Remy DeLafosse

Art By: @SaintCinder

**\*\*This article is unfinished\*\***

**Remy Delafosse** is a player character in MagiRPG, played by UsulBard. He is a Human Bard, College of Spirits. He travels with the Grave Matters Detective Agency in hopes of finding information that can save him from the cursed lute he caries.

## Description

### Appearance

Remy is skinny, pale and tall. The soft features of his face are often hidden under stubble and unkempt black hair. His emerald green eyes, brooding and shadowed by a lack of sleep, lay underneath a low fit beret.

He wears a tattered black leather vest over a fraying green shirt that would be considered fashionable if it weren't in disrepair. The satchel slung across his shoulder lays at his hip and a black studded belt holds up dark, denim trousers.

Aside from basic hygiene, Remy has done very little to maintain his appearance or personal belongings in over 6 years. He is never without his lute: The Final Act. A frightening instrument, broken and rotting with carved skulls along the bridge.

### Personality

A shell of his former self, Remy holds very little hope for his future as the pall of his lute's curse hangs above his head. Unable to resist its calls to play, he accepts a bleak and indifferent view towards suffering and death, often expressed through sardonic irreverence.

Remy is deeply conflicted and prone to mood swings. He pushes people away but is terrified of being alone. He fears death but risks his life recklessly. He believes his fate is tied to the lute but will jump at the chance to rid himself of it.

Remy is confrontational by nature, but very easy to forgive. Before the curse, Remy was outgoing and fun; the life of the party. Remnants of this past show when he drinks.

He is honest to a fault and almost never lies about anything important, even to avoid personal harm.

## Biography

### Early Life

Born in Terrinton, a village in Cormyr, Remy's parents were farmers that supplied blackberries and other fruits to the nearby castle. Tagging along, young Remy would marvel at the courtiers, the nobility, and the trappings of castle life, eagerly recounting every detail of his visits to his younger sister, Celia. Celia and her brother were inseparable, and Remy lived to make his sister laugh.

On Remy's 11th birthday before the winter season, the lord of the castle, having grown fond of the outgoing boy, gifted Remy a lute on the promise that he would perform a song for the court come springtime. That winter, a harsh sickness befell Cormyr. Remy's father, the lord and lady of the castle, and many others perished. Remy never saw the castle again.

Life was difficult for many years while they struggled to survive. Remy's mother, Elyna, left bedridden for months, was forced to sell their farmland in order to put food on the table, eventually going back to work in the very fields she used to own. While Elyna and Celia were able to find hope and comfort in family, 16 year old Remy was heartbroken watching his mother struggle. Dreaming of providing a better life for his family by any means necessary, Remy left home and vowed to make a name for himself as a bard.

### A Bard's Life

For the next two years Remy traveled Cormyr, playing his songs and improving his craft. He reveled in the bardic lifestyle, playing banquets for the wealthy and sophisticated and rubbing shoulders with working men and women in taverns. He loved to drink and dance, he loved the admiration of the audience, and his dreams grew to match his new appetite for life.

Remy's penchant for blunt honesty found him in more tavern brawls than most would be comfortable with. His tendency to have romantic escapades with married men and women didn't help, especially when he would readily admit the affair to a jilted spouse. During this time, Remy would write letters and send money home to his family, continuing to promise success and fortune in the future. Celia would write back, always asking for Remy to return home when he found the time.

While in Suzail, Remy met a wizened old bard under the patronage Queen Obarskyr. Intrigued by his wealth and status, he asked the old man how he managed such success. The bard revealed the key to his prosperity: a magical lyre of amazing power. Laughing bitterly, the old artist told Remy that every legendary bard had a legendary instrument to match, and that his lyre was but a toy compared to the likes of what could be found in the wider realm.

### The Hunt for The Final Act

Now consumed by thoughts of obtaining a legendary instrument, Remy became obsessed with researching literature and lore for all manner of magical artifacts. One story in particular told of the tomb of a notorious and ancient bard, who had amassed a collection of legendary instruments that were to be buried with him upon death. With the promise of a magical instrument each, Remy was able to convince a party of his friends and peers to join him in his quest for the tomb.

After two years of travel and research, they were able to find the tomb and descend its depths. When they finally reached the sarcophagus of the ancient bard, they were to dismayed to discover rows of empty display cases and unused instrument stands. The temple had long ago been looted.

But as the remaining adventurers contemplated their escape, a slow and creeping darkness began to grip their hearts. It beckoned for them from the stone coffin in the center of the room, a song of haunting desperation. His friends begged for him to stop as he walked towards the sarcophagus. Frozen in fear, they pleaded for him to leave as he pushed the heavy stone lid to the ground. Inside the coffin, a warped and twisted body held its gnarled hands around a half-rotted lute. As Remy picked up the lute, all other noise fell to silence. The cries of his fellow adventurers drowned out by a new song, a cold and beautiful music that only he could hear. A caged music, trapped in another reality and wanting desperately to be free.

He lost consciousness as he began to play. With no memory of how he escaped the tomb, Remy never saw the rest of his party again.

### Return to Terrinton

Having achieved his treasure, Remy decided to return home to recover and learn about his new instrument. It had been years since he had seen his sister and mother, and Celia cried when she realized Remy would be home to attend her wedding. She had kept her engagement a secret, not wanting to pressure him into returning home for the wrong reasons. Remy promised to write and perform his first new song with the lute in their honor.

As the weeks progressed, Remy played the lute as often as he could. Despite it's looks, the sounds it produced were heavenly, and he was able to perform at a level he had never thought possible. The deep resonance of the lute's tone was intoxicating to any who heard it, and when Remy would play popular songs people would claim it was as if they were truly hearing it for the first time.

