Tag: Character
Grollen Dark Spirit Totemic Warrior
Posted on July 26, 2022 in Character-Experience
Under the surface of their choice to walk out of the darkness lurks a defiant, savage spirit so fierce it defied the gods of darkness. In becoming Grollen, they burned away that darkness but its embers still burn deep inside of them. This often happens when a tribal member goes feral, insane, or is cut off from the tribe and must survive alone far from help.
iCore™Incarna d20™ Dark Spirit Details/Mechanics
The template for the dark spirit is the Totemic Warrior template that taps into the DnD Gnoll past.
Source: Player’s Handbook – Everything is the same unless noted.
Totem Spirit (Gnoll): This requires NO physical totem for the Grollen. It is part of their soul. Rampage: While raging, when the gnoll reduces a creature to 0 Hit Points with a melee Attack on its turn, the gnoll can take a bonus Action to move up to half its speed and make a bite Attack.
Aspect of the Beast (Gnoll): While raging, 1/round on a [major/full] successful bite attack, the character will gain a number of HP equal to their bite damage (though no more than a 1st level False Life spell/6 HP maximum). These temporary HP fade when the rage ends.
Totemic Attunement (Gnoll): Their features take on a darker hue, and their aspect becomes more infernal. They gain Advantage on any attempt to use the Intimidate skill or to track a creature that can be using scent. 1/Short Rest they can, as a Bonus Action, bark a howl of fear at a single target within 5m, requiring the target to make a DC 20 Sanity save or be affected by the Frightened condition for 3 rounds – this is not just in relation to the character.
iCore Dark Spirit Details/Mechanics
Grollen in the Steel Realms
Posted on September 18, 2015 in Steel-Realms
Approximately 2m – 2.3m tall,
@RP Impact:
The [contentblock id=playlink1] is the defacto starting point for characters and races of the Steel Realms Setting (planet of Helca). Where the appears notes a Role-Playing challenge/opportunity.
The Grollen of the realms a fierce, prideful peoples. They are descendants of ancient Gnolls but consider themselves a separate race. At one time they ranged across the entire realms, but their numbers are diminishing due to competition. Grollen warriors are some of the few who can stand toe-to-toe against the fearsome Ork. They are desired for their fighting prowess by the other races though little else. Wherever they go, a party, mad sounds, dancing, violence, and broken crockery is sure to follow…
Shrouded History: They were not as they once were. Grollen were once the mortal enemies of… all. Their origins are shrouded in mystery, but it is known that they once fought for the gods of evil and darkness and were as great a foe as the Orrish. But the Grollen walked from the dark and into the light. Their very countenance has changed from the ancient depictions of them.
Unwelcome:
Accepted
Welcomed:
Children of the Moon Mistress: They venerate Ezrilus the Moon Mistress as their patron goddess. In their past, the warlords ruled the clans and families, but since adopting (or rather being adopted) by their new patron, they have reorganized as a matriarchal society – their pack-mothers and seeress’ having control of their migrations and settlements. They channel their rage and fury into moots of howls, dance, feasting and wrestling.
Thirst for Blood: They have an uncontrollable compulsion of blood-lust. All Grollen still possess the deep spark of chaos and violence of their origins. They must make a DC 10 Sanity check when starting battle to avoid falling into a blood-lust frenzy wherein they forgo all tactical advantage in their desire for bloody hand-to-hand melee combat.
Dead on Your Feet: Grollen have a reputation as being very hard to kill. Their fierce loyalty and blood-lust allow them to hold off death to protect their tribe, kin or brethren – committing themselves to their service in afterlife in return for the moon goddess’s inspiration. Grollen choosing to employ this are bathed in soft moonlight, and must make a Constitution check each time they are hit, DC = the last damage they took; a natural 20 always succeeds. Success means they stay conscious and on their feet to the next round. There is no limit to the negatives HP from attacks, as long as the save is made. If the save is failed, or there are no more opponents, they die at the end of the round (no death saves; Spare the Dying will not work, requires Raise Dead or better to overcome). When those with Shared Litany choose this fate, for each other Grollen with Shared Litany for Ezrilus that sacrifice 1 Essence within 5m can join their essence to the effect and the fated Grollen gains 1 Resilience.
Grollen Characters
Players should read the What PC’s should know for Steel Realms.
Character Backgrounds
Dog Soldier
Professional scouts for the armies and forces that maneuver across the lands of Gladnor, as well as the premiere tribal warriors. They are also the ones that serve in Northgate Garrison or in bands in the south sometimes working with the High Kings rangers.
