Character Name: Skarrab-Alea

Race: Arakhan - A race of humanoid spider people, though they're technically akin to mammals such as apes in as many ways as arachnids. That said, they possess as many eyes and limbs as you'd expect of a spider person, and whilst they are highly flexible, and possess tough exoskeletal plates to supplement a more standard endoskeleton, they take a long time to heal fully when actually damaged.

Gender: Female

Age: 29

Appearance:


Personality and Motivations: Skarrab-Alea is a prime example of a rich aristocrat amongst the Arakhan race, and arguably most races - difficult to amuse, thinking little of the lower classes of society, and often incognisant of how well-off she is by comparison. This has led her to be the sort of person who take on many, sometimes eccentric hobbies, but abandons most after a time; indeed, sheer boredom is the primary reason she has decided to take on this mission, rather than any particular desire to help perform the king's tasks, and indeed considers the opportunity to "do something different for once" a trifle, rather than the life-risking adventure it really is. That said, and in spite of how many view her race, she isn't by any means a sociopath, nor is she needlessly cruel to others, though she often refers to those of lesser fortune than herself in a casually-dismissive tone until otherwise humbled. She is inordinately fond of cute things, however, a trait which extends to people too, and surprisingly interested in the function of her weapon of choice.

Class and Alignment: Neutral Gunslinger/Enchanter

History: Born into the ranks of the vieux riche via the Skarrab line, Alea hatched the first of her mother's first egg brood, and was therefore entitled to a far larger share of her family's riches than any of her future siblings, as was traditional in the otherwise-crowded families of the Arakhan. Also traditional: a tendency for siblings to fight and kill one another as hatchlings until only a few remain, or until they reach around two or three years of age and develop from just looking like rather large spiders into having a proper upper body, though retaining a spider-like lower half. Alea evidently reached this stage, along with four or five siblings, and from there found herself being taught a great many things by her mother (her father taking the role in her life of most Arakhan fathers, namely not that much at all) throughout childhood, such as etiquette around those of similar status to herself and how and where to continue investing money to provide for her future young, insofar as that was even necessary. Naturally, this led to a generally superior attitude, as tends to happen when one is a rich child, and eventually a rich adolescent.

Indeed, it was during adolescence that the exoskeleton of her spider half began creeping up her body. She was at first frightened and distraught, but as she learned from her mother early, it was simply the start of a wonderful blossoming into adulthood... which, for Arakhan teenagers, involves a form of semi-metamorphosis, starting from the encasement of much of the upper body, then progressing through a gradual and rather painful malfunction of the lower half of their bodies until they cease to function completely (as you might expect when the internal organs and musculature slowly turn to goo), and officially ending once the Arakhan succeeds in freeing themselves from a cocoon which by that stage covers everything below their armpits, a much more talldwarfoid body now fully formed, complete with six arms rather than the two they would previously have been used to.

This is quite standard, of course; what isn't generally standard is for the teenager to actually be accosted during this long process, even if that isn't technically immoral by Arakhan standards. Even so, one of Alea's sisters from the brood after hers decided, since she and her eldest siblings were vulnerable, that she'd take a literal stab at every survivor from the first brood, therefore ensuring that she, as the eldest from the second brood, would acquire all the money that would otherwise be offered to Alea at their respective mother's death. Inexplicably, she started with Alea's youngest sibling and attempted to end it with Alea herself, perhaps an effort to ensure the first-hatched would be as non-functional as possible, and in truth Alea survived mostly by quickly figuring out what was going on and crawling over to a recently-purchased gun of her mother's, then using it to blow a hole through her errant sister's head from point blank range, just before her life would have been ended. The experience wasn't fun for her, but it did teach her the substantial power of that recent technological advance, the flintlock pistol.

This would lead her, once she'd emerged fully from her cocoon as an official adult, to look more deeply into the technology in question throughout her early twenties. Whilst quite strong indeed, they had their flaws, namely how long they took to reload after firing... in the midst of a variety of other hobbies taken up and abandoned throughout her life, she would often try to determine if they'd offer any significant benefit to improving the strength and speed of such weapons, just in case she was ever attacked again, but she had little success until after her mother died in a terrible cart accident. This allowed her to inherit her portion of the family's funds at last, putting them to work in research toward the topic, and not long after that, she struck gold with the discovery that she was surprisingly talented in the field of enchantment.

