application: hotel caelum

[netherese]

Applicant Info

Name: Christine
Contact: necrofancy, necrofancies @ discord
Invited By: Cal
Current Character(s): N/A

Character Info

Character's Name: Gale Dekarios
Character's Canon: Baldur’s Gate 3
Character's Age: 40ish, he’s not interested in sharing the specifics.
Canon Point: Act 3, before progressing his personal quest.
Background/History: Gale @ the BG3 Wiki

Strengths & Weaknesses:

STRENGTHS
➤ Intelligence: Gale is a brilliant mind and accomplished scholar with a knack for problem-solving. He takes a methodical and pragmatic approach to most situations and strongly believes in reason. As a lifelong student of both magic and the world around him, he is passionate not only about learning, but teaching and sharing whatever he does learn with others, should they have an interest.
➤ Magical Talent: Gale is a wizard of “considerable acclaim” in his own words, but this is hardly idle bragging. His reputation is well-earned; he was considered a prodigy in his youth and showed so much raw talent that the goddess Mystra herself took notice of him and took him under her wing. He became her Chosen One, and his powers were near unrivaled by any other wizard of the age until he got himself grounded and debuffed.
➤ Optimism: Even when things are at their worst, Gale does his best to face troubles with a smile or a quip for levity to help keep both himself and his companions from feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. He is one of the more pleasant and congenial members of the party, with a kind heart and an investment in doing good deeds and aiding others, despite the fact that their current situation might make others lean towards self-interested cynicism, and believes that for every problem, a solution can be found.

WEAKNESSES
➤ Hubris: Like so many wizards before him, Gale has the potential to be crippled by his own hubris. He has already fallen from grace once before, defying the wishes of the goddess Mystra because he believed that he knew better, or that because his intentions were good, the ends would surely justify whatever means he might use. Despite being a scholar with a broad knowledge of history, he fails to learn from his predecessors because he seems to believe that his own abilities and the goodness of his intentions mean that he simply must succeed where those before him have failed. ‘Surely, this time will be different,’ ignoring the fact that regardless of his beliefs, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
➤ Ambition: Gale’s ambition is a double-edged sword; it has driven him to do great things and achieve great heights, but it also means he is never content to remain where he is— or leave well enough alone. It was his ambition to become the greatest wizard Faerun has ever known, to become Mystra’s most beloved, that drove him to defy her wishes in his efforts to try and return a missing piece of what he thought was her Weave. Later, it is his ambition that drives him to potentially pursue godhood and challenge Mystra herself, because he’s certain that the world deserves a ‘better’ god of magic and that he himself can provide that— outright dismissing the option of failure or the great risks involved simply because he is too ambitious to become something greater to allow himself to consider anything but his success. His heart is good, but he remains hungry for greater power all the same, and this is an incredibly dangerous combination, lacking in a necessary degree of self-awareness.
➤ Physiology: Wizards are generally of a weaker constitution than many of their traveling companions, and Gale is no exception, but he has some further complications. Because he is currently housing a Netherese destruction orb in his chest, his body is under constant stress as it steadily eats away at him from the inside. Previously, he had to absorb the power of magic items to temporarily stabilize the orb to keep it from exploding and causing massive damage to the world around him; at present, it is slightly more stable thanks to the efforts of his mentor, but still highly volatile (to the point where his blood is full of necrotic magic, as seen when Astarion tries to bite him and ends up poisoned). He still worries that too much exertion or extreme emotions might cause the orb to do serious damage to others around him, and it is important that he stay very alive and in control of his own faculties to keep it in check.

Powers & Abilities: Gale’s abilities primarily revolve around magic. At his current canon point (level 12), he has a number of spells available to him and is able to cast up to Level 6. His current spell list can be found here, though he has to have spells prepared in order to cast them. He can also use Arcane Recovery to regain limited spell slots/energy before having to rest for an extended period.

Additionally, being tadpoles by his mindflayer captors means that Gale has some limited psychic power, occasionally able to hear or see the thoughts and feelings of other people bearing tadpoles. He also has the potential to exert psychic influence over other tadpole bearers. Because this ability comes from being a part of the Illithids’ hivemind network, it is unlikely that it will work reliably here, aside from possibly being able to share fleeting thoughts with any potential canonmates bearing tadpoles, as well.

Sample:

➤ Gale @ the TDM
➤ Gale & Winter @ the TDM
➤ Gale & Amelia @ the TDM

Other: If possible, I would like for Gale to bring his familiar along with him, Tara the Tressym.