Corpus Rahkshi
corpus
Corpus
Rahkshi
All around you is the dark. It is all you have ever known. A liquid gloom that swaddles you better than any blanket, that keeps you safe from the burning gaze of the sun. The only light you need-the only light you want-is the dim green glow that oozes from the crystalline confine that is your entire world. Oh there’s definitely something beyond the glassy walls that cocoon you, but they are dim shadows, patches of deeper blackness within the blackness, beyond your concern and ability to care. You have your world of green gloaming. And it is good.
Then suddenly, pressure. Pulling you and pushing you all at once. Squeezing your boneless body through pipes and tubes you hadn’t known ever existed and now desperately wish didn’t exist at all. You are forced, squirming every inch of the way, further from your old home and towards-Ah! Towards pain! You are pressed into something unyielding and cold, so cold! The ooze that held you before was merely cool, this dread chill is new, sharp and biting like you are caught in the maw of some icy beast.
Your next new experience is gravity, as you tumble freely until the ground rises to meet you in a cacophonous clang. You begin to realise from the cold, the noise, the inflexibility of the prison you find yourself in that you have gone from a womb of slime to a womb of steel. The metal may close around you tightly, but you are aware that it stretches out far beyond the normal reach of the strip of meat that is your body. Stretches out into gangly limbs, all four naught but metal but…you can feel through them? You’d question how that works but you’re flooded by fresh sensations. Your eyes see better now, freed from the murk of viridescent crystal, and the dark holds no secrets from them as you take in every detail of the cave you find yourself in. You can feel the slight breeze that wafts through the air, bringing with it a smell of musty dampness. You’ve never smelt anything before. It’s…weird.
But none of this, not the sight, not the smell, not the sensations, none of it compares to the raw power you can feel flowing through the new you-all of the new you, flesh and metal.
You start getting these new limbs in order. Two end in broad feet that are seeking purchase even before you plant them firmly beneath you. Two others end in a tangle of fingers, each one tapering to a wedge-like claw that score shallow gouges into the rock as you push yourself upwards. Standing for the first time is hard. You hadn’t understood how complicated legs were before, there’s so many minute differences in weight and balance that threaten to topple you right back down again. You fight the urge to hold your arms aloft like wings, letting your joints learn how to compensate.
Once you’ve mastered standing up, all you want is to run. To chase. To hunt. You want to scale every height of a mountain, to tear down every tree in a forest. Boundless energy bursting through you, its fantastic! Before, when you were tiny and blind, you just felt safe because you were comfortable. Now you feel safe because you’re strong! You could take on the world and win!
You need to do something to stamp your place in this new world, something to tell anyone who can hear that you are here now and aren’t going to leave any time soon. The armour plates around your head respond to your subconscious will, pulling back to expose the stub of raw flesh that is your head as you open your mouthparts and scream. It is a scream of defiance backed by the staccato rattling of the spines on our back, a scream to put fear in the hearts of anyone who would see you killed or thrown back to that half-life you now realise you led before. You are here to stay! You…are Rahkshi!
Over in the furthest reach of the birthing chamber, hidden behind illusory weaves of shadow that even your eyes could not see through, the Makuta who has been watching the whole scene smiles. For it is good.
Welcome!
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Rahkshi. They have always been our stalwart servants. Our eyes, our ears and, if needed, our iron fist. The production of kraata and the design of their armour has been perfected over the many millennia we have been using them so that they are now a shining example of what the biological and the mechanical are capable of when working in unison.
Which is why it is somewhat perturbing that they seem to be changing.
The “fault”, as I shall call it for now, is a development in their cognitive abilities, allowing them both a range of thought greater than their usual bestial processes and a better capacity to express these thoughts. Put succinctly, they’re getting smarter. Kraata which should be little better than mindless animals seeking to spread corruption purely on instinct are reasoning, imagining and even philosophising. I wouldn’t expect these traits, certainly not to this level, from anything short of a full blown Shadow Kraata yet we now have new-spawns displaying them left, right and centre. It is truly fascinating.
At first we were unsure of what to do with this new breed. Study them? Train them? Destroy them? There were a number of voices in favour of that latter option but fortunately saner heads prevailed. After all, who knew what kind of use these smarter Rahkshi could have. Imagine a squad of them with teamwork and co-ordination to rival that of Toa teams. Imagine being able to produce strategic geniuses by the handful instead of waiting for likely to generals to rise through the ranks. Imagine Rahkshi who could be expert spies or assassins instead of simply living wrecking balls. With this ridiculous extended skirmish the Dark Hunters have declared on us entering its tenth year some more advanced troops in the field would help enormously with keeping the regions we possess pacified and under control. Though personally I find myself more intrigued by the scientific possibilities of what this might mean for my fellows and I. Evolution in the kraata could mean another step of evolution for we Makuta, and I wish to be ready if we undergo any more radical changes.
The answer to our curiosity and wariness towards the new breed was to re-use our leader’s solution to the Matoran Civil War: stick everything in a box and wait to see the results. And so the Corpus Rahkshi academy was born. A place to properly keep them. A place to properly train them. A place to properly keep an eye on them…
Ah Rahkshi. We all know they’re pretty awesome, and this RPG is all about them. Basic summary is that, for whatever reason, the Brotherhood of Makuta’s Rahkshi have started getting smarter. An increasing number of them are no longer behaving like feral creatures but have begun developing personalities and increased intelligence. The Makuta decided they’d keep these Rahkshi around rather than atomise them so created a big old school to teach them and, if need be, contain them.
You play as one of the new Rahkshi. Sorry, no exceptions. You’ll be joining the student body, and get to undergo the daily life of a walking weapon being trained by a (quite literally) shadowy organisation. What could possibly go wrong?
Locations
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
I was deemed to most suitable to oversee the Corpus Rahkshi project. I am one of the Brotherhood’s chief scientific minds, and the one least likely to simply give them more teeth and let them loose on an innocent population. Yes Chirox, I know you’re reading this.
In addition I control the island of Nynrah, giving me access not just to some of the most industrious and ingenious craftsmen the world has to offer but to the resources and infrastructure those same craftsmen use to ship raw materials and finished products. The perfect place to ensure a small army of Rahkshi are properly housed and maintained and enable any damage they cause to be rapidly fixed. There’s no other way of saying it, I was the perfect choice.
The academy was constructed using a pet project of Mutran’s; that odd growing rock he is inordinately fond of. Given an energy supply to prevent it consuming the students and proper constraints to mould it into appropriate shape, it allowed us to quickly develop and construct an adaptable and self-repairing building to hold the Rahkshi. Most useful.
The RPG takes place in the eponymous Corpus Rahkshi Academy, a castle-like building on its own island just off the south coast of Nynrah. The centre comprises of four blocks of accommodation enveloping a square courtyard, with longer wings on its east and west flanks. Built out of the same stuff the Mountain on Xia is made of, it can fix itself up in case of…incidents and be reconfigured if a room needs to be repurposed. And speaking of rooms, here’s a few of the more important areas within the school grounds.
The Gymnasium
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Physical training is of course a must. If we intend to put these Rahkshi into the field as soldiers then they’ll need to be in peak condition, and versed in all forms of combat and warfare.
The Gym is a huge hall, large enough that its almost its own separate building tacked on to the east side of the academy. In its base state it is a big, empty, upturned bowl but it is the most malleable of the all the school facilities. Want a duel? It can manifest an arena. Want a naval battle? It can simulate water. It has been specifically created to provide any imaginable threat to keep the Rahkshi on their toes.
The Library
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Since the students have been blessed with advanced minds, let them make use of them. Intelligence in one’s underlings is like a flower; for it to properly bloom it must be given the right ground to take root in and sustenance to feed on. And, if needs be, a bit of pruning from time to time…
The Library, located in the Academy’s west wing, is full of a surprisingly diverse range of subjects. There are the obvious books on martial arts and tactics, but they share the building with tomes on anatomy, zoology, engineering, chemistry, architecture, with encyclopaedias, and a seemingly endless catalogue of historical archives. Sure the warfare section is noticeably closer to the entry as a subtle hint, and the histories have been edited and worded with a Makuta-favourable bias but hey, its the thought that counts right?
The Refectory
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Its a necessity that the Rahkshi be fed, but I see no reason to go to any extensive expense or strife to do so. They are here to learn, not to feast.
In the Academy’s eastern wing, conveniently close to the Gym, is the Refectory. It is fairly uninteresting architecturally, being little more than an enclosed box lined with long dining tables. But as the place where all those growing kraata go to eat it’s a focal point of interaction and communication. Shame the only food they serve is a kind of thick gruel, high on nutrition but low on taste.
Dormitories
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Some say we have been a little overly optimistic in how many dormitories we have, since the entire south block is, at present, entirely unused. I say that is an unimaginative viewpoint. There’s always a use for an empty room or fifty.
Along with the courtyard that they surround the dorms form the central hub of Corpus Rahkshi. Each room houses a single Rahkshi and are not particularly spacious, containing just one bed and a boxy cupboard for storage. The idea being that such spartan living will encourage the Rahkshi to go out and fill their days with activity rather than laze around listlessly. And for the cleaning and maintenance of their armour suits, each floor has its own washroom, communal arrangements complete with cold and colder running water.
Chirox Causeway
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Technically the students are not permitted to visit the mainland, however in practice there is nothing really that can be done to stop them short of keeping them in chains every second of every day. And thats really only a last resort solution. So I have endeavoured to make the journey, if not exactly perilous, then at least…entertaining. Rather than have a bridge connecting the Academy’s island with mainland Nynrah I had placed a series of irregularly positioned hexagonal pillars, the idea being that the students gain some small manner of exercise from jumping across or flying through them. The name comes from the causeway’s likeness to a set of teeth rising from the sea, and we all know how our esteemed colleague prefers his monsters toothy. Still reading, Chirox?
If you want to go from the Academy to the mainland by foot then you must use the Chirox Causeway, a network of pillars all at varying distances and heights. The students, being Rahkshi, can of course just fly over but some like the challenge of trying to navigate the Causeway’s twists and turns.
Off Campus Locations
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
The island of Nynrah -my island of Nynrah- is the ideal place for an assortment of unknown quantities like the evolved Rahkshi. It is out of the way of any random passers by, has a nearby harbour to ship in supplies and, potentially the most useful of all, is home to the famed Nynrah Ghosts, craftsman without equal. At first we tried forbidding the students from visiting the mainland…and every single one of them ignored the order. So until we can train or breed this disobedient streak out of them we have compromised and requested they keep their excursions restricted to night hours.
The Academy is not the only location in the game. Nynrah plays host to it and there are areas where the student body likes to frequent. The Ghosts are perfectly happy to sell their wares to the students, who usually pay by doing odd jobs or helping out in small ways. And while it is generally frowned upon to visit them during daylight, its not really going to get you any serious repercussions if you do. Just…try not to get caught.
Phantom-on-the-Water
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
The Ghosts are an illusive kin. It is how they earned the name after all. So I only feel confident saying that Phantom-on-the-Water is the only village entirely comprised of the craftsmen if I am permitted to affix the addendum “that we know of”. Spanning either side of the River Eidolon it is a mess of smoking chimneys and glowing furnaces, with dying embers and the sound of hammers filling the air. Nothing is ever still, nothing is ever quiet. I suppose it would appeal to a certain sort of person but I personally prefer peace and solitude in which to contemplate important matters. For their part the Ghosts seem unexpectedly happy at having the Academy nearby, possibly as having a building full of Rahkshi just next door discourages any snoops seeking them out.
