Iron Kingdoms RPG (Closed...for now)

[Crash]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Okay, background draft 2 for review.

Josef was born in the seatown of Skrovenberg, to a expatriate Llaelese stevedore manager and his wife. It would have been a fine place for a child to grow up, and he would not have wanted for anything. But when he was a toddler, his mother died of a winter wasting sickness, and there was little time for his father to divert from the business for raising a child. Instead, he was sent away to the small town of Nynsk, home to his late mother's extended family, to grow and live there, and this shaped him in a drastically different fashion. The half-Khardic boy, was lithe and wiry, favoring his southern father, and thus somewhat visually distinctive in the rustic village. To make matters worse, his Khardic family, the Polzins, were the town's predominate employer, and not particularly well liked by most townsfolk for their heavy-handed business practices and arrogant demeanors. Polzin money and Polzin friends meant no one ever acted against them directly, but that didn't stop many from complaining at home, where their own children would often overhear. In turn, those children would frequently seek out Josef - he was smaller than them, he was one of the Polzins, and their daddy was mad at the Polzins.

Thus did his life progress - hunted down and beaten up for the offenses of his family, until he learned first how to hide and get away from his tormenters, and later how to single them out for painful and humiliating revenge. His only point of refuge was Seaforge Steamjacks, a favored hiding place and before long a place to visit in his free time as well. Dommat Seaforge would tolerate no bullies in his shop, and the canny Rhulic businessman recognized the inherent value in being seen by the Polzins as a friend and protector of the young Josef. He taught Josef the fundamentals of mechanikal  engineering, the principles of steamjack construction and maintenance, and in the process did what little he could to dull the boy's growing mean streak. A he reached puberty and sprouted into his height - still lanky and lean compared to the other teenagers in town, but no longer a head shorter as well. In the process, he had also grown more aware of how valuable his blood was in Nynsk, and lost any fear he might have had towards using it. His sneaking skills turned proactive, playing pranks on his former tormentors - often with a vicious undertone, and hiding behind his family name when the angry victims tried to confront him empty-handed of evidence.

It reached the point where even the Polzins started to think the boy was becoming more trouble than he was worth, and his enlistment in the Winter Guard for mandatory service was greeted with quiet sighs of relief all over the town. Josef had no intentions of dying for his country, though, as much of a patriot as he honestly was, and quickly worked out on his own initiative a clandestine transfer from line infantry to the quartermaster's department. At first a clerk, his talents for 'acquiring' valuable and much-needed items for the regiment - occasionally in tandem with a mysterious shortage of that same item in another regiment - made him a valued member of the company, and quite a few soldiers were unhappy to see him go. Others were less displeased, though, generally those who had earned his ire and been the recipient of quiet retaliation, and it was in part the recognition that angry soldiers with guns and knives were a much less appealing target for practical jokes than angry provincial villagers that prompted him to muster out when he could do so.

Josef's father had more or less disappeared from his life, never particularly favored by his wife's family to begin with, so it came as a complete surprise when Josef received notice of the old man's death. With the note came what remained of his inheritance; in the later years, business had dropped sharply, and the grand sum of the estate after settling debts and funereal taxes came to a handful of coins and one aging Seafarer-pattern light laborjack. Animal cunning, a thorough grounding in the underworld, and ownership of a steamjack made him well-suited to enlistment in the less-than-legitimate side of the Polzins' business empire, a role he took to with great relish. No one could prove that the Polzins maintained their status by illegal means, but it was 'known' all the same that Josef was their gloved hand in the shadows.

Mostly looks good to me.  One thing though.  The Polzin's aren't hated in town.  They have made some enemies of course with their tactics, but they aren't reviled. There would be workers that aren't happy with some working conditions, but they try to treat their own workers well.

[Crash]

Updated my sheet as per instructions. Apologies for missing those.

No worries.  I created an Approved Characters thread and put a link into the first post of this thread.

All - I have created an OOC thread and once you have an approved character you can start posting there and start thinking of ways you have encountered and interacted with the other approved characters.

Dhi - I would to ahead and take intellectual.  I think yours is the only character being proposed that would be using it. 

I will probably put an NPC in the group that is either gifted or mighty depending on what the group really thinks is needed.

