About Jin En MokJin En Mok- LE female advanced Wrathful Rogue Creature half-elf Alchemist (Eldritch Poisoner) 6 | Warder 6 | Guild Poisoner 2 Statblock:
Strength: 23 +6 (+1 Christmas Tree) (+10 racial) (+2 size w/Enlarge Person)
Dexterity: 33 +11 (+10 racial) (+1 level) (+5 Christmas Tree) (+2 mythic) (-2 size w/Enlarge Person) Constitution: 27 +8 (+8 racial) (+1 Christmas Tree) Intelligence: 26 +8 (+6 racial) (+3 Christmas Tree) (+2 enhancement) Wisdom: 13 +1 (+4 racial) (+1 Christmas Tree) Charisma: 17 +3 (+4 racial) (+1 Christmas Tree) BAB: +6 CMB: +17 (+6 BAB +11 Dex +2 competence) (+1 for a sunder, trip, or disarm with the spear) (+0 w/Enlarge Person) (+4 to grapple or reposition with Animal Aspect (Gorilla)
Fort: +16 (+5 base, +8 Con, +2 competence, +1 resistance) (+6 vs. poisons) (Endurance in Iron Pikeman's Attitude stance)
AC: 42 (10 +11 Dex +8 class +6 shield +4 competence +2 natural +1 deflection) (+4 with mutagen) (-6 vs. movement-provoked AoOs) (+1 vs. traps) (-2 w/Enlarge Person) (+4 shield w/Oaken Shield counter)
Wounds: 54
Initiative: +21 (+11 Dex, +2 competence, +4 Amazing Initiative, +4 Improved Initiative) (+2 with mutagen) Action Points: 8 Attacks:
Notes:
Boosts:
Strikes:
Stances:
The spear is attuned, and is the only one to bypass DR/magic- but all attacks have a 50% chance of bypassing incorporeality +5' reach for all attacks, expend a use of mythic power to get another +5' reach for the encounter
Double natural reach w/Enlarge Person
Skills and Skill Tricks:
Craft (alchemy) 6 ranks, +3 class, +8 Int, +2 Master Alchemist, +3 Alchemy, +5 competence, +2 circumstance, +29 total (x80 crafting speed from Swift Alchemy class feature, Master Alchemist and Signature Skill feats, and Craftsman talent: total x320 crafting speed for poisons with Toxicologist and Quick Poisoning, pursue 7 projects or 12 poisons in parallel with Master Alchemist feat and Beaker of Plentiful Poisons, +11 to craft poisons from favored class bonus and Toxicologist/Master Poisoner class features) (+5 luck w/Crafter's Fortune)
Spellcraft 6 ranks, +3 class, +8 Int, +14 total Bluff 6 ranks, +3 class, +3 Cha, +12 total Acrobatics 6 ranks, +3 class, +11 Dex, +20 total (+4 w/Animal Aspect (Frog)) (+8 to jump w/Animal Aspect (Raptor)) Stealth 6 ranks, +11 Dex, +17 total (+2 competence w/Animal Aspect (Raccoon)) Climb 6 ranks, +3 class, +6 Str, +15 total (+4 competence w/ Animal Aspect (Monkey)) (+8 racial w/Animal Aspect (Tree Lizard) Sleight of Hand 6 ranks, +3 class, +11 Dex, +20 total (+2 competence w/Animal Aspect (Raccoon)) Craft (trapmaking) 6 ranks, +3 class, +8 Int, +17 total Heal 6 ranks, +3 class, +8 Int, +17 total (+2 circumstance w/healer's kit, +4 instead when dealing with poison) Profession (cook) 6 ranks, +3 class, +1 Wis, +10 total Perception 6 ranks, +3 class, +8 Int, +17 total (+2 competence w/Heightened Awareness) Sense Motive 6 ranks, +8 Int, +14 total Knowledge (psionics) 1 ranks, +8 Int, +9 total (+2 competence w/Heightened Awareness) Craft (glassblowing) 1 rank, +3 class, +8 Int, +12 total Disguise 1 rank, +3 Cha, +4 total (+4 to pass for elf or human) (+2 with the use of a disguise kit) Knowledge (arcana, nature, martial) 1 rank, +3 class, +8 Int, +12 total (+2 competence w/Heightened Awareness) Knowledge (dungeoneering, local) 1 rank, +8 Int, +9 total (+2 competence w/Heightened Awareness) Survival 1 rank, +3 class, +8 Int, +12 total (+2 to harvest poison from a creature) Handle Animal 1 rank, +3 class, +3 Cha, +2 racial, +9 total (+4 circumstance w/Gu: further +4 trait to 'push' them) Skill Tricks:
Notes:
Feats, Traits and Flaws:
