![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Name: Bard deMinstrel (alias)
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Class: Troubadour/Prince (Not actually royalty)
History
Bard barely remembers his early life. This is not due to amnesia obscuring some momentously vital piece of his history, but rather because his childhood was so remarkably unremarkable, that it didn't really merit remembering. He was born to a middle-class family, and after sixteen or so years of living a boring middle-class life apprenticed to a weaver, he decided to say "screw it" and quit to become a rock star.
Now, the economy in High Lagaard was largely made up of the adventuring industry. Lagaard rested at the foot of a great tree known as "Yggdrasil," and adventurers from all corners of the world would travel to Lagaard to challenge the Labyrinth that made up its interior. Supposedly, if one could reach the very top, they would find a floating castle filled with unimaginable riches. Thus, the town flourished as more people came, bringing with them money, and returning from the Labyrinth with their spoils to sell. Of course, few made it higher than the first stratum, but that didn't stop people from trying.
Now, when I said that Bard had quit to become a rock star, what I meant was that he picked up the lute and joined the first adventuring party that let him in, tempted by the promise of fame and fortune like so many others.
That lasted all of one day.
It quickly became apparent that Bard's personality left much to be desired. He didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, and on more than one occasion, his mouth had nearly gotten his party killed. It's generally agreed upon that loudly taunting the FOE one is trying to sneak past is a very bad idea, especially when one is only level two. It's also generally agreed upon that one is considered 'dead weight' when all one does is run away and sing off-key. Also, openly insulting your fellow party members isn't advised, either.
So Bard tried again with a different party. The results were largely the same, though the minstrel had, by this point figured out that carrying a weapon was a good idea in a monster-infested place like the Labyrinth, and so began to carry a bow (which he had crap aim with anyway, but he wasn't about to get close enough to the enemy to use a sword). Didn't change his personality, though, and in less than a week, he was groupless again.
This party-cycling continued for five years, and though he would never get beyond the third floor with any one guild, he gained enough collective experience that his skills with both the lute and the bow had grown to a point where he was easily the strongest member of any of the new guilds he joined. This would make him a great asset if it wasn't for that personality of his, which had only soured in proportion to his combat skills.
Eventually, he was approached by a fledgeling guild called Hallia, comprised of exactly three people: a female Gunner named Lilia, her brother and Dark Hunter, Kellen, and a male Medic by the name of Desmond. Though two of the three immediately disliked him, he proved his worth in battle. Granted, they still disliked him after that, but were willing to put up with it for lack of other options.
Hallia never did make it to the top of the Labyrinth, though they did get farther than anyone (including themselves) expected them to. After reaching the fourth stratum, the life of adventuring had begun to take its toll on the party. Desmond quit to become a full-time doctor to support his growing family, and with the loss of their pillar of sanity, the group fell apart, eventually splitting to go pursue different things. Bard, unsatisfied with such an ending, decided to go on a different sort of adventure. He boarded the next boat out of Lagaard to Armoroad, enticed by the strange stories coming from that region. As it turned out, Armoroad also had an "Yggdrasil Labyrinth" of its own. This Labyrinth, however, was sunk into the sea.
Bard decided at this point to start fresh, with a new identity to match. He took up the sword (though he was crap with it), and donned the most regal clothing and armor he could find (and afford). He was no longer Bard deMinstrel the Troubadour, but Bard Defaux, estranged prince of the far-off kingdom of Nepasexis (you've probably never heard of it), and as such, surely a valuable asset to any party.
That was a year ago and he has yet to set foot on the first floor of Armoroad's Labyrinth.
Personality
It would be a simple thing to say that Bard is an asshole and be done with it, but that would be a cop-out. It would also be something he'd do.
Bard is, down to his very core, a lazy coward. For the majority of his life, he'd done little more than what was asked of him, and with no small amount of complaining the whole time. He thought that being an adventurer would be the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme, and that in less than a year of leeching experience and winnings, he'd have all the wealth he could dream of and never have to work another day in his life. He did eventually accumulate a small fortune with Hallia, and living off the remains of that is the only reason he hasn't starved by now.
He's sarcastic and cynical, abrasive and unpleasant, openly mocking the faults and failings of those around him, and glossing over or ignoring his own. He's relatively powerful, he knows it, and he's not about to let you forget it lest he regale you of the time he took down a Wyrm all by himself (note; this incident is a fabrication). He will lie, cheat, and swindle his was to victory with the most innocent of smiles on his face. The worst part? He's an excellent actor to the uninitiated, and it's only after he drops the facade that the true inner asshole emerges.
There is no tragic backstory that led to him being such a jaded and unpleasant individual. His parents weren't overbearing, nor were they unsupportive, and both of them were still alive last he checked. If anything, his past was simply so unremarkable that it quite literally bored him into the jerk he grew up to be. Some people just end up that way.
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Class: Troubadour/Prince (Not actually royalty)
History
Bard barely remembers his early life. This is not due to amnesia obscuring some momentously vital piece of his history, but rather because his childhood was so remarkably unremarkable, that it didn't really merit remembering. He was born to a middle-class family, and after sixteen or so years of living a boring middle-class life apprenticed to a weaver, he decided to say "screw it" and quit to become a rock star.
Now, the economy in High Lagaard was largely made up of the adventuring industry. Lagaard rested at the foot of a great tree known as "Yggdrasil," and adventurers from all corners of the world would travel to Lagaard to challenge the Labyrinth that made up its interior. Supposedly, if one could reach the very top, they would find a floating castle filled with unimaginable riches. Thus, the town flourished as more people came, bringing with them money, and returning from the Labyrinth with their spoils to sell. Of course, few made it higher than the first stratum, but that didn't stop people from trying.
Now, when I said that Bard had quit to become a rock star, what I meant was that he picked up the lute and joined the first adventuring party that let him in, tempted by the promise of fame and fortune like so many others.
That lasted all of one day.
It quickly became apparent that Bard's personality left much to be desired. He didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, and on more than one occasion, his mouth had nearly gotten his party killed. It's generally agreed upon that loudly taunting the FOE one is trying to sneak past is a very bad idea, especially when one is only level two. It's also generally agreed upon that one is considered 'dead weight' when all one does is run away and sing off-key. Also, openly insulting your fellow party members isn't advised, either.
So Bard tried again with a different party. The results were largely the same, though the minstrel had, by this point figured out that carrying a weapon was a good idea in a monster-infested place like the Labyrinth, and so began to carry a bow (which he had crap aim with anyway, but he wasn't about to get close enough to the enemy to use a sword). Didn't change his personality, though, and in less than a week, he was groupless again.
This party-cycling continued for five years, and though he would never get beyond the third floor with any one guild, he gained enough collective experience that his skills with both the lute and the bow had grown to a point where he was easily the strongest member of any of the new guilds he joined. This would make him a great asset if it wasn't for that personality of his, which had only soured in proportion to his combat skills.
Eventually, he was approached by a fledgeling guild called Hallia, comprised of exactly three people: a female Gunner named Lilia, her brother and Dark Hunter, Kellen, and a male Medic by the name of Desmond. Though two of the three immediately disliked him, he proved his worth in battle. Granted, they still disliked him after that, but were willing to put up with it for lack of other options.
Hallia never did make it to the top of the Labyrinth, though they did get farther than anyone (including themselves) expected them to. After reaching the fourth stratum, the life of adventuring had begun to take its toll on the party. Desmond quit to become a full-time doctor to support his growing family, and with the loss of their pillar of sanity, the group fell apart, eventually splitting to go pursue different things. Bard, unsatisfied with such an ending, decided to go on a different sort of adventure. He boarded the next boat out of Lagaard to Armoroad, enticed by the strange stories coming from that region. As it turned out, Armoroad also had an "Yggdrasil Labyrinth" of its own. This Labyrinth, however, was sunk into the sea.
Bard decided at this point to start fresh, with a new identity to match. He took up the sword (though he was crap with it), and donned the most regal clothing and armor he could find (and afford). He was no longer Bard deMinstrel the Troubadour, but Bard Defaux, estranged prince of the far-off kingdom of Nepasexis (you've probably never heard of it), and as such, surely a valuable asset to any party.
That was a year ago and he has yet to set foot on the first floor of Armoroad's Labyrinth.
Personality
It would be a simple thing to say that Bard is an asshole and be done with it, but that would be a cop-out. It would also be something he'd do.
Bard is, down to his very core, a lazy coward. For the majority of his life, he'd done little more than what was asked of him, and with no small amount of complaining the whole time. He thought that being an adventurer would be the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme, and that in less than a year of leeching experience and winnings, he'd have all the wealth he could dream of and never have to work another day in his life. He did eventually accumulate a small fortune with Hallia, and living off the remains of that is the only reason he hasn't starved by now.
He's sarcastic and cynical, abrasive and unpleasant, openly mocking the faults and failings of those around him, and glossing over or ignoring his own. He's relatively powerful, he knows it, and he's not about to let you forget it lest he regale you of the time he took down a Wyrm all by himself (note; this incident is a fabrication). He will lie, cheat, and swindle his was to victory with the most innocent of smiles on his face. The worst part? He's an excellent actor to the uninitiated, and it's only after he drops the facade that the true inner asshole emerges.
There is no tragic backstory that led to him being such a jaded and unpleasant individual. His parents weren't overbearing, nor were they unsupportive, and both of them were still alive last he checked. If anything, his past was simply so unremarkable that it quite literally bored him into the jerk he grew up to be. Some people just end up that way.
