Character Bio 2
Richter Ulrich Maxwell
World/Setting: none specified, but has been in Forgotten Realms/Shackled City and Reyes(my most recent setting)
Age: early 20s
Height: 6'0"
Build: thin
Eyes: brown
Hair: golden brown, in a single long braid
Race: Humoglodyte Dwarf(see below)
Skin Tone: fair
Distinguishing characteristics: bright, bold red duster, as well as spontaneous loss of balance from time-to-time while standing
The Maxwell family has for generations held a talent for the magical arts, with archmage Victoria Maxwell being among the strongest the family has ever produced. Hardworking, driven, and ambitious, she rose to fame as a prominent guild mage by the age of twenty-five, and took the magical world by storm with her exploits. The birth of her son Richter barely slowed her down at all, and by the time the boy was old enough to sneak into her library, he was learning the theory and mental deftness needed for magic. His mother wouldn't teach him any herself, or even let him learn any actual magic, though, and eventually hired an old family friend to serve as his mentor before he was to enter the magic academy proper. It was then that the differences between Richter and his mother became readily apparent; in the words of his instructor, "the boy's lazy, overconfident, egotistical, and never, ever serious - but gods above, is he talented!"
After paying his dues in long years of studying the arcane arts, Richter graduated from the academy with sky-high marks while still shy of his twentieth year. However, just as he was getting excited to join the mages' guild that his mother and other predecessors had brought to prominence, Victoria enacted the ages-old Maxwell coming of age tradition: telling him "Go make a name for yourself," and booting him out of the house with his life savings, his spellbook, and the clothes on his back.
Undaunted, Richter launched headlong into a career of zany and over-the-top antics, developing a reputation for remarkable luck(both good and bad), a flamboyant manner, and self-assurance bordering on unabashed arrogance. He quickly developed a peerless talent with lightning and transmutation magic, but not one to lose versatility in favor of focus, he has also become an authority on alchemy and extraplanar studies. His longest and most intense adventure involved joining with a group of adventurers to save the (extinct)volcano-embedded town of Cauldron, which lasted well over a year and saw the young mage meet death face-to-face not once, but twice. Luckily for him, one of his fellows, a druid with whom he had become close friends, was able to reincarnate him, but with interesting results: the first time, he came back as a troglodyte, while his second return was as a dwarf. In fact, Richter spent so much time in forms other than human that he developed a few extra personality quirks(such as developing a strong identification with reptilian humanoids, and referring to the troglodytes on more than one occasion as "my people," even after switching into a dwarven form). Now back in his original human body, he still claims that the lack of a tail "throws off his balance" from time-to-time, and is currently investigating ways of creating an artificial, detachable tail.
After leaving Cauldron and setting up his own warehouse-sized magical laboratory in the city of Regi, he adopted a local orphan girl by the name of Evelyn, and decided to start grooming her to be his apprentice, introducing the nine-year-old to the basics of magical theory at the same time he was teaching her above and beyond the level of the local school. Which, in reality, wound up becoming more of a "big brother doting on little sister" arrangement, with Richter crafting both a mechanical wolf and a raven-sized mechanical phoenix specifically to serve as companions and guardians for her, and letting her peek over his shoulder while working on his safer projects in the lab. He's also completed a mechanical lion mount, named Volst, and his own magical copy, Victor, whose black hair and calm, down-to-earth demeanor, despite also being a skilled mage, are a stark contrast to Richter's own personality; as Victor has become his assistant in the lab, the two argue frequently over such things as the allocation of Richter's research funds and what projects to start on next.
Events back in Cauldron also led to his teaming up with the otherworldly Celeste, a fey-seeming blonde swordswoman with holy powers who is pragmatic, serious, and straightforward. Despite their differences, the two get along well, but the relationship is not without turbulence: Richter is almost laughably fond of her and quick to seek her counsel, but has a bad habit of not listening to her good sense, while Celeste is prone to losing her temper with him, as she tends to lose patience with his often convoluted and needlessly-complex plans. Indeed, Celeste's goals, and why they've brought her to Richter, are still largely unknown, but he doesn't seem to mind.
World/Setting: none specified, but has been in Forgotten Realms/Shackled City and Reyes(my most recent setting)
Age: early 20s
Height: 6'0"
Build: thin
Eyes: brown
Hair: golden brown, in a single long braid
Race: Humoglodyte Dwarf(see below)
Skin Tone: fair
Distinguishing characteristics: bright, bold red duster, as well as spontaneous loss of balance from time-to-time while standing
The Maxwell family has for generations held a talent for the magical arts, with archmage Victoria Maxwell being among the strongest the family has ever produced. Hardworking, driven, and ambitious, she rose to fame as a prominent guild mage by the age of twenty-five, and took the magical world by storm with her exploits. The birth of her son Richter barely slowed her down at all, and by the time the boy was old enough to sneak into her library, he was learning the theory and mental deftness needed for magic. His mother wouldn't teach him any herself, or even let him learn any actual magic, though, and eventually hired an old family friend to serve as his mentor before he was to enter the magic academy proper. It was then that the differences between Richter and his mother became readily apparent; in the words of his instructor, "the boy's lazy, overconfident, egotistical, and never, ever serious - but gods above, is he talented!"
After paying his dues in long years of studying the arcane arts, Richter graduated from the academy with sky-high marks while still shy of his twentieth year. However, just as he was getting excited to join the mages' guild that his mother and other predecessors had brought to prominence, Victoria enacted the ages-old Maxwell coming of age tradition: telling him "Go make a name for yourself," and booting him out of the house with his life savings, his spellbook, and the clothes on his back.
Undaunted, Richter launched headlong into a career of zany and over-the-top antics, developing a reputation for remarkable luck(both good and bad), a flamboyant manner, and self-assurance bordering on unabashed arrogance. He quickly developed a peerless talent with lightning and transmutation magic, but not one to lose versatility in favor of focus, he has also become an authority on alchemy and extraplanar studies. His longest and most intense adventure involved joining with a group of adventurers to save the (extinct)volcano-embedded town of Cauldron, which lasted well over a year and saw the young mage meet death face-to-face not once, but twice. Luckily for him, one of his fellows, a druid with whom he had become close friends, was able to reincarnate him, but with interesting results: the first time, he came back as a troglodyte, while his second return was as a dwarf. In fact, Richter spent so much time in forms other than human that he developed a few extra personality quirks(such as developing a strong identification with reptilian humanoids, and referring to the troglodytes on more than one occasion as "my people," even after switching into a dwarven form). Now back in his original human body, he still claims that the lack of a tail "throws off his balance" from time-to-time, and is currently investigating ways of creating an artificial, detachable tail.
After leaving Cauldron and setting up his own warehouse-sized magical laboratory in the city of Regi, he adopted a local orphan girl by the name of Evelyn, and decided to start grooming her to be his apprentice, introducing the nine-year-old to the basics of magical theory at the same time he was teaching her above and beyond the level of the local school. Which, in reality, wound up becoming more of a "big brother doting on little sister" arrangement, with Richter crafting both a mechanical wolf and a raven-sized mechanical phoenix specifically to serve as companions and guardians for her, and letting her peek over his shoulder while working on his safer projects in the lab. He's also completed a mechanical lion mount, named Volst, and his own magical copy, Victor, whose black hair and calm, down-to-earth demeanor, despite also being a skilled mage, are a stark contrast to Richter's own personality; as Victor has become his assistant in the lab, the two argue frequently over such things as the allocation of Richter's research funds and what projects to start on next.
Events back in Cauldron also led to his teaming up with the otherworldly Celeste, a fey-seeming blonde swordswoman with holy powers who is pragmatic, serious, and straightforward. Despite their differences, the two get along well, but the relationship is not without turbulence: Richter is almost laughably fond of her and quick to seek her counsel, but has a bad habit of not listening to her good sense, while Celeste is prone to losing her temper with him, as she tends to lose patience with his often convoluted and needlessly-complex plans. Indeed, Celeste's goals, and why they've brought her to Richter, are still largely unknown, but he doesn't seem to mind.