Gelb
A soldier by nature, Gelb is an adventurous sell sword who spends most of his days wandering the hundreds of miles of paved roads and dirt paths in search of work. Taking just about any job involving fighting he can find, whether it be exploring ruins for treasure or fighting in massive battles is never part of the question for the Draconian soldier. Recently unemployed after his last contractor took an arrow through his esophagus, Gelb has rarely stayed in one place for more than a few days, since he lacks both the coin and patience to deal with one town for long.
Appearance
Tall and muscular, Gelb's appearance is the creation of many years served as a sellsword for more than his fair share of lords, bandits, generals, and mercenary groups. His golden scales, usually covered by his chainmail, are dulled and in some places missing from years of hopping from one battle to the next. His massive wings have more than a few tears in the membrane, leaving them somewhat hindered in their ability to effectively lift him off the ground, and both his cape and armor are cut to fit them through without much difficulty. His tail is in somewhat better condition than the rest of his body, however, as its muscular nature means that when Gelb is not using it to balance himself he is using it as an extremely lethal extra weapon. The most distinct feature Gelb has are his eyes, one pale white and one deep red, which he has had since birth.
Skills and Abilities
Swordsmanship Expertise: Gelb is a highly experienced sword wielder, and his proficiency enables him to comfortably use any one- or two-handed sword he may come across, excluding some of the more unique weapons such as double swords.
Mounted Combat Proficiency: Although rarely used due to how tall and heavy he is, Gelb has trained to engage in mounted combat on large horses (or even some mythical beasts) well enough to hold his own in both jousting competitions and actual combat.
Heavy Armor Proficiency: Through years of both training and field experience has left Gelb with a good bit of knowledge on fighting with heavier armor, particularly chainmail and platemail, giving him a bit of advantage with those who are basically trained but still leaving him on par with most experienced knights.
Heightened Strength: Due to his size and extremely active lifestyle, Gelb's muscles are far more developed than that of most humans, leaving him stronger than even most lifetime soldiers from other races.
Dragon's Scales: Although battle damage is evident on his scales, they are almost as strong as a normal dragon's scales in their resistance to slashing and piercing weaponry. As such, atop his armor, Gelb has great defense against swords, bows, and spears in areas that are not typically covered by heavier armor.
Intimidating Presence: On a battlefield, little is scarier than a massive dragon swooping in and laying waste to a battalion of soldiers with one fell swoop. While not quite on that level, Gelb's draconic features and animal-like growls can inspire fear into the hearts of those he is fighting, giving him quite an advantage against most weak-spined individuals.
Big Target: Although his size is great for his musculature and intimidation factor, Gelb is quite the big target on the battlefield as he stands well over a head taller than most other soldiers. As such he tends to get the brunt of harassment from archers and soldiers alike, and his size combined with his heavy armor make it difficult to dodge out of the way.
Bludgeoning Weakness: Although extremely hard to hurt with slashing or stabbing weapons, any weapon such as a mace or warhammer will still hit him just as hard, meaning Gelb needs to pay attention to anyone who is wielding such a weapon.
Accidentally Intimidating: Although quite good in interrogation or fighting, Gelb's draconic nature and tendency to use growls, hisses, and roars to communicate his emotions leaves most around him at least unnerved by his presence if not downright frightened by it. This is quite counterintuitive when trying to talk someone up at the local inn or make friends with the local noble for (hopefully) obvious reasons.
Size Issues: Due to Gelb's much taller than average height and unique additions such as wings and a tail, all armor and clothing need to be specially sized for him, most shields outside of tower shields do little to protect him, and the various doorways of the world quite often fail to give him a comfortable entry to buildings, and even when once inside he can hit his head on the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. This provides a good number of issues when fighting inside, since most of his maneuvers end up hitting more objects than he anticipates.
Mounted Combat Proficiency: Although rarely used due to how tall and heavy he is, Gelb has trained to engage in mounted combat on large horses (or even some mythical beasts) well enough to hold his own in both jousting competitions and actual combat.
Heavy Armor Proficiency: Through years of both training and field experience has left Gelb with a good bit of knowledge on fighting with heavier armor, particularly chainmail and platemail, giving him a bit of advantage with those who are basically trained but still leaving him on par with most experienced knights.
Heightened Strength: Due to his size and extremely active lifestyle, Gelb's muscles are far more developed than that of most humans, leaving him stronger than even most lifetime soldiers from other races.
Dragon's Scales: Although battle damage is evident on his scales, they are almost as strong as a normal dragon's scales in their resistance to slashing and piercing weaponry. As such, atop his armor, Gelb has great defense against swords, bows, and spears in areas that are not typically covered by heavier armor.
Intimidating Presence: On a battlefield, little is scarier than a massive dragon swooping in and laying waste to a battalion of soldiers with one fell swoop. While not quite on that level, Gelb's draconic features and animal-like growls can inspire fear into the hearts of those he is fighting, giving him quite an advantage against most weak-spined individuals.
Big Target: Although his size is great for his musculature and intimidation factor, Gelb is quite the big target on the battlefield as he stands well over a head taller than most other soldiers. As such he tends to get the brunt of harassment from archers and soldiers alike, and his size combined with his heavy armor make it difficult to dodge out of the way.
Bludgeoning Weakness: Although extremely hard to hurt with slashing or stabbing weapons, any weapon such as a mace or warhammer will still hit him just as hard, meaning Gelb needs to pay attention to anyone who is wielding such a weapon.
Accidentally Intimidating: Although quite good in interrogation or fighting, Gelb's draconic nature and tendency to use growls, hisses, and roars to communicate his emotions leaves most around him at least unnerved by his presence if not downright frightened by it. This is quite counterintuitive when trying to talk someone up at the local inn or make friends with the local noble for (hopefully) obvious reasons.
Size Issues: Due to Gelb's much taller than average height and unique additions such as wings and a tail, all armor and clothing need to be specially sized for him, most shields outside of tower shields do little to protect him, and the various doorways of the world quite often fail to give him a comfortable entry to buildings, and even when once inside he can hit his head on the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. This provides a good number of issues when fighting inside, since most of his maneuvers end up hitting more objects than he anticipates.
Equipment
- Bastard Sword: A moderately sized sword, approximately halfway between a standard Arming Sword and a Longsword, that can provide a decent hit even with light force behind it. Can be wielded with either one hand or both hands, although Gelb prefers using it with a shield.
- Tower Shield: A four foot tall rectangular shield made out of Seel reinforced with Iron bands running across its width, this is one of the largest Shields available and is typically used by soldiers in large formations capable of forming a sort of wall with it. Ironically enough, it is the only shield capable of protecting Gelb sufficiently, and his strong musculature lets him wield it like a normal shield.
- Chainmail: A full chainmail tunic with leather shoulder pauldrons, a leather collar, metal gloves, metal boots, and a gambeson underneath, this heavy suit of armor is standard issue across most militaries for its high resistance to slashing weapons such as swords. Just...try to stay away from arrows and spears.
- Lavish Cape: A purely decorative cape, made of red velvet with a golden dragon embroidered across the back side so that it is visible to all behind Gelb. More than a few slashes have been visibly stitched, and the dirty and somewhat tattered bottom of it suggest its been worn for quite some time.
Personality
While somewhat gruff and distanced to those he is working alongside, Gelb typically gives off a more standoffish appearance when he is not used to someone's personality, as he doesn't want to show too much of himself to someone he may not end up enjoying the company of. But once he has warmed up to someone, he is extremely talkative and can be quite the jokester (even if not all of his jokes land). He frequently swaps between common speak and his draconic growls, since he simply finds it easier to convey emotion through animalistic noises as opposed to words.
When dealing with those outside of his work, or in a superior position to him, he regards them in a friendly, but professional, manner using terms like "Ma'am" "Sir" and addressing them by rank if they have one. Rarely will he make strong attachments to those he is not working shoulder to shoulder with, but when he does it comes from a place of utmost respect, and is reflected in his demeanor becoming extremely informal towards them in all situations.
When dealing with those outside of his work, or in a superior position to him, he regards them in a friendly, but professional, manner using terms like "Ma'am" "Sir" and addressing them by rank if they have one. Rarely will he make strong attachments to those he is not working shoulder to shoulder with, but when he does it comes from a place of utmost respect, and is reflected in his demeanor becoming extremely informal towards them in all situations.
Biography & Lore
From a young age, Gelb wanted to be a soldier.
Hatched somewhere in the mountains of The Spine, Gelb was said to have a fire in his eyes that burned brighter than most, and this was half true thanks to the white coloration of his left eye. Although certainly seen as an abnormality, this trait failed to deter the young Draconian from finding his way within the tribe, often going on small hunting parties when the village needed food and moving up in status to go on escort when his village sent a party out to trade with neighboring draconian groups. His thirst for adventure and eagerness for combat eventually pushed him towards the business of mercenary work, starting out as a sword for hire among the nearby villages whenever they needed help.
His eagerness to find actual combat eventually led him further out from his home as his minute fame grew with more and more successful missions under his belt and, at the age of 42, the still relatively young and inexperienced Gelb set out into the world, hot on the trail of adventure.
From there he would spend the next 30 years bouncing from contract to contract, building a bit of a name for himself alongside amassing enough of a fortune to set himself with enough equipment to sustain his adventurous and combat focused life. Now finding himself between jobs and with no one in desperate need of sellswords, Gelb is currently following both beaten and non-beaten path in search of work, coin, and just a little adventure to sate his thirst for action.
Hatched somewhere in the mountains of The Spine, Gelb was said to have a fire in his eyes that burned brighter than most, and this was half true thanks to the white coloration of his left eye. Although certainly seen as an abnormality, this trait failed to deter the young Draconian from finding his way within the tribe, often going on small hunting parties when the village needed food and moving up in status to go on escort when his village sent a party out to trade with neighboring draconian groups. His thirst for adventure and eagerness for combat eventually pushed him towards the business of mercenary work, starting out as a sword for hire among the nearby villages whenever they needed help.
His eagerness to find actual combat eventually led him further out from his home as his minute fame grew with more and more successful missions under his belt and, at the age of 42, the still relatively young and inexperienced Gelb set out into the world, hot on the trail of adventure.
From there he would spend the next 30 years bouncing from contract to contract, building a bit of a name for himself alongside amassing enough of a fortune to set himself with enough equipment to sustain his adventurous and combat focused life. Now finding himself between jobs and with no one in desperate need of sellswords, Gelb is currently following both beaten and non-beaten path in search of work, coin, and just a little adventure to sate his thirst for action.
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