Keep it organised please ... yeah I know, it goes without saying, but I cannot post an empty message either ...
Name: Hamish MacDuff
Gender: Male
Age: 39 (25 Apparent Age)
Decrepitude: 1 (Aging Pts: 5)
Warping: 0
Confidence: 1 (4)
Size: +2
Personality:
Height: 7' (213 cm)
Weight: 250 lbs (113 kg)
Soak: +8 (+2)
Magical Defenses:
Hauberk of Sublime Lightness
Equipment:
Longsword, heater shield, chain mail hauberk, dagger, throwing knife, axe, sharpening stone, other basic traveling soldier gear.
Combat:
| Combat | Initiative | Attack | Defense | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge | 0 | 0- | 4 | 0 |
| Fist | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Kick | -1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Knife | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Dagger | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Throwing Knife | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Longsword + Heater Shield | 2 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Longsword | 2 | 11 | 7 | 9 |
| Characteristics | Score |
|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 |
| Perception | 1 |
| Strength | 3 |
| Stamina | 2 |
| Presence | 1 |
| Communication | 2 |
| Dexterity | 1 |
| Quickness | 0 |
| Virtues | Level | Type | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giant Blood | Major | General | 3 | |
| Puissant Single Weapon | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Warrior | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Unaffected by the Gift | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Improved Characteristics | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Minor Enchanment | Minor | Supernatural | 1 | |
| Unaging | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Custos | Minor | Social | 1 | |
| Total | 10 |
| Flaws | Level | Type | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Secret | Major | Story | 3 | |
| Overconfident (Reckless) | Major | Personality | 3 | |
| Missing Ear | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Uncontrollable Strength | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Visions | Minor | Supernatural | 1 | |
| Uncertain Faith | Minor | General | 1 | |
| Total | 10 |
| Abilities | Specialty | Score | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||
| General Abilities | |||
| Animal Handling | Horse | 1 | 5 |
| Area Lore: Scotland | Ruins | 3 | 30 |
| Org Lore: Diedne | Locations | 2 | 15 |
| Athletics | Running | 2 | 21 |
| Awareness | Alertness | 4 | 50 |
| Bargain | Hard Sell | 3 | 30 |
| Brawl | Dodging | 4 | 50 |
| Carouse | Gambling | 2 | 15 |
| Charm | Guards | 2 | 20 |
| Etiquette | Leaders | 1 | 5 |
| Folk Ken | Soldiers | 4 | 50 |
| Guile | Lying | 2 | 15 |
| Intrigue | Gossip | 1 | 5 |
| Leadership | In Combat | 4 | 73 |
| Living Language (English/Anglo-Saxon) | Storytelling | 4 | 50 |
| Living Language (Norse) | Slang | 2 | 15 |
| Native Language (Scots Gaelic) | Commerce | 5 | 0 |
| Ride | Horse | 1 | 5 |
| Single Weapon* | Long sword | 4+2 | 60 |
| Stealth | Forest | 1 | 5 |
| Survival | Foraging | 3 | 30 |
| Swim | Freestyle | 1 | 5 |
| Teaching | Single Weapon | 2 | 15 |
| Thrown Weapon | Sling | 2 | 15 |
| Academic Abilities | |||
| Latin | Hermetic | 4 | 50 |
Notable Equipment:
Hauberk of Sublime Lightness
+1 Longsword
+1 Round Shield
Description:
Hamish MacDuff stands tall and proud, his impressive height making him a striking figure whether in a pub, on a battlefield, or standing in the village square. His broad shoulders and muscular frame speak of years of combat training, and his rugged features are etched with the scars of countless battles. His hair, a mass of fiery red curls, is either wild and unkept or pulled back into a tight soldier's ponytail and frames the vigorous face of a man in his mid-twenties. His piercing blue eyes are intense and commanding and seem to bore into the very souls of those who meet his gaze. There is an air of wildness and danger about him, as though he is a force of nature that could not be tamed nor controlled. And yet, beneath the fierce and rugged exterior, there is a sense of nobility and honor that draws others to him, and a deep well of compassion and loyalty that burn within his heart.
