Frank Hollenbeck

[Frank]

Frank is a corpse now, assassinated in mid-conversation with a DM possessed NPC. Sorry, madam dwarf, that letter will never reach Velstra. I was too high level to accept the quest anyway!  ;D

There's not much to write here, and I didn't take many screenshots, as Frank only existed for exactly one month. I made him with the idea of a regular Joe who never adventured and didn't know that lifestyle. He was also irreligious before Awakening, so everything was new to him. He wondered if he was crazy, hearing the call of the Gateway goddess, but it's hard to argue that he suddenly had divine power. But nah, it was probably just the weird divine relic he found.

Even the scripting engine new the Gateway was fake:

[hide][/hide]

It was a lot of fun playing someone who was very flawed and afraid of things, who got startled by people unstealthing or breaking invisibility. I liked that he didn't know what the proper names of monsters or planar creature- his divine summons were just "Good Things." He wasn't familiar with other gods or scholarly things. He had 10 intelligence and was just a woodworker. Founding out Aasimar were a thing just left him confused the rest of the day. Frank went around asking people for basic information to figure the world out. Seeing the effort that required, he took to helping out newly Awoken characters get their bearings and telling them about the dangers of cheating doors. I was hoping to keep him neutral in factions so he could just be a general good-aligned helper to various people, though in the end he foolishly and publicly sided with 'good' in hopes of helping people in Ticker. Whoops!

One of the first things he got involved with was a super fun event with a Gnolls vs Kenku quest. It was a really difficult fight, especially at low levels. Luckily Lori the goblin saved Frank's life twice, a debt he never got to repay. I got to find out about DM loot from that quest and it was an incredible discovery.

[hide][/hide]

I also didn't know about conjuration focuses, which blew my mind. I wanted to eventually gather up all the tomes to get a complete set of summoning options (mostly just to see all the neat variations!) I was hoping to someday get to cast Summon Creature V, even knowing it'd take me months to get there. I wound up really, really loving being a summoner, so maybe I'll try a different one someday. I made a cleric because, honestly, I never played spellcasters before and I hoped that armor would save me. I struggle a lot with fast reaction time, which is why PvP always terrified me when it came up. Magnus, if you wondered why Frank barely moved, it's because I was in a complete panic. Boring fight for you, I know. XD

As a cleric, the hardest thing for Frank to find in terms of gear was a weapon. So many swords on the server, so little cleric weapons! Other than the starting morningstar, I had to make do with what I found:
[hide][/hide]

In terms of other gear, though, I got my second DM loot item and it was AMAZING. So much fun finding out about portal relics and their unique qualities. I really wish I could've dug deep into the lore of the Portal Domain, maybe having played a character tied to an existing god instead of a relic guardian, but like I said, I wanted to make an everyman to start out with. He certainly got a startle when a man burst out of a portal in front of him, and made his dying with be to pass on his equipment. That's where Frank got his snazzy orange armor:
[hide][/hide]
(Note that the name of that armor was an error and eventually fixed!)
Some people thought he was from House Glitt wearing it. Another thought he was in Orza. Super awkward for someone who was desperately trying to be uninvolved at the time.

But because I had a 4th tier relic, I could finally check out all the neat Summon Creature IV spells. Here's Frank with his first 4th level Summon:
[hide][/hide]
They were pals.

And then I got to slot in more summon spells, to play with things like this:
[hide][/hide]

All the custom spells and scripting here is incredibly fun to play with. I only wish I could've had more time to mess around with it all, or see past ring 95. Maybe on my next character! :D

Frank's interactions with people, both friend and foe, were a ton of fun. He grew a lot over the month just from how other people treated him or the things he saw them do. He wound up being a lot grumpier and sour as he saw what he perceived to be a lack of common sense. Feeling like the only sane man at times wore him down. But still, it just turned him into a Knight in Sour Armor trope, which was fun in its own right. I do wish I could've kept him around long enough to join the Doorkeepers when/if the faction opened, because nothing spoke to him as clearly and sensibly as that group of neutral blue collar workers. Having Frank go around helping people with information and warnings, or just RPing lighting lanterns and checking on doors really appealed to me. It would've been fun fleshing out the world for others that way, too.



Anyway! In at least some small way, everybody Frank interacted with was a part of shaping him from the fresh-faced stranger who bizarrely worshiped doors and blessed hinges in his early days, into the grumpy, hitman-targeted person he was when he got chopped in half on his way to bed. Thanks to all the players and DMs who shared some time with Frank. You guys rock. :D

[Krod]

A very cool and well-thought out concept. I'm glad that Frank seemed to harbor more the common-man feel. It really helped him appear organic and he was a blast to interact with. Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[RPG]

Really cool concept for a cleric I was thinking of doing something similar myself. I'm glad someone went for it and did a great job. Definitely left an impact you can feel in life and in death.

[SovietGrowlithe]

Undoubtedly a great character.  One worth dying for.

[Mouse Thief]

Flipping amazing to roleplay with. I had so much fun. This was the first character I met ever playing on this server, and he was undoubtedly Hanna's best friend and closest ally. Will super miss. :,(

[goate]

You know you're doing something right if team evil puts a hit on you.

[The Old Hack]

You know you're doing something right if team evil puts a hit on you.

SO seconded.

I really liked Frank. Awesome guy, never afraid to say what he thought even when it could get him into trouble, and always great company. Rest in peace, old friend.

[Empress of Neon]

Awesome character with a fun concept. My greatest regret is not supplicating him with a cultist pc. R.I.P Frank T.T