Character Profile: Nasir (part 2)

You may have read through the beginning of my character development entry earlier this week, and if you haven't you can check it out here:

http://mobden.blogspot.com/2008/05/character-profile-nasir.html

Now, I intend to expand on some basic elements. Here goes:

Name: Nasir (name given at birth unknown).

Birthplace: Nasir was born in the Elven city of Andura-Nagri in the land of Varathon.

Childhood: Nasir is the son of an Elven warrior named Shaia Jen-Falia, his father, and an Elven merchant named Miria Langrasi, his mother. Nasir lived a difficult childhood, losing his father at an early age (somewhere around 100 Elven years, equivalent to 4 Earth years) in a civil war between his own people, the Elves of Narsis, and the opposing Elves of Arowyn. In his young years (about 100 - 500 Elven years) Nasir supported his mother by hunting just outside of the city and collecting various animal pelts that his mother bartered so that she and Nasir could afford food and shelter. When Nasir was around 500 years old, his mother was murdered and he was exiled by the Elves of Narsis. The circumstances of these occasions are still unknown.

Training: Nasir taught himself to hunt at a young age in order to provide wares for his mother. He became skilled in the use of the bow, used in hunting small deer, and later attained proficiency in melee combat with knives, rapiers and swords in order to hunt bears and other comparable animals.

Ambitions: Nasir holds a grudge against all elves. Little is known about the reasons behind his animosity, however, one can surmise that the death of his mother and his exiled status bear some significance when determining factors regarding his personality. It would seem as though Nasir's ambition is to exact revenge upon someone or something relating to the circumstances of his mother's murder.

Fears: Nasir fears establishing strong interpersonal connections with others.

Quirks: Nasir may shuffle when walking in order to block out other sounds from miles away that he does not wish to listen to. Nasir will constantly pay attention to possessions of value, including individuals holding valuable items. Nasir carries around a deck of cards. Gambling is a habit that Nasir simply cannot resist.

Favorite Drink: Elven Wine.

Battle Cry: "I'll put your money where your mouth is."

That ought to light a few candles regarding the background of Nasir. I intentionally did not address all questions, but don't worry, that's because I am saving some for later.

The Music Of Your Dreams

Well, here it is. When rock, hip-hop, smooth jazz, rap, and r&b just aren't cutting it for you, Radio Rivendell wades in to comfort your weary ears. While I won't be listening to this station when I feel like jammin' in my car, I will tune in when I need to set the mood to EPIC! I figured it was a neat find that someone, somewhere might consider useful. I know it will at least help me on occasion. There's nothing like the soothing music of an elven treetop village, now is there?

[Radio Rivendell]

Character Profile: Nasir

My friends and I are running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that has been going on for about a year now. I'm going to post a little bit about my character here because this blog will double as a journal for the adventures that take place in the land of Varathon.

Name: Nasir
Race: Elf
Class: Rogue
Gender: Male
Alignment: Neutral

Bio:

Outcast by his people, Nasir travels the land of Varathon for the sole purpose of personal gain. Money is the means to any end, as far as Nasir is concerned. When undertaking a job, communication is kept to a minimum. Nasir is not interested in developing bonds with others. To Nasir, a person's credibility is defined by how much money they have collected. While he is not a sociable person by nature, Nasir will flawlessly work with others when necessary. Not much else is known about the silent entity, but one thing is certain: the rogue will not fail to complete a task, even if it costs a life, be it his own or that of another.

What is it that drives Nasir? No man, elf or orc can presume to live without a cause. Perhaps there is a reason that Nasir is traveling the land of Varathon. Whatever, or whoever that reason is, it is likely that it represents the very existence of the rogue.

There. How was that? I feel like it's a good start to developing a character. I intend to follow-up on this background with a continuing log of the quests that occur in the land of Varathon. I'll work out the details later, but I hope you've enjoyed what's there.

Caspian: Hit Or Miss?

So yesterday marked the release of the latest cinematic installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series. I figure the film is worth mentioning because of the current lack of fantasy feature films on the market and the first movie was not so bad. So how does the second movie hold up? I'll tell you using a like/didn't like analysis. There's probably a better naming convention for that type of analysis but you'll just have to deal.

Like:

• Mouseketeers! I hadn't read the book prior to seeing the movie, but those mouse warriors were funny and much more likable than either Peter or Caspian.
• CG! The computer graphics were pretty good throughout, animating a cool water elemental and some living trees. Let's not forget that CG whore Aslan. I'm particularly fond of those kinds of graphics, though.
  
• Some intriguing plot elements. Religious parables aside, I retained a genuine interest in the temptation scene with Caspian. Not to spoil too much, but there was a point where I was on the edge of my seat to see how Caspian responded to the particular temptation. While the overall significance of the scene was not addressed in this movie, it left me wondering about what might become of certain artifacts in future Narnia movies/books.
• Stealth attack scene. The Narnian's plan to sneak attack the Talmarins is a good attempt at showing a dynamic to warfare that is actually interesting. I also liked the use of some other tactical warfare schemes that I won't mention for the sake of seeing the movie.
  
• Dwarf character is pretty cool. Not much else to say about that. Maybe give him an axe instead of a crossbow and he would have been awesome.

Didn't Like:

• Awkward ending. I'm not sure how things ended in the book, but what gives? I won't spoil it, but just be prepared for the awkwardness.
• Religious parables. They're just lame by today's standards. I guess there's no getting around them seeing as how the books place such a great emphasis on them.
• Caspian and Peter are both pricks. Whereas in the first film, we only had to deal with Peter, now we have to deal with two over the top idiots. If I had to choose between them, I'd pick Caspian because... well... not to relate the two to anything extraneous... cough red ranger and green ranger... Ok. That's enough of that.
  
• Lack of a hot chick. Seriously. Lord of the Rings can do it, why can't you?

There you go! Is the movie worth seeing? I'd say yeah, I don't think much else is in the cinema that can compete with it, so you've got nothing to lose. It's also a pretty decent movie. Just don't expect something on the same level as the Lord of the Rings and you'll be satisfied.

[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]

State Of The MMORPG

Hmmmm... I keep hearing ramblings of the new Conan game from Funcom. What's with the sudden hype? Is it the release of the beta that creates a general interest? Perhaps the release of the game on both PC and Console (360) provides a greater depth to the possible community of players... And we all know that more players equals more fun, amirite? Maybe it's none of those things. Maybe everyone's just grown tired of WoW and are in desperate need of a new way to live their life - play their game. Did I say live their life?

I'm going to put it on the table now. What is the current state of the MMORPG? With WoW subscriptions setting records, is it possible for any other game in the genre to overtake the mammoth? Are any new games adding features that might drastically change the experience of social games like Age of Conan and World of Warcraft? Judging from the hype of Age of Conan, I'm thinking the answer is yes.

[Age of Conan]