New Character Submission - Malagith Ze'Marri

[Ebonith]

NAME: Malagith Ze'Marri
CLASS: Ranger/Fighter (*Will apply for Duelist at 8th level)
RACE: Dark Elf
ALIGNMENT: True Neutral
GENDER: Male
DEITY: Baraeon Ca'Duz

HISTORY:
Since birth, Malagith has known adversity and self-reliance. Brought up in a house where its members lived and breathed magic, it was extremely demanding on a dark elf that showed no proclivity towards spellcasting at all. He relied heavily not only on the few melee mentors of the house, but also the unsavory elements on the streets. For every riposte he was taught by a Weaponsmaster, he was taught how to puncture vital organs by cutpurses and vagabonds. You see, House Ze'Marri was well-known in the city for their accomplished wizards within the Talthara. But such power came with a price: envy from other houses. In a society where status is "king", danger lurked around every corner for any house showing promise or potential for gaining more prestige within the Talthara. Unbeknownst to House Ze'Marri, they had beenstudied and plotted against by a much more powerful rival for decades. House Fa'gorinn felt a need to keep anyone up and coming house from creeping to close to their level of status. House Ze'Marri, in its blind overconfidence, felt no threat from the much larger house. They felt certain that their powerful magical wards would repel any would be invader.

Malagith had managed to overcome the spite he received within his house for not becoming a wielder of arcane magic. Showing that he could handle himself with a rapier accorded him only minimal amount of tolerance within House Ze'Marri's walls. Malagith, of course, did not care in the least. Most of his time was spent outside the confines of his house anyway. Much to his dismay, he was always assigned by his Patriarch and Matriarch to travel along with the House Ze'Marri sponsored trade caravans to other Under Realm cities. Years of pathfinding through the Under Realm tunnels brought skills that came with navigating the wild: tracking, moving in silence. hiding among the shadows and living off nothing but the environs. It certainly was not where his heart was fondest. There was a certain amount of independence that Malagith felt in running the tunnels, but everything else about it bothered him. He didn't care for the smells, the sleeping on hard stone, the dull trail rations and mostly he didn't care for the lack of courtesans. However, Malagith did not realize exactly how lucky he was for being in those tunnels...

In the dead of night, on Malagith's 150th birthday, the forces of House Fa'gorinn launched a surprise invasion of House Ze'Marri, rending all their magical defenses inert. The hundreds of House Ze'Marri wizards fell to the blades of slaves, some of them even in their sleep. The magic based house was almost utterly wiped out in a span of minutes. Only a few were quick enough or lucky enough to escape. As for Malagith, they did not count on the young noble being out on a last minute caravan. News reached Malagith of his House's destruction at the next trading settlement many miles away from his home city. There was an immense sadness at the loss of all that he had known, but was it for his family or the loss of his lifestyle? Malagith was quite sure he knew the answer to that...

With nothing but the armor on his back and the rapier on his hip, The Accursed creature made his way to the surface with a gaggle of other escapees from the House Ze'Marri caravan. By the time they made their treacherous trip through the Under Realms to the small town of Hlint, Malagith was the only survivor of the bunch. The young fencer has no regrets, only a twinge of desire for revenge, but no pull to return to his home city--what happened, happened; there is nothing that can be done to change it. The escaped noble has vivid dreams on what he wishes to accomplish on the surface. Wealth, power and prestige all come to mind as motivators for continued existence. Turning misfortune into opportunity is the credo he is adhering to. Time will tell how Malagith will fare in this strange world called "the surface". His hope is that some divine creature will take an interest in his exploits and toss a bit of luck in his direction. As such, he silently utters a prayer to Baraeon Ca'Duz from time to time, but certainly has no intentions of going to any temple...where is the fun in that?

