mousquetaire | Application for Fade Rift

PLAYER

Name: Kerry
Age: 32
Contact:

halfbloodly
Other Characters: None, but I'm also apping Arohaerd this round.
Interests: D'Artagnan is from a world where there is no magic, and where he is personally very skeptical of the supernatural. Thedas will turn his beliefs on their head and force him to broaden his perspective and imagination, while still providing the kind of plot and action that he thrives on. In short I think this would be a very good setting to play him in!

CHARACTER

Name: D'Artagnan
Canon/OC: The Musketeers
Canon Point: The end of Series 1, episode 10.
Journal:

mousquetaire
Age: 23 (approx)

Canon World

D'Artagnan is from a fictionalised version of 17th Century Earth. This means that in terms of basic setting, economy and technology, it has many similarities to Thedas. It would be slightly more technologically advanced, in that gunpowder has become common, and soldiers like d'Artagnan regularly use guns and small bombs along with their swords and knives. Additionally, there is no magic in d'Artagnan's world, though some people believe in it and associate it with evil. This is mainly due to the influence of the Church, which occupies a position of power in many countries including d'Artagnan's; its laws count witchcraft as a sin. While religious fervour against witchcraft does still happen (and is notably depicted in one episode), it is mainly a thing of the past. These are the major differences between d'Artagnan's Earth and Thedas.

His France is a place where the monarchy was still very much in control of the country. It is pre-industrial and people have wells for water and travel on horseback or in carriages. It is also a time when social norms are beginning to be challenged - questions are being asked about social class, women are seeking education and greater choices in life, some people are defecting from the Catholic Church to the Protestant one. Those who are not royalty are seeking to influence political decisions and while traditions are respected, there is change in the air.

The country is ruled by King Louis XII and Queen Anne of Austria. However, King Louis is has a tendency to leave the day to day running of the country to his First Minister, Cardinal Richelieu, a highly ambitious politician who is also a prominent leader in the Church. There are political tensions with France's surrounding countries, most notably with Spain.

Though raised on a farm in Gascony, d'Artagnan harbours ambitions as a soldier. Already a skilled swordsman and marksman in his own right, he seeks to join the King's Musketeers - a group of elite, highly trained soldiers who protect and serve the King. They are one form of law enforcement in France, and are able to make arrests and take prisoners. There is some rivalry and tension between the Musketeers' regiment, and the Red Guards, the military regiment which reports to Richelieu.

History

The Musketeers Wiki
Episode Summary

D'Artagnan and his father travel from Gascony to Paris to plead the case for lower taxes to the King. En route, d'Artagnan's father is killed by members of the Red Guard who are masquerading as Musketeers.
D'Artagnan follows them to Paris, challenging Athos of the Musketeers to a duel. Eventually he helps Athos' friends to uncover the real murderers and clear his name. Afterwards, he becomes a trainee Musketeer.
Quickly befriended by Athos, Porthos and Aramis, d'Artagnan begins formal training and helps the Musketeers in their missions. This includes protecting the King, Queen and their guests to the palace, solving crimes that they are assigned, and escorting the King's prisoners to Paris.
He also attracts the attention of Milady de Winter, a dangerous woman who is secretly working for Richelieu and who is also the wife of Athos, long believed to have died.
While in Paris d'Artagnan lodges with a tailor named Bonacieux and his wife Constance, with whom d'Artagnan falls in love and eventually has an affair. When they are discovered, Bonacieux forces his wife to break d'Artagnan's heart.
D'Artagnan's missions include shadowing criminals to discover their plans, clearing the name of Porthos when he is framed for murder, and preventing the King's mother from usurping the throne, among others.
Richelieu often has a part to play in the schemes the Musketeers fight against, though he is also an occasional ally, since both parties act in the interests of France - they just tend to have very different ideas of what this means.
As the series progresses, it is revealed that a particularly dangerous criminal named Labarge has burned down d'Artagnan's farm, leaving him with no income. After a failed attempt to kill Labarge goes awry, he finally has his chance for revenge during a supervised challenge overseen by the King. Through winning this challenge, d'Artagnan also wins his commission to the Musketeers, fulfilling his major ambition of the season.
This coincides with the end of his affair with Constance, and he leaves her house to move into the Musketeers' garrison.
One of his first missions as a full Musketeer involves protecting the Queen on a journey away from the Palace. He eventually helps to save her from assassins sent by Richelieu and Milady, but not before she and Aramis sleep together, sowing the seed for great chaos in the seasons to come.
At the end of the season, the Musketeers conspire to capture Milady de Winter and expose Richelieu's treachery. Milady arranges for Constance to be kidnapped and threatens her. When the Musketeers rescue her, Constance admits that she truly loves d'Artagnan, but opts to stay with her husband rather than resume their affair.
The Musketeers end the season without love or money, but with their honour in tact.

