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    Hello. My name is Erik and my pronouns are he/him/they/them. My join date on DDB (2018/03/14) was also the very first time I had played D&D. Arkros was my first character, started from level 1. I had interest in D&D for a very long time before that, but a bad experience in high school put me off the game for 20 years. I tell about this very painful and exclusionary experience here, for anyone who is interested in peeking behind that curtain of social childhood trauma. Once I started my D&D experience however, I was spending most of my free time reviewing the content, engaging in discussions about D&D, or playing. After about a year or two of play, I tried my hand at DMing and kind of liked it. It became my main role when playing, to the delight of my friends. Every once in a while though, I was able to convince them to sit in the Big Chair, and I have included most of the characters I have played over the years, excluding a few non-DDB PCs that were played on other sites or using pen and paper. I will bring them over to DDB eventually and link them here though.

    Outside of D&D, I hold a doctorate and am a published scholar. Unfortunately, I cannot talk about my specific publications because it would not be too hard for someone to blast away my veil of Internet anonymity. I also avoid talking about any details about the topics I am educated in for the same reason, but it is in the field of healthcare. I also work in healthcare, which, truthfully, can be exhausting. Sometimes I come to this site to chat about D&D and avoid thinking about healthcare performance data, cost-savings, revenue, or patients. Playing is always more fun than talking about D&D though, so when I am between games, it is a bit of a bummer.

    I am an avid reader, as most D&D players are, I imagine. Anything by Brandon Sanderson is an instant hit with me. I will include my short list of books I have read in the past year or so. I have only started up with reading again recently, as I sort of lost my taste for it after my doctorate; reading hundreds of PubMed articles a week for years necessitated a break. Now though, I am on the reading journey and having so much fun with it. If you see some books you like, feel free to reach out and we can talk about it. I also take recommendations.

    I think that is it for now. I will add to this extended signature over time.

Reading, playing video games (occasionally. I mean, who has the time?), coffee, watching movies, working out, spicy foods, chocolate, spending time with my spouse, helping people, LGBTIA+, learning about different cultures, standing up for others, quiet, and the Oxford comma.

Bigotry in all forms, incurious people, and people who argue in bad faith.

In Progress:

Little Women, The Scarlet Letter

Completed:

Fiction:

Arcanum Unbound (Edgedancer), Love Rosie, Mistborn (book 1), The Stormlight Archive (The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer), Warbreaker

Non-Fiction:

Know My Name, The New Jim Crow, Psychophysiological Disorders, They Can't Find Anything Wrong!

Cyan and Magenta.

Candlekeep Mysteries

Curse of Strahd (DM'd early game, but never finished)

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (Started with Mjornier, but never finished)

Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel

Keys from the Golden Vault

Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos 

Vecna: Even of Ruin

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Crag - (Retired) Earth Genasi and former professor. He was recruited by some tomb raiders for his archeological expertise before being betrayed and left for dead along with some others who were hired for their specific skills. These people helped him escape and together they had many adventures. He was forced to split from the party when twin objective needed to be completed and time was a factor. He and his fellow scholar friend left the party to perform research and get the others critical information. Before research could be completed however, the city-state they were in was invaded by a foreign army and Crag and his fellow scholar became vital to beating back the invaders. Once the war was over, Crag became an advocate for the underserved and marginalized, and challenges politicians to do more for their people. Now, in his winter years, Crag prefers to stay out of the spotlight and uses his acquired money and reputation to pay new adventurers to do what he no longer has the strength to do.

Rhoc - (At large) Son to gladiator parents, a human father and an ogrillon mother. Rhoc was born at The Final Station, a fortified village along a caravan route on the edge of civilization. His mother was forced into labor prematurely during one of her fights in small amphitheater called The Crimson Pit, so named because of the red sand stained red from all the bloodletting there. When Rhoc was born during his mother's fight for survival, his first action was to chew through his own umbilical cord with his already formed tusks, which, coincidentally, had fulfilled a prophecy of legend that his mother held. 'Blood before milk'. Such a child would grow to be a great warrior. Great he did become. Growing up as a slave, as soon as he could swing a sword, he was put in the pit. Killing was all he had ever been allowed to know, but he is clever, and found himself stealing from his slavers and teaching himself about the world by spying on merchants, borrowing ledgers, stealing books, coin, wax, and seals. Many would assume he cut his way to freedom, but Rhoc sold himself to freedom instead. While his master was away, he forged a letter of sale to another slaver a great distance away, and when he was safely out of The Final Station, he fled the caravan.

