Character 86 - Borgo Blackscale

Illustration by Luis Perez

Snakes. This week our random rolls really gave us the opportunity to get serpentine. We had a half-orc who follows the goddess of the naga and all things snake-like. He was big but not strong, hefty but not durable. Although touched by divine power at birth and the fact he at one point died really spoke to a divine class, his low wisdom made that impossible. We had to make do with a high intelligence and a high charisma. So to that end I kept to the basics and went with the sorcerer class. But how did I tie it all together? Let’s find out.

Borgo Blackscale

Borgo Blackscale was born to a small enclave of orcs living in the swamps of the Hooktongue Slough. His tribe had lived in the area for a few generations after fleeing Numeria. Upon their arrival they had come to follow a water naga who used the area they were dwelling as her summer home. If they served her she promised to protect them from the boggards and trolls that infested the area.

The orcs became a serpent cult, serving the naga and paying homage to the goddess of her kind, Nalinivati. Occasionally the naga would bring other followers, lost mainly, to the little village and one of these men would become Borgo’s father. When the half-orc was born he was blessed by the shaman and came into the world with a crack of divine energy.

The cult was pretty self-sufficient, most of what they needed could be found in the swamplands. The group would occasionally need to hire out to run off particularly foul beasts when the water naga was in her winter home, and a mercenary crew arranged to come through around that time every year. The band was small but effective and always dealt fairly with the orcs. Borgo was always keen on the mercenaries being able to travel where they wanted when they wanted, and he respected them for their fairness with his people.

Growing up Borgo wanted the freedom that the mercenaries had, although he quite misunderstood what kind of responsibility freedom meant. He wanted to be an outlaw like tales he heard of famous other ne’er-do-wells in the River Kingdoms. He even went so far as to rob a young wizard who was travelling the waterways near the swamp. But the use of violence to threaten another never sat right with him so he never told anyone although, he regrets it deeply.

Illustration by Luis Perez

On his fifteenth birthday Borgo was officially inducted into the cult. As all who had come before him, the rite of passage was a trial by snake bite. The snakes they use usually didn’t give more than an allergic-like reaction but Borgo went into shock and died. His passage over to the other side was brief, but long enough to give the boy – now a man – a new outlook on life. His emotional changes were also accompanied by physical changes, which included a patch of black scales on his chest.

Between being touched by Nalinivati at birth and his near death experience, something awakened inside of him. The touch of the serpent in his blood allowed him to force his will upon the world in strange new ways. When the water naga returned in the summer she found the young boy struggling to manifest his power and she trained him. She taught him that his powers came from within and showed him how best to force them into existence. For this Borgo would always love his mentor although he knew she would never reciprocate.

When she could teach him no more she suggest that he do as she did; head out into the world and explore, although never forget about home. So Borgo packed his things and made plans to set out into the world. His plan is to travel for a year and then return home and share his experiences.

So what became of your half-orc? What class did the he choose? How did he die? Why did he rob a spellcaster? Who was the mercenary that influenced him?

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The character illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart.