Allen Diamondheart

[Allen]

Player Name: Amanda (Fay)
Name: Allen (Al or Len to his friends) Diamondheart
Age: 110
Race: Dwarf
Height: 4’
Weight: 200lbs

Physical Description:

Len (as he prefers to be called) is what most dwarf women would call the “very idea of a man.” Power and general toughness radiated from the tips of his toes, all the way up to the tallest hair on his head. His stout, solid build is easily comparable to a wall, or a battering ram, or something just as manly or as powerful. His beard, the very symbol of the dwarf male, is long enough to tuck into his belt, thick enough to hide what it covers and bushy enough to be mistaken for a small animal. Yes, Allen Diamondheart is truly one handsome, manly dwarf. What woman would not fall for his hard-as-steel blue eyes? Or his flaming red hair? Not a one – should they get past the flaming temper and bad attitude first… and none usually do.

Psyche (I know this isn't usually done but hey, it'll likely help with understanding him):

Allen is the youngest of 6, so he often felt rather...left out for lack of better words. Hell he wasn't even planned, and this was openly admitted by his parents, starting the deep-running flaw of Allen's self-conscious issues.

Event after circumstance further pounded the image of "feminine-ness" into Allen's awareness, even as his father, brothers and even mother taught him that men were to be a symbol of prowess and might. This raised self-awareness and even self-disgust when he realized that anything he truly enjoyed was considered to be feminine.

As such Allen sought to be as masculine as possible. Attempts included growing a large beard, becoming adept at drinking and fist-fighting, and being a general asshole. When he's alone, however, or with a (hypothetical) close friend, Allen becomes the gruff but soft man he actually is.

Allen is more inclined to help a drowning kitten or a starving kid then he would be to do the "manly" thing and ignore them. He prefers, however, to do this in secret and often becomes irritated or frightened if he's caught in "friendly" or "softie" acts. So in a nutshell, Allen's a mean, pissy hardass on the outside, but on the inside he's a complete and utter softie.

Possessions:

Allen owns a shop that he’d bought when he first got to Marn, and his tools of his trades; namely anything to deal with woodworking, pottery and painting.

However, Allen does enjoy a trek outside of the city (usually on nights where no-one was out to catch him), and brings with him his leather satchel, his war-hammer (hey a dwarf has to protect himself) and a flask or two of his favorite brew.

Beyond that he owns the clothes on his back (a loose white tunic, brown breeches and knee-high leather boots) with a couple sets to spare. He also has spectacles for his more detailed works, though he uses those more as a magnifying glass than for their intended purpose.

Powers or Strengths:

Photographic Memory: Len is an artist, through and through, even though he refuses to admit it. His creative mind can conjure images out of thin air and (usually) with very little prompting; though his memory does assist this. Len need only to see something once (maybe twice if it’s complex or intricate) before he can pull the memory back up before his eyes to go down and into his artwork.

Dexterity: Len is very very dexterous, and in more ways then one… ladies. Extra-curricular abilities aside, Len’s hands can work with most materials and get what he wants from them, which are usually intricate floral designs or other pretty things. Not that he’d admit it…

Close-range Combat: While Len could never hold his own against a true professional (ie a guard, assassin, mercenary, etc), he is very proficient with his hammer. This could come from him simply being a dwarf, or from the couple lessons he had with his Father and Brothers, either way he knows how to swing his hammer.

Alcohol Tolerance: Let’s just be blunt here. Allen’s a male dwarf who loves his ale, loves it enough to drink it almost constantly. Of course he’s going to have a high tolerance… of course this does come in handy during manly drinking contests…

Bring it On!: Allen can fight better with his fists and tongue than with his hammer. Usually he can take a couple of punches and even dole out a few that could make him a contender. But once again, bring a pro into the ring and he's toast... just not as toast as he'd be with a hammer.

Weaknesses:

Sharp Tongue: Let’s start off with his most obvious flaw/weakness – his tongue. Having grown up with 5 other men, Allen isn’t what we’d call polite or a people person. In fact his most common form of greeting is: “What the hell do you want now?” Better would be his ever eloquent farewell – “Now will you sod off you sodding-” Well… you get the idea

Flaming Temper: Allen has the temper to match his flaming hair. It doesn’t take much to set the man off, and when he does go off… Changers help all in his path.

Addiction: Allen loves his ale as pretty well all male dwarves do – to the point where it’s very unhealthy. Well, psychologically, as the dwarf body’s much more used to alcoholism than a human body... Generations of alcoholics tend to do that… That aside, should Allen be denied his ale, or parted from it for any extended length of time, he tends to get very upset. Not angry upset (though his fuse is shorter than usual or so to speak), just more like a lover pining his other half.

Half-Deaf: It happened during a small competition with his brother, they were just sparring as males were want to, when Allen's brother, Marlow, cracked his baby brother in the left side of his head with his hammer. Allen had lost consciousness and his hearing in that side that day, and ever since then has been rather pissy about it. Considered to be one of his "no-go" zones as far as conversations go, Allen becomes rather violent when someone comments on his "deafness" or bad hearing.

History:

Allen, having grown up with only brothers, is very self-conscious about his “man-status” as his brothers put it. Men, his father had claimed (loudly and drunkenly) were the very idea of power, brute-force, and overall awesomeness. So poor little Len, with his very feminine traits, was picked on. But let’s back-track a bit, shall we?

The Diamondhearts were just your average clan of dwarves. They enjoyed drinking, women, and mining. Diamonds, in particular, called to them; hence the name. Of course, the other (more manly) dwarves found this particular surname incredibly… feminine. Diamonds were pretty, so they weren’t very manly. Never mind that the Diamondhearts were particularly wealthy due to their odd ability to seemingly “sense” diamonds.

It was with this wealth that the Diamondhearts (tired of the constant harassment of being called feminine – the nerve!) that they moved above ground. It was there, in the wilderness, that Allen was born.

The youngest of 6 sons, Allen had always felt a little out of place. Be it from his unusual interest in wood (“What are you, boy, an elf?”) to his fascination with painting intricate designs (“Well aren’t those pretty. What are you – a GIRL!?”) Allen had always stood out from his very masculine brothers. As such, Allen sought to hide his more “soft” side and become more brutish like his brothers.

The result was 90 years of ducking into random caves, far from his family’s prying eyes, to paint, carve and mold in secret, selling his creations in town when he had the spare time.

It was after those 90 years that he decided he would “man-up” and move out onto his own, a practice that wasn’t wholly uncommon, though unexpected.

Allen moved from town to town, seeking the “perfect” city for him to reside in. After several failed attempts (mostly because the bars were too far from potential studios) Len finally found Marn. It wasn’t perfect, but hey, it would do. The ale was good and the city was big enough for him to hide his artistic abilities in… or flourish them should he grow the balls (or lose them in a manner of speaking) to fulfill his dream of becoming a well-celebrated artist in his own right… just a very rugged, manly artist… not one of those flimsy, gay-looking ones… bah you get the idea.

[Saruna]

I apologize for taking so dratted long. Approved, have fun!