Cyan - (Current game) I just started playing Cyan here. A Tragedy Bard in a homebrew campaign. I am excited to see how this goes, since their stats were kind of mid, but they got some cool magical items. The Background for this PC is that they were a double-life kind of criminal, along with their mother and father. Think Linus Caldwell's family from Ocean's Eleven. Only the family are a trio of entertainers who specialize in acrobatics, acting, and song... all great skills that can lend to thievery in their clandestine lives. Mother and father have fallen ill during the god's curse on the land. Cyan is simply doing what they can to save their parents, which in this case, is retrieving some magical artifacts in a dungeon. Only then will the curse be lifted.

Ravinia - (Serving an archfey) My most beloved character and the PC that turned on my love of Bards. Ravinia was so powerful, that the DM could not even give me any tailored magic items aside from the Circlet of Dauntless Thought. The 2 Glam items I added post-game because of wish fulfillment. The rest you see there are simply hand-me-downs from when the Ranger and Rogue were excused from our game for being murderhobos. What a story that was (see below). Ravinia was inspired by Black Widow from the comics and the movies. She is exceptionally confident in her abilities but is not overly so; she knows her limits and relies on getting others to do what she cannot. Her background is that she is an agent for a clandestine organization that trains people from childhood to be the ultimate... whatever is needed. Socialite, spy, assassin, scholar, etc. Everyone in this organization is taught to be omnicompetent and then their services are bought by kingdoms or wealthy individuals. She was a top agent in this organization until she did the worst thing she could: fall in love with the son of a client. She was excommunicated, though allowed the life she chose as a thank you for time in service. Nothing awful happened. Nothing exciting happened either. She had a child but longed to feel the thrill that she once felt and eventually, after some years, slipped away in the night to have excitement back in her life. Then she fell in with some adventurers and learned that a certain special archfey was at war with both the leader of the werewolves and the leader of vampires.

(Drama!) We were questioning a prisoner for murder and I miscalculated a double concentration for Fast Friends and Detect Thoughts. I had used FF to force the guard in the prison to leave and give us privacy and when the prisoner was resistant, I switched to DT, not immediately realizing that it dropped the FF spell. We got the information we wanted, then the entire outpost of guards were waiting for us outside the prison room. We hid behind some pillars for safety as Ravinia tried to negotiate our way out of the mess, but the Ranger and Rogue had other plans and dispensed with the killing. I convinced everyone in our party to surrender, confident that we could get out of this momentary hiccup, but the guard I had used FF on had me gagged once they arrested us. Ooopsie. The Cleric did manage to get permission to save 2 of the 4 guards who had been slain, but we were going to be tried for murder altogether. Gagged and left with no other choice, Ravinia requested the assistance of a fey patron who had been flirting with Ravinia for some time. The very same patron who had been freed by Arkros some time before. He would get us out of the situation, but we would have to clean up the mess. All it would cost me is an eternity of servitude. It was that or the rope, so I agreed. The guards all feel asleep and my bindings disappeared and my cell was unlocked. It was a simple matter to free everyone else. Unfortunately, the DM was deeply disturbed by the killings of police equivalents and the Ranger and Rogue were excused from the game. Oh, and my use of FF got all Acquisitions Incorporated spells banned from the table. :P

Vin

Yelora

Steffen - (Dead) This character was just played for a one-shot but in it, he was searching for his twin brother so that he could kill him. He was a simple tavern owner and had a quiet life reading books about adventures and listening to adventurers tell of their own exploits. And he NEVER desired any of it. He had a good life with a wife and a child on the way. His brother was the adventurer. One day his brother stumbled into Steffen's tavern begging for help. He and his friends had been overwhelmed by a pack of werewolves and he had only managed to get away with his life. This brother neglected to say that he had been grievously bitten. He transformed in the tavern and killed everyone inside, knocking Steffen out as he tried to restrain his brother. After burying his wife, he was approached by a sickly looking but extremely powerful individual who offered Steffen the means to attain vengeance. A deadly ritual that would reduce his lifespan to a few short years, but, he would have his vengeance. He immediately agreed and became a Blood Hunter of the Order of the Lycan. Then, he hired a few mercenaries to hunt down his brother. Once he found his brother and newly made pack, Steffen and his team killed them all. Satisfied that his brother was dead, he returned to his wife's grave, where he ended his own life.

