people

[hengest]

The Woman in the Old Clothes

At the edge of town, there is a woman with a small hut. She is no longer young, but still hale. When seen near her hut, she wears a peasant's garment and works on her small patch of land. When seen in town, she wears clothes that were once fine but are now quite worn. She would welcome a visitor.

[hengest]

The Deaf Innkeeper

Hearty, strong, and still in the bloom of her young womanhood, the innkeeper makes you feel welcome and often smiles, but never speaks.  A few regulars appear to converse with her at length with their hands and faces, and many of the locals at least understand her signs.  

[hengest]

The Layabout

He has a young but worn face and is always seen in the street. His clothes are shabby but not yet rags. He greets visitors with an urgent look in his eye and will happily share any information about local history, sometimes with an intensity unsuited to the tale. He seems to know little of current happenings. He refuses offers of work, money, and food. 

[hengest]

The Local Beauty

Her skin looks like soft and living stone. Her eyes are only ever smiling or cast down. She is often seen holding bluebells. Having noticed her once, your eye always finds her in a crowd. Her voice is lower than you expect, and her speech is marked by the occasional clicking of her teeth.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Excellent, this is really good, more please!

[hengest]

The Woman with the Loud Party at the Inn

In any crowded inn, there are folks who are louder than others. The rhythm of their talk is enough for even the loneliest visitor. When you look over at them, there is a woman who reminds you of someone.  You know that she cannot remember a time when she was not beautiful.  She is bent almost double with laughter, and when she straightens up, your eyes meet.  She looks away.  

[mao]

Oct 14, 2019 22:15:39 GMT -5 hengest said:

The Layabout

He has a young but worn face and is always seen in the street. His clothes are shabby but not yet rags. He greets visitors with an urgent look in his eye and will happily share any information about local history, sometimes with an intensity unsuited to the tale. He seems to know little of current happenings. He refuses offers of work, money, and food. 

This would make an awesome ghost or revanant

[hengest]

The Young Woman by the Field of Rye

Passing between the rye on your right and the gentle slope down to the river on your left, you hear a sharp intake of breath and then see a young woman turn towards you.  You had not noticed her in the gloom.  As you first see her face, her features are contorted with anger. The anger quickly fades into disappointment. You then see rising fear. 

She wears a short dark garment cinched at the waist.  Her feet are bare and her hands are unadorned.  You notice a clip in her hair.  It appears to bear a single dark gem, although you cannot quite tell in this light. Her face, only a few feet from you, has large features that are frightening in her anger and pitiable in her fear.  But you cannot see her fear for long.  She makes a decision and pushes you sharply into the field.  You can tell that you are about to be questioned out of sight.

[hengest]

The Man Who Forgot His Other Shirt

Standing by a small cart and horse, you see a man just old enough to have a grown child.  He is rummaging through his own pack but is not looking at the goods in the cart.  As you pass by, he says aloud that he forgot his other shirt.  You look over at the sound of his voice and meet his eyes, but he does not seem to see you.

[hengest]

The Slender Witch

As you enter the witch's hut, a strong mix of herbs hits your nose. You can pick out no one scent apart from a heady mint.  The young witch himself is frowning, looking into a mortar.  He has short dark hair and looks as if he should be a juggler or a dancer.  He wears a pendant that you do not recognize.


The room is well-used but seems only semi-organized.  Your eye catches a pile of greasy rags in the corner, only somewhat differentiated from the mess that surrounds them.

[hengest]

The Drunken Loner

In the tavern there is a woman, not yet old, who sits on her own.  She is still, moving only to drink.  At a glance you can tell she is quite drunk and must have been here for hours.  You see a couple approach her with tense smiles and sad eyes, but she turns them away. As the evening blends into deep night and noises turn to whispers, she is still nursing her last drink.

[hengest]

The Friendly Woman with the Cup

In one of the newer streets in town, there is a door that you could easily miss.  It is less adorned than the others, bearing only a faint image of a well.  A woman, more than old enough to be a mother, may poke her head out and notice a weary traveller or an injured explorer.  Her hair is dark and her skin is fair, only somewhat worn.  She is missing her left incisor.  If you speak with her, she may offer you a drink of water from a cup made of bone.  If you drink it, it burns going down.  You immediately feel better.  If you ask her about it and whether she is a healer, she changes the subject.

[hengest]

The Agitated Youth

You find this young man, with only a little scruff on his face, wandering in and out of the wood.  He is in distress and looks towards the line of trees as if expecting someone.  If pressed, he may explain to strangers, though not to any local, that his girlfriend lives in the woods and has promised to return for him and take him to her home.  He is afraid to go far into the woods alone because only she knows the path, but he feels compelled to seek her.  

[hengest]

The Other Child

In this busy town, there are children at play all the time.  Merchants' children, noble children, poor children, homeless children.  Seeing them, you remember your own youth.  After a bit, you notice a child who does not play well.  He always has a half-smile on his face and runs down smaller children with no apparent purpose, not even cruelty.  He spits half-chewed seeds into the games of others.  He throws a handful of pebbles at a mother who reprimands him.  

He never speaks.  

In the evening, you catch sight of him on the outskirts of town.  You watch for a moment and see him look over his shoulder before he heads out of town in the direction of the sunset beyond the woods.  This time, he is not smiling.

[hengest]

The Guide

Her hair is not matted, but looks at the ends like she cuts it herself with a sharp stone.  Her slight smile is human, but her eyes are distant and almost wild.  She seems to know every herb and its use, every cache of nuts, and every hidden fruit tree.  Fruit she calls ofett, a word strange to you. She knows the town and the valley, streams, and woods below as far as the river, a few leagues in both directions. Beyond that, she is out of her reckoning.  

[hengest]

The Old Jester

At the tavern, you see a man who is clearly a regular.  He has the look of an old performer: a easy manner, a smile for everyone and just a tiny secret behind his eyes.  He nurses his ale for a long time.  You see him talking on occasion, usually to one of the older patrons or the woman who seems to own the place.  If you speak to him, you can get a lot of regional history and information about local characters, but he often turns the talk to why he was suspended from his position as jester some ten years ago.  Then the smile fades and you see that you are talking with an angry and hurt man.  How much to believe—you aren't sure, but you can tell that there is something to what he says.    

[hengest]

The Street Singer

This woman, middle-aged, seems to make her living singing unaccompanied in the street.  Her hair is thick, the color of sand.  Her clothing is a simple belted robe.  Sometimes she wears sandals.  She does not look like a beggar at all.

Her voice sounds entirely human but somehow undamaged.  It seems somehow too pure for someone her age.  There are no tears in it, no wear at the edges.  It is hard to describe, but those who hear it notice.

If you listen to an entire song, you likely will see her sip from a bottle of liquid the color of dark honey.

[hengest]

The Retired Patriarch

(the title refers to the M&M "name level" title for clerics. Twist or change as necessary.)

The clean robe he wears looks out of place, as he man does not seem particularly interested in his attire.

Behind his placid expression, each time anyone speaks to him, there is a hint of a child whose eyes still shine in greeting for mama and papa.

He looks smaller and lower than anyone in the room.   

His prayers are inaudible.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Sept 3, 2020 12:04:59 GMT -5 hengest said:

The Other Child

In this busy town, there are children at play all the time.  Merchants' children, noble children, poor children, homeless children.  Seeing them, you remember your own youth.  After a bit, you notice a child who does not play well.  He always has a half-smile on his face and runs down smaller children with no apparent purpose, not even cruelty.  He spits half-chewed seeds into the games of others.  He throws a handful of pebbles at a mother who reprimands him.  

He never speaks.  

In the evening, you catch sight of him on the outskirts of town.  You watch for a moment and see him look over his shoulder before he heads out of town in the direction of the sunset beyond the woods.  This time, he is not smiling.

Is he really a child, I think not, but something dark, something very dark. Think, did he see you watching him when he looked back? If he did, what might that portend?

[hengest]

The Dying Priest

As you enter the healer's hut, your eye immediately flicks to the old man lying on a bed of clean straw by the door. You cannot help but look closer. He looks half-awake, like a child looking out from a mound of blankets. His wiry white beard was last trimmed at least two months ago. He appears at peace and alert but does not speak to you. You get a sense of long life followed by rapid decline. 

"He's just tired," the healer says. "He's going to get a long rest very soon, and then he'll be right as rain."

[The Perilous Dreamer]

This thread is excellent, you write character with great skill and insight.

[hengest]

Jun 21, 2021 20:36:04 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

This thread is excellent, you write character with great skill and insight.

Kind of you to say, PD. I won't argue and spoil the atmosphere of this great thread. 

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Jun 21, 2021 21:39:48 GMT -5 hengest said:

Jun 21, 2021 20:36:04 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

This thread is excellent, you write character with great skill and insight.

Kind of you to say, PD. I won't argue and spoil the atmosphere of this great thread. 

[hengest]

The Rushing Maid

She lags behind the others, always forgetting something and running back. Her hair is loose, her tunic is worn past seemliness. She runs always with a purpose, so it looks more like a directed flutter than a run: with that light gait, she almost skips over the land on the balls of her feet. 

