Jasmin Labree
Exotic Dancer

Appearance:  Jasmin has long brown hair just past her lower back. She usually wears the sides pulled back very loosely with a simple white flower burette. Shorter strands fall from the burette to cup her face with long, lose, ringlets.

She also has light blue eyes. When she isn’t dancing or trying to be seductive, her eyes show very little to no emotion. When presented with a thrill, or at least the idea of something exciting, her eyes light up with anticipation.

As for clothing, Jasmin has learned that the more revealing the clothing, the more attention she receives. She likes to stand out, so she purposely wears a silk, red halter top with sheer, red sleeves flowing over her arms. The sleeves have slits up to the shoulder for free movement.

She also has a matching skirt, flowing down to her ankles. While she likes form fitting items of clothing, she likes to be able to move as well, so she makes sure the skirts have slits up either side at least up to her thighs.

Finally, her shoes, when she travels are simple black boots that go up to her lower calf. When she dances, she doesn’t tend to wear shoes, as it she feels it makes her look more graceful.

Personality:  After so many years of being ignored, Jasmin became what is commonly known as an attention whore. She did anything to get attention from anyone and everyone. Plus, she didn't care what type of attention she received. It was how she managed to catch Gaheris' eye after all.

When the Shadow Bats officially started, Jasmin was basically still the same. She did anything to get attention. As things became more serious thought, Jasmin realized she didn't need to act out to get attention. She simply had to be herself (and her fighting skills helped) to get attention. Jasmin stopped acting out. Flirting was one of her main things though, so she didn't stop that. Instead, she simply flirted with who she wished to flirt with.

Jasmin's longing for attention turned into longing for respect. Respect was something that Jasmin never had and and now she wants it. Though, she really doesn't know how to get it. The confusion of not knowing what to do leads to frustration, and that ultimately leads to Jasmin acting out in small bursts of anger from time to time (because she feels she isn't listened to).

On top of wanting respect, she also wants to be more than what she is to Gaheris. Once again, these are feelings she has never had to deal with before. These feelings leave her confused on how to act. She wants his love, so the logical thing to do would be to tell him (which she has thought of). She doesn't want to appear weak though. Instead, she tries to make him jealous, but she normally fails. The reason behind her failing is that she can't stand when Gaheris is mad at her, and she sometimes actually starts to care for those she uses (Liam, for example).

When those she doesn't know (women) begin to flirt with Gaheris, Jasmin becomes insanely jealous (another emotion Jasmin isn't use to feeling). She blames this on Gaheris (and sometimes it is his fault). In the end, her feelings for Gaheris puts a strain on their relationship, and she is starting to believe it is a mistake to have feelings for him in the first place (leaving her even more confused).

Despite her confusing feelings, Jasmin knows for a fact that she wants her freedom. It is the one thing she truly cherishes. If trapped, she is much like a caged tiger. Mind control and other things Jasmin doesn't have a defense against Once she realizes she is being controlled (or was controlled) in some way she takes out her anger on the person that took control of her.

Danger and excitement are other things that Jasmin craves. Being a slayer, Jasmin gets plenty of what she needs. When injured, she tries her best to rest, but she gets bored. Usually, Jasmin tries to spend this time with other people doing various things. The various things depend on who she is with at the time.

History:  Jasmin was born into a standard, poor family in Voxis. Making money was not her family's own weakness, though; they were lousy parents, as well. Romain and Arjean Labree were always too caught up in their own lives to pay attention to either of their children.

Romain was a miner. His father before him was a miner, and so on. It seemed to be there family job, at least on Roamin’s side. Despite his heritage, Romain couldn’t make it work. He felt he was nothing more than a slave, at best. So after a long, hard day of work, Romain would storm into his home, and spend the rest of the night drowning his sorrows. What little money the family had was wasted on his drinking.

Jasmin’s mother, Arjean, while not a drunk, was just as depressing. She was nothing but a simple housewife. It was obvious that the woman didn’t like her life. Plus, she had two children that she just couldn’t bring herself to take care of. How ever these two people got together was never explained to Jasmin, but she was sure it wasn’t their choice.

