OC Meme - Vharloth Zal'arin
(Baldur's Gate 3 version)
Tagged by: No one directly, but @ex-textura's gorgeous boy Ilztaufein inspired me to do this for yet another OC
Tagging: Everyone who wants to do it and hasn't been tagged directly!
B A S I C S
Full name: Vharloth Zal'arin. He chose the name for himself. He'd rather cut out his tongue than ever speak his birth name again, since he associates it with nothing but misery.
Gender: Cisgender male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Pronouns: He/him
Class: Oathbreaker Paladin
O T H E R
Birthplace: One of the greater cities in the Underdark, but I haven't decided on a specific one yet.
Job: None at the moment. Before his escape, he was being kept as a slave and gladiator.
Phobias: He bears an intense fear of seeing loved ones suffer or die, but since that fear isn't irrational, it's not quite a phobia.
Guilty pleasures: There's not much that brings him pleasure to begin with, but he doesn't feel guilty about anything that does.
Hobbies: He doesn't know himself well enough to have many real hobbies yet, but what he does know is that he enjoys singing - mostly where nobody else can hear it, though.
M O R A L S
Alignment: He still has to figure out where his free will will land him, but probably along the lines of chaotic good.
Sins: None of the classic deadly sins fully apply to him, but negative traits of his include jealousy, apathy/reluctance, as well as a tendency towards judgmentalism, all of which he's aware of, and actively trying to overcome.
Virtues: Patience, tenacity/resilience, hope, and the willingness to learn and improve
T H I S O R T H A T
Introvert / Extrovert
Organized / Disorganized
Close-minded / Open-minded
Calm / Anxious / Restless
Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between
Cautious / Reckless / In between - strongly depending on the given situation, and whether or not there are lives at stake other than his own
Patient / Impatient / In between
Outspoken / Reserved / In between
Leader / Follower / Flexible
Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between
Optimist / Pessimist / Realist - not quite applicable. His past has left him with a pessimistic streak, but he's actively working on getting rid of that, forcing himself into a more hopeful mindset.
Traditional / Modern / In between
Hard-working / Lazy
R E L A T I O N S H I P S
OTP: None so far
Acceptable Ships: Vharloth x Halsin. They're not an absolute OTP, but they'd work nicely together, at least from Vharl's point of view. Halsin's grounded, wise, and kind nature is something he'd feel himself strongly drawn to.
Maybe even Vharloth x Astarion. I don't think they'd last for very long, but they could bond over some of their past trauma, and misinterpret their understanding of each other's emotions as romantic feelings.
OT3: Vharloth x Halsin x Lythia (another OC of mine). Lythia is a young half-elf, her father being Aozhan, my main OC. She's sweet, gentle, kind, accepting, and has a strong heart. Halsin and Lythia are the actual OTP here, but since they've agreed to let each other roam if they wish, and since they've both got elven blood, I can also see them with Vharl.
Brotp: Vharloth x Karlach. Vharlach, if you will. Vharl gravitates towards people with a positive mindset, since he himself is actively fighting to allow optimism into his own life, so he'd probably enjoy spending time with her. There wouldn't be romantic feelings from his side, though, since he only feels those towards other elves or half-elves.
Notp: Probably a good few, but the most obvious one is Vharloth x Minthara. Being not only a female drow, but also a Paladin of Lolth just like he himself used to be, he'd be terrified that she'd make an attempt to take him back to the Underdark and have him punished for his insubordination, to a point he'd refuse to stay with the group if she was part of it.
B A C K S T O R Y
I don't have his full story developed, but here have some facts about him that I do know for sure - in no particular order.
He's the firstborn child of a rather well-respected family, but not of noble background.
He used to have a younger sister. She was his everything, but she was killed during an attack at a social event hosted by one of the high houses, which he was also present at. His parents never forgave him for failing to save her, and neither did he.
After those events, he was pretty much disowned by his family, and eventually ended up enslaved under another matriarch.
"His one redeeming quality," as his parents often stated, was that he was talented with the sword, which led to his mistress sending him into coliseum fights for the upper class's entertainment, and eventually he was encouraged to swear the Oath to Lolth. He didn't keep it out of true conviction though, but for the fear of consequences.
For almost his entire life, he's secretly dreamed of a life on the surface. The only person he ever told about this was his sister, whom he used to have a close bond to.
Having made it to the surface now, he's in a strange mental place, having bouts ranging from internal emptiness, to radical longing for any sort of experience for experience's sake.
A quote of his is: "I'd rather go blind from seeing the sun just once, than never getting to see it."
At some point in the future, he will renew his oath, but this time he'll swear it to Lathander, and this time, he'll mean it.
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