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Deathkings; of the Dark Citadel
Topic Started: Aug 14 2015, 11:50 PM (1,240 Views)
ReptileViking
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Deathking

There is a place deep within the Umbra that calls to the desperate and lonely. These lost souls are lead through uncharted Portals and ancient Warp-trods until they find themselves on a world of basalt and ice, standing before a cyclopean tower lit by a distant grey star. This is the Dark Citadel.

Nothing that is drawn through the doors of the Citadel leaves alive. Most merely vanish within, never to be seen again. A "lucky" few find themselves stumbling down the steps embalmed, clad in funerary wrappings and holding a fractured piece of their soul in their hands. These are the Deathkings, beings remade by the Dark Citadel to be lords of the dead. They become intrinsically tied to the Umbra, able to draw on its limitless power to influence and command the dead and bring them into the Wheel.

A Deathkings mere presence inspire horror and revulsion in the living and their dulled emotions and intense presence doesn't help much either. As a result Deathkings usually stick to the fringes of society, socializing only with those that don't have problems with a walking corpse.

Powers
Vigour Mortis
Deathkings have the Undead trait. They also do not suffer the death consequence of critical effects unless it hits the head or gizzards.
Unfortunately due to their inert flesh, they do not heal over time or respond to mundane medical efforts. Magical spells and resource points still heal as normal.

Shunned by the Living
The undead tend to be met with fear and revulsion by the living and Deathkings are no exception. They have Fear 1 against the living and suffer a -1k1 penalty to all social tests.
The Necromancy spell Flush of Life may be used in conjunction with a disguise test to completely hide your nature. If successful you only suffer the penalty to your social skills.

Horcrux
Created within the Dark Citadel, the Horcrux is a specially prepared device used to house the animating force of a Deathking. They also anchor the spirit of the Deathking to the materium by splitting off a small piece and binding it within. They are fairly fragile, with 10 HP and resilience equal to the Deathking's Necrosis. If the Horcrux is destroyed the Deathking must return to the Dark Citadel to obtain a new one.

If the Deathking’s body is killed its spirit will be drawn back to and held within their Horcrux. Uniting the corpse with its Horcrux will allow it to heal critical damage at a rate of 1 per day. When the body reaches 0 crit damage it can be reanimated by the Horcrux. If the Deathking’s body is destroyed or unrecoverable the Horcrux can cannibalize itself to create a new body but is destroyed in the process. Death without an active Horcrux is permanent.

Horcruxes have a maximum range, if the Deathking’s body and Horcrux are separated by more than a few kilometers their body simply deanimates. When the Deathking and their Horcrux are back within range they immediately awaken. In addition Deathknights always know the direction and rough distance to their Horcrux.

Trap the Soul
A Deathking can capture the souls of the dead and use them for various purposes. To do so you must press your Horcrux to a fresh corpse and spend 1 rot. You can hold a maximum number of Souls = to Necrosis x2. Souls trapped in this manner are unavailable for resurrection until the Deathking uses them to power one of their abilities. If the Deathking voluntarily releases a Soul it allows them to regain the Rot spent to capture it.

Souls trapped within the Horcrux form a sort of gestalt consciousness bound to the Deathking's will. The Deathking gains the use of the Spirit Mentor Asset as long as one or more Souls are available. While the exact specifics are still up to the SM, the souls should provide skills and abilities appropriate to their origin. When the Soul gestalt makes a test it has a static bonus to the roll equivalent to the total number of captured souls.

Power stat: Necrosis
Necrosis is a representation of how much Umbral power the Deathking can handle. As matter rots and decays it releases negative energy. It is this energy, siphoned off by and held within the Deathking's Horcrux, that grants them influence over spirits and the undead. It grows as the connections between the Deathking and their Horcrux widen, allowing faster and more efficient transference of .
As Necrosis increases the Deathking's own flesh tightens and dries, sometimes even rotting away entirely to leave nothing but a horribly animate skeleton.

Resource stat: Rot
Deathkings gain 1 Rot per hour as long as their body and Horcrux are in contact with each other. If the Deathking spends time doing nothing but meditating over the Horcrux they regain Rot at a rate of 3 per hour. They can have a maximum Rot equal to their Willpower+Necrosisx2.

Deathking Tells
As a Deathking spends Rot, the stench of death around them grows stronger and half-seen figures swirl through a chill mist that seeps from the ground they walk upon. With even greater expenditures, the Deathking's eyes burn with a terrible cold flame and shadows of the dead dance chaotically through the fog rising from their footsteps.

Powers Gained
* Festering ruin
Once per round as part of any damage roll, the Deathking can spend 1 Rot to add their Necrosis stat as rolled dice to damage. This also changes the damage type to E. Wounds dealt by this attack are incredibly difficult to heal; magic, resource points and the regeneration trait have no effect. Even natural healing takes twice as long. If Festering Ruin is the deathblow it completely destroy the target's body, causing it to decompose in an instant.

**Soul Shield
You can release one of your trapped souls to protect yourself from harm. Before the attack is rolled you may spend one Soul to negate it, as long as it is targeting your body or Horcrux.

*** Grave Authority
Deathkings do not carry that appellation for nothing. Beings with the Undead trait are of friendly disposition towards the Deathking, and they can be ordered around with a Necrosis+Command test. This effect is similar to the Dominate spell but it automatically works on Mindless Undead. If it is used on a free willed Undead they are unlikely to remain friendly.

**** The Quick and Dead
The Deathking's spirit is the only thing keeping their body moving. Some grow strong enough they leave the body entirely, dragging the flesh behind and forcing it to perform far beyond what it could in life.
By spending 1 rot the Deathking gains +1 strength and dexterity, a free raise on athletics tests and they can attempt to dodge and parry attacks they are not aware of. This effect last the rest of the scene.

***** Necrogenesis
By spending 2 Rot, a Deathking can create an area 20 meters across centered on either themselves or their Horcrux where the Umbra intrudes on the Materium for the remainder of the scene.
Any dead bodies within this area immediately raise as a Threat Rating 1, Damage Rating 1 minion. These minions can be upgraded to Walking Dead with the expenditure of 1 Soul.
In addition all Undead within the Negrogenesis gain Regeneration 1 and any single melee mod, provided the Deathking spends Rot equal to its Mod cost.


Exalt Assets
Dusk Caste
As night falls the Dark Citadel sometimes release Deathkings that have their spirit bound to a weapon in their possession instead of a traditional Horcrux. When wielded by its owner it is considered a Magic weapon and cannot be destroyed, not even by a power field. If a killing blow is struck by the Horcrux weapon you may automatically spend 1 Rot to Trap the Soul. Should a Deathking wish to change the weapon their soul fragment is bound to they can by making a return pilgrimage to the Dark Citadel. This process destroys the original weapon in the transfer.

Midnight Caste
Deathkings that leave the Citadel in the absolute dark of the night can use stolen life force to perform great acts of healing. You start with one free rank in the Healing School and purchase it as though it appeared on the progression of any class you take. In addition spending one Soul allows you to heal 3 hit points. This can even apply to Healing spells you cast, substituting Souls for resource points.

Daybreak Caste
Those who leave the Citadel just as the Ghoul Star passes the horizon show incredible aptitude in the manipulation of Umbral energies. You start with one free rank the Necromancy Magic School and may purchase it as though it appeared on the progression of any class you take. The Horcruxes of the Daybreak caste can hold more souls than normal, the maximum of Trap the Soul is increased to Necrosis x3.

Day Caste
The Deathkings who emerge into the full light of the sun become hunters of the living. They stalk their prey from unexpected places and souls burn like torches in the dark to their senses.
You can scale sheer surfaces as easily as walking on the ground, provided they can hold your weight. In addition you can sense the direction and relative distance to any living creature within Necrosis x 5m.

Moonshadow Caste
Despite seemingly lacking a satellite there are times when the Ghoul star does not shine on the Graveworld, despite the normally daylight hours. Those who emerge in the shadow of the phantom moon appear as they did in life as long as the light of a natural moon does not touch their skin. However, the form beneath this illusion is even more horrifying than normal. This allows you to interact with others without Shunned by the Living coming into effect, although you can willfully show your true form as a free action. Your Fear trait is increased to rank 3.
Edited by ReptileViking, Oct 5 2015, 08:59 PM.
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ReptileViking
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D'oh! Fixed.
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Yog-Sothoth
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Is it possible for the Dusk Caste to change the weapon that their spirit is bonded to?
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ReptileViking
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Ah yes, I should mention that. Thanks.

It works like getting a new Horcrux if it's destroyed, you just have to return to the Citadel.
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Yog-Sothoth
Extremely Confused
You may also want to state that the Day Caste gives you the Feather Step feat, to prevent people who took the Day Caste from having to get a feat which basically provides the same ability as one of the ones provided by their exaltation asset (If I read the asset correctly).
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ReptileViking
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You did. I forgot that feat existed to be honest.

Wait, no you didn't. Feather step lets you walk on flat surfaces that wouldn't normally hold your weight. Day caste lets you walk up walls and along ceilings as long as they do hold your weight.
I'm not sure how well I got that across so I'll edit it a bit. Edit: That's done.

There's some good synergy there though!
Edited by ReptileViking, Sep 20 2015, 11:53 PM.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
...To supplement my earlier grousing over the resource economy, I feel I should point out what could be a slight disconnect in spending Rot to repair one's undead form. If it comes up, I would like to be first to formally suggest switching the resource stat to Souls.
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ReptileViking
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It's because of the lack of fluff. Rot isn't the Deathking's own flesh rotting, they're getting power from the universe decaying. I just thought Rot sounded better than Negative Energy. I also considered Necrohm as the resource name.

I like that Souls are there as a minor secondary resource. I admit in draft 2 I got carried away with making powers use them instead of the actual resource but that's fixed now.

In case it's worth breaking down what they do now:
-providing a Spirit Guide that gets better the more souls you have
-preventing resurrection
-acting as bodyguards (Soul Shield)
-allowing you to upgrade Necrogenesis minions into Walking Dead
-forming a reserve Rot bank. A Deathking can trap a bunch of Souls, refill their Rot to max and if they still find themselves desperate for resources later they can convert the Souls back.
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ReptileViking
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Well there's some short and simple fluff. If anyone wants to use that as a guide to punch it up a bit feel free. Creative writing is not my strong suit.
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Eisenritter
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Old Iron Knight
And that's mummies/zombies/dead people done. Good work, team!
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