To most of the outside world Phantom-on-the-Water is just another village full of Fe-Matoran and the industry they love. It churns out well-made but none too special weaponry, maybe a few more ornate trinkets from time to time, but is otherwise indistinguishable from the other settlements on the island. But what the Brotherhood, and by extension you the players, are aware of is that is it headquarters for the ingenious Nynrah Ghosts, a group of Matoran who have always been a bit…looser with their morals than others. Either through avarice or sheer love of their craft they’re generally quite happy to make anything if offered the right price…
The Cauldron
After running through Phantom-on-the-Water the River Eidolon ends at a series of steep cliffs known as Blacksmith’s Bluffs. Where the course of the river stays truest it has managed to wear these cliffs down into a sandy beach the Ghosts use as a harbour for shipping. But the river splits off into a delta of many little streams and tributaries, most of which aren’t strong enough to erode the cliffs down and instead wind up spilling over the edge as a number of waterfalls. And the largest and most powerful of these falls has wound up carving away at the base of the cliffs, where the hammering of waves already weakened it. The combined might of all that water has opened up a fairly sizeable cave that, due to the turbulent curtain of spray that conceals it, has become referred to by the Ghosts as the Cauldron. They use it for smuggling as, so far at least, the Brotherhood is unaware of its presence. The Rahkshi students, on the other hand, know full well it exists and have adopted it for a similar purpose; smuggling and storing items otherwise considered contraband, be they specialised weaponry or just food nicer than the slop served in the Refectory.
On the subject of Rahkshi
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Anyone with the clearance to read these notes is already well aware of what Rahkshi are capable of. I see no point in compiling a list of what everyone already knows and don’t appreciate having my time wasted on such pointless tasks.
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
…I have been informed that for the sake of completeness I need to make a short reference piece on what Rahkshi can do in case the students demonstrate greater prowess. Very well then.
In terms of sheer physical strength Rahkshi are blessed with greater power than their somewhat gangly frame would suggest. They’re much stronger than Toa, and could even give one of the Skakdi a decent challenge in an arm wrestle or other such test of brawn. With this strength comes a good deal of durability; extensive testing has concluded that a Rahkshi could be thrown or driven through a solid stone wall without any permanent damage. However that is not to say they could shrug it off, their armour does feel pain. It was necessary to give them tactile senses so they could feel temperature changes, know if they were attacked from behind, pick things up without applying pressure enough to crush them, etc. We were at least able to make it so a Rahkshi armour keeps the kraata inside relatively safe from exposure to light, which even the new breed remain depressingly vulnerable to if bright enough. Their metal casings stop sunlight from burning their skin but do little to stop it affecting their sight; Rahkshi are like Onu-Matoran, their vision is near-perfect in the dark but tends to blur or fade the brighter the light gets. The fault in the new breed that gives them their intelligence also allows them to fight down the instinctive fear and dislike of sunlight but it still tends to disorientate and confuse them, a weakness which should leave them once they mature enough. All the more reason for the academy to exist, to train them up to a level they are high enough to shrug off these detrimental effects altogether.
From strength to speed but alas, this is nothing too special. It was impossible to engineer the armour to be any faster than normal without it also wearing through its joints at an alarming rate. Their reaction speed, on the other hand, is suberb. A Rahkshi would have no trouble snatching a thrown knife or Kanoka right out of the air, though launched projectiles (a cordak or zamor sphere, for example) would give them a bit more trouble. Rahkshi on the whole, though, are better built for cross-country, their durability giving them excellent stamina, their long limbs giving them a decent stride and broad feet providing excellent traction. Assuming they stick to land rather than simply taking to the air a Rahkshi could keep running for days on end.
These estimations are, of course, barring the use of any powers the Rahkshi have. And speaking of powers, those seem to be developing as normal in the new breed. Whatever fault they have that has changed their mentality has not changed that much, at least to the limited degree they have developed so far. And, for anyone voicing their doubts on the significance of the change in our Rahkshi, or questioning what military use this study of them has, I remind those voices that we never expected even the original Rahkshi to able to form Kaita. Yet look how useful a trait that was and continues to be. And yes, for the record, the new breed have demonstrated the capability to form Kaita, which only leads me to question what is going through three of these more advanced minds when they're all crammed into one body.
Which finally leads me to the newfound intelligence of the Rahkshi. It differs a little between each individual, as it does with any sapient species, but the new breed seem to have brainpower in the same range as your average Matoran. Which is interesting as, so far, they're still all at a fairly early stage in their development. Will their intelligence continue to grow as they level up? And if so, how smart would a new breed be at the sixth stage? Or as a Shadow Kraata? Perhaps we already have level six Rahkshi with the same fault and they're smart enough to conceal it. Its certainly easy to overlook or miss even in the confirmed cases. I know many of my fellows believe that their inability to speak Matoran means the new breed are still little better than rahi, but this is purely a physical limitation. They understand Matoran, and often many other languages, perfectly fine but their mouths are just not built right for the job of speaking it...so they've developed their own language. Its spread through the school like wildfire, all the students have mastered it. And I recently discovered a few of the Ghosts had picked it up as well, I suspect in anticipation of what constant customers the students may become. With this in mind we may need to curtail visits to the mainland a little more...
Playing as a Rahkshi means you get a few advantages, what with being encased in solid metal and all. You’re stronger and tougher than you would be as, say, a Toa. You’re nowhere near invincible but you’re packing enough brute power to give anything that isn’t Krekka level brawny a really bad day. Oh, but since kraata are mentally linked with the armour they inhabit (since thats how they move it and all) you’re going to feel any damage that gets inflicted upon it. Basically you can’t pull a Black Knight and claim losing an arm ’tis but a scratch is what I’m saying.
You start as a fairly newborn kraata, which would normally put you at level one but thanks the boost from being made Rahkshi and the few months you’ve spent training at the academy your powers are currently at the second level. This would be so you have powers that might be of some actual use, though you’re not quite at the point where you could level cities so a bit of creativity and imagination in how you use them is going to go a long way. This would also make them, in human terms, something akin to teenagers.
You can also fly, a standard Rahkshi ability, an action which takes about as much energy to maintain as a light jog. You also need to be able to get into the ‘reclined’ position, but thats only going to be a problem if you’ve got a trapped foot or something.
Kaita are also possible, though there are a few restrictions on forming them. First, they can only be formed by characters from three players, no roping in a couple of NPCs to make yourself suddenly bigger and stronger. And each specific combination requires a profile be filled out and approved beforehand of what the Kaita would look like and what additional power it gets upon formation. Finally, in a slight change from how Rahkshi Kaita usually work, the minds of all three participants are present and have the potential to control the one body, but they have to be working together to maintain the fusion. You can't simply have one player performing one action while another makes an entirely different and separate attack and the third trying to retreat because that loss of unity will result in the Kaita simply dissolving back into three Rahkshi. You need to all be working together to the one goal, co-ordinating your efforts as a team for the Kaita to actually work.
