[Xanth]

Hallo, Freudian. I'm Emma. Welcome to EF!


- Young/teenager, most likely between the ages of 16-19; old enough to think he's adult but low on this whole "life experience" thing.
- Painfully naive; kind of the sort to cause disasters despite honestly good intentions and/or be easily manipulated into doing such things.

Characters have to be in the Young Adult band or older, but what that means in terms of actual age depends on the species. Young adult Anyeli (fledglings), for instance, are 100-199 years old, while young adult Malaki (braves) are 6-12 years of age. Naivete tends to be more common among the Faeth (characters living in the Fae Forest), and I think Nymphs and Therians would probably suit best here. They are rural species by nature, and Fae Therians especially don't get to be very street-smart since they aren't accustomed to urban living. They aren't necessarily low on life experience, though. If anything, they're more down to earth than the urban races because they're face to face with the often harsh cycle of nature.

- Dark skinned - said character is usually very dark skinned and I just can't imagine changing that.

Zanaryans would probably be your best bet here, since they're generally darker than Elysians. The Anyeli and Nymphs originated in the Mediterranean so the majority of them are are either fair or olive-skinned. There is enough Earth blood mixed in to afford dark skin for any of the races, though it's not common.

- Something of a reject; basically whatever his race's equivalent of a atypical loser or "person with unhealthy interests" is. Something like a Nymph with an interest in technology, as an example (possibly a bad one)?

Not all Nymphs follow the Sylvan Creed (which, among others, lists pacifism as a major rule of their society), so one could be interested in something considered 'unhealthy'. The Siblinghood is an example of so-called "rogue" Nymphs, but there are plenty of options for 'rejects' that aren't necessarily villains. For instance, Nereids are shunned by many other Nymphs because their element (fire) is volatile and destructive by nature. A Zanaryan hybrid might be rejected if they have no wings or horns, because without those they are not considered Zanaryan at all. Anyeli hybrids without wings will struggle to survive in the Empire (because of all the climbing, and the fact that Anyeli forts are built vertically into mountainsides). Likewise, an Anyelos who refuses to join a faction and keeps their wings grey will be looked down on by all other Anyeli.

Some Nymph communes are so xenophobic they will reject any Nymph who has a relationship (however temporary) with an outsider. Some other communes might be so segregated that the male Sidhe are shunned by the females (because theirs is a matriarchal society). Any Therian or Nymph who disrespects the laws of nature would be rejected, if not downright exiled. In some areas run by cabals trying to be good (like Black Rose), vampires who feed on live prey would be exiled and shunned.

There are some other ideas in this thread if you want to take a look.

- Tends to be somewhat scholarly, or at least wants to be - the sort to push buttons to see what they do and basically try to teach himself things if he finds them interesting, no matter if it's a good idea or not.

The Dracovar are the most scholarly of the Elysian races, with the Anyeli Peacekeepers coming in second. Zanaryans outclass them, however; they're pretty up there in terms of the classics they produce in literature, music and the arts. 'Vari are easier to play because the Zan are highly complex politically and few of them live in Elysia.

I should mention, though, there are very few books in Elysia. The CORWW (Elysia's internet) makes access to information easy in some respects, but a lot of the lore and history is kept in the few books they have. There are only three libraries (Alexandria, Espur and the Cloud Palace, the latter needing special permission for non-Anyeli to access). However, a lot of these books and scrolls are also missing/lost in ruined temples and forts, so it would be immense fun to have your character (and hired bodyguards? ) go treasure-hunting.

Generally speaking, Zanaryans would probably be your better option. A female Zan (highly patriarchal society) would be downtrodden and lacking in those life experiences you mentioned, have more chance of being commonly dark-skinned, and better access to the literature aspect. If they broke away from their family or refused to do the things Zanaryan females are meant to do (like sit at home looking pretty and listening to the men in their lives), they would be most definitely shunned, to the point where they may end up leaving Zanarya for the freedom of Elysia. It would also be interesting to see a female in RP since all our current Zanaryans are males... The problem with that is gaining access to tutors for their elemental abilities.

Otherwise, a literate Therian or Nymph bookworm would certainly be unusual enough to have the others of their kind giving them sideways looks, though not to the extent they'd be outright rejected. But you don't normally find naive Dracovari or Anyeli (though anything is possible with a nudge in the right direction ).

I hope this helps rather than confusing the issue further. I've tried to give you some options rather than saying "this or this". We don't really have any one race or class that would match the concept ideally but I'm sure we can help you work around them.

[Xanth]

No worries.

- Nymph or Nymph hybrid, recently arrived in an urban area such as Alexandria
- Has an acute interest in technology and lost, possibly forbidden, knowledge (especially the CORWW and probably some not-so-naturefriendly stuff), may have led to him departing a commune due to philosophical difficulties/differences
- If not classless, then something like a Warden/Dryad/Nyad-in-training, but most likely not very good at anything due to ceasing such training early on
These work fine. :3 The male Nymphs are called Sidhe, just so you know.

- Has whatever the equivalent of a "rock bottom minimum wage job any shmuck can do" is
- May want to be a healer - not sure how obtainable a goal that is?
- Lives in housing that'd be paid for by such a job - ie., a bunk in someone's flophouse or a hostel, most likely?
There's a list of occupations here you can take a look at if you like. A Nymph/Sidhe can't be a healer using the Heal skill, but they're commonly herbalists and wildcrafters. (The latter harvests plants for useful ingredients, while the former utilises those ingredients to make poultices, teas etc.) Herbalists are the "poor man's healer" because they're more common and don't need to take on the injuries themselves or recover from healing sessions. However, what they can heal is limited to what ingredients are available. Your character could be an apprentice herbalist; they wouldn't get paid, but would work in exchange for training and room&board from their master. Or, really, they could be an apprentice anything with the same sort of 'income'.

- Very likely to fall in with people who aren't the most upright types and not really get that what he's helping with is bad
This is possible in the city no matter what he does, really. If none of the current organisations work for you, you're very welcome to submit your own. My first thought for a herbalist falling in with the wrong crowd is if they'd had a bit of training (enough to tend minor injuries) and were somehow coerced into helping petty crooks who can't go to guild healers for obvious reasons. (Members of the Coalition of Healers get a piece of paper essentially saying they're approved by the Coalition as legitimate healers. Herbalists may have their own guild with similar licensing, but apprentices don't get that piece of paper regardless because they aren't qualified yet.) You don't have to take the herbalist idea, it's just something that popped into my head.

I'm not sure how much of the Nymph race's "Yay nature" thing is in their blood vs in their culture, either. Sorry to impose - I'm sure you're busy!
It's a bit of both, to be honest. They've been around for 10000 years and the Elemental War that caused them to come up with the Sylvan Creed occurred just a couple of thousand years in to their history, so they've had a long time for the nature thing to become utterly ingrained. They have a strong, innate affinity with nature, but a lot of it is cultural, too.

I'm happy to help! I adore EF's wiki, but it can get a bit overwhelming when you're trying to digest it all at once.