Author Archive: TiMrozek
Tim Mrozek – 30 Character Round Up
Hello all, first I’d like to thank Tyler big time for putting this together. I know I, and I’m sure all of you, have found this project to be immensely fun and helpful. I had a great time pushing myself to do something I didn’t think I could really do. I would also like to thank Dan Govar (saulone) for the work I know he did getting the templates together for us and helping with the layout and all.
So here is my round up of 30 characters divided by the loose categories I created for my characters. I’m now in the process of creating more fully realized characters out of my 4 or 5 favorites and will be putting those together as my new character reel. I have no idea if this site is going to keep going with traffic now that the challenge is over, but I’ll probably post a link to that when I finish it so anyone who is interested can see. So here are mine:
Creatures:
Humans
Masks
Gods and Goddesses
The Final Three
#30 Sam the Unemployed Wolfman
Sam is the downtrodden sort. A lawyer in another life, the great recession destroyed his client base. While some might think, he can build that back up, it’s no problem, what they don’t realize is, Sam is a sort of Werewolf. His client base was of the open minded type and had learned to deal with his considerable mood swings and constant devouring of raw steaks, however the new money, what few folk there are, have proven to be much less trustworthy of such a character with their lawsuits. He has given up on his past profession and now spends most of his days wandering the major cities of the east coast just looking for anyone who will accept a wolfman as an employee.
#29 Volera Piscem
Volera Piscem the god of Ocean Currents wasn’t up for the oppression of water and the ocean. Despite having the freedom to travel all the world’s waterways, it was never enough. He developed a flying system based on the flying creatures he would see floating effortlessly above the water. A minor god, he never really had the opportunity to talk with the gods of flight to gain their secrets but discover them he did. Unfortunately he forgot to bring them with him when he had his appointment for his sculpture. The artist set up another sitting not more than a few days from today to finish the sculpture and add his wings.
#28 Sand God of the Mojave and Nomadic Revelry
The Sand God of the Mojave is an elusive one. His physical manifestation standing over 250 feet tall, he is never seen in his entirety. Often only glimpsed briefly in the midst of sandstorms, much like the castle of Howl. He has been wandering the great deserts of the world for hundreds of thousands of years but has settled on the Mojave for the past 3000 years where he maintains the natural way of things. He is also a friend to the nomad and the desert adventurers and wanders, often providing water and sustenance to lost and weary travelers.
#27 The Googly Gods of the Lab
The real secret behind good science are these guys. Much of the serendipity and good ideas that come out of the great labs of the world are actually put into researcher’s heads by these guys. Focused solely on scientific progress though, these god’s never intend to gain glory or praise for their work. They only hope that  the world will become a better place where science rules the day.
God of the Moors
This god roams the moors of England and has done so for quite some time. He primarily spends his time giving and maintaining life and the natural way of things in these temperate grasslands. He has been around since well before history and legend says that he was the true impetus behind such sites as stonehenge. It has become common knowledge that he is quite the hobbyist with astronomy and countless thousands of years will certainly provide all the time one needs to study the stars and be the driving force behind such an anomaly of ancient architecture.
#25 Lightning Goddess – Maya
Unkown to most, Zeus and Thor are not the only Thunder/Lightning deities  on the block. Chloe has been manufacturing those charged particles for eons, she became most well known in Central and South America around 400 and 1600 of the common era. She was close with the goddess of tides and and lunar activity despite the fact that her activity tended to block out the moonlight from the earth creatures. Many say that it was a game the two played, trying to make themselves more visible while also protecting and helping the creatures that needed the benefit of their powers.
#24 Chronos – The God of Time
The God of Time is quite an interesting character. Seemingly a regular man, albeit classy man, his eyepiece is what sets him apart. It allows him to both travel and see both into the past and the future. This is important as he is required to make sure all space/time continuum’s operate properly. This is no small task, and I say all on purpose. Chronos is the only god privy to the proof that we operate in multiple dimensions. Were it not for him these dimensions would cross and we’d be in a world of pain and confusion as a result. Due to the epic task Chronos is required to perform, he passes the task off every 1000 years on the dot. The last 20 years of each cycle is spent finding a capable candidate for replacement. Each Chronos takes a different portion of space time in which to keep things clean, and to keep things from crossing. They often choose to do 50 to 100 years at a time in different millenia so as to not get too bored.
