Daeron Castriati, son of Erryk Castriati and Aelinor of Braavos.
Erryk was the youngest son of House Castriati, and sought his fortune as a merchant. He eventually established himself in Braavos where he met and married Aelinor, who bore him Daeron.
Aelinor has recently died from a wasting illness, inspiring Erryk to retire back to Tidehall in mourning, bringing Daeron with him. Erryk, too, appears to be wasting, but the chirurgeons can find no cause for the illness other than grief.
Daeron is an athletic and nimble youth; he has obviously spent much time on or near the water. His silver hair and purple eyes distinguish him, no doubt a gift of his now dead mother.
(I've changed this background some to better fit the facts of our house.)
It was not (was a colony of everyone fleeing Valyria). But that does not mean in the 300 years since the Doom that no one of Valyrian descent has moved there. I will admit that I've been thinking of renaming the mother Aelinor of {Valyrian colony free city}. Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Volantis, and Pentos are each options.
Ser Malcolm Fendry, only son of Ser Grannor Fendry, sworn sword of House Castriati.
Ser Malcolm's grandfather (Kenrick) was a squire who was raised but not landed by house Castriati for action at Redgrass during the Blackfyre Rebellion. Grannor was better known for gambling on tilts than martial prowess and became indebted to a very young Hoster Tully for some 5000 gold dragons. As collateral for his debt, Malcolm was made ward of House Tully at 8. At age 12, while flushing game for Hoster, Hoster's mount spooked, throwing Hoster into rocks and breaking his leg. Malcolm carried him back to Riverrun, and for his dutiful service, the debt was canceled by Hoster's Father (then Lord of Riverrun - not sure this is a named character...). As a young man, he squired with XXinsertnameXX Castriati (I'm thinking one of Luke's uncles, probably), and during the Greyjoy Rebellion, was knighted when he volunteered to guard the house maids and kitchenstaff at a hidden redoubt built around the Haunted Stones. It is said that when Greyjoy scouts found the ladies hiding among the ruins, Ser Malcolm slew all three without being touched. He is now beginning to feel his age each morning, but his loyalty to Castriati has never been more fervent.
Nice. I like it. Putting together a house history I may have to reconsider the parentage of any children born nine months after Balon's Rebellion though.
As I have not read the books this universe is based upon, I will need some assistance in putting together a coherent character history.
Basic Character Idea: I am knight of the Castriati House. I have become famous for my representation of lords during trial by combat. I'm thinking that Lord Castriati has used me in the past with great success and my reputation has grown as other lords have paid a retainer fee to Lord Castriati for my representation of them in their own trial by combat. I carry the crest of Castriati proudly when combating on behalf of Lord Castriati, but my large shield is covered with cloth bearing the image of a sword and the scales of justice provided to me by Lord Castriati.
Legal, actually an interesting concept. This house might be a bit small to support such a character exactly (see discussions of influence/status in the House thread and p. 65 of book), but some kind of massive champion (ala Gregor Clegane (spoilers in history section)) is certainly plausible. What you describe might be an achievable end goal, if not starting point.
LR, I'm a fan. You could go with the massive champion quite nicely. I also see a few other options. If I recall, trail-by-combat tends to be to the blood, so a fencer or small blade fighter could be an interesting direction. You could also go for the Lord's Justice type position, which would make you an executioner, essentially. I see alot of possibilities with no real drawbacks (I think Honor-bound would be a cute Drawback for this character, however).
Remember, focus on the character, the stats will fall in place easily. Does he like his job? How is he perceived within the house? Is he in line for the Lordship, or is he a hedge knight who is just really good at what he does?
Micah, I'd like to see a ranger/druid type. Lots of survival, some stealth, some healing, that sort of thing, maybe.
Legal, I think the concept can work with some modification. I think Berkistani's suggestion is a good one--Lord's Justice. I think you could also tweak your idea a little bit. Here are my thoughts, but feel free to disregard these if you don't like them.
I think trial by combat is to the death in all the examples we've seen Bron vs. ??? (at the Eyrie) and Gregor Clegane vs. Prince Oberyn of Dorne.
First, if you are an anointed knight you can carry your own arms (banner) and so you could have the scales be yours. That would make sense if you were knighted for championing someone who then knighted you. I'm not sure how a knight championing nobles for money would be. That's seems like it might be against a knightly vow. However, I could see a knight who had kind of a personal mission of championing nobles who he thought were falsely accused. Perhaps lord Castriati knighted you after you championed a lady of the house who was accused while away at another domain or something. Alternatively, if you did it for money that could make you kind a mercenary or a sellsword. I think either an anointed knight or a sellsword who's one of the personal bodyguards could fit into the House.
Trial by combat was traditionally to the death or till an opponent was disabled or cried for mercy. However, a cry for mercy was a loss of the case and would result in punishment. I wasn't sure if our House was large enough to sustain a Lord's Justice, but I would be comfortable with such a position. This character is slowly developing into a hybrid fighter/schemer for justice.
I can envision a history involving an opportunity which required me to volunteer my arms to protect the honour of the Lady of the Castriati House while Lord Castriati was off playing politics. Lord Castriati rewarded my bravery and skill with a long sword by knighting me and honouring me with the position of Lord's Justice. I have since battled numerous times to protect the name of Castriati and have been deemed a just executioner.
I carry a long sword and a large shield emblazoned with the symbol of a sword balancing the scales of justice. I am quite sufficient as a fighter, but have been additionally blessed with wisdom and the ear of my Lord Castiati. I have been dubbed "The Arbiter".
And perhaps I have begun to build a reputation, resulting in requests that I hear trials from other households.
My goal: To achieve the ear of nobles in an attempt to achieve ultimate justice. (problem is, I, personally, do not know enough about this universe to even guess what ultimate justice might be.)
I think justice is a difficult concept in this setting (which is pretty brutal in terms of the application of law and also tends to try to subvert your viewpoint of good and evil as you move through the series). I can see you being the Lord's justice and the lord trusting you to hear cases and administer punishment in his stead, but I can't see other houses coming to you to do that. I think houses are too protective of their own power and too suspicious of each other to let the sworn sword of another lord do that.
Are we supposed to be working on the technical creation of our characters as well, or will we be rolling/discussing and such as part of a separate thread?
LR, most of us are working up numbers already. If you need help, let us know. The creation rules are kinda spread out, but if keep referring back to pg. 40, it'll keep you going.
You may not want to post your sheet here just from a privacy standpoint, in case there are things in your character backstory or stats you'd like to keep to yourself. I imagine when your done, you can email it to redline, and await his approval.
Lara Clearwater is a travelling performer with "The merry men of the river traveling troupe and puppeteers." The troupe has found a warm welcome at Tidehall and the surrounding city, and at the moment are staying at Tidehall at the plesaure of Lord Castriati.
Lara is an accomplished acrobat, and skilled in sleight of hand - and much to the chagrin of her troupe, a wretched puppeteer. However, it is probably her skills with throwing knives that has most endeared her to the hard men who live in and around Tidehall.
I just used a .xls to check my math, and dropped it (along with my backstory) into a .doc. Just follow the one on the last page of the .pdf to make sure you get everything you need - I think its missing a skill or two, though.
Hey T,
Glad to see you made it. Fun concept. I see you've decided to explore the gender stereotypes inherent to the low fantasy setting. I imagine that you've already thought it through, but what happens if the troupe decides to follow through on their name and start "traveling" again? What keeps Lara at Tidehall? I'm also curious to see what an outfit covered in tiny bells does to your stealth rolls...
A fun background, although the irony of selecting a picture of goliath had me gigglin' for awhile.
A couple notes about how I interpret your background in the context of this world. First, as Lord's Justice, I believe you have been granted the right to execute the Lord's decrees. This means you're not so much Judge and Jury as Executioner. If you are landed, you can act as Judge and Jury on your lands, but sentence must be arbitrated through Castriati before administered, I believe.
The other thing is your character kinda 'appears'. Was he a member of the guard? The son of a noble? A merchant from Dorne? I imagine that's because of the tiny text box on the googledoc (as Redline will tell you, my backstories should come bound and with rest breaks). I'd think about where your character is coming from, and what he's doing with a greatsword and a long axe. Don't worry about telling me about it yet - that doesn't matter (although Redline might want to see what Brick is all about so he can tie him into the game better), but I'm curious to meet Ser Roger.
In the six months that Daeron has lived at Tidehall, his Lord Uncle has seen fit to have any gaps in his education filled: riding lessons, hunting, fighting, shooting, strategy, and tactics. In addition, the local Septon has taken it upon himself to verify that Daeron has had a proper spiritual education, and to rectify any deficiencies found. Although the activities provide a welcome distraction from Daeron's grief, the constant harping of his instructors wears on his patience. Daeron consistently finds himself stepping into the shadows as his instructors pass through the halls to gather him for his next lesson, and slipping into the town, to gamble and drink with the sailors, to watch the traveling performers' puppet shows with the smallfolk, or to even offload cargo from the latest ship arriving into harbor, as he regularly did that year as a crew member of the Water Lily, a lifetime ago when his father still smiled and his mother laughed and lived. He tries to make the most of this time, for he knows his days of relative anonymity and free movement are numbered.
BR is correct about how the position of Lord's Justice usually works. The Lord still acts as judge. However, I can see that Ser Roger wants more than that. So while your official duties are to carry out the Lord's decrees, I can see Ser Roger maybe taking the initiative and occassionaly passing sentences and carrying out "justice" on smallfolk in the town. Lord Castriati does not like this, but probably tolerates it as long as it is petty offenses.
Also, I'd like to alter the bit about Lady Castriati a bit. This has given me some new ideas. These accusations were made by a knight while the Lady was visiting her family (some nearby lord's territory). Perhaps you were on guard detail? Everything went down just as you said, and Lord Castriati did knight you, but it caused kind of a scandal in that lord's territory.
Also, Lady Castriati clearly hates you and treats you that way publicly (everyone is aware of this). Neither you or anybody else is quite sure why.
My apologies. I misunderstood somewhere along the line. If such behavior would upset Lord Castriati, Ser Roger would not partake in such actions. "Duty First" must be upheld.
I appreciate the upgrade to my first known kill being a Knight, though I get the idea, that it will bite me in the arse later.
I could elongate my character history, but I am afraid that I might step on toes of the Author's universe or other characters. I am attempting to procure the first two books in order to better understand the new universe I am diving into.
Redline: This knight that I killed, was he a knight of Lord Castriati or a hedge knight? And the scandal was in Lord Castriati's territory or the territory of the lord Lady Castriati was visiting?
In looking at a map of Westeros, where is House Castriati located? and maybe even the location of the House I pissed off. I'm working on a deeper character history.
" * Plains (Small Town, Coast) - Northwest of Oldstones along the coast of the Ironman's Bay * Weltands (Ruin, Dense Woods, Stream) - East of the coastal domain containing part of the wetlands North of Oldstones and the tributaries of the Blue Fork."
Dunno about neighboring house stuff yet, I assume inland towards the fork tributaries.
A bastard child, Seff Storm sought his fortune at the Citadel. Had a "torrid love affair" with a serving wench. A rival for her affections falsely accused him of theft, getting him kicked out of the Citadel. During Baelon's rebellion he was kidnapped by Ironmen, but then rescued by Ser Malcolm Fendry, and then became Ser Malcolm Fendry's squire.
Daeron Castriati, son of Erryk Castriati and Aelinor of Braavos.
ReplyDeleteErryk was the youngest son of House Castriati, and sought his fortune as a merchant. He eventually established himself in Braavos where he met and married Aelinor, who bore him Daeron.
Aelinor has recently died from a wasting illness, inspiring Erryk to retire back to Tidehall in mourning, bringing Daeron with him. Erryk, too, appears to be wasting, but the chirurgeons can find no cause for the illness other than grief.
Daeron is an athletic and nimble youth; he has obviously spent much time on or near the water. His silver hair and purple eyes distinguish him, no doubt a gift of his now dead mother.
(I've changed this background some to better fit the facts of our house.)
sam, I'm not sure Braavos was a Valyrian colony like the other free cities.
ReplyDeleteIt was not (was a colony of everyone fleeing Valyria). But that does not mean in the 300 years since the Doom that no one of Valyrian descent has moved there. I will admit that I've been thinking of renaming the mother Aelinor of {Valyrian colony free city}. Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Volantis, and Pentos are each options.
ReplyDeleteErr... fleeing Valyrian expansion.
ReplyDeleteFair enough.
ReplyDeleteSer Malcolm Fendry, only son of Ser Grannor Fendry, sworn sword of House Castriati.
ReplyDeleteSer Malcolm's grandfather (Kenrick) was a squire who was raised but not landed by house Castriati for action at Redgrass during the Blackfyre Rebellion. Grannor was better known for gambling on tilts than martial prowess and became indebted to a very young Hoster Tully for some 5000 gold dragons. As collateral for his debt, Malcolm was made ward of House Tully at 8. At age 12, while flushing game for Hoster, Hoster's mount spooked, throwing Hoster into rocks and breaking his leg. Malcolm carried him back to Riverrun, and for his dutiful service, the debt was canceled by Hoster's Father (then Lord of Riverrun - not sure this is a named character...). As a young man, he squired with XXinsertnameXX Castriati (I'm thinking one of Luke's uncles, probably), and during the Greyjoy Rebellion, was knighted when he volunteered to guard the house maids and kitchenstaff at a hidden redoubt built around the Haunted Stones. It is said that when Greyjoy scouts found the ladies hiding among the ruins, Ser Malcolm slew all three without being touched. He is now beginning to feel his age each morning, but his loyalty to Castriati has never been more fervent.
Nice. I like it. Putting together a house history I may have to reconsider the parentage of any children born nine months after Balon's Rebellion though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I imagine whenever he meets someone named "Rivers" he's like, "wait, how old are you? oh, good, nevermind."
ReplyDeleteAs I have not read the books this universe is based upon, I will need some assistance in putting together a coherent character history.
ReplyDeleteBasic Character Idea:
I am knight of the Castriati House.
I have become famous for my representation of lords during trial by combat. I'm thinking that Lord Castriati has used me in the past with great success and my reputation has grown as other lords have paid a retainer fee to Lord Castriati for my representation of them in their own trial by combat. I carry the crest of Castriati proudly when combating on behalf of Lord Castriati, but my large shield is covered with cloth bearing the image of a sword and the scales of justice provided to me by Lord Castriati.
Thoughts? Criticisms? Pointers?
always get the retainer up front and bill in 15 minute increments (including trial prep time).
ReplyDeletewell it looks like we have enough brawny types. I'm thinking either a maester or maybe one of those veteran guerillas, lots of archery and woodlore.
ReplyDeletewhat do you think?
Legal, actually an interesting concept. This house might be a bit small to support such a character exactly (see discussions of influence/status in the House thread and p. 65 of book), but some kind of massive champion (ala Gregor Clegane (spoilers in history section)) is certainly plausible. What you describe might be an achievable end goal, if not starting point.
ReplyDeleteLR, I'm a fan. You could go with the massive champion quite nicely. I also see a few other options. If I recall, trail-by-combat tends to be to the blood, so a fencer or small blade fighter could be an interesting direction. You could also go for the Lord's Justice type position, which would make you an executioner, essentially. I see alot of possibilities with no real drawbacks (I think Honor-bound would be a cute Drawback for this character, however).
ReplyDeleteRemember, focus on the character, the stats will fall in place easily. Does he like his job? How is he perceived within the house? Is he in line for the Lordship, or is he a hedge knight who is just really good at what he does?
Micah, I'd like to see a ranger/druid type. Lots of survival, some stealth, some healing, that sort of thing, maybe.
Legal, I think the concept can work with some modification. I think Berkistani's suggestion is a good one--Lord's Justice. I think you could also tweak your idea a little bit. Here are my thoughts, but feel free to disregard these if you don't like them.
ReplyDeleteI think trial by combat is to the death in all the examples we've seen Bron vs. ??? (at the Eyrie) and Gregor Clegane vs. Prince Oberyn of Dorne.
First, if you are an anointed knight you can carry your own arms (banner) and so you could have the scales be yours. That would make sense if you were knighted for championing someone who then knighted you. I'm not sure how a knight championing nobles for money would be. That's seems like it might be against a knightly vow. However, I could see a knight who had kind of a personal mission of championing nobles who he thought were falsely accused. Perhaps lord Castriati knighted you after you championed a lady of the house who was accused while away at another domain or something. Alternatively, if you did it for money that could make you kind a mercenary or a sellsword. I think either an anointed knight or a sellsword who's one of the personal bodyguards could fit into the House.
Trial by combat was traditionally to the death or till an opponent was disabled or cried for mercy. However, a cry for mercy was a loss of the case and would result in punishment. I wasn't sure if our House was large enough to sustain a Lord's Justice, but I would be comfortable with such a position. This character is slowly developing into a hybrid fighter/schemer for justice.
ReplyDeleteI can envision a history involving an opportunity which required me to volunteer my arms to protect the honour of the Lady of the Castriati House while Lord Castriati was off playing politics. Lord Castriati rewarded my bravery and skill with a long sword by knighting me and honouring me with the position of Lord's Justice. I have since battled numerous times to protect the name of Castriati and have been deemed a just executioner.
I carry a long sword and a large shield emblazoned with the symbol of a sword balancing the scales of justice. I am quite sufficient as a fighter, but have been additionally blessed with wisdom and the ear of my Lord Castiati. I have been dubbed "The Arbiter".
And perhaps I have begun to build a reputation, resulting in requests that I hear trials from other households.
My goal: To achieve the ear of nobles in an attempt to achieve ultimate justice. (problem is, I, personally, do not know enough about this universe to even guess what ultimate justice might be.)
Thoughts? Better or Worse?
I think justice is a difficult concept in this setting (which is pretty brutal in terms of the application of law and also tends to try to subvert your viewpoint of good and evil as you move through the series). I can see you being the Lord's justice and the lord trusting you to hear cases and administer punishment in his stead, but I can't see other houses coming to you to do that. I think houses are too protective of their own power and too suspicious of each other to let the sworn sword of another lord do that.
ReplyDeleteFair enough.
ReplyDeleteAre we supposed to be working on the technical creation of our characters as well, or will we be rolling/discussing and such as part of a separate thread?
LR, most of us are working up numbers already. If you need help, let us know. The creation rules are kinda spread out, but if keep referring back to pg. 40, it'll keep you going.
ReplyDeleteYou may not want to post your sheet here just from a privacy standpoint, in case there are things in your character backstory or stats you'd like to keep to yourself. I imagine when your done, you can email it to redline, and await his approval.
Is there an a digital version of the character sheet available somewhere? One upon which you can type your stats and save?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLara Clearwater is a travelling performer with "The merry men of the river traveling troupe and puppeteers." The troupe has found a warm welcome at Tidehall and the surrounding city, and at the moment are staying at Tidehall at the plesaure of Lord Castriati.
ReplyDeleteLara is an accomplished acrobat, and skilled in sleight of hand - and much to the chagrin of her troupe, a wretched puppeteer. However, it is probably her skills with throwing knives that has most endeared her to the hard men who live in and around Tidehall.
Comments/suggestions?
I would think something other than skill with trowing pointy objects around would endear here to the hard men of Tidehall...
ReplyDeleteLR,
ReplyDeleteI just used a .xls to check my math, and dropped it (along with my backstory) into a .doc. Just follow the one on the last page of the .pdf to make sure you get everything you need - I think its missing a skill or two, though.
Hey T,
Glad to see you made it. Fun concept. I see you've decided to explore the gender stereotypes inherent to the low fantasy setting. I imagine that you've already thought it through, but what happens if the troupe decides to follow through on their name and start "traveling" again? What keeps Lara at Tidehall? I'm also curious to see what an outfit covered in tiny bells does to your stealth rolls...
"The gender stereotypes inherent to the low fantasy setting"? That's only the kind of phrase someone living in Berkley to long would use.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, I'm calling you a hippy. What are you going to do about it?
get out a drum and join a circle.
ReplyDeleteSur Roger "The Arbiter"
ReplyDeleteLR,
ReplyDeleteA fun background, although the irony of selecting a picture of goliath had me gigglin' for awhile.
A couple notes about how I interpret your background in the context of this world. First, as Lord's Justice, I believe you have been granted the right to execute the Lord's decrees. This means you're not so much Judge and Jury as Executioner. If you are landed, you can act as Judge and Jury on your lands, but sentence must be arbitrated through Castriati before administered, I believe.
The other thing is your character kinda 'appears'. Was he a member of the guard? The son of a noble? A merchant from Dorne? I imagine that's because of the tiny text box on the googledoc (as Redline will tell you, my backstories should come bound and with rest breaks). I'd think about where your character is coming from, and what he's doing with a greatsword and a long axe. Don't worry about telling me about it yet - that doesn't matter (although Redline might want to see what Brick is all about so he can tie him into the game better), but I'm curious to meet Ser Roger.
In the six months that Daeron has lived at Tidehall, his Lord Uncle has seen fit to have any gaps in his education filled: riding lessons, hunting, fighting, shooting, strategy, and tactics. In addition, the local Septon has taken it upon himself to verify that Daeron has had a proper spiritual education, and to rectify any deficiencies found. Although the activities provide a welcome distraction from Daeron's grief, the constant harping of his instructors wears on his patience. Daeron consistently finds himself stepping into the shadows as his instructors pass through the halls to gather him for his next lesson, and slipping into the town, to gamble and drink with the sailors, to watch the traveling performers' puppet shows with the smallfolk, or to even offload cargo from the latest ship arriving into harbor, as he regularly did that year as a crew member of the Water Lily, a lifetime ago when his father still smiled and his mother laughed and lived. He tries to make the most of this time, for he knows his days of relative anonymity and free movement are numbered.
ReplyDeleteBR is correct about how the position of Lord's Justice usually works. The Lord still acts as judge. However, I can see that Ser Roger wants more than that. So while your official duties are to carry out the Lord's decrees, I can see Ser Roger maybe taking the initiative and occassionaly passing sentences and carrying out "justice" on smallfolk in the town. Lord Castriati does not like this, but probably tolerates it as long as it is petty offenses.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd like to alter the bit about Lady Castriati a bit. This has given me some new ideas. These accusations were made by a knight while the Lady was visiting her family (some nearby lord's territory). Perhaps you were on guard detail? Everything went down just as you said, and Lord Castriati did knight you, but it caused kind of a scandal in that lord's territory.
Also, Lady Castriati clearly hates you and treats you that way publicly (everyone is aware of this). Neither you or anybody else is quite sure why.
My apologies. I misunderstood somewhere along the line. If such behavior would upset Lord Castriati, Ser Roger would not partake in such actions. "Duty First" must be upheld.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the upgrade to my first known kill being a Knight, though I get the idea, that it will bite me in the arse later.
I could elongate my character history, but I am afraid that I might step on toes of the Author's universe or other characters. I am attempting to procure the first two books in order to better understand the new universe I am diving into.
Redline: This knight that I killed, was he a knight of Lord Castriati or a hedge knight? And the scandal was in Lord Castriati's territory or the territory of the lord Lady Castriati was visiting?
territory of the other lord, and it was a knight in that lord's service.
ReplyDeleteIn looking at a map of Westeros, where is House Castriati located? and maybe even the location of the House I pissed off. I'm working on a deeper character history.
ReplyDelete" * Plains (Small Town, Coast) - Northwest of Oldstones along the coast of the Ironman's Bay
ReplyDelete* Weltands (Ruin, Dense Woods, Stream) - East of the coastal domain containing part of the wetlands North of Oldstones and the tributaries of the Blue Fork."
Dunno about neighboring house stuff yet, I assume inland towards the fork tributaries.
A bastard child, Seff Storm sought his fortune at the Citadel. Had a "torrid love affair" with a serving wench. A rival for her affections falsely accused him of theft, getting him kicked out of the Citadel. During Baelon's rebellion he was kidnapped by Ironmen, but then rescued by Ser Malcolm Fendry, and then became Ser Malcolm Fendry's squire.
ReplyDelete