#cleavers

---

"I knew this was going to happen! That's why I hate being in groups with Marky! He's an idiot! I hate it, how can he forget things so quickly?! It was a simple mission!"

"Stop complaining, it was our fault for leaving him alone, if we run there's still time-"

"Still time for what exactly, Jason?"

"Instructor Rernet, we-"

"We were late because of Marky! That idiot was wandering around the village after the extermination!"

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's all your fault, isn't it? We already warned you about the defect Marky has in his body, and yet you continue to make the same mistake."

"I don't want to be a babysitter! My job is to hunt and kill angels!"

"Your job is to follow clear orders, and besides, Marky and Jason are the ones who have killed the most angels, not you."

"Argh..."

"Instructor, our delay wasn't all bad, because of the outing, Marky ended up finding angels who were hiding and the other teams didn't even notice."

"Well pointed out as always, Jason, at least you make up for what your team doesn't have... I'll overlook the delay this time."

"Thank you, instructor."

"..."

"Marky. Come to my office later. However useful your skills may be, your situation is only holding up your colleagues. We have other options for you."

"Yes... Instructor."

---

"..."

"Hey Marky."

"Huh? Ah, brother."

"They're saying the instructors gave up on you, they're going to kill you and use you as bait for the angels. And truth?"

"Who's the idiot who said that? Of course not, the instructors said they're going to take my mind and use me as a weapon, it seems I'm going to go crazy and start killing everything in front of me."

"Wow, that's so much cooler, I'll see if they'll let me volunteer."

"I know, I got really excited"

"But you don't seem that excited. Did something happen?"

"I... Honestly, I don't know... I was super happy at the time, but the more time passes... I can't stop thinking about it, I don't know why, like... I have this feeling that it's something bad..."

"Why? Are you afraid of killing one of us?"

"No, that's not it, it would be fucking awesome to imagine myself fighting against everyone!"

"Really, so what's the problem?"

"I don't know... I just... I don't like the idea of not thinking anymore, I enjoyed playing on the swings or on the human-made structures... I wish I could continue... Furthermore.."

"Yes..?"

"I didn't want to have to do this... I mean, I wanted to be able to prove myself... to be useful..."

"But like... Doesn't the fact that they didn't discard you and turn you into an assassin show that you're indispensable, to the point where they'd think of another way to use you?"

"Like... for them to have reached that conclusion, you must have proven somewhat useful; you were the one who killed the most angels on our expeditions."

"...I hadn't thought about it that way, Jason! You really are a genius!"

"Huhuhu, besides, since we're demons, your brain will heal in a few decades, right?"

"Ah, yes, I know that."

"From what I've studied, they say that the more time passes, the more demons understand human emotions and minds, so we'll soon understand this condition of your head!"

"Seriously? You think we can understand and heal this? I don't know, make me more useful and focused like you, brother?"

"Huhuhu, you're not useless, brother, you're more creative than me, I didn't even consider the possibility of a cure... but of course! Let's understand your mind, okay? While you're unconscious, I'll do some studying."

"Definitely, bro!"

"Humhum~ ♪"

"Hm? What are you doing?"

"Humans were doing this, I think they call it singing, like birds, but with voices instead of whistles."

"Oh, cool."

---

"MARKY! STOP SINGING! DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING I SAID?!"

"Hm? Oh, Lena, what's up?"

"You've got to be kidding me... Seriously, I was talking about the reports your other guild sent! For some reason the internet still works in that mansion, anyway, they're saying there are a lot of problems with Cleavers, a bunch of inexperienced adventurers are making contracts with those an—"

"Humhum...hum... ♪~"

"Marky!!"

"Oh, come on, we're on vacation, right? Let them fend for themselves!"

"Honestly, what are you thinking right now?"

"I'm thinking that I really wanted that puppy plushie."

"I'm really quitting..."

A little bit of Marky!

Okay right but the issue isn't 'how is the blade sharp enough to do it' The issue is logistically, if the scythes ARE how they're depicted in the official artwork, the blade wouldn't be able TO cut into his arm because the blade is curved.

Now, the cleavers just got done dying to insane gods, so lets pretend for the sake of the plot that one of the blades got snapped off the snath.

The blade would still get stuck

Now again, it did just finish raining and they're on a farm so the ground is probably soft. I'm sure the blade is capable of going through his arm and into the ground just fine.

He'd still have to push that whole thing through his arm while being attached to his arm though, which is explained by the blade being so sharp that it doesn't take much pressure but still

I don't think Derek thought this through very well

Scythes are unique weapons for an entire guard/army/whatever but they're ridiculously impractical in a fight. Especially any fight where the opponent has any time of Martial arts skill, which most of the sorcerers do. It would have been much better to give the Cleavers Khopesh swords- Curved blades with MUCH more practicality in a fight. Plus you still get the unique weapon trope.

Now, if the blades were sharp on the OUTSIDE that would be a different story.

This makes SO much more sense from a fighting perspective (and from an arm chopping off perspective)

You would actually be able to cut your opponent without getting the blade behind them etcetcetc

This just doesn't make sense xD

Ancestry: Human

“They have emerged from their scattered island nations in the Eastern Kingdoms bearing retro-engineered technology, and are eager to sell it to the highest bidder. Humans live brief but bright lives in the eyes of the elves, passing away at 60 or so, often from illness or injury.”

