Appearance

Physical Description

Physically, he's of average height and tends to hold himself straight, without slouching. It's not obvious on first glance, but a closer look will show that his right arm is thinner than the left and he often rubs the shoulder, or rotates the joint. His arm has healed enough since his initial injury that he can't really be considered crippled anymore, but he's a lot weaker than he used to be. While he can go through a normal day without much issue, he's never recovered enough grip-strength (thus far at least) to resume practising swordplay – any weapon larger than a dagger would be knocked out of his hand at the first pass.

Apparel & Accessories

Gortan has fallen on hard times of late, and it shows in his appearance. His clothes are reasonably clean, but definitely on the threadbare side, patched with mismatched cloth on the elbows and knees. His hair and beard definitely need a trim, both being on the scraggly side, and he doesn't get clean water to bathe as often as he'd like. Gortan is rather proud, and will likely be at pains to improve his look when the party starts to get more prosperous. In the meantime, he is uncomfortably aware of his current shabbiness, and will not appreciate anyone mentioning it.

Mentality

Personal history

Served for many years as a member of the Red Mesa city watch, first as a patrolman, then later as an investigator. In this role, he had one of the highest success rates in the force, tracking down thieves and murderers (and the bugbear propensities for stealth and violence meant that there was rarely a shortage of either). He was known by his colleagues for work ethic, and for his habit of humming while he examined crime scenes, which Gortan always claimed helped him focus.
His fall was sudden. Approximately two years before the campaign, some shipments reported missing from a local warehouse led Gortan to a hobgoblin named Jellicoe Gaurer, a known petty thief and occasional fence whom Gortan suspected of moving the stolen goods. Unfortunately, Gaurer was part of a wider smuggling ring operating under the auspices of the Red Hands, who were not amused by a lowly watchman poking around in their business. Gortan was ambushed outside his home one night and left barely clinging on to life, with a warning to mind his own business in future. He survived, but his right arm was badly damaged, and he was deemed no longer fit for service by his superiors, specifically his captain, bugbear matriarch Hordis Vult. (As a side note, the City Watch weren’t particularly corrupt, and weren’t working with the Red Hands, but they did have a bias in favour of martial prowess over detective work. After Gortan’s attack, some cursory efforts were made to uncover the perpetrators, but never came to much due to a combination of indolence and good sense - no one wanted to be the next to be made an example of).
 
It was during his recovery that Gortan began to unlock his potential as a bard. He bought a cheap lute and began to teach himself to play as part of his efforts to rebuild his manual dexterity in his right arm. His first known spell casting came after six weeks of practice. He’d been using a cheap pamphlet,‘Teach yourself to play in seven easy lessons’, and was struggling to read the text as night fell. In frustration, he struck a couple of hard notes on his lute, and was startled when the pamphlet began to glow strongly enough to light up the room. Since then, he has been gradually developing his abilities.

Failures & Embarrassments

When he was invalided out of the city guard, Gortan was humiliated. He took pride in his abilities as an investigator, and was infuriated that his superiors, to his mind, only cared about his ability to swing a sword. He became a PI partially because it’s what he knows best, but also as a fuck you to his old employers. While he generally succeeded with the few cases that came his way, his detective business never gained much traction in Red Mesa, leading to his deteriorating financial status over the last couple of years, and he has a subconscious desire to prove, to himself and everyone else, that he’s still got what it takes. Hence, the White Wolves.

Personality

Virtues & Personality perks

Gortan is a proud person, not in the sense of posturing or expecting admiration from others, but he has a healthy respect for his own abilities, and loathes having his competence called into question. He’s seen enough shit over the years to be cynical and somewhat suspicious of other people’s motives, but, even if he thinks most people aren’t particularly good, he still believes they deserve to be protected from people who are even worse. During his time as a guard he was probably Lawful Good, but since losing his job this has slipped to Neutral Good instead. He still has respect for the law, but his opinion of the people who make and enforce the law has sunk, although this is largely down to bitterness and resentment on his part.

Social

Religious Views

Gortan isn’t a particularly religious person, but insofar as he worships any deity, he generally leans towards the Learned, particularly in her domains of knowledge and strategy.

Social Aptitude

In social encounters, Gortan will usually stay in the background to begin with, as he assesses the situation and the people around him, although if there is specific information he's after he will be a lot more forward, focusing on the point of interest until he gets an answer that satisfies him.