![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gender_neutralPlayer
Name: Chicklet
Contact: Here or Plurk: ChickletLARP
18+? yep
Other Character: Apping Xion from KH/Days
Character
Name: Vaarsuvius, often called V.
Canon: Order Of The Stick (Web comic)
Canon point: Comic 674
Age: Physically in the hundreds. For all intents and purposes, "Adult" suffices.
History: Some of this is not actually IN the Web comic.
Personality:
Verbose
Never use fifteen words, when three hundred will do. - It would not do to say that V is loquacious. Mostly because such a statement would be almost painfully succinct. Seriously, one might suspect that V has simply come to love the sound of a very particular elven voice. This, however, does not seem to be the case, as the tendency towards solliquary that is often clearly intended to be dialogue persists even after the ego has failed. No, it simply seems to stem from two factors: One, V is very well aware that no one in any given room has any better grasp of the situation, most of the time; and two. Two, in this case being two party members. Elan and Belkar. Elan and Belkar are two members of the adventuring party in which V is the wizard and one of the two primary spellcasters. In Elan's case, the desire to fill any given moment with words so that he does not have a chance to speak is an act of pure self defense, as Elan's stupidity can be more than borderline painful at times. The other would be Belkar. Belkar is a miserable evil little halfling who induces rage effects just by speaking. Well, just by existing. Whereas not wishing to hear Elan speak is an attempt to save the party from having to roll will saves against insanity and mental damage, drowning out - or just drowning - Belkar is an attempt to circumvent the need for will saves to keep from attacking a party member.
Not that V has always been a pinnacle of self control in this regard.
Childish
V, while very much the oldest member of the Order Of The Stick also has childish moments. This was best exemplified with the words "Explosive Runes". Explosive Runes is a spell that has the caster write those words, and when they are read, the item upon which they are inscribed explodes. This spell has worked well against goblins in the dungeon, but has also been turned against one Belkar Bitterleaf on any number of occasions. For more than half of the comic before the canon point, Belkar and V engaged in a vicious prank war that was only spared permanent consequences because of the party's Cleric - Durkon - with his many heal wounds spell slots, and by the attempts of Sir Roy Greenhilt, the party leader, forcing their war to be more subtle. While as of the canon point, V has progressed passed such childish things, this is a relatively new phenomenon, and with the right CR, might not stick.
Ego
You know that old cartoon series, where they speak about this one character having an ego the size of Cleveland? Meet Vaarsuvius, who has a ego that could eat Great Cleave-land for a light snack. Or rather, V's ego used to be large enough to be its own presence, until right before the current canon point. V was always certain that no one else had an intelligence to rival that of such a learned wizard, and even went so far as to say the following to two other members of the Order Of The Stick: "You and the idiot bard have become the metaphorical albatrosses around my slender elven neck." V has never had much use for other people unless they had proven themselves previously. This is shown when V gives Miko a bill for services rendered after Miko ordered the party about in combat. "It is more the principal of the thing. I care not one whit about the money, but I do not wish my arcane powers to be utilized in vain and trivial battle. I am hoping that the knowledge that my spells come with a price attached will keep my power from being squandered. Sir Greenhilt, as always, you have my services at your disposal. But should this one request that I alter reality on her behalf, she will be issued an appropriate bill afterwards."
And V was being honest. It was not about the money. It was about respect for the power that took centuries to accumulate, and about V's own ego. Well, that and the fact that at that point, most of the party HATED Miko. A feeling that only grew worse with exposure. But for V, a lot of that hate came back around to ego. Miko treated them all (For the most part. Sometimes Durkon was an exception) like criminals not worthy of having opinions or input on their own situation. Since looking down on everyone else was V's schtick (or is that stick in this case?) there were some issues here. However, it is interesting to note that V's feud with the halfling was drastically different than V's relationship with Miko, despite disdaining both. Which brings us to our next point.
Individuals Vs masses.
