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[SIZE="5"]DOATELU ROBAL[/SIZE]
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Agent of the Reformed Order of the Spellguard
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Character background/synopsis:
QuoteBorn to a very superstitious Chultan, when Doatelu began to show signs of magical talent he became an embarrassment to his family. He was forced into his father's care, who had previously not known that he had a child. The young boy found himself suddenly in Amn, surrounded by an entirely new world and a mountain of expectations as the only child of a merchant lord. The pressure to live up to a name he didn't even know he had was immense.
Doatelu grew into a very stern, focused man. Apprenticed to a Cowled Wizard at a young age, magic was both an escape from the world of business and a new master, a task he had to excel at no matter the cost. He became one of the organization's most promising young members before the Darkening, at the cost of a a life of isolation and study. The only true joys he had were artifice and the Art itself.
When he arrived in Sanctuary, still shaken by his ordeal, he was filled with passion and optimism at what he saw. A final bastion of civilization, warded over by a powerful organization in the Spellguard to keep them safe. Immediately, he knew what he had to do.
Following my previous character Kojirak Akmulta, a very lively larger than life fellow, I wanted to play something that would serve as a stark contrast to him. Doatelu Robal was an effort to make a Spellguard Agent that would serve as a positive public image for the organization, while nursing a somewhat unsettling undertone despite his social skills. He was a very introverted and stern man, not used to showing his emotions nor making friends. Those that did become close to him rarely even understood how he felt about them.
He was not without hit faults, however. His inflated sense of self worth led him to casually dismiss many, and in particular Lower and its people suffered his ire. Robal came to despise them with a level of passion that was truly concerning. And, at the end of the day, the man would have done absolutely ANYTHING if he truly believed it would be for the betterment of Sanctuary.
Some screenshots!
(http://i.imgur.com/bWFEyZh.png)
This is the earliest screenshot I have of Doatelu.
How many people can remember past the Agent uniform to the young man in the white and blue robes? Doatelu was never a great adventurer, primarily organizing ventures that he believed would make the city safer. He met a lot of people during this time that would come to be close friends. In particular, Farvyn Sundersong and Mari Galefist, who set him down the path of learning of the Hin people and their values. Through them he developed a soft spot for the smallfolk he always carried with them, much like the small stone dog still tucked in his bag even as he perished.
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Robal, shortly after catching the 'Sun Killer' Dory McBlatt.
Doatelu was tasked with finding more Auxiliary as an Aspirant, something that would turn into a continued stake in the association. He was always searching for new members, and spent a great deal of his time grooming them and seeking to try and mold them into the fighting force he believed they could be. When Hughes McBlatt, one of his first recruits, came up dead it set a fire in him like nothing else.
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Leading an illegal band back from the Lowerdark, following a terrifying battle.
Robal had a good deal of respect for the Society of the Ordered mind, owing to his friendship with Baelian Kalvath. He spent a great deal of time in the Lowerdark, aiding the Ordinants and overseeing patrols so that unlicensed citizens could safely join them.
(http://i.imgur.com/CjLqZDZ.png)
Holding a meeting with the Watchers and Wayfinders to discuss the Substance.
Unity among the institutions of Sanctuary was an important thing to the Agent, to promote the strongest city that they could be. He often attempted to involve the Watchers and Wayfinders where possible, promoting their own works with Spellguard approval.
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A meeting with Director Naerfaine and Wayfinder Coppertop.
Though Coppertop originally started as a woman of concern, Robal began to rely on the woman for a great deal of things. Her expertise with machinery was comparable to his own, and her familiarity with the caves and the Machine put many others to shame. He considered her a friend and strong asset, and through her became incredibly fond of the new generation of Wayfinders.
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Robal, actually besting Naerfaine at wordplay.
As a recent arrival to the city Doatelu joined Narvis' Disciple of the Arts. Through them he spent a great deal of time with the Director to be, and for a long while considered him a good friend and mentor figure. Sadly, politics forced their relationship to become very strained, but they remained able to enjoy a good twist of phrase and verbal jab to the very end.
(http://i.imgur.com/iJRtJ4q.png)
Saying goodbye to a friend.
Farvyn was one of the most influential characters upon Robal. The Hin's boundless optimism and the ease with which he made friends and lit the lives of others affected even to typically cold man. Through him he became very respectful of the Black Hound Urogalan, and sought to attempt to follow the humble lifestyle of his departed friend.
(http://i.imgur.com/u9tFu2M.png)
Meeting with a Dragon.
With Agent Sykes so often busy elsewhere, for a time Doatelu felt to many as the face of his very Order. It wasn't without its annoyances, with Watchers hammering the bell and criminals plotting his death, but it allowed the chance to do a lot of tremendous things. Meeting with the lord of the Causril Commune, venturing out to the Surface, and plotting the course of the city itself.
(http://i.imgur.com/4ZDcGux.png)
Saying goodbye.
Sadly, for as much as Robal changed, he truly remained the same. In the end it was hatred and pride that pushed him from this world. When he found himself waiting in the fugue, alone save for his thoughts, he could hide the soul beneath his mask no longer.
And, of course, some loot!
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(http://i.imgur.com/8VECxVx.png)
While not a massive pile of treasure, much thanks to DI and BOM for these incredible items! They were wonderfully appropriate for the character, and I always laughed when I got to use them in front of others!
Thank you, Efu, for a great deal of fun on yet another character. I deeply enjoyed my time as Doatelu Robal and interacting with such an amazing cast of characters and such a gripping setting. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
QuoteThis character was created on Monday, March 17th, 2014 at 09:11:17 PM.
Since creation, this character has logged on and off 277 times.
