Personality

Arnbjorn is no elaborate mystery. The Dark Brotherhood's resident werewolf would tell you himself that he's a simple man outside of his lycanthropy. In his own words, he likes killing things, loves his wife, hates anyone that he finds annoying, and has some serious issues with the color blue. Well, one could easily figure out the first by noting that Arnbjorn is a member of the Dark Brotherhood and recalling that werewolves aren't exactly known for being nice little puppies. In fact, Arnbjorn joined the Companions almost solely for the purpose of becoming a member of their inner circle and thus, a werewolf. Clearly, there was something to the appeal of becoming a vicious, man-slaying beast that attracted Arnbjorn from the get-go. One could imagine it's due to his Nord heritage, wherein being an aggressive militant is something of an ideal.

In reference to his second point, Arnbjorn's up-front love for Astrid, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, stands in contrast to her preference for evading "favorites." Arnbjorn makes clear that she is his favorite, going so far to say that if Astrid decides to put her trust in somebody, he'll trust that individual along with her. He does give her the space she needs, however, to perform her work as the head of the Dark Brotherhood. In fact, it makes him quite proud to see what she has risen to become in the organization.

His third point explains his manner with generally everyone outside of Astrid. Arnbjorn may trust others, yes, and even work with them, but he believes he doesn't necessarily have to like them in order to do that. Naturally abrasive, he doesn't, for example, like new members of the Brotherhood for being inexperienced and for the possibility that they could turn out to be useless. Then, once the example new member establishes him or herself, Arnbjorn shifts his opinion of them to one of disgust at seeing them prance around like they're suddenly something important. His is a people problem, and it's not something that gets fixed with a few drinks and slaps on the back. He's just not going to go out of his way to be especially warm with others, even if there's nothing completely wrong about them. The really annoying ones, though? Hates their guts and makes dang sure they know he wants to tear out their throats.

The last point he makes about himself, in reference to the color blue, tops off his personality. For all his apparent inability to be especially social, Arnbjorn isn't opposed to a few gruffly-stated jokes or even terms of endearment. He tends to like to call new members of the Brotherhood different terms for food or bits of food, but isn't opposed to letting the person know, if they're not completely insufferable, that he just has a hard time thinking of a regular human being as anything other than scraps of food. One might imagine he's prone to the same sort of dry, morbid joking around Astrid or other Brotherhood members.

All in all, Arnbjorn is what he is - a member of the Dark Brotherhood. He's going to be a violent man, and he's not going to be everyone's buddy. That doesn't mean he's not prone to a little bit of the Nord understanding of respect, family, or even a touch of their sense of humor.


History

Reared in the traditional Nord way, Arnbjorn was brought up with a bow and an axe in his hand. His mother was not a huge part of his life, actually having become ill as a result of Arnbjorn's birth and never quite recovering. Instead he spent time under his father's wing, becoming a hunter and fighter from a youthful age and joining kin and neighbors alike on hunts and, once older, on the occasional raid against bipedal opponents such as trolls or, on the rare occasion, a bandit party.

It was through this rearing that he became first interested in the Companions. Arnbjorn knew the rumors about the nature of their key members, but after he performed his duel and mission to join them, he could see no reason to believe the rumors were true. Still young and with a strong curiosity towards the power of werewolves due to an encounter with one that nearly killed him during one of his last hunts, Arnbjorn worked to prove himself as worthy of becoming a part of the Companions' inner circle. He also became somewhat close with one of the central members of the group. His efforts became stained in blood, however, for with each passing task for the group that did not secure his position in the inner circle - which he, as he convinced the closer companion to tell him more, began to believe yet again was the way to become a werewolf - Arnbjorn became determined to make a bigger "splash" with each of his efforts.

The day came when they decided to bring him into The Circle, and it was with eagerness that Arnbjorn accepted the blood of a werewolf to become one. Already wary of his methods and enthusiasm, the rest of The Circle tolerated him until an incident involving a Companion contract for a capture turned into a violent assassination of several individuals. Arnbjorn was kicked out of the Companions in the aftermath, and became a wanderer.

His wandering would not last long, however. Having been aware of his unique situation nearly from the start, the Dark Brotherhood approached Arnbjorn with the chance to join them. Needless to say, Arnbjorn easily agreed to the arrangement. It was with this assassin's guild that he became attracted to the wiles of the woman who would later become his wife, Astrid, whom he would support as she climbed the ladder to become head of the Brotherhood. Arnbjorn has never chosen to become any sort of a key member of the Brotherhood, relegating himself to primarily doing some of their more mundane handiwork.

Character Name.
Arnbjorn

Age.
34

Race.
Nord

Sexuality.
Astridsexual

Faction, Army, or Allegiance.
Dark Brotherhood

Occupation.
Assassin

Werewolf or Vampire.
Werewolf

Major Skills.

+Two-Handed: (I'm going on a limb to say UESP has it wrong to list a guy who uses and trains with two-handed weapons as a one-handed specialist.) Arnbjorn does most of his killings with larger, two-handed weapons like the majority of traditional Nord soldiers prefer.

+Sneak: As a member of the Dark Brotherhood whose wife happens to be the organization's leader, Arnbjorn is a big man who has nonetheless learned the subtleties required to drop a target without gaining particularly much attention.

+Archery: Growing up a traditional Nord, Arnbjorn became quickly acquainted with the bow and arrow from hunting and competitions held by fellow Nords. Upon becoming a member of the Companions, and then the Dark Brotherhood, his skills in archery have expanded. He does not prefer to use a bow for most of his kills, but he will if he needs to.

+Light Armor: Obviously, Arnbjorn cannot go trudging around in heavier armor all the time and expect to still be a worthwhile assassin. He prefers armor that is easy to move in and slightly more comfortable to be freed from when he shifts into his werewolf form; notably, he wears no shoes.

+Lycanthropy: While it's not a skill per se, Arnbjorn's lycanthropy - or ability to shapeshift into a werewolf - should be mentioned. Arnbjorn is completely resistant to all diseases, but cannot rest like a typical human being due to his lycanthropy. When he shifts into a werewolf - an occurrence that happens under his own will, but only once every day/night cycle - Arnbjorn gains superhuman strength, speed, agility, and durability, plus the power of a wolf's claws and jaws. He's also driven to bloodlust that, though he can mostly control his actions, makes him susceptible to extremely violent actions.

Weapons, Armor, and Belongings.

+Shrouded Armor: Arnbjorn wears a version of the traditional, quiet and poison-resistant Dark Brotherhood armor that lacks the long sleeves of the traditional version. He also wears no gloves or boots with the armor.

+Iron Battleaxe of Chills: Arnbjorn carries a simple, Nord battleaxe enchanted with the magical ability to chill as it strikes.