The Nomad

Critters!

Player Name: Kia
Age: 30
Contact: Kiaxet
Timezone: PST -8
Other character currently in game: Agent Washington

Character name: The Nomad
Age: Unknown (though over a century at this point)
Canon: Nomad of Nowhere
Canon point: End of Season 1
History: Wiki, kind of? It's not the world's best wiki, and I'd be happy to write up a brief history if need be.

Three key adjectives: Friendly, Helpful, Naive

Influential Events:

Good Morning: Every time the wizard woke the scarecrow, it was for a purpose. He wanted to test if the magic worked; to make a friend for his daughter, Melinda; to give Melinda someone to train with; and finally, as El Rey's agents bore down on the farm with the intent to stamp out all magic users, to protect Melinda and escape. That was the purpose the wizard left him with: your purpose is to be a protector.

While it wasn't just limited to Melinda, it was absolutely focused on her, as she kept her budding magic a secret and they went on the run from El Rey. She hated him for it, and for taking her from her father, and for not being her father, as any young girl is wont to do when pulled away from her only family for her own safety. That didn't stop the scarecrow; he had a purpose, and he needed to fulfill it. Plus, he rather liked Melinda, frustrating as their opposing viewpoints could be sometimes; she grew to like him in turn, despite their differing opinions on what "protecting her" meant.

Goodbye: They couldn't stay out of El Rey's eyes forever, though they did manage to stay shrouded in rumor, which is how the scarecrow became the Knight and, once that distinctive armor was ditched in favor of something that would blend in a bit more with the surrounding landscapes, the Nomad.

It didn't help that the Nomad's protectiveness was a bit too over the top; he'd often send rock Critters into town after Melinda to keep track of her, and she'd have to use her magic to modify the memories of everyone who saw them, as the Critters were proof that there was a magic user among them, and rumors of magic brought El Rey.

To Melinda, this was proof that she could take care of herself and the Nomad needed to back off; to the Nomad, this was proof that Melinda needed the protection he provided. Neither would back down, so Melinda took the nuclear option: modifying the Nomad's memories - all of them - to erase herself from them and instruct him to stay put. She went to find a way to bring magic back; he was left aimless and alone as time passed and the bramble patch around him grew into a full-blown swamp.

He started making more Critters, with the sole purpose of being his friends. He knew there was someone missing from his life, and though the Critters couldn't fill that hole, they certainly helped.

Hello, Friend: It was at least a century before he sees anyone; in that time, he'd become a wanted man, the last vestige of magic outside of El Rey. The first person to find him was a girl who looked like Melinda someone he couldn't quite place. She was decidedly friendly and didn't immediately recognize him as the Dreaded Nomad, and he was desperate for companionship, and a friendship was born! It was just about long enough for him to learn her name - Skout - and for her traveling companions to show up and burn down not only his house but the entire bramble thicket in an attempt to capture him.

And then they collapsed from smoke inhalation, and he and his Critter friends dragged them to safety - because Skout called for help, and because it was the right thing to do, right? He may not quite remember his purpose as a protector, but that's not going to stop him.

Plus, he couldn't stay here anymore - time to venture out into the wide desert and see who he meets along the way.

Protector: Some of the people the Nomad ran into across the deserts of Nowhere liked him well enough once he helped them and they realized he wasn't the danger the wanted posters made him out to be; some were bounty hunters who wouldn't stop until they turned him in to El Rey (or, more locally, the up and coming Don Paragon) for the promised reward; and one was Skout, who, upon realizing that he was doing his best to help people, joined him and became his friend.

Of course, that's about when one of El Rey's missives came after him. Calling himself the Champion, he was far more effective than every other bounty hunter and easily cornered the Nomad, demanding he fight back and just about beating the stuffing out of him. It took Skout, a successful stealth roll, and an errant mine cart to finally take out the Champion, at which point another one of Skout's former companions showed up to take them hostage himself. Red Manuel didn't particularly want to hear Skout's explanation on how the Nomad was actually good; he just wanted the reward money, and he was willing to do anything to get it, including shoot Skout.

Or at least, he tried. The Nomad took the bullet instead.

(Because Skout was a friend - the only friend he had. Because she needed to be protected.)

The impact was enough to knock him out, and possibly mess with the magic that animates him; when he woke up, he was in captivity, held by Don Paragon, and his memories - of his past, of his purpose, of Melinda - had returned.

You Have To Fight: So of course the Nomad got the hell out of there. He didn't want to face Dom Paragon; he'd been hiding for a century and running for weeks, and why should that change?

He made it to a back alley, empty of people, before he couldn't run from that question anymore. He couldn't run forever; he'd already been caught too many times, and escapes were too close, and what was he going to do when his luck ran out? He'd be gone, and nothing would change.

He was the only one with magic left, outside of El Rey. He was a protector. And he...he couldn't just do nothing anymore. There would always be another Red Manuel, another Don Paragon, another Champion - there'd always be El Rey, unless he did something, and in the long run...well, running wasn't it. He had to start fighting back.

So he turned around and headed back to face Don Paragon. It was rough, and messy, and terrifying, but for the first time in a long time he didn't cut and run. He found Skout - or rather, she found him - they took down the Don, and they rode off into the sunrise, leaving the Oasis in a better place without Don Paragon and deciding to go make trouble for El Rey instead of waiting for him to find them. No more hiding.


Link to Samples: Link to Sample 1; Link to Sample 2

Chosen path: Bard
5 Abilities:
Clap On (Canon Power): By clapping his hands twice, the Nomad can bring a nearby inanimate object to life. It grows googly eyes and stick figure arms and legs, and though it is able to move of its own free will, he can usually direct these Critters to do what he wants them to do. Each Critter is brought to life with a purpose in mind - a reason they're alive that they will attempt to fulfill. There doesn't seem to be a limit to the number of Critters active at one time; they stay active until they fulfill their purpose, until the Nomad claps them off, or until they are destroyed.

Canon Limitations:

• He cannot affect inanimate objects attached directly to living beings (prosthetics, for example); he can, however, affect objects carried by living beings.


• He cannot affect dead matter from sentient creatures; no necromancy here. Dead plants (plank wood, etc), however, are fair game.


• Any attempt to animate an object he can't affect will redirect the magic to the nearest inanimate object and animate that instead.


• The larger the Critter is, the harder it is to control, and the Nomad can sometimes lose control of them.

Limitations for the purpose of Balance:

• Only a certain number of Critters can be active at once: a dozen small ones (think fist-sized rocks), four medium sized ones (a grandfather clock, a dining room table, etc), or one large one (a mill wheel).


• He cannot animate a magical object.

Other Path Actions: Prodigy, Healing Word, Message, Sleep
Why this path?: The Nomad may have learned that he needs to fight for himself and for others if he's ever going to make things better, but he's still very much a support class at heart, and of the support classes, Bard fit him best. (Plus, I want to play with the mechanics of "how does the nonverbal person cast Healing Word?" because I am terrible.)