The Legend of S'Urok - Characters

[Sparky]

These are the characters, PC and NPCs, of The Legend of S'Urok.

PC:
S'Urok

 

[Ghostknight]

These are the characters, PC and NPCs, of The Legend of S'Urok.

PC:
S'Urok

Adding a reply to bsubscribe thread. History coming soon.

 

[Ghostknight]

S'Urok Character sheet

S’Urok
Orc Racial paragon 1, Adept 1
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Ability Score Points spent Bonuses Overall bonus
Str 19 8 +4 Racial +4
Dex 11 3 0
Con 16 10 +3
Int 10 4 -2 racial 0
Wis 12 6 -2 racial +1
Cha 10 4 -2 racial 0

Hit Dice: d10 + d6
Hit Points: 22 (10+6 +6)
Speed: 20 Feet in armor (base 30 feet)
AC 15 (+5 chainmail)
BAB: +1/+5
Attack: Greataxe +5 dmg 1d12 crit x3
Saves: Fort +5 Ref +2 Wil +3

Feats: Lightning Reflexes

Skills: Intimidate 4, Survival 3 (2 ranks, +1wis), craft (weaponsmith) 2, Knowledge (Tribal History) 1, Heal 2 (1 rank, +1 Wis)

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Simple and martial weapons, light and medium armor

Spell List
0 Level: create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, ghost sound, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, touch of fatigue.
1st Level: bless, burning hands, cause fear, command, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, endure elements, obscuring mist, protection from chaos, protection from evil, protection from good, protection from law, sleep.

Spells memorized:
Level 0: Purify food and drink, ghost sound, cure minor wounds.
Level 1: Sleep

Equipment
Masterwork greataxe (320gp)
Masterwork chainmail (300gp)
Backpack (2gp)
Bedroll (1sp)
50ft. silk rope (10gp)
belt pouch (1gp)
flint and steel (1gp)
iron holy symbol (2gp)
fishing net (4gp)
Healer's kit (50gp)
5 days iron rations (25sp)
Whetstone (2cp)
2 potions of cure light wounds (100gp)
2 Oil of magic weapon (100gp)

Money: 7gp 3sp 8cp

Special abilities: Darkvision (60’), No light sensitivity, Improved Darkvision (+30’)

Description: S’Urok is the orcish ideal. Strong, healthy, rugged, he even looks good to non-orcs. His fangs are long, evenly balanced and shining white, his eye ridges rugged and manly, his shin the greenish yellow of rotting vegetation, glowing healthily, his green tinted brown hair braided back into a warrior’s knot, interlaced with the beads of an adept. His clothing is a soothing shade o blood red, highlighting his eyes of the same color and the tattoo of a crushed ship, done in red, black and mustard coloured inks on his cheek.

Personality: S’Urok knows he is the tribes hope. He expects deference from those of his own station, obedience from the masses, and respect from the rulers. Yes, he is not yet Chieftain, but is that not his destiny? He is iconoclastic, not accepting the current status quo, hatching plots on how he can free the tribe and once again assert their supremacy (if not recover their lost artifact and recreate the sea!)

History: S'Urok was born into the tribe on the night of a great desert storm. As the winds raged, blowing poisonous fumes far across the landscape, killing all that were exposed, his mother, Krilay the gatherer of roots, lay in labour. The tribe huddled in their huts and caves, some dug into hollows in the ground, no safer from the thick poisonous fog. All prayed that Mah-kur Muru-ket would soon return close to his earthly abode and stop the great storm.

His mother huddled alone, screaming at the world and searing that her children would be born alive to fight against the devastation of the world. She gave birth to the children alone, (her attendants abandoning her at the start of the storm), four of them in total, but three dead - strangled in the womb by their surviving sibling, a male of perfect features and form. In wonder Krilay picked up the new born child, holding him tightly to her, noticing how strongly he grabbed at her teats and started suckling - no hesitation or weakness in him!

In the morning Hul'Kilay, shaman and father to tribe (if not this boy, who really knew who the father of any child was?) came to the small hut half buried in the ground. In wonder he looked at the child, looked for litter mates, and seeing them dead from the womb knew the prayers had been answered - a great paragon had been sent to them!

The rite of purification was held later that day, the dead babies cut open their blood dripping over the paragon as he lay before the tribe. The reigning chieftain, not wanting to acknowledge the child that would one day supercede him, being the first of seven orc sacrificed in the honor of S'Urok (and his place being taken by Geiti The Thunderhammer, who quickly annoited the baby with enough blood that he fainted away (but was revived for the rest of the festivities)). As the entrails were read, the shaman read the name of the child, even as the seven screamed in great agony, the rest of the tribe danced in jubiliation at the purification of S'Urok, the first paragn since the death of the S'Urok the Maker of the Sea!

