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Skelter
The story is still told in Nexus of a violent predator of children, women, and anything weaker than itself. But he was no monster. He was all too human. His knife ended the life of no less than twenty people, slowly and painfully, for month after month, terrifying the poor and uncared for. Until, one day, he made a mistake.
The villain unknowingly stole the child of a sorceror, and when the last drop of blood had fallen from the child, the sorceror discovered the loss, and exacted his revenge. A powerful spell was cast, and the being now known as Skelter was forever changed.
The sorceror's curse displayed Skelter's savagery to all, so that none could be fooled by clever pretention. Every feature shifted and changed until his entire body took on the aspect of the knife that he so favored in his killings. Every angle thinned and hardened to an edge, every inch of skin glistened with the sheen of metal. His hair became a long mess of needles. His teeth became rows of razors. And his eyes gleamed the red of fire reflected in the blade of a knife.
At first, the murderer exulted in his new state, reveling in the power it gave him. But he soon realized that his favorite victims could hear his metal footsteps long before he crept up on them. The innocent women could see the malevolence in his red burning eyes, and hid themselves from his blades.
Denied his favorite prey, he left Nexus to wander the world. He exacted his violence where it was possible, and began to hire himself out as a brutal assassin and capable thug.
Anyone encountering Skelter will see a cloaked figure, hear the clank of chainmail on metal, and witness the fierce, red glitter of his eyes. His voice has the rasp of metal scraping metal, and his fingers curl and uncurl with the desire to strangle and slay.
Name: "Skelter"\\ Nature: Bravo\\ Concept: Cursed Murderer\\
Attributes
- Strength ☻☻☻☻o Charisma ☻oooo Perception ☻☻ooo
- Dexterity ☻☻☻oo Manipulation ☻☻ooo Intelligence ☻☻ooo
- Stamina ☻☻☻☻o Appearance ooooo Wits ☻☻☻oo
Abilities
- Athletics ☻☻☻oo
- Awareness ☻oooo
- Brawl ☻☻☻☻o (Brutality +3)
- Dodge ☻☻☻oo
- Endurance ☻☻☻oo
- Linguistics ooooo (Native: Riverspeak)
- Medicine ☻oooo (torture +2)
- Melee ☻oooo
- Presence ☻☻ooo (intimidation +1, Cruelty +1)
- Resistance ☻☻☻oo
- Stealth ☻oooo
Backgrounds
- Resources ☻☻ooo
- Influence ☻oooo
- Contacts ☻☻ooo
Virtues
- Compassion ☻oooo Conviction ☻☻☻☻o
- Temperance ☻oooo Valor ☻☻☻oo
Willpower: ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻ooo\\
Essence: ☻oooo\\
Health
- □ -0
- □□ -1
- □□ -2
- □ -4
- □ Incap
Combat
- Base init: 6
- Soak: 17B/16L (Body of Blades, Chainmail)
- Dodge: 6/3
- Attacks:
- Sharp Hands: Speed +6 Accuracy 7 Damage 4L Defense 6
Special Notes:
Body of Blades:
Skelter does lethal damage with all hand to hand attacks: clinches, punches, kicks, what have you. It is impossible for him to pull these punches as there is no real available "blunt" place on his body. He soaks lethal damage with his full stamina, and has a +5L/+5B soak. He wears a light chainmail beneath his cloak, more so that the cloak doesn't shred on his skin than for more protection.
Background Notes:
Skelter's long years as a hitman and excellent thug has led to a decent amount of money, some friends in low places, and some pull in the various underworlds he dabbles in. What crimelord WOULDN'T want a demonic appearing monster that was quite fully controllable.
Commentary
I used this guy as a minor villain in one of my games, and enjoyed him so much, I thought I'd put him up here. His utter pettiness and cruelty makes him just a delightful bully to cart around in your game. He provides an excellent challenge for low powered, mortal games, and he makes a fun, minor diversion for Exalted heroes. Not every villain has to be extra ordinarily powerful, and he's strong enough to challenge minor Exalted, like DBs.
He also makes an excellent thug for more villainous players, like Abyssals.
Not every villain has to be powerful or nasty. There are plenty of rather low level monstrosities. A single blood ape is quite the terror for a village. In some ways, this character represents that theory.
And yes, I stole the guy from a Pyramid Article, but he's not exactly THAT original. The story is unique to him. :)
