Jack Brownbeard, Avalon Adventurer

Here's the story of a jolly fellow from Avalon who joins our troupe from time to time. I don't really know a lot about him though. Strangely, he only ever seems to turn up when I'm laid up with injuries. B.

Who his parents were, or where they came from, Jack has no idea. His earliest memories are of the orphanage where he was housed. A natural leader, he was often getting himself and his friends into trouble, escaping from the orphanage to roam the streets of Carleon in search of fun and adventure.

Jack was always larger than the other boys his age, often mistaken for a youth much older than he really was. This was exacerbated by a body that matured early, whiskers appearing on his face at a mere 12 years of age. His young friends quickly christened him 'Brownbeard', a name that stuck, and as he had no other surname, Brownbeard was a name Jack was happy to adopt.

At about this time the masters of the orphanage decided Jack was getting to be too much of a handful. Jack was sent to the Royal Naval Academy to 'make a man of him'. Jack thrived at the academy, honing both his sailing and his fighting skills. At the age of fifteen, he sailed off with Her Majesty's fleet to fight the oncoming Castillian armada.

Brownbeard, as he was now universally known, was assigned to a small, fast supply ship, the Silver Doe. One morning a heavy fog descended, the ship's sails were furled, and the crew settled to wait out the fog. Towards midday, a breeze picked up, and the fog began to lift. Unfortunately, as the fog lifted, it revealed a large Castillian galleon perilously close to the Silver Doe's port side.

The Silver Doe was not equipped with cannon, and was practically defenceless against its foe. The galleon started to tack to port to bring its starboard cannons to face the poor Silver Doe. If only the mainsail could be hoisted quickly, the Doe may just be able to pick up enough speed to get out of the range of the cannons.

But the deck was no place for the feint-hearted, with Castillian musket fire upon any brave enough to show their face. A couple of sailors were able to stay low enough to hoist the sail, but alas a rope stuck, and the sail could not be budged. A volunteer was called for, to brave the musket fire and ascend the rigging to free the sail, a sure suicide mission.

Brownbeard quickly jumped forward and ascended the rigging as fast as he could. A shot grazed his arm, but Brownbeard kept going and quickly freed the knotted rope. The sail ascended and billowed. Brownbeard descended the rigging to the stern, jeering at the Castillians just as the cannons came around. A cannon fired, sailing high over Brownbeard's head.

"Ha! Is that your best!", Brownbeard cried with his customary arrogance. "Perhaps you need a better target! Have a look at Brownbeard's Brown Eye!", and dropped his trousers mooning the galleon.

Brownbeard turned to see three red-coated clerics aboard the galleon shaking their fists in rage. "We'll see you burn Brownbeard!" one of the Inquisitore shouted, amidst a couple more shots from the cannons which landed well astray.

Soon the Silver Doe was away, and Brownbeard's shipmates were clapping him on the shoulders, even the Captain came down to say "I'll see you earn a commendation for this", and true to his word, a few weeks later, safe back in Carleon, Brownbeard received a citation for bravery in battle.

At age nineteen, Brownbeard left the service of the Navy, and headed out in the world to earn fame and fortune. Brownbeard loves a good story, and collects tales from each place he visits, committing them to memory, and reciting them to earn his keep in other towns he visits.

Brownbeard spent a year or so as a mercenary in Eisen, where he learned to speak the Eisen language, and even pick up a few Eisen tales, although he finds they all tend to be far too depressing.

Recently, he has been travelling in Castille, taking any chance he can get to cause havoc for the Inquisitore. Brownbeard has learnt that he has managed to earn his way on to the list of the Inquisitore's "Most Wanted Heretics". Brownbeard is very pleased with himself, some of the others on the list are very famous indeed.

Brownbeard found his way to San Cristobel, where he discovered one of the local Inquisitore, a certain Brother Salvatore, happens to be a large man, with a big brown beard, quite similar to Brownbeard himself. Brownbeard devised a brilliant plan, he stole a red coat, and wandered down to a large market. He proceeded to kiss any girl he could find, steal fruit, and point at anyone at random, shouting 'Heretic'. See what that does to Salvatore's reputation in town!

Salvatore was none too pleased when he found out what was going on, and a large scale search of the town began. Brownbeard found his way down to the docks. Fortunately, a ship was preparing to leave for Vodacce, and was in need of a leading hand. On presenting his credentials he was hired. The captain was looking very pleased as he had just managed to extract an exhorbitant sum from a group of motley adventurers in need of passage.

Setting out the next day, Brownbeard discovered that the adventurers were also escaping the clutches of the Inquisitore. They seemed like an interesting bunch of fellows to Brownbeard and he decided to offer to join them on their travels in Vodacce. The offer was accepted, and a new chapter in Brownbeard's tale began.

Jack Brownbeard		Current Stats
Traits
Brawn 3 Finesse 3 Wits 2 Resolve 4 Panache 3		Nationality: Avalon Home: Profession: Adventurer Arcana: Arrogant Reputation: 11
Backgrounds		Advantages
Mistaken Identity 2 (Salvatore)		Large
Hunted 4 (Inquisitore)		Citation (Bravery in Battle)
		Legendary Trait - Finesse
		Legendary Trait - Brawn
		Legendary Trait - Wits
		Legendary Trait - Resolve
		Legendary Trait - Panache
		Indomitable Will
		Academy
		Foul Weather Jack
		Language - Avalon
		Avalon Accent
		Language - Eisen
Civil Skills		Military Skills
Sailor Balance 3 Climbing 2 Knotwork 1 Rigging 1 Bard Etiquette 1 History 1 Oratory 1 Singing 1		Hvy Weapon Attack 3 Parry 3 Athlete Climbing 2 Footwork 3 Sprinting 1 Throwing 1 Swim 1 Firearms Attack 1 Pugilism Attack 1 Jab 1 Dirty Fighting Attack 1 Attack (Imp) 1 Wrestling Grapple 1 Knife Attack 1 Parry 1 Commander Strategy 1 Tactics 1