ragnarr: (♣ Profile)
Ragnarr Skymender ([personal profile] ragnarr) wrote2024-03-22 12:06 am

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OOC Information
Name/handle: Kristine
Discord contact: murbek
Other contact: n/a
Pronouns: she/her
Permissions link:
Other characters played: Adric
Do you have a reserve for this character?: Nah

IC Information
Canon: Forgotten Realms (OC)
Character: Ragnarr Skymender
Canon point: N/A

Canon intensity:
Occasionally pretty grim and brutal, in classic D&D battle ways. Death and violence is not uncommon. There's necromancy and mind-control and terrifying death magic.

World information:
He's from Osse, a continent in the Forgotten Realms that doesn't have a lot of canon, so the details are homebrew. Chock full of magic and supernatural stuff, spirits and gods and all kinds of things. Ragnarr is from a simple mountain tribe where communing with spirits was tradition. However, he's also seen some pretty fancy high-tech stuff, of the magi-tech flavour sci-fi, but limited, and not something he's really familiar with.

Character biofacts: 38, male, human.

About the character:
UPBRINGING:
- From Eaglehold, located in the northern part of the continent of Osse, near the Frostridge Mountains. Some years ago they took up residence in an old elven ruin built into the mountainside, just above the tree-line.
- Born in 1459 DR to Ingibjorn and Ljufa. His mother was a gentle woman, but his father was fool-hardy and got himself killed at a young age, before their marriage expired.
- His mother became the skald of the hold, Ljufa Stormcalmer. She once sang for 36 hours straight, soothing the hold's worries through a horrific blizzard, until the storm passed.
- When he was 8, his magic presented itself, and the hold's seythur helped him acquire a teacher: a spirit of Compassion was drawn to Ragnarr and would remain with him for the next decade.
- When he was 18, he performed the ritual to release his teacher. However, he missed the close contact with the spirits, and worked with the seythur to learn more and become a spirit-talker, and the closest thing his people have to scholars.
- Now an adult, marriage and children were in his future. He did not approach a wife himself, but was approached by Una, a woman from another hold who liked his gentle demeanour, and they made arrangements for their engagement ceremony and marriage.
- They had two children, Runar and Solveig.
- Their marriage expired when Ragnarr was 26, and they did not renew it. However, they remained on good terms, both involved in raising their kids.
- Even before their marriage expired, Ragnarr was the lover of a man named Oskar. As they both had children and were kind and dutiful to their wives, this wasn't considered an issue.
- Ragnarr had never travelled beyond the mountains or the wilds, but he had heard stories from the spirits, skalds and traders.
- His 20s coincided with the Second Sundering, a catastrophic time for the planet, though Eaglehold was protected from the worst.

PERSONALITY:
Ragnar is a gentle person, but he's gentle like a farmer who knows when it's time to slaughter their beloved animals, and not soft or weak. Most people will look at him and see a barbarian, and he will not deny that, because lowlanders will think what they like, and it's not technically untrue. He prided himself on never having killed anything or anyone needlessly or without honour - though this is no longer true. He was raised to hold great respect for all living things, including spirits.

That respect doesn't necessarily translate to what most people would count as politeness. He's forthright and honest, sometimes too much so, and occasionally foul-mouthed. He will however apologise when he's offended someone, and he's often sweet and kind. He might cheerfully call you a bastard, but then give you a thoughtful gift to show how much he cares.

When he gets angry, it's a usually quiet, controlled rage, released in sudden outbursts when necessary or appropriate. As an warrior, he knows rage can be useful, and he doesn't want to waste it, nor direct it at those undeserving or weak/young. Usually what might make him angry is things like thoughtless cruelty (especially towards children), oath-breaking, disrespecting spirits, and abuse of power.

He likes stories, having been raised by a skald, and training to be an hold-seythur, the two roles in the hold that are the foremost keepers of the history, rituals and traditions of their people. He knows a lot of them too, but he might not be very forthcoming about sharing them to lowlanders. He's the closest thing they have to a scholar, and has made the trader bring back books for him so that he may study things the spirits cannot tell him, particularly regarding ancient myths and religions - though he could not be said to be an expert on these things when it comes to other cultures.

He's been referred to as quiet, but that's mostly by his society's standards, where meals are communal, many tasks are done in groups, and people are loud. In truth he's about average, but he doesn't draw attention to himself unless he has something to say. That said, when merrily drinking in a crowded tavern he will join in songs and laughter like the rest.

If you look past his gruff exterior, you'll find a generous and loving friend (or lover - he's not fussy). He's fiercely loyal and will protect you in any way he can - that is after all his job as a healer. He's easily hurt by betrayal or rejection, but he knows that to be brave means more than to be fierce in battle - it also means opening your heart and risking sorrow.

