by Savant Gennie Summers
STR 18 (14) Languages: Common, Goblin, Orcish Weapon Proficiencies: Broadsword (specialist), spear, dagger, battleaxe Non-weapon Proficiencies: Armorer (INT/-2); Riding, land-based (WIS/+3); Rope Use (DEX/0) BACKGROUND He never gives his other (last) name; in fact, he isn't sure just what it is. Orphaned at a young age, Alavar was adopted by a grandfather who had a little time for him because of his work, and made the boy help him lay stone, for he was a stonemason. When his grandfather suffered an injury and could no longer work, he sent Alavar to live with an aunt, a fussy old lady who cared more for her flowers and furnishings than for the boy. Bored, Alavar sought the company of other boys, and those of a rough sort. He soon learned that he was bigger and stronger than most of them, and he gained a sense of self-worth, being able to best them in contests of strength, such as wrestling and fisticuffs. When he came home with a bruised face, his aunt would reprove him for being a ruffian. She tried to keep him home, but he would have none of it. He soon ran away and joined a gang of boys who lived by their wits, dwelling in abandoned places. He became their leader when the former one left the gang for some opportunity he thought was better. Alavar began training other boys in the art of fighting, as he had learned from his former leader. He led a rough gang until the authorities arrested most of them and cut their number down as a result. Alavar was growing tired of the gang anyway, and set his sights on an adventuring life, for by now he considered himself a man. He looked for the right young people to go with him, and finally settled on four others, one being the young, self-made rogue named Vesper Darson. After training them as best he could in fighting techniques and seeking training for them in other skills, he decided they were ready to go after big treasure they had never heard about. And so he took them off into the wilds. More Personalities Back to Chainmail Issue #26 Table of Contents Back to Chainmail List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1992 by Dragonslayers Unlimited This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |