Gaheris Argent
Rags to Riches

Appearance:  He is 5'10" and weighs in at 152 pounds.  Gaheris has short brown hair and dark brown eyes, and usually sports a well-trimmed light mustache.  He has a semi-muscular build.  He wears a dark green cloak, a dark red shirt, black breeches with a leather belt, brown shoes and leather armor.  A quiver is slung over his back and a scabbarded short sword is strapped to his side.

Personality:  Gaheris is considered very greedy by his peers.  He would do anything for money, although he is not stupid or reckless.  He has a good head for business and recognizes that sometimes investing a little gold can later lead to a much bigger payoff down the road.  He hopes to one day be wealthy and successful and own a big house in the residential area of Voxis, filled with servants and a harem.  He enjoys adventuring and seeing new places, but ultimately prefers Voxis as his 'home.'

Gaheris is an art appraiser, although he also buys and sells, as well.  He gambles quite a bit, as well.

History:  Gaheris was born in 642 in the town of Voxis.  His parents were both miners who lived in the slums.  When he was ten, they were both killed in a cave-in, leaving him an orphan.  He then grew up on the streets, stealing what he needed to survive.  He met another orphan, Derell, and the two often worked together.

When he turned 20, Gaheris decided he wanted to go into Slaying when he realized how wealthy the Tainted Hand had become.  Together with his buddy, Derell, the two tried starting a group, but their lack of fame along with their poverty-stricken lineage hindered them.  They managed to finagle their first job after a year of failures; to hunt down an owlbear that was attacking passing caravans.  The battle was grueling, and in the end, the beast went down--but at great cost.  Gaheris was badly wounded and Derell had been killed. 

A year and a half passed before Gaheris attempted slaying again.  He instead stuck to thieving.  But that all changed when he met Jasmin Labree.  She was an erotic dancer working at the Mirthful Miner Tavern.  Impressed with her grace and agility, he bought her a drink after her performance.  The two got to talking about Slaying, a career that seemed to appeal to her.  She asked that he teach her how to fight and slay.  Realizing he had an opportunity to try again, he agreed.

Jasmin moved in with him and they began training.  A year and a half later, they were ready.  During this time, the two developed a detached physical relationship and became good friends.  He also met up with an old childhood friend, Daufer.  The three of them together formed the Shadow Bats.  Thanks to their talents and Gaheris' leadership, the group was successful.  Gaheris and Jasmin moved up to the Merchant District to rival the Tainted Hands in popularity and wealth.

Campaign Events:  Once the Shadow Bats established themselves and moved out of the slums, Gaheris changed his appearance and attempted to shed his street rat image.  However, he was still not satisfied with his fortune and continued dreaming of further wealth.

When Jasmin left the group and betrayed him, along with Siara, Gaheris was heart-broken.  He began drinking heavily and Daufer was left to take over leadership duties.  Gaheris became a broken shell of a man, a mere shadow of his former self.  It was only when he learned that Jasmin had been charmed by Siara and was not totally under her own free will that the rogue snapped out of his funk and became the old Gaheris again.  He never forgave Siara for her actions, but he did forgive Jasmin--despite the advice of his companions.

Before the final battle, Gaheris promised to Jasmin he would never allow them to be separated again.  When it was all over, he kept to that promise.  After becoming the new Viscount of Voxis, he married Jasmin and the two had three children.  Gaheris was more than happy to retire from adventuring and become a noble charged with maintaining the city.  He knew that with Jasmin by his side, things would never get 'boring.'

DM's Commentary:  Gaheris was originally created as a hook, a way to unite the two party members at the time, Jasmin and Daufer.  Gaheris was Jasmin's lover and Daufer's 'childhood friend.'  The idea was that once the party learned to work together and could handle themselves, Gaheris would retire and bow out of the party.  However, it didn't work that way.  He proved to be one of my most popular NPCs, and the players all seemed to prefer him to remain leader (except during that brief time when he was a drunkard).  Gaheris remained a convenient hook to introduce new party members (like Siara), since as he was leader he could recruit whoever he liked.

Gaheris was essentially a revamped version of an old thief character I used to roleplay (back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth) named Marik.  Marik dual-wielded short swords, however, so when Heather created Jasmin I changed it so Gaheris used a bow and arrow instead (I didn't want to risk stepping on any toes--besides, Jasmin would have been way better at it, anyway).

Gaheris was a pretty two-dimensional character at first.  All he cared about was money and beating the Tainted Hands.  Over time, I fleshed him out, giving him other interests and ideas.  I enjoyed his on-and-off-again relationship with Jasmin and his friendship with Daufer.  Particularly the latter, as the two couldn't have been more different from each other.  So the idea that either one would help the other solely out of friendship was always touching.

In the end, he learned money wasn't everything and the Shadow Bats were better than the Tainted Hands.  This is what helped snap him out of his drunken daze.

On a sidenote, his last name wasn't given to him until later on in the game.  Argent is French for 'silver' which I felt was fitting, considering his obsession with money.

Relations:
Eskar:  Cautious
Jasmin:  Love
Aidan:  Friendly (later Cautious)
Daufer:  Friendly
Siara:  Friendly (later Hostile)

Favored Weapon:  Short Bow
Favored Spell:  N/A
Henchmen:  None (5)
Birthday:  Ruebon 9, 642
Zodiac:  Octhanus

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