Old Man

From Gothpoodle

King of the Ashen Court

The Old Man escaped Arcadia before the first World War and has been the Autumn King since the end of the second, making in the oldest changeling in the freehold by a long shot. Many are concerned with his failing health and his loss of Clarity over the years. His tendency to walk the Hedge alone when tired or worn out is disconcerting to his wife, Mina and his close friends in the Court.

Description

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Mask

An ancient, twisted old man with only a few wisps of white hair clinging to his head but eyes of pure blue, like a clear Autumn sky. Despite his posture, he seems to possess strength and radiates a sense of power even as its vitality wanes.

Storytelling Hints

The Old Man is a stubborn old man who only begrudgingly gives out his wisdom to those he thinks have earned it. He lost a lot and, while not bitter, is not inclined to make life easy for people, thinking that hardening them up will help them as much as the information they seek. He isn't without compassion, though, being very fond of Willow and loving his wife Mina deeply.

Stats

• Mental Attributes: Intelligence 6, Wits 4, Resolve 4
• Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5
• Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 6, Composure 4
• Mental Skills: Academics (Faeries) 4, Computer 2, Crafts 2, Investigation (Hedge) 4, Medicine 1, Occult 6, Politics 4.
• Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl (Thorns) 3, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 5, Survival 4.
• Social Skills: Animal Ken 1, Empathy 1, Expression (Writing) 4, Intimidation 4, Persuasion 2, Socialize 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 5.
• Merits: Broken Mirror, Court Goodwill (Summer) 2, Encyclopedic Knowledge 4, Mantle (with crown) 5, New Identity 2, Resources 3, Strong Back 1.

Advantages

• Willpower: 8
• Health: 10
• Initiative: 7
• Defense: 3
• Armor: 0
• Speed: 9

Changeling Traits

• Clarity: 4 (-2 to Perception rolls)
• Wyrd: 7
• Glamour/per Turn: 20/7
• Contracts: Dream 3, Elements (Wood) 5, Eternal Autumn 5, Hearth 3, Smoke 2.
• Pledges: Commendation (liege for all vassals of the Summer Court), The Knight's Oath (liege for all sworn knights of Summer).

Weaknesses

• Flaws: Lame (-3 Speed).
• Derangements: Hedge-Calling (severe).
• Frailties: Cannot bear the sound of his true name (minor bane); cannot sleep where he can't see the sky (minor taboo).

Equipment

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Background

Mortal Life

Edgar Starkweather was a robust young farmer of impressive bearing, strength, and good looks who lay in the grass near an old willow tree one night staring up at the stars when he saw the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on come around the tree. She was slender with silver hair and a matching gown which shone in the moonlight. She approached him without words, just a smile, and they made love. Afterwards, pleased with him, she led him around the tree and into Arcadia.

Durance

Too headstrong to take well to slavery, Edgar fought his lovely mistress tooth and nail until she punished him by making him a part of the hedge, twisting his strong, straight limbs and piercing him with thorns, and so he stayed for thirty long years. The time was not wasted, though, for he paid attention to the world around him, its secrets and whisperings, the workings of fate and magic in this beautiful land. In time, he gathered the strength and mystical power to pull free of the thorns and regain something close to his old shape. His affinity with the Hedge made escape easy at first, it treated him like a brother and parted to let him past, though as he grew closer to the real world, it guessed at his destination and began to hinder him, but he tore threw it with the anger of his imprisonment.

Changeling Life

When Edgar broke through to the real world, he found that a scant five years had passed and that his handsome, strong fetch had married the girl he had his eye on and had a child. In a fit of wrath, he met the young man in the fields and bludgeoned him to death with his thorny fists, leaving his torn and bruised body for his widow to weep over. The local freehold was impressed with his deep knowledge of Faerie and he was quickly accepted into the Autumn Court, using the name Edgar Thorn. His stature increased over the years and he began to be called merely "Old Man" because of his twisted, aged appearance. Very few knew his previous name, much less his real one, by the time he took over the mantle of the Autumn Queen when she died. He supports himself by writing books, all fictional works dealing with the Fae written under the pseudonym, "Jack Hallow", which serves as his only mortal identity. Nobody knows it is him though some have noted the works and their uncanny accuracy, but assume the writer to be a changeling elsewhere. The books are filled with useful bits of lore that a changeling might find valuable, like references to rare goblin fruits and dangers of the Hedge. Since his return, he has made himself an academic, reading everything he can on myth, legends, magic, and the supernatural.