Tanner

Backstory of Tanner

Born in the shadowy depths beneath the grand city of Eldervault, Tanner grew up in a harsh environment of twisting sewer tunnels and forgotten catacombs. As the son of a tinkerer father and scavenger mother, Tanner’s family eked out a meager living among the sewerfolk. His early years were spent in a society governed by the Sewer Guild, a network of smugglers, scavengers, and black market traders who controlled everything in the undercity.

Life was grim, but Tanner’s sharp mind and nimble fingers made him stand out. He quickly learned how to navigate the sewer labyrinths and how to turn the city’s waste into opportunities. His father’s skills as a crafter of traps and tools inspired Tanner’s knack for problem-solving, while his mother’s resourcefulness taught him how to adapt to even the most dire situations.

However, tragedy struck when Tanner’s father mysteriously disappeared after refusing to sabotage a rival operation for the guild. Though the Sewer Guild claimed he had fled, Tanner knew his father had been silenced. At the tender age of ten, he had to step up and support his family.
Rise in the Shadows

Tanner became a runner for the Sewer Guild, ferrying contraband through the fetid tunnels. His small stature and quick reflexes made him a perfect courier, and his daring nature quickly earned him respect. By the time he was a teenager, Tanner’s reputation for stealth and ingenuity had caught the attention of the Thieves’ Guild, a more powerful organization that operated above ground.

Tanner soon became a rare bridge between the two guilds, acting as a smuggler and infiltrator. The Sewer Guild valued his ability to infiltrate the surface world, while the Thieves’ Guild exploited his intimate knowledge of the sewer networks for their own heists. This precarious dual allegiance earned Tanner the nickname "Shadowsnap", a nod to his ability to appear and vanish like a flickering shadow.

Despite the benefits of playing both sides, the arrangement placed Tanner in constant danger. The Sewer Guild viewed the Thieves’ Guild as arrogant meddlers, while the Thieves’ Guild saw the Sewer Guild as expendable. Tanner’s every move had to be calculated to avoid suspicion—or worse.
The Crimson Betrayal

The most pivotal moment in Tanner’s life came during the infamous Crimson Vault Heist, a rare collaboration between the Sewer Guild and the Thieves’ Guild to rob the treasury of Eldervault’s corrupt Duke. Tanner was tasked with disabling the vault’s magical defenses, a job he handled flawlessly. But betrayal was waiting in the wings.

The Thieves’ Guild captain in charge, Karnis, turned on the team mid-heist, triggering the vault’s deadly traps and leaving Tanner to take the fall. Wounded and alone, Tanner used every ounce of his skill to escape the Duke’s labyrinthine vaults, but the damage was done. Karnis spread lies that Tanner had betrayed both guilds, painting him as a scapegoat to cover his own treachery.

Branded a traitor by both factions, Tanner was forced to flee Eldervault, leaving behind everything he knew. The guilds declared him a wanted man, with a bounty on his head that ensured he could never return without dire consequences.
A Rogue’s Redemption

For years, Tanner wandered from city to city, surviving through heists, cons, and the occasional freelance job as a smuggler or infiltrator. Though he presented himself as a self-serving rogue, his experiences shaped a deeper, unspoken desire: to one day dismantle the corrupt guilds that had destroyed his life.

Beneath his sarcastic wit and hardened exterior lies a moral streak he keeps well-hidden. Tanner has a soft spot for those trapped by circumstance—underdogs who remind him of his own past. Despite his cautious nature and reluctance to trust, Tanner often finds himself drawn to causes that challenge authority or empower the powerless.
Current Motivations

   Freedom and Survival: Tanner seeks a life unbound by the constraints of the guilds, constantly on the move to stay ahead of bounty hunters and old enemies.
   Justice in Shadows: While he claims to care only for gold and glory, Tanner secretly yearns to take down the oppressive systems that turned him into an outcast.
   A New Family: Tanner is guarded, but his travels have left him longing for genuine connection—a team he can trust as allies rather than tools.

Personality and Traits

   Strengths: A master of stealth, traps, and lockpicking. His knowledge of urban undergrounds is unparalleled.
   Flaws: Distrustful of authority and prone to overconfidence. His sharp tongue often gets him into trouble.
   Quirks: Tanner hums sewer songs from his childhood to calm himself and carries a rusty dagger, his first weapon, as a “lucky charm.”