Nim
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:05 am
Name: Nim
Age: 21
Race: Human
Height: 5'1
Weight: 51kg
Physical Description:
Nim is a diminutive firecracker. Bulky flame resistant fabric hides a slender body suited to fitting tight spaces in the gearworks of machines and the cramped confines of her workshop.
Shoulder length bright red hair frames a cherubic face and button nose that might be pretty if it wasn't stained with soot and axle grease.
Possessions:
Nim owns a small shop of novelty items in Marn's commercial district
"Nimble Nim's Combustive Curiosities" With an attached workshop and one room apartment.
An assortment of tools for the repair and construction of mechanical devices.
A decorative crossbow gifted from her mentor
A dusty long coat lined with pockets for tools
A tabby cat named Artemis
Powers or Strengths:
Nim has a single magical ability, of which she is completely unaware. She is able to inherently understand mechanical devices which she has the opporunity to touch and examine. This allows her to identify problems and make quick repairs assuming she has the tools and materials available.
When examining gnomish or magical devices she can only understand the directly mechanical pieces. The magical aspects are a mystery.
Nim believes this ability has to do with hearing, touch and good sense. In reality it would be best described as an extra sense.
She cannot identify flaws in devices she has not personally encountered including her own inventions before their construction. As a result her experiments and creations can be dangerous until tested.
Nim is proficient handling and maintaining ranged weapons as a result of her work.
She is an adept climber and quite agile
She has a keen analytical mind and boundless creativity usually funneled into inventing curious solutions to common problems
Weaknesses:
Nim is quite forgetful. Whether recalling her schedule, a person's name or the route home from a new place she encounters consistent frustration meeting the expectations of others in social and chronoligical situations.
She also has a habit of forgetting important items to carry into important situations, from bolts for her crossbow to money for food
Nim's mind moves at a mile a minute. She has a habit of completing people's sentences and disrupting the flow of conversation with non sequitors as her internal monologue leaves the topic at hand behind.
Her relentless logical approach to problems makes magic frustrating and occasionally causes headaches; She finds visible magical talent disquieting more for this reason than dogma
She knows little of tact and a life surrounded by farmers and smiths has left her with a slightly crass mouth. Her pragmatism carries over into social situations and she frequently says the wrong thing, always surprised when people take offense.
Her height can make it difficult to get attention when she wants it.
Nim also carries a chip on her shoulder about gnomish engineering. She believes her own creations are more reliable and becomes frustrated when her work isn't taken seriously
Nim is physically weak and has never seen real violence. Though she likes to think of herself as brave she has no idea what she would actually do in real danger
History:
Nim was born to a modest farming family in Shim. Her days were occupied with agriculture, the discussion of agricultural techniques, and lessons on the history of agriculture broken up only occassionally by hunting. She was bored beyond tears.
On a trip to the city at the age of 8 Nim saw a demonstration of mechanical toys in the market and became fascinated by the animation of dead things like metal into spinning chirping wonders.
While handling a particularly beautiful device she lost her grip and watched in horror as it broke on the street. Nim scrambled to pick it up, a small piece had fallen out and after quickly examining the device she surreptitiously replaced it. The rotund salesman spied her efforts and was intrigued.
"How did you know where to put it?" He asked.
"That was where it goes" She replied nervously.
His hearty chuckle relaxed her nerves and the portly man spoke with Nim at length about machinery and the marvels of clockwork. She couldn't ask her questions quickly enough.
Eventually her inquiries took her to the industrial district and the marvels of gnomish manufacturing. Her world had been cracked wide open.
Years stretched by in the quiet of Shim and Nim spent her nights dreaming of bigger things, of gadgets and gears and mechanical wings. She saved her coin and over time acquired books and tools, and took her first uncertain steps into the world she knew she wanted.
Her first attempts were simple and shoddy. A rusty springloaded puppet was her pride and joy. For weeks she modified it, added gears to the arms and a crank to wind and swing them. It was on a warm summer day playing with her creation that Nim met a man named Ardent.
He was wide and tall as a door with a kind smile behind graying whiskers and had a deep resounding laugh that put Nim at ease. He wanted to know about her toy and the eleven year old was more than happy to talk his ear off about everything she'd seen in Marn.
"Would you like to learn more?" Nim discovered that Ardent was a metal smith, familiar with clockworks on rare orders and knew a few people in bith Marn and Shim who could answer her questions and feed her learning. His son had left home and he was without an assistant. An offer of tutelage for help around the shop. Nim coudn't accept quickly enough. Although her father required her to work on the farm, he recognized her opportunity and Nim was allowed four hours a day for lessons from Ardent
Every year after her eleventh brought renewed dissapointment as the marks on the wall showed her brothers growing stature as her own remained the same. At fourteen, when the new height fell slightly lower than the last, Nim's father finally acknowledged that she would never be big enough truly help with the farm.
And finally she was free to commit herself fully to her true calling.
