Name: Setzer Gabbiani
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Position: Good
Powers:
Setzer is a lithe, unaggressive fighter with decent strength and stamina. He prefers to avoid fights longer than a simple dagger skirmish, but in the face of serious battle he draws a magically enhanced deck of cards to aid him.
Setzer has no way of choosing which card he takes from the deck. Before he draws, Setzer specifies in his mind whether he plans to use the next card's
physical or
magical capabilities. If physical, the magical energy of the card is sealed, and vice versa. He forbids himself to decide which he is going to use after he sees the card. To him the fight is a gamble.
Cards, physical - When manipulating his cards in a physical front, each card takes on a force relative to its number. For example, if a 2 is drawn and thrown, the most damage it could inflict on an opponent would be equal to that of a papercut. On the reverse, a King would have massive power, and a blow from it would have the potential of knocking out a strong enemy. Aces host a random amount of power each time they are drawn.
These attacks borrow Setzer's energy, and weaken as he tires.
Cards, magical - When Setzer learns magical abilities on his journey, he adds the power to his deck, and the cards embody that magic. Each card in the deck contains an element in varying amounts of power, depending on the suit and number of the card. His thunder energy is transferred to Spades; Clubs (or Fans), aero; Hearts, fire; Diamonds, ice.
Like physical attacks, a 2 cast of any element would inflict the smallest possible gust of that magic, though a King would be powerful. Setzer has yet to fully master any of the elements, especially thunder and fire. The highest he can cast (if the chance a King is drawn) with wind is a weak aeroga, ice is a strong blizzara, thunder a normal thundara, and fire a weak fira.
Two
Jokers in the deck reverse all power (both magic and physical) from the last card drawn, and impose it on Setzer himself.
Master of the Skies: Setzer is an adept pilot, and is remarkably attentive to atmospheric fluctuations.
Weapon:
Mythril dagger - A sharp, elegant weapon made of dark purple mythril. Though it hosts little magical qualities of its own, the blade is sharp and strong, and Setzer wields the dagger like it was an extension of his arm. He keeps it in a black holster by his waist, close to his fingertips for quick use.
Arcane Deck - The deck lies in the inner pocket of Setzer's trench coat, and is bound together by both magic and an elaborate black and silver band. On the back of each card is an elegant design of black and white (seen
here). When bound, the cards burn the hand of whomever touches them apart from Setzer himself.
Setzer can wield his deck to cast spells out of battle, as well. (I.e., If he needs a fire put out, he can look through his deck at will to find the card that he imbued his blizzard magic upon. ) They also function perfectly well as. . . well, a normal deck of cards.
Appearance:
Setzer is tall, lithe, and arrogant in build and posture. His facial features are proud and chiseled, marred slightly by multiple thin scars of his past gambling and airship incidents. One of these remnants stretch from his hairline to below his cheek bone, crossing the left side of his face and reaching nearly the corner of his mouth. The left eye remains unscathed, and continues to mirror the violet hue of the right.
Setzer's common attire resembles an almost Victorian style, with loose pants and a dress shirt. However, his adaptation of the fashion includes dark, thick belts, tall boots with dark lilac insignias, and a purple sash that frequently adorns his waist. Atop it all he drapes a high-collared black trench coat, embroidered with gold, and fastened with a silver skull chain. What he wears as a cloak now was once a garment he donned during his days of commandeering the airship Blackjack.
His long hair sweeps from his brow in messy layers, spiking down his shoulders and back. Setzer no longer allows the silver locks to tumble into the wild curls of his drunken past life.
Personality:
"I have nothing to lose but my life, and I got that for free!"
Setzer is a pilot by trade and a gambler by nature, an unbridled free spirit that gets a thrill from placing his existence in the hands of luck. His betting streak - in both the game and his life - blossomed after the loss of his childhood sweetheart. Since then he preferred distracting himself with the cards to mitigate the shock of the loss. Even before the incident, however, Setzer was incapable of resisting a good gamble, and still he thrives on risks.
The man maintains a strong sense of pride. Never would he stoop to cheating and never would he back out of a promise once it was made. Cool, calm, and confident, he would also never pass up an opportunity to display his skills. However, though a fair and friendly man, Setzer's cool persona makes him none the more modest. His inherent likeable personality is marred somewhat by his womanizing antics, a byproduct of the grief he suffered years ago. Setzer is aware of his charm and good looks, and he doesn't hesitate to wield this knowledge for his own benefit.
Figuratively, Setzer wears a thinning mask. His heart has been wounded by things he can't quite remember, and he still feels the pain. It is the strength of his character alone that keeps the darkness at bay.
Original World: Aeolus (FF VI)
Current World: Twilight Town
Video Game: Final Fantasy VI, Kingdom Hearts II
History:
In his youth, Setzer sole dream was possessing the world's fastest airship. Even as he grew older, maturing into a card-wielding, world-traveling, casino-dwelling free spirit, he remained at his happiest while in the air. His pride and joy, the airship
Blackjack, was rumored to be one of the grandest in the world of Aeolus - second only to the
Falcon, a vessel piloted by Setzer's childhood sweetheart Darill.
The two held a longstanding rivalry when it came to airship racing. They constantly egged each other on to go faster and fly higher, the worst of their contention gradually transforming into the best of friendships. At one point, Darill, acknowledging the risks they partook in on a daily basis, informed Setzer that her airship would be his were anything to happen to her. Setzer insisted that he'd only win the Falcon when he beat her in a race around the world.
"This time's for real! I'm going to break every record! I'll be known as the woman who flew closest to the stars!" Darill's voice drifted back on the wind. Like usual, she flew just ahead of his own airship.
