Alendra

Thanks for reading!

So I posted the profile and background I wrote in the The Outer Worlds: Stories (Spoiler Warning!) subforum, as I thought the "stories" part of the forum's title was suitable. But then I realized that might have been a mistake since there are not any spoilers in it, and posting it in a forum in which there are posts with spoilers might mean that not a lot of people see it. I'd love to get critique and thoughts on my character, so I'm reposting it here, which I hope is okay. Let me know if it's not okay, or if I need to delete the other one. Anyway, I'd love some comments! Basic information Name: Sarah Eleana Yardeen. Nom de guerre: Brightfall. Aliases: Sarah Brightfall, Captain Alex Hawthorne. Birthplace: London, England. Birth date: 2270. Age: 15. Spoken languages: English, Arabic, Hebrew, Dutch. Religion: None. Favourite poem: Invictus. Family: Ashraf Medad Yardeen (father, deceased), Liesbeth Saskia Yardeen (mother, née Kroes, deceased), Patrick Aalbrecht Yardeen (older brother, in hibernation on the Hope), Yasmin Miriam Yardeen (older sister, deceased). Moral alignment: Neutral Good. Current weapons Dead-Eye Assault Rifle Mk III with Whisper Quiet Muzzler, Mag-Num magazine and Exact-O-Sight. Bolter Pistol 3.0 with FunTimes Barrel, Gyro Sight and Mag-Num magazine. Officer's Spine Titanium with Mr. Power plasma damage modification and SpeedGrip handle wrap. Security Blade with telescoping handle. Background Sarah was born in London, England to a Palestinian father and a Dutch mother. As a young child growing up, Sarah had often looked up at the starlit night sky. She had always dreamed of visiting them, of travelling to distant star systems and boldly setting foot on unfamiliar worlds. Her parents, who were both scientists, had often told their children that the stars in the sky were indeed beautiful but that none could match the brightness of Sarah and her siblings. They said their children were as if the greatest stars had fallen to Earth and become human. Sarah took it to heart. When she was eight years old, tragedy struck. One of the major corporations had decided to “volunteer” Sarah’s parents for indentured service, as they desired their scientific talent for their projects. When the corporation’s requisitions team arrived to collect, Sarah’s older sister Yasmin attempted to resist and was shot dead on the spot by the corporate soldiers without a second thought. Yasmin bought time for Sarah to escape, but her parents and brother were taken. Now alone in the world, confused and filled with hate towards the corporations and rage at the injustice that had happened, Sarah felt lost. After a year on the streets, she had just about given up on life when she was approached by a woman who claimed to represent a group dedicated to ending the corporate tyranny. The gaping hole in Sarah’s childish heart was filled with tales of honor and justice. Assurances of vengeance. It sounded like a new chance at life…one with purpose. Sarah soon found out that the group was far more organized and well-funded than she had initially believed. They functioned like an elite military special forces battalion, one that was vehemently anti-corporate. The battalion was led by a man who called himself Jack Harper, though this was likely an alias; all that anyone knew is that he was an illusive man. The rebel group had no qualms about using children, and Sarah began training immediately. She had inherited her parents prodigal intellect, and her heightened but still growing mental faculties began the process of being forged for purposes of disciplined violence. Her training progressed quickly, in body and mind. Her intelligence, her reflexes, her muscles, her physical senses; sight, smell, hearing - every fibre of her being, everything within her that could have been directed towards brighter endeavours - was corrupted and fine-tuned towards one purpose: killing. After five years of this training, at the age of fourteen, she was slated to join the rebel group’s elite assassination unit after completing one final mission. The mission was assigned to her by the woman who had recruited her, and it was to assassinate two of the leading scientists of a very specific corporation; the corporation whose actions had set