Belora - (Waiting to go to Candlekeep) Belora is a halfling with a Napoleon complex. She is aggressive, domineering, and truly feels satisfied whenever a tiny thing like her can outperform those who would normally be seen as the stronger one. While most Clerics choose their spells for the day while in morning prayer, Belora spends her morning in intense exercise. When a criminal refuses to release information, Belora's solution involves the mace. When she is overlooked because of her height, she takes great offense. She was one of my favorites to play and I played her through the Descent into Avernus campaign. *EARLY GAME SPOILER AHEAD* We sadly did not go far before the game crumbled. It was my first exposure to PC death, as both the Paladin in the party and the Warlock died to the Master of Souls in D13 of the Dungeon of the Dead Three. We were only level 2 when we encountered this villain. Fireball... what a wild thing to have to face at that level. The game carried on for a while after that but that Master of Souls monster at such a low level was not to one player's liking and they quit when their Paladin was vaporized in the very first dungeon. The DM helped a bit with a DMPC in the form of a barbarian but once we finished the Villa and reported back to Liara Portyr, life kept getting in the way for some of the remaining players.

Mjornier - (In Icewind Dale) One of the more fun PCs I have played. This is a Goliath in the Forgotten Realms, so I leaned into the lore here and made one looking to always challenge himself and find a good way to die. Nothing bothered this PC, from cantankerous NPCs to lethal injuries. It was all in good fun for Mjornier. The party did a few things in Bryn Shander and then a trip to Caer-Konig, but when we got to the Duergar outpost there, the DM announced that DMing is not for them and the game ended. A shame. Mjornier never did find that perfect death.

Morana - (Battling the undead in Jergal's name) Morana is a Companion of the Pallid Mask. Publicly, she was an undertaker and a priest specializing in providing people their Last Rights. This caused her to be mostly feared in town, but also deeply valued for her work. As a servant of Jergal, she would record the names of those dying and send booklets of names and dates of those who died to temples where this information could be stored. I enjoyed playing this character because she was rarely unsettled. She kind of rolled with everything in a very whimsical, creepy way. When a wizard blew her up with fireball, she laughed it off with a faceless guffaw. This caused the wizard to flee in terror, giving Morana time to regrow her face with some heals. The only thing that does disturb her is the undead; perversions of life who have flouted the laws of the dead. She is definitely a merciful person though and not the sadist that most would assume at first glance, it is just that her mercy is a bit different than others. When we had defeated some bandits that waylaid us on the road to our mission against the undead, a dying bandit was questioned by her for the names of their friends so that Morana may record their time of death. Once she got the names, the bandit got his mercy, which was not in healing them, but hastening their death so they would not suffer.

Wren - (Retired to a Temple of the Light) Wren was my first transgender PC. This particular one is a trans man. I played this PC on a homebrew world and things went from really well to really brutally for Wren. Wren followed what was considered a pagan god of light, one that was quite popular where he was from, but one that was illegal to worship in the lands he adventured. The party was captured and some were killed by corrupt lawkeepers of the land. Wren was not permitted to save any lives, unfortunately. We had a sham trial where our sorcerer made a fantastic argument for our release (we were allowed to prep our defense between sessions), but of course, the panel of judges were just as corrupt as the lawkeepers. Our sentencing was life in prison, each to have some kind of personal penance, which we discussed with the DM privately. Wren had liquid gold poured into his eyes, blinding him for life for daring to worship a heathen god of light. During his time in prison, he kept his faith despite torture from guards and prisoners alike. For this, his god blessed him with the gift of sight wherever there is light. Mechanically, this was just normal sight for a human - this was all narrative and none of the PCs were actually reduced mechanically. Wren's god lit the way to escape and after the party was on the run as fugitives. Wren got a gold visor to wear over his face and continued to keep his faith the entire campaign and retired to a Temple of the Light in the nation that had failed to take his sight.

Shri'tanabryn

Cassandra - (Helping her friends to save the world) This PC has possibly experienced the most character growth out of any that I have played. She was a former cleric whose selfish impulses and indifference to the suffering of others cost her everything that mattered to her; her god abandoned her entirely and even cursed her with one hand that could heal and one hand that could harm. From Tempest Cleric to Mercy Monk. She has had to learn how to care about others and it has been a very painful journey for her. One that had culminated in fighting an insane fallen angel who had cornered Cass in the fight and pulled her arms clean off! The fight took place on a flying island and he tossed them to the desert below. Now she is a monk without arms but who can still heal and harm, as her entire body is a weapon. The experience had helped her to put aside her own silly, immature dreams of individual glory, which was previously her main driver. She has also learned that fighting for others, rather than for herself, is the more noble path. This game has been put on hiatus while a friend finishes his PhD.

