Swampwalker
Background
The first thing any Swampwalker learns is how to be quick. Quick on their feet or quick in the mind doesn’t matter, but those who aren’t quick go under quicker. The Zekiah Swamp is a harsh environment, a natural net for zed hoards that become mired in it, with its denizens often caught between them and the Bailey. Those Baywalkers that have lived there for generations have adapted to life atop a floating world, dredging the brackish wetland for resources washed in with the zed from the Patomic Bay. Few who aren’t Swampwalkers have the grit or agility to ply the bog, with its shifting sandbars and sarcomas of undead, but the swamp gives back to those dedicated and hardy enough make it their home.
Just as Swampwalkers live in the spaces between dry land and the water, they also exist at a crossroads in the society of the Dominus, at once an integral part of the Bailey but always distinctly separate from it. While the Zekiah Swamp acts as a sodden bulwark for the Bailey it has also proven difficult for the Dominus to truly bring it into their fold. The Swampwalkers are protective of their independence, and more than one Senator has come to regret attempting to bring them to heel.
While they often stand apart from the citizens of the Dominus, Swampwalker specialists are widely sought for their skill with particular arts. Among these, Spiceworkers are renowned herbalists, both healers and poisoners in equal measure, Willowispers are infamous for purveying, and utilizing, combustibles of every manner, Deadwakers are somewhat disreputable experts in necroponics and the lore of infectious material, and finally the Floodcallers watch for signs of coming storms and disasters, particularly the Great Cane, mapping the changing landscape they leave in their wake. These specialists often identify themselves with tattoos that signify not only their occupation but also who taught them, a kind of trademark and professional genealogy that demonstrates the authenticity of their craft.
Costume and Roleplay Requirements
Growing up in the Zekiah Swamp has forced these locals to adapt to a unique and unforgiving habitat. Swampwalkers need to be able to move quickly over or through hazards ranging from debris fields to quicksand. As such they commonly wear gaiters, hats or masks that protect them from insects, thick water-resistant gloves, and other accessories one would wear to clear difficult terrain..
Mechanics
Hard to Pin
You can not use this ability if you have Level 8 Exhaustion or higher, when in Bleed Out, Unconscious, Dead, or when you have three or more mangled limbs.
- You may call 'Hard to Pin!' and take 5 Points (0.5 Levels) of Exhaustion at any time to temporarily ignore any and all effects that slow or prevent your movement for 5 seconds. This includes other mechanical effects that prevent movement (such as Stun), but does not prevent any of the other detriments of those effects that do not affect movement. If the effect that limited their movement is still applied at the end of the 5 seconds, the Swampwalker may choose to activate the abiliy again at normal cost, or resume the duration of the hindering effect.
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