Randolph Ashby
Randolph Ashby, 1st Level NN male human thief
Contents
Stats and Proficiencies
Str 11 Dex 16 Con 11 Int 14 Wis 10 Cha 14
Age: 34 Xp: 0
Height:5'9" Weight: 144 lbs
Max Hp: 6 Ac: 6
Saving throws
Poison: 13
Petrify: 12
Rods, Staves, Wands: 14
Breath: 16
Spell: 15
Non-Weapon Proficiencies
Etiquette (2 slots), Heraldry (1 slot), Observation (1 Slot)
Weapon Proficiencies
Knife, Dagger
Languages
Physical Description
Ashby, a rather slender man, stands 5' 9". He has wide shoulders, wiry arms and large hands. His arms are rather long for his shorter body. His lean torso with no muscle tone sits atop a well-defined waist, straight hips and toned legs. He appears to keep a rather strong fitness routine though none of that appears to be heavy lifting.
His dark brown hair is of medium length and fine. It is painstakingly styled and maintained as though to give the air of affluence.
He has an lean face, a softly shaped jaw which is clean shaven, defined cheekbones, and large ears. His eyebrows are well-defined, and his deep-set, mysterious eyes are light brown. The look of age has set in as slight wrinkles have started to appear around his eyes and forehead.
He typically can be seen wearing a rather fine grey tunic with what appears to be an ascot pluming out of the top by his thin neck. Underneath the tunic is a fine shirt which is white in color and meticulously maintained. His overcoat is a rich black that covers down to just past the waist where fine black trousers then continue to the knee where long white socks begin. His shoes appear to be made from the best cobblers in Zlin and sport a metal clasps which appear to be sterling silver.
The man looks as though he is from the lap of luxury to the average folk but upper class individuals would readily notice this man appears to be a steward for a rather affluent family. His demeanor and facial expressions denote a rather malaise towards self expression.
Most individuals think that Ashby is cold and snobbish because he’s always so calm and composed, rarely revealing his inner thoughts or true character. Rather, he projects what he believes is supposed to be shown and looks rather proud, determined and organized.
Early Life
Pre-Stewardship
The details of Randolph Ashby's early life are rather inconsequential. He was born in Zlin to a baker with a cleft palate and a predilection for tobacco, alcohol and gambling. His mother was a poor woman named Phoebe, who was married off at a young age and was rather downtrodden at the age of 16 when she bore Ashby. His father was a Mandadorian and his mother a Pagan. Ashby had been named after his father, though the name escapes his memory now as it was changed to Randolph Ashby at the age of 12. Even in childhood, he detested being named after his father, who in many respects was the laughing stock of the town. His father would make outrageous claims like he was the favored baker to the Queen of Pompiers and he would accuse goblins of being green skinned humans cursed for being lazy in the eyes of Mandador. Ashby was mistakenly listed as a female on his birth certificate due to his fathers alcoholism which only further led to his contempt for his father.
His mother died when Ashby was not but 9 years old, no doubt in part to his fathers neglect and her abhorrence to the life and world she was brought into. His father unwilling to change his womanizing and blissful ignorance of the world around him found no time for the young Ashby and as a result shipped him to the only family members that would be willing to care for the young boy. On route to his Aunts homestead the caravan he was placed on was raided by bandits and Ashby was left on the side of the road with no money, food or transportation. Walking along the path, the boy found the hideout of the thieves and was captured immediately, believed to be a spy.
The leader of the thieves, a rather rich and pompous looking man took the young boy and attempted to garner information upon who he worked for. The dungeon was no match for Ashby however, as the apathy he felt toward life welcomed the stillness of death. The leader, whom Ashby would come to know as Theobald "The Frozen Finger" Baxley, was rather impressed by the boys will to not give information and mistook Ashby's quiet indignation towards life with determination when kiln heated white tipped pokers would pierce his skin. Nevertheless, Baxley took the now vagrant boy out of the dungeon and sent him to a prodigious school for stewardy and gave him a new name, Randolph Ashby, telling him that with enough drive and determination any man could make what he wanted from this life. Now age 12, Ashby would learn the ways of etiquette and heraldry from the school along with the reading, writing and multiple languages.
Stewardship
With school completed, Ashby took up personal residence inside Baxley's house as his personal steward. Now in the dawn of his adulthood, the 19 year old Ashby found himself surrounded with the day to day operation of helping the head of a quickly rising criminal organization. It is within this atmosphere when many of the talents of Ashby began to emerge. From cutting and preparing raw meat the steward learned to yield a knife with extreme grace and precision. When Baxley would forget keys to the manor, Ashby would either pick the lock or climb to an open window. He learned very quickly that he was to be present at all times but never seen nor heard. Finally, he trained his hearing to gather information from different members to report to Baxley. He had the same skills of the men who worked directly underneath Baxley but used them for a different purpose.
