Liotrent

Attention: Heroes Required

@Noxxis Does that mean I get to put him in the Characters Tab? Also... Yeah, he'd most likely annoy the living ice cubes out of her, he loves running his mouth add that on to his stubborn personality and you get a recipe for annoyance. I thought we needed someone who was more easygoing plus goofy male character am I right?

Attention: Heroes Required

Casey Carmine CCPD Record

attached personal photo

Name: Carmine, Casey G.

Nickname: Case

Alias: Sparkmage

Gender: Male

Age: 25

Blood Type: A+

Description: Caucasian male, 6’0ft., lean build, full beard, long dark blonde hair

Affiliation: Former Buckaroo heister, incarcerated for one year and pardoned on good conduct, Currently known solo vigilante and is on Superhuman watch list.

Costume Description: Hard conductive outer layer painted blue with a soft body suit underneath, a painted mask, and a hooded cloak a long with a staff.

Attached Security Image

Confirmed Powers:

-Electric shock resistance
-Electric arc generation
-Electric Absorption
-Technopathy
-Polarization

Strengths:

-Subject can hack into any electronic device with ease.
-Subject can hear even the tiniest of radio waves
-Subject can effectively levitate and hurl chunks of metal at people
-Subject is nearly immune to all forms of electricity
-Subject uses staff as an amplifier when using other devices

Weaknesses:

-Subject cannot use any of his abilities/powers without a source of electric charge.
-Subject is not completely immune to electricity i.e. subject’s ability to absorb electricity can be overwhelmed by constantly pumping the subject full of electricity before he can discharge it all.
-Subject cannot use his ability against non-conductive materials
-Subject without staff has a limited range and limited control
-Subject can accidentally hurt others if not careful

Personality:

-Talkative
-Laid Back
-Immature
-Stubborn

Bio/History:

Attached Audio Recording Transcript

Alright, is that thing recording? Okay… So, you wanna know more about me for the record? Alright… I don’t know why you won’t just let me write it down, but I guess this works. [sips water] Ahh… Okay, so let’s start from the beginning shall we! Picture me, seventeen years old, really needing that scholarship to that really great tech school. Is it in your head? Good, now picture me getting absolutely crushed when I hear that I can’t get the scholarship.

I was desperate, every other school was way out of my range, and even with the cheapest tuition I still wasn’t able to pay it up. So what does a seventeen year old with no parents and no relatives do? He works that’s what, and I worked my fucking ass off in a burger joint just to pay monthly tuition! And that’s not all, oh no! I also have to pay rent, I have to pay for food, water, groceries, I have to pay the damn electricity bills too! Then one day at work this guy comes in and asks if I wanted to make easy money and of course you know what I said – I said “yes I want easy damn money.” That was the moment I became a Buckaroo Heister.

I went in to this old hideout near the docks and they gave me three things, a bag, a gun, and a mask; I didn’t need to ask what we were going to do and I really didn’t want to do it but, by the time I realized what was gonna happen it was too late to back out, I knew who they were and where their hiding place is, I was already in too deep.

My first heist went well, then the second heist came in, then the third, and fourth and fifth and yadda yadda yadda… You get the picture – We had one rule though, no killing – well no killing regular people, we killed cops but only when we absolutely had to. Then we got new members – members who didn’t care about our no killing policy and when we went on a heist with them it was all just a mess, but they loved it – I was fucking disgusted but the worst part was, the rest of the gang wanted more. I was only in it for the money, nothing more nothing less but I still had my own moral code of ethics. When I finally graduated college I left.

[long pause]

What?… How did I develop my powers? Well… That’s a long story, but to make it short, when I left the gang they wanted to cut off loose ends, you catch my drift? Anyways, they took me to a power plant, set up a home rigged electric chair, and gave me an electric chair execution and in that violent moment – it happened, I lived… And not only did I live, I found out that the electric chair fucking messed up somehow and it changed me. I guess that’s what happens when you jerry rig an electric chair – or maybe it’s a mutation…. Ah whatever!

Wait, that wasn't clear enough? Well, I don't remember the details very well, I just remember a flash of light and thinking I was dead the next thing I knew the chair was broken with smoke and sparks flying everywhere.

Anyways I found out that I could generate electric shocks – Well take in electric currents in the environment and generate electric shocks, kind of like how a taser needs a battery charge first. It was fucking amazing, you should’ve seen those boys run… But I didn’t go after them. They’re for you to catch, I have no idea where they are now.

Hmm?… Oh yeah! The other benefits of my powers, yeah… Apparently how it works is I can sort of “talk” to devices? It’s weird, but I can use the electric currents to detect signals within other electronics and understand what they mean, like a second language. It’s trippy and weird, I can even hear radio waves and tune in sometimes. Another benefit is I can polarize myself, kind of like a magnet. I can levitate if I want to or hurl metal objects at someone – granted that is only if I can get an electric charge somewhere and the less electricity I got in me the less power I can generate.

Why do people call me spark mage? Well, I look like a friggin techno druid that shoots lightning out of a staff why the fuck do you think they call me sparkmage? Hell I don’t even like the name, I’d prefer something cool like… uh… Hooded Lightning... What do you mean that sounds stupid!? Huh? Oh… I became a vigilante because – well call me an idealist or whatever, but I figured I could probably prevent another “me” from happening you know? Going out there and hunting those kinds of people, people looking to just exploit the needy. Kind of like Robin Hood – except not against the government. Is that all? [long pause] Okay great. [subject leaves the room] - End audio

The New World

The Seasons Change

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky turned dark for a moment and in the north eastern horizon shone a beautiful, bright, white pillar of light that shot up straight into the heavens. The khalai of all shapes and sizes walked out to observe, mesmerized by the light’s beauty. Many disregarded it as a mainland event, others thought it was an omen of end times, but the Matriarch of their society thought differently.

In the mountain capital region of the realm she sat in silence as her guards left her one by one to view the light. She sat on a low pedestal, legs crossed and smoking through a long pipe – fine rami from one of the more esteemed plantations. Behind her was a window facing towards the north east, no doubt shining leaving her nothing more than a silhouette for anyone entering the finely decorated, ornate halls of the mountain palace. She took her pipe from her mouth to glance behind her briefly

“Hmm...” Her thoughts began to flow and rise like wispy airs of smoke, only to slowly disappear as calmly as they arose. Her lips parted slightly and she began to smoke again. A few hours would pass and the light calmly faded away; the halls were then filled with guards and the hall echoed with sounds of foot steps coming from the steps that led up to it; the religious sect have come to report what they’ve found. Within moments the hall was filled with both guards men and robed practitioners of their faith clamoring for a chance to report what they saw, it wasn’t long until the arcane branch arrived to join in the imbroglio.

The matriarch – Dayala, finally had enough and stood begrudgingly from her comfortable spot; in an instant the room went silent as they recognized their places within the hierarchy of their society – the matriarch is now presiding the room. She scanned the hall in silence, jumping from face to face, looking at each individual and peering into the depths of their soul. “I see you’ve all ceased your obnoxious squawking...” She sat down, crossing her legs and sighed in disappointment – She took another piercing look at everyone in the room and exclaimed “Do I have to waste my voice to tell you all to get in order!?” The room burst into motion as everyone scrambled into position; the guards got in to their usual spots while the captain stood to the side, the men from the scholarly clergy all grouped up and organized themselves in ranks and the arcane branch did the same.

“Clergy, you may speak” she gestured with one hand and turned her head to face the head of the clergy. The tall, slender, robed man spoke with a hoarse, raspy voice, “Matriarch, we have come to report that the relic – no, the two spirits within the stone manifested themselves and told us that something has begun, something that might bring imbalance to our world.” as he spoke the arcane branch head nodded in agreement; it only took Dayala one look and the woman in the middle began to speak, “We of the arcane branch believe that it is one of the signs of end times – our days have become numbered my Matriarch.”

Dayala took a puff from her pipe and gave the captain permission to speak, but as he was about to open his mouth, Altaz the Fox entered the hall; he respectfully bowed first and asked, “With your permission my Matriarch I’ve come to deliver a much needed report.”

“And what does a disgrace like you have to add to the conversation?” The captain’s disrespectful tone caught Dayala’s attention, “Captain, if I were you I’d be more careful with what I say; disrespecting an officer that has constantly proven himself and his capabilities is not something you’d want to do in front of me.” Dayala’s stern words caught the captain off guard as he bowed for forgiveness, Dayala however turned to Altaz and said, “Speak.”

“Matriarch, my guards in the surrounding villages have reported saying that our people are worried. There’s a feeling in the air that’s new and unfamiliar, even my own elite guard are on edge...” Altaz was old, but his voice was deeper, and more whole than the clergy elder, “I wanted to bring this to your attention because undoubtedly many people from the different regions of the isles feel the same.” His voice and spirit were both filled with doubt and worry much like everyone else in the room.

Dayala pondered for a moment as she set down her pipe and stood up, she then strode across the hall’s marble floor pass the small gathering of concerned Khalai, she walked all the way to the mouth of the building; she gazed upon the villages below and then towards the horizon.

“Look out there and tell me what you all see...” Dayala’s calm, candid question gave off vibes that differed from the tense atmosphere; the people in the hall looked at each other in confusion, but one arcane practitioner – a witch doctor replied after a long period of silence, “I see people, Matriarch.” Dayala clapped and smiled, as she turned heels to face her audience, “Yes! Strong people – Khalai people. We’ve endured hardships and strife to achieve the peace we have now. I can sense change in the wind and it is not something we should fear, we are Khalai after all... Tell our people to be ready… Tell our people to be strong for the change in the wind may very well blow hardships and struggle towards our shores… Tell them that we will endure.”

The clergy could not refute her for she was correct, the Khalai are a strong people and have always endured hardships; the arcane branch could not refute her for they could sense it the strength though faint returning slowly within the people around her; Altaz and the guards visibly relaxed as the tense atmosphere began to unwind, “we needn’t worry ourselves, we will simply adapt to the change and if change seeks to wipe us from history we will not be rid off without a fight.”

“I shall take my leave and relay the message to the other regions my Matriarch” Altaz bowed his head respectfully and left with a smile on his face for yet again the Matriarch impressed him. The clergy and the Arcane branch trailed behind him bidding their respectful farewells. The realm held its breath for what is to come whether it be the end of their existence or the dawn of a new era.

Unique terms

Rami: A plant that is grown and harvested for different uses – the leaf of the Rami is dried, ground, and packaged for use as a smoking herb similar to tabaco but with less health risks. Other parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes or for seasonings and food.

