Duk'ou Byao'gohn
First Mate at Sea || First Charge into Battle
Personality Traits
I enjoy sailing into new ports and making new friends over a flagon of ale.
My language is as foul as an otyugh nest.
I will recklessly charge into battle, no matter what. But no sacrifice is worthless when offered for victory. All that matters is bringing the Storm Herald to where the Storm will be.
Ideals
Freedom. The sea is freedom—the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. (Chaotic)
To wage battle against storms, monsters, foes, and anything else is simply his life. Wherever he fights, he will bring the storm with him or make his own. A good battle followed by a night of drinks is all one needs.
Bonds
I’ll always remember my first ship, the Hieratic, and its crew.
And friends and foes alike can receive my respect in battle, such is the nature of all mighty heroes and villains to attract each other. Those who follow me and those I follow deserve my loyalty and that is not given lightly with my intuition.
Flaws
Once I start drinking, it’s hard for me to stop.
The more damage I sustain and the more losses I suffer, the more reckless I become.
I have no mind for tactics or strategy, relying on my instincts to read the situation and moving however I see fit, even to the displeasure of others.
Origins of his Clan
In the old times of Toril’s Spellplague, Clan Qin’skad’ia was in the middle of an exodus from their homeland and, unknowingly, their homeworld. Some time in their history within the parallel world of Abeir, where dragons ruled over dragonborn, the bronze dragonborn of Clan Qin’skad’ia served an ancient red dragon, whose true name is lost to time and passed to future generations only as the “Crimson Overlord”. Legend tells that Crimson Overlord enslaved the clan once their volcanic dominion reached the coastal villages of Qin’skad’ia, forcing it under their rule as their new shore base of operations. The Qin’skad’ian dragonborn were once traders and fishers, now made into raiders and marines for the water-hating red dragon to pillage along the newly-accessible sea routes for plunder. To avoid fiery annihilation from the Overlord, the clan had to regularly deliver sufficient treasure to the red dragon’s hoard, all coming from the plunder taken from coastal raiding. In those times, raiding parties sailing swift and numerous dragon longships became the core of the clan’s societal structure, made up of the fiercest warriors and seafarers to forcefully loot and pillage from others for the clan’s survival. These raiding captains struck from newly-constructed coastal fortresses whose foundations were the chained bodies of their brethren, and the commanders of these fortresses were in turn charged with not only imposing martial law over the clanspeople but also defending the Crimson Overlord from shore-based threats. The rigorous tenacity and innovation of the dragonborns’ bronze draconic lineage sparked their growth into powerful and fearsome fighters as well as more aggressive navigators, braving through any martial or natural obstacle with proud determination, only because that determination was but a matchstick to the volcanic might of the Crimson Overlord which struck fear and despair in their hearts. However, the age of slavery would come to an end with a shifting of the winds, when one dragonborn lit the spark of rebellion amongst his clansmen.
Zhin’yusei, the Star-signer, led the clan in seceding from the Crimson Overlord’s domain with a decade-spanning war waged in pushing out the red dragon’s influence from their coasts. Uniting the raiding fleets and coastal forts into an army, Zhin’yusei turned the entire coastline against its unrightful master, provoking the Overlord’s wrathful rebuke. It was said that the bronze dragonborn cleaved through armies of hostile dragonborn, half-dragons, and even members of the Overlord’s own young brood to free their homeland and people. Initially, the campaign successfully freed the coasts of Qin’skad’ia with the element of surprise. But even the strength of the clan’s strongest warriors and the cunning of its most weathered captains and commanders could not hold back the Crimson Overlord’s might. For every glorious victory would eventually become only increasingly grievous losses of Qin’skad’ian heroes. And in the closing days of the war, in the clan’s darkest hour, Zhin’yusei would organize a mass exodus of all clansfolk into the ocean, with only a spark of hope that the ancient red dragon would not pursue them.