ADVENTURES:
When Ragnarr was 32, he was semi-reluctantly set on the path of adventure, helping a group of adventurers from Faerun. Initially he served as their guide deeper into the elven ruins, but when they were unexpectedly stranded in the Astral Sea, he got wrapped up in events far beyond his understanding.

The party eventually found their way back to their planet with a Spelljammer (interdimensional spaceship), travelling through Wildspace. When Ragnarr returned to Eaglehold 3 years later, he found it partially destroyed, attacked by Astral Elves also in search of something from the ruins. His ex-wife Una and his son Runar were dead, though his daughter Solveig was still alive, now under the care of Oskar and his wife. The party helped him relocate the remaining members of Eaglehold to a new location, where they would be safe.

While Ragnarr was deeply reluctant to leave them, he knew he was one of the few people who could actually prevent greater catastrophy to his homeland. A further 3 years later, the threat had been neutralised, and Ragnarr yearned to return home - though he's still helping his party members with their troubles, before he can feel justified in leaving them.

DEVELOPMENT:
These events have made him deeply distrustful of advanced technology, meddling deities, and powerful civilizations. He doesn't hold these things against individuals, but is wary of anyone who holds these things in too high esteem.

He's also far more prone to violence than before, and more willing to do ethically questionable things to reach his goal. At one point he had a bit of a wake-up call, as his friends made him realize he was in danger of becoming like those he himself judged for abusing power. If angered or forced to by circumstance, he may still do cruel things.

He doesn't mind going into the unknown, and knows to trust in the skills of the people around him, as long as he trusts their intentions. What he fears is being unable to protect people. He's become a bit more guarded with his heart, but deep down, he's still the same kind and generous person.


Abilities:
- Strong and hardy, can climb and swim and survive in the wilderness. Quick and stealthy. Combat skills with a bow and dagger, though he prefers magic.
- Practical survival skills: skinning animals, weaving fishing nets, maintaining weapons, preparing meat, what plants are safe to eat, which herbs alleviate illness, how to set a broken bone, falconry...
- Detailed knowledge of traditions, myths, and songs. Pleasant singing voice. Can read and write, but not expertly.

For details on skills and magic: His D&D character sheet.

There's a bunch of things on there that definitely need discussion to figure out how/if they would work:
- Revivify: Brings someone back to life if they died less than a minute ago
- Animate Dead: Reanimates a corpse/skeleton.
- Speak With Dead: ask questions of a corpse. (Not their soul. Just the flesh's memory.)
- Find Steed, Spirit Guardians, Conjure Animals: all summon spirits from the feywild, which would be inaccessible.
- Augury and Divination both require asking questions of a deity.
- Banishment: banishes someone to another dimension.
- Clairvoyance, Arcane Eye: lets you scout in areas from a safe distance.
- Dream: lets you visit someone's dream and shape it.
- Misty Step, Dimension Door: teleportation (30ft and up to 500ft, respectively).
- Awaken: giving a plant or animal human intelligence, HOWEVER this requires spending an expensive agate, of which he has one (1).

Other spells and abilities in can mostly be categorised into healing, damage spells, mind control, teleportation, shape-changing, invisibility, tracking (locate creature/plant/animal/object), stealth, communication (speak with animals, telepathy)...

He is a 'spirit-talker', but this doesn't actually involve any special powers beyond knowing rituals to summon the spirits of his own world.

Noteworthy items:
- A familiar fey spirit named Eydis, currently in the form of a peregrine falcon. Follows the rules of Find Familiar, including that Ragnarr can speak with her telepathically and see/hear through her eyes/ears.
- A mage staff, adorned with a large eagle skull, feathers and bones.
- A dagger imbued with frost magic.
- Bow and arrow, strong and sturdy, but not enchanted.
- Light armour.
- Some extra clothing, a falconry glove, a bone flute.
- Survival kit, healing potions, some minor trinkets and herbs both for rituals and personal stuff.
- Some more expensive spell components, including a valuable agate.
- Partial animal skins that's been magically treated to use for shapechanging, from a grizzly bear, a giant gold eagle, a hawk owl, and a margay.

Mixed gender room ok?: Yeah
Player content notes/squicks: Nothing additional.

Anything else: I'm very up for some of his spells having unexpected effects. Like, trying to summon spirit guardians actually summons ship-specific ghosts. Or whatever fun other stuff. He's already super powerful. The main things I'm attached to for his abilities is shape-changing into animals, and his healing. The rest is fun, and some can be cool plot tools, but none are like central to his character. And I'm good with some requiring special mod permission, like just sort of keeping it in our back pocket for planned plots.

Also it should be obvious, but he's inclined towards the Whispering. He'll respect the Growth, in the way a captain respects the ocean. He'll probably hate the Ship.

Voice samples: