Introduction
Vil Dekaya is a character I created in January of 2017 for the Theleston Tabletop RPG–which is based on the lore and mechanics of the Lovecratian MMORPG/MEOW Revival that was being developed in collaboration by illFonic and Skyward* Corp. When Revival ended, the S* leads were provided full control of the Theleston world, which was then formed into a TTRPG that remains unreleased but playable at this time. While there are archetypes for character creation, I designed Vil Dekaya using the “Normal” character configuration, which is granted an average amount of Character Points, but I wrote a non-archetypal character background that was approved for gameplay or inclusion in campaigns that revolve around Falcreek, Tide’s End, and/or Valir, though Vil could presumably appear anywhere in pursuit of his quest to find the lost members of the missing logging crew. For the sake of giving the Game Master room to get the right lore-driven names in place, Vil is the only named character in the backstory, while his mother, father, and a certain god, and others are left unnamed.
Unlike many other games, death and revival are commonplace in Theleston, as anyone who is not being called to the goddess Animae to return to the creator permanently can be reborn anew at one of the various locations where revival occurs. This makes Vil Dekaya’s quest that much more difficult, as the death of his father or the other two members of the missing logging crew could send them anywhere in the world. Likewise, it means Vil could be placed anywhere in the world if he dies at some point during his investigation. Wherever there’s larger felines, he’s always protected, and that combines with his natural talents to make a powerful and well-rounded character across most of the known world, but he must always be wary to not be identified as the “Wild Man of Falcreek” as that reputation will only hinder his attempts to remain incognito as he continues the investigation.
Falcreek is a community who lives atop the plateau at the peak of the massive Cloudspite Mountain, built around the lake within the defense of the wall of brambles that only allows access in and out of the area by the head of the river. The river is critical to travel, and helps the Felkirk people guide logs down to Tide’s End as part of their long-standing traditions of trade. While coins is acceptable, bartering just more common in the Felkirk communities, who work and exist in a rugged communal society. Literacy is often optional, especially because the Felkirk doesn’t have written academic language and use the more common Terce for that, but they can more rapidly understand warnings, directions, and other notations carved into signs and on totems in their area. While rugged and rural, they are not without mirth and merriment, though both boys and men are regularly known for testing their strength against one another when alcohol is involved. This does not mean the women are not strong and capable fighters of their own, but tend to have far more sense about them, and reserve their feats of strength and combat for when it is truly needed.
The Story of Vil Dekaya, The Wild Man from Falcreek
Early Life
Born under regular circumstances at an elder’s home in Falcreek, Vil is son to a Felkirk mother whose family is involved with making totems for ritual and decorative guideposts, and to a half-Felkirk and half-Tide’s Endian father who is involved with logging and maintaining the log run to Tide’s End. As a child, he had no siblings, and with parents often busy he would be watched over by relatives and mingle with their kids. Vil bore a strong resemblance to his Grandfather who was from Tide’s End, which caused him to look “weird” to the other kids which would often lead to scuffles.
This treatment made him learn to get tough at an early age, and caused him to find solace in the woods across the clearing that the nearby houses faced away from. There he had everything he needed – berries to pick and show upon return, animals to watch and interact with, trees to climb, large rocks to lift and heave, and smaller rocks to toss at a hole in one specific tree that used to house some animal. He would often go to one specific grove, with a large tree where the crows would often convene, listening intently to their calls and trying to discern some meanings from it.
As he grew to a more functional age of youth, he started being given chores, as well as being encouraged to work with his parents to stay out of fights–and out of the woods, so he would remain in sight. He would help his father break down smaller branches with a hatchet, split firewood, and learned to climb trees and tie ropes around them to aid with the logging process in various ways. He would help his mother rough out more basic shapes on ritual totems and guidemarks, as well as helping to apply the dyes to the face of a carved shape. Whenever he could, he’d slip out to the clearing with the crows, and would leave them a small snack of food scraps from dinner.
