PLAYER
Name: Cass
Age: old
Contact: I live here.
Other Characters: Interests: Being as Orlesian as possible. Adventures. Causing conflict. Being both accidentally and intentionally condescending. Playing a character who is outgoing and good at shallow engagement. Sending people on harrowing fetch quests.
CHARACTER
Name: Frédérique Marceline Sébastienne Philomène Durfort-Lacapalette, Baroness Haut-Brion
Canon/OC: OC
Journal: aventuriere
Race: Human
Nationality: Orlesian
Occupation: Baroness, academic, author, adventuress
Mage or Non-Mage: Non-mage
Age: 28 now
History- Born the only child of Jacques-Philippe and his third wife Annette, she was a late in life surprise for the aging baron, but a very welcome one that allowed him to disinherit a despised nephew. Rumors that she might not actually be his daughter were steadfastly ignored and eventually dissipated.
- Doted on as a child, her every whim fulfilled so long as it was not too dangerous. The finest tutors, a stable of ponies, a full library, fencing lessons, the finest fashions, whatever her heart desired as long as she did not risk anything more treacherous than riding or the occasional carriage trip to Val Royeaux.
- Was allowed to attend the University beginning at 15. Excelled, but dabbled in many fields rather than becoming expert in one.
- Inherited the estate outside Val Foret, its vineyards, and the accompanying fortune at 19. With a capable staff already in place, the young baroness left the business to them and continued her study and work at the university, publishing several papers and her first book.
- Eventually she was encouraged to become a lecturer at the university, teaching courses and publishing papers on subjects as diverse as architecture, botany, anthropology, and musical theory. Though popular with her students for her energy and irreverence, and respected by peers for the quality and breadth of her scholarship, her willful attitude and refusal to contain her studies to one discipline or to the library did not endear her to some members of the administration.
- Despite her teaching requirements, her focus remained on research and she traveled extensively, usually in the company of fellow scholars and bosom friends Valentine de Foncé and Jehan Mercier.
- After a brief and nearly-disastrous expedition to Par Vollen, the trio were separated in Rivain. Valentine and Jehan elected to venture to Skyhold and join the Inquisition, while Freddie made her way back to Orlais to fulfill some outstanding responsibilities at the university before taking a sabbatical of her own.
- On her return, a long-standing conflict with a highly-placed administrator flared up in a dispute over her next project. Freddie finally conceded defeat, but instead of the demanded paper submited a lengthy series of poems that both insult the deans in question and reveal unflattering personal information about them she acquired from somewhere.
- Her sabbatical now indefinite, unpaid, and not entirely voluntary, Freddie headed to rendezvous with her friends and joined the Inquisition. To her dismay, she was assigned to the Diplomacy Division because of her title and connections, rather than Research as she might have preferred. No matter! She continued doing research anyway, and briefly served as head of the Corypheus' History project before stepping down because focusing on just one area of study + management proved too confining.
PersonalityFreddie is the product of a rare upbringing that was privileged, loving, and relatively liberal in mind but sheltering in effect. The chief result is an incredible self-confidence that has thus far proven nearly unshakeable. Her title and wealth instilled a general air of personal worth and power that her parents' love confirmed and her success at university cemented.
The good news: she is upbeat and friendly, curious, encouraging, eager to engage in conversation with many people on many subjects and as happy to share her knowledge or acquire someone else's. She is passionate about her interests--which are many--and good-natured about her dislikes--which are surprisingly few. She is a dedicated scholar and usually takes in stride or even relishes the struggles that come along with her work. She cares what happens in/to the world. She is an excellent listener and a keen observer, with a good memory for the sorts of small personal details that when later deployed in conversation make her seem charming and genuinely attentive. This is partly good manners but she often is genuinely invested, as her almost complete lack of insecurities makes it easy to appreciate others and be casually generous. When this appreciation turns to true friendship, her love and loyalty know no bounds. This does not, however, save them from her humor, which often takes the form of playful mockery.
The bad news: having led a life not just privileged but charmed, she can at times be dense about the struggles of others. She's not incapable of empathy, but can need reminding to use it and when she does, it can often come off patronizing. She can be callous and self-centered, not considering (or caring about) all the consequences of her actions as long as she gets what she wants. Her fits of true temper are rare but all the more terrible for it. Most things roll off her back, but spark her ire and she will hold a grudge forever and has a bad habit of pettily escalating the conflict. Her mouth gets away from her, good manners not always enough to make her tactful, respectful, or understanding of privacy. Sometimes enjoys being shocking just because she can. A little vain and a lot arrogant even if it takes a form more cheerful than aggressive.
The ugly news: there is none, she is lovely. Ask anyone. Except elves, whose existence she rarely notices or acknowledges because why would she when they are only ever servants, who are made to be neither seen nor heard? Or unwealthy commoners, who only register if they're artisans, scholars, or the subject of her research or charity. Fereldans, who are yokels rarely worth more than a lazy dog joke. Qunari, who are fascinatingly brutish.
Et ainsi de suite. Her prejudices and blindspots may not be malicious or even intentional--she's more likely to be condescending than cruel--but they are real and deeply ingrained.
Opinions & AffiliationsChantry: Freddie is casually Andrastian. Her interaction with the Chantry is mostly academic, which means acknowledging many of its faults and secrets and questioning much of its teachings, but because it's interesting to do so not because she wants to dismantle the institution. She's never going to be devout, but she appreciates its historical and cultural importance and wouldn't want it wholly destroyed.