The New World

Name: The Khalani Realm of the Lonely Isles

Race:

Half-Human/Half-beast in local tongue they are called Vesen, Voren, and Viuren (nocturnal, diurnal and cathemeral respectively) but the umbrella term is Khalai

Characteristics: Their race is composed of half-human/half-beasts, they can take on the shape of the most human form yet still retain their hightened sense of hearing, sight, and smell or something else entirely depending on their animal traits. They can shift between three types of forms, their human like form, their beastial form, and their primal form.

The human like form is used for formal occasions, scouting, and overall appearances, this doesn’t make them completely human however as some features tend to show (ears, tails, etc.). Their beastial form is something you’d see from a rarian, they share many features with their animal counterpart including a size change – this is the form most likely used in combat. Their primal form is their beast form – a large increase in size and an almighty rage that exudes from their spirit. The primal state is not something one desires and is mostly seen in humans that have not undergone the ritual. It is possible to enter the primal state voluntarily however this risks the user being lost to the animal path and might never return, as such it is very rarely done. In their local language they call changing “Voge” (voh-geh) or “Woge” (woh-geh) in direct translation it is “to show”.

Flag/symbol:

culture

Religion: The Khalai people believe that in nature there is life and death and that through death one can appreciate life, just as one cannot appreciate the moon without the sun, or fire without water, or peace without war. This is why the Taisu stone, their relic and only wonder, is so important to their religion as the stone’s imagery represents light and dark constantly at odds with each other but always apart and in balance.

Magic: The Khalai people have three principles of magic. Elemental magic (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water), Natural magic (all things that grow with nature), and spiritual magic (hexes, curses, cures, enchantments, talismans etc.). These three principles have three different types of practitioners, the sorcerer for the elements, the druid for nature, and the shaman or witch doctor for spiritual magic.

hierarchy

The Khalani people have four levels of hierarchy, the ruling class, the warrior class, the religious class, and the peasantry class. The ruling class is determined by most dedicated and elite warrior class through ritual combat unless the current patriarch or matriarch declares an heir which can then be challenged by the warrior elite to ritual combat. The religious class is held at a slightly higher regard than the peasantry class as they preserve the history and culture of the Khalani people; while the peasantry class is considered lowest in the hierarchy they are treated with a degree of respect if they are hard working citizens of the realm.

Criminals, hooligans, beggars, and thieves are viewed as garbage because they bare no use to the country. The guards and priests pick up these people and give them a choice, work as a guardsman for five years or become part of the clergy and study abroad to bring back new knowledge about the world around them. Though this doesn’t ensure that they won’t run away it is a way of culling the weak from their society.

History:

The Lonely Isles were a set of islands that were discovered and settled by people who wanted to distance themselves from the mainland’s struggles and conflicts. They settled on the isles and built large villages which would be the foundation of the realm that it would become.

All was peaceful, the people that created their new society appointed a leader among them and their endeavors grew in magnitude; their borders, while closed to many of the mainland’s inhabitants, were open to dwarves, elves, fairies, and other humans. Friendly nations which wanted to watch the realm grow pledged their navies and troops to help protect the meager isles; while there was strife and hardship, the people who have settled on the island have never forgotten their goal.

Not long after however, a strange and mysterious curse started to affect many of the human inhabitants, at night they would turn into voracious monsters that terrorized villages and towns, and while many of the other inhabitants rose to fight, more and more were being affected by the curse. It was not long before many of the settlers decided that leaving the islands would be a better alternative to struggling through another night on the Lonely Isles.

There were very few brave souls left, around half the population of humans remained, the dwarves, elves, and other settlers have all but fled – what remained of the settling population were the stubborn few. It was then that the Khalani tribesmen appeared, they had nursed many of the people that have turned beast to health and followed them to the nearby villages and settlements. They were once human but many years of living on the island have shaped them into something new. It was difficult trying to talk to them at first, but a good few knew common.

They had a solution to the problem the settlers faced, they were in between the state of beast and man, somewhat like the rarians of the mainland but more human than beast. They explained that the “curse” as they interpreted it wasn’t a curse at all, rather a test of nature and spirit. The Khalani told them that this test was meant to bridge the animal spirit and the human spirit which they called the test of paths.

The animal path allowed you to know the animal you most identified with and the human path allowed you to understand more about yourself. By bridging the two paths you get a spirit that is attuned to nature and its gifts and still understand the importance of death and loss. Through this enlightenment your spirit becomes one again.

The effect is caused by the relic that lies within the center of the largest island’s many cave systems and is a religious place for the Khalani.The tribesmen gathered everyone affected as well as the people who will be affected and conducted a mass ritual to help the settlers become whole. During their transition the settlers and Khalani lived together, learned together, and grew together. There were times where the human settlers would attempt to break the relic known as the Taisu stone – the wonder guardians and the Khalani defenders thwarted their attempts alongside human settlers who were against the destruction of the stone.

The human settlers weren’t the only danger however, they were constatly at odds with more radical Khalani tribesmen and clans. The isles were divided in many ways, struggle and strife became a part of everyday life and eventually war broke out among the clans. The period of great divide ended with one clan uniting all the others through combat. For the majority this was an honor as their victory ensured that the strong ruled, the others however harbored resentment mostly because they felt that the losses they had sustained was unjustified and uncalled for.

To preserve this new found of peace the ruling echelon declared a period of slumber as the new nation closed its borders to rebuild and heal. Only a select few were allowed into the country to trade and study, they were the elves, dwarves, fairies, and other humans. The humans who traveled there understood the risks and underwent the same ritual the other settlers before have gone through. This was hundreds of years ago in the past.

