Like many young vesk, he was trained in the ways of the warrior, but his family also insisted on lessons in a smattering of the arts to instill a bit of culture in him as well. In one of his first real battles, he died a painful but glorious death, chanting passages from epic poems until his very last breath. As his life ebbed away, he heard a exquisitely beautiful voice calling to him to return, because he was not yet done making art to please the gods. He awoke as a borai, alone on the battlefield, with a talisman of the sibling-gods Zon-Shelyn clutched in his hand. He made his way home, but like most borai, found that his loved ones had difficulty accepting his new living dead status. The resurrected vesk embraced that pain, vowing to prove himself worthy to be welcomed back into his family, just as his new patron gods had been eventually reunited after a long separation.
Until that time comes, he has set aside his past, refusing to speak his old name or those of his family. Instead, he has adopted the name "Encore," because he sees this new life as a borai as exactly that--one last chance to be remembered and applauded before the curtain goes down on him for the final time.
Encore has a pronounced fatalistic streak, but has no desire to die until his last song is finished. He embraces pain as a teacher who helps him appreciate the beauty of life all the more for its fragility. In combat, he is constantly moving and whirling like a dancer, creating macabre art with his painglaive as he fights. He rarely intends to be cruel. Instead, he simply treats battle as an artform--a fusion of pain and beauty, life and death--and one that the artists most beloved by the gods will survive to create anew time after time.
This borai's hide is a sickly gray, with the scars of his mortal wounds still visible in places. Some of these scars cross the lines of spikes along his jaw and skull, leaving broken gaps in his "beard." The only real effort Encore makes to soften his disturbing appearance is to wear sunshades to hide his dimly glowing red eyes--until he decides that he truly wants to terrify someone.
Encore is a player character created for the Starfinder Second Edition Playtest. He was originally created at 1st level in order to play Playtest Scenario #1. I have since created a 10th-level version which I used for Playtest Scenario #3, and also plan to play that version of him in Empires Devoured, a higher-level playtest module which starts at 10th level. I may post that advanced stat block once we begin that adventure.
ENCORE (Borai Vesk, Disciple, Soldier 1)
(Medium; borai, humanoid, undead, vesk)
Perception +2; darkvision, low-light vision
Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +5, Crafting +3, Intimidation +5, Lore (Zon-Shelyn) +3, Performance +5
Str +2, Dex +1, Con +4, Int +0, Wis -1, Cha +2
Items painglaive, stellar cannon (2 magazines of 8), freebooter armor, climbing kit, comm unit, commercial cable line (50 feet), commercial sunshades, data chip (Zon-Shelyn text), holy talisman (Zon-Shelyn), hygiene kit, ordinary container, credstick (6 credits)
AC 18; Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +4
HP 24
Speed 20 feet
Melee [1 action] painglaive +5 (powered, reach, tech), Damage 1d10+2 slashing
Melee [1 action] first +1 (agile, finesse, nonlethal, unarmed), Damage 1d4+2 bludgeoning
Ranged [Area Fire, 2 actions] stellar cannon +5 (analog, area [burst 10 feet, DC 17], unwieldy, range increment 50 feet), Damage 1d10 piercing
Baleful Glare [1 action] (borai, concentrate, emotion, fear, mental, visual) A target within 30 feet must make a Will save or be frightened 1 (or 2 on a critical failure). The target is then immune for 24 hours.
Punitive Strike [reaction] Trigger A creature within reach use a manipulate action, ranged Strike, or move action, or leaves a square during a move action; Effect Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. On a hit, the creature is also suppressed. If the triggering action was a move, it is disrupted.
Whirling Swipe [2 actions] (soldier) A two-handed weapon gains the area (burst) trait with a radius of 5 feet (or the weapon's reach) and unwieldy until the end of Encore's turn. Encore is excluded from the burst, which is centered on one corner of his square. Damage is the same as a melee Strike with that weapon, with a basic Reflex save (DC 17).
Other Class Features close quarters fighting style, primary target, suppressing fire, walking armory
Skill Feats Holy Talisman
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