Joseph Haltman



Name: Joseph

Surname: Haltman

Title/Nickname: 'The Red Terror'

Race: Human.

Class: Warrior

Age: 52

Appearance: Muscular and well trained despite aging conditions, has vibrant ginger hair but a receding hairline

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Psychology: Extremely charismatic, Joseph Haltman thrives on his ability to rally others to his cause and fight relentlessly for whatever reason. Extremely paranoid, more-so than your average Crusader. Only trusts a dedicated few.

Birthplace: Corrin's Crossing

Actual residence: Tyr's Hand

Background: Born as the son of a Lordaeron fishmonger, Joseph Haltman spent the majority of his youth helping out his family earn a meager living at the family store at Corrin's Crossing. Joseph's upbringing was one of strict discipline, something which shows in his attitude, he was made to work frequently and had very little time to himself, when the family business of fishing grew and expanded into local agriculture Joseph took to the fields spending what little spare time he had training himself both mentally and physically for battle. Joseph had always heard heroic tales of Lordaeron footman cutting down the Orcish menace and demonic foes in their numbers and always held this romantic image in his mind whenever he toiled on the farmstead or patiently sat by Lake Mereldar waiting for a fish to be caught by his lure.

Deciding that his future did not lie in toiling across a pumpkin patch nor gutting smallfish he set out from Corrin's Crossing to seek his fortune and hope to enlist within Stratholme's home guard. The change from a rural landscape to the city had an adverse affect on Joseph, he found that in the presence of many people he had the uncanny ability to inspire those around him to achieve great feats of strength and to a certain extent: manipulate individuals through patriotic speeches. Eventually Josep enlisted within the Stratholme guard, pushing his body to its limits to prove himself and achieve success and promotions and eventually landing himself as a local guardsman and achieving his goal.

However, mearly culling wild beasts and groups of unorganised bandits seemed a pathetic challange to Joseph and so he aspired to achieve more and more, keeping his eye on those above him and relying upon those below him. Promotion led to promotion, years passed by, his natural charismatic attitude pushed him up to the rank of Drill Sergeant where he could truely use his talents to their full potential, training up the local guard into something more resembling efficiant soldiers rather than a pathetic rag-tag bunch of children in armour.

All of that changed upon the arrival of the Scourge and the undead plague of Lordaeron.

The day Stratholme recieved that fateful supply of grain the guards still maintained their own supply of grain which was kept seperate from the redistributed public grain, keeping the soldiers free from the curse which fell upon those who consumed it. However, this did not mean that the soldiers were by any means safe, many chose to fling themselves into the fires which quickly devoured the city rather than be eaten alive by ghouls. Joseph Haltman however led a group of his men up onto the battlements away from the invading forces, several were cut down left-right and centre by gargoyles, ghouls and other foul beasts which lept out from the smoke which engulfed the upper levels of the city.

The battle, already lost, Joseph saught only to survive right now and to get his men out of the city, he flung himself over the front battlements of the city and landed in the moat outside Stratholme, the remaining platoon of his men followed suit and threw themselves after him towards safety and away from the carnage which overcame the city.

Days and weeks passed by, the men and women of Stratholme's home guard found themselves in a hostile environment, beasts of the living dead were behind every tree, every rock and every ruined tower and even the land itself began to decay and rot around them, this plagued wood began to take the lives of the survivors around every corner, a scout or two would be found days later... or at least their armour would... or the bits that the ghouls would not chew...

It was on the fourth week of being left in this hell-hole that the group encountered a group of soldiers donned in red platemail and robes weilding the banner of Lordaeron, a new order they claimed that was heading towards the Cathedral-city of Tyr's Hand to rally any other survivors.

Joseph Haltman and his soldiers immediately pledged their undying support to this... 'Abbendis' and his followers in the hopes that they could somehow reverse what was tainting and devouring their land.