Khol Karis's page

Khol is tall and lanky with dusky skin and sharp features. While not the most powerfully built man, he does carry himself with a sort of grace that either implies a life of dancing or the sword. His tendency to dress well and a constant attention to his personal hygiene might lead others to mistake him for a perfumed aristocrat, who dabbles in swordplay but the truth could not be farther from that.

He is a native of Solku, born, orphaned, and raised in it. To the casual observer, his name suggests a small and unpleasant truth about his existence, that he never knew his family and was not taken in by anyone of note until he was considered an adult by the city. However, since then he has done very well for himself, avoiding the gangs of Solku until he was old enough to join the biggest gang of all, the Militia.

Khol is currently enjoying a short sabbatical from his duties as a Dathapatish. That is not to say he is not still a busy man as he has rapidly earned the reputation as the sort who is ready, willing, and able to look into troubling matters for others. While certainly not the most well known for handling this sort of thing, news get around by word of mouth that if you manage to catch Khol while he takes his coffee at the Thrice Blessed and speak plainly of your problems, you may be able to convince him to look into matters for you.

As a Dathapatish of the Militia, Khol has his fair share of responsibilities. However, he often finds the tangle of bureaucracy suffocating and works outside the system from time to time. His men and superiors are enamored by both his skill and personality enough to look the other way or even help from time to time. As such, he has gained considerable respect, and some infamy in certain quarters.

In combat Khol uses his magic to supplement his agile swordplay. While he is not an incredible bruiser, he does possess some not inconsiderable skill with blade and spell. He also possesses a capacity for improving the capabilities of his companions.

That took me longer than it should have.

I just wanted to know if I needed to reflect certain character aspects with mechanical representations.

What are your thoughts on the downtime rules?

Would you dislike it if I expended gold to train my hit points up?

Hit points?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
"Drop ship, huh?" Khol said thoughtfully, "Hah! Now ain't that damnably cunning. You're right about all of that of course, 'cept for one thing. I ain't got a damn thing waiting for me out there, so I'm going to cut my way into the bridge and through anything that stands in my way. First order of business is beating the pair of you into unconsciousness and stashing you somewhere."

Khol grins down at them.

"We had a field trip today, it got some of your friends killed, too," He says turning up the menace. "Why don't you tell us about this ship of yours?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

"Duskade, go ahead, I'll give you a minute to get ready and then I'll draw their attention."

"Yeah, we got two candidates over in the next room," Khol said, hefting his sword and eager to dole out more punishment to the raiders.

"I ain't going to force anyone else in on this, but I'd like some help to look for the teach and get some revenge on these scumbags," Khol says to the others, standing up and drawing his borrowed greatsword.

I'm more than a little inebriated right now so it is a struggle to coherently form statements, much less arguments.

In the end, I see a whole lot of potential in the ACG (Yes, even in the Warpriest) and the purpose of the playtest is to make use of this potential. I do however despise getting into debates on the internet and especially on these forums (especially, especially after seeing the toxic attitudes many took about the ACG) so that is about all you're going to hear from me on the matter.

Khol crouches among the gear and waves everyone closer.

"We still haven't found the teacher. Should we try to search for her? She may have been captured and locked up on one of the ships," He asks the others uncertainly, whispering. He knew the teachers at the orphanage were all highly capable people but these circumstances were far from normal.

I like them but they all have things they need ironed out.

Is there anything obviously useful in sight? I.E. explosives. I'm looking to blow them all to little bits.

Khol stays back with the prisoner for a moment, not willing to trust the man this much. Picking a nice thicket, Khol trusses the man up like a solstice hog, gags him with more rope, and the applies a fist to the man's face until unconsciousness takes the unfortunate soul.

Dusting off his hands, Khol leaves the raider incapacitated and hurries to catch up with the others.

Stealth: 20+2= 22

"Ignus, you got some rope?" Khol asked, "Give me a hand binding him."

Please do, Khol is probably not the best leader and is more than a bit inexperienced as well.

Also, I didn't bring any rope.

I agree/disagree:

I agree that these are all good points and disagree that you cannot make them in character, just strip out the game terms and restate them as Ignus would. They are all good points and ones I'm sure Ignus would think of since he is here to protect the students.

Here is my reasoning for Khol:

The raider is unarmed and, if Khol has his way, will be unarmored as well. No one applied any healing to him which means in his current battered state, it would be a simple thing to reach out and re-render him unconscious or dead. Hopefully, by now, the raider is cognizant of Khol's willingness to take his life if things go sour. This guy is a merc and has demonstrated a less than loyal attitude to his bosses when pressure was applied. It would be easier to appease the murderous mutant than give the fellow a reason to end his life.

This is not to say Khol trusts the raider. Lack of trust is why he is asking Rawgr and Duskade to act as outriders and scouts.

Khol is a little bit of a savage and currently enjoying the terror he inflicted on the raider. He is smart but not exactly wise. The only reason he is trying to take charge is no one else really stepped up and did so already. If you don't agree with his methods or decisions, please, please, bring it up. He may sulk and drag his heels but he will listen to a good idea from a friend.

Which are?

"Stay out of sight unless they notice you or look like they know where the rest of us are. Our goal should be to get back to the school and rally with the others."

"She did say she was scouting ahead," Khol said thoughtfully.

"We take it slow. Rawgr, Duskade, it might be a good idea for you two to stay off the road and hidden. Even with our new friend's help," Khol put a hand on the raider's shoulder, "It would be a bad idea to reveal our numbers. Muziel, you should stay behind Iggy and I."

"Good boy," Khol said, retracting his claws and setting the man back on his feet. He made of a show of brushing of some dirt from the man's shoulder and straightening is out his tunic for him.

"I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you run or give our position away," Khol said in a worryingly calm and even tone. He turned to the others, "Is the teacher back yet?" Apart from a few outbursts Khol had never really gone this far before. A small part of himself was worried but another part enjoyed the look of fear on the raider's face.

"Who. Is. Blackwell?" Khol said increasing the pressure of his claws on the man's stomach enough to draw twin beads of blood.

DC on the Know (local)?

"So let me get this straight, your boss or commander or whoever comes to you and says 'Hey, Mike, we're gonna bomb the loveless gods out of this orphanage, right? Gonna make us a ton of gold. I just need you and your buddies to go shoot a bunch of kids,' and you said 'Sure boss, that plan makes perfect sense!'" Khol paused and looked to the corpse he had split wide open with the greatsword.

"You're a damn joke. I'm too angry to even mock you anymore," the mutant growled. He pressed the tips of his claws against the man's stomach, not hard enough to pierce skin but enough that a sudden jolt might have unfortunate consequences.

Intimidate (For cinematic sake): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Intimidation: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

"Oh we're going to talk," Khol says, smiling at him, "And by 'we' I mean you."

Grapple: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Khol reaches down and grabs the raider by the front of his tunic and hauls him up, the mutant's bulky build making it about as hard as hefting an overloaded satchel.

"Why did you attack us? What's the size of your fleet? Spill the beans," Khol growled extending his claws for effect, "Or I spill your guts."

Still spitting to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth, Khol approaches the unconscious raider and shakes him.

"Wake up!" he says, applying a palm to the side of the raider's face.

Once the last raider crumples to the ground, Khol digs the point of the greatsword into the earth and leans against it, shaking slightly. As he struggles to get his breathing under control, he sees something drip past his eye. Reaching up to touch his face, the tips of his fingers come away bloody. Not his blood, but that of the man he cut down. Feeling his gorge rising, Khol stiffly stands up straight and walks over to the nearest bush and quietly empties his stomach.

Spitting a few times, he wipes his mouth on his sleeve and rejoins the others without a word. This was the first time he had taken a life like that. He may look like a monster but he was only sixteen.

"No ma'am," Khol said, under control again.

You never know, he could be something rather worrying. He could also be another sack of meat that was not expecting a bunch of kids to have class-levels already.

Khol growls in a feral manner and rushes the last gunman with his borrowed greatsword.

Greatsword (Charging): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

But the nimble target evades him this time.

Don't worry, I'm not super invested in them, its just an entertaining tactical option for martial characters.

By the way, how do you feel about called shots?

"Did ya think I was gonna lay down and die? Did ya?" Khol shouted at the raider after ducking under the battleaxe rather nimbly despite his size. His blood singing with adrenaline for his first real fight, he brings the tip of the greatsword in and stabs for the gut of his foe.

Greatsword to G2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 = 10

Khol, not one to question good fortune, takes a town handed grip on the borrowed sword and charges the gunner still fiddling with his misfiring weapon.

Greatsword: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 1) + 6 = 8

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

"How's everyone on combat gear?" Khol calls to the others over the explosions. He was glad to see that so far Shadowvale was dishing out damage to the invaders as well but the sight still filled his heart with a sort of territorial rage. This was his home, damn their eyes. Whoever was responsible was going to pay dearly. Maybe getting dangled over the edge of one of those ships would make the brains behind this attack think twice about blowing up orphanages in the future.

30ft

"They're trashing our home!" Khol shouted setting off at a run as well,

"C'mon!" He called to the others as he ran, his long legs eating up the ground under him. Now he regretted not having his sword with him. As cumbersome as the damned thing was, he wanted it on hand if there was going to be violence done.

Khol put himself between the elemental and the tree, holding up a hand. He quickly grabbed a nearby low-hanging branch of decent size and did his best to tear it from the tree. With his strength it was easy enough to splinter the wood and pull it free with the occasional strike from his claws to assist.

He offered the elemental the branch, hoping the sappy wood would keep it busy for a second longer and give him enough time to grab some more fuel.

"Bring it some fuel," Khol said slowly. He squared off with the elemental, ready to block it's path if it tries to run for any large and flammable objects. He makes no effort to hide what his is intending to do from the elemental, if it is able to pick up on intentions at all.

"This thing is hungry and cold right? If we feed it, carefully, we might be able to keep it from running amok," Khol said, looking to the others to see if his plan made sense.

"Get ready to handle any fires it starts!" Khol called out to the others, his claws extending. It was times like this he was glad he was never really unarmed. Khol makes himself look as big as possible, standing to his full height and puffing out his chest a little. He wanted to make sure the elemental could see all of him.

"You're going to control yourself," he says, his voice just audible above the crackling of the fire.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Khol stiffens at the jab, the teacher's presence keeping him from sharing his own choice words about where the overgrown cat could stick his campfire. Restraining himself slightly, he gives Rawgr a smile full of too-sharp teeth. "Just 'cause you can't feel it don't mean it's not there, fuzzy. Your paw ain't exactly the finely tuned instrument of a trained naturalist."

Untrained knowledge check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Khol hesitantly raised his hand after Muziel doused the catfolk.

"The fire is right there," he said, pointing to the tree next to the teacher, "My mother worked with machines and explained a bit about combustion to me. She said, without fire, life don't work. All living things have got little engines in them, so small they can't be seen. They use food as fuel to keep us alive. It's why we get hot when we run around, those little engines are working overtime to keep up."

So, since we're all classmates, are there any interesting quirks or rumors I should know about you lot?

Patience, young Igor, the weekend is always slow.

He does not technically get reach with the weapon RAW. Reach is often treated as a function of a creature's size and not the size of their weapons. A lot of broadsword stances also involve holding a lot of the blade next to the body, and defensive motions often focus of sweeping the opponent's weapon aside so stat and flavor wise, it is a heavy and very large cleaver that hurts a bunch when he hits you with it.

The aegis is cool because it is a full BAB synthesist that is somehow balanced better. For instance, the bonuses they can get to their physical stats is an enhancement bonus meaning it will not stack with most magical items. Khol's AC is still going to get pretty ridiculous but he should be nowhere as bad as a synthesist can be.

It is worth noting that Khol's proportions are a bit wonky as well.

Yeah, I sat down with the statistics for a zweihänder and figured out what size of one proportionate for a large sized character would be. Powerful build lets me wield it without penalty but he is certainly not going to be able to wear it on his back or at his waist. I was planning to have him switch to his claws when in narrow corridors and the like because it was simply too unrealistic to wield that sort of a blade in certain situations.

The claws are supposed to be similar to good-sized daggers (1d6s) and fold back and into his hands when not needed. They are mounted to two extra and very muscular digits on the back of each hand. I'd imagined them as being rather like a pair of small scythe blades mounted to the back of each hand.

Dude, I'm lurking everywhere, feel free to comment.

Khol stands apart from the others slightly, idly scratching an itch with one of his six inch claws. He stuck out in a crowd since he stood head and shoulders over most of the others, including the machine-man. He had not brought his sword on this excursion, that single piece of wrought steel was even taller than him. Ten feet of metal was slightly inconvenient to lug around when he did not need it. To hear Master Coutran tell the story, it had been salvaged from the body of a giant who attacked Shadowvale in the midst of fog madness. Workmen had to pull it free after it was used to open the side of a granary. Despite the size, Khol found that when he did wield the blade, his broad hands and stature made it no more difficult than wielding a normal sword.

He was dressed lightly in a loose black tunic that was open to about mid-sternum, revealing chain shirt under it. If Khol's durable skin was bothered by the pinching of the rings, he certainly did not show it. What he did show was mild anxiety. Khol did not like the classes he had with the Orphanage's resident druids. Where ever he got these mutations from, there was a unshakable single fact. They were mutations, he was an aberration. Ignus had it easy, he was entirely artificial while Khol was an abnormality in the crowd.

Regardless, the sooner he completed this class, the sooner he could head back to the dorms.

"Fire and water," he said, mostly to himself. He wanted to give the others a chance to answer. Most people pegged him as a brute but Khol did possess a greater than average cunning and was more than happy to let others underestimate him in one regard.