Ashby may have been Baxley's steward but their relationship was very much a close one, developed like a father and son. In the early years of the stewardship, Baxley would teach Ashby many of the tricks that he had learned throughout his life. Being 28 years his senior, Baxley bore a lot of wisdom and bestowed many of that along to Ashby. Baxley would say "If a man is dumb, someone is going to get the best of him, so why not you? If you don’t, you’re as dumb as he is" and Ashby began to take these words and lessons to heart. Through the formative years of their relationship, Ashby wasn't allowed to know private details of Baxley's syndicate. However, the years past and the friendship bloomed and so it was that Baxley began to let Ashby in on the details of his work.
Beyond the Stewardship
Baxley's main motto in life was "It takes many steppingstones, you know, for a man to rise. None can do it unaided" and in this endeavor, Baxley employed many men. Ashby came to understand all the nuances of the work. From robberies, blackmail and even murder, Baxley would explain how each had its place. As Ashby began to approach his 30th birthday, he would be invited to see how these goals were accomplished. The first few crimes Ashby observed were small, the kind where a man would be pick-pocketed, a house might be broken into or even roughing up a merchant for not paying fees. As time went on though Ashby began to see the major crimes that Baxley had steered him clear of until now.
Baxley had a long standing feud with a city official, John Hobson, who attempted to bring the syndicate down. The culmination was the kidnapping and torture of Amelia Hobson, his wife. John Hobson had been using militia to shut down organization strongholds, like brothels and gambling parlors. When a warning was sent to John Hobson, he went into the town-square and announced "It's about time law enforcement got as organized as organized crime. We will not back down, we will face these criminals head first and we will take our town back." This outward display of defiance was too much for Baxley to bear and so the order was given. On ____, Ashby and two of Baxley's associates lured the beautiful young woman into a local sewing shop. They then beat her over the head with a club, bound and gagged her and brought her via house-drawn carriage to the torture chamber outside of town.
What ensued next changed Ashby's thoughts on life drastically. The members of the syndicate decided that a message must be sent and so Baxley ordered just that. Hobson had been pacing around his house unable to find his wife. No one in the town had seen her past 3 o'clock and he knew something had happened. It was late at night when Mr. Hobson was greeted by a courier and it was almost with anticipation that he came out. A single box was given to him and when he opened it his precious Amelia's finger lay delicately. "What have you done? Where is she?" the lawman berated the courier, but in truth he did not know. He was merely instructed to give the box to Hobson and a letter, which read "Mr. Hobson, your wife is with us. You will surrender yourself to us unarmed and alone or your wife will not be home to have dinner. Make your decision quickly. The Blind Men." Mr. Hobson wrote a letter hurriedly and handed it to the courier.
To Baxley's dismay, whether through sheer belief in the words he spoke before or from the fear of death, Hobson declined. Baxley, unlike ever seen by Ashby before, lost his deliberate and calculated self and began torturing the young wife for information. Ashby walked in as the woman was strung up in mid air and had a funnel shoved into her mouth, water would pour in and Amelia would gag with the beginning symptoms of drowning setting in before it was removed. Her legs and arms were chiseled, her skin flayed, salt poured into her eyes, and finally she spoke. "There is a war coming, my husband is not who you think he is. There is another organization that wishes to come into Zlin. He works for them and they are much more terrifying than you." Amelia's suffering was put to an end, she was nailed to a cross that read pain along the top. The post was put in the center of town-square so everyone would know who ran this city.
The following morning Hobson had been seen fleeing the city. Luckily a band of Baxley's men detained him and brought him back. He, unlike his wife, was a weak and cowardly man. Under the first sign of distress, his lips moved so fast almost nobody could understand him. "They are coming, they are an organization disguised as a nation. They will destroy everything." Hobson told Baxley everything and to his chagrin, it appeared the troops of Balathar were heading to Zlin.
Adventures
Items/Possessions
Weapons
Set of kitchen knives
Ornamental short sword (works as a -1 to hit and damage)
Armor
Worn down leather armor used for training and sparring, small holes with patches as well as large creases are apparent upon the armor.
Spells/Abilities
Thieving Abilities
Pick Pockets: Starting 15 Dex 0 1st 0 Total 15
Open Locks: Starting 10 Dex 5 1st 0 Total 15
Find/Remove Traps: Starting 5 Dex 0 1st 15 Total 20
Move Silently: Starting 10 Dex 0 1st 10 Total 20
Hide in Shadows: Starting 5 Dex 0 1st 15 Total 20
Detect Noise: Starting 15 Dex 0 1st 15 Total 30
Climb Walls: Starting 60 Dex 0 1st 0 Total 60
Read Languages: Starting 0 Dex 0 1st 5 Total 5
