Dice Depths & Wilds (CS)

WlfSamurai · Aug 14, 2021

Please post your characters here. Choose a playbooks (class) and make a character from the linked Unlimited Dungeons PDF:

Unlimited Dungeons link to latest version of the game

Vaneheart · Aug 15, 2021

Name: Geratius Volus
Race/Ancestry: Human
Nationality: The Republic of Neldarin (also known as South Neldarin)

Image Credit: Uncertain, there are multiple people claiming this image on Deviant Art.

Drive: Guardian (Endanger yourself to defend those weaker than you.)

Bonds:

Which of you has fought with me before? Beside or against?

Which of you am I sworn to protect?

Which of you is most likely to get us all killed?

Which of you needs me to toughen them up?

Heritage and Heritage Moves: Soldier of the Republic
-Evaluate a military situation.
-Remain focused or marching despite fatigue.

Background: Military Veteran - When you Spout Lore about a military unit or combat situation, you may describe a similar situation you have faced before; if you do, you roll with STR instead of INT. The first person acting on your information gains advantage on their next move that follows. Additionally, when an enemy is watching you and there's a difficult choice to make, the GM will tell you what the enemy expects you to do.
Load is 7.

Starts with a bag of Supplies (3 uses, 1 weight).

Weapon: Bastard Sword (close, 1 weight) (it's significant to Geratius because he used it during the Neldarin Civil War.)
Armor: Scale Armor (2 armor, clumsy, 3 weight)
Other: Shield (+1 armor, 2 weight) (plain medium round shield, painted half blue half grey. Used to have the heraldry of the Neldarin Republic on it, but Geratius painted over it)
Attributes
Strength (STR): +2
Dexterity (DEX): +1
Constitution (CON): +1
Intelligence (INT): +0
Wisdom (WIS): +0
Charisma (CHA): -1

Base Damage: D6+2

MaxHP: 20

Armored: You ignore the clumsy tag on armor you wear, and any armor you wear, not including shields, has -2 weight, to a minimum of zero.

Fighting Style: You've been trained in a variety of combat tricks and techniques. Name your fighting style (Neldarin Sword), and choose three maneuvers that are part of your style:
-Guard: The next damage roll made against you during this battle has disadvantage.
-Rally: Either you or an ally that can both see and hear you recovers 1d6 HP and shakes off any fear affecting them.
-Taunt: You draw the enemy's attention fully to yourself, for as long as you keep eye contact.

When you enter a battle, or when you "Hack and Slash and get a 10+," gain 1 Focus. Your maximum Focus is 3. When the battle ends, lose any Focus you hold.

When you Hack and Slash, on a hit, in addition to your dealing your damage, you may also spend a Focus. If you do, you perform a maneuver that is part of your style in addition to dealing your
damage. Yes, you can spend the Focus you just gained on this roll if you rolled a 10+.

Advanced Moves:

Battlefield Tactics:
When you survey a battlefield or dangerous environment, ask the GM two of the following questions. The GM will answer truthfully.
• Where's the best way in, out, or through?
• Where is the best place to make a defensive stand?
• Where is the best place to attack from?
• What here is the biggest threat to me?
• What is the enemy’s true position?
• What’s the likely outcome of this battle if I don’t interfere?
Physical Description

Look: Hard Eyes, Shorn Hair, Lightly Scarred Skin, Built Body.

1) Where did you learn how to fight? Who taught you?
Geratius learned to fight at a young age on the streets of the city of Rimini, during the height of The Oppression. Later, when he joined the resistance, he was informally trained as a skirmisher and guerilla fighter, and later on, when the Republic rose up during the Neldarin Civil War, he was formally trained and inducted into the People's Army. If he had to pick one influential teacher, it would be a Drill Sergeant that trained him (and many others), a grizzled half-orc former mercenary fighter named Payment. Sergeant Payment was a tough bastard, but he knew the craft of war quite well, having been a veteran of many campaigns. Geratius is pretty sure that Payment is still alive, but is uncertain if he is still in the Republic's military, or has moved on now that the war is over.

