (by who?), crush (on who?))
Ridanu is bi and probably also demi. He’s currently single, but has a serious crush on Aloth. He’s nowhere near ready to admit it though. (but he will be once we get to Deadfire)
18. Have any special keepsakes?
Ridanu has two whalebone carvings, one of a hound’s head that he wears on his wrist that was a gift from his father, and one of a songbird that was a gift from his mother. (His father is a follower of Galawain, his mother a midwife.) He also wears a bone bracelet carved in the symbol of Rikulhu, two snakes devouring each other. He doesn’t consider himself a follower of any one god in particular, but Galawain, Hylea/Amira, and Berath/Rikulhu are the three he most favors.
27. What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them?
Ridanu’s father is Aedyran, his mother from Vailia. (How two wood elves from such different countries ended up in the Deadfire is something neither of them have ever explained to him, despite multiple attempts on his part to get a straight answer from either. His only conclusion is that they must have fled their homelands, although recently he’s begun to suspect that his mother at least was a slave, given that wood elves are uncommon in either Old Vailia or the Republics.) In spite of this, and his own desire to wander, he has remained close to them, sending letters home whenever he can.
Since arriving in the Dyrwood, he has more or less adopted every companion except Durance as a surrogate sibling, surrogate parent, mentor, or mentee (or some combination of those roles.) It would be fair to say of Ridanu that he collects outcast kith like Edér does pets - usually inadvertently, but with a tendency to refuse to abandon them once he’s met them. (He’s the same way about outcast animals, actually, which is one reason he and Edér get along so well.) He is currently trying to legally adopt Saeda Valtas, and frequently visits her to check on her welfare - he saw her father’s will leaving everything to the Knights if no one in the Valtas family survived, and besides, he doesn’t think a barracks is really a suitable place for a child. He could not bring himself to kidnap Vela, but views her as his foster daughter of sorts and makes sure to check on her whenever he’s in Twin Elms.
49. What are some themes tied to your character’s story?
The main one is probably a sense of “otherness” and the need to find a place or group with which Ridanu can belong. I am autistic and on the demi/ace spectrum myself, so I tend to create characters whose backgrounds or personalities give them the same sense of otherness I often feel in real-life social situations. Coupled with that in Ridanu’s case, however, is a strong theme of loyalty to his companions and his principles of honesty, benevolence and justice. (Even in cases where being honest or benevolent might get him into trouble. He HATED having to bluff his way into Raedric’s keep and into the Abbey of the Fallen Moon, for instance.)
