Sundered Isles 3 - My Character
In this final prologue, I create my adventurer, Domingo de Mendoza, his backstory and his ship, the Alecto
As the second part of this prologue to my Sundered Isles campaign, I will create and flesh out my character. Then I will roll up my starting position and see what Fate have in store for me in terms of my first adventures.
You can read the chapter on the Setting of my campaign here.
My character
Backstory
Domingo de Mendoza had turned 25 years of age a few months before the Sundering. Born in Spain, he had spent most of his youth in the Spanish Main and the Caribbean, as his father had been a naval officer based in Cuba. A curious and deeply religious young person, Domingo took to reading and scholarly research. He was torn between Franciscan ideals of helping the poor and the intellectual tradition of the Dominican Order. Though fond of both paths, he ultimately chose the latter.
This led to his joining the Spanish Inquisition, as it increased its efforts to root out the growing cancer of Cultism in the Dark Caribbean. The appearance of the Scourge and the Undead had of course shaken the faith of many Catholics. Yet Domingo believed the Inquisition’s interpretation that defeating the Cultists and the Undead was a worthy challenge for the Church and a just test by God of the clergy’s and the Inquisition’s faith, courage and mettle.
Domingo embraced this new crusade with fervour and devotion. The very nature of the Undead Scourge and its recurring infestation of the Caribbean meant that Inquisitors and their armed companions often found themselves at sea. This allowed Domingo to gain much experience in both seamanship and naval warfare. He also found himself bonding with the common soldiers and sailors that other Inquisitors shunned. This allowed him to bridge the two conflicting interests in his heart.
Many adventures undertaken, much heresy suppressed and many undead crushed, Domingo found himself at the fort of Maracaibo when the Sundering happened.
And that cataclysmic event led to a profound crisis of faith that tormented Domingo for his first months and years in this new, blended world of Sunderia. Inspired by the spirit of liberty and new chances exhibited by both Merthen and Terran island communities of the Myriads, Domingo was angered when the remnants of the Inquisition relatively quickly decided to embrace the Kayran Empire for protection and as a vessel for its reconstruction. Having tried to tread a middle path, Domingo’s crisis of faith was resolved at last when his erstwhile Inquisitor comrade betrayed Domingo to the Kayran authorities, which led to his unjust imprisonment in the notorious Banshee Keep prison in Palatia, the main Kayran port in the Myriads.
Forsaking Catholicism as irredeemably corrupt, Domingo was inspired to find his own path to a more just world. Escaping from the prison, he swore to defy the Kayran Empire and rid this new world of the evils of Imperialism. His ideas for a new utopia would mature over the coming years of small-time adventuring in the Myriads, where Domingo, with his charismatic persona, gathered a small, loyal crew. The fluid power dynamics of the Sunderian Islands would serve him well. Domingo’s goal is nothing short of revolution. And Domingo is prepared to use almost any means necessary to achieve it. It is true that he sought to spare the innocent and the oppressed (or those he deemed to fall into one of those categories), but Domingo’s studies of the occult during his inquisitional years of heresy-hunting and the new circumstances he found himself in led to a new idea settling within his mind. This idea was like as a virus both benevolent and not – that would not go away. One night with the double full moon of Cinder and Wraith, Domingo clutched his iron mask and, embracing the Merthen tradition of the Iron Vow, he solemnly swore:
“I vow to rid this world of imperialism, establish a new utopia based on liberty and equality on these islands, and I will use necromancy to achieve my goal.”
Having at last seen through the evils of organised religion and worship, Domingo had no intention of worshipping the Old Ones or leading a cult of followers. He still looked upon the cultists with contempt (and begrudging respect that perhaps they had had a better grasp of reality than he and his Christian brothers had before the Sundering). Domingo’s idea was to learn necromancy so as to gain both the necessary military power (through undead warriors) and economic means (through the harvesting and sales of ash). In his view, this dual power source would be used for his benevolent means and abandoned once the goal of liberty, equality and brotherhood had been achieved. A naïve thought perhaps, but he was determined to realize it. It is an iron vow he would not abandon – no matter how long it took or what hardships he would have to suffer to achieve it.
Domingo at the start of the campaign
Our story starts 10 years after the Sundering. Domingo de Mendoza is known as “Ironface”, and in the course of character creation, I combine dice rolls and thematic choices within the Sundered Isles gamebook tables. The result, in brief, is as follows:
Name: Domingo “Ironface” de Mendoza
First look: Tattooed (a distinct tattoo of an intricate iron chain covers his neck and throat) and Eerie (whoever gazes into his eyes senses without understanding that there is something off with Domingo’s soul; an effect of his ever-deepening studies of the occult as he chases the elusive art of necromancy). The latter came about due to a “0” roll on the Cursed Die.
Trademark accessories: A long leather coat and an Inscrutable Iron Mask (he would usually only don his mask when engaging in personal combat – for example during boarding action – or to intimidate interlocutors of one type or another).
Trademark weapon: A double-barrelled pistol
Hidden aspects: Domingo is both Suspicious and Charismatic. The former is a trait developed from his days as an inquisitor and honed by his betrayal in the first years after the Sundering. The latter has always been a part of his personality and it now finds renewed purpose in his quest of revolution and emancipation of his fellow men and women.
Goals: Acquire knowledge/learning (namely the dark art of necromancy) and Dismantle an unjust power (The Kayran Empire and any other entity that seeks to rule over others without their consent)
Object of personal significance: A Golden Key (given to him by a fellow prisoner who taught Domingo all he knew of occult studies in Merthen before the Sundering; finding what the chest that the key unlocks will be an important quest for Domingo – to be fleshed out in the course of the game)
Starting paths: Scholar (of the Occult) and Crew Commander (Two assets with significant, gameplay-mechanical implications); as the final asset in character creation = Pistoleer.
Stats (reflecting Domingo’s character and with significant mechanical implications):
Wits = 3 (expertise, knowledge, and observation),
Heart = 2 (courage, willpower, empathy, sociability, and loyalty),
Edge = 2 (quickness, agility, and prowess when fighting at a distance),
Shadow = 1 (sneakiness, deceptiveness, and cunning),
Iron = 1 (physical strength, endurance, aggressiveness, and prowess when fighting at close quarters).
The Ship and Crew
[switching to first person as I slowly get in character] My starting ship is The Alecto. She is a sloop, so a relatively light, fast and manoeuvrable vessel. It was bestowed upon me by an eccentric, Merthen shipwright by the name of Jorun Zakia in return for saving his daughter from a dastardly Dutch buccaneer. This mercurial man has designed The Alecto to have a remarkably low profile, making her uncannily nimble in shallow as well as deeper waters. She is also armed with intimidating cannons that pack more of a punch than such a small vessel has a right to. Or at least it seems so to those we fire upon.
The figurehead is a furious, topless woman with an angry face, strong physique and who clutches two crossed sharp blades in her braceleted arms. She is our inspiration for retribution and vengeance against the evil men and women of this world. She manifests our unceasing anger and drives us on and on upon the perilous quest I have taken a vow to complete. She is our beloved Alecto.
I have a crew of 24 brave sailors, all willing and loyal adventurers and trailblazers – at least for now. Only my trusted first mate knows the full truth of my quest. The others, for now, are content with daring ventures and with stealing from the wealthy pigs of Kayra and the Myriads as we help those we deem in greater need. I speak often of the values of liberty and the breaking of chains. Yet they know not the full extent of my aspirations of revolution – nor the means I seek to fulfil this dreams.
We have plenty of provisions and the Alecto is endowed with a remarkable library within my cabin. I may be a mariner now, but I will always remain a scholar, too. No prize we sees is released or sunk before its collection of written material is thoroughly vetted.
Our cargo contains crates of tea and dye as well as a shipment of mining equipment we seized from a Dutch merchantman not long ago.
We are at sea, and we have set course for…
Next time, I will create and sketch out the starting area of my adventures. I will use the prompts within the Sundered Isles gamebook to do so and thus also generate the opening scenes of the story, including a first quest for Domingo to pursue.
Read the first prologue on the creation of my Sundered Isles world here.