Xíe, Who Walks Again: the Dragon

[AnemoneEnemy]

[center][i]"Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars..."[/i] [indent]--CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Robert E. Howard[/indent] [b]All that you held most dear you shall set by And leave behind you; and this is the arrow The longbow of your exile first lets fly.[/b] [indent]--THE PARADISIO, Dante[/indent] [b][color="Black"][font="Palatino Linotype"][size=""]Xíe, Who Walks Again[/size][/font][/color][/b] [b][color="Black"][font="Palatino Linotype"][size="5"]THE DRAGON[/size][/font][/color][/b] [IMG2=325]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6c/fa/ee/6cfaee8293fc26b1c643f1880656f354.jpg[/IMG2] [/center]

"Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars..."

--CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Robert E. Howard

All that you held most dear you shall set by
And leave behind you; and this is the arrow
The longbow of your exile first lets fly.

--THE PARADISIO, Dante

Xíe, Who Walks Again
THE DRAGON




 

A woman, with a regal face,
intense eyes, a tall body,
and wearing ancient ur-silks

An aeon and half an aeon has passed since Xíe, Who Was Undefeated, was laid down to sleep the Great Sleep upon the shield of a conquered foe. Mourned and celebrated by her people, in sorrow and glory she was put to rest!
She slept in glory, content, without awareness of time passing, as all the great heroes of her people did.

She is done resting: her tomb disturbed by robbers, her people's works and very nearly the memory of their works crumbled to dust, she wrapped herself in her burial shroud, the ur-silk reverting back into the clothes it had been when she lived. She rose from her stone bed and slew the men who desecrated her resting place, and tasted their blood, and found it warm and full of life.

Xíe, Who Stands Astride the World, has slain men and beasts, taken and spent coin, and made proud men and women bow before her. She has tasted the flesh of animals that were not yet formed in her day, and she has learned that though the measure of the men of today is less than it once was, their nature is no different. She has learned the languages and ways of the barbaric time she has awoken in; she is weak, dreadfully weak from her long slumber--but make no mistake: as she recovers her full strength, she will tame it, and place her foot on its throat, and she will found once again the great Shining Kingdom and restore the world to glory. She will gather to her the great, the wise, the righteous: those who understand, at least a little, what the world could be.

The great, not only the good. One does not build a kingdom with goodness alone.
All Great Works are built with blood. Has this been forgotten?

She is very greatly diminished--her strength sapped, her wyrd reduced to near-nothing, her presence no longer a physical force that can break blades and turn arrows. She can't crack flagstones with her gaze or pin a hundred men to the ground with the force of her displeasure.
But she was always more subtle than she seemed, and wild as the world's edge, and though she can no longer match muscled giants blow for blow or run on air, though she can not balance on a tree branch or strike hard enough to shatter stone, she is still a terrible enemy to make.
She is Xíe, Who Walks Again and the world will know it.


Xíe, Who Walks Again, is silk over steel: in her is something of the stalking panther, the towering thunderhead, the blade clearing its sheath. The intensity of her dark eyes is like a physical weight, and she goes from stillness to motion without the twitch of muscle or shift of gaze as warning.
Her features are regal and resemble no people known under the sun: taller than the men of these diminished days, strong-shouldered, with lean whipcord muscle over bone, dusky skin, and long, graceful limbs. She has high cheekbones, a cruel mouth, a surprisingly delicate chin, and tightly-woven night-dark curls that seem as difficult to restrain as she herself is. She is striking by any measure, but very few would describe her as beautiful. If they did, they would not mean the prettiness of a woman to be wooed, but the killing beauty of the sea at storm and sunset, or the tundra under the stars


Xíe, Who Walks Again, is a study in contrasts. She is decisive and unflinching once she is in action, but indolent and hedonistic when taking her rest. With her enemies, she is relentless, even cruel, but with those who please her she is generous and kind-hearted. Like all the great heroes of her long-ago time, she has gigantic melancholy and gigantic mirth, enormous appetites for glory and power and pleasure and conquest, a disdain for the craven and an even greater disdain for those who prey on the weak and helpless.
She laments how far the world has fallen, the crude and corrupt state of it--weak kings, selfish magistrates, petty lordlings, people whose talents and ambitions and lives seem diminished compared to the great Shining Kingdom her people once built. At the same time, she takes joy when she sees the seeds of greatness among them: bold heroes, great inventors, far-traveling explorers, studied wizards. She takes the state of the world as a personal affront, and has determined to stem the tide of time and build anew that which has been lost.
It is no small task, but those who meet her begin to think that she may be equal to it. Whatever her mood, whatever she is doing, she is larger than life, fiercely present, her attention a bright focus that often overwhelms its recipients.

 

 

[AnemoneEnemy]

  

NAME: Xíe, Who Walks Again
LEVEL: 1

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AGENDAS:

• Create Opportunities To Do Good
  • The world is filled with people who need the help of the fellowship. Give them people to save. Give them a broken world, and see how they fix it.
• Play To Find Out What Happens
  • The world is constantly changing and you can never truly know what happens next. Roll with it. Let the game evolve naturally, with everyone's input. Don't plan anything outside of what the Overlord is doing.
• The World Is Mine
  • Portray a world on the edge of defeat.
  • Extra Cut: Expand the Overlord's Grasp.
    • Show them just how far your power stretches. Tell them of another conquered land, another lost battalion, another defeated ally. Your reach always presses onward.

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AGENDAS:

• Be Brave, Take Risks
• Tell Us of Your People
• Unfettered Ambitions
  • Seize fame and fortune whenever you can

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STATS:

• Blood +2
• Courage +0
• Grace +1
• Sense -1
• Wisdom +2

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WHAT IS A DRAGON?

A Champion, Chosen
You were not related to the Dragons, until they chose you as their champion. Though you have changed, you still remember who you were. Take a Core Move from any other basic playbook. That playbook's Core and Custom Moves count as Dragon Custom Moves for you, and you may take Moves from that playbook that cannot be Shared

• Playbook: the Exile
• Core Move: Who You Were
  • Take one Core Move and one Custom Move from any basic playbook. You can take Moves that cannot be Shared. Both of these Moves must come from the same playbook. That playbook is Who You Were. You cannot Command Lore about its people, only about the crimes you have committed and other exiles like you.This Move cannot be Shared.
• Who You Were: ??? (Outlander - Fool Me Once and I Need to Know? Heir - Yes My Liege and How Dare You? Redeemed - Tenacity Incarnate and Dark Power?)

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DRAGON'S CORE

CHAMPION OF FIRE
You do not have your own People. You once did, but no longer. Instead, you can Command Lore about the glory of the dragons, their place in the world, and the magnificent feats they have performed throughout history.
This Move cannot be Shared.

DRAGON MAGIC
When you draw upon the draconic power that only a fool would not call magic, choose a spell from below, then mark it. You cannot use a spell while it is marked.

When you Fill Your Belly, remove a mark from one spell. When you Recover, remove all marks on your spells.
O Blessing of Strength: Destroy a wall or door in your way.
O Blessing of Speed: Instantly appear somewhere close by that you can see. No one else will see you move there.
O Blessing of Glory: Force someone to listen to you when you Talk Sense to them.
When you Share this Move with another, they choose a single spell from the list. That spell is the only one they can use. You can Share this Move with someone multiple times. Each time you do, they learn another spell.

THROUGH THE FIRE AND THE FLAMES
You are Dragon-Made, and the elements cannot harm or change you.
This Move cannot be Shared.
 

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DRAGON'S CUSTOM
 

LISTEN HERE, YOU LITTLE PUNK
When you Talk Sense by telling them what will happen to them if they do not do as you ask, Talk Sense with +Blood. On a 7-9, they cannot ask their favor of you until they have done what you asked of them.

STRENGTH OF A HUNDRED
You can pick up anything and anyone you can firmly grasp with at leastone hand. Objects and enemies you hold have the tags Ranged and Thrown.
 

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OVERLORD BONDS
You start with 4 Bonds with other members of the fellowship.

•  
•  
•  
•  

Record your other bonds here:
 

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DRAGON'S GEAR
 

You have extra spicy fruits (Dragon-Made, Food, 3 Uses): [ ] [ ] [ ]
Your armament also protects you (Armor, Dragon-Made, 1 Use): [ ]

Choose your armaments; all are Melee and Dragon-Made:
Your supernatural strength and speed.

Choose your PresenceReplacing Fire with Ice from the custom "Fire and Ice".

Your Ice slows those it hits, giving Hope to Finish Them, Keep Them Busy, or Get Away from them. It is also (Ranged, Reload). (Ranged, Reload):
Your presence unfurls around you

Choose your follower:
Your minion. Choose another player, and add your Armaments to their Gear: (Melee, Dragon-Made) and Armor (Dragon-Made, 1 Use)

Choose your treasure:
Yourself, and your overwhelming power (2 uses): [ ] [ ]
When you use your Dragon Magic, you may spend 1 use of your Power instead of marking a Dragon Magic spell.

Dragon-Made:
Dragon-Made items cannot be destroyed, damaged, or altered by the elements or magical attacks. Fire, ice, lightning, acid, arcane energy, dark all-consuming voids--none of them have any effect on Dragon-Made weapons or armor.