True Thomas

Context

This character is an original creation. We often call these “homemades” or “homebrewed” – think home cooking or craft beer.

Many of these characters were created to take part in tabletop role-playing game sessions. Others were invented as a creative writing exercise, often as part of a community event.

This specific character was part of our Spring of 2015 Random Magical Character Creation event, where he earned the silver medal.

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Background

Powers & Abilities

Due to his bizarre association with the Summerlands, Thomas has gained an understanding and awareness of the nature of reality beyond what others may possess. He knows what occurs all around him, whether mundane or mystical, and whether or not harm will befall him.

Part of this is also due to the fact that his spirit is not fully tethered to his physical form anymore, and he can un-tether it to travel about in the spirit world nearly at will.

In addition to understanding reality, he can impose this understanding upon reality itself. As he cannot lie, what he says MUST be true – and reality tries to make it so.

Simple, brute force things like the position of an object or even his own position can directly and permanently be accomplished (Telekinesis), while more complex changes cannot be made permanent, or even fully actualized (Illusion).

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Unfortunately, this means that he is simply incapable of telling a lie. He cannot avoid this flaw by careful manipulation of what he reveals, he must always tell the unvarnished truth about matters. He can choose not to answer, but if he answers it must be unequivocally true.

Not only is he an excellent driver, he has spent much of his wealth taking courses as a pilot for his Cessna, and sailing a small yacht, both of which he sold upon returning from the Summerlands.

In addition, his understanding of reality has given him a keen eye for the untrue, enabling him to puzzle out mysteries, or even know how to talk to someone and gain their trust.

History

Originally simply a New York cabbie, Thomas Verity ended up owning the entire company by the time he was 23, and had expanded to service all of New York State by the age of 27. An ardent fan of H.P. Lovecraft, but at the same time an eternal optimist, he often wondered if Things That Should Not Be actually existed. To his horror and wonder, they did.

On the Spring Solstice of 2012, Thomas was walking through Central Park, and accidentally disturbed the misguided and mistranslated Solstice ritual of a group of self-proclaimed Neo-Pagans. The end result was that (perhaps) instead of the entity they sought to contact and honor, they contacted something from the other side of reality. This thing saw Thomas – and was intrigued.

Fortunately for Thomas, Reality has more than two sides, and not all are evil. The entity he encountered could not exist in the mundane world, but not only held no ill will towards Humanity as a whole, it perceived them as having the potential to become like it was.

This pleased it, and sought to help Thomas become its herald. It kept him in what he called the Summerlands, until he was ready to return home.

Unfortunately, the contact with so alien an intelligence began to prove detrimental, in the same way a shoe is detrimental to a cockroach. He came very close to breaking under the stress, but managed to survive with his sanity intact. However, he now understood the nature of reality in a manner few could understand, and could even impose that understanding on others, albeit briefly.

Returning to our reality, he discovered that while he had an overall beneficial encounter with things from beyond reality, most such entities are not so benevolent. Selling his cab company and investing in various mutual and hedge funds, he promptly began to travel the world, both to fight against the darker occult sects, and to bring the idea of enlightened ascension to those ready for it.

The Summerlands

Comments made by the entity that gave him his partial ascension has led Thomas to believe that it was in contact with Earth before, and taken, correctly or not, for one or more of the deities of the Old Ways. Part of this is the nature of the realm he was in, which he called The Summerlands.

In the first place, spirits of the dead seemed to pass through this realm on their way to rest and reward. No truly dark spirits, like murderers or that ilk, passed through, and some spirits simply chose to remain there and rest a while. He befriended a few during his stay, but all moved on past before he came back to Earth.

Secondly, time and space behaved weirdly in the Summerlands. He spent nearly fifty years, unaging, being guided by his benefactor, but only three days passed on Earth. Meanwhile, the terrain was whatever he (or a passing spirit) felt appropriate, usually a calm sunny meadow or a clearing in a light, breezy wood.

Finally, no matter the terrain, the entire realm had a feeling of comfortable warmth. If seemingly daytime, it was the thriving warmth of a sunny day, while night held the comforting warmth of blankets and comforters on an early spring night.

Description

A tall, rail thin man, Thomas always bears a friendly smile, even when faced with utter darkness. His long black hair is usually pulled back into a loose, bushy ponytail, and his wardrobe is both simple and practical.

He always wears a broach of a disk of Celtic knotwork, with sunrays waving off of it.

Personality

Filled to the brim with optimism and hope, Thomas is a compelling individual. He knows truths about reality beyond the grasp of most, and these grant him an inner strength few can match. Unfortunately, his honesty can, at times, be rather brutal, which can drive away even the closest companion.

His mindset has become somewhat alien to other people, in part due to his awareness and understanding. He sometimes fails to remember that others do not possess his gifts.

If he is ever forced into a combat situation, his initial actions will always be to attempt to calm the situation down. If this fails, or if facing cultists of eldritch abominations, he will utilize his telekinesis as his primary defensive ability, and his illusions in an attempt to defeat his foes without lasting physical damage.

Quotes

“I am sorry, but yes, those jeans make your butt look big. Those over there were nicely slimming, though.”

“No, the car is on this side of the street, right in the path of your energy blast.”

Mugger: “Gimme all your cash or I’ll shoot !”
Thomas: “Actually, no you won’t. First of all, the gun has the safety on, and secondly, you don’t want to really do this. Come on, I saw a record store that is hiring. If you let me buy you lunch, will you go apply ?”

DC Universe History

Thomas could pretty much slip in as-is into the DC Universe. He might be pursued by agents of Darkseid seeking his knowledge, or even followed by his own entourage of disciples and students.

By William Chamberlin.

Source of Character: Random rolls, yay!

Helper(s): Dr. Peter S. Piispanen for creating the random tables.

Writeup completed on the 5^th of April, 2015.