Fal perked up at the sound of Maxwell starting to speak, but his thoughts were quickly dragged away by the sound of angry beetles. Seems they had intruded on someone's home already. Fal grabbed his crossbow, ready for a fight.
...hopefully.
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Fal stood up from his work, smiling at Teo and bowing his head. "I appreciate that... but I don't mind. I think I do my best work out of sight." Havig a chance to chat and reassure Val that everything would be alright, Fal followed the others out to the water and once able to breath, followed alongside them into the caves. Clambering onto the inner shores of the cave, Fal took a good look around, assessing them place for all the possible ways to secure it. "Hrm... we should set to the side so we are not caught between either the water or the caves, should anything come or go. An alcove would be helpful, we could set up a defense there if needed. But let's scout ahead slightly. Anything out of sight would be helpful." His yellow eyes pierced through the darkness, as his mind once again questioned how he knew what to do so quickly. A sense of deja vu crept over him. He had done this before. Not this place exactly, but this delving into ruins. Perhaps he... dreamed it? Somehow?
"Val! Thank goodness you're safe." Fal smiled as she hugged Teo. Understandable... she DID do the work... but he could help fixing things! Walking over to the damage done by the robot, Fal starting placing his claws on things, as they slowly started to reassemble themselves. As he worked, Fal's fringes perked up, looking back at Maxwell with a smile... and a quirked brow. "Dad adopted us all. Val first, then Teo, and then he found me in the ruins below a good while back. Teo left to continue her work, but I stayed with dad and Val. He helps run the town, really smart man." At the questions, he titled his head, trying to recall if anything weird had happened before... "...I don't think so. Then again, I usually stay in the back. My abilities and... well, everything, kinda scare people, and I don't want to drive away customers."
Yes, this is clearly how it is going to go down... welp, at least there is a chance we can beat it before I throw myself wantonly into danger!
Fal let out a breath of relief seeing Val unharmed. Well, at least up and moving. "Val! Get to safety, we'll take care of this!" As the robot approached him, the kobold remained undaunted by the size difference of him and his new foe, rushing into the fray to tackle the behemoth. On contact, the the machine will likely start to break and crack under his touch, trying to maintain as much direct physical contact with it as possible. "I'm gonna take you apart and use you to repair this damage, you pile of tin!"
Ah, so this is how this is gonna go, huh...?
Fal was glad to be home, even if the place was quiet. Without Khonnir, the place simply wasn't as lively... but his thoughts were shattered as he heard Val scream from around back. "VAL!!!" The kobold was instantly off and running towards the shout around the building, skidding to a halt as he spied the robot, snarling and baring his fangs. His instincts kicked in as his only concern was drawing the thing away from Val, wherever she was. "HEY! You rusted hunk of scrap! Pick on someone your own size!" Picking up a nearby rock, Fal hurled it at the machine, hoping to grab it's attention and lure it his way... not that he had a plan for what to do after that, but...
Fal nodded, smiling. "Agreed... not that she isn't a tough one herself. But it would make me feel better. It's not a question of room, just... we don't want to take over everything." Fal quirked an eyebrow at Maxwell, but just presumed her was being... uhm, strange. Satisfied with his own goals, Fall headed for the door, waiting to lead the way back to the inn if needed.
Teo... it was good to see a familiar face. He hadn't been with Khonnir long before she left, but he knew she was just as much part of the family as he was. His inclination to give her a hug was squashed when he remembered that, being an android, she might be susceptible to his powers... better to not chance it and risk hurting her. Fal tilted his head somewhat dumbfounded at the discussion between the other kobold and Teo, but the weird investigator, Maxwell, was an even stranger sight... and as for his bodyguard, the dwarf... well, he seemed sensible. But the kobold folded his arms, tilting his head a bit and closing his eyes. "I remember dad talking about his concern that the pond might be toxic... but he never mentioned footprints." No doubt he didn't want to worry him or Val... even so, he would've liked to know. "However... that would be the first place to check out. We'll need a center of operations. Dad's place should be good. Would let me check on Val regularly too... I'm sure she won't mind. Don't load up on supplies just yet. Going too far in is dangerous. Better to scout ahead, make regular returns, assess the state of the ruins and once far enough in, set up a base of operations inside. That way we can fall back if needed and recover, as well as avoid damaging anything we retrieve. We should move now, while the day is with us. Operating at night has it's benefits, but risks as well." Fal blinked as he felt himself rattling off a list of procedure they should follow. He... he wasn't sure how, but it came so naturally to him. As if he'd done this hundreds of times before. But... he'd never gone down into the ruins, not even with Khonnir... and Khonnir never talked about his process of making expeditions. ...how did he know all this?
