Quinn Hecate

* Quinn (original)
* Quincy "Endure" Hecate Ishtaar III

**Quincy "Endure" Hecate** **Ishtaar III**, better known simply as **Quinn**, is a human gunslinger from the town of Red Rock, Republic of Luxengrand (born 390 P.A.). Growing up with his mother Rose and his sister Lena, Quinn enjoyed a comfortable living building and selling firearms to traveling merchants, until a man named Caleb Bayshore turned the boy's life upside down. Accompanied by his raccoon familiar, Richter, he is on a mission to bring Caleb and his Hellshire Gang to justice. He uses his firearm expertise, agility, and arcane spellcasting to maneuver quickly around the battlefield, evading foes while blasting them apart with magically-enhanced shots.

## History

### Childhood in Red Rock

The Hecates led a difficult life in the desert town of Red Rock. Superstitious residents fearful of the horns that protruded from the family's heads, they believed the family consorted with devils and treated them as pariahs. As a result of this mistreatment, Quinn would hide his horns and do his best to keep attention away from himself. While he and his sister, Lena, continued to study at the town's small school, Quinn wanted little more than to escape from the loathsome crowd. He used what few funds he could gather and purchased books from traveling merchants for himself and his sister, educating themselves independently from the local school.

### Career in Gunsmithing

At the age of 12, Quinn witnessed a gang of outlaws hole up in the town hall, taking hostages and setting up defenses in preparation for someone pursuing them. A tall, "devil of a man" known as Caleb Bayshore approached the gang, gunning down each of the outlaws and rescuing the terrified hostages. After the bloodbath, Caleb dragged away each of the gangsters in a wagon and rode out of town, leaving behind a device Quinn had never seen before: a worn revolver, with only three bullets remaining. Despite his mother Rose's objections, Quinn picked up the gun and began studying it, fascinated with the firearm's mechanisms.

Over the next four years, Quinn picked up the gunsmithing trade, using his remaining funds to construct a makeshift workshop and purchase scrap iron from Red Rock's mines. Seeing Quinn's happiness in working with these devices, Rose decided not to scold her son, but watched over him to make sure he didn't hurt himself or blow up the house. She even encouraged Quinn to sell his work to merchants traveling through the town. The guns Quinn initially forged were of shoddy make, given his inexperience and poor materials, but he was able to make a small fortune on the ones he was able to sell to traveling merchants. The amateur gunsmith used this money to buy more texts on firearms and firearm design, quickly setting up a proper workshop to practice his new trade.

Quinn proved to possess a natural talent for gunsmithing. Always a sharp and inquisitive child, he had a quick and intuitive grasp of how firearms worked, and even set to customizing them for specialized needs. The merchants he traded with were often impressed with his work, and Quinn was able to make more than the market price for similar guns. As a point of pride, Quinn would inscribe his initials, "QH" onto his guns, though he never revealed his actual name to the people he traded with.

While working on these firearms, Quinn practiced their usage in the yard behind his family's home, firing at bottles and scarecrows. When he was confident in his aim, he turned to using the weapons against coyotes, wolves, and other predators threatening the townsfolks' livestock. Though the townsfolk proved ungrateful towards Quinn, he gained valuable experience with using a variety of guns.

In addition to gunsmithing, Quinn developed a fascination with the arcane. The Hecates have long carried innate magical abilities, which have manifested in various and unique abilities for each member. Quinn, for his part, discovered an affinity for and magical control of iron and iron-infused metals, and thus dubbed this phenomenon "ferromancy." Hoping to refine this ability through study and practice, he purchased basic spellbooks from a wizened merchant and learned to use his ferromancy to improvise spells.

Thanks to Quinn's successful business, he was able to buy better furnishings for his mother and sister, finally living a life of peace and comfort on the outskirts of Red Rock. While the residents of the town whispered amongst themselves of the Hecate's fortune, Quinn ignored their gossip, paying no mind to the folks that had long tormented him and his kind. He was finally able to give his family the happiness they deserved.