The Staff
You guys and your Rahkshi aren’t the only ones at the school, naturally. It has a small contingent of staff in place to act as anything from teachers to janitors. Growing Rahkshi need a lot of looking after you see. Here’s a bit more detail on the characters who’ll be doing their best to keep you in line.
Tridax
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
I feel it would be no exaggeration to say I was really the only possible choice for the position of Corpus Rahkshi’s headmaster. In addition to the many advantages my rank and position gives me I am one of the few Makuta who takes a very serious scientific interest in kraata and their development. While lesser minds are content to simply create monster after monster, I find my interests leaning towards understanding and improving those creatures that are, after all, a part of ourselves.
The Makuta of Nynrah, put in charge of Corpus Rahkshi possibly because he kept telling people he was the best man for the job more than because he actually was. He doesn’t really consider the Rahkshi to be people or individuals, but tools. Weapons. Things he can study and examine, like an entomologist pinning butterflies. Fortunately his other duties with the Brotherhood keep him relatively busy and he tends to leave the day to day running of the school to his subordinates Suvak and Palma.
Suvak
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Suvak is a Skakdi, a veteran captain from the wars of Zakaz who was forced into, shall we say, early retirement when a particularly nasty battle took the arm, leg and most his face off the right side of his body. Cybernetic replacements for these were the payment that lured him into being Corpus Rahkshi’s Drillmaster. If I were to describe him in a few words it would be ’solid’ or perhaps ‘dependable’. His tactics in Zakaz were all tried and true, tested through use in repeated battles, which won him a few victories but ultimately got him outwitted by one of the more imaginative warlords who preferred to invent their own strategies. Still, we need no battles won, we need someone who knows how to handle and train very dangerous individuals, and I feel confident leaving our students in his somewhat predictable hands.
Despite the fact that he is technically only in charge of the students’ physical training, making him a glorified PE teacher, Suvak is generally the one who handles most of the academy’s daily business and is directly under Tridax in the hierarchy. His right arm and leg are entirely mechanical, the silver and grey stark against his natural green and gold colouring, as is the metal plate covering the missing half of his face. But don’t think that makes his eyesight, or his laser vision, any less accurate.
He is not quite as harsh a taskmaster as Tridax seems to think he though, as he is a decent enough commander to understand that down-time is not just important but pretty much necessary. You can’t keep your troops constantly wound up or they’ll snap, so he is perfectly happy to let the students do what they like with their time off regardless of how little military potential Tridax may see in it.
Palma
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Someone was needed to make sure the students were kept hale and hearty, and given how likely, or rather certain it was that the students would injure themselves or others that someone needed to be very very good at their job. I selected Palma for this task, a Rahkshi that has been in my service for many years now. Its knowledge of medical matters is unrivalled by any, and I would say outclasses even some of my fellow Makuta. In addition I feel that, as a loyal and well-trained Rahkshi, it makes an excellent example of what the students should be aspiring to.
Palma is a Rahkshi of Quick Healing, and while not one of the new breed has intelligence enough from being a full-blown Shadow Kraata that she can match wits with them. Oh yes, thats right, Palma identifies as female, something she has only started to do in recent months. Seems the personalities of the students might be a little catching.
Normally a bog standard brown and black, the colours of her kind, she’s adopted the practise of colouring the armour plates of her shoulders white with crossing red bands running across them, signifying her more supportive medical role. Though school nurse is not the limit of her role, she also acts as unofficial teacher of biological and anatomical matters that the students ask after, a fair number wishing to become healers themselves.
The Porters
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
The Porters are a batch of what I understand have been named ‘Fohrok’ by some of the underlings within the Brotherhood. Admittedly the last time we commissioned an army of these machines it did not turn out so well, but after promising not to exact any more vengeance on the Ghosts once we had eliminated those responsible for that fiasco we managed to broker another deal. We have a small platoon of them to carry out maintenance and fix things the living building cannot fix itself. And, for reasons I cannot explain, they have a bizarre fixation on the flower beds around the dormitory courtyard. Curious.
Carrying out most of the more menial tasks are the Porters, funny little things that can often be seen rolling about the school heading to whatever needs fixing. They’re harmless really, and quite polite in a passive and completely silent way. If you get in their way they’ll just stand stock still, chittering slightly, until you move. Still enough of them in one place, with their yellow and black colours and unblinking glowing eyes, and they bear an unsettling resemblance to a swarm of large land-bound wasps. Their unusual fascination with tending the small garden in the dormitory area is a little gift from the Nynrah Ghosts, this time being a bit more subtle in their efforts to prevent the Fohrok being used as an army.
Assignments
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Most of the time I am happy to let the Rahkshi simply develop as they will. Why force a natural strategist to haul weights, why teach a keen healer to break bones rather than set them, why cage a skilled martial warrior within a prison of books? The students each have different talents, often depending on their personalities rather than powers, and any talent can have a purpose to someone with enough reason to see its use.
There a few occasions where I feel a little more…direction is needed. Just to give the students a push along the right path. These assignments will usually be long term projects for the students to complete but I understand Suvak is planning a few that are a little more instant in their gratification.
This RPG is, in general, a sandbox that simply lets you play around with the fact that you’re in a high school made for and filled with Rahkshi. But if the inevitable craziness that will ensue from that premise doesn’t sate your role-playing needs then the Corpus Rahkshi staff will be giving your characters various projects or missions. Think of them as mid-terms. The first of these projects will be started as soon as the game gets off the ground.
These assignments are not mandatory, but taking part and completing them will give you a decent boost to your experience and boost how fast you level up.
Profile
To join up you’ll need to write up a profile and get it approved (with this rule and profile also applying to any Kaita you wish to form). I’ll go a bit more in depth into what each one is about but if you think you’ve got the hang of it then here’s the basic form for you to copy and fill in. There is currently no limit on how many characters you can create.
