The Account of Adren the Bard (Discussion)

[xofelf]

Not yet!

[Pine]

I’m working on it. These days off are annoyingly busy. Now I’m expected to be productive with things I’ve been putting off. Like dishes. Or childcare.

I just spent four hours helping my dad chop firewood.

[VashtaNeurotic]

I remember the last time I had to chop firewood.....

[xofelf]

"Had" to. You totally did that for the theatricality of it all and you know it.

[VashtaNeurotic]

I did not, it was for my very survival.

[Aristophanes]

I did not, it was for my very survival.

This is a very theatrical reason

[Jingle]

I just spent four hours helping my dad chop firewood.

I've always had success with convincing people that chopping firewood is 'fun' in a Tom Sawyer esque fashion.

[Pine]

Thank you all for your patience! While this last survey is live, I'll be sketching out maps, planning the opening scenes, and making additional notes about likely areas we'll be visiting, NPCs we'll be meeting, etc. This will be live for 48 hours, and then we'll dive in with the story.

Enjoy!

[McMenno]

adren

AgeNDER

makes perfect sense. make it happen gang

[Pine]

Compiling responses. I've got a fairly clear picture of the results, but the write-up will have to wait until morning.

[Pine]

Adren's race was one of the most interesting response patterns we've had, so I'm going to freeform it a bit. Adren's ancestry is mixed - 1/16 Water Dragon, 1/8 Satyr, the rest multiracial human. Yes, Water Dragon, not Copper. I decided to get away from the D&D dragon model and go with more elemental magic and creature types. This setting uses the five classical elements of China, complete with their cycles of opposition and alliance. These categorizations hold true for many magical creatures as well as many kinds of spellcraft. Our boy has a somewhat diverse portfolio of gifts - illusion is usually water-based. The soothing components of suggestive and manipulative magic are also water, while the inflaming parts are fire-based. Unless very crude, they tend to be mediated by wood magic (which also covers living thing in general). Animal manipulation and telepathy is mostly wood magic, while weather manipulation can involve any element (depending on desired effect) but is most often fire and water mediated by earth.

Getting back to dragons - dragons tend to follow one of two models in this setting. Many are reclusive and keep to themselves, growing to great strength and size in the isolated parts of the world. Their hoards grow through the efforts of supplicant humanoids living in their shadow, and through the payments offered by scholars, rulers, and philosophers who seek their wisdom. More than one has set themselves up as an information broker or spymaster. Some of these dragons encourage cult followings. The other major brand of dragon is the kind who uses the sorcery they all possess to shapeshift and blend into mortal culture, intermingling and enjoying the fruits of civilization incognito. It is a mark of prestige for a ruler to have a draconic advisor, though few possess the gold to hire one or the social graces to befriend them.

Adren's great-great-grandcestor was one of this latter type, a wanderer who liked to join the crews of ships on exploratory missions as a navigator. On one such voyage, ze took a liking to the ship's captain and seduced him, leaving an egg behind. That line of Adren's ancestry has always been consumed with wanderlust, and Adren is constantly running across distant cousins ze didn't know ze had. On the other side, Adren is almost purely Thayrissian, save for a satyr great-grandfather.

Physically, Adren has a pair of stubby, ridged horns on the side of zir head, often covered by flowing curls of leaf-green hair. On both shoulders and down zir left arm and hand are a network of fine blue scales. At need, Adren can will these scales to thicken and harden to roughly the durability of chainmail, which has saved zir life at least once. Ze often flaunts this openly, but does not hesitate to conceal it with sleeves and gloves should the need for anonymity arise. There's a lot more I could say here, but let's have it come out in the telling.

So above I was using the neutral pronouns ze/zir etc. This one was pretty decisive, and I've got to say, that's pretty cool. MS.net is heartwarmingly open, and I love you all Adren is in tune with the currents and eddies of ambient magic in zir local area and express zir gender differently on any given day. Sometimes he chooses to use male pronouns, sometimes she presents as a woman, others ze expresses as neither - or both. Ze/zir is an accepted general default.

I have been in tune with the fact that I will have limited perspective when writing this character, and I have already been reaching out to trans and genderqueer members of the community to touch base with them. If you would like to help with this, please open a dialogue with me.

Bolded suggestions will be incorporated:

Spoiler: Physical Traits for Adren

Their ears are the largest known of their species, without competition.
His left hand has spasms where he flashes the middle finger for no reason.

they have color changing scales up and down their left arm

(Just blue, though)
Freckles
Three eyes
talking wart

Their eyes change colour according to the emotion they're trying to convey

(Mood)

His eyes change color with his temper

(Mood)
Has a face that inexplicably reminds everyone who sees it of a dire wombat
Jittery, always bouncing around with energy
medium length beard
Missing half of his left ear

Thousand voices, could greatly alter his voice to make it sound drastically different and is able to mimic practically anyone

(A toned-down version of this. Adren's mimicry is not perfect, but ze is good with voices)

Spoiler: Behavioral Quirk for Adren

He cannot perform unless there is drink in his hand (or so he claims at least)
Whenever he says anything even remotely close to a pun, he stops the story to waggle his eyebrows and repeat the pun to make sure people got it.

They only refer to the protagonist and other characters by various changing nicknames, only calling them by their actual name when introduced

(A toned-down version of this. Uses nicknames frequently, but not compulsively)

Prone to going on long tangents about obscure subjects.