The only one in the family who probably didn’t hate his lot in life was Videl, Jasmin’s older brother. That wasn’t to say that he was happy, but he certainly wasn’t as depressing as his mother and father. He did have reason to be unhappy considering that his childhood was taken away from him, but there was only so much one could do when the actual parents wouldn’t take care of his little sister. Of course, he was just keeping her alive. The rest of it was going to be up to Jasmin.

After her rough early days, Jasmin was left to her own devices. She never really got out of the house much, as she was content on playing with what little toys she had. Plus, she had to stay around the house just to make sure she had enough food to feed herself. Overall, Jasmin had a very harsh and lonely childhood.

About the time Jasmin was eight years old, her life was turned upside down. The family was desperate for money, so they really only had one choice, if it came to that. They were going to sell their daughter. They or rather, Arjean owed one of the more wealthy merchants in Voxis, Sorel Tronquet, money. He had been nice enough to let the woman start a tab, which she could pay back little by little. Finally, it got to be too much for Sorel and he demanded his money. As they didn’t have the money, they offered their daughter instead. Sorel was skeptical, but took Jasmin as payment. After all, she was a cute little girl, yet very skinny. He put her to work to clean his spacious home.

The first five years as a slave wasn’t the best life for Jasmin, but she didn’t have to worry about feeding herself. Plus, Sorel never really paid attention to her. Jasmin never gave him reason to. Her work wasn’t perfect, but she hardly ever broke things. Also, at the time, she was just too skinny, and not much to look at. Even Sorel’s other slaves didn’t pay her much attention.

By the time she turned 13, Jasmine was finally growing into her body. She wasn’t just a cute, skinny girl anymore. She was becoming a young woman. It was hardly noticed by anyone though, not that Jasmin minded at the time.

One of the things she liked doing when she was cleaning was dancing. She had a natural talent for it, and it made time go by faster when she was enjoying what she was doing. As luck would have it, Sorel walked in on her one day while she was cleaning. For the first time, Sorel actually noticed the girl. She was beautiful and she as graceful as a swan floating on water. Not only that, but the merchant knew an opportunity when he saw one, and he realized that this girl could make him quite a bit of gold.

Jasmin was pulled aside that night. She was beside herself. After all, she never got into trouble. The first thing that popped into her head was that she did something wrong. She had seen how Sorel punished slaves who failed to do things correctly. To her surprise though, Sorel only wanted her to dance. She couldn’t figure out why, as she really didn’t know any moves. Although she was a little frightened, she danced for him rather than risk his wrath. Sure enough, Sorel saw that this girl had a talent; talent that could make him money, providing that she had the proper training.

The "proper training" in Voxis wouldn’t be hard to find, especially in the slums. Of course, the idea of proper training to Sorel was erotic dancing. He was a big fan of the art, it turned out.

First, Jasmine was given a few new sets of clothing. It was a bit exotic and a lot more revealing than Jasmine hand worn before. To Jasmin, the clothing was little more than a silk halter with long, sheer sleeves with slits up to the shoulders. Her stomach was left exposed completely. Then there was the matching silk skirt. It left nothing to the imagination as the waist was rather form-fitting, and it had silts up both sides to show off her legs.

At first, Jasmin found the clothing strange. She wasn’t use to showing off so much skin, but after wearing it for a little while, she felt a kind of rush. It was exciting to her, but she was still uncertain as to why these clothes were given to her.

After the clothing came the hair and make-up. Sorel had to make Jasmin look beyond desirable. Jasmin’s hair was all ready long and silky, but it needed to be tamed. Sorel had the girl’s hair trimmed, and then they styled it. Either side of her hair was pulled back loosely and held back with a simple white flower burette. This allowed shorter strands of hair to fall down around her face in lose ringlets.

Make-up was easy. Jasmin really only needed a little. She received some color to accent her blue eyes (usually pinks, blues, and purples), and a bit of deep red for her lips.

This was quite a dramatic change in her appearance. Jasmin was now being noticed. People would stop and stare at her when she was on the street. She would blush in the beginning, but once she got use to the stares, she started to like it. It gave her more of a rush. It was much better than being ignored all the time.

