Personality Traits: When I am not specifically self-aggrandizing, I’m referencing the roles I’ve read and played on the stage. Everything comes back to the art of acting.
Ideals: We should all aspire to be legends. If we are not remembered for our great deeds, what is the point?
Bonds: The Ceroset Theater will always be my home and those who I have met there will always be family… even if they don’t know that now.
Flaws: One-ups-manship is in my blood. I will always attempt to prove my quality, even when it is sorely lacking.
Age: 29
Weight: 185 lbs.
Height: 5' 11"
Eyes: Dark Blue
Skin: Red
Hair: Jet Black
Character Appearance: Soshin is tall, well-built, and dashingly handsome, as one would expect of a leading man. His red skin catches the stage lights perfectly, while his blue eyes pierce in the hearts of the audience (this is all written on his promotional material). He walks around with a smirk on his face, but only when there’s someone around to impress. Around friends and confidants, he sports a much more dour look, a product of his constant failure to reach the heights he believes he deserves. Recently, lights dance more literally within his blue eyes, a trait Soshin attributes to the flame of power now burning within him.
Allies & Organizations: The Ceroset Theater Company
Character Backstory:
3 Important Events
"A standing ovation" — Soshin will never forget the first time the crowd stood and applauded when he appeared at the finale of curtain call. That day, a need grew at Soshin’s very core. He craved that adoration and nothing would stop him from having it.
"Shoved from the spotlight" — At the time, Soshin didn’t fully understand the import of Zerash’s arrival. How could he? Yet from that day forward, Soshin could do naught but watch as part after part was given to another. His fury and frustration mounted with each passing day. His stage? Stolen? Never.
"A furtive whisper" — Enough wandering minstrels and tellers of tales passed through the theater that Soshin knew exactly what he needed to do. This brand of sorcery required no innate power, but a mere whisper and a burning desire. When Azora appeared before him, he swore that he would do anything to play the greatest role on the greatest stage. She agreed.
3 Essential Places
The Ceroset Theater — Soshin and his younger brother were abandoned as mere children, but they found themselves taken in by Ehan Alofaire, the owner of the Ceroset. In that hall, Soshin discovered his love of acting and grew into a man obsessed with art, drama, and fame.
Nimor Hill — Behind the Ceroset Theater lies an expansive forest. If one walks northward into that forest for an hour, one would find a small hill with no trees. Soshin walked to that very hill often in his youth, bringing scripts that he found (or "borrowed") to practice his craft with the moon as his spotlight. As an adult, he visited the hill to meditate, to dream, and, eventually, to beg for the power to become great.
Amalta, the City of Stories — Even in a theater as far away as the Ceroset, all the actors dreamed of Amalta. It was said that in that city there are bards on every corner, each of them singing music more beautiful than the last. There, you could not walk three blocks without finding a theater, all of which showcased nothing save the word of the finest actors and most gifted writers. Amalta is the dream and ambition of all who perform, but none seek that city so desperately as Soshin.
3 Allies
Ehan Alofaire [Male Elf] — The man who took in the Laozhu brothers rarely treated them like family. However, he quickly took a liking to Soshin, as he displayed considerable artistic talent from an early age. Master Alofaire remained Soshin’s favorite teacher, both of acting and fencing, until Soshin fled the theater. He still misses his old and revered master, and he often wonders what Ehan thinks of him now.
Jaelin Dolshara [Female Half-elf] — On stage, Soshin found his first great happiness, but it was in the audience that he discovered his second. Jaelin admired Soshin’s acting talents, but grew to adore who he was offstage as they spent more and more time together. Soshin was attracted to her appreciation for the arts (and him), but fell for her boldness and unshakeable optimism. Yet, as his spotlight dimmed, Soshin felt undeserving of Jaelin’s affection. Consumed by ambition and driven by his pact, Soshin swore to himself that he would return to her as a greater artist and a greater man.
Doleg Maylorm [Male Half-orc] — Fate seemed to make Doleg and Soshin opposites in all things. The comedy to his drama, the enemy to his hero, Doleg was Soshin’s foil in nearly every role they played. Yet each of them loved their craft and recognized that the other helped them to excel. The two became close friends, attracted to each other in the ways that only opposites can be.
3 Rivals
Xulin Laozhu [Male Tiefling] — Soshin’s younger brother never too the the arts like Soshin did, and he left the Ceroset as soon as he grew into adulthood. Xulin became an adventurer, and, ironically, began to achieve the fame in questing that Soshin constantly sought on the stage. While they remain close, Soshin envies his young brother and seeks to outpace him whenever he can.
Remi Robindown [Female Halfling] — Another orphan of the Ceroset Theater (though she arrived after the Laozhu siblings), Remi is Soshin’s age and shares similar talents. The two butted heads almost as soon as they met, each one jealous of the skills of the other (though neither would admit it). For years, this undercurrent of one-up-manship pushed both performers to greater and greater heights, though the abrasiveness between them remains.
Donovan Garrow [Male Human] — Soshin’s propensity for drama and self-celebration (not to mention the occasional thievery) has landed him in the hands of the law a bit more often than the standard citizen. While sleeping off his drink or nursing his bruises in various cells, Soshin developed a contentious repore with one Corporal Garrow, an officer of the town guard. However, Soshin suspects Garrow likes him somewhat, even though they rarely stumble past one another without Garrow threatening Soshin’s arrest.
3 Enemies
Tormon Rastol [Female Dwarf] — The words of Tormon Rastol were among the first Soshin read about himself that lacked effusive praise. In fact, the vaunted critic’s reviews seemed to suggest that Soshin was always the greatest failing of the Ceroset’s shows. Tormon’s criticisms quickly spread to other outlets, which wasted little time in tearing down a former up-and-coming star. The theater was forced to reevaluate many casting decisions that once would have immediately gone to Soshin. As such, Soshin loathes this woman who he has never met. Without Tormon, he believes, none of this would have happened.
Zerash Vo [Male Tiefling] — For Soshin, looking at Zerash was like looking in a mirror: charming, attractive, dextrous, talented. Unfortunately, in the theater your likeness is not a form of flattery: it is your replacement. Soshin has never had a civil conversation with Zerash because he blames the upstart for stealing his spotlight, a crime greater to Soshin than any other he could imagine.
Azora, the Teeth-Which-Scar [Female Fiend] — When Soshin called to the darkness, Azora answered. When Soshin asked for greatness, she made him a warrior, not a star. When Soshin begged for guidance, Azore bid him go to Leander, where he would find a stage worthy of him. Soshin knows Azora does not have Soshin’s best interests at heart, but what choice does he have if he wishes to achieve his destiny?
Additional Features & Traits:
All of Soshin’s spellcasting appears as if it is mystical swordplay. An Eldritch Blast is a knife of searing green energy that he hurls at his opponents. His Armor of Agathys is a pale blue shadow which blocks and parries independently of him. His Hex is a brilliant red blade that he imbeds in his foes and twists while in combat.