Requirements: CHA 8; -1 Essence (they “tame” themselves); CON 14
Skills: Perception
Languages: Speak Gladnorean (Understandable level)
Combat Discipline The character gains their proficiency bonus on Sanity checks to resist Bloodlust.
Fighting Spirit The Grollen on campaign are renowned for their ability to take punishment and keep going and to come back from the brink of death. On any specific death save check (the final one resulting in death) which may kill them permanently, they gain their proficiency bonus.
Shield Bite: A Grollen on Rampage wearing less than Heavy Armor that successfully bites can choose instead to bite a shield of an opponent. That shield no longer counts in AC, and the Grollen and target both lose half any Dexterity AC adjustment until the Grollen lets go or the opponent spends an action to disarm the shield.
Culture and Society
Tribal Matriarchs: Grollen tribes are organized around a Matriarch.
Knowledge/Facts About/Chronicle of [Thing]
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
The Grollen of the realms a fierce, prideful peoples. They are descendants of ancient Gnolls but consider themselves a separate race. At one time they ranged across the entire realms, but their numbers are diminishing due to competition. Grollen warriors are some of the few who can stand toe-to-toe against the fearsome Ork. They are desired for their fighting prowess by the other races though little else. Wherever they go, a party, mad sounds, dancing, violence, and broken crockery is sure to follow…
Shrouded History: They were not as they once were. Grollen were once the mortal enemies of… all. Their origins are shrouded in mystery, but it is known that they once fought for the gods of evil and darkness and were as great a foe as the Orrish. But the Grollen walked from the dark and into the light. Their very countenance has changed from the ancient depictions of them.
The Grollen correlate to the Gnoll of DnD.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
Broken Origins: Grollen were not always as they are now. It is hinted that once they were servants of evil, in the far reaches of history. Before the great leader Ker-Grol arose, his peoples were vile, evil killers. Dealers of death feared by all. It is said they were once even favored by the gods of evil and great fiends. This is rumor and myth only… but for the Grollen, it is an accepted fact. They believe to have lifted themselves up from the fiendish beasts they once were and are fiercely proud of their race’s accomplishments. But the dark stain of chaos and violence is still their weakness, and without a dark patron behind them to bind them together in purpose, they have seen their numbers decrease as the lands get settled and they must compete.
Into the Light: Once servants of darkness and evil, they threw off the yolk of their masters – Ker-Grol The Fierce slew the Ork champion Brutar Bloodgut and a personal fight, and walked away with his head. He then beat Quall Tolmarein to death, the priest of Everdark who had flogged them into battle for decades, with Brutar’s dented, helmet encased head. After, he ate his heart out of his chest in front of his stunned acolytes. His people turned upon their dark masters in numbers that day and walked out of the darkness in the light of, and howling under, the full moon. They were rewarded with the patronage of the Moon Mistress Ezrilus – who protected them from the curse of the Sun Bane and it is said tempered their evil with her love.
Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty
Originally gnolls (pre-Grollen) were the chosen of Everdark in the world they left behind. They possessed a blood frenzy straight from the abyss. When they were forced to fight to near extinction in the Valley of Sighs at the Battle of Broken Fang, they sought a new path. Gradually, they would develop their own language, a new culture centered around the frenzy of the feast and not killing, and make new societies led by their devotion to their savior, Ezrilus the Moon Mistress.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
Half breeds do happen, but they are the ugliest by all manner of reckoning. Aside from this the female musk is repellent to all other species though it drives male Grollen into sexual ecstasy.
Elon Characters in the Steel Realms
Posted on September 18, 2015
Approximately 1.5m – 2m tall, human
@RP Impact:
The [contentblock id=playlink1] is the defacto starting point for characters and races of the Steel Realms. The Human Elon of the Steel Realms correlate to the Human race of DnD. Elon culture require different options.
The Elon (traveler) folk of the Steel Realms are the equivalent of modern gypsies. Their population is human and a few half-elven only. The value mobility, freedom, and family; they dislike confining rules, don’t have much regard for the social mores of other cultures, races, and have no respect for the boundaries of nations. The concept of boundaries is not difficult – it is simply disregarded. They are cavalier, and often come across as rude. Most lack the ability to see why others fear and disrespect them – the social and moral superiority of their culture and people grows a myopic exceptionalism.
Unwelcome:
Accepted
Welcomed: The Bronzemen descendants in The Saelish of Dunstrand embrace the them. There is strong historical evidence that they come from the blood of the Tribes of Bronze.
