Description
At a glance, you can see this barely three foot tall
scruffy-faced nugget has never placed in a beauty contest.
His motley collection of battle-worn armor and leathers
covering his pale, muscled frame, it is plain he has seen
his share of battle. A cloth with faded blood stains wraps
his right hand. What hair he has on the top of his is thin
and wiry, and pathetically short, unruly braids fall from
the sides of his head and beard. Piercing grey eyes peek
out from under eyebrows that may as well be a pair of
caterpillars lounging on his wrinkled forehead. His oh so
crooked nose tells a tale of what might be a dozen or more
breakings. His lips are parted enough that you catch a
view of missing front teeth. What skin is exposed is
laced with a history of scars wrapping the taut muscles
beneath. He holds a weapon on his back nearly as long
as he is tall and a look on his face that doesn't look up
to taking much crap even while he likely spends most days
looking up at everything else.
Role
His Last Battle
Added Thu Nov 14 04:50:21 2019 at level 13:
His small legs were doing their best to bound down the mountain
trail, blood from his slashed hamstring marking the way behind.
The sting from the wound told him the blade had been poisoned
and he didn't have much time before whatever kind it was began
to take hold.
The three had surprised him up top and even in the dire
situation it was a note of pride that they'd sent a trio after
him. He'd built enough of a reputation that foes had to at
least treat him as dangerous.
The path, peppered with hidden roots and stones, was taking
altogether too much concentration and his chest began to burn
from the exertion. This wasn't good. He couldn't keep this up
for long. Decision time.
He rounded a boulder with a quick stop that taller or heavier
frames would never be able to manage. There was a bit of a head
start, but not enough. He leaned back against the rock, taking
a few moments to catch his breath. In his hands was his trusty
axe. He kissed the blade and squeezed the pommel, the two
missing fingers on his right hand meant his grip had to be all
the tighter. "You got a few more in ya, do you, darlin'?"
He grinned wide as he calmed his breath and waited. Could hear
his pursuers coming closer. Stay still, stay calm. One figure
in black barreled past him down the mountain. Then two. The
third was coming. That one he'd gotten a lick on so would be
slower. With a fierce growl he gathered the axe and swung to
his left just as the last foe crossed round the boulder. The
axe severed the right leg just below the knee and the man
screamed. The momentum took Bugglin to the ground and he used
it to roll back to his feet on a stumbling run down the
mountain. Fleeing was no good. He had to take the battle to
them while he still could.
The second had heard the yells and turned back up to face the
little ball of hate coming his way. Bugglin shouted out "Say
Goodbye To Your Knees, Bugger!" and took a mistimed swipe,
only managing to knick the figure as he stumbled past and
stuttered to a halt. He turned back, his leg on fire with
the poison.
He spat his next words, tasting blood. "Alright, you. A fight
you wanted so a fight you ge-."
He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw the
ebony blade extending from his ribs. Expelling a labored
breath mixed with blood, he crumpled to his knees. The third
had come back sooner than he had planned.
"Sneaky bastard. Well done." With that, he keeled forward
onto his face.
This time felt different. Somehow final.
At the Door
Added Thu Nov 14 12:49:14 2019 at level 13:
Bugglin gasped as his eyes shot open.
There is nothing. Or almost nothing. Floor fading out to
black in all directions except maybe a dozen paces directly
in front of him where stands a large door with the look of
stone, flecked with veins of silver.
Through the door is peace. Peace in a place where true
warriors rest. He knows this by instinct. Not only that.
She is there. She is there behind the door.
He strides forward and, as he does so, something stirs to
life just beyond sight. He stops as a disembodied voice
comes from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Hold up, short stuff. You gotta be this high to get in,"
booms the voice as a cloud of fog drifts a foot over his
head.
Never liking to be told what he cannot do, Bugglin
instinctively reaches down for his axe that is not there.
He looks back up, peering into the darkness at all sides.
"What are you, apparition? And how dare you keep me from
my peace!"
Silence for a few moments and then the voice continues.
"This sort of thing is different for everyone. For some,
I'm a white light. For others, a fanged snake. For you,
I'm a voice in the dark, so la dee da. Why should I allow
you and your little legs passage? There is more I need to
know."
The deep gnome furrowed his brow and pursed his lips tight.
"My Lord is gonna tear you a new one when he gets word of
this and I won't tell you what's gonna be torn. I'm gonna
see her again, by damn, and no one, no thing, no nothing is
is going to change that. But alright, bugger. What do you
wanna know?
The fog feel back a bit as though this voice was taking a
a breath before "Very well First question. . ."
Why Panmorne? Why a Chaotic Mind?
Added Thu Nov 14 12:51:34 2019 at level 13:
The voice took on a new, deeper timbre.