2) Where was the most memorable fight you’ve ever been in? How did it mark you, physically or mentally?
The most memorable fight for Geratius would have to be the Battle of Harts Wall near the closing end of the war. The casualties were massive, but multiple infantry companies held the wall with little support. In a last ditch effort, the Republic painted their armor and weapons black with grease, wore dark cloaks, and moved away from the wall, leaving only a small defensive force. As the opposing force made camp, the Republic forces attacked them in the night. Even so, it was a tough battle. Despite suffering tremendous losses, the Republic had thoroughly crushed the Northern Kingdom's army and had caused a full rout. Sergeant Geratius Volus, his friend Corporal Melatus Tibulus, and his commander Captain Falx Regillus were the only ones left of the esteemed Fourth Company still standing. That said, there were still plenty of other units up. The rout had cleared a direct path to the Northern Kingdom of Neldarin's capital, the city of Neldar itself. Geratius and many others had hoped they would press onwards and take the city, thus crushing the north and potentially bringing an end to the Tyrant's reign. But instead, the fledgling government of the Republic decided to pull back its forces and consolidate a defensive line along the northern rivers, thus losing any initiative they may have had. Soon after the Tyrant himself was overthrown by his own son, Aidric the Usurper, and an uneasy armistice was declared between the two nations. With the Tyrant gone, but the nation no longer together, the leaders of the Republic felt they had achieved a partial victory. Geratius is bitter about this outcome, as he and many others had felt that if they had seized the capital, it would have crushed the north enough to potentially cause a surrender, and unify both countries once again under a single banner, the banner of the Neldarin Republic. At this point, with a regrown and replenished Northern Kingdom, and a southern Republic mired in petty squabbles and politics, he doesn't believe he will see the chance appear again in his lifetime.

3) What is worth fighting for you?
Freedom, the removal of tyranny and oppression, fighting to protect family and loved ones.

4) What was the last major battle or war around here? Were you in it?
The last major war in the Neldarin Republic was the civil war that saw the rise of the Republic. This occurred five years ago. Geratius fought in the war and rose in the ranks to Sergeant, but was later promoted to Lieutenant, partly due to his actions, but also partly because there were so few NCOs remaining. After the war concluded in an armistice, Geratius didn't stay in the military long and resigned his commission in disillusionment.

5) What would you consider your biggest flaw or darkest secret?
Geratius' secret shame is that he left his wife and two kids behind on his family farm after the war and hasn't come back. The unresolved traumas of war had left a restlessness in him that he couldn't shake. He found no peace working the farm, and didn't feel a strong pull to continue to work for the Republic's military. Instead, he left to seek his fortune and find his place in other lands, although the guilt of this haunts him. While he plans to come back someday, and he continues to send small sums of money here and there to his family, he is effectively a deadbeat dad. He hasn't found a way to reconcile this yet.

Bone2pick · Aug 15, 2021

Name: Le'sath

Class: Cleric

Look:

hawkish eyes of a desert rider
dirty white cloak over armor
bald with chin beard
tawny skin

Drive:

Shepherd ~ Endanger yourself to help another.

Background:

Militant Order ~ you ignore the clumsy tag on armor you wear, and any armor you wear (not including shields) has a -2 weight, to a minimum of zero.

Heritage: Bloodline of Pharaohs

Ignore hot weather
Celestial navigation
Nose for water
Eye for ambush spots
Stats:

STR +0
DEX +1
CON +1
INT +0
WIS +2
CHA -1

Moves:

Deity ~ Mashiah
• Controls (roads & paths)
• Represents (hope)
• Worshippers (all decent persons)
• Enemies (fiends/daemons)
• Demands (protect and inspire decent persons in danger)

Invocation ~ When you call out for Mashiah's aid in a time of need, choose a Blessing:
• Your invocation manipulates the realm(s) Mashiah controls
• Your invocations commands something Mashiah represents
• Your invocation bolsters Mashiah's worshippers
• Your invocation rebukes or repels Mashiah's enemies
[then roll+WIS *on a hit Mashiah will intervene on your behalf according to your chosen Blessing, the GM will tell you how. On a 7-9 you will also have to choose a Requirement below.]
• Your invocation is obvious and immediate, drawing attention to you.
• The intervention is subtle or takes a while to manifest
• Mashiah asks you to fulfill her demands in return
• The experience overwhelms you; you get disadvantage on all WIS rolls until you take some time to rest (you cannot choose this if you are already affected by it)

Divine Ward ~ When you call upon Mashiah for protection for yourself or an ally, roll+WIS. *On a 10+ grant two of the following effects to the subjects of your prayers. On a 7-9, grant one, and choose a Requirement from the Invocation list as well.
• They recover 1d6+1 HP
• The next damage roll made against them has disadvantage
• If they are Defying Danger now or in the next few moments, their roll gains advantage.
• An enemy facing them is briefly driven back

Advanced Moves:

Holy Circle ~ When you use Divine Ward, you may choose to apply the effects to one additional person for each level you have, all of whom must be within near range of you primary target. If you do, choose one more Requirement from the Invocation list, hit or miss.
Load = 5

Equipment:

• Staff ~ close, two-handed, 1 weight
• Leather Armor ~ 1 armor, 1 weight
*Militant Order background reduces armor weight by two
• Bag of Supplies ~ 3 uses, 1 weight
• Holy Symbol ~ an ovoid bronze medallion with the Heron of Hope on one side and the Oath of Mashiah on the other
The Way ForwardDeity: Mashiah
Other Titles: the Heron of Hope, the Unfading Beacon

Controls: Roads & Paths
Represents: Hope

Holy Symbols: A white heron (and to a lesser extent, an oasis, lighthouse, raft, and rocky path)

A magnificent white heron is the universal holy symbol of Mashiah and her organized faith, The Way Forward. The heron is the form she most often takes when manifested or revealed. The other associated symbols — oasis, lighthouse, raft, and path — are geographically dependent. So a lighthouse might be displayed by worshippers living near a coast, an oasis for desert dwellers, a raft for river and wetland folk, and a rocky path among the highland faithful.

Central Tenet
Followers of Mashiah are instructed to offer aid and charity for the decent, disadvantaged folk of the world — within reason. The charity can range from a warm meal, a spare horse blanket, a guided walk to the nearest village, temporary lodging, or in somewhat rare circumstances, protection from villainy. Similar to all religions, not every proclaimed devotee of the Unfading Beacon is as observant with their religious duties as the faith would encourage.

"Mashiah is the oasis in the sun-scorched desert, the dawn after the longest night, the first glimpse of shore when lost at sea. She is hope. She is The Way Forward. And she will never forsake me. I will not despair." ~ Oath of Mashiah

Daily Life
Every seven days the Hopeful gather in Refuges of Mashiah at dawn for communal worship. Prayers are spoken at sunrise, before meals, before journeys, and after 'blessings' of great luck, fortune, or charity.

A typical worship service might include announcing some of attending Hopefuls recent acts of aid and charity, followed by a sermon given by a Beacon, music of hope and inspiration, group prayer, breakfast (and socializing), and finally dismissal.

There are currently three 'official' Paths available to full-time servants of The Way Forward:
1) The Path of the Inspiring Word: the recruitment, training and service of Mashiah's priests, known as Beacons. These men and women are the religion's masters of ceremony, Refuge (their term for temple) leaders, and primary faith spreaders.
2) The Path of the Benevolent Heart: the recruitment, training and service of Mashiah's custodians for orphans, refugees, and the disadvantaged. These compassionate men and women are known as Ushers.
3) The Path of the Valorous Deed: the rarest of all the holy Paths, some exceptionally able and brave devotees are invited to continually risk their lives to spread hope and relief throughout the world. These stalwart men and women are known as Clerics, and their hazardous duties keep them on the move.