Sarah down this path. She leapt at the chance to finally enact a measure of the vengeance that had been promised. Strangely, she was given no names; only a general physical description of her targets and their exact and when they would be there. Sarah knew this to be unusual, but she was so consumed by vengeful purpose that she never questioned who her targets were. Not even when she was right upon them and realized there was something strongly familiar about them. She still did not hesitate. It was only when their blood covered her hands and she looked upon their faces for the first time that Sarah recognized them. Her parents. She slumped down onto the floor. Her body was still, her face and eyes frozen in a contorted visage of pain and horror of indescribable magnitude. The rebel group had known exactly who her targets were, and they had intentionally kept it from her. They were always meticulous with gathering information; during training, Sarah had been assigned to gather information about other targets herself. Slowly but surely, the brainwashing and mental conditioning that had been instilled in her by the rebel group began to crumble and lose its hold. She remained on the floor when the corporate security team arrived, and she did not even look up when the grunts raised their weapons to put her out of her misery. The only reason she lived to see another day was because the corporate commander ordered them to capture her alive for interrogation. Sarah didn’t respond to any of their questions for weeks. It was only when they told her that her older brother was still alive and that he had been granted a place on the Hope colony ship that she began to speak, asking to see her brother before he left, but the only response was that he refused to see her due to what she had done to their parents. In solemn acceptance of this, she began to cooperate anyway and provided information on the rebel group to the corporation. She had two other, final requests. The first was that she would be granted a place on the Hope colony ship alongside her brother. The second request was that they let her join them in taking down the rebel group. When they stormed the facility where Sarah had grown up and trained, she personally cornered the woman who had recruited her, trained her and assigned her the mission to unknowingly kill her parents. The screams heard from that room reportedly caused visible unease in the corporate troopers, their faces going pale as winter snow. After the screams stopped, there were a few moments of silence before Sarah opened the door and walked out covered in blood that was not hers. Those possessed of weak stomachs threw up in their helmets at the sight inside. Some passed out. The illusive man known as Jack Harper was never caught. To Sarah’s surprise, the corporation granted her first request as well and granted her a place on the Hope. But the silent look in their eyes or the fact that they all consistently avoided looking into her own told her that they simply wanted her gone, but were too afraid to try to kill her. As Sarah stepped into the hibernation pod aboard the colony ship known as UDL-002 the Hope and closed her eyes, her final thoughts before everything went dark was of her family. Not how they had been torn apart by the corporations or Sarah herself, but the memories she had of them from when she was a child, before everything had happened. She remembered how her parents had loved her and her siblings. She remembered how she, together with her family, had looked up at the stars and wondered what it would be like to go there. Now, despite everything that had happened, she was going to find out. Name etymology Yardeen: Sarah’s family name. Derived from the Hebrew word Yarden ( ירדן ) meaning “one who descends”. Combined with Eleana, it forms the basis of Brightfall, Sarah’s nom de guerre. It is also a reference to Yalena “Dutch” Yardeen of Killjoys. Eleana: ( Arabic: إليانا ) Sarah’s middle name. According to Wikipedia, the name is translated in Arabic as “the Bright”. Ashraf: ( Arabic: أشرف‎ ) The name of Sarah’s father. Means "most honorable one" or "very noble". Medad: Ashraf’s middle name. Hebrew word with the meaning of friendship and love. It’s also a pun/dad joke. Me, dad. Image gallery

