[PC Plotnotes] Theo Coaststrider

[Theo Coaststrider]

Gnosis :

Laviku: As a sailor of no inconsiderable superstition, Theo is a loyal devotee to Laviku. Consider for a moment the customs of of modern sailors, can you imagine how much the devotion to their little rituals would be amplified if they could chat with a God who literally held their lives in his hand? Theo has been saved by Laviku on more than one occasion, and one of his fiercest dogma's is the importance of offerings and thanks to Laviku for the safe passage of himself and his family.

In the future--or perhaps retroactively--he would like to put himself in more direct service of Laviku. Theo might be a man with no masters, but he certainly doesn't bite the hand that guards him.

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Kel and Wyn: Our resident agent of chaos is not ignorant to the value of miracles. Sometimes, no matter how dirty you fight and how heavily you stack the deck in your favour, the house goes bust. In those situations, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a second--or fifth--shot. While Kel and Wyn are not traditionally worshipped, Theo certainly follows their philosophy to a tee. A firm believer in taking the initiative and acting before an opponent has a chance to think (even if it costs himself the opportunity to devise the perfect plan) Theo is the kind of person who makes his own luck, two or three times an encouter if he has to.

Theo is going to be keeping an eye open for a chance to take a gamble with Kel and Wyn. You never know, it might just turn his luck around for good.

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The following two gnosis present a choice of "paths" for Theo. Given the different natures of the mark it would make very little sense for him to pursue both. Rather, I'll be pondering where he wants to go and the kind of person he wants to be, and setting my goals based on that judgement.

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Zulrav:If Theo tilts his hand to the most Svefra part of him, the turbulent and unpredictable hurricane on legs that is happy to ransack a library and shout down a mob, I'll point him toward Zulrav. Theo has had his life marked by storms. He supported his people through the Djed storm of 512 and as I write this he is currently playing his own part in guiding a huge fleet of his folk away from another violent hurricane. It seems that he is going to live a life defined by the fickle moods of the weather and it is very possible that Theo would find a strong affinity for the powers that guide them.

It's possible that during one of these two storms that he was even marked by Zulrav, that is something that time will have to tell.

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Tanroa: The worship of Tanroa presents a very different path for Theo. While so much of his young life has been dictated by chaos, Theo is on the cusp of true manhood and that brings with it a unique set of changes. It's very possible that his interactions with other people, and the sum of his experiences will leave Theo a changed man. I doubt it will rob him off his bizarre philosophies or joie de vivre, but it might leave a more deliberate and contemplative man. If Theo starts to grow this way I might try to take him down the path of Tanroa. Obviously, it is a difficult road and he may well fail but it could provide a great chance for Theo to add a few layers to his personality and grow into someone altogether more interesting.

[Theo Coaststrider]

Skills :

Leadership: For better, or very likely worse, Theo views himself as a leader of others. Important questions for him moving forward are what, exactly, that means and the ways that this belief effects the way he ought to behave and how he should regulate his relationships. At his relatively young age, the desire to be a leader and to take responsibility for others is only a semi-formed one, and built largely out of observations of his own strengths, the manifestations of personal politics and philosophies, and the romanticism of the subject matter.

In the future, Theo will need to discover for himself what he truly believes leadership to be. He will need to find a style that works for him, learn the power of the skill and, eventually, find a way to rectify the clashes between his natural propensity, and even passion, towards leadership and his strong convictions about the inherent illegitimacy of authority.

His current skill level in this area stem from a select number of sources. First, he has learened from his time watching his biological mother and closest father in their own leadership roles of his pod. His mother is the Lia of a large Svefra pod, and takes a caring but hands off approach to her clan. His closest father Jal'el was an aggressive man of the people. He bonded with his own folk through song and story and fought and drank beside them to forge stronger relationships.

Theo has hands on experience from raising his younger brother's and sisters and from taking responsibility for their upbringing. He also had a natural drive towards leadership that manifested in tutoring and supporting other children, and taking an organizing role in the childhood games of his cousins and close family.

In the future he will need to learn how to direct people on board his own ship, manage a team during combat, learn to delegate in the process of managing a business and expose himself to various leadership styles. Who knows, he might even incite a riot, taking a leading role in a Nal'lyeo or seize command of a fleet during a crisis. The future is an open book, time to start writing!

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Gladius Combat: Theo fights with a steel Gladius that has been both elongated and thickened to help compensate for his considerable height. Given the challenges of needing to switch between maritime and land based combat, the flexibility to both stab and slash is a necessity. A relatively acrobatic giant, Theo prefers to fight using an unorthodox style that takes advantage of his strength, speed and agility and incorporates punches, grabs and feints. The Gladius is one of the only weapons flexible enough to afford him the freedom to use his highly improvisational combat style.

As Theo advances, he will need to develop better situational strategy for using his gladius in combat. Because he lacks the regular army training and heavy armour of the knights, the incredible magical power of mages, and the agility of a thief or assassin, he needs to find ways to take advantage of his balanced attack style to counter all of these specialities.

His unique style is something that he needs to learn through doing. But by increasing his strength through body building, his agility through acrobatics and refining his unorthodox style by becoming a better brawler he should put himself in good stead.

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Sailing: Theo's most natural advantage is out on the water. Travel by land is slow, dangerous and backbreaking and Theo likes to take full advantage of the freedom that being a Svefra affords you on the seas of Mizahar. His experience as a captain is limited to time spent on a Casinor, and his time as a crew member was spent on a sloop, so he has a lot of other ships to gain experience on as he moves forward.

Sailing is a skill that you improve by practising. In the future he will need to develop his navigational ability, and improve his ability to use ship-mounted weaponry to combat pirates and whatever else the world can throw at him.