Remy spent his days with Celia, inseparable, as it was when they were kids. He had forgotten how much he missed being home with her. They would spend their afternoons talking about their hopes for the future and planning the wedding. Things were normal enough at first, he hadn't heard the lute call to him since he had left the tomb, but it wasn't long before Remy started to lose track of time. At night, he would play his instrument for hours, unable to sleep and increasingly driven by the thought of writing the perfect song for Celia's wedding. When he did manage sleep, he would have nightmares of whispering voices begging for him to play their song. He would often wake up drenched in sweat and sitting at the edge of his bed, lute in hand with blistered fingers.

Seeing the stress that Remy was suffering, Celia and his mother tried in vain to convince him to give up the endeavor. One night, as Remy was performing in the local tavern, Celia noticed him fall deep into a trance. His song suddenly changed tempo and he had locked eyes with the bartender, who held Remy's gaze with a dead stare. Without warning, the bartender turned red, shaking; his ears starting to bleed as the song continued to quicken in pace. In a panic, Celia rushed the stage, tackling Remy and ending the trance.

The next morning, Remy's family begged him to get rid of his new lute or to stay away from the wedding as they were certain that it was a cursed instrument. Stubborn and unwilling to give up his new skills, they argued for days before Remy finally relented, agreeing to the demands. On the day of Celia's wedding, it became clear which option he had chosen. Remy left Terrinton later that day, never to speak to his sister or mother again.

Within a year, the effects of the lute would continue to grow and wear heavily on Remy. He had begun to see spirits of those who had died but were unable to pass on. He spent the days searching in vain for information on the lute and how to break its curse. And he had begun to drink nightly in order to escape its call, which had now risen to a constant beckoning that he had to fight to ignore. It was during these nights of heavy drinking that he would meet Pritchard Graves, with whom he would find kinship as another lost soul looking to escape their demons. Slowly they would confide in each other, and Remy would learn that Pritchard was a paranormal detective, someone uniquely suited towards helping someone in his condition. Before long, their friendship would grow and Remy would take up employment (and housing) with Pritchard at the Grave Matters Detective Agency.

### Alphie Graves

Remy does not particularly like the young cleric, believing him to be spineless and judgmental, and not shying from letting him know it. As Pritchard's half-brother, Remy considers Alphie to be family, though Alphie may not believe it. While he respects Alphie's capabilities as a cleric and appreciates that he is the brother that Pritchard needs, Remy believes there might be a hidden darkness that Alphie works to keep buried.

### Cantarella

Admiring her strength of will, Remy feels an affinity towards the alluring dhampir in whom he finds a surprisingly frequent ally. Though they often still find themselves trading insults, what began as a contentious and untrusting relationship has grown into one of mutual respect. After failing for years to uncover the mysteries of his cursed lute, Cantarella has provided Remy with a concrete sense of direction. Remy also feels pity for Cantarella and for the past that haunts her, empathizing with the feeling of being hunted by a seemingly unstoppable force. He hopes that they can help each other achieve their goals.

### Cordelia LaMonte

Cordelia's faith in her abilities and her penchant for backing it up with results amazes Remy as often as it frightens him. Her intelligence and thirst for knowledge make her a formidable ally in achieving Remy's need to master the lute. After using his lute to save Cordelia's soul from a dark power, Remy felt hope for his future and began to harbor a strong urge to protect her. While Remy might find Cordelia's methods to be reckless and risky at times, he is often blinded by her confidence and by a secret desire to see her succeed at her wild endeavors.

### Rev

While traveling to Lonelywood, the group met a woman named Danae who runs the town's main tavern. Zira immediately took a liking to Danae as she was also a tattoo artist specializing in arcane tattoos. Zira got tattoo work from her and the two had immediately hit it off. After Lonelywood was destroyed by the Frost Maiden, the party was able to save Danae from nearly freezing to death.

## Equipment and Gear

In episode 20, Maru gave Zira a new blade as a gift - a weapon called Howler. Maru said that this weapon once came to the aid of wolves in the Feywild.

This silver greatsword tingles with magical power which can unleash itself at any time. On its handle is noticeable bite marks and a hilt carved in the image of a wolf.

   Howler is a magical blade that gets '***+2'* bonus to all damage and attack rolls.**

**Sentience.** Howler is a sentient true neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 13, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 16. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. Howler also has keen scent and has **advantage on all perception checks relying on scent.**

The sword can speak, read, and understand Common, and it can communicate with its wielder telepathically. Its voice is of a gravely warrior ready for combat. It knows every language you know while you’re attuned to it.

**Personality.** Howler does not think or care much about its past, always looking forward to the next battle. Howler has no allegiances or purpose; it is merely a hunter and a survivor.

### Abilities

* While most Barbarians choose to go into Rage as a bonus action, Zira does not have full control over her rage, so often she enters fights without it. However as a homebrew ruling, she's able to enter rage as a reaction to taking damage which retroactively applies her resistances to that damage provided by rage.

## Trivia

* Zira carries a field guide written by the famous halfling Regis, which has info & tales of his adventures with Drizzt in Icewind Dale.
* Miss Magitek based the character of Zira off of Ciri from The Witcher. The name "Zirealla" comes from "Zireal", which is Ciri's elven name.
* Zira is bisexual, and is romantically attracted to female and femmes.
* Tracie's playlist for Zira can be found on Spotify.

## References

1. ↑ https://youtu.be/-rTCF\_ICr3c?t=7377