#high wisdom

Past: Strength (reversed) After what that “body” had already given me, this was pretty much a given. Low self-esteem in Corey’s past is a constant. He felt weak and vulnerable, that was the main reason why he stayed stuck in his research for so long (and kinda confirmed my feeling that he wasn’t one of the most thought of predators). He probably had a deep desire to actually get to work in his field, but the biggest obstacle to reach for that dream was his own sense of inadequacy (someone like him in a scholarly role might have been teased just for that after all). Deep down, he knew he could make a difference though, because every decision has a consequence, even a lack of action. And he hated when people couldn’t make a decision SO MUCH!

Present: Page of cups (reversed) And here comes back that heartbreak, that emotional vulnerability… With the horrible twist of sexual abuse earlier in his life still there to haunt him. Definitely, the emotional denial from his body as well as his issues with trust are a lot deeper and serious than what I thought at first. Oh, Ichor for sure had some terrible experiences. But he realized that he was in a bad situation, that he’d been manipulated, used by someone older than him just cause he was young and naive. And he decided to get away from it all. The emotional trauma though? That still lingers and weights him down so much that he’s very closed off. I don’t exclude him actually pretending (very badly) like he’s way more confident than he is, in certain situations. Like a copying mechanism to try and hide his insecurities so people won’t use them against him again.

Future: the Hierophant (reversed) Well, with Corey this can go in both the direction hinted at by the tarot. He could absolutely challenge the traditions of the institution he belongs to and that he’s supposed to still answer to. Or he could cling to their traditions in a hope to change how corrupt and twisted things got from the very inside despite how it could break him to go back and be face to face with his abuser. I can’t necessarily give a suggestion in this case; it really depends on how things develop and which way you feel like he would lean towards (even with the party’s support). Either way, not surprised that a decision is at the core of his future. 

FULL BACKSTORY

Ichor was born in a cave in the Beastlands plane. His mother, Shianead, was on a mission for the institution she worked for to research more information on how were-creatures lived when organized in packs like that. She actually fell in love while she was in the middle of that mission with Ichor’s father, Purrenbor. As soon as Ichor was born, Shianead realized she could no longer stay in the Beastlands plane and decided to leave. Purrenbor tried to leave with her, but his tribe didn’t like them leaving with the child; Purrenbor gave his life so that both Shianead and Ichor could run away. Once they were back, the institution wasn’t necessarily happy that Shianead took more than a year for a mission that was supposed to be just 6 weeks long. They were disappointed in her, but once she promised that her shifter son would stay to be part of the institution as well and convinced them that in some way his nature as a shifter could be helpful in understanding better the potential benefits of the were-curse, they agreed to let her stay. Ichor didn’t necessarily have a happy and loving childhood. His mother was more often than not away for more research missions and he was left in the care of a very strict teacher, Clirji Brawen, a dragonborn that made him study for long hours instead of letting Corey run around with the other students of the institution’s preparatory schools. He still was grateful to be considered so bright to have Clirji’s attention, since he was considered one of the best teachers of the school (the one that usually worked with realy talented people). Corey was even allowed to live in Clirji's very luxurious house when his mother was away, instead of staying alone in the dingy apartment that belonged to her. When Corey was about fifteen, his mother had to go on a longer than usual mission that she was even more tight lipped than usual on the details of. Clirji had recently retired from teaching and was mainly just a consultant for the institution, and Corey could no longer stay at his house since he was no longer Corey’s teacher. It was decided from the institution’s schools’ council that he would stay in Norvhila Erishai’s estate. She was the very charismatic head of the research department of the higher level school, and she was hoping not only to find new branches of research for the main institution to focus on with her students, but to find students with a new, bolder attitude. Norvhila was immediately impressed with Ichor, not only for his knowledge reached under Clirji’s guidance, but also for his willingness to try new things before finding once again the balance at the core of the institution’s beliefs. Still young, very impressionable, awkward and mostly a pariah with students of his age, Ichor never realized that Norvhila fascination with him, and her consequent attentions of sexual nature, were very much inappropriate. Ichor felt flattered, and mostly thought he was bound to allow her to do whatever she wanted with him by duty and gratitude since he was living in her house and she was teaching him so much (or so she manipulated him to believe). It took Ichor having a revealing conversation with Clirji when he was almost 18 to realize that he’d been stuck in an abusive relationship all along. Also, Norvhila had been hiding to him that his mother had been considered missing in action for months, because nobody heard from Shianead since her last report from wherever she was for her mission. Ichor found out, when inquiring about his mother’s mission, that Norvhila wasn’t the only person in the institution that was doing morally twisted things that somehow they still considered “part of the balance of the world”. In a last ditch effort to get free of Norvhila’s manipulations, Corey asked the institution’s schools’ council to go on a mission to find what happened to his mother and to consider that his “graduation mission”, a test that every student had to pass to prove that tey were ready to become a fullfledged member. Unexpectedly (and probably with a big push from Clirji), the council allowed him to leave. Corey somehow still believed the institution could do some good, if he just got rid of the “twisted people”. He just find a way to actually make the right decision that would ripple the waters enough for that change to happen. And he had a feeling that finding his mother was just the first step in a much longer path.

