- Concept Art:
Physical DescriptionSpeech ColorAlignment: Chaotic Neutral
Height: 5'0"/152 cm.
Weight: 200 lbs/90 kg.
Skin: Light brown (think slight tan) with vivid tattoos
Hair: Electric Blue
Eyes: Blue with flecks of black
Quirks/Mutations: Hair color (mutation), Living tattoos (mutation);
Appearance:
- The Beast wears a heavy set of furs over his shoulders. On this rests his backpack and travelling gear. He dons a thick, triple-wide belt at his waist of fine leather with a large buckle on the front in the visage of a screaming dwarf over a broken shield - his clan's namesake. There are a few pouches and a curved scabbard on his lower back that holds his heavy Khukri. It is a wicked blade, made for chopping and slashing more than stabbing. It is a limb hacker. A decapitator. A kilt of black and blue heavy wool hangs from his waist, saving the world from seeing his manhood. Other than the sturdy, well worn pair of leather traveling boots, he has nothing in the way of traditional armor. There is a small hard leather and steel buckler strapped to his left forearm, but that's it.
It's his skin and hair that draw the most attention. His hair was a shade of blue that could not exist in the world, as though neon and lightning conspired to create something new. Something electric. His skull was shaved clean on the sides, the top thick with a pulled back and braided mane that hung down his back. His beard was the same color, hanging thick and free off his face. His mustache long ago growing past his lips and needing braids of its own.
Even with his hair pulling and vying for the attention of one's eyes, it was his skin that drew a more subtle attraction. The tattoos, some inked as dark as night. Others as red as blood. Others as green as a cadaver. They
changed. Some told stories. Others depicted scenes of his history. Of his future. But the stories they told and the images they depicted grew as he did. To those who paid enough attention, and knew him long enough, it was off putting. Others simply avoided him entirely.
It's not like he gives off a "come hug me" vibe. If the Khukri wasn't enough, a length of ten foot steel chain sits comfortable over his shoulders. At one end was a grip for a hand. At the other end, a heavy steel ball shaped by Dwarven craftsmen to look exactly like two thick hands grasping one another. This was his Dorn Dergar. This was how he altered his destiny.
Personality:
- One should not fuck around, lest they are desiring to find out. Kho'nan keeps people at arms length. His life has been one of rejection, not acceptance. The symbiont saw to that. So, he preferred enemies to friends. At least enemies were easy to understand. Easier still to deal with. Break them, cut them, tear them apart. It was friends that are harder. His circle is extremely small, and getting inside of it takes a lot. Most people aren't willing to go through those lengths.
Even still, Kho'nan is deliberate and careful when not fighting. He takes pleasure in food and drink and doesn't ravage his meals like one might expect a Dwarf Berserker to do. He takes care and effort with each bite, just as he does when brewing. He especially loves fruits - even fruity brews (though he would never admit it). People will know why he is called The Beast by his conduct on the battlefield, and not anywhere else.
His life with the Symbiont and experience in battle has wizened him beyond his years.
Background:
- Born to the Shieldcrusher Clan, a band of Hill Dwarves of the Mror Holds known for their brewing and raising fierce berserkers, Kho'nan was viewed among some of hiown as a blessing from Balinor. Others saw him as a curse. He was Ruinborn, and for some that meant he was meant to be the greatest of berserkers - a living tool to use against the ancient enemies below. To others, it meant that he was one with the enemy. Something to be avoided, feared, and hated.
At 35, barely an adult by Dwarf standards, he left his familial lands in the Mror Holds and traveled out to earn a name for himself. That led him to Aundair and the horrors of The Last War.
Associations/Attitudes Toward Party Members:
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Veil:
Friendly. Kho'nan met the Warforged Veil shortly after the war had officially ended. It was west of the Mournland, in the contested Thranish-Aundairian border lands. They had both unknowingly been on the trail of a pack of Bugbears tormenting refugees in the region. While Kho'nan i sure that Veil had been onto him before he had been onto Veil, the two avoided a rocky misunderstanding by Veil's soft approach and calm demeanor. They annihilted the Bugbears with ease and quickly realized that they were nigh perfect compliments to one another: Veil's speed to The Beast's strength. They have been companions ever since.
--- Veil's Death in the mines has hit Kho'nan harder than he lets on. He will try to bring the Warforged back from the brink.
-
Izar:
Friendly. While not much more mature by racial standards, Kho'nan has taken an almost paternal attitude toward the Changeling. It has more to do with her acceptance of what he is than anything else, but he also values her skills with wordplay and subtlety. It is something he severely lacks and knows it.
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Helden:
Respected Acquaintance. Fights well, heals better. He gets the job done and doesn't ask much in return. Kho'nan appreciates that consistency.
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Oraam:
Cautiously optimistic. A child playing at being a hero. Again, while not much younger than Kho'nan by racial standards, Kho'nan has a hard time taking him seriously and sees him as a liability; however, after the fighting in the mines, he has proven himself to be a capable warrior. Perhaps Kho'nan misjudged him?
-
Jorian:
Friendly. Kho'nan and Jorian met for a short while shortly after the Dwarf had left his home in the hills outside the Mror Holds. As part of his journey, he was tasked with lending assistance to one of the Privateer Pirates of the Lhazaar Principalities. An oath fulfillment was required and thus Kho'nan and twenty other berserkers were sent out to be the speartip of an attack. Jorian had met Kho'nan on the ship and the two immediately hit it off. Jorian's easy going nature and skill with a sword made the two of them easy acquaintances. The brutal fighting made them easy friends. The Khukri Kho'nan always carried on his lower back is a testament to that friendship, as it had once belonged to Jorian's father.
Associations/Attitudes Toward NPCs:
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Galinndan:
Friendly. Kho'nan and the elf go way back. Kho'nan trusts him enough to assist him in his plan to retake Thaliost from Thrane. He easily considers him his closest friend. Veil was a very close second.
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Hagen:
Acquaintance at best. Hagen has provided details for the job. 500 gold for the party for clearing the mine & the potential for an entire mine for returning his husband Killian safely to him. Intel on the mine itself was almost good - though there were Therianthropes inside, something Kho'nan will not forget to mention to him.
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Bertram Stonethrower:
Friendly/Kin. Bertram and Kho'nan share kinship ties as the Shieldcrushers and Stonethrowers have a long history of alliance and intermarriage. Bertram is the Dwarf to whom Kho'nan originally reached out when needing a work force for the mines of the True Aundairians. Not only was Bertram always kind to Kho'nan, he knew his way around a work crew. He was a fair boss who led by example, but brokers very little shit and is stubborn to a fault when it comes to getting a job done. The Grey in his beard speaks to years of experience, both in work and battle, but his eyes aren't yet so jaded as to make him unlikable.
Goals:
Enemy, Mine (Overarching, Long Term): Secure a vein/veins of the Silverwood Mine exclusively for the party so as to create a well funded base of operations in the area. Additionally, party will have ready access to silver to combat Therianthropes.
- Clear the mine of beasts/enemies/assholes: Complete- Find/Claim a profitable vein
- Employ a workforce from local assets or, preferably, send word to Shieldcrusher Clan to send Dwarf miners
--- Workforce will be well paid; downside: cuts into initial profits/upside: creates a fiercely loyal workforce - foundation for strong, united settlement.
Crush Bodies (short term - updated 11/18/23): Kill 10 mook-level enemies - 6/10
- Wererats, dolgaunts, stupid Pirates/sailors.
Crush Shields (mid term): Kill 5 "elite" enemies - 1/5
- Cyclops
Crush Souls (mid/long term): Deliver killing blow to "master" level enemy - 0/1
