Bladeling (4e Racial Trait Variant)
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Bladeling[edit]
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| By Franz Vohwinkle |
Stoic, dour, and humorless... They are the perfect soldiers of war.
| Racial Traits |
| Average Height: 5'8"—6'4" |
| Average Weight: 210 - 310 lbs. |
| Ability Scores: +2 Cha, +2 Str or Dex |
| Size: Medium |
| Speed: 6 squares |
| Vision: Darkvision |
| Languages: Common |
| Skill Bonuses: +2 Intimidate, +2 Insight |
| Acid Resistance: Bladelings have resist acid 5 + one-half their level. |
| Barbed Body: Bladelings bodies have the barbed armor property. When you escape a creature's grab on your turn or a creature escapes your grab, it takes damage equal to 2 + one-half level. This does not stack with barbed armor or barbed shield. |
| Xenos Mentes: You have a +5 racial bonus to saves against effects with the charm keyword. |
| Razor Body: You can use either razor storm or aggressive body as an encounter power. When you create your character, choose one or the other power. The choice remains throughout your character’s life and does not change. |
| Razor Storm | Bladeling Racial Power |
| You swirl the deadly spikes on your body to slash indiscriminately at those near you. | |
| Encounter | |
| Minor Action | Close Burst 1 |
| Target: each creature in burst | |
| Attack: Strength +2, Constitution +2, or Dexterity +2 Vs. Reflex | |
| Hit: 1d6 + Dexterity, Strength, or Constitution modifier damage. | |
| 11th Level: +4 bonus and 2d6 damage + modifier
21st Level: +6 bonus and 3d6 damage + modifier | |
| Special: When you create your character, choose Strength, Constitution, or Dexterity as the ability score you use when making attack and damage rolls with this power. The choice remains throughout your character’s life and does not change the power’s other effects. | |
| Aggressive Body | Bladeling Racial Power |
| Charging with abandon, you rush up to restrain an opponent and stab them with your bladed body. | |
| Encounter | |
| Move Action | Melee 1 |
| Target: one creature | |
| Attack: Strength + 4 or Dexterity + 4 Vs. Reflex | |
| Hit: The creature is grabbed. | |
| Effect: You charge and make the above attack in place of a melee basic attack. | |
| 11th Level: +4 bonus
21st Level: +6 bonus | |
| Sustain Minor: The grab persists until the end of the user's next turn. | |
Hailing from the Barrens of Doom and Despair, the bladelings are a race of xenophobes originally created to be soldiers by Bane to wage war and seize power from his brother, Tuern. Bane used his angels and merged them with the blades which they themselves wielded, creating a race of stalwart soldiers. They served at his side in Chernoggar after crushing his brother, making him lord of the Barrens. While the Barrens were a place of blades and acidic smog, it was the home which bred the bladelings into hardened individuals. However, as a result of collaboration between Bane and Maglubiyet, the home of bladelings soon came to be infested with goblins, who the bladelings found undisciplined and utterly undeserving of their respect. This created a rift in the community, with many bladelings questioning their loyalty to Bane. Seeing themselves cast aside, many bladelings fled the domain altogether, leaving behind loyalists and exiles who remain in the Barrens today. The bladelings, for a while, were emigrants to many places throughout the Astral Sea as novice planeswalkers. Many came to settle in Sigil while others came to other lands, like Abeir-Toril, in search of independent lives free from the yoke of oppression.
Physical Qualities[edit]
Spikes and blade-like pieces of hardened metal protrude from the skin of bladelings, thus giving them their name. Their well-built humanoid bodies are entirely covered with these spines that grow all over in patterns. Some parts of their body are less spiky than others. The skin in between spines is tough and metal-hued, though this allows for a variety of colors like black, purple, and even copper-green. These protrusions can be ejected or elongated to be used like actual weapons or shrapnel to damage enemies. Most bladelings are known to have purple, opaque eyes that resembled ice, though some have yellow eyes. Despite their thorny bodies, some bladelings do actually sport hair on their head. Usually, though, hair is a nuisance and is lopped off.
Due to their thorny bodies, bladelings don't have an easy time with clothes or armor. What they wear usually has to be minimalist to avoid restricting their movement. Armor that is entirely covering conflicts with their spikes and thus is undesirable. Usually, they end up wearing clothing which can be modified to cover only certain areas. Male bladelings typically do not wear any top. To better hone their annoying growths, bladelings are able to tend to their blade's growth, much like one does plants. While spines are still growing, they can be guided to grow in certain formations to make a bladeling look more intimidating or impressive. When broken, these spines cause minimal discomfort, and crumble to dust in minutes. Bladelings spines grow for as long as they live.
Attitudes and Beliefs[edit]
Having been born for battle, it is no surprise that bladelings are the type to fight first and ask questions later. Prowess in battle is the best way to earn the respect of bladeling, as they would otherwise insist on the other's inadequacy. Bladelings pride themselves as being disciplined warriors, one of the main distinctions they have against goblins, as well as one of the reasons they ultimately left their home. There are things bladelings will simply never compromise on. Even expected loyalty to their creator is not a given among bladelings, who hold their own race's wellbeing ultimately above all others. This breeds a lot of suspicion of outsiders, however, and bladelings are known to be extremely xenophobic. Despite being planeswalkers, they are not wholly receptive to other cultures, preferring to live separate from them if necessary, or avoiding them altogether.