Today the Khalai practice an open but strict border and a firm yet tolerant view of foreigners. They send many scholars and traders to all nations open to them to learn and return with new found knowledge and wealth for the betterment of the country. Through this they’ve learned that the world has changed, there has been great struggle and greater unimaginable war. A problem that the mainland had to deal with, it was not of Khalai concern. However the future for them is uncertain as their world would be the subject of great change.

Wonder:

The Taisu Stone (A relic) – A large, flat, circular disk made out of marble and granite carved to look like two wolves chasing each other’s heart. One had the heart of the sun and the other the moon. The stone splits the soul of every human who enters the isles into two paths – The animal path and the human path. If left unchecked, the effects turn those who are affected into all manner of uncontrollable beasts at night but in the morning they wake up with no memory of the night previous.

It is said that people trying to escape the isles is what led to the creation of many of the beasts that you see today, the most prevalent examples are the rarians. Some of the rarians today are descendants of the people who ran away from the lonely isles, only to accept their beast form when they had learned that they could not escape it. While not all beast-men originate from the isles, there’s a good portion that did. The stone is responsible for the creation of many races, but it will not affect them when it is destroyed, only the fact that no new races can be birthed from the stone and regular humans will no longer be turned into beasts against their will.

Wonder guard:

The guards manifest as two spirits, the warrior clad in armor and his companion a wolf. They are the physical manifestation of the stone’s creators. The warrior represents the human path and the wolf represents the animal path. They speak an ancient language that no one can speak or understand, but they have since let their names be known. Ardanus and Frenmous - their spirits are bound to the stone and have long protected it from all manner of beasts and assailants. Their story is long lost, yet they still tell it through their own tongue.

Though they have learned little by little the languages of today, they still cannot hold a proper conversation. But their identities are known, they were the agents of the gods to keep watch on the world, the human warior watched by day and the wolf by night; that is about as far as most people know. What happened to them is still lost in translation.

Technology:

Their technology is slow in its development, while the rest of the world has flintlocks, the Khalani have only managed large matchlocks that are slung over the shoulder to fire. However, they have learned how to create canons from their returning scholars around the rest of the world. Their scholars also found various boat design and sails where before they only had large paddle powered galleys.

Steel was developed early and their steel work is more advanced after their interaction with the dwarves, however they cannot create it to the standard the dwarves have set. They now have their own forging methods that allow them to create steel of differing qualities for different uses.

Military might: They create capable warriors however, they have never been an aggressor in a conflict that involved more than themselves and always strive only to strike when struck. To sum it up in a few words, they have a capable defense force.

characters

The Matriarch

Name: Dayala Azora (Dah-yah-lah Ah-zoh-rah)

Nickname: Dayla (day-lah)

Rank/title: Matriarch

Capabilities: She is a capable leader and a capable warrior, she has never lost in ritual combat nor has she ever shied away from more heavy handed methods of governing. She can guage when to be lenient and when to be unforgiving by just an eye on the situation. There is a reason she is the Matriarch

Background: When Dayala was young she was already thinking further than most, she was already braver than most, and already more headstrong than most. She was smart, strong, dedicated, and yet because she was a woman she was never taken seriously. But she was never one to backdown from a challenge like that, nor was she to take the world as it is.

By the time she was of age to join the Isle guards the eras were changing, women were starting to assert themselves and their rights and unlike in most societies they weren’t against more primal methods of asserting themselves. Ritual combat was a way of showing who was boss and the women of the isles were not exempt from it. Dayala had challenged many of her kinsmen to ritual combat and she has never lost once. She had trained for so long just for the chance to join the isle guard and her hardships did not cease when she was finally accepted into the isle guard. Even though she had passed every requirement she was nothing more than a maid, but it was something she endured, it showed her restraint – many new members go through this stage of labor regardless of gender.

Eventually she rose through the ranks and proved herself worthy of recognition. She was the reason the isle guard were reformed to better fit an army than a meager militia force. Her reforms made the Isle guards stronger and smarter, her strict doctrines within the Isle guards and her kindness to her peopler were what drew many to support her when she challenged the patriarch in ritual combat for the right of leadership. The patriarch was a strong Leopard Khalai and though he was stronger than her physically, he was not careful in combat, nor wise in his assessment of his opponent. The patriarch lost and honorably conceded his position to Dayala who from that point on wards became the Matriarch of her people.

She then placed requirements for ritual combat when it came to positions of power as it was important that new would be leaders have to be ready to face certain hardships. She placed tests of will, tests of heart, and tests of mind before the test of strength - ritual combat and though there have been many who passed these requirements, she has never lost in ritual combat and thus she continues her duties to her people.

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

The Fox

Name: Altaz Zenrah

Nickname: Al

Rank/title: The Fox/Commander of the Isle guards

Capabilities: Altaz is the type of man who’s old enough to know what he’s talking about, he is the type of leader who would pull a sneaky trick out of his sleaves when all seems lost, he’s the type of man that would run from a fight only to trap you later. He’s a sly fox.

Background: Altaz, a beggar and a stealer. He was never destined for anything other than being trash, he was never destined for anything other than being an outcast. However, he was always the smartest of the smart and the most illusive of all conmen. He had a way out for everything, he had no problems with his life. He’s old enough to have seen the regime change plenty of times, but none have caught him more than the regime of Dayala.

The way they met was rather unceremonious, he was finally caught and was being brought into the halls where Dayala would speak to him. He was expecting harshwords and a punishment, instead he was told three words which surprised him. “Become my general.” How could he refuse, how difficult could it be?

His ascension to power was not overlooked by many of his subordinates, he had to do more work to get back into good physical condition, and he had to read up on doctrine. It wasn’t very fleshed out, but many parts of it intrigued him. There came a point where he was challenged to boardgame, something like chess in the other world. He won several times, but by cheating and when he was caught many would complain to the Matriarch about this dishonorable man. The matriarch replied to their squirming,

“To have been fooled as generals by a man who clearly knows the basics of strategy just shows how inexperienced you all are. Deception is part of the game and he put it to even more use, in an actual battlefield there won’t be a set amount of guidelines telling the other general what to do and staying in that mindset will get your men killed.

Knowing this, I should have half a mind to have you all replaced by more capable men and there are plenty out there that can do a much better job than you.”

It was then Altaz realized something, she chose him because he could make do with very little, because he was actually capable of strategy and leadership to a degree that most people can’t comprehend. He thought outside the box. He was given purpose and he owed the Matriarch his servitude.

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Grand Admiral

Name: Kazah Barda

Nickname: Ironclaw Kaz

Rank/title: Grand Admiral

Capabilities: The grand admiral is a crab Khalai, he is ruthless combatant and will not tolerate mercy towards pirates and those who wish only to profit from his people. His claw is strong enough to snap and bend steel swords, his natural armor is hard enough to stop hammer blows. His down and dirty way of thinking is why he is called “Ironclaw Kaz”

Background: Kazah’s life was like many aquatic Khalai, mostly beneath the sea. He has traveled to every island just by swimming the depths and exploring the currents that made up the waters of the Lonely Isles. The Khalai beneath the waves would often do this because they were delivering fish and underwater goods to other islands as trade. That being said, Kazah wanted more than just being a tradesman all his life, he wanted to be able to do something more for his people and back then the only other thing more important than scholars and tradesman were guards.

Kazah joined the naval branch of the Isle guards, his experience with the sea quickly earned him the rank of lieutenant. As lieutenant he could captain a ship of his own, back then all the navy had were paddle powered galleys with rickity mounts for cannons, a last minute addition – an afterthought. The extra weight meant that the galley wasn’t as fast as many of the newer ships that they would soon encounter.

Piracy was blooming, a new age of exploration was coming to fruition, however Kazah tolerated no pirate. If he could not compete in speed, then he would compete in wit and the more times progressed the more aggressive his methods became. New ships were available to him, a meager sloop was supplied, and he made do yet again. Bigger ships couldn’t out run him and nore could they out maneuver him and the beastial form gave them a huge advantage when boarding. Kazah would earn his nickname as ironclaw by snapping things in half with his large crushing claw. His insane tactics earned him the rank of admiral – eventually he was promoted to grand admiral by Dayala, the new Matriarch.

Her reason for promoting him were as follows.

“There was no man that I could entrust the seas to than the famous Ironclaw Kaz of the eastern fleet. His aggressive yet well calculated methods of attack as well as his quick thinking at sea is the reason why pirates no longer see our isles as a safe haven. He is ten times the man that his peers are – though they are impressive in their own right. None are more legendary nor more accomplished in leading a fleet than Kazah Barda.”

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

The New World

@wildman13 My CS is complete and is present for your assessment. Note, remember what we discussed about characters in Discord.

Feel free to question me or ask me to change specific parts of the CS, I would be glad to do so.

@Jangel13 You asked me to tell you when the CS is down, well here it is.

Name: The Khalani Realm of the Lonely Isles

Race:

Half-Human/Half-beast in local tongue they are called Vesen, Voren, and Viuren (nocturnal, diurnal and cathemeral respectively) but the umbrella term is Khalai

Characteristics: Their race is composed of half-human/half-beasts, they can take on the shape of the most human form yet still retain their hightened sense of hearing, sight, and smell or something else entirely depending on their animal traits. They can shift between three types of forms, their human like form, their beastial form, and their primal form.

The human like form is used for formal occasions, scouting, and overall appearances, this doesn’t make them completely human however as some features tend to show (ears, tails, etc.). Their beastial form is something you’d see from a rarian, they share many features with their animal counterpart including a size change – this is the form most likely used in combat. Their primal form is their beast form – a large increase in size and an almighty rage that exudes from their spirit. The primal state is not something one desires and is mostly seen in humans that have not undergone the ritual. It is possible to enter the primal state voluntarily however this risks the user being lost to the animal path and might never return, as such it is very rarely done. In their local language they call changing “Voge” (voh-geh) or “Woge” (woh-geh) in direct translation it is “to show”.

Flag/symbol:

culture

Religion: The Khalai people believe that in nature there is life and death and that through death one can appreciate life, just as one cannot appreciate the moon without the sun, or fire without water, or peace without war. This is why the Taisu stone, their relic and only wonder, is so important to their religion as the stone’s imagery represents light and dark constantly at odds with each other but always apart and in balance.

Magic: The Khalai people have three principles of magic. Elemental magic (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water), Natural magic (all things that grow with nature), and spiritual magic (hexes, curses, cures, enchantments, talismans etc.). These three principles have three different types of practitioners, the sorcerer for the elements, the druid for nature, and the shaman or witch doctor for spiritual magic.

hierarchy

The Khalani people have four levels of hierarchy, the ruling class, the warrior class, the religious class, and the peasantry class. The ruling class is determined by most dedicated and elite warrior class through ritual combat unless the current patriarch or matriarch declares an heir which can then be challenged by the warrior elite to ritual combat. The religious class is held at a slightly higher regard than the peasantry class as they preserve the history and culture of the Khalani people; while the peasantry class is considered lowest in the hierarchy they are treated with a degree of respect if they are hard working citizens of the realm.

Criminals, hooligans, beggars, and thieves are viewed as garbage because they bare no use to the country. The guards and priests pick up these people and give them a choice, work as a guardsman for five years or become part of the clergy and study abroad to bring back new knowledge about the world around them. Though this doesn’t ensure that they won’t run away it is a way of culling the weak from their society.

History:

The Lonely Isles were a set of islands that were discovered and settled by people who wanted to distance themselves from the mainland’s struggles and conflicts. They settled on the isles and built large villages which would be the foundation of the realm that it would become.

All was peaceful, the people that created their new society appointed a leader among them and their endeavors grew in magnitude; their borders, while closed to many of the mainland’s inhabitants, were open to dwarves, elves, fairies, and other humans. Friendly nations which wanted to watch the realm grow pledged their navies and troops to help protect the meager isles; while there was strife and hardship, the people who have settled on the island have never forgotten their goal.

Not long after however, a strange and mysterious curse started to affect many of the human inhabitants, at night they would turn into voracious monsters that terrorized villages and towns, and while many of the other inhabitants rose to fight, more and more were being affected by the curse. It was not long before many of the settlers decided that leaving the islands would be a better alternative to struggling through another night on the Lonely Isles.

There were very few brave souls left, around half the population of humans remained, the dwarves, elves, and other settlers have all but fled – what remained of the settling population were the stubborn few. It was then that the Khalani tribesmen appeared, they had nursed many of the people that have turned beast to health and followed them to the nearby villages and settlements. They were once human but many years of living on the island have shaped them into something new. It was difficult trying to talk to them at first, but a good few knew common.

They had a solution to the problem the settlers faced, they were in between the state of beast and man, somewhat like the rarians of the mainland but more human than beast. They explained that the “curse” as they interpreted it wasn’t a curse at all, rather a test of nature and spirit. The Khalani told them that this test was meant to bridge the animal spirit and the human spirit which they called the test of paths.

The animal path allowed you to know the animal you most identified with and the human path allowed you to understand more about yourself. By bridging the two paths you get a spirit that is attuned to nature and its gifts and still understand the importance of death and loss. Through this enlightenment your spirit becomes one again.

The effect is caused by the relic that lies within the center of the largest island’s many cave systems and is a religious place for the Khalani.The tribesmen gathered everyone affected as well as the people who will be affected and conducted a mass ritual to help the settlers become whole. During their transition the settlers and Khalani lived together, learned together, and grew together. There were times where the human settlers would attempt to break the relic known as the Taisu stone – the wonder guardians and the Khalani defenders thwarted their attempts alongside human settlers who were against the destruction of the stone.

The human settlers weren’t the only danger however, they were constatly at odds with more radical Khalani tribesmen and clans. The isles were divided in many ways, struggle and strife became a part of everyday life and eventually war broke out among the clans. The period of great divide ended with one clan uniting all the others through combat. For the majority this was an honor as their victory ensured that the strong ruled, the others however harbored resentment mostly because they felt that the losses they had sustained was unjustified and uncalled for.

To preserve this new found of peace the ruling echelon declared a period of slumber as the new nation closed its borders to rebuild and heal. Only a select few were allowed into the country to trade and study, they were the elves, dwarves, fairies, and other humans. The humans who traveled there understood the risks and underwent the same ritual the other settlers before have gone through. This was hundreds of years ago in the past.

Today the Khalai practice an open but strict border and a firm yet tolerant view of foreigners. They send many scholars and traders to all nations open to them to learn and return with new found knowledge and wealth for the betterment of the country. Through this they’ve learned that the world has changed, there has been great struggle and greater unimaginable war. A problem that the mainland had to deal with, it was not of Khalai concern. However the future for them is uncertain as their world would be the subject of great change.

Wonder:

The Taisu Stone (A relic) – A large, flat, circular disk made out of marble and granite carved to look like two wolves chasing each other’s heart. One had the heart of the sun and the other the moon. The stone splits the soul of every human who enters the isles into two paths – The animal path and the human path. If left unchecked, the effects turn those who are affected into all manner of uncontrollable beasts at night but in the morning they wake up with no memory of the night previous.

It is said that people trying to escape the isles is what led to the creation of many of the beasts that you see today, the most prevalent examples are the rarians. Some of the rarians today are descendants of the people who ran away from the lonely isles, only to accept their beast form when they had learned that they could not escape it. While not all beast-men originate from the isles, there’s a good portion that did. The stone is responsible for the creation of many races, but it will not affect them when it is destroyed, only the fact that no new races can be birthed from the stone and regular humans will no longer be turned into beasts against their will.

Wonder guard:

The guards manifest as two spirits, the warrior clad in armor and his companion a wolf. They are the physical manifestation of the stone’s creators. The warrior represents the human path and the wolf represents the animal path. They speak an ancient language that no one can speak or understand, but they have since let their names be known. Ardanus and Frenmous - their spirits are bound to the stone and have long protected it from all manner of beasts and assailants. Their story is long lost, yet they still tell it through their own tongue.

Though they have learned little by little the languages of today, they still cannot hold a proper conversation. But their identities are known, they were the agents of the gods to keep watch on the world, the human warior watched by day and the wolf by night; that is about as far as most people know. What happened to them is still lost in translation.

Technology:

Their technology is slow in its development, while the rest of the world has flintlocks, the Khalani have only managed large matchlocks that are slung over the shoulder to fire. However, they have learned how to create canons from their returning scholars around the rest of the world. Their scholars also found various boat design and sails where before they only had large paddle powered galleys.

Steel was developed early and their steel work is more advanced after their interaction with the dwarves, however they cannot create it to the standard the dwarves have set. They now have their own forging methods that allow them to create steel of differing qualities for different uses.

Military might: They create capable warriors however, they have never been an aggressor in a conflict that involved more than themselves and always strive only to strike when struck. To sum it up in a few words, they have a capable defense force.

characters

The Matriarch

Name: Dayala Azora (Dah-yah-lah Ah-zoh-rah)

Nickname: Dayla (day-lah)

Rank/title: Matriarch

Capabilities: She is a capable leader and a capable warrior, she has never lost in ritual combat nor has she ever shied away from more heavy handed methods of governing. She can guage when to be lenient and when to be unforgiving by just an eye on the situation. There is a reason she is the Matriarch

Background: When Dayala was young she was already thinking further than most, she was already braver than most, and already more headstrong than most. She was smart, strong, dedicated, and yet because she was a woman she was never taken seriously. But she was never one to backdown from a challenge like that, nor was she to take the world as it is.

By the time she was of age to join the Isle guards the eras were changing, women were starting to assert themselves and their rights and unlike in most societies they weren’t against more primal methods of asserting themselves. Ritual combat was a way of showing who was boss and the women of the isles were not exempt from it. Dayala had challenged many of her kinsmen to ritual combat and she has never lost once. She had trained for so long just for the chance to join the isle guard and her hardships did not cease when she was finally accepted into the isle guard. Even though she had passed every requirement she was nothing more than a maid, but it was something she endured, it showed her restraint – many new members go through this stage of labor regardless of gender.

Eventually she rose through the ranks and proved herself worthy of recognition. She was the reason the isle guard were reformed to better fit an army than a meager militia force. Her reforms made the Isle guards stronger and smarter, her strict doctrines within the Isle guards and her kindness to her peopler were what drew many to support her when she challenged the patriarch in ritual combat for the right of leadership. The patriarch was a strong Leopard Khalai and though he was stronger than her physically, he was not careful in combat, nor wise in his assessment of his opponent. The patriarch lost and honorably conceded his position to Dayala who from that point on wards became the Matriarch of her people.

She then placed requirements for ritual combat when it came to positions of power as it was important that new would be leaders have to be ready to face certain hardships. She placed tests of will, tests of heart, and tests of mind before the test of strength - ritual combat and though there have been many who passed these requirements, she has never lost in ritual combat and thus she continues her duties to her people.

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

The Fox

Name: Altaz Zenrah

Nickname: Al

Rank/title: The Fox/Commander of the Isle guards

Capabilities: Altaz is the type of man who’s old enough to know what he’s talking about, he is the type of leader who would pull a sneaky trick out of his sleaves when all seems lost, he’s the type of man that would run from a fight only to trap you later. He’s a sly fox.

Background: Altaz, a beggar and a stealer. He was never destined for anything other than being trash, he was never destined for anything other than being an outcast. However, he was always the smartest of the smart and the most illusive of all conmen. He had a way out for everything, he had no problems with his life. He’s old enough to have seen the regime change plenty of times, but none have caught him more than the regime of Dayala.

The way they met was rather unceremonious, he was finally caught and was being brought into the halls where Dayala would speak to him. He was expecting harshwords and a punishment, instead he was told three words which surprised him. “Become my general.” How could he refuse, how difficult could it be?

His ascension to power was not overlooked by many of his subordinates, he had to do more work to get back into good physical condition, and he had to read up on doctrine. It wasn’t very fleshed out, but many parts of it intrigued him. There came a point where he was challenged to boardgame, something like chess in the other world. He won several times, but by cheating and when he was caught many would complain to the Matriarch about this dishonorable man. The matriarch replied to their squirming,

“To have been fooled as generals by a man who clearly knows the basics of strategy just shows how inexperienced you all are. Deception is part of the game and he put it to even more use, in an actual battlefield there won’t be a set amount of guidelines telling the other general what to do and staying in that mindset will get your men killed.

Knowing this, I should have half a mind to have you all replaced by more capable men and there are plenty out there that can do a much better job than you.”

It was then Altaz realized something, she chose him because he could make do with very little, because he was actually capable of strategy and leadership to a degree that most people can’t comprehend. He thought outside the box. He was given purpose and he owed the Matriarch his servitude.

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Grand Admiral

Name: Kazah Barda

Nickname: Ironclaw Kaz

Rank/title: Grand Admiral

Capabilities: The grand admiral is a crab Khalai, he is ruthless combatant and will not tolerate mercy towards pirates and those who wish only to profit from his people. His claw is strong enough to snap and bend steel swords, his natural armor is hard enough to stop hammer blows. His down and dirty way of thinking is why he is called “Ironclaw Kaz”

Background: Kazah’s life was like many aquatic Khalai, mostly beneath the sea. He has traveled to every island just by swimming the depths and exploring the currents that made up the waters of the Lonely Isles. The Khalai beneath the waves would often do this because they were delivering fish and underwater goods to other islands as trade. That being said, Kazah wanted more than just being a tradesman all his life, he wanted to be able to do something more for his people and back then the only other thing more important than scholars and tradesman were guards.