Nim took occasional custom orders for decorative clockwork weapons under Ardent's patient watchful eye. The wealthy patrons were usually more concerned with form than function but she always took pride in the simple mechanics and no job was ever purely 'decorative'. Each commission was tested and retested to ensure whatever fancy addition the client had requested didn't compromise its essential workings. In her spare time she practiced her skills to build small machines, to make toast, to scratch the back of the tired farmer down the lane, an automatic feeding trough for the neighbor's pigs. From time to time one of Ardent's friends would visit from the University and endure a barrage of eager questioning from the young apprentice. They would show her new designs and point out flaws in her own schematics, slowly expanding her mind to what was possible.
Eventually Ardent grew tired and old. No longer to handle the workload even with Nim at his side. When it became clear that Nim had taken over the majority of the work Ardent took her aside and told her he was retiring.
At first she was heartbroken; She couldn't imagine going back to the farm, but he laughed that deep rich laugh and told Nim that the shop was hers. He sent letters of recommendation to his clients and opened his books. It wouldn't be easy, not everyone would accept the change and she would need to make her own connections. To that end Ardent advised her to go to Marn. Nim spent some months finishing her commisions and saving every coin and when she thought she'd saved enough she said her goodbyes to her two fathers and travelled to city to start her true life.
It wasn't enough. The months of slaving away and living on scraps afforded her a down payment on a hole in the wall. No plumbing, no light, and all the comfort cold stone can offer. But Nim was free and too excited to care, in a city of hustle and bustle and wonder and big, big ideas. So she set up shop and went to work, to make the world a better place.
Competition was tough. Gnomes dominated the markets she hoped to thrive in. It turns out that people are quite content with technology as likely to explode in your kitchen as toast your bread. Nim struggled to find customers willing to pay for materials for a device that was only guaranteed not to kill them. So she turned to creativity, tried to predict what people would need that hadn't been made, created toys and distractions that the gnomes hadn't thought of yet; Even found a select few willing to pay for weapons that limited their fury to the enemy. The only times of pure happiness were when Ardent would come to visit and she'd show him her designs as they talked deep into the night. Slowly she carved out her niche and paid off her debts, her big ideas sitting on a dusty shelf, confronted with an unenthusiastic reality.
Rumblings of rebellion in the city have largely passed Nim bye. The government is corrupt and scary, this is a fact. Magic corrupts people and is scary, this is also a fact. But for now the world and all its horrors have failed to blunt the relentless optimism of a girl with dreams. Even stuck in a hovel, making cheap toys for bored aristocrats, she knows that more is waiting just around the corner.
Nim knows she could do amazing things; Great cogs and flying machines.
She believes she could change the world. If someone would give her a chance
Age: 21
Race: Human
Height: 5'1
Weight: 51kg
Physical Description:
Nim is a diminutive firecracker. Bulky flame resistant fabric hides a slender body suited to fitting tight spaces in the gearworks of machines and the cramped confines of her workshop.
Shoulder length bright red hair frames a cherubic face and button nose that might be pretty if it wasn't stained with soot and axle grease.
Possessions:
Nim owns a small shop of novelty items in Marn's commercial district
"Nimble Nim's Combustive Curiosities" With an attached workshop and one room apartment.
An assortment of tools for the repair and construction of mechanical devices.
A decorative crossbow gifted from her mentor
A dusty long coat lined with pockets for tools
A tabby cat named Artemis
Powers or Strengths:
Nim has a single magical ability, of which she is completely unaware. She is able to inherently understand mechanical devices which she has the opporunity to touch and examine. This allows her to identify problems and make quick repairs assuming she has the tools and materials available.
When examining gnomish or magical devices she can only understand the directly mechanical pieces. The magical aspects are a mystery.
Nim believes this ability has to do with hearing, touch and good sense. In reality it would be best described as an extra sense.
She cannot identify flaws in devices she has not personally encountered including her own inventions before their construction. As a result her experiments and creations can be dangerous until tested.
Nim is proficient handling and maintaining ranged weapons as a result of her work.
She is an adept climber and quite agile
She has a keen analytical mind and boundless creativity usually funneled into inventing curious solutions to common problems
Weaknesses:
Nim is quite forgetful. Whether recalling her schedule, a person's name or the route home from a new place she encounters consistent frustration meeting the expectations of others in social and chronoligical situations.
She also has a habit of forgetting important items to carry into important situations, from bolts for her crossbow to money for food
Nim's mind moves at a mile a minute. She has a habit of completing people's sentences and disrupting the flow of conversation with non sequitors as her internal monologue leaves the topic at hand behind.
Her relentless logical approach to problems makes magic frustrating and occasionally causes headaches; She finds visible magical talent disquieting more for this reason than dogma
She knows little of tact and a life surrounded by farmers and smiths has left her with a slightly crass mouth. Her pragmatism carries over into social situations and she frequently says the wrong thing, always surprised when people take offense.
Her height can make it difficult to get attention when she wants it.
