Fera'Brar, the Grey King.

[Apokalypse]

Player Name: Apokalypse
Name: Fera’Brar, The Grey King
Age: 48
Race: Elf
Height: 6 foot 5
Weight: (No good with weights. Less than the average Elf let’s say, so fairly light).
Physical Description: Clicky

Possessions:

Cane of Illumination –

The King possesses a walking cane that he doesn’t really need, but carriers with him anyway. It is adorned with a crystal orb atop the cane that can illuminate dark places should he be robbed of sight.

Traveller’s Boots –

The King’s boots are imbued with Elvish magic, making them extremely durable so as never to wear away and also allow the wearer to channel magic into them, giving them a speed boost if necessary. They are also incredibly comfortable, and stylish too!

Powers or Strengths:

Chessmaster –

The Chessmaster is a summoning type magic that calls upon Golems, of the Chess Race, from the Astral Plane to fight for the summoner. These Golems come in five different forms, each with a varying degree of power. This has come to be known as the five tiers, as it requires more power and skill to be able to summon the next tier of Golem.

Tier 1 – The Pawn

The Pawn is the basic foot soldier of the Chessmaster’s arsenal, appearing in the form of a humanoid golem made of cracked white stone, wielding two powerful fists as their weapons. The pawns focus is in unarmed combat, employing a brawler type style in battle, aiming to overpower by reigning down rapid powerful blows, though unskilled in any form of martial art. They can also break down parts of their body into rubble to be fired at foes like a shotgun. As befitting of pawns, these tools are expendable and thus break with sufficient force, though they are soon replaced. These pawns are very protective of their king by nature, and while maintaining a limited sentience, will willingly throw their “lives” away to save him.

Tier 2 – The Knight

The Knight is a second tier of summon, and vastly more powerful than the pawn. The Knight takes on the form of a humanoid once more, though more defined and slender, made of intricate metal plates with a white cape flowing behind it. The Knight wields a halberd as a weapon, focusing on mid-range attacks such as thrusts and long sweeps. The combat efficiency of this piece is also improved, and while physically less powerful than the Pawn’s brute strength, it has a finesse and technique to it’s fighting style that makes it a tough combatant. Much like the piece it is named after, the Knight is characterized by it’s flamboyant fighting style of high jumps, bringing down the halberd like a guillotine on unsuspecting enemies.

Tier 3 – The Bishop

The Bishop is the third tier of summon, and while requiring more skill to summon and maintain, it is the only piece capable of it’s own magical power. The Bishop appears as a humanoid, clad in white robes, with gleaming chain-mail beneath. Its “weapon” is a white cross, which it uses as a sigil to channel it’s magical power. This power is a form of holy magic, being used to reconstruct fallen pieces with a beam of golden light. Upon other beings, the King included, it does not heal, but instead maims, the healing light on flesh becoming a searing beam of light that sears skin. Due to the wideness of such a beam, which is comparable to a theatre spotlight, the Bishop can be effective in taking out large groups of foes from afar. This is especially damaging to creatures from the Astral Plane, and to elements summoned from that realm.

Tier 4 – The Rook

The Rook is a huge monstrosity, coming from a culmination of hundreds of spirits fusing to create such a large being. The Rook towers over everything at a staggering height of over a hundred feet, though larger have been recorded by those of extreme talent. The Rook appears to be made of polished white marble, which is incredibly durable and tough, requiring powerful magic or artillery fire to penetrate it’s hide. The Rook uses its mass to its advantage, smashing everything in its path in a similar fashion to the Pawn, but on a far large scale. The shoulders and crown of this summon can be occupied by Pawns to fire their bodies across the field in the form of rubble from ballistae lining the battlements of this moving fortress. It wields a hammer of appropriate proportions to the titan, which is used to decimate anything in its path.

Tier 5 – The Grey Queen

The Queen is the most difficult to summon of the five pieces, and for good reason.

The Queen is the instigator of the entire Chess War, a being composed of both Black and White. As ruler of the entire Chess Race, she put into action a fight between the Black and White Golems out of pure boredom. Unlike the other pieces, the Queen is not summoned and bound to do the King’s bidding as the other pieces, but asked for help. This makes her unique in the aspect that she has her own personality, which is very temperamental. The Queen is a terrifying image, one of bloodied metal, which shines eerily as if those spots not soaked in congealed blood had been polished proudly, much like bone. She wields a single short sword, and is the most diminutive of the summons, standing at the height of the average human female. Her fighting prowess however is something beyond imagining for a creature of her size. She moves the battlefield at incredible speeds, like a blur, carving a path through any battlefield. Her fighting style is like that of the Knight, using incredible athleticism to traverse the battlefield and attack from unseen angles, with the condensed power of the Rook, creating small craters with each push off the ground, larger ones when she brings her fists down on something especially powerful. Her personality is problematic however. Due to her power and age, she is very arrogant, never releasing her full power unless she feels the opponent is worthy, and even then, allegiances can change very quickly if she finds the enemy more interesting than the current King. This makes summoning her a risky move. Also, the energy expended even to ask her for her help is immense, and it is a gamble on whether she will decide to help or not. Only the most powerful of Chessmasters can summon her, let alone gain her respect.