Civil War: Celene appreciates and supports a Golden Age of scholarship, art, culture, and trade, all the things Freddie values most highly. Gaspard would return their focus to war with Fereldan, which is just boring. She's read books about the last several of those wars, that was enough.
Mages & Templars: Prior to the Inquisition, she had little interaction with mages outside their scholarship, which she appreciates. Their power and susceptibility to possession do seem to require controls, but she doesn't have any strong opinions about what is best for them; it's just not something that's ever been her concern. Her feelings about Templars aren't really all that different, but she's known more extra children of noble families who joined the Order, and so is likely to identify with and trust them more. The war seems like an annoyance and mostly she's just unimpressed that whoever was in charge of things let it get to that point without finding a better solution. Having met some mages and templars out and about in the Inquisition hasn't really moved the needle--she hopes things get sorted out to everyone's satisfaction, but it's still just not really any concern of hers.
Non-Humans: Prior to joining the Inquisition, Freddie considered elves more like furniture than people, something you only really notice when it's extraordinary or out of place. The occasional riot or rumor of uprising doesn't seem like her problem. The idea of an elf being sponsored to the university is outlandish to the point of being laughable, but if it turns out they can actually do the work she'd shrug and show surprise and probably make some jokes, not throw a fit about it or actively make them unwelcome. Qunari are bizarre and their way of life unappealing but their history and culture are fascinating. Dwarves she respects as merchants and artisans, and their history and architecture are one of her prime areas of research.
Having now spent more time around non-human members of the Inquisition, her opinion has shifted slightly, to acknowledge the existence of more variety in their ranks than she'd anticipated. She has no problem with non-humans being members of the the Inquisition, as long as they're not hampering its work (or hers), but she's still more inclined to assume that these people are extraordinary outliers rather than a representative sample that proves general stereotypes wrong.
AdaptationN/A
Strengths & WeaknessesStatus+ Baroness, with wealth, land, minor power, good manners, access to court, connections across Orlais and in the north and ability to make more. While there are many nobles both more prominent, more politically powerful, and wealthier, she is the owner of a respectable amount of property and a very profitable vineyard producing some of Orlais' most popular lower-high-end wines. She's in excellent health and always has been.
- Often sticks out in normal society, used to/prefers being waited on in most ways, spoiled, can have difficulty connecting with those of lower stations. Her focus on academics means she's completely neglected politics. She's spent very little time at court, and has minimal experience participating in The Game beyond the unavoidable everyday cutthroatness that plagues all members of Orlais' upper classes. She'd be considered somewhat unfashionable for eschewing the Game for academia and for her travel, which often involves roughing it and interacting with those high society considers undesirable.
Education+ Highly educated in all the basics, several languages, plus her specialties include geography and botany. This includes knowledge of plants that have edible, medicinal, or combat properties, and some research (along with Val) into their use in things like grenades. She's a skilled researcher, and when a project catches her interest she is focused and dogged. She's respected in her fields and extensively published.
- The majority of her studies are in things like architecture & material culture, music, and other even-less-useful subjects. She has a tendency to get too engrossed in her work and to over-analyze, which can prove dangerous in the wrong conditions. Her enthusiasm and tenacity are often reckless. She has no real respect for things like sacred sites, personal property, or privacy if they get in the way of information she's interested in. She is not on good terms with the administration of the university, and has recently been pretty much sacked.
Experience+ Extensively traveled, including at least briefly to some unusual places like the Hunterhorns, Seheron, and (very, very briefly and almost disastrously) Par Vollen. Has met a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life, which gives her a broad base of knowledge.
- Breadth does not equal depth; while she does have specialties in which she is an actual expert, she also knows a little bit about a lot of things. She trusts herself a little too much to extrapolate and theorize and fill in gaps with guesses, and can be stubborn about it when she might be better off conceding ignorance.
Skills+ Excellent and experienced horsewoman and fencer, decent shot with a bow, can throw a knife, surprisingly talented at hand to hand combat. In good shape physically, has done a lot of camping and hiking. Solid navigator and map-maker. Has a naturalist's eye for detail and is capable of realistic sketches of plants, bits of architecture, etc. Pretty good at first aid.
- "Surprisingly talented at" is all on the scale of 'for a noblewoman/academic'. The element of surprise is pretty key to her having any success in a close quarters fight. She's had more training (and been in more fights) than the vast majority of highborn women, but that isn't saying very much and an actual professional combatant will be in little danger from her if they're paying attention. She's also not unusually large, strong, fast, or enduring, and has no immunities to disease or magic. Dreadful cook, mediocre at best at sewing.
Inventory↠ Clothes, both fashionable and practical, and other assorted accessories and toiletries
↠ Several dozen books, some to be donated and some simply too essential to her present interests to travel without. Nothing too special/rare.
↠ A collection of maps and notebooks
↠ Parchment, ink, and quills. Enough for quite a bit of use for three people, not for sharing with the whole Inquisition
↠ Her horse
↠ Her exotic mountain dog, Bart, who looks like a growlithe
↠ A sabre of fine make but without magical properties and a matching dagger
↠ A couple crates of her family's wine
↠ Her camping gear
↠ Four excellent feather pillows
MotivationShe's still here because it's a fun adventure and she's curious to see how it all works out. It's also likely to be important historically, which is enticing. She does genuinely care about saving the world, too. It clearly
needs saving, and obviously who better to lend a hand than her?
SAMPLES
log here (look i even have AC for june and july)
network here