Character - Aria Thatcher

This was my character in the Scarred Lands campaign.


Name:
Aria Thatcher

Class:
Bard

Race:
Half-Elf

Gender:
Female

Alignment:
Good




Background:
Aria is a Half-Elf, but she was raised by two human farmers. She was the product of an affair between her human mother and an Elf. Aria has never met her real father, and knows nothing about him. Aria's stepfather forgave his wife's infidelity, but he never really grew close to his stepdaughter.

One day when Aria was six, a traveling minstrel passed through the area, and spent a few hours entertaining local farmers. He sang a lot of songs and performed some magic tricks. This was the first time Aria realized that the world was bigger than just the farm, and she knew right away that she wanted to know more about everything.

Growing up, Aria spent her days doing farm chores, and her nights studying any subject she could learn. She would pick up any books she could get her hands on, even if it was just a handful of torn pages from a discarded tome. Therefore she ended up learning a small amount on a wide variety of subjects. She found farm life to be a bore, and these books opened the world to her, showing her that the world was full of interesting things.

Her biggest love was music. Mostly she sang, but she would learn to play any musical instrument she could find or make. She also had a bit of natural talent for Arcane magic, but couldn't get her hands on enough magic books to fully study the subject. But she did discover early on that she could mix Arcane magic with her singing to produce some interesting effects.

The other farmers in the community adored her, and she would always entertain them at gatherings. She enjoyed the attention, but it also made her long for bigger audiences and larger towns. At 16 she left home. She knew that if she stayed, she would grow up to be just another farmer. There weren't any opportunities in the area for entertainers, so she decided to travel until she could find someplace where she could make a living as a singer. And maybe even become a world-famous performer someday.

As of the first session of the Campaign, Aria is 18 years old, and has spent the last two years wandering from town to town, seeing the world.

Personality, Mannerisms, and Appearance:
Aria wears bright-colored clothing, and wears her red hair in outrageous styles. She is very outgoing, and loves meeting new people.

Aria is flighty, and has trouble thinking far enough ahead to have long-term life goals. She would like to be a famous singer, recognized and loved everywhere she goes. While she does have a great singing voice, she spreads herself a little thin when it comes to her other hobbies: Learning new musical instruments, comedy, dancing (badly), the healing arts, exploration, arcane research, and collecting things. She collects musical instruments, rare books, rituals, wands, sheet music, pretty objects, and random things she finds that she thinks she might need later (before forgetting about them). She also tries to keep a stock of clothing dye, so she can decorate any new clothing in bright colors.

She is a bit clumsy. Sometimes she dances as part of her routine, but she is not a good dancer. Often her audience thinks her silly movements and accidental pratfalls are intentional comedy. She doesn't always realize whether she's being laughed at or laughed with, but as long as they clap, Aria is happy. People don't take her seriously, which is usually okay with her, because she's rarely serious. However, when she really is serious, and people still dismiss her, she finds it frustrating.

Aria is book smart, but lacks common sense. She's can memorize a book overnight, but still makes bad decisions. She puts her emotions above her better judgment, especially when it involves helping people. She is easily swayed by con artists with sad stories. She is impulsive, and makes snap decisions without thinking it through. She might be a handful at times, but people generally like her anyway.

As a general rule, Aria thinks the best of people until proven otherwise (and sometimes even afterward). She trusts every member of the party, and would probably continue to do so even if she were to find one stealing her coin purse.

Aria thinks of Blast as the little brother she never had. She thinks of Gorn as the big brother who protects you from bullies. For a while she had a small crush on Alek Corman, but he died before it could grow into anything more. She doesn't know what to think yet of her newest companions, Shade and Thorfin, but as usual, she trusts them more than she really should this early into the relationship.

On first impression, most people who meet Aria think she's angelic and pure of heart. And to some extent, they're right. Other people's double entendres often go right over her head, due to her naiveté. Under normal circumstances, the harshest curse she uses is, "Oh, gooseberries!" But there are two exceptions to this virginesque demeanor. When she is very angry, she has been known to let out a string of magically-enhanced curses and insults that are so strong they actually cause pain. Also, when she performs her comedy routines (if it is appropriate for the venue), she has been known to delve into the raunchy side of humor. She is especially proud of her collection of dirty limericks, which she has collected from many sources during her travels.

She also writes limericks of her own, but hers are a bit more family-friendly... and not very good. Here are some of her more memorable verses.  (Let's see how many recognize the reference to the movie "The Court Jester".)

There once was a red-haired Half-Elf;
Who put her life's dreams on a shelf
With no one to test her
skills as a jester
She just made a fool of herself.

There once was a man from Calasta
Who learned how to win at Canasta
His wife was his teacher
And when he finally beat her
He said, "The student has become the Masta!"

There once was a drunkard from Mansk
Who got caught in the park without pantsk
As he got arrested,
He loudly protested,
"I was just going to water the plantsk!"

There once was a Half-Orc named Gorn
Who met with the Minotaur Dorrn.
There was confusion with names
Until Gorn, now insane,
Had steak dinner... but spit out the horns.

A right motley group from Calasta
A Half-Orc, a Gnome, and two casters
With an item of renown
Took a cart and fled town
While the Half-Orc kept yelling "Drive faster!"