Friday, November 1, 2013

13th Age: Rob Hall's Kal'Thasar

One of the players of my Tales of the 13th Age (Inquest) game, the amazing Rob Hall of the Pumpkin Society and Zero Fortitude, was kind enough to make a guest post about his character's One Unique Thing.

Without further ado.

I am Dal’Thorin and I am the last survivor of Kal’Thasar.

The look of confusion upon your countenance is something to which I have grown accustomed. Very few outside of the Elf Queen’s inner circle knew of my home. It was one of her majesty’s many secret projects that would take time to come to fruition. Now that I am the only survivor left, my queen has given me leave to share the story my home as I see fit. I think she hopes that I will find a new home.

Kal’Thasar was to be a place of peace, a place to bring the elves together as we had been before the sundering. The queen saw so many of the elven woods being despoiled due to the lack of all of her people working in concert that it weighed heavily on her heart. She gathered together several families from each line of elves. These families were chosen for their loyalty, intelligence, and adaptability. 

The queen and a few select advisors traveled south of the Gold Leaf and began a great ritual. They created a small city in the forest which was festooned with enchantments to keep it secret from those outside save the Queen and her trusted advisors. Here in Kal’Thasar, these families would work together and create a new elven wood built upon their trust and cooperation.

This occurred at the beginning of the current Elf Queens reign at the beginning of the 13th age.

The city was a success. The families worked well together and the region was a bountiful place. learning and magic flourished here so that the citizens were a boon to any community that they joined if they left. The connection between the elves gave the Queen a taste of what it might feel like if all her people were reunited.

I was born some fifty years ago in Kal’Thasar. My family was one of the ruling families that oversaw the protection of the city from outside threats. This meant that I spent most of my time hunting as the Queen’s enchantments ensured that no outside threat was a worry. This did not protect us from betrayal from within.

We elves are long-lived. We normally have no reason to strive so hard when, given time, we can accomplish whatever we set out mind too. For those that see power though, this slow pace can be felt like a chain. One of the dark elves, a wizard of great power, sought just such an avenue of quick advancement. They allied themselves with the Diabolist. She gave him the knowledge to summon a great demon lord.

This traitor to Kal’Thasar did not understand why he was given such an honor but took up the challenge to accomplish the ritual. It was on my the anniversary of my forty-ninth year upon this earth that he accomplished this goal. This demon quickly slew his summoner and began a pogrom on my home. The hordes of demons that descend upon us were far beyond our ability to stop. Our cries for help could not be heard outside of the protective enchantments on the city. our only hope of rescue was the Queen and she was distracted by an atrocitry being commited against the wood elves by the High Druid. 

Help was not coming.

tens of thousands died that day. The blood flooded the streams of the forest and stink of sulfur fouled the air. I aided the escape of as many as I could but the city was lost. We fled, only to be hunted like dogs. I was able to flee to Gold Leaf and was sequestered by the Queen. I had thought that I would be given sanctuary but the hard glint of her eyes told me that this was a fantasy. I was to leave the city and seek my fortune as an adventurer. I was to try and discover what had driven the demon to destroy her grand experiment and give her a target for her sorrow and rage.

Thus, I am now a wanderer. There were others that were so treated by the Elf Queen. Each was murdered and their entrails strewn across a city block. I struggle with the weight that my queen has burdened me with but know I must go on.

I am the last survivor of Kal’thasar and it falls me to avenger her.

***
Residents of Kal’Thasar are a resilient lot. The founding families were chosen for certain traits by the Elf Queen. In her enigmatic wisdom, she also observed this resilience and sought to spread it amongst a new generation of elves.

Kal’Thasarii (Feat)

Adventurer Tier:  +5 hit points per recovery 
“Though a resident of Kal’Thasar may be down, Don’t count them out.”

Champion Tier: +4 to initiative
“Being a resident of Kal’Thasar made one aware of the ebb and flow of life and circumstance.”

Epic Tier: Reroll 3 recovery dice

“Sometimes when things seemed grim, A Kal’Thasarii must dig deep to overcome adversity.”

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