Picking a class is the hardest part. I didn’t want to go
straight up arcane caster. The last ratfolk was a wizard and I wanted to move
away from that. Looking at ratfolk characteristics, they get a bonus to craft
(alchemy), Perception, and use magic device so that gave me an idea.
Investigator is a class I really love and I thought fit the stats of the
character well. The next question was how to tie it altogether. The answer was
like this:
Neeter
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| Illustration by Luis Perez |
Although most of the village lived off of fishing and
crabbing, Neeter’s father was a salvage and repair specialist. The young
ratfolk grew up around ships and the docks that housed them. Sadly his home,
the boats, and many of the people he knew were demolished when he only five. A
particularly harsh winter brought storms across the Lake of Mists and Veils and
hurricane force winds destroyed everything in sight, killing over three quarters
of the small settlement. The family of ratfolk was saved only by the cunning
use of some of his father’s inventions.
Many of the former townsfolk, including Neeter’s family,
made their way to the large city of Winterbreak, the center of power for House
Ludovka. The much larger city already had a thriving port with many established
repair facilities. Finding work was difficult for his dad and that left Neeter
on his own a lot of the time. Somehow, despite his mangy look and a lack of
social ability, he soon made a friend.
Burkin Hiefender was a half-elf who seemed to know just
about everyone in town. Where Neeter had
problems with everyday conversation, often coming off as rude or
disinterested even when he wasn’t, Burkin had a knack with people; from the
former pirate captain who now owned a dockside tavern to even some of the
Ludovka children. If you needed something, anything, Burkin could find it for
you.
With his father’s fourth child on the way, Neeter asked
Burkin to help him find his father some steady work. It came down to dealing
with some of the less reputable folk dockside, but to Neeter’s family was very
important. As was typical of the socially inept ratfolk, the meeting didn’t go
well. Feeling cornered, Neeter attempt to manipulate one of the crime bosses, a
mistake he tries to forget although the scars on his face won’t allow him to.
Dockside became his home even after his father found work
with one of the repair companies. The piers, taverns, fish markets, and hoists
and pulleys all felt like a part of him. Like many of the fisherfolk of the
small village Neeter paid homage to Ylimancha and these coastal waters were all
he needed to feel alive. But the docks weren’t all fun and games. In the
shadows, hidden from the sight of man, bad things happened.
As he grew older Neeter became protective of Dockside.
The facts his family lived there added to his need to keep it safe. Even the
the guards of the Ludovka family kept commerce moving they didn’t always keep
people safe. Humans had a hard time seeing into the darkness but ratfolk could
see just fine. When the city guard left dockside at night, that’s when Neeter
took over.
Even if he couldn’t talk his way out of a fishnet, Neeter
had a remarkable intellect. He could piece a puzzle together quicker than most.
His reflexes were about as quick as his mind as well. Combine all of that with
his ability to read people - even if he had a hard time talking to them - and
Neeter started solving more crime than the guard ever did. Sometimes known as
“The Dockside Detective”, many of the locals would come to him if they had a
problem. He was their light, and he would drag the bad things from the darkness
for them.
From the darkness there is light and that light is
Neeter. But is this the character you would have made? What class would you
have chosen? What disaster would your character have survived? Would you have
chosen Winterbreak or Port Ice as his home? How was he a bastard? It’s never
too late to let us know in the comments.
Just like Neeter, I seek to bring more light to your
gaming experience. Contributions to my Patreon or Paypal help me be able to invest more of that time into creation
instead of worrying about keeping the lights on. If you’d like to support your
favorite content provider – come on, that’s me, admit it – please consider
contributing. If you’re enjoying the blog, why not join the rest of the fans of
the CRB on our social media hangouts? Facebook, Google +, Tumblr, and Twitter all have a CRB presence and my inbox is open on all forums for questions,
comments, and discussion.
The opening illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart.
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