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Malagith is of a slight and wiry build at a crisp 5'6". His skin is that of inky black, taut with streamlined muscles. His gait is confident and sure with the grace of a cat and the steady hand of a scribe. Despite the magical healing, scars riddle his body from training and the dangers of the Under Realms. His face is young, but strong with a firm jaw and distinguished nose. His eyes are a brilliant red that seem to soak in all the details within their sight. Malagith's long hair is a wavy, stark white that is almost always worn loose about the shoulders, often with a pair of brands down the front and back. On his countenance, he wears a perpetual smirk that seems to beg for the world to give him all it has. His mannerisms are always fluid and graceful often gesturing with his hands. Malagith follows all proper courtly protocol if for no other reason than to look good in front of others. His voice is measured and smooth. Though he does not possess any sort notable charisma, he simply uses what average characteristics he has to its highest potential.

PERSONALITY
Malagith is a calculating creature. Although he is spontaneous in many ways, even those seeming acts of suddenness have often been been thought out years in advance. He uses his swashbuckling lifestyle to his advantage with scholars and wizards often underestimating his grasp of the arts and complicated subject matters, automatically assuming he is a foppish fool of a dark elf. His words are riddled with sarcasm and underlying messages as such is the spice of conversation in his eyes. Often verbal sparring is as exciting as a fencing duel to the death. At all times, regardless of his outward appearance, his eyes are always on the prize--whatever goal is currently in his sights and rarely will he deviate from obtaining his next step in wielding power and influence on the surface.

[Faldred]

Hi! Thanks for the submission.

There are two issues I need to see addressed before his can be approved:

1. If I'm not mistaken on Layonara policy, the term "Drow" should be replaced by "Dark Elf" in all places that it is used.

2. The personality descriptions of "Deception", "ruthless", "dastardly", etc. seem to imply a personality more fitting for a Chaotic Evil alignment than a True Neutral alignment.

[Ebonith]

EDIT: Drow wording changed to Dark Elf

To address your other concerns...

His alignment is neutral, which plays favor with both law and chaos, both good and bad--his own moral compass so to speak, as long as it does not delve too far into evil.

1. Dastardly - cowardly; meanly base; sneaking
2. Ruthless - without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless
3. Deception - a misleading falsehood

In my opinion, these three traits can exist in any alignment, except Lawful Good (in some instances Lawful Good as well). A neutral character possessing these traits is not uncommon at all. Lying does not make you CE--nor does being cowardly or sneaky, nor does deception.

[Rowana]

On #1 and #3 i think we can see the point of your suggestions. However, on #2 when you add in cruelty we rub. One can be neutral, with out pity or compassion, without being cruel or merciless. Indeed being neutral suggests more or less not caring one way or the other, which is more an absence of caring rather then an intent to cause harm or go forward with the intent to hurt feelings. I hope you can see the difference of what is implied by these words here. If you haven't already I'd like for you to read over Layonara's definitions of Alignment and make sure that you can RP with in those boundaries, or that you are indeed seeking the correct Alignment.

Thanks!
~row

[Ebonith]

EDIT: The word "Ruthless" has been replaced

Hi Rowana. I read Layonara's definitions of Alignment the day I started with this server years ago. They haven't changed any. I am completely aware of how to play a neutral alignment according to Layonara published material. I have had no problems playing this alignment in the past nor do I anticipate having problems playing it now.

I intend on playing this dark elf to be an enjoyable part of this world. I assure you there are no mindless Chaotic Evil aspects to that character, far from it. On the same hand, you will not get a "good" dark elf when interacting with Malagith. He will ride the line just fine. Your fears on word semantics are misplaced. Thanks for listening.

[darkstorme]

Hi there - it's voice number three!

Two concerns:

First, his prowess with his rapier was what won him the time to escape... when dozens of better-trained, -armed, and -prepared dark elves were killed in the assault? Unless further detail is added to this fight (see concern #2), I think this reflects significantly too much power for a first-level character. (The problems with making everyone first-level have been hashed over many times, but as it's the only fair way, it has to be enforced.)

Second, dark elves are, arguably, among the most special of the subraces. While the extant writing is excellent, I'd like to see significantly greater detail - particularly about anything that qualifies Malagith to take levels in Ranger. The only thing that even hints at a hunter's prowess, rather than a straight-up fighter, is the mention of "patrols", which could be stretched to include patrols in the wilderness of the underground world of the dark elves, and that's very much stretching the written material.

The second point could take care of the first, if you write further on the attack itself, placing him in a situation where his nascent (if promising) skills with the sword might get him away alive.

