Characters for a Uresia campaign involving Pech Attar
Velsharan ('Vel,' to those who know him) is always at pains to point out the _temporary_ nature of his exile. Waterhouse is the common adopted last name used by all members of the Pech Attar Pilots' Guild. Yes, that means they all consider each other family. Yes, that means they can't date each other because of an incest taboo. Yes, it still happens all the time, since they all know they're not really related. Yes, they catch a few apprentices at it every year. Yes, they normally expel one as a scapegoat at each investiture ceremony. Yes, last year it was Vel. Any more overly personal questions, or can a poor exile finish his beer (and chat up the serving-wench) in peace? He's a good bit more combat focused than many Pilots, and prior to his exile was frequently dispatched to overawe mouthy merchant captains with his forceful personality - and if necessary, a little flashy spearwork. Even the stroppiest Celari sailor tends to mellow out when his keen new capn's hat gets pinned to the mainmast by someone who can fly away and drop a quick icestorm on his rigging before he can get his crossbow cocked. This attitude made a bit more sense when Vel had an entire Guild nearby to back him up, but he's only toned it down a touch since he began his five year exile last summer. So far, no one's killed him for it...
Body 7 Mind 8 Soul 9
Health Points 80, Energy Points 85, Attack Combat Value 9, Defense Combat Value 7
Aura of Command Level 2 (2 Points), Combat Mastery Level 1 (2 Points), Focused Damage Level 1 (Spear, 1 Point), Item of Power Level 1 ("The Master's Eye," 2 Points), Magic Level 2 (Pilots' Guild, see spell list below, 8 Points), Organizational Ties Level 1 (Pech Attar Pilots' Guild, 1 Point), Personal Gear Level 1 (1 Point)
Marked (Facial tattoo and topknot, -1 BP)
Telekinesis Level 6 (Wreck-cheater, Ships Only, Focus Required, 6 Power Points, 3 Energy and Maintenance), Environmental Control Level 4 (Harvest the Sky, Weather, 8 Power Points, Energy and Maintenance), Precognition Level 1 (Tracks in the Sand, Voluntary, Runecasting Ritual, 2 Power Points, Energy and Maintenance), Weapon/Special Attack Level 1 (Sleet Smack, 15 Damage to Break Free; Spreading Level 1, Tangle, No Damage, Short Range, 4 Power Points and Energy)
Moderately Enchanted Boarding Spear (Minor), Light Armor (enchanted Guild Robe, Minor), USB Cable (Minor), Iron Grappling Hook (Minor), PDA (with maps, spells, Pink Floyd songs and a couple dozen pictures of Bettie Page, Major), various bits of sailor-y and mage-ish knicknacks (scrimshaw tools, marlinspike, scroll or map cases, coil of light rope, ink and paper, Mundane)
Wreck-cheater and Harvest the Sky are explained in the Pilot's Guild writeup; Tracks in the Sand is a form of runecasting where the caster draws random lines in the sand or mud near a body of water and then interprets the runes formed by the tracks of the waves across those lines. Sleet Smack is an offensive spell Vel created that delivers a quick blast of freezing water to a target. As of yet, it's not powerful enough to injure, but it can freeze something in place for a few moments, and can also be used to extinguish small fires.
He tries to freeze your feet to the floor, then he hits you with a big pointy stick. If that isn't working he'll fly away and make the weather really sucky. Not really elegant, but so be it.
Vel's spear still just does 10 damage (the enchantments on it are "working" enchantments, one to allow it to be used as a spell focus, the other makes it a lightning rod/battery charger), however, with his level of Focused Damage (Spear) he does a total of 24 points of damage. Vel's armor is his Guild robes and vestments, which are reinforced with cuir-boulli, light mail, and armor enchantments. Visually, it consists of a black leather suit with a yellow vest that reminds travellers from our own time and place of a SWAT team tactical load-bearing vest (even down to the integral waterskin built into the back with a leathern sip-tube attached at the shoulder). The whole is surmounted by a black cloak with wide yellow chevrons (the origin of the "Attar's Wasps" moniker), as well as a really keen black broadbrimmed hat that most Pilots only wear when on-station, hovering in the hot sun over the harbor. Treat this combination as Light Armor Level 3 (Partial), stopping 7 points of damage, but with some unprotected areas that can be targeted by a Called Shot.
Ondrale grew up in the Bordanii Monastery in the backcountry of Pech Attar. Like all the inhabitants of Hell's Kitchen, his life has been a progression of rigorous culinary and combat training, contests of cooking and fighting, and riotous partying. He was raised and trained in the Two-Knife/Southern Boru fighting/cooking tradition, although he is familiar with several other styles as well. As yet he hasn't killed anyone in a duel (cooking or fighting), although when he finishes his journeying in the outside world and returns to Hell's Kitchen it's quite likely to happen.
Like most Bordanii of his age, Ondrale has left the comfortably wicked confines of Hell's Kitchen to earn his wages as a sellsword and mercenary chef. He's a pretty laid back guy and gets along with most people. However, he share's his people's singlemindedness when engaged in fighting, cooking, or having a good time. If you interrupt him in any of these activites, you can expect a torrent of verbal abuse and obscenity that is almost magical in its intensity. Of course, "Salamander" won't hold a grudge over such an incident. In fact, if you confront him later, he honestly will have trouble remembering that it happened, and he'll good-naturedly apologize.
Oh, his nickname? Well, a "Salamander" is a high powered broiler. In Uresia they're usually powered by a tiny bound Fire Elemental. The salamander isn't used much in traditional Southern Boru cooking, but Ondrale adopted it as a part of his experimental 'fusion' cuisine graduation project. The dish, Peryton Medallions Gratinee with Stir-Fried Marshgrass was a hit, and his fellow student's began calling him "Salamander." Ondrale enthusiastically adopted the nickname, especially as he never liked his real first name. While other Bordanii will know that name, Ondrale steadfastly refuses to tell anyone else what it is.
While "Salamander" has held several cook's jobs, he keeps a portable kitchen on a pack mule. At any time that he's not holding down a steady job, he probably has his kitchen set up on a streetcorner, selling snacks and fast food to passersby to stay in practice. Fighting practice he can usually get for free in a tavern...
Body 8 Mind 7 Soul 8
Health Points 90, Energy Points 75, Attack Combat Value 9, Defense Combat Value 7
Combat Mastery Level 2 (4 Points), Damn Healthy! Level 1 (2 Points), God of Cookery Level 4 (Connoisseur, Culinary Encyclopedia, Food Fighter, Gustatory Focus, 4 Points), Gun (Knife) Bunny Level 1 (Steady Hand, 1 Point), Kensei Level 2 (Precise Stroke, Two Weapons, 2 Points), Organizational Ties Level 1 (Bordanii Fighting Cook, 1 Point), Personal Gear Level 1, (1 Point), Special Attack Level 1 (Devil's Tooth Strike, Irritant: +3 penalty to Body Stat roll, Linked: Attack, Limited Shots: 6 attacks, No Damage, Toxic, Unreliable, Uses Energy: 5 Energy per attack, 4 Points), Special Defense Level 2 (Pleasures of the Flesh)
Attack Restriction (the Customer is Always Right, 1 BP), Easily Distracted (hedonism in general, 1 BP), Girl Magnet (1 BP)
Acrobatics Level 1 (Jumps, 3 Points), Artisan Level 1 (Food Presentation, 4 Points), Cooking Level 3 (Ethnic, Fast Food, Gourmet, 3 Points), Melee Attack Level 1 (Knives, 5 Points), Thrown Weapon Level 1 (Knives, 4 points), Unarmed Attack Level 1 (Strikes, 4 Points), Unarmed Defense Level 1(Strikes, 4 Points)
Mobile Kitchen (Major), Full set of Kitchen Utensils (Minor), Supply of Fresh Ingredients and Spices (Minor), "Braciole", his Pack Mule (Minor), A Brace of Chef's Knives (balanced for throwing and reinforced for fighting, Minor), Blood- and food-stained chef's clothes (Mundane), Whetstone(Mundane), Spatula (Mundane)
A young Human male, very tall and wiry. He is stronger than he looks, and moves with a careless grace. He is normally dressed in stained chef's clothing, but he does seem to have an nearly endless supply of clean aprons to put on before he starts cooking. "Salamander" is quite handsome, and seems to have a steady stream of waitresses, customers, and food suppliers trying to meet him after the dinner rush is over. If he's not cooking or fighting, he's likely to be eating, drinking, or sweet-talking some lady...
"Salamander" does 14 points of damage with his knives. He fights with a knife in each hand, or using the Bordanii "Devil's Tooth Strike" if the combat is to be nonlethal. He also is not a bad shot with a thrown knife, and uses his "Food Fighter" ability to throw skewers, forks, spatulas, sharpening steels or whatever as if they were knives.
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