In terms of religion, many bladelings who exiled themselves no longer see Bane as their only god. The loyalists who remained in Chernoggar remain within his growing groups of believers, though. Many bladelings who relocated to places like the Spire, or even Sigil, abandoned strong faith altogether. While they admire the strength of someone like the Lady of Pain, they do not fervently worship her. Having a strongly rooted mind for battle, it is also no surprise bladelings turn towards deities like Tempus or Garagos, gods of war and destruction, in lieu of Bane. However, ultimately, the perceived betrayal by their creator made religion unsavory for most bladelings, and there are thus few of them within divine classes.
Bladeling Communities[edit]
Having lost their original home, bladelings are highly territorial of their new settlements throughout the Astral Sea. Few planes satisfy their wants and replicate their feel of home. They settle in planes and parts of the realm with caustic air, jagged earth, and ample areas to train and fight. The primary home of many bladelings after their exile, named Diaspora of Blades, is the Cage in Sigil, which hosts many elements familiar to bladelings, like razorvine, acid smog, and bladed settlements. Since the goblin outsiders seemingly overran their old home, they are not welcoming of non-bladelings in their communities. Rather than invite people, bladelings would much rather go to them. Within their communities, bladelings do have families, though these are easily broken up due to the overarching military structure of bladeling society.
Outside Sigil, City of Doors, bladelings are much more scattered. Some stragglers remained in the realm of Bane, hiding out in the wilderness of Tuer-Chern. There, they live as godless fugitives, unwilling to abandon their home, yet also unable to enjoy the former comfort of a goblin-free world. Bladelings also ended up in some worlds that they refer to as "softer." Abeir-Toril is one such place, with areas of great fertile land, trees, clean air, and water. To the bladelings, these are dulling elements to their battle prowess, and so they are loath to admit they settled in such a place.
Bladeling Adventurers[edit]
Embodying the desires of their race for their own independence, it is not uncommon for bladelings to follow the planeswalking tradition and go out to seek adventure. They often do so out of pure desire on their own, which has to trump their xenophobia of the world outside their own home. This often arises out of dissension with their hierarchy or rules.
Barbarian: With a penchant for violence and battle, bladelings who fully embrace their bloodline of war turn out as barbarians. They are heavily convinced that might is the way of life. Many seek greater battles for ever more glory. They believe this is the true way to stay tethered to their ancestry of proud warriors. There is no need for land or god, because the individual is the culmination of the primitive essence that is the bladeling.
Sorcerer: Similar to barbarians, bladeling sorcerers draw on their lineage born for war and conflict. However, due to the preference for bladelings to engage in true combat, practitioners of psionic and arcane energies are the second lowest considerations for bladelings, just above divine source classes. Bladeling sorcerers are more likely to engage enemies up close and blast at a similar range, making them dangerous and volatile to ally and enemy alike.
Warlord: Being bred for war, it is no surprise that bladelings are well-versed in the ways of battle. Bladelings train their skills in battle not only to fight but to also coordinate and direct formations and attack patterns like generals. While not all bladelings make good generals, they have a good sense of how things should go in the flow of battle. Some bladelings have been noted to become military commanders in other armies.
Three sample bladeling adventurers are described below.
Ashion is a bladeling sorcerer who is a firecracker on the battlefield. As his wayward fighting style was too crazy for his regimented combat unit, he was kicked out. Disgruntled, Ashion decided he needed to show the world what he was capable of outside the box of his origin, and so he left.
Deta is a bladeling warlord who believed her commandeering skills second to none until she suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of an elven army. Utterly outsmarted and humiliated, Deta fled her post and escaped whilst her men were taken prisoner. She seeks powerful allies to scrounge together and give her a chance to shoot down the elven general, her declared rival. She cannot show her face to her home, for shame and fear of being branded a deserter.
Tarai is a bladeling barbarian that grew weary of working with others. Seeking an escape from the regimented nature of bladeling fighting, he seeks to hone the true bladeling spirit into his own artistic style of battle. Thus, he left his home in search of worthy opponents to test his mettle on.
Roleplaying a Bladeling[edit]
When creating a bladeling adventurer, here are a few points to consider.
Might is right. To bladelings, battle is the best conversation. Strength earns respect and shows more than words. Bladelings will usually turn their noses up at people they see as weak.
Abrasive as blades. Bladelings are not one to mince words. They dislike roundabout ways of doing things outside of battle tactics. This often makes them appear brazen and brash.
The other is an enemy. Xenophobia is one of the defining traits of bladelings. They are highly uncomfortable with non-bladelings and belligerent towards outside challenge of their ways. This makes it hard for bladelings to trust outsiders of their communities.
Bladeling Characteristics: Xenophobic, warmongering, pragmatic, brusque, independent
Bladeling Male Names: Arkton, Shiar, Lektar, Uritor
Bladeling Female Names: Aschel, Kitare, Dasai, Nashril
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