Finally, it was time for Jasmin’s training. She was dressed for the part, so now she needed to know how to play the part. Considering that dancing came naturally to Jasmin, it wasn’t hard to teach her actual moves. The exotic dancer Sorel hired was one of his favorites, so he knew Jasmin’s teacher was one of the best.

Jasmin was unsure at first. She had watched the girl move, and noticed the way Sorel drooled all over himself when she did. The more she watched, the more she wanted that kind of attention. So Jasmin learned. She was a quick study, but Sorel made sure that Jasmin used him as a practice audience. He was out to get more from this than just money.

By the time Jasmin was ready, she was 15 years old. She only now had to get through one dance in front of a group of people instead of just one person. Sorel decided that Jasmin needed to perform a practice session for a lot of his wealthy friends. He was going to charge the people that he invited, and that way he could also control what Jasmin did and what the other men tried to do to her. Jasmin was his girl.

This was Jasmin’s first time as an exotic dancer, so she was nervous, but also excited. The thought of all of those eyes on her gave her a feeling that she couldn’t quite describe, but she knew she liked it and that she wanted more. For the first time, the spotlight was on her and her alone, and she enjoyed it as much as her audience did. The men hollered, drooled all over themselves, and even grabbed at her every time she would pass near them. A few of them actually managed to grab her, but after a few wiggles on their laps on Jasmin’s behalf (and a glare of Sorel), they let her go.

It was the most exciting thing that Jasmin had ever done. She honestly couldn’t get enough of it. According to Sorel, it was just a glimpse of what his Midnight Flower (as he started to call her) could do for those men. At least, that was what he told those men as they left.

In the beginning, Sorel only had Jasmin do group dances. He wanted her to get some experience under her belt before she did private dances. Once he felt she was ready, he ordered her first private dance for him. In his eyes, he deserved it. He made this girl. To Jasmin, this was just more attention that she just couldn’t get enough of.

Her first private dance with Sorel composed of her just teasing him. She knew what he liked (as she had truly done it a million times before), so she dangled it in front of him before taking it away just before he could get it. The danced ended with her straddling his lap. The only reason why Jasmin knew it was the end of the dance was because he wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard she tried to get away.

Jasmin didn’t have a clue what Sorel was doing. She knew that she basically was supposed to make men want her, but she was never told that men actually ended up getting the girl. The idea kind of made the job a little more exciting. With Sorel though, it was a little different. She couldn’t say no, or she would be punished. She had to do what he said. In this case, he wanted sex, and he wanted it right then. He told her what to take off and when to take it off. He told her what to do and how he wanted it done. Finally, he told her to lay her naked body down, and he took her the way he wanted to. He was rough and hurtful only because he wanted her to scream.

Once Sorel had his fun, he explained that some men would pay extra for that sort of thing. He had to break her in now. Of course, Sorel decided to partake in his little toy now and again, as well.

By the time Jasmin was 16, she was becoming well known in Voxis' mining district. She was doing dances every night, and bringing in the money for Sorel. One night though, while Sorel decided to take Jasmin as his own (again), his heart gave out and he died. Jasmin couldn’t decide if she was amused or disturbed, but in the end it was a chance for freedom. Since Sorel had no next to kin, all of his belongings went to the Viscount. He auctioned them off, except for Jasmin, who had hidden enough of her salary from Sorel to pay for her freedom.

Finally, she could do the things she wanted to do. She could set her own prices for her own dances. It was time she went out into the world and made a bigger name for herself, something Sorel couldn’t control.

Jasmin first went to the local tavern, The Mirthful Miner. Since she didn’t have any money to speak of, she had to pretty much dance there to cover the sleeping and eating costs. Once she began bringing in more customers, her room and board became free though.

Jasmin just stuck to dancing in the beginning of her new life. She added ribbons and veils to the routine to make it more mysterious and exciting. It gave her time to learn more about the men that watched her, as well. She was looking for men that were exciting and taboo. Perhaps they were hiding from their wives. Maybe they were famous slayers back from a big kill. Either way, the men she was going for had to get her adrenaline pumping somehow or another.