Tier 6 - Secret

There is a supposed tier above 5, though it has never been reached by a Chess master as of yet, though it has been hinted at for centuries by the Queen that a further stage of power exists.


Tactician – The King is an especially devious character when it comes to strategy, be it in a casual game of chess or a life or death struggle, he is always aiming to be one step ahead. Most Chessmasters have this trait due to the very nature of their magic being about manipulation and the right time to use the right piece.

Elvish Dexterity – Due to physical stature, and his racial advantages, The King is surprisingly athletic, and those who try to strike him will find it deceptively hard.

Weaknesses:

Physical Strength – Due to reliance on his minions, The King’s physical strength isn’t relied on as much, and thus is slightly less than what a common elf of his age should be at. This also extends into his combat technique. He has none. In battle, if he cannot use his minions, he is forced into dodging, fleeing and firing wildly with his pistols.

Undesirable – Due to The King’s nature, he seemingly permeates an aura of unease and creepiness, from the way he carries himself to the way he speaks. This makes people wish to avoid him at all costs, making blending in with a crowd very hard.

Arrogance – The King’s dependence on magic had fueled an arrogant belief that those who cannot, or do not, use magic are no more than dirt in his eyes. Unless someone really sticks out to him, he is incredibly offensive. While this tends to lead him into unnecessary conflict, this also attracts the attention of those who hunt mages as he freely displays his use of magic.

History:

Prologue:

Fera’brar was born to the clan of the Unque’Hoth, a small Elvish sect focused on the arts of summoning magic. The clan took residence beneath the surface of the forests of Darleone Island, venturing up only for supplies and the occasional breath of fresh air when needed. While those on the surface knew them, no animosity was felt towards them, no prejudice, they were known to be eccentric and in some cases, dangerous, as devoting ones whole life to beings of the Astral Plane was.

The Unque’Hoth had constructed a sizeable temple beneath the ground, utilizing summoned slaves to clear out a large cavern underneath the ground and using said stone to create the abode in which they lived, a magnificent underground palace resembling something of Dwarven design. This was used to create an area in which concentration could be achieved in solitude, away from the life forms above. Many great summoners were born within these stone walls.

The Unque’Hoth was further branched out into chapters, each specializing in bringing forth different monstrosities from the Astral Plane. Some summoned elementals to do their bidding, creatures of fire, air, earth and water. Some summoned Daemons to follow their commands. Fera’brar’s chapter was one of the more obscure chapters, the Chessmasters. It is said that the very game that is played was based off of the struggles of dominance between the White Golems and the Black Golems, which raged upon the surface for decades before they were sealed into the Astral Plane, and that the game is meant to represent the eternal struggle for power between them.

The Chessmaster’s summon these beings back into the world to do their bidding, from the warzone that they have crafted once more for themselves in the Astral Plane. Due to this, Chessmasters are given a colour at birth, White or Black, which represents the colour of Golem they summon forth, for if one attempted to summon Golems of opposite colours, they would destroy each other on sight. The Grey Queen herself, the Queen of the Chess Race, chose this colour upon the birth of a new initiate, summoned by the current leader of the chapter to decide.

Fera’Brar wasn’t given the colour Black or White upon birth. His potential power was beyond the two colours chosen for everybody else. For the first time in the Chessmaster Chapter’s history, he was assigned the colour Grey. The Chapter saw this as a sign of great potential, and he was immediately whisked away to be trained into the Chessmaster’s greatest triumph.

He was taught the ways of his clan, learning the syllabus of his chapter’s from various masters. His first task was to maximize intelligence, an education of higher proportions. The child was literally force fed knowledge from a young age, cramming it into his mind through the use of near constant tutelage and revision, his early life being one of no social interaction, save for his masters. It was in these years that he learned of the world above, of its history and the history of his clan. He learned of his special situation, his status as the “Grey Child”.

It wasn’t until the age of ten, which is a mere droplet in the expansive sea that is an elf’s lifetime, that he begun to learn the basics of his magic. Starting with the basic summonings of the smallest of pawns, Fera’Brar slowly gained more experience in the ways of his chapter, his power becoming increasingly higher over the periods of time he spent alone bringing forth and binding these small soldiers. However, as a child with no social interaction with those of his age, he knew nothing of fun, nothing of kindness, nothing of compassion. The young elf took pleasure in summoning his pawns merely to fight each other to the death, one black and one white. It was a while before he started to favour the White pieces versus the Black, as they won more on average in his private battles. They were more aggressive than the Black pieces, and Fera’Brar appreciated that.

