Felon Noch
The Wolf-Hounds & Leaf-Ghosts
The Felon Noch rose amongst the Hin left behind to strike back at those who hounded them; to find them in the dark, take from what was needed for survival and slay them. When all the light of civilization had fled far from their homes, the Felon Noch remained behind to hunt their enemies and defend their people.
Long years of carving a living out of lands overrun by the Taking left its mark upon the Hin left behind. Their traditional ways forgotten, theirs was a life of struggle and death, hunted by the lords of the Taking. Those who survived learned to move with stealth, to hide in the darkened shadows, to carve a living out of a barren and dangerous landscape. But some learned even more; they learned to strike and kill when opportunity allowed. These were the Felon Noch, the Wolf Hounds.
Cast in a mold of violence and hatred, loathed by those who they hunted, the Felon Noch became masters of the shadows, the hunt and ending a life, quickly and without hesitation. They are the first to act, never long in thought, realizing that sooner or later the talking must end and it is always better that the talk end on their terms. But the field of battle is fluid and any thing can be a weapon and any advantage must be taken. Their first objective is to survive, the second is to mete out vengeance and death, for the dead rarely hound the living.
Armor is a tool to be used as needed. A Felon Noch wears chain as easily as leather, however they know that metal makes noise and it is almost impossible to remain hidden or surprise a foe if the cuirass makes noise, so they often forgo the use of metal armor. Of course, on the open field of slaughter they may pick up anything that they can wear and will ensure their survival. They use a wide variety of weapons, only avoiding unusually cumbersome ones such as polearms and large bows. These tend to interfere with their ability to blend and hide and move with stealth. They prefer bladed weapons that allow one to move quickly and dispatch an enemy. They are known to favor crossbows as well for these weapons are powerful and well known to knock a foe to the ground. Though noted for their ferocity, it does not govern them, they move through the world with stealth and rely upon quick reflexes to keep them alive. They are crafty and careful, qualities which have kept them alive through many long years of suffering.
Long years of carving a living out of lands overrun by the Taking left its mark upon the Hin left behind. Their traditional ways forgotten, theirs was a life of struggle and death, hunted by the lords of the Taking. Those who survived learned to move with stealth, to hide in the darkened shadows, to carve a living out of a barren and dangerous landscape. But some learned even more; they learned to strike and kill when opportunity allowed. These were the Felon Noch, the Wolf Hounds.
Cast in a mold of violence and hatred, loathed by those who they hunted, the Felon Noch became masters of the shadows, the hunt and ending a life, quickly and without hesitation. They are the first to act, never long in thought, realizing that sooner or later the talking must end and it is always better that the talk end on their terms. But the field of battle is fluid and any thing can be a weapon and any advantage must be taken. Their first objective is to survive, the second is to mete out vengeance and death, for the dead rarely hound the living.
Armor is a tool to be used as needed. A Felon Noch wears chain as easily as leather, however they know that metal makes noise and it is almost impossible to remain hidden or surprise a foe if the cuirass makes noise, so they often forgo the use of metal armor. Of course, on the open field of slaughter they may pick up anything that they can wear and will ensure their survival. They use a wide variety of weapons, only avoiding unusually cumbersome ones such as polearms and large bows. These tend to interfere with their ability to blend and hide and move with stealth. They prefer bladed weapons that allow one to move quickly and dispatch an enemy. They are known to favor crossbows as well for these weapons are powerful and well known to knock a foe to the ground. Though noted for their ferocity, it does not govern them, they move through the world with stealth and rely upon quick reflexes to keep them alive. They are crafty and careful, qualities which have kept them alive through many long years of suffering.
Career
Qualifications
Career Progression
Passion Requirements
All Felon Noch have two Passions that rule their lives and drive them daily. The Felon Noch is the tragic solution to nearly three centuries of being hunted by the humanoids and their allies responsible for the Taking. The Orcs, Goblins, Beastmen, Ogres and other foul spawn that rampaged through the formerly simple, naturalistic lives of the Northern Hin. These creatures have hunted, captured and feasted on Hin families for so long that countless family lines have simply vanished. The Felon Noch hates these beings with all of their cold hearts. Nothing but this cold, hard rage could have turned them into the killing machines that stalk the northern wilderness of these days. The Felon Noch have no sympathy and will make no peace with the Takers. No trap is too cruel, no blade is too sharp and no peace will ever come.The other driving force for Felon Noch, and the reason for their moniker 'Wolf-Hounds', is their dedication to preserving every Hin from the clutches of those creatures. The Border Hin have been so reduced in numbers and so careful in their concealment that only small family units remain together in the wilderness. Too many exhalations of breath or tracks in the snow and the Foul Folk will come to hunt, torture and slay yet another of their dwindling peoples. The Felon Noch have drawn a line in the cold ground. They live, not only for the splash of hot black blood on the leaves, but for the preservation of their remaining kin and kind. No Hin will ever go missing without a trace on a dark night at the edge of the woods again without the Wolf-Hounds taking up the chase. No more, the Felon Noch say, and they will go to great lengths to help other Border Hin survive in the wilderness from gathering food, delivering supplies, tracking subhuman movements and passing messages amongst the families of the northern wilderness. If a family goes missing, a lone Felon Noch may set out to find them but it will be a pack by the time they have located the perpetrators. Should the worst have befallen and no rescue possible, this pack of Wolf-Hounds will exact a vengeance and leave a message in scraps of flesh and torn bodies that promises retribution against all who strive against them and other Hin.