Common Religious Sayings: "Hold to hope" (often spoken as a farewell). Also, "I will not despair."
The scripture of The Way Forward was delivered unto the world in three separate revelations, each part dictated by one of Mashiah's three cloud maiden (angel) Heralds. The first revelation was delivered by Hesria, Herald of Inspiration. The second by Jiallu, Herald of Benevolence. And the final by Khidre, Herald of Valor.

The Heralds delivered their scriptural contributions to a different location and people. These three locations (left open for the GM) are considered the holiest sites of the faith, and are home to The Way Forward's most impressive Refuges (temples).
• Le'sath hails from Varhkara, an island continent in the south roughly the size of Australia.
• The hot continent is largely comprised of deserts, oases, savannahs, and central mountains.
• Varhkaran civilization peaked with the mighty Moh'yun Empire, whose pharaohs ruled the entirety of continent for nearly a thousand years.
• Though the Moh'yun Empire expired centuries ago, most 'outsiders' continue to refer to Varkhara as Pharaohland.
• Since the fall of the Empire, control of the continent has been divided among dozens — sometimes hundreds — of competing sultanates, sheikhdoms, and warring tribes.

Random Word · Aug 16, 2021

Name: Venaar van der Rijk [Of the Empire]

Look:
- Haunted Eyes
- Styled Hair
- Stylish Robes
- Thin Body
Drive:
o Knowledge
Discover something about a magical mystery.

Background:
o Blood Mage
When you shed your blood while Casting a Spell, you lose HP equal to the lower of the two dice rolled, ignoring armor, and on a hit, your spell gets +1 Power.

Heritage:
Imperial Academy for the Understanding of Umbral Aether (IAU Umbra, or the Umbral Academy)
- Repair or Understand Umbral Machinery [Iron reinforced muscle and sinew drives the shafts of Imperial umbral locomotives, and giants of animated flesh turn its millwheels, pumps, turbines, and crankshafts. Astral technology is, by contrast, a complete mystery to her. Astral steam locomotives proved dangerously prone to explosion and breakdown, but astral flux's undeniable utility in manipulating temperature is used to light the streets of the Imperial capital, boil water, heat homes, and keep foodstuffs cold during transit. If it requires mechanical force or manipulates life energy, it's probably umbral. Mining, agriculture, transportation, logging, medicine, and construction are common applications. If it heats, cools, or transmutes something, it's probably astral. Chemical and metallurgical industry, telecommunication, and the nascent field of electrical generation are common applications. Many industries require some of both.]
- Find Refuge in a Place of Industry [Aetheric Engineers are mistrusted and feared by the common people. They take care of their own.]
Questions:
- What price did you pay to learn magic?
  - Freedom. As a recipient of a Letter of Imperial Requisition, Venaar is a ward of the Empire, and since her family gave her up as a young child she has not known privacy nor unsupervised exercise of volition. She is an instrument of state under constant supervision. She was forced to take a practicum year of public service in the most backwater of outer provinces, a place that barely even knows itself part of the Empire, for reasons she won't discuss.
- Where does magic come from?
  - Venaar studied at the Imperial Academy for the Understanding of the Umbral Aether. IAU Umbra has a longstanding and bitter rivalry with IAU Astra, both sprawling and ancient institutions that predate the last Scourging in some form or another. Attempts to resolve this extremely counterproductive feud by merging the two have consistently failed. Where flux in the Astral Aether is induced by the machinations of unknowable entities from beyond the stars worshipped by many as gods, flux in the Umbral Aether is induced by flows in the Luminiferous Aether that animates all living things. Umbral potential energy builds up steadily over a lifetime to be tapped as a potent power source upon death. For reasons as yet imperfectly understood, umbral flux is uniquely resonant with the remains of the being whose luminiferous flows induced it, and less efficient when used to power other processes.
- How common is magic? How do most people react to it?
  - Magic is common but dangerous. The most conservative of the upper classes avoid contact with Aetheric Engineers and their works wherever possible. The lower classes of the cities are forced to interact with them on a daily basis, and many are injured in industrial accidents. Cities, as teeming vectors for disease and pollution, are excellent sources of umbral energy, and large Imperial cities often have a multitude of umbral extraction facilities of varying sizes, fed like the city itself by a steady flow of immigration from the countrysides looking for a better life. Condensed umbral energy takes the form of a faintly luminous viscous green fluid. Living beings should avoid unprotected contact with condensed umbra wherever possible.
- What dire omens have you foreseen?
  - Harvesting Astral energy and praying for the intercession of outsiders weakens the veil, and the unknowable whims of astral beings can be seductive and dangerous. Things lurk in the Umbra, subsisting off the energies of death. When proper precautions are not taken, in places where large quantities of umbral energy is harvested they may break through and devour the luminiferous energy of the living instead.
Load 5
Bag of Supplies (3 uses ooo, 1 weight)
Staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)
Silver Venous Access Port & Umbral Transducer
Dagger (hand, 1 weight) and antitoxin
Str +1
Dex +0
Con +1
Int +2
Wis -1
Cha +0
Cast a Spell
You have mastered the workings of magic. Add the Wizard domains sheet or half-sheet to your playbook. You begin with mastery of the Cantrip domain. Choose two more domains that you have mastered, and choose one Bane from the following list (or work with the GM to make up your own Bane), a limitation on all magic you work:
o While you are without your Umbral Transducer, you can’t Cast a Spell. You can craft a replacement with a Ritual, but it will be time-consuming and expensive.

When you weave a spell using one of your mastered domains, roll+INT. *On a 10+, you get 2 Power to spend on your spell. *On a 7-9, you get 1 Power, and choose one of the following as well:
• Your spell will have some undesirable side effect or limitation
• You draw unwelcome attention or put yourself in a spot
• The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast; you have disadvantage to Cast a Spell until you take some time to rest and refocus yourself (you can’t choose this option if you’re already affected by it)
Power not spent on your spell is wasted, it cannot be saved for later. Power has no effect on Cantrips, just ignore it.
When you reach level 6, choose another domain from the list to master.

Ritual
When you devise a magical ritual, tell the GM what you're trying to achieve. Ritual effects are almost always possible, but the GM will give you one to four of the following conditions:
• It's going to take days/weeks/months
• You must perform it at a special place and/or time
• First you must ________
• You'll need help from ________
• The effect will be unreliable or limited
• You and your allies will risk danger from ________
• You'll have to sacrifice or consume ________to do it

o Empower
When you Cast a Spell, on a 10+ you may choose from the 7-9 list. If
you do, your spell gets 3 Power instead of 2 Power.

o Conjuration
You summon forth a magical creature or construct, which aids you as best it can. Describe what you call forth! Treat it as a follower with +0 Quality, Loyalty equal to your INT, 6 HP, a damage bonus of +0, the reckless tag, and 1 additional tag of your choice. Choose one of the following to add to your construct for each Power:
• Add a tag or move of your choice, relevant to the construct’s nature (you can choose this more than once)
• Remove the reckless tag
• Its Quality is +1
The construct persists until destroyed or you dismiss it. While this spell is ongoing, you have disadvantage to Cast a Spell.

o Necromancy
You bind the energy of life and death that surrounds all creatures. Choose one effect or an additional target for each Power:
• A corpse you touch answers any three questions you ask to the best of the knowledge it had in life
• You fill a target you can see with supernatural fear, they choose to flee from you, panic, cower, or fight in desperation, until the next time you cast a spell
• You curse a creature in near range; deal your damage to them and heal half that amount to yourself, rounded down
• You transfer life energy to someone you touch, they heal 1d6 HP and you lose half that amount, rounded down
• You or someone willing you touch becomes an insubstantial shadow, until after the next time they make any move
Geratius Volus and I shared a mystical vision, after drinking the blood of the demon world together. [What even is the blood of the demon world in this setting? The blood of an Outsider? Are we literally making recreational spirits out of fermented godsblood? Well, we are now. That sounds pricey, so I have no idea why we were sharing the top shelf stuff that makes you hallucinate - celebrating something big? Escaping something awful?]

