Kenderick Black Spears

[Ruffstuff]

First Name: Kenderick
Last Name: Black Spears (tribe of his father)

Appearance: Tall, hugely muscled, ugly as sin, bald at an early age, a green tinge to his skin
Race: Half-Orc
Age: 20
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 275 lbs
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black
Facial Hair Style: Varied

Personality Profile: He is an intelligent yet rash warrior, often rushing headlong into battle. Never feels that he is good enough from being put down for being non-magical in early life. Friendly to most, hates bullies and arrogant magic users.

General Health: Very good
Deity: Tempus, minor worship of some of the goodly gods
Initial Alignment: Chaotic Good
Profession:Warrior, adventurer
Base Class & Proposed Development: Fighter, Weapon Master, ?
Habits/Hobbies:
* prays to Tempus before battles, praises Tempus after
* avid fisherman who is looking for new spots
* likes to chase women (few are interested)
Languages: Common, Orcish

Weapon of Choice: Great Axe

Background :

* dislikes those who judge him on his race and appearance (CHA 6)
* left home to find people who value the talents he was born with, strength of arm, no or little magic
* Happy go lucky who may often be under-prepared for combat and rash in it

Goals:
* To become a greater warrior than any of his family can become magic-users
* To make a name for himself with goodly Ffolk as a hero of the Sword Coast

Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
* Any sibling showing up would be very disruptive to Kenderick in his new found home
* Black Spears orcs showing up would leave him conflicted on which side to fight as he both dislikes them for being his father's tribe but is drawn to them for the approval he never got from his father

Character background story :

Early life:

Kenderick is from rare circumstances; Son to an aloof mage/shaman Orcish father and a human druid mother, a non-magical son amongst brothers and sisters whom all have the gift of magic. He grew up in a little outpost/tower his father erected on the road out of Murann. His father assumed all of his children would have the gift of magic talent, and when Kenderick didn't, it was a disappointment. Of course he had other attributes and talents, unappreciated though they were in his home. For instance, none of his brothers or sisters were growing at the rate or into such strength, nor were any of them particularly athletic as he was. Being lowest in the magical pecking order of family, though his mother often watched out for him, he was often given the least positive encouragement. What interaction he had with non-magical Ffolk came in the form of small caravans that would often stop at his family's outpost where his mother would deal with them unless special circumstances required his father. She did not hide her half-orc children and allowed them to work and play among the caravans that came and went from and to Murann.

Early inspiration:

Once, when Kenderick was eleven, a caravan with armed guard stopped for the night. They counted a large half-orc warrior among their contingent, which was the first time Kenderick had seen a half-orc who wasn't family. A slung great axe rested on his back and he wore banded armor with fancy scroll-work. Kenderick was amazed by this warrior, only knowing magical orcish-kind his entire life he hadn't considered there were others like him, whose size and strength could be measured their finest attributes. The evening after the caravan rolled in, Kenderick watched the half-orc warrior go about his work at a distance. While watching the caravan guard work on their gear and horses, he heard others refer to half-orc as "Arm Crusher" which Kenderick thought was a great nick name a strong half-orc to have. He watched Arm Crusher work on some of the small rings holding his armor together, bending them back into shape with a pair of sooty tongs. He followed him and saw Arm Crusher lift a huge armored chest down from the back of one of the caravan wagons, he couldn't believe anyone but an ogre could do such a thing! He was impressed and jealous of the half-orc, wondering what adventures such a mighty warrior must have had.

The following morning, as the caravan was getting ready to leave, Kenderick wachted Arm Crusher as he was mounting his charger. He saw his chance to talk to him slipping away, and with excitement in his gut he could barely keep himself to a walk as he approached the surly half-orc. When Kenderick saw that he had at least caught Arm Crusher's attention, he blurted out "One day when I am big and strong, I will be like you Arm Crusher, I too will be a warrior with a giant axe, and take on dragons and giants!" A few other caravan guards heard what was said and laughed, smiling at Kenderick with happy eyes. Arm Crusher shot the kid a toothy grin. "You want ta be like ol' Arm Crusher do ya?" said the armored half-orc, his deep voice sounding like he had gargled with small rocks. Arm Crusher whirled his axe out of it's sling on his back and threw it blade first into the ground where it planted handle up. "Here boy, see if you can life my axe! Ha ha ha." as he laughed with the other guards. Kenderick was embarrased to suddenly be the center of attention, but he wasn't going to pass up a chance to lift the half-orcs axe. Though he was young, he was large and strong for his age, and he had a touch of over-confidence being bigger than his elder brother even though he was two years the younger. He approached the axe whose head was as wide as his shoulders and handle almost as tall as he was hesitantly. What a giant weapon it was, it looked so much bigger, and deadlier, up close. He wrapped both his hands around the middle of the axe handle, looked up at the smiling Arm Crusher, and heaved with all his might. Though he strained mightily, the axe would not budge and the caravan guards burst out with a new round of laughs. "That axe is bigger than he is!" one of the guards said roaring with belly laughs. "Boy, go fetch your mother so she can lift it with you!" another called with tears in his eyes. Kenderick's cheecks burned red with anger and embarrassment, he had to lift this axe! He thought of calling on his father's god... "Mystra" he thought, "give me that magic to lift this axe and I will worship you all of my life!" He once again pulled for everything he was worth, yet the axe did not move. He looked around, now a few of his brothers and sisters had come outside to see what all the noise was about. Mr. Brownbottle whom helped around the outpost, was also watching as he leaned his elbow pitchfork he had just been using to move hay. "You can do it Kenderick" called Mr. Brownbottle, "don't you pay mind to anyone else. Focus, pull hard and slow!" Kenderick thought that was a good idea, and he readied himself for another try.

He closed his eyes and tried to breathe steady, this axe wasn't so big that he couldn't lift it. His older brother Gavus, never passing up a chance to pick on his younger brother, yelled out "Hah, Kendy *is* hard and slow! Proved that trying to learn magic!" Gvaus began a chant of "Hard and slow!" picked up by his youngest brother and sister innocently. Kenderick looked at his elder brother with fire in his eyes, they never got along. With his brother always being the favorite of their father, he was a magical prodigy always quick to use their father's praise to show Kenderick just where his place in the family was. Kenderick looked down and tried to steady himself, he couldn't let his brother's pestering get to him. He screamed in his mind "Gods, which of you will lend me strength?! Which of you honors the warrior who cannot touch magic?! Lend me your strength now, let me be as Arm Crusher, a worthy warrior all my life and I will serve your cause!" Kenderick wavered and felt a momentary flutter, it seemed as though the chanting of his siblings and the harsh laughs of the guards were far away. Time seemed to slow and he heard the steady slow thud of his heartbeat in his ears.. then.. something. Heat was rising from the pit of his belly, and the fire crept out filling his entire body. He felt more than himself, as if an ogre wore his skin with strength of many man. His eyes flew open and stared ahead at nothing or as seeing something that wasn't there, he yanked the axe from the ground with a warcry "YaaaaaahhhH!", dirt flying from the blade in an arc. He held the axe above his head in his hands as if about to strike a foe just before him, his gaze whirling about. There was a sudden inhalation of breath as the guards stopped laughing and his sibilings stopped chanting, his elder brother catching on last turning around to look at Kenderick dumbfounded. His youngest sibling, his sister Sarta, screamed out of surprise. His mother came rushing out of the little work house where she was finishing up the recording of the caravan's passage. As Kenderick saw her, the strength that had come so quickly bled out of his body and he struggled to look strong as he put the axe down. "Kenderick" she said sternly as she strode quickly over to him, "step away, don't lift that axe again!" Kenderick stepped back a few steps, relieved that no one would find out he could not lift it. The caravan guards muttered in dis-belief as Arm Crusher leaned over in the saddle to retrieve his axe. The half-orc didn't take his eyes off of Kenderick as he did saying "You have a strong son woman... too strong for one that age." There were mutterings of agreement from the mounted guards and looks of shock of the faces of his youngest two siblings. Arm Crusher swung his axe back into its sling just as the caravan master cried out "Enough of this, I don't pay you to play with children, get the oxen moving, we are losing daylight!" The caravan of three wagons started to rumble off down the road, the guards and Arm Crusher looking back once or twice at Kenderick as they fell into place.