Skills
Standard Skills: Athletics, Combat Style (Felon Noch), Endurance, Evade, First Aid, Perception, StealthProfessional Skills: Acrobatics, Animal Training, Craft (violence-oriented), Language (any subhuman), Lore (Area, Humanoids, Warfare), Mechanisms, Naturalism, Navigation, Survival, Track
Felon Noch Combat Style
This style includes the following weapons: blowpipe, broadsword, club, mace, dagger, dart, light hammer, hand ax, hand crossbow, knife, light crossbow, sabre, net, quarterstaff, sap, shortbow, short sword, Unarmed, and bolas.Abilities & Talents
Animal Mimicry--Felon Noch, in greater or lesser degree, have a natural ability to imitate the calls of any natural animal they have encountered in the wild. A Felon Noch may produce the call of the selected animal sufficient to fool the casual listener. An individual with Survival, Naturalism or similar training may make a roll to detect it is counterfeit; HARD difficulty.Climb Walls--Felon Noch are very good at climbing anything up to sheer surfaces. As long as they are Unburdened (ENC less than STR x2) and wearing nothing more restrictive than light armor, they may ignore one (1) grade of difficulty when performing any attempt at climbing. In addition, the AP penalty to Movement when climbing may be ignored. The Felon Noch must have both hands free to use this Talent.
Agile Defender--So long as the Felon Noch is Unburdened, and wearing nothing heavier than light armor, they may use the Evade skill to dodge melee and ranged attacks without going prone.
Concealment--Felon Noch can conceal themselves extremely well in wilderness areas. They reduce all Stealth tests to hide OR move silently by an additional grade. This stacks with thier Hin natural talents. The Felon Noch can only hide OR move quietly; they cannot do both at the same time while this additional effectiveness is in place. Furthermore, they cannot conceal themselves while being observed. This ability requires the Felon Noch to only be wearing light armors.
Deerstalker--This ability comes naturally to all Wolf Hounds and covers a wide range of survival skills. In short, it is their natural ability to endure environments that lesser races would find too harsh. The Felon Noch is self-sufficient and able to forage off the land; finding shelter, food, and water, start a fire and determine direction. As long as adequate food, water and shelter are present in the environment, a Felon Noch can find these resources without making a skill check.
This requires 1d6+2 hours of foraging, searching and gathering. They can only do this for themselves. They can start a fire in 1d10 minutes provided materials are available. They can also determine True North so long as they are in a wilderness environment.
Leaf Killer-or-Blades From The Dark (Choose One)
Leaf Killer-Against unsuspecting foes hunted by the Felon Noch in the wilderness, they may Backstab use the "Kill Silently" special effect.
Blades From The Dark-The Felon Noch is a master at delivered death at range. They gain the "Skirmishing" ability and, if not surprised they may automatically fire or throw first at the beginning of combat (prior to rolling Initiative).
Rank Two Talents
Improved Concealment--The Felon Noch's concealment ability may now be used to hide and move silently at the same time. When doing so, their Movement is reduced to 1/3 Base. In addition, if being observed, the Felon Noch only needs a moment's distraction to attempt to vanish in a wilderness area provided sufficient cover is close at hand. This requires a Stealth/HARD roll. If successful, they have vanished into the undergrowth.Improved Animal Mimicry--At this Rank, the Felon Noch may use animal calls to replicate a simple language with other Felon Noch. It is sufficient for basic messages such as setting up ambushes or reporting on observations.
OPTIONAL
In addition, the Felon Noch may choose one of the following options at the cost of two (2) Experience Rolls and one (1) month of training. A second option may be chosen with an additional month's training and five (5) Experience Rolls.
Leader of the Pack--All Animal Training tests are one grade easier when it comes to animals that will remain as the Felon Noch's companions.
Lead Stalker--The Felon Noch may provide for others in the wilderness. All Survival rolls made for the purpose of gathering water, sustenance or finding shelter are one (1) grade easier.
Work In Progress
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