Name: Roger Allard
Gender: Male
Age: 52
Faction of Birth: Swadian
Allegiance: Independent
Personality / Skills: Roger is skilled mostly at skirmishing and ranged combat, but can hold his own in a melee scrap. His true skills lie in the years of experiences he's had, being able to call upon both his many connections and his various skills learned in his travels. Particular skills of interest include moderate tracking and bargaining skills as well as some minor leadership ability.
As a person, Roger is a warm-hearted and open man. His life has been full, but his need for new experiences is just as youthful as it was in the beginning. He is kind to those that deserve it and is quick to decipher someone's character. Malice is rarely, if ever found in his heart. He is instead characterized by cool thought and self-control.
Appearance: 6'1". True Gray eyes. He has a broad chest and shoulders, though not as muscly as they were in his youth. His work has maintained what it could, though his stomach has begun to take on a hearty appearance. His torso is pocked with various scars from battles past, including one very nasty cut along his thigh and a spot on his shoulder where an arrow hit and nearly killed him. His blessedly full hair is mostly gray with spots of black youth clinging through and is cut around 2" above his eyebrows in the front and kept similarly fashioned around the rest of his head. His face is clean shaven, showing a more rounded jaw and moderately thin lips.
Biography: Born near the prosperous town of Veidar, Roger grew up working with his parents on their farm. His father was a friendly man who made it his job to assist those in need and work for the better of the village whenever possible, so Roger had a rather active childhood as he accompanied his father on various errands from delivering goods to splitting wood to mending walls. When not following in his old man's footsteps, Roger would practice with a bow on the edge of the woods or play at sticks with the other boys. Once he'd reached the age of 17, Roger found himself overtaken with wanderlust that stemmed from his numerous visits to Praven and the various travelers that he encountered both there and in the town in which he'd grown. Gathering what money he had from odd jobs and taking along his favorite bow, Roger ventured to sign on with the Swadian military.
Much to his chagrin, Roger wasn't allowed to use his bow due to his lord's strict adherence to Swadian military traditions. After some crossbow training, Roger was able to switch to a melee detachment and trained in the use of the sword there. It was in the military that Roger received his first taste of action on the battlefield, recklessly throwing himself into a small skirmish against bandits and receiving a small cut across his chest for his foolishness. After that battle, he began to really listen to his superiors and train correctly, taking a smarter approach to battle and becoming more skilled. It was also during this time that Roger began to keep a journal of his travels, using it as a means both to chronicle his life and to improve his writing ability. However, nothing could prepare him or his companions for a large battle against a force of Nords. His lord had been ordered to halt the advance of a host while the rest of the Kingdom gathered to fight back, effectively sacrificing the army. They dug in, but it was ultimately a slaughter during which Roger received a nasty cut along his thigh from the top to his knee. He killed his attacker but passed out not long after, waking to the silence of the dead a while later. Luckily for Roger, a mercenary company was travelling through the battlefield looking for loot and found him, taking him under their wing and tending his wounds. With a debt to be paid and potential problems if he returned to his lord, Roger signed on with the company.
It was in the company that Roger learned much of skirmishing as well as a rough business sense. The leader of the company, a charismatic man, inspired Roger by leading his men effectively and treating them fairly, signing them up to skirmish enemy lines and trying to keep those under his command alive for as long as he possibly could. Inevitably, the company found itself working for the Swadians against the Nords, this time as part of a host attacking rather than defending. It was in the aftermath of one of the battles that Roger found his bow on the corpse of a Nord and retrieved it for himself, using it in future engagements and gaining a familiar warmth from it.
Time passed and a 24 year old Roger found himself tiring of mercenary life. He'd traveled to all corners of Calradia and seen most, if not all of the major towns along the way. With a healthy purse, a few new scars, and years of experience under his belt, Roger parted from his friends in the mercenary company whilst in Sarranid territory. Ever the opportunist, Roger signed on with a merchant heading back through Khergit and then Vaegir territory as it made its way to Praven. On the road, the caravan came across another merchant who'd been ambushed on the line between the steppes and the cold of Vaegir territory. Among their number was a young Rhodok woman that Roger found himself stricken with. As the caravan aided the discovered survivors, taking them along to the next town, a relationship formed and Roger promised to fetch his new love, Maria, in two years time in Veluca. Leaving Maria with the funds necessary to reach home safely, Roger braved the frozen swaths until he reached the familiar fields of Swadia and his homeland.