The streaming wind eddies from the Falcon
lashed Setzer's face relentlessly, and he tipped his head back and laughed. "Be back before sunset! I'll be waiting for you on our hill."That evening Setzer watched the sun dip below the horizon alone.
A year later he found the smashed carcass of the
Falcon in a distant valley. Engulfed by pain, he drew upon the depths of his power to entomb the remains in the sea.
In the months following Darill's death Setzer tossed his old life in favor of cards, darts, and women, attempting to alleviate - or at least conceal - his anguish. One particular female, the renowned opera singer Maria, became the pinnacle of his false desires. He constructed a plan to kidnap Maria during one of her performances, a stratagem that was foiled by the intervention of Locke Cole and his Returner crew.
When Setzer abducted 'Maria' he discovered that she had been swapped with Celes Chere, a knight who swore allegiance to the Returners in defiance of the empire. His disappointment was short lived - in any case, Ceres was quite a deal more attractive than Maria.
When the woman proposed a coin flip, Setzer naturally excepted the bet: tails, Ceres would agree to be Setzer's 'woman'; heads, Setzer would use the Blackjack to transport the Returners to the Southern Continent and assist in saving the Espers.
Ceres won with a double-headed coin. Setzer quickly noticed, but was amused by the trick and agreed to offer assistance regardless.
Thus Setzer became the group's personal chauffeur for their quest. He flew them around the world, from the criminal town of Zozo and the mining city Narshe to the remote, secretive village of Thamasa. Gradually he became less of simply the Returner's pilot and more of a Returner himself.
At one point the
Blackjack was damaged in rescuing the others from the Magitek Research Facility. When they next returned to Narshe Setzer stayed back to repair his airship. There he learned of the Emperor's plans to capture the Espers, and immediately set off to warn Terra and Locke at Themasa.
They were too late.
The
Apocalypse - a cataclysmic event orchestrated by Kefka and the Emperor, lifting the Land of Espers into a Floating Continent while simultaneously destroying the World of Balance. Continents were shattered into islands, sealed monsters were freed from their binding enchantments, and the world became dubbed the World of Ruin, governed by a new god-like Kefka. In the wake of the destruction the
Blackjack was destroyed.
"I'm just a gambler. . . I just want to be left alone. This world is too chaotic for me. What's worse, I've lost my wings. . ."A year after the Apocalypse, Setzer's old companions eventually found him wasting his life away in a bar in Kohlingen. They implored him to rejoin the fight against Kefka, a request he initially refused. With nowhere to go and with all purpose in his life ripped from him, Setzer had lost his reason for living. However, like always, Ceres was able to spur his heart back into action with her words.
Setzer brought his friends to Darill's grave. There he unearthed his grief as well as the remains of the
Falcon, sharing the burden of his pain with his friends as he released the airship into the skies. From there he accompanied them on their fight to save the world.
One night after all had been said and done, with Kefka's tower destroyed and the World of Balance restored, Setzer took to the air yet again. Alone, he flew the
Falcon straight towards the heavens.
I'll bring her to the stars for you.As they soared through the night a blazing tear appeared in the sky. The rays of brightness that flooded through the rip were such a brilliant white that Setzer was forced to shut his eyes. With little but a sigh and no effort to slow or reverse their path, he and his airship were engulfed by the light.
The tear in the worlds threw Setzer out of Aeolus entirely. His memory became altered in the process, and the recollections of his past life blurred around the edges. He blames the forgetfulness on a history of too much alcohol. To dismiss the pain as best as he is capable, he attempts to wave off the expulsion from his home world as another unlucky gamble and move on with his life. Eventually he finds himself in the sun-bathed world of Twilight Town, and has set about earning himself a new reputation (and fan club) to occupy himself before finding the heart to set out again.
Deep in his subconscious, tucked out of reach, Setzer feels the unconquerable pain of being severed from his world. However, a free spirit will always fight chains; the man pushes down his feelings, refusing to acknowledge the emotional tie to his old life.
Role Playing Sample:
He supposed it could be considered odd, a grown man atop the Station Tower. The platform near the top was an area frequented by adventurous groups of teens and nostalgic young adults, even a daring tourist every so often, but as age overcame a person in Twilight Town so did the desire to keep one's feet firmly on the ground.
Evidently, that principal of aging did not apply to Setzer.
He mused that any who spotted him would indeed deem his actions strange. Not only was a grown man atop the Station Tower, but the man was, quite literally,
on top of the station tower. Below his boots he felt the pulse of both majestic golden clocks at every passing second. And, twenty feet below the smaller of the two, the ledge of the platform and walkway was just visible beneath the sundrenched shingles.
Carefully, Setzer leaned back, smirking as he looked up at the brilliant sky. Good luck had struck him again. It was always irksome when the tower's bell-ringer remembered to lock the hatch to the upper dial room. The view from the platform just didn't compare.
It was for this sky precisely that Setzer hadn't yet bothered trying to find a way out of Twilight Town. The sunset was so close here, so real. A vague tickle of emotion and memory flickered across his lazy consciousness, a sensation he only succumbed to here. In
his place.
Setzer's smirk had vanished. With a sigh, he propped himself cautiously on the backs of his hands again, savoring the spike of adrenaline that coursed through his veins as he did so. The sun suddenly emerged from its violet cloud cover and sat in full blaze over the horizon, simultaneously blinding Setzer and bathing him in heat. The trace of memory quickly faded in the wake of the intense surge of light.
For many long minutes more he laid there, enveloped in his burning sun and sky, while the minutes ticked on beneath him. The clouds were strips of indigo by the time he finally shifted the loose shingle, slipped behind the clock face, and began his descent of the tower.