Of course, her first pick had to be a drow. She knew the moment the drow stepped into the tavern (and everyone else gave the drow space) that he was her special customer for the night. Jasmin knew she couldn’t with sleep with him, but she was certainly up to the challenge of giving him a dance. Others looked at her as if she was insane, but the drow managed to keep a straight face. Jasmin didn’t know if he was just in a good mood, but in the end he didn’t kill her, so she found that to be a success. She wouldn’t forget that drow for a very long time.

A few months after the thrill of her life, she met a young man named Gaheris. He had apparently watched her show, but she really didn’t notice him until he offered to buy her a drink. She was going to turn him down, but he was somewhat handsome, so she agreed to it.

Once the drinks were bought, they started talking. Jasmin learned that he was a slayer, which came off as exciting to her. At least it caught her interest. The idea of becoming a slayer never really entered her head until he mentioned that she would probably be pretty good at it with moves like that. This pretty much made up her mind, so she asked if he would be willing to teach her. He didn’t seem very open to the idea at first, but in the end he agreed.

Between dancing, she was usually at Gaheris’ shack. She finally started living with him, as it was easier on her. Not only that, but she was there most of the time anyway. Despite the fact that she was learning from Gaheris, they would occasionally need something from one another physically. It never developed into a romantic situation, as it was just something they both craved once in awhile, but they did manage to become good friends while she developed her fighting skills.

Campaign Events:  Jasmin quickly proved herself to be quite powerful in melee and soon became the party's trump card to win most battles.  This drew quite a bit of attention from the Bloody Maw and the Tainted Hands.  Kricket attempted to scheme to convince her to join their group, and went as far as to recruit Siara to convince her.  Siara charmed her magically, and succeeded into getting Jasmin to join the Tainted Hands.  But once the charm was broken, Jasmin returned to the Shadow Bats.

Jasmin's reckless behavior and irresponsible flirting got her into quite a bit of trouble and led to nobody in the group really taking her seriously.  This caused her frustration, but in the end, she really made no move to remedy it.  She continued to act normally.

During her adventures, she managed to redeem an enemy, find her long-lost brother, sleep with two members of the Shadow Bats and all three members of the Tainted Hands, and slew a dragon.

In the end, though, Jasmin managed to win the love of Gaheris and survive the final battle with the Tainted Hands.  She later retired from adventuring, feeling she had had enough thrills, married Gaheris, and became the Viscountess of Voxis.  She later had three children--two boys and a young girl.

DM's Commentary:  Jasmin was by far, the most impressive character on the battlefield.  This is terribly ironic, as it was by complete accident.  Don't get the impression Heather poured over the rulebooks, trying to tweak this character out.  I don't think she's even ever looked in my PHB, in fact.  She just came up with the idea of a dual-wielding exotic dancer so put the lucky 18 she rolled into DEX instead of STR and voila--a combat monster was born.

Her one big weakness, which I would often exploit, was her low WIS score.  This made her especially susceptible to mind-control.  Jasmin was always running off to see the Tainted Hands, and Kricket would simply use his magic to get her to spill the beans and tell him everything about what the Shadow Bats were up to.  It made it easy to give the TH the upper-hand in any situation they were in competition.

Anyway, I give credit to Heather for creating a character that was far more interesting than her previous ones (Abigail, Psyche, etc.) and had fairly little in common with herself.  However, I still wish she could have been a little more developed.  Jasmin was a cookie-cutter character designed to resist change.  Any attempts on my part to encourage growth from her would result in Heather becoming moody or frustrated.  She would claim it would be too difficult to stay in character if her character changed in any way.

But this is what roleplaying is all about.  It's not supposed to be easy, it's meant to be challenging.  I usually make my characters pretty two-dimensional at first, but I have them grow and develop over time, depending on who they meet and what happens to them in-game.

In any case, I still consider this Heather's most successful character to date, but I hope she works harder on her next one.

Relations:
Eskar:  Indifferent
Aidan:  Indiffernet
Daufer:  Cautious
Siara:  Hostile

Favored Weapon:  Short Swords
Favored Spell:  N/A
Henchmen:  None (15)
Birthday:  Agate 27, 648
Zodiac:  Octhanus

Back to Renosia III