#23 Shadow God
The Shadow god takes many forms. Most commonly seen as a floating creepy mask, he contains a different shaped shadow from whatever angle you view him. He is a wonder of light and physics. His history is difficult to pinpoint, just as much as is his physical body that somehow casts shadows over everything. It is believed that he governs the true laws of physics and light. Somehow by being an anomaly who breaks these laws, he is able to contain the laws we are familiar with in check.
(note: The video I plan is more interesting but I haven’t finished it yet and might not get that opportunity before the end of the month. )
#22 Mountain Goddess / Mon-Silvretta
Mon-Silvretta is the ancient soul of one of the mountain ranges in the Alps. Not as old as the gods and goddesses of Appalachia, Silvretta still about 65 million years old. She began as many mountain souls do, as many small hill spirits who all began to grow and coalesce as the hills began to form and smash into one another. She is one of the more benevolent goddesses of the Alps, known to help climbers and adventurers. She is known to be incredibly fond of whiskey though, so many adventurers and wanderers carry an extra bottle at all times in the instance that they need to call upon her for aid.
#21 Fire Spirit
This fire spirit is not composed of fire as one would assume. A little known fact about many elemental spirits is that they often times were humans who took up the post, replacing aging spirits. These spirits are unique in that their power is tied to their masks, however the mask cannot be removed without the wearer’s consent. Though some have tried, death always occurs shortly thereafter.
#20 Dark Revenant
Once a bishop in his lifetime, this visible soul now haunts the outer rim. Tales are told by all who pass through his sector of the sound of low murmuring and dark hymns coming from parts of their ship where no living soul is present. Often times materializing just outside of the ship, this old soul has been responsible for throwing many a ship off course due to the surprise it creates in pilots who are never quite sure they’ve seen something.
#19 Kalcon Sabre
Kalcon is one of the top Bounty Hunters for the Sabre Operatives. Master of intensity and intergalactic tracking, he is ruthless but fair. The Sabre’s have always been known to have a very strong code of ethics for bounty hunters. Their methods may be brutal at times, but their selection of only bounties on convicted violent offenders allows for a little less discretion in how they carry out their captures. They are the Rogues of the galaxy, but one needn’t fear if one has no violent past.
#18 La’Rasa Arborum
La’Rasa of the Trees is another forest spirit. She is closer to the top of the spirit world, higher than the Waldgeist and also generally found in different areas, she is responsible for the balance and well being of both the creatures and the ecosystem of her forest, unlike the Waldgeist who simply watches over the trees. Her spirit is close to 7,000 years old, sometimes passing from body to body, but preferring the one pictured above. Unbeknownst to most, spirits such as her do not live forever and their survival is dependent on the health of the environment they keep.
#17 Isidoros Thálassa
A relative unknown in his time, Isidoros was a true visionary. Living in Greece during the 4th centure BCE, Isidoros is best known for his explorations into deep sea diving. He constantly created suits such as this one to traverse the great Mediterranean. Obsessed with the sea from a very young age, Isidoros changed his last name to Thálassa (greek: sea)as soon as he could. Also a man of some hubris, he would often affix the wings of hermes to his diving suits in hopes that this would call upon the great god Hermes to give him speed and ease of travel through the water.
#The Mármaro Men
The Mármaro men were an elite and vicious group of Greek Soldiers from ancient times. Inspired by the magnificent marble structures of the time, this group of men chose to strengthen themselves to wear marble masks when entering warfare. While not necessarily the most functional of helmets, it mattered not for they had such wonderfully trained horses and had honed their sense of hearing to such a degree that they were virtually unhindered. That and they were primarily used during the initial charge so as to terrorize the opponent. Enemy’s became convinced of these soldier’s supernatural powers to fight without vision, which only strengthened their mythology and effectiveness in battle. Over time they began to fade out and the art was lost but these masks still remained as a big part of the culture’s tradition until the 3rd century BC.
