MasterBlaster
AL: neutral/neutral evil
Shamelessly appropriated from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,
the Athasian MasterBlaster, is an obnoxious half-giant/halfling combo that can appear in a variety of settings. 'Master', the
halfling sitting on the half-giants shoulders, does the talking and gives the commands, while 'Blaster' uses his muscle and
obeys the halfling's every word.
Depending on the setting, the unity of Master and Blaster could have been forged during hard years in the gladiator stables,
e.g. by 'Master' saving 'Blasters' life.
How to use MasterBlaster:
| STR | 26/8 (Blaster/Master) |
| DEX | 10/12 |
| CON | 20/10 |
| INT | 6/17 |
| WIS | 8/14 |
| CHA | 8/15 |
| WEAPONS | double axe |
| ARMOUR | leather armour |
| NOTES | both are ugly as hell, but 'Master' is
a very charismatic leader personality |
Askani (female rogue/ranger)
AL: chaotic neutral
Askani comes across as your average caravan scout. Mostly human with some form of elven heritage, she stands quite
tall with wavy black hair, tanned skin and strange dark blue eyes. She is happy to ride on whatever mount through whatever
terrain, accompanied by her constant companion, Jhar, a rasclinn.
What not many people know is that Askani has a younger sister she once brought to a Villichi convent in the Ringing Mountains.
While Askani is not a Villichi herself, she grew to like the Villichi after her initial suspicions when she had contact with them.
An older Villichi recognised Askanis affinity and curiosity and asked her if she would regularly come and visit them with the
latest news from the outside world. She would get rewarded for this.
With time, Askani became a mixture of undercover messenger, news person, and occasionally spy and thief for the Villichi.
The Villichi who deals with her, rewards her well and assists her in the development of her physical and mental talents. Askani
suspects that the other Villichi are not fully aware of their elder's dealings with her. But Askani does not mind - she knows that
what she does will keep her sister safe.
| STR | 14 |
| DEX | 17 |
| CON | 16 |
| INT | 15 |
| WIS | 14 |
| CHA | 14 |
| WEAPONS | Short Bow, Short Sword, Dagger, Knife,
magic folding quarterstaff (present from Villichi mentor) |
| ARMOUR | Torso (hide armour) |
| NOTES | Askani has a very high perception and intution. |
Banta Drik Whisperer
AL: neutral
While most people suspect that he is either a half-giant or a mul or a combination of both (half-giant and dwarf?), Banta
is actually human. He is extremely tall and bulky, dwarfing all other humans he has encountered so far. His impressive figure
gets him easily hired as a fighter of all sorts: mercenary, pitfighter, bodyguard, bouncer. If need be, he also guards caravans,
but he does not like riding or walking for long hours (he suffers from motion sickness, finds mounts uncomfortable and he hasn't got
a very high constitution). He has a soft spot for mekillots and driks though and will come over to pet them whenever he gets
the chance. This has earned him the nickname 'Drik Whisperer'. Although it was meant as a mockery, Banta has proudly taken on
this name and has started introducing himself with it.
Banta is not particularly bright. He does not intend to get himself into trouble, but he often just ends up offending
somebody by accident or walks innnocently into the wrong kind of meeting. Also, he is not a terribly adept fighter. He never
had to be, always just using his bulk to shove people around when they got too close. People who know him are amazed that he is
still alive, also considering that he is quite trustful and kind. The reason for this is that Banta is just damn lucky!
Banta has a clean-shaven head and face and brown eyes. He wears half-long trousers with a wide belt and sandals.
Banta has a slight obsession with cleanliness and will invest any money he earns first of all in public baths and a clean shave.
How to use Banta:
| STR | 25 |
| DEX | 9 |
| CON | 10 |
| INT | 7 |
| WIS | 6 |
| CHA | 12 |
| WEAPONS | whatever people who hire him give him |
| ARMOUR | whatever he can get |
| NOTES |
Khal (male half-elf rogue/ranger)
AL: neutral evil (or you can play him as lawful evil)
Khal works as a 'trophy hunter'. He hunts for body parts from the
dead, the undead and the living. He is in the service of important people who need these things for whatever purposes.
Khal does not care. He does his job, he does it well and he gets paid for it, and one day he might die doing it. That's
life...
Khal is a quiet man. People doubt he has any emotions. He gives monosyllabic answers, hardly anyone knows him or knows anything
about him and nobody has any idea of what he does with all the money he earns...