V comments at one point about how Belkar, the halfling, has a binary way of seeing people, slotting them into one of two categories, hate or lust. V works very hard to stay in the hate category, considering the other to be unthinkable, horrifying, and disgusting. V on the other hand, sees people in a different two categories, individuals and the masses. Individuals are people that V knows, as, well, individuals. V knows their names, and some of their histories and has feelings about them. Those feelings and that relationship can change with time, and do, but the point is that V acknowledges them. Then there are the masses. V seems to forget that people (for a wider definition of people, perhaps, than most would use) are people even if their names and backstories are not known. While Haley is the one who first voices this sentiment, here, V seems to see the world this way more than anyone else. We see this constantly in the comic. V would never have abandoned Haley or the others, but when V had just one spell left at the fall of Azure city, the spell was used to get away safely, leaving the others to die. V kills Kubota not because of any feeling that his crimes justified it or out of any anger, V doesn't even know who Kubota is when the spells are cast to not only kill him but to make him impossible to raise. When Elan asked V why, the response was this: "Ah. Simplicity itself. Your strict adherence to dramatic convention has proven to me over the length of our association that you only bother to take captive the main villains of any encounter - such as your brother. The man I killed was bound and you were holding the rope. I therefore deduced that he was an enemy of some sort, and therefore a valid target." But to canon point the STRONGEST evidence of this comes in the form of the familicide spell cast upon a certain black dragon looking to avenge the young son that the Order Of The Stick had slain. Well, the son that V enslaved and then murdered, if one was to be pedantic about it. While at canon point, V does regret much of the loss of control and focus taken while soul spliced, most of the ramifications have not yet hit. Breaking out of this pattern of individuals vs masses is still a work in progress for V.
Fourth Wall.
The whole comic is known for taking wrecking balls to the fourth wall. V among them. Now they aren't fans who would know things about characters from other series, they more snark on type, are aware that they are in a stick figure comic (V will just presume that everyone else is as well, that this is all still the comic, of course), they poke at the rules of D&D, and even PLAY D&D inside the comic. They comment on the art and the format of the strip often. Continuing from the quote in the last section: "As I landed on deck, I overheard him say something about his trial taking weeks, and we all know that such would translate to 20 or 30 strips of humorless drudgery," we get Haley at one point telling Elan that his new outfit is just an art upgrade and he's supposed to pretend he always looked like that.
Gender.
V... does not strongly gender identify, and it is commented on often. V tells a demon once that invisibility before using the facilities was mostly a habit from trying to frustrate Belkar, the halfling who had once lifted V's tail when V was a lizard, trying to determine gender. A disguised Sabine rants to V about men at one point, and V's response is "Uh, I am not certain I am the most qualified to comment on gender traits..." And V is not often the sort to admit to an intellectual deficit, due to ego. V calls Inkyrius "My partner" and mentions the children as children, not by names or gender. The kids call V and Inkyrius Parent and other parent, though not in that order.
Sorry that was more than requested. All I can say is... it is V.
Always Keep In Mind:
Gender identifiers - V does not use personal pronouns for self identification, including they and them. Doing this in thought posts is... difficult, and leads to much proofreading. so this is always kept in mind. V does not seem to mind how others choose to presume gender identity, but will not correct anyone's presumptions or answer questions. V does use gender identifiers for other people, however. For example, calling Roy Sir Greenhilt and Haley Miss Starshine.
Fourth wall - I need to always remember that V sees the world differently than characters from most other canons, and I need to keep this in mind.
Character development - V is at the beginning of a long arc of overdue introspection. So I need to balance how V has been before, with that change, along with how V will be later, to see what that happens in game matches what drives those discoveries in the comic, and where they diverge. V is, at this canon point, a very malleable character in some ways, and that can be a ton of fun, watching where CR changes a character, and where somethings just never will change.
Samples
Log Sample: Sample
Questions: Write an IC answer to the following questions:
What do you want to study at Diatu Magicademy?
"Aside from how to return home? Very well. Were the very fate of the universe not actually hinging upon my presence on a mission to stop an undead lich from releasing a god killing horror upon the world to either destroy or rule it, I would indeed be fascinated to learn from this institution. As I am an elven wizard with a rather high intelligence score, it should come as no surprise that I have devoted myself to the study of the arcane. I would say that I am eager to learn any new form of magic, however recent experiences" not all of which shall be mentioned, "have left me with the conclusion that there are some avenues of learning best not explored if one wishes to retain sanity to follow the others. However so long as none of the magic being taught in this academy hinges upon divine magic granted by worshiping a hand puppet or similar, or selling one's soul, I would, under those circumstances, be pleased to learn whatever your academy might be able to teach me that I do not already know, should such topics exist. It is generally a boon to learn new ways to make the laws of physics sit down and shut up like a well trained dog." So, basically, everything.
If you knew you could go back to the moment you left, would you leave immediately or continue your studies for a while?
"As I said above - please do scroll up and review if you do not recall - I am involved in a mission of the utmost importance to which I must return. Were I have to come here after the conclusion of that mission, however, I would be pleased to stay for a time." Well, after making things correct with the family as well. Certainly they would understand that this opportunity is simply too great to squander. And at this point, perhaps a few more years of separation before they had to address the dragon no longer in the room would be all to the good. "As this is clearly a railroad plot, however, I can only presume that I am here for one of two reasons. One is that there is something I will learn here, possibly poorly disguised as foreshadowing that I will need to learn for the main plot, or else this is simply an attempt to save effort on art by removing me from the company of my properly drawn companions to this plane were people look odd and nearly all of them have odd things between their disturbingly same sized eyes."
If your enemy was at Diatu Magicademy, how would you react?
"Quickened lightning bolt. Disintegrate." Oh. Right. Um..... "Buff the party members, hold my vast arcane magics in case they are needed, rather than squandering my powers at the start of combat." Right? This character development stuff was hard...
When is it acceptable to resolve a dispute by force?
"I think the proper question was meant to be when isn't it acceptable to resolve a dispute by force."
What should the supreme goal of any wizard be?
Saying ultimate arcane power and a flawless knowledge of the universe was a little too obvious. Besides, this could be another trick of the fiends. "Securing the universe against the Snarl and stopping those who would use the snarl's power to their own ends." What do individual quests matter if the world ends, after all?
Special Considerations
Your Special Something: Given the lack of Blackwing, I'd say rare familiar if any of them can talk. Otherwise a magic item.
Rank Your House Choice:
First: Aer et Calculum
Second: Gekronus Maius
Third: Random.
Powers: Am I allowed to just link to the 3.5 edition Spell list?
No? Ah well, was worth a shot.
V 's self identity is tied in largely to magic and the practical applications there of, so V will be working not just to learn new spells but to also regain some of the most crucial spells V is used to casting, such as lightning bolt, charm person, disintegrate, dispel magic, fly, invisibility, fireball, and most importantly of course "Bugsby's cat retrieving hand." (According to Blackwing: "I don't know what's weirder. That you keep preparing that spell or that you keep needing it.")
Items:Unlike Haley's lime green boots of speed and wands, or Belkar's ring of jumping, or Roy's ancestral sword, V doesn't really have much in the way of items to care about. Except one. V's spell book. (Well, and a ton of potions of heroism, but never mind that.)
Anything Else:You already answered about Blackwing, so I think that was about all that I needed to know. Please feel free to ask me anything you need to about V or how I answered any of these questions. Thank you.
And... um.... I'm sorry about the length.
Name: Chicklet
Contact: Here or Plurk: ChickletLARP
18+? yep
Other Character: Apping Xion from KH/Days
Character
Name: Vaarsuvius, often called V.
Canon: Order Of The Stick (Web comic)
Canon point: Comic 674
Age: Physically in the hundreds. For all intents and purposes, "Adult" suffices.
History: Some of this is not actually IN the Web comic.
Personality:
Verbose
Never use fifteen words, when three hundred will do. - It would not do to say that V is loquacious. Mostly because such a statement would be almost painfully succinct. Seriously, one might suspect that V has simply come to love the sound of a very particular elven voice. This, however, does not seem to be the case, as the tendency towards solliquary that is often clearly intended to be dialogue persists even after the ego has failed. No, it simply seems to stem from two factors: One, V is very well aware that no one in any given room has any better grasp of the situation, most of the time; and two. Two, in this case being two party members. Elan and Belkar. Elan and Belkar are two members of the adventuring party in which V is the wizard and one of the two primary spellcasters. In Elan's case, the desire to fill any given moment with words so that he does not have a chance to speak is an act of pure self defense, as Elan's stupidity can be more than borderline painful at times. The other would be Belkar. Belkar is a miserable evil little halfling who induces rage effects just by speaking. Well, just by existing. Whereas not wishing to hear Elan speak is an attempt to save the party from having to roll will saves against insanity and mental damage, drowning out - or just drowning - Belkar is an attempt to circumvent the need for will saves to keep from attacking a party member.
Not that V has always been a pinnacle of self control in this regard.
Childish
V, while very much the oldest member of the Order Of The Stick also has childish moments. This was best exemplified with the words "Explosive Runes". Explosive Runes is a spell that has the caster write those words, and when they are read, the item upon which they are inscribed explodes. This spell has worked well against goblins in the dungeon, but has also been turned against one Belkar Bitterleaf on any number of occasions. For more than half of the comic before the canon point, Belkar and V engaged in a vicious prank war that was only spared permanent consequences because of the party's Cleric - Durkon - with his many heal wounds spell slots, and by the attempts of Sir Roy Greenhilt, the party leader, forcing their war to be more subtle. While as of the canon point, V has progressed passed such childish things, this is a relatively new phenomenon, and with the right CR, might not stick.
