Garrett Blackwell

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• Garrett (AKA Master Thief) is the protagonist of Thief, a professional and highly accomplished burglar operating within the walls of the City. An enigmatic figure who uses his enormous talents for larceny for own personal gain, he has gained an unparalleled reputation that has earned him the title 'Master Thief' throughout the City and The Watch.

• Bio

  Garrett has lived in The City all his life. He's an experienced and shadowy figure, skilled in thievery, stealth, infiltration and escape. He's known to the rest of the underworld as the ‘Master Thief' - the best of the best. His age is unknown.
  
  Garrett has little memory of his parents, as they died when he was young. After he escaped the orphanage he was thrown into, Garrett's entry into the world of the thief was almost inevitable, yet his raw talent meant he quickly excelled. As well as his exceptional skills, Garrett relies on his in-depth knowledge of its streets, rooftops and shadows to get by.
  
  Garrett is a self-reliant observer who sees more than others, and knows more than he lets on. His words often have gravitas but are balanced by a sometimes wry approach to life that offsets its darker edge (and Garrett's own.) Although Garrett once stole to live, now he lives to steal. It is less for the gold and more for the lure of the impenetrable, the impossible, the secret, the unknown. The challenge is what keeps his body and mind alive and sharp.
  
  Garrett has a few rules he applies to himself; don't trust anyone, work alone and only kill as a last resort.

• Personality & Characteristics

  "First I stole to survive, then I survived to steal. It is all I know and all I will ever know." - Garrett
  
  Garrett is a cynical and jaded loner who spends the vast majority of his time by himself. He has very few friends and prefers it that way, trusting a scant amount of people with information on his private life. He treats new people with anything from curt mistrust to outright hostility, as seen with his first meeting with Orion. Because of his distant attitude, most who do not know him find him sinister in appearance and demeanor. Despite this and his profession as a career criminal, Garrett is not callous and is capable of feeling guilt for his actions. He has a razor sharp wit, often remarking on events with sarcasm. He seems to reserve his sense of humor for himself and his close associates.
  
  Garrett could be considered a consummate professional. He is solely devoted to his profession, spending all his time and effort on larceny and honing his skills as a thief into an art. For Garrett, thievery is a form of freedom from the bonds of society and law. It is a central part of his identity; he steals because he's the best there is and he values his professional reputation. Garrett will often pass on jobs if they are too easy or do not involve proper thievery, while pursuing marks without commission if tempted with alluring challenge or reward. He views himself as a devoted thief and refuses to be something he perceives as lesser, be it an assassin or a grave robber. He finds needless death or collateral damage pragmatically abhorrent, viewing it as unprofessional and brings unneeded attention to his job.
  
  Anytime he is not on a heist, he's planning the next one. What time Garrett uses for recreation he spends maintaining the clock tower he lives in as well as maintenance on his equipment. He also has both a personal and professional appreciation for fine art and craftsmanship. He is shown to collect rare and priceless items for his own personal collection, ranging from jewelry, paintings, or rare curios of unique historical significance.
  
  Garrett is capable of forming friendships with those that have demonstrated they are worthy of his trust, though he still maintains a level of distance from them. He shares a close but professional relationship with his fence Aristides, whom Garrett was willing to break into the Watch's fortified stronghold to rescue. Likewise he seems to have friendly interactions with the Queen of Beggars. His most complicated relationship was with his former apprentice Kasumi. Garrett cares for her on an almost fraternal level, but being distant and a strict taskmaster the two in their best times have a rocky mentor and apprentice relationship due to Kasumi's free and violent spirit. In the worst of times their arguments result in deep resentment and the two cutting contact with each other.

• Physical Appearance

  Garrett is a slim male of average height, with pale skin and dark eyes. He has a lithe and graceful body with long, elegant hands. His hair color is black in concept art, though he never removes his hood in game. After the events of the game's prologue, he bears a long and jagged scar over his right eye and cheek. Additionally, his right eye becomes pale blue and glows when using his Focus ability.

• Skills and Equipment

  "There are those that believe the perfect heist lies in the preparation, some say that its all in the timing, seizing the right opportunity, others even say its the ability to leave no trace behind be a ghost. For me its simple its a way of life."
  
  As a master thief Garrett is highly adept in the arts of stealth and larceny. He is able to use the darkness to his advantage in order to avoid detection, becoming almost invisible to others. He is able to move silently through an environment, able to dart from shadow to shadow without making a sound. Garrett's hands are his greatest asset. After a lifetime of thievery experience, he is able to pick pockets with startling efficiency. He's able to remove jewelry and coin purses from an individual at blinding speed without them being any the wiser. He is also an expert lock pick, able to bypass locks with precision.
  
  Garrett is a master of observation, able to scan an environment and quickly appraise it for guards, valuables, and other points of interest. His knowledge of art and appraisal means he can quickly pinpoint things worth stealing. After the incident at Vladimir Manor, this is further enhanced by his Focus ability. This heightens his senses to supernatural levels. These senses allow him to highlight points of interest in the environment, slow his perception of time, and see visual representations of noises, internal lock mechanisms, and frequently trafficked areas.
  
  He is also proficient in combat, being able to utilize his blackjack to pacify unsuspecting targets as well as defend himself in a straight confrontation. While he can handle himself in a fight, he is not a world renowned fighter and can quickly be overwhelmed by superior foes. He also carries a mechanical compound bow of his own design along with a quiver of trick arrows. These arrows allow him to harm foes or change the environment, such as snuffing torches out with water arrows or activating distant switches with blunt arrows.
  
  Garrett wears a custom sneaking suit of his own design. It is composed of stitched leather armor that muffles any movement while giving him minor protection against injury. Integrated in the armor is a leather hood which he constantly wears, as well as a mask he sues to conceal his identity should he be spotted during a heist. Various pockets for his trade tools are hidden in the suit, allowing him to carry a wide array of gadget like flashbombs. His cloak hangs calf high and is tattered to help break up his human form while hiding in the shadows. His gloves have his fingers exposed in order to allow his nimble hands to operate without the hindrance of armor or cloth.
  
  Garrett is a proficient acrobat and climber. He is able to quickly scale walls to out of reach places, as well as climbing on pipes and ledges to get to hidden entrances. He regularly utilizes rooftops and window ledges to navigate the City out of ground level view and the reach of guards. This is further enhanced by the addition of the Claw and rope arrows to his arsenal, allowing him to reach locations he wouldn't be able to otherwise. This athleticism has made Garrett quite fit and a fast runner, able to outrun the majority of would be opponents. However, like anyone Garrett can only push himself for so long before needing to regain his breath.

• Background

  "I've been a ghost all my life." - Garrett reflecting on his past
  
  Not much is known about Garrett's early childhood other than the fact that he had little knowledge regarding his parents as they died when he was young. After escaping the orphanage he grew up in, his very survival depended on stealing. While he was still young he learned to swiftly relieve people of their possessions while they went about their daily business, leaving many to believe they had accidentally misplaced their belongings. For years he honed his thievery skills to perfection.
  
  At some point Garrett moved into abandoned Clock Tower located in the Merchant's Quarter
  . Though initially broken due to past fatal construction incidents, he effectively learned how to maintain the towers mechanisms in order to prevent people from discovering his presence and thus became his safe-house. This led to the public at large believing the clock tower to be haunted, as the clock seemed to function without repairs or maintenance and strange shadows could be seen in the tower. This and previous tales of it being cursed just kept the public away, helping maintain Garrett's privacy.
  
  As Garrett's reputation as a thief increased he eventually met Aristides, whom the two became close professional friends. Aristides acted as his primary contractor and gave him various jobs to steal certain valuables and objects of personal interest. Garrett also came to befriend his pet raven Jenivere, who acted as a courier between the two.
  
  At some point through Aristides, he was introduced to a young girl named Kasumi. Impressed by her talent Garrett personally took her on as his apprentice. He began teaching her the skills he had acquired and initially the two had a close friendship with each other (almost acting like an elderly brother and younger sister). However due to Kasumi's constant impatience, reckless behavior, and violent attitude led the two having a falling out.