Madrick Marjolo: The Shade...of Sunpurse?

Started by Vlaid, April 17, 2021, 03:18:20 AM

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Vlaid

Creation Date: 2020-04-20 04:33:52
Gold   0
XP   63,014
Alignment   Lawful Neutral
Age   23
Class   Sorcerer (11)
Deity   The Promise
Gender   Male
Race   Human
Max Hit Points   66
Fort   5
Reflex   5
Will   7
Character Attribute   Rank
Strength   10
Dexterity   14
Constitution   14
Intelligence   12
Wisdom   10
Charisma   18

Originally I planned to never take a damaging spell and be a purely passive PC. But some DM events changed that and I was given an ice themed staff which led to incorporating ice into my general theme (and taking ice storm as a spell). When I made the PC I didn't even remember Feeblemind existed as a spell. If I had reached the XP needed for 12 I was going to try and app for Shadowdancer but I felt like someone apping for Shadowdancer had to be truly epic and beyond reproach of trust and worth for it. I don't think I quite made it to that mark, but I tried hard.


The concept began relatively simple. Madrick was meant to be a servile observer who would be an almost fey-like helpful man to those of interesting causes or fates. He began in service to the Royal Archives and later progressed into joining Sunpurse when he saw something fated in this very old and spooky house of mystery and tragedy.  He was loyal and servile in the extreme, excessively bowing to all even when he became a very powerful shadowy shade man.

Faith - The Night's Chorus

Madrick followed a somwhat convoluted faith of the "Night's Chorus" which was an OLD faith of the Promise. He believed that long ago there was two sects of the Promise, one that were servants in the night, guiding the sun back across the night sky and those who woke during the day to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Those who woke through the night were obsessed with the stars are signposts of fate, as if you could see the past by looking at them closely enough to divine the future and people who might be linked to each individual star. It was the duty of the Night's Chorus to use this unique "gift" to guide people of all faiths, creeds and paths in the world to their fated end - even if it did harm to you and those you cared about.

In this belief of the Night's Chorus he also believed that the modern day "sun" followers of the Promise had butchered the servants of the night in a grab for political and religious power. Madrick often called the Promise "wrong" or "the Broken Promise" because he believed the "Promise" itself was a reference to the intended symbiosis between the servants of the Promise who lived through the day and those who served through the night, each serving a purpose.

Because of his faith he...

...could not lie, ever, for any reason. However in his poetic way he always preferred to be mysterious, mystical and deceptive though he could never outright lie.
...could never break an oath.
...viewed killing as the absolute last resort and would only kill if he had no other choice either because of an order by Sunpurse, because of oaths made because of plot reasons or simply because someone left him no choice. He was very effective at killing when he wanted to be but he hated doing it.
...his personality flitted between a childlike detachment and wonder and a very serious seer archtype. Different people brought out different aspects of his personality.
...wanted to be forgotten. He viewed his impressive reputation as a complete and utter failure to be subtle and quiet in service of the fate of others.
...took a number of charges throughout his life who he tried to focus on protecting and serving to help them achieve their goals and agenda. These tended to be typically "prominent" PCs of either heroic or villainous nature in equal measure.
...gave the glory of many accomplishments to others. When he still fought in dispensaries he would give the gifts to others to open.
...during the rise of the Nephezar faith and the Vestry he was a heretic. It was only through the help of some of his close allies who lied and deceived for him that he was able to survive without being unmasked as a heretic. He never gave his blood to the vestry and if he was a more vengeful man he would have destroyed the Vestry entirely.

Some facts about Madrick

...kept momentos and bronze ears from a wide assortment of PCs across his life. Everyone he killed, was near when they died or somehow involved in their death he would keep a bronze ear from. I still had a frog token from Catsby from her death that released a slaad army on the Peerage (as just one example).
...he first joined Sunpurse as a complete loyalist of the King.
...when Harad's seals plot was going he tried to give up his life to reseal one of Harad's seals, which failed.
...was pushed into being a Knave against his will by the elite of the Rubies. He was not a "real" Silver masked knave, he was inducted and forced to be a Silver Knave (something he didn't want, as it went against his faith) only a month or so before all the other big knaves joined. This led to Knaves hunting Madrick Marjolo the Retainer (who was at the time a Knave) by Knaves who didn't know he was a Knave as he kept it a secret even from them for about a month to assess and observe their actions.
...faked his death to become a uniformed Knave and stop hiding that he was a knave. Some suspected "Silver" was Madrick but not many knew for sure outside the Knaves as I was a very background quiet figure in the Knaves.  https://www.efupw.com/forums/index.php?topic=700551.0
...only mugged someone once as a Knave, later found out they were a Knave ally and quietly gave them their gold back. However I miscounted so I gave them back more than I took. I mugged someone...and lost gold.
...as a Knave I attacked many groups of PCs with no intention of winning. My plan was always to subdue/disable a few and fle into the shadows as they scrambled to protect and heal themselves - to give the impression of the threat of extremely dangerous Knaves lurking without violating Madrick's ideals.
...was just a man. He was never a shade, a ghost, or a shadow. He had a cloak which made him look like a shadow and in the style of his faith, allowed others to believe what they wanted. Madrick had a saying "You are only what others make you" so he became "The Shade" and was hunted and ultimately killed largely due to this fiction.