As time went on, he was given more autonomy to do his chores, which he would rush through quickly to do an acceptable job with. Once completed, he’d gather up food from the forest to leave for the crows, then stand back and watch them devour it. Sometimes when he would arrive, he’d notice they left something behind – a tooth, a claw, part of a door hinge, a patch of fur, a lost old piece of jewelry, and plenty more items of curiosity. One hazy autumn afternoon in his fifteenth year, he came to see something whimpering, and rushed over thinking it was a baby. It was a very young mountain lion cub, likely not more than a week or two old. Two of its legs were broken, as if it were dropped from a far distance, as well as a small laceration on the nape of the neck. Vil dumped his small sack of gathered food out rather than setting it out nicely for the crows, and used the bag to gently bring the injured cub back home.
The cub was sent to be nursed to health by one of the families up the road who takes care of various animals in the area, who were surprised to see it, as the mountain lions had been scarce for some time. Vil would return daily to check on it before heading to the woods, still bringing snacks to the crows but now being more wary of their activities. All through autumn, winter, and spring, he continued providing food and observing the crows. The cub was nursed back to health, and it ended up staying in the home of the family who nursed it to health, because they were afraid it wouldn’t be accepted back in the pride. The adolescent mountain lion managed to escape on its own, and disappeared into the woods, regardless of their efforts to keep it contained in their home.
The Feral Summer
On the first day of summer of his sixteenth year, Vil left a special bounty for the crows. They feasted for a long time, and while they happily ate and squawked, they had no clue that an ambush was building up. Golden bolts of lightning streaked across from the shadows, and within moments the crows went silent and a few survivors scattered. The injured cub had managed to rejoin its family, and it apparently managed to lead its family to the crows who presumably left it as a gift for Vil. The grateful young lion brought part of the crow over to Vil, dropped it at his feet, and nuzzled gently against him. The other mountain lions paused from their eating to look up, take note, and resume eating. Vil sat among them and ate provisions from his bag, carving into the tree that housed the crows with a sharp stone while pondering what just happened, while intermittently reaching down to scratch the head of the nuzzling young lion. When they finished devouring the feast of crows, the mountain lions gathered up to leave, and without even thinking about it, Vil felt compelled to join them.
The summer was spent out in the woods, living among the mountain lions, away from all human contact. He learned to hunt with them, to sneak with them, to survive with them, and they accepted him as one of their own. Every day Vil would return to the crow’s tree to crudely record his adventures upon it with the same sharp stone, sometimes bringing berries or even the blood of a recent kill to stain the carvings with.
With no bearing on the passage of time, he had no clue how long he was away, and was reminded of that when he was discovered by a logging party who was surveying the area near the old crow’s tree. They found him sharing a freshly-killed deer wearing only his boots, bracelets made of wood and antler resembling claws, and his hair that grew out such that he appeared to have a mane growing. The haze of his wild journey cleared near-instantly, and his feral summer was over.
Vil gathered his possessions from a bag he’d left in the branches up the tree, and returned home smelling of the wilderness and bearing a few new scrapes and scratches from his adventure. Upon return, he peeked in the box of items the crows had left him, and realized much of what they were bringing him was their proof that they’d conquered the mountain lions and were regularly hunting their young. He cast the box and all of its contents into a fire, and smashed up the remains until they were completely indiscernible.
Duty and Challenges
In an attempt to make sure the summer-long leave of absence wouldn’t happen again, Vil was tasked with becoming even more involved with the work of his parents, and brought to the tavern afterwards to keep him from sneaking off to the woods. The Felkirk phrase for “Wild Beast” was thrown around in his presence when visiting the tavern to get a drink after work, though very rarely an older patron would refer to him as “The Boy Touched By [a Felkirk god]” instead. Brawling and displays of masculinity are as common as reindeer milk in Falcreek, and it wasn’t long before Vil was having to deal with challengers just to get a drink after work. He had to put a hard limit of three challenges per day, and while he lost a few here and there to more well-trained fighters or strongmen around his age, he won most challenges with fierce precision.
