Feasible Character Suggestions

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Nightcall
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Feasible Character Suggestions

Post by Nightcall »

There are many walks of life in Druchii society. This guide summarises most of them, in the hope that it will help you with your character creation.



Assassins

Traditionally, an Assassin is taken by the Temple of Khaine as an infant, survives being cast into the cauldron of blood, and is passed on to the Temple's school for assassins. They spend their lives dedicated to the art of murder and it is seen as a sacred task. These assassins are identified by their brassy coloured eyes, which if you are lucky, you might see before he kills you.

It is not just the Temple of Khaine that has assassins. Any Druchii that shows an aptitude for stealthy killing has the potential to become an assassin. These might hire their skills out, or go into service of a Dark Elf household. Poisons, daggers, fine blades, or anything at hand will be used to dispatch an enemy. The mark of the most skilled assassin is that a death appears natural or an accident.

Assassins of the Temple are male. However, mercenary assassins not affiliated with the Temple of Khaine may be male or female. Note though that the latter will rarely possess the same level of skill as a Temple assassin.


Beastmasters

"The Dark Elves do not know fear, it is true. It takes a special kind of courage to become a Beastmaster. As well, it takes a lifetime of training. For this reason, young Dark Elves, such as yourselves, who demonstrate an aptitude for the handling of beasts are taken to the city of Karond Kar, there to learn the ways of the Beastmaster.

"When you return to us many years from now, you will be a formidable instrument of the Witch King's will, able to command ferocious creatures many times your size with a single word."

- Beastlord Rakarth, addressing a group of recruits chosen to train as Beastmasters


Beastmasters train up to take creatures into battle to bolster the ranks of the Druchii force. These terrible beasts include manticores, hydras, and cockatrice. A dangerous job, few survive their training to become masters of this skill.


Black Guard

"Simpleton! You will be crushed beneath my heel! Your faith will not shield you, your magics will not burn me! There is no power that can stand before the burning rage of the Witch King’s chosen!"

- Kouran of the Black Guard


In Druchii society, few are feared quite as much as the Black Guard; the Witch King's personal guard, answerable only to him and to Kouran, their captain. They epitomise the cold ruthlessness of the Dark Elves, trained as they are from a young age to the highest possible standards in the arts of warfare and in the use of their trademark black halberds. The training of the Black Guard is bloody and brutal. The trainees are split into 20 groups, each with one tower, and made to kill each other. The Witch King then selects the most powerful to join the Black Guard, and the 20 groups then become the regiments of the Black Guard. Wondrously unrelenting and efficient on the attack, the Black Guard are the terror of all who stand against them.

The Black Guard of Naggarond are the favoured warriors of the Witch King Malekith, and are given the scared task of not only serving as his personal bodyguard, but as his heartless enforcers on the field of battle. Those who would become the Black Guard are taken from birth from their mothers. A Black Guard has no family ties to distract them, they are children of hatred and war and are raised from infancy steeped in battle and blood. Each Black Guard has personally sworn an oath of undying devotion at the feet of the Witch King, it is this oath that lights the fires of hatred and scorn deep in their hearts, for no warrior can be greater than the one chosen by Malekith himself.


Corsairs

Corsairs are hardened fighters who have spent their whole lives plundering the lands of others. Lauded amongst Dark Elf society for their daring and bravery, Corsairs embody the drive for a Druchii to earn riches and glory. They are armed with a vicious array of cutlasses, serrated blades, and handbows. Plying their trade across the seas, they seek out glory and loot.

A Druchii might take to sea as a Corsair due to scandal or dishonour in his home city. Alternatively they might turn to piracy for profit or family tradition. One things is clear. They show no mercy and terrorise the seas of the Old World in the search for treasure and slaves.


Cultists

Although Khaine is the dominant god worshipped in Dark Elf society, there are groups of Dark Elves that celebrate others. In the pantheon of gods, there are many others that are honoured in secret. Of these, the most dangerous cult is the Cult of Slaanesh, whereby sadistic rites are carried out in search of power and pleasure. Cultists are secretive, as revelation of their practices incurs the death penalty. It is rumoured that Morathi herself is a pivotal figure in the Cult of Slaanesh and as such Malekith turns a blind eye to her practices.


Executioners

The original executioners were the guards of the temple in Har Ganath which is now known for them. The executioners seek perfection in the art of death following Khaine in his aspect of the executioner. The method of death dealing usually preferred amongst the executioners is decapitation in a single blow. They wield Draichs, weapons whose very name means the act of killing. Usually these take the form of elegant great swords though they can also be axes. Dedicated to the temple the executioners are the guards and enforcers of the hag queens both outside of the temple and within, they are an order rightly feared and respected throughout the elven world.


