Fade Rift App

[aenseidhe]

PLAYER

Name: Jay
Age: 29
Contact: wuzzafuzzle
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: I have been eyeballing this game since about the time it opened, because I adore the Dragon Age world, and the canon was actually my very first to RP a character from on LJRP years and years ago, so I've been quietly pining from afar. As for specifics, I really love all the aspects of the game, though Slice of Life/Romance story things aren't my favorite. Fun and a good break from things being too intense, but not something this character can subsist on. I love political intrigue, cooperative action sequences with other PCs, character growth and change, cultural and world exploring/expanding. Also, silly nonsense is always a good one.

CHARACTER

Name: Iorveth
Canon/OC:The Witcher
Canon Point: Post Witcher II
Journal: aenseidhe
Age: Over 100 years. Nothing canon beyond that. He's said to have been fighting with the Scoia'tael for over a century, and I assume he wasn't doing that since birth. The average lifespan for a normal elf is 300 years (500 for mages), and Iorveth is supposed to be on the young side, so, for the sake of a solid number, I'll say 127.

Canon World

The world of the Witcher saga is very typical of medieval fantasy, swords & sorcery worlds. It's inhabited by humans, elves, gnomes, and dwarves, as well as magical creatures of good, evil and neutral persuasions. There're knights, dragons, sorceresses, unicorns, castles and monsters, etc. People travel by horse or on foot, technology suits the medieval time period, the only exception being magical advancements utilized by the few mages capable, limited to things like teleportation and mechanisms that allow communication like telephones (both very difficult to come by). The saga is limited to a chunk of land only referred to as the Continent. There’s various kingdoms, but the main regions of import are Nilfgaard (a large nation much like the Roman Empire committed to conquering and assimilating foreign territories) and the Northern Kingdoms (a collection of smaller countries that, while not allied in the true sense, all oppose an invasion from Nilfgaard). There've been 3 wars for territory - the Northern Wars.

An event termed the Conjunction of the Spheres brought the entrance of monsters (and humans) to this world. It’s phenomenon of several different universes colliding together, releasing pieces from one world into the other, such as these creatures. To combat the rise of monsters, Witchers were created - children who undergo magical mutations and intense training to become super-powered monster-slayers. Magic itself was already present, though continues to be an uncommon gift. Though looked on with suspicion, distrust and prejudice, there’s no system to contain sorcerers, like Dragon Age’s Circles. They're loosely led by The Lodge of Sorceresses - a council of powerful mages maintaining seats of influence, like court advisers in several kingdoms in both regions, focused on bringing life to their own agenda.

The first people to arrive on the Continent were Gnomes (and a few other minor races), then Elves (the Aen Seidhe), then Dwarves, then, lastly, Humans. For as long as any can remember, there's been incredible hostility between human and nonhuman races. After humanity's conquering of much of the Continent, nonhuman numbers dwindled dramatically, even so far as near extinction, such as with the Aen Seidhe. Within cities, nonhumans live mostly in ghettos, and experience varying degrees of prejudice.

Racial slurs and discrimination in law, business and general social settings are common, and, in some places, citywide riots focused around killing nonhumans and magic users. Some nonhumans choose to move to remote areas, or the forests to join the Scoia’tael (elite, mostly Elven, guerilla freedom fighters). For their allied service with Nilfgaard in the Second Northern War, the elves were given Dol Blathanna (the Valley of Flowers) as a home state - though not unconditionally. All Scoia’tael commandos were to be executed or exiled. Given most of the elven youth were Scoia’tael members, that left Dol Blathanna home to 2,000 older, mostly sterile elves, with only a dozen children born in 5 years. A poor choice for rebuilding their dangerously dwindled numbers.

History

Iorveth’s Wiki + The Witcher 2 storyline.

