Gard Raklet

[Task]

Template For Character Creation Reward:

First Name: Gard
Last Name: Raklet

Appearance: Stocky build, not bad looking for a half-orc. Being only 1/4 orc allows him to appear human at least from a distance. Up close the underbite forehead make his race more obvious.
Race: Half-orc
Age: 23
Height 5'8
Weight: 212
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Grayish brown
Facial Hair Style: Well groomed goatee

Personality Profile: Gruff, but capable of being friendly. Doesn't trust people who are overly nice and will verbally tear into people who insult him. Often prefers solitude.
General Health: Healthy and in good shape. Stronger than most humans, but other half-orcs are likely to be stronger.
Deity: Umberlee
Initial Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Profession: Sailor, shipwright
Base Class & Proposed Development: Ranger, likely multiclassing with rogue.
Habits/Hobbies: Enjoys fishing, alone or with others. Likes working on ships and prior to becoming a sailor and actually needing money, would do it for free.
Languages: Common, Orc
Weapon of Choice: Hand axe and Cutlass (short sword). Also likes throwing axes.

Background:

Gerard Telkar was born the son of a noble paladin Waterdeep. His father, Derek Telkar was a great paladin known by some as the most noble and honorable half-orc to ever walk the land. He even married the daughter of a wealthy human lord.
Gerard however, was a different story. He was only truly one quarter orc, but to many he was simply a monster. As a youth he fit in with no one. Wealthy children were disgusted by his appearance, and poor children were disgusted that one so ugly was wealthier than them. He was constantly bullied and tormented.
His father had always taught him that violence was only for self-defense and so he took the abuse and suffered the biting words of the other children. One day he stopped fleeing and started shouting insults back at the other children. He himself was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. He began calling other children all manner of foul words, words that had been used against him for so long. He realized that these children were no smarter than him. He could throw insults as well as anyone. Then the violence started.
He was eight years old, although his size was that of a fourteen year old human. He was carrying supplies to the docks district. It was a long walk and his load was heavy, but he enjoyed it and he could feel his strength growing every day. He was nearing the Dockmaster’s cabin when a rock slammed into the side of his head. He fell to the ground breaking some of the equipment he carried. When he looked up he was surrounded by the other children. One of them looked down and said “Where’s your smart mouth now ORC?”
Then all the children began pelting him with rocks, sticks, and anything else they could find, all the while yelling at him calling him Orc. When the boys were done, they dragged him into a small dock house and locked him in. A passing guard discovered him when he saw the trail of blood leading to the dock house.
When his father found out what had happened he demanded the parents of the boys who had done this come and meet with him. All the parents had the same story. Their children had been complaining about how Gerard had been harassing them for years. They claimed that he constantly shouted disgusting insults at them and threatened them daily. They told Derek that he should learn how to discipline his own son before accusing their children of starting a fight. All the parents insisted their children were only defending themselves against a bully and that Gerard had it coming.
Derek was outraged. When Gerard was healed it was time to begin teaching him how to defend himself. Derek had intentionally avoided teaching his son how to fight when young, knowing that he was much stronger than human children and how badly he could hurt people if he did fight. Gerard learned very quickly and had no trouble learning the various weapons he was shown. He clearly had an exceptional talent with a battle axe.
He became more confident and forgot about the problems he’d dealt with for so long. He even decided to start transporting supplies to the Dockmaster again. For several weeks he delivered supplies without incident. Sadly, it didn’t last.
He had an exceptionally heavy load that day. He needed a wheelbarrow to transport it all. He was in the docks district, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He ducked just in time to avoid a rock thrown at him. Twelve teenage boys came out from behind the dock houses. All of them were carrying clubs and rocks
“Tell you what Orc. Leave the wheelbarrow, give us all your money, and run home, and we just might let you...” His words were cut off as a hammer slammed into his chest. The other boys stood dumbfounded as Gerard pulled two more hammers from a sack on his wheelbarrow.
“Anyone else want these supplies?” Gerard shouted, pulling his arm back to throw another. The other boys grabbed their friend and ran. Gerard calmly picked up the hammer, placed it back in the wheelbarrow and continued to the Dockmaster, a broad smile on his face.
After this incident, his father’s influence with the community suffered. The nobles and gentry wanted nothing to do with him or his family. Seeing what was happening to his family made Gerard want to leave. He was sick of being where he was not wanted.
Then one day he was working on the docks helping to repair a merchant ship that had been attacked by pirates. Some of their crew had been slain and he overheard them mulling about the difficult of operating a ship with such a small crew. This, he decided, was his opportunity to get away from his troubles. He went to the captain and explained that he had all the shipbuilding skills and knowledge necessary to be an asset to the crew. He lied about his name, calling himself “Gard” and claimed to be an orphaned youth who just helped out on the docks for food.
The captain was not comfortable with the idea of taking a random youth onto his ship, but after seeing the quality of the repairs, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have another able-bodied crewman on board. Beyond some early hazing from his shipmates, he was actually treated with more respect than he was used to. He was amazed how popular he could become by giving a crewmate a black eye or breaking a few chairs in a seedy bar while the ship was docked.
He saw the life of a sailor as the one that suited him best and he had no desire to return to Waterdeep. When he found out the ship was headed there, he took his leave at the next stop, Baldur’s Gate, and bid his crewmates goodbye.

Goals: To be captain of his own ship. To be respected.
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts: Any quest that involves being on a boat would put him in his element. As a sailor he worships Umberlee and would immediately take up any job for her church.

[Lyrewyn]

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