-Quick Background Info!-
And by quick I mean his stuff is spread out over years of sporadic dipping in to the D&D universe and it is very much a work in progress and eternally ongoing. xD And if anyone tries to scream Drizzt ripoff I will be sorely tempted to hurt something this is my baby he's been around since before I even read that series don't judge him/me.
---Appearance---
Shi'ndrin is 5'1", which is average for a drow for they are smaller than Surface elves. His frame might be small but it is highly compact with muscles honed for fighting and strength that his stature might not indicate. Like most drow his eyes are the red, reflecting the infrared spectrum of light his race has adapted to see in, and his white hair is kept in a low pony tail. It might not seem like it, but Shi'n is very particular about his appearance, as beauty is something highly valued by his society. Because of this he tends to wear practical but very often fancy and embellished clothes.
---Backstory/Personality---
Shi'n, if one could not tell from first glance, is a Drow or Dark Elf. He spent most of his life in the Underdark, where basically all drow hail from. His city of origin is Phaundakulzan, which is apart of the bigger metropolis conglomerate of Undrek'Thoz, located basically under the territory on the Surface known as Thay. Phaundakulan is a city famous for it's huge population of sorcerers, and in fact the Auvryath house is one known just for that. Auvryath is loosely translated as 'Blood of Dragons', which further enhances it's prestige as a house because all latent sorcery powers are drawn from being a descendent of a dragon.
House Auvryath is a powerful family residing on the ruling counsel for the entire city of Phaundakulzan. This political and religious power was reinforced when House Despsek launched an attack on them in an attempt to destroy House Auvryath and move up in the rankings; This attack failed and House Despsek was wiped out of existence. Such is the custom in drow society, where the norm is that anything and everything goes, so long as you don't get caught.
This normally would have been a good thing and would not have adversely affected Shi'ndrin's role as firstborn male in the household, but his female family members had other plans. In the drow world it is the women who dominate, and the males that are seen as the weaker and submissive sex. This combined with the vengeful and bloodthirsty deity Lloth, The Spider Queen, things can and do go downhill for a male rather quickly. As thanks to their Spider Queen for the victory in battle, Shi'n's sisters where planning on sacrificing him to Lloth. This information was inadvertently leaked to him, and so he did the one thing every drow is taught- he survived.
Because streets are unforgiving for a houseless rouge, and the horror filled caves of the Underdark are an even less appealing option, Shi'n chose option three; Buying passage to the Surface. The huge collection of cities that make up Undrek'Thoz has an advantage that other drow settlements do not, as they have regular trade routes connected to the lands of light. So he left the Underdark, and come what may on the Surface, he was alive for the moment.
+++
Shi'n is not an elf on the Surface looking to redeem his race's name or to go do good in the world. He, like all others of his race, is a survivor. Survival of the fittest is taken quite literally in the violent drow society where one usually climbs to power over the dead bodies of their kin. It's not to say that he's evil as most drow, per say, because his alignment does shift to Chaotic Neutral once he's spent some time on the surface, but he might not be someone you'd want to watch your back. He's extremely selfish, vain, distrustful, and opportunistic; if the monster is eating you and not him, he will run away. Shi'n has no qualms about stealing things he wants or needs and thinks nothing of manipulating people.
Ideas like real love and friendship do not exist in his culture (hell, the concepts don't even have equivalent words in drow language), so it is very hard for him to connect or develop a relationship with someone. And even if he begrudgingly accepts someone's "friendship", this does not mean total trust. Shi'n has grown up expecting to be knifed in the back at every turn, and he fully believes most people are still out to get him. The fact that his race's reputation proceeds him doesn't help much, although he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. His views on life and death can be rather cold and analytical, causing him to come off as being very hard-hearted, which in a sense he is. Shi'n is not completely opposed to helping someone in need, but he won't shed any tears over dead comrades, and often he has a tendency to insult them for their stupidity in getting killed.
Shi'n is extremely intelligent and a master spell caster. The Auvyrath house is not just descended from dragons, but they also have a standing contract with a local Deep Dragon to produce more magic infused offspring to keep the bloodline strong. Because of this he has an edge over other sorcerers in terms of raw power, and has acquired some dragon-like traits, such as his fangs and tiny scales that sometimes appear in patches on his skin. He's therefore slightly more sensitive to magical happenings, but also that much more sensitive to sunlight. (Deep Dragons are like drow; They see in the infrared spectrum of light and are blinded if suddenly exposed to the sun) His intelligence combined with his cunning and years of practice avoiding death at every corner have made him a formidable opponent, as well as cynically minded.
His good traits tend to balance out his bad. Shi'n is a voracious seeker of knowledge, as it is usually traditional for drow males of spell casting classes to be wizards, and will put aside much of his distrust and acid disposition to get his hands on an arcane tome. He also understands the value of good people to travel with, even if 'friends' is a concept he has to grow into, and he won't let monsters eat good people if he can help it. Shi'n is also surprisingly good with animals and seems to enjoy taking care of them as evident in the way he treats his pseudodragon familiar Isnet'lara and his (albeit stolen) horse. Shi'n is not a fan of excessive violence or harming others for the sake of doing so, although of course he will retaliate lethally if the situation calls for it. And even if he might be a less than ideal traveling companion or champion to send out on a mission, Shi'n is level headed and can be counted on to do the job he needs to do.
---Appearance---
Shi'ndrin is 5'1", which is average for a drow for they are smaller than Surface elves. His frame might be small but it is highly compact with muscles honed for fighting and strength that his stature might not indicate. Like most drow his eyes are the red, reflecting the infrared spectrum of light his race has adapted to see in, and his white hair is kept in a low pony tail. It might not seem like it, but Shi'n is very particular about his appearance, as beauty is something highly valued by his society. Because of this he tends to wear practical but very often fancy and embellished clothes.
---Backstory/Personality---
Shi'n, if one could not tell from first glance, is a Drow or Dark Elf. He spent most of his life in the Underdark, where basically all drow hail from. His city of origin is Phaundakulzan, which is apart of the bigger metropolis conglomerate of Undrek'Thoz, located basically under the territory on the Surface known as Thay. Phaundakulan is a city famous for it's huge population of sorcerers, and in fact the Auvryath house is one known just for that. Auvryath is loosely translated as 'Blood of Dragons', which further enhances it's prestige as a house because all latent sorcery powers are drawn from being a descendent of a dragon.
House Auvryath is a powerful family residing on the ruling counsel for the entire city of Phaundakulzan. This political and religious power was reinforced when House Despsek launched an attack on them in an attempt to destroy House Auvryath and move up in the rankings; This attack failed and House Despsek was wiped out of existence. Such is the custom in drow society, where the norm is that anything and everything goes, so long as you don't get caught.
This normally would have been a good thing and would not have adversely affected Shi'ndrin's role as firstborn male in the household, but his female family members had other plans. In the drow world it is the women who dominate, and the males that are seen as the weaker and submissive sex. This combined with the vengeful and bloodthirsty deity Lloth, The Spider Queen, things can and do go downhill for a male rather quickly. As thanks to their Spider Queen for the victory in battle, Shi'n's sisters where planning on sacrificing him to Lloth. This information was inadvertently leaked to him, and so he did the one thing every drow is taught- he survived.
Because streets are unforgiving for a houseless rouge, and the horror filled caves of the Underdark are an even less appealing option, Shi'n chose option three; Buying passage to the Surface. The huge collection of cities that make up Undrek'Thoz has an advantage that other drow settlements do not, as they have regular trade routes connected to the lands of light. So he left the Underdark, and come what may on the Surface, he was alive for the moment.
+++
Shi'n is not an elf on the Surface looking to redeem his race's name or to go do good in the world. He, like all others of his race, is a survivor. Survival of the fittest is taken quite literally in the violent drow society where one usually climbs to power over the dead bodies of their kin. It's not to say that he's evil as most drow, per say, because his alignment does shift to Chaotic Neutral once he's spent some time on the surface, but he might not be someone you'd want to watch your back. He's extremely selfish, vain, distrustful, and opportunistic; if the monster is eating you and not him, he will run away. Shi'n has no qualms about stealing things he wants or needs and thinks nothing of manipulating people.
Ideas like real love and friendship do not exist in his culture (hell, the concepts don't even have equivalent words in drow language), so it is very hard for him to connect or develop a relationship with someone. And even if he begrudgingly accepts someone's "friendship", this does not mean total trust. Shi'n has grown up expecting to be knifed in the back at every turn, and he fully believes most people are still out to get him. The fact that his race's reputation proceeds him doesn't help much, although he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. His views on life and death can be rather cold and analytical, causing him to come off as being very hard-hearted, which in a sense he is. Shi'n is not completely opposed to helping someone in need, but he won't shed any tears over dead comrades, and often he has a tendency to insult them for their stupidity in getting killed.
Shi'n is extremely intelligent and a master spell caster. The Auvyrath house is not just descended from dragons, but they also have a standing contract with a local Deep Dragon to produce more magic infused offspring to keep the bloodline strong. Because of this he has an edge over other sorcerers in terms of raw power, and has acquired some dragon-like traits, such as his fangs and tiny scales that sometimes appear in patches on his skin. He's therefore slightly more sensitive to magical happenings, but also that much more sensitive to sunlight. (Deep Dragons are like drow; They see in the infrared spectrum of light and are blinded if suddenly exposed to the sun) His intelligence combined with his cunning and years of practice avoiding death at every corner have made him a formidable opponent, as well as cynically minded.
His good traits tend to balance out his bad. Shi'n is a voracious seeker of knowledge, as it is usually traditional for drow males of spell casting classes to be wizards, and will put aside much of his distrust and acid disposition to get his hands on an arcane tome. He also understands the value of good people to travel with, even if 'friends' is a concept he has to grow into, and he won't let monsters eat good people if he can help it. Shi'n is also surprisingly good with animals and seems to enjoy taking care of them as evident in the way he treats his pseudodragon familiar Isnet'lara and his (albeit stolen) horse. Shi'n is not a fan of excessive violence or harming others for the sake of doing so, although of course he will retaliate lethally if the situation calls for it. And even if he might be a less than ideal traveling companion or champion to send out on a mission, Shi'n is level headed and can be counted on to do the job he needs to do.