So a few weeks ago I wrote a character profile and background for my character in The Outer Worlds, since I'm a roleplayer at heart. I thought I'd post it on these forums to get some critique, so please comment with your thoughts! Basic information Name: Sarah Eleana Yardeen. Nom de guerre: Brightfall. Aliases: Sarah Brightfall, Captain Alex Hawthorne. Birthplace: London, England. Birth date: 2270. Age: 15. Spoken languages: English, Arabic, Hebrew, Dutch. Religion: None. Favourite poem: Invictus. Family: Ashraf Medad Yardeen (father, deceased), Liesbeth Saskia Yardeen (mother, née Kroes, deceased), Patrick Aalbrecht Yardeen (older brother, in hibernation on the Hope), Yasmin Miriam Yardeen (older sister, deceased). Moral alignment: Neutral Good. Current weapons Dead-Eye Assault Rifle Mk III with Whisper Quiet Muzzler, Mag-Num magazine and Exact-O-Sight. Bolter Pistol 3.0 with FunTimes Barrel, Gyro Sight and Mag-Num magazine. Officer's Spine Titanium with Mr. Power plasma damage modification and SpeedGrip handle wrap. Security Blade with telescoping handle. Background Sarah was born in London, England to a Palestinian father and a Dutch mother. As a young child growing up, Sarah had often looked up at the starlit night sky. She had always dreamed of visiting them, of travelling to distant star systems and boldly setting foot on unfamiliar worlds. Her parents, who were both scientists, had often told their children that the stars in the sky were indeed beautiful but that none could match the brightness of Sarah and her siblings. They said their children were as if the greatest stars had fallen to Earth and become human. Sarah took it to heart. When she was eight years old, tragedy struck. One of the major corporations had decided to “volunteer” Sarah’s parents for indentured service, as they desired their scientific talent for their projects. When the corporation’s requisitions team arrived to collect, Sarah’s older sister Yasmin attempted to resist and was shot dead on the spot by the corporate soldiers without a second thought. Yasmin bought time for Sarah to escape, but her parents and brother were taken. Now alone in the world, confused and filled with hate towards the corporations and rage at the injustice that had happened, Sarah felt lost. After a year on the streets, she had just about given up on life when she was approached by a woman who claimed to represent a group dedicated to ending the corporate tyranny. The gaping hole in Sarah’s childish heart was filled with tales of honor and justice. Assurances of vengeance. It sounded like a new chance at life…one with purpose. Sarah soon found out that the group was far more organized and well-funded than she had initially believed. They functioned like an elite military special forces battalion, one that was vehemently anti-corporate. The battalion was led by a man who called himself Jack Harper, though this was likely an alias; all that anyone knew is that he was an illusive man. The rebel group had no qualms about using children, and Sarah began training immediately. She had inherited her parents prodigal intellect, and her heightened but still growing mental faculties began the process of being forged for purposes of disciplined violence. Her training progressed quickly, in body and mind. Her intelligence, her reflexes, her muscles, her physical senses; sight, smell, hearing - every fibre of her being, everything within her that could have been directed towards brighter endeavours - was corrupted and fine-tuned towards one purpose: killing. After five years of this training, at the age of fourteen, she was slated to join the rebel group’s elite assassination unit after completing one final mission. The mission was assigned to her by the woman who had recruited her, and it was to assassinate two of the leading scientists of a very specific corporation; the corporation whose actions had set Sarah down this path. She leapt at the chance to finally enact a measure of the vengeance that had been promised. Strangely, she was given no names; only a general physical description of her targets and their exact and when they would be there. Sarah knew this to be unusual, but she was so consumed by vengeful purpose that she never questioned who her targets were. Not even when she was right upon them and realized there was something strongly familiar about them. She still did not hesitate. It was only when their blood covered her hands and she looked upon their faces for the first time that Sarah recognized them. Her parents. She slumped down onto the floor. Her body was still, her face and eyes frozen in a contorted visage of pain and horror of indescribable magnitude. The rebel group had known exactly who her targets were, and they had intentionally kept it from her. They were always meticulous with gathering information; during training, Sarah had been assigned to gather information about other targets herself. Slowly but surely, the brainwashing and mental conditioning that had been instilled in her by the rebel group began to crumble and lose its hold. She remained on the floor when the corporate security team arrived, and she did not even look up when the grunts raised their weapons to put her out of her misery. The only reason she lived to see another day was because the corporate commander ordered them to capture her alive for interrogation. Sarah didn’t respond to any of their questions for weeks. It was only when they told her that her older brother was still alive and that he had been granted a place on the Hope colony ship that she began to speak, asking to see her brother before he left, but the only response was that he refused to see her due to what she had done to their parents. In solemn acceptance of this, she began to cooperate anyway and provided information on the rebel group to the corporation. She had two other, final requests. The first was that she would be granted a place on the Hope colony ship alongside her brother. The second request was that they let her join them in taking down the rebel group. When they stormed the facility where Sarah had grown up and trained, she personally cornered the woman who had recruited her, trained her and assigned her the mission to unknowingly kill her parents. The screams heard from that room reportedly caused visible unease in the corporate troopers, their faces going pale as winter snow. After the screams stopped, there were a few moments of silence before Sarah opened the door and walked out covered in blood that was not hers. Those possessed of weak stomachs threw up in their helmets at the sight inside. Some passed out. The illusive man known as Jack Harper was never caught. To Sarah’s surprise, the corporation granted her first request as well and granted her a place on the Hope. But the silent look in their eyes or the fact that they all consistently avoided looking into her own told her that they simply wanted her gone, but were too afraid to try to kill her. As Sarah stepped into the hibernation pod aboard the colony ship known as UDL-002 the Hope and closed her eyes, her final thoughts before everything went dark was of her family. Not how they had been torn apart by the corporations or Sarah herself, but the memories she had of them from when she was a child, before everything had happened. She remembered how her parents had loved her and her siblings. She remembered how she, together with her family, had looked up at the stars and wondered what it would be like to go there. Now, despite everything that had happened, she was going to find out. Name etymology Yardeen: Sarah’s family name. Derived from the Hebrew word Yarden ( ירדן ) meaning “one who descends”. Combined with Eleana, it forms the basis of Brightfall, Sarah’s nom de guerre. It is also a reference to Yalena “Dutch” Yardeen of Killjoys. Eleana: ( Arabic: إليانا ) Sarah’s middle name. According to Wikipedia, the name is translated in Arabic as “the Bright”. Ashraf: ( Arabic: أشرف‎ ) The name of Sarah’s father. Means "most honorable one" or "very noble". Medad: Ashraf’s middle name. Hebrew word with the meaning of friendship and love. It’s also a pun/dad joke. Me, dad. Image gallery