Kazah joined the naval branch of the Isle guards, his experience with the sea quickly earned him the rank of lieutenant. As lieutenant he could captain a ship of his own, back then all the navy had were paddle powered galleys with rickity mounts for cannons, a last minute addition – an afterthought. The extra weight meant that the galley wasn’t as fast as many of the newer ships that they would soon encounter.

Piracy was blooming, a new age of exploration was coming to fruition, however Kazah tolerated no pirate. If he could not compete in speed, then he would compete in wit and the more times progressed the more aggressive his methods became. New ships were available to him, a meager sloop was supplied, and he made do yet again. Bigger ships couldn’t out run him and nore could they out maneuver him and the beastial form gave them a huge advantage when boarding. Kazah would earn his nickname as ironclaw by snapping things in half with his large crushing claw. His insane tactics earned him the rank of admiral – eventually he was promoted to grand admiral by Dayala, the new Matriarch.

Her reason for promoting him were as follows.

“There was no man that I could entrust the seas to than the famous Ironclaw Kaz of the eastern fleet. His aggressive yet well calculated methods of attack as well as his quick thinking at sea is the reason why pirates no longer see our isles as a safe haven. He is ten times the man that his peers are – though they are impressive in their own right. None are more legendary nor more accomplished in leading a fleet than Kazah Barda.”

Deus Ex Machina points/ DEM points: (This is how likely you are from being saved or surviving an attack.Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Death points: (Death points are how likely a character would die in an event. Their actions and their priorities gives an individual DEM points.)

Attention: Heroes Required

@noxxis If there's one spot for a hero, I'm game for it I can make up my app fairly quickly.

Attention: Heroes Required

Is there space for one more?

Forgotten Worlds

A Familiar Stench

-----------------------------------------

An ominous smoke rises from the south east foothills within dwarven territory, a smell rank with death and decay fills the air and with it the sound of steel rubbing against steel and a strong stomping march. The dwarves of the southern keep have sent a company to investigate the foul source, they were not prepared for the horror they would find.

Their march ceased suddenly with a fist clasped in dwarven metal raised as high as a dwarf could raise. “By Fhorn…” He gasped, “This is a disaster!” A dwarven brass beard gazed upon a farming village in flames, the villagers found dead not too far from the smoldering heap, their necks hung from trees and others with heads on pikes, others still disemboweled and left as food for the crows and vultures. The brass beard turned towards his men and practically barked his orders,

“SEARCH FOR WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE! I WANT THEIR HEADS ON A PIKE WHEN YOU COME BACK!” his company of fifty men strong now scoured the area to find the enemy.

Hours go by, but their search turns up nothing but dead bodies, “We’ve found a few bodies.” one dwarf said as they heaved the body forward to present to their captain, “Bloody Goblins… Probably a small warband; you lads and I both know that small is an understatement.”

The war of tunnels ended many years ago, goblin raids from surviving goblin encampments are a grim reminder that though they have earned their mountain home, the goblin raiders that survived around them are still a threat. Goblins are not particularly strong creatures nor are they large in size and in small numbers they are not very menacing; this is a big reason as to why people regard them as being less than a threat to their society. The dwarves know better than anyone what threat the goblins pose. Before Dunfender dwarves settled onto the dragonspine mountain ranges the dragonspine was avoided, the sheer number of goblin raids made it impossible to settle onto the foothills. The dwarves thought differently, they settled into the mountain and fought for every inch.

The war of tunnels ended after three hundred years and Goblins were driven off the mountains, nearly a hundred years later the dwarves continue to grow and expand, and the Goblins continue to drift farther and farther away from their capital, this doesn’t mean however that they aren’t a threat to be wary of.

“I need five dwarves here now! We need to get reinforcements to the south east.” Upon his order, five dwarves meet with the brass beard. “I need the five of you to bring word back to the south eastern keep, we need more dwarves to clear this area on the double lads!”

The dwarves in front of him simply nod and start their trek up the mountain to inform the south eastern keep. Goblins were nothing to jest about to the dwarves, they’ve suffered more than anyone at the hands of the goblin hordes. They must snuff out the remainder of the goblins in the area lest they grow in number and become an innumerable host.

Forgotten Worlds

@crispy octopus

First, please forgive any and all typos and errors in this response as I used a phone to type this out. Secondly, I think it’s briliant, though I would like to ask what your nation thinks of northerners (aka Dunfender) or are they also considered westerner? Asking because I want to know if we have established trade, it’s likely that our people have come in contact before.

Forgotten Worlds

@Crispy Octopus

I'm not quite sure yet what to think, my nation doesn't join conflicts without reason, they don't massacre people who may be trade opportunity, and they only really hate Orcs and Goblins seeing them as simple animals rather than sapient creatures. The dwarves that I control are mostly merchants and traders for the most part, but they don't shy away from combat as seen in their three hundred year war with goblins in the mountains that ended when the goblins were driven away.

You're even in an area I outlined as to where those goblins settled afterwards, although it's still an idea and @Dinh AaronMk hasn't gotten back to me yet stating whether that was okay or not, but just in case you missed it I'll post it here again.

Pink is where the goblins are, or at least suppose to be.