Sverre (character post)

Name: Sverre (pronounced severe) Steinvegg

Job: Berserker and siege warrior

Special Power: None

Preferred Weapon: Broadsword that Sverre uses one handed. Sometimes he picks up an extra sword.


Sverre is the MMC for my Nano '09 novel. He's blond (unlike the picture) and usually runs around sans shirt. Unlike the other characters in the book Sverre isn't a priest or devotee of any of the gods. He is a hedonist and generally causes trouble for fun. He's a lot of fun to write because Sverre never thinks about consequences, he just does what he wants and fights his way out of trouble later.



The background...

Sverre is actually patterned on some friends from college. One was an exchange student from southern france who had blond dreadlocks, blue eyes, and a drool-worthy accent. He was my lab partner and a good friend. Even if I did threaten the hair a few times. %-)

Sverre's courtship is based on my friend's real life courtship that spanned five years and many fights. He chased her, she'd run, and he'd find a rebound date who was cheap, easy, and brainless to try and replace The One. After several years of watching this dance some friends intervened and the couple finally got together.

After they were married she asked why he'd gone out with all those girls that obviously weren't his type. His answer was, "I was looking for someone better than you. But I couldn't find her."

Throughout Dungeon Crawl, Sverre tries to inexpertly woe Sari. (pronounced sa-RYE since someone asked last week) His bullish attempts to win her affection are cut off by [spoiler cut out]


The best thing about this character...

Is that Sverre can't keep a secret.

Sverre is kind of a lout. He's a womanizer. He's a bit chauvanstic. But he's honest at the core. He tells people what he thinks, good or bad. And he doesn't try to hide his past from me, the author. I appreciate this.

Yesterday, I found out Sverre was a soldier once in an organized army. His best friend, the northener Errod, was probably his commanding officer. Errod certainly bosses around Sverre like a commander. And Sverre will follow Errod everywhere, even if it means certain death.

Sverre is a character who, rightfully, should have a ton of angst and frustration over his past. For his own reasons, he doesn't. I don't think Sverre cares about the past. Or the future. He's focused on the minute he's living in and enjoying that minute to the hilt.

Q4U: How are your characters shaping up?

Images are courtesy of and copyrighted to their artists found here, here, and here.