Since I wanted to remove the threat of the Floating Hangman and considerably weaken the Príncipi, I followed along with the Príncipi questline until was able to kill Lucia Rivan and her undead crew. When I returned to Aelys with the ship (I had previously killed Furrante and the other captains) I just cut her down without even talking to her. I am planning to go to Ukaizo alone. The game won't assume that I joined the Príncipi just because I went along with their questline that far, right? I'm assuming not since A Dance with Death failed, The Coming Storm did not complete and The City Lost to Time did not start. But I wanted to ask to make sure. Edit: Just realized I posted this in the forum for the first game, and I apologize!

Today, I noticed some missing strings in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. When I went to Arkemyr's Mansion for the first time and was sneaking through the laboratories level, I was spotted by one of the imps, prompting a conversation. The odd thing was that while in the conversation screen, it said something like "MissingName" (I can't remember the exact line). But when I entered combat, the proper name for the imp was indeed hovering above it. Then I noticed that, in the character reputation screen, something similar had happened. A few of the conversation options that had changed character reputation were not there, such as one saying: *Missing String 11* on something my character had said to Serafen. And between Edér and Xoti and vice versa there were some that just read [Temp]. Any idea what has caused this? The oddest part is that I can't remember ever noticing any of it until today, and I've been playing for 88 hours. Relatively recently I installed two mods, could that have caused it? One increased the level cap and one unlocked the 9th power level for multiclasses at level 19. I also read that clicking the "Refresh" button in the built-in mod manager in the main menu can mess with things. I tried verifying local files with Steam, didn't change anything. The only problem appears to be missing strings, and so far in very few places, but it's still odd and annoying. I'm mostly worried that my save files are somehow corrupted, and yet they load and play perfectly fine.

By "Elapsed Time", are you referring to the time that is displayed, for example, on the save file when loading it? I'm pretty sure that's a time counter for how long it's been in-universe since your started character started his/her journey. The months do go by, there's an entire calendar invented for the game's world. I'm pretty sure that "Time in Party" means how long a companion has been in your party in real-life time.

Looks like a great character you have! I find that field of study of your character's love interest to be very interesting too! I'm so glad my post inspired you to write it!

I would prefer it if you made a new thread! Thank you for asking!