Personality

D'Artagnan is a young man, filled with notions of bravery, honour and justice. His introduction shows him fighting for his life and then, on witnessing his father's murder, swearing to avenge him. His courage and valour are two of his most notable traits. He's brash and impetuous, the kind of person who jumps into every fight convinced he will win, and he's often right. He has a quick, somewhat dry humour, and a frequently sarcastic wit that sits alongside a manner that appears calm and almost lazy when he's at peace. Despite his youth, he's not afraid to challenge or backtalk others, and he'll generally have a dry comment to fit whatever situation he's in.

While his recklessness is often displayed as a strength, it is also a notable weakness. For all that he seeks justice, he can also be vengeful, as shown when he is determined to avenge his father's death and the loss of his farm. He's strong and brave, but he needs to learn caution and control. He is often not as respectful as he should be, running his mouth off when he disagrees with someone, demanding answers from his superiors when he's upset, and imagining that he will always be better than his opponent no matter how experienced they are. He's prone to reckless behaviour and will act without thinking, letting his emotions rule him. He can be something of a loose cannon, throwing himself into danger with little care for his own safety.

Despite this, he is well liked by the other Musketeers who quickly take him under their wings. Like them, he has a strong sense of personal loyalty and duty. He seeks always to behave with honour, defending those who cannot defend themselves, protecting those who need it even when they do not ask for it, and standing by his friends when they need him. They become a surrogate family for him, and he'd endanger himself before he would let them down. He will even bend the strict rule of the law if what it says would go against his sense of natural justice. He may not always make the 'right' choice, but so long as he behaves with honour, he'll live with the consequences.

D'Artagnan is also very romantic. He'd do anything for someone he loves, and threatening someone he cares about is shown to be one of the best ways of controlling him. This is not to say that he will not engage in a relationship unless he is in love, though once he falls for Constance, he can't see any woman but her. At his current canon point, he'll be doing his best to move on from Constance, but at present his heart is hers. By the end of the series, he has fallen in love and been heartbroken twice, he has proven himself as a Musketeer, and he has found a new family through the regiment. His sense of duty, loyalty and honour continue to drive him forward.

Strengths & Weaknesses

D'Artagnan is an ordinary human, with no abnormal powers or abilities. However, he is in excellent physical condition and is regularly shown to be fit, agile and athletic. He has a great deal of natural ability in hand to hand combat, despite having grown up on a farm and not having received formal military training until he falls in with the established Musketeers. He is proficient in the use of firearms (particularly pistols and muskets), though he is not as accurate with them as his friend Aramis. However his most notable skill is with the sword, with which he is extremely versatile and can use it either by itself, or with a second blade (such as his main gauche) in his other hand. He is an instinctive fighter with a quick, agile style which involves him employing multiple turns, pivots, changes of position and movement while fighting. He rarely fights with just one weapon, and his quick style allows him to easily switch between his sword, his knife and his pistols - as well as using each of them in combination with the others, while taking on groups of enemies.

D'Artagnan's personal level of skill is shown to be very high, and is regularly remarked upon by others. He is good enough that he has been shown teaching others (notably, Constance) the basics of shooting and swordfighting. He is generally able to defeat any enemy that he takes on, with the notable exception of the three Musketeers whom he befriends - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Where they are concerned, he is able to keep pace with them and fight alongside them without looking out of place; however, he cannot defeat them. His proficiency develops further under their (particularly Athos') guidance. Athos initially describes him as 'promising, but raw', indicating a high degree of natural talent which needs to be refined through formal training. He has a tendency to let his temper get the better of him when it is raised, and so when a fight is particularly personal, he loses some of his focus and his fighting ability suffers as a result. It is this aspect that Athos has begun to work with him on. At this canon point, he has shown enough improvement in that area to be able to win his greatest personal test to date by defeating Labarge in episode 8. However, it remains his most notable weakness in battle and is the area that requires the most work for him.

Suggested Nerfs

Given his lack of supernatural abilities I don't think he needs nerfing - however, if you disagree, I'm happy to make changes!

Arrival Inventory

1 dark brown horse
1 feathered cavalier hat (which strictly speaking belongs to Athos - we'll blame the dream for this one)
1 rapier sword
1 parrying dagger
1 wheel-lock pistol
1 pouch of gunpowder and 20 balls (for the pistol)
Clothes on his back (belted jacket with detachable sleeves, trousers, belt, boots and gloves, all brown leather; undershirt and undergarments, brown woollen cape)
1 Musketeer uniform (a brown leather pauldron, embroidered with the fleur de lis symbol, and a pale blue cape)

'Human'ization

D'Artagnan is an ordinary human!

Fit

D'Artagnan is from a time period with enough similarities to Thedas' setting to make his training as a soldier relevant here. It's also different enough that it will completely defy his expectations, both because there is magic here, and because of the diversity in races here. He'll have to quickly decide how he feels about all of this and what role he might be able to play. D'Artagnan is a naturally lawful character with an appreciation for the natural order, but that tends to go out the window when 'the natural order' includes practices he would find dishonourable. That would certainly include slavery and ill-treatment of particular races. He is also a natural fighter and will want to involve himself in the action here. He'll also want to test himself against the kind of characters he wouldn't be able to at home.

SAMPLES