Mystara: Dirge of Tomorrow – Revisiting Aramil Korrelin

When first asked to rejoin the rest of the crew for Mystara: Dirge of Tomorrow, it felt a little bit like being called to an “All Star” team. It wasn’t like joining a new Dungeons and Dragons group– there was no hesitance about the people I would be playing with. Over the past five years, from the start of Soul Harvest to its end, we all got to know each other pretty well. However, most of us had thought that after Soul Harvest, there would be no more. After about a year, I had resigned the thought of ever bringing Aramil back into the fray. For me, Aramil was much more than a character– he was a little slice of myself.

I created Aramil when I was only 15 or 16 years old. When I had created him, I had envisioned him a man, someone who had reached the age of his early twenties. He epitomized those parts of me that I wished I could be, even down to my struggling religious faith in high school. What better than to create a chivalrous knight? And not only a knight, but one of the most solid figures of religious piety in the lands. At the time I had wanted what I had seen in some of my friends– a faith in the Man upstairs. I’ve come a long ways since those days, and I’ve carried few things from then that are part of me now. Countless life experiences have changed who I am, how I think. While it might sound sappy, Aramil has been one of those few things that tie me to that past. He changed little over the years, and I, in many ways, strove to be more like him– at least in concept. To say I was saddened to see Soul Harvest to come to an end would be an understatement.

Then the invitation came for Dirge of Tomorrow. Twenty-three years had passed since the events of the Black War. Aramil was no longer the spry young man in his early twenties, but a man nearing middle age, and full of the wisdom gained therein. It was fitting. I never expected at the time I would meet and then surpass the initial age I set. The chance to revisit an older, more experienced Aramil consumed me. I set new goals, and created a new mindset.

No longer the young man with little to concern for himself or courtly matters, the new Aramil Korrelin was a man of responsibility and patience. He had since taken the reigns of commanding a large portion of the military of the growing nation of Karameikos. He had trained and counseled countless knights coming into the order. His actions no longer only affected himself, but a nation. He had seen the horrors of war, and witnessed his best friends fall on the battlefield protecting him and what they believed in. While initially I might have considered the past Aramil to have been concerned about the same things, I realize now at the age of twenty-two that youth rarely weigh the consequences of their actions as much as their elders. Aramil is the reflection of a man who has taken strides to better himself, and follow after the most positive role model in his life– his father.

We have all grown in the time we have been playing our characters. This was the perfect opportunity to show distinguishable differences made without the clouding effect of change over time. Being able to revisit and reconstruct Aramil excited me– I daresay more than any fiction avatar should.

Though, everything said and done, Aramil is a blast to play. Not because he has a simple role, or because he is predictable, but because it is much like playing myself. These days it is not so much a projected character that is talking, but my own thoughts, feelings, and emotions– the very thing they say good role-players avoid. However, it’s how I started Aramil, and it’s how he will end.

Edit: As an addition to this post, I will create the picture I created of the new Aramil when I was actively writing his twenty-three years of downtime. I used myself as a model, mostly because, well, I always imagined him looking much like myself. There are some major differences though, as I’m sure many of you will find. The picture is below.