DM Stretch
Commander Sir D. M. Stretch, LSV
DM Stretch is best known as the Commander (second-in-command) of the Owsla and a former "double agent" with The Company . A man with mysterious origins, he is a demonstrably capable infiltrator and combat specialist -- which is why his disappearance while on assignment was so alarming.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
DM Stretch is in excellent physical shape. He trains regularly in military fashion, and runs the people under his command through the same training program.
Facial Features
Commander Stretch has chiseled features that imply his profession. He tends to keep his face clean-shaven and his hair short and neat.
Special abilities
Stretch claims some draconic ancestry, giving him the abilities of a sorcerer. He has, on two known occasions, summoned a wall of fire, and displayed other elemental powers that would be familiar to roleplaying gamers. He is also, in the tradition of his ancestors, a wolf-totem barbarian. A supernatural bond with the spirit of Wolf gives him quicker reflexes, heightened senses, superior tracking capabilities, and superior physical strength to the average person, although he has never shown an ability to shapeshift, and claims none.
Apparel & Accessories
Tactical vest, rifle, touque, cargo pants, army boots, combat knife, runic jewelry or body paint, polyhedral dice, ammunition.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Little is known of Commander Stretch's early life, including how, exactly, he ended up involved in security for The Company . He clearly has military training. The most prevalent theory is that he was involved in Special Forces in the UK, or UK military intelligence, before he retired and went into business as a private contractor.
He formed a private corps called the Varangian Guard, after the original famous group, and hired himself and his corps out as mercenaries in the First Word War. They changed their allegiance three times in that war, first serving House Chiroptera and then House Lapin, and they offered their allegiance to House Mollusca along with the Bunnies when Lapin fell.
DM Stretch also served as a war correspondent for the ASC News Network during the First Word War, capturing several of the skirmishes against the Undead in defense of House Lapin.
During the subsequent Tourneys, the Varangians remained in the fold of the Fluffle; and by the Second Word War, Stretch had dissolved the Varangian Guard to officially join the Owsla as its second-in-command.
During the First Word War, DM Stretch maintained his ties with the Company, but whether that was out of loyalty, or whether he was already serving as a double-agent for Lapin, remains unknown. What is certain is that by the Second Word War, he officially quit the Company and started hunting them down instead, horrified by the experiments they were doing.
As the Commander of the Owsla, Stretch was known to have specialized in intelligence and security. He is thought to have undertaken a few clandestine missions for the Mother of Bunnies. Whether these were missions of "plausible deniability" or taken at her command also remains unknown.
While suspicion has fallen upon him a couple of times, he now seems to have the full confidence of The Chief Rabbit. She claims that he has saved her life more than once.
Stretch disappeared during an infiltration mission during the April Tourney 2022, while trying to determine if the Company was behind the assassination attempt on the Mother of Bunnies. Sir Kitoypoy was promoted to Owsla Commander in his place, and Prinx Tempest joined the Owsla temporarily to fill the vacancy.
Stretch returned to the Fluffle at the end of the Battle of Mount Mitchell. There was an odd exchange in which Queen Sable temporarily held him at gunpoint, but whatever suspicions were at play were quickly cleared up. After an extended hospital stay and a psych evaluation, the Commander has resumed his duties. Kitoypoy has maintained the rank of Commander, though Stretch technically has seniority.
Since then, DM Stretch has been awarded the Lapin Star of Valour for "undisclosed actions in service to the Carrot Throne."
The Mother of Bunnies seems to consider the Commander to not just be a valued soldier, but a genuine, personal friend. It is clear that much of House Lapin's success can be directly laid at the Commander's feet, and that the Bunny Queen deeply values his council. They have been witnessed routinely razzing one another affectionately in the manner of brothers-in-arms.
THIS SECTION HAS BEEN REDACTED BY THE LAPIN PROTECTORATE FOR SECURITY REASONS BY ORDER OF THE OWSLA.
Show spoiler
Commander Martin Stratton, a.k.a. "DM Stretch," served several years in the Special Boat Service and saw action in the Gulf War and Afghanistan. Like many soldiers, he became disillusioned during these tours and founded a private contracting firm with some war buddies, especially when a war injury left him with amnesia that disconnected him with his previous life, leading him to assume his nickname, "Stretch," as an official identity. He has since rediscovered his real name and identity and has made tentative contact with his family.
The Company hired them on soon after, but Stretch was even more horrified when he discovered what they were up to. He was still deciding what to do when he was directed to infiltrate the Game of Tomes at which the First Word War broke out. The events of the War made him decide to take the Company down, and when the Mother of Bunnies provided him with an opportunity to get out, and a staunch ally against the Company's depredations, he seized it with both hands.
DM Stretch was on assignment to infiltrate the Company through his old contacts when he disappeared. He was caught and captured. After several months of imprisonment, he managed to escape through the use of his wolf totem powers; namely, at first opportunity, he summoned a number of wolves to his aid. His captor was an old girlfriend, now corrupted through the Company's genetic experimentation.
He made his way back to civilization and, once he discovered the date, found where the main battle against the Horde was taking place and went there. He arrived on the field just in time to foil a sniping attempt on Princess Rowean by Senna Nightshade when she was Doomflower Writher, a part of the Undead Horde.
He found Queen Sable in the aftermath of the battle, but she was concerned he might have been suborned by the same nanobots that had suborned her son, Lord Galakrond, resulting in the poisoning attempt on her life that happened in the Commander's absence. When Duke Buddha Kwake, a technomancer, pronounced him clean, he was welcomed back into the fold.
After an extended stay in hospital, along with his Queen, the Prinx, and the Prince Consort Erin Righ, he was put on medical leave pending a clean bill of health from medical and psychiatric authorities. Once he was debriefed, he resumed his duties, and the Bunny Queen awarded him the Lapin Star of Valour for his actions.
The information recovered by DM Stretch, both when he initially burnt his double identity, and when he returned from captivity, has led to the shutdown of numerous illegal Company labs, the recovery of Princess Luna and Count Uri Kwake, and the capture and charging of numerous Company employees in the International Criminal Court. Their trials are currently pending.
DM Stretch is steadfastly loyal to the Bunny Queen and House Lapin. He feels he has finally found a place where his desire to do real good in the world is supported and appreciated.
Gender Identity
Cisgender male
Sexuality
Heterosexual
Education
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Employment
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Mental Trauma
Commander Stretch is driven to protect his charges, whomever they might be. To that end, he is willing to get his hands dirty in ways that his charges may not be. His actions show that he was haunted by the death of Purpleheart, one of his own Varangians, in The First Word War and his failure to prevent the first assassination attempt on the Chief Rabbit may have driven him to dangerous extremes that led to his disappearance.
Intellectual Characteristics
Commander Stretch has a shrewd, tactical mind. He is always looking for ways to plug security leaks and bolster security measures for his charge. He seems to be up-to-date on all the latest in military technology, and is usually several steps ahead of his foes. This includes the tactics of Literomancy, as practiced through roleplaying games. He has trained all of the Owsla, Queen Sable, and the sub-units that serve the Owsla in combat and survival techniques he presumably learned in the British Special Forces.
Personality Characteristics
Vices & Personality flaws
The Commander is known to have a fierce temper. There is some indication that he might be a berserker.
Hygiene
Commander Stretch keeps his hair in a short-cropped military style, but has been known to go several days without shaving, particularly when on a job. He prefers to maintain spartan military protocols in his environment, but when he doesn't, accumulated belongings tend to be left in an untidy jumble.
Social
Hobbies & Pets
DM Stretch has been an RPG gamer since he was a teenager. He also plays a variety of video games, especially ones in which tactics and logistics are important skills. He paints RPG minis and is a fan of Warhammer 40k.
Speech
Stretch speaks with a working class Londoner accent that can be difficult for North Americans to understand. His style of speech is brisk and to the point.
This article is a work in progress, and may be subject to changes.
This article is part of a series related to streaming the Game of Tomes. For more information, see Streaming Game of Tomes.
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Status
Resumed duties following his disappearance, a psych eval and a hospital stay
Current Location
Species
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Age
42
Children
Current Residence
The Warren (officially)
Pronouns
He/him
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark brown, piercing
Hair
Brown, turning silver; short-cropped
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Fair
Height
6'4"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments