Dungeons & Dragons v3.5
Name: Quinn
Gender: female
Race: human
Hair/eyes/skin: light chocolate brown, blue, and fair, respectively
Class/fighting style:
Wilderness rogue - a rogue focusing more on stealth in the great outdoors rather than in an urban setting. They also have the ability and knowledge to handle animals, and are more adept at moving silently through the forest, preferring its tranquility and natural hints when it comes to tracking as opposed to having to glean information from a busy city filled with god only knows what kind of dangerous people.
Background:
The village she was born and raised in allows next to no contact with outsiders - this was due to a conflict mere days before her birth. Her people have a talent for potions, alchemy, and healing, but they were rumored from far and wide to be knowing in some darker areas as well. This brought strife to them in the form of a tribe of barbarians, who threatened the village elder, demanding he make his army invincible with the dark arts. The elder, not shaken by these threats, feigned innocence and turned them away.
On the dawn of each new week, the barbarian came again, only to be spurned time and time again. On the fourth week, he vowed to take hostages, and warned them to be careful next time they set foot in the forest.
Quinn's mother, pregnant with her at the time, was on bed rest, the birth of her daughter coming closer and closer. To ease her discomfort, Quinn's father would make poultices and sing softly to his beloved wife and the precious baby in her womb. The day of the birth, however, he was forced to venture out into the woods to pick the petals of a certain flower, but was captured and brutally murdered by the barbarians.
Back in the village, Quinn's mother went into labor, not knowing the cruel fate of her husband. Baby Quinn had no sooner been born, named, cleansed, and cooed at by her mama when a scout came bursting into the village with a severed head - Quinn's father.
That was when the bandits attacked.
Fortunately, the healer's wife was clever, and acted fast to get mother and baby out of harm's way. But Quinn's mother, weak from childbirth, was unable to move quickly enough and got cut down by the barbarians. Her dying wish was that her daughter grow up under the watchful and loving eyes of the healer and his wife.
And so, the village was left in ruins, and the small handful of survivors fled with the assistance of secret magic from the elders. Quinn and Flynn were both taken in by guardians - Quinn by the village healer and his wife, who had always wanted a baby girl, and Flynn, a boy two years her senior and her best friend growing up, by his aunt and uncle. They found a new home in the distant forest, and set up protective barriers around it, vowing never again to have contact with outsiders after the massacre.
One day, Quinn came back from an assignment of gathering various herbs in the forest. When she arrived home, her adopted father/mentor was with Flynn's uncle, both wearing troubled and weary expressions. The latter was holding Flynn's favorite dagger, the handle inlaid with green tiger's eye and obsidian, the one he never went anywhere without.
With the dagger here, and the expressions on both mens' faces, it wasn't difficult to put two and two together. To Quinn's horror, Flynn had broken the village's rule of not seeking contact with the outside world. Regardless of this rule, the rash young man was determined to have a grand scale adventure that would allow him to use the skills he had spent so many years learning. While Quinn had always called him silly to his face, secretly a part of her shared his dream.
“That idiot,” Quinn murmured, her blue eyes flicking toward the ground.
“Go find him and bring him home,” the Healer said. Quinn’s eyes shot back up, and her mouth fell open.
“I-I can’t—you’re letting me leave?” Her heart was pounding in her chest. “But the Elders—”
“You heard me. Go find him.” The Healer nodded ever so slightly, and pressed the dagger into her trembling hands, along with a small leather pouch containing gold coins. “Don’t worry about the Elders. Take the path north past the river, and as soon as the trees begin to thin, make a run for it. They will know that you have left, but I will take care of that."
"Please, Quinn. Flynn is in danger every second he is gone.” His uncle said quietly, his eyes pleading.
Quinn was still reluctant, but agreed to set off to find her impulsive best friend. She was being offered the chance for her own adventure, but it was ultimately to bring Flynn home. She knew he would be angry with her for getting in the way of his dream, and although she too longed for freedom, could not deny her duty.
Surely the Healer knew how much Quinn wanted out, so how could he freely give her this chance and still expect her to return as soon as possible?
The world was flush with people, places, things to be done; there was no way—
She shook her head. “Thank you,” she whispered with a smile to the Healer, who nodded, his lined face once more expressionless. "May Pelor be with you, my child. Make haste now, for you must be far away and make camp before nightfall."
"May Pelor be with you as well, dear father." She glanced at Flynn's uncle, and gave him a determined smile in hopes to reassure him. "And may Pelor be with you while you break the news to Auntie. Please, tell her I promise to do my best."
He merely nodded at her, gratitude masking the fear and worry in his eyes for a split second, before he moved sideways to allow her into the house. His palm was open to her, the dagger glittering.
Grasping the sheathed dagger in her hand, she dashed to her room, gathered up as many things as would fit into her knapsack. The dagger, however, she attached to her belt.
She paused on the doorstep, lingering for a second to soak up the memories of her childhood home. “Thank you,” she repeated, turning to look upon
the aging face of the Healer one last time, and then she turned and ran, quickly and almost silently, down the path.
She originally started off as a herbalist and alchemist, passable with a short sword and some defensive magic thanks to Flynn's uncle, the village protector.
After leaving the village, however, she witnesses an old merchant cheat some orcs with a sleight of hand trick, and her curiosity gets the better of her. As she approaches the old man to inquire about his trick, the orcs realize they have been duped and start a fight. Initially, Quinn fears for the old man's safety, as he was slightly outnumbered, but he quickly bests them and sends them on their way.
She begs the old man to teach her how to dance and be one with her blade, and be 'super stealthy and awesome', but he immediately refuses despite her ability to sneak up on him without him detecting. ('A natural,' he thought, 'but I will never again take on another student.')
Defeated, she sets up camp nearby - fortunately so, as the orcs return in the night with greater numbers. Quinn rushed to the old man's aide and is surprisingly adept with the her best friend's dagger, which her mentor bestowed upon her before she fled the village. Realizing the girl's determination, skill, and integrity (his last protege tried killing him to prove he had surpassed his teacher), he agreed to become her teacher. Thus, she trades in her potions and herbal knowledge to become a rogue.
Personality:
Quinn is very down to earth and genuine, wanting nothing more than to enjoy life and its simple pleasures. She is a naturally playful and happy person, and not much gets her down for long. Her world is a fun place - she is slightly naive given her sheltered life in the village, but she also chooses to see the humor in things as much as possible. (Her best friend, Flynn, pokes fun at her and calls her a 'bubbleheaded optimist'.) Due to her limited contact with other people, she has developed a bit of a flighty nature over the years. While she would collect herbs in the forest, she often wondered what the outside world was like, and if she would ever get to see it.
Although she is moreorless trustworthy, she is easily distracted - due to her penchant for daydreaming. Still, she is determined and, unlike Flynn, rarely received even so much as a raised voice from her mentor except when she'd be, of course, off with her head in the clouds.
She is very easygoing, and comes across as genuinely warm, charming, and friendly. She enjoys personal interaction, which she partakes in with a lot of laughing, physical touching, and eye contact. She is eager to meet new people and has no problem with touching the arm of a stranger, such as a merchant, in thanks when buying goods.
Because of her natural ability to disarm the people she talks to, there is no need for her to act typically rogue-ish - sneaking around, gathering information in secret, spying, etc. Still, her new mentor was prudent in teaching her the importance of eavesdropping - for her protection and others around her, and she eased into the taboo habit with ease and excitement.
Having grown up in a very isolated place, cultural norms don't play an important role for her, except for that she enjoys breaking them - not because she enjoys chaos and the discomfort of others, but because she does not know any better. Once she reaches a certain comfort level in new environments, she becomes quite the trickster and enjoys playing pranks on people, to 'shake things up' and 'punish' people who are too serious. Although not reckless, she is no coward and gets a thrill out of the unknown.
Still, as much as she likes to talk and laugh with others, she can be somewhat closed off about her internal world and background due to the secret nature of her village, and she always finds a slippery way to change that subject.
While Flynn always yearned to leave the village to explore the outside world, even as a child, Quinn remained dutiful to her adopted parents and glued to her studies, despite her own thoughts that eventually started to seep into her mind thanks to Flynn's make-believe stories about fey folk and dragons, kings and queens, and even pirates and vagabonds. Still, her heart is loyal, and she struggles internally with whether she should go home, or continue searching for her best friend with her mentor's blessing. This internal conflict occasionally bubbles over onto the surface, and becomes apparent to those around her that something just isn't right with this generally playful ray of sunshine.
She was not raised with any particular religion in mind, nor was she encouraged to be intolerant to certain beliefs. Therefore, she is tolerant and open-minded, and for her own views, has only the deepest respect and love for Mother Nature. Still, she isn't completely naive, and does know the difference between right and wrong and will immediately shy away from people she knows are dangerous.
She enjoys singing, dancing, daydreaming, tree climbing, painting, and whittling small chunks of wood with Flynn's dagger.
Some of her quirks due to her internal conflict are fingernail biting, coin flipping, pacing, twirling her hair, lip biting, sleeping in odd places, and even needless apologizing.
