Bashir "Big Bash" Khatara

[Fabulous Secret Powers]

The Making of a Melodramatic Twink



Hi. I'm new here.

That is to say that before playing Bashir, I had never played on EFU in a meaningful fashion. V1 vaguely sounds like a server I played as a kid, but the memory is really so vague that I can't say if it wasn't some other Underdark-themed server. For V5, I shamelessly played a halfling that was just a clone of Columbo for all of maybe three hours, at most.

Bashir was originally going be a far shorter lived character, existing merely for a month or two so I could familiarize myself with the server. However, I was included in so much stuff during the very first days of his life, both on the part of players and DMs, that it started a streak of fun that didn't really stop.

My problem with characters is that I usually make them too vague, before I make the actual sensible move for myself, and start actually planning them and coming up with a backstory. That's the only way they stick, really. Backstory-wise, Bashir was a street orphan who was eventually enslaved by a sociopathic merchant, who also happened to be a cultist of Gargauth, for whom he worked as basically a spy and servant, both. After years of physical and mental torture, he was freed by Harpers... who did kind of a terrible job at it and just sent him off on his way afterwards. After that, he simply wandered the land, jumping from job to job, never really staying anywhere. 

For RP, I wanted kind of a challenge... so, I just made him a bipolar twink with a terrible attention deficit. Highly inspired by guys I've dated and have had as friends. Yes, I have terrible taste.

Yeah, attention deficit. If Bashir walked by you when you were trying to talk to him, it was all part of the joke. He wasn't paying attention. I'm not subtle at all, but apparently this detail flew over by a lot of people's heads? It's a dumb joke!! He also had trouble pronouncing words correctly, took people too literally when he wasn't paying attention, and was, all in all, a ditzy goofball. However, he knew this, and exaggerated it to his benefit. If he could play a dumbass to avoid work, or to spy on people, he absolutely would. This is what his massive bluff was used for, mainly. Acting like a dumbass, more so than outright lying.



Mechanically, Bashir was a full non-combatant. The only general combat feat I had was Fight or Flight, and even that was more to drive home that he was a coward, than anything else. Otherwise his feats were skill bonuses and Slippery Mind. The latter, again, was for flavor reasons. Ditz.

The Life of a Ditz

Bashir pretty much started as a cowardly clerk in the background, but was quickly brought to the fore by a ton of different events. So many of them, really, that I can scarcely remember most of them. DMs quickly noticed his strengths as a character, and what I like to do as a player, so, I got a bunch of juicy rumors to spread, got to travel to a bunch of intriguing locations, and overall, got to take part in plenty of comedic absurdity, and the saddest melodrama. If it wasn't something too spoilery, Bash would share his experiences with just about anyone. Occasionally, this could be a bit frustrating... as surprisingly few people asked about the things that he actually knew. Yes, I know that asking him about audits is funny, but you're missing out on lore!!

In the two years that I played Bashir, I tried to mostly focus on bringing attention to characters that I liked. That's why I made sendings about them, and that's why I wrote journal entries about them. I just like bringing attention to stuff that I like, so, yes, it was very much just a "hey look at this guy they're cool" sort of deal, all the way through. I also just liked making people aware of the strange happenings in Ephia's Well, in general. That was easily one of my favorite parts about playing him. Ephia's Well is a strange place, and I simply wanted Bashir to be a regular guy reacting to that absurdity.

The shift in roles that happened later on was a challenge. Being Vizier was probably the toughest spot to RP through, and I did kind of feel like I was pushing Bashir's capabilities too much there, as he was always supposed to be just a guy surrounded by games and schemes far bigger than him. When he became Deputy Chief Scribe, I tried to make this far more evident. Bashir wasn't really a boss. He was far too lenient and far too friendly, and obviously did not know much about managing hundreds of people at once. So, even in that role he just focused on what he knew, and that was bringing smiles to people. This meant that he showered his colleagues in lavish bonuses for even the smallest of tasks. I thought it was funny, anyway.

