The premise of this character is that they're an adventurer's assistant, and they've been tasked with the safety of a soon-to-be princess.

My main inspiration here is in the titular 'adventurer's assistant' type character. Like, when you're playing a knight or a noble, what is it you make your little minions do? Stand watch, lift the heavy stuff you can't, test traps, scout campsites, run into town to buy rations and stuff, set up camp, light fires, do the cooking, clean the plates. Boring busy campwork, legwork. Keeping weapons polished. Keeping armor sharp. Bringing the map, remembering the mission.

But like, that's fun and satisfying! I like the idea of a packhorse hireling being thrust into a greater story against their will, armed only with what they've picked up along the way from being around adventurers. I like the idea of solving problems with a grab bag of random tricks you picked up via osmosis, or hard work.

I think to make the character work I need to have been cursed before the story begins. See, in the classic adventuring party there's the fighter, cleric, wizard, rogue, right? I would definitely be leaning into the fighter's assistant - which, if they're a titled knight, would make us a squire! Running around taking weapons to the blacksmith, brushing the horse, saying shit like 'yes my liege!' before running off-screen. Could also be a wee lil page, even, but don't wanna be too young.

Maybe have a pet chicken called Henrietta who supplies breakfast...

Anyway, this is a character for my metamour's one-shot! It's a really cute and unique little story set-up. We've been invited to the wedding of the prince of Annavirus, a diverse kingdom mostly home to a race called devestans (imagine Maleficent without horns). However, not just as a guest. we're there on a mission to make sure no harm comes to the bride. We're not sure what from, yet, as we'll learn that when we meet her.

We are both aprrentices of two members of another adventuring party. It's discouraged for us to play high elves lol, just because there'd be some interesting interactions with people. Guessing this is because the neighboring kingdom is called Xirina, and is run by high elves, but populated with all kinds of elves.

Anavirus and Xirina are these two kingdoms either side of a river, in a small forest between two mountains. The story begins in one of the kingdoms, where the prince is soon to be married. However, his father the king has heard rumors of a plot against the bride. As such, the king approached an adventuring party he was friends with. All the members were well-known and recognisable in the kingdom, however, and so it would be too obvious to use any of them as his daughter's bodyguards. Luckily, a number of members of the adventuring party had assistants, and these could go unrecognised while still protecting the princess.

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My partner is currently playing an Owlin Phantom Rogue who likes three things. Tea, calligraphy, and quiet. (I'd also put money on them liking poetry, specifically haiku's cos they're small and clean). They're an intimidating Horned Owl, with a slight skull mask of white feathers, very subtle, and dark wings with white specks.

Of course, we're both still hashing it out, so if it changes it changes, you know?

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I'm currently playing an Echo Knight - or should I say, an Echo Squire! That's why I'm thinking I was cursed before the story begins, because it doesn't otherwise fit with the aesthetic of a 'random hireling' type character if they're throwing out this awesome magical copy of themselves every fight...

Mostly though, I want them to be an OC I can interact with outside of the one-shot! I want them to be accessible to the little people, if not exactly one of them. Somewhat of an inbetween, where civilian and adventurer mix. I need them to be hella eager, embraces a challenge, very visually interesting! Most of all I want them to respond to scenarios in a predictable but interesting way - maybe compelling internal conflict of some sort.

Playing with echo as a theme, I keep thinking sound, you know? Sound and mirrors, echo and narcissus. I also think wolves, things that hunt in packs.

I also know I want to be a changeling, and have my echo slightly differ in masculine or feminine presentation, whichever I'm not currently. That way I can also pretend to be an elf, or a little page boy, or a member of the homebrew race my metamour has made for this specific adventure. No limits!

My partner suggested the Echo is pulling from alternate timelines where I died. I like the idea of time-loops, myself, but also the idea of ghost-squires is fun. I mostly want the feeling of transluscence, a thing entirely outline, a shape on the world dimly colored in the manner of the original - something closer to the Trickery Cleric's image than a true echo.

The idea of multiclassing Trickery too is very near and dear to me, I won't lie. Lil extra Echo. If we're disguised as someone else, too, there could be like, four of the same person running around the battlefield.

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