Thursday 23 July 2015

Piotr Utkin - Pathfinder Fighter

Piotr Utkin - True Neutral Human Fighter (Level 1) (with lawful leanings)
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Profession (farmer) 1, Ride 1
Feats: Endurance, Toughness, Catch Off-Guard (fighter bonus feat: no penalty for improvised weapon; opponents flat-footed when using improvised weapon)
Trait: Freedom Fighter (+1 bonus with improvised weaponry)
Gear: Basic farmer stuff, scythe/pitchfork

Appearance/Personality: Like most in the area, Piotr is broad shouldered, fair skinned and fair haired, with blue eyes. He's not as smart as his friends, but his family don't worry - a middle child of several, there are others who can run the farm whilst his strength means he's invaluable in getting the physical work done. He particularly enjoys the calm and rhythmic nature of the reap.

Background: Piotr is a couple years older than Svetlana, Anya and Devin, and a few years older again than Misha. He was an important member of their group - his strength and steadiness assisting den building endeavours and, on one memorable occasion, rescuing them from a fight with a group of merciless older children on a trip to Restov.  Nonetheless, they didn't always treat him as well as they could, playing on his gullibility and his desire to fit in: Piotr often played the king in their games; he didn't notice that the king was usually an old, ugly, bumbling fool, instead was flattered that they saw him as a leader. Devin was perhaps particularly bad for this (not from malice, but because it was easy to cause humour at Piotr's expense) but Svetlana didn't stand up for him as often as she maybe should have done, and even Anya could be guilty of laughing with them. It was a family-like meanness, though: if anyone else tried to use him the same way, they would jump on them and defend him swiftly and precisely: Devin can leave deeper wounds with words than any punch Piotr could have thrown.

It's fair to say the half-elf fascinates him. Piotr remembers the tinker who came through on her birthday. He remembers the fuss she made afterwards - he knew she was wrong, there was no way the human tinker could be her elven father, but his loyalty to his friend meant he supported her silently, letting her rant at him in the days afterwards until she shut up and hid her hurt deep down and never mentioned the mystery of her father again. He enjoyed the feeling of closeness her rants gave him, even if he thought she was crazy.

His first kiss was with Svetlana, when they were teens. For her, it was just a kiss, another game. For him, though, it really mattered. Svetlana would have tried to let him down gently if she'd known he was falling in love with her (or at least thought he was), but somehow she never realised. They'd started to drift apart; now in his early 20s, Piotr's duties at the family farm were significant and he was starting to see his younger friends (particularly Devin and Svetlana) as childish in their inability to settle into traditional roles - even Anya frustrated him a bit, seeing her position as a hunter as wilder than respectable for an expectant mother. 

Svetlana, however, was as unaware of this as she was of his infatuation when she approached him for his company on her adventure, and he misinterpreted her need for adventure as simply a need for change. He suggested she might want to settle down with him, become a wife - after all, they were both too old to still be playing at adventurers. She backed off, startled, having thought his past talk of fighting and adventure was still current.

They argued until she ran off, angry to hide an uncomfortable undercurrent of fear at his reaction. He was her friend and she loved him dearly - but like a brother. And he couldn't expect her to give up who she was to stay here - he clearly didn't know her at all. And how come she hadn't realised how he felt? She kicked herself for her naivety... but the encounter was soon behind her as she followed the adventure to her new life and she didn't often think of it, assuming all was as well with him as with her. After all, he had the quiet life he'd wanted...

He stayed home, nursing his hurt, refusing to speak of her. His anger worsened on hearing just months later that she was not only engaged, but to a king - to the role he'd normally played. She'd told him she didn't want to settle down, but that had been a lie. He simply wasn't good enough for her...

I forget whether he's now engaged to another villager or not. If he is, how does Svetlana feel? Jealous, perhaps? She wouldn't admit to it, but maybe the strength of his attention flattered her.

Or maybe not. Maybe she'd just be relieved he'd forgiven her for unintentionally hurting him, relieved he'd moved on. 

(Edit to clarify: the latter is the case. Piotr may prefer to believe she's at least a little jealous his attention has shifted, but Svetlana never saw him in the same light and would be relieved not to have to worry about his feelings any more.)

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