Xavier Tabirne

> "*No more waiting, Kel! Either we look for a Kishin or we go to the store and buy hot chocolate like you said!*"
> ― Xavier
>
>

One side of a Weapon-Meister pair from the DWMA. While initially sent to Peregrine to report on a peculiar Kishin case, through a series of freak events and a sparked curiosity his stay has been significantly lengthened. Often refers to his Meister partner and friend Kelmereed Faerluna as "Kel."

## Statistics

* **Proficiency**: Athletics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Intimidation
* **Half-Proficiency**: Animal Handling

## Appearance

Xavier has pale caucasian skin contrasted by inky black hair. Normally his hair grows out, as seen in two strands that stick up on his head, but for the most part he's tamed it to turn down around his face, usually obscuring one of his eyes (whether the obstruction is on purpose or not is anyone's guess). His eyes themselves are a dark, desaturated brown, unassuming at a distance but piercing when seen up close. His frame is, light, somewhat small, but surprisingly deft and powerful.

Around his shoulders Xavier wears what he refers to as a "scarf-thing." Black in color to match his hair, in truth it bears more similarities to the outer layer of a robe, fitting lightly around him and being secured with a faint yellow-jeweled button to the right of his front. Beneath that he generally wears fruity-colored tees, his favorite shade being lemon. His pants are often dark-colored joggers made from synthetic material.

Xavier also keeps a sizable knife hidden beneath his scarf-thing. He rarely uses it, but keeps it on him in case he ever has to defend himself when Kel's not there (perish the thought). Other affectations on his person include small metal piercings in his ears.

One cannot forget Xavier's weapon form in describing his appearance. The weapon itself is somewhat of a modern take on a late-medieval pullstring cannon, the full barrel reaching roughly the same length as his height. Its color is a sleek blackish bronze and it has large, strong wheels by its base that give it a mobile advantage over classical artillery. During transformation, Xav's head becomes the base, his legs the wheels, and his torso and arms the barrel and muzzle.

## Personality

Compared to his partner, Xavier is strong-willed and has a serious impulsive streak. When on any sort of assignment, he often assumes strangers that aren't "cleared" by Kelmer to be dangerous Kishin in disguise. His partner is quick to correct him, though, and Xavier is quick to change demeanor in suit. Despite their differences, the two make a great team. They mix deft movement with powerful ranged attacks when in combat, with Xavier providing the firepower.

Xavier has an occasional tendency to not so much be distrustful as much as he's looking for opportunities to do what he feels he does best. Debatably fortunately, he sees himself to be good at a number of things. It wouldn't be so much to think of him as a sort of show-off, though he doesn't put his perceived talents forward unless he feels comfortable or sees reason for them to be useful. He can be pretty harsh, though, and the only one who's able to consistently remove the edge is Kelmer.

### Traits

 **Quirks:** | Has great pride in his weaponism as a cannon. Thinks guns are tiny and dumb in comparison.

## Character Relationships

Kelmereed: His assigned meister as a weapon of the DWMA. Xavier considers Kelmer to be the "Best Cannoneer" in the organization. Whether or not that's true, Kelmer is one of the very few people Xavier listens to on something close to a consistent basis. He wants to be the best weapon he can be both against the Kishin menace and for his best friend.

Maren: Xavier thinks Kelmer's older sister is rather attractive and knows it makes his meister uncomfortable. To that extent, he rarely forgets to mention it offhandedly should it be at all relevant, just to see his reaction. Bar that, Xavier actually thinks her affinity for magic is astounding, almost to the point of envy.

Carden: Was pulled into his rift (according to Kelmer's tentative hypothesis). Besides that he got to know him a bit outside of the rift, and wonders why members of the Deck don't like him more. He thought he was pretty cool. What he thinks is less cool is that he uses a gun to shoot himself to cast magic. That's pretty messed up in his book.

Asphoxia: Thought they were a Kishin at first, but has since learned better. Now wants them to get more in touch with their weapon side. He's not sure why he's helping them *specifically*, and is moreso just following Kelmer's lead. His partner's keeping them from becoming a proper Kishin, right? That's good enough for him, he guesses.

Zoe: Thinks she should have taken Kelmer's deal to join the DWMA, mostly for his partner's sake. The fact that she rejected the offer seems to have shaken his faith recently, and Xavier has noticed.

Trace: An ally in Asphoxia's rift. More concerned with the fact that he's apparently a dog. He loves dogs!

Julia: Pretty alright in his book. She has a cat, he loves cats too! (According to Kelmer she might have actually *been* the cat but that's not of his concern.)

Kane: Thinks he's a jerk. He pulled a seat out from under him one time and he still hasn't forgiven him.

* Knows these Characters:
	+ Dimitri
	+ Celles
	+ Gor'Skatasch
	+ Hansel
	+ High Priestess
	+ Jake
	+ Koop
	+ Lumi
	+ Lyken
	+ Roselle
	+ Sonnielle
	+ Tarolina
	+ Xano
	+ Xeno
	+ Zephyr

## Skills and Abilities

### Innate Abilities

* **Weapon Form**: Xavier's weapon form is a powerful pseudo-medieval cannon. He can change in an out of such at will in an instant. The cannon itself is operated by pulling a rope leading into its base.
* **Weapon Durability**: As long as Xavier’s in his cannon form, his defense receives a significant boost.

### Acquired/Learned Abilities

* **Weapon Experience**: Xavier has complete control over what parts of himself turn into weapons and when. Naturally, he can only be used as a weapon during the full transformation, but the sturdy cannon parts that form when transforming can aid many unarmed attacks and maneuvers. Can also be used for breakdancing.

### DWMA Weapon

A student from a prestigious school that’s part of the first line of defense against any madness-spreading Kishin. Can transform into a weapon to be wielded by a meister, and their power increases drastically in tandem. Below lists some techniques a compatible meister can pull off with them...

* **Cannon Blast**: A devastating ranged attack using a meister's soul energy to form its shots.
	+ Deals magical force damage
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- Joint action between Xav and meister to fire.
		- Meister bonus action to reload
		- 2d8+8 damage
		- During SR: Deals 4d6+8 lightning damage
			* Alternatively, Xav's meister can force all creatures in a 100-foot line from him to make a DC 16 DEX save against 3d6 lightning damage, taking half on a success
			* Kishin have natural vulnerability against this damage in either form
* **Cannon Wave**: A different blast meant to push opponents away
	+ The cannon glows and then explodes with a condensed burst at its tip
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- Joint action (if loaded)
		- AOE
		- CON save (DC 14) against 2d8+6 force damage and getting pushed back 15 feet
			* Half as much and no pushback on a success
		- During SR: Deals 3d8+6 thunder damage and has a save DC of 16
* **Cannon Scattershot**: Scattered shots from Xav’s cannon. Duh.
	+ Blasts streak out like missiles and attempt to home in on their targets
	+ Can even curve around and hit targets behind the cannon!
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- Action + meister Bonus Action if loaded
		- Charges up four shots and rolls for all of them
			* No penalty if an enemy is close
		- Each hit deals 1d8 force damage
		- During SR: Doubles the amount of projectiles. Projectiles still do force damage.
* **Frag Blast**: An round fired from Xav’s cannon with a peculiar explosive finish
	+ Explodes into a violent spiral of cutting blades as opposed to simple force impact or shards
	+ Explodes more traditionally during resonance with a powerful thunderclap
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- 1 action + meister Bonus Action if loaded to initiate
		- Additional joint action to fire an AOE projectile
		- Requires Xav to remain in cannon form between both actions
			* Roll identical to maintaining concentration if he’s damaged
		- Attack shoots an explosive cannonball that arcs and explodes at a desired point with a radius of 20 feet
		- DEX save (DC 14) against 8d6 slashing damage, taking only half as much on a success
		- During SR: deals 6d6 thunder damage, Xav's initiating action can be designated to a bonus action, DC boosted to 16
* **Power Reload**: The meister attempts to summon more of their soul energy to fuel Xav’s cannon in an attempt at a sudden, second attack
	+ A semi-risky maneuver that requires trust and practice, and even then has a chance at causing unintentional harm to the meister
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- Meister Bonus Action if not loaded
			* Effectively substitutes a loading action
		- Roll a d20.
		- On a roll of 11 or higher, Cannon Blast can be used immediately as an extra attack without needing an action from Xav
		- On a roll between 4 and 10, the energy dissipates, and nothing happens
		- On a roll of 3 or below, the meister takes 1d8 force damage as the soul energy pushes itself back into them
		- Can be attempted as many times as the meister's CON modifier between a short or long rest (minimum of 1)

* **Soul Resonance, the Tesla Terror**: Xavier’s weapon form busts out into a machine riveted with electrical spires and regulators, boosting output more than twentyfold!
	+ It can even manage to fire continuous lasers of soul energy if given the right opportunity, and every blast hits like lightning
	+ The raw energy that pours from the resonance even has the capacity to nullify or block oncoming attacks
	+ The primary downside is that it makes Xavier and the participating meister almost completely immobile for its duration, so there's little for them to do if an attack breaks their defense
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- Can be used up to twice per short or long rest
		- Joint bonus action to initiate, which also reloads the cannon when used
			* Meister's base AC is boosted to by +2
			* They both gain resistance to lightning, force, and cold damage
			* Cannon attacks gain the benefits detailed in their descriptions
			* Xav cannot change from cannon form
			* Their combined movement becomes 5 feet
			* Xav automatically fails DEX saves, but a meister can still try to move him from those at disadvantage
		- Lasts for 1d4+3 turns
		- Can be ended early via a joint action, but Xav cannot change from cannon form until the top of his next turn

### Skills

* **DWMA Training**: Xavier is naturally strong and swift. Through rigorous training with the DWMA, these attributes have strengthened, and then some. He can help his partner, Kelmer, perform physical feats one might think would otherwise be impossible.

