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PLAYER↴ Name: Kytha Contact: kiffle Other Characters: N/A CHARACTER↴ Character Name: Lambert Age: Unknown. Canon states no definitive age for him, but based on other characters and the Witcher timeline, a conservative guess would put him in his 50s/60s -- which is still significantly older than he looks. Species: Witcher (a human who has undergone significant magical mutation) Canon: The Witcher Canon Point: Witcher 3; just prior to the events of Following the Thread, the first quest Geralt meets him in. Character Info: Lambert's wiki page is sparse on detailing in-game events, so I'm also linking the associated quest Following the Thread. Though he's taken prior to that quest actually happening, it establishes Lambert's friendship with another Witcher, Aiden, and the events most relevant to his recent history. I'm happy to provide more of a write-up/overview if those links are insufficient! In True Videogame Canon Style, there are some inconsistencies in Lambert's portrayal between games (a change of voice actor! More emotive character models! Fighting styles described exhaustively in the first game and never mentioned again!) so I'm leaning most heavily on the Witcher 3 for his abilities and his personality. Personality: Geralt of Rivia said it best: "what a prick." Even among Witchers, who aren't famed for being easy to get along with or having a good grasp of social niceties, Lambert is an exceptionally abrasive individual. With a mouth as foul as his temper and a black sense of humor, he's a far cry from the tales of Witchers as soulless shells. The youngest of the Witchers of Kaer Morhen, he's also the most hot-headed and reckless. Where his elders' cynicism manifests as a deadpan weariness at their crapsack world, Lambert mainly lives life with a cocky 'screw you' attitude that demands that you sit up and pay attention. Such posturing fits a teenager more than a grown man, but Lambert's apparent emotional stunting isn't surprising given the trauma he's endured. Lambert is a 'child of surprise,' a life given in return for a life saved. When a Witcher rescued Lambert's abusive father, he demanded the first thing to greet him on his return home as repayment -- which turned out to be his son. Forced into a life he never asked for, and seeing many of his peers perish along the way, Lambert has a hard time seeing what he is as any kind of higher calling or noble purpose. While some of the other Witchers operate on a personal code of honor, Lambert's strictly a 'get the job done, get out' kind of guy. Still, it's not like Lambert doesn't know how to have fun. It's just a very particular kind of fun, typically involving some combination of copious amounts of alcohol, bad decisions, and sacrificing dignity. Lambert holds very little sacred, freely mocking his fellow Witchers, asking crass questions about their sex lives (or lack thereof), and doing irreverent-but-accurate impressions of his more stoic brothers. Because he doesn't seem to know how to express it properly, the few who have earned the prickly Witcher's loyalty might be surprised at how deeply he cares. When Lambert gives a shit about someone, he Really Gives A Shit About Someone, and gods help whoever fucks with them. In an unguarded moment (a.k.a. when they're both blind drunk) he tells Geralt that he would go to hell and back for him, then calls him a jackass in the next breath. The one person he doesn't seem to have anything bad to say about is Aiden. Apparently, though their friendship lasted a few months at most, it was enough time for him to decide that Aiden was the best guy he'd ever met and be incredibly pissed off when he died. Lambert states that he resents being a Witcher and hates the idea that it was his 'destiny' to become one, simply because of an antiquated custom. Yet his actions seem to contradict his words, as he hasn't made a serious effort to distance himself from the other Witchers. Once he was fully trained, he could have easily gone his own way and disappeared. Yet in the years since becoming a full-fledged Witcher, he's come back to Kaer Morhen time and time again, lending his sword and his aid as necessary. There's no doubt that Lambert is quite sincere in hating what a Witcher is and what it's made him into, but it's evident that it also gives him a sense of purpose and a place to belong. No one but another Witcher could understand the shit he's been through, and so despite his complaints, he holds no ambition or illusions of living an ordinary life. When he genuinely despises someone or doesn't see a reason to let them live, Lambert is ruthless. At best, he exhibits a casual brutality: he tells Geralt he used Witcher magic to compel a robber to shoot his friend and then hang himself, simply for threatening his life. When the offense is greater and more personal than that, he's clearly willing to take more extreme measures. He vowed to hunt down and kill Jad Karadin simply because of a second- or third-hand account that he was responsible for Aiden's death, even if it meant crossing continents to find the man's allies. Lambert doesn't forgive or forget, and getting on his shit list means blood will be spilled. One way or another. Abilities: As a Witcher of the Wolf School, Lambert has a number of abilities acquired through harsh training and magic-induced mutations. The list below is a combination of abilities we see him demonstrate and what we can reasonably extrapolate. Physical abilities: - Enhanced senses. Lambert has catlike eyes that allow him to see in low light/bright environments; his darkvision can be enhanced through potions. He can focus to hone in on the source of distant sounds and even track things by scent. However, he still be fooled/thwarted by a messy/weak trail, magical concealment, etc. - Improved constitution that renders him effectively immune to all common diseases (magic-borne is another story), and lets him consume highly toxic potions. He recovers faster from most injuries, and can meditate instead of sleep. - Improved strength/speed/reflexes. Witchers regularly go head to head with creatures with inhuman speed and take blows from giants without getting mashed into pulp, but they can't jump to second story balconies or anything. Learned skills: - Bestiary: He has a grasp of the characteristics and disposal of an array of supernatural/monstrous entities from wraiths to manticores to vampires; he also has an understanding of his world's rules for breaking curses. - Alchemy: Lambert has the know-how to brew an assortment of potions, blend monster-repelling oils, and assemble bombs, some with magic-damping effect. Can also make hooch that will make you wish you were dead! - Magic: with memorized