the basic idea is to take the space of like, The Hero in a classic dq party. not as in, like, the main character necessarily, but a quiet all-rounder with Fierce Determination who is On A (Dragon) Quest

a young, slightly masculine/butch woman who always felt awkward in her little farming village who expected her to marry her guy bff

less actively in search of an Adventure adventure but, like, in that stage where you really want to move out of your parents' place and go to a college out of state

and the closest equivalent is signing up with a mercenary band and learning how to use a sword so you can fight monsters and see the world

she has the jotaro kujo problem of like. people think she's cool and standoffish and intimidating, but really she's kinda shy and doesn't really know how to interact with people

...putting this on hold for just a bit since quinn is talking about the setting for real

okay changing the set dressing SLIGHTLY since i just kinda made elika, whoopsy-daisy

instead of growing up in the countryside, she grew up in the lower-class area of a Big City. one of her formative memories was of the city getting besieged by monsters in the last few days of velga's reign, when elika and company were crawling through the final dungeon and they had to hold out until velga was defeated

This Is An Important Tool For Later

her unintentionally mimickin's Elika's story could be a Whole Thing

potentially! but i think the city idea provides some hooks and an important motivation for why she's trying so hard

let's call my character Rina

rina grew up in a city recovering from a destructive siege, which for her mainly involved working to rebuild from a relatively young age

so she is Swole

there is the same kind of, like, expectation in her community that she's going to marry her guy bff

which is a problem because they're both gay

when the curse begins to spread again, a call to arms to gather adventurers to repel the growing tide rings out, and they head out to join... less a guild and more a loose affiliation of parties that frequently swap out members

very homey

and rina and her best friend, let's call him rick, both join to get away from that

the secret goal of this association, kept hidden so that Nefarious Forces won't hear of it, is to recover the legendary sword and shield of light

they find both artifacts in a perilous adventure... that rina and rick don't take part in because they're both still wet behind the ears

they do, however, take part in the celebratory parade in the capital when the artifacts are brought back, as sort of an honor guard since the entire association is being celebrated for this great feat

then, as the leaders of the association feared,

THAT is when the monsters strike, with uncannily, suspiciously good timing

it's chaos in the streets as the illusion of peace is fully shattered

particularly powerful monsters tear through the leaders of the association like paper

everyone runs, screaming. it's not an act of cowardice so much as one of survival.

rick, for some reason, is pulled through a dark portal. there's no hope

the monsters are advancing on the sword and shield

rina is standing there, torn

and she remembers the siege. remembers how she wishes someone had been there to stand up and fight and stop the tide. maybe she lost one of her parents to it

so she runs in, grabs the sword and shield, whirls to defend herself-

they're both pried out of her hands as easily as taking candy from a baby, and she's stabbed through the heart

...but. but.

the sword's lightning magic jolts through her, saving her from her brush with death

and she's given the gift of said lightning magic, a staple of capital-H Heroes everywhere, for her bravery as the monsters run off with the artifacts

it's her personal mission to 1. track down the sword and shield of light and find out what the monsters are trying to do with them and 2. find rick, which is honestly the bigger priority

it's up to quinn2win whether the parade happens at like, the start of the campaign, or if it's a backstory event, i could go with either

nod

it's like, a fairly straightforward pitch and heroic motivation, but i think it fits the mood for dragon quest

some nobody sees that this situation needs someone to be there, takes that step even though there's no way she'll win, and is rewarded for that bravery

as far as build goes: maximally straightforward strength/aura/guts. probably a greatsword user since i like the idea of her being chosen by the sword but, fundamentally, she's not the same kind of hero as elika and needs to find her own way

if she uses an alter resource, it's definitely heat, which helps me make the decision on which type of resource to use with cure charming

.....WAIT.

FUCK. I'M AN IDIOT. DISREGARD EVERYTHING I'VE SAID IN THIS PLURK AND PLEASE HOLD FOR A DIFFERENT CONCEPT