Name:
Variation:
Level:
Gender:
Gear:
Appearance:
Personality:
Bio:
And with that here’s a little more information that should help answer any questions you might have, thought if you still have any feel free to just ask.
Names
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
As representations of their individuality, most of the students have picked out names of their own choosing. Some have taken a word they find particularly meaningful or identifiable. Others have just mashed a random series of syllables together. I know of at few who have simply named themselves after the first thing they saw with Rahkshi eyes. I’m sure they consider it most poetic but having a dozen students all called Floor makes it very difficult to tell them apart.
A fairly self-explanatory section, simply give your character a name. And since your characters are going round just making up their own names you’ve got pretty much free rein over what you pick. Heck I’ll even allow real world names if they’re not glaringly obvious. Just be warned, if you choose to name your character something like SuperShadoSlug616 then, while it won’t be automatically disallowed, you can expect your character to be mocked at every turn for every waking second of every day for naming themselves something so ridiculous.
Variation
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
The fault that causes the enhanced mental capacity of the students does not seem to be limited to any particular genus of kraata. Each of the forty-two different sub-species of known and catalogued kraata has at least one representative within the student body.
Another fairly simple one, what are you a Rahkshi of? You have forty-two flavours to pick from ranging from Ice Resistance to Plasma, bound to be one that takes your fancy.
Level
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
So far all the new breed of kraata are, well, new. All of them are recently created, there’s none older than a year. In a way I quite like seeing them so fresh and raw, it means I have greater opportunity to study their development.
As mentioned previously all characters will start off at level 2, which I’d hoped would be a decent compromise between giving you some actually effective abilities while not making them so powerful you can just blast your way through problems without thinking. Levelling your character up will be decided by the staff on a case by case basis. If you’ve been posting very frequently, having your character train a lot and interact a lot then of course you’re going to level up, its just common sense. But if perhaps you don’t have as much free time and don’t post as much but make sure each of your posts is a well crafted thing of beauty, then thats going to earn you credit just the same.
Also worth noting is that, despite the Brotherhood’s best efforts to focus Corpus Rahkshi on more military aspects of life, you do get experience for other activities since, with your characters being so young, everything is a new experience for them. Go learn smithing from the Nynrah Ghosts, form a band with some friends, both just as valid a method for levelling up as regular sessions at the Gym. There are many roads to be becoming a Shadow Kraata and they’re all as valid as each other.
Gender
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Hmm. No, even my superior mind has trouble with this particular concept. I never thought of Rahkshi as either male or female in any aspect of my works or life before and frankly care little about it now. I suppose that if we’re going to call them Sons of Makuta it makes sense to let some choose to be our Daughters instead.
You might think this one is fairly simple, but I’ve done things a little differently. See, I figure since Rahkshi are just slugs in armour any gender they have is entirely their up to own choice and preference, so why stick with just the binary male/female option. If you want feel free to, for example, be both. Or neither. Or alternate between them depending what day it is. The Rahkshi are getting a completely free choice in the matter, I don’t see why you players shouldn’t as well.
Gear
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
We were a little reluctant to give the students authentic Rahkshi staves right off the mark given how untested they were. Who knew what kind of boosting or accelerating effect it would have on them? So instead they were given access to the academy’s small armoury where they could pick out simple weaponry for day to day use. However we have started to notice this weaponry getting a lot less simple, and the students starting to carry more intricate gadgets. I strongly suspect the Ghosts’ involvement but, as yet, do not know how or where they are getting this equipment into the school.
This would be for what your character carries around with them. Owning some form of weaponry is about as close to a uniform as the school gets, and you needn’t feel restricted to the long staffs that are the Rahkshi’s trademark.
This would also be the place to list more personal items. Maybe you have some trinket or gewgaw, maybe you carry some tools, maybe you’ve got yourself an instrument, that sort of thing. Though with these and the weapons don’t overdo it with how amazing or powerful they are. You may have the Nynrah Ghosts making you stuff but they still want paying and you’re limited by what you can practically afford. Favours can only get you so far.
Appearance
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
The differences between the regular Rahkshi and the newly developed variety is purely mental, there’s no obvious physical differences between the two species. Well, not until the new breed start expressing themselves again. They’ve developed a taste for body modifications, adding designs or piercings to themselves to distinguish themselves from each other. Its unusual but ultimately harmless.
Yes you’re going to look like a Rahkshi, that much is obvious, but have you made any changes or additions to yourself? Perhaps your character has picked up some tattoos or armour decals. Perhaps you’ve changed your standard colours up to confuse your enemies. Or maybe you’re just naturally a little different from other Rahkshi, a bit burlier or a bit shorter and such. Just let the creative juices flow.
Personality
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
A consequence of the increased brainpower the students is that they’re exhibiting much more developed identities and personalities than normal. Rahkshi usually have certain traits that define their particular variation -a Guurahk will carefully study its prey, a Kurahk is always be swift to anger and so on- but what the new breed are demonstrating is much more advanced and often not even related to those traits. Which makes so little sense it offends me.
I know there’s a decent sized chunk of players who don’t like these sections, and prefer to let their characters personality show through their writing, but I figured since the entire point of the RPG is that the Rahkshi are developing personalities of their own then a section in the profile was probably needed. Doesn’t need to be an essay, maybe just a brief description of the basic traits of your character.
Bio
~From the Notes and Observations of Makuta Tridax, Master of the Isle of Nynrah~
Most of the students are new to this world so haven’t had a chance to build up much of a career or reputation. However I’m sure that within the groups and cliques that are forming within the student body there are many that would consider themselves important.
As a freshly created beings your bios aren’t going to be too long, most of your entire existence so far consists of the months you’ve sent at the school. But thats still plenty of time to have accomplished things. Leant some new skills, made something you’re proud of, made some choices about your life, lots to be done. And feel free to talk with your friends, arrange for your characters to also be friends (or indeed enemies) in-game, you’ve had the time to build relationships like that.
Rules
IC: Floor waited in line at the Refectory, wondering if today would be the greyish sludge with mysterious lumps or the mysterious sludge with greyish lumps
OOC: Available for interaction if anyone wants to be next in line
Well thats all the boring stuff out the way, lets get this started and have fun!
