Hawthorne Ebersol

[Random_White_Guy]

Well. This was a rollercoaster. And EFU's history has a bittersweet way of repeating itself.

Near the end of EFUR I was met with the poor timing of creating a palemaster by the name of Mikolova Luminita. I went on a permadeath quest for the Spellguard and received the infamous "Thomas' Journal", the largest necromancer of both EFU1 and EFUR who at the time who had raised a Dracolich and left his famed journal behind. Unfortunately I was told that with the Server's Endlude and such going on there wasn't much a chance for one necromancer's mad schemes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concept but as a Palemaster with a Journal I couldn't use there was a lot of the feeling of the cold, calculating, Necromantic practitioner that just didn't come out of the PC as I hoped.

Hawthorne Ebersol was my attempt to remedy that fact.

Taking the classic story "A Christmas Carol" in the EFU universe, I wonder what it would be like if Bob Cratchet was less of a little bitch and killed Scrooge and took over his company instead of all that "God Bless us, Everyone".

Hawthorne Ebersol was a meek and Bob Cratchet esque teenage yes-man in the service of a fat hedonistic Abjurer who had the dream of constructing the "Perfect Vault" as a junior partner at a lending house in Sembia. Through a series of shady deals and brokering slush funds for criminals and cultists alike Nathaniel Fitzwell managed to secure himself the perfect workhorse in the form of Hawthorne. Overtime he would come to teach the boy Magic to keep him wrapped up in his tendrils, an all around ruthless and brutal master/apprentice relationship. He was a violent drunk, a whoremonger, a narcotics abuser, and more. Together they rose through the ranks of the company until Fitzwell took over the entire company and the abuses and expectations of labor on Ebersol only grew worse once he was made "Partner". One day after having had enough one of those cult contacts was reached out to and the young lad learned of Necromancy. He slew Fitzwell the next time he came at him violently and reanimated his skull as both a constant reminder and a business partner behind the scenes left to do all his book keeping. A nice bit of revenge watching a Hedonist squirm in the lifeless state of unfeeling undeath.

He began his adventures traveling Sembia as a burgeoning merchant seeking a reprieve from the woes of his life. In response to his Hedonistic, Whore mongering Master he took up efforts to remain aloof and detatched from all things related to wizardry, economic practice, and even life in general. To wholly separate from the realm of emotion and take ego out of the question when it came to matters of wealth, magic, and success. Awakening in the City of Rings on his first day he battled, and was brutalized by a Mist Giant. However from the Adamantine Vault he received a small token of loot - "Accomplished Wizards Ring". And well, when you get that on day one the rest they say is history.

He joined the Bonecollector's Guild before he even joined the Merchant's Guild and took to the pursuit of Blacksmile's Journal with dreams of he himself achieving Undeath and an escape from all his troublesome feelings.

From being a merchant and hatching a giant long term scheme to the pursuit of vast fortunes and a Thayvian Empire style pyramid scheme of apprentices, to the pursuit of Royal Court Wizard, to becoming a Patrician and aspiring Lord of the Peerage, and a Ring Runner heavily dedicated to reaching the furthest rings possible.

Then of course... Through a comedy of errors I found the journal of the chapter's most prolific necromancer. Through a series of miscommunications with PCs my entire faction imploded, through a series of miscomunnications with DMs things stalled out.

I wanted to try and make an RwG PC that at first conflict didn't light his hair on fire and go "YOU WANT TO GO!? TOO LATE IM ALREADY KILLING MY SELF LETS RUMBLE BITCH" and die taking out a few PCs with me.

Instead I tried to withdraw and make some plans and work through proxy PCs but in hindsight it was a very detrimental choice to make. At the end of the day it turns out playing a long term Villain PC who is disconnected from the main hub is even more different with the invention of the Rings. Not worse, just different. Things like recruitment or shady meetings or all the things required are just a very different style of play this chapter than old chapters.

In hindsight I should have given up on ring running until I was more established but with my reputation blowing up "Fuck it i'll go to the Rings" felt like the right play at the time.

Thanks to Lannister for trying and I wish you had gone public sooner to help out carry the load but I'm eager to see how my pal's story unfolds. Thanks to Abala for the Warrenwatch stuff. Sorry to Waffle I couldn't do more hands on mentoring but I thoroughly enjoyed the half hours here and there we could get them in trying to turn your PCs hapless nature around. Thanks to Aethelwine for the long hours of wizard rambling. Thanks to the Bone Collectors for having the guts to run or sneak around the Hub. Thanks to the Untested for not murdering me at my trail. Thanks to Stranger for being my OOC soundboard for trying to be longer term in my pursuits.

And as ever thanks to Cmenden and Blue for helping me from OOCly becoming a bitter and spite filled rage goblin as my plans crashed down around me.

I'm sorry things didn't work out as I hoped and planned, I've got notebooks full of crazy schemes but like I'm fond of telling people-

"Sometimes you have a robust and winding story. Sometimes you get hit by a bus."

This time the Bus was me trying too hard to survive and not taking enough risks to keep people interested in my PC, and by proxy lost all interest in it myself.

I can promise a mistake I won't make on the next one.

What few Non-Spoiler Screenshots I can offer

[Cat]

Merry wouldn't be who she is today without her "pep" talks from Hawthorne.

Gonna miss them dearly.

[spice mage]

Magus Ebersol was the best teacher in the entire City

Also as someone who was very fortunate to have worked so closely with him for the first month of my PC, I only lament that so many people never got to see just how much depth went into this PC!

Thanks for teaching me EFU's crafting system finally and getting me nearly as hooked as you are :D

[Blue41]

A Good Wizard (but also wizards, boo, hiss.)

[goate]

Cheers ArDubs, Ebersol was pretty epic.

[derkot]

I liked read his books, it is sad to hear about what happened.
It is hard to not give up when things go slow or dead, I can understand. It is good what you will work on any "mistakes" and will do something that will play better!

[Aethereal]

Magus Ebersol was the best teacher in the entire City

Truer words could not be spoken. ;(

I really, really liked Magus Hawthorne Ebersol - finally a fellow True Magus for Aethelwine to riff off and that is exactly what the True Magi of the Wizard Warrens did, if we examine the stories closely - they went down intersecting paths becoming alike one another by trading the roads they each walked but also stayed very much true to themselves the entire way. One of my favourite characters this chapter who I was hoping to see accomplish a grand ritual one day... such a bittersweet story ending it this way, but it also fits. Loneliness was what Aethelwine escaped by losing his title to Hawthorne, only to have the affliction befall his successor-predecessor instead. Tragic.

I can share this sweet screenshot now though, from the very first meeting between our PCs:

[Stranger]

Rest in peace.

[Garem]

A friggen coin toss? I still can't get over that moment so well played by both participants.

Well done, sir.

[Ironside]

where are the screenshots

[Random_White_Guy]

where are the screenshots

I put them at the bottom of my post when I made it, link to Imgur gallery!

[Quarterdragon]

Ebersol was great.  The coin toss certamen was an amazing moment.

[Aethereal]

I thought the coin toss was genius on many levels too. I'm glad to see it was appreciated!

[Random_White_Guy]

I thought the coin toss was genius on many levels too. I'm glad to see it was appreciated!

So many people gave me shit when I suggested it, but even more when you accepted it lol. "HE WHAT!?" was like all my PMs were filled with for like two days.

[Easy To Remember]

I enjoyed my conversations with Ebersol, particularly the super neat theory on 'Wizard Madness' he presented that has stuck since. I'm bummed I wasn't around more, and genuinely bummed you're retiring him, but your reasons are totally understandable and I hope you have more fun with your next.