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characters:ravendukassen

Raven duKassen

Introduction

As I join the game, the party are in Sandpoint, an area where I played and DMed a few years ago. And home to one of my favourite characters of all time, Sir Gagak deKassen. Gagak is a half-orc Barbarian - with a level of Bard that represents his entry to the 'civilized' world and a level of Chevalier (A knightly class) which represents him becoming part of the gentry. His adventuring group invested some of their in a business, The Kassen Kompany, which helped establish all of them in society, and now provides Gagak's wives with a regular income. Their home is at Skids Landing, a small (almost wilderness) settlement on the very edges of Sandpoint's hinterlands.

The family background and Skids Landing have been modified so that they do not impinge on the new game (Unless the GM wants it to). The deKassen family are now just an unusual family with minimal wealth. This version of Skid's Landing includes the basic family 'property'. Kassen Kompany assets are minimized, while - but the holding of other Party Members, and most NPCs, have been removed.

Note

Personality

How Raven sees life - This turned out to be a bit longer than I expected - hence its own page!

In Game Projects

The Ballad of Thistle's Top - the story of our expedition to Thistletop - as told by Raven the Bard.

Thistletop Development - we are turning the Goblin Warren into a base and museum

Skids Landing

Skids Landing is a very rural/wilderness village - and even calling it a village might be pretentious! It is a rough and ready place, with few facilities, businesses or governance. Most of the time people just do their own thing, unless they upset one of the three main players – The Kassen Kompany, Scarnetti Timber and the Dwarves. In very rare circumstances, the three even work together …

The Kassen Kompany is a small business set up by a group of adventurers, including Gagak deKassen. It has other interests, but in Skids Landing it owns the Barge Jetty, a small shop and an animal training facility. The Kassen Company barges (actually keel boats) ship stone, skins, furs, leather and other similar items out of Skids, and returns with supplies and people. The shop sells all the basic household requirements as well hunting and trapping gear - including arrows, bolts, knives, hunting spears etc. They also own an animal training facility, specialising in hunting dogs, guard dogs and pack ponies/mules.

Scarnetti Timber have base here. They don't do much cutting around Skids now, and have moved their cutting camps upstream. However, the camps are managed from here and the timber is collected, collated, recorded and then sent down stream for processing. A number of local people work on the timber crews and their livelihood is dependent on the Scarnettis. The Timber Office also has a Bunk House for their itinerant and single male workers - all of which adds to the 'wild west' flavour of the town.

Skids Bar is a very basic inn. It has a large bar area (mainly selling ales and strong spirits), a small kitchen (Always stew for dinner), and a couple of bedrooms (one double, one six bed bunk room). It caters to a lot of strong, hard-working people - timber workers, sailors from barges, hunters, trappers, quarry workers etc - there are brawls on a fairly regular basis. Little real damage, but enough cuts, bruises and hangovers to keep the herbalist in business.

The Village also supports hunter/trappers, a tanner/leather worker, a carpenter, herbalist and a 'river-man'. You can get a number of leather and wooden items (even leather armour, wooden shields and many simple weapons) as well as baskets, thatching reeds and rush mats in the village - and they are also exported down stream to bring a bit of cash into the community.

The Dwarves run a small quarry about a mile outside Skids. The dwarves live in caves houses cut into the side of the quarry, although they come down to Skids for supplies and to visit the bar. And, of course, their stone is shipped out on Kassen Kompany barges. There are rumours that there is an old mine, accessed through the cave houses, but the dwarves deny this. Quarrymen and stone workers all, the dwarves are a tough as old boots, and are well able to defend themselves in a brawl.

Diomedes Military School is a small self-contained military school, located close to the quarry. Diomedes is an old adventuring colleague of Gagak and a member of The Kassen Kompany.

deKassen Compound

The single largest building in Skids Landing and family home to the deKlassen clan. It was always a chaotic place, fully of enthusiastic, noisy people, some of whom were still children - but it is quieter now. It was only ever 'just big enough', the adults had small private rooms, but the children shared dormitory style rooms. Everybody (adults, children and staff) all eat together in the main room, and relations and communications between the deKassens and the staff is generally fairly informal.

Gagak deKassen, head of the family, is an adventurer and often away from home - indeed he hasn't been home for something like ten years now. Adriana deKassen, the senior wife, now spends much of her time in Korvosa. Delilah (Third wife) isn't home all that much either, and is currently believed to be in Riddleport or Kaer Maga. Only Anya (second wife) and the two youngest children live at home now, and they seem to rattle around in the big house.

There are a few live-in staff - the Housekeeper, The Cook and the Guard - who are supported by part-time workers from the village. The kennel only has a single hunting dog to look after now, although there are a couple of guard dogs, who are let loose in the compound over-night, and a couple of other, more pet like, dogs. There are five guards , including the sergeant, who have a fairly easy life - they stand gate guard during the day, go on occasional patrol cum hunting trips and look after the kennel.

The Family

Some might call the deKassen family dysfunctional, and it has certainly attracted a few comments in its time, but it has held up for a good twenty years now - and has certainly been successful, in its own special way.

The Adults

Gagak has three wives. Three very different wives, and he wasn't overly concerned about how they got on together, so long as each of them got on with him, it led to an 'interesting' household.

  • Gagak deKassen is a Barbarian-10/Bard-1/Chavalier-1 and Head of the Family. He loves to spend his time outdoors, hunting, shooting, fishing, trekking etc … All of his children get dragged along at some point. Gagak plays the drums as well, and has collected a number of Orc tribal chants, and written material of the same ilk. He has passed that onto Raven, and encourages all of his children to study widely, and into any area that interests them, and makes sure they are all offered a good education, to give them a decent start in life. That said, he hasn't been around much over the last ten years as he has been busy with his other responsibilities. (which might explain while the youngest child is 13 years old)
  • Adriana is the 'Senior' wife. It was an arranged marriage, that suited both Gagak and Adriana's family. Adriana's family are relatives of an Aristocratic family who own a legal practice in Magnimar. However, that was enough to give Gagak some ‘respectability’ and to resolve an embarrassing problem for Adriana. An arranged marriage was always going to be her lot in life, this wasn't what she was hoping for, but was resigned to it and faced it staunchly. However, now she feels that she has done her duty, and Adriana has rarely been home to Skids since her youngest child (Orion) started school in Magnimar. (Expert with Lesser noble trait).
  • Anya (second wife) comes from a rural family, and knows her way around a country home. She knows how to speak to the rural servants, she has always done most of the household management and child care - for all the children. (Commoner-4)
  • Delilah is Gagak's third 'wife' although no one is quite sure whether there has been a ceremony or not. She moved in shortly before Drusilla was born, stayed for a few years, then started making more frequent trips away. Her vists home were always frenetic, whirlwind affairs that turned the place on its head. Over the last few years 'away' has been more common than 'Home'and she is currently in RiddlePort visiting 'friends'. (Adept[Calistria]-1, Expert-2)

Adriana never liked Delilah much, and struggled to conceal it. Delilah either didn't notice or didn't care. Anya, just smiled all the way through …

The Children

Seven children with three different mothers, all living at home under the same roof.

  • Fabien: M, Human (20) Adopted Brother (Adriana). Fabien was the reason that Adriana was married off to Gagak. Adoption and (eventual) inheritance for her children – ‘establishment’ for Gagak. Fabien was sent to a finishing school in Magnimar, and now has a job as ‘assistant’ to a merchant venturer on one of Kassen Kompany’s ships. (Aristocrat)
  • Breya: F, Half-Orc (19) Half Sister (Adriana). Breya also went to finishing school in Magnimar, where she learned the skills required of an aristocratic wife (including dress and makeup tricks to minimise her Orcishness) As the main heir, she is expected to inherit a large proportion of Gagak’s estates, which should help her find a partner. Currently, she is looking for a husband in Magnimar. (Probably Expert with the ‘Lesser Noble’ trait)
  • Raven: M, Half-Orc (19) ( Anya). Started a finishing school but decided he didn’t like it - it was too claustrophobic for him. He has been hanging out in Sandpoint for the last couple of years.
  • Drusila: F, Half-Orc (17) Half Sister (Delilah). Drusila is the apple of her father’s eye, and more time hunting and fishing than all the other children put together. She refused the opportunity to go to finishing school to study at home in Skids Landing. She works with the kennel master, spends time at the Kassen Kompany Animal Training Centre and regularly visits Kat the Herbalist. (Ranger-1).
  • Orion: M, Half-Orc (16) Half Brother (Adriana). Orion is, perhaps, fortunate in that his orc heritage isn’t obvious (Almost Human trait). He is currently at Finishing School, and will eventually inherit a significant portion of Gagak’s estates. (Aristocrat)
  • Gale: Short for Nightingale, F, Half-Orc (15) Sister (Anya) Gale like her father, has a fierce temper, although she doesn't lose it very often. She tends to stay indoors through ther middle of the day, and only go outside late or early, when the light is not so harsh. During the day, she keeps to herself and tends to stay in a darkened room, playing weird mental games with herself. While all the family go out of their way to protect her, they are a bit worried for her. (she will be an Orc Blood sorcerer)
  • Lark: F, Half-Orc (13) Sister (Anya) Like Orion, Lark looks very human (Almost Human trait), She is still at home deciding on her future direction. She is musically talented and has a broad range of interests - but she probably isn’t quite suitable for a PC class, possibly an Expert or Adept.

Inheritance rules: as per Adrianna's Marriage contract terms. The bulk of Gagak's wealth will be left to Adrianna's children, while the rest is split between the rest as lesser bequests. Fabien, Breya and Orion tend to think they are better than the other children, and can be quite condescending. Breya often says that she will sell the Compound as soon as she inherits it, because she wants to live in the City, where she thinks that she belongs.

characters/ravendukassen.txt · Last modified: 2023/12/25 10:59 by johnb