|Gender|
Male
|Age|
18
|Appearance|
Richter is a well-proportioned young man. He stands at six feet with a lithe, muscular build, pale skin, a slightly pointed nose, long, scruffy, chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes that portray his emotions just as well as the rest of his face does. Richter dresses in traditional Akharian garments, not the Garian farmer's clothes you might expect him to wear. He hopes that by wearing foreign clothing, he will look like a more exotic and better-travelled bard. His attire consists of a brown, hooded, cotton shirt with red and gold silk embroidered onto the sides of the torso, a red and gold silk mantle which Richter for some reason wears around his waist, fingerless, brown leather gloves, brown nettle-fibre trousers, large leather boots, a headband and numerous belts. He also keeps a long, black, hooded cloak with him for when it gets cold or rainy. His sword hangs in its scabbard by his left thigh, and his flute and lute are tied to each side of his rucksack, which is slung over his shoulder by its left strap instead of being worn properly.
|Equipment|
Richter owns a rather uninteresting sword with a blade about 63cm long. More important to his trade are his wooden flute and ornate lute.
|Skills|
Unsurprisingly, Richter is a very good musician. He has played the lute since he was six, and the flute since he was eight. He got his first lute from a travelling merchant and messed around with it until he could actually play it decently. He would seek tuition from any bards who travelled through his village, and learned various songs and techniques from them. He developed slowly at first, but now has a solid grip on using the lute, flute and his voice. Richter is also a good cook; he needs to be to keep himself fed on his travels. His work on his parents' farm has left him physically fit, so he could take on odd jobs such as dock work to supplement his income.
|Weaknesses|
Richter's most glaring weakness is that he is an idiot. He's capable of getting himself into huge amounts of trouble due to his inability to size up situations properly, often to the point where he seems suicidally overconfident. His lack of knowledge often annoys others, especially the intelligent. His short term memory isn't great either, so he will often go somewhere and then forget why he went there, or he might go shopping and suddenly realise that he left his money at home. He is also somewhat clumsy and isn't very good at watching where he's going.
|Personality|
Richter is a nice young man, but he's hardly the sharpest tool in the shed. He is friendly and polite to everyone he meets, but talks to everyone in the same manner, regardless of their social standing. He's easily approachable and almost always cheerful, so he gets along with most people fairly well. He'll even offer his assistance to complete strangers if he thinks that they need it, mostly out his own good will, but also in some childish hope that someone he helps will turn out to be something like a travelling prince in disguise who will reward him for his kindness.
Richter has a bit of a flair for the dramatic, and tries to present himself as someone greater than he actually is, but usually ends up looking fairly silly, much to his chagrin. He claims that he is a skilled swordsman, but actually knows nothing about swordplay beyond the fact that the pointy bits are meant to go into your enemy. He would probably be better off wielding an axe or a scythe, as he has experience with cutting lumber and reaping corn, but neither look quite as heroic as a sword.
|Likes|
✔ Music
✔ Adventure
✔ Sleeping
✔ Praise
✔ Warm weather
✔ Sweet food
✔ Alcohol
|Dislikes|
✘ Being called stupid
✘ Rain
✘ Bitter food
✘ Violence
✘ The dark
✘ Being told what to do
✘ Loud, sudden noises
|Bio|
Richter's childhood wasn't particularly exciting. He grew up on a farm in Gar with his parents, twin older brothers and little sister. After he first met a travelling bard who was performing in his village he instantly decided that he wanted to be a bard as well. His parents bought him a lute from a travelling merchant, and he fell in love with it as soon as he laid his hands on it. At first he was content just to strum the strings, but he eventually managed to play some actual music. Upon learning of Richter's interest in music the local priest gave him his old flute which he no longer played. He would learn songs from wherever he could, many of which he was taught by the priest who had been nice enough to give the boy his flute. Richter began to write his own songs as he got older, but never wrote anything with lyrics due to his complete lack of eloquence. His parents were proud of his musical accomplishments, but frequently had to get him to leave his room and do his share of farm-work instead of playing music to himself. His older brothers couldn't understand why he thought music was so great, but his little sister was more appreciative.
When Richter turned 18 he decided that it was time to leave home and make his own way in the world. His parents and sister wished him luck, and his brothers just made some snarky comments about farm-work not being good enough for him. He hasn't been travelling for long now, and while he's beginning to realise that the life of a bard is not quite as glamorous as he had expected, he is still enjoying himself.