* **Night Vision**: Whether it's from a magical gene as a demon weapon, experience, or just sheer luck, Xavier has shockingly good eyesight in dark places--so good that his partner can easily rely on his cues for when and where to fire.
	+ D20: Darkvision 60'
* **Breakdancing**: Xavier knows a bit about this, and can accent his moves with timely weapon transformations. He sort of gimmicks his way into making it look cool, but it looks cool nonetheless.
* **Bilingual(?)**: Xavier can speak... *some* Mydeisian (French). He picked it up from his mother but doesn't use it enough to be fully fluent. Still, he can read/write it well and knows some choice words from it. He almost never puts effort into pronouncing the words right, though.

### Weaknesses

* **Weapon Use**: The tricks Xavier can pull off with his form are useful, for sure, but they only offer him so much. If he's to be able to fight at full strength he needs a compatible meister to wield him. Other than that he's hardly stronger than most enemies he'd have to face, if at all. This is complicated further due to his attitude, of which generally makes him too prickly to be used effectively by anyone except Kelmer.
* **Weapon Nature**: Demon Weapons need to eat. If Xavier doesn't consume a Kishin Egg for too long, the waiting hunger makes him restless and clouds his mind. While he'd never consciously come close to even considering eating the soul of an innocent, his weapon nature is like a ticking time bomb if left malnourished.
* **Cuts to the Chase**: Xavier has no patience for others. None. At all. Few people can convince him to just wait something out against his own will or take a moment to examine a scenario before acting. He tries to work on fixing the habit but always seems to come back to it. The issues that arise from it are so numerous it'd be a waste to try and note them all here.

## Equipment

### Key Items

* **DWMA ID**: Proof of his enrollment to the DWMA
	+ A pretty handsome shot of him in the picture, all considered

### Weapons

* **Himself**
	+ He is a cannon

* **A knife**: It's pretty sizable, but kept well-hidden under his scarf-thing
	+ Though his transformed hits are usually enough to defend himself, he keeps the knife in case he needs to stab a Kishin solo

### Other Equipment

* **Scarf-Thing**:
	+ With a light yellow gem on the pin
	+ Some have said he should call it a pauldron

* **Tee Shirt**:
	+ Commonly lemon-colored

* **Pants**:
	+ Joggers, usually

* **Shoes**
	+ Useful for deft movement

### Inventory

* **Knife**: See above.
* **#14: Temperance**: An enchanted Tarot Card that allows him easier passage into the Tarot Deck hideout.
	+ Is the universe trying to call him out?

## History

Xavier came from a somewhat wealthy family of Demon Weapons in Death City, though is only the second in his family to have been enrolled at the DWMA besides his grandfather (dad's side), of whom was also a weapon, and also a cannon. Xavier looks up to his granddad with everything he can--while the man never got the rank of death's weapon, he has a handful of tales that make him pretty famous within the extended family.

Upon acceptance into the DWMA, he was assigned Kelmer as his meister, and the two have grown to become close friends and supportive teammates since. As the events in PlayDis take place, he's on his third year at the academy.

He was assigned to Peregrine to scout a peculiar case of a killed Kishin. Upon finding out who did the deed, though, his partner promised to not let the DWMA know, and Xavier has no plans to subvert that. Fortunately, the city has also been erupting with mystery and intrigue. Kelmer has negotiated a sort of "alternative assignment" wherein he'll get to the bottom of it and report back to Lord Death with whatever he finds. Xavier has no qualms going along with this, because if they return empty-handed there's a fair chance he'll have his Kishin Eggs taken and be set back to square one for becoming a Death's Weapon.

While becoming a Death's Weapon is something Xavier strives for, it is by no means his end goal. Xavier is very passionate about eliminating Kishin, and would be content as long as he was able to keep doing that through the end of his days. The drive stems from stories of Demon Weapons being corrupted, and their reputation in society tainted from it, as well as a habit of watching old superhero cartoons when he was younger. While Xavier is mature enough to know he won't be able to solve all of these problems single-handedly, he's sworn to himself that he won't sit idly and let the beasts run amok, or let others remain ignorant of their threat.

## Trivia

* Xavier really likes lattes and drinks them as if they were soda given the chance.
* Xavier's family is rather wealthy, and he and Kelmer have a money plan they use in tandem with DWMA-provided budgeting for notably above-average comfort of living while performing longer-term field assignments.