❧ Somewhere between 1070 -1170: Iorveth is born.
❧ Early life: Little to no canon information on Iorveth’s childhood/adolescence exists.
❧ Adult life: Iorveth joins the Scoia’tael, a group of rebel commandos fighting for nonhuman freedom, marked as terrorists for their aggressive use of violence.
❧ 1263: The First Northern War begins, and ends with the Battle of Sodden Hill. The North wins.
❧ 1267: The Second Northern War begins, the Vrihedd Brigade is formed of Scoia’tael elites, fighting for Nilfgaard in exchange for the promise of a free elven state. Iorveth joins as an officer.
❧ 1268: The Battle of Brenna, the North emerge victorious. Iorveth’s unit of Scoia’tael is the last to fall. The Second Northern War ends.
❧ Dol Blathanna named a free Elven state. 53 Scoia’tael officers are executed at the Ravine of the Hydra, as per the Treaty. Only Iorveth and one other escape. Remaining Scoia’tael are branded war criminals.
❧ Iorveth and his remaining unit hunt the special forces units of Northern Kingdoms and terrorize human villages, seeking revenge and justice. He declines to join with Yaevinn’s Scoia’tael, believing small rebellion will not save the Aen Seidhe from extinction, instead plotting to assist Saskia (a dragon shifted to human form) in her battle to secure the Pontar Valley as a free, non-discriminatory state, where all races can coexist peacefully - a safe place to rebuild. Loathe as he is to abandon his fury, he recognizes the necessity.
❧ 1270: Letho (a Witcher) approaches Iorveth with an offer to kill the King of Temeria, with his help. They do, Foltest dies, in front of the Witcher, Geralt. This is the second assassination of a King in recent days. Geralt is branded the murderer and escapes to prove his innocence.
❧ To Flotsam: a small village where he meets with Iorveth’s Scoia’tael, and discovers their collusion with Letho. Geralt exposes Letho’s betrayal of Scoia’tael trust, the two fight him, but Letho escapes.
❧ To Vergen: They participate in Saskia’s war for the Pontar Valley. The battle is won by Saskia’s rebels.
❧ To Loc Muinne: For war negotiations. Geralt and Iorveth uncover the plots of the Lodge of Sorceresses to the assassinate two Kings, and plots to claim the Pontar Valley as a mage state while out-maneuvering Nilfgaard for power. A spell cast on Saskia forces her into her dragon form and sends her rampaging the city, while a riot breaks out below - angry, betrayed soldiers of each Northern Kingdom slaughtering any mages they can find, along with nonhumans.
❧ Geralt and Iorveth find Letho, who reveals he’d agreed to the assassinations for the Lodge, while secretly working with Nilfgaard to undermine both them and the Northern Kingdoms, throwing them at each other's throats while toppling multiple rulers to prime the North for invasion. Geralt slays Letho, and leaves Loc Muinne with Iorveth and Triss in tow, knowledge of the coming invasion on their minds.

Personality

The most common view of Iorveth is that he's a cruel, ruthless extremist; a murderer and terrorist. Which is mostly true - Iorveth doesn't do much to dispel it. He makes a point to be excessively cold and cruel, justifying it as a means of survival, as fighting for what he believes is right, if only for the sake of avoiding the disdainful alternative - to be compliant in the face of injustice. As much as these loftier reasons apply, there’s a want for revenge as well, for all the damage and personal loss he’s seen over his 100+ years worth of persecution. He’d like to at least strike terror in his oppressors if he’s so cornered into ruin. Four trophies are worn on his uniform of the four commanders he’s slain, a display of pride and provocation, determined to be remembered as a righteously vengeful wraith.

It would appear that the hatred he holds for humanity fuels everything he does, a mindless killer, but that ruthless practicality is a tool used to achieve more idealistic dreams - a means for his people to avoid extinction and flourish.

The idealist in him wants a free state for the Aen Seidhe, away from prejudice and betrayal, free of humanity and their lust for conquest. However, Iorveth isn’t blind. He realizes he’s on the losing end of what isn’t even a war anymore. This sets him apart from the other Scoia’tael; acceptance that his race is dying. He forces himself to swallow his rage, his nature, and take the compromise that is Saskia’s dream for the Pontar Valley, a land that would be welcoming to all, free of persecution by law. Iorveth’s a man known to be cunning and practical, a strategist, and Saskia’s cause makes a half-victory out of a lost war. A practical approach to partially achieving an impossible ideal.

Cynical and jaded, Iorveth is driven by a grudge like a wound of a conflict that salt is constantly rubbed into. It's a kind of hate that, while passionate, is old. He's grown tiresome of it, but still follows it as a lifestyle, believing it necessary and right, yet exhausting. Iorveth dreams (literally, canonically) of having a peaceful life. Sadly it’s unlikely he’ll achieve that dream, as it doesn't look like universal peace will ever truly come for the Aen Seidhe.

However, he isn’t all doom and gloom. Given an olive branch and time, he can come to bond deeply with people. He admires Saskia for her “integrity, honesty and honor, [someone who] won't sell out to Nilfgaard for a few florins”, while Geralt demonstrates a stalwart, trustworthy nobility in constantly going out of his way to assist Iorveth’s cause, bringing Iorveth’s favor to extend to Geralt’s social circle.

Iorveth has led a life steeped in vitriol, war and hatred - difficult things to easily dismiss with something so tame as peace and friendship. But, for the first time in his long life, there is hope.