Khal is a half-elf who looks almost human. It is rather his dexterity and indurance that gives him away than
pointy ears. His skin is scarred and sun-tanned and his hair and beard that cover his expressionless face
are a greying black. Khal has very basic equipment and clothes (usually just a grey loin cloth) and usually moves about on foot.
How to use Khal:
| STR | 17 |
| DEX | 22 |
| CON | 24 |
| INT | 17 |
| WIS | 18 |
| CHA | 14 |
| WEAPONS | magical dagger |
| ARMOUR | - |
| NOTES |
Akaash (Male mul gladiator/psiducer)
AL: neutral evil
Raised in the slave pits of Ur Draxa, Akaash was subjected to a particularly vicious
training. He was extremely talented, clever and cruel against anybody he could afford to
be - not only physically but verbally. Due to his good looks and provocative flirting he
soon drew the attention of male noble Ur Draxans. After a while he found himself a
pampered toy and only went into the arena for pure pleasure. He also found that he could
manipulate his lovers. Akaash did not have to learn about intrigues and how to be
successful with them - he was already a master... and which templar believes that it is
a mul to be capable of constructing such an elaborate network of lies and betrayal...
Eventually he got bored. The downfall of Ur Draxa came at the right time. He had the
perfect opportunity to kill people without getting punished and to get away with their possessions.
The first thing Akaash did was to invest in his talents as a psionicist. He had already
enjoyed his telepathic wild talents so much... He is currently seducing handsome nobles on the
road - also as a way to collate information - until he has decided how far he can go...
Akaash is an exceptionally good-looking mul. He always wears black eyeliner to accentuate
his grey eyes and has a couple
of snake-like black tattoos, one of them across his chest. He had the slave markings psionically
removed, afterwards killing the person who removed them. Akaash prefers to wear as little
clothing as possible, but what he wears is of the finest quality and either black, grey or
dark silver. Akaash likes to wear jewellery, especially ear jewellery. At least once a day
he takes drugs which is one of the few times during the day he is vulnerable...
Akaash can be charming, but his manner always feels cold. He is very attentive and
makes frequent use of his telepathic abilities.
How to use Akaash:
| STR | 17 |
| DEX | 19 |
| CON | 18 |
| INT | 19 |
| WIS | 14 |
| CHA | 21 |
| WEAPONS | long daggers, wrist razors, |
| ARMOUR | magic bracelets +4 each (+8 total) |
| NOTES | Akaash likes to use poison. He also carries a poison ring. He also has a keen interest in life-shaped grafts. |
Jabeel (Male mul druid/gladiator/psionicist)
AL: neutral good
When Jabeel escaped from the slave pits he had, for the first time, the space to
think about what he wanted to do. He also wanted to know his place in the world.
He wandered what he was: natural or unnatural. Did he have the right to live? Was he an
abomination?
As it happened he met a druid in the tavern of a bandit village. The druid found
it interesting for a mul to ask such a question. The next day when Jabeel was sober the
two engaged in a philosophical conversation about nature. Jabeel was fascinated. He kept
on asking the druid questions and the druid sometimes answered questions, sometimes he left
the answers for Jabeel to find out.
In the end Jabeel wanted to know so much that the druid decided to offer the mul mentorship.
Since that time Jabeel has become a devoted druid. He has found his place as part of
nature and will do anything to protect it.
Jabeel is a calm and pensive character. He is likely to confuse people with traditonal
expectations regarding muls. He has changed his tattoos of ownership to animal tattoos which
cover most of his body. He wears a light dark brown cloak, carries an agafari staff and
is accompanied by a boneclaw baazrag.
How to use Jabeel:
| STR | 19 |
| DEX | 17 |
| CON | 19 |
| INT | 17 |
| WIS | 16 |
| CHA | 20 |
| WEAPONS | agafari staff, bone dagger |
| ARMOUR | - |
| NOTES | Jabeel is very confident regarding his abilities in combat. He prefers to fight without weapons even if the opponent is using them. |
Yakhaar (female changed brute)
AL: neutral (good)
Yakhaar was born to human parents with speckled yellow
eyes, very pale skin and thick white hair. When she developed a cover of fluffy white hair all over her body she was
sold to a freak show at 3 years of age.
Yakhaar suffered years of humiliation and abuse and neither her emotional nor intellectual needs were ever attended to.
Occasionally she would fall into rages, and the more she raged she could notice that people were scared of her.
When her wild talents got too difficult to control with the collars the show people used, they decided to get rid of her and sell her to the arena of a trading post. As her new owners did not
know how to handle her, she managed to escape during her first match. Luckily the trading post was located near a mountain
range so she was able to seek shelter and survive more easily than in the merciless desert.
Yakhaar is of medium height and muscular. Her only aims in life is to stay free and to survive on her own. Her only
possessions are the armour and weapons she took with her when she fled.
How to use Yakhaar:
| STR | 16 |
| DEX | 18 |
| CON | 19 |
| INT | 15 |
| WIS | 16 |
| CHA | 19 |
| WEAPONS | Boneaxe, spear, (choose gladiator weapon) |
| ARMOUR | (choose gladiator armour) |
| NOTES | Ykhaar has a very intense gaze and several strong wild talents. |
Daucas (Female seer/gladiator)
AL: chaotic neutral
Daucas is a tall human woman with long black hair and deep blue eyes. Her body is
lean, but muscular and there is nothing soft about her looks. Nobody knows where Daucas
came from or where she received her training, but suddenly she appeared for a match at
the arena of Urik and when she left, the Pit of Black Death dripped with the blood of
her enemies.
Daucas is driven by something and, again, nobody knows what. Some say, it is
revenge for a lost loved one who was killed in the arena, some say, it is to make up
for something else that was done to her. Others think it is just blood-thirst or plain
madness. Maybe all of them are right... All people know is that she sometimes says very
strange things that do not seem to make sense to anybody. But sometimes they do - after
a time...
When Daucas does not fight, she wanders seemingly aimlessly through the desert and
mountains.
How to use Daucas:
Daucas can be used in a variety of ways depending on her background and way of
thinking. You can play Daucas as an unpredictable mad-woman, a visionnary with a
purpose or the victim of violence whose only way to cope with what was done to her
is to inflict pain and death herself. Here are some ideas:
| STR | 17 (psi-mutation) |
| DEX | 19 |
| CON | 18 |
| INT | 16 |
| WIS | 16 |
| CHA | 19 |
| WEAPONS | various gladiatorial weapons |
| ARMOUR | varies |
| NOTES | Daucas was born with a mutation. She is much stronger than she looks. Think Vulcans... ; ) |
Akhara (female mul healer/fighter)
AL: lawful good
Akhara had the luck not to have to grow up in the gladiatorial slave pits. Right
after birth, she and a few other mul babies were abducted by the Veiled Alliance of Raam.
The abduction was undertaken for several reasons: firstly, mul babies are extremely
valuable and it is a major sabotage to remove some of these potential super-gladiators.
Secondly, the Veiled Alliance wanted to demonstrate that they can just walk in and take
what they want and vanish unharmed. Thirdly, some philantropic members wanted to prove
that muls do not necessarily have to be brutes - that their behaviour is not genetic
but learned.
Akhara grew up just outside Raam with a human water cleric who was forced to have a
mul girl herself when she was still a slave. The girl was taken away from here after
she barely survived birth, and after she was freed she never found her again.
From an early age on Akhara learnt a deep respect for all life. Her mother did
not particularly encourage her to become a water cleric since she wanted Akhara to find
her own way. Instead she taught her the basics of healing. Soon it became clear that
Akhara wanted to become a healer. She became the apprentice with a healer from the
Veiled Alliance in Tyr. The healer lived inside the city walls and for the first time,
Akhara had to face the irritating city life and prejudices. However, there was one
prejudice that came as an advantage: everybody assumed that Akhara grew up among
gladiators and therefore must be extremely dangerous. To encourage this view, Akhara
dresses herself as "dangerous-looking" as possible - so that she is left in peace by
robbers, street urchins etc. Akhara has just begun to pick up some fighting skills.
At the moment she just pretends...
For a mul, Akhara has a very strange humour, indeed. It results partly from
the fact that she cannot identify with most other muls and that she nevertheless
encounters the common prejudices against muls. Also, the feels somewhat guilty about
the fact that she was allowed to grow up in freedom, while others of her race grew and
still grow up in slavery. Akhara feels uneasy in the company of other muls and she
always makes sinister allusions regarding herself in relation to mul stereotypes and
slavery.
When not pretending to be a fierce gladiator, Akhara simply wears a wide robe.
She has warm brown eyes and is a very calm and sensible person. Her aim is to serve
the Veiled Alliance as a healer and advisor. During her apprentice-ship in Tyr she also
came to admire the Veiled Alliance members of the Tyr council. She hopes that other
cities are going to become like Tyr. She would like to help transform Raam into a
better place.
How to use Akhara:
At some point Akhara will travel through Athas either with caravans or with other
parties. If she travels with the PCs, they might get into a situation where they are
attacked and to the PCs' surprise, Akhara just about knows which way round she has to
hold a sword...
| STR | 16 (not trained!) |
| DEX | 14 |
| CON | 15 |
| INT | 14 |
| WIS | 15 |
| CHA | 14 |
| WEAPONS | bone dagger, obsidian knife (for cutting herbs...) |
| ARMOUR | thick clothing |
| NOTES | Akhara is a fairly good actor. If she wasn't she wouldn't survive long as the pacifist that she is... |
Chu-maa (Female gladiator/air cleric/psionicist)
AL: (chaotic) neutral
Chu-maa was/is one of the most feared gladiators of Athas. Born to a human gladiator and
an elven servant (both slaves) she was abandoned by her mother at an early age since she
did not conceive the child voluntarily. She was raised in the gladiator stables of Nibenay
together with other children in order to be trained as a gladiator herself.
Chu-maa proved extremely talented, but that did not prevent her from experiencing the
violence of older, more experienced gladiators. Her sensual appearance attracted a lot of
the wrong kind of people and made her practice even more fanatically. She was relieved when
she discovered that she was psionically gifted which gave her a chance to escape the cruelty
inflicted on her.
Part of Chu-maa's training also consisted of acrobatics and Nibenese sabre-dancing since the Nibenese audience
demands more than raw fighting. This discipline seemed the most natural to her. She felt
extremely at ease with moving through the air. She never felt fear. But what she was beginning
to feel was the call of her element.
The little time she had at night or in between fights, Chu-maa used to immerse herself
in her element. It was a source of peace and strength for her. Because her wish for contact
was so strong, the element embraced her without her being initiated by an elder cleric. This
way Chu-maa became one of the most dreaded fighters in the arena.
However, all her triumphs did not grant her what she longed: freedom. She was too
impatient to wait for the fight that would release her from debt. Instead, mostly due to
a planning mistake, she became responsible for one of the bloodiest escapes of Athas.
This only added to her reputation and the myth around her persona. To date, she has managed
to remain free. King Nibenay has still not decided if he wants her back, dead, or free. Like
many people who have witnessed one of her fights, he has become enchanted with the gladiator.
How to use Chu-maa:
Chu-maa is still on the run. Finally outside the arena, she is not sure what to do
with her life apart from becoming an air cleric. She does not think that she will be
accepted or even welcomed among "proper" earth clerics. So she wanders through remote places
of Athas trying to survive with the little survival skills she has.
| STR | 17 |
| DEX | 19 |
| CON | 18 |
| INT | 15 |
| WIS | 15 |
| CHA | 18 |
| WEAPONS | light (sharp...)weapons |
| ARMOUR | light armour |
| NOTES | Chu-maa is a
typical loner. She is not very talkative and has problems in social situations. She dresses in whatever she can get hold of and regularly shaves the sides of her head with her dagger. Chu-maa can neither read nor write. |
Areem (male rogue)
AL: chaotic evil
Areem is the only son of a Raamite nobleman and a slave woman. Despite being an
illegitimate child he was accepted by his father as an heir. Areem turned out to be
a very beautiful child and soon learned how to use his charms. As a result he was
hardly ever refused a wish. He even got to chose his own tutors. His father did not
mind as long as he was performing his duties as a young noble.
Unfortunately for his servants, Areem not only developed cunning and inventiveness, but
also a distinctive sadistic streak. With the years this sadism has been refined to near
perfection.
During the anarchy in Raam after Abalach-Re's death the house of Areem's family was
raided and his father and most of the servants slain (some of the got abducted). Despite
the losses, Areem managed to defend the house with some of the loyal guardsmen and a few of his
friends. Other guardsmen had decided to side with the raiders out of hatred for Areem.
Although he almost lost everything, Areem derived a pleasant stimulation
from the event. He enjoyed leading the men and he realised that he would enjoy taking other
peoples possessions and territory even more. That was the day he decided to become a
warlord instead of just a minor noble.
So far, Areem has managed to attract a considerable number of dubious people, mostly
men with similarly perverted interests such as rape, torture, defiling magic. And despite
a great many internal intrigues he is getting more powerful every week...
