(http://i42.tinypic.com/4hp0ky.jpg)
“My enemies shall tremble at my second coming.â€
-Black Balfour
Conceptual Background:
When I first started making Amory Balfour, I sort of had that Spanish movie “Alatriste,†in mind. The idea was that I would be a leather duster wearing pikeman, who would swagger about, while I, as a player, got reacquainted with the setting. After all, I hadn’t really played since the Numinous Order took over Castle Blackhearth, and being in a new setting required adjusting. However, I didn’t realize how quickly I would fall in love with playing my True Neutral Fighter.
Character Background:
As I became more familiar with the setting, I realized I needed to flesh out my background a bit. I settled on the idea of being from Old Port. The city wasn’t unfamiliar to me, as I had spent quite a bit of time there as a Patrician in Chapter Two. Quickly, I hashed out the story. Amory Balfour was an orphan who lived beyond the walls of the city. His father, Kirby Pendleton Balfour, was a slave ship officer, and his mother, an unnamed Cormyrian whore, who dumped her child on the father. For years, Amory toiled in the mud, until his estranged father left him a small fortune.
With the meagre windfall, Amory used it to buy citizenship in the city, settling along the canal ward. With his place then established in the city, he sought work as a longshoreman, loading and unloading ships. What Amory neglected to tell people, however, was that more often than not, the cargo was human.
Soon, the dark days fell upon us all, and many fled through The Last Gate. Amory, however drunk he was, instead opted to make his own way out of the city, in a small fishing boat. For weeks, he drifted. He survived off of the rotten fish that floated to the surface, and the unclean water that lay stagnant in the bottom of his boat. Moldering away from the blood of countless sea creatures.
As Amory made landfall, on what he could only assume “may†have been Ymph, he staggered though the harsh wilderness, doing whatever he could to survive. That meant killing and eating the first living soul he came across. Of course, he regretted it... but it was kill, or be killed.
What seemed like aeons of wandering came to an end, and he soon found himself rescued by the Spellguard. Alone in the city, Amory first sought work with the Construction Office, then the Workmill, and then resigned himself to worming. He was quite good at it, and made a few friends, who pointed him towards the Watchers. Of course, his best friend, Alexei Antonov insisted that Amory join him in the Auxiliary, but his mind was made up.
Amory was not long a member of the Watchers, before he qualified for Sergeant. With his promotion secure, he began finding matters in the city slowly spiraling out of control. There are far too many tales to tell in regards to Amory’s long stay in Sanctuary, but the most notable are his first hints at trouble brewing, the hardest decision in his life leading to the betrayal of a dear friend, and slowly rising to major prominence within the city.
As Amory’s days in Dunwarren came to a close, I think it was made clear that he was indeed the ruling Authority in Sanctuary, if only by his action, and not by right or deed. To that end, Amory accomplished a fairly large portion of his character goals. His only major falling short was not claiming a title.
Amory met a short demise, when he foolishly led a charge into the Cathedral of Ascension, to save one of his men. He was promptly abandoned. Though Amory was killed, and lost the battle, little could anyone know that Amory was not bluffing when he stated that his “mortal body may be destroyed, but†he “would live on stronger than ever before.â€
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Cadet Balfour
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Alexei and Amory enjoying a chat at the watering hole
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General MacBalfour
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Ready, aye, ready!
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A little insight as to why Amory is... the way that he is...
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Alexei, Ursarkar, and Amory before capturing Slyd.
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Patrice and Amory enjoy the fire in his estate
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The sword that beat a billion backs. Might be the wrong stats. I don’t care.
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Always on duty!
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Promotion Day!
[hide=title](http://i39.tinypic.com/29kuc85.jpg)[/hide]
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The Balfour Accord that broke the Revolution in Sanctuary
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Retaking the Manse
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The Burning Man
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Fortifications going up!
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A director’s last snipe at Balfour
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Epic Assault!
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The battle that won me the world...