Eirikur - (Current game) I just started this pbp campaign, so I will have to rely on the backstory. He is a brainwashed agent for Queen Victoria for a game set in late 1800s Earth, where species from other worlds came to Earth during the Civil War. Eirikur was freed from his brainwashing and upon realizing all the horrors that he had done for Queen and Country, he fled to the Americas and eventually found his way to Chicago, where the game has just begun. The game can be followed here for anyone curious.

Left-Handed Poet - (Helping a Rogue be better as a rogue, and as a person) This PC was for a game that was intended as a campaign, but only got as far as the first session. Left-Handed Poet, or Lefty, as many call him, is an aging and retired assassin who had killed so many, that he had to put down the blades and retire to life in solitude, deep in the forest, and ponder his sins. His reputation preceded him in the criminal underworld however, and occasionally, people would come seeking his skills or seeking his life. He would always meet them, serve them tea, plead with them to leave behind the life of killing, and recite poetry during their conversations before either denying them as wards or killing the would-be assassins. One person however, had a noble cause. Initially, he denied this person too, not entirely sure that they were being truthful, but then an agent of the undead threat that this person was fighting attacked at Lefty's home as he poured tea for the young rogue. She and Lefty defeated the monster and Lefty was convinced to leave retirement to help the person become a better rogue and to help in defeating the undead threat. It is a shame this game never got off the ground. It had some potential.

Joy

Zerrius - (Finding new purpose) I am not sure it exactly counts, but I played this character in a duet game with my partner at the time. It was an introduction to D&D and they were very interested in what it is I love so much about it. This was a support DMPC for this game and we played the Lost Mine of Phandelver. We did not finish the campaign as my partner at the time was a med student and medical school is the ultimate time suck.

Arkros - (Lost between worlds) Arkros was my first PC and, being wholly intimidated at the prospect of role playing in front of others and being a very shy person, I elected to lean into my ignorance and turn it into a defining feature of the character. Arkros is a fool. Not unintelligent exactly, but definitely a screwup and he speaks and acts before thinking things through. He is a career performer who longed for more and is an addict with a 'live fast, leave a messed up looking corpse' kind of mentality. When a fey patron offered him that 'more', Arkros signed on the dotted line without so much as reading the contract. When the game my friends and I were playing fell apart, he was taken by his patron to the feywild and then, once the patron was freed by Arkros from his thousand year prison, who knows where. Between worlds for sure. Arkros was partially inspired by my own fears and insecurities, but also Nathan Young, from the TV show, Misfits. If you know this character, just give him horns, turn him red, and hand him some illicit substances, and you have Arkros. I suspect the actor, Robert Sheehan, saw my performance of Arkros somehow and then later created an amalgamation of Nathan Young and Arkros, forming Klaus Hargreeves from Umbrella Academy. I am still waiting for my check, Robert!

Hope

Gup

Kilonur

Suki - (Current game) Another PC with a seedy background, only this one is a former thief. Her backstory is that she was a career smuggler and once she completed her first big job, her and her crew were seized by the person they worked for and were tortured and killed. What they had smuggled was so sensitive in nature, that her employers wouldn't even take the chance that Suki and her crew never peeked. They hadn't and Suki does not even know what it was that she had moved into the country. Suki managed to survive and escape. While on the run and looking for the means of attaining her very much deserved revenge, she fell in with a new crew, all independently arriving at a secluded ancient wizard's mansion at the same time and looking for the same thing. Interesting!!! Choosing safety in numbers, Suki joined the newly formed crew and the mansion has turned out to be quite dangerous within. Her backstory would have had her be something akin to an Arcane Trickster before being permanently partially disabled by the bad men who killed her previous crew, but in the game, she has always been a wizard. She is a character that has a lot of buried rage. She hides it well and, on the surface, is an upbeat and almost bubbly person.

Hello I'm an over 50 year old D&D player who has been playing since jr HS in 1983. I was in the USMC at the end of the 80s until just after Operation Desert Storm. 100% Service Connected Disabled. 

I'm also a Dual National USA & UK by birth.  I've been into the Gothic Music Scene since I got out of the Marines. I'm also a Trans woman, which is how a woman could be a combat veteran from the 90s with the MOS 0331, 0321, 8911.   