WIsh they had four eyes
abundant flatulence
They can never keep their hands still, whether they're strumming on a lute, or just rolling a coin across their fingers, they're constantly fidgeting. They claim it's due to being sensitive to all the potential stories people are brimming with.
Plays guitar upside down while dancing....upside down

He likes things that come in 3s

(A mild form of OCD)
Laughs like this hehehehehehehehehe
Doesn’t end conversations properly
witty
laughs when nervous
L'esprit de l'escalier. Always knows the perfect witty reply to anything, but five minutes too late.

<<Adren's background secret will come out when it comes out>>
====================

Spoiler: Protagonist's Physical Traits

When he talks, smiles, etc it is through the left side of his mouth only. Why? That is unknows. Perhaps his charisma is buffed/debuffed by use of him full mouth. Perhaps the right holds the power for his magical incantations! We shall find out soon.

He has the stupidest goddamn sideburns you've ever seen. He grew them as a teen and refuses to shave them because that would be admitting they were a poor choice in the first place.

(Let's just go with muttonchops, yeah?)

A scar in the shape of an M on their neck that they refuse to explain how they got

Very tall
One eye
massive dong

I mean...yeah

Heterochromia
Big ol nose
Is a werewombat
Protagonist has hairy hands - they braid the hair
Can see well in the dark

Spoiler: Protagonist's Behavioral Quirks

He would pickpocket anyone and anything, and is successful more often than not.
Is uneasy around ducks.
They talk to their sword/dagger/other weapon constantly. Like it's not a magic sword or anything, and it's actually a pretty weak weapon (and rarely useful), but they love it and constantly talk to it. Preferably they also named it something really silly, like "Mr. Stabby" or "Grabthar's Hammer" even though it's not a hammer
They eat *a lot* of food
Wish they had five eyes
always adjusting his balls

He's a nervous laugher.

Eats wombat shit (sorry Pine)
Is very energetic

Protagonist idly hums when they think

They can't tell the whole truth. They can only speak in lies.

Always know what phase the moon is at

<<The protagonist's background secret will come out when it comes out>>

[Pine]

The main event!

Protagonist name suggestions

Bob
Tom Bombadil
Adam Steinberg
E'kkla Zynn
Soragard Adelaide
Lazarus Muhammad
Eragon Backstabber
Elijah Hosea
David Tenet
Hiraki Amirichi
Bill Underwood
Donald Trump
Ali Negal
Jerome Banks
Xavier Zachstralkita
Pine Mellow
Tai-chi Qui-gon
Anakin Skywalker
Keith Holland
Alexander Bellarusa
Ronald Karamcat
Z. Gratigny
Aladdin Karadeniz
Jose Reyes
Adren Malachai
Gonzu Gonzu
Evan Star
Floyd Panther
Coleman Stalling
Hiroyuuki Kirigaya
Ivan Czar
Mike Allen
Noah Arc
Oorok Oathbreaker
Qatar Secant
Samuel Philemon
Uther Arthur
Benjamin Franklin
Valorim Hawthorne
Wu Zhe
Yolondo Sheyzian
Zig Zag
Drummel
Felicitous
Renfew
Liffon
Leckson
Defew
Zormith
Nomlas
Greg (No Last Name, just Greg)
Jeremy Silverhawk
William
Nomlas
Don Glover
Rowan(this has been my internal name for him for ages)
Calderan Bane
Ilyan
Baylor Dreck
Kleo
Protagonist-Kun
Idk
Womlas
Wait, it’s not Adren?
Adren
Chaddius
Gemma, Indigo, Fawly
Adrian. Because we need to have this be even more confusing.
Steve
A Protagonist Named Slickback. Yes, the whole thing. Yes, every time.

Yikes! That's a lot. Granted, 41 of them came from Ircher *side eyes*.

Drumroll please!

Spoiler: Finalists

Rowan
Ilyan
Fawly

Go vote on the protagonist's name! A surname will be selected to match once the first name is chosen.

The first story update is due roughly 24 hours from now. See you then!

[Felissan]

Crap, I forgot to actually come back to the survey after thinking about it. My proudest suggestion was that Adren would have a goatee that reaches down to zir waist.

[Iprobablysuck]

it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize adren and the protagonist are different people, despite literally reading the part about adren just telling the tale

[McMenno]

can u please name and shame the idiot who thought it'd be funny to put in "attack helicopter"

[Haschel Cedricson]

can u please name and shame the idiot who thought it'd be funny to put in "attack helicopter"

[CaptainMeme]

Womlas not being a finalist is a travesty.

[chkflip]

Tom Bombadil!!!

[logan5123]

Aww man, I couldn't get him to name him Adrian. oof

[Pine]

[Menalque]

can u please name and shame the idiot who thought it'd be funny to put in "attack helicopter"

[Pine]

I'd rather not. Knowing the person involved, it was likely a joke in poor taste and not intended to be offensive. They also checked agender and genderfluid. I had to look up the meme myself just now to realize that it was a dog whistle and not merely silly.

You know who you are - please take this seriously in the future and think before you act.

[logan5123]

For the record when I saw that I thought someone put in "attack helicopter" as the name and I thought "huh that's neat" but now I see it

[chkflip]

come at me bro

[ceejayvinoya]

can u please name and shame the idiot who thought it'd be funny to put in "attack helicopter"

Hey. Just letting everyone know that I sent this and I'm sorry. I've looked it up and yeah, it's tasteless and not funny, now that I know more about it.

I did not think that through.