Windfall Island - OOC Thread

[Strazio Rockwell]

Name: Rufus "The Voodoo Vagrant" Dellarosa

Gender: Male

Age: 37

Appearance: [spoiler] [/spoiler]

Relationships: Most members of Windfall view Rufus as a useful pariah. Being well-verse in both conventional medicine and supernatural healing he is often called upon whenever someone is ill or injured. However he is prone to drunken tirades around town and has been arrested and kicked out on more than one occasion. The children of Windfall refer to him as The Voodoo Vagrant and treat him as something akin to a boogeyman. 

Profession(s): Witch doctor

History: No one is quite sure when Rufus first made his way to Windfall. Some say he was always on the island, living as a hermit, while others say he came in on one of the tradeships shortly after the mining operation was established. Either way most can agree he's been around Windfall for quite some time. Although he was often found getting drunk in the various taverns of Windfall it wasn't until the silver dried up that he started making his presence known as a medicine man. As the silver dried up so did the infrastructure provided by the Empire, and that included medical facilities and their doctors. Trained in both classical medicine and supernatural healing Rufus offered his services to the ailing population -- often in exchange for alcohol. Despite being a good doctor and spiritual healer Rufus is at best tolerated during his stints in the city.

Possessions: Rufus owns two properties on the island, both of which amount to nothing more than shanty houses. 

His main home is deep within the forest. This house is a cobbled together mess of multi-colored boards, bones, and beads. When he isn't making a mess of himself in Silverrock he can often be found in his forest home communing with spirits and brewing all manner of elixirs. 

His other home is a relatively new project of his. It is located inside a hidden cove on the edge of the Cyan Cliffs. Occasionally he will stay at the Cyan Cliffs for a change of scenery and to harvest shards of the cyan colored stone to be used in his rituals. The children will often make a game of breaking into this house and stealing a trinket or something from Rufus.

Powers & Abilities: Rufus is a practitioner of voodoo, or rather a form of it. He can speak with the spirits of the island and can perform various rituals to call upon their aid. However his form of magic comes at a cost, in order to do anything he must offer a sacrifice to the spirit that he calls upon. This sacrifice is proportional to the effect, the more potent he wishes the spell to be the more he must offer. These rituals are rarely malicious and often work in roundabout ways to achieve the desired affect. 

His shadow is also a physical being of sorts. It is able to lift small objects and manipulate things of its own accord. The shadow can also detach from his body and move around independent of him, although its range is quite limited. He often uses this as an extra hand or to open doors for him when he is to drunk to do so. The shadow seems to be its own entity despite being tethered to Rufus as its ability is not diminished as he becomes intoxicated.

Due to his connection with the island spirits he is able to speak to animals. Most animals have a natural dislike for him because of his nature, but he is occasionally able to convince them otherwise.