Thanks for the kind words! And I understand. I don't write down everything about my characters, just what I feel is what I need to get the game started, and then I let the character develop a bit more while playing the game. I often rewrite parts of the backstory after this point as well. Personally, I am very dedicated to the roleplaying aspect, and I try not to metagame anything. I play on the Story Mode difficulty, because the story experience is more important to me than challenging combat. I, or I should say Alendra, struck a deal with Llengrath and helped the Alpine Dragon instead of fighting them because I felt that's what Alendra would do. While doing Berath's quest A Servant of Death, Alendra wiped out the Ethik Nôl; personally, in fact. She found them and their sacrifices so offensive that she told Edér, Aloth and the others to stay put while she went off to end them all by herself. It was rather simple, actually, as I am playing on Story Mode and was rather overleveled for the area. As for viewing it from a story perspective, I've been having a slightly difficult time justifying Alendra's combat prowess with her young age, but then I had the idea that since she's Awakened, maybe she remembers some of the combat skills and combat experience of some of her previous lives. She also wields Oidhreacht in her off-hand, and that stiletto supposedly gives the wielder memory flashes of the techniques and maneuvers performed by the original wielder, who was an elite duelist. Fun fact, Oidhreacht means "inheritance" in Irish Gaelic, and so I pretend that the original wielder of the weapon was one of her ancestors through House Davar. As for the pregnant woman in Blood Sands, I pretend that Alendra DID NOT kill her and only knocked her out with the blunt back side of Steadfast, or used her Cipher abilities to tranquilize her. But I digress! When I went to fight the next target of Berath's quest A Servant of Death, I didn't do it. Alendra thought that High Ovate Erona was not a bad person and did not deserve to die, so she decided to spurn Berath and walk away from the mission he gave her. I intend to never finish that quest. But there are things that I do "metagame". An example is Ryona's Breastplate, the only soulbound armor in the game. I was always annoyed by the fact that only three classes could bind with it, and that neither was a Cipher. And, I mean....why is it only Paladin, Chanter and Monk? There's nothing in this Ryona's backstory that indicates she was one of those classes. And the wiki states that she was to appear in Deadfire as a ghost, and her class would have been fighter! Anyway. I specifically wanted Alendra to wear it, in part because of the fact that it's the only soulbound armor in the game, but also because the green color of the armor matches pretty much perfectly with the eye color Alendra has in her portrait. So I downloaded a mod that makes it so that Ryona's Breastplate can be soulbound to all classes so that I could do so on Alendra!

Wow! I hadn't got any replies for a long time and so I didn't think I would get any, but I'm happy I checked again! Thanks for all your replies, it's lovely to read them and I truly appreciate it. Replies like yours are the reason I posted this here in the first place! I have rewritten and expanded her backstory a little bit, but it's still mostly the same. I tried finding an edit button on the original post but couldn't find one, so here's the new version: "Alendra Davar was born in the year 2808 AI in the Aedyr Empire as the bastard daughter of Lord Santach of House Davar, an Aedyran noble family and Gwreiddyn, a housemaid who died giving birth to her. Nevertheless, Alendra grew up in the household of House Davar, but was fated to never be a a full-fledged member of the family. Alendra’s maternal grandfather, Caillte, was a Glanfathan tribal who, in the year 2784 AI, had been forced into indentured servitude in House Davar for reasons unknown. At the age of six, it came to light that Alendra had the mental abilities of a Cipher, and a powerful one at that. Ignorant persecution caused House Davar to be exiled to an Aedyran Colony in the Living Lands. Her father kept her Cipher nature a secret from the rest of the colonists and though to train Alendra to be a weapon, one he could use to exact his vengeance on the other Aedyran nobles who had seen to his exile. And so, Alendra learned how to fight, how to kill. How to defend herself and to survive in a world as cruel as this one. She was taught and trained in subjects such as advanced swordsmanship and survival techniques, basic archery and the usage of firearms. With the secret help of an animancer, it was also discovered that Alendra and her mother were essentially the same person; upon her death during childbirth, Gwreiddyn's soul had immediately reincarnated into her daughter. However, Alendra does not possess any conscious memories of any of her previous lives. Meanwhile, a Glanfathan tribal warrior and brîshalgwin by the name of Anam Cara grew tired of his tribe's unwillingness to find Caillte, their long lost kin, and so he set out to do so himself. He eventually tracked Caillte to House Davar, and subsequently House Davar to the Living Lands. When he arrived, he did not find Caillte, only Alendra. Alendra's father hired Anam Cara to train Alendra's Cipher abilities and teach her to control them. Alas, shortly after Alendra turned fourteen years of age, the common folk in the colony discovered her Cipher nature. The colonists proved to be more superstitious, ignorant and uncontrollable than the nobles back in Aedyr, and they gathered a mob complete with pitchforks and torches to lynch the entirety of House Davar. Alendra herself would have been their victim as well, had not Anam Cara intervened and rescued her at the cost of his own life. Alendra now travelled alone despite her young age. For a time she joined another colony, but the people there were as superstitious as the colonists of her home, and before they could catch her, she managed to sneak aboard a ship without caring where she ended up. The captain and crew discovered her unwanted presence in the midst of the ocean but were reluctant to throw such a young woman overboard, and so instead they made her work. They threw her off in the port city of New Heomar in the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood, where Alendra joined a caravan. This particular caravan happened to be travelling to the Gilded Vale under the leadership of Caravan Master Odema." It definitely has helped me play as her more than myself! She's a mostly Benevolent, Honest and Rational person, but one also prone to being Passionate when it comes to injustice and Aggressive when confronting criminals and other evildoers. But I don't adhere rigidly to that and I make the choice that I feel Alendra would make in any given situation. But I agree, and I think you should write backgrounds like this when playing any RPG, not just table top! I have actually not played table top games, and I have solely roleplayed in computer games; mostly MMOs where I can roleplay with other people. But no matter if the game is singleplayer or not, I always write a backstory!

