Ganked off lych_o_learning...
...and inflicted on the Overlord for edification and amusement, iiiiit's the
New, Improved Character Survey of Doom!
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Lanky, only about five foot in height and not growing fast enough for his liking. He’s at the stage of limbs getting longer than he’s used to and body parts growing at different rates - it’s not just the animation making his hands and feet look disproportionate. The armour tends to hide some of the awkwardness to his frame though.
2. How old is he?
Sixteen and three weeks, and counting.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He carries himself with suitably noble bearing (i.e., he manages not to slouch even with a hammer the size of his own torso resting on one shoulder). The exceptions are when he’s standing in one place for a while, when he tends to do the weight-on-one-foot stance. He’s also been known to slouch in his chair when he’s being ignored, but tends not to when people are watching.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He’s fit enough to swing a big-ass axe around and run in plate armour, though being an Overlord makes him stronger than he would be naturally. He has no conditions unless you count glowing evil eyes and something of an allergy to Good magic. He inherited that with the armour.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Not clumsy, precisely: fluid but not graceful. He tends to move quickly and purposefully, smooth movements that end in him pulling up sharply. Despite his clunky frame, he’s got pretty good control of his body. He practises.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Um. He perceives himself as a pair of glowing eyes under helm and hood.
All right, all right. He doesn’t really care. He perceives himself as just… himself. Not bad-looking, but it doesn’t matter to him, even if other people could see his face.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Hard to say. It’s unlikely he’s scarred - he’s good at keeping himself out of injury, and he’s always been a quick healer. His skin is almost certainly pale, though, because it never sees the sun.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Judging from his genetics and nature, very dark brown. Looks black under the hood. Ear to chin-length, any further than that it annoys him into doing something about it if he hasn’t already.
9. What color are his eyes?
Yellow. Bright, glowing yellow… except when they’re red. Canon-wise, they’re a low-burning red until he dons the Overlord’s helm, and then it’s bright yellow from there. Possibly it’s linked to his mood or his power level - they might return to red as he grows into his new role, for example.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not physically. Unless you count his powers, his axe and his tendency to have a small entourage of minions depending on what he’s doing.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His lower spine. When he’s wary or tense he tends to sit straighter and coil subtly.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Aha! He has TWO suits! Well, he has his armour, which is plate, dark grey-black, and spiky like a holly leaf. He normally wears that nowadays, unless it’s in the forge, or sometimes when he’s just hanging around in his castle, when he wears (stereo)typical Renaissance dress - red doublet, a blue leather jerkin and gloves, and blue and red hose, plus solid brown boots and blue leather gloves. And some kind of cloth over his lower face - why? Because he likes it.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Most of his clothes were hand-me-downs, but being friendly with the servants has advantages, and the ones he didn’t get new have been retailored. He’s very comfortable in his ‘civvies’.
His armour didn’t need alterations. It shaped itself to its new bearer, and is therefore a snug fit… although it still looks a little oversized on him. He’ll grow into it. He’s also not as used to it yet, so it makes his motions clunkier than they might otherwise be.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
There is no difference. It’s armour all the way… although he might go back to using his normal clothes on occasion, when he’s not doing anything Overlordly or out in public.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Uhm. Yeah.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Nobody knows.
