Monday, January 1, 1990

Belkar, Dark Elf/God

Belkar, Dark Elf/God

The following is a translation of Belkar from a Chivalry and Sorcery campaign using my C&S to GURPS translation. As you may be able to discern, he came from a high-entropy, mega-power campaign. But, actually, he was mild compared to Ymir and some of the other PCs. But, keep in mind that his entire history was played out, though many parts were accelerated. What you see here is his final form. This was mostly an experiment in "beyond-Ultra power levels".

Belkar is what we called a Dark Elf, but this only vaguely similar to Yrth Dark Elves. They are essentially chaotic elves that have a dark complexion. They are mischievous, and often cruel. Kind of like the Unseelie Court, compared to the Seelie Court of Celtic mythology.

I tried to translate as much of his magical paraphernalia as possible. Though Flarecore, his rune sword and magical focus, seems outrageous, it was built using the straight C&S magic rules, with no GM "specials". I translated it as closely as possible. Most of the other magic items are only vaguely translated; I didn't want to take forever.

History

The story begins on a world called Chryga. Molkar was a normal, though lethal, Dark Elf mage/assassin with a continent-wide Reputation. After 150 years of "wet work", he went into retirement to continue his magical studies and do some enchanting.

Thirty years later, an evil god, Ymir, Lord of Death, approached him to assassinate one of Ymir's particularly troublesome demon lords. Apparently, this demon had been secretly plotting rebellion, and Ymir found out and wanted to make an example of him. Ymir didn't want to do the job himself for political reasons. A deal was struck, and Molkar set out to scout the opposition. Two years later, he succeeded in the hit, using a particularly nasty form of Bloodslaker blade (it steals the soul of the victim it kills). Part of the deal with Ymir was that Molkar would be raised to demon status in place of the victim. Molkar also got to keep the victim's black mithril armor and Orc-bane flail. The elevation to demonhood greatly enhanced his physical prowess. Molkar changed his name to Belkar.

During his time as a demon, he killed Utgardloki, the King of the Fire Giants, who was opposing Ymir. Belkar made a warhelm from the Giant's skull. (This now has been mounted into Belkar's throne at his mansion.)

Belkar was also sent to an alternate plane on one mission to bring back a weapon of mass destruction (small antimatter bomb) for Ymir. He also brought back a laser carbine for himself.

Planar travel intrigued Belkar and he spent some time investigating on his own. He discovered in the course of his studies a plane filled with Chaos - the raw, unformed stuff of all things. He experimented and researched until he could form Chaos into shapes of matter that he desired. He first built a small area of land in the midst of Chaos. On this plot, he built a haven where he could study undisturbed. From this refuge, a huge fortified mansion, he continued his experiments with Chaos. Eventually, a large area stretched out from his mansion. He began creating flora and fauna, and also transplanting them from the other planes. He realized that he had created a world, which he called "Lorimyr". He always kept his mansion at the edge of Chaos, and new lands were formed from there.

He also created a ring, which he keeps in his pocket when he is outside of Lorimyr's plane. When he places it on his finger, he is instantly transported to The Bridge of Chaos, a platform suspended in Chaos and attached to the cliff-face near his mansion by a bridge. It also has a variant of the Loyal Sword spell cast on it: if he falls unconscious from injury, the ring jumps to his finger, thus removing him from the scene.

At this point, he realized his vulnerability: most of his power was dependent upon Ymir. If Ymir should be destroyed, no matter how unlikely that may be, what would happen to Belkar? He began his search for the means to duplicate the powers that Ymir had bestowed on him. After several centuries, using the stuff of Chaos and all of his arcane lore, plus the knowledge and arts from many planes of existence, Belkar was able to make his power completely independent of Ymir, who did not realize what had happened.

At this point, Belkar began to withdraw from Chyrga, and spend most of his time in Lorimyr. When Belkar did meet with Ymir, Ymir always had someone else that needed killing. But Belkar was much more interested in Lorimyr, and he began to resent Ymir's demands as an imposition.

One time, Ymir asked Belkar to come help him in a war he was fighting, but Belkar refused. Ymir looked long and hard for him, but didn't know about Lorimyr. This proved to be Ymir's downfall, for because of Belkar's absence, Ymir was destroyed by his divine counterpart, a deity of extreme purity - Karamia, Goddess of Light.

Belkar remained at Lorimyr for some time, but returned to Chyrga more often, now that he no longer faced Ymir's assignments. He became more involved there than he had for many centuries. He did not neglect Lorimyr, but began letting it run itself for stretches.

Belkar realized that his independent power and his new creation signified that he had achieved Apotheosis: Godhood. In Chyrga, he cultivated a religion through visitations of appropriate individuals and groups. After a hundred years, he was a permanent part of the local pantheon as Belkar, Lord of Night, Patron of Thieves and Assassins. On Lorimyr, he was also Lord of Night, but was also viewed as a dark creator god.

Whether or not he is truly a god is uncertain, but his powers and knowledge are Godlike, and he is worshipped on two worlds.

Belkar

about 2500 points
Lord of Night, Patron of Thieves and Assassins
6'3", 200 lbs., about 2166 years old

Appearance: Long black hair in ponytail, bright blue eyes, dark complexion, left handed, pointed ears, smiling expression.

ST: 60
DX: 20
IQ: 17
HT: 18/200
Speed: 9.5
Move: 11 (unencumbered)
Dodge: 12
Parry: 13
Block: 12
Thrust: 7d-1
Swing: 9d

Advantages:

Alertness/+3
Charisma/+5
Combat Reflexes
DR 5
Eidetic Memory/2
Handsome Appearance
High Pain Threshold
Immunity to Disease
Immunity to Poison
Literacy
Magery/3
Multimillionaire/3 (x100000)
Musical Ability/+2
Night Vision
Regeneration
Social Status/10 (God)
Strong Will/+5
Unaging
Unusual Background: God (200)
Familiar: cat demon (99)
Ally: 500 pt. Exalted Horse "Snowdread" (45)

Disadvantages:

Bloodlust
Code of Honor (Elvish): elegant lifestyle
Code of Honor: keeps his word
Enemy: Fire Giants (very powerful group, 6- appearance) (-20)
Lecherousness
Sense of Duty to Nature

Quirks:

Likes playing practical jokes on his followers
Prefers trickery over battle
Travels incognito
Hates Orcs, Ogres and chaotic Giants (Fire)
Extremely patient

Skills:

Acting/17
Area Knowledge (Chryga)/22
Area Knowledge (Lorimyr)/24
Armorer/20
Bard/21
Blacksmith/20
Camouflage/18
Detect Lies/22
Disguise/21
Escape/20
Gambling/21
History (Chyrga)/20
History (Lorimyr)/24
Hypnotism/22
Interrogation/21
Jeweler/20
Leadership/21
Lockpicking/20
Merchant (Jewelry)/20
Naturalist/20
Pickpocket/20
Poison/22
Riding/20
Running/16
Savoir Faire/21
Sex Appeal/21
Shadowing/20
Sleight of Hand/20
Stealth/22
Strategy/16
Streetwise/20
Survival (woodlands)/20
Tactics/20
Theology/20
Tracking/25
Traps/19
Weather Sense/20
Beam Weapons (laser)/24
Bow/21
Brawling/22
Broadsword/25
Flail/19
Garrote/20
Knife/21
Shield/22
Staff/20
Throwing/23
Fast Draw (carbine)/22
Fast Draw (sword)/22

Languages:

Quenya/19
Sindarin/19
Black Speech/17
Dragon Tongue/20
Dwarvish/17
Giantish/17
Goblinish/17
Norwesson/17 (a common language on Lorimyr and Chyrga)
Orcish/17
4 more ancient languages/20
16 modern languages/20

Magical Skills:

Alchemy/22
Body Sense/20
Flight/20
Illusion Art/20
Magic Jet/22
Spell Throwing (Curse Missile)/22
Spell Throwing (Ball)/22
Spell Throwing (all other forms)/20
Thaumatology/22

Spells:

Belkar knows all spells (yes, the entire GURPS Magic and Grimoire books, except for Tech and Gate Colleges)/20
plus the following Gate and miscellaneous spells:
Create Door/20
Dwarvish Mail (p. MI25)/20
Hide Object/20
Phase/20
Phase Other/20
Plane Shift (Lorimyr)/20
Plane Shift (Chyrga)/20
Plane Shift Other (Lorimyr)/20
Plane Shift Other (Chyrga)/20
several other Plane Shift and Plane Shift Other/20
Sanctuary/20
Sword Spirit (p. MI87)/20
Trace Teleport/20
Special: Shape Chaos/20

Possessions:

Flarecore, a rune blade broadsword and magical Focus of intense power:

Weapon enchantments:

Accuracy +5
Equalizer (p. MI90)
Flaming Weapon
Loyal Sword
Puissance +5
Quick Draw
Shatterproof
Smiter variant (p. MI93; all hits are critical, roll 7 or less to cut limb or head off)
Sword Spirit (p. MI87):
IQ 14, Danger Sense, Strong Will/+2, Strategy/20, Control Person/16, can use telepathy with holder, can speak, Quirk: very loyal to Belkar. Contains the spirit of one of Belkar's most loyal generals. When he died, Belkar placed his spirit in the sword, because he missed his friend's advice

Protection enchantments:

enchanted as a Moly amulet (p. MI116) against the Communication and Empathy, Mind Control, Body Control, Movement, Illusion and Creation colleges

Runes inscribed:

(activate one at no cost with a successful hit that penetrates armor)
Fatigue (1d)
Hinder
Deathtouch (1d)

Wizard tool enchantments:

Power/5
Speed/3
Staff (metal variant)
Focus (Sorcerer)/+2/-2

Spells in Focus:

Scryguard
Ignite
Create Fire
Shape Fire
Extinguish
Resist Fire
Fireball
Explosive Fireball
Resist Cold
Flame Jet

Powerstone:

160 point Dedicated Powerstone in hilt with the following quirks:
Repellent to Dogs
Mages Within 50 Yards Acquire Paranoia for duration of the spell
Shrieks When Used

Scabbard

Enchanted with Powerstone Recharger (p. MI65; x4 recharge rate, in Normal Mana; 24x recharge rate in High Mana)  

Other Items:

Black Mithril half-plate (Fortify 4, Deflect 4, and Dwarvish Mail enchantment (p. MI25)), with 100 carat Fire Ruby in the breastplate.
Military Laser Carbine: TL16 equivalent, no power cell, uses extra-planar power - infinite shots, 3d damage, hot-shotted and auto-fire, built to last millennia.
War helm: made from the skull of Utgardloki, the King of the Fire Giants. It is reinforced with mithril and weighing over 500 lbs. with two 500-carat dwarf-cut fire rubies in eye sockets. Now built into his throne in the mansion.

Miscellaneous weapons and armor:
Main Gauche (Accuracy +3, Deflect 2, and Shatterproof),
Small Shield (Deflect 2),
Orc-bane Flail (+5 Accuracy, +5 Puissance, Terror spell limited to Orcs, Smiter variant (p. MI93; any critical cuts off head or limb on a roll of 7-) limited to Orcs),
Elvish Composite Bow (+3 Puissance), \
Cornucopia of +3 Accuracy arrows,
20 +2 Accuracy arrows.

Ring of Plane Shift (Lorimyr): plus Loyal Sword enchantment (variant, see History above), and 7 point Exclusive Powerstone.

Powerstone (100 point) pendant with the following quirks: Makes User Hungry (must eat 100 calories per point drawn to satisfy hunger), Recharges in Fresh Blood.

Alchemy Research Lab: $100,000
Diviner's Rod (Focus (Diviner), Seeker, History, Ancient History, Trace, Power 3)

Miscellaneous magic items:
Flying Broom (Power 3),
Hide Ring (Power 2),
Ring of Shapeshifting (any animal),
Staff of Illusion/Creation spells,
Wand of Mind Control spells,
Necklace of Water spells,
Talisman of Summon Animals,
Talisman of Stone Missiles,
Talisman of Gaseous Form,
Scrolls (Summon Demon (Gargoyle), Stone Missile, Fog, Create Gate (Teleport only - Item c), Hinder).

Large Palace/Fortress at the edge of Chaos in Lorimyr (High Mana area). Throne is Very High Mana area (2-hex radius).
Untranslated items: (the following items have no GURPS equivalent) Moly amulet against Black Magic, Wand of Black Magic spells, Scroll of Smite the Holy, Scroll of Great Command.
Great Ring of Power (Focus (Jewelsmith), 200 spells, 21 recharge rate) with magical emerald, ruby, sapphire and diamonds and 7 alchemical metals.
Ring of Power (44 spells, mostly Fire, 20 point Dedicated Powerstone ruby, 7 recharge rate)
Wand (Focus (Necromancy), 20 Necromantic spells, 7 recharge, dedicated powerstone) made from human thighbone.
Staff (Focus (Power Word Mystic), 27 spells, 7 recharge, dedicated powerstone)
Hammer, Anvil and Forge (Focus (Magesmith))
Card Deck: used to cast Elemental spells.
Tarot Deck: used to cast Elemental and Illusion/Creation spells.

Familiar:

Name: Malakai
Type: cat demon
Appearance: Appears as ordinary black house cat until it attacks, then turns into tiger-sized cat
ST: 22
DX: 14
IQ: 11
HT: 15/40
Damage: ST cut (claws)

Advantages:

Fast Regeneration
Mage can use ST
Mage can see through familiar's eyes
Mental communication with mage

Companions

Name Type Player
Snowdread Exalted Horse NPC
Malachai Cat demon familiar NPC

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