They often do not participate in education programs – these too often challenge the exceptionalism at the heart of their own world-view. However, they do emphasize literacy; all Elon are literate at least in the primary language of the region they are in. They don’t recognize normal social standing strata; they see themselves at the top, and all others as inferiors though do grant that with enough hard work, outsiders can be equals.
- Disposition: ______ (+1 Charisma)
- Disposition: ______ (+1 Constitution)
- Lore: Elon +2 (History), Dancing +2
- Skill: Performance and Deception +1; in mundane situations, non-Elon are at Disadvantage in detecting a Deception.
Disadvantages: In social situations they are distrusted, characters may generally pay more for goods and services unless they develop a relationship to overcome this. They have developed a manifestly strong social focus to overcome this, but overcome it needs be.
All Elon follow their code.
Unique Backgrounds: None
Elon Culture
The Elon are not a separate stock of human, but more an independent culture. They are rumored to once have been dwellers in the east in the far past, before it fell, as they bear some physical resemblance to the Ilbarsi (who they openly trade and mix with despite that people’s hostility to outsiders as well) Hill People in the Tolkisson mountain range (though Elon eyes are almost all green, not blue like the Ilbarsi). Whatever their origins, the Elon, who are now known as ‘travelers’ (‘gypsy’), once occupied an area in the eastern edges of the Merchant Cities on the edges of rivers and forests, bordering the hills of Dunstrand Vale. Their culture has been preserved, at least much of their identity as a single people. They are typically hostile to outsiders, as the anger at being forced out of their homelands now projects to any outsider. This makes them unwelcome in most places, as many demonstrate little regard for the welfare of property of non-Elon. Though their plays and music ARE welcome, and through thee their culture and provide a mystique for the rest of the world. Though the hostility to outsiders is the common perception, most simply try and make their way amidst a world now hostile to them. Elon folk’s accent and language consists of combination of Dunlapian, Gladnorian, Mercat, and Cant (pigeon Mercat, originally developed by the Buildengands). Their accent is thick and they commonly have green hued eyes and coppery-brown colored hair. They tend to stick within their own culture for marriage, though half elves are welcome as they are seen to possess the right “fire” inside them. They follow a loose code of conduct where their own people are concerned.
Popular Notions of their Origins
They are known as a mysterious and superstitious folk with a reputation for never being caught and avoiding angry locals that get angry with them. They are feared because they are known for the two poisons referred to collectively as “Messengers Bleak” that they are known to make exclusively in their community.
Once they were nominal allies of the Gwinn and their copper (a color sacred to Elancil) colored hair was considered a great beauty in the their culture. They were said to have been fishermen and worshipers of Elancil, but they were displaced by settlement, war, and disaster. They resisted, though they were finally forced by the will of all ‘lords’ to move in order to satisfy the martial ambitions of the Teilhard’s of Umbak, then other lords who demanded land carved from the fallen empire. Since then, they have sworn never to settle. They are said to be followers of the goddess Elancil, though their culture typically frowns upon open practices of faith.
Hidden Culture of the Elon
The Elon as the descendants of the Tribe of Elonia, the faded folk of the Bronzemen. They have lost their roots, as when the Bronzemen spent themselves n defeating the Sea Kings, the clan survived but no clan elders. Spread from Ser Caynth and southern Rhyl. Their tribe elders died fighting with the Salisnean clan. They suffer guilt and shame at the vague tales passed down of their defeat, but take great pride too in their sacrifice to save of Saelisnean tribe. They are welcome in The Saelish and are friends to their long lost countrymen in that region.
Elon Code (required of all characters)
- Always help one of the family when asked as a brother or sister in need
- Always shelter one of your own against pursuing authorities
- Take the side of the family first in all things until proven otherwise
- Business is business – keep it separate from personal matters
- Never grow too attached to items – such things come and go; family is most important
Dirty Fighters: They have no compunctions about using deceptive and dirty tactics. Victory is not something noble, it is just necessary. They have a strong self preservation streak that means they typically learn to use improvised items and tactics which may be seen as “dirty”. There is definitely no limit to which they would not drop to in order to ensure the survival of clan and family.
Helping the Elon
Thieving Ward: Many who help the folk will receive a special bond, a ceremony wherein the Elon promise not to thieve from the target. Of course, its common practice to pick their pockets during the BYOB ceremony. Any Elon will sense this ward with a DC 5 Intelligence (Religion) check as long as the target is in Good Standing with the Elon.