Black Jack

Black Jack

"Now jus' imagine a couple dozen crossbows strapped to 'n angry owlbear- that's Amusa."

Relatives	Unknown
Languages	Common, Sylvan, Celestial
Affiliations	Inexorable (Member, formerly), The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company (Associate)
Aliases	That Damned Hare Just Jack Jack of Spades
Marital Status	Single
Place of Birth	Unknown, presumably somewhere on Amusa
Species	Harengon
Gender	Male
Height	5' 2" (w/o ears), 6' (w/ ears)
Weight	94 lbs.
Eye Color	Yellow

Black Jack, or simply just "Jack", is a Prehistoric hero once celebrated for liberating the old world of the The Cindering Winter King. Having since been stranded on a desert island with his indebted kobold homunculus, Skulky, Jack has gone insane and forgotten his past life and expertise. After escaping the island, Jack now works with the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company to do various jobs on Amusa. He is a Harengon level 4 Battle Smith Artificer.

Physical Appearance

Describe your appearance. Eye color, height, weight, hair color, particular clothing items, scars, tattoos, etc.

Personality

Mentally speaking, Black Jack is a shell of his former self. From what Skulky can remember, he used to be far more refined and "put together" when they had first met, before the island. Current day, Jack is constantly teetering on the edge of complete psychological collapse, as he struggles to keep his sanity. Despite this, he was always eccentric- insane or not- as well as mechanically brilliant. Even now, hints of his unconventional genius shine through while in the field as he creates wondrous devices from literal scraps and solves problems flawlessly with utterly insane method. So far, Jack hasn't recalled what exactly keeps his memories hostage.

Rumored to have been a former hero, Jack embodies such behavior even in the midst of insanity. During a manic episode, he still will always recognize and seek to assist those in need, potentially risking his life to do so. Beyond the standard heroics, he also offers empathy and comfort to those in pain- real or invisible- which might explain how he came to be friends with Skulky.

Within the prison of his madness, Jack's true self claws at the walls, slowly but surely resurfacing as he protects his friends and strangers. With every adventure, the old self grows stronger, the madness falls away, and memories are uncovered.

History

x

Languages

Firstly, Black Jack is fluent in Common, as the language hasn't changed much over the centuries he's lived. Being a harengon, he is also well-versed in Sylvan, allowing him to communicate with other feyborn. Lastly, Jack can speak Celestial, although he doesn't quite remember why just yet.

Skulky

Jack has a small, unassuming kobold who tails him wherever he goes. Skulky is a highly unorthodox homunculus that acts as Jack's steel defender and indebted servant. He has been with Jack throughout the entire island ordeal, and now faithfully assists him with his adventures.

Skulky

"Maybe it's not so bad after all."

Relatives	Unknown
Languages	Common, Sylvan, Celestial
Affiliations	The Silentfoot Tribe (Prince), The Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company (Associate)
Aliases	Ace of Spades Prince Cinderclaw
Marital Status	Single
Place of Birth	Abandoned kobold den on Isonhound
Species	Homunculus/Kobold
Gender	Male
Height	3' 1"
Weight	34 lbs.
Eye Color	Light blue

Physical Appearance

Despite being a clay homunculus now, Skulky is still molded in the form of a three-foot-tall kobold. Like all members of his original species, he possesses stubby horns, a draconic snout, and a muscular tail. Unlike normal kobolds, though, Skulky has longer, retractable claws on his fingertips which crackle with the latent, psychic magic within him. As a homunculus, he no longer bleeds when cut and doesn't require food, despite Jack's constant insistence he feed himself.

Individually, the kobold has dulled, clay-orange scales across his toned body. Some of these scales fade into a darker, burnt orange pattern of subtle stripes over his spine, forearms, thighs, and calves. Additionally, a lighter streak of orange covers his inner neck and chest down to his belly. Skulky also has larger horns than most other kobolds; curving and breaking into a dark gray, lightning bolt style, which might reflect a closer lineage to true dragons. He also has small, gray spikes that start at his snout and trail up down his head, following his spine and ending at the tip of his tail. Under his large pair of bright blue, draconic eyes, his mouth contains short, sharp teeth and a strong jaw. Skulky's left ear of a large, torn pair also holds a simple ear-piercing that reminds him of his family and legacy. Lastly, his entire body is littered with surgical scars, the most grievous of which are concentrated around his abdomen and neck.

For clothing, the homunculus sports an old, but tidy, set of leather armor with a simple undershirt underneath; the folded collar and neat straps/buckles of the armor give him an illusion of formality, despite his line of work. His and many of Black Jack's supplies are stored in a large hiking pack strapped over his armor, straining both considerably. A pair of tattered trousers support a large, fabric belt covered by various pouches and bags at his waist. An insubstantial blanket is also tied underneath the belt, hanging from the back and draping halfway over Skulky's tail. Besides this crude 'coattail', nothing else protects his tail. Lastly, the kobold's feet are supported by a pair of leather sandals.

