Berthold Brecht

There are not so many things that keep the Empire people together. One could argue, specially if using the knowledge of the elder races, that humans have a natural tendency toward conflict. The people of the Empire come from very different cultures, and even if they share many things in common, there is very close amount of things in which they differ.

Thus the times of troubles brings at least this one thing in favour of the Empire: it unites it's people. And one tool for this union happens spontaneously: the social representation of a hero. Because it must be another natural human trait, to expect the solution to come from another person.

Throughout the Empire there are some men who are seen as heroes by the common folk. They arise in this needy times, feeling the expectations for something that must be done and gaining people's love and admiration in return as if wearing some automatically recognisable sign.

Berthold's father was one of these men. Borned in Ostland and carrying the famous practical, objective and single-minded stubborn Ostland way, he had also and incredible ability to give himself openly to the danger of combat and getting away with it in some close form to “one piece”. So he travelled the northen Empire land fighting the minions of Chaos as they showed themselves, selling his arm and weapons and gaining fame.

But one thing that Berthold could say about the social representation of a hero is that it never gets the whole painting of the man. Because, even with all the good his father was able to give to a lot of people by helping them with his talent in combat, he would also deliver a lot of suffering to those closer to him through his close-minded behaviour. And, of course, his compulsion for alcohol.

So it was up for Berthold and his mother to see and live with the bad side of his father. And even if things got tough one time or another, his mother would always come to comfort him and make he look bravely to the future. Because she always said that it is impossible to know what's behind the next hill, and even if one should pray for Shallya's mercy, it would do more good to do it with Sigmar's courage and Verena's understanding. And she had plenty of it all. A lively woman from Hochland, his mother met his father in one of his adventures and, being in love, went with him to Ostland when the time came. There, even if the people saw things and acted so differently, she could nevertheless find some happiness as she was always able to affect people, no matter how serious they were, and grow her children the way she saw was best.

Berthold grew with this comforting side of his mother. He inherited her inner strength, as well as her appreciation for understanding. From his father he got the practical and objective behaviour, as well as a matter-of-fact way of seeing things. And with this practical view, he could never understand his father's behaviour. Even with the seemingly unending understanding of his mother. Because the old man, the veteran warrior, was apparently incapable of finding peace within himself. Maybe the things that he saw in his life experience were really hard to overcome. But Berthold could not excuse him for trying to wash it away with liquor and spirits, only to bring it out in his family. And Berthold, being the eldest son, probably got the worse of it all.

It was the same way when the Storm of Chaos announced itself. His father could almost taste the battles in the air. It was not clear to Berthold if what excited him so much was the perspective of helping people with what he knew how to do best, or the simple perspective of bloodshed.

“When someone comes to close to Chaos, even if fighting it, one has to be extra careful not to become Chaos himself”, said Berthold's uncle once. And, listening to this wise man words, he did not think careful could describe even the small bit of his father.

His uncle, on the other hand, was a man that inspired Berthold. He too had a talent for combat, but not so obviously expressed as his father. He used it rationally, and for that he commanded the watch of their town when his older brother went searching for fame and gaining it.

So it was in the hopes of becoming his uncle follower that Berthold sign in to fight against Chaos. But his father would not have seen any of that. He made him become a soldier, for he thought that a man of courage should show it being at the front of any army. It was unexpected that Berthold showed such a talent for long rage weaponry, and he could not deny the gleam in his eyes when he holded the gunpowder rifle and remembered all the histories that his mother told about his Hochland grandfather.

And there he was, serving the Empire as one soldier of the artillery battalion. And they marched north, and then west, as they met with a large contingency of retreating Empire forces. It seemed that the Armies of Chaos marched unstoppably, following different routes, flanking the Empire defences and rarely stopping to finish any siege. They went on and on, aiming just one final objective without any hesitation. So this group of army soldiers were retreating, losing battle after losing battle, to a more defensible position.

They joined forces and went on. More then once they shared spilled blood with Chaos outriders and frontmen. And it was in Wolfenburg, joining forces in this great city defence, where they met their destiny.

The forces of Chaos did not take long to fall on them with all they wrath. The siege was a mighty one. The defenders fought as they could, but they wouldn't be able to stop the inevitable. It was a massacre. And Berthold, fighting with everything he could from the top of the city's walls, saw his father laying down a lot of Chaos minions, only to be butchered by a fierce Chaos Warrior.

The only luck they had, for Ranald had seemingly fled the place long before, was in their enemies hurry. So, even if the Chaos troops went inside the city's walls, terminated their defences, ruined it's buildings and murdered most of it's people, they left some standing. Berthold was one of them. And what God smiled at him, only to let him see the terrible thing Wolfenburg became, he could not exactly say. But anyway he thanked Shallya for her mercy, Sigmar for courage to go on, and Verena… for the opportunity to learn.

So he went on, after healing from the wounds of battle. He felt strangely relieved after his father had died. Of course he fell sad. It was a very odd mixture of feelings. But he chose to stay with the relieveness at the moment, because it reassured him, and let him know how much pressure it was to be his father son.

He went to the place he knew the Chaos forces aimed. He went to Middenheim, but got there too late. Fortunately he did not meet with the armies retreating from the greatest siege the Empire had ever seen. He had gone too far to the south to pass by his mother's land, even if not stopping to see if he could find his grandfather. And when he finally got to the capital of Middenheim, the city was already rebuilding. And then he saw his opportunity. He still wanted to follow his uncle's path. He wanted to fight with his brains in favour of his sword and pistol, not, as he perceived it, against himself. And when asking for an inscription in the city's watch force, he was directed to the Temple of Verena, as a place where he could start learning about the city's laws. There, he was presented to a foreign Initiate named Chades Knigway, who would start teaching him how to read in exchange for his service as man-in-arms. And that was the way Berthold joined his group…

(Berthold is played by Chico, our samurai motorcycle man, and rules expert.)


Berthold's current Stats:

Human Soldier
Male, 5'6'', 130Lbs, pale grey eyes, yellow hair. 22 years old, has a missing nail. Star Sign: Mummit The Fool.

WS48% BS48% S33% T36% Ag43% Int32% WP38% Fel27%
Att 2 W 13 IP 1 FP 2

Skills: Gossip (+10%), Intimidate, Perception, Ride, Search, C. Know (Empire), Dodge Blow, Heal and Speak Lang. (Reikspiel).

Talents: Lightning Reflexes, Mighty Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Savvy, Sharpshooter, Special Weapon Group (Gunpowder), Strike Mighty Blow.

Experience Gained: 1150.