OK, OK. When speaking as the Overlord, dark and low and Evil and not actually based on physical sound. You’ve seen fantasy films, right? You know the drill. Sounds like more than a human. Catch him out of armour and find a way to make him talk, and he still has a low voice, but much quieter. A little rough, too.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
No louder than is necessary to be heard. Evenly and deliberately: he’s slow to speak, but he knows what he wants to say when he does.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He doesn’t have quite the upper-class ‘English’ accent some of his relatives have, but he’s well-spoken and somewhat formal in his word choice.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Uhhm. Whatever the native language of Greenvale is. Assume it’s English, but it’s also possible the Overlord has magical translation at his disposal, too. He’s also a pretty good student of the few other languages he can get the resources to use - just because he doesn’t talk doesn’t mean he can’t listen.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He uses whatever will be understood, whether it’s words or actions. He doesn’t switch dialects when talking to his subjects, or his minions though. That would just make them look at him funny.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He’s seldom slow to decide his opinion, but he is slow to talk about it. He could probably formulate a speech offhand if he had to, but why in the name of dragons’ bottoms would he have to? He does decide what to say before he says it, as a rule.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Depends on the subject. If it’s something he knows very well and can recite that knowledge of, he’s fairly eloquent in brief spurts. Otherwise he tends to short sentences, remarking on the things that interest him. Conversational give-and-take runs a bit differently in his experience, so he doesn’t expect to do much talking.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Book-smart in that he remembers his education and isn’t above seeking out more, street smart in that he’s good at observing people and working out when to duck. He’s not so good at understanding people, but he does pay attention to them.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
On his feet. He’s adaptive like that.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Practicality is his middle name, since he’s seen idealism gone sour and furry.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
He’s studied his mathematics, his plays and science, mostly without a proper tutor. His father and some of the stewards helped him when he was young. He has a basic grounding in all subjects relevant to a noble family in feudal Greenvale, from geography to monster-slaying. By Nexus standards he’s not that well-educated, but well, in the Nexus everyone’s ignorant to someone else.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His expertise mostly lies in smiting things that could swallow him whole, giving his enemies the runaround and running a castle. He’s working on his career as an Overlord, which means he’s learning a lot about magic, politics, the nature of Evil and all things even tangentially related to ruling.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He’s on the introverted end of the scale.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Oh, he can be moody. He just doesn’t express it too loudly and his practical streak overrules it. He acts on his moods rather than spend too long emoting - if he’s angry about something, he’ll go and stop it instead of throwing a fit. If he’s gloomy… but he hasn’t been gloomy since he took control of the castle.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Calm and inquisitive. He’ll look around, explore the situation, listen to what people say about themselves, without being overly paranoid or relaxed. There’s a natural degree of hesitance, but hell, he got to be an Overlord by walking through a mysterious spooky door.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
He’s having a lot of fun learning to act first, now he’s in a position to.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
To an immediate, hostile enemy, he’s likely to tense up in preparation to fight. That said, he’s perhaps surprisingly nonconfrontational, preferring to attack at an angle, so to speak. He’ll take belittlement without a word and then go away and level your opus magnum.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He’s amused by jokes, naturally including dark humour. Pranks need to be reasonably inventive (or vaguely psychotic) to amuse him, and he appreciates wordplay. He rarely laughs aloud.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
None spring to mind as noticeable.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
His birth, which made him both the unimportant youngest son and marked out his destiny as a future Overlord. And finding the Castle Heart and the old throne room, when he became said Overlord. Possibly his mother running off with another duke counts, but since we don’t know what he’d have been like with her around, there’s no telling.
14. What does he fear?
Failure, and being stuck in his siblings’ shadow forever.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
To raise Castle Gromgard to glory even greater than in the Black Baron’s day, to become the mightiest Overlord in history, and to exact revenge on his siblings. They really weren’t very kind to him, and he’s not old enough to be the bigger man if he meant to.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he actually has some affection for his father.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Distant. As in, both of them took off (his father on a quest, his mother on an affair) when he was five or six, and only his father came back, a broken-hearted shadow of himself. Said father also left around dawn on his sixteenth birthday and hasn’t been heard from yet. While he has no major malice toward either of them, his attitude to his father is tolerant, sometimes silently exasperated. The Duke himself generally loves his children, but spent most of his time seeking ways to keep the family afloat or accommodating Grenville and Gerda’s trials and tantrums. The less demanding youngest son tended to be forgotten, although the Duke did make an effort when he remembered.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
The twins Grenville and Gerda are… not very pleasant. Both are domineering personalities in their own way: Gerda is simply demanding and brutish, smashing anything she can’t menace. Grenville is more of a haughty character with a superiority complex. Neither has any high opinion of ‘the brat’ when they have an opinion of him at all. He’s an unwanted and sub-par relative they were sometimes forced to look after. Young Gromgard’s strategy was hitherto to stay out of the way of their feuds, duck if they threw anything and save retaliation for their slights until their backs were turned.