OOC: Aaaaaand 256 comes roarin' outta the gate, leaving everybody in the dust!
IC: Dodge-256
256 was hold up in the library again. Xhe was currently reading a fighting manual on the usage of heavy weapons such as maces, hammers, and clubs. All the instructors had said that xhe had an affinity for the spear, but something about the hammer had piqued their interest. Well, whatever had prompted them to learn such a different weapon, they had learned early on that it was a completely different animal.
"So the center of balance lies more towards the weighted end of the weapon-yes, I know that already," 256 hissed in the tongue of Rahkshi. "It is very difficult to stop and restart the motion, so it is recommended that momentum is maintained, with frenzied, sweeping, circulsr strikes in quick succession on horizontal and diagonal angles recommended... Don't rely too much on the arms; make use of leg and hip movements... Haft blocking is the only efficient defense; don't try to parry like you would with a sword..."
256 still had some trouble understanding it; maybe xhe just wasn't cut out for it? Xhe really wanted to learn though... Come to think of it, this was the first time in their life they really passionately wanted to do something. Odd. But no time to think of that. Time to practice, and hopefully not crush their face in like last time. Putting the book back, xhe picked up the cylindrical bludgeon lying on the ground, and headed for the gymnasium. Maybe xhe could get some dodging practice in too.
IC:
As it turned out, Skia was already practicing in the gymnasium, taking full advantage of his modified staff. Not only were the average melee-combat targets out for his use, but there were also targets at range. While this might have been confusing at first, it wasn't so after Skia, twirling his staff, picked up a rock in each claw-end of it and threw them down range, knocking over the targets over there - before promptly tearing apart one woodman trainer next to him. He pulled back into a defensive stance, and only then noticed the other Rahkshi to walk into the gymnasium.
"Hello, 256," he said cordially to the other Rahkshi. "How are you today?"
IC: Dodge-256
"The same, as usual," 256 replied, giving the answer xhe always gave. "Ambivalent." Xhe walked down to the gymnasium floor, looking at the targets that Skis had already laid out. "Melee and ranged practice, huh." 256 checked their armaments; unless xhe went back to the armory, xhe couldn't practice spear today. It woukd just be hammer and sword then. "How is it going?"
IC:
"Pretty good, all things considered," Skia replied. "The slop they normally serve here was replaced with the slightly sweetened slop, and one of the people along my residence block managed to sneak in some vuata maca fruit, so my stomach is having a good day at least."
IC: Dodge-256
"Slightly-sweetened slop?" 256 was confused. "Maybe i need to go get my tastebuds checked; it just tasted like the normal slop to me. Haven't been eating much besides that anyhow."
IC: Squid
Squid was in the library, reading a good book. It was about the Great Spirit Mata Nui and how he watched over all of the species of the Matoran Universe. He was most interested in the Matoran. They were small, but very hard working and always did their duty. Squid wanted to meet one of them one day.
IC:
"Well, it was noticeably sweeter than usual, at least to me; that might just be because I was in a good mood when I woke up, though." Skia shrugged, grabbing another stone and throwing at one of the last targets, this time with his hand; just as before, the metallic target went down with a loud clang. "Want to spar a little?"
IC: Dodge-256
"Yes," 256 nodded curtly. "Be warned: I'm not used to this weapon so please forgive me if i break something."
That could have been a joke had it been said by anybody else, but 256 remained deadpan as ever.
IC: Eyes stared down into the central courtyard of Corpus Rahkshi. Eyes that blazed with red light yet somehow remained cold as ice. Makuta Tridax was watching. He gazed upon a few of the students milling around, face crinkling with distaste when he noticed a pair holding each others hand.
Well. That wasn't supposed to be happening...
The thought of Rahkshi romance was a distasteful one to his mind, sitting like a lump of mouldering cheese in the otherwise pristine feast of information the school had provided. If only he knew how it was caused, then he might be able to curb and temper it. Otherwise every other measure he could take risked exacerbating the whole affair. Bah, these new breed were too devilish complicated for their own good at times.
Away from the window, on the other side of the office, Suvok was droning away about matters Tridax couldn't muster the slightest crumb of care for.
"You were saying you had an idea for something to keep them occupied?" he asked, interrupting the cyborg mid drone.
"Er yes, tasks." The half-faced Skakdi was thrown off by being cut off. Too used to giving orders rather than taking them, that was his problem, Tridax mused as the drone started up again. "Got some ideas. Things for teamwork and such. Some for individuals."
Tridax waved a hand dismissively, bored already, "Do what you think best Suvok, I leave it entirely in your hands for the time being. I have other matters to ponder for now." And with only a pop of displaced air and a lightening of the room as his bulk cleared the window, Tridax teleported away. Suvok stare for a moment, one remaining eye blinking.
"Right. Carry on. Yes, right, Tasks..." He started off towards the med bay. Always needed something to calm his nerves a bit after one of the headmaster's visits, the Makuta terrified him so. Besides, with the assignment he had in mind to start with, Palma would appreciate a bit of advanced warning that her patients might get a sudden increase...
IC:
Skia nodded, stepping back slightly and raising his staff into a semi-neutral staff. The clawed end facing 256 clicked a little, almost as though it was anticipating that it could be used to grab and trip 256, although that was really just Skia wanting to do so. Staffs are inanimate objects (most of the time).
"Shall you begin the pass or shall I?"
IC: Glass
Glass wandered around the classroom block. The silence and lack of anyone else soothed his mind.
OOC: Open for interaction.
IC: Dodge-256
"You can begin." 256 entered a defensive stance.
IC: Exxan.
The striped vacuum Rahkshi sat in the darkest, most isolated corner of the library, reading through a pile of tomes on the subject of Rahkshi.
What had started out as a hobby had swiftly become an obsession. There had to be an explanation as to how he and the other Rahkshi had come to be so intelligent, so different.
He just hadn't found it yet.
IC: Xara.
The silver chain lightning Rahkshi stalked into tbe gym, noting two of her fellow students getting ready to spar. She decided to stand by and watch.
It was always a good idea to observe a potential foe. Should she ever have to face one of these other Rahkshi in battle, even this brief observation could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.
And Xara always fought to win.
OOC: Exxan and Xara open for interaction.
IC:
Skia nodded, stepping forwards to close the distance between himself and 256. As he did so he flourished his staff, moving it quickly enough that the metallic ends of the staff blurred slightly in the sight of his fellow Rahkshi - before he lashed out with it as though it were a spear, trying to club 256 in the chest.
IC: Dodge-256
"Okay, the book said..." But Skia moved to fast for them to remember the book in its entirety.
Acting more on instinct than anything, 256 sidestepped left and used the section of the haft between their hands to redirect the thrust right, like xhe would with a spear. Xhe immediately followed up with an attempt at a horizontal strike to Skia's left shoulder. "So this is what they really meant by the weapon being weighted at the tip," xhe thought.
IC
"It is but a mimicry of Ba Ji Quan, but I see it is still enough to defeat a dying man!"
His opponent strikes, again and again. Countless blows, each enough to take his head off. His body is crippled, armor bent and curved into his body, reinforcing him like a bloody exoskeleton.
He remembers, he is fighting to protect them! To repay all the times they cried when no one could see, all the hurt they suffered in his place, he had to defeat this man!
"ISSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!" He roared as he charged headlong at his foe, he had to put his life on the line to win!
"Wow...." The desert-colored Rahkshi put down the book, it is a fiction. A story of loss and tragedy. He has read it at least a dozen times. Right now the protagonist is facing off against his mortal enemy, both their bodies breaking down by the minute. How thrilling!
His greatest dream is to become a master of the martial arts like he reads about, he spends his time in the library. Reading page after page, book after book and row upon row of texts. Some fictional like this, others devoted to the technical mastery of martial arts, it's various forms and families. Training of the body, training of the mind. Even books of recipes for fighters looking to fuel their body and wrestlers looking to size up!
Though being a slug controlling a suit of armor. He did not eat.
Reshelving the book, he leaves the library. It is a free period and he needs to practice his forms. His last several sessions had been rather unproductive, the gym full of noises and distractions. He hoped it would be a quiet day today.
IC: Glass
The Rahkshi stopped into the gym in time for a sparring match. To the side, Xara stood, observing, brooding.
Now, Xara wasn't the easiest to talk to, but Glass didn't hold it against her. She was a winner and he respected that attitude.
"Good morning. Who do you think will win?"
IC: Xara
She looked away from the fight, noticing another student approaching her. She didn't remember the names of a lot of the other Rahkshi, but Glass she could recall. There weren't many other Rahkshi of chain lightning around, and she'd made it her business to be aware of them all.
"Difficult to say at this point." she said in answer to his question. She looked back to the combatants. "The fight has only just begun."
IC Vir:
With their usual caution, Vir padded down the corridors of Corpus Rahkshi, not going anywhere as much as they were simply staying out of trouble. They'd already passed this particular hall several times since waking up, so they decided to take a different turn and go through a small, dusty courtyard to-- well, Vir hadn't been sure where it would lead. But the path turned out to deposit them just by the library.
Vir stood outside its doors, deliberating on whether to enter. In their experience, most books weren't very interesting. But it was usually quiet, and rarely did anyone cause trouble inside. After a moment, Vir decided to try and find something to read. Many Rahkshi went on about how fascinating and enlightening books could be, and perhaps if Vir read some those Rahkshi would think more highly of them.
Distracted by these thoughts on their way to the library doors, Vir didn't notice the other Rahkshi exiting the room until it was too late. The two collided and Vir fell over backwards, then quickly got back to their feet to take a look at the student they'd walked into. It was a brown and tan Rahkshi with a bristly spine, one Vir remembered little about except that their name was almost unpronounceable.
"Oh no, sorry! I'm very sorry about that," Vir pleaded, raising their arms conciliatorily.
OOC: Hope you won't consider that autohitting, Tiragath. And as an Elastic Rahkshi, I'm sure Caoutchouc could bounce right back from a little fall, so no harm done?
(deleted)
IC: Squid
Squid looked up at the Rahkshi talking to him. It looked like another Rahkshi of Chain Lightning!
"Oh, I'm reading this book is about the Matoran and how they populate the universe. They really are amazing. They work all day in mostly boring jobs, and are very hardworking. Matoran are usually very humble. They seem simple because they are powerless but sometimes, a Matoran turns into a Toa, which can use special powers like fire and ice. Toa protect Matoran and do the more dangerous work. But when it gets too dangerous, that's when the Makuta come in. Makuta help watch over the universe making sure everyone is proper. They also make Rahkshi, like us, to assist them."
IC
"I'm fine."
More due to this rubber-like tendencies than any quick reaction, were he more trained he would've blocked the attack, sensed it coming and have been ready!
But he was still an amateur, so his precognition was sketchy at best. Caoutchouc accepts help up from the other Rahkshi, he seems vaguely familiar, he had probably seen him on campus someplace or another.
"...Wer, right?"
IC: (Stew)
The teleportation rahk, walking down the long corridor to the refectory, noticed a snake moving with lightning speed out of his way. If he could, he would have smiled: the rahi remind him of himself...
Only earlier today, another Kaulsirahk had been making fun of him for the name "Stew"...it wasn't his fault that the first thing he had read had been in the Refectory, had it?
Later, he asked one of the strange mechanoids that tended the immaculate gardens to relay the information of his new name, Snake, to one of the staff, as he couldn't find them at this moment. The creature made a whiirrring noise and rolleed off in a seemingly random direction...
IC: (Snakey)
The newly named "Snake" walked into the library, not something he usually did. He was searching for a text on the Makuta he had been created from, who was apparently a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood. Snake would have felt proud, but from his limited experience, all the Makuta were stuck-up #######s. He noticed a rahkshi of silence and a rahkshi of lightning nearby...
IC: Squid
Squid looked back up at the Rahkshi in front of him. He shook his head and asked,
"Wait are you a Rahkshi of chain lightning with darker colors or a different Rahkshi variation?"
IC: Dodge-256
"Okay, the book said..." But Skia moved to fast for them to remember the book in its entirety.