hand gestures, designed for use in close combat, he can cast five simple spells: * Igni: A burst of flame. More mundanely, he can use this ability to extinguish/light candles, lamps, and fires. *Yrden: Sets a magical trap. Can slow/knock back enemies, and make the incorporeal (like wraiths) become tangible. *Axii: Influences the mind of a target. It can be used from calming a spooked horse to coaxing out information. It cannot be used on more than one person at a time, and it's not irresistible when the difficulty check is high enough for the strong-willed. *Quen: Generates a protective shield in the user's immediate vicinity that can absorb magical and physical impacts. Lambert's been shown using this spell as a 'bubble' (a higher level variation) to protect himself and an ally from an explosion. *Aard: A telekinetic blast. Can be used to clear rubble and break weak walls. Witchers aren't invulnerable, and I'll add some more nerfs/stipulations here! Any iron-inflicted wounds would not be subject to his accelerated healing, and he won't be immune to any diseases that specifically are meant to affect fae. The ability of Axii to control/influence characters will be subject to the same general nerfs as all telepathy powers, and will always be opt-in. For alchemy, he'll have to source ingredients and find a space/equipment to work. I'd say it'll take him anywhere from a day to a week to brew a potion or oil (depending on its strength and complexity). Witcher potions, even those meant to heal or give benefits, tend to have side effects for non-Witchers, and being in an environment flooded with magic can only exacerbate that. I will work out consequences of potion ingestion with other players on a case by case basis (if it's okay with mods, could accelerating magical transformation be a possible side effect?). Finally, for the effectiveness of his skills/materials against monsters/species: for PCs and PC-run plots, I will ask the player, for NPCs I will ask the mods, treating each world's biology as unique (for example, just because it's effective against vampires in one world doesn't mean it'll be effective in the next one). He will be coming into the carnival with the following on his person; anything here is up for confiscation! - Silver Sword (confiscated upon arrival, thanks to the iron at its core) - Steel Sword - Silver Wolf Medallion (hums in the presence of powerful magic) - 2 bottles of White Gull (alcohol/hallucinogenic) - 3 doses of Swallow (healing potion) - 2 doses of Black Blood (potion that injures vampires & the undead when they draw blood) - 3 Samum Bombs (explosive, blinds enemies) - 3 Dragon's Dream Bombs (creates choking gas clouds that explode when ignited) - A deck of Gwent cards (non-magical, it's literally just the Witcher's obligatory minigame) CARNIVAL↴ Soul Colour: His soul is as Amber (#FFC200) as his eyes. Ideal Jobs: Mercenary, Scout, or Conman is what he'd choose for himself because he thinks he's cool and Nurse, Talker or Repairman is what I'd find hilarious to play, but I'm open to wherever he'd be most useful to the carnival right now. It's likely that he oversold himself when he was making his pitch in the first place, and he really, really wants Jad Karadin like super double plus dead, so he'll accept whatever work he's assigned and struggle through it! Relevant Experience: Lambert can do pretty much any task he's set to unless it requires a sense of aesthetics (or a pleasant personality, but that's what magic is for right?). Though Witchers are primarily hired monster killers, they have a wide range of skills, given that they typically work alone and are meant to be self-sufficient. - Kills Things: Lambert has decades of monster-hunting under his belt, mostly alone. He has zero problems with killing people who piss him off. Actually, getting him to tone it down so he's less focused on lethal solutions might be the real challenge. - Healing: Lambert has nursed people back to health before (although his bedside manner leaves something to be desired) and has a firm grasp of basic first aid, setting bones, prepping poultices, and sewing up wounds. - Tracking/Investigating: Lambert's naturally enhanced senses allow him to focus pick up information from the environment. Half of the job is just figuring out what happened and what beast he's dealing with, so he's pretty experienced with clue-gathering. - Handyman: Lambert's put in a lot of time fixing up a fortress constantly on the verge of falling apart, he's used to patching up walls, leaks, and medieval siege weaponry, and could probably lift equipment and pitch tents as necessary. He will probably have to be guided through anything beyond purely mechanical mechanisms. - "Persuasion": Lambert can't rely on natural charm, but with the Axii sign he can generally coax someone to cooperate ... or if all else fails, intimidate the shit out of them. Er. Reason for Joining: Prior to joining the carnival, Lambert was hot on the trail of Jad Karadin, the man he believes was responsible for the death of a friend. He was in the middle of a contract for an ekimmara, a type of vampire, but while he was tracking it down he took a wrong turn and slipped into the carnival -- as these things tend to happen. While initially suspicious of what was obviously some serious magic at work, Lambert decided that anyone with the ability to put together a show that defied space and time would clearly have other powers that he could benefit from. So he sought out the person in charge to cut a deal. His wish was simple and straightforward: if he wasn't allowed to bring Aiden back from the dead, he wanted Jad Karadin dead. For the sweet taste of revenge, a year and a day of service was no price to pay at all. SAMPLES↴ TDM Thread! Sample Starter In some ways, this felt familiar: the dusty ground beneath him, the smell of fresh grass in the air, and the weak light of the sun finally beginning to warm his skin. In other ways, it couldn't be any more different. Ropes and canvas creaked in the wind, the restless sound of the tents reminding him of a ship at sea. If Lambert focused his senses enough, he knew he'd be able to hear some of the other denizens of the carnival moving in their trailers, shaking off the aches of last night's performance -- only to get ready to do it all again later. Letting himself get distracted wasn't going to help him meditate any faster, and he turned his attention inward instead, trying to find that elusive state of mind Vesemir had spent many an afternoon trying to drill into him. Focus on your breath. Don't try to control it. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. When he felt a shadow fall across him, he didn't move, speaking without opening his eyes. "Go away. I'm busy."