### Caleb and the Hellshire Gang

When Quinn was 16, Caleb Bayshore returned to Red Rock in search of the young gunsmith. Having learned of Quinn's reputation as a talented inventor, Caleb requested a custom order from the boy: a firearm that could capture targets and pull them in. Quinn was suspicious of the bounty hunter, as he never advertised his works outside of his signature and gave no indication of where he lived. Caleb promised a handsome sum of gold for the order, however, prompting Quinn to get started on his "magnum opus." The gold he could earn would be more than enough to get his family out of town and to a place where the Hecates could finally be welcomed.

Rose detested Caleb, who often visited the Hecate homestead to oversee Quinn's work. Quinn didn't understand his mother's dislike of the bounty hunter, who conducted himself politely around the boy and even admired his work; however, he could see Caleb's gang did not share this civility. The Hellshire Gang regularly caused trouble in Red Rock, getting into brawls and upsetting the local townsfolk with acts of vandalism and violence. Even so, Quinn continued his work, finally finishing it after a week.

Quinn presented the completed rifle to Caleb, who appeared impressed with its design. Declaring his intention to test the device, he ordered his gang to bring out Rose and Lena. Shocked at what Caleb had planned, Quinn rushed to stop him, only to be knocked down by Rufus Red and held in place as he watched the bounty hunter shoot his family in cold blood.

Quinn attempted to flee, but was shot through his left knee with the rifle's harpoon and dragged towards Caleb. The cruel bounty hunter mocked the boy for his naivete, and decided to leave him stranded in the desert around Red Rock, declaring that "the desert [was] a mercy" compared to what he could have done to the boy. As the Hellshire Gang left the young gunslinger to the vultures, Quinn dragged himself to safety, finding the wreckage of a caravan in the middle of the dry wasteland and forming a makeshift leg brace from the wood and metal. On the verge of death from dehydration and blood loss, Quinn was rescued by a wandering caravan and brought to Shepherd's Rest, where a healer helped him recover.

Scarred and grief-stricken, Quinn armed himself with a rifle and a revolver and began his hunt for the Hellshire Gang. He is determined to bring Caleb Bayshore and his renegade bounty hunters to justice, despite the fear that grips his heart with each thought of his family's killers.

### Joining the Party

While looking into reports of the Hellshire Gang's activities in Eldenmarch, Quinn stopped by the town of Barleybrook in the hope of recruiting capable allies. After speaking with the town's friendly residents, he heard of a group of adventurers including two folks "gifted with the divine" staying at the Golden Braid Brewery. The boy met with a cold reception from Elendar, who was contending with his own problems at the time, but was welcomed into the group when he learned they were headed to Eldenmarch on behalf of a widow named Angie. Indicating his familiarity with the gang that attacked Angie's family, Quinn traveled with Alix, Elendar, and Ginny, who were in dire need of another ally.

## Description

### Appearance

(From Quinn's backstory)

"Quinn Hecate is a 16-year-old human male with tiefling features, namely small black horns pretending out from just above his eyebrows, and ears that end in a sharp point. He’s somewhat pale, but being from a desert he’s on the verge of a regular skin tone for someone like him. He has messy, short and curly light grey hair, which he normally uses to hide his horns and ears. He has yellow eyes and wears circular glasses most of the time, especially when reading or working.

He wears a green shirt with a lilac tie, over which is a hooded leather trench vest. He has fingerless gloves and shoulder pads along with this. He wears somewhat loose jeans with simple leather kneepads and cowboy boots. On his left leg he has a brace around his knee, and walks with a somewhat subtle limp on that leg. Around his belt, he has a holstered revolver, a small toolbox, a bag in which he carries a notebook along with loose notes and blueprints. Slung across his back is a lever action rifle with some cloth wrapped around the forestock and his initials carved into the stock. His revolver has the same initials carved into the bottom of the grip."

Quinn is also accompanied by a fiendish familiar named Richter. Taking the form of an overweight, white raccoon, Richter enjoys getting into mischief, but acts as a faithful companion towards Quinn.

### Equipment

Quinn carries an assortment of tools for creating and upgrading firearms, as well as two guns of his making: a lever-action rifle and a revolver. The rifle is upgraded to fire at close-range with ease against combative foes, and is occasionally empowered by Quinn's abilities to fire more powerful shots.