I wanted to keep the oceanic feel of FL, the Unterzee, and also there are a couple of trinkets that Heart humans get that I really like for this concept. So. We’re going to make an island whaler? An oceanic human come to the City Beneath in search of … well. You’ll see.

“You are from the Eastern Kingdoms. You came to Spire with nothing but the clothes on your back and a dream, looking for excitement and profit. What went wrong?”

Oh, nothing went wrong. She’s exactly where she wants to be. Don’t you worry.

Calling: Adventure

“The City Above holds no more excitement for you. In the City Beneath, on the knife-edge between real and unreal, you can be who you really are.”

Could it ever have been anything else? We’re a monster hunter. Of course we’re going adventure.

“What’s the most dangerous beast or individual you’ve heard tell of, and why haven’t you defeated them yet?”

Okay. In Heart the City Beneath there is a landmark called Hang Station, right? And Hang Station is a Vermissian train station suspended over a subterranean artificial lake, so that rich travellers could peer down at one of the ‘triumphs’ of the aelfir: a ‘vast, neglected, undying sea creature the size of a town’ captured from the frozen seas of the North and brought here alive for entertainment.

And our human, our oceanic human, she heard rumours of this creature, the expedition that captured it. And she wants to know its fate. And if it still lives? To bring its fate.

Class: Cleaver

“Body-warping heartsblood hunters that consume their prey to fuel their terrible powers.”

“Just as they scar the Heart into new patterns with each footstep forward, the Heart scars them in return and remakes them in a more suitable form: twisting horns, night-black eyes, curious senses unknown to the surface world and so on. Cleavers are a common sight amongst parties of delvers, especially those in need of a guide – no-one knows the Heart like they do. No amount of research, no technological device and no arcane scrying ritual can tell you as much as burying yourself waist-deep in the red wet heaven and eating the bounty it generously offers up.”

If you want a monstrous hunter on a theme of blood and bone, accept no substitutes. Cleaver is the way to go. They learn by eating. By divining from the flesh. And, well. In FL, we’re a teratomancer. A butcher-haruspex. What else could fit better? We can even get something not unlike our peligin eyes down here. This hunter, this oceanic woman who descended beneath the Earth, and found herself remade in this ‘red wet heaven’. The followed the call of a long-ago expedition and a vast mysterious sea beast taken beneath the earth, and she found a world instead. A world where she can truly be herself. This bright, new, red version of herself. Heh.

I love cleavers so much.

Skills: Hunt (Cleaver), Delve (Darkling Eyes), Kill (Unmaking Claws)

Domains: Cursed (Cleaver)

Equipment: Hunting Knife (Kill D6), Bone Charms & Animal-Gut Sutures (Mend Blood D6)

Resources: A freshly-harvested heart that still occasionally twitches (D6 Wild)

Trinkets: Custom scrimshaw kit, well-used (Human). Three slim unopened cans of cooked eels (Human). Paper and sketching charcoal (Adventure).

Abilities:

Core Ability (Adventure):  LEGENDARY: You strive to live up to the stories that they’ll tell of your exploits. When you gain a minor advance, refresh D6. When you gain a major advance, refresh D8.

Core Ability (Cleaver): HEARTSBLOOD: You have a bone-deep connection to the Heart Itself; the closer you get, the more powerful you become. Your minimum protection value for all resistances is equal to the tier of the Heart you are currently on. This value doesn’t add to other sources of protection, but your base protection can’t be lower than your current tier unless you specifically lose access to it due to fallout.

Core Ability (Cleaver): THE RED FEAST: Your crucible guts pluck memories from the meat. When you eat a resource, you gain any domains associated with that resource until the end of the situation. If you already have access to the domain, gain an appropriate knack. There’s no limit to what you can eat, but tough or noxious materials might require an Endure+Cursed check to avoid causing yourself harm. Consuming resources requires your attention and leaves you exposed, so doing it successfully in stressful situations (such as combat) could require a Sneak or Evade roll.

Major Abilities (Cleaver):

EXTINCTION BOW: You carry a huge bow capable of launching specially-made arrows at your prey – the mark of a true hearts‐blooded hunter. When you take this ability, you gain access to (or build) an enormous ranged weapon with the following profile: (Kill D10,Tiring, Ranged, Expensive.)

(Listen. The defining feature of the FL Monster Hunter is their bone harpoon. So of all the cleaver major abilities, we’re going to take the one that will give us a defining weapon. A bow, instead of a harpoon, but if we take a certain linked minor ability, see below, we can somewhat fix that …)

Minor Abilities (Cleaver):

MINOR: HARPOON. Once per situation, when you inflict stress to an adversary with the EXTINCTION BOW, you attach yourself to them with a rope or chain. They can’t flee while attached – and neither can you.

(There we go. Our harpoon, in spirit at least.)

DARKLING EYES: Years of exploring the City Beneath have rid you of the need for creature comforts such as warmth, light and shelter. Gain the Delve skill. Your jet-black eyes allow you to see in pitch blackness as though it were full daylight.

(And to get something not unlike our peligin eyes …)

UNMAKING CLAWS: Your hands, anointed in the blood of angels, flicker in and out of reality. Gain the Kill skill. Your unarmed attacks gain the Piercing tag.

(And then to give ourselves the Kill skill, and get some claws into the bargain).

Calling Story Beats: