Player: Eric Name: Tala Race: Human Discipline: Wizard / Thief Circle: 4 / 2 Attributes: Strength 10 D8 Dexterity 13(+1) D10 Toughness 14 D10 Perception 18+2(+2) D8+D6 Willpower 16 D12 Charisma 13+1 D10 (K) Stats: Physical Defense 8 Spell Defense 11 Social Defense 8 Physical Armor 4 Mystic Armor 2 Recovery Tests 3 @ D10 Lift / Carry 135 / 70 Combat / Full Move 33 / 65 Wound Threshold 10 Death Rating 36 +12 =48 Unconsciousness Rating 28 +9 = 37 Karma (D8) 10 Initiative D10 Talents: Arcane Mutterings 1 2D6 AD Astral Sight 2 D10+D8 1D Book Memory 3 D10+D6 AD Book Recall 4 D12+D10 AD Climbing 2 2D6 AD Durability 3 (4/3) Evidence Analysis 4 D12+D10 1AD Illusion 1 D10+D6 A* Item History 3 2D10 AK* Karma Ritual 2 Lock Pick 1 D12 AD Lock Sense 1 D10+D6 1AD Melee Weapons 2 2D6 A Picking Pockets 2 2D6 AD Read/Write Magic 4 D12+D10 AD Read/Write Lang 3 2D10 AD Wizardry 4 D12+D10 AD Silent Walk 1 D12 D Spell Matrix 4 Spell Matrix 4 Spell Matrix 2 Spellcasting 4 D12+D10 AD Surprise Strike 2 2D6 AD Versatility 2 * Skills: Languages (Dwarven, Human) Read Only (Theran, Troll, ____) Tall Tales 1 D10+D6 Robe Embroidery 1 D10+D6 Kaer Lore 4 2D10 Barsaive History 2 D10+D6 Research 2 D10+D6 Armor: Padded Leather Weapons: Glaive (disassemble-able) D20+D4 Sap (forged +1) 2D6 Dagger (forged +2) D10+D6 Hawk Hatchet (forged +2) 2D10 Sling 2D6 Equipment: Quiet Fingers Gloves, Light Quartz, Traveler’s Garb w/ Robe (3), Journal w/ 150 blank pages, 4 Booster Potions, Healing Potion, Kelia’s Antidote, Grapple with 50’ rope, extra 50’ rope, Adventurer’s Kit, many Sling Stones Cash: Total Legend Points Earned 14000+1500+1600 Current Legend Points Available 1500 Tala’s Spellbook And His Money: 2nd, 1 thread @ 7, vs SpD, lasts 3+R minutes, range 10 yards Target suffers -4 SoD against Haggling and Fencing only Astral Shield: 2nd, 0 thread, vs SpD, lasts 7+R rounds, range touch Target gains +3 SpD *Assuring Touch: 1st, 0 threads, vs SpD, lasts 12+R rounds, range touch Target gets bonuses vs. fear effects: +3 to SpD & SoD, +3 steps Will Clobber: 3rd, 1 thread @ 9, vs SpD, lasts R rounds, range touch unique spell, enhances Surprise Strike to Stun. If a wound is inflicted, the target must make a Will test vs. the result of the casters effect test (W+5). If failed, the trget goes unconscious for the duration, or until revived, or until they are able to beat the test result with a (W) test. Dispel Magic: 1st, 1 thread @ 6, vs 2, range 60 yards Needs good success vs difficulty of (Spell Circle + 3) to dispel Divine Aura: 1st, 1 thread @ 6, vs SpD, lasts 5+R minutes, range 25 yards Make (W+5) test to determine a given change in the targets aura. Possible changes include damage, fatigue, anger, etc. Dodge Boost: 2nd, 0 thread, vs self, lasts 5+R rounds, Self only Gain +3 steps to Avoid Blow, spell dispelled if first action is not an Avoid Blow. *Light: 1st, 1 thread @ 6, vs 2 or SpD+5, lasts (W roll+5) minutes, range 10 yards Provides illumination within 30 feet. Can blind opponent, causing -3 step penalty. Ignite: 1st, 0 thread, vs SpD, lasts 1 round, range 5 yards Sets fire to small inanimate objects. Clothing set afire does D6 damage on first round, and D4-1 afterward until extinguished. Mystic Armor protects. Inventory: 4th, 4 threads @ 9, vs SpD, lasts 1 minute, range 25 yards Writes inventory list of everything in room which was beaten in SpD. If items exist that were not beaten, roll (W+8), if this beats their SpD, the words “Inventory Incomplete” appear at end of list. Iron Hand: 1st, 1 thread @ 5, vs SpD, lasts 10+R rounds, range touch +3 steps to melee weapon damage. Note: character, not weapon, is enchanted. Leaps and Bounds: 3rd, 0 thread, vs SpD. lasts 5+R rounds, range touch Target can leap 25 yards long and 10 yards vertical. As a result, their Full / Combat move is increased to 120 / 60 yards. Target can Avoid Blow using the effect test of (W+7). Levitate: 3rd, 1 thread @ 8, vs SpD, lasts 5+R minutes, range 100 yards May levitate # of targets equal to spellcasting rank. Creates 10’ x 10’ plane of lifting force, which can hold up to 