Osric Vale
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:27 pm
wangxiuming wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:27 pmLORD OF HOUSE VALE
Osric in 1359 Name: Osric Vale
Honorific(s): Lord, Head of House Vale, "King (hiney)-Ears," "Cheese Lord"
Age: Early Thirties (As of 1359)
Race: Human, Illuskan
Sex: Male
Date of Birth: 10 Alturiak
Place of Birth: Blacklake District, Neverwinter
Alignment: Chaotic Good, Leaning Neutral Good
Patron Deities: Siamorphe, Puck
Profession: Adventurer, Courtier, Noble
Class: Rogue / Warlock / Daggerspell Mage / Feytouched
Primary Language: Common
Secondary Languages:Illuskan, Basic Elven, Basic Sylvan, Basic Thieves' Cant
Theme: Rupert Gregson-Williams and Lorne Balfe - "Future King"
BBC forum code provided by the multitalented Nyssis.PROFILE
Physical Description
Osric is a relatively young man of average height and build. His skin is fair and his hair dark; the latter is generally an unkempt mess, though he takes care to both shave and trim often. Most would consider him attractive.
As a lord of Baldur's Gate, Osric maintains an air of distinct propriety. His posture is held straight and upright and his arms and hands never lack for purpose. His movements are marked by a grace and agility that would be more commonly associated with elves; he is always sure of his footing and decisive in his step.
Osric takes great care in his dress. His clothing is routinely pressed and his armor is frequently polished, shined, and buffed out for any dents; the exception to this meticulous care is the accumulated nicks and scratches that lends credence to the idea that it sees frequent combat.
A silver band - an heirloom given to him by his sister - constantly circles his forehead.
Personality
Osric presents a cheerful and carefree persona to even his closest allies and companions, but his jovial mask hides the burden he feels after being elevated to nobility.
He is a loyal friend - sometimes to a fault. Whereas he is quick to judge those outside his circle of trust, he is slow to believe anything negative about those he counts among his friends.
Osric feels and cares most deeply for those to whom he is close; he will express sympathy for others but typically remain unmoved unless there is a larger injustice at play. As a devotee of Siamorphe, he is greatly concerned with the divine mandate of all nobility to rule their subjects fairly and well. He is particularly incensed by tales of corrupt nobles abusing their power over the common folk. Ironically, the individual plights of the poor and downtrodden are not often on his mind unless he is affected by them directly; rather, his concerns center on the welfare of the common folk at large.
If faced with confrontation, Osric is more likely to resort to diplomacy and oration to deliver his point. Like most nobles sheltered from the realities of life, he is reluctant to employ violence unless he is (a) assured of its success; or (b) left without any other option. He prefers flight to conflict; this cowardice is only balanced by his need to maintain a semblance of dignity.
Osric's pact to the Seelie Court has begun to take its inexorable toll on his mind. Periodically, he will experience bouts of mania, in which his personality becomes obsessed with trivial details or simple pleasures. In an effort to stave off the deterioration of his mental faculties, he has consulted with Morgan Rhywm on techniques that may delay the inevitable.
Religion
As most in Faerun do, Osric offers his prayers to a multitude of gods as the situation requires them: Chauntea for the harvest, Tymora for good fortune, and Selune during travel. He has been known to pay priests of Umberlee their toll to keep his sea voyages safe. As the patron deity of his home city of Neverwinter, Tyr is particularly venerated by Osric.
Of all the gods, however, Siamorphe is the one to whom Osric's philosophy is most closely aligned. He stumbled across her faith after his exile from House Vale; his sojourn southwards led him to Waterdeep and to her church. Her teachings greatly appealed to him, especially after watching the brutal succession conflict that tore apart his own family. Not content to see the Divine Right's faith languish in Baldur's Gate, he established House Vale within Baldur's Gate in her name.
During the Time of Troubles, he learned that his patron Puck was actually a fey deity. Stunned by this revelation, he has since begun offering daily prayer to the Seelie Prince as well.
He has great respect for Ilmater and frequently invokes the Broken God's name in colloquial speech.
Pact
Osric's first pact was to the Lady of Dusk, a formidable Unseelie Fey with a thirst for vengeance against the lordling's father. Lord Rodric Vale had attempted to renege on his own pact to the Lady of Dusk - in revenge, the winter court fey slew him and manipulated the succession conflict that followed such that Rodric Vale's children would either bring themselves to ruin or become her new servants. Osric was persuaded to bind himself to a pact to her by his unwitting sister, Orelia. The Lady of Dusk achieved her ends with masterful precision; by the end of the succession conflict, only Orelia retained her position within Neverwinter. The other Vale siblings were lost to shame, madness, exile, or death. Osric had become her newest puppet.
This pact ended when Osric finally found allies willing to aid him while staying on the Sword Coast, Puck among them. The Jester of the Seelie Court found amusement in Osric's predicament and saw an opportunity to humiliate a hated rival; the Seelie fey played a devious hand and tricked the Lady of Dusk into relinquishing Osric's pact. In the process, two of his sisters were also saved from the Lady of Dusk's malevolent influence as well. Thus did Osric come to be Puck's devoted servant.
The terms of Osric's pact were never made clear to him. He knows only that he is promised to the fey prince in death and that his soul will join the Seelie on Faerie when he dies, along with all the consequences that are inherent to making such a covenant with a fey. He has never sought to clarify the matter with Puck, mostly for fear that the knowledge might only bring him misery. Needless to say, he feels deeply indebted to Puck for saving him and his family members; Osric would do almost anything for the Seelie God, pact or no.
BIOGRAPHY
Family
See Relationships.
History
Born the youngest son of a minor noble in Neverwinter, Osric lived a sheltered life of moderate luxury. Despite not being recognized as significant, House Vale did well for itself under the guidance of Osric’s father, Rodric; the family wanted for little besides the recognition and elevation that Rodric craved. Those ambitions would go unfulfilled; in 1352, Rodric Vale perished in a freak accident. The succession conflict that followed would eventually lead to Osric binding himself to a fey pact mistress known to him only as the Lady of Dusk. Soon after, he was forced to abandon his House and went into exile.
After leaving Neverwinter, Osric wandered southward along the sword coast with his friend, Caslian Cavaliere. The pair arrived in Waterdeep together before circumstances took them in different directions. With Caslian preoccupied with his own affairs, Osric chanced upon a Daggerspell Mage and trained under him for a time. Ultimately, he would part ways with this new mentor as well; before continuing on southward alone, Osric promised Caslian they would meet in Baldur's Gate.
After his arrival at the Gate, Osric was content to keep to himself and the company of a few close friends. Lost, he entertained vague ideas about one day returning to Neverwinter and reuniting with his family. He held few illusions that he would ever be restored to nobility within Neverwinter, however.
Recent Events
Hidden: show
Future
Work In Progress.
Heirloom Items
- Orelia's Ambition - a silver band gifted to Osric by his eldest sister when he departed Neverwinter.
- Omerion's Indignation - the boots Osric took from his eldest brother after defeating him in single combat.
- Odette's Pride - A golden ring abandoned by Odette when she became a lay cleric for Ilmater.
- Olivere's Cunning - The rapier that Olivere gave Osric to use in his first duel against Omerion.
- Octavia's Innocence - A golden chain given to Osric by his sister, Octavia, long before the succession conflict.
- Puck's Tongue - An irreverent, flatulent, and garrulous dagger gifted (or cursed?) upon Osric by Puck.
Plot Hooks & Miscellaneous
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