Memoria App - Judas the Lagger

And here we finally have my app for Memoria. The information on this charming individual is as follows:

-Serving the Kingdom of Pennute

- Name: Judas "The Lagger"
- Age: 41
- Gender: Male
- Height: 7'10
- Race: Leiian (Aragh Tribe)

- Job/Occupation: Chief Magister
- Base Class: Ranged
- Weapon: Ulga Mark XI (Lun'Erco-powered ballista/launcher)
- Birthplace: Aragharr (Aragh capital located somewhere deep in the eastern mountains)
- Residence: Pennute

- Stats

+STR 9
+MAG 4
+DEF 10
+RES 7
+SPD 6
+DEX 12
+STA 7
+INT 5


Magic

Fire: 2
Water: 0
Earth: 0
Air: 0
Darkness: 0


Hobbies: Building things, Reading, Hunting, Painting, Woodcarving
Likes: Traveling, Exploration, Common Folk, Machines, Weapons, Trains, Ferocious Creatures
Dislikes: Politics, Idleness, Indecision, Laziness, Upper Class Citizens, Violence


Basic Description

This sizable, gruff, ogrish-looking individual wouldn't look it, but is actually the Chief Magister of Pennute, in charge of overseeing the development and advancement of Pennute's technology and science, particularly in the field of machinery and engineering. Although he is not the most innovative and brilliant engineer (very far from it, in fact), he is considerably intelligent for one of his clan (relatively speaking), and his practical mindset still makes him a very competent engineer, more suited as a mechanic and a builder than an inventor. He is not the most accurate shot, but because of his incredible strength and size, he wields powerful crossbows and even ballistae that no ordinary man or leiian can wield, and makes up for his severe lack of speed with his toughness.


Personality

Judas is best described as a "civilized barbarian". Growing up in the harsh lands of his people has made him into a very practical, direct, albeit simple and rustic individual, devoid of tact or common manners that most civilized people possess. Although he is friendly to most people he meets, he will not hesitate to let his opinions and thoughts show. He believes that civilized folk waste too much time not being more straightforward and direct. He will miss most sarcasm and jokes, and will unintentionally offend most people he meets very quickly, or send the wrong message. He wouldn't apologize, for he believes people are too easily offended and is baffled by most social conventions and understanding that people take for granted. On occasion, he will understand an otherwise simple joke and he will find it incredibly amusing for a long while.

Due to countless scrapes and near-death experiences during his time as a bodyguard, Judas appreciates living one's life to the fullest. As such, Judas does not like to sit idly by, and the concept of "doing nothing" is alien to him, as he will always try to occupy his time with something productive. He shows obvious disdain for politicians, scientists, and scholars, unless they're the type who do more acting than talking. This seems to be extremely counter-productive given his position, but it was due to his unusual and practical view on things that he was elected to be in this position. Despite this, he is very professional and devoted to his job, and will always treat someone with respect so long as they are direct and straightforward with him.

Most think of Judas as some oafish tactless brute who by all accounts should be back in the eastern mountains throwing rocks at beasts. He is simply a man whose mind is wired differently from most civilized folk, very easy to understand and talk to when approached correctly. He appreciates the simpler things in life and doesn't seem to be in the right place, and to underestimate his intelligence is a common mistake.


History

Judas grew up in the Aragh Tribe's lands located deep in the remote regions of the eastern mountains, a land of never-ending winter. His people live a harsh but simple life, far from civilization and constantly surrounded by danger. Many Aragh men end up wanting to travel to Pennute to use their considerable strength and toughness as soldiers, bodyguards, or mercenaries, and Judas was no different.

Judas spent many of his younger years as a guard in Pennute, but it was during these days where he earned the title of "The Lagger", becoming a walking joke of sorts. One day, during a fire, he rescued the then-up and coming leiian engineer, Axzellah Verrakhas. The two became friends, and came to realize that they both weren't taken very seriously in their respective fields, in part due to being leiians. The visionary Axzellah saw great potential in Judas, and asked him to be her bodyguard, for no pay other than being part of an "incredible journey". Judas eagerly accepted the job.

Judas then traveled with Axzellah all over the known world in search for Thear artifacts and ruins. The two, and whoever happened to be crazy enough to cast their lot with them at the time, braved countless dangers and life or death situations in every known and possibly unknown corner of Memoria. During this time, Axzellah started to groom Judas to be her assistant, teaching him everything she knows. The two sustained many scars in their travels, but Judas came out the luckier. In Axzellah's reckless pursuit of knowledge and discovery, she lost her left arm and developed a terminal illness.

Upon her return to Pennute, the Pennute College of Engineering immediately gave Axzellah an important position due to her findings. Although Axzellah's reputation and popularity grew, Judas, continuing his studies at the time, was largely seen as some kind of joke or mockery to the College of Engineering. Axzellah, despite her injury, eventually rose through the ranks to the prestigious position of Chief Magister, and Judas continued to be her right-hand man.