Ego
You know that old cartoon series, where they speak about this one character having an ego the size of Cleveland? Meet Vaarsuvius, who has a ego that could eat Great Cleave-land for a light snack. Or rather, V's ego used to be large enough to be its own presence, until right before the current canon point. V was always certain that no one else had an intelligence to rival that of such a learned wizard, and even went so far as to say the following to two other members of the Order Of The Stick: "You and the idiot bard have become the metaphorical albatrosses around my slender elven neck." V has never had much use for other people unless they had proven themselves previously. This is shown when V gives Miko a bill for services rendered after Miko ordered the party about in combat. "It is more the principal of the thing. I care not one whit about the money, but I do not wish my arcane powers to be utilized in vain and trivial battle. I am hoping that the knowledge that my spells come with a price attached will keep my power from being squandered. Sir Greenhilt, as always, you have my services at your disposal. But should this one request that I alter reality on her behalf, she will be issued an appropriate bill afterwards."
And V was being honest. It was not about the money. It was about respect for the power that took centuries to accumulate, and about V's own ego. Well, that and the fact that at that point, most of the party HATED Miko. A feeling that only grew worse with exposure. But for V, a lot of that hate came back around to ego. Miko treated them all (For the most part. Sometimes Durkon was an exception) like criminals not worthy of having opinions or input on their own situation. Since looking down on everyone else was V's schtick (or is that stick in this case?) there were some issues here. However, it is interesting to note that V's feud with the halfling was drastically different than V's relationship with Miko, despite disdaining both. Which brings us to our next point.
Individuals Vs masses.
V comments at one point about how Belkar, the halfling, has a binary way of seeing people, slotting them into one of two categories, hate or lust. V works very hard to stay in the hate category, considering the other to be unthinkable, horrifying, and disgusting. V on the other hand, sees people in a different two categories, individuals and the masses. Individuals are people that V knows, as, well, individuals. V knows their names, and some of their histories and has feelings about them. Those feelings and that relationship can change with time, and do, but the point is that V acknowledges them. Then there are the masses. V seems to forget that people (for a wider definition of people, perhaps, than most would use) are people even if their names and backstories are not known. While Haley is the one who first voices this sentiment, here, V seems to see the world this way more than anyone else. We see this constantly in the comic. V would never have abandoned Haley or the others, but when V had just one spell left at the fall of Azure city, the spell was used to get away safely, leaving the others to die. V kills Kubota not because of any feeling that his crimes justified it or out of any anger, V doesn't even know who Kubota is when the spells are cast to not only kill him but to make him impossible to raise. When Elan asked V why, the response was this: "Ah. Simplicity itself. Your strict adherence to dramatic convention has proven to me over the length of our association that you only bother to take captive the main villains of any encounter - such as your brother. The man I killed was bound and you were holding the rope. I therefore deduced that he was an enemy of some sort, and therefore a valid target." But to canon point the STRONGEST evidence of this comes in the form of the familicide spell cast upon a certain black dragon looking to avenge the young son that the Order Of The Stick had slain. Well, the son that V enslaved and then murdered, if one was to be pedantic about it. While at canon point, V does regret much of the loss of control and focus taken while soul spliced, most of the ramifications have not yet hit. Breaking out of this pattern of individuals vs masses is still a work in progress for V.
Fourth Wall.
The whole comic is known for taking wrecking balls to the fourth wall. V among them. Now they aren't fans who would know things about characters from other series, they more snark on type, are aware that they are in a stick figure comic (V will just presume that everyone else is as well, that this is all still the comic, of course), they poke at the rules of D&D, and even PLAY D&D inside the comic. They comment on the art and the format of the strip often. Continuing from the quote in the last section: "As I landed on deck, I overheard him say something about his trial taking weeks, and we all know that such would translate to 20 or 30 strips of humorless drudgery," we get Haley at one point telling Elan that his new outfit is just an art upgrade and he's supposed to pretend he always looked like that.
Gender.
V... does not strongly gender identify, and it is commented on often. V tells a demon once that invisibility before using the facilities was mostly a habit from trying to frustrate Belkar, the halfling who had once lifted V's tail when V was a lizard, trying to determine gender. A disguised Sabine rants to V about men at one point, and V's response is "Uh, I am not certain I am the most qualified to comment on gender traits..." And V is not often the sort to admit to an intellectual deficit, due to ego. V calls Inkyrius "My partner" and mentions the children as children, not by names or gender. The kids call V and Inkyrius Parent and other parent, though not in that order.
Sorry that was more than requested. All I can say is... it is V.
Always Keep In Mind:
Gender identifiers - V does not use personal pronouns for self identification, including they and them. Doing this in thought posts is... difficult, and leads to much proofreading. so this is always kept in mind. V does not seem to mind how others choose to presume gender identity, but will not correct anyone's presumptions or answer questions. V does use gender identifiers for other people, however. For example, calling Roy Sir Greenhilt and Haley Miss Starshine.
Fourth wall - I need to always remember that V sees the world differently than characters from most other canons, and I need to keep this in mind.
Character development - V is at the beginning of a long arc of overdue introspection. So I need to balance how V has been before, with that change, along with how V will be later, to see what that happens in game matches what drives those discoveries in the comic, and where they diverge. V is, at this canon point, a very malleable character in some ways, and that can be a ton of fun, watching where CR changes a character, and where somethings just never will change.
Samples
Log Sample: Sample
Questions: Write an IC answer to the following questions:
What do you want to study at Diatu Magicademy?
"Aside from how to return home? Very well. Were the very fate of the universe not actually hinging upon my presence on a mission to stop an undead lich from releasing a god killing horror upon the world to either destroy or rule it, I would indeed be fascinated to learn from this institution. As I am an elven wizard with a rather high intelligence score, it should come as no surprise that I have devoted myself to the study of the arcane. I would say that I am eager to learn any new form of magic, however recent experiences" not all of which shall be mentioned, "have left me with the conclusion that there are some avenues of learning best not explored if one wishes to retain sanity to follow the others. However so long as none of the magic being taught in this academy hinges upon divine magic granted by worshiping a hand puppet or similar, or selling one's soul, I would, under those circumstances, be pleased to learn whatever your academy might be able to teach me that I do not already know, should such topics exist. It is generally a boon to learn new ways to make the laws of physics sit down and shut up like a well trained dog." So, basically, everything.
If you knew you could go back to the moment you left, would you leave immediately or continue your studies for a while?
"As I said above - please do scroll up and review if you do not recall - I am involved in a mission of the utmost importance to which I must return. Were I have to come here after the conclusion of that mission, however, I would be pleased to stay for a time." Well, after making things correct with the family as well. Certainly they would understand that this opportunity is simply too great to squander. And at this point, perhaps a few more years of separation before they had to address the dragon no longer in the room would be all to the good. "As this is clearly a railroad plot, however, I can only presume that I am here for one of two reasons. One is that there is something I will learn here, possibly poorly disguised as foreshadowing that I will need to learn for the main plot, or else this is simply an attempt to save effort on art by removing me from the company of my properly drawn companions to this plane were people look odd and nearly all of them have odd things between their disturbingly same sized eyes."
If your enemy was at Diatu Magicademy, how would you react?
"Quickened lightning bolt. Disintegrate." Oh. Right. Um..... "Buff the party members, hold my vast arcane magics in case they are needed, rather than squandering my powers at the start of combat." Right? This character development stuff was hard...
When is it acceptable to resolve a dispute by force?
"I think the proper question was meant to be when isn't it acceptable to resolve a dispute by force."
What should the supreme goal of any wizard be?
Saying ultimate arcane power and a flawless knowledge of the universe was a little too obvious. Besides, this could be another trick of the fiends. "Securing the universe against the Snarl and stopping those who would use the snarl's power to their own ends." What do individual quests matter if the world ends, after all?
Special Considerations
Your Special Something: Given the lack of Blackwing, I'd say rare familiar if any of them can talk. Otherwise a magic item.
Rank Your House Choice:
First: Aer et Calculum
Second: Gekronus Maius
Third: Random.
Powers: Am I allowed to just link to the 3.5 edition Spell list?
No? Ah well, was worth a shot.
V 's self identity is tied in largely to magic and the practical applications there of, so V will be working not just to learn new spells but to also regain some of the most crucial spells V is used to casting, such as lightning bolt, charm person, disintegrate, dispel magic, fly, invisibility, fireball, and most importantly of course "Bugsby's cat retrieving hand." (According to Blackwing: "I don't know what's weirder. That you keep preparing that spell or that you keep needing it.")
Items:Unlike Haley's lime green boots of speed and wands, or Belkar's ring of jumping, or Roy's ancestral sword, V doesn't really have much in the way of items to care about. Except one. V's spell book. (Well, and a ton of potions of heroism, but never mind that.)
Anything Else:You already answered about Blackwing, so I think that was about all that I needed to know. Please feel free to ask me anything you need to about V or how I answered any of these questions. Thank you.
And... um.... I'm sorry about the length.