Knights

Dark Elf knights tend to ride Cold Ones rather than horses. Huge dragonoids, discovered underground in the Land of Chill, cold ones weigh up to two tonnes and have thickly armoured skin. A thrashing tail and a maw full of sharp teeth that can bit an armoured man in two with one crushing bite, these beasts make ferocious mounts. Cold ones are pack animals and see anything else as prey. To prevent their mounts from attacking them, the knights paint themselves with foul smelling poison secreted through the cold ones' skin which fools the great beasts into thinking their riders are part of their pack. Over time this poison numbs the skin, burns the taste buds, and destroys the sense of smell, as well as possibly driving a knight mad. The effects can be reversed but this is very expensive. Most cold one knights are nobles, but some wealthier warriors also ride these mounts into battle.


Mercenaries

Sell-swords and mercenaries tend to be deserters or wandering warriors who have no desire to fight in the host of the Witch King. Ruthless and generally untrustworthy, they are usually on the run from one thing or another. Their loyalty is bound by coin, and switches depending on who pays them the best.


Merchants

Seen as "khyrmen" (which can be seen as an insult) by those living a more bloodthirsty life, merchants are essentially the back bone of the Dark Elf economy. These deal in slaves, spices, exotic goods, and dangerous illicit substances such as courva and hushalta, as well as beasts and desirable items. In fact if you are prepared to pay the right price, they will sell you anything. The best merchants can be very influential, and may quickly rise to the rank of Noble. The worst will rip you off, and you risk buying something that will kill you whilst they relieve your corpse of it's purse.


Nobles

There are two kinds of nobles in Druchii society. Those who are born into a traditional ruling family which are known as Highborns, and those who have climbed the slippery social structure through obtaining favour due to some heroic deed in battle or exceptional wealth known as Nobles. Whilst weakness is looked down upon, strength and ambition are rewarded. Lesser noble houses fall beneath the higher houses and show loyalty through annual tribute to appease and retain favour. It is a constant struggle of rivalry and favour in Naggaroth, and it is far easier for a house to fall to ruin than rise to grandeur. As such, intrigues and secrets are closely guarded, and the assassin's blade is never far away!


Retainers

A retainer is a Druchii that has sworn an oath to serve a Highborn or Noble. These wear a torc of service around their necks called a Hadrillkar, to show other Druchii that they serve a particular Dark Elf. Retainers are usually skilled fighters, and carry out any task for their master or mistress, whether this be from preparing a bath or taking a letter many leagues to its intended, to forming a fighting band to defend the life of the Druchii they serve, or carrying out assassinations. Dark Elves might choose this path to gain favour or to earn the protection of the house they serve. They take a risk, for if they fail, their life is forfeit as an example to others.


Shades

Usually drafted from the wild Dark Elves that call themselves Autarii, shades move with great stealth, leaving carnage and devastation in their wake. Skilled trackers and hunters, they see their city dwelling kin as weak, and are known to hunt and kill them for sport, even eating their prey. They are deeply superstitious, and live in clans in the hills and mountains of Naggaroth.


Slaves

The lowest of the low. These "gharbin" are generally captured wretches from lands afar, but it is possible for a Druchii to suffer this fate. At best they are a servant, at worst a source of entertainment or a sacrificial victim. They don't live long.


Sorceresses

“A Sorceress must walk the dark paths of the Realm of Chaos, the deep pits of the oceans and the bowls of the fiery mountains in her quest for knowledge. The channelling of the raw Winds of Chaos is what gives the Sorceress her power. The Creatures of the Chaos Hells will bow to her will in the end. Such Power is vast but dangerous and the aspirant to the Dark Convent of Sorceresses must be courageous and strong.”

- From the sixth book of secrets by Kaladhtoir of Clar Karond


It is easy to assume from the uncompassionate brutality of the Dark Elves that they are somehow backwards and unlearned, but this is far from the case. A prime example of this are the Sorceresses, who are extremely well bred, yet at the same time, posses the violent and destructive urges of all Druchii. In the ranks of the Dark Elves, Sorcerers are the most powerful, commanding Dhar with very deadly conclusions. These are the dark sages, the ones who unravelled the vortex during The Sundering, and are responsible for the creation of the Black Arks, the titanic floating Dark Elven cities that were used to save the Dark Elves from being enveloped in the ensuing chaos.

On the battlefield, Sorcerers destroy whole legions of warriors with the slightest movement of their hand. In the Warhammer Lore, apart from the first Sorcerers who allied with Malekith during the Sundering, male Sorcerers* are technically banished from Naggaroth and are hunted and killed by the convents of Sorceresses. This is due to a prophecy the Elf mage Caledor Dragontamer gave when Aenarion drew the Sword of Khaine: "A 'Dark Lord' (whom Malekith believes to be himself) would die at that hands of one 'skilled in the Dark Arts'." As such, male sorcerers are rare.
*See Vauvalka.


Vauvalka

"And lo he shall rule with a dark hand and his shadow shall touch on every land. Steel will be his skin and fire his blood, in hatred he will conquer all before him. No blade forged of man, dwarf or elf shall endure him fear. Though it will come to pass that the first born son of noble blood shall rise to power. The child will be learned in the darkest arts and he shall raise an army of terrible beasts. Thus will the dark king fall, slain neither by blade nor arrow but by a sorceress power of darkest magic. And so his body consumed in the flames and for all eternity burn." - The prophecy of Demise.

This prophecy made by Caledor Dragontamer, greatest of all elven mages living and dead, is the reason why with two exceptions only no male may practice magic legally in Naggaroth. Of course it is also illegal to burgle and under most circumstances to murder and yet Druchii society has no deficit of thieves and cut throats. Those who would ignore the Witch King's edict on sorcery are rarer by far than common criminals but many such do exist. Unable to enter the convents such elves are generally self taught or tutored by another such as themselves with very little in the way of written lore to draw upon, non the less they can have many useful skills. The aid of a convent sorceress does not come cheep though the price may not be in gold and many nobles and other employers will bend the law in order to gain a useful servant. Depending on their upbringing these Vauvalka can practice any lore of the eight though high and dark magic require more expert tuition


Warriors

The vast majority of Dark Elves have trained to fight. Many of these find themselves in service of Naggaroth's army. Some are seasoned veterans, others new to battle. Of those, there are those that form a City Guard, are drafted into a Vaulkhar's army, or even the host of a wealthy noble household. They all share the same desire; to spill the blood of their enemies for the glory of Khaine and the Witch King.


Witch Elves

The Brides of Khaine, or Witch Elves, are one of the major powers in Druchii society. They run the Temples of Khaine, where they are responsible for keeping the Cauldrons of Blood filled with the fresh blood of sacrificial victims. When the Dark Elves go to war, a cadre of Witch Elves accompanies the army, eager to prove themselves in the eyes of their god. For them the battlefield is just another temple of Khaine, and the screams of the dying are praises sung in honour of the bloody-handed god. The Witch Elves are led by Hellebron, though many still owe loyalty to Morathi.

A Witch Elf can be an unstoppable force of death and destruction under the proper circumstances. By picking their targets carefully, the Witch Elf can win a fight in a short amount of time. A Witch Elf prefers to rapidly close with lightly armoured targets, where their rapid attacks can stop most opponents dead in their tracks. When facing a heavily armoured foe, the Witch Elf relies on her agility to survive long enough to pick an opportune moment to deliver a savage death blow.


Zealot of Khaine

The devotees of this unique cult can trace their origins to the Dark Elf city of Clar Karond. According to legend, the Noble houses of this decadent city would offer members of their own families to the blood-slicked altars of Khaine in hopes of garnering their war god's favour before setting out to sea on raids.

In the Malus Darkblade novel, Warpsword, there is a great deal written about a cult of Khaine that follows the "true beliefs", that is to say, do not associate themselves with the politics of the Temple of Khaine but prefer to practice their dark rites in the ways they believe were done in ancient times. Their powers and rites include resurrection of the dead, and slaying these risen corpses to steal their essence and strength. Needless to say, these fellows are not looked upon kindly by the followers of the Temple. Zealots are fearless fighters who relish murder and do not fear their own deaths, as by being slain doing Khaine's bloody work is the greatest honour any of them could wish for.
Last edited by Nightcall on Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Calisson »

Excellent reading. Thanks for the effort.
See Sample Character Pathsfor a help about how to adjust this fluff to RPG rules.
The present thread could be added to that thread (but I cannot reply to it: it's locked).
Winds never stop blowing, Oceans are borderless. Get a ship and a crew, so the World will be ours! Today the World, tomorrow Nagg! {--|oBrotherhood of the Coast!o|--}
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Nightcall
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Post by Nightcall »

Of course! People have to stick to the statistics and the four main classes. But it would work if you were to, for example, play a Witch Elf as a Khainite, or a Cold One Knight as a Warrior.
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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Drainial
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Post by Drainial »

This is a good summary and I can appreciate it must have taken quite a while to compile. I would add a couple of things though, Vikrah (where our RPGs begin, end and often take place) is a city famed for mercenaries, most RPG mods hire their bands under this guise so I would not separate out mercenaries as a category; you can be a witch elf mercenary (so long as you give good reason), a magic mercenary, a warrior mercenary ect but in one way or another for your being accepted into most groups mercenary status will have to be accepted.

Second some of those career paths are inappropriate for an RPG character (though it is nice to have them there for the sake of completion); a merchant for example seems to have little cause to be in a group though I suppose a former merchant might stoop to such a level. More importantly I think it should be made plain that at the beginning of their career the characters are the equivalent of a 8-9 point model, they do not have the skills of a full black guard, witch elf or sorceress of the convents. As you have already stated in another post knowing your power level is important, group 22 is our longest running group ever and its oldest players are at around Black Guard level after several years of role playing.

Finally you missed a couple; I hope you don't mind me adding them here.

Vauvalka: And lo he shall rule with a dark hand and his shadow shall touch on every land. Steel will be his skin and fire his blood, in hatred he will conquer all before him. No blade forged of man, dwarf or elf shall endure him fear. Though it will come to pass that the first born son of noble blood shall rise to power. The child will be learned in the darkest arts and he shall raise an army of terrible beasts. Thus will the dark king fall, slain neither by blade nor arrow but by a sorceress power of darkest magic. And so his body consumed in the flames and for all eternity burn. - The prophecy of Demise.

This prophecy made by Caledor Dragontamer, greatest of all elven mages living and dead, is the reason why with two exceptions only no male may practice magic legally in Naggaroth. Of course it is also illegal to burgle and under most circumstances to murder and yet Druchii society has no deficit of thieves and cut throats. Those who would ignore the Witch King's edict on sorcery are rarer by far than common criminals but many such do exist. Unable to enter the convents such elves are generally self taught or tutored by another such as themselves with very little in the way of written lore to draw upon, non the less they can have many useful skills. The aid of a convent sorceress does not come cheep though the price may not be in gold and many nobles and other employers will bend the law in order to gain a useful servant. Depending on their upbringing these Vauvalka can practice any lore of the eight though high and dark magic require more expert tuition.


Executioners: The original executioners were the guards of the temple in Har Ganath which is now known for them. The executioners seek perfection in the art of death following Khaine in his aspect of the executioner. The method of death dealing usually preferred amongst the executioners is decapitation in a single blow. They wield Draichs, weapons whose very name means the act of killing. Usually these take the form of elegant great swords though they can also be axes. Dedicated to the temple the executioners are the guards and enforcers of the hag queens both outside of the temple and within, they are an order rightly feared and respected throughout the elven world.
Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

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Post by Nightcall »

Thank you Drainial, for your points. As a long standing member of D.net, your insight is really important.

I think all the types potentially have a place to be RP'd with, if done well. Vikrah may be famed for mercenaries, but would have its own economy and society, as well as travellers entering the city. I appreciate your point about mercenaries, but IMHO having everybody roleplaying a mercenary, it makes the game about exciting as something like HeroQuest, picking the same thing out of the box every time you play. The example you gave of a merchant could have a place in a story, provided his reasons were realistic... i.e. he is on the run after doing a dodgy deal, he has set out on the venture in the hope that he may find something to trade with, or... he just needs the money.

As for skill level, yes. A BG is far superior in skill to an average mercenary. A player must choose his or her stats wisely to represent their character skills. However, the D.net system has all newcomers with a basic stat set of 18 points. What are the limits with this? Can a player RP something like an Executioner, using only the stats of 18 along with his fellow RPers in the group, and the Mod treat them all on a similar level? For example, if this hypothetical Executioner were to have a Strength of 5 and Weapon Skill of 5, his peers with lesser points on these stats, he would be more successful in being more devastating against the horde of Chaos marauders attacking them than his fellows. This would illustrate his superior skill and training.

To me, a good character background is just as important as stats. What is the approach D.net takes with this? I would have thought the Mod would take into account previous experience and stats when making their GM posts (i.e. if there are 3 players with 18 points, and 1 with 22, the person with 22 is more powerful).

