Monday, March 23, 2009
Captain Allen Specter
Name: Allen Specter
Rank: Captain (Blood Hawks/Silver Crows)
Race: Human
Born: Xaber, 486 GD (Age 39)
Current Location: Murkeye
Profession: Policeman (privatized)
Appearance: Captain Specter is just over six feet and two inches tall and weighs roughly two-hundred pounds. His hair is shoulder length, dark brown with gray beginning to appear in the sideburns. He has eight pinpoint scars on his face, four above his mouth and four below. He has the letters H-O-L-D tattooed across the fingers of his right hand and F-A-S-T across the left, and a stylized drawing of a ghost on the back of his right hand--he also uses this image as a personal calling card, wearing an identical patch on his right sleeve directly beneath his mark of rank. He typically wears a black, ankle-length coat and broad-brimmed hat with a ring on each finger except the thumbs (most of them decorative). Specter is known to consider the protection of armor to be outweighed by its drawbacks, and relies on an uncanny awareness of his surroundings for protection. Specter is known to favor black cowboy boots, odd in that he is not believed to know how to ride a horse. Specter's signature combat style is the manipulation of fire intertwined with swordplay, including but not limited to cloaking himself in fire that seems to leave him unharmed.
Biography:
Allen Specter was born in Xaber in 486 GD, the fourth child of merchant who was himself the second child of a Sorceress. In 494, the Specter family moved to Whiteport so that Allen's father could pursue business interests. Allen, his father, and his older brother were able to obtain tickets to the first battle in the Manrig Games in 500 GD. It was at these games that young Allen witnessed the finest fighters in the world, but one in particular caught his interest. The Sea Bull Henry Wesleydale's bold, fearless style of combat left its mark on Allen. But what affected Allen most was Wesleydale's clear intent on furthering the cause of good without being sedate and rigid like the members of Team Justice. He saw a man who was willing to stand up and save people without being burdened by unnecessary pleasantries, but at the same time not shirking the rules of polite of society needlessly.
When the Crusade broke out, Allen found himself less than a year below the minimum recruitment age. The day after his fifteenth birthday, Allen Specter enlisted in the Imperial Army. He saw one battle, the Second Battle of Redgrass Fields, widely regarded to be an Imperial route. After the Crusade, Specter served for the remainder of his five year term, being used mostly as a policeman in the peaceful time that followed immediately after the conclusion of the Crusade. After receiving an honorable discharge in 506 GD, Specter found himself with few practical skills beyond warfare and peacekeeping. He enlisted with a growing mercenary band called the Blood Hawks and was promoted to Corporal in honor of his having achieved the rank in the Imperial Army.
Over the next seven years, Specter would establish himself as a versatile combatant with a natural ability to lead. Specter favored shallow training in a broad range of disciplines to mastery of a single technique, believing tactical options--in and out of combat--to be preferable to a single powerful, but ultimately circumventible, tactic. Specter was widely known to mix magical techniques with his martial training. Specter did not receive any formal training, using only what he was able to discover himself via his Sorcerous bloodline. Given the time he spent on other matters, his magical skill is to this day much narrower in scope and in depth when compared to any dedicated caster. It was some time in this seven year period that Specter developed an appreciation for and later addiction to Murkeye Cigars, the omnipresence of which would become Specter's trademark.
In in 515 GD, Sergeant Allen Specter was assigned to a covert mission in the Underdark. He was betrayed by one of his squad and captured by Drow, who proved less than friendly. Specter was brought before the Drow ranking officer and demanded to bow. Instead, Specter cursed at the officer and spat on him. Rather than execute Specter, the Drow had Specter's mouth sown almost entirely shut with two cross stitches, making speech and eating difficult. Specter was shackled and assigned as a slave. He would bear this fate for eleven months.
In 516 GD, Specter was rescued by his friend, Corporal Lance Kerkov. Specter was pale and his weight had dwindled to barely one-hundred-and-twenty pounds. His first act upon being returned to the surface was to have the stitches cut out and light up a new cigar. Specter carries the scars from the stitches on his face to this day. Specter has commented on those eleven months as the worst days of his life, and has said that having his mouth restricted for so long had made him never want to shut it again.
By 520 GD, Specter had achieved the rank of Captain and was second among the Blood Hawks only to Commander Erwin Magruder. Specter was one of three Captains at that time, of equal rank among the 500 or so Blood Hawks. In 521, Specter had a crucial role in the selection of the Blood Hawks by the Merchant Lords of Murkeye as the newly independent city-state's privatized police force. Believing "Blood Hawks" to be an inappropriate name for a police force, the group changed its name to the "Silver Crows."
In 525 GD, Specter was chosen to oversee the Murkeye Games owing to his personal charisma, skill with crowds, and perceived incorruptibility. As a decorated veteran--and survivor of his ordeal in the Underdark--Specter's choice to oversee the Games was supported by the majority of the Merchant Lords. Depending on his performance as Master of Ceremonies of the Games, Specter may be offered a position as a diplomat for Murkeye.
Quotes:
"The Gwideo Empire birthed me, raised me, and taught me to fight. It also left me to rot in the black elves' slave pen. I consider us about even."
"There's trouble up ahead. There's plenty behind, too. No reason to suspect that if it hasn't killed you yet it will tomorrow."
"I like to have options. A man who knows one way to do anything is a one trick pony, and just as screwed when he breaks a leg."
"For just about any problem, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way that lets you sleep at night."
"A truly good man doesn't have the luxury of always being nice."
"Just because you like a man and respect him doesn't mean you shouldn't kick his ass when he deserves it."
