Younger, Bruce The
"Sometimes there's a man — I won't say a hero, 'cause what's a hero? — but sometimes there's a man."
—The Stranger
Background
Bruce The Senior, Father of Bruce The Younger... Well, what can I say about the man?
He wasn’t a particularly fine Father, as far as Fathers go. He did his best. As a Man, if I had to make a judgment, I would say he was pretty middle-road... A bit cheap and almost a cheat at business and gambling. Otherwise, he treated us kids as best he could.
He wasn’t a rich man. Though he made a decent amount of money, the Baron of <a href="/Background-Location%3A-Humbert-Township">our lands</a> taxed us heavily and my Father often resorted to gambling to attempt to make up lost coin, as he saw it. Well, I don’t know if I believe that... I’d say he loved gambling because it allowed him time away from seven sons.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention there were seven of us. They don’t call me Younger for no reason... I am the seventh of seven sons, a portent of great destiny as I was once told by a strange woman recently. So far, my life doesn’t indicate any greatness about it.
...Oh, and we’re all named Bruce. Yes, it’s quite strange. No, my Father did not possess a great imagination when it came to practical matters, such as siring and naming sons...
Naturally, since my Father had seven sons, and no money, two of us went to churches. Two of us went to Alexandros to become Soldiers. They both died young. One of us went on to be hung for outlawry summarily upon capture... I can’t remember where, off hand.
The only brother I was ever truly close to... What are you looking at me like that for? I see you’ve never been poor. My seven brothers were at any given time, both an ally and an enemy. You see, when there isn’t enough food to go around, sometimes you’ll catch an elbow to the mouth or a good yank of the hair when it comes to dinner time... There was no room for politeness or good manners... There was no such thing as diplomacy. You fought to eat, and you eat whatever you earn with blood.
In any case, I’ve digressed a bit. I should start by saying that I’m the smallest of my Brothers, by far. They all inherited my Father’s black-smith penchant for barrel chests, bellowing voices, and ham-hands. I am more frail... I suppose, if we were Wolves instead of Men, I would have been considered the runt. There is something to be said for that sort of status... for one, people expect you to lift up flipped carts and save maidens surprisingly less often. That’s a pretty keen advantage...
And, learning to fend for oneself without the use of muscle. While I’ve found that it’s no harm to be fit, I’ve also learned over the years that there is quite a bit more to life than the ability to squeeze water from stones or tear books in half. I learned at an early age that I couldn’t compete with those bullish brothers of mine, so I learned to be slick instead...
However, I also learned to take it easy. Luckily for me, I was lost to my Father in the shadow of all the other Bruces. I was left, more or less, to my own devices. I’ve taken life at my own pace, and I’ve gone with the flow of destiny, if one will allow me such a phrase. I’ve found that swimming too hard against the flow only ends with you heartbroken and out of breath... and sweating. I’m not real fond of sweating.
Mostly, these days, I like to relax. Drink some ales, talk to some young, unmarried girls lacking young men, and take in the sun. I’ve managed to make a job of lounging in the sun, taking the occasional swim, and doing a little competitive sports now and again...
...Also, cat burglary. It pays the bills. What can I say? It’s what I know how to do. Like a Ranger knows the wilds, so too I know the... City, I guess? I don’t know where I was going with that, honestly. Well, in any case I make a pretty good living lifting moderately expensive pieces of art and reselling them to imbeciles with too little sense and far too much money. That is, when I get out of bed before mid-day, or if I’m not engaged in what my brother Bruce (the Priest!) calls a ‘destructive and unhealthy’ penchant for liquor.
I call it ‘having fun.’ He’s never known much about that sort of business, and I don’t blame him for that. It was his responsibility... Luckily, my Father cannot count higher than six without his fingers, so I was absolved of all familial responsibilities... I jest. Actually, I shirked every possible chore for so long that my family has long ago given up hope for my great destiny. But not without a fight... They found quickly that though I wasn’t much of a warrior, I was awfully fuckin hard to keep pinned down... Both of my deceased Bruces used to call me ‘Little Worm’, for that very reason.
Anyhow. I’ve sort of made a nice, enjoyable little life here in Alexandria. Sure, I don’t have fancy clothes or the most beautiful of women on my arm... I do have women on my arm, from time to time -- Believe it or not, okay?!
How did I get here? Well, that’s an excellent question, actually. I’ve done a pretty good amount of wandering. I’ve seen a great deal, enough excitement to last me a lifetime, frankly. That’s why I’m here with you, drinking this delightful concoction... I never thought to put fruit in wine. It’s good, right? The way it’s muddled is quite genius.
I’ve a penchant to only speak of the funnier parts of my life. Yeah, I get into a little trouble from time-to-time. No big deal. But I’ll bet you didn’t know that I graduated third in Wizard’s College. Don’t look so shocked. I am an avid reader, friend. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed! In fact, I’m thinking I might need spectacles. I feel like my eyesight isn’t always as fine as it could be.
Yeah, I dabble in the arcane. I thought I wanted to go straight, you know? Cut my hair, shower regular-like, wear shoes... All that stuff people do in Wizard College. Frankly, I didn’t do better only because I’m lazy. I think I could have easily been Second or even the First... But what’s the point? Becoming a famous Wizard lost it’s steam for me, as far as life goals go. It just seems so forced. Am I gonna keep doin’ Wizard stuff? Who knows, man. You’d know better than I would...
