Hello, everyone. This is Trevor Spiegel. For those of you who don't know, I play Elric Fiddlefingers, a dashing halfling bard with sharp looks and a nasty voice impediment. A character based around charisma is not exactly my forte, but I have grown as a player by putting myself outside my comfort zone.
I think that many players create characters that they envision themselves as—the heroic paladin, the sneaky rogue, or the wise wizard. Elric, however, was born out of necessity. Elric was not meant to be a permanent character who joined the Seekers; therefore, I took it as a personal challenge to create an interesting character who annoyed the hell out of my counterparts. Is Elric the typical handsome, horny bard? Yes. Do NPCs tend to notice my horrible crackling voice? I don’t think so. So far he hasn’t failed a performance check. A year and a half later, Elric still thrives and lives to occasionally rub his friends the wrong way—the shenanigans are always great. Personally, I enjoyed the time that I stole and activated that magic box from Darius, creating a Time Stop / Delayed Blast Fireball bomb. Even though I knew something bad would probably happen, it was what my character would have done. Good times. So you see, at the start of Roll Seekers, I was transitioning from my old career—one where I was going to have to stay out of the public eye—into a new one. It was going to be a huge change that involved long hours and shift work. I couldn’t seem to make being a Seeker work. My new job, though, has been a lifesaver for my family. Somehow, the Halfling luck must have rubbed off on me, because I wound up in a miracle position that is Monday through Friday. All of a sudden, I went from stepping away as an occasional guest star to becoming a full fledged Seeker. Playing Elric is a lot of fun, but as I mentioned earlier, playing him is outside my comfort zone. I struggle with everyday human emotions, just like the rest of you. I have insecurities, I am introverted around people I don’t know, and I can get stuck in my own head. Before we went public with our live stream, I played with the same people in a private space and didn’t have to worry about almost anything. Now, though, I want to perform my best and look great for our audience. So, go figure, I've had to overcome my self consciousness of having a ridiculous voice. It is still difficult from time to time, especially during serious moments. The moments that I yearn for, though, are when I can let Elric take control and let the character play himself. Although I have come to enjoy Elric, he can still be too much fun, sometimes. Dark humor is a regular thing for me, and I have to make sure I taper myself off while playing. It is too easy to let all of those inner thoughts and jokes out. I'm not in the business of offending anyone, so I regularly have Dustin check me, but it’s all in good fun. Right now I'm trying to find a balance of playing a hero while keeping with the ridiculousness that I originally intended to inhabit the character. As far as literal D&D inspiration… well, I don't have much. I've only watched a few episodes of certain channels on YouTube and even less Twitch streamers. Our party provides a lot of the stimulation I need for character development and zaney ideas. Reddit has come in handy, though, and I have a few ridiculous tricks up my sleeve—ones that Dustin probably won’t allow (just kidding). If I can find some more time in my schedule, I am going to start looking through different media to find new ways to interact with the world, ridiculous or otherwise. We all love storytelling, but Elric (and I) love some shenanigans on the side. If any of you have some ideas for worldly interaction within Nabell, I would love to hear from you!