Talented, but of course untrained at first. Even under a tutor (paid well to balance out her own impatience on the matter), Alea purchased and broke a great number of flintlocks attempting to figure out a good combination of enchantments. Eventually, at the age of twenty eight, she found a combination of weapon and ammunition enchantment that worked well together and to her eyes was very smart indeed, seemingly providing the gun so enchanted with a nigh-unlimited supply of ammunition, able to be fired far more quickly than any normal flintlock weapon. Though useful, she felt she needed more of the same, so she naturally decided to enchant several more flintlocks with this combination, just in case she needed spares. She stopped at her sixth, however, after realising that if she placed one on each foot, she wouldn't be able to fire them normally... and for the difficult nature of enchantment, this has stumped her all over again, right up until the present day, wherein she has received a message about the head advisor of the king's need for adventurers to brave the Believer's Crypt and clear it of undead monstrosities; being tired of her present problem for now, she has decided to take up this challenge, and perhaps find inspiration for the matter within as she slays the undead alongside a number of other people.

Equipment:
Spider Kisses - A set of six flintlock pistols, magically enchanted to cock themselves automatically with but a portion of focus from Alea. This on its own is not particularly useful; however, each weapon's lead shot is also enchanted to return to spherical form and teleport back into the barrel of its respective gun when it slows to a halt, in doing so triggering another enchantment in each weapon to create more gunpowder and paper wrapping for each gun from thin air when they do, essentially ensuring every single pistol possesses infinite ammunition and a far greater fire rate than any normal flintlock weapon.
Whilst a hail of gunfire is very useful and very effective in combat, the downside is that they are the first six pistols she has enchanted in this manner, and they have not been very thoroughly tested, meaning they are essentially prototype weapons as a result: Alea doesn't necessarily know that every enchantment applied will work as intended every single time, nor that they will last forever, nor that they won't occasionally do something random and unanticipated, though she has yet to encounter such issues. And of course, there's always the matter of what happens when the weapon itself misfires, most notably the difficulties involved, e.g. timing, in ensuring the barrel of each weapon doesn't melt, or worse having the gun itself explode, due to much higher heat output than they were intended for.
The two weapons on her heels have yet to be enchanted at all, and are essentially decoration at this point in time, though they can function as standard flintlocks too.
Pistol maintenance kit - For maintenance of Spider Kisses, in particular a cleaning kit, extra round supplies (enchanted shot, paper wrapping, black powder), and a ramrod. Alea doesn't expect to have to use any of this in the field; it's mostly precautionary.
Portable enchantment kit - For on-the-road enchantments, though the equipment she is carrying is mostly geared for emulating, fixing, and modifying the present enchantments of Spider Kisses at the present time.
Journal, quill and inkpot - Alea is considering spending some time after all this is over to write a book about the experience. To that end, she intends to write down notes about what happens during it, to use as a basis for the book proper, thus necessitating some extra equipment for that purpose.

Skills and Spells:
Gunplay - Evidently, Alea is very skilled at aiming and firing her flintlock pistols, even to the extent of being able to aim them mostly independently of one another. Five eyes and six arms does wonders for your hand-eye coordination. By contrast, actively reloading them is a rare necessity, but she is also capable of this to a reasonable degree of speed.
Battle Gymnastics/Dancing - One might expect a small arsenal of hobbies facilitating gunplay to include more battle-oriented supports like swordplay, but it happens that substantial flexibility and dexterity is actually very useful for making sure Alea can avoid threats to her life. She has also put a certain degree of focus into still being able to aim whilst flipping and spinning everywhere, again helped by having five eyes to observe the world through.
Enchantment - Of course, Alea has made herself fairly proficient in the field of enchanting items to be more useful than typical, with a particular focus in guns of various sorts, primarily the most modern variation of flintlocks, though the concept is not so dissimilar in the case of matchlock and wheellock weapons either. The degree to which this is useful within a dungeon is questionable, but she is nonetheless capable of some minor enchantment with the tools she has packed for the dungeon crawl.
Reading and Writing - The poor are oft separated from the rich by the latter's capacity to understand and communicate via the written word. So sayeth the Skarrab family, anyway, and Alea has evidently been taught how to read and write, for it wouldn't be proper for a lady of her caliber to not have done so.
Baking - Surprisingly enough, but understandable considering the similar degree of logic required for both enchantment and baking, Alea also has a knack for producing the most delectable breads, cakes, and other such baked good, even if the dough is often deliberately seeded with spiders, beetles, and/or flies before cooking. "For extra flavour", as she says, not that many Arakhan disagree with the notion; regardless, whilst the prospect is unlikely within a dungeon, if you can get her in front of an oven with the right ingredients, there's a good chance that she'll produce something quite tasty indeed.