Feeling at fault for the constant challenges to his son because of his blood and likeness from Tide’s End, Vil’s father decided to bring him regularly on logging run patrols up and down the river, where they brought their own drinks to enjoy when setting up camp. Vil was given some cursory training in axe combat, as well as shown how to throw a hatchet, but it rarely came into need. Vil was happy to be out in nature for long periods, and would even catch a glimpse of a mountain lion watching over him in the distance quite regularly.
One of the loggers in the patrol group was always bitter towards Vil, who he could never best in a fight, and who was specifically forbidden from issuing a challenge to Vil while on patrol. Violating those orders, he provoked Vil, and had to be dragged back up the mountain to a rest stop to treat the resulting broken leg from the short battle. Even though he was provoked, Vil was still punished for causing an injury on patrol by being taken off the patrol route. This didn’t seem like a big deal, but it made this specific group shrink from five to three.
A Felkirk in a Strange Land
Still forbidden from joining the logging runs, the next patrol with a short team seemed to run long, while Vil and his mother waited patiently as he continued working with her and her family on a larger ceremonial totem. When the totem was finished, his father and the longing crew on patrol still had not returned, and one of the other patrols who returned wondered why they didn’t pass the trio on the way back up, and had no details on where they could have gone. Vil decided to investigate for himself, having been on the patrol many times by then. He managed to find some tracks, but nothing led anywhere conclusive. Vil was pretty sure the party was not slain along the path, but the best clues he could get indicated that they ended up in Tide’s End.
Vil reached Tide’s End, and the look of it was like nothing he’d ever seen. It was as if they wrestled with nature itself to make this bay do their bidding, and it was fairly overwhelming to see dense groups of people who have no easy way to escape to the bounties of nature. Vil didn’t get too far before his legacy followed him down the river, and he became known and feared as the Wild Man of Falcreek. People who knew of him stayed away, and getting any information about his father’s disappearance became ever difficult.
One man recognized Vil’s strong features, and said he’d seen that face not long ago, but thought it was during the evacuation of a prison low on the docks that had been infested with rats. They were evacuated to a ship in shackles, and the ship left port to head East, possibly to Valir. Finding any more information in Tide’s End seemed a fruitless hunt, so Vil set off again for Valir.
On the outskirts of Valir, he was able to find a farming community to stay with, using a pseudonym to keep his identity a secret. He found a farm that needed a hand milking cows, carrying heavy loads across short distances, digging holes and irrigation ditches, chopping firewood, assisting members of the community as they hunt, and joining them as they venture into Valir proper to trade. On the hunt, Vil was the point man, as well as spotter for the marksman hunter who also lived there. In town, he raised the hood on his forest green cloak to conceal his identity, and thwarted a few pickpocketing attempts when the traders were in the less-reputable lower areas of Valir. Vil used these trade opportunities to try to learn more about his father’s possible whereabouts, but would always listen around to make sure nobody had identified him as being from Falcreek or visiting Tide’s End.
There was just as much substantial evidence that Vil’s father was in prison in Valir as there was that he never even reached Tide’s End to begin with. With information seeming to run thin, his options seemed limited – search the prisons, barter for information on prisoners and prison records, or look elsewhere. Vil considered that he could find a way to get deeper into Valir and request to see the prisoner logs. However, those logs are likely written in Valiri, which Vil can somewhat speak but certainly cannot read beyond a few important words, or have any guarantee that the missing log run patrol member’s names would have been used in the records. He explores the other option, instead to look elsewhere–maybe his father has returned home already, or some clue as to what happened to the log run patrol that day has emerged. Maybe they were taken to a prison in Crown’s Rock or Skypass to further limit their ability to escape and return home.
Quirks & Mannerisms
Ownership
As a resident of Falcreek, his idea of possession and value are different from that of others. When it comes to animals, he doesn’t believe in ownership as much as building a mutual kinship that is helpful for both the people and the animals, though not to do this with EVERY animal as things like meat, leather, feathers, and bone are still quite needed for many things.
When it comes to metal tools and equipment, it always seemed weird to Vil that people would want to own more than they could functionally carry with them, and that many metal things seemed more communal rather than something an individual would normally own. He’s happy to have his hatchets and a sturdy woodsman’s axe, but understands that they are merely the tools he needs to use to aid in the quest to locate his father and the rest of the missing log run patrol.
Currency feels weird to Vil since he grew up around bartering and common sharing. When it comes to Sovereigns and Valiri coins, he feels like he’s being cheated to give up a useful good or service for some mostly-useless bits of metal, and likewise he feels he’s taking advantage of someone by giving them bits of metal for goods or services. He understood the need and use for currency from his father’s business, but never fully enjoyed it.
Other Behaviors and Practices
Challenges and Brawls – From his days as a youth in Falcreek, and for the community he lived in there, the rule he learned for when something went from a challenge or a “conversation with fists” to an actual fight is when harm is intended if the battle goes on after someone has been debilitated (broken limb, concussion, etc) or if the battle goes on after blood has touched the floor. This was out of general safety, but also to make sure the floors don’t get bloodied up in the tavern.
Cloaked in Green – Vil wears a long-sleeved hooded cloak that he got from Tide’s End. It is in the utilitarian style of a dock worker’s cloak, but is a deep forest green rather than a lighter color that would be easy to see on a bad day, and was purchased at a fashion-focused shop higher up rather than down towards the docks. A long-time Tide’s End resident would know that he is not a dockworker, but outside Tide’s End it just looks like a utility-oriented cloak. He understands that wearing such attire, especially with the hood up, may draw a bit of attention within cities, but he’d rather that than being identified as the Wild Man of Falcreek.
Maintaining Secrecy – Though his quest is to find his father and the other two loggers, Vil’s investigation skills are always hindered by the need to keep his identity hidden from anyone who has heard the story of the Wild Man of Falcreek. He doesn’t really end up making much progress, and generally never tells a companion enough of the details that they could legitimately help him. The quest is not an easy one, and the details he has gathered just lead to more questions.
The Subtlety of Fists – Realizing that hatchets underneath a cloak may draw too much attention in some areas, Vil has been considering his options, and recalled seeing one of the strongmen from his village perform a feat of strength by taking down a wild bear in a large cage, knocking the beast flat with a single well-timed punch of a cestus-wrapped fist. A pair of cestus that reinforces the palm and knuckles, wrapping up his arm to just before the elbow with tough but slightly decorative leather straps, would allow for discretion while allowing for brutal strikes and even a bit of protection from clubs and blades.
Totemic Journal – Vil has been carrying a form of journal that may look like something magical to someone who doesn’t know. He started with a thumb-sized cylinder of wood, not much longer than the width of a fully outstretched hand, leaving a few notes about his progress and journey, what he’s discovered, etc. A day that isn’t noteworthy is indeed never noted, so it only contains things that are useful to remember and look over. When it filled up, he made a sleeve in two parts that goes around it, with a couple planned holes for pegs on either side to keep it from sliding around. Once the inside and outside of this sleeve were completed, he made another sleeve. He’s now up to three sleeves, and has only half the outer surface left to record on before needing to carve a new sleeve.
One With Big Cats – Vil has a certain kinship with cats, particularly large cats. When he comes to a new area, he’ll generally sneak off from any group he’s joined to bring an offering of meat to the local pride (who was likely already watching him) and afterwards they go hunting together. Once he has done this, they treat him as one of their own and keep an eye on him.
Wary of Crows – As anyone who knows crows would be, Vil is wary when he sees the large black birds around. He had been friendly with one small group of very large crows, then they were mostly destroyed save for a couple escapees when the mountain lions came to hunt them. Those escapees never returned, and Vil could only assume that they somehow communicated to others of his betrayal.
An Enchanting Tree Back Home – The old crow tree that Vil revisited during his feral summer to record his adventures was never revisited. He could never sneak off without a watchful eye, and didn’t want to risk revealing the location or having anyone think he would disappear again. When he returns to Falcreek, he plans to revisit the tree and learn of his past, assuming the tree is still there, or that new growth hasn’t deformed it.