"WHY THE IMMORTAL PANMORNE? WHY DID YOU FOLLOW HIM?"
"Why? Dad. Father, and mother for that matter, followed
him, or said they did, at least. My dad was a tough
bastard. Mom doubly so. Dad was the sort who doled out
respect like it was some damnable delicacy and you wanted
whatever scraps he was sharing. Those that got it knew it
wasn't given easily. As a result, I think he got the same
sort of treatment. Strength recognizes strength. True
strength that is. Strength of character. Strength of spirit.
Strength of soul. Guts. The sort that no number of times
gettin' knocked down can ever take from you.
"War is the long sight. And it's not just one battle. It's
constant. Mom and Dad instilled that in me. The war rattles
on and on and being ready to fight is your job. You always
show up and you always get up when you're down.
"They never said anything about having met the bugger, but
it didn't mean they didn't try to live their lives in his
name. I grew up with that and by damn if it didn't feel
like a fine way to live. Didn't know if I'd ever see him
neither and it didn't matter a lick."
"VERY WELL. SO YOU LIVED BY SOME CODE? BUT YOU DID NOT LIVE
AN ORDERLY LIFE. WHY?"
"Not a code. Just try to be ready. Because different things,
different times, different foes. They all call for different
stuff in your head. Not just flincy flouncy do whatever just
to be an ass, but different times call for different things.
And sometimes you gotta roll the dice with a chance that
might not come through, even if it seems eight shades of
stupid. It just might work. Them what follow a code have a
hard time doing that. Bravery means sometimes you lick your
wounds and wait 'stead of being the fool just charging and
throwing your life away.
"Now there's a difference between that and just being a
damned fool. The craziest things can take a whole lot of
thinking and planning. Do something unexpected and you turn
the tide of a battle. Speaking of, sometimes a damn word or a
gesture is more powerful than a blade, if you can believe
that. You ain't gonna see that if you follow some damnable
feckin' code."
Why do you hate magic?
Added Thu Nov 14 12:56:10 2019 at level 13:
"TELL ME MORE. WHAT BEGAN YOUR HATE OF MAGIC?"
"You wanna know what sparked it? The one thing what got it
all started? Well, damn, I already been talking enough, here
ya go.
"A girl. Now, not just a girl. A vision. Gwindolinn. She was
perfect. Now spare me, I know she weren't perfect perfect,
but, not much gonna get much closer to it than her, alright?
We was kids but I knew. She was for me. She danced, see. Grace
the sort that shouldn't be allowed to walk free without a
protector by her side. And I wanted to be her protector. Not
own her or nothing like that, but always protect her, if she'd
have me, so nobody could hurt her.
"Thing is, I was a might bit more shy when I was younger.
So I didn't talk much and I sure as all hell didn't go around
telling her I was gonna be her protector or none such.
"So one day, we is all kids there and teacher wants to put on
a program. Some dance. Teacher says that Gwin and someone else
will dance this here ceremonial thing that ain't none of us
ever heard of. She says that she needs someone just so tall so
it looks right or feels right or, hell, I don't even know. I
knew I was just about the same height as Gwin and weren't but
a handful of other boys in our class, none of 'em tall as me.
Teacher scans the room and points at me, calls me by name. Then
everything goes slow motion as she gestures me to get up. I'm
gonna get to dance with her.
"Just then, Festa, the bugger sitting next to me, stands up,
raises his hand and says 'Teacher, I'm taller than Bugglin.'
And damned if he wasn't. So teacher has me sit and Festa gets
to learning the dance. Wanted to vomit, I did. Just felt sick.
Sick, embarrassed and betrayed.
"So they get me all done up like a ham. A feckin' ham! A ham
what just sits off to the side with the other ceremonial foods
and has to watch his dream girl dance with a clumsy, toe-headed
bastard.
"So the event gets done and I'm taking off my ham costume,
ready to burn the damn thing. Festa is next to me, just
grinning a grin that needs to meet a fist. He knows how I feel
about Gwin. He'd seen me pine.
"All of a sudden, he just . . . gets shorter. Strangest thing
I'd ever seen happen at the time. Then takes a tiny bottle out
of his vest and wags it in my face, drops of some green liquid
still bouncing around inside. 'Simple little potion, little
bug. That's all I needed. You should have used one.'
"Turns out that were'nt the only potion the bugger used. The
next one stole her from me forever.
"Now I know I'm probably better for having gone through that
but damned if it didn't cut me to the quick and bring up the
fire that makes you grit your teeth into crackin'.
"That got me following word of the Battleragers. I sure as
hell hated me some magic, so I figured I'd at least go see
what they were about. I learned folks had all sorts of reasons
that sparked their hate, but we all shared a few things."
