Character Name: Khünbish, the Bog Witch
Appearance: Weeaboo warning.
Equipment: The Bog Witch is often seen with a crude, long spear, alongside a hunting knife for hunting or execution. Numerous bags of poison and medicines can be seen hanging from her waist and the handle of the spear for her entertainment and "recruitment" of new followers. Apart from trophies gained from some of her wealthier victims, she usually wear only simple garments made of animal (and sometimes human) skin or leather, revealing her bewitching body and magical runes on her smooth, if cold skin.
Skills:Backstory:
- Soul-draining
The first and foremost power the Bog Witch has is the ability to command the Spirits of the Bogs to slowly drain the soul from a still-living victim being sunk into a bog. While the soul is either destroyed and converted into magical energy to empower her, or merge with the numerous souls that powered such machinery, the soulless body will be transformed into a shadow of itself. Its skin is replaced by something akin to leather, and all living functions are replaced by the Bog Witch's magic. Soon, the mummified body will emerged from the bog as a puppet of her for all eternity until either entity is destroyed.
While the Spirits of the Bog originally inhabited in the bog that killed Khünbish, all peatlands and swamps can be connected incorporeally, meaning that while it cannot be used as a method of transport, she can use any swamp (despite her nickname) for such ritual. However, rituals and enchantments are required to allow such ritual to be conducted, the time required depending on the size and nature of the swamp.- Poison Brewing
Like other members of her village, Khünbish knew of the skill of making poison from seemingly innocent fauna and flora surrounding her settlement. Now as the Bog Witch, she has a lot more samples and subjects to try out various new combination of poisons. As she can only make soulless slaves out of living victims, she excels in brewing fast-acting, contact-based poisons that paralyses her victims for her rituals or simple amusement.- Wilderness Survival
Another skill inherited from Khünbish, the Bog Witch knows well enough about the wilderness to survive on her own, even if her army of soulless servants are absent for whatever reasons. Some say she is even capable of gathering enough foodstuff and medicine to help others to survive, but her disposition makes it extremely unlikely even if she has such ability.- Poison Immunity
Being technically undead, the Bog Witch's bodily function is no longer necessary to bound her soul in the mortal realm, meaning that poison that relies on the cessation of bodily function to kill will be only minor inconvenience to her. However, poison that relies on physical or magic damage will still have its usual effects.
This ability extends to her bog creations as well, as they are very similar in bodily function, or lack thereof.- Darkvision
The Bog Witch's psychic link with the Spirits of the Bog, as well as her bodily transformation granted her the ability to see with only little bit of night. This, combined with her experience as a hunter-gatherer, allows her to be a fearsome predator in the night, especially in her native forest and swampland.
Khünbish was born to be different, as she had always been told.
Since she was first aware of the reality that surrounded her and her tiny village, though, it appeared to be only a white lie for children without any notable talents. She did not hail from any notable parentage, or possess remarkable skills in either hunting or gathering. While she might be somewhat attractive as far as the villagers were concerned, it seemed that she was destined for a peaceful, if normal life.
However, as she grew older, something strange began to happen around - or more accurately, on her. At first, she could only see twisting, incorporeal beings living among unsuspected mortals, but soon, it became clear to her that these beings were more than mere observers. They were manipulating the world. From minor misfortune like a broken pot, to crippling tragedies like floods and storms that took away so many lives, these beings from the void weaved the threads of fate for unknown reasons, at the expense of everything in the world, including those who she cared and loved.
Alarmed, she started to warn people from misfortunes and guide them to luck when she could see a way through such "veil". However, perhaps because of her interference, what appeared to be insights from a child soon became frightfully accurate omen. Her family tried to keep her quiet despite her insistence, but the words of a blooming psychic soon reached the ears of the ruling elders.
Tales that had been passing from mouth to ear for countless generations suggest that such a gifted child would not be tolerated, for gods alone had the ability and authority to change one's fate. As such, she could not be anything but a tool of the gods, accidentally released into the mortal realm and thus had to be returned to the gods before they lay waste to the people for their blasphemy.
