Karda Bloodfist Skullripper
Goliath Fighter, Rune Knight / Barbarian, Zealot, Outlander
Karda Skullripper was a goliath fighter and barbarian who appeared in Azimuth Anthology: Tournament of Champions. She was played by I.W.
Karda was born to the Bloodfist Tribe during the Great War, earning the name Skullripper. At the end of her life, she sacrificed herself in the Khushuut Mountains to cause a rockslide, killing demons and giving the last few of her tribe the chance to survive.
Description
Appearance
Karda was an exceptionally tall goliath woman, who stood around nine feet tall. Her skin is tough and stone-colored, like most goliaths. She had a dark band marking across both her eyes, and her lips were black with similar markings on her face and chin. The sides and back of her head are completely shaved, and the rest of her hair is tied in a tight and long ponytail hanging past her waist. Karda had a maze-like design down her right arm. Both of her hands were stained black from demonblood, appearing as a gradient up her arms to her elbows. She wore furred clothing of brown leathers which left much of her skin exposed. She did not wear armor or use weapons, but she was very skilled in unarmed combat and in grappling. Karda was able to increase her size and mass through magic, which enhanced her combat abilities.Personality
In life, Karda experienced a lot of battle and loss during the Great War. Despite this, Karda developed a strong taste for battle and seemed to genuinely enjoy fighting. This was shown as she laughed maniacally as she brawled. She did not fear combat and had a confidence and swagger about her. This was seen by her casual addressing of Barduumus, The Battlelord.Biography
Background
Karda was born near the end of the Third Age to the Bloodfist Tribe of Tarteria. At the time of her birth, the Great War had already started. The onslaught of beastfolk and demons were a constant threat to the Bloodfist Tribe. With dwindling resources and raidable terrain, Karda's early years were spent watching her tribe diminish and lose access to resources, like weapons and shelter. Karda became a warrior in her tribe, and she was proficient with unarmed combat. She became known for removing demons’ heads with her bare hands, an act that stained her hands and forearms from the spilled demonblood. In this way, Karda earned her place in her tribe and the name Skullripper. By the time Karda was 27, the Bloodfist Tribe had been pushed back to the foothills between the Fire Spire Sands and the Khushuut Mountains. Their resilience against the demon forces had garnered the attention of these armies, and a larger force was sent to wipe them out. The tribe retreated into the dangerous Khushuut Mountains, where they held out for months. However, despite using the rocky and icy terrain to their advantage, slowly the survivors were killed off. When only a few goliaths remained, Karda was cornered against the demon forces. Exhausted and bloody from the combat, she punched the stone ridge of the mountain pass, shattering the stone and causing an avalanche of ice and rock to cascade down the mountain. As the pass was filled with mountain debris, many demons were vanquished and Karda was killed in the rockslide.Azimuth Anthology: Tournament of Champions
After Karda's death, she reached Dynamia, the Plane of Strength. On the Infinite Battlefield, her soul spent many years fighting among the denizens of the plane. In the fighting, Karda laughed maniacally as she ripped the heads from enemies. As the battles raged, a great, rhythmic thumping of steel echoed across Dynamia. A beam of bright light descended on Karda, transporting her to the Hall of Champions. As she gained her bearings, she saw she was joined by Daedra Sen, Styrke, Galaduath Valaran, and Edern Hamme. When Edern asked if any knew why they had been summoned, Karda suggested maybe they were supposed to fight each other. As they walked, they reached the end of the hall, where on a grand plinth stood Barduumus, The Battlelord. While others bowed or kneeled, Karda instead nodded to him. Barduumus wanted new champions to fill his hall. The group was charged to fight in the Steel Soul Arena, and Barduumus transported them again. After he told the group of the fight that awaited them, Edern asked Karda if they would be allies or enemies in this, and she replied, saying, "No one’s my enemy until they hit me first."Round One