Kotezira has supplied me with forbidden tomes. [Why does the Orc Druid have books Venaar can read? Why are they forbidden? Who is forbidding them, anyway? Why would she give them to Venaar when they have so little in common? I have no idea, but the obvious 'escorted me safely through a forest' is boring, so we're going with this. Maybe Kotezira found some old library that survived the last apocalypse, and she pays Venaar in old books to do... I don't know what. I'm not sure what Kotezira wants. It is funny imagining Kotezira just occasionally shoving some old book of Emerson poetry or a history of the end of one of the worlds at Venaar and being all, "Here, city-girl. This is why you're wrong about everything."]

Kersh is woefully misinformed about the world; I will teach them all that I can. [Stop that. Yes, that. Yes, you're doing it right now. Just stop it. No, not breathing. The other thing you're doing, with the aether, and the hole in the world, and the channeling - just all of it. Stop. Yes you can, just - look - oh for Gersha's sake where do we start? Let me show you.]
1 (One) XP

D. Rex · Aug 23, 2021

Wip

Name: Kersh
Race/Ancestry: Human
Nationality:

Drive:

Bonds:
Which of you has felt the touch of hellfire before?

Which of you is playing with fire?

Which of you have I changed the most?

Heritage and Heritage Moves:

Background:
Load is 4

Symbol of your sacrifices(past) needs deecribed)

Starts with a bag of Supplies (3 uses, 1 weight).
Attributes
Strength (STR): +1
Dexterity (DEX): +1
Constitution (CON): +2
Intelligence (INT): +0
Wisdom (WIS): +1
Charisma (CHA): +0

Base Damage: D6+1

MaxHP: 16

Advanced Moves:

Cleansing Flames
When you Make Camp around a large bonfire, choose one. When
you engulf yourself in a large and very powerful flame, or
perform a ritual before such a blaze, choose two:
• You recover all of your HP
• You are cured of a debility of your choice
• You regrow any lost limbs
• You are purged of any mortal poisons or diseases
Physical Description

Look: fj

Wip

Pumpkin Spice Cyanide · Aug 24, 2021

Name: Kotezira

Race/Ancestry: Orc

Nationality: Orcish

Drive:
Cultivation-
Help something or someone grow or move on to the next step in the cycle.

Bonds:
Which of you requires my guidance? ________________

About which of you do the spirits whisper? ________________

Which of you dismisses me as a primitive? ________________

Which of you has also seen the spirit realm? ________________

Heritage and Heritage Moves:

Orc of the Ghurnaak Mountains

·Find shelter in harsh places
·Endure hardships to keep a sworn vow

Background:
Keeper of the Old Faith

When you Make Camp, you may make the First Aid move once without spending Supplies, and when you do so, you may cure your subject of a debility, poison or disease afflicting them instead of recovering HP or stabilizing their wounds.
Load is 6

· Staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)

· A bag of Supplies (6* uses , 1 weight)
Level: 1

Attributes
Strength (STR): -1
Dexterity (DEX): +0
Constitution (CON): +1
Intelligence (INT): +0
Wisdom (WIS): +2
Charisma (CHA): +1

Base Damage: D6+1

MaxHP: 16

Starting Moves:
Shapeshifter

Choose a land to which you are attuned—when shapeshifting you may take the shape of any animal who might live in your Land.

 The Great Forests  The Sapphire Islands  The Whispering Plains  The Open Sea
 The Vast Desert  The Towering Mountains
 The Stinking Mire  The Frozen Tundra

Additionally, choose a tell—a physical attribute that marks you as born of the soil—that reflects the spirit of your land. It may be an

animal feature like antlers or leopard’s spots or something more general: hair like leaves or eyes of glittering crystal. Your tell remains no matter what shape you take.

When you call upon the spirits to change your shape, you transform yourself into a natural animal from your land, and roll+WIS. *On a 10+, hold 3 Nature. *On a 7-9, hold 2 Nature. *On a 6-, hold 1 Nature anyway, but the GM will also make a move.

You and your possessions meld into a copy of the animal's form. You have any innate qualities, abilities, and weaknesses of the form. You still use your normal stats, but some moves may be harder to trigger—a mouse will find it hard to Hack and Slash an ogre.

When you make a move while shapeshifted and get a 9 or less, you must spend a Nature or you revert back to your normal form. You may willingly revert back to your normal form at any time; when you do, lose any remaining Nature held.

Spirit Tongue

You can speak with and understand natural beasts and spirits of the wild, you can closely study and Parley with them as if they were people, and you roll with WIS instead of CHA when you Parley with a natural beast or spirit using your Spirit Tongue.

You can always ask the GM, “What spirits are active here?” and get an honest answer. When you perform a small ritual and make an offering of something they’d like (whisky, incense, blood, etc.), the spirits of a place manifest before you—not always friendly, but at least curious and willing to hear you out.

Studied Essence

When you spend time communing with an animal spirit, the spirit may ask you to perform a deed. When you perform this deed, you may add its species to those you can assume using Shapeshift.

Advanced Moves:

Communion of Whispers

When you spend time in a place, making note of its resident spirits and calling on the spirits of the land, roll+WIS. You will be granted a vision of significance to you, your allies, and the spirits around you. *On a 10+, the vision will be clear and helpful to you.

*On a 7-9, choose one:

• The vision is unclear, its meaning murky

• The vision will reveal an unwelcome truth to you
Age: 29

Look:

Wise Eyes

Braided Hair

Ceremonial Garb

Tell - Cloven hooves

Patron Spirit -

------------------------------------------------------
(Orcs are actually decently well spoken in their language. It doesn't often translate well.)

How did you gain your abilities?

Caught in a pitfall, nestled deep between mountain stone, I called out to the gods and the angels. For several days my prayers went unanswered.

Just as I was begining to feel the call of the void, my only solace being the hope to join him, I was saved.
The spirit of the mountains, a mammoth ibex.
With his strong back and powerful legs he lifted my from my doom and gave me purpose anew.
My afflictions were remedied in the presence of my savior and his mark bestowed upon me.

What is your tell, and why is it significant to you?

Cloven hooves mark my loyalty to the call of the mountains, my ancestral home and domain of my patron spirit.

What are (most) spirits like? What do they want, and what appeases them?

Most spirits concern themselves with preservation of the natural order, the ebb and flow of life and death. They understand and encourage the rubric for all life; devour to survive. So it is, so it has always been. They reject the concepts of civilization, domestication of flora and fauna, the disruption and exclusion from the circle of life. Those who take and do not return cannot be tolerated.
Their desires are simple, to reenforce the laws of nature; the strong survive. They are appeased in the same way.

What grim portents have the spirits whispered to you?

The spirits warn of the dangers of civilization, the peril of unregulated growth. The absence of natural pressures will lead to devastation unimaginable. Not all are meant for life.