Bound by her parents under the order of the elders, Khünbish was thrown into a nearby bog, a revered place for the villagers as the gateway between the mortal realm and the world beyond. Despite her desperate resistance, her body was soon consumed by the dark mud entirely. Relieved, the villagers left the bog and returned to their normal life. However, her story had just begun.
The vast darkness that encompassed her did not, as she thought, relieve her soul from mortal coil and return it to the relevant god. Instead, her fleeting conscious could hear an almost inaudible voice, echoing directly inside her young body.
She knew it was their voice. Not only their voice, but also the voice of numerous souls who had been trapped deep beneath the peatland since time immemorial. Despite what the elders believed as a portal between realms, the unfathomable darkness trapped these souls here, transmuting them into something else. Khünbish, its latest victim, was among the first who had the power to communicate with them and - more importantly - harvest some of their power.
How blind they are, for pretending to know so much yet actually know so little? The voices whispered, as they illuminated a way for young Khünbish, transforming her body to harness the vast power of the bog.
How shameful they are, for turning their backs on you when you are most needed? Even after you have done so many for them? The voices questioned, as they empowered her feeble soul with their own power.
How weak they are, for being driven by fear and fear alone? The voices ridiculed, as they opened the vengeful eyes of the girl that was killed by her very own people.
You are born to be different, as you are always told. The voices concluded, as the new Khünbish rose from the bog into a new life. No longer was she Khünbish, the feared psychic girl of a mundane family, but the Bog Witch, a powerful entity who can - and will - manipulate life and death through the power of the Spirits of the Bogs, just like what the elders claimed themselves to be.
As her body was transformed into a bewitching beauty, the instructions to harvest the power of the bog was burned into her mind. With little practice, she revived the soulless bodies had been dormant in the time abyss that was the bog. Controlling them like a puppeteer to her favourite toy, the soulless army marched back to the village and laid waste to it. A combination of fearless, leather-clad walkers and some forest poison of her own, she managed to capture everyone in the village alive.
Such is the true face of mortals: feeble, cowardly, backstabbing. Useful only as servitude and amusement for someone greater than them. Such as you. One by one, the villagers were bound in the same way little Khünbish was, and slowly lowered into the bottomless bog as the others watched in horror. The spirits were amused by either the irony, or the delicious souls that were struggling for their own survival. The souls were forcefully drained and transformed into her growing power, and the soulless bodies were quickly turned into humanoid bags of leathers, ready for the Bog Witch to command.
Once the last bodies - her parents - were transformed, the Bog Witch dismantled the entire village and, after doing the same to several nearby villages, constructed a temple dedicated to the only worthy entity in the world - herself. Reigning in her residence above the bog, she enjoyed the undying service of her soulless servants, as well as any fun she could have with those who were foolish enough to wander into the cursed woods and weak enough to be captured.
Khünbish was born to be different, as she had always been told.
RP examples:Anything else we should know?: She is not the friendliest person in the world. Pissing her off is easy, but so is satisfying her. If you do not want to be forced to fight her and her army, remember that she cares and only cares about herself, and has a rather short fuse.
Faction name: The Bog Witch's Horde
Faction Leader: Khünbish, the Bog Witch
Soldier types:Faction Bio:
- Bog Beast ×4
Towering beasts that rival small houses in size, Bog Beasts are the heavy-lifters of the Witch's horde. Reinvigorated from large beasts who were lost in swamps, these beasts are now tasked by the Witch to carry her and everything she needed during travels and raids. The Bog Witch often lives on the back of the largest Bog Beast, inside a small hut that was built on its back, granting her the best experience during the travel and raid.
Armed with nothing but their leather-like thick skin and sheer momentum, Bog Beasts are often used to either assault fortified position or simply crush badly-defended enemy formations for the smaller bog corpses.- Bog Wight ×20
Even with the empowerment from the Spirits of the Bog, the Bog Witch cannot command all her mindless servants at once effectively. As such, she granted some of her powers to beings known as the Bog Wights. Selected from her potential victims who had demonstrated enough will to survive to please the Bog Witch, these individuals are partially transformed by the Bog Witch into a lesser being of herself. Like the Witch, Bog Wights are capable of create soulless bog mummies from any swamps, although at a slower rate, as well as the ability to command up to 30 soulless bodies for meaningful tasks, or 50 for extremely simple tasks like walking or standing.
