What the Hell is a Rosh Vagari?

It's a natural question that I've answered in the past, but it bears repeating in the early days of my blog, as Rosh Vagari is an apt avatar for my blog as he is, effectively, my alter ego.

Rosh was a character for a D&D game back in 2005 ran by Enrique, a very old friend of mine. The concept behind Rosh was simple enough; a vagrant carpenter, healer, preacher, and survivalist. He did not start out as a Christ analogy, but it became quickly apparent that my subconscious was, divinely inspired, so to speak. So, I took willing inspiration from two versions of Christ. The first was the Christ of the Cleansing the Temple story. He walked in, kicked ass, and took names in the name of the faith. The other was of Christ the wandering healer and teacher, always one step ahead of the evil empire that ruled the land.

Rosh was the last favored of Vagar, the God of Travel in a land where the gods had long been defeated and their influence was all but cut off from the land. So, Rosh traveled the roads, using his skills as a carpenter and healer to better the lives of the people in the lands, preaching the wisdom of harmony and interconnection via the roads of life. He also got involved in a few adventures here and there, and lived up to the concept of the survivalist, as he was one tough SOB to put down. He dealt some serious damage with his quarterstaff and the various enchantments he could lay down. He was the epitome of "don't mess with the old man with the stick."

Furthering the Christ analogy, he could enchant his quarterstaff to grow wicked thorns that made that staff just LETHAL. (We're talking a 3rd level character with a two-attack magical weapon doing something like +8 to strike and damage when all bonuses are accounted for.) Crown of Thorns to Staff of Thorns; that was a nice piece of serendipity. Between the natural class abilities (Favored Soul) and the Feats and Spells in his arsenal, I think he was the toughest character I've ever built.

However, the Christ analogy was really a side effect of the original concept. Rosh was to be a traveler, ranging far and wide, learning, teaching, and adventuring where ever the path took him. The older I get, the more I fit that description. I took great care in developing his name, which says much about him, and helped shaped his development. Which came first, the destiny or the name? Good question.

Rosh Vagari has the unique etymology of being taken from two languages, half a world apart and about as far distant linguistically as they are geographically: Japanese and Latin.

Rosh is a clipping of the Japanese word "horosha," meaning "wanderer." Vagari is more intuitive for us English speakers, as it is where we get the words "vagrant, vagrancy, vagabond," and others. It is taken directly from the Latin word "vagari," meaning "to wander." So, his very name means "a wanderer who wanders." It also shows my insane, nerd-love for words and how we use them.

So, Rosh is the avatar of Polymathic Dromomania, and my alter ego. I have taken this character and concept to heart in my wanderings from my front door, to (literally) the other side of the world:


Souvenir coin from Enoshima Island in Japan: 2009

That the hell is a Rosh Vagari. Perhaps one day I'll get another opportunity to roll dice on his behalf. Until then, I'll be content to walk in his shoes for real for a while.