Personality

x

History

x(worries about family at times)

Languages

Previously knowing Common and Draconic, Skulky has been "reprogrammed" in a way and now only knows the languages Jack is fluent in. These languages include Common, Sylvan, and Celestial. Should his friend learn more languages, they will be added to Skulky's repertoire.

Attacks and Abilities

Once a small-time folk hero using the power of modified psionics and aberrant magic, Skulky now acts as a protective battle medic using imbued energy as his weapon.

Divorced from his original kobold traits, Skulky now possesses the biology of a construct. Not needing to sleep, and having been enchanted to always be on alert, he can't be surprised by those who would do harm to him or Jack (Vigilant).

Skulky also possesses rapid reflexes and can nullify nearby attacks with his raw magic (Deflect Attack). Additionally, he can produce a magical balm on his claws that acts as an effective repairing agent for damaged materials (Repair).

Weapon	Description	Available Attacks
Claws	Expertly sculpted by Black Jack while he was still sane, using the original claws as a base. Skulky's new claws as a semi-clay homunculus were designed to incorporate his old magic into their attacks. Jack also designed them to retract into the fingertips at will to better allow Skulky to live a normal life.	Force-Empowered Rend

Powers and Abilities

Black Jack was a powerful and revolutionary battle smith in prehistoric times, now reduced to a fraction of his original power. These days he works as a support medic who fights at a range with his boomerang and Skulky.

As a harengon, Jack is regularly aware of his surroundings (Leporine Senses) and growing threats (Hare-Trigger). He also possesses fast reflexes (Lucky Footwork) and excellent maneuverability on the battlefield (Rabbit Hop).

Regarding his learned skills, Black Jack can quickly fabricate small, magical contraptions on the fly (Magical Tinkering) and an array of different tools he needs for his jobs (The Right Tool for the Job). He can also create more advanced magical creations with time, resulting in powerful armor and an enhanced boomerang at the moment (Infuse Item). Having a logical mind grants Jack the ability to prepare powerful strikes with his boomerang without needing much physical prowess (Battle Ready). The harengon also took the time to make Skulky combat capable when he saved his life, giving rise to a useful ally (Steel Defender). Jack's physical prowess has also revealed itself once again, allowing him to perform impressive feats of agility while in the field (Athlete Feat).

Being a spellcaster, Black Jack can cast a small collection of support spells to both heal his allies and protect them from surprises. Using magical clay from his herbalist's kit, Jack can patch up both living (Cure Wounds) and artificial (Mending) tissue. He can also use alchemist's tools- when he makes them- to consistently create concoctions he uses for ice attacks (Ray of Frost), ooze-like barriers (Shield), red perimeters around camp (Alarm), leg-transmuting potions (Jump), and clouds of slow-fall gas (Feather Fall). Lastly, Jack can utilize a repurposed gadget of his own design to blast enemies with magical acid (Tasha's Caustic Brew).

Attacks and Weapons

Weapon	Description	Available Attacks
Prehistoric Boomerang	A special boomerang fashioned from the timber of an ancient tree. Masterfully wrought with electrum accents, the projectile is the only weapon from Jack's original hoard to have survived his unwise "solution" to a firewood shortage while he was still on Isla Noctis.	Thrown, Melee
Dagger	A gnarled, old dagger hastily crafted on Isla Noctis when Jack needed a suitable tool in the moment. It consists of curved shards from one of Jack's old swords welded back together to form a jagged blade affixed to a thick, wooden handle.	Melee, Thrown
Light Crossbow	An intricately-designed crossbow conceived on a particularly hungry night. Jack and Skulky ended up carving and strapping together the crossbow once they realized throwing rocks at passing seabirds was a dumb idea.	Ranged

Adventures

May 1st, 2023 - Curious Company

x

September 2nd, 2023 - Doing Hard Time in Thinwhistle

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October 28th, 2023 - Pumpkin Picking

x

Miscellaneous Stuff

Trivia

• Skulky and Black Jack both love coconut milk and likely have a secret stash somewhere in basecamp.
• Black Jack's favorite color is white, whilst Skulky's is red.
• It seems Jack has luck when the number 1 is involved, whereas Skulky has better chances with 4.

Meta

• I'm planning on making Skulky my de facto character if something untoward ever happens to my rabbit inventor.
• Skulky is based off of an old character I played with a separate group who died too early for that world, so why not have my current one save him and make him his henchman?