Nahkul the Nameless
An entity that's appeared in Millennium City numerous times over the past few months, Nahkul the Nameless literally feeds off of violence.
| Nahkul the Nameless | ||||||||||
| Player: @Jhuno | ||||||||||
[[Image: |300px|]]
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| The Nameless One showing off some of her trophies. | ||||||||||
| Biographical Data | ||||||||||
| Real Name: | Nahkul | |||||||||
| Known Aliases: | The Nameless One | |||||||||
| Gender: | Female | |||||||||
| Species: | Vehemic | |||||||||
| Ethnicity: | Mongolian physiognomy and cultural similarities | |||||||||
| Place of Birth: | Plains of Valara | |||||||||
| Base of Operations: | "Mongolian Earth" | |||||||||
| Relatives: | Nergui, Sister | |||||||||
| Characteristics | ||||||||||
| Age: | Unknown | |||||||||
| Height: | 5'1" | |||||||||
| Weight: | 238lbs | |||||||||
| Eyes: | Red with black sclera | |||||||||
| Hair: | Dark blue with purple sheen | |||||||||
| Complexion: | Olive | |||||||||
| Physical Build: | Densely muscled | |||||||||
| Physical Features: | Numerous piercings | |||||||||
| Status | ||||||||||
| Fame: |
Unknown | |||||||||
| Alignment: |
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| Identity: | Public | |||||||||
| Years Active: | 3 Months | |||||||||
| Citizenship: | None | |||||||||
| Occupation: | Warlord (Self-claimed) | |||||||||
| Education: | No Formal Education | |||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | |||||||||
| Known Powers and Abilities | ||||||||||
| Variable durability and strength | ||||||||||
| Equipment and Paraphernalia | ||||||||||
| Rune-engraved greatsword, enchanted jewelry(various) | ||||||||||
| Physical Attributes | |||||||||
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Reflexes |
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| Non-Physical Attributes | |||||||||
| Energy |
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| Telepathy |
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Technology |
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Knowledge |
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Bravery |
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| MaekadaBox created by @Maekada | |||||||||
 The author of this article has marked this as a creative work, and would prefer that other users not edit it. Please respect this, and unless repairing a typo, spelling, or other minor technical error, think of this page as read-only. |
Contents
History
First Appearance
In the early hours of a July morning in 2020, a mysterious arcane aura settled over Lake Superior, causing extreme aggression amongst the fish and other aquatic creatures. A number of local heroes traced this aura to a mysterious entity who was later identified as Nahkul, feeding off of the violence happening beneath the surface of the lake's waters. Following a short brawl that ended in a stalemate when Nahkul decided she was bored, she abruptly returned to her home via portal.
Personality
Overall, Nahkul comes across as supremely irreverent in her behavior. This is mostly true as, so far as she knows, very little in this dimension can actually harm her. However, while a violent individual, she could best be considered a martial pacifist; she enjoys the act of fighting in the same way a gourmand enjoys the act of eating, and has a very refined palate with a philosophical outlook on life, and is very reluctant to cause lasting harm to a person. Nahkul claims that this is related to her powers - she claims that motivation 'flavors' violence, and likens the loss of life to a meal turning rancid, while she describes fighting in defense of others as inducing a sort of narcotic high. An unfortunate consequence of being born and molded for the purpose of fighting is that she's developed a sort of 'hammer' mentality, and holds a certain rigidity in her expectations of others; she typically begins confrontations with a token warning or entreaty to diplomacy before leaping right into combat. It's believed that this will improve as she experiences more of human culture. Nahkul also displays a somewhat naive personality as most of the information contained in this dossier has been freely given and demonstrated for the asking.
Likes
- Violence
- Cooking
- Pain
- Heavy Metal music
Dislikes
- Death
- Bullies
- Alcohol
- Food
- Clothing
Powers
Innately, Nahkul and her species boast a powerful resistance to harm that scales based on the attacker's intent to cause harm. This is a natural consequence of her species somehow developing the ability to feed off of hostile intent, and their eventual mutation into relying upon a certain level of ambient violence merely to exist. None among her people truly know why, but unless they immerse themself in a violent atmosphere for a certain period roughly every six hours, they will begin to suffer the effects of starvation at a greatly-increased rate. In addition to this variable durability, Nahkul's species also possesses an enhanced rate of regeneration, which lends to instantaneous blood clotting and an enhanced capacity for muscle development, which she has gleefully engaged in. While a proper battlefield test is obviously unfeasible, Nahkul's baseline capabilities are estimated to be near peak human ability, and her upper limits grant her the ability to shrug off small arms fire and even some heavier weaponry, while her lifting capacity tops out at around 100 tons. While the triggering circumstances are unknown, Nahkul's body has also demonstrated a sort of 'emergency recovery' mode where her body devotes all resources to regenerating non-incapacitating damage.
A special note should be made that during testing, Nahkul made frequent mention of 'allocated energy' with the implication that her abilities might actually function as a sort of 'power pool' or 'multi-power'.
Equipment and Enchantments
In addition to her innate abilities, Nahkul also has access to a small assortment of minorly enchanted equipment. Firstly, her greatsword is a type of runeblade bearing five runes, each with a different purpose. In a display of good faith, Nahkul has volunteered the information that merely depriving her of this weapon immediately nullifies its effects, potentially causing system shock.
- First Rune: Endurance - This rune symbolizes the unyielding nature of the mountains and bestows the blade with a measure of unbreakability; while a powerful enough shock will snap the metal, what sort of force that will take is completely unknown at this time.
- Second Rune: Purity - This rune symbolizes the empty tundra, covered in virgin snow. It merely keeps the blade clean of any fluids or dirtiness.
- Third Rune: Healing - This rune symbolizes the scabbing process and healing of wounds. It holds a charge of healing magic that can be expended to heal the wielder's wounds up to a moderate point. This rune takes up to twenty-four hours to recharge, and has only been observed healing soft tissue.
- Fourth Rune: Immunity - This rune symbolizes resistance to environmental hazards. It bestows upon its wielder an immunity to most known diseases.
- Fifth Rune: Scarring - This rune symbolizes the scarring process. While considered cursed among her people due to typically inspiring bloodlust, Nahkul knows that this rune merely allows one to continue fighting through exhaustion and physical pain. A bit of a double-edged sword in that while it blocks all pain, it also blocks reflexive responses to such things, and requires one to be even more mindful of their surroundings.
Second, Nahkul possesses a suite of enchanted jewelry, which enhances her attributes in various cosmetic ways. Of particular note, however, is a translation enchantment that automatically translates what she says into plain english, though a jarring vocalization occurs when a similar concept can't be found. Bizarrely, the stenography program used during the interviews transliterated this noise as "translation error". Despite, or perhaps because of this flaw in her translation, Nahkul has developed a fondness for puns and wordplay.
Favored Tactics
Thanks to her enhanced pain threshold and regenerative powers, Nahkul's combat style is politely described as 'reckless', but more accurately described as 'suicidal'. She is completely unshy about damaging herself in combat, and has on numerous occasions dislocated her own limbs or impaled herself on her own weapon to escape a hold or take down an opponent. While she displays some awareness of risk mitigation, an accurate view of her priorities remains thus far elusive. While PRIMUS has labeled her a potential threat, current orders are to simply observe and aid if necessary.
Additional Material
Transcript of August 23rd Interview
The following interview took place at 9:00 PM on August 23rd following a successful raid on a Purple Gang distribution warehouse following an tip given by Nahkul herself. Stenography was performed by machine and left unedited to illustrate the Interviewee's translation effects on machinery.
UNTIL Agent Lloyd Wilson(Interviewer): Good evening. For the record, I am Agent Lloyd Wilson, Interdimensional Affairs branch. I'm given to understand that you are Nahkul the Nameless (checking notes) Warlord of the Plains of Valara?
Nahkul: (Shaking her head) That is correct.
LW: Is that an official title?
Nahkul: Yes/"It might/could be".
LW: Could you describe the nature of your position? How did you become Warlord?
Nahkul: Well, the winning smile certainly helped. Basically/"It goes like this": My father ascended/aged out of the role and I was the most suited heir. As for the nature of my posture/position? (Slouching down in her chair) I am slouching now, which is bad for the back and spine and places undue stress on the knees.
LW: I should have seen that coming. Could you explain why you answered the way that you did?
Nahkul: Because it amused me. (Returning to a proper seated position) Warlord is a stressful job. It involves a lot of diplomacy/appeasement and leaves little room for personal enjoyment. I am expected to be the final word on matters of lineage/inheritance and I am the arbiter on what traditions/procedures are upheld. If my job is unsatisfactory, the elders/overlords can convene and exile me, or one of my peers/rivals can challenge me for my title.
LW: Some of the officers mentioned that you were - in their words - "Jojo Posing". This is a reference to a popular comic book and cartoon, I believe. Is there any reason you were performing those unusual poses during the assault?
Nahkul: Because it amused me.
LW: (Rereading transcript) I have noticed that the machine is transcribing your responses with multiple synonyms in some places. Can you explain why this might be happening?
Nahkul: (Excitedly) I love cinnamon! (Several seconds of silence) I have been learning English as a way of immersing myself more deeply into your culture and find puns to be a good way for me to learn. The way my translator works is quite simple and <translation error> have not been considered in the creation of the spell. My home lacks the infrastructure required for advanced technology/equipment, though it is likely that <translation error> is keying in to concepts that are equidistant/close in meaning and getting confused.
LW: Why did you give that tip to the MCPD and then wait so long to assault the warehouse without them?
Nahkul: Honestly, I grew <translation error> waiting for everyone to get into position and I estimated that properly trained soldiers/police would be able to adapt to a changing situation. Beside that, I also estimated that they would be less likely to rush in if I had already started the raid, which was correct. All the soldiers/police had to do was wait outside and capture the fleeing violators/criminals. Beside that, I am not some neophyte/novice/trainee that does not know how to harmlessly subdue an armed aggressor. I fully understand that killing is discouraged in your society. Overall, I estimate that charging in the way I did resulted in a smaller loss of life than if the soldiers/police had performed the raid as planned.
LW: I see. And as I bring this interview to a close, could you describe your culture a bit more thoroughly?
Nahkul: I can/It is certain. According to legend/history/mythology, our original progenitor's children wanted to find a place where their father would truly rest eternally without being disturbed. They decided that the best way to go about that would be to create it, and so they did. Well, somewhat. Originally, it was a vast, endless plain higher up Yggdrasil/The Sephiroth than yours, close to <translation error>. After they buried their father in the farthest, most remote spot they could, our progenitor's children brought in animals to make a home for themselves as they guarded his grave. I could go further than that, or write it down, but my people do not have writing, and it is mostly boring esoteric lore. As for our modern culture, we have not changed much throughout the millennia, unless we have - verbal recordkeeping is admittedly imprecise and prone to distortion. We favor strength and integrity while discouraging selfishness. Our lives are dedicated to protecting our tribes and traditions while ensuring that we thrive as much as we can. Our children are raised by the tribe, taught by our elders, and trained by our soldiers. Since I am certain you mean to ask about our diplomatic procedures at some point, I will state them now: When a new culture is contacted, we send observers to ensure that they are safe for us to mingle with. This world takes special importance to us, since we have noted lots of genetic similarities beyond what could be considered coincidental. Let us see... what else was there? Yes, infrastructure. My people are nomadic. We travel from place to place as, while the land is fertile, it cannot sustain us indefinitely, so we give it time to recover between the seasons. We raise cattle, sheep, and horses, and our largest crops are tea, sugarcane, and wheat, though those are for trading since my people have not required physical sustenance for millennia.
Behind-The-Curtain Trivia
- Nahkul is based off of a character built in Hero System 6e, with a year or so of mileage on it.
- The secret behind Nahkul's powerset is that it's all based on a single power pool that she can allocate to strength, defense, or regeneration in a manner similar to the villain Overdrive on page 79 of Champions Villains 2, or Maxima from the webcomic Grrl Power.
- While I don't expect many villains to try to destroy her weapon, it's statted as a Durable Obvious, Accessible Focus, meaning it's fair game for disarm or sunder attempts, though maybe not so much stealing attempts as it requires superhuman strength to even wield two-handed.
- While she tells nobody, Nahkul has a crippling weakness to sonic-based attacks, which have a doubled effect in addition to causing a good chunk of pain to her, which bypasses her Rune of Scarring.
- PnP stats-wise, the Rune of Scarring is written up as a "Doesn't Take STUN" automaton power tied to her runeblade. BODY(that is, structural) damage causes her to lose powers as per typical, which could still result in instant defeat if she loses use of her arm, as her STUN damage is still tracked. Thanks to PnP's balancing, this leaves her quite squishy as the way this is done greatly increases the cost of defense stats.
- Specifically, Nahkul's Rune of Immunity grants immunity to terrestrial diseases and animal-derived toxins, in addition to full environmental hazards such as temperature and pressure.
