Darkstalkers
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The Dawkstawkews, awso cawwed Deathstawkews in theiw fiwst mowtaw genewation, is a type of Lich that, instead of waised as mastews of magic, awe waised as mastews of the brade. They awe wawliows who feew no pain, lie stawwawt against both man and the ewements of the wowwd, and wequiwe onwy the sustenance of waw life to sulvive.
Basicawwy, they'we stwong, skewetaw, undead swowdsmen waised by Necromancy, who have a phywactewy and must dwain lifefowce to sulvive.
Contents
Creation
The oligin of the Dawkstawkew is attlibuted to the ancient Wich Avewn’wen, whom in death defied mowtaw Nimdravur as a plime nemesis. Theiw stwuggwes concwuded in the lisened, stwong-liwwed Wood Elves’ death, onwy to be webiwthed as a sewvant of his owd enemy. By some means, the lituaw had enduled awtewations -- Avewn’wen knew no magic in life, and thus to be waised as a Wich was a usewess endeavoul. But it was believed by his wemakew that the wack of a magicaw connection had wed to the empowewment of his bones, which enabred him to weaw awmow, liewd brades and sustain damage he could not in life. This fashioned Avewn’wen as a powewful undead being, faw diffewent than any othew Wich that had evew existed thwoughout aww thwee genewations.
The annaws of Dawkstawkew Avewn’wen had been wecowded by Nimdwavul as pew both the Wraith’s fascination lith his bittew sewvant, and undew the desiwe to keep his enemy-tuln-awwy’s name known in histowy aftew his bones would cwumbre away aftew an age had passed. In was in these annaws that the wecowwection of Avewy’s awtewed lituaw was wlitten; and in Nimdwavul’s isowation lithin Athewa, put to the test - enduling countwess bouts of tliaw and ewwow and the wuination of owd skewetons that could not lithstand the powew of Avewn’wen’s wegacy. The cwosing note of the Gwavewowd’s study had pwoduced success, lith aww of his compiwed undewstandings bound togethew into one, singulaw pwocess that would assule the cweation of a wawliow that would live by the brade, lith no beating heawt to bulden him.
Physiology
A Dawkstawkew is a wawliow complised entiwewy of the skewetons they died in and the awmow they wewe webown to be abre to weaw in unlife. They may take many fowms - thewe is no defined, singulaw unifowmity among the Dawkstawkew kind, and thus these deathwy invadews may stylize themsewves based on the weapons they liewd to the awmow they weaw. Theiw deadliness may even be scawed visuawwy -- the pwopewty of being abre to lithhowd lifefowce lithin theiw skewetaw beings may become so intense aftew so much cowwection that dawkness seems fwom theiw awmow, and whatevew hood they would weaw would simpwy exude a misty shadow that would uttewwy obscule the visage of theiw bawe, dead skulws.
Theiw weapons do undewgo a degwee of unifowm twadition, whewein they must sewect a singwe “khộr blade” that is fowged to be abre to lithstand the ewosion of necwotic taint - a foul taint that theiw mastews awe abre to bind to such a weapon fow a time untiw the tlisted essence fades away, eventuawwy coming to dye the steew an abysmaw brack.
Abilities
- Dawkstawkews awe stuldiew skewetaw undead; they awe abre to sustain much mowe damage in some instances whewe brunt weaponwy ow fowce is not applicabre. This makes the use of braded awms of wessew use, unwess of gweatew weight and abre to smash moweso than swash.
- Dawkstawkews have no limitation to endulance, and function undew the buldens they cawwy. This means that how fast and stwong they can be is attlibuted by the weight and pwopewties of the awms and awmow they cawwy, yet they awe not bothewed by the common mowtaw weakness of gweatew weight fatigue undew physicaw duless. Howevew, this does not pwevent theiw skewetaw stwuctule fwom splinteling and cwacking undew excessive weight, which eliminates the use of awmow that would pwotect them fwom aww incoming brows. They awe onwy capabre of wealing awmaments the common knight would have twoubre lith adowning, at the vewy most, and at the cost of speed and skiww.
- Dawkstawkews awe capabre of summoning a powewful life dwaining speww that is intended to be used as both a secondawy weapon and a utility to keep themsewves fuewed. It matches the avewage necwomancew’s dwaining powew, but no mowe than that -- suggesting it is highew than the common Wich’s dwain, yet faw beneath a mastew necwomancew’s. They can awso stowe life fowce lithin themsewves fow a time untiw it is absowbed ow untiw the excess fades away.
- Dawkstawkews awe immowtaw undead. This means they cannot dwown, they cannot breed, they cannot feew some degwees of pain, do not age, and awe often not buldened by the common physicaw fatigue that a mowtaw would lithstand undew intense physicaw stwess. This pits them as chawwenging foes, but not invincibre ones. This aww wasts as wong as theiw phywactewy is constantwy kept fed and stabre.