Taking up the rearguard of this endeavor was the Starsigner’s Sword, which was the epithet of Zhin’yusei’s champion Fay-sheen’tai. Fay-sheen’tai was a warrior and captain unmatched in martial might, fiery intuition, and unwavering loyalty; whose blade always flew straight on its course like a longship in a storm, earning him the personal nickname the Flying Helm-blade. While the Star-signer led the evacuation of the clan out to sea, the Helm-blade thrust himself and his loyal army deep into the Crimson Overlord’s ranks, drawing the red dragon to them as they hacked their course through his armies. Even in the shrouds of myth and legend, it is unknown if Fay-sheen’tai really decimated such an unimaginable amount of enemies, but a witness claim was made that the unmistakeable breath of the Crimson Overlord was seen annihilating the land directly in front of it and that a bolt of lightning pierced through the engulfing flames before disappearing in smoke. So the legend goes that Fay-sheen’tai cut his way to the Crimson Overlord and engaged the dragon in a duel while his followers kept out any interlopers as best they could. No matter what details of the duel were told, the finale would always be the Crimson Overlord ending the fight once and for all with a breath attack, incinerating the remnants of the Qin’skad’ian army and its own in a hellish fireball, but in a bolt of lightning, the Starsigner’s Sword thrust straight through the dragonfire, flying in the hands of Fay-sheen’tai jumping off the ground. And the champion struck an sky-shattering blow with the full might of the bronze dragon lineage flowing through his veins unleashed. Thus marked the end of Clan Qin’skad’ia’s war with the Crimson Overlord.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bronze dragonborn fled into the waves of the sea, sheltered in a fleet of the remaining longships not lost in battle and hastily constructed galleys. From the sunset after seeing the last lightning bolt to the next sunrise, Zhin’yusei gathered the clan remnants in mourning for the loss of his best friend and all the other clansfolk who sacrificed themselves for freedom. In the coming time spent in a straight course away from their homeland, no one could envision a final destination to their escape, and even their leader could find a path through the stars to guide them. Until a storm brewed on the horizon, swirling and roiling in a great spiral. It was terrifyingly huge, larger than any storm ever seen by a dragonborn. The torrential downpours and arcing pillars of lightning deterred even the most seasoned sailors of their people. Yet, with a voice proudly determined to meet their destiny, the Star-signer ordered his fleet to follow his flagship and plunge into the terror, promising them a final destination. With unparalleled skill and grit, the clan leader navigated the storm through every force of the oceans and heavens conspiring to tear his ships asunder, until he reached the destination promised to his people. An eerie calm beset the fleet once they have finally reached what only the Star-Signer could see through the obscuring clouds and the blinding seaspray: the eye of the storm. However, no one could have known what came next, for in passing through the eye, Clan Qin’skad’ia had found itself in uncharted waters. Waters belonging to a brave new world later discovered to be … Toril.
Early History of his Clan on Toril
Shortly after their unexpected arrival to Toril, the dragonborn clan soon made it to unknown shores. With their knowledge of coastal villages and fortresses, a stronghold haven was constructed as their new home over decades of work, carved out of rock cliffs and bored through tidal coves. But such a project to house an entire clan and future generations required resources, resources not found in the frosty wasteland the clansfolk scouted out further inland. Several longships ventured out along the coastlines to broaden the search, eventually coming to find coastal villages of unknown races. With the clan’s long history of slavery and waging a war with no allies, the dragonborn were not willing to trust these new faces to trade for the resources they needed. Or perhaps, the longships full of proud dragonborn warriors who knew only war and raiding did only what they knew best.
Over the years, the middling coast of Icewind Dale and Neverwinter would spread rumors of bronze dragon warriors raiding villages for food, tools, and treasure; and many military forces and adventurers clashed with these warriors in defense of these villages. The Skadian Raiders, as the Toril locals nicknamed them, did not harm the villagers unless provoked, generally cowing the locals with intimidating appearances and plowing their way through houses and lockboxes for their loot. But, in the event of a strong force of soldiers or adventurers confronting them, the bronze dragonborn would not disregard the allure of a good fight. Many skirmishes were won and lost between the raiders and defenders, digging a deeper rift between the outsiders and natives yet also solidifying the clan’s fearsome reputation.