Beams of light brought forth wyvern riders and war drakes. Karda was excited and exclaimed, “Sweet! Never seen these things before!” She rushed into battle. Karda raged and started to magically enlarge her form. With Styrke, they battled a pair of the riders. Despite the damage she dealt, two of the riders were instead slain by arrows from Galaduath from across the arena. Enraged and with no further enemies nearby, Karda rushed across the central glyph. It activated and sent a damaging haze that engulfed the center of the arena, but she continued on. She punched a rider to death and the bloodlust of Dynamia restored Karda’s vitality. With the group, the rest of the riders were cut down. With their victory, Barduumus congratulated them all and asked if they were ready for the next round. As the din of battle faded, they heard the approach of creaking wheels and the gnashing of metal scraping metal.Round Two
Digging up from the steel bottom of the arena, four dracotaurs armed with bows emerged. At the same time, moving through an opening of the outer walls, two steaming metal war machines piloted by kobolds chugged into the arena. Karda activated her runic necklace, and said to Galaduath, “Hey, you take what’s mine again and I’m gonna take it personal.” She rushed to a dracotaur, and even as Galaduath shot it, Karda smashed its face in. As the bloodlust vitality filled her, Galaduath said, “Don’t worry, I won’t take it personal.” Karda held a war machine in place, even as it spewed fire, as Daedra smashed it to shrapnel. As the rest of the enemies were killed, the second round was won.Round Three
Barduumus looked down upon them, saying, “Perhaps I have gone too easy on you.” He slammed his tail and the ground began to rumble and shift, erupting in a field of weapon spikes. Karda jumped to an outer glyph; then, flying celestial creatures descended from the sky in beams of bluish light. Karda enlarged herself and rushed across the field of blades. In a rage, Karda smashed the pinned Deva again and again, but it was Galaduath’s arrows shot from across the field that killed the creature. She called out in anger, and rushed towards the Planatar in the center. Joining Styrke and Daedra, Karda grabbed the celestial and ripped the wings off, killing it in a rage. She then threw an enlarged javelin through the last deva, killing it and winning the third round. As the enemies dissolved into blue sparks, the solid steel ground returned. The group healed and recovered, but all were starting to run out of resources.Round Four
Barduumus called for the next round, and a mithril wyvern crashed like a meteor into the arena. As the dust settled, they heard the movement of the arena’s statues as they animated and also stepped into the field. The terrifying wyvern lunged towards Karda, biting and tearing into her with teeth and claws. Karda enlarged herself, yelling, “I’m having flashbacks to the day I died!” She grabbed the wyvern’s horns and slammed it into the ground. Karda slammed repeatedly into the wyvern, even as it thrashed and cast magic at the group. With attacks from the group cutting into the creature, the wyvern dissolved in blue sparks. The group charged at the statues that remained. They crumbled all four statues to ruin, and the fourth round was won.Round Five
From the sky, a massive archangel entered the arena. A single, massive eye suspended in the rings regarded the group. Silently, it expanded its many wings and began to attack. As Karda held it firmly in place, the angel summoned haladron obelisks and they all thrashed Karda with divine bolts. Karda realized her doom was coming and resigned herself to holding the angel down as long as she could. She called out, saying, “Hey, poet, barbeque, I hope one of you two wins. Bloodfist were never meant to win, just be a pain in the ass!” As she did, the angel released a divine burst of energy all around. The blast ravaged Karda and Daedra was consumed in the blast, dissolving into sparks with the damage of a final Bolt of Law. As the bloodlust energy of Dynamia filled the angel with energy, the remaining warriors realized they could not defeat this creature. Resigned to the grim task, Galaduath drew his bow and shot Karda dead, and she dissolved into blue sparks as a spell from the central glyph scattered her.Character Information
Legacy
The modern Stoneshatter Tribe's name may have a connection to Karda's final sacrificial act. The tribe has a tradition when a goliath reaches adulthood, they must venture northwards into the Khushuut Mountains to earn their tribe's namesake of "Stoneshatter".Quotations
- "No one’s my enemy until they hit me first." - AA 04.1
- "Hey, you take what’s mine again and I’m gonna take it personal." - AA 04.2, said to Galaduath Valaran.
- "Hey, poet, barbeque, I hope one of you two wins. Bloodfist were never meant to win, just be a pain in the ass!" - AA 04.2
2023 Character Art provided by I.W.
Character Type
Player Character Actor
I.W.
Player Character Actor
I.W.
Current Status
Deceased
Current Location
Species
Age
27 (at time of death)
Date of Birth
After 3A 1992
Date of Death
Late Third Age
Circumstances of Death
Casualty of the Great War
Place of Death
Khushuut Mountains
Children
Gender
Female
Aligned Organization
Related Reports
