Chops

Class
 Played By
 Level

   A soldier-turned-bounty-hunter working in Steelport at the beginning of the game.

## **History**

He was drafted into the military at a young age, after Angelican troops destroyed his home village and killed his clan, purportedly because they were "in the way."  After hostilities ceased, he left the military and eventually ended up in Steelport, one of Angelica's commercial centers, and it's primary port city, working as a bounty hunter.  He proved too good at his job for the liking of Luxton "Uncle Lucky" Fetch, Steelport's criminal kingpin.  United by a common enemy, he joined forces with Denavir and Aurelion to bring Fetch down.

## **Personality**

Managing to be both stoic and short-tempered, he's not afraid to punch first and ask questions later--if at all.  His intuition and insticts have proven more reliable than his intelligence, though one couldn't really call him stupid.  He's a surprisingly adept chef, and enjoys sharing his culinary skills with others.

The loss of his family and his time in the military left scars deeper than his flesh.  He suffers from PTSD, which has caused him to experience waking nightmares. Of his companions, only Denavir knows of this, as the two were sharing a room when an episode struck, and Chops has asked that Denavir not tell Aurelion or anyone else about his problem.

Though often irritated by both of his companions, he's marginally more patient with Denavir's quiet reservation than Aurelion's saucy humor--though he's not above the odd practical joke, and enjoys good laugh.  While in Steelport, though, he did bond with Father Danbrook, a priest of Helm, and Kessa, a young Half-Orc girl whom Denavir had rescued from slavery.

Bit by bit, he seems to be warming to both of his companions.

## **Three Doors**

While in the Bluwaldean city of Krieg, the party crossed paths with the Czernokrevny family.  Having discovered the wicked deeds committed by the family at the behest of their evil god, Galgaroth, the party confronted the family and engaged in battle.  When Galgaroth himself entered the fray, the entity took control of Chops' mind and made him strike down his allies.  When the spell of domination wore off, Chops, enraged by what he'd been forced to do, turned on Galgaroth, slaying the entity.  However, the mystical backlash killed Chops, too, and he was ushered by a huge black bird to the presence of his goddess, Dondrboda, who greeted him with gentle warmth and comfort.  Because of the extenuating circumstances surrounding his death, Dondrboda was able to offer Chops a choice regarding his fate, in the form of three doors: restful oblivion in the peace of the Astral Sea until his soul is reincarnated, returning to the Material Plane as a fully living mortal, or reuniting with his long-slain clan in an afterlife paradise of Dondrboda's creation.  Tearfully, Chops closed the first and third doors, and returns to the Material Plane to make things right.  After making sure his companions are safe, he takes his handaxe, his sword now a twisted piece of metal, and chops off his long, flowing hair, weaving his shortened locks into a series of small, neat braids.

## **Once Upon a Time in Galimond**

While the party investigated Galimond for the connection to Uncle Lucky's slave ring, Chops found himself being

   pushed into the roles of characters from traditional legends.  He and Nu had to slay a mutated wolf prowling around an old man's cottage, all while the old man insisted Chops was his grandson-in-law.
When he was pulled into the mirror by Oleandra's magic, he was physically transformed into an anthropomorphic cat the size of a human child, with a frilly collar and wide-brimmed hat.  Chops was not happy with this and bummed a cigarette off of two traveling humans, Adolph and Rudolph, who were on their way to the castle to see the king.  Chops stole their horse and charged off towards the castle, where the King--whom he recognized as Saturne LeBlanc--charged him with rescuing his daughter from the ogre who had kidnapped him.  Upon arriving at the ogre's castle, he scaled the wall and helped the princess--the handmaiden Elaine--escape.  Before Chops--"Sir Cat", as everyone called him--could get through the gates, the ogre appeared.  The ogre--appearing as Galgaroth in his demon-god disguise--attacked, eventually transforming into a small red dragon.  Chops deftly slew the ogre and when reinforcments from the King arrived, he was given the option of marrying the Princess.  Chops merely requested a bath and a mirror, through which he rejoined his similarly transformed allies.

Upon shattering Oleandra's power, the changes to his person were undone, though streaks of orange could still be seen in the black of his hair.

The swamp witch, Auntie Edith, noted that the story he had been put into was different than those in which the others had been placed, in that there weren't really any themes of family.  She posited that there was the possibility that he'd already been given the makings of his happy ending, to which he replied with annoyed profanity.

## Giddyup Fred: Plane and Simple

While crossing the Wild Plains, a group of pixies offered to "separate" them when the party became glued together by a leftover spell from "Hyucko the Slime Wizard". This had the effect of scattering the party across the planes, with Chops and Aurelion ending up on the edges of the Shadowfell. The pair of them made their bickering way through a forest of black thorns to reach the gateway back to the Material Plane. As they went, Chops became enthralled by a sword he found in the clutches of a dead warrior. The sword sprouted thorny vines and tried to wrap itself around Chops, but with Aurelion's help, he managed to ditch the sword and the pair of them made their way back to the Material Plane. Upon returning to the Material Plane and reuniting with his companions--except the guide Masato--Chops found himself coughing up handfuls of red rose petals.

## **Higher Learning**

Bidding farewell to the remaining guide, Spratt, the party was joined by Aurelion's sister, Hope, and the satyr priest, Father Aristophanes, who took in the orphaned siblings. The two of them led the party to a fantastical new conveyance called a "locomotive", a machine which set Chops' imagination alight. He devoured every bit of information the engineer happily dispensed, committing every word and nuance to memory as they were swiftly taken to the city of Dionia and the Academia Sophia. While at the center of magical learning, the party learned much about the artifacts and about the mysterious Mr Grey, from both the extensive and slightly reality-bending library, and the long-dead necromancer left in the custody of the Postmortem Communications Department, Dr Reginald Grass. Chops continued to cough up flower petals, eventually letting Denavir and the others know. Nurse Debbie at the school infirmary couldn't find any specific cause, though the spectral Dr Grass seemed quite fascinated by him. Chops deduced that the flower petals were connected to the mysterious hooded figure who had begun invading his dreams, talking of battle and the oncoming storm. Eventually, Chops allowed the ghost of Dr Grass to share his body, giving the old wizard a taste of life in exchange for information. Grass indulged in good food and drink and cigars, but Chops drew the line at "wenching", which Grass bemoaned as a waste of Chops' natural gifts. Grass appeared in Chops' dreamscape, but was banished by the arrival of the hooded figure, revealed to be an old goddess of death, known as Bav. Bav and Chops battled in his dreams, and despite his skill and cleverness, Bav soundly put the mortal down. Later, after returning Grass' ghost back to the skull he normally resided in, the student Lacrymosa confronted the group, telling them that Grass had been stolen, and Professor Von Tooms was missing. The party investigated and learned--thanks to the Divination students--what had happened. They tracked down the drow operatives who had kidnapped Von Tooms and subdued them, but before they could learn the whereabouts of Dr Grass--and the vast knowledge he held--the city was beset by a tentacular horror from the Outer Planes and its fishman minions. The beast was eventually slain, but it left a rift in reality which Denavir could barely keep from expanding with his divine magic. Discovering the letter from Lady LeBlanc, Chops deduced the meaning of "To Bleed is to Heal". He cut himself, the blood which flowed from the wound becoming a shower of red flower petals and black thorny vines, which all wrapped around and closed the wound in reality. As the last petal and vine left his veins, Chops no longer felt the presence of Bav in his mind nor did he cough up any rose petals. The party didn't have long to recover before they had to jump into action and pursue the other drow who had stolen the skull of Dr Grass. Chops seized the opportunity to steal a train to aid in their chase.

## **Giddy-up Fred: It's Never Sunny In Bludwald 2: Necrotic Boogaloo**

Pursuing the skull of Dr. Grass, the party crossed the Dragonspine Mountains, reentering the kingdom of Bludwald. There, they again met Emilio Pinweather, having vehicle trouble as he traveled with his manservant, Red Bird--a man who looked exactly like a rather scruffy version of Masato, the half-elf ranger the party hired to help them through the Wild Plains. The two groups of travelers formed a small caravan and traveled together through Bludwald.

While in Bludwald, the party was ambushed by a group of children who lived in the woods until they grew old enough to choose which gendered community they would live in. Following that, they rescued a dwarf named Grigor from a pair of banshees. In thanks, he invited them all to spend the night at his master's home. The master, Count Admar, filled his home with warmth and beauty in defiance of the darkness and gloom of his homeland. He also played host to a small religious group called the Selani, who wore hooded robes and painted wooden masks. After being treated to a lovely, if awkward, dinner, the party went to their rooms, and soon discovered they'd been drugged. Aurelion took Emilio outside while the others went in search of Red, who had been taken into the secret catacombs below the Abbey. There, they found Red, unconscious and about to be slain in some kind of ritual by the Selani. They fought the cultists, knocking the mask from the apparent leader, revealing a blank expanse of glittering crystal instead of a face. Slaying the Selani and shattering their leader, the party took Red and left the Abbey, Chops intimidating those who remained into fleeing and never returning.

Eventually, the party arrived in the port city of Corbierit. They tracked the Drow assassins from their ship and ambushed them. They did battle, and though one of the Drow fled into the Ethereal Plane, their leader was struck down and the others subdued. They rescued the skull of Dr Grass and convinced the Drow to abandon their matron and try to build a new life of freedom and peace, sending them to Arcos to join their fellows. Also in Cobierit, Chops befriended a Goliath smith named Granat, who offered to escort the party on their trek northwest to find the next of the Artifacts, as she sought out magical ore.

## **Other**

He was gifted a pair of boots by Emilio Pinweather, which have been dubbed "the Ruby Go-Go Boots", a pair of sparkling, red, high-heeled boots which allow him to traverse treacherous terrain unimpeded, and access to the Misty Step spell.  He also purchased from Pinweather, the Roc's Egg, which grants him access to weather-based magic.

While in Krieg, he acquired a tower shield, and an enchanted sword. The sword was turned into mangled metal by the destruction of Galgaroth.

He has since acquired another enchanted sword, which he has named Flambe. Denavir has also gifted him with a sending stone from a set of five, and a Gourmand's Pouch, which allows him to withdraw enough of any seasoning to flavor a meal.

He is a gifted chef and connoisseur of cigars and fine wines and spirits.

He was a little surprised that, when the party was dressing to have audience with Lady LeBlanc, Lucian owned a pair of leather briefs that fit his...proportions.  When Chops, Aurelion and Denavir donated blood to Doctor Gorgonstein for the purpose of creating a living weapon to fight the dark forces of Bludwald, the gold-skinned humanoid created shared these...proportions.

The Goliath-Orc smith, Granat, taught him the orcish arts of weaponsmithing.

He is a follower of Dondrboda, a goddess of valor, protection and soldiers.