A classic 2e Puzzle dungeon for High Level characters
Beware, this one is substantially longer and (IMHO) even harder than the legendary Tomb of Horrors!
Please post at least a brief description of your character here, along with a picture.
Example: Lena (Angel) Gallus [NPC] Female Half-Elf Paladin (14) Myrmidon kit, LG
The stunningly attractive half-elven woman before you stands just over six foot, her dirty blonde hair framing her rich brown eyes… eyes with the weight of experience, discipline and compassion. The intricate plate armor she wears is of a magical nature, and bears the obvious signs of frequent heavy use. She practically bristles with weapons, but favors the magical longsword and shield which she employs with unsurpassed skill. Deeply religious, she is a stalwart follower of the god Emdalus the Protector, and has earned the nicknames “Angel” or “Guardian Angel” hundreds of times over.
Sorril Venir’s own right-hand, she has served as a Paladin for over a decade and achieved a level of military skill and precision rare amongst career-fighters twice her age. It is often heard among the camp that if “The Angel” is set a task by Sorril or her Diety Emdalus, it will be done; the only question being if it will be accomplished instantly or merely exceptionally quickly. It is readily apparent why she was chosen to lead the expedition and oversee the base camp. Signs of her experience and efficiency are evident in every aspect, but a compassionate heart tempers her dealings with those she commands and protects.
Nicknames: 'Angel', 'Guardian Angel', 'Angel of Death'(by enemies)
Steve stands just under 6 feet in height, and is slimly built. He's not conventionally attractive, but his easy smile and force of personality make up for it. He’s typically an optimistic person, expecting the best of everyone, and he’s quick to forgive and accept sincere apologies. He does have a firm sense of fairness, however, and will call out injustices when he sees them.
If asked about his family, he just mentions he's got a sister in the military and his parents are minor nobles and leaves it at that.
Upon arriving at the small village outside the entrance to the Labyrinth, Steve learned from Lena Gallus that he had just missed the departure of a handful of adventurers who were venturing in to explore the maze. He spent the early afternoon with the lovely paladin, finding out what she knew about the adventurers and the overall situation with the Labyrinth.
Last edited by Lord Torath on Thu Nov 21, 2024 8:18 am, edited 5 times in total.
Description:
Among his people Ke'Sha doesn't stand out. He stands at average height of 3'5". Those who knows him from before the banishment would remember him always clean, but his cloth at complete disorder. He never really cared to impress other people and always one would hear him caught in intense conversations regarding problem solving, either in real life or in puzzles.
But not many knew him before his banishment. Those who met him later spotted a dirty short bundle of muscle that quickly moves around, wearing torn green cloth camouflaging in the woods. On his waist and neck he created trinkets out of bones, dead wood and rocks. His ears, eyebrows and lips are pierced. He have one frontal broken tooth, but he keep it hygiene and maintained.
Ke'Sha rarely changes his cloth although he wash them from time to time. Unless on adventure e wears sandals, even on cold rainy days, short torn pants, belt, torn green shirt on top of that a leather vest adorned with bones, and on top of that a black coat that already lost most of his color under the sun and dirt. He also wears a wide hat covering most of his face in shadow. But if one cares to look carefully at Ke'Sha face he would see the spark in his eyes when he assesses his surroundings.
All in all Ke'Sha stopped caring what others think about his look or his behavior. He usually don't listen to people and just do what he wants. The only exception is when he hears riddles or problems that would strain his brain, and even then he is never polite when participating in the conversation. Usually he will just ask what interest him, turn his back on the others (even if they asked him something and expect and answer) and walk away contemplating the problem in his mind.
Background:
As a child Ke'Sha wasn't different from the rest of his group. He was playing with them and acted as normal as the rest. He was never a leader, but when they needed something done his ideas usually made things easier. He was fond of the other kids. At least for a short while. Growing in a tribe of cannibals, Ke'Sha learned that outsiders are mere food. His people were fast, smart and vicious and they who dared intrude on their lands or interfere with their life made a grievous mistake. Ke'Sha didn't think of it much. Not until his grandfather died of old age. At that time Ke'Sha was twelve years old.
This death and the honor the people gave to the dead body were a dramatic change in young Ke'Sha life. For the first time he lost someone so close. Someone he loved. And that made him consider death more deeply. Why do they eat the dead outsiders and not the dead of their own? Why did his beloved ones have to die at all? Could he cheat death? Could he prolong his grandfather's life? Would that be good or bad? Would his grandfather wanted it were it possible?
Ke'Sha was spending less time with his friends and more time considering death. He searched for dead animals and dissected them trying to learn how their body operates. He was obsessed with understanding how the mind and spirit work. If they exist at all. His friends started to avoid him and the boys started to show more interest in finding girls' company. Ke'Sha was full of questions and he had no one to share his thoughts with. He tried his parents but that only made them concerned. And so he did research by himself and the long hours he contemplated about solving the puzzle which is life made him very sharp.
He was so obsessed with these issues that he started to ignore other people and cared less about his own look, hygiene and nourishment. At some stage he ate more raw meat and vegetables than cooked ones.
The path was pretty obvious. Ke'Sha was about to lose his place in the tribe. His parents were very concerned and went to the tribes' shaman, Kutan'Bah. The shaman wanted to take Ke'Sha under his wing and teach him the ways of nature and life. He recognized the great potential at Ke'Sha. But Ke'Sha refused even without understanding he was doing that. In their long talks Ke'Sha outsmart every one and one of the shaman ideas, answers and beliefs, shaming him without noticing it. He usually answered plainly but his logic contradicted the shaman beliefs and teaching to the tribe. As that became a habit, the shaman started to be afraid Ke'Sha would harm his position of power among the tribe people. Kutan'Bah started to hate Ke'Sha and tried to present him as odd among the people. Obviously he didn't have to try hard as Ke'Sha was truly odd, but the shaman wanted to make it known he REALLY doesn't approve. The problem became worse as Ke'Sha outsmarted the shaman even in public discussions, and the hatred burned hard in the shaman's heart.
Even so, the tribe kept guarding his own people. Even the odd ones. The shaman was looking for excuses to get rid of Ke'Sha. And one day he managed it. Ke'Sha was out on one of his exploration journeys and he found the body of a Halfling from their tribe. Ke'Sha knew him. He was a lone guy, keeping to himself. He was called Gursh'Baga. The Halfling went hunting on his own and was killed by a wild animal. Ke'Sha meant to return the body back to the tribe camp but while he dragged it he got curious again why they would eat outsiders and not their own… And after trying to shake these thoughts with no success he eventually tasted Gursh'Baga arm. And he was spotted.
The same night the shaman called everyone and put Ke'Sha on trial. Ke'Sha didn't care much and explained that flesh should be devoured to answer the tribe's needs and when it is their own it serves even a higher purpose.
The shaman didn't heed to Ke'Sha words and banished him from the tribe. Being an outcast was one of the greater punishments in the Halflings culture. For normal people, the shame was unbearable and usually they committed suicide after a short while. But not Ke'Sha. As it was, he didn't care what others thought about him, and he already was living pretty much alone. This was no different, only he had to find a new house. And so he did. Ke'Sha was banished from the tribe at age 19. Most of his old friends chose a profession by then and started mating. Ke'Sha was not. He lost any social capabilities. Thanks to his wisdom he managed quite well to sustain himself. And his obsession with understanding death still haunted him.
During his explorations he arrived at deserted castles, graves of heroes and met powerful undead. He found his way to avoid conflict with them, but his presence was noticed. Due to these journeys he made great discoveries in the field and was able to cure many diseases and even reattach severed organs. Especially in animals but from time to time he also manages to heal some outsider he found wounded and unconscious. That of course if he wasn't too hungry and ate him.
This huge progress he made on his own attracted the attention of powerful beings. One day Ke'Sha met such an outsider in the woods. He tried to hide, which always worked, and in the evening he was amazed to find the outsider at his new home. The outsider introduces himself as Agelmir. A human ranger that explores these woods, and that he tracked the Halfling home as he needed a shelter. Ke'Sha waved his hand planning to eat him in his sleep, but before going to sleep Agelmir started a conversation about the same issues that troubled Ke'Sha all his life. About death. Is it good or bad? What does it serve? When animals are hunted we feed on them. But on the other hand we destroy the future potential of reproduction and other wonderful things. What about the afterlife? Does it exist? If it is, can we control it from our current life?
Ke'Sha was so interested in the conversation and it's implication he completely forgot he wanted to eat the guy. He walked all night without seeing where he was going and thought about these subjects. In fact he walked four days in the same direction and when with some inspiration he thought he could take one of the questions asked to the next step he woke up to reality and realized he is out of the woods in a terrain he never saw before. Both interest and fear were raised in him, but he wanted to speak to the stranger. As he turned back to the woods direction he was surprised to see Agelmir two steps behind him smiling. "Got lost?" he joked. Ke'Sha didn't smile. On the contrary he hissed at him like an angry cat. Obviously he lost ANY idea of social behavior. But seconds after he continued their conversation. He didn't care why the ranger was near him. He didn't care about his stupid joke. A waste of breath. And amazingly he didn't care about eating him.
On and on these conversations continued. Agelmir raised some issues and then smiled while watching Ke'Sha consider them for days. But he liked the Halfling dedication and his ability to analyze the question and dig a deeper level in them which was very difficult for educated men working together, not to mention some savage lonely Halfling.
After a few months Agelmir decided it's time to move on. That night's conversation was different. No hypotheses were raised. No sophisticated questions. He just asked Ke'Sha how long he has been alone, and how much he cares for the subjects they were talking about. Ke'Sha was so disappointed and it was like he saw Agelmir for the first time. Or the second time for that matter, the first time was before the first conversation, when he still wanted to eat him. With a discussed and bored tone he asked Agelmir, "Who the hell are you?" and Agelmir said, "Not hell, but close enough."
That night Agelmir presented himself as the patron of death and offered Ke'Sha to serve him. Ke'Sha immediately refused and Agelmir laughed his guts out. After relaxing he rephrased the offer, "What would you say about continuing the research you do and our conversations for a while longer?" he said with a wink. Ke'Sha only answered, "Will this conversation start to be interesting at some stage?" But his heart was changed and the patron of death knew it. As well as the other gods in the pantheon. Ke'Sha became a priest of Death.
Since that day Ke'Sha life has changed only slightly. He got divine powers but since he almost had the same results before having divine powers, he didn't recognize it. Moreover Agelmir, or Death left him. Only occasionally he came to visit him, entertaining him with some deep conversation and guiding him to a new adventure. Ke'Sha also developed his fighting skills and in his new adventures he dealt with opposition and not only avoided it as before.
Years had passed. One day Ke'Sha met a living Halfling from his tribe. He didn't like it at all. He was afraid "IT" would speak and waste his time. And his fears came true. This was a young Halfling compared to Ke'Sha. Apparently on the night of the banishment, even though the shaman was deaf to Ke'Sha words, some younglings of the tribe were not. Apparently they heed his words and discussed it between them. And apparently many of the tribe noticed Ke'Sha continuously outsmarting the old shaman. So the younglings who thought Ke'Sha had a point were looking for him. They wanted to hear his ideas and made him their teacher. And apparently he was so good at avoiding meeting any living thing, he was avoiding them even without knowing they were Halflings. "After all I'm not a ranger…" he thought to himself as the young Halfling was telling the story. "Did I just tell myself a joke? What a waste of brain effort… I'm getting older it seems."
The young Halfling offered his service and Ke'Sha declined it. He hated boring people and this kid didn't say anything interesting. But the kid was stubborn and stuck around Ke'Sha. After three days Ke'Sha killed him in his sleep and ate him. "Finally something he was good at." Ke'Sha thought. But some other kids kept coming and Ke'Sha wasn't that hungry. Eventually he decided the best way to get rid of them is to pretend he accepts their service and send them on fool errands. And if sending them on errands why not on errands that will help him in his own explorations. From here to there Ke'Sha got himself around a small cult. And in his meetings with Death, the idea of acolytes was brought up.
Ke'Sha didn't have a lot of charisma, and he was never a leader. All these shallow creatures following him were a burden. He never ruled them or used his power to make them do his will. His only will was that they will be away from him. But he couldn't fight it, and the acolytes started to spread his ideas and beliefs. He became more and more famous, and also powerful. He went on great quests with his followers, who at some stage were not only Halfling but from all races. And Death became stronger. Ke'Sha was almost never pleased with his acolytes. There were few exceptions. Smart people who were as devoted as himself to understand the powers of life and death. To find meaning for the spirits and the mind. He liked them and was fascinated by the stuff he learned and the new paths they sent his mind on. He never feared them. There were also a few exceptions in the other way. People who were tiresome and just boring him to DEATH (well, they were devoted at some level to their god). So he ate them. And so at age 64 Ke'Sha became high priest of Death, not leading but in the head of an ever growing church of death. He got wealth and reputation but he cherished only the knowledge he gained and the abilities in the necromancy and healing fields. He understood death and death understood him too.
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Hope I didn't bore YOU to DEATH
BTW Vir is something like "The great Master". His people call him that way and he doesn't gives a damn how they call him as far as they call him as little as possible.
The striking human woman apparently in her late 20s with raven hair and violent eyes moves with a svelte grace, a small smirk to her mouth as if some amusement came to mind that others were not privy to. She is oft found lounging with some tome or scroll, or in converse with her familiar known as 'Binky'; a small, strange creature who seems made wholly of darkness like some 2-dimensional shadow. She typically wears gowns or dresses of black and violet, no matter the circumstance, with practical flat shoes. Her typical demeanor with others is often coy or flirty, but one would be gravely mistaken to presume her unintelligent; though perhaps a bit absent-minded on occasion.
A hulking figure towers over the rest of the group to a height of 9 feet. Landro stands in simple leather garb, tooled to resemble armor but thin and light like as comfortable clothing. The hilt of a truly prodigious 2-handed sword peeks over one shoulder beneath his pack; likewise a massive crossbow hangs from the pack as well.
Despite the huge stature the giant-kin is oft posessed of a gentle smile and polite manners. He tends to stroke his neatly-groomed bright red moustachio when amused.
