indie fandomless oc
rules
Hien. 29. He/him. I like The National. Art.Selective and private. This blog is intended to be low effort, so I will be extremely selective and private.
Activity: Low activity.
Portrayal: The character himself is heavily taken from Black Sails' James Flint.
Non-exclusive: I will follow multiple of a character.
One-liners: I don’t do one-liner or dialogue-only RP. I prefer multi-para but do not expect you to match me.
Romantic ships: This will only happen under rare circumstances.
Pre-established relationships: I prefer pre-established relationships over first-time interactions and am always open to discussion.
If you approach me asking for plots or a thread, I expect you to have your own ideas. If I end up being the only one and you expect me to write the starter on top of that, I will unfollow.
Starter memes: I very often leave these open-ended. Feel free to treat my answer as a drabble or as a starter to a thread.
New followers: Give me upwards of a week to look through your blog.
Dropping threads: I will drop any thread that hasn't received a reply in about a month in order keep my drafts manageable.
I will not follow back if…: 1) you are a minor, 2) there is too much OoC content or photos, 3) there is no rules page or detailed page about the character, 4) your blog and/or dash posts is/are illegible, or 5) you post discourse, callout posts, or share personal disputes you have with another user.
I will unfollow if…: 1) there is too much OoC content or photos, 2) you have been inactive for two months without any noted hiatus, 3) we never interact be it IC or OoC, 4) you fail to pull your weight while plotting, or 5) you post discourse, callout posts, or share personal disputes you have with another user.
credit
All art used for graphics belongs to billelis.
basics
Name: Thomas Rochester
AKA: Captain Rochester, Vampire, Red Devil
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Birthdate: 18th of High Sun (June 18)
Birthplace: Grenshaw, Renland
Race: Human
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Siren hunter; privateer and captain of the Maiden's Joy (former); pirate captain of the Ballad
personality
Calculating and perhaps manipulative, Rochester plays the game and operates on the power of suggestion, ruling his ship through authority and, perhaps, a level of fear. But while Thomas is accustomed to extreme means or unorthodox methods to achieving an end result, he is not guided by maliciousness for maliciousness' sake—indeed, he has an equal capacity for both brutality and care. Civility and, at the drop of a dime, ferocity. When left with no better alternatives, “might makes right” and “the ends justify the means” are quintessential mantras.
MBTI: INTJ-A - The Architect
Alignment: Lawful evil (?)
Four Temperaments: Choleric-melancholy
Enneagram: Type Eight - The Challenger; 8w7
Positives: Decisive, competent, adaptable, devoted and loving
Negatives: Vindictive, ends justify the means, unapologetic, underhanded, ornery
appearance
Hair: Red; kept in a half-up ponytail and, when let down, goes slightly past his ears; beard and mustache
Eye Color: Green-gray
Height: 5'10 ½" (179 cm)
Weight: 167 lbs. (76 kg)
Build: Sturdy
Identifiable Features: Line-like scar wrapping around the entirety of his neck, a result of his deal with Dullahan, the Headless Horseman; lyre tattoo on upper left arm; skull and tentacles tattoo on inner right forearm. Heavily freckled body and scars throughout body.
Faceclaim: Toby Stephens as James FlintAttire: One ring on right hand and three on left hand, one of which is fitted with a large onyx stone. Tucked white linen shirt, black pants, leather belt, black leather boots. Two brass earrings on left ear. Black frock coat. An example of his outfit.
other information
Voice: Toby Stephens; low, craggy
Scent: Seawater, sweat, orange rinds. Few say he "reeks of magic".
Handedness: Right
Temperature: Runs on the warm side; warm to the touch
Weapons: Cutlass with a hilt similar to this (only it's Medusa in place of a siren), gold dagger, flintlock with a mermaid figurehead design
Abilities: Rapid regeneration and immortality (conditional)
Family: Lorena Rochester (sister; disembodied)
background
Thomas Rochester, red-headed and bound to the sea, a siren hunter and privateer, had gotten involved in the dust trade and occultism, inexplicably illegal, to earn extra gold. Luck, in hindsight, was not on his side.His sister Lorena was arrested in connection with his dealings. She was accused. She was bait. And Renland, dispatching a crew of her Navy aboard the Dread to reach him and other transgressors an ocean away, had given him their ultimatum: surrender himself in exchange for her freedom, or to let her take his place. Rochester had no option.But he had insurance.A candlemaker found him on the night before his transport, a black horse by his side and a tempting, too-good proposition. Three wishes in exchange for something only Thomas could give; the last thing Thomas will ever have. The air was still and the semblance of a man smiled in a way that never quite reached his eyes. His three wishes are herein:The first, to free Lorena. The second, to bring her to him. The third, that his soul was only forfeit once he’d held the sun in the palm of his hands, and the candlemaker, smiling and caught, too clever by half, agreed.It did not go as planned.Aboard the Rennish ship, Rochester caught wind that his sister was already en route to prison. She was guilty regardless, they say of conspiracy and concealment, and enraged, incensed, and infuriated, Rochester bided his time, awaiting his insurance, with rising anticipation, to come through. He did not know that the ship carrying Lorena was suddenly destroyed in an unnatural, unexpected storm and that, already, their fates were sealed.A siren crashed aboard the Dread several days later, red-haired and hopelessly familiar, teeth barred and claws against his chest. Lorean had turned to a siren. A product of his deal.The crew retaliated. Several of their men died. Then, Lorena. And in the midst of the chaos, Rochester in his outrage and grief butchered the crew red, sticky-tacky, now ceaselessly immortal, entirely indomitable, his purpose now not only to hunt down and exterminate the Headless Horseman, but to find a way, and by whatever means necessary, to end everyone involved in her misfortune.
additional tidbits
• Music Box: Within the bowels of the ship, tucked away in the captain's cabin, a music box sits overtop a table, lined in shimmering sliver and detailed with crustaceans and shells. When wound up, the voice of a woman warbles hauntingly through, not in song, but as though sharing its thoughts, the sound beautiful yet leaving its listener with the distinct feeling that it is disembodied. Interestingly enough, that's because it is. Within the box itself and powering the instrument are the gory remains of Lorena's vocal chords. Rochester uses the box to speak with his sister... or to hear what she's thinking and feeling. She yearns for blood.For no reason is anyone other than Rochester allowed to touch or use it.It was a gift to him by the Headless Horseman. Rochester hopes to find a way to restore her.In design, it looks similar to this.• The Ballad: The Ballad is a galley ship, fully rigged with three masts. It carries a complement of 110 men, is armed with 25 guns, and was originally the Rennish naval ship, then named Dread, tasked with transporting Rochester for trial and imprisonment. Under the banner of Captain Rochester, it was renamed to what it is now.• Vampire: After the Headless Horseman's and Renland's deceit and his sister's murder, Rochester killed the Dread's crew, all of them retaliating under orders; all of them in arms to defend their lives and ship. When he finally made landfall and docked, Rochester was painted sticky red, the moon full and high and the ship sloshing. The captain stood at the forefront like a hole in the moon.Those at port called him a vampire. Sometimes, the Red Devil.
siren hunters
"Siren hunter" is a term used to describe those engaged in the hunting of sirens for the protection of Renland's naval forces—the Navy has its own hunters—or those private businesses with interests overseas. Illegally, numerous siren hunting crews have also been known to capture sirens for reasons related to occultism. The bodies, or ashes, of sirens are known to bolster arcane abilities and connections.In addition to sirens, these hunters also poach mermaids and, to a lesser extent, harpies. Mermaids are large creatures, much like Axel Sauerwald's art, and the hunting of them is similar to whaling.