Rank: Captain (Blood Hawks/Silver Crows)
Race: Human
Born: Xaber, 486 GD (Age 39)
Current Location: Murkeye
Profession: Policeman (privatized)
Appearance: Captain Specter is just over six feet and two inches tall and weighs roughly two-hundred pounds. His hair is shoulder length, dark brown with gray beginning to appear in the sideburns. He has eight pinpoint scars on his face, four above his mouth and four below. He has the letters H-O-L-D tattooed across the fingers of his right hand and F-A-S-T across the left, and a stylized drawing of a ghost on the back of his right hand--he also uses this image as a personal calling card, wearing an identical patch on his right sleeve directly beneath his mark of rank. He typically wears a black, ankle-length coat and broad-brimmed hat with a ring on each finger except the thumbs (most of them decorative). Specter is known to consider the protection of armor to be outweighed by its drawbacks, and relies on an uncanny awareness of his surroundings for protection. Specter is known to favor black cowboy boots, odd in that he is not believed to know how to ride a horse. Specter's signature combat style is the manipulation of fire intertwined with swordplay, including but not limited to cloaking himself in fire that seems to leave him unharmed.
Biography:
Allen Specter was born in Xaber in 486 GD, the fourth child of merchant who was himself the second child of a Sorceress. In 494, the Specter family moved to Whiteport so that Allen's father could pursue business interests. Allen, his father, and his older brother were able to obtain tickets to the first battle in the Manrig Games in 500 GD. It was at these games that young Allen witnessed the finest fighters in the world, but one in particular caught his interest. The Sea Bull Henry Wesleydale's bold, fearless style of combat left its mark on Allen. But what affected Allen most was Wesleydale's clear intent on furthering the cause of good without being sedate and rigid like the members of Team Justice. He saw a man who was willing to stand up and save people without being burdened by unnecessary pleasantries, but at the same time not shirking the rules of polite of society needlessly.
When the Crusade broke out, Allen found himself less than a year below the minimum recruitment age. The day after his fifteenth birthday, Allen Specter enlisted in the Imperial Army. He saw one battle, the Second Battle of Redgrass Fields, widely regarded to be an Imperial route. After the Crusade, Specter served for the remainder of his five year term, being used mostly as a policeman in the peaceful time that followed immediately after the conclusion of the Crusade. After receiving an honorable discharge in 506 GD, Specter found himself with few practical skills beyond warfare and peacekeeping. He enlisted with a growing mercenary band called the Blood Hawks and was promoted to Corporal in honor of his having achieved the rank in the Imperial Army.
Over the next seven years, Specter would establish himself as a versatile combatant with a natural ability to lead. Specter favored shallow training in a broad range of disciplines to mastery of a single technique, believing tactical options--in and out of combat--to be preferable to a single powerful, but ultimately circumventible, tactic. Specter was widely known to mix magical techniques with his martial training. Specter did not receive any formal training, using only what he was able to discover himself via his Sorcerous bloodline. Given the time he spent on other matters, his magical skill is to this day much narrower in scope and in depth when compared to any dedicated caster. It was some time in this seven year period that Specter developed an appreciation for and later addiction to Murkeye Cigars, the omnipresence of which would become Specter's trademark.
In in 515 GD, Sergeant Allen Specter was assigned to a covert mission in the Underdark. He was betrayed by one of his squad and captured by Drow, who proved less than friendly. Specter was brought before the Drow ranking officer and demanded to bow. Instead, Specter cursed at the officer and spat on him. Rather than execute Specter, the Drow had Specter's mouth sown almost entirely shut with two cross stitches, making speech and eating difficult. Specter was shackled and assigned as a slave. He would bear this fate for eleven months.
In 516 GD, Specter was rescued by his friend, Corporal Lance Kerkov. Specter was pale and his weight had dwindled to barely one-hundred-and-twenty pounds. His first act upon being returned to the surface was to have the stitches cut out and light up a new cigar. Specter carries the scars from the stitches on his face to this day. Specter has commented on those eleven months as the worst days of his life, and has said that having his mouth restricted for so long had made him never want to shut it again.
By 520 GD, Specter had achieved the rank of Captain and was second among the Blood Hawks only to Commander Erwin Magruder. Specter was one of three Captains at that time, of equal rank among the 500 or so Blood Hawks. In 521, Specter had a crucial role in the selection of the Blood Hawks by the Merchant Lords of Murkeye as the newly independent city-state's privatized police force. Believing "Blood Hawks" to be an inappropriate name for a police force, the group changed its name to the "Silver Crows."
In 525 GD, Specter was chosen to oversee the Murkeye Games owing to his personal charisma, skill with crowds, and perceived incorruptibility. As a decorated veteran--and survivor of his ordeal in the Underdark--Specter's choice to oversee the Games was supported by the majority of the Merchant Lords. Depending on his performance as Master of Ceremonies of the Games, Specter may be offered a position as a diplomat for Murkeye.
Quotes:
"The Gwideo Empire birthed me, raised me, and taught me to fight. It also left me to rot in the black elves' slave pen. I consider us about even."
"There's trouble up ahead. There's plenty behind, too. No reason to suspect that if it hasn't killed you yet it will tomorrow."
"I like to have options. A man who knows one way to do anything is a one trick pony, and just as screwed when he breaks a leg."
"For just about any problem, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way that lets you sleep at night."
"A truly good man doesn't have the luxury of always being nice."
"Just because you like a man and respect him doesn't mean you shouldn't kick his ass when he deserves it."
# posted by Andrew Michael @ 5:13 PM 
