Beyond the boarders of the Emerald Empire lies a vast and diverse world centered around the Burning Sands -- a place cursed by Shilah the Sun and Kaleel the Moon. For too long the Samurai in Rokugan have remained ignorant of the greater world around them.
A danger is rising, but is it too late for the children of the Kami? Only you know that answer.Run by the Game Master Moto Vardaen
"If you can't sabotage your enemy's plans, sabotage his men."
- From The Forty-Seven Sayings of Mekhem
One Week Ago...
The smell of the sewers is always overpowering for those who come to the underbelly of the Jewel of the Desert Medinaat al-Salaam. For those who live here, eventually they get used to it, or suffer their generally short lives. Here in an unmarked junction of two main sewer passages stands a skinny filthy looking man dressed in nothing but begger rags. He has an eye patch over his left eye, and is missing his left ear (it appears to have been chewed off at some point in the past). In his hands he holds a large clay jar. The container must be empty for it appears light in the skinny man's hands. He paces from side to side along the raised walkway only inches above a stream of human offal and waste.
He was told to go here to meet with a Necromancer of his order known as The Snake. The Snake too was ordered here to meet this man for his recent ruthless and effecient successes for The Jackals has earned him some special assignment from his superiors. The one eyed man fidgets as he paces, his face twitching as a noise is heard down one of the passages. Turning to see if it's the man he's been waiting for he finds at just that moment The Snake appears around the corner of yet another tunnel...
This thread is for The Snake, ManWithDoor's Jackal Necromancer. We'll move things along and join the others soon enough. Please post a full phsiycal description of your guy.
Last edited by Vardaen on Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Snake walks with purpose, evidently also quite familiar with the tunnel system. He stands bit over six feet tall, whip-cord thin, but not cadaverous. His head is shaved, much like his name-sake, but a thin layer of black stubble can be seen, so it is an affectation rather than a natural baldness. The dark brown of his irises do not seem to shine in the light, but rather simply absorb the light, looking dull and dead. His skin tone looks to be a dark tan genetically, but extensive time underground has prevented it from deepening to mahogany. The grayish colour of his robes makes him look quite at home next to the stone walls of the sewers. The hems are shorter than might be seen on the street, but getting sewage rather than dust on ones clothing necessitates a modification of wardrobes.
For now, he appears to only have noticed the messenger, and not the possibility of another party entering the scene. As he approaches the mauled man, he raises his right hand slightly in front of him, the thumb and index finger creating a ninety degree angle, the only three clawed. A small booklet of signs-countersigns is necessary for true recognitions, especially after the purges of the last couple decades.
Just threw in the whole hand-sign thing. Thought it made sense for secret combinations to have little signs, perhaps simple ones for 'everything's fine', 'danger, get out', things like that. Nothing like 'Sign Language', but almost like spy stuff.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
The one eyed man nearly jumps when The Snake comes fully into view. "You scared me!" He haphazardly gives a return signal almost forgetting about it. "You must be The Snake right? Right." He shifts his weight from side to side a bit annoyingly. "Names Abdal I have this here for you, a message is inside, I was told to wait around for your reply." He then offers the jar to the Jackal Necromancer. The container is quite obviously a Soul Jar. It is however unused, and appears to be an empty one, ready to be filled. The lid is loose, likely something of a message waits inside.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Snake looks with little amusement at the messenger, not sure whether to be annoyed at this one directly, or his master for not training him well enough to handle stressful situations. The Jackals are not well served by skittish minions. He carefully opens the lid, wary as always, and retrieves the message if there is one. He keeps his eyes scanning around as he reads what has been sent.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
Opening the jar The Snake discovers a folded piece of papryus inside. Taking out the note the Necromancer eyes the man gowing annoyed with his skittish attitude. The lid is returned to the jar and the Jackal unrolls the note:
To The Snake
We have another task for you. Attached you shall find a map that leads to a dead end passage in the sewers. You are to gather 'a work force' and tunnel beyond the end of the passage. Divinations suggest that a chamber lies beyond and we need access to this chamber. Directly above it is staging ground for a rather important Customs Officer. We must have access to this location in less than a weeks time. Keep your work force at the ready once you've gained access to the sewer chamber. Eventually they will be needed to haul away some cargo. Inclosed is also an amulet you may find useful.
-MM
PS: Adbal knows too much, put him to 'work' at once.
In the jar is another small scroll with a map drawn on it as the note said. There is also a small black amulet, a hunk of amber carved into the shape of a senpet scarab. A small black spark of light seems to taint the center of the amulet deep inside the scarab. There is obvious power within the charm.
The Amulet has necromatic powers that will allow you to keep control of undead for a much longer period of time than your 1 Hour time limit that you currently have based on your school technique. How long it will last is another matter. It also grants you the chance to control more than your Earth Ring number in Ghuls per day. For each Ghul above your normal limit you are allowed to have (3) the TN is +5 up to a max of twice your earth ring.
ie Number of Ghuls
1-3 TN 20
4 TN 25
5 TN 30
6 TN 35
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Correct me if I'm wrong. I can't actually raise Ghouls unless I have the real Soul of the Slayer, or am a Rank 3 Necromancer. The best I can do at Level 2 is control undead. So how could I possibly put Abdul 'to work'? Unless I'm supposed to use him as bait for the undead somehow.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
I supose you are right. Hmm Jackal Necro doesn't seem that great a class to me. Rank One you can use the Unique Rae Artifact of the group (which would probably be in the control of some muchg higher ranking member), Rank 2 you can take control of undead but not make your own. Even Rank 1 Maho users in Rokugan can raise the dead to fight for them.
Because I like this idea, I'm going to say the Amulet will give you the power to raise one Ghul on your own like the Rank 3 Tech. It is a rather powerful item now!
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Yeah, I really dislike the class techniques by and large. Very low powered. Can't even cast real spells. But I love the flavor of it, so I ran with it. If this character encountered my Rank 2 Kuni, he would eat it like a peon without a contest.
The Snake calmly reads the missive then places it in his pouch. He places the pot on the ground and the amulet around his neck. The enhancing power of the talisman is almost immediately felt, and he smiles ... more or less. A very creepy smile.
He looks back at Abdal, then behind the man down a passageway. He hefts the small spear in his hand. "Are you sure you were not followed? You did well to deliver the jar, but are you certain no one outside our order knew?"
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
Abdal's eyes go wide at the site of the amulet that was in the jar. "Huh, I ain't never given no nice stuff." He shakes his head and then responds to the Snake. "I'm not fool, no one followed me. I know plenty of back allies and different passages. Not even a rat spotted me coming down here." He twitches slightly, her nervious tick just taking over.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Snake nods calmly. "No need to get jealous. This is the first such time I have been gifted with such blessings, and I have been a Jackal for much longer than you. I am sure you will be getting your just rewards momentarily." His eyes narrow. "Unless you dared to pilfer some trinket that was meant for delivery to me? If you have, I will make you regret it very briefly." His eyes are points of glittery black as he extends his right hand, clawed as though to tear out Abdal's heart. An aura of black energy emanates from the hand, seeming to steal the life from the room.
Might need to make some sort of Deceit roll to see if I'm convincing on pretending I'm suspicious about something. Want to try out the Rank 1 ability to lower an opponent's stamina. So activate that. Does that also lower their entire Earth Ring, or just the stat?
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