Besides these firearms, Quinn wields a set of magical items that help him navigate in dark spaces and provide a distraction as needed. His *goggles of night* grant him darkvision while traveling through shadowy forests, while his *deck of illusion* allows him to toss out harmless images of dangerous creatures to distract or even terrify threats.

### Abilities

Quinn can draw upon his gunslinging experience and magical abilities to contend with dangerous foes, making him a mobile and adaptable combatant.

#### Gunslinging Skills

Thanks to a combination of practice at his home and application in combat, Quinn has developed exceptional agility and firearms marksmanship. He is proficient with every known firearm in Kaldaran, having researched them extensively over his short career. Despite this, he prefers using his rifle, which he can use effectively from close and long ranges.

Quinn’s training has yielded additional dividends beyond firing guns, though it certainly augments such skills as well. His athletic and acrobatic abilities are improved to the point where he can ably outmaneuver foes through quick rolls, instinctually dodge attacks at the last second, and draw upon his grit to endure damage. When firing, he can focus his shots for additional accuracy, as well as intimidate targets with a cowing shot that discourages their attacks.

Outside of combat, Quinn's intimate knowledge of firearms allows him to make quick adjustments to them. He can apply potent upgrades that last 24 hours upon completing a long rest, and can use his ferromancy (described further below) to rapidly empower his weapon in a battle. Given enough time, Quinn can also upgrade firearms in half the time and cost most other gunsmiths would require.

#### Ferromancy

The Hecate line has long carried sorcerous power in their veins, dating back to the early centuries of the Age of Gods. This impressive power is a vestige of innate magic inherited from the family's namesake, Hecate, one of the platinum dragons of old. A fabled master of the arcane, Hecate's gifts have gradually passed down her line, manifesting in different ways for the family line: Lena seemed on the verge of developing hydromancy, the gift of manipulating water, while Rose had developed an ability that remains unknown to Quinn. Through consistent practice, Quinn is on the road to uncovering the full potential of his ferromancy.

Ferromancy has several applications both in and out of combat. Quinn can use it to detect ferrous metals within a short range, as well as lift up such objects using magnetic force. By focusing on this power, he can intensify its effects, allowing him to pull metal objects out of other creatures' grips, repel metal projectiles and weaponry, and place metallic armor in a stasis, effectively immobilizing its wearer for a short time.

Through study and practice, Quinn can use his ferromancy to cast arcane spells, whether to cast the actual spell outright or to closely mimic an existing version. He can use it to mimic the *magnify gravity* spell by intensifying magnetic forces, pushing creatures towards the ground and slowing them down either by sending pieces of metal down on them or by pulling any metal objects on their persons downwards. More often, he uses it to empower his shots, combining his arcane knowledge and innate ferromantic powers to inscribe runic carvings on his bullets, enchanting them to pierce magical defenses. For extra firepower, he can intensify the force behind a shot, creating an explosive burst of shrapnel on impact with *bursting shot* or using *perforating shot* to launch a piercing bullet that rips through every creature it travels through. If there are enough targets to warrant it, Quinn can combine both spells to devastating effect.

### Personality

Having grown up with virtually no friends outside of his immediate family, Quinn has an awkward time navigating through social situations. Shy and easily embarrassed, he has a hard time opening up to people, and apologizes profusely for any conduct or remarks that he worries could offend someone. Most folks who interact with Quinn seem to find him a polite, if nervous, young gentleman.

After finding Richter and joining the party, Quinn has discovered an appreciation for companionship beyond familial relations. Competing with Alix on inventing their own guns was a fun and rewarding diversion, speaking with Elendar has allowed him to open up more about his past, and dealing with Ginny has been entertaining and challenging given her reckless behavior. Despite all this, he worries that he feels like an outsider, and that his own goals and problems may not align with the others'.

Quinn suffers from a conflict of emotions towards Caleb and the Hellshire Gang. Though he despises them with a burning passion, he is also terrified at the prospect of having to confront them again. His victory over Rufus Red has given him a boost of much-needed confidence in succeeding at his mission, while his reunion with Caleb, and in turn, his mother's tormented spirit, left him in a depressive state. Whatever lies in store for him, Quinn is unsure whether he will be ready to face it.