Depending on the RPG, different classes may suit or fit. That's why I think the D.net system of a Mod picking player characters from a pool is so good. The Mod can ensure a good well balanced group, with the right blend of characters for the story they are trying to tell with their game. A few clashing personality types are also good to throw some flavour into the pot! ;)

Thanks for pointing out those two classes as well.

I was wondering about Vauvalka and whether to add them under "Sorceresses" or give them their own separate entry. Due to their legal status I had just left a brief note about male sorcerers and the prophecy under the Sorceress header.

I hadn't put Executioners in as to be honest, I had forgotten them when writing this!

Would it be helpful for me to edit these two into my OP?

The points I raise above are just food for thought. I fully accept and respect the system you guys have worked so hard on, and by far, this is the best RP forum I've come across on t'internet. :)

I am just trying to find my feet with the questions and points above, and share some guides with you that I created for a Druchii RP guild (Tarbo gave me the thumbs up to post this). If I can give something back to D.net for the fun I'm having, I am happy to!
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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Post by Drainial »

I understand what you are saying, certainly background has allot to do with it. For example the character I currently play in group 22 is an illegal mage raised by an organised crime syndicate who turned to a mercenary life when it was destroyed partly out of necessity and partly out of wonderlust. Another character I have in mind (should group 22 ever end or my character die) is a novice witch elf needing to kill a set number of 'worthy enemies' before she can return to become a full member of the Temple of Bloody Joy (something I invented as part of TAU II a long while back) and takes up mercenary service as a convenient way of getting food and board whilst fulfilling her personal quest. I mention these simply to demonstrate that almost all characters can fit into this system; Group 28 currently has a noble, a dispossessed former noble, a tank like former corsair and two shades and none of these diverse personalities have any particular problem fitting in. With all that in mind I just think a separate mercenary entry is unnecessary.

As for points values they are important though they are not the only thing to take into account, the quality of your post will almost always have an impact and some mods use dice to decide things (I rarely do myself but it is not unknown). You can ignore some skills in order to boost others (the only restrictions being no starting stats above 5 though mods may choose to add more for their own group). You can make your character WS5 S5 yes but if you are playing as a character with Intelligence 2 then you need to be prepared to fail consistently at persuading NPCs of anything, if you have T2 and no armour be prepared to be wounded allot ect.

For the purposes of game play I think it is useful if people have appropriate stats, you can say that you are a member of the Black Guard but if you only have 18 points to spend that is a little unfair to the Black Guards; you can get around this easily enough with proper reasoning in your background (such as my Khainite being a novice witch elf rather than a full blown hag priestess which is what she aspires too eventually). This is why we have the aspirations section of CC; these characters should be starting out on a journey not coming in media res. That at least is the way I see it, others may differ and that is why mods are able to bend pretty much every rule they see fit within their own group with minimal supervision from their peers and Tarbo.

Please don't regard this as any kind of attempt to disparage you, text is irritatingly unable to get inflection across, though we do have smilies :) . I am glad you are enjoying the experience so far, it is always good to have enthusiasm especially in new blood. Perhaps at some point you will take up the reins as a group mod yourself if you have the time. Feel free to add the entries to your OP if you want.
Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

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Post by Nightcall »

I agree with all your points there, Dranial. Certainly for a character to start out with the given example of WS5 and S5, they would be very low on the remaining statistics, and thus vulnerable. Therein lies the beauty of the group; with good RP we could see teamwork coming in, or foul backstabbing! Does the I5 Sorceress aid our brave Executioner, or does she leave him to his fate, benefiting from his untimely demise? *cue evil laughter*

I shall amend my OP to include the profile types you have added. Thanks again for poking about these.

Fear not, I had not assumed you were in any way reacting in a negative manner. I have experienced CAPS and trolling on other less mature websites, and your eloquent manner certainly does not come across as being unkind. I appreciate your comments, and it's reassuring to see that members on this forum love their RP enough to discuss the system. Nor do I want to appear to be a newbie trying to rock the boat or belittle the system here. I'd done a lot of work in my last Druchii home, which seems to be sinking... and I did not wish the information or resources to be lost to the abyss. ;)
Casaythe Blackstorm - Warrior (Corsair) - Group 22
Skills: Awareness, Endurance
Equipment: Short Sword, Glaive, Medium Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Repeater Crossbow, clip of bolts [11/20], 405 gold, Talisman of Darkness, Tool Kit, 2 months' rations
Stats: WS4, S4, T5, D3, I4

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Post by Drainial »

Well if there is one thing Druchii know how to do it is abandon something that is sinking and land on our feet, please park your black ark responsibly.
Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

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