Lately, that’s changed. He now knows both of them were planning to assault Greenvale and thanks to their ignorance of his existence, managed to turn their respective war efforts on each other instead. They’re unaware that the runt is now the Overlord and unchallenged ruler of Castle Gromgard, or that he’s responsible for killing their lovers/ambiguous BFFs. He’s content to watch triumphantly and shore up his own position while he plots revenge. He’s been sitting in their shadow for a long time. Now he gets to do things his way.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
There’s the Black Baron. He never met his great-uncle, and never knew much about him before. He wonders about, and somewhat looks up to, the man he supposedly takes after so much. It’s about the only part of his family he’s proud to acknowledge.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
The servants did much of the job of raising him where his family were lacking, but the one constant was Rollick the cook. He’s known Gromgard since his birth and acts as a substitute guardian/best friend. Gromgard doesn’t talk back to him much, but he does do the errands Rollick asks of him and the cook isn’t bothered by the boy’s uncommunicative nature.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Other than Rollick, Gnarl comes closest. He’s the Minion Master and trusted adviser to the young Overlord. They actually met shortly after Gromgard’s birth, but after the christening Gnarl took a nap until his new master turned sixteen. He’s the oldest Brown Minion, and an able instructor who can warn the Overlord as happily as encourage him.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Hm. Nope.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He doesn’t go out of his way to make them, but he’s generally well-liked by his subjects. He mightn’t be the sweetest person around, but he has a measure of empathy and the ability to remember that other people are people, even when he doesn’t understand the way they think. He does miss a lot of the small exchanges - pleases, thank yous, greetings etc. and other nuances of social interaction, but at home that doesn’t hinder him because people either don’t expect such courtesies, or mentally insert their own. He suspects it’s the latter.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
The loyal ones.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He’s never had one. There aren’t many other kids around, never mind kids his age.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He’ll find that out when it’s relevant.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Aha. Well, not being the heir before it wasn’t a serious question, but now that he’s the Overlord, children might be somewhat of an expectation for the future. He really hasn’t thought about it.
He certainly doesn’t want them any time soon, though. The only children he’s met in a while were… kind of creepy.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
His siblings, the elves, the dwarves, passing witches, bandits and monsters, anyone who wants to prey on his realm… and possibly any hero in the Lands of Legend. Fortunately the ones who are organised don’t know who he is; the rest won’t need telling.
Oh, and there’s Moaning Moe the Protester, but Gromgard already took down his posters and chased him around the village well.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Hmm. A 1 or an X.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He seldom thinks of it. He knows the basic principles, but Gnarl’s… probably going to have to have a Talk with him at some point anyway. Won’t that be fun?
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Sometimes he naps fully-clothed. Boots and hood and all. That’s about it.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
He was born in the Year of the Black Sheep under the sign of the Dark Tower. In other words, I don’t got a clue.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He knows religion exists, and given the overt existence of magic and supernatural powers most people figure gods are a safe bet to exist too. However, there’s no local religion (except word has it the elves have a Mother Goddess) and Gromgard himself isn’t particularly spiritual. He’s already died a couple of times, and his power just revived him. He just believes in Evil, because it’s the only power that’s ever looked out for him. And Evil is there to serve him as much as he serves to lead it.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He believes in doing a job right. His ability to care about good (or rather, Good) was eroded by seeing where that got his father and how obnoxious Good was. His only ethical code now is being an effective ruler and keeping his realm in good shape.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Indifferent. He thinks very little of macho honour and things that remind him of elves, nor does he care for trying to look virtuous. Otherwise he’ll listen, and take into account some of what he hears, but unless it attacks him he won’t much care about it.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He’s prejudiced against elves, dwarves and self-designated ‘good guys’, naturally. Nonhumans in general are something to be careful of until you know whose side they’re on. Justified by his experiences and his alignment.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Poor. The few debts his family has outstanding (that weren’t paid off by selling bits of the castle) he has no intention of paying. If anyone wants to try and claim from the bones of his estate… the Overlord will deal with them. He’s made some good progress on refilling the treasury, too, but there’s a lot of rebuilding to be done.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He was the unimportant youngest son of a fallen noble lineage. Now he’s the Overlord, the supreme ruler of Evil, master of Castle Gromgard and rising power in the Lands of Legend. (Almost nobody beyond Greenvale has heard of this yet, of course. They will.)
He’s taken only too readily to this change in fortunes. He likes getting people’s attention, and being able to do something about problems. And, you know, getting to rise above his siblings.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
His home is literally his castle. And it’s in terrible disrepair both from being neglected for two generations and also from sort of being set on fire last month. Yeah.
Lord Gromgard’s overseeing the restoration work now, and taking the opportunity to make it really his own home. He plans to get a better room, for a start. He shares the place with quite a lot of servants and Minions of all colours. His family are away on their various quests.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Shiny new armour! And weapons! Well, he’s considered it. Training and equipping the Minions and refurbishing the castle comes first. It depends whether you consider Evil redecoration a necessity.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He likes Overlording! And Gnarl says he’s a natural, so there. He certainly got the hang of his basic abilities quickly enough, and he’s done a better job of looking after his lands in the last few weeks than his relative did. Destiny aside, he really can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He reads sometimes: he’s interested in finding out more about the world, for practical reasons as well as not. Sometimes he watches people, though that might get a bit more difficult now. People notice more when they’re being stared at by a menacing black figure in plate armour. He does want to explore the Lands of Legend (and the Nexus!) more, and also try to dig up more information on the Black Baron.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Magically enhanced physiology might help with this, but he’s been known to go without food for at least the better part of a day when he’s on Overlording business. Normally he eats in the Main Hall with everyone else. He’s been introduced to wine before but never thought much of it (it was pretty cheap, and both of his siblings complained about it for different reasons). Owing to harvest and halfling troubles most of the food that remains consists of a), pumpkins, b), sheep, c), potatoes and d), pumpkins.
Rollick’s a genius with pumpkins, but still.
Between the pumpkins and his encounter with Doris the Gingerbread-Wielding Witch, Lord Gromgard has developed a small aversion to sweet foods. And a major aversion to candy canes, lollipops and gingerbread. Even when it isn’t throwing firebombs at him.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Grey-black.
2. Smell? Straw, dust and smoke.
3. Time of day? Dawn.
4. Season? Summer.
5. Book? Lord of the Rings would be the obvious one, yes? But his favourite book is probably a battered and well-worn account of some particularly epic period of history.
6. Music? The game soundtrack, of course. :p Nothing else comes to mind just now. Though the main theme for the second game is closer to Dark Legend’s theme than the first.
7. Place? Castle Gromgard
8. Substance? Stone or steel.
9. Plant? No clue.
10. Animal? Perhaps a serpent for the symbolism (both good and bad), but for automatic associations… I don’t know. Maybe a black sheep? :P
END
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New, Improved Character Survey of Doom!
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Lanky, only about five foot in height and not growing fast enough for his liking. He’s at the stage of limbs getting longer than he’s used to and body parts growing at different rates - it’s not just the animation making his hands and feet look disproportionate. The armour tends to hide some of the awkwardness to his frame though.
2. How old is he?
Sixteen and three weeks, and counting.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He carries himself with suitably noble bearing (i.e., he manages not to slouch even with a hammer the size of his own torso resting on one shoulder). The exceptions are when he’s standing in one place for a while, when he tends to do the weight-on-one-foot stance. He’s also been known to slouch in his chair when he’s being ignored, but tends not to when people are watching.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He’s fit enough to swing a big-ass axe around and run in plate armour, though being an Overlord makes him stronger than he would be naturally. He has no conditions unless you count glowing evil eyes and something of an allergy to Good magic. He inherited that with the armour.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Not clumsy, precisely: fluid but not graceful. He tends to move quickly and purposefully, smooth movements that end in him pulling up sharply. Despite his clunky frame, he’s got pretty good control of his body. He practises.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Um. He perceives himself as a pair of glowing eyes under helm and hood.
All right, all right. He doesn’t really care. He perceives himself as just… himself. Not bad-looking, but it doesn’t matter to him, even if other people could see his face.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Hard to say. It’s unlikely he’s scarred - he’s good at keeping himself out of injury, and he’s always been a quick healer. His skin is almost certainly pale, though, because it never sees the sun.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Judging from his genetics and nature, very dark brown. Looks black under the hood. Ear to chin-length, any further than that it annoys him into doing something about it if he hasn’t already.