Nim also carries a chip on her shoulder about gnomish engineering. She believes her own creations are more reliable and becomes frustrated when her work isn't taken seriously
Nim is physically weak and has never seen real violence. Though she likes to think of herself as brave she has no idea what she would actually do in real danger
History:
Nim was born to a modest farming family in Shim. Her days were occupied with agriculture, the discussion of agricultural techniques, and lessons on the history of agriculture broken up only occassionally by hunting. She was bored beyond tears.
On a trip to the city at the age of 8 Nim saw a demonstration of mechanical toys in the market and became fascinated by the animation of dead things like metal into spinning chirping wonders.
While handling a particularly beautiful device she lost her grip and watched in horror as it broke on the street. Nim scrambled to pick it up, a small piece had fallen out and after quickly examining the device she surreptitiously replaced it. The rotund salesman spied her efforts and was intrigued.
"How did you know where to put it?" He asked.
"That was where it goes" She replied nervously.
His hearty chuckle relaxed her nerves and the portly man spoke with Nim at length about machinery and the marvels of clockwork. She couldn't ask her questions quickly enough.
Eventually her inquiries took her to the industrial district and the marvels of gnomish manufacturing. Her world had been cracked wide open.
Years stretched by in the quiet of Shim and Nim spent her nights dreaming of bigger things, of gadgets and gears and mechanical wings. She saved her coin and over time acquired books and tools, and took her first uncertain steps into the world she knew she wanted.
Her first attempts were simple and shoddy. A rusty springloaded puppet was her pride and joy. For weeks she modified it, added gears to the arms and a crank to wind and swing them. It was on a warm summer day playing with her creation that Nim met a man named Ardent.
He was wide and tall as a door with a kind smile behind graying whiskers and had a deep resounding laugh that put Nim at ease. He wanted to know about her toy and the eleven year old was more than happy to talk his ear off about everything she'd seen in Marn.
"Would you like to learn more?" Nim discovered that Ardent was a metal smith, familiar with clockworks on rare orders and knew a few people in bith Marn and Shim who could answer her questions and feed her learning. His son had left home and he was without an assistant. An offer of tutelage for help around the shop. Nim coudn't accept quickly enough. Although her father required her to work on the farm, he recognized her opportunity and Nim was allowed four hours a day for lessons from Ardent
Every year after her eleventh brought renewed dissapointment as the marks on the wall showed her brothers growing stature as her own remained the same. At fourteen, when the new height fell slightly lower than the last, Nim's father finally acknowledged that she would never be big enough truly help with the farm.
And finally she was free to commit herself fully to her true calling.
Nim took occasional custom orders for decorative clockwork weapons under Ardent's patient watchful eye. The wealthy patrons were usually more concerned with form than function but she always took pride in the simple mechanics and no job was ever purely 'decorative'. Each commission was tested and retested to ensure whatever fancy addition the client had requested didn't compromise its essential workings. In her spare time she practiced her skills to build small machines, to make toast, to scratch the back of the tired farmer down the lane, an automatic feeding trough for the neighbor's pigs. From time to time one of Ardent's friends would visit from the University and endure a barrage of eager questioning from the young apprentice. They would show her new designs and point out flaws in her own schematics, slowly expanding her mind to what was possible.
Eventually Ardent grew tired and old. No longer to handle the workload even with Nim at his side. When it became clear that Nim had taken over the majority of the work Ardent took her aside and told her he was retiring.
At first she was heartbroken; She couldn't imagine going back to the farm, but he laughed that deep rich laugh and told Nim that the shop was hers. He sent letters of recommendation to his clients and opened his books. It wouldn't be easy, not everyone would accept the change and she would need to make her own connections. To that end Ardent advised her to go to Marn. Nim spent some months finishing her commisions and saving every coin and when she thought she'd saved enough she said her goodbyes to her two fathers and travelled to city to start her true life.
It wasn't enough. The months of slaving away and living on scraps afforded her a down payment on a hole in the wall. No plumbing, no light, and all the comfort cold stone can offer. But Nim was free and too excited to care, in a city of hustle and bustle and wonder and big, big ideas. So she set up shop and went to work, to make the world a better place.
Competition was tough. Gnomes dominated the markets she hoped to thrive in. It turns out that people are quite content with technology as likely to explode in your kitchen as toast your bread. Nim struggled to find customers willing to pay for materials for a device that was only guaranteed not to kill them. So she turned to creativity, tried to predict what people would need that hadn't been made, created toys and distractions that the gnomes hadn't thought of yet; Even found a select few willing to pay for weapons that limited their fury to the enemy. The only times of pure happiness were when Ardent would come to visit and she'd show him her designs as they talked deep into the night. Slowly she carved out her niche and paid off her debts, her big ideas sitting on a dusty shelf, confronted with an unenthusiastic reality.
Rumblings of rebellion in the city have largely passed Nim bye. The government is corrupt and scary, this is a fact. Magic corrupts people and is scary, this is also a fact. But for now the world and all its horrors have failed to blunt the relentless optimism of a girl with dreams. Even stuck in a hovel, making cheap toys for bored aristocrats, she knows that more is waiting just around the corner.
Nim knows she could do amazing things; Great cogs and flying machines.
She believes she could change the world. If someone would give her a chance