The journal was a joy to write, even though there were days where it was tough to figure out what to write about. And yes, it will be actually finished. I'm just busy with uni!! I was really surprised by how many people read it at first, because I just intended it as an occasional glance into who Bashir was. However, the positive comments, along with the fact that I kind of struck gold and made Bashir's voice something that was just a joy to write, made it into a more elaborate affair, and something that I actually looked forward to doing. Bashir's novelettes, on the other hand, were born out of a suggestion from Zain. Bash was a lot of improv in general, and Zain's suggestion of writing a detective novel was an entertainingly dumb enough idea that I just did it. They're pretty much cringe comedy, but hey, I enjoyed writing them...

I absolutely loved designing outfits. Big thanks to Abala and Bearic for that. The fashion shows were genuinely something that I always looked forward to the most, even when I was low on ideas for designs. They were just a ton of fun, and I think everyone should give the shows a try, even if you've never tried designing anything at all before! Even failure at that can be fun. I guarantee it! Just give it a try!

Gayest of Loot



The Fez came from Dan and Halfbrood, after Bash became more closely tied to Baz'eel. Probably the thing that you'd first notice about him. I loved this little thing! Wish I used the painting bonus more often, though. Bashir's investment in painting was a thing that I tended to forget too often. Enjoy the top secret queer lore.



Bashir's time as Vizier was not an easy time. He became a drunk (again) for a while, and nearly quit his job as a Scribe. To calm him down, Frederica (Abala) gave him the Scribal tailoring kit. Later on, Bearic made it into actual loot. This is how I made customized clothing. I think this was the most impactful loot, both gameplay-wise and RP-wise. I absolutely loved creating new stuff, though I admittedly was occasionally running out of ideas. Designing is hard work!



The inks! These came from Dillusionist. A very important item, and kind of a shift in Bashir's story, because it introduced Inky. Basically I had an idea for another PC, where they would have a magical journal that they would converse with. When I got these inks, that idea shifted into Inky, after I saw the ink summon. This turned out to be a big help for the journal, because there were occasions where I had trouble figuring out what to write... especially on days when I couldn't play. So, Inky kind of became a way to fill those empty spots. I used all of the abilities on this a lot, though I admittedly was kind of hesitant to summon Inky occasionally, both because I made their voice annoying, and I'm uncertain of collision during hectic moments!



Christmas loot from Halfbrood! Through these, Bashir got Tonka, his cat. I tended to summon Tonka when Bashir had visitors at his house, or when an awkwardly quiet moment needed a jumpstart. She's a cat, she doesn't get around much. Also, some people made it pretty apparent that they would try to kill her. You're nasty. As silly of a thing it might be, I absolutely loved these gloves, because I just love having a cat, as cosmetic of a thing as that might be.



I got this for taking part in Red Hill. I used the invisibility a lot. Looking it over, I now realize that I was saving up that Legend Lore for way too long! I think I never used it! I really should have.



Aaisha and Bash both got these for doing a good job at Scribe stuff. I used the Sanctuary pretty often, even though I can never remember the exact details on how it works.



My first DM loot! It came from Halfbrood. It summons fire bullets. I used this a lot, even though in Bashir's later days I wasn't getting into combat too much. Still an extremely useful bit of kit!



Spem Nurto.



Bashir's fancy shoes, from Bearic. These started as a gift from Zain, and back then, they were named "Pair of Soles", due to Zain originally promising Bash a parasol... when the model for those didn't yet exist. Later on, I got some peacock feathers, and decided to use them to spruce those soles up a little. Bash had been wearing them for a year, after all! The pun for a name stayed.



Christmas loot from Bearic. I thought it'd be funny for Bash to carry lozenges with him at all times, offering them to stressed Legates and so on. I guess it kind of materialized as this loot. I used it a lot, there's a lot of nasty poisons in EFU!

Finally

I'd like to thank each and every player that I interacted with on Bashir, for providing some of the best moments in RP that I've ever had. I'd also like to thank the entirety of the EFU DM team. Whenever I thought that I was just going to get bored of playing Bash, a DM would come along and give him something fun to do. The amount of attention that I got is simply humbling. So, a humble thanks to everyone in EFU!

And, as a sappy finisher... a song from Love that pretty much sums up my feelings about taking off the fez. Enjoy.

Screenshots will come later! There's thousands of them to go through!

[LiAlH4]

Fantastic work!

[Pandip]

A thorough demonstration of what a wildly beloved and incredibly successful PC looks like without having to get involved in PvP or 'crush' PvE content.

A mainstay of the server for as long as I can remember. He will be dearly missed.