9. What color are his eyes?
Yellow. Bright, glowing yellow… except when they’re red. Canon-wise, they’re a low-burning red until he dons the Overlord’s helm, and then it’s bright yellow from there. Possibly it’s linked to his mood or his power level - they might return to red as he grows into his new role, for example.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not physically. Unless you count his powers, his axe and his tendency to have a small entourage of minions depending on what he’s doing.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His lower spine. When he’s wary or tense he tends to sit straighter and coil subtly.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Aha! He has TWO suits! Well, he has his armour, which is plate, dark grey-black, and spiky like a holly leaf. He normally wears that nowadays, unless it’s in the forge, or sometimes when he’s just hanging around in his castle, when he wears (stereo)typical Renaissance dress - red doublet, a blue leather jerkin and gloves, and blue and red hose, plus solid brown boots and blue leather gloves. And some kind of cloth over his lower face - why? Because he likes it.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Most of his clothes were hand-me-downs, but being friendly with the servants has advantages, and the ones he didn’t get new have been retailored. He’s very comfortable in his ‘civvies’.
His armour didn’t need alterations. It shaped itself to its new bearer, and is therefore a snug fit… although it still looks a little oversized on him. He’ll grow into it. He’s also not as used to it yet, so it makes his motions clunkier than they might otherwise be.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
There is no difference. It’s armour all the way… although he might go back to using his normal clothes on occasion, when he’s not doing anything Overlordly or out in public.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Uhm. Yeah.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Nobody knows.
OK, OK. When speaking as the Overlord, dark and low and Evil and not actually based on physical sound. You’ve seen fantasy films, right? You know the drill. Sounds like more than a human. Catch him out of armour and find a way to make him talk, and he still has a low voice, but much quieter. A little rough, too.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
No louder than is necessary to be heard. Evenly and deliberately: he’s slow to speak, but he knows what he wants to say when he does.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He doesn’t have quite the upper-class ‘English’ accent some of his relatives have, but he’s well-spoken and somewhat formal in his word choice.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Uhhm. Whatever the native language of Greenvale is. Assume it’s English, but it’s also possible the Overlord has magical translation at his disposal, too. He’s also a pretty good student of the few other languages he can get the resources to use - just because he doesn’t talk doesn’t mean he can’t listen.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He uses whatever will be understood, whether it’s words or actions. He doesn’t switch dialects when talking to his subjects, or his minions though. That would just make them look at him funny.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He’s seldom slow to decide his opinion, but he is slow to talk about it. He could probably formulate a speech offhand if he had to, but why in the name of dragons’ bottoms would he have to? He does decide what to say before he says it, as a rule.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Depends on the subject. If it’s something he knows very well and can recite that knowledge of, he’s fairly eloquent in brief spurts. Otherwise he tends to short sentences, remarking on the things that interest him. Conversational give-and-take runs a bit differently in his experience, so he doesn’t expect to do much talking.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Book-smart in that he remembers his education and isn’t above seeking out more, street smart in that he’s good at observing people and working out when to duck. He’s not so good at understanding people, but he does pay attention to them.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
On his feet. He’s adaptive like that.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Practicality is his middle name, since he’s seen idealism gone sour and furry.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
He’s studied his mathematics, his plays and science, mostly without a proper tutor. His father and some of the stewards helped him when he was young. He has a basic grounding in all subjects relevant to a noble family in feudal Greenvale, from geography to monster-slaying. By Nexus standards he’s not that well-educated, but well, in the Nexus everyone’s ignorant to someone else.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His expertise mostly lies in smiting things that could swallow him whole, giving his enemies the runaround and running a castle. He’s working on his career as an Overlord, which means he’s learning a lot about magic, politics, the nature of Evil and all things even tangentially related to ruling.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He’s on the introverted end of the scale.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Oh, he can be moody. He just doesn’t express it too loudly and his practical streak overrules it. He acts on his moods rather than spend too long emoting - if he’s angry about something, he’ll go and stop it instead of throwing a fit. If he’s gloomy… but he hasn’t been gloomy since he took control of the castle.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Calm and inquisitive. He’ll look around, explore the situation, listen to what people say about themselves, without being overly paranoid or relaxed. There’s a natural degree of hesitance, but hell, he got to be an Overlord by walking through a mysterious spooky door.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
He’s having a lot of fun learning to act first, now he’s in a position to.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
To an immediate, hostile enemy, he’s likely to tense up in preparation to fight. That said, he’s perhaps surprisingly nonconfrontational, preferring to attack at an angle, so to speak. He’ll take belittlement without a word and then go away and level your opus magnum.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He’s amused by jokes, naturally including dark humour. Pranks need to be reasonably inventive (or vaguely psychotic) to amuse him, and he appreciates wordplay. He rarely laughs aloud.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
None spring to mind as noticeable.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
His birth, which made him both the unimportant youngest son and marked out his destiny as a future Overlord. And finding the Castle Heart and the old throne room, when he became said Overlord. Possibly his mother running off with another duke counts, but since we don’t know what he’d have been like with her around, there’s no telling.
14. What does he fear?
Failure, and being stuck in his siblings’ shadow forever.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
To raise Castle Gromgard to glory even greater than in the Black Baron’s day, to become the mightiest Overlord in history, and to exact revenge on his siblings. They really weren’t very kind to him, and he’s not old enough to be the bigger man if he meant to.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he actually has some affection for his father.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Distant. As in, both of them took off (his father on a quest, his mother on an affair) when he was five or six, and only his father came back, a broken-hearted shadow of himself. Said father also left around dawn on his sixteenth birthday and hasn’t been heard from yet. While he has no major malice toward either of them, his attitude to his father is tolerant, sometimes silently exasperated. The Duke himself generally loves his children, but spent most of his time seeking ways to keep the family afloat or accommodating Grenville and Gerda’s trials and tantrums. The less demanding youngest son tended to be forgotten, although the Duke did make an effort when he remembered.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
The twins Grenville and Gerda are… not very pleasant. Both are domineering personalities in their own way: Gerda is simply demanding and brutish, smashing anything she can’t menace. Grenville is more of a haughty character with a superiority complex. Neither has any high opinion of ‘the brat’ when they have an opinion of him at all. He’s an unwanted and sub-par relative they were sometimes forced to look after. Young Gromgard’s strategy was hitherto to stay out of the way of their feuds, duck if they threw anything and save retaliation for their slights until their backs were turned.
Lately, that’s changed. He now knows both of them were planning to assault Greenvale and thanks to their ignorance of his existence, managed to turn their respective war efforts on each other instead. They’re unaware that the runt is now the Overlord and unchallenged ruler of Castle Gromgard, or that he’s responsible for killing their lovers/ambiguous BFFs. He’s content to watch triumphantly and shore up his own position while he plots revenge. He’s been sitting in their shadow for a long time. Now he gets to do things his way.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
There’s the Black Baron. He never met his great-uncle, and never knew much about him before. He wonders about, and somewhat looks up to, the man he supposedly takes after so much. It’s about the only part of his family he’s proud to acknowledge.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
The servants did much of the job of raising him where his family were lacking, but the one constant was Rollick the cook. He’s known Gromgard since his birth and acts as a substitute guardian/best friend. Gromgard doesn’t talk back to him much, but he does do the errands Rollick asks of him and the cook isn’t bothered by the boy’s uncommunicative nature.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Other than Rollick, Gnarl comes closest. He’s the Minion Master and trusted adviser to the young Overlord. They actually met shortly after Gromgard’s birth, but after the christening Gnarl took a nap until his new master turned sixteen. He’s the oldest Brown Minion, and an able instructor who can warn the Overlord as happily as encourage him.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Hm. Nope.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He doesn’t go out of his way to make them, but he’s generally well-liked by his subjects. He mightn’t be the sweetest person around, but he has a measure of empathy and the ability to remember that other people are people, even when he doesn’t understand the way they think. He does miss a lot of the small exchanges - pleases, thank yous, greetings etc. and other nuances of social interaction, but at home that doesn’t hinder him because people either don’t expect such courtesies, or mentally insert their own. He suspects it’s the latter.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
The loyal ones.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He’s never had one. There aren’t many other kids around, never mind kids his age.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He’ll find that out when it’s relevant.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Aha. Well, not being the heir before it wasn’t a serious question, but now that he’s the Overlord, children might be somewhat of an expectation for the future. He really hasn’t thought about it.
He certainly doesn’t want them any time soon, though. The only children he’s met in a while were… kind of creepy.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
His siblings, the elves, the dwarves, passing witches, bandits and monsters, anyone who wants to prey on his realm… and possibly any hero in the Lands of Legend. Fortunately the ones who are organised don’t know who he is; the rest won’t need telling.
Oh, and there’s Moaning Moe the Protester, but Gromgard already took down his posters and chased him around the village well.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Hmm. A 1 or an X.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He seldom thinks of it. He knows the basic principles, but Gnarl’s… probably going to have to have a Talk with him at some point anyway. Won’t that be fun?
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Sometimes he naps fully-clothed. Boots and hood and all. That’s about it.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
He was born in the Year of the Black Sheep under the sign of the Dark Tower. In other words, I don’t got a clue.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He knows religion exists, and given the overt existence of magic and supernatural powers most people figure gods are a safe bet to exist too. However, there’s no local religion (except word has it the elves have a Mother Goddess) and Gromgard himself isn’t particularly spiritual. He’s already died a couple of times, and his power just revived him. He just believes in Evil, because it’s the only power that’s ever looked out for him. And Evil is there to serve him as much as he serves to lead it.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He believes in doing a job right. His ability to care about good (or rather, Good) was eroded by seeing where that got his father and how obnoxious Good was. His only ethical code now is being an effective ruler and keeping his realm in good shape.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Indifferent. He thinks very little of macho honour and things that remind him of elves, nor does he care for trying to look virtuous. Otherwise he’ll listen, and take into account some of what he hears, but unless it attacks him he won’t much care about it.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He’s prejudiced against elves, dwarves and self-designated ‘good guys’, naturally. Nonhumans in general are something to be careful of until you know whose side they’re on. Justified by his experiences and his alignment.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Poor. The few debts his family has outstanding (that weren’t paid off by selling bits of the castle) he has no intention of paying. If anyone wants to try and claim from the bones of his estate… the Overlord will deal with them. He’s made some good progress on refilling the treasury, too, but there’s a lot of rebuilding to be done.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He was the unimportant youngest son of a fallen noble lineage. Now he’s the Overlord, the supreme ruler of Evil, master of Castle Gromgard and rising power in the Lands of Legend. (Almost nobody beyond Greenvale has heard of this yet, of course. They will.)
He’s taken only too readily to this change in fortunes. He likes getting people’s attention, and being able to do something about problems. And, you know, getting to rise above his siblings.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
His home is literally his castle. And it’s in terrible disrepair both from being neglected for two generations and also from sort of being set on fire last month. Yeah.
Lord Gromgard’s overseeing the restoration work now, and taking the opportunity to make it really his own home. He plans to get a better room, for a start. He shares the place with quite a lot of servants and Minions of all colours. His family are away on their various quests.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Shiny new armour! And weapons! Well, he’s considered it. Training and equipping the Minions and refurbishing the castle comes first. It depends whether you consider Evil redecoration a necessity.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He likes Overlording! And Gnarl says he’s a natural, so there. He certainly got the hang of his basic abilities quickly enough, and he’s done a better job of looking after his lands in the last few weeks than his relative did. Destiny aside, he really can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He reads sometimes: he’s interested in finding out more about the world, for practical reasons as well as not. Sometimes he watches people, though that might get a bit more difficult now. People notice more when they’re being stared at by a menacing black figure in plate armour. He does want to explore the Lands of Legend (and the Nexus!) more, and also try to dig up more information on the Black Baron.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Magically enhanced physiology might help with this, but he’s been known to go without food for at least the better part of a day when he’s on Overlording business. Normally he eats in the Main Hall with everyone else. He’s been introduced to wine before but never thought much of it (it was pretty cheap, and both of his siblings complained about it for different reasons). Owing to harvest and halfling troubles most of the food that remains consists of a), pumpkins, b), sheep, c), potatoes and d), pumpkins.
Rollick’s a genius with pumpkins, but still.
Between the pumpkins and his encounter with Doris the Gingerbread-Wielding Witch, Lord Gromgard has developed a small aversion to sweet foods. And a major aversion to candy canes, lollipops and gingerbread. Even when it isn’t throwing firebombs at him.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Grey-black.
2. Smell? Straw, dust and smoke.
3. Time of day? Dawn.
4. Season? Summer.
5. Book? Lord of the Rings would be the obvious one, yes? But his favourite book is probably a battered and well-worn account of some particularly epic period of history.
6. Music? The game soundtrack, of course. :p Nothing else comes to mind just now. Though the main theme for the second game is closer to Dark Legend’s theme than the first.
7. Place? Castle Gromgard
8. Substance? Stone or steel.
9. Plant? No clue.
10. Animal? Perhaps a serpent for the symbolism (both good and bad), but for automatic associations… I don’t know. Maybe a black sheep? :P
END
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