Thanks!

[Ebonith]

Makes sense to me. I will expound tomorrow.

[Ebonith]

Ok, edited it.

EDIT: Rapier combat replaced. It was not my intent to sound that way, but my details were too few to convey that. Changed it where he was not there at all.

EDIT: Expounded on ranger skills. Subterranean environments as vast as those described are their own environ. It is no different than being a ranger in the desert, the arctic, woodlands, swamplands, etc. The concepts are the same: survival in that environ, moving silently, hiding, tracking.

[darkstorme]

Hi again -

Good to see the ranger class now supported, but I'd still like to see more detail (ideally, a physical description as well), since Dark Elves are a demanding and (supposedly) rare adventuring subrace.

In addition, the elven age of maturity is 110, and the attack on his household occurred at age 100, so presumably he'd been dallying with courtesans and guiding caravans at the human-equivalent age of 14-16? Given the Layonaran rate of development (distinct from the rate of development in Medieval Earth), this seems a bit odd.

Once these are addressed, I don't see any more problems.

Thanks!

[Ebonith]

EDIT: Changed age to 150 winters old

EDIT: Added a Physical Description section

EDIT: Added a Personality section

It is good to see the criteria for rare races and characters in general has been kept high. You guys continue to make us work for what we want. Bravo.

[darkstorme]

One last pair of things that keep niggling at me when I read this:

• Is he foppish, or not? Clearly he has some skill in manipulation, else he wouldn't have survived, but he seems to have a certain degree of fixation on the finer things in life, rather than any particular lofty goal. Your personality statement suggests that he's more calculating than he appears, but
  

  Originally Posted by Ebonith

  He didn't care for the smells, the sleeping on hard stone, the dull trail rations and mostly he didn't care for the lack of courtesans.

  suggests a halfling-like enjoyment of opulence. If this could be expanded a bit further to determine whether one or the other is an act, or whether they work in some symbiotic way, that would be appreciated.
• Malagith and Baraeon Ca'duz. You mentioned that he dropped a prayer to Baraeon every once in a while. The good M. Ca'duz does not seem the type of deity who is casually prayed to (otherwise, I wouldn't ask), so how does Malagith interpret the god's doctrine of cruelty and hatred? (And does he share the dark elf racial hatred of... well, everyone?)

Having gone over this submission quite a few times now, I'm fairly certain that's it. Once this is dealt with, I firmly suspect that Malagith will get to try himself against the many people who wander the surface world.

Thanks!

[Ebonith]

Clarifications:
- Malagith's appearance and demeanor suggests he is a fop. He is in fact a calculating, well studied creature.
- Malagith is also a creature of the city. That part is not a ruse. He much prefers cobble to damp grass.
- Malagith does indeed prefer the finer things in life: fine wine, fine women, spanning manors, etc. He wishes for these things in abundance as a lifestyle. He accentuates these desires, amplifying their significance in his life. But his hidden agenda is more substantial: true power and spanning influence.
- It is my understanding the gods rarely meddle in the affairs of mortals and that is the perception of all creatures in Layonara. Without a direct impact on his life from any deity, he will not be a religous zealot to any god. He has seen the power of Baraeon Ca'Duz's clergy in his homeland. His entire family was devoted to this god. He does not doubt the existence of its divinity. But Malagith is not a pious creature. What has the Left Hand of the Black done for him lately? He will utter prayers to the Prince of Hate in times of anger, vengeance and before facing an enemy that is not drow. These are not everyday occurrences, so it may be weeks before uttering any prayer at all. In other instances, it may be 10 times a day...it really depends on how much trouble he has gotten himself into.
- His take on creatures that are not drow should have certainly been included in my original history. Shame on me. Malagith sees drow as the epitome of perfection as a people. Everything else is like a soured wine: distasteful. Malagith treats them as such, but not by hurling blatant insults, but by silky, malacious words. He will work with other races to obtain his goals, but they are tools put on Layonara to serve his needs. Elves? It is hard for him to disguise his disgust for all surface elves...period.

[darkstorme]

*nods* Excellent.

Approved

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