[hengest]

Tathum Farley

The largest settlements in the dukedom are Craggy Swamp, which may be considered the capital, as it is the duke's seat, and Flowertown, long the butt of jokes in Craggy Swamp.  

The name of the capital comes from its location: not far from a steep rocky cliff at the bottom of which is a perpetually moist and burbling bog that extends some distance. This is known as the cragbog or cragswamp, and the large town nearby is Craggy Swamp.

Flowertown is known for the many kinds of airplants that grow there, sometimes on patches of dirt, but much more often on chimneys, external walls of all kinds of structures, and sometimes even indoors. They have almost no root structure, but tend to cling to surfaces with a set of fine adhesive hairs. The blooms vary greatly in color, number of petals, and size. Many are tiny like the humblest wildflowers that can be found in any meadow, but some blooms are comically large, hanging down like a large disc from a short stem, seeming to gaze at those passing below.  The denizens of Flowertown are sometimes called 'petalheads' pejoratively by folk in Craggy Swamp (strictly speaking, the notion that the airplants grow on heads is untrue, as they do not cling to living things, but some will make their homes on hats for a season).

Some twenty years ago, a young man named Tathum Farley was exiled from Craggy Swamp to Flowertown. His crimes, real or imaginary, are now barely remembered. The result, unexpected by those responsible for the ouster, is that Tathum Farley thrived in business in Flowertown almost from the moment of his arrival there. In addition, the town has grown much richer as if by his example and now rivals Craggy Swamp for wealth and prestige. Craggy Swamp and Flowertown were once the largest economic centers, doing business with all the smaller villages and each other. Since Tathum Farley began to reside in Flowertown, its dealings have had less and less directly to do with Craggy Swamp and more to do with other places, including some outside the dukedom. Some say now that the Duke will move his seat to Flowertown, abandoning the fading fortunes of Craggy Swamp.

Tathum Farley, to all appearances, is a man neither puffed up by pride nor falsely humble. He seems unaware of his wealth, but perfectly aware of his many contacts and dealings within the town. His influence is felt everywhere, but is not overwhelming or concentrated in any one place. He wears a plain suit of clothes although he could surely afford much better. Tathum Farley often wears a hat. He is known for being strangely honest, often overstating the risk involved for business partners so that they go into any venture with their eyes open. 

[hengest]

Tamson Reed

Strange as it is to outsiders, the village of Watch has a fairly old man (40s), Tamson Reed, one of whose tasks in the village is to put others to sleep for the day. He goes around at sundown, sometimes running a little late, and touches each villager on the forehead as they lie on their mats. They fall asleep almost instantly. Tamson's final task for the evening is to put himself to sleep as well. They set no watch and rise unaided with the sun.

[hengest]

Sluthering Sally

A kind of curious ghost, Sluthering Sally is well-known in the city of Tamogene. She passes without much difficulty through walls and other barriers. Despite being basically intangible, she appears to locomote normally, although sometimes she walks on her heels or on tiptoe and seems to find doing so amusing. 

Sally's activity level varies, but is usually something like "moderately active with little bursts of high engagement." Her activity, at least what of it is known to the citizens, involves entering private spaces uninvited and commenting on or observing what goes on there. Some people are willing to speak to her at length and some are not. She seems largely unchanged by what she witnesses and learns, not really taking it into herself. But Sally must be subject to change, as all things are, as sometimes she is deeply affected by events or some confluence of events. It happens occasionally that she has her own emotional reaction to things. At these times, Sally either shows her emotion in a most visible way (passing through many homes in a state of visible distress or even sobbing horribly) or displays a kind of tense reserve that might prompt someone to ask her what's wrong.  

There are several versions of Sluthering Sally's own history. Some make her look like a victim and some make her look like a wrongdoer. Most people do not engage with Sally in this way and simply accept her as a cross between a person and a natural phenomenon. 

[hengest]

The Woman with the Lashes

You may encounter her on a town adventure. She seems to be alone, although not particularly sad. But what is most memorable is that when a certain topic comes up, she weeps, but her eyelashes are so thick that her tears gather about them until she touches her eyes, at which point they run down all at once.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

I really like all of these, but especially Tathum Farley.

[hengest]

Dec 6, 2021 22:09:19 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

I really like all of these, but especially Tathum Farley.

Thanks, and I agree, Tathum Farley is the best of today's lot, and somehow qualitatively different.  Tathum Farley is a setting based on a person based on a name that came from sitting down and deciding to come up with a post.