In the years, however, Axzellah grew weary of the constant scheming and politics of the upper class Pennute society, as well as the College of Engineering. Axzellah came to realize that most of the so-called brilliant minds around her were more interested in furthering their own names than that of civilization itself. In time, Axzellah's illness sapped her strength until she could no longer walk. She came to rely on Judas even more for enacting her plans, as well as helping her with the "heavy lifting" in her inventions. Axzellah wanted to devote what remiained of her life to advancing civilization, so she made an extremely controversial decision. Axzellah knew that the Chief Magister had to be someone who didn't get swayed by the plotting and maneuvering of the other engineers and nobles, one who would focus only on the important things. She only knew one person who met that criteria, and only one person she could trust that much - Judas "The Lagger".

Thus, much to the widespread shock, anger, and insult of countless engineers, scholars, politicians, and nobles, Axzellah elected the least likely candidate to be the Chief Magister. Though she assisted Judas in the fields of science and innovation, Judas otherwise possessed full authority and the ability to make decisions on his own. Due to Judas's lack of patience for scheming and other such nonsense, as well as his drive to be productive, many of the minds of Pennute were forced to "get serious". Meanwhile, Judas worked tirelessly in his position and proved to be a very efficient administrator. As much as he hated dealing with so many eccentric and self-centered "brilliant minds", Judas always remembers that he was chosen by Axzellah for a reason, and he views his job as just an extension of his greater duty to her.

Of course, Judas now gets an incredible amount of satisfaction from wearing his title "The Lagger", knowing that all those who once made him into a joke and underestimated him now have to deal with the fact that the "dumb brute" now held one of the most influential positions in the Kingdom of Pennute.


Battle

Judas avoids violence and fights as much as possible, feeling that it is counter-productive to his position. While most of his people are content with beating things to a pulp with oversized weapons, Judas instead prefers to fight at range. His considerable strength and size allows him to wield crossbows and ballistae the size of a human. His main weapon, the Ulga Mark XI, is a hybrid ballista/launcher that he created himself, and is modified to be able to launch other objects as well as large ballista bolts. His ballista reloads slowly even with the assistance of his machines, but the bolts are powerful enough to penetrate armor with impunity or impale several enemies at once.

Judas fights like a "turret" - he is not very mobile, but is very tough and nigh-immovable. Although he can fend off attackers that get too close with powerful kicks and punches, he works best when supported by fighters or behind cover. His paltry fire magic is used mostly for practical purposes like lighting fires or occasionally igniting projectiles, and is otherwise not used often.


Skills (mp costs to come later)

Improvised Shot - Judas takes a random object no larger than a chair or polearm and launches it as a projectile using his ballista. These objects could be anything ranging from rocks, debris, plants, books, or even human-sized melee weapons. The effectiveness depends on the projectile, but the ballista is capable of launching the object a significant distance.

Kraken Shot - Judas launches a large bolt that, in mid-air, splits into a bladed net that can entangle up to ten people, if the net spreads properly. This is a difficult shot to use, and Judas cannot carry very many, but is very effective at immobilizing enemies, though doing little to no damage.

Angler Shot - Judas shoots a specialized bolt with a chain attached to it. In transit, the bolt opens up into a claw and grabs a hold of a target. Judas then uses a lun'erco-powered winch to "reel in" an enemy. If not, he can shoot either an aerodynamic bolt or a heavy bolt in a different direction with great force, causing the enemy to get dragged in that direction by the weight and force of the shot. Not often used, since Judas prefers to keep his distance.

Dragon Bolt - Judas carries special experimental volatile lun'erco explosive bolts in limited quantities, and should the need arise, he can shoot one of these powerful projectiles at a soon to be unlucky target. The heavy bolt is inaccurate doesn't travel as far, but upon impact, it creates a chemical reaction resulting in a rapid expansion of force and flame. Useful for destroying fortifications or incinerating groups of opponents.

Ignite - Judas uses his fire magic to ignite whatever projectile he wishes to launch, be it a standard ballista bolt or an improvised projectile, should he wish to do extra damage after the shot lands.

Toss - Judas can grab any large object, person, or animal in the environment and throw it at the enemy. He can lift large rocks, huge chunks of ruins/masonry, or even large beasts and other humans/leiians with ease. The effectiveness varies on the item thrown. As this can tire him out very quickly if done in rapid succession, he will only do this at closer range or against tougher enemies, or even to get rid of attackers that get too close.


Other Info

-His ballista is named after his mother
-The tattoo on his left arm is actually only semi-permanent. He will change his tattoo every so often. The tattoos he draws on himself are usually of various fearsome creatures that he has encountered.
-His body is quite heavily scarred, though these are hard to see.
-Although he lacks the brilliance and inventive genius of most engineers, he is very talented when it comes to his painting and woodcarving, having done both since he was a child
-He usually prepares his own food - in that he hunts the animals himself and cooks them.
-He and Axzellah both live in the College of Engineering, and are essentially roommates.
-He is a sucker for tests of strength. It is extremely easy to convince him to lift up something insanely heavy.
-His countless carved wooden statues are often given as presents or donated to toy stores. He has recently decided to step up his game by using his technical knowledge to convert his standard wood carvings to action figures.