Thomas von Burrick

Appearance
Tom wears a large naval hat and wears an elaborate gilded iron mask. His large baggy military coat is left unbuttoned. Tom has an assortment of flintlocks on his chest and an ornate Rapier at his side. His military badges are always polished and look brand new. Ever since he sustained heavy burn injuries and lost an Eye in combat, Thomas began wearing darker colors and an eyepatch molded in the shape of an octopus on the right eye of his mask. His face has severe burns and the entirety of the right side of his body is slower and weaker due to the heavy burns. He walks with a limp and has a cane that he occasionally walks with. Despite this, he still carries himself proudly. He natural red hair has grown and is now below his neck, his remaining eye is a deep green under his mask. His Large Napoleonic hat typically bears the embroidered emblem or flag of his nation, when he was under the Barra Empire it was a Key, now it is the National Anchor of independent Lucertola.

Personality
Visibly Stoic but tends to have a very goofy side when alone. He often will hum or sing the Lucertola anthem for entertainment. He also tries to be a bit manipulative in his speech and is very daring in his actions towards others. Despite all that he is a wise and clever old man. He is a native of Lucertola and his famous actions for the island colony lent him a somewhat folk hero persona that the citizens see him as. He typically does not discriminate and tends to enjoy most people’s company. Burrick Hates being alone and tries his hardest to make a friend whenever possible. Burrick tends to have an Athenian sense of justice and despises criminals that go unpunished. He is known as a captain fond of harsh punishments for missteps and as such he takes great pride in his disciplined crew whom are entirely loyal to Burrick and Lucertola.

Backstory
Burrick was born to an average family in the summer of the year 1741 to a modest family of about 5 older brothers and 2 younger sisters. He had a comfortable family life and was close to most of his extended family. He was particularly fond of his Maternal Grandfather; Captain Oak von Rosefelt, whom was a decently famous captain of the Barra Empire. Thomas would often go on sailing trips with his grandfather, who taught him how to sail and other aspects of nautical warfare. Thomas was happy learning under his grandfather and was the biggest role model for Young Thomas. Then when Thomas was 15, his Alcoholic father; Jonas Burrick, came home and got into an argument with Oak. Jonas got mad and in his drunken stupor he slew Grandpa Rosefelt, Thomas was furious and took his grandfather’s rapier and impaled his father in front of his mother before running out into the night. Thomas was angry, sad, and confused, he hated his murderous hands that committed the sin of patricide. So he stowed away on a decrepit ship that had docked at Lucertola.

About a month in the ships journey at sea, Thomas was awoken to the sound of cannon fire. He got up from his makeshift hidden bed and looked to see the jolly roger flag flying high on the ship’s mast. Thomas had stowed away on a pirate ship, Sleepy and grumpy, Thomas made his way on deck carrying his grandfather’s rapier. While dazed from the ocean sun, Thomas saw the pirates boarding a simple Barra transport vessel. The captain of the pirate was left alone on the original ship as the crewman boarded the defenseless vessel. Thomas snuck up on the pirate Captain and plunge his rapier deep in the criminal. He stood on the lifeless body and yelled at the top of his voice that he was there captain now. It took a couple of days and a few failed mutinys for Thomas to take charge of the pirate vessel. From then on, Burrick lost himself in the fevering haze of pirating. He enjoyed what he did, he was good at it too. By his 19th birthday, Thomas had become a feared pirate that took no prisoners. His excellent nautical strategy had won him a large ship and a loyal and fearing crew. Thomas would boast constantly and his stroked ego was larger than life. That is until a dark and stormy night on the sea decided to take Burrick down a notch, the large waves capsized Thomas’s ship and sent him careening towards the sea bed to lay in Davey Jones locker.

