Rusty (Henardo West): The man who thought he was already dead

[djspectre]

After a 5 year break away from EFU, I created Rusty with the idea of a broken man trying to heal and redeem himself. The Idea was simple: He lost is daughter, Patti.

His name was given to him as a joke by one of the first PC's he met, a joke because he was wearing rusted armor and his hair was also red. He later adopted this name, giving up his real one out of shame (explained later). I continued to find (and wear) rusted armor until finally gifted a set that was rather fitting for him (screenshotted below)

The plot-hook was that he suffered from madness caused by the removal of his memories, though one even managed to push through with him (the horrible memory of him being trapped with one of his daughters in a house that was burned to the ground with them inside it).

This created a different type madness which manifested itself in public seizures, blackouts and ramblings of a madman. A huge thanks to the PCs/Players who took part in those moments....even in quest areas! He would hallucinate, hear voices, even the scars on his body would pulsate as events in the Rings rang, unknowingly to him, parallel to his former life that he couldn't recall. For as many characters tried to help him, a great number also abandoned him. And it made him stronger for it....sometimes.

The madness is also created a flawed logic that he was just a soul trapped in someone elses body, that he can't die since he's already dead, that the City is likely some sort of intermediary purgatory proving ground for trapped souls and that his daughter also made it to the City of Rings. While this plot wasn't directly picked up by DM's they did tie into it several times through items given to him based on role playing and events, particularly in Rings 70 and 68 several times....all of which nearly got Rusty or his travelling companions killed. ( I really appreciated that DM's so THANK YOU!)

He also has a very widely known love of Qedibh chili. So much so, he got a special spoon for it.

His parental impulsiveness even got him eaten by The Hound, though through IC events, he was saved. All because he loved his kid more than anything in the world and the chance to see her again was always at the front of his mind.

However, he died having never found Patti and never fully understanding his purpose for being in the City of Rings, once some of the mysteries of the Rings were revealed to him. However, he did regain his sanity and his focus, which was a huge stride for him, and inadvertently, a MAJOR secondary goal for me with him as a character.
Also despite only having 10 Wisdom, he did manage (through feats and gear) get a +18 Will Save. Take that fear, hold person and death magic! Huzzah!

Sadly my screenshots didn't work for most of his career due to me not being aware that my print screen button on my keyboard didn't work, so interactions with people like Paps, Saihbon, Aethelwine, Samantha and a very pivotal experience early on with Eurpraxia were lost. But below is some of the later ones.

Thanks to the Groat Cloaks for getting Rusty through Ring 95 and thank you to the Breakers (and their later combined crews) of Eurpaxia, Eliphas, Edwyn Dixon, Cornelia, Luca, William Thorne, Angvald for getting him to Ring 64.

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Rusty's Deaths - Blurred to remove Spoilers



The Armor - Pretty sure this thing caused more deaths than it spared :-D - THANK YOU VLAID!



The Simplest Sword - Thanks YMD!



The Best Spoon a Person could have! THANKS DILLUSIONIST (iirc?)



A Claw from a very dangerous werewolf hunt in the Swamps of 95 (can't remember the DM - sorry! Thank you!)



And some Snotty Boots from the 'Black Snot' Tribe! (also can't remember the DM, but thank you!



Some Humor about Helms....plumed ones. And demonic ones. (Prax's helm got wrapped in demon flesh and lost it's plummage then started talking to Rusty on it's own so Rusty smited it)



A promise broke about catching up to Samantha Cassady



A goodbye and his last time seeing The Commons


Upon helping Prax and a group through the trial of 95, she wanted to scribe their names on the mount. Rusty refused as he wanted to put his daughters name on it when he found her. But with the dangers of Ring 64 ahead of him, he made a detour on his last trip past the mount to do something long overdue: Leave a message for his daughter and reveal his real name to the world. However, he did this in private....so unless someone revisits this peak, no one will ever know.




Getting to say goodbye to one of his oldest friends....even if it was in death. And then giving his last hope to the fates and the waters that, ironically, washed him ashore in the City in the first place.



Seeing as I played Rusty very intensely and regularly for over 4 months straight. It'll take some time to flesh out another concept I want to get behind. But I wont be leaving EFU :-)

[Canadianloki]

Rusty was fun to interact with. Spent a bulk of my time with him on Barik and even though i retired him and started Arn and watched you from afar as both our groups made it through the rings separately it was nice to see you keep pushing till the end.

[Poolson]

Rusty and his Rusty-isms. An irksome but ultimately lovable battle-buddy, who's company was cherished, despite the prodding and whinging about the concept of life, death and existence in the ring.

Godspeed, you mad hatter.

[Aethereal]

Rusty was that type of understated philosopher who you could easily just mistake as being a talkative (or some would say delusional) ordinary man - which was all part of his charm. He blended the big questions of the setting so splendidly into the mundane reality of it all. It was a kind of perfection, a method to that madness you gave him. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and there was not a single interaction or conversation that was dull. Always if not encouraging debate, entertaining, insightful from unexpected angles and of course at times even self-aware of his own delusions. He fit right in to the City of Rings as one of the more enlightened ones if you ask me: because perhaps, a touch of 'crazy' inspiration, a dedication to an ideal is what helps stabilise reality in a world that is so full of uncertainty.

I also have to say, some of that loot was so very appropriately customised to him - stuff that was very clear to see as having been made specifically for him in how well they represented him.

I do have one screenshot to share, one of my favourite conversations where Rusty broke down the pursuit of the big questions to bring it all back home: sometimes it's not about the big picture or the grand questions so much as it is the ones who are with you in the moment. Living people who you can help and make life better for. Actually, I liked the dialogue so much I'm going to add a transcript here with the screenshot (though maybe I'll leave that for a journal entry, yes.)

[hide=Atop the Keep with Rusty][hide=Don't reveal if you don't want potential spoiler content of the Rings.][/hide][/hide]

[djspectre]

I'm glad everyone got a kick out of him. Coming back after such a long stint away from EFU and having someone even mildly successful is such a great feeling!

[I love cats]

He was cool! But was not as good as Tarnis! :)

[TheLeaderOfTheHairless]

Had a few really nice scenes with Rusty. Reaching 94 the first time was memorable enough in itself, but the group dynamic amongst the new crew was something I cherished, a big part of it to be attributed to Rusty. He stood out in a good way, driving a lot of interaction and conversation that would affect the way my own character saw things.

[Quarterdragon]

I was very glad to have Rusty in the Breakers, and he is missed.  Eupraxia will not forget to look for Patti in the rings ahead.  I wish he could be there to look with her.   At least he got to see the redemption of the plumed helm.

Hopefully we find Patti out there somewhere and I get to add a nice screenshot to this thread.

[Disorder]

I found Rusty's main goal (to find daughter) as perhaps one of the greatest I've seen this far. It was great because of its simplicity and how it tie his past before the City and his present activities and decisions.
See you on your next pc.