With the completion of the new clanhold Z’ar’qin’skad’ia, the bronze dragonborn only grew in strength, their numbers replenishing in abundance and their old ways keeping their claws sharp. But their appetite for conflict and war was long oversatiated and was replaced with a weary want for peace. Despite their hopes of turning a heading of their current course, Clan Qin’skad’ia’s growing influence beyond their small territory grabbed the notice of the Lord Neverwinter himself who would not allow such a raiding force threaten Neverwinter’s sea trade. He sent a particularly powerful adventuring party to subdue the clan and end the threat once and for all. The adventurers were able to defeat several Qin’skad’ian longship crews and were eventually granted an audience with their clan leader, called a maekr’isk, who was at the time a wily former sea captain named Obe’rak Jal’rolf. Respecting the adventurers’ strength and justice, Maekr’isk Obe’rak attempted to foster peace between their peoples with the observation that an adventurer’s role to explore the unknown while fighting for what they believe in was a new heading the clan could take. And soon, negotiations of Clan Qin’skad’ia becoming a seafaring force for escorting sea traders instead of raiding them would bear fruit, which inadvertently allowed the clan members to openly explore their new world, free from the fears of their past.
In the current age, Qin’skad’ian longships act as convoy escorts, long-journeying traders, and the occasional privateer, but a small percentage of those ships roam free of the clan’s new role. These Qin’skad’ian explorers and adventurers would make legends and tales of their own, each worthy of being told to their dragonborn ancestors upon the journey’s end. And this is where one such Qin’skad’ian adventurer’s story awaits.
Backstory
Duk’ou was born and raised in the rocky coves of Z’ar’qin’skad’ia, like all members of his clan. Blessed with an exceptionally powerful physique even amongst the terrifying forms of his kind, he boasted of his strength constantly in his formative years as a hatchling, able to muscle his way through any obstacles in his way. In single combat with his fellow clutchmates, he was undefeated. And even in the clan’s ritualistic martial training exercises involving clashing ternok’dos (“scale walls”, a fighting formation of clansmen), Duk’ou always led the charge to stir up a veritable storm of savagery in his wake and win costly victories at the expense of his allies. Still, his martial prowess gained him a decent following that would follow his ascent to sea captain of a longship. However, for all his power, he remained hindered by one obstacle to his path to greatness: a rival captain candidate named Hal’ki Elso’mikk.
Hal’ki was physically weaker and smaller than his brethren, but where the thundering sparks of stormy might would course through Duk’ou’s spirit instead an enlightened spark of creativity and innovation guided his chosen path. He preferred to watch ships of all kinds sail on and off their homeport than doing any physical training, and his scrawled notes of observations included detailed sketches of old and new ship designs along with uncanny descriptions of weather conditions. The small dragonborn conquered his obstacles with cleverness and a keen mind, unlike Duk’ou’s physical might, which had caused the two to clash frequently over their differences. And in a twist of fate, the two were assigned as crew to their very own longship together, with Hal’ki as captain and Duk’ou as first mate. Initially, the duo made for uncertain leadership, given how they argued, but once settled, they made a formidable complementary team. As captain, Hal’ki modified the longship with his personal designs to make one of the fastest ships in the Qin’skad’ian fleet, which along with his superior knowledge of nautical navigation and maneuvering made him a premier upcoming sailor and commander. In his tour as first mate, Duk’ou led the crew in training and in battle as warrior-captain but also enforcing discipline and good spirits among them with boastful cheers and drink where Hal’ki’s more reclusive personality could not. And in time, the adventures of the longship Hieratic made its mark on the clan and other distant lands with the deeds of her captain and first mate.
But all good things came to an end as the crew of the Hieratic were shipwrecked and forced to evade the law after a job contract gone wrong with a client in Waterdeep. The attempted heist in the famed City of Splendors ruined their fortunes and reputations, even having gone so far to involve the watchmen of Neverwinter to pursue them. And so the crew split up in hiding and taking up new lives, which for Duk’ou meant the life of a mercenary who did odd jobs as hired muscle for clients of all kinds. But the hope remained that one day he would reunite with his crew with enough money and resources to build a new ship and go back to sailing the high seas once more. Recently, an old friend from the Hieratic sent an invitation to Baldur’s Gate wishing to catch up and also discuss an opportunity to buy a ship for the old Hieratic crew. Of course, Duk’ou made haste for the city to meet his former crewmate Ing’vra.
Physical Characteristics
Gender: Male Age: 28 Height: 6' 5" (77 in.) Weight: 237 lbs.
Size: Medium Eyes: Yellow "Hair": Bluish-white Skin: Bronze
Appearance
Duk’ou (also known as simply “Duke” to his Common-speaking friends) is an imposing figure of 6’5” with a muscular frame clearly defined by years of combat and ship-handling. His bronze scales are weathered and tanned from the sun and seaspray, with his crests and ridges surrounding his form taking a bluish-white color with all the accumulated sea salt bleaching the color out, which give him a mistaken but not unwelcome appearance of tribal markings, moustache, beard, and eyebrows. Scars litter his body from previous battles as electric yellow lines crossing his torso and arms. The only clothes on his person is an unbuttoned, free-flowing red vest hiding little of his bare scales; and baggy white breeches that offer comfort, maneuverability, and modesty. A backpack full of supplies is carried on his strong back with a gourd-like jug of fine wine tied to the top with rope while a smaller pouch is slung across his chest holding seafaring tools and his personal wineskin. However, no warrior is without his weapons and while his two handaxes hang by a waistbelt and his supply of harpoons are strapped to his pack, the trusty glaive stays in his hands always, its haft well-worn by use and the savage blade roughly grinded multiple times to give a vicious, serrated edge. Behind the blade are yellow eyes that will glow with lightning radiance and become wide like a beast on the hunt once he rages, and sharpened teeth that grin with a barbaric fiery joy for life.
Personality
He is a boisterous individual who isn’t afraid to make friends and enemies alike with his affinity for fighting and drink. He boasts of his past deeds and the deeds of his ancestors proudly when prompted to by curious minds and any requirement to prove his claims. A simplistic view of life allows him to pay attention to the finer details of the present, giving him a lightning-fast intuition that may catch those underestimating him for his intelligence off-guard. A rather ruthless and brutal approach to those in his way had earned him more than a bad reputation from more respectable members of society, but he views it as only a fair way to treat others with respect and impartiality, rarely harming others with any notions of neither ill intent nor self-righteousness. And to those whom he deeply respects and considers friends, he will freely open his wine jug and pour out a drink for celebration. Because Duke in battle is like a storm, a fearsome presence that strikes wherever he pleases and sending out waves of destruction in his wake, in which his friends will eventually come to appreciate after they toast with him in victory. However, unknown to most outsiders, he reserves a formal respect for Qin’skad’ian clan members, faithful to their traditions and mannerisms as needed; for he may make many friends and even family, but the clan will always be his home no matter where his travels take him.
Hello, all. Technically, I've had a M-W account since the og site in 2016ish, but I've only used this site to make character sheets as recommended by a past GM. I have played DnD 5e and 3.5e, along with Starfinder, some of the Warhammer ttrpgs, and some oneshots of other systems here and there. For the past couple years, I've been in a rut of "forever DM" to try out the systems that I think are cool, but I just don't have the time nor motivation to try DMing again. Plus, I've been stuck in the player mindset of wanting to play out these character ideas but having no games to put them in, which probably affected my DM experience. On another technicality, I have done play-by-post games before, but they were more freeform affairs from a group of friends on Discord that I have gone out of touch with. The games rarely had defined systems like DnD and were all thought up by the creator of the rp. But even so, having read a couple posts on the games I've seen here in the past couple days, the concept seems familiar, with the biggest difference of displaying all the crunch with fancy fieldsets and text colors. And the most pressing reason for why I decided to come out here is because that pbp games allow me to get over my current situation of living abroad from the NA, which is a big pain in the butt for joining games with schedules for mainly EST timezones. With pbp, there doesn't seem to be as much of a problem with timezones as long as I can post regularly (as far as I can tell). All in all, I just want to play games as a player again. With all due respect to GMs out there, but I am geared towards problem-solving rather than problem-making. I beg ye. Please. With a cherry on top.