In this thread I’d like to introduce to you the first two PCs ever created for playing an actual campaign of
Blade of the Iron Throne. I intend to relate their exploits, session by session,
in another thread. It is my hope that this will serve as examples of both character and scenario creation for
Blade and to acquaint you with the word of Xoth – or at least with my gaming group’s version of Xoth, which is just one of many possible versions, no better than your own. And of course to hopefully entertain you with our antics.
The campaign is played by members of my regular gaming group. It is refereed by Helen, a lady without much prior experience with Sword
& Sorcery, and the characters are played by John, a friend of ours, and of course myself.
And now, without further ado, meet my character!
Prince Shahrul
“Born in a palace,” he whispered. “And I’m dying behind a rock wall!”
– Robert E. Howard, The Trail of the Blood-Stained God
Shahrul was born in the sprawling imperial palace of Khazabad, sired by the all-powerful Padishah of Khazistan, Abdur
II, upon one of the countless concubines in his harem. Like his scores and scores of brothers born to the women of the harem, Shahrul grew up hardly ever meeting or speakig to his imperial father, but among the luxuries afforded to somebody of the exalted blood of the line of the Padishahs of Khazistan. The minor prince lacked for nothing, his every whim being indulged. Dabbling in whatever pleasures and pursuits took his fancy, Shahrul grew up to become a courtier, a self-styled poet, a duelist, a lover, and an initiate into the mysteries of several cults.
But one short month ago, Shahrul overstepped. Always a fancier of women and fancied by them in turn, his aged father’s newest fully-wed wife, the lovely ebon Princess Shabela from the the black kingdom of Azimba, aroused his lust, and he hers. A short, passionate affair was consumated – and intimated to his imperial father. As it turned out, the entire fling had been carefully facilitated by Sammu-Ramat, another of his fathers’ queens, as a ploy to discredit Shabela and strengthen her own position. By sheer luck alone did Shahrul manage to evade the guardsmen sent by an enraged Padishah to carry out the death sentence of having his son slowly broiled to death in hot bitumen. Having fled head over heels to the farther reaches of his vengeful father’s realm, to Zul-Bazzir, Shahrul hopes to have eluded his pursuers – at least for now.
Prince Shahrul is a handsome young man with a close-cropped dark beard, currently dressed in travel-worn remains of courtly finery augmented by bits and pieces of coarser clothing. His bearing is aristocratic and haughty. It can shift from almost effeminate to steely in the span of a mere blink, and his eyes can just as quickly go from their usual warm, mellow, and heartmelting gleam to their more natural calculating coldness.
He is
23 years old.
A: Proficiencies (
16). B: Attributes (
29). C: Sorcery (Dabbler). D: Skills (
18). E: Culture (Decadent: Arrogance, –
1 TY). F: Assets (
3 Poor).
Brawn:
4 Daring:
5 Tenacity:
3 Sagacity:
5 Heart:
5 Cunning:
5 (focal)
Reflex:
5 Aim:
5 Knockdown:
5 Knockout:
4 Move:
5 Power:
5
Good Assets: Literacy.
Poor Assets: Arrogance (
TY to stay calm in face of disrespect); Connections (death warrant by Padishah of Khazistan, comes up in a session on
10+ on d
12); Lecherous (
TY to resist sexual temptation); Suspicious (+
2 TN friendly social interaction); Wastrel (Loot goes down way quicker).
Proficiencies: Cut
& Thrust
7 (
MP 12, scimitar); Bow
4 (
AP 9).
Sorcery: Enslavement
3 (
SP 8 ); Scrying
2 (
SP 7).
Skills: Customs
2, Etiquette
4, Falsehood
2, Information Gathering
1, Occultism
1, Riding
4, Seduction
3.
Passions:
Regain Wealth and Power:
3 Elude Padishah’s Wrath:
1 Vengeance Against Queen Sammu-Ramat:
1
Left Open to Tie in with Other PC(s):
1 Drama:
1
Loot:
1