Since then S'Urok has been taught much about the tribe, about his expected role and he has followed in the route he knows he must take. He played with the other children, roughly pushing his way to the top of any game, using his superior intellect 9at least compared to other orcs), to wreak vengeance, even when some other child may have been older and bigger than himself. Now he knows himself to be stronger, healthier, bigger and downright meaner than most other orcs. He has been taught by the shaman and awaits the confirmation of his acceptance as an adept, he awaits the completion of his bond to hakarna, the finding of his totem that will show the path for him to follow to find his destiny.

 

[Ghostknight]

Crunching Ships Orc Tribe, History and Rituals

The Crunching ships orc tribe had long lived along the shores of the Great White inland sea. In two ways they had always sustained themselves, fishing in their long drakars, pushing through the waves, long nets behind, and, by equipping those same drakkars with rams and forcing tribute (or sinking those who would not pay) of ships that passed their coast, trying to avoid the long round about route to avoid the inland sea. For centuries this lifestyle continued- going so far as to have semi-formal agreements with many of the surrounding nations and formal agreements with many merchant trading costers that found yearly payments easier than negotiating each time they passed the coasts.

So they prospered and soon became tradition to look in each generation for one that exemplified what they felt was the ideal orcish traits. This paragon of the orcish race was taken from his family at an early age, tutored in the racial history and traditions by the tribal shamans and then sent to the care of the chieftain’s army to learn the arts of war and rule felt necessary to run the tribe.

The beginning of the catastrophes took them by surprise. Half the tribe were wiped out over night, amongst them the king and his descendants. Leaderless they fled to the safety of the sea, to houses built on floating platforms hoping that the killing winds would die down before they reached them on the seas. So it was that the next great catastrophe did not affect them as much as many others, as the lands heaved and belched fire, smoke and the red hot magma they watched from the safety of their rafts. But here they were not safe from the torn land, under sea rifts opening and sending gouts of steam to burn and destroy – underwater eruptions creating new islands and destroying their habitual fishing grounds. It got worse, the sea slowly disappeared, the sea holt slowly being bereft and left far from the shore. The king of the time, great S’Urok, gave his blood to the shaman Til’kilea to create a relic, the eye of S’Urok, which created great waves of water, mantaining the sea for a while longer.

But their enemies moved against them. Long resentments at their privateering and demanding of toll came to the fore. In their weakened state they could not stand against them. The armies of the surrounding nations broke against the sea holt- a storm of steel and magic they could not counter. Worse, they had no leader to truly guide them. S’Urok had given his life to renew the sea, the great Shaman had been drained of his life energy to power the Eye, their was no new paragon and the Shaman but a power, barely knowledgeable enough to administer the rites. Without a war leader the tribe fought as orcs do, individually, bravely and, ultimately, futiley. Their enemies, not knowing the power of the Eye, removed it, burnt the sea holt, and left the remnants of the tribe as a shallow image of their previous glorious nation. Their sea holt was no more, and, without the Eye to renew the sea, the sea soon dried, leaving a massive salt bowl and even more sickness as the dead fish brought a new round of disease as they rotted in the sun. Bereft of home, hearth and hope they created a new life on land. Trying to make sense of the devastation around them they started to build a new life but the plague seemed to have struck a blow that none had expected, the line of leaders was broken, the paragons of the species were no longer born, no longer was the line of perfect orcs that has been relied on to represent them available. No longer was their an orc of perfection to give them guidance and unite the tribes. Many believed the power of the paragons gone, given up to power an artifact that they no longer even possessed. Despair, plague, war and fear lead the tribe in the absence of true leaders! They wandered, seeking a new place in the world, heading north into harsh new lands, seeking for a place they could settle and bring to be their own.

In their despair they fell to the machinations of a great undead wizard. His name is never spoken, his visage never seen. It is whispered that his name is Koir, an archmage from the distance past, but any who speaks too long or too hard of this is the next to be called to his abode. No one knows what he is, merely that his power protects them from the surrounding devestation and keeps the tribe alive. It seems a small price to pay when he calls for an orc to ascend to his abode, never to be seen again. All assume that the sacrificial orc is supped on, others believe that it is the life of that orc that sustains the magics that keep them safe. None have dared to ask.

Into this turmoil was finally born a new paragon. This symbol of hope to the tribe was greeted with joy and given the name of their mightiest king, great S’Urok himself. Through him the tribe looks for redemption, hope for the recovery of the great artifact and the rebuilding of their sea holt (near where there is now sea of course). S’Urok has had a childhood of privilege. Given what tutoring and training the tribe can muster he is seen as the last great hope for the resurrection of the tribe from the ashes.

Tribal Holy Days
The tribe celebrates few holy days – the main one being the day of the binding of Mah-kur Muru-ke to Hakarna. On this day saxrifices are offered to the Old One to celebrate his victory and to Mah-kur Muru-ke for sustaining the world. The sacrifice is killed, the blood poured on the ground for Mah-kur Muru-ke and the body burnt to ascend to the Old One. Each tribe member who is on their first year of service in the militia then comes forward to eat of the sacrifice. The most auspicious sacrifice is a warrior from an enemy tribe/nation, when none is available a warrior of the tribe will volunteer himself – usually one that has been maimed in battle.

Other than that mid-winter is seen as a time for great sacrifices and propriation to Mah-kur Muru-ke – asking him to bind his soul closer to the earth and thus bring more life to it while causing the spirits within Kamakur to pay attention to the suffering of Hakarna below them. On this day once again a sacrifice is drained of blood, the body being eaten raw by the pregnant mothers in the tribe. The best sacrifice for this day is a virgin of an enemy tribe. When none is available a child of the tribe is selected by drawing lots.

Of more modern origin is the Day of Calamity, marking the day that the wind started blowing and the tribe started dying (they never really noticed the disappearance of sorcerous magic), followed by the Day of Bereavement, when the earth opened and swallowed the sea and their home.

Tribal customs
It is customary for the tribe to name each draker after a warrior who was slain most recently in battle, thereby giving their soul a chance to once again taste blood. Too, they hold pregnant women sacred, removing all responsibility from them and having all children under the age of 10 perform all tasks, no matter how menial, for them.

For the men it is customary to scar along their forearms each time they kill a foe. Some of the elder men of the tribe still hold with the tradition of nicking the ear whenever an elf is killed.

When entering into the home of another tribal member, it is customary to enter head down and bent and hands open to show peaceful intent, the head down signifying that you recognize the other as the master of his house, the arms bent to show they are not in position to withdraw a weapon and hands open to show that nothing is being concealed.

It is also tribal custom that all should be trained for war. For at least five years all tribal members, male and female, train in weapons and how to work in the militia. As such the tribe is far more disciplined and organized than one would normally expect from a tribe of orcs.

Tribal Traditions
Everyday life in the tribe is fairly regimented. Everyone knows there place (or takes a beating!), and everyone does what is necessary for survival.

Everyday dress for men and women is a short tunic, belted in the middle. Men were the belt short, women generally make the strings longer and decorate the ends. On holy days or for celebrations the short tunics are replaced closed, high collared, long sleeved shirts and baggy pants. The shirts are generally black (for both men and women) but men decorate the edges with bits of metal and have a small blade of some kind attached by tassels at the bottom. Women generally decorate their shirts with beads and rather wear the small blade as a decorative necklace or brooch.

For those actively serving in the militia studded leather armor with a symbol of a drakar on is the standard uniform. To go with the armor is simple leather pants, high boots and a war axe (some prefer a great axe but the choice is open).

According to the few remaining pictures that remain from the old days, dress was far more varied and colorful then, but the needs of survival have simplified the dress as less time for other issues is available.

Rituals and Rites
The tribe has few rituals, the most common ones being the greating of the moon each month in which a bowl of water is set out to reflect the light of the moon and is then followed by a communal meal.

The Ritual of ascension takes place when a new chieftain is appointed. Before the whole tribe the chieftain swears to be a symbol of the tribe and to lead them to glory. He does so naked so all can see his perfection (and admire his battle scars). Recently none of the chieftains have undertaken this ritual as none have the purity of blood necessary to pass the ritual.

The Rite of Purification is performed on a baby when it is deemed to be a paragon. The rite includes the killing of all its litter mates as elements that may impede it in getting all the attention it deserves. Additional elements of this rite include the reigning chieftain cutting himself and dripping his blood onto the baby, at least three (but preferably more) pregnant women holding and kissing the child (in the hope of his perfection being carried through to their litter) and then the sacrifice of a minimum of three “imperfect orcs” (in other words orcs born deformed or ugly) whose entrails are read (while they lie dying from their disemboweling) to determine the name of the newborn child. Of course then a great feast ensues. The Rite of Purification for S’Urok is the first for the tribe since the last of the great catastrophes.

The ritual of Ka ku Korros (chains of the soul) is performed on all initiates seeking ascension to be true Shamans. The aspiring adept is chained to a rock by the sea (without the sea they are still chained to a rock overlooking a vast open area). They remain there until their personal totem appears to them. If they suffer from the heat, animal attacks or any other damage they are left until they either die or are finally visited by their totem. Before accepting their word on being visited, the tribal shaman will carefully question them to ensure they have achieved a true vision or if they need to remain out for longer. Frequent totems in the post were shark, dolphin, baraccuda, crab and kraken. Today, with the desert vigil, it is just as often wolf, mouse, scorpion and snake.

The Rite of Rule is held when a reigning chieftain dies and there is more than one orcish paragon to take his place. The two battle to the death, the winner becoming the new chieftain. If there are more than two then a free for all battle ensues, occasionally some of the more organized minded amongst them agreeing as to who should be ruler and then wiping out any that do not agree with their choice (surprisingly for orcs the one chosen by the group is rarely the biggest but is usually the one who is seen as the best ruler).