Monday, October 24, 2011

The Family - A Long History

Hello anyone who happens to wander here. This introductory post is meant to introduce a family of characters I have been playing for a very long time (about 15 years or so), and hopefully give some backstory and insight into why I will play my Skyrim character a certain way.  I have of course played many random characters in different games, but this "family" of characters has stuck around the longest and evolved into something special.  It was mostly by accident in the beginning, just sticking to the same last name so people would recognize me, but it became more than that after a while. While these images are mostly from Ultima and Oblivion, I have used them all in many games over the years, it was just the easiest two games to pull screens from.

I don't look at it so much as "these are new characters, sons and daughters, so the others must have died," but as a timeline that melds together much like opening a book and reading two random chapters.  A book has a beginning and an end, and real time is flowing, but at any time a chapter from here or there might crop up.


Seth T - The first of the family, and my first Ultima Online character.  He is one of the best carpenters and lumberjacks in his land. He enjoys his work so much he can be seen chopping wood or hammering nails any time the sun is up. He is so skilled he makes more gold than the local healers and mercenaries.  However Seth is not a greedy man, and when they were younger his money went to seeing the three sons got the best military training. 

From a stranger's perspective Seth might be seen as a workaholic, but it is simply a passion for his work.  He does enjoy the occasional vacation, but it is mostly in body in mind, as he has no interest in travel.  Indeed his favorite relaxation is nothing more than a whiskey, chew and a good book on a snowy day. Nowadays he works simply for his sons' inheritance, as he can make anything he could want better than the vendors in town sell.  Someone who did not know better might also think he was a sad and lonely man missing his wife, but he believes one day they will be reunited in death.  He sees his wife's death as a sacrifice to bring his three children into the world, and the time without is her but a small price.

He's a quiet and a reserved individual who prefers the quiet life spending time on something he enjoys over excitement and adventure.  Seth is very old fashioned, conservative, and reserved.  He is the most representative of myself (although still quite different), while the other characters are only fractions or indulgences in terms of my personality. He's still kicking it somewhere in a log cabin in the Ultima realm, most likely tinkering on something.

Abigail T - Abigail died in childbirth to the three twins, before Seth came to the Ultima realm. There is no visual record of Abigail, only stories passed down from father to son.


Seth T II - Seth II is the first born of the three twins and is a lot like his father (and Seth I instantly saw his likeness most in him), but he enjoys adventure and exploring.  He is a wanderer and always first to explore a new land.  Cautious, but curious.  Not one to jump into a fight but he is more than a capable warrior.  His whereabouts are currently unknown; his last words mentioning a new land with an undead problem.  Who knows if he will ever return.


Athan T - Athan is the second born, and had a hot temper, but he was also a gentleman first and foremost.  He was a strong believer in his religion and he died defending it. A white knight if there ever was one, and was to the end.  Athan died in a religious crusade against a dark cult of demon worshipers. (In real terms, I had tried and for the most part was successful in creating a new religion on my Ultima server.  However I hit a brick wall in that it couldn't be official, and real life got in the way so the religion fell apart.)

Ethan T - Ethan is the third born.  He is the biggest of the three sons and a very proficient warrior.  He is skilled with all manner of weapons, armor, and basic magics. Courageous and charming, it is easy for him to gather men at his side, and is a sight of relief for his allies, and dread for all others. He finds dishonor in anything but straightforward combat, eschewing trickery and ranged combat, but he is a very skilled tactician.  Ethan left the Ultima realm to explore shortly after Seth, and is currently retired in Tamriel, married to Sarah.

Sarah Gering - Sarah is mischevious, sly, and a trickster.  Sarah has a bit of a Robin Hood complex.  She is very kind to people she sees as kind, and very evil to those she feels deserves it. She feels it is her duty (by personality and not by choice so much) to be this way. She definitely believes whatever she is doing is the right thing, and never feels the need to question it. She is never fickle in her beliefs (she is always right given all information) but her opinions on people can change in an instant depending on their actions. To her actions define a person, and unless a wrong is corrected by an apology or correction, it was not a mistake and should be used to judge that person.  Sarah is currently retired in Frostcrag Spire in Tamriel and married to Ethan.




Karl T and Emily Reitlin - These two characters arent very well fleshed out yet.  Karl is the son of Sarah and Ethan and used in a few games.  Emily is an existing character from one of the same games brought in to have Sarah II, the protagonist of my Skyrim game. These will have more personality and story as I go.

Sarah II - My character going into Skyrim.  I was originally going to use Sarah I as my character before I knew the story was many years later, so I decided to go this route and have an heir to the family name in the new game.  I have ideas for her, and know what she will look like, but that will just be a surprise!