His Goals

..for most of his life he had no goals or agendas of his own and lived only to serve Sunpurse, where he believed his fate resided.
...after he was presed into becoming a Knave and then back into service to the Count as a retainer, he became disillusioned with The King, the Count and the whole royal court of the Peerage and the City. He believed it was a flawed, broken cycle that needed to be ended.
...worked to see the King would perish, believing the Count was his ticket to ending the King and believing that he knew enough of the Count's secrets that he could kill the Count once the King was dead. He was willing to break his oath of Service to Sunpurse for this one and only goal if the King was dead.
...leaked many sensitive pieces of information and helped many King loyalists in secret while also being a bound servant of Sunpurse to the bitter end. He viewed himself to be a shackled man who had made oaths of service to Sunpurse and was trapped by his own unwillingness to break that oath.
...tried to find a way to get Lady Oriana to divorce the Count, but lacking in the ability to lie came up short.
...became the "Cryptkeeper" over the private crypts of Sunpurse. I had planned to steal the remains of the departed Lords of Sunpurse to create a pocket dimension of shadow and create a court of Shadow Lords that would return to slay the Count once the King was dead (sealing himself in with them as a retirement plan). I strongly suggest all people try to find big retirement plans like this to aim towards. It is much more satisfying than the inevitable EFU truck running you over one night at 2 AM!
...believed that the stars above were each one follower of the Night's Chorus and their twinkling in the sky were hints and guides to diviners. Those who serve the Night's Chorus well and truly without failing would ascend to become one of those stars in the sky to lead others as they had led Madrick in life.

SCREENSHOT ALBUM BELOW

https://imgur.com/a/KTR5VB7

All the screenshots are there in that album. Please let me know if there are any that shouldn't be seen and I will remove it. There was over 500 to go through and sort. Also unfortunately they are scattered about so you might need to jump around to see several shots relating to the same scene (sorry!). It was just too much work.

Madrick was my favorite PC to date and I wish he had gotten to leave a bigger mark after all he went through, but that's how EFU goes sometimes. If you don't find a way to retire yourself you get run over by the bus!

Cheers.

cmenden

A truly wonderful PC, as always! I didn't get to see his whole journey since he was a super long-livedPC, but I greatly enjoyed our time together!

SamB123

End of an era. The Peerage shall not see his like again.

VanillaPudding


Kiaring

Current PC: Acolyte Itziyal Neniarral

Mymerian

Masterful.

Thank you, sincerely, for this work of art.

-UnholyWon-

Wow! What an incredible character! I was able to interact with him with Sylar and Isaiah, and cause some significant trouble with Orion. So much depth and mystery, a mastery of developing intrigue throughout the server. Well done!
Discord - Howlando: UnholyWon, an Elder Thing that has crawled from the depths of Chapter 1, many a nature-pc and adventurer played in the past... a rare sighting IG in recent chapters, but perhaps less rare than we realize. Beware his professional insight into the minds of the mentally disturbed.

Duna

I always felt like Madrick was just on another level, so I think you nailed the fey-esque feel about him.

My interactions were few and far between, but almost always felt sudden and whimsical. Madrick would come and whisper a nugget of poetry, and then disappear. We never really knew if he was with us, or had gone.

Thanks for playing Madrick. :]

Scitus

A captivating character whose appearance in my characters stories changed them as people.

Jello!

A pc who lived by the words: "You Can Observe A Lot By Watching"

Don Nadie

I'll add to the chorus of congratulations. Madrick was really one of the most memorable characters of the server!

LiAlH4


Lannister

A very cool and server impacting character. Well done! I enjoyed my interactions with him and it was always a question of if he was around or not. Real EFU bogeyman.