[Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear

[Varyon]

Now that I have the PDF of Delvers to Grow (which is outstanding) alongside some other Nordlond content (which is similarly excellent), I decided to try my hand at something I'd considered creating ever since reading book 1 of The Stormlight Archives - a spear-wielding Swashbuckler. I set point value at [250], and started with an Eldhud Fast Delver at the Master level ([187]). Because I'm a horrible person, I did stray off-template a bit, namely by picking upgrades my character technically wasn't eligible for (Backstab Artist and Ghost, which are Thief Only and Thief/Scout Only, respectively).

I had a particular idea in mind, so I started with the Eldhud template, and opted for Extinguishing Touch (so I can put out fires with a touch - but perhaps more importantly so gear in my hands benefits from my Fire Resistance 5), Flaming Touch (letting me set fires with a touch), and Nimble Tail (giving me an Extra Arm that can manipulate objects - say, setting fire to things without having to use my hands - but not strike). This technically put me [1] over on my Eldhud Gifts, but given those are available at any time as Power Ups, that's fine.

Next up, I applied Swashbuckler I and II, opting for Spear as my primary skill and the target of the Weapon Master. This was a soft departure from the template, which recommends Rapier, and was followed by a hard departure - I opted against Weapon Bond (which I'm disinclined to start with) and opted instead for a different Perk - Weapon Adaptation (Staff to Spear), which basically eliminates the -2 to skill for doing butt strikes (swings and thrusts) and claiming the +2 to Parry. For my secondary combat skill, I opted for Throwing. I also dropped Fast-Draw, given I was using a spear, and put the point into the slush fund. Between Savoir-Faire and Streetwise, I opted for Savoir-Faire (Military) - my character once served in the military (although he arguably wasn't great at it, given lack of Soldier skill).

For the two upgrade modules, I went for Backstab Artist, and for my Trademark Move I tentatively opted for a Telegraphic Attack Spear Thrust/Vitals (from behind, naturally). This meant I had a total (from template and upgrade) of [5] in Stealth, so I shunted [1] over into the slush fund. I also opted for Ghost, boosting stealthiness further while enhancing my own perception and gaining a good deal of Night Vision in the process.

For my two Disadvantage Modules, I opted to make an Unwelcomed Blood Knight. However, the Code of Honor (Chivalry) of Blood Knight doesn't really allow for stealthily stabbing most foes from behind, so I modified things a bit. CoH (Chivalry) in Basic Set (I don't have DFRPG to see how it's defined there) appears to consist of: Never break your word, Never ignore an insult (to yourself, a lady, or your liege; apology or honorable duel will wipe the insult away), Accept any challenge to arms (by those of equal or greater Status), and Fight honorably (both sides being equal for fights, at least against similarly-honorable foes). I kept most of this, but had the "sides equal for fights" only apply to duels (to avenge an insult or due to a challenge to arms), got rid of the requirement that fights be otherwise-honorable (to allow backstabbing), and added in Protect the weak and Punish evildoers. I felt this was roughly the same, so still worth [-15]. For Unwelcome, I decided the character had suffered the equivalent of Dishonorable Discharge from his military duties for having unlawfully executed opponents he deemed "evil," leading to Social Stigma (Criminal Record). Compulsive Spending didn't quite fit, so I opted to replace it with a part of Old Soldier - the character has Wounded.

At this point, I have a [206] character (not counting the [2] set aside for slush fund). Five Quirks gets this to [201]. Unfortunately, at this point I actually had accidentally recorded Combat Reflexes (from Swashbuckler II) as only [5] rather than [15], so I thought I was at [191]. I opted for two more upgrade modules - Faster Delver (+1 DX, +1 Move) and Favored by Fate (+1 Per, +1 Move, Luck). This actually put my Basic Speed at 6.75, so I spend another [5] on +0.25 to Speed, for Speed 7 and a blinding-fast Move 9. With my "remaining" (recall my recording error) [4], I initially opted to give my character [1] in Consumable Signature Gear in the form of a functionally-infinite supply of oily rags, which he would tie near the head of his spear and set alight during combat. Then, when considering his need to change bandages for his Wounded Disadvantage, I thought of something better - give the character flammable blood (seemed appropriate for an Eldhud with fire powers), which would normally be a Disadvantage but I set as a Perk on account of Extinguishing Touch (which would let the character put out any such flame) and Fire Resistance (which would prevent the flame from harming the character anyway). Now the Consumable Signature Gear is actually in the form of bandages (and given I get $100 worth for [1], he has 10 lbs of bandages at all times, which I feel is sufficient he can just be assumed to always have some fresh ones as well as some bloody - and extra-flammable - ones available when needed). I also created a Perk I called Fast-Flame that allows the character to extinguish or ignite (via his gifts) mundane flames he touches as a free action rather than calling for a Ready. With my remaining [1], I took a look at his Trademark Move, and realized that he was at effective skill 23 (Spear 21, +4 for Telegraphic, +1 for Trademark Move, -3 for Vitals). So, I updated that to instead be Telegraphic Attack Spear Thrust/Spine, for effective skill 18. So, for the last [1], I gave him Unique Technique (Power Attack), which lets him trade -2 to hit for +1 to damage, and incorporated this into his Trademark Move, for final effective skill 16.

To flesh out the character, I revisited those 5 Quirks. I opted for Flaming Spear! (the character sets the cloth tied to his spear aflame for pretty much any fight, only extinguishing it when using stealth - and reignites it as he's breaking stealth to attack), Likes Setting Fires (Quirk-level Pyromania), Dislikes Fires Set by Others, Thinks Sneak Attacks are Honorable (a Quirk-level Delusion), and he keeps a Lucky Ring on his finger, an old heirloom (that isn't worth anything). His Unnatural Features consist of dark red skin, vestigial horns (a pair of them on the forehead), vestigial bat-like wings, and his tail (yes, that's more than 2, but the mechanical effects - penalty to Disguise/Shadowing, bonus to attempts to identify you - are what matter). For a name, I decided to recycle one from another half-demon I created years ago, Shigran, and appended "of the Flaming Spear" after his name, for obvious reasons.

For gear, Shigran is Poor (thanks to Unwelcome), so didn't have much to start with (only $200, plus the $100 worth of renewing bandages). His spear eats up $40 of that. He can't afford the full Basic Kit from DtG, so I took out the light sources (glow vial and torches) on account of him having Night Vision 6 (and plenty of flammable used bandages in a pinch) and the tent, dropping cost to $127. I added in 5 small balls (taken from Low Tech) and an extra pouch so he can keep one of them on his belt - the balls are typically wrapped in used bandages, and he sets them alight and throws them for his ranged attacks. I opted to give the balls Acc 1 - he could easily use Acc 0 found rocks for free, so some benefit for paying $3 per projectile seemed appropriate. Total cost was $192, total weight (including the 10 lbs of bandages, and assuming a full waterskin) was 44.4 lbs and Light Encumbrance.

The final character, thanks to my recording error, is worth [260] and is presented in the next post. He's at his Disadvantage cap, so reducing cost would probably call for reducing ST to 11 (more in line with the original DF Swashbuckler; swing damage is at -1; BL reduces to 24 and full-waterskin loadout is just barely Medium Encumbrance; ball throwing range reduces to 38 yards), reducing Move to 7 (although one advantage to Move 9 is that it greatly improves his range for Backstab), or perhaps removing Silence 2 (or some combination adding up to [-10]). Part of me is strongly tempted to drop Brawling (which is basically useless with only [1] in it) and pick up Swimming (so Shigran doesn't drown the first time he finds himself unexpectedly in water), but I'll keep things as-is.