I'm of Jewish Ancestry (Specifically Turkish and Russian Jewish) I look very Jewish and have olive white skin, thanks to my dad being full blooded northern European, and a half giant. Which means I'm tall, way too tall for my liking. 

I have 7 years college, and no specific degree, I never could make my mind up. Psych, CET, History,... I'm also dyslectic and somewhat autistic (somewhat recent medical diagnosis) 

I also live in the greater Los Angeles area, and eventually I want to start up live games again, but that requires a few things. I do miss running beer and pizza games.

Currently closed

Current Sunday game - Gideon the Campaign

Currently none - not enough spoons right now for it.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/3124219-beautiful-sword

Weapon (any sword), common
This is a beautiful sword. It is made with silver and gold inlay. This sword is always beautiful.

Proficiency with a longsword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Notes: Bonus: Charisma Score, Buff, Utility, Versatile

https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/3272675-bigflex-body-builders-quarter-staff-of-working-out

Staff (quarterstaff), very rare (requires attunement by a wizard, or druid with a strength greater than 15 )
"This weapon can be turned into almost any exercise equipment you could need." - Manufacturers Advertisement

You have a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

(Note: It's a free weight barbell, the magic allows you to add or remove the weight on the sides. Somehow this gives it the +3 to attack and damage rolls in melee., DM Rulings damage numbers reflect max combat potential adding 300lbs to the barbel won't add to damage but might be good for pinning a weakling.)

Proficiency with a quarterstaff allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Notes: Bonus: Magic, Weapon Property: Heavy, wizard, or druid with a strength greater than 15 , Damage, Combat, Versatile

drunk attempt to fix the og thiey're
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/19804-thieyre

Drunk D&D game, we all chipped in to this idea based on a meme.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/20514-thieyre
Tiny Fey, Any Chaotic Alignment

Made for a game I was running a few years ago, needed something to challenge the players with in a specific setting.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/1615112-wildlings-wild-halflings

my avatar currently on DnDB Rock Gnome

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/40921452

Silly Short story requested by the DM for the campaign I was playing in at the time, not often a DM asks for player to write a short story for a background, but I did. 

https://www.scribblehub.com/series/210884/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-gnome-the-bhuem-kabhuem-edition/

This is a post campaign reedit of my lore Bard "Traveling Merchant" Tabaxi has wears. ;p  I used her as an NPC in another game because the character was too cool. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/49759116

Ok this one takes a while to explain. Gail was born in 1997 AD&D as a Half-Elf psionicist they died badly in that campaign as they were shunted off to the Negative energy plane. Early into 5th ed, I decided to resurrect this ancient character of mine as a Shadar-kai.  (Originally as the long range Warlock Assassin sniper that was a popular theory craft 7 years ago) but when it came to an actual game I went with a Cleric of the Raven Queen. I wish I got more time to play this one, but that campaign fell apart way too soon IMO. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/52156977

Recreation of my two time 3.5/Iron Heroes Chaotic Red Neck Dwarf.  In 3.5 they were a Red Neck based on the Alabama hunter trapper theme, was a ranger for that. Then I remade them as a Barbarian for Iron Heroes, all this was between 2010 and 2013. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/89417171

a fun character aimed at being something I normally don't do. The campaign only lasted 4 sessions, and I wish the lady who DMed this would run it again. ;_;  

Teal is a slime girl with no gear but a tattoo and her profession material in a barrel which she uses as her mobile home. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/85599841

Devil Girl based on my Sith Warrior in SWTOR, who was based on character from a book series which is too adult to list. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/55635360

Another campaign I played in

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/55337446

OneDnD test character from my group letting other people DM. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/82767335

No DnDB character sheet I'm willing to share. This is my long time main character, way back in the AD&D era, all the way up until now, only I tend to not play her in D&D much anymore. 

So the links are 

FFXIV : https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/29818998

WOW : https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/character/us/feathermoon/mary

She was originally named something else, I changed it do to the name turning out to be NSFW never use an object and reverse the spelling to make a D&D character name, it can backfire. So I renamed her based on a name I was considering for myself. Which ended up being my cats name as well. Mariel.  This was my main in 3.0/3.5, D20, and 4.0 games, plus every Video game, and MMORPG that I played, and I played a lot of them. She's basically a War Wizard AD&D Elf Kit class (Fighter/Wizard) she ended that old campaign as a succubus. What a game.