He moved onto the next tier, that of The Knight, far quicker than that of other Chessmaster’s in his chapter, progressing to this level in a mere 8 years, as opposed to the usual 15-20 years that other hopefuls did it in, binding this particular piece to his will on his first summoning. It was during this that Fera’Brar had started to be trained for battle, in preparation for a Tournament between the Chapters of the Unque’Hoth clan to determine which chapter was the strongest, and whose head would rule over the entire clan. He showed potential in battle, able to manipulate his pieces with proficiency, able to use tactical mastery to overcome opponents. He was undefeated in his chapter, even when using the same level of pieces as his opponents; his tactical mastery was too great. He was bred for this.

The Tournament took place when Fera’Brar had reached the age of 24, his first fight being between him and the representative of the Elementalist chapter. They focused on summoning powerful elemental entities from the Astral Plane to defeat enemies, and most summoned only one elemental, which they formed a bond with. Fera’Brar had been educated on this in his training, and used this to his advantage. The Elementalist brought forth a water elemental, a swirling vortex of liquid with a vaguely visible face, with broken driftwood for teeth and a robe of seaweed. It was here that Fera’Brar demonstrated the newest addition to his arsenal. He immediately summoned a small squad of Bishops, a creature that even the Chapter didn’t know he had to power to summon, and swiftly destroyed the Elemental in a beam of searing light, evaporating the being completely and leaving the summoner behind burned beyond recognition. Such cruelty was unknown within the Tournament, it being forbidden to attack the Summoner directly. Fera’Brar was exiled from his clan upon the decision of Chapter Leader’s and he was forced to return to surface, given nothing to aid him in his travels. Fera’Brar swore revenge, though he never voiced this, and left his home. As he left, he swiped what he could from his Chapter’s reserves, which turned out to be a large quantity of Elvish gold, a Cane of Illumination and a pair of Traveller’s Boots.

He spent a while as a nomad, travelling over the foreign lands, which were so different from his underground prison that he viewed it as a blessing. The beauty that the natural world held took him aback; yet he was annoyed by it’s imperfections. Within the Temple of the Unque’Hoth, everything was exact, everything was perfect, and everything was there for a reason. The utilitarian’s paradise. He took his pleasure in challenging himself against what nature could conjure, having millennia’s of time to do so. With that, the Grey King travelled the lands taking on powerful creatures. Trolls, lizardmen, Dragon Whelps, they all fell to his hand on his bloody path, which started in the Saharan deserts of Semerkhet and making his was slowly to Thar Shaddin itself.

He had encountered other sentient beings of a similar intelligence level on his travels, but never so many in one place. The bustling city of people of all races came as a large shock to his system, the integration of humans, elves, dwarfs and many other hybrids and off shoots existing in one place was something beyond his comprehension. He decided this place was interesting, and decided to stay close by. However, the laws he learned of that prevented the use of magic seemed oppressive to him. Thanks to these laws, he moved further away to the town of Shim, across the Ofriyu Mar, and used the little remaining Elvish gold he possessed to buy a small manor on the outskirts of the town.

[Niabi]

It's late and I'll admit that I've been drinking and I haven't fully read through your history, however I figured I might as well reply to it now rather than making you wait until later.

First of all, you will need to add a written description of what your character looks like. Some people include pictures but a picture alone is not acceptable.

I'm also going to have to ask that you prune your character's powers back. As it is your character has quite a few magical spells at his disposal (we suggest maybe 3-4 for a first character). On top of that, you character needs some real weaknesses to balance him out. You gave your character a few personality flaws that won't make him friends very easily, but they don't really present him with any challenges to struggle against and therefore develop.

If you have any questions or you make any changes, please feel free to leave a reply here or send a PM.

[Apokalypse]

Forgot to mention that Fera'Brar can only use up to the Bishop at this moment. The Rook and The Grey Queen will be unlocked through Roleplay. I'll add new weaknesses in aswell and a description.

[Saruna]

Make sure you leave a reply in here when you're ready for your character to be looked at again.

[Frug]

Pal Tahrenor diverged from Earth's history long before modern chess was created and popularized, so the naming conventions of chess pieces don't make sense and I'll have to ask for them to be changed.

Also, your pictures for the knight and the rook are obviously taken from video games (mass effect? really?) so I'll have to ask for those to go as well.

[Apokalypse]

I gave a small backstory to the origins of the game of chess, as I knew it wouldn't exist in this world in the same way it exists in ours. To put it shortly, the game of Chess in this world is played much the same, and is a strategy game based off the struggles of the Black and White Golems of the Chess Clan, whom were sealed into the Astral Plane to stop their war, which was in turn instigated by the Queen of the Clan. Obvious differences from this version of Chess to ours would be a single queen on the board, if one at all, and no King on the board as that is a title created by the Chessmaster clan. I haven't really thought much about the rules of this parallel-verse chess game, but as I have stated, it'd be quite different. I thought it tied into the lore quite nicely and was a nice bit of flavour.

Also, I wasn't aware that any of these were taken directly from games. I merely searched for results in Deviantart and got pictures that I thought closely resembled what I believed the pieces should look like. As a note, I have never played Mass Effect before. Also I believe The Rook isn't actually taken from a game, but is a character concept for one that was never actually released, which I thought would be fine seeing as it is a pretty badass picture and is what I wanted it to look like anyhow.