Acting more on instinct than anything, 256 sidestepped left and used the section of the haft between their hands to redirect the thrust right, like xhe would with a spear. Xhe immediately followed up with an attempt at a horizontal strike to Skia's left shoulder. "So this is what they really meant by the weapon being weighted at the tip," xhe thought.
IC:
Skia moved his staff to the side, catching 256's blow, haft to haft; it was a narrow block, and while 256 might be proud to have come so close, Skia simply decided to yank backwards hard, putting his weight into the pull. With his staff's haft hooked to the head of 256's hammer, Skia was hoping to wrest the weapon out of 256's grip.
IC: Dodge-256
As Skia hooked 256's hammer with his staff and tried to draw it back, 256 tensed up for a brief moment. While it was instinct for him to try and resist, that's probably what Skia wanted him to do. He had done this many times before himself. So he stepped forward to reduce Skia's pull on his weapon, and aimed a kick at Skia's torso.
IC Clockwork:
The Rahkshi sat on a chair, poring over a machinery textbook. He was researching impact-resistant armor plating. His clocks and little robots kept falling off the shelves. Fortunately, the library had many books on armor.
IC Vir:IC
"I'm fine."
More due to this rubber-like tendencies than any quick reaction, were he more trained he would've blocked the attack, sensed it coming and have been ready!
But he was still an amateur, so his precognition was sketchy at best. Caoutchouc accepts help up from the other Rahkshi, he seems vaguely familiar, he had probably seen him on campus someplace or another.
"...Wer, right?"
Vir was so relieved the other Rahkshi was not upset that it took a moment for them to notice that their name had been mispronounced.
"Oh, I'm Vir, actually."
Vir looked the tan Rahkshi up and down: they had armored bands wwrapped around their arms and legs, and looked as ready for combat as any Rahkshi Vir had seen.
"Actually, I don't think I remember your name..."
IC: (Snakey)
Snake caught sight of an accuracy rahk sitting reading a textbook. At the moment, Snakey was bored. And when he was bored, he was unoccupied. And when he was unoccupied, stuff happened.
After a quick trip to the Refectory, Snake came back with a pile of the greyish sludge that was generally accepted as food at the school. The Sanorahk with cog patterns on his armour was still there, reading the textbook. Snakey stealthily teleported atop the high bookshelf behind where his fellow was sitting reading. He balanced the bucket of slop right on the edge, until it was a slight push away from falling and cascading over the rahkshi he would later find was named Clockwork, covering him in revolting muck. Snakey gave it a slight push.
IC Clockwork:
Under normal circumstances, Clockwork would have noticed teh slight tipping of the bookshelf, keen as his eyes were from watching minute movements in teh innards of his clockwork creations. But at teh moment,he was engrossed in the textbook. So when the bowl of what was optimistically called food fell on him, drenching him in muck, he was understandably surprised. And angry. Most people would be when somebody they didn't even know dropped muck all over themselves and their book. So Clockwork immedietly looked up, grabbed the nearest object which happened to be another textbook, and dropping into a crouch, hurled it at teh kaulsirahk. The accuracy of this was unconciously enhanced by Clockwork's natural power.
IC: Glass
"Hmm, you're right, although I think the Dodge Rahkshi has an advantage."
IC: Xara.
"It depends on how skilled he is in his powers." Xara countered. "It may save him from enemies landing blows on him, but it likely won't help him land any strikes of his own."
IC: Exxan.
Sitting at a nearby table, Exxan looked up to see a pair of his fellow students engaged in a food fight. In the library. Idiots. This new generation of Rahkshi were smart; the problem was that some clearly chose not to use that intelligence.
Then the accuracy Rahkshi picked up a book and threw it. "Cut it out!" Exxan snapped, jumping up and using his power to pull the flying book off course and into his waiting hand.
"This is a library," he reminded them calmly, putting the book down onto the table. "A place of quiet and learning."
IC: Glass
"As long as the Rahkshi dodges the Hunger powers of his opponent, he has an advantage in melee combat. I'm not really sure," Glass shrugged.
"Are you keeping up with the increased workload this month?"
IC: Xara.
"It was increased?" Xara seemed surprised. "I didn't even notice."
IC: The walls of Corpus Rahkshi came hidden with a few surprises, they were not always the solid rock they appeared to be. Smash the right one and you'd find the concealed circuitry that kept the living rock fed and in its proper place. Though that was not all it was used for, some of the power it carried was sent to a basic tannoy system. Just a little something to make sure the students were kept in the loop or were in convenient range of orders. In this case it was the latter.
"Announcement," came the voice of Suvok, blurred and distorted into scratchy hisses by the crude loudspeakers the school had, "All students are to gather in the Gym. Your latest class assignment is to be explained and handed out to you there."
IC: Chekquars (Dormitory)
It was in the washroom of the first floor of the dormitory that the announcement reached Chekquars' ears, and he paused from the very serious and evil business of reapplying some dye to a part of his leg. It had gotten chipped off when an annoyed accuracy Rahkshi had thrown one of the metal bowls at the Darkness Rahkshi, and in order to be the most prideful evil warlord-in-training it was important to always look your evilest, which meant no gray showing.
"This is most good, indeed, I have been waiting and plotting for far too long in here, preening myself, it is time for action! Muahaha!"
And with that, the black and blood colored Rahkshi swept out of the Dormitories, clock billowing behind him as he strode towards the Gym.
Zakaro
IC: Fall (Dormitory)
Fall rose from her resting place. Her room was dark, though of course this was not an issue for her. Catch Pole in claw, she forcefully pushed the door open, striding with purpose.
There had to be purpose, lest she be seen as weak. She would not allow that.
IC: Squid.
Squid looked up from his book. He placed it back on the shelf and picked up his satchel. Inside was a sketchpad and a tool used to draw on it. Mistakes could be erased, but lots of erasing would ruin the (somewhat expensive) paper. He slung the satchel over his shoulder and flew off towards the gym. Many other Rahkshi had already gathered there, and being the smallest made him quite uncomfortable. He found a spot near some other shortish Rahkshi, sat down and began to draw to pass time until the announcements began for real.
IC Clockwork:
Inwardly fuming, Clockwork gathered up his things and went to the gymnasium.