2000 pounds. Mind Dagger: 1st, 0 thread, vs SpD, instant, range 40 yards Damage of (W+2) vs. opponents Mystic Armor. Wall Walker: 1st, 1 thread @ 6, lasts 10+R rounds, range touch Target may use their own (W+5) in place of climbing tests. Vines: 2nd, 1 thread @ 6, vs SpD, lasts 3+R rounds, range 50 yards Summons vines to entangle a single opponent. Opponent must make Str test greater than result of effect test (W+4). Alternately, vines can be chopped apart by inflicting 3 wounds vs. a wound threshold equal to the effect test. Vines have PD 4 and SpD 4. Description: Tala appears to be in his mid-50s, although he is actually
younger than that. His hair has gone mostly grey, and his eyes are a very
light green, with a yellowish tinge. His padded leather is cut off at the
elbows and knees, so that it appears that he wears no armor under his
robes, which are usually in grey or silver with black highlights (an
affectation since his transformation). In town he rarely carries any
obvious armament, but when in the wilds he is usually more blatant about
his armament. His glaive will be assembled if he is on foot, or broken
down when on horseback. Personality: Tala is a study in contradictions, prone to extremes in whatever
mood he is in. He is loud and boisterous in a way that few would expect
from either a scholar or a thief. Oddly enough, his experiences have
caused in him a certain optimism (mainly as a defense mechanism), ‘though
that optimism can seem forced at times. He has become more reckless and
adventuresome of late, even as Maya has become more cautious. He tends to
be friendly and affable to stangers, but this does not mean he lets his
guard down. Character History: Tala was born in Chorta Gurat, a small kaer originally
constructed on the northern border of what was then the nation of Landis
(see Chorta Gurat, below). His parents were scholars, specializing in the
Rites of Passage and Protection. His first six years of life were spent in
the kaer (mostly during the tunnelling effort), and his recollections of
the wonder of his youth have led to a strong interest in kaers and their
inhabitants. Tala spent the next seven years in study and play. After that, a move by
his parents to Throal separated him from his friends and companions; in
compensation for his loneliness, he immersed himself in the learning and
wisdom of the Great Library of Throal. Although he did occasionally engage
in other pursuits, and also became fast friends with the librarians of
Throal, he did not leave the Library and surrounding housing for an
extended period of time until the year 1506 TH (his 24th year of life). In the years preceding this event, his interest in kaers and ability to
decipher their locations proved invaluable to His Majesty’s Expeditionary
Force. Tala had a hand in the re-opening of several small kaers, ‘though
like most scholars, his efforts were the unsung sort. In 1506, Tala chose to accompany the expeditionary force to the site of a kaer
that was to be opened. Difficulties along the way (particularly a plague of
vicious creatures) left him with only a handful of men remaining: too few
to successfully turn around, so they were forced to go on in desparate hope
of recieveing aid and succor from the sealed kaer. The deaths also left
him as the ranking officer (though that commision has previously been only
honorary), and gave him his first lessons in how to defend himself. The use of a grimoire, and a goodly bit of luck, allowed him to successfully
contact the inhabitants, who were more than happy the give them rest and
healing in return for word of the outside world. It was here, among the
celebrations and enthusiasm of freedom, that he met his wife, Sara. The
renown and his experiences had allowed him to attain the third circle. Tala chose to remain in the kaer community with Sara, taking up a role as
consultant and teacher. His decision was made easier by the fact that many
unique variations had been made in the Rites during the course of the
Scourge... one of which had unwittingly destroyed the kaer’s timer.
Although their marriage was not the blissful dream of fairy tales, Tala’s
life was markedly improved by having someone there to support and comfort
him, and Sara was, at least, able to live with the security of feeling
needed and valued. In addition to studying, Tala adopted the role of teacher and advisor to the
people of the kaer. In particular, he developed a particularly strong
relationship with Maya, a pupil whose enthusiasm and youth Tala came to
enjoy and value. While she eventually left the kaer to build a legend of
her own, they maintained a close cameraderie throughout her ventures and
returns. Sara died young, at the age of 30, of an illness of unknown causes. Tala was
crushed... the moreso because he had begun to feel uncomfortable with their
marriage, for while she was still a friend, he had come to realize that he
did not love her. Although he never expressed these feelings to anyone, in
the back of his mind, he felt sure that her fate was the result of his odd
relationship with Death. For several months, Tala fell into a deep depression. The people of the kaer
began to whisper and worry, fearing that he might be horror-tainted. He no
longer entertained the children with this storytelling. Maya returned, and immediately saw what had happened. Although he was hardly
agreeable, she dragged him from the kaer. She carried him with her from
place to place, showing him through deeds that the world was bigger than a
single kaer, and their was greater injustice than that inflicted on just
one person. A visit to his parents, to Throal, and to the location of their
kaer brought hardship and peril, and in fighting for his life, Tala
discovered that there was still something worth fighting for. In the years since he had met her, Tala had come to think of Maya as a
surrogate-daughter and a cherished friend. On the road they had travelled
between her kaer, Throal, and Landis, they had proven their loyalty to each
other time and again (and, incidentally, achieved fourth circle). On the
shores of Death’s Sea, by the opening of what has once been his parent’s
home, Tala and Maya joined in the oath of the Blood Sworn. In the back of his mind, Tala hoped that Death would see their joining, and
extend her proection to Maya. Being already in the region, Tala and Maya chose to continue their attempts to
right the injustices of the world, and in this region, that injustice was
largely Theran. Tala’s speculations regarding his relationship with Death were proven out later
that year, when he and Maya were caught, alone with a wagonload of arms
intended for the Vivane Resistance, by a squad of Therans led by a powerful
beastmaster adept. A whirlwind of death left both dead, amidst a swirl of
blood magic as both attempted to channel their last remaining life to save
the life of the other. Death saw their sacrifice, and thought it worthy. With her usual irony, Death
chose the very means of their demise to be their salvation: the beasts of
the land. The blood of Tala’s ravaged body trickled down, into the burrow of a common
silversnake. When he next awoke, the taste of dung beetle was in his
mouth, and he could sense his companion, Maya, nearby... but the only
nearby creature was a simple spider monkey. Tala and Maya have so far continued their resistance to the Therans of the
region. They are familiar with Cirroc, having helped him more than once
before his disappearance. They will be interested in helping the party due
to their association with him and their restance to the Therans. Maya has
additional cause for loyalty to the party, given her ancestor’s relations
with the Jezulein. Chorta Gurat: Chorta Gurat was a kaer constructed on the northern border of
what was then the nation of Landis. Like most of the kaers of that region,
Gurat’s rites of warding failed during the Scourge. A period of bitter
battle ensued with the horrors who stalked the world, much like that of
Vorst. Unlike Vorst, however, Corta Gurat did not have the strength to
withstand a siege of horrors. Fortunately for them, they did not have to.
The hand of Death reached out and enveloped them, protecting them from the
worst of the scourge. To what purpose she saved their tiny kaer remains
unknown to this day. During the scourge, it was not known even that her
intervention occurred, and many thanks were given to the passions that the
waves of Horror attacks suddenly abated. The scholarly community, of which Tala’s parents were members, spent great
effort in attempting to determine what had happened, but although their
knowledge of the wards increased to be the match of any in Barsaive, they
were never able to find what had protected them: as far as they could
tell, the Horrors should still have been coming. They did, however, find
the minor flaws that had been intentionally set in the wards... the better
to allow Theran expansion into the newly re-emerged Barsaive. It was when the kaer was finally prepared to open its doors that Death made
herself known to them. She extracted the first of her price: the lives of
the 5 adepts sent to breach the outer wards and return with news of the
world. As they opened the outer gate, which had been so often breached by
the Horrors, a torrent of molten earth destroyed the adepts, and everything
within the outer reach. Only through the speed induced by panic were the
kaer-wardens able to close the inner gates in time. It took many long years for the people of Corta Guat to burrow out from beneath
what was now a tributary to Death’s Sea. Some say that the kaer’s
protection was a coincidence, merely the consequence of the reshaping of
the land of Barsaive. Many of the kaer, however, disagree. Many of the
less learned folk of the kaer have devoted themselves wholeheartedly as
Questors of Death, and among even the most normal of the kaersmen, odd
coincidences and circumstances seem to occur whenever Death is near. Chorta Gurat re-emerged late, leter even than the return of the Theran empire.
As a result of the hard feelings toward the Therans over the sabotage of
their kaer, many of the less confrontational have moved north into the
heart of Barsaive, while the more agressive sorts have joined together with
the resistance effort in Vivane and the surrounding country-side. Much of
the covert traffic between sympathetic Trolls of the Twilight Peaks and the
Vivane Resistance is carried out by members of this kaer. Notes: (to be added later)