## Inter-Party Relationships

### Alix

Quinn has a friendship with Alix based on mutual respect for their gunsmithing skills and a fun competitiveness. He was caught off-guard by Alix's confrontational personality, but came to enjoy sharing his shoulder-mounted cannon alongside Alix's revolving cannon, even if they ended up harming a cow in the process.

### Elendar

Quinn initially felt awkward around Elendar, who seemed indifferent, if not outright annoyed, towards him. After some conversation, Elendar began to sympathize with the boy, who he recognized as being burdened by tragedy. Thanks to the sorcerer's support, Quinn has been able to open up about his past, making it easier for him to find welcome in the party.

### Ginny

Quinn has a difficult time keeping up with Ginny's antics, which the rest of the party has already grown accustomed to. He worries that her mischief will get him and the party in deep trouble.

### Nix

Quinn knows little about the changeling, though he recognizes a similarity between his and Caleb's powers. He initially feared the two shared similar goals; however, after learning about Nix's distaste for necromancy and Caleb's dabbling with the magic, he has begun to reconsider his theory. While he understands the rest of the party is friends with Nix, Quinn is reluctant to become properly acquainted with him.

## Out-of-Party Relationships

After meeting Angie, Quinn saw in her a reminder of his own past with the Hellshire Gang. He has no intention of bonding over their shared grief, but the tailor recognizes the boy's pain and hopes they both find the justice they seek.

Thun has extended both a friendly and professional respect towards Quinn, who he treats almost like a nephew. At the gunsmith's suggestion, he has taken to using a sawed-off shotgun on his adventures, the success of which he has yet to report. If it goes well, he may seek out Quinn for additional products.

Quinn has bonded with a great wolf he encountered in the Sylvain Forest, which he befriended over the course of a few days. This guardian wolf has protected Quinn from the enigmatic fairfolken known as Mr. Fox, as well as a powerful werewolf pack lord that threatened to kill the party. Their friendship is represented by a wooden wolf mask that Quinn keeps at his side, which is infused with a magic that lets him communicate with canines and lupines.

While staying at the Magister's Manor, Quinn befriended Roger Trent's mastiff, Benson. A large and friendly companion, he quickly took a liking to Quinn and tried to raise his spirits after a difficult day.

## Goals

[To be filled out by the player as desired]

## Achievements

* Invented a rifle with a harpoon attachment, which he proudly named the Redeemer. Until this point, few gunsmiths could boast a similar feat, and none were able to apply such a heavy attachment without seriously compromising the firearm's function.
* Survived a journey through the desert with a wounded leg, which he supported using pieces of wood scavenged from a broken caravan
* Befriended and sated the legendary fiend known as Richter
* Invented a shoulder-mounted cannon equippable by a non-constructed humanoid, and usable by a small creature
* Defeated Rufus Red, a notorious bounty hunter and lieutenant of the Hellshire Gang

## Trivia

* Quinn's ferromancy is aesthetically derived from the playable character Rell from Riot Games' MOBA game, League of Legends.
* The Hecates are a prominent family in the campaigns of Quinn's player. Similar to Quinn, their most well-known members are spellcasters who use magical powers inherited from the platinum dragon Hecate, which they enhance through the study of the arcane. One of the most gifted and famous members of this family is an abjurer named Ashe Hecate, whose heroic deeds and insights into magic have thwarted the plots of evildoers in the various worlds where he is found.
* Hecate is the name of a Greek goddess, known for her association with magic, sorcery, light, night, and crossroads. She is often depicted in *hecataea*, a statue consisting of three figures resembling the goddess herself, which stand back-to-back bearing torches and other items. In Greek mythology, she plays a role in finding the whereabouts of Persephone after her kidnapping at the hands of Hades.
* Richter's name is based off of the Richter scale, the magnitude scale used to measure the intensity of earthquakes. Quinn seemed to associate an earthquake's occurrence with one of the familiar's acts, resulting in the name.