Take Two: Interview with the Revenant

Well, guess what? Looks like I've got a few more interviews to give to all of you! The DM for the group I'll call the Ravens (based on their in-character name) got in touch with the members of the group, and I've had a few step forward for interviews! So here comes interview number two, from Alicia, who plays the revenant fighter Misery. Expect more interviews to come over the following Saturdays!

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Let's hear a little bit about what and who your character is.
My character is a revenant named Misery. A revenant (in terms of this game) is an intelligent corpse animated in the service of the goddess Mavra (goddess of Death, Destiny, and Secrets). Misery was, in life, a girl named Aislin, she was Jorin’s (the warlock) lover. She was in an underground movement to protect mages. It was called the Magus Movement, an underground railroad of sorts. She was captured by the kingdom and publically executed when she refused to give information on the leaders of the movement. Before she died, however, she was approached by a messenger of Mavra, who offered her a chance to save Jorin post mortem. Aislin accepted and a few days later, Misery was born. Only problem was Misery had no memory of any of this. All she knew was that she had to gather forces to stop the Dark Men and do the bidding of Mavra. She didn’t even remember Jorin.

She’s slowly remembering though. Having emotions is really starting to irritate her.

So, you're the revenant, huh? How'd you come around to playing that sort of a character?
I am always up for playing something different and challenging. When our Dungeon Master mentioned a new creature type a few months before we started the campaign, I was all over it. I have a long history of playing the unusual. Being able to play a stoic character was fun since usually my characters are very opinionated and sometimes loud. Misery will sometimes be quiet for long periods of time and only pipe in when necessary, but with her emotions returning, that is starting to change. So it will be interesting to see where this will go.

Having a character named "Misery" is definitely a telling detail...could you tell me a bit about how the character concept fell into place?
Well she doesn’t really experience what misery is herself, ironically, although, her presence is certainly making Jorin miserable. I worked very closely with my husband Jason who is playing Jorin to create this character background along with his character. These two are very closely integrated characters. Jorin doesn’t want Misery around to remind him of the love he lost and Misery is constantly hovering around him because she remembers him finally. Its an interesting dynamic and I wanted to play that.

I also wanted to play the concept of starting as one character and slowly shifting into a second. The more Misery remembers, the more like Aislin she becomes. So, who knows, by the end of game I’ll probably be playing Aislin.

Last week we talked about Hestia, the changeling bard. Misery popped up in that interview...what's the dynamic like between those two characters?
Interesting, to say the least. Misery is still learning who she was, and Hestia is trying to aid her along the way. She even took on Aislin’s form to help Misery remember. As you can imagine, Jorin was not pleased. Misery finds Hestia to be a valuable asset on her personal quest of rediscovery. She appreciates her company, but is completely uncertain of how to express it.

Any other interesting relationships Misery has to the rest of the group?
Well there is her love-hate relationship with Jorin of course. She now remembers what kind of relationship they had and wishes to explore it further. Jorin is uneasy and freaked out about it. Under the mask that Misery wears, is Aislin’s face… in a palid and half decayed state, and it’s not something he’s comfortable with seeing. Of course you can’t fault him there.

There is most certainly an interesting dynamic with the dwarf Hrothgar. They don’t exactly see eye to eye (height difference aside). The short of it is that Misery would like to strangle the dwarf. She finds Hrothgar stubborn and infuriating as she feels he has delayed her goddess’ mission. Hrothgar doesn’t quite see it, but he mutually finds Misery irritating (I absolutely adore the guy playing Hrothgar though, totally cool guy). Misery is generally one track minded, so anything interfering with her goals must be dealt with.

What's one particularly cool thing about Misery? (or more than one...if you can't decide...)
Oh boy, this is a tough one. She has some pretty cool attacks that allow for the maximum reaping of my foes. She does have this grand ability to scare the bejeezus out of people. I don’t know, it’s really hard to pick out something. She’s one of my favorite characters, and I’ve been playing for just over 10 years , so that’s saying something.

Your DM describes your character's role as "The Grim Reaper". What exactly does that mean?
Well, I’m a servant of the goddess of death, I have a rather large scythe, and I wear a hooded cloak. My mask also hides a face that is half-skull, half-flesh. So I guess that’s why, lol. She is a character designed to widdle down an opponent and deliver their soul to her goddess. And she’s good at what she does.

I also hear you've been playing D&D for a long time...10 years? What's it been like, following its progress from way back then? (Which edition did you start with?)
I started with 2nd edition. My first DM is now my husband, actually. My first character was a weretigress named Trakkonee. She was sarcastic and fierce. Loads of fun. But my problem with second edition was there was too much math. I play D&D to unwind and math is not on my chill agenda. I really am enjoying 4th edition as the combat is made more simple so we can work through it more quickly and then return to the roleplaying aspect (my true joy in the game). I’ve played many characters over the years and have grown fond of them all. My most favorite character, Dronia, I am actually centering a novel around. :D

So, here's the big one...what's your number one bit of roleplaying advice?

Have fun. Really having fun is what it’s all about, and if that means letting your imagination go crazy, then go for it! :D