Roh "Rotgut" Taguta

A PC of the Nowhere Knots, Roh is a Tortle Fighter/Gunslinger.

## Backstory

Roh Taguta, or “Rotgut” to his friends, began his life in the Moonshae Isles, far to the south of Illianin the Sea of Storms. A small colony of tortle made their home among the Purple Rocks, content to lead a peaceful life of fishing and weaving kelp baskets for trade.

Roh, son of Oru Taguta, the colony’s sole blacksmith, was not so complacent. From a young age (young Tortles are called Tortlinis, I must assume) he would always swim out just a bit farther, a touch deeper, than he knew he should. He was fascinated by the sea and her many secrets, and longed to see the whole of Cretoria. His father trained him in the art of molding metal and cunning tinkerwork, but could tell that Roh’s ambitions lay beyond. Thus, when Roh became of age, Oru gave Roh his blessing to depart the colony.

He rowed Roh out to Orlumbor and gave him a final parting gift - a copper scope that had been passed down from Taguta father to Taguta son for generations uncounted.

Roh joined up with a privateering ship soon after. It was a beautiful vessel named The Moonbow’s Quiver, captained by a charismatic part-elf named Daelin Quen’la’thiel. He began as an oarsman, but his natural strength and nautical sensibilities quickly saw him as a deckhand. Captain Daelin (or Cap’n DQ, as his crew called him) took the young Tortle under his wings and taught him all that he knew.

The next seven years were the most joyful of his young life. He learned to fight with swords and became a crack shot with a crossbow. There was no part of the ship where he did not feel at home, nor any task on a vessel at which he did not excel.

The Moonbow’s Quiver was already an exceptional privateering vessel under Captain Daelin’s leadership, but Roh was able to take them to a whole new level. His innate knowledge of tinkering and engineering turned their ship into a every Pirate’s worst nightmare. It was rumored that Solonor Thelandira himself guided their ballistae bolts, and that Deep Sashelas would summon hordes of dolphins to speed their vessel after quarry.

There was one vessel that eluded their chase, however. The Dread Captain Vaelish Arun was a Pirate King whose name superstitious sailors would say only in a whisper. No one knew his race or background, but it was said that he had escaped the destruction of Lantan, used necromancy and demon worship to overwhelm his prey.

One day, The Moonbow’s Quiver was doing a routine patrol of the waters when they spotted a ship bearing a notable flag bearing a Laughing Skull. There was no mistaking it - it had to be Vaelish Arun’s ship. Captain Daelin ordered them make chase, and for a solid week they followed. At Sundown on the eighth day they were finally closing the gap, almost within Ballistae range. As they were preparing for combat, there was a flash of green light on the horizon.

The next thing Roh knew, he was washing up on the shore of an island. He dragged himself to a nearby coastal village and managed to pay for a room with a couple of strangely-minted gold coins on his person. Many things had changed. His left claw was missing, and in its place was a metallic structure with a black powder pistol slotted into place. On his person was a wicked-looking sabre with a similar slotting element. His body was covered in tattoos he does not recall getting or understand, and scars of old wounds are present everywhere. Upon looking into a puddle, it looked as though he had aged at least twenty years. A strange metal plate covered a large crack in his shell, and he felt something foreign underneath it. He could find no way to get through the plate, however, to find out what was beneath.

Upon exiting his room, someone in the bar of the inn seemed to recognize him. Their face turned white as a sheet and they ran out of the tavern without a word. This happened multiple time and he was run out of town....

Roh returned to the Purple Rocks in search of his family, but found no trace of his small village. He retracted after that, deciding that he would live out the remainder of his days the way he should have - quietly, while fishing. After a couple of years, however, the constant nightmares and thirst for adventure overcame his fear. He buckled on his sabre and pistol, and set out to look for answers.