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The Fugue
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Walden came to join me... for a time.
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[hide=title](http://i42.tinypic.com/2n9j0h.jpg)[/hide]
So it is...
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[hide=title](http://i39.tinypic.com/2i91d2v.jpg)[/hide]
I find myself in this hellish plane... Banehold?
[hide=title](http://i42.tinypic.com/2940288.jpg)[/hide]
[hide=title](http://i40.tinypic.com/2cmwx87.jpg)[/hide]
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[hide=title](http://i41.tinypic.com/kedjev.jpg)[/hide]
And so, the conquest of Toril began under the Self Styled Tyrant Emperor, Warlord and Newly Appointed Emissary of Bane
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[hide=title](http://i40.tinypic.com/28jvfyc.jpg)[/hide]
--The Endâ€"
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Thanks to all those who contributed in some way to my character development. You all made it so worthwhile, it’s almost beyond words. There are too many names to mention, so I will refrain in an effort to avoid offending anyone.
Bloodplume!
Loved the tension and had you lived longer, there was a good chance I would have made an attempt on your life because of that tension.
The thing I want to know...was what was your account name during EFUA? I played 90% of that setting and am curious.
Really great PC. Wonderful to watch from afar. Well done.
Great PC.
Blood Plume!
A great PC, and that one that many characters were quite legitimately afraid of crossing. Your reign of terror, while over, was admirable.
I think I remember his pedantic urging during Slyd Radke's prosecution the most. He really wanted to pin that guy.
Couldn't quite tell just how brutal he was but he definitely developed a reputation. Kudos!
Oh, and nice screenshots!
Alexei & Balfour 4 lyfe
Everyone important was in the mansion raid picture, and Kadar was there too.
I enjoyed watching you randomly beat people down in the street.
Balfour was the face of tyranny in Sanctuary. I'll miss his strong presence. As many have said, he inspired much fear in Lower. Tobit never really got to see Balfour's more brutal side, but heard much......
Excellent PC.
Great PC! Amory really added a military feel to Sanctuary's defenders and was someone people feared. Excellent background and screenshot thread! Good luck on your next PC!
Very impressive, well done :)
In EFU there is no harder role than villain. Most PCs can't comprehend the notion that upon login 99% of the server will be hostile to you. That complete strangers will attempt to kill you on merit of reputation alone. That when push comes to shove most of your days are miserable, lonely, and more.
Exiles always complain about "Boredom", about "Lonliness", about how "Difficult" their life is but they don't understand the role of a ruthless lawman. The agony one is put through in pursuit of pushing a story. On one hand there are PCs who seek your death at every turn. On the other there are NPCs either seeking your downfall, demanding results and shouting at you, or regularly upping the ante to make you do bigger, more evil actions.
It's not a path many people willingly walk and you walked it well.
It was an honor to serve beside you,
But mostly it was just fun playing scheming madmen out to rule the world :D
Good luck with the next one and sorry you never made Sheriff!
It will take some time before I show up with a new PC. I may never see another one quite like Amory, but all my success comes from the hard work and dedication of both the players, and the staff. I couldn't have done it without you all. Thank you again.
Best banite guard EVER. Can't wait to see his second-coming :D
Long-lived, well-developed, and absolutely boss of a pc if there ever was one. Good job, Rudas.
You never did make me Spellguard Commander, a shame!
He was an inspirational PC.
cool story bro
I never met your char IG but ALWAYS knew who you were. That is badass. My thief knew to avoid you, but never met you. Well done!
Amory and Alexei Dueling
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Staring down Blanqui
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This outfit made me laugh really hard. I'm sorry, to the player.
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I was not popular among the Black Guild Directorate
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Magnificent! :)
An awesome character. A shame I never got to learn very much about him IG!
TORTURER! :D
Such a badass. I regret missing so much of the end, but what an awesome character along the way!
Great character man. Unfortunate that I was just getting to know him.