Good by me, Teo! Fal certainly would consider her a sibling, ICly.
...oh nuts, I just realized, I haven't even written out my equipment list! Should... should probably fix that...
'I may not have ears like you, but I can still hear...' Fal mused internally. No, no... be nice. These are the folks dad and Val have to work with. The least he can do for them is to be polite to the other folks around town. "Good to see you too, councilwoman..." Fal forced out, though he clearly wanted to add something else to the topic. The kobold looked up at the others assembled, assessing them for a moment before smiling and nodding. "...I appreciate you guys signing up to help me. I know it's dangerous, but it means a lot to me... name's Fal Baine." At the mention of pay, Fal, frowned, shaking his head. "I don't care about the pay. I just want to find dad and get him back to safety. If we can find out why the fires have gone out, all the better. But..."
I shall do my best to keep everyone alive and the right things broken!
Woo! Let's beat up some robots!
Should be mostly finished. I had this idea to make an artifice cleric, and I started to wonder if perhaps there was a way to reflavor it as a technology to fit the theme. Well, one thing led to another and now... here it is! I'm gonna try to make spell choices that would make sense for nanites to do, so... I know I might be kinda limiting myself a bit here, but... we'll see how it goes. Crunch:
Falthox aka Fal the Reborn
Male Kobold Cleric/1 (Theologian) LE Small Humanoid (Reptilian) Deity: None Init +3; Senses Perception +5, Darkvision 60'
Spells Prepared
Domains Artifice (Trap)
History:
Falthox doesn't know how he came to be found by Khonnir Baine, but he does know that he is extremely grateful to the scholar for pulling him out of the pod he was found in. Buried somewhere in the ruins below Torch, it was Baine who unearthed him during one of his expeditions down below. Fal couldn't recall a thing about the time before getting into the pod, but he suspected whatever happened to him in there gave him the powers he has now. Upon being brought back, Fal noticed that he could break things just by touching them for long periods of time, and that he could cast spells when he couldn't remember being able to do so before, as well as heal those around him almost instantly.
Despite his odd powers and the suspicions of the townsfolk of Torch, Fal was welcomed into Baine's family with his adopted sister Val, who quickly took to Fal with affection, giving him the nickname he now uses proudly and happily teaching him everything she knew about machines and technology... though, bizarrely enough, in some cases, Fal could actually recite more information about the tech they brought in then either Val or Mr. Baine could! Fal doesn't understand how he got his current powers or what he has to do to control them, but his abilities vex him and his adoptive family to no end. But now, the fires of Torch have gone out and even worse, Baine has gone missing! Fal fully suspects that something in the ruins below is responsible, and he feels a strong sense of responsibility to address the problem himself. Beyond that, he feels a deep desire to repay his adoptive dad by rescuing him from the same ruins the kobold had once been trapped in... and besides, he was his father! No difference in appearance or origin could destroy the family bond he'd developed with Khonnir and Val. Fal believes that his strange powers may be of use in the ruins, and has volunteered to venture in with a group of other brave souls to search for Baine and investigate the cause. Fal's True Origins (For GM):
This is meant to be a loose idea of why Fal actually has the powers he does, and why he was trapped in the pod to begin with.
Falthor used to be a ruin delver for the Technic League, slipping quietly into ruins and retrieving as much valuable looking technology on behalf of the League before getting out and turning in his quarry for a marginal profit. However, his last expedition dropped him into some ruins near Torch that had a toxic radiation leak, gravely poisoning the kobold and nearly killing him. Luckily, the automatons of the ruins scrambled into action, placing Fal into a rehabilitation pod and flooding it with medical nanites, which worked quickly to try and remove the toxicity from his body. Unfortunately, the poisoning had spread too rapidly to be removed, so instead, the nanites infused themselves into his cellular foundation and formed a medical network to restructure him from the ground up. The procedure was a resounding success, but left him with some unintended side effects. Thanks to the nanite network keeping him alive, Fal is now something of a living hive for the tiny robots, able to command the robots with enough concentration and practice. The reason he can break things by touching them is because he is in fact releasing millions of nanites to destroy whatever he is touching on a microscopic level. In addition, Fal can release a swarm of nanites to heal those around him, with the medical nanites being built for medical work and able to treat most minor injuries before returning to Fal. All of the "spells" Fal casts are really due to nanites doing much of the work for him. Once Fal had been saved, he was kept in stasis, although the reconstruction left him with total amnesia. He could not remember who or what he used to be, but with Baine's rescue from the pod, he has come to accept his new family and is grateful for folks who care about him and overlook his odd conditions. Personality: Fal adopts the title of 'Reborn' because he suspects that there is a past to him that he is unaware of. But whatever it used to be, he can't remember due to a severe case of amnesia. His adoptive father suspects that his time in the pod he was found in made have resulted in some sort trauma that caused him to lose his memory. However, Fal does not care to know who he used to be, and is content with his current lifestyle as an assistant and subject of study to his adoptive father, who has taken a keen interest in Fal's strange abilities. Fal looks up to his adopted sister, Val, with admiration and respect for her skill with technology, hoping to emulate her and Baine in their respective fields of magic and science. However, Fal also worries that their tolerance for him may put them at odds with some of the more... suspicious townsfolk, so he takes great care to not let his odd abilities show in public, lest he scare folks into thinking Baine is keeping some sort of alien monster in his place.
