Ethan Cuskley
Character from an Age of Exploration/Pirates True20 Game.
Name:
Ethan Cuskley
Age: 16 - 19,
depending on the point in the story
Date of Birth: November 1, 1687
Setting: An “Age
of Reason” Seafaring True20 game that begins in 1705. Low magic. Yes, think something
along the lines of PoTC as far as time period/location/magic level.
Also - there is a modern-version - See the bottom
of the page!
Birthplace: Beldore Hollow, Virginia ((Now
Shenandoah National Park area))
Hair: A little past the shoulders, very curly, light
brown. Sometimes down, sometimes tied back with a ribbon.
Eyes: Hazel-Amber
(like so)
Height: 5’7”
Skin: Fair, with freckles
Build: Thin:
gangly that is starting to put on some muscle (growing out of the awkward teen
stage)
Race:
Half-demon
CharaHub Pages:
Modern Version
&
Historical Version
Distinguishing Features:
Ethan has six fingers – (complete extra digit – mid-ray duplication) on his left
hand. ((He is also left handed.))
He is also never seen (in human form) without his intricate silver Celtic Cross pendant around
its cord around his neck (though it is sometimes tucked into his clothing).
[Celtic Cross Example]. For the historical version, Celtic Crosses had all but phased out of use (And was much
before their modern revival) – this would have been a strange symbol to most,
integrating what appears to be the shape of a Christian cross with “pagan” designwork.
General Appearance/Attitude:
Ethan, thanks to his (half) Irish ancestry is fair-skinned and
thin, with curly hair, and freckles covering his his nose, cheeks, and over his shoulders
and back. He is sometimes seen sporting stubble (his
closest approximation yet to facial hair) when he is trying to make himself look
older and not at a point where he has realized that his sparse stubble only
draws more teasing. His hazel-amber eyes flash with defiance and curiosity,
eager to see the world and make his mark.
True DEMON Features:
The Celtic cross Ethan wears acts as a powerful guise. Click on the thumbnail of the character reference sheet below
for a rundown of his demon-form.
ARTWORK
Character Reference Sheet :
BEST REFERENCE ART: HUMAN
BEST REFERENCE ART: DEMON
Note: Coloration, etc would be just like human-form
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I sketched this primarily as a design
sketch to highlight his demon-form features.
ALSO - check out the Reference sheet for the break-down of all his demon-form features. |
Neithan did a GREAT job at Ethan's demon-form here - especially take note of his left arm - this is what I mean by "sinewy" - if you add the liver-spots it would be perfect :) She also did a great job with the rest of the visable features :) | A PERFECT demon-form example by the immensely talented shadow-wolf. This reference also can work for either a historical or modern interpretation. | I absolutely LOVE this Ethan done by Nashya - this is SPOT on for his demon-form <3 (minus his 6th finger) | A sketch by Vince Price that I got at A-kon this year is a PERFECT example of Ethan in his demon form. The face is ideal, and all the features are there. This is also a wonderful example of his demon-arm. | Unassuming Pumpkin NAILED Ethan here, too - especially his personality and doofy grin :) |
ETHAN ARTWORK COLLECTION
*ALL ETHAN ART - Click here.
* Art Contest run with Sam Skip Sam - The first contest I ran that included Ethan as an eligible character :3
Background in Brief:
Ethan Cuskley was born to one
Rosemary Cuskley, an Irish immigrant with the telltale Irish birthrights of
curly red hair, green eyes, fair skin and freckles. Rosemary never spoke much
to Ethan about where she came from, but she was from a small sect of surviving
Celtic Christians (Catholics). She came to the new world, newlywed, for the
proclaimed religious freedom along with her husband… who didn’t survive the trip
(Long after the trip – enough to help build the cottage? Regardless, Ethan
doesn't know). She moved to a very small town/Thorpe and settled into a cottage
on the edge of town – having quickly realized that the new world didn’t
automatically convey a lack of prejudice against her beliefs. She was held in
suspicion from day one from the rest of the community when she didn’t attend
normal (protestant) church in the English settlement. Combined with her very
natural-centric Celtic Christian beliefs, there were whispers about her being a
witch and further ostracization. If it wasn’t for the fact that she established
herself as a midwife and general cure-all for the village (who didn’t have a
“real” doctor) then things could have very easily gotten very bad had they need
of a scapegoat.
It was this status as a necessary evil that kept them from lynching
her when she became mysteriously pregnant several years later. She refused to
name any of the men in the village as the father, or speak at all to who the
father was and bore the child alone.
Ethan was, therefore, born into a town who from day one held him
with suspicion and fear. The fact that he was born with the added bad omen of
six fingers on his left hand did nothing to help his situation. He was called a
warlock, and many other less than kind words by the other people of the
village. Parents wouldn’t let him play with their children, pulling them aside
when he was around.
Ethan, ever since he was an infant, was never without a pendant
around his neck – an intricate, silver Celtic cross. His mother drilled into
his mind since before he could string a coherent sentence together that he was
to NEVER take it off, not while bathing, not while sleeping, never: or
Bad things would happen, playing up that the consequences would be sweeping
and dire. She never elaborated, instead capitalizing on the fear of the unknown
that such an ominous warning conveyed. And to this day, Ethan has never removed
it – while he has been curious, and probably more than once made up his mind to
do it only to chicken out at the end – that ingrained fear has kept him from
ever following through, to the point of protecting it or hiding it when need
be.
His upbringing into his mother’s religion, while Catholic by name
and many underlying values and with the presence of the trinity and saints,
differed in many significant ways. Women were not held in ill regard or lower
status by this religion, and along with that witchcraft was not held as a sin
(originally a device by the church to deal with free-thinking or independent
women). Instead, the religion was one that taught literacy, and personal
dealings between the individual and the saints as opposed to needing an
interpreter in a church. Furthermore, there was a connection with Nature, the
Old Wisdom and stories, of the prime elements of fire, water, earth and air.
Finally, this church did not believe in original sin – and thus while the rest
of the community saw the sins of the mother passed onto the child, she could not
believe that he was born with a such a “chip” on his shoulder ((Despite his
father…)).
Regardless, despite her love for her son, she did just as much to
shield him from the rest of the village as the village kept their children from
him. She scolded him if he tried to play with other children, saying that
because he was different that the narrow-minded villagers would not understand,
and other vague chidings.
She never spoke of his father, despite how many times he asked. She
refused to talk of where he came from, what he looked like, or even his name.
This, above all else, drove Ethan crazy – the unanswered question that didn’t
come with some sort of looming dooming consequence that became the pivotal point
of his need to know as opposed to the significance behind his pendent.
Ethan grew up assisting his mother with her work, learning the trade
of folk medicines and herbs. Not having any friends in the village, he learned
to keep himself entertained – he learned to read at his mother’s encouragement,
she drove in the principles of ethics and morals and the Celtic Christian
religion to him, having him read the bible, he helped out with repairs around
the house – basic carpentry and woodworking, and he’d sometimes go walking
through the woods alone. But, ultimately, he was lonely for companionship.
One morning, the morning of his seventeenth birthday to be specific,
when Ethan woke up… his mother was gone. Not dead, not having left a note to
her whereabouts… just… gone. Ethan didn't want to think about the
possibilities. She had usually been awake before him, and there were obvious
signs that she had been.... more than that there were half-burned candles, signs
of her working on strong protective spells, and several that he didn't
recognize, books littered over the floor... But no sign of her. At first,
Ethan assumed that this was some strange sort of birthday preparation, but when
she didn't show after hours... he knew something was wrong. For weeks he
waited, sometimes taking her place in the town when there was a need to aide a
woman in childbirth or mix together herbs to break a fever… but it felt
transient. But his waiting didn’t bring her return, and Ethan began to feel
restless. At the back of his mind, he knew something bad had happened to her,
and he was worried, but denial took more the place of the worry and he began to
think of what he was going to do. He didn’t feel like he belonged in the
village, particularly with his mother’s disappearance – the only person he
really had any sort of ties to. And the more he performed her duties alone, the
more he realized that he couldn’t do that for the rest of his life. She had
told him that the outside world was different – that the people here were
backwater and small-minded, and with each passing day Ethan’s desire to leave
grew. When news that a “real” doctor was moving to the town circulated, the
town’s sympathy for the strange boy likewise began to wear thin. Finally, after
having waited for about three months, he had the idea and gathered the courage
to begin asking around the town about where his mother came from, and more
importantly, who his own father might be, seeking a direction. Eager to send
him on his way, they told him of a man who passed through the town at roughly
the appropriate time that might indicate his parentage – a sailor by the name of
Dyson Graves.
Ethan asked around for as much information about the man as he could
gather before leaving. He was a sailor, and had spent somewhere between three
days and a week in the village, most of his time had been spent in the tavern.
He drank, quite a lot, and seemed to be a troubled young man (who appeared in
his mid twenties at the time, although weathered by the sea and his travels).
He had brown hair, was rough and coarse looking, and one individual described a
tattoo of an anchor. No one surprisingly volunteered information about six
fingers, but when Ethan asked specifically, a few seemed to recall that he did
possess them. ((And certainly no one else in town bore that striking feature -
but as to whether they answered positively because they thought it would get
Ethan out of town, or because they truly had a rusty memory after seventeen
years...)) Dyson had expressed a longing for the sea, and reluctance to be away
from it - a few said that he had mentioned traveling to visit his sister,
although stories varied on precisely which colony that was - that he was a rum
runner and supposedly that was how he had gotten to become addicted to the
spirits. And that the last time that he had been seen, he was escorting
Rosemary, Ethan's mother, towards the outskirts of town in the vague direction
of her home.
Taking the only clue he had, Ethan gathered up the things of value
to him that could be carried, sold the cottage, and set off with only a name and
occupation to go by.
He has been making his way southward towards the Islands and the
shipping routes, and learning that there is much more to the world than his
mother’s cottage. Now without a parent figure in his life, he is eager to see
and do new things that he knows that he would not have been allowed to do – but
nothing too extreme – like a College Freshman out of the country on
spring break. He wants to find his father, but isn’t opposed to having a good
time along the way, and maybe making his mark in the world.
CURRENTLY IN GAME (without you having to read the whole synopsis) - Ethan
has discovered his true nature and is trying to deal with it and keep ties with
the characters - he actually has friends, goals, etc.
Magic:
For quite some time, Ethan was not aware that he was anything other than a mundane boy, beyond some knowledge of simple (superstitious) charms learned from his mother. However, he did possess a few innate talents that he wasn't aware he was utilizing. One is the ability to temporarily boost his physical attributes to a minor degree (which, if even noticeable, is usually passed off as adrenaline - given those are the only times it would really come about anyway) He is also resilient towards fire/heat, and can see well in the dark. Finally, Ethan has a surprising magnetism - in the pheromone sense. While Ethan's been sheltered and isn't exactly the most adept in interpersonal relationships, despite his enthusiasm and gregariousness, he seems to do remarkably well in "getting the girl" - Ethan thinks that he's all that and a bag of chips, but in actuality, it's more of a pheromone effect ((And often, the next morning, might leave a lovely lady wondering why she made a hasty decision)). Not that this has happened very much yet, however, Ethan IS a teenaged boy.
As the game developed, and Ethan has found out about his demonic
heritage, he has discovered (or is discovering) other abilities:
. ability to cause minor harm or pain directly with a touch from his
left hand.
- complete immunity to heat and fire
- The ability to influence peoples' actions and emotions ((Suggestion abilities
and minor emotion control))
*******************************
CAMPAIGN LOGS AND ALTERNATE VERSIONS:
Modern-Version Ethan
Like my other close characters, I enjoy having a modern
renditions of them for variability in the potential settings to play them in as
well as it being entertaining to think of how a character translates from a
historical setting; how much of the essence of the character is maintained, etc.
Ethan is no exception, in fact, I think he translated
surprisingly well to a modern version.
CLICK HERE for information about Ethan in the Modern Setting :)
Campaign art piece by elengwat
CAMPAIGN LOG
-
The most "official" version of the character appeared in a round-robin-GM'd
True20 game set in the early 18th Century. This is a log includes
descriptions of the other characters Ethan knows. THIS is now the
cannon account of Ethan's many adventures. It covers the many adventures
as well as the development of the characters over the time, and further glimpses
into Ethan's changing outlook and knowledge about himself. This campaign
has now been on hiatus for several years, however.
Separate Campaign ("The Dissent"):
The Swashbuckling game has run a good course, but hasn't
continued in over a year now, and many players have moved or are moving.
I've created Ethan in a friend's homebrew fantasy setting, of which there is a
wiki being set up for. This game
did not have a very long run-time, however.
Ethan's Bio page on the
wiki is here.
**
Original Campaign:
ORIGINAL
CAMPAIGN LOG - Ethan's first appearance was in a tabletop RPG that a friend
was GMng. However, said friend abruptly moved and the campaign ended after
four sessions. :( Here is the log of those sessions. These
sessions are now no longer cannon to Ethan's story.
**
Ethan Cuskley is © Arania 2006- present