But luck was on Thomas’s side as he awoke on a desolate & stormy beach. Confused and injured, Thomas was unable to truly provide himself shelter. After a few failed attempts to survive on his own, Thomas spotted a stone structure not far from his camp. Thomas trekked to the structure to find a large stone ruin covered in hieroglyphics, Thomas found himself uncaring of the intrigue of the structure but found its roof helped him get out of the rain. Inside the structure were several stone containers filled with a watery liquid. Thomas decided to drink the liquid to quench his thirst and found that it had restored his health. Amazed Thomas decided to make a dwelling in the Ruin. However, as the days went by, Thomas found himself captivated by a totem in the center of the ruin. He would find himself staring at it for hours on end. One boring day in the constant rain, Thomas decided to touch the artifact. As his finger brushed the tiny humanoid totem, A ghostly apparition emanated from the totem and grabbed at Thomas. As the totem grabbed him he felt a searing pain as it felt like his skeleton was being pulled out. Then as quickly as it started, the apparition vanished, leaving the totem to emanate a ghastly blue glow. Thomas grabbed the Totem and flung it across the room in anger before deciding to sleep. When Thomas awoke in the morning, He found the totem in front of his face. Confused, Thomas repeated his prior action, only to have it appear again in the morning. For the next month Thomas tried various ways to damage the totem, but it always reappeared. Thomas began to ignore it as it constantly appeared to be following him, he began to treat it as if nothing was odd. Once the monsoon was over in a months’ time, Thomas began working on a raft. It did not go very well and Thomas nearly drowned. He tried again four more times, at the age of 22, Thomas finally created a sturdy enough raft. After loading it with rations and water, Thomas headed out into the open sea. He spent two agonizing months trying to get somewhere. On the verge of death, Thomas begged God to help him for the first and only time. By some miracle that day, A Barra Military fleet discovered him. The captain of the fleet picked him up and nursed him back to health. once he recovered, Thomas decided to work for room and board under the fake name of Alan Rosefelt. He cleaned the massive ship by himself, learning some humility and discipline for himself. The captain applauded his efforts, and she often boasted that he worked harder then her actual drafted crew. One day at the age of 24, The ship was attacked by a small fleet of Buccaneers from the rival nation of Galoberga. The ship was at the odds of one to five, and the barra ship was losing. A cannon ball tore through the captain’s chambers, instantly killing the valiant captain and sending the ship into a frenzy. Thomas stepped up, and took charge, the crew was dumbfounded as Thomas predicted the moves of the enemy ships and the mobilized to help. Together with the Crew, Thomas was able to defeat the Pirates and keep the ship together long enough to arrive at the port city of Lucertola. Thomas was congratulated by a massive crowd, but a mother never forgets their child, and recognized the new hero. It turns out that while Thomas was gone, his youngest sister decided to pursue a life in the navy after inheriting her grandfather’s ship, the lady’s Sera Rossa. His mother was expecting her daughter to return, but in her unexpected demise she regained her long-lost son. Thomas was 27 when he was placed in command of the newly rebuilt sera Rossa, and over the years Thomas became a renowned pirate killer and built the Sera Rossa into a Massive ship. On his 30th birthday, he awoke to discover the totem in his hands as he and the items in his room was floating suspended by the lowered gravity. Thomas learned in the near decade how to utilize that power, and even how to incorporate it into ships and items with the help of a famous engineer.

Resources
Tends to carry a full purse and a cleaning kit. He can also acquire most anything on “The Lady’s Sera Rossa” should he need it.

Equipment
An elaborate well-made rapier, and a trio of inventive ferryweather flintlocks.

Skills
Burrick is skilled in Fencing, Nautical Combat, Nautical Strategy, Cooking, Navigating, and has dabbled in engineering and firearms.

Pirate Curse/Feat

 * Major Curse- Phasement, Tom can for an extended time turn either his entire body or a specific part into a non-corporeal form. Allowing any corporeal objects to pass through him harmlessly, he can use this to go through walls and floors. He is also less visible when phased, allowing for a level of invisibility. The cause for this is an ancient totem medallion that sucked a sliver of Tom’s soul away. When attached the totem is attached to an appropriately modified device, it will grant the phase ability to said device. It can then activate on thought command by Captain Burrick much like his own personal Phasement. however, he cannot interact with a corporeal entity in this time, nor can people talk or hear Thomas when phased


 * Minor Curse: Extreme Gravitons, Thomas can also increase or decrease gravity no limit at will in either a specified radius or a 1-mile radius due to the totem. However, the use of this power can result in extreme physical injury and sickness when abused. he also cannot use this while phased additionally, it cannot be done all at once and will be a raising effect of a difficulty dc of 10, 13, 16, and finally 18, over 4 turns for either effect, However, the person must of encountered the power once before or provide a reasonable explanation of how the counter the effect before they may roll to counter.

Versatility
Thomas phases himself through an attack and attacker to get a vulnerable backstab.