Vampires, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. The whole vibe of the setting, the story, the locations, and then when I finally understood what the plot was really about. Masterpiece of a game, couldnt stop thinking about it.
When I was a kid I was super into pokemon. I loved playing the games and they stood out to me for one reason: they were challenging. My first game was Black, and I got stuck on the first gym leader for a few days, but when I figured it out it was immensely satisfying. I would hit roadblock, I would struggle, and eventually I overcame it. Then my friend introduced me to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and it got even harder. I honestly think that the final dungeon of Explorers of Time made me smarter or something. It forced my dumbass child brain to think outside the box and find solutions on my own.
Then Pokemon X and Y released, and it was the most stupidly easy game ive ever played. And it kept getting easier after that. Add onto that the worsening quality and I stopped caring about Pokemon. My friend who is really into Pokemon hasnt bought a new game in years, he only plays Romhacks or replays the old games.
Although I can see the uses in making up terms to define who you're attracted to, I dont like the idea of putting yourself in a box. Ive had straight friends get really confused when they find themselves attracted to the same sex, and gay friends get really confused when they find themselves attracted to the opposite sex. When you "join" a sexuality you dont sign a contract or anything. A while ago I figured out I was bisexual. It was pretty great for a while, cause I was able to figure myself out and feel more free because of it. I didnt feel guilty for having certain thoughts. However, eventually I started to have some problems with the label itself. In this day and age, what even is a man or a woman? Ive found myself being attracted to people that dont identify as either gender. And isnt gender supposed to be a societal construct? In that case, why do we care so much about it in the case of define sexual identities? Im no philosopher or social scientist, so I may just be talking out of my own ass here so forgive my ignorance. Nowadays whenever some asks me my sexuality (which by the way is a very weird thing to ask people you just met in real life) I always say "on a case by case basis".
Azalad the Black was born to a powerful hobgoblin warlord, but due to an inherited disease from his mother he was crippled. Azalads father only wanted a son to inherit his position, so Azalad was mostly neglected. Due to his condition, Azalad would spend most of his life studying and reading, and quickly became a devoted follower of Bane, and an accomplished necromancer. After attaining enough power, Azalad killed his father as part of a magic ritual that sapped his father's vitality, curing his condition. Azalad now travels the realms as a necromancer for hire. His black iron armor, forged from scraps mined from the armor of Bane himself, has led to him earning the title of The Black.
He's become the unofficial party leader. Although the rest of the party is mostly good alingned, they realize that Azalads tactics get the job done, despite how cruel he can be.
He is a Necromancer with the Death Knight subclass (from Valdas Spire of Secrets, a third party book).