Although Fal has no interest in learning who he used to be, he does have a keen interest in trying to figure out WHAT he is - what gave him his powers? Why? Can it be replicated? Should it be? All of these questions and more vex him regularly, and his studies along his dad and sister help him to slowly understand what he came out of, but not quite what he is as a result of it. Sadly, his interests must be kept relatively quiet in the hopes of keeping whatever discoveries he makes out of the hands of the Technic League, who he despises with a passion. Their hoarding of technology is a criminal offense - that tech belongs to everyone interested in studying it! If given the chance, Fal would love to deal the League a considerable blow for stooping so low. Perhaps because of his adoptive family's attitude or his almost child-like innocence, Fal has a very curious outlook, and were it not for the danger, he would love to regularly venture down into the ruins and study the structures and treasures within. Fal places a great deal of importance on information over tangible prizes (not that he doesn't like a good shiny reward as much as the next kobold). But it's technology that really vexes him, perhaps due to the nature of his powers or the eternal drive to see something glowing and ask "What does this do?"
Don't worry, Alynthar. I imagine you'll get in eventually. It's easier for some characters to mesh with campaigns over others. Like me: it's hard to find a place in a game where kobolds won't get squashed, especially when they're overzealous in their attempts to subjugate everything they see. It's all about patience.
Still working on inventory, but he's mostly done! "I am Falthoriox the Red! Kneel and swear your allegiance to me, or prepare to taste my flame!" Crunch:
Fal the Reborn Dragon
Male Kobold Oracle of Flames/ Cross-blooded Sorcerer 1 LE Small Humanoid (Reptilian) Deity: Himself Init +3; Senses Perception +0, Darkvision 60'
Revelations Burning Magic, Cinder Dance Spells Known
Mystery Flames
Background:
The Magmascale tribe is a kobold tribe that once boasted the alliance of a mighty red dragon named Falthariox. However, that changed several years ago when the irksome knights of the Order of Mitra forced their way into his mountain territory and slew him. It was a great battle, to be sure, but in the end, the upstart knights defeated the mighty dragon and took much of his treasure horde to fund their stupid nation. Shortly after Falthariox's death, an egg has laid and hatched in the Magmascale den, and to every kobold's surprise, the hatchling bore an incredible, undeniably canny resemblance to the red wyrm, even sporting wings and a penchant for fire breathing.
The only logical explanation was the Falthariox had been reincarnated, and returned to their tribe in the form of this hatchling! Falthariox, shortened to "Fal" until he grew into his powers and proper size, was raised and trained under this belief; that he was a reincarnated dragon. As he grew, he received instruction on how to wield his arcane (and yet remarkably divine) power, and in time, became so adept that he actually began to teach other magic users in the tribe how to better unlock their talents. Of course, he demanded total respect and admiration from the tribe, and for the most part, got it. But this was not enough. Fal felt a powerful urge to reclaim the treasures that rightfully belonged to him in his previous life, and take revenge on those who would invade his territory! Spurred on by his draconic might and heritage, Fal lead a small raiding party on a nearby settlement, razing it to the ground and demanding the residents bow down before his might. Sadly, his reclamation efforts were short lived, as knights of Mitra showed up and quickly subdued him. Taken to Branderscar in humiliation, Fal has not regretted his actions, nor has he given up on possibility of escape. He just needs time, a plan, and a whole lot of fire... Personality: Fal's incredibly distinct connection to his tribe's dead dragon has lead his kin to claim he is a reincarnation of Falthariox, and Fal has decided it's the most logical explanation. While he recognizes that he comes with a great multitude of responsibilities along with his power, he can't help, but ignore them in favor of the benefits, such as worship and favoritism in his tribe. This placing on a pedestal has made him incredibly selfish, haughty, and self-absorbed, enjoying attention and flaunting his draconic power for all it's worth.
Fal has a love of collecting anything shiny, but favors red gemstones after his tribe's former ally, like rubies. The more he can get, the better he feels, and this in turn gives him confidence, as well as increases his demands. He can be hard to work with, as he expects everyone to pay tribute in return for his majestic aid and draconic might. At bare minimum, he expects promises of loyalty and favors in return for his aid, but when he does get serious, it's hard to deny he bares an uncanny resemblance to his draconic cousins. Despite his incredibly inflated ego, Fal believes that his status does come with a few responsibilities, such as honoring his deals made with his peons and lending them his draconic might every so often. As he claims Talingarde to be his "dominion", he is very protective of his territory and its residents (after all, one cannot be worshiped without a congregation!) and he meets any perceived threats with great displays of power, in hopes of driving off potential rivals.
That makes 2 DD, then! lol BTW, do you happen to be going with the sorcerer route or using the Scaled Disciple feat for a divine caster?
Would I be able to use my kobold sorc? If you do, care to have a shared background? I've got an idea for a kobold Oracle of Flame/Cross-blooded Sorcerer who believes he's a reincarnated dragon and accused of Arson. Perhaps they could've known each other, or even been from the same tribe. Maybe one of use got captured and the other was caught trying to save the second? Hence our accused crimes (murder for yours, arson for mine).
Here's one that would fit this hilariously well! Falthariox the Reborn (Fal, for short) is a LE cross-blooded kobold sorcerer who believes he is a reincarnated red dragon. He belongs to a tribe that lives on the edge of the Stolen Lands. He believes he should start exercising dominion over them and figures that with the new settlers looking to inhabit the place, he has prime opportunity to get himself a capable group of "loyal minions and subjects." He is generally selfish, self-entitled, and vain, and demands that if anyone wants his help, he needs promises of loyalty, treasure, and offerings (preferably anything shiny, but not everyone can afford such luxuries, so he'll take what he can get). However, he is also bound to his word and if he promises aid, they'll get it, and he is protective of his "dominion" and its residents. They are, after all, his loyal subjects and slaves. Odds are, he'd probably be the resident magic enforcer, possible scholar, and treasurer (after all, it's HIS treasure, why shouldn't he look after it?) for the kingdom.
I'm actually considering a kobold Bard (Dragon Herald) mixed with a crossblooded Draconic/Elemental sorcerer. Short character concept: He's a kobold who believes he is the reincarnation of a red dragon his tribe used to worship. So now, he's set out to find himself a new "dominion" to rule over and bring his tribe their to live under his mighty rule. He comes across Sandpoint, and being sick of all the walking, decides it'll do just fine. He's selfish, self-important and demands that all must respect his draconic majesty. He actually looks like a legitimate dragon, but his behavior and size make it hard to take him terribly serious. The fact that he goes about touting his own might and power make him something of a joke. But when he gets mocked or feels his rule is threatened, he unleashes a whole lot of fire breath on the aggressors. He considers Sandpoint his dominion, which means everyone has to kiss up to him and bow down, but at the same time, they have his mighty draconic protection, so any threat to the town is a threat to him.
No worries. He'll find a dominion somewhere. :P
So, when you say "The Dragon Reborn", how literal do you want that to be... ...because I have a kobold oracle of flame who actually believes he is a reincarnated dragon that would fit that perfectly, if wanted.
I know he's absolutely not optimized, but he's flavorful as heck and a very hilarious character concept. Fal the Reborn, a LE kobold oracle of flames who believes he's a reincarnated dragon that his tribe used to serve. He's trying to find a suitable dominion, so he's got a decent reason to be most places, though I think he'd be the most outlandishly funny in either Rise of the Runelords or Wrath of the Righteous (I am fully aware a LE character in a game about being a big good guy would make him stick out, but... the possibility of a funny redemption is amusing, and he's not really evil so much as he is selfish and conceited - he can be persuaded to go play the hero if there is a promise of profit/reward). Basically, anywhere that he'd be playing the big hero, even though he's not looking to do that. I'm flexible, hopefully the GM is too...
I've got a heck of a character for this. A kobold oracle of flame who believes he's a reincarnated dragon, and now seeks out a suitable challenge to earn the rest of his draconic name, and a dominion to call his own and rule over! Still working on bits and pieces, but he's a lovable, arrogant and self-important little nutcase. |