Bog Wights retain all their living memories and knowledge, and are technically alive to a certain extent. However, it is said that the maddening voices of the spirits and the Witch herself will slowly corrupt their sanity and mind, slowly turning them into either mindless bodies or mad revenants without salvation. The lack of job security under the Bog Witch, though, makes it a rare condition.
Bog Wights' powers are solely sustained by the Bog Witch, who can presumably revoke them if she wishes so, making rebellions difficult. Some believes that Bog Wights who have lost their powers will become a slightly more intelligent revenants under the right preservation, but such as rare as the Bog Witch has a habit of killing depowered Bog Wights out of safety or simple amusement.
Bog Wights are often armed with bows and ritual knifes. They rarely stay at the front line, instead relying on the Soulless to provide protection, meaning their leather armour are suffice for usual defense from projectiles.- Headhunters ×10
Despite their name, Headhunters rarely, if ever, decapitate their targets. Instead, they are created specifically by the Bog Witch to bring particular targets of her desire before her alive. Similar to Bog Wights in the sense of partially-transformed bog beings with autonomy, Headhunters traded the ability to command or create multiple Soulless in exchange of a more aggressive set of powers. Blessed with the ability to command three to five Soulless at most, Headhunters often rely on its physical prowess to function, such as its lack of pain and some fear-induced physical conditions. The lack of vital signs also provided valuable advantages in prolonged hiding. Once they succeed in capturing their targets, or are discovered, their enhanced bodies are capable of brief, but superhuman strength and fortitude for their missions.
Headhunters are often armed with a variety of poison brewed by the Bog Witch by bags hung around their belts, with a special knife designed to inject and spread whatever poison coated on its groove. While it can be used to assassinate targets, they are most useful in quickly incapacitating (or dominating, in the case of weak-willed individuals) targets to be brought back to the Bog Witch's realm. On top of their leather-like skin, they also wear reinforced, skin-tight leather garments (made of Soulless' skin, as rumours suggested) for additional protection.- Soulless ×400
Bodies of victims whose souls were forcefully drained in bogland will be transformed into mummies. While their internal organs are preserved at remarkable condition, not a trace of life could be found within the leather-like skin. Powered by the magical power of the spirits and commanded by either the Bog Witch or her Wight servants, these soulless bodies are fearless, expendable mooks whose eternal fate is to serve and entertain the Bog Witch.
Soulless are usually armed with simple sticks or rods coated with Bog Witch's paralysing poison to capture victims for their mistress. They are sometimes armed with crude wooden shields that offer minimal protection, and are generally weak in combat, relying on their numbers to overwhelm their foes.
It does not take long for the newborn Bog Witch to annihilate every single village within the forest she once called home, as well as scaring most traders and travellers from venturing into the cursed woods. However, the Bog Witch would not be satisfied by only a handful of soulless slaves serving her. No, she needs more. More plaything to play with, and more shivering cowards to turn into her loyal servants. With that in mind, she garnered her mindless army and resources and started raiding villages beyond her forest. However, she also know that marching an entire army under bright sunlight will attract more trouble than she cared to solve, and thus her horde almost always marched under the cover of moonless nights, relying on its lack of needs to sleep, eat or drink. Often dispatching small units of bog corpses to harass unsuspecting villagers, tormenting their morale until finally marching in for the harvest, it proved to be a rather successful strategy, slowly bleeding the cursed woods beyond its natural boundary.
Sometimes, her horde will embark on lengthy conquest of nearby woodlands and swamps, relying on the virtually impassable terrain to conceal their movement, before gathering enough slaves and servants to return to their temple, where she will indulge in lengthy hedonism at the expense of her victims.
So, which side does the Witch get to be?
your as bad as us now." -- Klast