Miscellaneous: Her outfit is made of dyed spider silk, with various valuable trinkets attached to it. It won't exactly stop a blade or bullet, but it's high fashion amongst the Arakhan to wear their evolutionary cousin's butt-thread on their bodies.

In the days of Dungeons,
Evil feared not the lance and sword,
Nor did it fear the Beasts of fire.
It feared...
THE AXEMAN

Character Name: Kol'Rakul, The Axeman

Race: Tall Dwarf

Gender: (axe)Man

Age: Early to Mid Twenties

Appearance: Coming soon!

Personality and Motivations: The Axeman is a stoic and driven individual, fueled by his desire for glorious combat, and the need to explore the world and taste all the sweetness freedom has to offer. Though quite eloquent for a barbarian, he is most certainly not above a good horn of mead with fine company, and his normally serious exterior can give way to bombastic bursts of behavior, if surrounded by people he enjoys being around with. Furthermore, he despises uncalled acts of evil and will go out of his way to help those in need. Though he may not take it upon himself to single-handedly dismantle a corrupt kingdom, he will most likely decapitate a gang of said king's enforcers.

It would only be natural for a drifter such as himself to find his way to Aleritos, and impossible to decline such a blatant call for aid. After all, there are plenty of monsters to slay, and a whole city to defend. Even if the reward is not to his liking, working towards improving the lives of this city's people will be more than worth it. Not to mention all of the chopped monsters.

Class and Alignment: Chaotic Good Barbarian

History:

Raised by a fierce and highly custom-oriented tribe in the far northern mountains, Kol'Rakul spent his early years as any happy boy his age, namely sparring with his brothers, and hunting for the village alongside its' warriors. Yet, as he grew, something gnawed at him. He yearned for more than the death of game and rival tribal warriors. The world was vast, unexplored and the tribe, even though homely, seemed more and more oppressive to him, and its' constant rivalry with other inhabitants of the north, unnecessary. When he was finally ten springs old, the young boy fled his village in secret, hiding in a barrel belonging to a passing trading caravan.

Ever since that day, Kol'Rakul has lived under the sky. As a thieving child at first, as a lone wanderer later. He has risked death atop the Windswept Tower of the west, helped defend a town against Vashian ragers in the east, witnessed the Siege of Kargamen and the March of a Thousand Brave, and heard the streams rolling through the Forgotten Forest's countless acres. Yet the most curious of his experiences was on a serene night on the swamps near Iridien.

Having camped for the night and readied himself for slumber, otherworldly chanting echoed across the marshland's rotten trees. Following the sound, he reached what seemed to be a hovel built against a small cave's opening, with firelight shining through its' planks and windows. Reluctantly entering, spear in hand, the barbarian was surprised to find the hovel's interiors resembling those of an ancient stone temple. Atop a short altar there rested an axe so perfect to Kol'Rakul's eyes, that he couldn't be helped but be drawn towards it. Yet, around the altar sat three old men, deep in a trance, chanting in unison. It was not until the furthermost sleepily opened his eyes and gazed at the intruder that the old men became aware of his presence. Calmly, they informed the barbarian on how they were expecting him, for years now, to answer their call and take up the Nameless Axe.

From that day on, and with such a perfect weapon, the wanderer developed his skill in combat even further, and even gained some reputation on the world's less civilized corners. It is said, that when the Axeman nears, noble hearts burn a bit brighter.

Equipment:

Clothes: A pair of sturdy leather pants and boots, a belt with a large buckle and a simple cloth shirt with its' sleeves torn off. Not much in the way of armor, but as Kol'Rakul always says while pointing at his chest, "I've got my armor right here."