#15 Waldgeist
This little guy is one of many tiny spirits that live in many of the older forests around the world, but primarily are found in and around Germany . While not as impressive or dramatic as your typical dryad or ent, these guys end up doing most of the behind the scenes work to keep things going smoothly in the forest. As with many tiny spirits such as this, most people don’t believe in their existence, and why should they? Waldgeists have centuries upon centuries of experience avoiding being seen as their primary focus is to do their business while drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. That and they possess the abilty to blend with almost any species of tree. Oh, and they stand only about 6 inches tall.
#14 – Audrey Grzykowski
Audrey is the tech wiz of the crew. Set on ensuring that the stereotypical nerdy, geeky character of the worlds most secret institution not be just another pasty guy, she grew up speaking primarily C, with a bit of C# from time to time just to throw off her teachers and anyone who might actually be able to keep up. Similar to Pahuac, Audrey learned about the organization on her own, but not due to some mystical, unexplainable event, she simply knows how to get information. She has however done an excellent job hiding where she came from so very little is known of her past. Judging by her accent, it is believed she grew up somewhere near Montreal.
#13 – Pahuac
No one knows exactly how Pahuac ended up at the door of Ms. Daiyu’s mountain fortress. He is the only human to ever find discover the existence as well as the location of this top secret facility. Many major governments think of the organization as nothing more than a myth. Pahuac’s history is equally shrouded in mystery, despite arriving, and subsequently joining the organization in modern times (2001), he seemed to be most fluent in a language that turned out to be a dead Incan dialect. He has never divulged his history to the rest of the group but seemed to already known a great deal about what they do. His insight and inexplainable knowledge of things he shouldn’t know have made him an indispensable member, swiftly working his way to the number two spot in only 6 years.
#12 – Frankie James
Frankie James always dreamed of being a superhero. He grew up hearing about them on the radio and picked up his first comic about someone named Superman in 1938. He grew up eating his vegetables and drinking his milk. Growing up near the Big Apple, he often had dreams of fighting crime and perhaps living the good life in the process. In the mid 50’s he finally was given his chance when Ms. Daiyu sent her people out to his hometown near White Plains, NY to investigate this man of unusual strength and integrity. Frankie is now the class of the operations, suave, sophisticated, full of manners, and good cheer, he rarely sees a dark spot because he knows he has the power to fix it. Despite his incredibly good manners in most situations, Frankie grew up in a time when, well, lets just say, he’s a bit of a lady’s man.
#11 – Helena
One of the younger members of Ms. Daiyu’s group, Helena is a force to be reckoned with. Despite her slight frame and adorable eyes, Helena mastered her own unique form of Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu by the ripe age of 14. This of course is what first drew Ms. Daiyu’s attention. This and her mastery of 4 separate languages by the age of 13. Helena is one of the more outgoing of the team, often chosen as the leader of diplomatic missions, however, her strong personality, and stunning cuteness makes her less than perfect for undercover work.
#10 – Harvey
Harvey is a sly fox. Born in France, Harvey was sent away at an early age to train under the famed Ms. Daiyu. Recognized early for his quick wit and physical prowess, he was chosen carefully by Ms. Daiyu’s people to begin training in the remote mountaintops of Nepal. Only 10 people train with Ms. Daiyu at any given time, most of them spending nearly half of their lifetime under her guide. It is currently unknown what sort of power this woman and her band of elite followers possesses, or to what end she keeps such company, but it is believed that it is to deal with certain threats that even the highest levels of the world’s major governments are unaware.
#9 – Ms. Daiyu
Ms. Daiyu may not look menacing, but you do not want to cross her. Some say she is over 200 years old and has mastered over 387 different forms of martial arts. Her most powerful weapon, of course, is her unassuming demeanor. Her age, and her look constantly give her the element of surprise no matter the location or situation.
#8 – Julian
I decided to change things up from my original plan for this week. I wanted to practice portraits and realistic human characters, so that’s what I’m doing.
So, onto Julian. Julian was a man of mystery during the 19th century. A traveling man, Julian’s original home is not known but he spent a great deal of time amongst various aristocrats in and around London. It is believed that he was an assassin or some sort of covert operative for hire. This classical sculpture of him was a sign of his well standing with the upper echelon of British society. It is unknown whether the commission for this sculpture was Julian’s or one of his many clients, but one thing is sure, Julian lived quite the life despite there being little known about him.
#6 – Seaborne
Seaborne may look a bit odd, he’s one of a very small group of amphibians located off the remote coasts of Papua New Guinea. Resembling a shark and a half grown tadpole, these creatures have a long rich history in the Arafura Sea and surrounding waters. Evolving before modern humans, Seaborne’s people were the first to establish a method to record speech, however, their obvious inability to create fire prevented them from developing as quickly as humans. Thousands of years ago, they made their way out of the water, but following many skirmishes with the then highly violent human race, they chose to retreat to the water where they live today in smaller numbers but in relative peace. Occasionally one can find small, non-permanent, settlements along the southern coast of New Guinea, near the Coral Sea.
Odi’ave
The deceptively lethal intergalactic bounty hunter, Odi’ave is only given away by his armor. He lulls his targets with his pleasant demeanor and not so intimidating features. After living a relatively peaceful life in the Nebulon system, Odi’ave decided to spruce things up, and what better way than to purchase a star runner, a photon pistol, and head to space to chase down bounty’s for the Inner Rim.
Tepeu o Falcão
Tepeu was part of a small group of flying men who are believed to still live quite secretly in the high peaks of the Peruvian countryside. It is believed that his people still reside in small numbers in the remote Oconeque region, where they were believed to migrate as human populations began to expand. Sightings of these half bird men are still relatively common in Peru, partially due to the prevalence of superstition in some of the ancient cultures that remain. Stories are told that these creatures are responsible for the popular Nazca lines, as they are one of the few comparably intelligent creatures from ancient history. This would account for the scale of the images that can only be seen from the air.
#3 Scystera of the Serpae clan
(Note – I’ve had a really busy week out of nowhere and got a bit behind, never a good thing in a challenge like this, however, I think I should be able to get back in it this weekend. Got a 4th I’m about to post too.)
So, onto Scystera. The Serpae are a breed closely related to the Gorgon family. While not as ugly as Gorgon’s, namely her great great great aunt, medusa, Serpae does have the power to create partial paralisis in those unfortunate enough to come across her. However, the power to turn to stone is reserved for her more foul relative. Primarily found on some of the smaller islands in the Mediterranean, Serpae are a relatively reclusive clan, not nearly as aggressive as their predecessors.
#2 – Nietoperz
A damned watcher of the keep, Nietoperz (polish for bat) has been cursed to eternally keep watch over Castle Malbork after having been caught breaking into the castle in 1358 to steal the kings daughter away.  The daughter and then Aleksy had been madly in love for years, but as is always the case, a peasant can’t marry royalty. One sad night Aleksy was caught breaking into the castle by Alfons the Arch-Mage. He was given the semblence of a bat due to the Arch-Mages sense of irony. A bat is silent as now shall be Aleksy as he serves his eternal punishment. He has been keeping watch ever since that tragic day.
#1 The Blind Guardian
The Blind Guardian is a clone originally developed by his masters to guard the mammoth underground prisons of Morgus Kaior. Developed to instill fear in any unfortunate enough to be imprisoned here, the Blind Guardian is ruthless and careless. He uses a form of sonar to see. His masters reasoned that a prison full of guards with no eyes makes for an even less personal imprisonment as no eye contact can ever be made. The Blind Guardian have been known to be used for other purposes as well. Valued for their cruelty, but staunch loyalty, they are often used to guard the riches of wealthier nobles, and crazier mages who might be willing to keep a Blind Guardian in ones keep.
#30Characters Chatter…