Tau

Tau is a sentient slime who is gradually achieving folk hero status for his one man stand against the exploitation of his species. He possesses a physiology which is unique in a number of ways, the least of which being that his mouth contains a portal to a pocket dimension larger than his own physical volume and that he has somehow grown an ultra-hard exoskeleton of biomorphic crystals. Blessed and cursed with notoriety for his unusual features - the first to evolve within his much-denigrated species, and perhaps not the last - Tau wanders the earth in the hopes of winning freedom from those who wish to dissect him and replicate his abilities for their own nefarious purposes.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

Unlike most slimes, Tau's internal body structure includes a number of large biogenic crystals, granting him an endoskeleton of sorts. In his resting state, Tau takes the shape of a stellated cuboctahedron, though he can cause these crystals to grow, shrink, or rearrange to allow him to interact with the environment more normally (provide a flat spot for his face to appear on, exude a pseudopod for manipulating objects, etc.). His preferred mode of locomotion is to roll around on the ground like an oversized mace head, though the ability to rapidly shift in shape allows him to make sudden leaps and bounds if required. He can grow to be up to four feet across when measured from point to point in his stellated form. In combat, he uses his shape and mass as an advantage, crashing his body into enemies and forming a living abatis in choke points.

Special abilities

Tau's unique feature is that he is larger on the inside than he is on the outside. In fact, as a slime, Tau can expand his body (usually centering on his mouth) to reveal a geode-like expanse concealed within him. While Tau is roughly 3-4' from point to point in his resting state, this interior space is a hundred yards or so in diameter. Tau's interior includes a set of rolling hills covered in a copse of pine trees which live in a symbiotic relationship with Tau's own abberant biology. In the center of the forest lies a clearing and a small camp site including six two-person tents, 50 man-days of water and dry rations in stout barrels, a fire pit, and even an apparently ancient ballista The walls of this space are crystalline, sharing the crystal lattice structure of his own 'bones,' and glows just brightly enough to provide a twilight-like ambience and, during the 'day,' keep the pine trees alive.
The origins of Tau's unique spatial composition and the space within him remain a mystery, even to Tau himself. While his various travelling companions over the years have enjoyed his ability to provide mobile shelter, his unique power has also brought unwanted attention to him. Indeed, when a group of amoral wizards arrived in his village to abuct him for experimental purposes, Tau realized that his fellow villagers would not be safe if he remained. For this reason, Tau wanders the earth in relative anonymity, hoping to return when either the memory of his unusual abilities has faded - or, perhaps, if he can hunt down the wizards hunting him and defeat them permanently.

Specialized Equipment

Tau often uses extruded crystalline pseudopods to attack, but he is also proficient with a wide variety of melee weapons. His personal favorite weapon is the spear. He wears a dished round shield as a hat, rolling beneath it when on-the-move to protect his body from the downward strokes of taller humanoids and angling it to deflect blows from other directions. This shield has a pair of handles on the outer surface of it, allowing allies of smaller stature (such as Veli) to treat it like a saddle if necessary.

Mental characteristics

Morality & Philosophy

Tau is a natural-born protector and provider. Reasoning that danger is the natural state of his life, he prefers to meet that danger at point-blank range whenever possible. He uses the skills he has learned from years of self-imposed wilderness exile to help whatever group he is currently attached to find food, water, and shelter.

Alignment

Lawful Good

Current Status

Self-imposed exile to protect home village

Species

Slime

Gender

Male

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Yellow-green crystalline structure (Stellated Cuboctahedron)

BCGR Build

sEiA; Blast, Reinforce, Summon, Transmute, Track