Sunday, June 22, 2008

Tyros of Vanth: An Encounter Critical Rogues Gallery

In the spirit of my previous post on mash-up settings I thought I'd share some of the posse of first level Encounter Critical characters I've been working on. Puns, wordplay, goofy drawrings, and Google image searches are chiefest of my inspirations.

Wharf Kodaz, Hoodoo Klengon Warlock
Favored of the Klengon Smelt God, He Who Came From Beyond The Stars to Spawn in The Sea, Wharf quests to sail all of the oceans of Vanth. He has 7 toes on his left foot and is prone to exaggeration and salty language. Susceptible to omens and portents.


Dr. Shelby Munreau, Wolf-Headed Frankenstein-Wooky Scientist


Shelby's mother always warned him that his lust for knowledge would lead him to a bad end, but he never listened. He was consumed with his search for the origins of the Frankenstein race. Night after night he'd stay up late with a flashlight, poring over bubbling test tubes and tattered copies of National Xenographic. Mrs. Munreau cried when the hair sprouted on Shelby's palms, and stopped talking to him for a week when his snout and fangs began to grow. She frets over him to this day. What is a mother to do?

At about the time his wolf features developed Shelby also grew a third eye socket at the base of his skull. Soon afterward he began to have visions of a flickering black and white land of craggy mountains, deep forests, and spooky castles. He is convinced that his Secret Eye overlooks the lost homeland of frankensteins, wolfmen, and all of the monster peoples.
  
Jon-Clyde Dam Vanne, Primitive Robodroid Pugilist, Conversion Model

The Dam Vanne series of conversion robodroid prototypes was manufactured by the Gehenna Motor Corporation in the waning years of their operations on Vanth. Development of the series was discontinued after the boardroom exorcism of former Chief Infernal Officer I-G-Iococca. Jon-Clyde believes himself to be the last of his model year.

A diligent thinker, Jon-Clyde's ideas are often ignored because of his extreme shyness and passivity. He is only assertive with his fists. He is currently unable to switch to his damnation van form due to loss (or theft?) of ignition keys.

Keemo Knobknee, Dwarven Vigilante (Criminal)

Keemo used to be a cop, working undercover in the dockside markets of the City of Thunders. Fired for rough manners and public drunkenness, forced to turn in his badge and his ammo belt, Keemo turned vigilante. He's on the trail of a cabal of potion bootleggers stretching from Thunders all the way to Salty Bay, and he intends to shut them down any way he can.


Alligator Boy & Monkey Girl, Lizard Man Psi-Knight & Planetary Ape Doxy


A free spirit born into a rigidly structured evolved ape hive, Bonita Nobo squirmed under the ant-like conformity expected of her. She couldn't help but stand out, a butterfly among the drones, and fled the hive as soon as she was able. She ended up drifting northward with the Funfair Nomads, and entered service as a specialty girl in Barby Luminea's Le Hot Freak Circus, taking the professional name Monkey Girl.

At the Circus Monkey Girl met the slave guard known as Alligator Boy and both of their lives changed forever. 'Gator Boy had just begun to manifest his psychic gifts when he accidentally mindmelded with Monkey Girl one evening as he escorted her back to her quarters. To their amazement they discovered that they shared the same secret birthmark – an arcane sigil of unknown meaning. The two swiftly fell in love and escaped the seraglio in search of their shared destiny.

(complete stats for all of the above can be found at the Encounter Critical mailing list)

SEE ALSO: The story of Percilla Lauther and Emmitt Bejano, real life Monkey Girl and Alligator-Skinned Man

MP3: The Buzzrats, Under Carnival Skies Compact Disc - Download)

3 comments:

Sham aka Dave said...

I gotta say, I love Wharf! And...Alligator Boy and Monkey Girl. And don't get me started on my strange fascination with freak shows. I drag friends and family into the silly (total rip-off) freak shows at carnivals/fairs every year. I love being scammed, and then appreciating it.

Dr Rotwang said...

Oh, bravo. A tip o' the tie, Max.

Max said...

Sham: Funny thought today re Wharf Kodaz -- Encounter Critical warlocks store their spells in books, or wands, or staves. Well, I suspect Wharf stores his spells in a tackle box, and relearns them by retying the lure...