I've recently created a new character in Pillars of Eternity. Being an avid roleplayer, I've written a profile and backstory. I'm posting it here to show it, and I'd love to hear what people think! Alendra Davar Full name: Alendra Eleanna Davar. Birthdate: 2808 AI. Age: 15-16. Titles: The Watcher. Race: Meadow Folk. Class: Cipher. Culture: Aedyr, Living Lands. Background: Aristocrat bastard (originally), Colonist. Backstory: The bastard daughter of Lord Santach of House Anuasal - an Aedyran noble family - and Gwreiddyn, a housemaid who died giving birth to her, Alendra was raised amongst the nobility for the first decade of her life. However, as she was a bastard, she did not receive her father’s noble name, taking her mother’s given surname of Davar instead. Alendra’s maternal grandfather, Caillte, was a Glanfathan tribal who, in the year 2784 AI, had been forced into indentured servitude in House Anuasal for reasons unknown. At the age of 10, it came to light that Alendra had the mental abilities of a Cipher, and a powerful one at that. Filled with prejudice and fear of her abilities, Alendra’s “noble” father had her, without warning, unceremoniously thrown out of the house and onto the street one rainy autumn morning. Alendra was forced to survive for weeks and months, begging and stealing for food. Almost a year after she had been cast out, Alendra was found by a man named Anam Cara, a member of her grandfather’s Glanfathan tribe who had come in search of his long-lost kin, but found Alendra instead. Anam Cara was a Glanfathan warrior and a Cipher like Alendra herself, and he took Alendra under his wing to foster her, teach her and train her in the ways of the Cipher as well as physical combat. With the help of an animancer, they also discovered that Alendra and her mother were essentially the same person; upon death during childbirth, Gwreiddyn's soul had immediately reincarnated into her daughter. However, Alendra does not possess any memories of her previous life. Due to ignorant persecution of Ciphers, the two had to leave the heart of the Aedyr Empire. As Anam Cara did not wish to return to his tribe, they signed up with a group of colonists and travelled to the Living Lands while keeping their Cipher abilities a secret. Alas, a few years after arriving at the colony, they were found out. The colonists proved to be far more ignorant and fearful than even Lord Anuasal, and they gathered a mob, complete with pitchforks and torches, to lynch them. Anam Cara sacrificed himself, staying behind so that Alendra could escape. After these harrowing events, Alendra travelled the world aimlessly, with no destination in mind...that is, until she joined a caravan heading to the Dyrwood under the leadership of Caravan Master Odema. Name etymology: Santach; Gaelic word that means “selfish, greedy”. Anuasal; a Gaelic word that means “lowborn, ignoble”. Gwreiddyn; a Gaelic word that means “root, origin”. Caillte; a Gaelic word that means “lost”. Anam Cara; a Celtic phrase meaning “soul friend”. Credits: Sathynae, for the image.