Rikaw GoremaneKin-Slayer
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Race: Gnoll
Race Overview: Gnolls are hyena-headed, evil humanoids that wander in loose tribes. Most gnolls have dirty yellow or reddish-brown fur. A gnoll is a nocturnal carnivore, preferring intelligent creatures for food because they scream more. A gnoll is about 7½ feet tall and weighs 300 pounds.
Titles: Kin-Slayer
Appearance: Rikaw stands at seven and a half feet - the average size for his kinsmen - and has a thick, red furry coat. His face is covered in a thick white warpaint, allowing his yellow teeth and blackened gums to stand out in clear contrast. Rikaw's eyes are as black as the night, and match the shade of his scarred snout. The Gnoll is rather muscular, with a top-heavy torso, which is standard for his kind, though he lacks a tail - a scarred patch of flesh is all that remains.
Rikaw wears hardened leather armor, mixing hardiness with agility, allowing him to put his halberd to effective use whilst warding off moderate attacks.
Weapons:- Goremane's Halberd - This weapon belonged to Rikaw's father, who he slew in combat. In appearance it is but a simple weapon, with a wooden staff and an iron axe-head. However, it is imbued with a nasty kind of mage: wounds that it inflicts will refuse to close, unless treated by skilled physicians versed in magic.
- Widow Maker - A siege crossbow, of robust design, that can fire explosive bolts. The weapon is heavy, and reloaded by a ratchet mechanism. Rikaw has attached a silver bayonet to the weapon's front, as he's aware that he'll likely need to shove it in a Wraith's face at some point in his adventures. The explosive bolts are volatile, and though he can make them from gunpowder at ease, he will only carry three at any one time - to reduce the likelihood of a mass-accidental explosion.
Steed: Rikaw has a particular distrust of horses, and relies on his own two feet and Hyena stamina to carry him through the world.
Abilities:- The Mark of Goremane - Rikaw bears the mark of the Goremane clan, a crudely shaped three fingered paw the colour of blood, scored across his abdomen. By beating his stomach in a mad fury, it amplifies his physical strength to super-human (or super-gnoll) proportions. The faster he beats it, the stronger he grows. However, using the Mark of Goremane places heavy strain on his heart, and so he can not beat it indefinitely. The Mark of Goremane wears off within minutes of use, after which the Gnoll becomes heavily fatigued and must rest.
Talents: - Seasoned Veteran - Rikaw is a warrior of renown, in his native lands. His skill as a fighter has come from years of being baptised in the fire of tribal warfare; every scar he bears is a lesson learned, and every burial mound he leaves behind stands as testimony to his dexterity and speed in combat.
- Siege Engineer - Rikaw knows his way around siege engines, and more specifically, gunpowder based weapons. With such knowledge, he was able to craft Widow Maker, and the explosive bolts that it fires. However, if you gave him a tree and some horse hair, he could have a solid attempt at rigging you up a one-shot catapult.
- Hunter - Like most of his kin, Rikaw is used to hunting down game. Such a task requires that one knows how to track basic prints, as well having a base level knowledge in beast lore.
Magic: No magic, just a big beasty Gnoll with a halberd and a crossbow-come-bazooka.
Backstory: Rise of the Kin-SlayerRikaw was born on the battlefield, literally. His mother was a broodmare, and happened to be heavily pregnant with him and his brothers as their tribal encampment came under attack from a rival clan. From the moment he could walk his father, Rikan Goremane, drilled him and his brothers in the matters of battle - a male Gnoll's chief role in life. He wasn't the best fighter, or the most heroic, but he quickly proved to be the most efficient. To Rikaw, the Old Ways and established norms of honorable combat meant little; he'd gladly throw sand in an opponent's face, or have them fall into pit traps, than face them fairly on level ground.
As his victims grew in number, so did his notoriety, and his father was eventually forced to exile him from the clan. Rikaw took this news bitterly, and challenged his father to a duel for the clan's patriarchy. His father was a skilled fighter, and fearsome, perhaps the best to grace the wilderness in centuries - yet as he left his tent, boasting bloody murder and beating his stomach, Rikaw shot him in the face with a crossbow and the battle ended as quick as it had begun. Outraged at such dishonor, Rikaw's brothers attacked him, but he led them into a pitfall, and they fell to their deaths.
The sole surviving male of his clan, he then turned his attention to his sisters; rather than take his rights as their mate, he instead slaughtered them, for no other reason than he wanted to extinguish his father's seed entirely and start things a new. Their blood still warm on the ground, he walked to the nearest rival clan, and proclaimed his actions.
Rather than being awe struck, the rival clan were dismayed, and rounded on him - an eventuality he had prepared for, with the introduction of an experimental concoction known to tribal elders as blast powder. He had rigged several small cloth pouches full of the stuff, and tossed them at the clan's camp fires before they had time to react. Explosions rippled through the settlement, and his enemies fled.
Some of the females didn't get away quickly enough though, and thus, the Goremane clan was born anew.
Rikaw, King of the GnollsRikaw spent a decade rearing his young, in relative safety - the nearest rival clan some miles away. Those who did stray near, he slew mercilessly with a mixture of cunning and martial prowess. His sons became warriors, and those of his daughters that were deemed barren, were also incorporated into the ranks. It wasn't long until he had a raiding party of his own, and he led his family against rival clans with the fierceness and dishonor for which he was known. One bloody victory led to another, and soon, most of the wilderness came under his sway.
Bent even more by his apparent power, Rikaw declared himself the King of the Gnolls - the first such happening in recorded history - and led an invasion of the neighboring Empire with an army of hundreds. The Emperor initially ignored Rikaw's forays, preferring to lose a few border settlements than to dedicate an entire legion to him. However eventually, the Gnoll King caught the Empire's ire, and troops were eventually deployed.
Rikaw was defeated at the Battle of the Blood Canyon; Imperial numbers won the day, but not before suffering heavy losses to his countless traps and siege weapons. The Gnoll King fled, evading capture, and disappearing into the wilderness. With the enemy broken, the Empire moved in, and added another province to their coffers.
A decade on, and Rikaw has emerged in Iron Coast. His face is not widely known, and the name he gives is but a fake one, allowing him to slip through Imperial garrisons unnoticed - if not without strange looks and constant questioning. He seeks to slay the wraith, to take the gold, and to begin another clan. That, or he will take whatever power the Wraith holds, and smash the world with it.
Until then though, he must grovel and hide his bloodlust with every ounce of strength he possesses.
Starting Location: Campus Magnus