Mythic Paragon (1st-level Mythic bonus)
Mythic Combat Reflexes (1st-level Mythic bonus) Discipline Focus (Steel Serpent) (1st-level) Keen Intellect (1st-level campaign bonus) Racial Heritage (Nagaji) (1st-level campaign bonus) Combat Reflexes (1st-level Warder bonus) (Spend 5 stamina for a second AoO off the same trigger at -5) Brew Potion (1st-level Alchemist bonus) Poison Focus (1st-level flaw) Improved Initiative (1st-level flaw) Hero's Courage (1st-level Christmas Tree bonus: since you gave us a Christmas Tree feat at 1st but all of them require character level 3 at minimum, I'm assuming I get to waive that for this one) Signature Skill (Craft: Alchemy) (Campaign bonus) Combat Stamina (Campaign bonus) (Stamina pool: 14. Spend 1-for-1 for a competence bonus to any one attack roll.) Mythic Horrifically Overpowered Combat Reflexes (HO) (1st-level PrC campaign bonus) Gestalt (Conscript) (HO) (1st-level PrC campaign bonus) Extra Combat Talent (Open Hand sphere) (1st-level Conscript bonus) Weapon Finesse (EITR bonus) Agile Maneuvers (EITR bonus) (Spend stamina 2-for-1 on a virtual increase in size category to the CMB of a single maneuver, max Colossal) Combat Expertise (EITR bonus) (Stamina spent to boost attacks benefiting from Combat Expertise are twice as efficient, up to a max that of 2 pts/+4) Power Attack (EITR bonus) Deadly Aim (EITR bonus) Compound Special Ability (Arcanotoxin) (HO) (2nd-level campaign bonus)
Expert Tactician (3rd-level)
Poison Master (injury) (4th-level campaign bonus)
Master Alchemist (5th-level)
Extra Discovery (Sickening Toxin) (6th-level campaign bonus)
Traits:
Flaws:
Racial Traits:
Medium-sized humanoid (human, elf), base speed 30 ft (+20' w/Animal Aspect (Raptor)) (Climb 15' w/Animal Aspect (Tree Lizard)
Speak Common and elven Low-light vision Multitalented: Alchemist *and* Warder are favored classes Animal Magnetism: +2 to Handle Animal Passable: +4 racial to Disguise to pass as an elf or human Wild Talent (Far Hand 2/day) Alchemist: +2 to the DCs of created poisons, +6 to Craft (alchemy) checks to make poisons Warder: +6 HP Ferocity: may act freely when at 0 Wound Points and disabled or dying, though acting while disabled still causes me to become dying. Blood Feud: If I kill literally every slaver in the world, I lose the Wrathful template and it's transferred to a blood relative or friend of a slaver I killed, destroyed, or used my Worse than Death ability on, with their target being me Cold Vengeance: 1/day, use any barbarian rage power without suffering any of the penalties, using my HD as my barbarian class level Discern Kith: Learn the name of a friend, family member, or loved one of a known slaver 1/day: locate them as per Discern Location Disproportionate Retribution: 1/day, replace the damage dealt by a melee attack by 150% of the damage dealt to me by a single attack in the last round Taking You With Me: If killed by a slaver, I explode for 15 fire and 15 divine damage to anything within 60', Reflex DC 21 half Vengeful List: +2 to attack and +2d6 damage vs. any slaver, government official of a slave society, or any being directly employed by a slaver to protect their person or property. On a confirmed critical against them, they must make a DC 21 Fort save or take an additional 60 damage, even if they'd ordinarily be immune to crits or death effects. Worse than Death: If I would ordinarily kill an opponent, I can instead choose to reversibly maim them in a number of exciting ways, including rendering them permanently unconscious to awaken at my will alone, or permanently suppress extraordinary or spell-like abilities, or spellcasting. Rogue Creature stuff is sort-of technically racial but I put its stuff under Class Features Spheres of Might stuff:
One 1st, 3rd, and 5th-level feat traded to gain Adept martial talent progression
Starting proficiencies traded for custom Martial Tradition (Elven Lancer: as per Dedicated Lancer with Elvish Heritage swapped for Pikeman Training) EQUIPMENT Elvish Heritage Spear Dancer Craftsman (Craft: Alchemy) LANCER Opportune Impalement ALCHEMY (Poison package) Lasting Application Potent Poison Billowing Poison Ingested Application Specialized Venom (Construct, Plant) OPEN HAND FENCING Lunge SHIELD Poison effects notes:
+1 to the DC, and +1 to the ability damage of, of injury poisons I create and use (Poison Expert/Poison Master feat)
+2 to the DC of all poisons I create (Nagaji favored class bonus) +1 to the DC of all poisons I create with Craft (alchemy)- so everything but Prana maneuvers and Arcanoxoin (Poison Focus feat) +2 to the DC of prana and sting maneuver toxins from Steel Serpent (Discipline Focus feat) +3 competence to the DC of all poisons applied while in Poisoner's Stance (Poisoner's Stance) A further +2 competence to the DC of all non-prana and sting maneuver poisons applied while in Poisoner's Stance (Poisoner's Stance+Discipline Focus interaction) +4 to the DC of Arcanotoxins in particular (Ability Focus feat and Signature Poison rogue talent) Doubled ability damage in the 3rd and subsequent rounds on my arcanotoxin (Deadly Poison feat: this one is kind of a reach, because Pathfinder's rework of poisons no longer distinguishes between 'primary' and 'secondary' damage: I thought 'ability damage suffered in the last half of the poison's duration' wouldn't be an entirely unreasonable reading of 'secondary' damage in this context: I would be 100% OK with repicking that feat if you thought it just flat-out didn't apply to Pathfinder poisons.) +1 to the DC of elf/drow poison and arcanotoxin (Potent Concoctions trait) +5' radius to inhaled poison (Billowing Poison talent) Ingested poisons are odorless and tasteless once applied, retain potency for 48 hours (Ingested Application talent) Ignore the poison immunity of plants and constructs So, in total: +7 to the DC of my Arcanotoxin, +1 to its ability damage, doubled ability damage in the 3rd and subsequent rounds, +5 to its DC with Poisoner's Stance, may apply it twice to the same thing and have each dose take independent effecT (Compound Special Ability feat) +5 to the DC of Prana-maneuver poisons, +1 to their ability damage, +3 to their DCs with Poisoner's Stance +4 to the DC of crafted injury poisons used by me, +1 to their ability damage, +5 to their DCs with Poisoner's Stance (+1 for drow/elf poison) +3 to the DC of crafted poisons used by myself or others, +5 to their DC with Poisoner's Stance (+1 for drow/elf poison) All poisons have their frequency doubled (Potent Poisons talent) All poisons applied to a weapon last for three strikes rather than one (Lasting Application talent) Two poisons may be applied to the same weapon, object or trap, each taking independent effect (Toxic Trick: Combine Poisons) When sneak attacking, can trade up to +6d6 SA damage for +6 DC (Careful Injection class feature) +4 to the DC of all poisons delivered with Iron Fang if I'm not in Poisoner's Stance +2 to the DC of all poisons delivered with Iron Fang if I'm in Poisoner's Stance Class Features:
Alchemy: Gain a competence bonus = 1/2 Alchemist class level to create alchemical items. Identify potions with Craft (alchemy). Also, a pseudocasting mechanic.
