This is the second in a series of seven character creation blog posts. These are starting characters, and can be used as premades in a game.

Steffie here. Welcome back to our character-creation series! Next up: a Druid.

Two cards immediately drew my eye as I searched through our beautiful Devil’s Deck. Card IX, the Hermit, with a person literally rising from the mountains and shining a lantern to light the way. And Card XI, Strength: a black woman carrying a wolf to safety, blindfolded yet certain of her path, with a small cross dangling around her neck as a sign of her faith. Both would make great Druids, who see themselves as the spiritual keepers of all Fated.

The obvious thing, then, is to make on a Druid of Nádúr (nature) and the other of Fuil (blood). But which is which? To be honest, it could have gone either way. Finally it came down to happenstance (spoiler alert: a lot of game development and writing is happenstance – ie what the author recently read or saw that inspires them). I read a National Geographic article about the Black Mambas, an all-female anti poaching unit in South Africa, and wanted to incorporate that into my Druid. I took another look at the Strength card: what if the wolf she carries isn’t just a wolf, but a symbol for all wildlife? From there, everything fell into place and Theba grew in my mind as a Nádúr Druid. So let’s have a closer look.

(Incidentally, let me know in the comments if you want to see the Hermit card statted as a Fuil Druid, and I’ll revisit that one at the end of the series!)

Theba

She calls herself Theba, the shield of Tswalu, as she protects the Kalahari wildlife reserve from hunters and poachers. Making the most of her Fating, Theba extends her protection to encompass the territories outside of the nature reserve even as she works to free herself from her demon’s grasp.

Before her Fating….

Theba was part of an anti-poaching unit in the Tswalu Kalahari reserve, near the South African border with Botswana. She didn’t choose the job deliberately, but fell into it as one of the few work opportunities available to support her family. Theba resented the work at first: she put her life on the line to protect animals for the viewing pleasure of rich tourists. One night on patrol, she found a African wild dog trapped in a poacher’s snare. She knew the dog wasn’t the snare’s target; the small animal was a mere afterthought on the reserve and not part of the big five (or indeed any ‘big’ list). The wild dog though, didn’t care whether or not the snare was intended for it: the canine fought as hard as any cheetah or lion to escape the snare. Theba freed the dog and it limped away to – hopefully – safety.

That night marked a slow and gradual change in Theba. She no longer patrolled the park to preserve the wildlife for tourists, nor her boss, but rather for the animals themselves. They were a part of her heritage, and they needed her to keep them safe.

Theba was Fated because….

Theba first met true danger in the form of a rich American physician, who had hired the poachers to sneak him into the park so he could hunt and kill one of its famed black-maned lions. When Theba and her partner came across them on their patrol, the physician didn’t abandon his kill to return later as the poachers normally did. In fact, he never even hesitated as he raised his hunting rifle and shot Theba’s partner to ensure their silence. He swung his rifle to aim at Theba next, and time crawled to a stop. She saw the poachers panic and scatter, one of them moving to stop the American before he could fire again. She felt her partner bleeding out on the ground behind her. And she heard the great Horned Beast, speaking directly into her soul and offering the power to fight back. When time finally moved normally again, Theba – now a Fated – killed the poacher and saved her partner.

Her relationship with her demon is….

Theba bartered her soul for the power to protect Tswalu. She also sacrificed an American hunter to the Horned Beast in exchange for it using its magic to save Theba’s partner. She felt the depth of the demon’s hunger at that time, how eager it was to lap up the hunter’s blood, and has worried ever since that it would return demanding more. Oddly, the Horned Beast her remained hands off. It doesn’t insist she kill, nor does it push her to commit any atrocities in its name. Rather it seems content to wait and Theba does what she has always done.

Today she is….

More protective than ever of Tswalu, and extending her protection to animals and territory outside the reserve. Theba has no intention of hurting her countrymen, and instead uses her power to call Tswalu’s prey to her and away from the poachers. Previously a lapsed Christian, she has rekindled her faith as she tries to assess the fullness of the pact she made that night. Theba knows her soul is damned to hell if she maintains the deal, but that Tswalu’s wildlife will suffer is she breaks it. She has turned to the full extent of Christian teachings, including the apocrypha and outlawed knowledge, to find a third way: one that frees her from the Horned Beast, yet lets her keep her power.

Fate: Druid (Nádúr)

Spell Level: 1

Attributes: Charisma 1, Dexterity 2, Intelligence 2, Manipulation 1, Perception 4, Stamina 3, Strength 3, Wisdom 3

Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Drive 2, Empathy 2, Intimidation 1, Knowledge: Christianity 1, Knowledge: Linguistics (English) 1, Spot 3 (*), Stealth 2, Survival 4 (*)

Talents: Casting 2 (*), Occult 1 (Demons), Sense 1

Cantos: Cosain I, Fréamh I

Pursuits: Funds 1, Property 1, Status (Protector of Tswalu) 3

Freebies: 10 (Strength, Drive, Survival)