Rusty Surehoof

== Appearance ==
* Fantasy race: Minotaur
* Pronoun: he/him
* Age: Adult
* Voice accent: Western
* Height: 6'5"
* Weight: 350 lb
* Hair color: Rust colored, reddish brown. Covers entire body.
* Skin color: Pale under hide
* Eye color: Dark brown 
* Example clothing outfit worn: Denim overalls. Headband to help keep hair out of his eyes. 
== Personality ==
* Traits: 
** Seeks to find joy in simple pleasures. Cultivates a practice of gratitude. Enjoys a good book and a good cider. 
** Committed to family (immediate and found)
** Irritable about comparisons/jokes about cows and minotaur. (in a way that a human might get frustrated at being compared to a chimp) 
* Goal: 
** Raise enough money to help the family keep the farm.
* Flaw: 
** Wants to help everyone; has difficulty saying no or maintaining healthy boundaries.
* Biggest fear: 
** At its root, a fear that his self worth is tied to his ability to do for others; 
** particularly focused on the fear he won't help his family in time.
* One thing they want more than anything else: 
** To know that their actions are making the world a better place for his family, community, and future generations.
* Pop culture influences (who are they like): 
** A mix of Everett and Delmar from O Brother Where Art Thou 
** as well as Luisa from Encanto
* Tics / mannerisms to help GMs portray them consistently: 
** Positive, can-do attitude. "I'm here to help!"
** liberal use of folksy sayings that could just be nonsense "Well, if that doesn't take the frog for a walk, I don't know what does!"
== Social Connections ==
* Family members:
** Lucy "Ma" Surehoof - Lucy is where Rusty gets his sensible side from. A very insightful woman, and full of warmth.
** Del "Pa" Surehoof - Del is a hopeless optimist who has a hard time seeing anything other than the good in the people around him. He has a hell of a green thumb and is always looking to help other people experience some of the awe and wonder of nature around them. 
***
* People they know: (backstory)
**Tess Fleetfur - Tess is a questionable friend of Rusty's. A sweet demeanor jackalope who is bad with money. Tess always seems to be trying to pay off her latest debt, or get the jump on a new get-rich-quick scheme. Tess often goes to Rusty hoping he'll help provide. Helped Tess out of a tight spot in Drinking Your Feelings, when he, Ailbh and Arethor managed to recover the Whisper Song. As a result of the Kittens efforts, Tess got employment with Bonaventura Halevy. Tess appeared again in Wrestling With Cases when she was used as The Principal in order to escort The Case. Tess was rescued by The Firebreathing Kittens and she asked Rusty to help her return to Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
*People they know: (Fire-Breathing Kittens)
** Arethor Gowek: Adventured together during Drinking Your Feelings when they uncovered a conspiracy to create a love charm potion
** Ailbh Goldbeard: Adventured together during Drinking Your Feelings when they uncovered a conspiracy to create a love charm potion
** Bill Destatueman: Adventured together during Wrestling With Cases when they helped Tess and the people of Hardingwood by disrupting a delivery of documents. 
** Nugh the Silent: Adventured together during Wrestling With Cases when they helped Tess and the people of Hardingwood by disrupting a delivery of documents. 
** Nusi the bartender: First on recording interaction during Into Hot Air 
** Tord: during Into Hot Air, shared the victory of the 49,599 Niqamui Games! Also in the course of competing, learned a bit of Tord's history and loss of his brother Eventyr.
** Leo: during Into Hot Air, shared the victory of the 49.599 Niqamui Games!
* People they know: (NPCs)
** Bonaventura Halevy: a devilish acquaintance from Drinking Your Feelings, he has promised his protection for Tess Fleetfur as a deal for the retrieval and return of the Whisper Song. 
** Ginny Barrelshoulder: Met during Drinking Your Feelings
** Jilenn Copperspeech: Met during Drinking Your Feelings
** Leug Goldbeard - sister of Ailbh Goldbeard. Stole The Whispersong to make a love potion to use on the object of her desire, Alexander McJohn. We caught her, but she got away, though without the book in Drinking Your Feelings.
** Mr. Chen: Hired FBK to stop a car and seize a Case attached to a mysterious courier. Showed up again during Into Hot Air, where he attempted to get his revenge on Rusty on the arena battlefield. Instead, he got his butt kicked. 
** Oxy Tymoshenko: A mob boss, hired Mr. Chen on behalf of Mx. Helfer to stop the car and take The Case.
** Kevin Hockney: Driver hired by The Bank to drive The Courier and other guards
** Stephen McManus: Guard sitting in front of the car transporting The Case.
** Benecio Fenster: Guard sitting in the back of the car transporting The Case.
** Gabriel Keaton: Guard working for Oxy that talked to the party when they arrived asking to give up their weapons.
** Roger Verbal: Guard working for Oxy that talked to the party when they arrived asking to give up their weapons.
** Mx. Helfer: A "benefactor" whose employer has an interest in making sure Hardingwood stays independent of The Bank of Niqamui.
** Honda Domeki Universe 2: Contacted by Nugh and offers sanctuary for the party at New Niqamui Colliseum. Rusty and Honda had a friendly sparring match, and Rusty managed to get the champ locked into a submission hold. 
** Kerilly Brightflitter: Contacted by Bill to help open The Case. Chased by stone golems sent by The Bank of Niqamui.
** Artemis Copperpenny during Into Hot Air, Rusty saw Artemis throw Tord into a pit of lava.
** Orin Vetner during Into Hot Air, Rusty met Orin in the Temple section of the Arena.
** Tikoloshe during Into Hot Air, Rusty helped vanquish Tikoloshe by punching him a lot and breaking his concentration on the spells holding Tord and Leo captive.
** Soo Ah Schinkelshoek during Into Hot Air, Soo Ah signed up the Bank of Guaso to back the Fire Breathing Kittens team in the Niqamui Games. The Bank received 5% of the Million Dollar prize that Leo and Rusty split.
** Gorb Bjorb during Into Hot Air, Rusty attempted to revive Gorb but was unsuccessful.
***
* Social class: working class
* Occupation: farm hand and fruit picker
* Combat class: monk
* Where do they sleep at night? Commonly camping in the nearby woods
== Background/Personal History ==
Rusty grew up in a agricultural co-op in the western Timuli Woods. Would probably still be working on the farm with his family except one day a representative of the Bank of Niqamui came with a deed saying that the co-op was squatting on lands that had been purchased by a logging operation and they were being evicted. While other members of the co-op are working on contesting the claim, Rusty headed to Niqamui to see about raising the funds to buy out the contract or otherwise secure the land for his community. This led to Rusty becoming a member of the Fire Breathing Kittens. 
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== Development ==
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== Things I would like to explore in future episodes: ==
* Possible themes
** the Sisyphean grind of capitalist forces and the apathetic cruelty of individuals or organizations who are driven by profit.
** the power of mutual care and community to sustain one another and bring about meaningful (if incremental) change
* Narrative beats
** Archived beats
*** I'm not certain whether it would be more narratively interesting for Rusty to 'get the money to save the farm' and then fix upon a new character goal, or for it to always feel like there is something drawing out the tension and resolve of the farm (a new wrinkle in the legal battle, the discovery of a personal element between someone at the co-op and the faction trying to force them out)
*** That said, there's some intentional seeding here of Tess being a character that might interrupt Rusty's ability to successfully direct funds towards his folks. Either on camera, or off camera, I could imagine that being a recurring bit. It may be that Rusty needs to help his friend Tess get square as an accessory to being able to complete his main goal of helping the family co-op.
** 8/29/2024: With Tess employed by Bonaventura and now attending GA meetings, I think her narrative tension in Rusty's story is resolved. It might be neat to either bump into another NPC from the Co-Op, or to find out more about the insidious reason why the Bank of Niqamui is suddenly coming knocking. Perhaps a connection with the Bank's plans/attempts on Hardingwood as well? 
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== List of Adventures ==
*Drinking Your Feelings - with the help of Ailbh and Arethor, Rusty came to the aid of his friend Tess and ended up thwarting the machinations of Ailbh's sister Leug Goldbeard. As a result of the work returning the Whisper Song to Bonaventura Halevy, Tess was given a job in Bonaventura's employ and a promise of protection. Rusty shook on the (infernal?) deal to return the book and made good on his end of the bargain. From a global narrative perspective, Rusty's friend Tess is now safe and gainfully employed, thus freeing Rusty's attentions to more directly attend to the troubles of the co-op. With a couple of big antagonistic movers and shakers named in this episode, it invites my curiosity about whether the Bank of Niqamui might be acting on behalf of Bonaventura (for reasons unknown) or possibly The Ancient One (Bob). Maybe when the bet resolved between them, either Bob sought to liquidate a previously untapped asset, or Bonaventura moved to capitalize on a new holding? This is a potential thread that could be woven into a future episode.
*Wrestling With Cases - Rusty worked with Bill and Nugh to disrupt a delivery of a case filled with land right documents to a Bank of Niqamui office. The case of documents was turned over to Mx. Helfer with the expectation that Helfer and the FBK were mutually united in the disruption of the Bank's plans and the safeguarding of Hardingwood's proprietary rights. During this episode, Bill donated his share of the rewards towards the liberation of Rusty's family co-op from their own troubles with the Bank of Niqamui, and Rusty told Bill that if he ever needed help he just had to ask. Rusty used his share of the reward to help his friend Tess pay off her personal debt to the bank, and Rusty also promised her that he would help keep her accountable to attend Gambler Anonymous meetings. While in New Niqamui, Rusty had a friendly spar with Honda Domecki Universe 2, managing to put the champ into a submission hold. Honda told Rusty that if he were ever interested in competitive matches, that there might be a spot for him on the New Niqamui Coliseum roster.
*Into Hot Air - Rusty joined with Leo and Tord to represent the Fire Breathing Kittens in the annual Niqamui Games. During the competition, Rusty encountered Mr. Chen and knocked him out. Rusty saved Tord from splatting on the ground during an air drop, and again was able to come to Leo and Tord's aid and free them from illusory magics that held them trapped and drowning. He also was given a minute to address the crowds and invite them into a greater practice of self-reflection. Due to Tord's rescinding of the prize money, (and the contract granting the bank a return of 5% of the winnings), Rusty was awarded $475,000 dollars of the million dollar prize. 
Category:Characters
Category:Firebreathing Kittens