[TheGlyphstone]

Mostly looks good to me.  One thing though.  The Polzin's aren't hated in town.  They have made some enemies of course with their tactics, but they aren't reviled. There would be workers that aren't happy with some working conditions, but they try to treat their own workers well.

'
Yeah, I tried to get that across. They're not hated, but they are resented and somewhat disliked by many - they only employ half the town, after all. But children aren't complicated, and take things a lot more directly and seriously than adults and their nuances. The half-hearted griping of a father over dinner becomes a terrible insult to family honor that his son decides needs to be avenged.


As for archetypes, I don't think we need an NPC at all just to cover the bases. Intellectual is the only one with a group-area effect, the others are purely personal. With all of us being Skilled or Intellectual, we can get creative enough to cover the lack of a spellcaster, and we'll have at least one, possibly two laborjacks along to clobber stuff in place of a Mighty PC.


EDIT: Should I progress to mechanics, then?

[Crash]

'
As for archetypes, I don't think we need an NPC at all just to cover the bases.

Need no, but I may want to. :)

[Crash]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Is there a sawmill available for my family to own? 

Character Name: Vyslav Nikolavich
Race or Ethnicity: Of mixed Khard and Skirov stock, Vyslav takes after his Khardish grandfather, while his father Nikolai is more Skirov in appearance and faith. 
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual and adventurous. 
Proposed Careers: Gun Mage/Duelist (preferred) or Gun Mage/Ranger

Concept and Background:  "Papa Nikolai never did forgive grandpa Sergei for letting uncle Yuri run off with those crazy bounty hunters. 

   “When they  brought Yuri back to be buried, they said he was a hero.  They said that he'd been alone in Ekatnava when four frost trolls smashed in the gates.  They said they found him, mortally wounded, over the corpse of three of them, and the fourth was limping away without an eye. 

   “Papa tried to throw grandpa's old magelock pistol into the mill pond so that none of his family could ever learn to use it again.  Sergei wasn't having any of that.  There was a huge row and they didn't talk to each other for a year. 

   “I was just a little kid then, but I  knew that pistol was something special.  Uncle Yuri was a hero in his blood and bone, but that pistol made him something more than just a brave man willing to die to save a hundred women and children. 

   “It made him strong enough to fight four frost trolls all by himself.  I had to know how. 

   “This wasn't a very easy thing to find out with my pa on such a rampage, but get a little hard cider into some old men and they'll start to talk.  Come to find out Grandpa had been an officer in the Prince's army back in the day.  He showed up in town a long time ago with that old magelock and a nice sword.  He hunted a bunch of nasty things normal folks were too terrified to hunt.  The Petrus paid him for every head.  Grandpa gambled some, and he drank some, and he whored some, but after every bounty a few coins disappeared into Grandpa's secret store. 

   “One day a thing that was all teeth and fur took a bite out of his right wrist too big for doctors or minor priests to mend,

   “Grandpa shot the thing with his left.  He shot it again and again until it run off and no one's seen it since.  Then he took that secret stash of his—seven socks bulging with gold—and he bought him a saw mill.  He owns it to this day, though Pa runs the place now. 

   “Long story short, I'm the youngest of three brothers and four sister.  For that matter, Yuri's bastard kid's named in Grandpa's will too.  There's not enough of that sawmill to share with me. 

   “But I don't want it.  I want that old magelock.” 

He looks pretty good.

Miroque, Glyphstone and Muse - I am going to wait for Miroque to give me her other concept and then I will make a decision on final characters for the game.

[TheGlyphstone]

Need no, but I may want to. :)

If you have to include a DMPC, go with Mighty. Thug muscle is far less likely to result in the classical DMPC problems than a super-kewl-awesome-magician.



3 approved, 3 prospective - how many total do you plan on? Not that I'm planning on assassinating my competitors or anything.

[Crash]

My original plan was 4-5 players. 

If I made a sorcerer/ess it would not be min/maxed and probably have an odd second career, because....well I like making odd combos work, but ultimately if I did an NPC it would be with input from player characters.  Mighty is certainly in play.  I actually like Mighty which I notice a lot of players do not.

[Tackyhillbilly]

Mighty is Fantastic, imo. But other then Gifted, which is popular for different reasons, Mighty is the most focused archetype. Skilled and Intellectual are good for a lot of builds. Mighty is pretty much just for Heavy Meleers.

[TheGlyphstone]

Mighty is Fantastic, imo. But other then Gifted, which is popular for different reasons, Mighty is the most focused archetype. Skilled and Intellectual are good for a lot of builds. Mighty is pretty much just for Heavy Meleers.

Pretty much. Gifted, Skilled, and Intellectual all have flexibility in the sort of character/role they can be put to, but Mighty just hits stuff in melee. Hits that stuff real good, but if you're not hitting stuff in melee, you might as well have no archetype at all. - Gifted (with spells) and Skilled can also hit stuff in melee, but Mighty cannot replicate their niches in return.

[Dhi]

Character Name: Valentine Karskaja
Race: Skirov
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Lesbian
Faith: Menite
Archetype: Intellectual
Careers: Investigator/Alchemist
Connections: --

Damage Capacity
Physique: 5
Agility: 3
Intellect: 5
Power Field:

Feat Points: 3

Appearance:
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 147
Hair Color: Chemically bleached blonde
Eye Color: Toxic black-ringed hazel

She cuts a trim, tightly contained island in a world she cannot control, a sea of the unknown which infuriates and compels her. Back from eyes patterned after poisonous flowers, she draws her vainly bleached and styled hair sharply away from her alchemical work, and when it isn't billowing like a feather boa about her shoulders, it's bound in a runner's ponytail. Chemical resin and ozone cling to the striking red of her protective leather like a midday perfume. A gentleman's cane aids her balance to crouch down in the firm Rimeshaws snow and unearth what has long lay buried. She is cat-like more than muscular, in build, in motion, in her fierce independence. But genius has many quirks, some of them physical, some of them nervous, and not every movement is graceful nor intentional.

Personality: Magic is not a thing of beauty - that is a fairy tale for little girls. Magic is a wild, voracious, man-eating beast. From the stony wood of the Rimeshaws Papa Karskaja fashioned many resolute and breathtaking things which would endure the years and its culling winters, but Valentine was his finest work. With the mettle to brave the strange and mysterious, the acuity to sort truth from fiction, and the cunning to protect her own, she will thrust a scholar's hand into the beating heart of the occult and tear free that which is worthy, for the glory of the Khadoran Empire.

STATS

PHY: 5

• SPD:  6
• STR:  4

AGI: 3

• PRW: 5
• POI: 4

INT: 5

• ARC: -
• PER: 4

WILLPOWER (PHY + INT): 10
DEFENCE (SPD+AGL+PER+Race Mod+Equip Mod): 12
ARM (PSY+Shield+Other): 10
+3 vs blast, corrosion, and fire; +4 vs cold
INITIATIVE (SPD+ PRW+PER+Equip Mod+Other): 15
COMMAND RANGE (INT+Command+Ability Mods): 5

SKILLS

Hand Weapon (Prw) 2
Pistol (Poi) 1
Thrown Weapon (Prw) 1

Alchemy (Int) 1
Detection (Per) 1
Forensic Science (Int) 1
Interrogation (Social) 1
Law (Int) 1
Medicine (Int) 2
Sneak (Agi) 1

BENEFITS & ABILITIES

Astute
Genius
Grenadier
Hyper Perception
Language (Khador, Cygnaran/Sulese, Khurzic)
Poison Resistance

WEAPONS

Ranged

Name	RNG	RAT	POW	AoE
Pistol, repeating	48 / 240	7	11
Bola	48 / --	5	5
Acid grenade	48 / --	7	13 + Corrosion	3
Knockout grenade	48 / --	7	(Unconscious)	3
Fear grenade	48 / --	7	Terror (14)	5

Melee

Name	MAT	P+S
Sword cane	8	7

EQUIPMENT

39 gc
Greatcoat
Alchemist's leather
Gas mask
Traveling alchemist's kit
Sword cane
Bola
Pistol, repeating
Grenadier's bandolier
Alchemical grenade, acid bomb (2)
Alchemical grenade, ashes of Urcaen
Alchemical grenade, fear gas
Alchemical grenade, knockout bomb
Alchemical ingredient, crystal alchemical waste (7)
Alchemical ingredient, liquid alchemical waste (5)
Alchemical ingredient, mineral acid (5)
Alchemical ingredient, mineral crystal (2)
Alchemical ingredient, organic acid

Background: She had been a fresh-faced girl, still finding her shape and with a rifle slung across her back, when her unit was stationed in the Scarsfell. It was a quiet duty, made for clear-eyed fledgeling girls and rich boys who oughtn't see combat. Without a clear idea of her identity beyond pretty girl and only an inkling that the future held no satisfaction, she crested the alloyed spine of a decommissioned colossal and felt the pride of her heritage travel up her willowy legs. Birch trees had grown through the grill mask of the silenced behemoth, its motile parts had all been fused shut with welding torches, its soul stolen by the Fraternal Order of Wizardry, and its innards reeked a pall of liquor, but her mind was opened to new vistas. That same summer, one of her brothers had been bit by a pig back in Nynsk, and that anecdote was the story which defined that year for the rest of the Karskaja family.

Valentine had returned to that place one last time at the end of her tour to share a wool blanket, thirty-two candles, and a night of stories with a Khard sous-chef from Cherov-on-Dron. When the dim stars and the low-burning candles had framed them as the center of the universe, her company had asked her why such an irreproachable workhorse as the alloyed hull beneath their bodies had been allowed to be betrayed, and why Khador had allowed itself to fall so far. No answer could satisfy. In the morning fog she had scrounged the fused wreck for a single piece of memento, and come away with only a small tooth of metal which would later become the clasp of the book which would hold all her discoveries.

Over a butcher block table in a tanner's shop in Nynsk she had cut open her ninth bog toad to harvest its single small store of acid, and with the chemical smells of formaldehyde, bile and animal decay all competing to disgust, all she could think about were the old stories of the Old Witch and the songs she'd croak as she deposited vile ingredients into her cook-pot. So many stories came back to her in the delirium of the fumes. A single small flask held her first successful alchemical acid, and with perfectly neat penmanship she recorded her method in a leatherbound tome.

The old master of rites had enlisted her help ridding the Rimeshaws of a restless ghost. Though she believed the old priest to be merely testing her faith, still she went into the unknown with bated breath, a brand new color of mystery cast over the woods of her birth. At her own considerable expense she had brewed ashes of Urcaen, just in case the tales were real. Even though they had come away empty-handed, the investment of the ashes had been worth the price for all she'd learned from the venerable sage. That winter he had passed on, and Valentine spoke at his funeral. It was the first time she was something other than a Karskaja.

The new Sul-Menite master of rites had taken her aside after Father Caragiale's service and asked her if she were interested in reopening the old unsolved inquiries of the church. The answer, unequivocally, was yes.

[Tackyhillbilly]

Pretty much. Gifted, Skilled, and Intellectual all have flexibility in the sort of character/role they can be put to, but Mighty just hits stuff in melee. Hits that stuff real good, but if you're not hitting stuff in melee, you might as well have no archetype at all. - Gifted (with spells) and Skilled can also hit stuff in melee, but Mighty cannot replicate their niches in return.

Skilled can hit stuff in melee really good. Once Daumantas gets his first benefit, it will be Two Weapon Fighting, at which point he can bust out 4 Attacks a round. Skilled characters in melee are the death of lightly armored individuals. What Mighty does really well is hit something really, really hard. People with high ARM are their best targets.

[Crash]

Dhi - Alchemist is one of my favorite careers. :)

[TheGlyphstone]

Should I kill time while we're waiting for Miroque by elaborating more on Josef's personality? He's definitely far more of a bastard than I had originally visualized him, but he's not meant to be as much of a sadist/sociopath as his background paints him as. Just an angry, bitter man who took a lot of undeserved abuse as a child, and never really learned restraint for when he became the one with the power instead. He's rather Machievellan in the literal sense, believing that it's better to be loved than feared, but better to be feared than hated, and he's settled for feared since he doesn't think anyone in Nynsk will ever love him. There's definitely a part of him inside that dreams of saving the town and being hailed as a hero forever, earning a place for himself instead of just as a Polzin.

[Crash]

Please do!

And of you have any other ideas for interesting people or places in town or near town feel free to post those too!

[TheGlyphstone]

Will do, then. I'll re-detail Creeper 2.0 as well.


Does Dommat Seaforge have his family with him? I could flesh them out a bit, what with little Josef having spent so much time hanging around the Seaforge.

[Dhi]

I'm re-reading the Khador section of KNG this evening before I get started on the finer points of Valentine. I also like alchemy and the amount of detail that goes into the process; it isn't just "pay gold, get item." That I have a gas mask fetish might also factor into my decision.

There are some alchemical items in Urban Adventure that're kind of pulp noir and might fit the investigator feel I'm going for. Are those items okay, or should we stick purely to the core book?

[Crash]

Will do, then. I'll re-detail Creeper 2.0 as well.


Does Dommat Seaforge have his family with him? I could flesh them out a bit, what with little Josef having spent so much time hanging around the Seaforge.

PM Tackyhillbilly on the Seaforges.  Dommat was originally his creation.

I'm re-reading the Khador section of KNG this evening before I get started on the finer points of Valentine. I also like alchemy and the amount of detail that goes into the process; it isn't just "pay gold, get item." That I have a gas mask fetish might also factor into my decision.

There are some alchemical items in Urban Adventure that're kind of pulp noir and might fit the investigator feel I'm going for. Are those items okay, or should we stick purely to the core book?

I forgot about the gas mask. You can certainly use the alchemical items from Urban Adventure.  It think there were some Full Metal Friday's PDF's from Private Press that deal with alchemy too.  Those would also be usable.

[Tackyhillbilly]

(I kind of assumed all official content was open... though to be fair I ended up with a character entirely built from core.)

[Crash]

I am brushing up on KNG too.  Remember that Nynsk is a small industrial town in an out of the way province that has a lot of traditions that are from the old Skirov and Kossite people.   Not everything may apply as a strict rule.  Khador's Great Princes are given a lot of autonomy to rule how they want and the Great Prince of the Duwurkyn Volozk is very old school.

KNG mostly focuses on Military so a lot of it does not apply, but there are some things that will work, so just ask if you have a question on what does and does not work.

<--- Really wants the Hordes book.  I will absolutely run that when it comes out. Trollbloods for the Win!!!!!!

[TheGlyphstone]

I built out of Core because that was the only book I had available, though I managed to get a look at KNG for the Seafarer laborjack.

Personally, I just want them to hurry up and write a book with Cryx material in it. For Toruk.

[Crash]

Unfortunately the last book to be made.

[Tackyhillbilly]

<----------- Still wishes there was more stuff on Rhul... or a Rhul Faction in the Tabletop. I mean, they have a dude literally named General Awesome (Ossum). How can you beat that? Also, an insane Explosion Maniac who has been entrusted with a command position.

[Crash]

I think Cryx, Rhul, Scythia and Skorne were originally scheduled in book 4.

[TheGlyphstone]

Character Name: Josef Polzin Zavor
Race or Ethnicity: Human Male (Khardic)
Sex: Male
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Faith: Menite
Archetype: Skilled
Careers: Thief/Field Mechanik
Connections: --

Damage Capacity
Physique: 5
Agility: 5
Intellect: 4
Power Field:

Feat Points: 3
Appearance:

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black

STATS

PHY: 5

• SPD: 6
• STR: 4

AGI: 5

• PRW: 4
• POI: 4

INT: 4

• ARC: -
• PER: 4

WILLPOWER (PHY + INT): 9
DEFENCE (SPD+AGL+PER+Race Mod+Equip Mod): 14
ARM (PSY+Shield+Other): 10
INITIATIVE (SPD+ PRW+PER+Equip Mod+Other): 10
COMMAND RANGE (INT+Command+Ability Mods): 5

SKILLS

Military:
(Prowess) Hand Weapon 1
(Poise) Pistol 1

Occupational:
(Social) Bribery 1
(Social) Command 1
(Int) Craft (Metalworking) 1
(Social) Deception 1
(Agility) Escape Artist 1
(Agility) Lock Picking 2
(Int) Mechanikal Engineering 1
(Agility) Pickpocket  2
(Agility) Sneak 1
(Perception) Streetwise 1

BENEFITS & ABILITIES

(Archetype) Deft: Boosted AGI rolls
(Career) 'Jack Marshal
(Career) Bodge
(Career) Conniver
(Career) Dodger
(Career) Hit The Deck!

WEAPONS

Ranged - Repeating Pistol: RAT 5, POW 10, Range 48/240
Melee - Sword: MAT 5, P+S 7
Melee - 'Jack Wrench: MAT 3, P+S 7

EQUIPMENT

8gc
Armored Great Coat
'Jack Wrench
Mechanik's Tool Kit
Sword
Thieves' Tools

Background

Josef was born in the seatown of Skrovenberg, to a expatriate Llaelese stevedore manager and his wife. It would have been a fine place for a child to grow up, and he would not have wanted for anything. But when he was a toddler, his mother died of a winter wasting sickness, and there was little time for his father to divert from the business for raising a child. Instead, he was sent away to the small town of Nynsk, home to his late mother's extended family, to grow and live there, and this shaped him in a drastically different fashion. The half-Khardic boy, was lithe and wiry, favoring his southern father, and thus somewhat visually distinctive in the rustic village. To make matters worse, his Khardic family, the Polzins, were the town's predominate employer, and not particularly well liked by most townsfolk for their heavy-handed business practices and arrogant demeanors. Polzin money and Polzin friends meant no one ever acted against them directly, but that didn't stop many from complaining at home, where their own children would often overhear. In turn, those children would frequently seek out Josef - he was smaller than them, he was one of the Polzins, and their daddy was mad at the Polzins.

Thus did his life progress - hunted down and beaten up for the offenses of his family, until he learned first how to hide and get away from his tormenters, and later how to single them out for painful and humiliating revenge. His only point of refuge was Seaforge Steamjacks, a favored hiding place and before long a place to visit in his free time as well. Dommat Seaforge would tolerate no bullies in his shop, and the canny Rhulic businessman recognized the inherent value in being seen by the Polzins as a friend and protector of the young Josef. He taught Josef the fundamentals of mechanikal  engineering, the principles of steamjack construction and maintenance, and in the process did what little he could to dull the boy's growing mean streak. A he reached puberty and sprouted into his height - still lanky and lean compared to the other teenagers in town, but no longer a head shorter as well. In the process, he had also grown more aware of how valuable his blood was in Nynsk, and lost any fear he might have had towards using it. His sneaking skills turned proactive, playing pranks on his former tormentors - often with a vicious undertone, and hiding behind his family name when the angry victims tried to confront him empty-handed of evidence.

It reached the point where even the Polzins started to think the boy was becoming more trouble than he was worth, and his enlistment in the Winter Guard for mandatory service was greeted with quiet sighs of relief all over the town. Josef had no intentions of dying for his country, though, as much of a patriot as he honestly was, and quickly worked out on his own initiative a clandestine transfer from line infantry to the quartermaster's department. At first a clerk, his talents for 'acquiring' valuable and much-needed items for the regiment - occasionally in tandem with a mysterious shortage of that same item in another regiment - made him a valued member of the company, and quite a few soldiers were unhappy to see him go. Others were less displeased, though, generally those who had earned his ire and been the recipient of quiet retaliation, and it was in part the recognition that angry soldiers with guns and knives were a much less appealing target for practical jokes than angry provincial villagers that prompted him to muster out when he could do so.

Josef's father had more or less disappeared from his life, never particularly favored by his wife's family to begin with, so it came as a complete surprise when Josef received notice of the old man's death. With the note came what remained of his inheritance; in the later years, business had dropped sharply, and the grand sum of the estate after settling debts and funereal taxes came to a handful of coins and one aging Seafarer-pattern light laborjack. Animal cunning, a thorough grounding in the underworld, and ownership of a steamjack made him well-suited to enlistment in the less-than-legitimate side of the Polzins' business empire, a role he took to with great relish. No one could prove that the Polzins maintained their status by illegal means, but it was 'known' all the same that Josef was their gloved hand in the shadows.

Personality

Despite all of his misfortunes, though, Josef isn't an entirely bad person. He's angry and bitter, a man who grew up enduring taunts and abuse from nearly everyone he would have otherwise considered a playmate and confidant with only a tiny handful of exceptions. The name of his family brought him most of that abuse, at the same time that it protected him from the worst excesses, so he also grew up wrestling with simultaneous drives of deep loyalty and seething resentment towards his Polzin heritage. At his simplest, though, he embodies the philosophical attitude that while it is better to be loved than feared, it is better to be feared than hated - and with love closed off to him from anyone in Nynsk as far as he believes, he'll settle for fear. But there's still a part of him, deep inside, that hungers for that unattainable love, dreams of saving the town or even the entire Empire and being hailed as a great hero by all.