How to use Areem:
Areem is a villain who can become very nasty, but who also has enough weaknesses for
the PCs to trap or weaken him.
| STR | 15 |
| DEX | 14 |
| CON | 15 |
| INT | 15 |
| WIS | 12 |
| CHA | 17 |
| WEAPONS | impressive bulky
weapons such as a big two-handed sword or more evil looking weapons such as the ones used by gladiators or torturers (chains, whip etc.) |
| ARMOUR | black breast plate, cod piece |
| NOTES | Areem is a very
(physically) attractive man in his 20s. He sometimes uses his attractiveness to fool people. Areem prefers black clothing. He is extremely vain. |
Talana Imhali (female shape-shifter ranger or druid/fighter)
AL: neutral good (or chaotic good)
Talana Imhali is the daughter of two templars. She would have become a templar, too, if
she had not hated templar life from the beginning.
As a child and teenager, Talana had to cope with overly ambitious parents.
The two templars were never satified with her daughter's achievements, since she was
just an average pupil. They worried about her career and their reputation.
At the templar school, there happened to be a cook who spied for the the Veiled
Alliance. He often saw Talana looking miserable and playing with her food. So he decided
to cheer her up by telling her stories about Athas. Talana began to like him.
The cook knew he could not stay here for ever, but he did not want this nice girl to end
up as a templar (although he thought that the templars needed some nicer people in their ranks).
He began to tell her about adventuring. One day, the cook was found dead.
When Talana grew older, she got more and more in trouble with her parents. They
had an argument almost every day. One night, her parents threatened to marry her to
the son of another templar couple. Talana knew him and could not stand him. Since she was not sure
if her parents were serious about this matter, she decided to run off just in case
they were serious. She took a sword, armour and some money and escaped that night.
Suddenly Talana found herself confronted with "real life". She had to sustain herself
somehow and survive. Her solution was the following: She cut her thick black hair
extremely short, put on mens' clothes and signed up as a caravan guard. (She pretended to
have experience and managed to convince her employers that she was a capable guard.)
Surprisingly, the first trip was rather uneventful. It gave her the opportunity to
learn a lot from the other guards. On her second job, her caravan was raided by
slavers and she ended up being caught.
When some guards tried to rape her, Talana suddenly transformed into a kirre and killed
four slavers. She ran away into the desert where, after two days, she was eventually
stopped by the druid Leah. The druid managed to calm her down and sent her to sleep. During
her sleep, Talana transformed back into human form. For a few months Talana stayed with
the druid and learned about her special gift and how to control it.
Talana was fascinated by the woman's views and lifestyle. For a while she kept on working
as a caravan guard, but it drew her back to the druid's territory.
Option 1: She decided to become a druid as well and after a while, explore Athas and help
people both as a fighter and a druid.
Option 2: She decided to wander through Athas and find herself.
Talana is always accompanied by a male kirre/lion/wild cat that she found when it was
still little. Talana has short black hair, intense black eyes and fairly pale skin that she
always hides under a layer of practical black clothing. After years of solitude and constant
danger, Talana has become an experienced survivor and a deadly fighter. She has taken over
a number of characteristics from her animal alter ego and animal companion which make her
seem very eccentric. She has the habit of sleeping huddled close to her lion/kirre/wildcat for
warmth.
How to use Talana:
| STR | 15 |
| DEX | 15 |
| CON | 18 |
| INT | 14 |
| WIS | 18 |
| CHA | 17 |
| WEAPONS | metal sword, steel knife, (claws) |
| ARMOUR | black kank leather |
| NOTES | can shapeshift into a kirre |
Calidus (male fighter)
AL: chaotic good
Calidus is a noble acting a bit like Robin Hood. Ever since he joined the gladiators of Tyr his parents thought him "beyond help".
Calidus always saw himself as an adventurer. He loved risk - be it in the arena,
at the gaming table or with his father's best friend's wife.
One day he had enough of the arena life and decided to look for his friend, an
escaped slave and fellow gladiator and at the same time see a bit of the country.
Meanwhile his friend had become the leader of a slave tribe which Calidus managed
to find out.
When he arrived he immediately fell in love with the beautiful half-elf preserver
of the community and decided to stay for a while.
Calidus has now become a member of the tribe as well as his parents heir after
their death. He uses the noble estate as a base for distributing stolen goods from
caravans, but also as a supply for the tribe which now does not have to worry about their existence, but can provide others with food and clothes.
Calidus has recently become the father of a daughter.
How the PCs could meet Calidus:
| STR | 16 |
| DEX | 16 |
| CON | 16 |
| INT | 17 |
| WIS | 14 |
| CHA | 18 |
| WEAPONS | long-sword |
| ARMOUR | light armour |
| NOTES | married to half-elf preserver Liyanna |