Feeling a need to save up and settle down with his distant love, Roger became a bounty hunter. Using his time as a mercenary to draw in a small group of men to back him up and take down fugitives for lords throughout Swadia, Roger quickly established himself as an effective and respected bounty hunter. For the next few years, those on the run learned to fear the news that they were being hunted by Allard and his men. Many simply yielded upon spotting his men, but many more chose to fight, leaving Roger with a good deal of cuts and bruises to show for his hard work. However, he managed to save up and buy a plot of land in Nomar along the Swadian/Rhodok border. He soon sent for his love and they were quickly married and, by the age of 27, Roger had settled down and started a family.
The years ticked by as Roger set himself up in the surrounding area as a friendly and respectable man, taking after his father in many ways. By age 35 he had three sons and two daughters roaming around the house and a well established farm. However, disputes between the Swadians and Vaegirs began to brew and quickly came to a head and Roger, compelled by his sense of duty and status, answered the call to arms once more. Leading the men of his village, Allard campaigned among the lords of Swadia for several years as they fought a prolonged war against their neighbor. The wear and tear of battle once again honed Roger into the man he was in his youth (though a tad slower) and he fought admirably in all engagements. A few of the officers in the army felt threatened by Rogers standing, though, and endeavored to make his life difficult. He attempted to endure their small abuses and admirably did so until they arranged for him to be captured while out on a nightly patrol. His Vaegir captors did not take kindly to him and Allard suffered terribly at their hands.
A few months passed in captivity for Albert as he wasted away in a castle dungeon until fortune found the Swadian host besieging the fort. His spirits renewed, Roger rallied his fellow prisoners to be prepared for their chance to escape and be free from the torture they'd been subjected to and, sure enough, that chance came when an enterprising Swadian recruit took the time to open the cells in the midst of the battle. Now 38, Roger led his fellows to the armory and then out the door and into the fray. Rejuvenated by the presence of their countrymen, the prisoners fought bravely in the courtyard. As fate would have it, however, several archers on the parapets took notice of the lack of armor and focused their shots towards the prisoners. Roger was downed by an arrow to the shoulder and the others quickly carried off their prison leader. Despite his advanced age and the severity of the wound, Roger managed to cling on to his life by a string and begin the process of recovery. Discharged with healthy wage, Roger returned home to rest and retire.
The seasons came and went in Nomar. The crops came and were harvested, travelers and relatives visited often, and the children grew. Roger finally took some time to himself, freed of his wanderlust, and enjoyed his life at home with the woman he loved and his children by his side. Roger's gut even began to expand a little, as did his bountiful generosity to those around. He was still, however, troubled by his wartime experiences and took up instruments and singing to alleviate his anxieties. With music playing, a warm spot by the fire open, and a full table, life moved along in the Allard household. His eldest child, one of the girls, married and not long after so did his eldest son. Grandchildren began to appear in the house as his two other sons left home to begin their lives as merchants. Over time, however, the pitter patter of small feet disappeared as they found new homes with their parents and soon Roger was left with Maria and his youngest child, his dear daughter. She'd just been married herself. It was not long after that that Maria took sick and began to fade fast. The family returned and said their goodbyes and she passed surrounded with love.
A year went by without Maria and soon Roger felt a familiar feeling tugging at his heart. With nothing left tying him down, the world was calling to Roger again. He gathered his gear, including his trusty bow, and left his estate to his daughter and money for the rest and took off not long after. Now Roger is on the road in search of a few more adventures and new experiences to put under his belt.
Party: Roger is travelling alone.
Equipment:
Worn (clothing/armor): Mail coif
Green surcoat over mail
Splinted greaves
Also carries a riding cloak and everyday clothes (tabard/woolen hose/etc.)
Weapons (melee and shield): Long arming sword
Old heater shield
Weapons (ranged) : Old longbow
Arrows
Note: All of Roger's starting equipment is from his past. He's kept it in decent repair, though the armor will obviously suffer a bit due to age and less care taken.