Jorath the Path-Maker

 A write-up of Jorath the Path-Maker from Tyranny of the Daleks.  This is using the second edition rules for the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game from Cubicle 7.

Jorath attacked by a Mugati

Concept: Guide to the paths of Galentor

Focus: Footpaths

Homeworld: Galentor

Tech level: 1

Short-term goal: Protect the Pham from the Evil Ones

Long-term goal: Understand Thural’s true connection to Lentargi and the “light that binds all life,” which he believes might one day bring peace to Galentor.

Awareness 3, Coordination 4,

Ingenuity 3, Presence 3,

Resolve 2, Strength 4

Skills: Athletics 4 (Running),  Conflict 3 (Staff), Convince 2, Craft 2, Intuition 2, Knowledge 3 (Galentor pathways), Medicine 2, Science 0, Subterfuge 2, Survival 3 (Forest), Technology 0, Transport 0

Notes: Jorath’s Knowledge is limited to matters concerning Galentor, and the Pham’s unwritten history and lore.

Equipment: Wooden staff (+2 to Strength)

Story Points: 0

Character notes

Quotation: “The spirits walk in the green light, and their breath stirs the trees. Thural says they remember us still — so we must remember them."

Jorath is a broad-shouldered, resilient man of thirty-two, with regular handsome features, brown hair, and sharp eyes that miss little. Standing six feet tall, he moves with the agility of a seasoned hunter and the endurance of one who has spent his life beneath the vast canopy of Galentor’s endless forests. His walking staff is both a companion and weapon,  a smooth, dark pole carved from a fallen Skywood tree, polished by years of use.  As well as the staff, in his pockets he carries some small useful objects including a bone knife, dried roots, a stone flint and a charm made from Lumtarg fungi (which glows faintly at night).  His simple white tunic is made from woven plant fibre, and he wears an animal-hide belt.

Jorath's role in the Pham is to scout and monitor the forest trails, marking safe routes and searching for prey. He also serves as an informal guardian at the tribe's borders, watching for Mugati beasts, Robo-men patrols or the Daleks (the metal ghosts, as Jorath calls them). He has explored some of the human ruins including as far as Tharenos, the old capital of Galentor. Like all the Pham, he has to contribute to the welfare of his tribe, and does so by being a hunter and forager whilst undertaking his path finding work.

At the age of eighteen, an incident occurred when he was out foraging near the Shimmering Ferns. He saw what he believed was the spirit of Lentargi descending to the ground. It was a pulsing green light that made the trees hum and the air shimmer. In awe, he fell to his knees.  In truth, this was a relic, a malfunctioning Federation reconnaissance drone that was still, somehow, operative decades after the fall of Galentor, its nuclear reactor leaking radiation that made the Lumtarg fungi on the ground below it bioluminescent. The device crashed soon after, and Jorath took it as a divine sign, his first personal encounter with what he calls the "living light" of Lentargi.

In his mid-twenties, another tribesman by the name of Marek accused Thural of calling storms through blasphemy.  Jorath stepped forward to defend his shaman and fought Marek with staff and shield by the Targmaw Gorge, the ritual location for such duels.  Jorath defeated Marek, and in so doing pushed his opponent to the edge of the gorge, but stopped short of forcing Marek to fall into it, thereby sparing his life. Jorath's loyalty impressed Thural, and the shaman taught him part of the "Rite of the Sacred Breath", a primitive form of meditation used to commune with Lentargi.

Though he appears straightforward, Jorath’s instincts are keen. He carries the oral traditions of his people with quiet reverence, especially the teachings of Thural, whom he regards as both a prophet and the voice of Lentargi made flesh.

Jorath is steadfast and loyal, the kind of man who listens more than he speaks. Among the Pham, he is respected for his bravery and dependability, though some of the younger people find his faith in Thural's teachings overly reverent. He bears no hatred for the Thals, whom he sees as "the other tribe of the stars", though he does not fully trust them, believing they meddle in things that awaken the Evils Ones (the Daleks).