Background:
Publicly Known Background:
Around a campfire on a rough road south of Glasgow, an unbelievably tall man sits on a log that appears to have been recently dragged near the fire. His wild red hair catches the fire's light, and his sharp blue eyes flash with flickering reflections.
"Where do I hail from?" responds the tall man to the question of another traveler. The red-haired man's voice is a deep rumbling bass like the thrum the surf on old, lichened covered stones. "Up in the highlands. North o' Edinburgh and Perth in the… shadow of the Cairngorms. Bred and born in the highlands, I was. But learned the soldierin' ways in Inverness, least when I was a lad. After that it was movin' here and there. Guardin' caravans one season and the high and mighty another. Ye give honor to your clan up there but sometimes you just need coin and a meal to live and that can lead a fellow to do what's needed to survive."
The large man grows quiet, staring for a time into the fire.
"The troubles got bad up in the highlands in the last years. And if you cross the wrong laird among the high and mighty," he goes on in the tones of a man sharing something to be kept close, "you sometimes need to walk away and find new ground to plow or new folks to shake your sword at."
No one around the fire that night needs to look very closely to see the scabbard, the axe, the dagger, or the occasional shine of mail beneath a plain brown tunic.
The huge man pulls a dark, damp cloak close over his shoulders and hunkers back down on the log, still staring into the glowing embers.
Private, Secret Background:
975: Born at Cairn Mabon, a covenant located in the Cairngorm Mountains in northeastern Scotland, something of a stronghold of powerful Diedne magi. His father served as turb captain in the covenant while his mother served as the cook. Hamish's giant blood comes through his mother's line. The young Hamish was active and busy, beloved by the men of the turb, and many others of the covenant. Hamish's father trained the young boy as soon as he was able to hold his own blade. During these early years, Hamish came to the attention of one of the Diedne magi of Cairn Mabon who encouraged the boy to be taught rudimentary lessons in Latin along with his training in arms and combat. "We need soldiers who are more than ignorant peasants. We need the best of them to be liaisons to the continental tribunals, to recruit into our turbs. That's how we should build a bulwark should they come after us. Teach the boy if he's able."
988: In the boy's thirteenth year, his father died unexpectedly of an accidental fall from a cliff on a short expedition to investigate a possible incursion into a rich vis source a day's journey from Cairn Mabon. With his father gone and his mother's health waning, Hamish's adolescent emotions led him into too many conflicts with fellow soldiers and covenfolk as the politics of the grogs shifted. The magus who had taken an interest in Hamish arranged for the young soldier to be traded to Iuris Perita, a covenant located in the city of Inverness known for its expertise in Hermetic Law. Hamish's time in Inverness exposed him to a more cosmopolitan experience, merchants and travelers from Ireland, Norway, Mercia, Wales, and any number of other places who came for the trade or for Order business. Hamish's gregarious nature led him to engage the travelers and merchants, learning what he could of their languages when he listened to their tales.
1002: With the rumblings of troubles causing tensions to rise, Hamish found himself appointed as turb captain back at Cairn Mabon, his magus patron (Diedne) having risen higher in the ranks of the covenant council. Hamish's mother was alive but aged, and what should have been a welcome return to his boyhood home was marred by preparations for war. While Hamish had enjoyed a few dalliances in Inverness, by the time he returned to Cairn Mabon all of his focus was on preparing the turb to defend the covenant locally or in defense of Diedne interests.
1003: Within a year of his return, the Schism War began in earnest. Though an excellent soldier and leader, Hamish argued against going to war and encouraged Cairn Mabon's council to adopt a defensive posture. "Our greatest defense are the Cairngorms themselves. No one will come into these mountains, and if they do, we will be ready." The next seven years were tense as Hamish found himself defending the magi as they met in council around the tribunal, training the turb, and shoring up defenses. The energy among the Diedne remained hopeful of a positive outcome, if not victorious then at least peaceful.