6th-level alchemist extracts: CL 6, save DC 18 + extract level. Extracts per day: 1st: 6 (CLW, Enlarge Person, Ant Haul x2, Disguise Self, Long Arm) 2nd: 5 (Animal Aspect x2, Invisibility x2, Blood Transcription) Formulae known:
Arcanotoxin: 12/day, create a poison and apply it to a weapon as a move action. It lasts for 1 minute or until used three times.
Toxicologist: +2 to Craft (alchemy) for poisons and antitoxins, make them in half the normal time Sneak attack +6d6 Discovery (2nd): Infusion
Mutagen (Brew a dose of super-coffee in 1 hour, only one dose may exist at a time: drinking it grants +2 natural armor, +4 alchemical to Dex, and -2 to Wis for an hour.
Careful Injection: Forgo 1d6 sneak attack damage for +1 DC to an injury poison, up to +6 DC for trading away all of my SA Poison use Poison Resistance +6 Swift Alchemy: Double-speed alchemy crafting, apply poison to a weapon as a move action Swift Poisoning: Apply a dose of poison to a weapon as a swift action 6th-level Warder maneuvers (Int-based, save DC 18 + maneuver level) Maneuvers readied: 5 (typically Dizzying Venom Prana, Weakening Venom Prana, Iron Fang, Sickening Venom Strike, Tortoise Defense) Maneuvers known:
Stances known:
Defensive Focus: Combat Reflexes keys off of Int, not Dex. May spend a full-round action to regain up to 8 expended maneuvers, increasing my threatened area by 10 feet in every direction and increasing my CMD for purposes of enemies trying to use the Acrobatics skill to prevent AoOs from me by 14. Aegis: Allies (not counting me) within 20' of me gain a +2 morale bonus to Will saves and armor class. Armiger's Mark: Upon attacking and damaging a foe, spend a free action to 'mark' a target, imposing a -4 penalty to attacks on targets that aren't me, and arcane spell failure of 13%. I may only do it 11 times per day. (There's a limit to how many I can maintain at once, but for now it's also 11.) It lasts 8 rounds, doesn't function on the mindless and doesn't stack with itself. Tactical Acumen: Int to Reflex or initiative if it's higher Extended Defense: 1/day as an immediate action, use a counter as a free action without expending it until the beginning of my next turn Clad in Steel: -1 to armor check penalty, +1 to max Dex bonus of worn armor Master Poisoner: +3 to Craft (alchemy) checks dealing with poison, change the contact/injury/inhaled/injury type of a poison with 1 hour of work with an alchemist's lab, DC = poison's save DC. Quick Poisoning: Halve poison creation times, other benefits redundant with existing class features Toxic Apothecary: Detect Poison at will as a swift action: +1 to Heal checks when dealing with poison, add +1 to the save bonus provided when treating a poisoned patient Toxic Trick (2nd): Combine Poison (apply two different poisons to the same weapon, object, or trap, forcing a save vs. both against anyone struck) Trapfinding Trap sense +1 Rogue Talent (2nd): Signature Poison (Arcanotoxin) Mythic Stuff:
Mythic path: Guardian
Mythic tier: 2 Mythic abilities: +10 Vitality Hard to Kill (auto-stabilize when below 0 HP: don't die until at -(Con * 2)) Mythic Power: 7 uses/day Surge: As an immediate action after a die has been rolled, expend a use of mythic power to add 1d6 and add it to the result Guardian's Call (Absorb Blow: as an immediate action, expend a use of mythic power to reduce incoming damage from a single source by 20, and gain DR 2/epic and energy resistance 10 for 1 minute, stacking with other DR or resistance) Mythic path abilities: 1st: Ever Ready (+Tier to attack and damage on AoOs: (tier/3, rounded down) to the number of AoOs makable per round 2nd: Retributive Reach (+5' to threatened area for purposes of making AoOs only: expend a use of mythic power to add +Tier to attack and damage on an AoO) Ability Score (2nd): +2 Dex Equipment:
406.6/233
Beaker of Plentiful Poisons, Formula Alembic, and Cauldron of Brewing (8 lb)- collectively known as the Implements of the Ash-White Witch, Jin's alias during her time with an earlier resistance group. She staged the 'death' of the Ash-White Witch after the notoriety and bounty for poisoning an entire barracks of the Templars' elite enforcers proved too hard to shake, claiming to have stolen her equipment and notebooks.
Masterwork backpack (4 lb)
Alchemical glue (1 lb)
Dog brush (1 lb)
Alchemist's formula book and scrivener's kit (4 lb)
Ironwood crowbar (5 lb)
Gu, animal companion:
Gu- alignmentless Dark (3.5) Shadow (3.5) wolf: Magical Beast HD 2/Antipaladin (Fearmonger, Blood-Soaked Demon, Warrior of Blind Faith) 4| Dread 6 Strength: 15 +2 (+4 racial) (+1 Christmas Tree)
BAB: +6/+1 CMB: +16 (+6 BAB +8 Dex +2 competence)
Fort: +21 (+5 base, +4 Con, +2 competence, +2 luck, +7 Cha, +1 resistance) (+1-2 w/Defensive Precognition)
AC: 38 (10 +8 class +8 Dex +6 natural +2 shield +2 competence +1 enhancement +1 deflection) (+4 vs. movement-based AoOs) (+2 vs. traps) (Assuming Balanced Defense doesn't count as a 'shield' for the Christmas Tree competence bonus)
Wounds: 48 (threshold 24) (DR 10/Mythic vs. WP damage)
Initiative: +15 (+8 Dex, +5 Amazing Initiative, +2 competence) Action Points: 8 Attacks:
Notes:
Skills and Skill Tricks:
6 ranks in Acrobatics and Swim from Athletics sphere: 6 ranks in Stealth from Scout sphere: 6 ranks in Intimidate from Gladiator sphere Feats, Traits, and Flaws:
Track (2nd-level campaign bonus)
Mythic Iron Will (3rd-level Mythic bonus)
Amateur Pactmaker (Thief constellation) (4th-level campaign bonus)
Fear's Reach (5th-level)
Expert Sniper (6th-level campaign bonus)
Spirit bound w/Amateur Pactmaker: the only 1st-level Thief constellation. Coralene, Sovereign of Silver
Flaws:
Traits:
Racial Traits:
Spheres of Might:
EQUIPMENT
ATHLETICS
SCOUT
GLADIATOR
Class Features Fearsome Insight: +3 insight to Intimidate Devastating Touch (Melee touch attack deals 1d6+13: or, ranged touch attack with a range of 40' deals 1d6+14) 6th-level Dread manifesting (ML 6, Cha-based, 33 pp, save DC 17 + power level)
Terrors (11/day as a swift action, attach a rider to a Devastating Touch)
Aura of Fear (Enemies within 10' take -4 to saves against fear: enemies immune to fear within that same radius lose that immunity) Channel Terror (Can use terrors with ranged Devastating Touch) Aura of Evil (as a 4th-level cleric) Detect Good (at will) Unholy Resilence (+Cha to saves) Feed on Fear (Once per round per creature, 6/day, when they fail a save vs. a fear effect created by something supernatural Gu does that causes them to be shaken, frightened, or panicked, heal 2 damage or gain 2 temp HP for 1 minute.) Aura of Cowardice (Enemies within 10' take -4 to saves vs. fear and lose immunity to fear) Plague Bringer (Disease immunity, but can be a carrier) Cruelty (Broken by poorly-written archetype, but I wasn't really planning on using it anyway) Combat Training (Antipaldin levels are treated as granting Expert martial practitioner progression, with Charisma as the practitioner modifier) Sneak attack +3d6 Trapfinding Trap sense +2 Uncanny Dodge Rogue Talent (2nd): Scrying Familarity
Mythic Stuff:
Equipment: A nice collar.
Fluff: Jin is no historian in the broad sense- but her dedication to learning about her singular obsession has given her an autodidact's eccentric collection of tidbits, anecdotes, and legends about poison from the various eras of Athas. To a people long-lost from the face of Athas, a certain ritual was known: take diverse poisonous insects, snakes, frogs, and stranger beasts, seal them in a vessel, and wait until the strongest and most ferocious had devoured the rest. This survivor was the 'gu', whose venom was ascribed remarkable properties. She has never managed to recreate the ritual to any usable standard, if it was indeed ever something usable and not some harebrained bit of folklore. But the story stuck with her. When her third loyal dog was killed fighting alongside her, and she resolved to create a companion animal capable of facing the most amazingly horrible dangers without fear of losing them, Gu was the name she chose. She began with a strong, well-bred creature from a litter provided by a druidic acquaintance, a wolf puppy strong of sinew and sharp of fang. Ancient lineaments toughened their skin, powerful medicines strengthened flesh and bone, a vigorous and exotic program of training that would put any gladiator or soldier to shame sharpened their skills and physique. Then, reluctantly, she put the young creature through a derivative of the same psionic ritual she herself had been through, in a glimmering crystal cave in the heart of the world. Jin had chosen to be empowered by embodying Hatred- the hatred borne by the slaves of Athas towards their enslavers. This time, she tuned the ritual to embody Fear, the fear of prey stalked by an unseen and implacable predator. It has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Fluff:
Background: The economy of the Tablelands is built on the backs of slaves. The grand noble houses enhance their prestige and their wealth through the slave trade: the slavemasters breed two-legged cattle with strong backs and weak wills: artisans tend their workshops and produce their wonders only with the help of soot-stained, chained thralls. The system does not content itself with those born into slavery: enterprising traders routinely raid the vulnerable to make up for the wastage.
And one tiny half-elf community, living as outcasts from both Tyr and the surrounding elven tribes, was very vulnerable indeed. Jin was scarcely six when she was taken- a speck of a girl, hardly worth it to capture. Blind luck kept her from the sorceror-king's life-force pits, and her small build kept her out of the hardest physical labor- but that was as far as her luck went. Sold and resold from master to master for a pittance, she mined salt, served as 'entertainment' for decadent nobles, nursed those dying of foul disease, served as maid to a general's violently mad inbred nephew. But while her masters cursed her body's weakness, Jin's will was stronger than they ever knew- and her desire for vengeance on them more potent than they could dream of. She thirsted for knowledge and power like a dying man in the desert- but what paths to power were open to such a wretch? Not the path of the invincible swordswoman- not with no blade, no practice sword, no swordmaster, scanty food, and no time left unsupervised to discipline her body and train her skills. Not the path of the psychic master of the Will and the Way- not when half the overseers in Tyr used their own psionic gifts to keep their captives in line, careful to spoil any opportunity for the meditation and training required to develop such a gift. Not the path of a holy woman- not deep within the domain of the Dragon of Tyr, whose divine law was slavery and domination itself. Not the path of the wizardly master of magic, not without even the opportunity to learn to read and write. For a long, long time, Jin's revenge was just a thought. At last, at twelve, she sprained an ankle- and rather than spend food and time on rehabilitating a slave who was economically marginal in the first place, she was sent to die- to the workshops of the makers of poison, where faceless, interchangable thralls milked vipers, stirred vats of ingredients overflowing with toxic fumes, handled substances that burned the flesh and destroyed the mind. The average slave lasted weeks in such conditions...but there, Jin discovered an unusual set of talents. A talent for handling hazardous materials with great care and delicacy, for improvising gloves and flasks and tongs and filter masks from the scraps that were at hand, for watching the moods and habits of the dangerous creatures she dealt with, for measuring and timing and observing and experimenting. The girl was a born alchemist. Most fellow slaves mocked her for her 'futile attempts to delay the inevitable': a few clumsily tried to imitate her, and died slightly more slowly. The rare really clever one got the idea to report her innovations to the overseer, but it wasn't that difficult to arrange 'accidents' for them. For the most part, though, the sheer speed of the turnover kept anyone from noticing the strangely persistent survival of the weird little girl with unusual rituals. The first year was spent solely in learning how not to get herself killed or crippled. The second was spent in the slowly dawning realization of the breadth and versatility of her new craft: her experiments, stealthily mixed into the others' food and drink, gradually gave her pit a reputation for having its slaves die in stranger and more exotic ways than others', which only served to make it more carefully avoided by the distant and cautious overseers. In the third year, she healed herself, brewing curious elixirs and potions to repair the damage caused by a lifetime of abuse and denial...frail bones and overtaxed muscles impossibly knitting themselves into a balanced, powerful whole. In the fourth year, at the age of sixteen, she struck- coating herself in a protective slime, secreting herself within a slit trench dug beneath the workshop's foundations, and engineering an explosion that aerosolized a carefully-designed corrosive poison, killing everyone in the workshop and dissolving the lungs and eyes of the guards outside. She didn't precisely mean for the smoke to blind a tenth of the Artisan District, but she'd be lying if she said the possibility hadn't occurred to her while she was planning it...or that the chaos it created wasn't convenient to cover her escape. Having escaped her bondage, she has worked for three different slaves' resistance groups over the last several decades- first as a rear-echelon supplier of poisons and potions, later as a frontline fighter as she slowly developed a spearfighting style to complement her alchemical skillset. She does not know if she'll ever find the power she's looking for- the power to reduce every slaving civilization on the Tablelands to dust and ash, their champions and defenders writhing in agony at her feet and their slave markets razed utterly and forever. But she will do it or die trying. Personality/first-person monologue: "Poison is a fact of life when living in the Tablelands- just as much as heat, treachery, and the sorcerer-kings. Poison food, poison wine, poison daggers, poison arrows, poison creatures- we all encounter these things on a regular basis. Even the children of the nobility learn the common venoms, their prices and uses: templars and assassins learn the rare and priceless toxins, warriors spend some time on its tactical uses in irregular and formation warfare, students of the Will and the Way amuse themselves with a poisonous power or two. Everyone knows it, everyone uses it- yet no one really respects it as they should. The actual production of poisons is hazardous work- milking hideously dangerous creatures, boiling and distilling harsh substances which give off noxious fumes, handling raw materials that burn and rot the fingers- and as such, it is mostly left to disposable slaves...slaves such as I was, once. Insofar as their masters think of making improvements to the process, they think in terms of improving the yield, gaining more to sell at market or supply to their assassins. The ideas of craftsmanship, innovation, quality- no one has the time for these things. They are busy pursuing the paths to power more traditional and obvious in our society- the worship of the sorceror-kings, the subtle skills of the master murderer, the raw might of psychic power, the secret paths of the arcane. To them, poison is a mere tool. They are wrong. Poison is a path to power all its own, with subtleties and secrets to rival any of these disciplines. Through close study and careful understanding of calcination and dissolution, sublimation and putrefaction, fermentation and distillation- knowledge of the nature of substances and the nature of the body- great things can be achieved. Seemingly trivial toxins can become seriously dangerous- and those that begin lethal can make the flesh fall right off the bone. Their study has other uses, too- astounding stimulants, miraculous medicines, mystic concoctions with an infinity of uses. It is a versatile and dangerous art. Either my enemies will respect it- and respect me- or they will die as my masters did, convulsing in a puddle of their own filth." Description: Jin is a lanky, sinewy half-elf woman outfitted in light, flowing robes and carrying an odd, flexible polearm- an obsidian spear with a sickle blade protruding from the side. She also carries a backpack and has a belt with a few well-padded leather pouches. She carries herself with grace, and those who are close to her can detect a curious, faint smell, like an exotic spice or trace chemical. |
