The Strange Bestiary
At age 12, Stokes fell into a recursion seeded by popular fantasy, featuring elves, dwarves, wizards, and dragons. He was rescued from marauding orcs by a sorceress who took him in and taught him several spells. At age 15, he left to fight in a great conflict between men and orcs. Over the next six years and under the mentorship of legendary warriors, he became an accomplished fighter, with many dead orcs, ogres, and less wholesome creatures to his name.
During the final conflict and faced with certain death, Stokes translated for the second time in his life (back to Earth) and learned his adopted world was a recursion, one of many. Intrigued, Stokes began exploring. Since then, the warrior mage has visited nearly every recursion known to exist, and several no one else knows about. He's also had more adventures than seems likely for a person his age, including run-ins with Sasha the Blade, Nimrod the HunterKatherine Manners of the Estate, and Merlin.
Motive: Exploration and adventure
Environment (Any): Throughout the Shoals of Earth
Health: 18
Damage Inflicted: Major wound (8 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short
Modifications: Knowledge of various recursions as level 7; resists mental attacks as level 8.
Combat: Stokes uses his sword to attack two targets in immediate range as a single action. In addition, he knows several spells (or their equivalent in a Psionics or Weird Science recursion), including the following. Bolt. A long-range electrical attack against a single foe. Stun. A long-range stunning attack against a single foe who takes psychic damage and (on a failed
Might defense roll) stands utterly still, taking no action for one round. Banish. A short-range attack that banishes one non-native foe to its home recursion on a failed Intellect defense roll (usable once per minute). Up and Away. For up to one minute, Stokes becomes invisible (all stealth tasks as level 8) and can fly a long distance each round.
Interaction: Stokes is interested in the next horizon, but he sometimes helps those who need a hand, especially in return for curious items or a bit of companionship on the road.
Use: When PCs need to track down a known persona who travels the recursions (such as Moriarty or Nimrod the Hunter), someone like Stokes would greatly improve their chance of finding their target.
Loot: In addition to his one-handed sword (an artifact called "Gwinthang"), Stokes probably carries a couple of cyphers.
Gwinthang: deals 8 points of damage; can travel between recursions; depletion 1 in 1d100
GM Intrusion: Stokes targets the character with a "forgetting" spell (or the contextual equivalent) that requires an Intellect defense roll. On a failure, the PC loses the ability to perceive the warrior mage for one hour, no matter what action Stokes might take.