Strengths & Weaknesses

STRENGTHS:
　 　✥ Archer: The Aen Seidhe are known as “the best archers to have walked the Earth”, and Iorveth is particularly skilled for his race to be in such high command, so it's safe to say he's Hawkeye levels of incredible archer, minus the technology and defying physics. Also, he's had over a century of active practice in battle.
　 　✥ Guerrilla Commander: Iorveth was the commander of the last Scoia'tael commando unit to be broken in the second war. He's known very widely across the nations by people who've never seen him face to face yet recognize him easily. Infamy follows his name for skill in battle, strategy, command and reading of a battlefield.
　 　✥ Dual-Wield Swordsman: While his archery is superb, Iorveth fights with twin swords often in close combat. He was able to down Vernon Roche, the commander of what is essentially a secret service for King Foltest in Temeria, as well as 4 other secret service commanders trained to hunt Scoia'tael specifically.
　 　✥ Hunting: Scoia'tael live completely in the forests, off hunting and foraging, make clothes and tools from game and putting together traps for animals, so it's a way of life to Iorveth. It's noted they mostly eat more vegetarian kinds of things, like roots and berries, though it doesn't strictly exclude meats.
　 　✥ Trap Making: Iorveth is familiar with trap making for both hunter's game and humans themselves. There are Scoia'tael traps all freaking over the Flotsam forest and they're annoying as hell.
　 　✥ Nature Boy: The Scoia'tael are all trained for living off the land. Trap making, rough bomb making, familiar with herbs and the occasional potion, foraging, path finding, etc. The woods are their home and they're very accustomed to the terrain.
　 　✥ Loyalty & Conviction: His trust is incredibly hard won, but not impossible, as Geralt and Saskia have proven. Once won, Iorveth is intensely loyal. He'll go to all ends to help that person and will stand next to them if it means his death. He possesses the kind of fierce determination, conviction and resilience that’s carried him through countless battles.
　 　✥ Old As Balls: Iorveth is over 100 years old, and still considered young for his race. Elves typically live to 300, going as far as 500 for mages, so he has at least another half or his lifespan remaining.

WEAKNESSES:
　 　✥ Ew, magic: A friend of magic Iorveth is not. In hypocritical fashion, he holds a deep prejudice and distrust of most mages (especially human), but will work with them if need be. While his dislike for them isn’t near enough to have him participate in something like the riot in Loc Muinne, his kneejerk suspicion of them will have him pointing fingers when something goes awry. It also goes without saying, he’s completely unskilled with magic.
　 　✥ Foul Tempered Extremist: Despite his nicer traits, Iorveth is the leader of a terrorist group. He’s ruthless, cold, cruel, and violent to the point of taking joy from murder, having no illusion or apologies for these truths. The man is stubborn, distrusting, arrogant and impulsive. It makes him an incredible liability when sensitivity, diplomacy and turning the other cheek is paramount.
　 　✥ Noticeably An Elf: This didn’t serve him well in the Witcher universe and probably isn’t going to do much better in the Dragon Age one. He’s still going to take very personally, very loud, possibly violent offense to it. Which is known to Cause Problems.
　 　✥ Not Untouchable By Sentiment: He believes actions led purely by sentiment will get you killed. To let care about casualties of war stop you from the better tactic is to lose - give no ground, no matter the cost. He'll attempt to be cut off from things, and while he'll mostly succeed, he's not entirely untouchable in this.
　 　✥ What Is Socialization?:If it is not painfully obvious already, Iorveth has the tact and social grace of a rapid opossum. He’s brash, arrogant and conceited in his speech, unimpressed and aloof. Dry, sardonic joking isn’t uncommon with him, though it's notable that seeing a genuine smile on him is a rare thing. His trust is incredibly hard won, and his disdain is completely unmasked. Self-sufficiency is a virtue to him, and trust a liability. All in all, it makes him a bad party guest, and his Charisma score is like 4.
　 　✥ Underdog: Certain causes just get Iorveth right in the injustice hating gut, and he will pick a losing fight if he truly believes the cause is worth fighting for. He is, still, practical in his reasoning and won’t sacrifice too much of things that truly matter (his people, his men), but if it’s himself alone or those willing to follow him into whatever fuckery he’s bent on, he’ll do it.
　 　✥ E-S-C-A-L-A-T-I-O-N: Iorveth’s idea of defusing a possibly violent situation is to come in and yell that he will kill everyone. Someone points out he can’t get to all of them, Iorveth says ‘Then I’ll take you first’. This method understandably does not work on all crowds.
　 　✥ Cyclops: He’s missing a freaking eyeball. Even if he’s learned to adjust and adapt, it’s still a problem.

Suggested Nerfs

There really isn’t anything to nerf about Iorveth. He’s just an old ass elf who shoots arrows reel guud. But yeah, no superhuman abilities here, no magic, just elf archer/swordsdude. Granted, he is a really freaking good archer.

Arrival Inventory

Basically all the shit in this reference picture. To be more specific:
　 　☒ All that gear and armor, Temerian badge on his chest included, though he doesn't actually get it in game
　 　☒ Two swords
　 　☒ Daggers/throwing knives/skinning knives
　 　☒ A couple traps and trap making supplies
　 　☒ A small pouch with around 450 in Orens (Witcher moneys)
　 　☒ Wooden flute
　 　☒ The stuff contained in his packs: basic bandages, herbs, roots, berries, seeds, maybe some jerky, tools for arrow making, materials and tools to repair a bow, whetstones, flint and tinder.

In addition, this trippy dream crap. Just gonna make up some shit and see if it sticks:
　 　☒ Geralt’s dumb bird nose
　 　☒ A pipe with some elf weed in it :|
　 　☒ A piece of Lembas
　 　☒ A ring that looks like a prop replica of the One Ring (a la Tolkien), but the elvish script is instead written in Elder Speech and reads “Ayd f'haeil moen Hirjeth taenverde”. Iorveth is a nerd.
　 　☒ A live, horse sized chicken, painted lime green, prone to reciting Witcher laws in Elder Speech, responding to the name ‘Geralt’, but without personality or agency beyond that. A very stupid, weird chicken-mount.
　 　☒ Some oddly phallic shaped mushrooms in a bowl.

'Human'ization

The Aen Seidhe elves from the Witcher are physically fairly close to human, as well as Dragon Age elves, as it is. They’re skinny things with pointy ears but otherwise look humanoid. The only real difference is that Witcher elves are, on average, taller than typical humans, rather than shorter, as Dragon Age elves are. I imagine Iorveth is somewhere around 6’1” - 6’3”ish. They also have real people noses and a lack of anime eyes.

Fit

My main motivation for wanting to put Iorveth in this world is just how similar Thedas is to the Witcher universe in many ways, to a point that the differences really stick out starkly in contrast, making the ideas of them something that would stick in Iorveth’s head to focus on and swirl around and apply to his life in thought. In particular, the mostly peaceful and mystic Dalish, the Circles and control of mages, the rifts, and the idea of the Inquisition and his basically required help in it that would team him up with people he doesn’t like or want to like. Obviously, he’ll have a deep personal connection to the Dalish and the City Elves. The magic involved in everything, including the rift shard in his hand, will for him to consider more about magic and his avoidance of it, as well as the prejudice against mages, as he’ll be horrified by the practice of making mages Tranquil. As for what he’ll bring, he’s a fierce asset for any battle or tactical brainstorming, but being so particular about those he likes to help, he’ll have to learn to Play Nice, and be okay with that. I also really love that the Conjunction of the Spheres making a platform for a multiverse a reasonable thing in the Witcher universe makes comparing the Fade and the entire issue of traveling to a new world kind of cool to play with.

SAMPLES

Log Samples from the TDM, and I’m going to paste the network prompt I’d written for that tlvl here, as it hasn’t been used yet, but shows network tag voice in comparison. If it isn’t sufficient, please let me know and I’d be happy to provide a second:


You can learn much of a city's history simply from walking it's streets. Watching it's people. [ The elf muses, as he paces through the streets, voice rising from the crystal tied at his neck. He's seen the gossiping and pleasantries of Hightown, the bargaining and advantage seeking in the markets, the crime and shadows of Lowtown. Even the scornful looks cast his direction, despite being new to this town, to this world. Despite walking around armed to the teeth, despite the fact he's skinned men alive for less. Only for the fact his ears aren't covered by his bandana. ]

Tell me, sons and daughters of Thedas. How many years has it been since the last massacre of Elven homelands? Two centuries? Two years? [ A beat, and he scoffs, chuckling. ] Two weeks?

[ Depending on what you would call 'homelands' now, considering their homes are ghettos. Little dirt piles at the worst end of the city. Utterly pathetic, hardly something to call ‘living’ anymore. ]

I'd thought, for a dull moment, that this realm might offer some whisper of credit to the optimists in mine. [ And he'd known so many, wished they could've been right, that he could hang up his bow and swords and all they'd have to do was talk. But it just never is, is it? His voice is amused, but with a tint of disdain to it. ] Only more of the same. Painfully unsurprising.