Going Out to Sea – Vil is fascinated by the idea of being on a large sailboat, but hasn’t actually been out to sea on one, merely standing on the deck of a tavern-on-a-boat–which had a short run in Tide’s End before an angry kicked-out patron got ahold of an unguarded ballista and pierced the lower hull. The boats on the lake in Falcreek weren’t particularly large, but the waters were not dangerous to row across, and a gate to limit access to the head of the river prevented accidental rides down the river.
Character Sheet
Stats
Name: Vil Dekaya
Age: 22
Height: 5’6
Health: 25
Lifespan: 780
Spirit: 870
Total CP: 81
Free CP: 3
Sovereigns: 220 (minus gear)
Languages
Felkirk – Fluent, and can interpret Felkirk markings and totems inscriptions.
Terce – Fluent and literate at a basic level.
Valiri – Conversational but not fluent or literate, only recognizes about fifty written words and the basics of their grammatic structure.
Equipment
-Woodsman Axe from Falcreek.
-Two Hatchets from Falcreek.
-Symbolic wood and antler “claws” bracelets on wrists, that are not long enough to assist with a punch. These were crafted during the Feral Summer.
-A leather backpack guaranteed for up to 15 stones.
-Stone wood-carving tools developed during the Feral Summer.
-Basic clothes, in Valiri and Tide’s Endian style.
-A long-sleeved hooded cloak in the style that a Tide’s End dock worker would wear, but forest green instead of neutral grayish tones, and made of tougher and high-quality materials and stitching.
-A leather utility belt, with various pouches and slots for the hatchets.
-Rugged leather boots.
-Medicinal herb bundles and salves, and rolls of bandages.
-Travelling supplies and a couple extra axes remain at home near wherever Vil is staying long-term.
Attributes
Brawn 4
Physique 6 (5 +1 for age)
Intellect 3
Perception 6
Charm 3 (2 +1 for age)
Reflexes 4 (3 +1 for age)
Resilience 4
Skills
Skills are displayed with the character point skill increases, as well as the cost of the skill increase in parenthesis, added to the highest skill-determining attribute.
Cultural Skills – Vil learned from his father, was a reasonably successful logger, and was often sent to check the river and make sure there are no log jams. Vil’s mother and her family were involved in making totems, which also required a proficiency in wood carving. [4 Character Points expended]
7 Woodsmanship – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Carving – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Totemcraft – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Logging – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
Combat Skills – Vil did a lot of brawling during his life at Falcreek, and threw plenty of rocks to ward off beasts as needed, as well as learning more about axe combat techniques for the possibility of dealing with armed bandits whenever he would travel with his Father. His greatest training was during the Feral Summer, where he learned to move and fight with the skills and ferocity of a mountain lion on the hunt. [36 character points expended]
9 Unarmed – 3 (14cp) + 6 = 9
9 Dodge – 3 (14cp) + 6 = 9
8 Throwing Weapon – 2 (5cp) + 6 = 8
7 Axe – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Parry – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Improvised Weapons – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
Survival Skills – Vil has an affinity for nature, knowing both how to survive in it, navigate through it, avoid or ward off danger before it approaches, and tend to both flora and fauna as needed. His genuine interest in nature led to a cursory understanding of plants and animals and some training from experienced elders, and the Feral Summer taught and honed these skills. This training is augmented by Vil’s natural characteristics, which lend themselves to being effective whether alone or with a group in any natural environment. [38 character points expended]
9 Animal Lore – 3 (14cp) + 6 = 9
8 Awareness – 2 (5cp) + 6 = 8
8 Sneaking – 2 (5cp) + 6 = 8
7 Herbology – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Animal Training – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Survivalism – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Swimming – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Climbing – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Veterinary – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Battlefield Medicine – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Scavenging – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Tracking – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Pathfinding – 1 (1p) + 6 = 7
7 Harvesting – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Acrobatics – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Investigation – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7
7 Symbology – 1 (1cp) + 6 = 7