This week’s randomly rolled character is probably my favorite race, halflings. We see a
highly intelligent, although clumsy for a halfling, resident of the Kavaa Lands
in the Mwangi Expanse. A follower of the DemonLord Zura who oversees cannibalism, blood, and
vampires. The choice for what kind of halfling was easy. So much so that
Wednesday’s article was very specifically on the cannibal halflings of the Kavaa Lands.
Choosing a class was a bit of a harder prospect. How to
choose a class that embodies the savagery and the tribal nature of the
halflings while still making the most of the high intelligence? After narrowing
it down I eventually went with the alchemist, a class I have yet to use in
these random rolls. I liked the idea of the beastmorph and the vivisectionist;
a character that studied people and animals innards to best mimic those aspects
when using their mutagens.
Jubo
Life in the jungles of the Kaava Lands was harsh, but the
tribal halflings of the region liked it that way. It weeded out the weak and
made the tribe stronger. Jubo was neither the strongest nor the weakest. He
wasn’t the toughest or the most fragile. To other halflings he was a bit clumsy,
but he maneuvered around as well as the humans and so he wasn’t always injuring
himself. What Jubo was, was smart.
The middle child of five Jubo was often left to his own
devices. The older siblings had their place in the tribe already and the
younger ones still needed looking after. His family was nothing special, they
mostly farmed and gathered the other necessities of life in the jungle. Jubo
himself was a bit of a naturalist, he found the jungle and all its wonders
fascinating—a trait he shared with his uncle Botan.
Botan was old, probably older than anyone who lived the
savage life his people lived ought to be. He was considered something of a
freak even among the other demon worshiping cannibal halflings. Where the tribe
ate meat to sustain them, Botan had a sick need to take apart the creatures
they killed. He studied the insides of other humanoids, animals, and anything
else he could get his hands on. When no one was watching Jubo would join his
uncle on trips to learn what made things tick.
Botan eventually died of old age. This broke Jubo deep
inside. The young halfling began fearing for his own mortality. He prayed to
the tribes patron, the Demon Lord Zura to become one of her vampiric minions,
but that prayer went unanswered. He went to the tribe’s seer to find out about
his own death, to which he was told that The Vampire Queen had already seen fit
to give him the means to live longer.
It took weeks to figure out what this meant, and it
wasn’t until Jubo went through the belongings of his uncle that he made the
connection. Botan had always spoken of elixirs that enhance the body. His study
of other creatures was a means to make these elixirs stronger and possibly
stave off even death. Botan had kept some small amount of notes and from this
Jubo began teaching himself.
Jubo’s explorations into the mutating agents through
trial and error led to other discoveries. His burgeoning alchemical talent
brought him more respect within his tribe, but also brought other rivals as
well. One of these rivals was an aspiring medicine man and servitor of Zura. He
claimed that Jubo was taking on his uncle’s insanity and that the Demon Lord
looked unfavorably upon him. He urged the tribe to consider casting him out.
Jubo took these accusations with an uncommon amount of
calm. He knew that Zura had great things in store for him, possibly even
everlasting life. In the night Jubo used one of his mutating mixtures and snuck
into his rival’s hut. He killed not only his accuser but his entire family.
Mother, father, brothers, and sisters. In the morning the matter was settled,
the more cunning had prevailed and Jubo feasted that night on the body of his
enemy.
Jubo now spends his time trying to find his immortality.
As time goes on this takes him further and further afield from his tribe. He
knows that once he finds a way to live forever he will be the greatest asset
his tribe has ever had. For now he is experimenting with further ways to make
his mutating agents make him a better warrior.
A halfling that worships a cannibal god and is really
smart, meet Jubo the alchemist. What would you have done with these stats? What
class would you have picked? Who would his now-dead enemy or rival been? Why
does he seek to stay young?
Where devouring your enemies is a no-no in the real
world, you can always devour the content the CRB brings you. If the CRB has
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