Ten years ago, an arrogant young Bordanii acolyte grew tired of his lowly place in the monastery's hierarchy and went down into Hell's Kitchen with a week's provisions (all gourmet, of course) and an old cleaver he swiped from the refectory. When he didn't come back in a month, the rest of the monks wrote him off as dead. Imagine their surprise when young Anthiachar climbed back up the rough stone steps into the courtyard carrying what looked like either a huge sword or a really gargantuan chef's knife. Haggard, his clothes in tatters, and with flat gleaming eyes, Anthiachar stepped into the middle of the Testing Ground and announced that by the end of the day, he would rule the Bordanii. Seven duels later (three physical, four culinary, all to the death), the Bordanii had a new Head Chef, who all believed was marked by his possession of this mysterious blade as a favorite of the Dead God.
Anthiachar's rule has been both stable and profitable. For the first time ever, Bordanii acolytes are traveling out into the world, hiring themselves out as mercenary cooks and sellswords. While they were slow to gain acceptance (possibly due to their penchant for drink, drugs, food and nubile companionship), employers willing to overlook their zealous debauchery have realized that the Bordanii are indeed fine cooks and excellent fighters. Many ship's captains and caravan masters have begun hiring them, as a gourmet cook who's also quite handy in a fight is a great payroll investment. In Pech Attar itself, almost half of the inns and public houses have a Bordanii warrior/chef in the kitchen.
Despite their religious dedication to living it up, Bordanii monks are quite disciplined. In the Hell's Kitchen monastery, they are awake before sunup, cleaning their knives and preparing for the day. Much time is dedicated to rigorous practical and theoretical study of both cooking and fighting. Granted, every night on the Bordanii mesa is a fully catered, gala function where food, wine, mind-altering substances, adult situations and professional-quality arena fighting last until deep in the night. The various sub-factions of the Bordanii rotate through being "on duty," so they only get to party themselves silly 19 nights out of 20. A small price to pay to become the most fearsomely dedicated fighting, cooking sybarites in Uresia...
Some portions of the Bordanii and Hell's Kitchen have been left deliberately vague. For a sillier game, have the Bordanii wear traditional chef's whites and hats, and play up the already fairly blatant "Iron Chef" influences. To be a little grimmer, think about playing up the evil roots of the Bordanii inspiration and make the nightly partying a little rougher and more desperate. As written, they should straddle this line like it was an attractive waiter/waitress...
The original founders of the Bordanii order were a heterodox group, and occasional converts still find themselves called into the Attarese backcountry to join the monks. Because of this, Bordanii PCs can be of any of the Uresian races. For that matter, occasionally the "treasure" a Bordanii brings up from Hell's Kitchen is a new sweetheart, so players (with GM's permission) can make up a unique former inhabitant of the Kitchen to be a PC.
Attributes:
Combat Mastery Level 2+,
Damn Healthy!,
God of Cookery Level 2+,
Kensei Level 2+,
Organizational Ties (Bordanii Fighting Cook, 1/level)
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)
Special Defense (Pleasures of the Flesh) Level 2
Defects:
Easily Distracted (hedonism in general, 1 BP)
Skills:
Acrobatics, Artisan, Cooking 2+, Unarmed Attack, Unarmed Defense
Various of the Bordanii schools will train their members in different aspects of God of Cookery and Kensei, as well as different armed or unarmed combat skills. Of course, advanced students are encouraged to diversify their studies. The Bordanii Special Defense means that they are basically immune to the natural consequences of their dissolute lifestyle. While they might moan and complain about their hangovers, upset stomachs, or... umm... let's say consequences of romantic overindulgence, they never suffer any real ill effects. A Bordanii with a hangover that could kill a Rhinoman might have bleary eyes and a dazed expression, but still be able to spit a hummingbird on a thrown skewer at fifty paces while making a cheese souffle a la Winnow. This attribute also allows the traditional Bordanii practice of crushing a Devil's Tooth pepper in each hand, using the searing oils to enhance their bare-handed combat effectiveness (see their Special Attack ability). Also notice there is no variable point cost for their Organizational Ties. The Bordanii are a small but widespread group, so anywhere in Uresia they are likely to be recognized or even run into a fellow Bordanii. Because of this, 1/level seems appropriate. However, in a campaign set in Pech Attar or Hell's Kitchen itself, there will be so many Bordanii around that any sense of esprit de corps will be overwhelmed by their innate competiveness and desire to prove their cooking/fighting style's superiority.
A lean, wiry, intense human male with flat, disturbing eyes and the scarred hands of the professional chef or warrior. He has very cynical notions of humor and honor, but if he does give his word he never breaks it. Quick tempered - but people who get on his bad side can sometimes placate him with new recipes, original fighting techniques, rare ingredients, strong drink, or attractive female companionship. Even by Bordanii standards, he is incredibly foulmouthed, but he seems to also have recieved a double dose of their lust for life. Wondering out loud how much of his ability depends on Pigsticker is a pretty bad idea...
Body 6 Mind 8 Soul 11
Health Points 105, Energy Points 95, Attack Combat Value 12, Defense Combat Value 10
Aura of Command Level 2 (2 Points), Combat Mastery Level 4 (8 Points), Damn Healthy! Level 2 (2 Points, God of Cookery Level 6 (Conisseur, Culiary Encyclopedia, Food Fighter, Gustatory Focus, Judge Cook, Lightning Chef, 6 Points), Item of Power Level 2 ("Pigsticker", 4 Points) Kensei Level 4(Chanbara Master, Judge Opponent, Lightning Draw, Precise Stroke, 4 Points), Organizational Ties Level 4 (Head Chef of the Bordanii Fighting Cooks, 1/level, 4 Points), 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, 2 Points)
Easily Distracted (hedonism in general, 2 BP)
"Pigsticker," a ridiculously large bladed weapon (Major), Two dozen Devil's Tooth peppers (Minor), A collection of normal chef's utensils (Minor), Expensive cooking spices (Minor), Crimson and black ceremonial robes (Minor), Blood- and food-stained chef's clothing (Mundane)
"Pigsticker" should make you think about anime or video-game giant swords like Soul Edge from Soul Calibur, or Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha. Despite some weird design flourishes (green-black blade, eye-twisting runes, oddly proportioned handle) the overall first impression one gets is "That's a six-foot long chef's knife." Some of the more erudite Bordanii think that when Anthiachar found it deep within the shattered heart of Hell's Kitchen, he didn't just find the evil God of Cookery's favorite knife, he found the evil exemplar of all chef's knives, sort of a perverse Platonic ideal. Despite it's ludicrous size (the dang thing weighs about half as much as Anthiachar himself), he wields it quickly and gracefully. Of course, even the egomaniacal Head Chef admits that it's really too big for day to day kitchen use. Of course, back in 1377, when the Bordanii killed that dragon that wanted to take over the mesa, Pigsticker was really the obvious choice for breaking the carcass down into manageable pieces. (Ask a Bordanii about that event, and you'll see a fascinating mixture of remembered terror and wistful hunger. "Sure, we all lost family in the attack - but the dragon carpaccio almost made it worthwhile.")
Anthiachar will only use Pigsticker in a fight to the death, and even then he tends to reserve it for major opponents. Normally he prefers hand-to-hand, or long knives. Pigsticker does 30 points of "base" damage; he wields it for a total of 42 damage. If the fight is going badly, Anthiachar will use Pigsticker's Divine Relationship ability to either deliver a coup-de-grace or to fix a missed defense roll. The blade will also use the Precognition ability to warn him of ambushes or sneak attacks.
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