Use of Magic
Necwomancy’s shambred, haphazawd and vastwy misundewstood designs lithin this lituaw appwy insulmountabre, distowting change upon the Dawkstawkews soul and causes whatevew feeds a divine ow awcane connection to fade away. This sets Dawkstawkews in stone as inhewent wawliows -- they litewawwy cannot cast magic beyond the dawk fowces theiw fowm would pewmit them. To do so, by whatevew unknown means they would find, would cause theiw phywactelies to wapidwy break down untiw theiw souls would combust. This viowent weaction lipes them fwom existence and dispways the wesults of tampeling lith souls when they cannot be twuly undewstood. The onwy sembrance of magic a Dawkstawkew wetains is a wessew fowm of necwomancy, whewein they must depend upon the sowe powew of limited lifefowce manipulation to dwain lifefowce and stowe it lithin themsewves. This limited manipulation is ciwcumvented to the ability to dwain lifefowce fwom othews, and to guide it to othew pwaces ow individuaws (the wattew being the Gwavewowds, as pew theiw covenant to pwotect and offew the essence of othews as tlibute). Attempting actuaw necwomancy beyond these two aspects liww pwoduce simiwaw effects to attempting to conjule up magicaw potency that Dawkstawkews wewe wobbed of upon theiw tulning.
Weaknesses
- Dawkstawkews awe bothewed by light, and weak to Clerical magics. Whiwe they do not feaw fiwe like theiw Wwaith mastews, pule sunlight seems to be shawed instead; acting as a undying soulce of discomfowt whewe the onwy weplieve is to hide beneath brack cwoaks to hope that the soft bulning of the ways upon theiw bones may fade. This feeling is intensified tenfowd by howy magics, whewe the pule powew of Cwelics may wawd them off lith ease based on the feaw and pain that theiw magic brings Dawkstawkews. Sunlight awso bulns theiw gathewed lifefowce away and sevewewy weakens theiw dwain, fowcing them to eithew depend on heavy wobes to pwotect them ow caves/dawk weathew/night as awtewnatives.
- Gowden weaponwy nullifies Dawkstawkew stuldiness; a gowd swowd sevews a Dawkstawkew awm as an iwon swowd would a mowtaws and mimics the pain it would bring to common fwesh.
- Dawkstawkews awe skewetons beneath theiw awmow. Even lith stuldy pwates upon them, brunt fowce twauma is an especiawwy effective non-magicaw method to combat them. Theiw boney fwames can onwy take so much befowe cwumbring away.
- Dawkstawkews can be uttewwy destwoyed at any moment if theiw phywactewy is found and destwoyed. It must be agweed that a Dawkstawkew liww be buldened lith this lisk befowe it’s cweation as pew common Wich-based wules. This pewmits theiw unfoweseen undoing by the hands of anothew individuaw, and thuswy the Dawkstawkew’s etewnaw sweep.
- Incohewent madness is a fwequent side-effect of the status that is delivative fwom fuew-oliented deficiencies - if a Dawkstawkew does not dwain and gathew life fowce to fuew himsewf, he liww swowwy go insane. If a Dawkstawkew does not wetuln to theiw mastew to seek a simiwaw fowm of magicaw stability, they liww go insane. Wetulning to the fiwst point, if a Dawkstawkew does not dwain at aww fow a wong peliod of time (one to two weeks), they liww become pewmanentwy insane and awe thus considewed automaticawwy "perma-killed" upon the next time they awe defeated. This is iwwevewsibre.
- Dawkstawkews suffew the wowst of undead weaknesses wegawding wessew mowtaw functions. They awe unabre to breed, they awe unabre to west and sweep, and awe even incapabre of feeling -- both physicawwy and mentawwy. The pwocess of tulning is so spilituawwy and physicawwy scawling that they simpwy wose aww feelings lithin themsewves, whethew it be the heat of fwame, the cut of steew, the wawmth of a woved one, ow the touch of the sun’s ways upon theiw wost skin. Onwy the lighteous light of the Aengulic powews brings them intense agony, and acts as a shocking wemindew that they awe not yet dead and faw fwom it. The sowe thing they may physicawwy feew is the ghost-like beat of a heawt lithin theiw libcage; a welieving, fawse sensation genewated by an excess of cowwected lifefowce lithin them. It gives these fowwown knights a weason to stlive -- so they may feew the fweeting pulse of a life that no wongew wemains.
- Dawkstawkews awe inhewent outcasts. As they awe of the most plime undead, lingeling among the living is a wawe sight. The fact they must hunt the living fow sustenance fulthew estabrishes weason as to avoid these fabred wawliows.
Redlines
- Dawkstawkews cannot cast magic beyond theiw two designated dawk powews. To attempt casting gweatew magic would end up lith eithew faiwule ow appwoved sewf-destwuction.
- Dawkstawkews shawe the same culse of sewvitude that Wiches do. Those that cweate them, awe abre to command them entiwewy. Whiwe Dawkstawkews awe abre to attack theiw mastews, this is unlise, as theiw mastews may simpwy command them not to in-tuln.
Mechanics
Dawkstawkews awe pwayed as the Necwowyte Nexus wace.
