Wilati the Rat King

Wilati the Rat King

Male Human Rogue 3/Sorcerer 5
Wilati is a former fire-breather, petty thief, and hedge-mage for a traveling troupe. This changed when he jilted a witch, who cursed him to forever be as socially and physically repugnant as she saw him.

Description
A broken Keleshite, aged far beyond his years, isolation having left his mind as addled as his body. Stained stage jewelry adorns him in mockery of a king while his only vassal, his rat familiar, sits atop his shoulder. His teeth and breath are rotten from years of fire-breathing, supplemented by the powerful curse.

Notable Gear
Wilati always keeps at least one potion of fire substituted shocking grasp on his person, modified to be expelled through his breath rather than hands (statistically unchanged).

Motivations/Goals
His first goal is staking out a domain in the dredges of civilization where his liege can live comfortably. He defends his right to rule, and seeks riches that befit his imagined status to fill his coffers. Wilati harbors no small amount of resentment towards circus folk and many traveling entertainers after being run out by his troupe due to the curse, which readily turns to thoughts of vengeance.

Schemes/Plots
No stranger to a reputation ruined, Wilati is skilled at sabotage and levying accusations towards his mark. Sample tricks include disguising as his target and performing some public misdeed or planting stolen goods to sully their reputation. If his target sleeps unguarded, replacing the contents of their potions or otherwise tampering with their equipment is of particular effectiveness. There is little he can do about his odor, which leaves a clue for the party to follow once they notice the pattern of events.

Adventure Hooks
* While too proud to truly follow anybody, Wilati is easily manipulated by those that play to his delusions and resentments, directing him towards the party.
* Deciding that his 'kingdom' needs to expand, Wilati begins a campaign of terror amongst the beggars and vagrants, extracting tithe wherever possible; until one of the unwanted beseech aid against the almost demonic ruler.
* A man is found burned to death in an adjacent room to the party, with an uncomfortable odor about him and the window. The news devastates the four other people in the inn, who hadn't seen each other since their traveling troupe disbanded shortly after that terrible curse was afflicted on their fire-breather.

After Sundown: Persona non Grata

There is a system I go to for modern horror roleplaying, and that's After Sundown, which is essentially the Wold of Darkness game made better. The social system is particularly unique and intriguing. I've run a couple campaigns in it thus far, enjoyed by all. But I'm not here to give a review on the system, but instead a couple NPCs I've made for the game for a friend about to start their own campaign.


Aži Dahāka
   "Yes," the seemingly young Iranian man affirmed, his gloved hands working through the cadaver's entrails. The room was stark clean, chrome and white dominated everything but the desk. The desk was clear of papers, but had a large aquarium where exotic scorpions skittered about.
   "So the two snakes from the shoulders was true as well?" I inquired. It still came as a shock just how old some people, to use the term loosely, could be. Ambassador Aži was normally quite busy, and getting him during the twilight hours of his mortal job was the only time he was able to have enough of a mind to do something as mundane as answer my questions.
   With a snort and a sigh, "I'm purely yours I will tell you. That 'telephone game' I hear of is correct. My name means 'dragon' in the old language, and I can multitask much better than a man. They call me 'man with many brains', and it gets twisted." While speaking, he continues to look into the corpse as he rummages around, and out of the corner of my eye I can see a handful of scorpions gathered around a pen and wrestling with it. Their struggles are leaving pen marks on the form, and then I notice it's creating a barely legible scrawl.
   "My reign was also changed, as I only ruled for four hundred years. This was before the Silence, so I didn't hide my nature. I kill some people, yes, but no more than any other king back then. But the legend of my body erupting in scorpions and insects, that is true. What is also true is a Marduk named Fereydun bludgeoned me with the prophesied weapon of my defeat and tied me up in a cave. They got which cave wrong too, but I think that was on purpose, so I am not found. That was long ago, I do not care about then any more. Now, I care about human medicine and I care about immortal medicine." His analysis complete, he throws away the sterile gloves and walks over to the doctor's scrawl on the desk, the scorpions skittering up his sleeve as he grabs the papers.
   "Now, I give you much tonight. I have told you of my past, I have given you the script of the words that heal." He held out a hand, and I handed over to him a length of metal corkscrew, obviously ancient yet firm in construction. For the script, the Rati was worth losing.


   A1400 year old Persian (Tajik), and is the original evil king of Iranian legend. Appears roughly as a Tajik man in his early 20s. His body is filled with winged scorpions. When he was excavated by miners four hundred years ago, he spent some time as a tyrant and a warlord, bitter from his over half a millennium of imprisonment. Time has pacified him, and has taken to refocusing on his scholarly pursuits in ways beyond war. He seeks to understand his own biology, and keeps a secret lab on the facility that was built when the building was thirty years ago, while also working as a high-ranking forensic pathologist.

He is a Mi-Go of some age. He is introspective, ruthless, and has an ambition that is easily swayed by fear of constraint after centuries of imprisonment. In combat, he will default to making his opponents run away, 

Stats: S: 2; A: 3; I: 4; L: 5; W: 4; C: 8; Edge 4; Potency 3

Skills: Combat 4, Drive 1, Perception 6, Stealth 5, Survival 3; Tactics 6, Persuasin 6, Bureaucracy 6 (Government), Empathy 6, Intimidation 4; Medicine 6 (Forensics), Operations 2 (Repair), Research 5 (Library), Sabotage 5 (Disabling Stuff)

Backgrounds: Iranian History 4, Chemistry 3, Biology 6, Cauchemar Commune Politics 6, Local Law 4; Infernal Finances 6; Supernatural Medicine 6; Ballistics 4, Forensic Pathology 6, Local Drug Gangs 5

Powers: [Mi-Go] Small Witness, Body Colony, Abyss of the Body, Patience of the Mountains, Attract, Supernatural Senses, Telepathy, Magnify the Swarm; Dampen Senses, Learn the Heart's Pain, Thaumaturgical Forensics, Dismissal, Psychometry, Siren Song, Summons, Aura Perception

Resources: Language 2 (Persian, French), Science 2 (City Forensic Lab), Secrets 3 (Burnt Limbo copies of books from the Library of Alexandria), Destiny 2 (Ratir), Assets 5 (*is* a major Syndicate functionary)