Zaplata

Zaplate is a man born as a wererat. He uses his talents as a bard to befriend and command rats around him. His main appearance is in the Undesirables Campaign.

Description

Appearance

For all intents, Zaplata appears to be a human man. He is just over six feet tall with a very athletic physique. While he initially had a more olive skin tone and shaggy black hair, around his late twenties he began losing pigment in his body. His rat form matched a mix of his skin tone and hair color, but became more and more of a piebald pattern as he lost color. This would eventually go to his eyes as well, turning them from dark brown to a pinkish red, resembling the eyes of a white rat both in and out of his form once he became fully albino.
His clothes are old and well worn, but taken care of. Despite being patched and restitched several times, Zaplata is always clean, if a bit disheveled. The thing that stands out about his attire the most are the fur lined boots that he wears. These are a style from further north, which he has stated are passed down from his mother, who had them passed down to her as well. Some speculate that this would mean he has ties or heritage to the Duskmen. He also carries a heavy maul and wears a set of gauntlets that seem to grant him strength beyond his normal capability.

Personality

Zaplata is a very soft spoken man, preferring the quiet of solitude over the bustle of the city. He is very good with animals, showing familiarity with every rat that follows his music. Due to his isolation, he could be seen as self serving. This most evident as he was considering fulfilling the demands of General Vadima to kill the Undesirables to have his own life spared. After meeting them face to face though, he could no longer bring himself to carry out those demands and chose to take his chances standing against Frostbane.
He is considerate of those above ground, despite their fears of him. Whenever he or his rats take from any of the businesses, he leaves behind the cost in coins that he has found or taken from those that attack him. Even though he is a pacifist, Zaplata is quite capable of taking care of himself. This is shown by the amassed wealth and gear in his dwelling from the corpses of those that hunt him, thinking that he's a monster.

Biography

Background

Zaplata was born in Dugafjord, in the aqueducts beneath the city. His mother was also a wererat and had taken to living beneath Dugafjord to keep people from being frightened of her. He never got the chance to meet his father, but it was implied that he had been killed, which was the catalyst for Zaplata's mother to hide in the sewers. She taught him kindness, patience and understanding, insisting it was not the fault of normal people to fear them, as their particular lycanthropy was known to bring out some of the darker nature in other mortals. While they did have full control over themselves and shapeshifting was second nature, these teachings were put to the test when Zaplata's mother was mortally wounded. She died in his arms, insisting it wasn't their fault and that one day they would find a place that accepted them.
For the next couple decades, Zplata cared for himself, using his natural affinity for rats and a pan flute his mother made to keep himself fed. The eerie music could sometimes be heard, leading to the people of Dugafjord to believe that there was some sort of sinister creature living beneath them. This would bring mercenaries and bounty hunters looking for him, with the intent to kill him. Still his views that his mother instilled in him would remain unsullied as he would watch several of the kind hearted people that were in the city, including the ruling marquis family and the governor, Baron Cornelius Walson.

Undesirables

When General Arseny Vadima invaded western Maracia, his hired informant, Taggart, told him about Zaplata. He and his officers threatened Zaplata, with death or domination through their Cursed Blood Music Box. He can either become a secondary antagonist or an ally depending on how his situation is handled.
Ürsa found his lair and conversed with him. He suspected Zaplata's ties to his homeland, especially with the shared circumstances of their albinism. Zaplata released Ürsa and would join the Undesirables in helping to rid Dugafjord of the Frostbane intruders.

Quests

• Zaplata can be freed from General Vadima's coercion or killed in Dugafjord.

• If he is an ally, Zaplata can be brought to the Evertwilight where he will stay in Kassimavik and take his place in the culture as a new Twilight Guardian.

Legacy

Unknown to Zaplata, he is the descendant of the last wererat Twilight Guardian Lemming, who was separated from their people and unable to find a way to return home. His gradual albinism is believed to be Selûne calling him back home to defend the Duskmen from the coming Riders of the Apocalypse and guide them to the Eden of Evertwilight.

Notable Items

• Pipes of the Sewers: Made by his mother and used to command the rats in Dugafjord's sewers

• Gauntlets of Ogre Power: Taken from a bounty hunter attempting to kill him.

• Enchanted Maul: A weapon with an unknown enchantment.

Quotations

• Well, how can I kill you now that I know you're good people? Leave in peace, I will not harm you.

• Things aren't always so simple. I'm the one who came to you and told you what Arseny demanded of me, yet you still treat me like an enemy.

• If I am to die either way, the wise choice would have been to eliminate you, not stand at your side.

Character Type
Non Player Character
Date of Birth
Weiris 4th, 129AT
Place of Birth
Dugafjord
Class
Bard
College of Valor

Family
Unnamed mother- (deceased)