Essentials: Traveler's gear, especially made to be secured on his belt. A water skin on his left side, a satchel full of basic supplies on the back, and a weather-resistant journal on his right.

The Nameless Axe: A masterwork of a weapon with hints of latent magical power, it never needs sharpening or care, and seems to be made by some unknown metal. It was said that once it spills enough blood, it will "awaken", and the way the last required blow will take place shall give it a name, define it, and by extent, its' wielder.

Skills and Spells:

Physical Powerhouse:
The Axeman is an excellent warrior, being close to the pinnacle of his one's bodily capabilities. Being among the mightiest Tall Dwarves one will come across, he is capable of performing amazing feats of strength and could even prove a match for naturally stronger races. That's not to say he's slow, though. In fact, his speed, both in mind and body, can prove to be a most lethal trait, allowing him to land numerous strikes with his normally heavy weapon in a short time and even dodge projectiles. Lastly, having spent a lifetime fighting and roaming the world, he has gained amazing durability, both against the elements of the great outdoors, and against more direct harm.

Brains and Brawn:
Unlike most barbarians, Kol'Rakul possesses a brain underneath his thick skull. Furthermore, while not academically smart, he is streetwise, and his numerous life experiences have resulted an impressive variety of general knowledge, as well as surprising wisdom. Moreover, his fighting style, although empirical, has been honed for almost a lifetime, and is tailored exactly to the barbarian's needs.

Miscellaneous:

Character Name:
Bartimus Squawk.

Race:
Kenku. The bird people.

Gender:
Male.

Age:
27.

Appearance:
Bartimus stands at a full height of 5' and weighs around 60kg. He's MUSCLED. He has a humanoid body shape, wiry arms and firm legs attached to a torso rippling with pectoral and abdominal muscles. His arms end 4 fingered, birdlike hands and his legs stand upon four toed bird feet.

Unlike his crowlike cousins, Bartimus more resembles a great horned owl, with feathers of dusty brown, tan and black, a wicked curved beak and two feather tufts that look like horns.

He usually chooses to wear light cloth garb of various patterns and colors. He favors cooler colours like browns, tans and blues.

Personality and Motivations:
Bartimus Squawk is a hardened veteran of the open road and a stoic, loyal ally to have on one's side. He is cautious and wary at first but can be won over if shown that the intentions of the other party align with his. When on friendly terms, he is fond of sharing his tales of the road and hearing the stories others have been through. He can be fiercely competitive in some cases, martial pursuits especially, and is always open to a bit of friendly competition.

His motivations for travelling the roads and delving into dungeons galore is simple. He wishes to become the Battle Lord. A title he invented to mean, the undisputed master of all weaponry and combat. He wishes to master every weapon he gets his hands on. He pursues this goal to become the greatest fighter and one day return home to rescue his nest from the foul tyrant, Pterano, the Dreaded Wing.

Class and Alignment:
Neutral Good Fighter.

History:

• Was born to a nest of crows, where a mysterious stranger dropped him to be raised.
• Instead of working as a seed farmer, Bartimus heard the tales of the great heroes of his people. Ka'Zoo'Wi the Eggmaiden and Mepmep, Runner of the Roads. GREAT WARRIORS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. He immediately began training to become a warrior.
• Days got darker as the tyrant Pterano the Dreaded Wing took the village by force. He dared any to challenge his might and rule, and Bartimus accepted.
• The resulting beatdown nearly killed poor Bartimus, but he managed to sneak away into a self-imposed exile until such a time that he can face and defeat the one holding his home in his clawed grip.
• Now Bartimus travels the roads looking for the greatest fighters and teachers to show him all that he can learn about the art of combat. One day he'll save his estranged crow people. One day.

Equipment:
Weapons: A silver arming sword, an iron shortsword, a shortbow and a leather quiver.

Clothing: Hooded cloth robes, hand and footwraps, multiple Kenku charms made of wood, hide, twine and feathers.

Backpack: Journal with quill made from his own feather, inkwell, whetstones, oil and rags, rope, sleeping roll, chalk, candles, flint and steel, pots, pans and eating utensils, survival knife, waterskin and trail rations.

Skills and Spells:
Simple Weapon, Martial Weapon, Exotic Weapon and Shield Proficiency Feats. All the fighter feats such as Cleave, Improved Critical, Spring Attack, Improved Initiative, Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, etc.

Kenku have the ability of Mimicry, imitating any sound they hear or forging any handwriting they see. This vocal mimicry can be foiled by a good Wisdom score and the forgery by a good Intelligence score.

Increased Dexterity and Charisma. The latter due to his fluffy feathers.

Miscellaneous:
He may be a dangerous warrior but he's still very warm and fluffy.

Character Name: Amarilla Keton

Race: Dhampir, hybrid of vampire and tall dwarf

Gender: Female

Age: 21



Personality and Motivations: Amarilla is an odd girl, friendly and peppy, but one might say too friendly and peppy, and with occasional off-putting tendencies as she shows no concern at the prospect of encountering things that most others might find terrifying. Her upbringing, while providing her with a variety of knowledges, did not do well in teaching her how to contain her enthusiasm or act appropriately in front of others, especially in formal settings and the like. She often appears completely oblivious or uncaring of dangers that could present themselves in the depths as well, though on the contrary, she is fully aware of any potential hazards that may arise. She simply considers it an inevitable hazard of adventuring, and feels no need to show excess concern over it past taking standard precautions. After all, why would one travel into such danger if they weren't willing to take such risks? Having only encountered members of mortal races in her daily life - and not even many of those - and only reading of undead in research texts, Amarilla's desire to explore these depths stems from a desire to study the undead within firsthand, wishing to learn about her heritage, as she puts it.

Class and Alignment: Neutral Alchemist

History: The circumstances of Amarilla's birth are a mystery even to her. Born to a mother who died during childbirth, and a father whom neither Amarilla nor anyone she knows had ever laid eyes on, she has never known how exactly she was born as an abominable hybrid of undead and mortal. As such, rather than parents, Amarilla was raised by an elderly librarian by the name of Esmeralda Keton, who taught her all that she knows today, resulting in a smattering of knowledge on multiple subjects. Esmeralda kept Amarilla away from most other individuals, fearing what may happen if anyone else were to discover that Amarilla were a dhampir. In recent years, Amarilla has taken an interest in learning about the undead for a greater understanding of herself, refusing to remain kept away from society any further so that she may explore the outside world for the sake of learning.

Equipment:
- Black hooded cloak, typically worn over her coat to cover herself and avoid sunlight.
- Serrated dagger, as a backup when bombs won't do
- Alchemist's supplies, for mixing together bombs and the occasional poultice
- Lock picks, as one never knows when they might come in handy

Skills and Spells:
- Amarilla's hybrid nature has its benefits, granting her impressive agility and grace, allowing her to hide and slip out of sight easily when she actually decides to stop talking, and letting her work well with diligent handiwork such as lockpicking or using precious materials.
- She is able to see exceptionally well in darkness and is resistant to most diseases.
- Amarilla has at least basic knowledges in many subjects learned from her life in the library, but the ones that stand out into anything notable are knowledge of alchemy and the undead. She has minimal use as an apothecary sadly, she could make a basic poultice for treating minor wounds if given the right herbs, but that would be the extent of her healing capabilities. Instead, she has learned to quickly (and somewhat haphazardly) mix together vials of volatile materials to create small bombs that detonate when thrown. The result of these bombs is nothing large or spectacular, but definitely a bit more damaging than taking an arrow to the shoulder.

Miscellaneous:
- Sunlight does not harm Amarilla, but she is still sensitive to it as it hurts her eyes rather easily, making it difficult for her to act capably in broad daylight.
- Her vampiric heritage gives her occasional cravings for blood in small amounts, though it provides no actual benefit for her to drink it as she still normal needs food like any other mortal creature.

History

• The first thing he remembers is completing the infernal pact with a demon of greed. How high did the demon rank? He didn't know and only a fool would believe what a demon told them.
• Even before the pact he had 1 ability, shadow powers, which were seemingly lost, only his shadow remaining which he can merge with. He feels more complete than ever while in this state, giving the impression like his body is borrowed and he finaly achieved his true form.
• His life until now has been experiencing the best life has to offer, be it drinks, food, properties, women and many other delicacies. And he also slaughtered a whole Fae clan. The demon insisted on doing it, it wasn't him, although it technically WAS him doing all the killing but that's beside the point.
• Killing and replacing people has been his method of cheating through life. And he could as well be winning the race because he is living it to the max.
• After an uncountable number of things he has acquired, he felt the need for a safe so what better place then the Royal Treasury? He could get in and leave like he owned the place and that could very well be true if it wasn't for the drawbacks that came with it. He liked to move a lot you see, and a kingdom without a king is nothing but a ..dom.

Equipment

• Soul Dagger - A weightless dagger that can only be welded by the owner. Kinda like a soul security lock that only works with the right soul. It doesn't derive strength from the physical power but from the purity of the soul. Since he and his Shadow aren't even one, add being as impure as they come and the dagger will barely match a normal attack.
• Clock of Duality - A pocket watch with 2 clocks inside. One shows the normal time for the area where he currently is, the other is always one hour ahead. Once he makes a decision, if the clock that is one hour ahead stops, it means that that decision will lead to his direct death if it is within the hour, the exact time of it happening shown by the still hands. It only works if that is the last decision which leads to his death, which has to happen within the hour for the clock to show.
• Ring of the Lord - A ring which allows him to use force powers.He cannot biff himself directly by using it. After every use it needs to recharge, the time depending on how much force power was used.
• Coin of Finding - He thinks of something, flips the golden coin and if the thing he thought of really exists, an image of it will be carved on the front which will stay blank otherwise. The back side always being the same, with 2 more coins being portrayed in it. He then lets the coin fall into the ground where the coin moves towards the direction of the desired thing for 3 meters and then disappears, reappearing in his hand blank again. The walking stick is also a hidden sword. The sword is coated with a potent paralyses poison which takes effect within seconds.
• The Philosopher's Stone - A stone that lets him create anything he desires out of thin air. But he has yet to master even creating small knifes. Basically the only think he can create are small knifes which disappear after 10 seconds. The things are created, possessing no force or initial speed whatsoever and can only be summoned close to his person, in his hands.

Skills and Spells

• Doesn't need to sleep, eat or drink, though he does the last 2 for special occasions when the food or drink is particularly good and also to blend in, in some cases. He enters a form of sleeping when he becomes One with the Shadow.
• One with the Shadow - He enters a sort of meditative trance which allows his consciousness to skip his body and merge with the shadow. His body becomes dormant during this phase which also makes him the most vulnerable as if the body is destroyed, the shadow also ceases to exist in this world.
• Half Shadow - The Shadow being a part of him, also has some of his power within it and once it becomes dormant, the power he has is halved. The shadow, while merged with it, also becomes dormant if it suddenly becomes completely dark or there is a bright enough flash of light to extinguish all shadows hence blocking all ways of escape.
• Shapeshifter - One of the powers he got once signing the contract. He can morph to any humanoid creature, inheriting it's full abilities and memories, the latter is achieved by killing the humanoid he wants to morph to. He can also morph only parts of his body while the rest is something else.
• Hell Fire - Ethereal flames start burning the target's soul. They take on the color of the soul while burning, the color varies depending on many factors like the purity etc. As soon as he uses this power, his body turns to ash and he and his Shadow cease to exist in this world.

Living Shadow

• His Shadow seems to have a will of its own. Many times living the body without permission and other times staying dormant when its needed. What the Shadow experiences, knows, he knows and vice versa. The Shadow is a part of him and as so it actively tries to keep him out of danger, that being done either by scouting ahead, affecting the shadow of projectiles and objects so they miss, affecting the shadow of enemies to make them stop for a split second, controlling parts of the body of unaware people whose muscles aren't that active at the moment and, in rare cases even taking complete control of his body to achieve impossible feats though it goes dormant for some time after that, depending on how much it boosted him. It can also dim or extinguish small light sources and momentarily reduce the vision range over a dark area by making it darker.
• One with the Shadow - After merging with the Shadow he gains all of it's abilities but enhanced. He can influence the physical world by controlling the shadows of objects and live creatures, including humans, with force equal to lifting 200kg. As a basis he has instantaneous movement by moving from shadow to shadow but can't stray too far from the body or he will get teleported back to it, activating the body again while the Shadow becomes dormant.