(As a note, extra info. I think this could be more for a DM than a player but still relevant for both, especially the part about Clirji that could be considered a little bit of the conversation that cleared Corey’s mind on how things worked inside the institution. Corey is still convinced that, at the core, the institution was doing good [it’s something he always thought]. But, the what the institution truly does in my mind is gathering knowledge to use it as a merchandise for trade; they don’t really care to whom they give it, if the purpose is to maintain a balance. They think, since they gather the most knowledgeable and smart people in the world, that they have the power to pick and choose who and what will tip the scale so that the universe won’t be destroyed. But mostly, they are the reason why wars start and end by manipulating other people so that they could get richer by selling their information to both sides [too much power corrupts and all that shit, you know...]. Clirji, despite being aware of the problem, stayed in the institution as a teacher to try and help the students, to warn them if he could, help them get out of that life too if possible, or scare them away with his harsh attitude if that was the only way that worked. Because he felt like he had no other way to break that machine that made him too other than trying to take away the best minds from them. In a sense, Clirji also tried as much as possible to keep the schools and the institution proper to be very distinct and separate, but it was very difficult since he was one of the few people that was fighting against the system from the inside [and teachers were mostly members of the institution too, it was rare to have outsiders as such important staff figures that could shape the students minds]. When Clirji tried to become headmaster of the higher level school, for example, everyone looking in as an outsider would have picked Clirji since he was so accomplished as a teacher. But the council knew by that point that he was against what the institution truly had become, so they just made him retire, telling him he was too old even to be a teacher. And they obviously picked someone that would fit them better and would turn a blind eye on behaviors like Norvhila’s.)

SUGGESTION CORNER

Suggested features Ability scores: High Wisdom and Dexterity (try to keep as high as possible Intelligence too), Low Charisma Skill proficiencies: Investigation, Insight, Perception Others: I had to really think which animal would fit for him as his bestial appearance. At the end of the day, I feel any bird of prey would fit him very well: a classic eagle, a nice hawk or even a raven would be wonderful. If you want to go for something more “classic but still different”, a fox could be a nice pick as well considering his backstory.

Past: Ten of pentacles (upright) I had a huge laugh at this draw. Not only is it a card that talks about old money in the family (which, you don’t say, she’s nobility, DUH!), but it also suggests to look back at your family tree so that you can discover a long lost family member, or something of the like. And Haloisi being a tiefling is pretty much it, since she has infernal heritage and I had yet to determine if there was any other member of the family that shared that with her or not (spoiler there was not, so… where did it came from?). It speaks of domestic harmony too, so I knew she would at least grow in a loving family, which was a relief.