The character has spent 27 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes, and 17 seconds online.
And, finally... a look at the man beneath the robes, and beneath the steel mask:
(http://i.imgur.com/g69E9Rj.png)
Yes, Robal's face was obscured even in his portrait. I made it a goal early on with the character that I didn't want to actually show his face that often. So through cowl and helmet, I made sure that the majority of the people he interacted with had little idea of the man beneath the uniform. An attempt to make him more of a symbol than a man, save all but a few close friends and trusted assets.
Goodbye, Doatelu Robal! Hopefully you can find a life without such expectation and duty in the beyond. But, I think we all know that he's going to be busy organizing the war against the Dread in the planes.
RIP Brobal, we had plans. :)
Great PC! 162 Bells, man. Send off to an Agent.
I wish I'd thought to take more screenshots of Robal and Sykes together! Theirs was a great friendship, and an unexpected one at that. Alas, the only one I had was from when I thought you were dead! It would seem a bit... melodramatic.
He was a spooky, highly manipulative guy who I feared on every character. Behind his kind face was a calloused plotting machine.
Robal really broke from the Spellguard mold, and was an approachable agent. Yet he retained that underlining current of scheming and plotting that made him fantastic to interact with. Huge props, Samo.
Going to miss dem perch chats.
One of the most interesting working relationships I've had on EFU developed between the two of our characters. Loved the plotting, celebrating success, wallowing in defeat, and seeing every side of this character behind the mask.
(http://i.imgur.com/L8FS1XN.jpg)
A snapshot from the surface expedition!
Great PC who influenced Chand a lot. Hope to see you on your next character
The cloak was the greatest thing ever.
RIP Robal, he was a good bro to have in Lowerdark.
Here's a screenshot of you of those who came to honor him after his death:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i177/pkisawesome/7F0Xt4W_zpsab83c70a.jpg)
You continue to impress and amaze with what you pull out of your bag.
I can't wait to see what you come up with next, and just how it's gonna blow my mind.
Best of luck!
Robal was probably the coolest Agent I had ever seen.
Awesome work, Samophalanges.
Fighting those machines, random goblins, and flying chosen were good times!
Shame we didn't interact as much after he became an agent, but he and Eddie continued to have some fun interactions throughout. Eddie always jumped to Robal's defence, would never have anyone speak badly of his old friend. Their private discussions were usually more sober affairs than most of Eddie's usual ramblings.
Also, being made into a chicken was consistently funny
Mari initially had a serious hatred and mistrust for the Spellguard, but Brobal singlehandedly gave her faith in them [SIZE="1"]that would later singlehandedly be destroyed by rufus mackarthur but who's counting?[/SIZE]
A great PC. I remember him from unassuming beginnings in blue and white robes, to being the affable face of the Spellguard.
Oooh... nooooo! My plans! My plans!
First Spellguard that I actually got to interact and have some shared things.
I will miss him.
Best Agent ever. Great props. I was hoping you would end up as an Operative tbh. :(
The epitome of a Spellguard Agent. Loved the interactions on Zigunkuros and every other character that had the chance to work with you. Can't wait to see what comes next.
Huge fun. I met him a couple of times by accident, and another when I had no idea I'm meeting an agent. The rumors IC about what he could do were awesome ^^.
Good luck on your next one
It was a weird thing to have known the guy before and after the Spellguard mask. Again, circumstances kept us from having much continued interaction, but what I saw I enjoyed. For a long time you were the only person who got the drop on me rather than the other way around, though I think you were just as surprised. A good character coming off your last.
Very well done :)
A character I have enjoyed interacting with across several PCs. Seeing his transformation from a somewhat withdrawn wizard into a driven member of the Spellguard was excellent. His absence will be felt.
I loved our first brief meeting in the Serena Tower lobby. So much 'lawful', penetrating esoteric knowledge offered in so little time.... One thing I like to do is read a PC's IG bio description-thing, to get a bit more of a sense of outward appearance and manner. (I know its a minor thing to be obsessed about, but it helps me enormously with immersion.
The thing about Robal is that he had none! Here I am labouring over my own description, and intrigued by the broad range that other PCs manage... and here is a Spellguard Agent giving me... nothing...
Fantastic impression of a faceless "company guy". That made me have to work alot harder to understand Robal through interaction and much more observation.
And Robal's death could not have come at a more inopportune time! :D Loved how we were becoming more friendly IG... thawing the ice between SG and Society a bit :)
Great character!
<3
Only reliable human in sanctuary.
I had hoped the DMs would do a 21 fireball salute with the artillery animatron. Alas...
Very good Agent. Congratulations on handling a difficult concept well.
Robal was fantastic and shall be sadly missed. One of the best Agents I have met so far. He somehow inspired trust even as he remained unreadable, which is a difficult thing to achieve!
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He was an asshole
<3 But he was my asshole <3
Though we didn't interact much after we got the robes, his reaction to Rufus' success of the ordeals of the SG and how almost pained he felt to see the young man become something actually worth considering was a lot of fun.
He was black!?
Quote from: Juniper;395084He was black!?
Perfect :D
Though... being the only child of a Chultan Merchant Lord could mean anything. Looks like the misunderstood Agent had a lot of impact on a wide range of people.
These recent posts reminded me that there are probably a lot of people who are curious what he actually looked like! I added a screenshot of him in the Fugue, showing his stats and, more importantly, his face.
ghost dad. . . .
Damn, Sorry to see him go, I had a lot of good experiences with him on both Mari and Card. I'll not forget that conversation in the "Great Under Dark", when we had the power to kill each other yet put our differences aside to just discuss what the heck was going on... R.I.P you spectacular agent.