Well, after my wizard fiasco-- What made is a fiasco? Oh yeah, I forgot. I was kicked out of Wizard school. “The Unlawful Distribution and Sale of Contraband Deemed Dangerous Or Deadly”, whatever that means. I think they were all secretly a bunch of control freaks! All I did was let a bit of gas go missing accidentally, and when I woke up in the morning there were all these gold coins in my desk. Strange co-incidence, that. Still, I was arrested and charged, and whatever...
So I was back out on the street again. Not to mention, I was also in extreme debt. Wizard College is, not surprisingly, quite expensive! My patron, a drunk I’d met carousing somewhere... Well, I’m not sure where I met him, to be honest. But he took a shining to me, and before you knew it, I was in Wizard’s School. Frankly, I hardly knew the fellow, but he was kind-hearted and I’ve never been one to turn away a gift... Or, rather, a very large loan as he later explained. I think I must have slept through the part where he told me I’d have to work for him for four years after College, or else repay the gold he loaned me. Woops!
Well, needless to say I had to relocate quick. It’s not easy being sleezy. I bounced around for a while, worked on some ships, swam around a lot in the open ocean... narrowly avoiding a rather gruesome firey death at the hands of some rather well-meaning but really quite rude Privateers. Adventurers of the Oceans! Also, very bad manners.
I washed up on shore after floating at sea for a week. You want to see the scar where a shark bit me? Nah, it didn’t hurt as much as you’d think. The bugger didn’t even finish the job. Understandably so... I’d been at sea for nine months, I probably tasted terrible!
Anyway. I did a bunch of small work in this sleepy fishing village for a while, just long enough to repay this fisherman and his daughter. They pulled me out of the water, when I was relatively alright with just laying down in the surf and expiring there on the spot. They wakened my waning sense of self-preservation with a bit of brandy, and a sandwich.
Mostly brandy, though really. Fine brandy to sandwiches is like our sun to a torch.
Oh yeah, that sleepy village is Alexandria.
OOC Information
Player
Player's Name: Travis C.
Email: travis . conquest @ gmail . com
Location: Seattle, WA. (-8 GMT)
Availablility: Varies. Most typically M-F, 2PM to 11 PM PST.
His Character
Full Name: Bruce The Younger
Race: Human
Level: 3
Class(es): Rogue/Barbarian
Specialty: Stealth, theft, dungeoneering, thuggery, comedy.
Place of Birth: Cumbert Township
Younger's Character Sheet
Gender: Male Level/Class: < 3> Bbn2/Rog1 Alignment: CG Deity: Angoron Race: Human Hit Points: 35/35 Subdual: 0 Experience: 7947 / 9000 Height: 5'7" Weight: 140 Age: 25 Strength: 15 2 Dexterity: 16 3 Constitution: 18 4 Intelligence: 14 2 Wisdom: 14 2 Charisma: 11 0 =================================> Combat <================================= Base Attack: 2 Melee: 4 Ranged: 5 CMB: 4 Armor Class: 18 ASF: 20% AC Pen: -1 CMD: 18 Fortitude: 8 Reflex: 6 Will: 3 Init: 3 Spell DCs (Add Spell Lvl): Int: 12 Wis: 12 Cha: 10 =================================> Skills <================================= Acrobatics.......................3(8)| Climb............................3(9) Disable device...................3(8)| Escape artist....................1(6) Knowledge/local..................1(6)| Perception.......................3(8) Sense motive.....................3(8)| Sleight of hand..................1(6) Stealth..........................3(8)| Survival.........................2(7) Swim.............................2(6) ===============================> Languages <================================ COMMON...................|HANDSPEECH...............|LOW COMMON............... =================================> Feats <================================== ARMOR PROF LIGHT.........|ARMOR PROF MEDIUM........|DEFENSIVE COMBAT TRAINING DIEHARD..................|ENDURANCE................|MARTIAL WEAPON PROF...... ROGUE WEAPON PROF........|SHIELD PROF..............|SIMPLE WEAPON PROF....... =============================> Misc Abilities <============================= +2 SAVES VS. FEAR........|ACANIAN HERITAGE.........|FAST MOVEMENT: 10........ GUARDED STANCE...........|RAGE.....................|SNEAK ATTACK 1D6......... SPEED: 30................|TRAPFINDING..............|UNCANNY DODGE............
Understanding Younger
My concept of Younger came from a variety of sources; Movies and books, mostly. As far as his day-to-day personality is concerned, he is a sort of amalgamation of Robin Hood, 'The Dude' from The Big Lebowski, and a typical career criminal. he is one part lazy, one part noble, and one part criminal.
When there is nothing pressing happening, Younger is terribly lazy. He engages in the casual abuse of substances, sometimes to the detriment of his companions. He speaks with a lazy, drawn-out manner.
He loves to gamble. In fact, his love of gambling could be a weakness. It is terribly difficult to keep him focused if there is any gambling in sight. However, he is more often than not totally broke!
He is impulsive, sometimes insightful, and scatter-brained. Though he can be quite street-smart in his own right he is not always particularly clever or witty. He often doesn't have snappy come-backs or witty banter.
However, when he puts his considerable abilities to a focus for a job or some other reason, such as curiosity or for no reason at all, he can accomplish spectacular things. Unfortunately, outside of the war-zone, these moments are terribly rare.
Random Fact: Younger is scared of animated coat-racks and porcelain dishware, due to a disastrous encounter with said things during his time in Solmnus.