1010: The war took a dark turn across the Loch Leglean tribunal. Word of pitched battles and grim arcane conflagrations came even into the Cairngorms. After an intelligence gathering journey among the Diedne in Inverness, even darker rumors began to spread of a terrible ritual, a ritual that used the famed and ancient artefact that some called The Staff of Thoth. Because of his training in Latin, Hamish heard something of these rumors, but he dismissed them as nonsense or fearmongering. Late in the year strange and inexplicable events began to happen across the tribunal. Stories of magi disappearing completely began to be heard and stories of them returning months later, acting as if no time had passed. Others spoke of looping days that repeated themselves again and again. During this same time, Hamish began to have visions that often manifested in dreams or even waking dreams. He would see skirmishes, see councils of magi in deep discussion of the war, people fleeing from a burning Cairn Mabon. He dismissed these too, at first, until one of those skirmishes came to pass. Perhaps these visions were true? That year marked a terrible turn in the Schism War, and Hamish found himself asked to lead defensive actions to protect the Diedne magi and their interests. The tide was turning against them.
1012: In the summer of 1012, Cairn Mabon came under direct assault by forces determined to root out the Diedne who lived there. Even with their giant allies gone to war south into Northumbria, the covenant was well-positioned in the mountains and could withstand a siege, at least a modest one, and Hamish did all he could to hold back the forces arrayed against them. But by the turning of the season into Autumn, Hamish knew he just needed to hold on until the snows came. That would drive the enemy out of the mountains. Hamish wasn't the only one who understood this fact, and the enemy leaders mounted a full scale assault. By the third day of the assault, the covenant council could see that Cairn Mabon would fall. Against his protests, Hamish was instructed to lead a group of apprentices and two aging magi as well as other non-combatant covenfolk through hidden paths to seek refuge in Inverness. "You are the only one we can trust. The rest must remain here to hold against the Enemy." In the cover of darkness, Hamish led this group out of the mountains, turning back only once to watch the flames rise over the walls. Cairn Mabon was lost.
The journey to Inverness proved difficult. One of the ancient magi passed into Final Twilight after magically fording a river to allow the refugees to escape pursuit. The other magi wandered off one dawn, never to been seen again.
After Hamish had settled the remaining few people in Inverness, he spiraled into a dark, foul mood and drowned himself in strong drink. For days he would sit in the public houses of Inverness drinking himself into oblivion or rage into drunken brawls. He had failed in his duty to protect the covenant. To protect his people.
Then one crisp autumn day Hamish gathered his gear and started walking south. He said nothing to the few covenfolk taking refuge at Iuris Perita. He simply headed south.
On his way south, Hamish found himself seeking shelter from a harsh winter storm in Glencoe. He simple fisherfolk of that hamlet were suspicious but welcomed Hamish's coin and his strength. As the winter grew darker, Hamish became ill, unable to keep food down, at times feverish and at times near delirious. The local soothsayer (a hedge witch in her own right) took the large man into her care and nursed him back to health. Bedridden for a month, Hamish stayed a second month with her to regain his strength and do odd jobs about her cottage. Naught else will be said of their relationship in this record.
1013: By the summer of 1013, Hamish had made his way south into the Peak District area. He speaks very little about his journey south, but it included taking passage by ship out of Glasgow down into Wales where he wintered. He then wandered from job to job until he finds himself in the Peak District, seeking a place in one of the covenants of the Stonehenge Tribunal.
Seasonal Record:
| Season | Year | XP | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1013 | Area Lore: TBD 5 | 0 |
| Summer | 1013 | Leadership 5 xp, Single Weapon 5 xp, Athletics 2 xp | |
| Autumn | 1013 | Leadership 5 xp, Single Weapon 5 xp, Athletics 4 xp | Confidence: 2 |
| Winter | 1013 | Practice Leadership 4 xp | |
| Spring | 1014 | 10 xp (Leadership 5xp, Charm 5 xp) | |
| Summer | 1014 | ||
| Autumn | 1014 | ||
| WInter | 1014 |
Knowledge of Galloway
Hamish knows that there used to be a covenant known colloquially as Wicker Hill in Galloway. It was frequently visited by other Diedne for their secret rituals that not even the most trusted grogs were allowed to witness. Hamish has been there and knows the approximate location, but it seemed to be deserted when he passed through earlier this year. You might have got lost; he did not know the area very well, but he finds it more likely that the covenant had fallen. The covenant as he remembered it with houses made from natural stone.