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[extremeteenbible]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Merle Highchurch
Canon: The Adventure Zone: Balance
Canon Point: Midway through Episode 69,the finale. Just before officiating Carey and Killian's wedding After the Tacoma Candlenights live show* (plus several months of Mask or Menace CRAU)
*canon updated on 11/8/19

In-Game Tattoo Placement: just over his heart
Current Health/Status: healthy, but old
Age: approximately 200, which amounts to vaguely "old" in human terms (plus 100 years when he didn't age at all)
Species: dwarf

Content Warnings: typical D&D violence/murder, eye damage, a century of dying and being resurrected every year, drug usage, plant-based sexuality.

History: wiki link

CRAU History and Impact: Merle spent just under a year living in an alternate universe America where a mysterious "Porter" pulls in people from various realities and universes, and gives them superpowers. These people are known as "imPorts," and are treated like celebrities. Merle's powerset included everything he already had: 1) being a dwarf, 2) his cleric powers/magic, and 3) his magical loot. He lived in a house with his friends from home who were there, and made a bunch of new friends as well. Having led such a long and storied life, this short stay in America didn't have a huge impact on Merle's personality. The most important events to note are: 1) when a friend of his got possessed by a relic brought from Merle's universe and turned a whole city into plantlife, and had to be hunted down and killed by Merle and his friends to break the thrall; 2) the time another relic spread its effect throughout the imPort population and changed people's ages for a week or so, making Merle regress to a young dwarf of 50 before he had met any of his friends; and 3) the time an imPort had gone on the network and solicited nudes, which Merle happily provided.

Personality: Despite being an integral part of Tres Horny Boys, the IPRE, and the Bureau of Balance, a great deal of Merle's history and personality is defined by him running away from responsibilities and not wanting to be tied down. He felt stifled by the Pan commune he grew up in, so he left. He married another beach dwarf named Hekuba, had a son with her, became a father to her daughter from a previous marriage, but felt that he would never be a good husband and father, so he left. Heck, you could even say that joining the Starblaster crew was the biggest act of leaving of all! A chance to fly away from your entire plane of existence and explore new worlds? Sign him right up!

Though Merle has lived a long and eventful life, he's constantly on a journey of self discovery and affirmation. He grew up in a community of Pan worshippers, and though he still believes in and preaches the word of Pan, he has gone through several periods of doubt in his beliefs. These were exacerbated when the Hunger found its way to Faerûn and cut off Merle's divine connection to his god. Merle felt like finally, Pan had abandoned him, leaving unable to cast any spells or perform any healing magic. Once Taako opened up the other planes, and Pan was able to come through, however, Pan reassured Merle in person that he had never, and would never, give up on him.

Merle's D&D alignment is "Neutral Good," which basically means that he's on the side of good in the fight versus evil, but he's not going to pay too much attention either way to obeying or disobeying any laws or rules on the way to do so. Merle's gonna do Merle, basically, and what Merle does is try to help people. Sure, he's killed things, he's been killed, he's lied and stolen and seduced his way through problems. But in the end, Merle wants to do good. Oh, and when I say "seduced," I mean plants. Merle's sexually attracted to plants. He likes people too, but plants are what really does it for him.

In any event, Merle may not be the best dad, the best cleric, or the best friend, but he tries. In his way. And he's gonna keep trying until old age finally catches up to him and his soul moves on to the astral plane for its final rest.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: Merle's powers will remain largely the same as they were in Mask or Menace. See: the red and green sections of this chart. To warp his powers, every time he tries to cast a spell, I will roll a die. On a 2-10, the spell fails. On an 11-15, the spell is cast as intended. On a 16-20, the spell does too well, and there are unintended consequences. On a critical miss, there's just an explosion.
Inventory: Please reference the teal section of this chart. Merle will have all items except the Physician's Pendant.

Writing Samples: MoM TDM & MoM text thread

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Chris
Player Age: 30
Player Contact: objectpermanence

Other Characters In Game: Gwen Poole
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Merle Highchurch: Chris
Permissions for Character: placeholder from last game (this entry will be updated if accepted)
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: yes
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: body horror, alignment swaps, characters dying a lot
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: cutting or puncturing of eyes
Additional Information: A note on Merle's inventory: as the Soul Wood Arm, the eyepatch he wears, and his Bureau of Balance bracer are attached to him, I would prefer those not count towards his inventory items. If that is not acceptable, let me know and I will have him lose other items instead.