Character 21 - Perresh the Black

A gnoll with no strength and only average dexterity, not what most people think of when talking about the hyena men who are usually incredibly durable with both a presence and will to match. So what do you do with these stats? With all the other information from the background generator I decided to go with Oracle. I used the generator again to roll on the Oracle chart and I got this:

Oracle Training: [Heavens] The night sky's mysteries have always enthralled you. But one night, while you gazed upon the stars, the perfect order of the universe revealed itself and you nearly went mad from the revelation. Since that night, you've possessed strange powers over the heavens.

(Trait) Starchild

Oracle has a lot of early level choices that will influence how their character will interact with the world. I went with the Stargazer archetype as it seemed to go well with the roll on the Oracle chart. The Oracle’s mystery is also important and I don’t think this gnoll’s path is on the side of the angels, so we went with Dark Tapestry. Lastly, since he’ll be looking to the sky for the horrors that come from the void, I gave him the Tongues curse. During times of stress he’ll begin to speak in the language of the Eldritch horrors, Aklo.

Sadly, the gnoll race entry from Paizo is pretty sparse, with very little customization. What I didn’t notice is that there is a decent 3pp gnoll race from Super Genius Games. I’m not going to go back and change now, but there were some applicable alt race traits that would have made this an even better character both mechanically and story wise.

Perresh the Black

In the deserts of Casamaron, the Gnoll tribes live a harsh life. Marauders and scavengers are constantly in conflict with each other and with the people of the Kelesh Empire. To the humans of Casmaron the Gnolls are feared as savage beasts for their constant raids for both goods and slaves. The Gnolls themselves are a deeply religious and superstitious people, giving themselves to monsters in every aspect of their lives.

Among the Hyenamen their prophecy is still a very important thing. The death of Aroden and the loss of true prophecy is an event they see as a distinctly human affair. The Mother of Monsters still gives their seers, shaman, and oracles the ability to see their future. When a child is born the parents will often go to a diviner to see if their cub is destined for greatness. When Perresh’s mother was born her parents were told that their daughter would not reach greatness herself but that one of her cubs would bring the void with him when he entered the world.

A prophecy a generation past and all but forgotten when Perresh’s older brother was born. Although the seers said he would be a strong member of the Gnoll community there was nothing they could see beyond that. When Perresh came into the world—all black without the usual spots of his people and hairless —the same seer that predicted this for his mother pointed to the child as a conduit for things from beyond. She moved to slay the cub but Perresh’s father instead slew her and the couple and their two sons fled their tribe.

It was easy enough for the small family to find a home in a new tribe. War between the Gnolls and Humans had been on the rise as the Kelesh Satrapies felt the Gnolls were growing too wild. The rule of the Carrion King had grown and many smaller tribes had been wiped out. Perresh and his family claimed to be from one of these now dead tribes and found themselves among one of the lesser tribes to serve the Carrion King.

Perresh grew quickly, and although he stood out with his lack of fur and black flesh, no one among their new group knew his fate. When he spoke his first words they came out as gibberish and he would later find that he instinctively knew the language of the great eldritch beings, Aklo. His strange speech caused his family to hide him away until he learned to speak the language of his people.

His mother bore another child, a third son -- auspicious to the Gnolls, and the seers claimed he would grow to be a great warrior. This allowed scrutiny to fall away from Perresh and the boy began to spend much of his time out under the night sky, staring not just out at the stars but at the darkness between them. But not everyone lost interest in the young doombringer. Karrek the Oathbreak, outcast of the The Circle -- one of the four greater tribes that serve the Carrion King -- took interest.

Karrek saw the potential in the young gnoll, set aside from the tribe by his appearance and search for his place. Karrek saw ways he could use the boy to his own ends and on the nights when Perresh would wander away from the tribe to get a better view of the endless black of night Karrek would meet with him. The outcast’s words spoke to the lost cub and he began to be swayed by them. He began to believe that he was special and beyond the simplistic ways of his people, that he deserved more and better.

However, the voice of Karrek wasn’t the only voice Perresh was hearing. Deep in his soul something darker spoke to him, in a language he had long since tried to put out of his mind. Between Karrek’s need for vengeance, the voice’ need for chaos, and Perresh’s own desires to be greater than everyone, the boy finally snapped. During a night of revelry he snuck into the tent of the leader of the tribe, an aging gnoll long since past his best battles. He took everything of value and then destroyed everything else. A deep sense of glee ran through the heart of the boy as he watched the tent burn before he ran off into the night, leaving behind his family, his tribe, and his mentor.

Perresh now lives in the wastes alone waiting for a sign from the things the writhe in the void. Until then his only goal is to amass as much wealth as he can, while destroying anything that others hold dear. When the end of the world comes, and it will because he will usher it in, his riches will prove that he has won.

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