Karzok's page

Karzok was one of the few half-orcs that was the product of a happy, healthy relationship. They lived in relative solitude, on the edge of the Shudderwood, with the closest town being Tamrivena. His human father, Dennin, was a hardworking lumberman and his orc mother, Erza, was a housewife who would carve the leftover scraps into magnificent trinkets to sell at various nearby markets. When he came of age, his mother carved him a thick blackwood ring which he still wears on his right hand. Although now it is stained with her blood.

The attack came unexpectedly in the night. His father’s rivals were always trying to undermine him, but he always came out on top, whether through wits or smart business practices. They couldn’t stand the fact that the most successful lumber business in the area was run by a man who bedded with an orc. So they contracted some men to take care of him. It happened on a night like any other. They slipped something into his drink at the tavern and then they came in the night and slit his throat while he slept. His mother put up a hard fight, felling a handful of them before she was dealt a fatal blow and they fled into the night. She died shortly after in Karzok’s arms. As she exhaled her last breath, a crushing wave of despair surged through Karzok, fracturing his very essence. A darkness seeped out of his body and coalesced into an exact copy of his physical form. In his grief, Karzok didn’t notice it at the time, but this was the very first manifestation of his shadow double.

Karzok was never particularly brave or strong. He had no training in combat or hint of magical talent. He was a simple young man with a bit of skill in carving that he had picked up from watching his mother over the years. In most social circles he was considered a half-breed and an outcast. The friendships he did have, however, were steadfast and lifelong. One of those friendships was with a local street rat, Kiv. After the attack, Karzok gathered up his things and reached out to Kiv. Kiv was a con artist plain and simple, and therefor he found common ground with Karzok as always being on the outside looking in. He was smooth, easy to talk to, and laughed a lot. But when it came down to it, he would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Kiv owed Karzok a favor for cutting him on a deal his father made with a fletcher in Tamrivena. He was able to get Karzok two important items: a sword he had swiped from a raided caravan a few weeks back, and, more importantly, a list of the men involved in the murder of his father. He also informed Karzok that the man ultimately responsible for the murders, his father’s rival Henrig Broadcreek, was also dead. Apparently, there was a dispute over the money the murderers were promised and they took their payment in blood.

After gathering a few things, Karzok fled blindly into the Shudderwood. He wasn’t in his right mind when he left everything he knew behind. The list of men responsible for the murders was stuffed deep down into his pack and forgotten. He spent many months eking out a meager existence in the wood, but in that time he began honing his skills as a hunter. He would stalk through the wood after game and with the hides of his kills he began fashioning together a suit of armor. After tanning the hides, he would carve intricate patterns over the leather. He crafted the suit of armor in a style he found in an old book his father gave him when he was young. It was a book of Tien legends filled with noble samurai and stalking ninja. He studied the swordplay within, and--while his wide bladed sword was much less elegant than their katanas--he would mimic their fighting styles. He admired the strength and tenacity of the mounted warriors and the efficiency and deadliness of the assassins. He combined these tenants into a trademark combat style. He struck hard and fast and with deadly accuracy. He also carved himself a bow for the times when he had to fell game from afar. His confidence grew as his hesitancy to kill waned. Then the day finally came when he reached deep into his pack and drew out the list. He memorized every word then threw it into the dying embers of his campfire. He walked out of the wood, heading south.

Travelling from town to town he pieced together more and more information about the men and eventually he found that they were heading to Absalom to embark on an expedition to establish a new colony in Arcadia. He found that the men were collectively known as Breddaric’s Blades, their leader being Breddaric Valethorn, a name of which he was unfamiliar. Having no ties to the lands in which he travelled, Karzok made the decision then and there that he would follow these men to the ends of Golarion if he had to. The laws of men no longer apply to him. He will have his vengeance one way or another.

Karzok met up with a Irrisenian woman named Sorala on the road south, Fighting Chicken’s submission, who decided to join him in his journey to Absalom. Along the way, they fought off bandits and resolved a dispute centered around cattle rustling. The two swordsmen have developed a friendship, and Kazok appreciates that the woman walks a similar path as he does; one looking towards escape and a new beginning. Mechanically, this comradery will be represented by the teamwork feat Escape Route.

Karzok is of a medium build with a scraggly beard and unkempt dark brown hair. His hands are scarred from his trials and tribulations of being a carver and novice leathersmith. His clothes are threadbare and slung over his shoulder are a makeshift shortbow and a surprisingly fine greatsword. His armor is also of exceptional make, the leather lamellar covered in intricately carved patterns of leaves, birds, and simple animals. A hooded dark gray cloak hangs loose from his shoulders. He has a thick dark wooden ring on his right middle finger and carries a torn and tattered book of Tien legend which he pulls out of his pack and reads when there is nothing else to occupy his attention. He is a man of few words, but is relatively well-spoken. At the moment the only person he trusts is Sorala, a woman he’s be travelling with for a number of weeks.