Valistad Ashdown
Valistad Ashdown
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Scrawny as all heck. Please won't someone give this poor man a sandwich.
Body Features
Unruly mop of short red hair that would probably be VERY curly if he allowed to grow it out.
Facial Features
Close cropped beard and moustache.
A cute, lopsided grin with a dimple.
Identifying Characteristics
If not wearing gloves he has a tattoo of a feather quill that runs from the side of his right pointer finger to halfway up his arm. The barbs of the feather are words that form a poem in Elvish about writing one's own destiny.
Apparel & Accessories
Varies wildly depending on the setting. When expecting a fight he's in dark studded leather with dulled-shine metal, dark grey clothing underneath, with good leather boots.
Sometimes he's seen wearing shabby patched clothing that's road and timeworn, stained with years on the road and in the streets.
If he's working for the calligrapher's guild he has a modest quality well-cut shirt and trousers, vest, and boots.
He almost always wears a necklace with a heart-shaped stone pendant.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Valistad grew up as the oldest child of a merchant family. Sometimes flush with cash and sometimes not, it was expected by his parents that he would take over the business as he grew up.
Irritated by the pressures of the family to help, he often took off. Falling in with crowds of varying natures he took a fondness for pranks and petty thievery. His family reluctantly bailed him out when he got into too much trouble with the authorities; guilting him about it only drove him to improve his skills. When he grew old enough to get away with it, he stole a bag of gold and some supplies and ran like hell.
Over the years the family has tried to secure his return. Whenever he's found out that they're closing in he packs up and leaves town, leading him to a more nomadic and sometimes adventurous lifestyle.
Gender Identity
Male, with a bit of fluidity. If his work requires him to impersonate a woman, that's fine by him.
Sexuality
Valistad will flirt with just about anyone who's willing and able to consent. He leans slightly more toward men or masculine-appearing folk.
Education
He received a decent education while growing up; much of his other training has come after years of practice with one guild or another.
Employment
Legally speaking he keeps in good standing with the Calligrapher's guild, taking work from them when he's able. Scribing, commission work, and so forth gets him by fairly well.
...He also has been known to work with thieves' guilds as a forger, and in tough times will unashamedly resort to thievery to survive.
Accomplishments & Achievements
He's managed to maintain a positive reputation with the Calligrapher's guild over the years despite one petty criminality or another.
Failures & Embarrassments
He has been found guilty in some cities of petty crimes -- vagrancy, public drunkenness, fighting.
He once received a short prison sentence for accidentally causing a small fire with a spell when surprised by a large spider.
Mental Trauma
His family considers him a tremendous embarrassment. He's tried to distance himself from them in an effort to make his own way in the world wholly separate from their influence and 'help'.
Intellectual Characteristics
Clever and creative with his use of spellwork. He's educated himself extensively on the arcane arts.
Morality & Philosophy
He views theft as a necessary evil -- if he needs to do it to survive, he will. Outside of that he does it as merely a hobby, stealing a bit of gold and then reverse pickpocketing it into the possession of someone he feels would benefit most, or to prank people.
In regards to his work he'll do what gets him money. If that's legal work, great! If not, still great! As long as he has something to do he's happy.
Taboos
Hates spiders. Nope. Kill 'em on sight.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Chase away the boredom, by any means necessary.
Keep what's left of his family the hell out of his life, except his little sister.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
He sucks at math. Just never could get a handle on the intricacies required for merchant life.
Is an absolute wet noodle when it comes to physical strength.
Likes & Dislikes
Loves reading just about anything he can get his hands on.
Loves cats especially but also most small pettable creatures.
Dislikes being too dirty unless working.
Hates when his hair gets too long, because it's curly AF and goes e v e r y w h e r e.
Virtues & Personality perks
Actively tries to help out the poor when he's able, with a coin or a meal or a tiny boon of some kind.
Will relentlessly defend his friends and allies to the best of his ability.
Vices & Personality flaws
Has a fondness for shitty queer romance novels.
Will commit petty theft or pranks out of boredom.
Will defend his little sister Tatiya no matter what.
Tends to get sick often if not wearing his amulet.
Personality Quirks
Often rolls the hem of his sleeve in his fingers if he has nothing better to do.
Will attempt to pet the cat.
Drinks coffee like it's lifeblood, because he basically has ADHD.
Hygiene
Clean and fairly well-groomed, unless his work demands otherwise.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Calligrapher's Guild
Thieves' Guild / Forger's guild?
His baby sister Tatiya
The one family guard who never ratted him out
Family Ties
Super super does not like most of his family and will avoid them whenever possible, or their agents.
One notable exception is his baby sister Tatiya, who he tries to maintain close ties with. He communicates with her whenever possible with letters containing hidden messages and practiced forgery.
Religious Views
He primarily follows Kallias, as he believes the deity gave him a second chance to rebuild his life the way HE wants to.
He also will call on Steyfano when he's feeling prankish or engaging in high amounts of thievery and illegal sorts of work.
Social Aptitude
With enough time to absorb and take in the general attitudes of those around him he can mostly fit in just about anywhere, though he tends to prefer the middle-class areas most.
Mannerisms
Relatively cheerful, even when he needs to fake it so people don't know how he's really doing.
Hobbies & Pets
Hobbies: Reading, card games (gambling and solo), petty thievery.
Has been known to keep in the company of cats, feeding strays when he sees them.
Speech
Heavy elven accent, as that is the first language he grew up with. He's not afraid to swap languages if a particular phrase or word is closer in meaning to what he wants to convey.
Will slip into his great grandmother's native (fourth language) if he wants to annoy someone.
Wealth & Financial state
Generally poor to modest. He'd be more comfortable, but he keeps giving his excess wealth away.
Keeps much of his existing wealth hidden away or in the form of useful items.
Not a rogue, not a wizard, just a guy trying to get by in the world. Sometimes he steals stuff. Sometimes he uses magic to do so.
View Character Profile'Oh honey, no.'
Common, Elven, Dwarven, and (something).