Born deep in the Ghurnaak Mountains to the 19th Overlord, Marzhor the----, Kotezira was made well aware of the need to separate herself from her peers at a young age. In orc society only your mother thinks you special and even then her attention is split up between several if not many children. You generally don't see very much of your father and very often see him go in the "glory" of battle.
Kotezira opted out of seeking glory in combat as the likelihood of her success was slim to known among the orc men. It would take nothing short of some otherworldly force using her body as some sort of avatar to gain any sort of traction on that path.
Instead, she decided her most viable route would be the beaten path, she would court a worthy suitor and help him cut out a piece of this world just for them.
At the age of 19 she married her secret sweetheart, Draknaga, after his successful defeat of Taskmaster Hederak Iron Tusk in duel. With his title he gained command of the slave burrows and markets, as well as a few raid parties.
Slowly but surely, he climbed the hierarchy of the under-mountain city of Ghurnaak, Kotezira in tow. Often she would facilitate his successes through sabotage and subterfuge, even going as far as poisoning Warlord Jutligug Shatterer to insure his victory.
As it turned out, the climb to Overlord was the easy part for the pair.
In equal parts her husband had acquired wives, riches and enemies.
They were now the ripest apple on the tree, and always surrounded.
For 4 years Draknaga reigned, every minute as filled with paranoia as bliss.
Kotezira, did her best to guard his blindspots with the other wives while he took on challengers head on.
But, eventually her vigilance failed her and her husband looked unusually sluggish and disoriented in a bout. It was immediately obvious to her what was happening and she shouted to stop the duel despite knowing that wasn't an option.
Kotezira sealed her fate that day, in her savage thrashings attempting to aid her lover it became obvious to all.
Restrained by guard and citizen alike all she could do was scream as Draknaga was slain, his eyes piercing her soul in his final moments.
It wouldn't be until all that which she called her own was seized and her fate was to be decided that she felt the unbearable weight of fault.
The first wife of supplanter, she recognized her. She had been brought into their kitchen staff not one week prior.
In her complacence she had unwittingly let in their undoing through the main door.
Kotezira was mortified, devastated by the revelation almost welcoming the reprieve of death.
But ultimately, the terms of her fate were up to the new Overlord, who in victory had not only gained the title and riches but harem of the predecessor.
She would either be exiled or executed, these were the only fates of allotted to her by orcish law as the primary wife of the fallen Warlord.
As if to add insult to injury, it was decided she would be exiled to the interior of the mountain range. Denied honorable reunion with her beloved in the afterlife and condemned to, no doubt, slow death at the mercy of the elements.

Three weeks into her exile, Kotezira fell deep into an enormous weathering pit while fleeing a territorial direboar, gravely injuring her legs and feet.
There at the bottom of the pit she lays, cold and without any source of sustenance.
It takes nearly two weeks for her body to begin to fail her thanks to her orcish hardiness.
In this time she has what seems like an infinite amount of time to think, to contemplate, to recollect.
In this time she finally is able to process her loss. At first it's unbearable, were there a stone sharp or hard enough she may have ended her strife then and there.
One by one the endless days passed, her consciousness void of distractions or preoccupations. In this timeless place she rationalized her situation and started to find peace. While she still carried guilt and sorrow, it wasn't all consuming. The pain of her body now overshadowed the pain in her heart.
Kotezira prayed to whatever gods may be that she be delivered from where she found herself. To be given a chance at redemption or be given over to the embrace of death.
On the eve of the end of her sojourn, her prayers were answered.
Helaceros, spirit of mountains and tournament (species) combat, appeared to her.
Using the swiftness and power of his form of a mammoth ibex, he descended into her soon to be grave.
There he spoke to her in a way indescribable, yet she understood.
He wouldn't help her as she was, but if she pledged herself to his cause and lived to uphold the very concept that led her had her end up this way, he would mend her and set her loose back into the world with his blessing.
Kotezira was all too willing to accept the terms, a chance to redeem herself and become a champion of the tournament that nearly killed her was impossible to pass up.

Satisfied with the deal, Helaceros raised her from the pit and bestowed upon her his mark and influence. Her broken and lame legs becoming cloven hooves, vehicle of those who rule the mountains.
The spirit leaves her unbound as promised and Kotezira moves forward with new resolve for redemption and zeal for her patron.

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