Being below average in physical prowess for a Khadoran, he prefers games of the mind to tests of strength, so his pranks and practical jokes are, while nasty and often humiliating, designed in such a way to avoid more than minor physical injury whenever possible. In general, physical violence is a route of last resort for him after psychological attacks have failed, and he's restrained in when he unleashes either. It takes actively crossing him in something he cares about to earn his ire, and he is remarkably quick to forgive - this time - once he's extracted a suitable degree of revenge. On the other hand, for family members and the rare few people he considers friends he will fight his way through the gates of Urcaen and back to help them. He doesn't beat on his whores. He's not in any danger of converting to Wurm worship. He's just a half-breed with a pureblood Khadoran's cold heart, who learned the value of power from the side of the fist and never learned mercy once he was the one in power instead.

Creeper

Zavor Loading had owned several steamjacks at its peak, but by the time Josef inherited the remains of the business, there was only one, a rather battered Ordic Seafarer. At first, he set about fixing up the machine as a hobby in his spare time, but after he was finished, the value of an utterly loyal and unquestioning 3-ton bodyguard to his job as the Polzin's primary enforcer was rather significant. Many people who would get aggressive or threatening when confronted with an overdue debt or pressure to make a more favorable trade deal find themselves to be far more reasonable if a nine-foot-tall steamjack is glaring at them over Josef's shoulders. Its very presence has saved Josef from the need to get violent on multiple occasions, a fact he is quietly and privately grateful for.

Being used in this fashion, though, has had a mildly alarming effect on the steamjack's simplistic and impressionable cortex. Josef can be mean, but he's not an outright sadist. If Creeper was a man, however, 'sadistic' would be a rather generous term for its personality. It seems to take a positive glee in menacing people - leaning in just a bit too close, puffing clouds of hot steam, giving painful shrieking whistles, and pounding a massive fist into its open palm. The last, a behavior directly learned from Josef, worries even him to some degree, and if it wasn't for the expense of replacing a cortex, he would have done so already. When actually called to fight, it aims for disabling strikes rather than killing blows, and painful or crippling hits over more merciful ones (though few people can consider being hit anywhere by a steamjack to be 'merciful'). Even its gait is somewhat ominous - designed for the unstable surface of a oceangoing ship, on land it seems to stalk everywhere as if hunting prey only it can see.

PHY: 8

• SPD: 6
• STR: 8

AGI: 5

• PRW: 5
• POI: 3

INT: 1

• ARC: -
• PER: 1

INITIATIVE: 12
DEFENSE: 12
ARMOR: 15

DAMAGE GRID:

	1	2	3	4	5	6
		O	O	O	O
	O	O	O	O	O	O
	O	L	O	O	R	O
	L	L	M	C	R	R
		M	M	C	C

ATTACKS:
Right - Gaff (MAT 5, P+S 12, Reach)
Left - 'Jack Axe (MAT 5, P+S 11)
Right/Left - Open Fist (MAT 5, P+S 10)

[Miroque]

Name: Ivania Romanova
Race: Strikov/Khards
Gender: Female
Class: Aristocrat/Investigator
Age: 17
Sexual Orientation: Streight, but virgin

Description: 5´5 and slim body, Ivania portrays an icy princess. Her skin is very pale, as she has inherited that from her mother accompanied with her flaming red hair. She keeps her wardrobe in immaculate shape and keeps good care of her looks. Her reputation preceeds her, and most people consider her cold and aloof for her reputation.

Background: Ivania is daughter of Posadnik Iagan Petru and his first crush, Khards woman called Jekaterina. They had an fast affair when Petru served in capital. Ivanias birth was kept form her father for few years, but when her mother died to feever, her mothers family contacted Petru and arraged him to take her. First years were akward, but after the initial shock, Ivania was accepted as daughter, even she would never have claim to Petru family fortune.

Growing up in Nynsk, Ivania learned to become quite an handful. She used her name to open doors and made sure if she was crossed, there would be hell to pay. That and her icy demeanor quickly gathered her an reputation of an icy brat bitch. Not that anyone was foolish enought to say it to her face. She glided throu the social circles as butterfly, learning to pry people. Her keen intellect made sure of that.

She did not have many friends when she grew up, but she made her business to gather flunkies and to know how's who in the town.