Present: Two of swords (upright) Well, this one is pretty much related to what I was talking about before and pretty much cleared off my doubts related to her father since it’s a card about being torn about something. And family is the most important thing for her, it just made sense that it was probably the affection towards the father the grew her and the desire to leave behind the long years of denial of the existence of a father with which she share flesh and blood. And she’s the also struggling with the idea of leaving the safety of her home to try and find out what happened to said biological father, despite considering the man that raised her the only father worth mentioning. A very big struggle there for this poor insecure girl that has her family and her god as the true pillars she lives for.

Future: Seven of pentacles (reversed) I usually leave the “future” card for a general suggestion on how to play more or less what I wrote in the mess that were the five card before this one in actual gameplay. Like somewhat of a closure kind of thing. Yet, this card that has as one of the core meaning a change of plans, made me opt for another alternative too. I decided it was too good of a card not to build a bit more on her backstory with those hints of having setbacks on the more work related side of things. It usually points towards finding out that you managed things in a bad way in the past. And I had to pick just one card for her father, just to be sure that my gut feeling was guiding me in the right direction, to that that I hit the jackpot. Cause for Haloisi’s dad the deck gave me the Five of pentacles (upright), another card related to business failure, one that does a possible way out, with a little help from the right person. That’s it, anything else I’m gonna go more into detail on her actual backstory. As far as how to play Haloisi, I think I gave enough of an explanation of how I think her personality is with her mind and spirit card, anyway…

FULL BACKSTORY

A surprise from the moment she was born, Haloisi is the daughter of Baron Ferdumin Grenmar and his wife Baroness Riren Thulai Grenmar. While the local nobility immediately considered scandalous Haloisi’s birth because of her infernal heritage, her family didn’t seem to really care about what other people thought of it all. Haloisi was loved as much as her older brother Moru, and the twins Thioh and Lieh, just a couple of years younger than her (yet, none of infernal heritage). They all received an education worthy of nobility, but were always loved and cared for by their parents. They never felt neglected despite the many business related trips Ferdumin had to make and that Riren usually accompanied to. Despite the happy familial life, Haloisi was surrounded by the malicious gossips of the local nobility. She was aware that people thought she wasn’t related to Ferdumin and her siblings, and said that she was instead the child of an affair between the Baroness some wandering bard that apparently had charmed Riren at a party when Ferdumin had been gone for month for one of his trips.  Haloisi had quickly learned how to ignore the whispers and found ways to deflect people’s attention from those kinds of gossips with her own mostly innocuous hearsays, directed towards the people that tried to hurt her. One thing she always found refuge in were her studies on magic and her prayers. For a while her father tried to convince her to enroll in a school to become a practitioner, but she never really found that idea attractive. She was happy that she never enrolled into that school when a business competitor falsely blamed Ferdumin for fraud. The Baron ended up being framed for the crime and her father spent a couple of years in prison, despite the family attempts to prove his innocence and clean up their reputation so that they wouldn’t go bankrupt. They failed to prove Ferdumin’s innocence before the end of his sentence, and even once he got released from jail the family name was still disgraced and the family business was failing. Since her sibling were the ones that were taking care of the business, Haloisi turned more and more to her prayers. With the guidance of her deity and the abilities she received from them, she decided to try to restore her family names and wealth in a different way, finally leaving the nest for the first time. (And maybe, on her journey, she would even finally have the chance to meet that long lost father that she’s been so long in denial of wanting to actually get the chance to know.)

SUGGESTION CORNER

Suggested features Ability scores: High Wisdom and Charisma (pretty decent Intelligence), Low Strength (I do suggest dumping Dexterity too, if you are comfortable with that; just to really embrace the “noble girl that lived a very sheltered life” stereotype. Cause why not!). Skill proficiencies: Insight and Religion Gaming set proficiencies: Chess Other: I obviously did not pick a specific god cause that really depends on the setting. But just to give a general idea with Forgotten Realms: more of a Mystra vibe than Azuth.