Character 91 - Rangi

For this week’s character I went out of my way to write up my own halfling culture based in Tian-Xia. So this week’s character belongs to the Tagata halflings on Minata, which are based on Samoan culture. This choice certainly set the tone for the kinds of characters I would make. Having only a high constitution and charisma limited the choice of classes that he would be any good at. Then I had to fit in some of the background information: born to an omen, to a seafaring people, and worshiping the god of sea and storms. I jumped immediately to the idea of a kineticist.

Rangi

Born on the day of a raging storm that did not touch his people’s home island of Uali’a, Rangi was considered to be touched by the god Hei Feng himself. This meant from the time of his birth a lot more was expected of him than the other children of the tribe. Even though he was born to a pair of craftsmen and not a chief or a medicine man, his people treated him as though he was of a higher station.

When Rangi was old enough to understand why people treated him in such away he began to fear he would never live up to other’s expectations. Being somehow chosen made the young halfling want to run and hide. But Rangi was treated to a laundry list of mentors that his patron, the chief of the tribe, paid to discover what abilities the omen meant he would have.

He learned some medicine from the tribes Fofo, a type of witch doctor. Although he never achieved his own communion he worked with the Taula who could take the spirits within him. The tribe’s shaman taught him everything he needed to know about the spirit world itself, and how to get there. He even learned the art of tattoo from the tufuga ta tatau. Rangi took in all of these lessons but excelled at none of them.

With all these mentors – masters of their field all – it was someone with no practical life experience that helped Rangi find his calling. Lanuola was the first girl he ever loved and during their time together she would always tell him that he needed to be himself and not what others wanted him to be. She said he should be like the water that flows in its own patterns and when it meets an obstacle it goes around instead of through. Her words themselves were prophetic for his true power came when the two were swimming. That was where he learned he had the power over water itself.

Gaoioi’Suavai or water movers haven’t existed among the Tagata in ages. Legend says the great Gaoioi’Suavai left with the expeditions to find the homeland after the cataclysm that broke Minata in to small island. They would use their power over water to help move va’a tale at great speed across the ocean. A Gaoioi’Suavai had not been seen among the Tagata since then and Rangi was now the inheritor of their power.

After the manifestation of his power Rangi gave himself over to the sea. He could always be found out on a fishing vessel, diving for crabs, or just swimming around his island home. There was no one to teach him to use his power, although the storytellers could related tales passed down from the time before. He still had to learn everything on his own. The power did go a little to his head and he became obsessed with his reputation and being the ‘protector’ of his people.

When they oyster beds were mysteriously being ravaged Rangi took it upon himself to solve the mystery. He waited day and night for over a week, stalking the beds to which his tribe laid their bivalves. It was on the night of the full moon that he saw the crab-like creature devouring the oysters, particularly the ones that had pearls sitting with them.

The creature is it turns out was a rare elemental species – consigned to a physical form – called a tojanida. The one thing these creatures enjoy about their physicality is the taste and texture of food. The oysters with their pearls were something new that this particular creature had grown a taste for. The problem is that pearls are the only form of money that the Tagata have to trade with the outside world. So Rangi used his considerable persuasive power to convince him to eat elsewhere.

Now Rangi seeks other ways to grow his own legend. He wants the Gaoioi’Suavai to mean something to his people again and for himself to be the forefather of the new era of those with the ability. He expects that he is the first, but not the last and he needs to be ready to train those who come after him.

What did you do with your halfling? What class did you choose? What omen came at his birth? Did he live up to that omen? Why does he worship Hei Feng? What non-humanoid creature did he seduce?

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