• Death Masks: Siren hunters are easily identified by the shining, white porcelain-like death masks they wear and which are said to be infused with the ashes of cremated mermaids, the area that obscures their ears carved with interior grooves, both nullifying the effects of a siren's song. All crewman have their masks on hand and at the ready should it be necessary, and there is never an instance where the entire crew is barefaced. If one should die, his mask is often brought home in place of a body, sometimes because it is too mauled, and other times because it would not survive a sail home without rotting. Either way, the dead are more often than not given a burial at sea.• Petrels: Siren hunters use petrels as forward scouts as a means of defense against and for the detection of sirens. Upon discovery of one or a nest, the petrels return to warn their crew, allowing them time to prepare for potential attack or engagement.• Siren Ashes (cw: drug warning): Mermaid and siren ashes, or mermaid or siren dust, or simply “dust”, is derived from the cremation of mermaid or siren remains or their sawed and/or grated bones. It is said that dust heightens arcane abilities, and this explains why they're popular among occultists—it strengthens arcane prowess, if there was any to begin with, and can even bring about or strengthen prophetic dreams. It’s also why many occultists are addicts.As involvement in occultism is prohibited in Renland, those interested in unlocking their arcane potential can only do so illegally, and much to their dismay, the cost of "purified" dust is astronomical. As such, many can only afford an unrefined variant, making dust, already highly toxic, hallucinogenic, and addictive, an even more deadly substance. Many become ill or poison themselves and perish. Others use it expressly for recreational purposes. Illegal “dust dens” have cropped up throughout the empire where citizens can indulge, particularly the upper class, their existence hush-hush yet undeniably in everyone's periphery.Regardless, the drug has similar effects to that of psychedelics and can be snorted, ingested, or rubbed into the gums. Siren hunters engaged in dust business capture sirens to sell to underground markets. If alive, the more potent the dust and the higher the payout.
• Lyre Tattoo: Most siren hunters have a lyre tattooed somewhere on them. Rochester has a small one on his upper right arm.
verses
Main Verse
Rochester is a pirate, captain of the Ballad, and hellbent on hunting down the Headless Horseman.tag: #( sh: v: main. )
DnD-Centric/ Baldur's Gate 3 Verse
Please note that this does not strictly or exclusively adhere to DnD lore as he was used in a homebrew campaign. This is all subject to change and will be updated accordingly.In this verse, Rochester is a well-known, wanted, and feared pirate and siren hunter, much as he is in his canon verse, but his deal is a pact with Dullahan, or the Headless Horseman, who is his patron, making Rochester a warlock with an added ability: rapid regeneration.For a Baldur's Gate 3 world, he is not a Tav or the player character, and he and a chunk of his crew were abducted by illithids while docked at a commercial trading hub, the majority dying upon the nautiloid's crash. Rochester survived in no small part to his regeneration.Companion Questline: Rochester's companion quest revolves around the tracking down of Dullahan, the resurrection of his sister, and the murder of a handful of Flaming Fists, although he will not divulge any of this to their entirety.It is important to note that Rochester has a immense disdain for Baldurian authority or, more precisely, the Flaming Fist, not necessarily because they are in a position of authority, but because he blames them, in part, for his sister's demise. They charged her of a crime she was not involved in and used her as bait. Rochester resorted to making a pact with the Headless Horseman to free and save her, leading to her transformation to a siren and her eventual un-death. At some point during Act III, Rochester will disappear from camp without providing any transparency, and word will spread that an office of the Flaming Fist is under siege by a wanted man. Unsurprisingly, the aberration is Rochester seeking to enact vengeance against those involved in his sister's arrest. The player will have the option to allow him to carry out his massacre, netting a great deal of approval, or to stop him, netting in disapproval. If the latter, he may potentially leave the party if your relationship is not high enough to survive the fallout.If the player does not find Dullahan or find a way to release his sister, it will not net in any disapproval. If he remains at large by the end of the journey, Rochester will continue the hunt on his own.Approvals, Disapprovals, and Relationship with Other Companions: He approves of decisions based on doing what is necessary, even if unpleasant, but also approves of "kinder" acts so long as they do not come at the detriment of himself or the party. He generally disapproves of cruelty for cruelty's sake or for enjoyment, getting in his way, unserious or otherwise stupid decisions, and anything he perceives as bending the knee or giving grace to a clear or belligerent enemy. Additionally, he favors Lae'zel or Gale as companions, the former for her objectivity, tenacity, and strong will, and the latter for his appreciation of literature and the arcane, as well as his soft touch without sacrificing pragmatism. He dislikes Minsc, Astarion, Volo, and initially Wyll, although the last is complicated and has great potential to evolve. He is neutral towards all others.tag: #( sh: v: dnd. )