Why train with the warrior guild?
Added Tue Nov 19 22:39:10 2019 at level 24:
"WHY DID ONE SO DIMINUTIVE TRAIN TO BE A WARRIOR?"
"Alright first of all, if you got any dangly bits you had best
be guarding 'em cuz I think you just called me small. Now I
think we went over what I think about that. You don't go
kicking a dog just cuz he's a little pup. That'll just get him
riled up and he'll come back with a vengeance when he's grown.
"Secondly, because I think it's damn sexy to be able to pick
up any sort of thing and use it as a weapon. It's like a dance
when you see the best at it. If you don't have the looks or
the stature, you make your own stature by getting damn good
at what you do.
"That ain't to say it's the only way to train. But that's how
I wanted to dance. Making the best of this life I been given.
Why shouldn't I try to use the gifts I got best I can and, in
doing, give thanks for what they is?
You got actual dancers like Gwin that do it. You got assassins
and thieves with all their grace, bards with their voices doing
the wiggling and hell, even cooks. You tell me it doesn't set
your senses going when a master chef does his thing and makes
a meal outta a bucket of parts what shouldn't go together and
your mouth waters like the falls.
"So, short answer to your question bout being a warrior. Because
the best are damn sexy at it."
Why the Spec Choices and Legacy Choices?
Added Sun Dec 1 00:12:01 2019 at level 49:
"LET US TALK YOUR CHOICE OF WEAPONS. WHY CHOOSE AN AXE?"
"Well, first of all, I ain't think I did any chooosing. The
right weapon chooses you, see? You heft this and swing that,
but you're gonna come across somethin or other that just shares
your vibrations. Resonates and all that, I heared it called.
"So first came the axe. My darlin'. I'd name her Gwin if that
weren't already taken. She ain't the sharpest, she ain't got
the best balance but damned if she doesn't get the job done.
That's the sort I wanna be, cuz I sure as hells weren't the
best student. I wanna get the job done. The best with the axes
can all but speak with 'em, dance with 'em. Brutal force paired
with an almost elegant grace.
"After that, nothin' really spoke to me till I accidentally
done dropped both axes what I was holdin' at the same time.
Felt a bit of freedom and it came to me. You gotta be good with
your hands before you're good with a blade. Not only that, it
might just help me conversate, whether that be through touch
or through makin' some food or even a hut."
"AND YOU, BEING ONE OF YOUR STATURE, SPOKE TO THE MONKS OF
THE AUTUMN HAR"
"Now wait a damn minute, callin' me small again, bugger! No,
for your information, I ain't no farmer and I ain't first talked
to them to train me in no harvest. In thinkin' about it, I had
me a clear purpose, I wanted to get the job done. I know the
pain may be coming, but I wanted to hear from them how I could
stay in the mix as long as I could. So I heared about the
duergar warriors and their armor and I asked to learn the style
they call the Gates of the Forge so I could best make use of my
armors. Then, as I wanted to stay as long as I could and bear
the pain best I could, I studied the Fires of Adversity. Let
them that wanted to stick around have to work for it."
Why the Balls?
Added Sat Dec 7 03:43:52 2019 at level 51:
"WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?"
"Blue... no, yellow!"
"WHY THE BALLS?"
"Huh?"
"THE MEAT BALLS?"
"Oh, them. Had me a ton of them. Didn't rightly shut up about
them, neither.
"Now you already know I loves me a good meal, fine made food
and all that. But who in blazes wants to carry around legs of
chicken or a sack full of roasts? You need food to keep ya going
and that's what these balls is. Dried meat and fat with some
berries in there. None too heavy neither and just a few of em
fills you right up. As far as I'm concerned it were about the
best food for when I was out scuffling.
"You ever try one?"
"NO. I DO NOT EAT."
"Well you should learn to eat and stuff one of them balls in
your maw or whatever you got for that.
"Another reason I liked em is cuz I worked out a deal with
Gerald, that fellow what makes and sells them balls in
Blackclaw. He'd give me a good price and a few extra for free
in my sack if I talked em up to everybody else. That weren't
hard to do cuz the damanable balls are damnably good. You can
quote me on that."
What about your skills as a warrior?
Added Fri Jan 10 16:59:47 2020 at level 51:
"WERE YOU THE BEST?"
"Best at what? Being a principled curmudgeon? I suppose. But
no, I weren't even close to the best of my race, guild or
persuasion. Come on now, surely you seen that. Or heard it.
Or read it. Or hells, however you pick stuff up."
"SO YOU WERE MEDIOCRE? IS THAT NOT A DISAPPOINTMENT?"
"Not in the slightest, bugger. Least not for me, maybe for
somebody else. Just another challenge. That's the thing.
Life is a bunch of challenges, ain't it?
"Like I ain't immune to fear or doubt. They comes for me
just like anybody else. But the thing I do is say hey up to
it, then it don't have no more power. I wake up, and that
voice says "You can't fight yer way out of a haversack." So
instead of frettin' on that, I say "You're right. That
showing was poor as piss." Then that voice don't got
anything left to say and ain't nobody else able to give me
any gump about it.
"So no, I weren't never the best fighter, whether that be
the number of corpses in front of me or the number of
tricks I learned how to do. But here's the thing. I showed
up. I kept comin' back, no matter how many times I got
dropped.
"Let off some steam, make sure I ain't just throwin' my blood
around like it's rice at a wedding and then get back in the
fray when I can. That's the one thing I guess you could call
me more than mediocre. Everything else? Mediocre is probably
generous."
PK Wins
Nov 19, 2019|Lv 22|Hidden Forest|Jarosleeva vs 1: [22] Bugglin (100%, slice)
Nov 27, 2019|Lv 38|Galadon|Dhrak vs 2: [38] Bugglin (81%, cleave), [37] Learielle (18%)
Dec 12, 2019|Lv 51|BattleRager Village|Dhrak vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, chop)
Dec 16, 2019|Lv 51|The Imperial Lands|Amzrath vs 3: [51] Tauzak (67%, wrath), [51] Learielle (32%), [51] Bugglin (0%)
Dec 16, 2019|Lv 51|The Dwarf Forest|Tanamara vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, punch)
Dec 19, 2019|Lv 51|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Dhrak vs 2: [51] Learielle (31%), [51] Bugglin (68%, brutal attack)
Dec 24, 2019|Lv 51|BattleRager Village|Tegerek vs 2: [51] Learielle (61%), [51] Bugglin (38%, venomous slash)
Dec 30, 2019|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|Ysforgul vs 3: [51] Bugglin (26%, disembowelment), [51] Learielle (56%), [51] Shaenalae (17%) *Disemboweled*
Jan 10, 2020|Lv 51|Valley of Veran|Zaol vs 2: [51] Bugglin (22%, punch), [51] Learielle (77%)
Jan 21, 2020|Lv 51|Akan|Dhrak vs 2: [51] Learielle (46%), [51] Bugglin (53%, searing cut)
Feb 10, 2020|Lv 51|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Xiqoanna vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, parting blow)
Feb 11, 2020|Lv 51|The Eastern Road|Noma vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, punch)
Feb 13, 2020|Lv 51|Sands of Sorrow|Takamae vs 7: [51] Steapa (0%), [51] Bugglin (16%, punch), [51] Dorlangan (2%), [51] Nossos (17%), [51] Tzarve (46%), [48] Memmen (7%), [51] Killia (9%)
Feb 13, 2020|Lv 51|Sands of Sorrow|Darlof vs 4: [51] Tzarve (52%), [48] Memmen (0%), [51] Bugglin (5%), [51] Nossos (42%, crush)
Feb 13, 2020|Lv 51|Sands of Sorrow|Dhrak vs 3: [51] Tzarve (37%), [51] Bugglin (11%), [51] Dorlangan (51%, black light)
Feb 13, 2020|Lv 51|Sands of Sorrow|Habdazzle vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, pierce)
Mar 1, 2020 |Lv 51|Feanwyyn Weald|Meeyo vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, pierce)
Mar 21, 2020|Lv 51|The Tahril Mountains|Dahken vs 2: [51] Theorendus (62%, wave of remorse), [51] Bugglin (37%)
Mar 30, 2020|Lv 51|BattleRager Village|Gharzhak vs 2: [51] Daksoble (0%), [51] Bugglin (100%, wild overhead attack)
Mar 30, 2020|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Gharzhak vs 2: [51] Dielicai (22%), [51] Bugglin (77%, punch)
Mar 30, 2020|Lv 51|Northern Foothills|Vantiglia vs 2: [51] Bugglin (45%, parting blow), [51] Dielicai (54%)
Apr 18, 2020|Lv 51|Excavated Ruins|Admund vs 4: [51] Tikkan (23%), [51] Bugglin (20%), [51] Nossos (31%, smash), [45] Itasvi (24%)
Apr 18, 2020|Lv 51|Excavated Ruins|Nossos vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, caustic slime)
Apr 18, 2020|Lv 51|Underdark|Jaane vs 2: [51] Bugglin (15%), [51] Thozur (84%, crush)
May 8, 2020 |Lv 51|Galadon|Snerdrull vs 1: [51] Bugglin (100%, punch)
May 16, 2020|Lv 51|The Dwarf Forest|Uggumras vs 3: [51] Elphina (45%), [51] Tikkan (31%, punch), [51] Bugglin (22%)