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that’s because dark mages should be pale!!1

A little girl ran headlong into the forest thicket. The last few months had perhaps been the best of her life, but now she felt that something terrible was happening and she needed to run as far and as fast as possible, to where the reddish rays of the setting sun could still be faintly seen through the branches.
-- Aaaaauuuu! -- they shouted from behind. The girl was called by name, her name echoed through the woods, but each time she only pushed deeper into the forest, so that the voices grew fainter and fainter. Eventually, the girl had run far enough and it seemed to her that they were no longer calling her. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but she knew that the transformation would soon begin, and sleeping right now was not an option. She lay down under a tree, hiding herself well, and began to wait.
These had certainly been the best months of her life; in fact, she hadn't known any other life before this. It had been so good and pleasant when those kind old man and woman found her, living in a remote Wolmar village... They fed her, took care of her... Sewed clothes for her... It was so pleasant to be washed and wear a clean little dress, unlike before, when all her skin hurt and itched, and fleas held entire festivals in her hair. That was, of course, during the day: love, tenderness, care. Closer to evening, the girl always stealthily slipped away into the forest; the old people could not keep up with such a nimble child. And at some point, they stopped trying, especially after those two occasions when they tried to keep her in the house, but she jumped out of the window and ran away anyway. She simply could not stay overnight with these people to whom she had become attached.
However, today was different: some Wolmar man had come and said that the child must never be let go, for a predatory lizard was prowling the area and such negligence was deadly dangerous. The old folks said they would be happy to keep her, but how could they catch up with the child... And besides, this child was a gift from above (they were childless), so it was not surprising that she had such oddities. But the Wolmar man insisted on his point, and all the time he looked at the girl with a suspicious, predatory gaze. In general, escaping today was not easy and only happened closer to night: she pretended to be afraid of the lizard, and the adults believed her, which gave her a few seconds to escape. And how could she return now? What if they held her back next time? It seems it's beginning...
Suddenly, that same Wolmar man jumped out of the bushes; he was with a dog that was barking incessantly.
-- Hey! Come here, I found her! -- then he looked closely at the girl and, baring his teeth, drew a sword from its scabbard.
-- Just as I thought. Need to finish this quickly, werelizard, -- the warrior said more quietly and approached the child, who had begun to grow and take on reptilian features.
-- What are you doing?! -- a scream was heard from behind, and the grandfather flew at the Wolmar man with agility unseen for his age.
-- I'm not going to explain anything! -- the warrior pushed him away with difficulty. -- This creature of darkness must die right now! You didn't even think that you had taken in a monster... -- he didn't have time to finish before the leaping old man managed to knock his opponent off his feet, fell together with him, and they continued to struggle on the ground. Despite the grandfather's rage, victory ultimately went to the warrior, who timely stunned the old man with an iron gauntlet.
The Wolmar man stood up carefully and looked around, and a very unpleasant picture appeared before him: the werelizard had already transformed, and his sword had flown several meters away during the scuffle with the foolish grandfather. Meanwhile, out of fear, from the sight of the fighting, and the frantic dog barking tearing through the night forest, the werelizard girl was losing control... Her eyes filled with blood, a primal hunger awoke—the very same hunger that made her flee the village every evening. But now it had caught her off guard.

Since then, she has not appeared in the vicinity of that village, although she still wonders what happened to that old woman who tried to become her adoptive mother—is she still alive? The grown girl found no peace in the forest, where she was lonely, but she felt roughly the same with people. It was simply a different kind of loneliness; in the forest there were no humans, and in the settlements there were plenty of people, but one could not make friends. However, in some sense, the werelizard girl did become more human: she learned to speak passably, tried to buy clothes for herself... Her natural strength allowed her to become a decent warrior, and this became her livelihood. She could be called a "wandering knight," with the exception that she hardly hunts monsters and beasts, but seeks them among humans—those like that Wolmar warrior. And yes, she truly enjoys killing such people, although it cannot be said that she does so often. Sometimes the girl can be met engaged in some more peaceful activity: for example, helping peasants in the field, naturally, for a certain fee.
If you ask the girl what her name is, she is unlikely to answer. In essence, she has no name because there are no people who can call her by name. Her old name, given to her by the Wolmar old man and woman, was long forgotten, and she calls herself Onveg, "the lost one."

Onveg is somewhat wild and unsociable. And she can be quite aggressive.

Race
  Werelizard

Class
  Warrior

Hybrid Class
  Mage, Nature

Skills
  Parrying 1
  Provides a chance to parry an enemy attack. Depends on weapon type and agility. Cannot parry more than (agility/5) attacks per round. X8
  Fortitude
  The endurance effect when calculating penalties from wounds is doubled. Each point of endurance gives 3 additional health units. Х10
  Mobility
  After delivering a strike, the character's turn does not end and they can move some further distance. +3 to speed and initiative. Х8
  Combat Master
  +25% to accuracy, damage, hits, and evasion, +10% crit chance, additional attack for one-handed and pole weapons; if the target's constitution is less than the character's strength, damage increases by 10% per unit of difference, but not more than +100% (for two-handed weapons), can use a one-handed weapon in each hand Х24
  One-Handed Weapon 1
  Additional attack. Х14
  Renewal
  The character ages five times slower, does not need water and food, gains +2 to all physical characteristics, health regeneration outside of combat, immunity to diseases; poisons are 50% weaker and leave the body faster. Passive. X10 X1.33 = X13

Characteristics:
  Strength 9 + 5 + 2 (renewal) = 17
  Endurance 9 + 9 + 2 (renewal) = 19
  Agility 9 + 7 + 2 (renewal) = 18
  Intelligence 8
  Will 9
  Luck 6

(Total free HP: 1)

Inventory
  Armor, clothing: light leather armor, a hooded cloak that protects from rain and in which Onveg can "hide" from surrounding people
  Weapon: heavy falchion in the second hand, heavy axe with a narrow blade (francisca) in the leading hand — an axe and sword are convenient to use together in battle, for example, to perform leg sweeps while blocking strikes.
  Other: bag, some money.



Weapons are hard to find; maybe not exactly these, but similar. Dag gave more physical examples of falchions, and one more example of a small axe.

Onveg can transform into a large, strong, bloodthirsty reptile. The reptile moves quickly on four legs and is covered in tough scales and feathers. It also eats corpses and, when gaining speed, knocks unlucky passers-by off their feet.

Alex, how does the life drain effect manifest on the victim's body? And does this spell allow one to maintain youth at the cost of others' lives?

Revan, Kosha, why are your characters so pale?

Pale skin is a result of intellectual work. Tanned skin is a result of menial labor.

Meretil walked quickly down the corridor, afraid to look around or utter a word. The academy walls, which had once promised her a wealth of new experiences, now loomed threateningly above her. Yet, a glimmer of hope remained within the girl. Gathering her courage, she turned her head and looked pleadingly at the woman following behind:
- M-Mom, maybe it's n-not worth it? W-why can't I study l-like everyone else?
In response, the woman placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and said in a soft voice:
- Meretil, my dear, this is necessary. All the success of our family has been built on not missing opportunities to be ahead of others. At your age, I was also scared. I was scared, but I didn't let my parents down. Wouldn't you want to disappoint us?
Swallowing hard, Meretil shook her head negatively. She didn't want to disappoint her parents; they had done so much for her. And yet, she was still frightened. Frightened by the pain that awaited her. Frightened by what she would have to do with the prisoners.
- Well done, – the Todal smiled gently, – just take the first step, and then you will get into it.
The girl really wanted to believe her mother's words, but she could barely suppress the tremor as they approached the massive doors, which now seemed more like gates. Before Meretil could say anything, her mother opened these very doors. The doors that would forever change the life of the young Todal.

Meretil always wondered how her life would turn out if she had been born into another family. Or, even worse, if she hadn't been a Todal. Right now, she pondered this while staring at the frozen head of a Larium bandit who was being sought in the Earth Empire. The grimace of horror frozen on his face only made him look even more repulsive.
- Still, despite having to deal with scum like you now, I am happy, – the sorceress muttered to herself, – at least I wasn't born scum like you.
Having finished humiliating the severed head, Meretil wrapped it in a piece of cloth soaked in blood and put it back in her bag. This bag was specifically intended for the heads of wanted criminals. It wasn't that the Todal enjoyed carrying around other people's heads, but there was good money paid for such criminals. And imperial currency was still valuable, so it would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity. In addition, the danger of this bounty hunting helped Meretil stay in shape, which was extremely important for a mage like her. However, fortunately or unfortunately, after several victims, the Lariumites became even more cautious than before. She even had to run quite a bit to catch this particular victim. Therefore, soon the sorceress would have to change activities. What exactly she hasn't decided yet, but there will definitely be less running through forests and fewer severed heads. At least, if we talk about severed heads in her bag.

Race:
Todal (each point of intelligence adds +2 to strength and magic resistance)
Class:
Mage
Characteristics:
Strength: 7
Endurance: 7+5=12 (10/120)
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 11
Willpower: 11+14=25 (38/120)
Luck: 8
Skills:
Mage:
Destructor (54/120)
Quick Mind (78/120)
Blood Magic I (88/120)
Cold Magic:
Ice Shield (96/120)
Freeze (104/120)
Earth Magic:
Stone Skin (112/120)
Dark Magic:
Life Drain (120/120)
Inventory:
Todal light armor
Dagger used for blood magic
Money earned from bounty hunting
Camping gear

I turned out to be some kind of support, not a damage dealer. Well, it'll do, I think.

Merithil

And here is Sigdha's first love. Oh, poor boy.

I’ll cut off your head.

Will lose his head over love. A classic.

Not entirely.

Alex, how does the life-draining effect manifest visually on the victim's body? And does this spell allow one to maintain youth at the cost of others' lives?

Visually, the victim will appear slightly older, looking sickly and pale. After all, a portion of their hit points is permanently reduced. The sorcerer, on the other hand, will look younger and healthier, but this doesn't imply a significant extension of their lifespan or a substantial slowing of the aging process. Imagine three people of the same age: the first has spent their life drinking, smoking, eating unhealthy food, and lying on the couch, while the second has led an active lifestyle, eaten healthy food, and avoided bad habits. So, the victim will resemble the first, the sorcerer will resemble the second, but in reality, the second won't live much longer and won't stay young forever.

Added 9 minutes later
Heroist, are you going to change the stats, or what? I would have already started creating the characters, but maybe you want to change something.

Probably not anymore. Although, if you can wait until the evening, I might take another look, but if you're doing it now, there's no need to wait.

Larva №218 of the spring brood in the lava tunnels in the south of the Misty Gorge was less fortunate than others — it received defective biological material. How this old, mangy, degenerated disabled lerberg ended up in an anabiosis chamber is a big question with no answer, but a fact is a fact: the little larva had to work tirelessly to gain control over the body, and it took her several weeks longer than normal.
Then things got worse — while all the other newly converted illithids were fully mastering the basics of psionics, physics, philosophy, and the glorious history of the Misty Gorge, young Zinomalleum spent entire days sitting in a rat grotto performing the simplest and stupidest work — watching the creatures scurrying back and forth, bending and unbending the stiff joints of the new body and fighting the veil clouding the host's iodine-deficient brain. None of the senior comrades he questioned about his strange condition could give a coherent answer as to why his body functioned so poorly, and some even felt too disgusted to speak with him. The "boy" also found no answer in any smart book on the anatomy and physiology of their species, and this made him very nervous. Logic suggested that even in separate unique cases, everything takes time, but a worm of intuition hinted that something was seriously wrong here. The illithid failed to find a solution, and therefore resigned himself and, for the time being, simply cataloged all the details of what was happening in his head.
Gritting his metaphorical teeth, two hundred eighteen showed wonders of persistence and endurance, and after half a year finally gained full control over his new body, after which he began to study all standard disciplines from scratch. His kind was not characterized by any particular emotionality, so the illithid calmly realized that the teachers and other specimens considered him inferior, and he understood this himself, but did not accept it. Having mastered psionics and introductory courses in natural sciences, he even managed to somehow study basic magic, but the instructors were not impressed. In the end, having reasoned maturely, the illithid stopped tossing and turning and decided to focus heavily on biochemistry and pharmacology — he was certain that with the help of these sciences he could find the key to his unusual condition.
Reagents in chemical stores were plentiful, substances were successfully mixed, and Zinomalleum conducted his first experiments on those very rats he had watched for so long. Many of them had grown accustomed to him during the time he spent in complete helplessness, so they treated him with less apprehension than full-fledged illithids, who could not pass by without climbing into your head and forcing you to lick the dirty dusty floor of the cave, and even trusted him in some ways, which was necessary for the young researcher for the purity of the experiment. Hopeless slaves, for the chance to experience any new sensations, willingly became test subjects for all sorts of mysterious decoctions and always greeted their "master" with a joyful squeak. Some of them, unfortunately, died during the experiments, but this did not bother the others in any way.
After some time, as a result of scientific activity, Zinomalleum developed several fundamentally new recipes for stimulants, euphoretics, and hallucinogens, and noticed that the slaves were indeed ready to go far for them. This planted certain thoughts in his head, which developed over several years.

The fifteenth year of life in the tunnels had come, and many of his same-age kin had already visited the surface and accompanied senior specimens in trade deals and other sorties, but the leadership unanimously agreed that two hundred eighteen was "for now" not worthy of such responsibility. The young illithid could not argue or contradict the old brood, but deep in his soul he harbored a poisonous malice. He had long since exhausted all the resources and knowledge of the dungeon; to continue his research, he needed fresh reagents and biological material from the surface.
An old but not forgotten paranoia resurfaced, and the illithid began to dig — from then on, all the rat slaves of the lava tunnels, whose trust and adoration he had built in a specific way over many years, became his eyes and ears in the dungeon. All conversations, events, and actions of the old and young broods were brought to his attention by loyal rats, and since hundreds, if not thousands, of servants scurried through the caves, not a single shred of information escaped his attention and found its proper place in the already strengthened, expanded, and powerful consciousness of the illithid.
Zinomalleum collected information, ferreted out secrets, put forward theories, and planned if not a revolution, then certainly some large-scale form of revenge. Despite all his achievements in the chosen field, despite the silk rats who had scrubbed every tunnel to a shine as a result of his work, discoveries in chemistry and botany, successes in psionics and even magic, everyone continued to consider him a nobody, and finally he managed to find out why. The answer came from the tentacled mouth of Zalliamus — the direct supervisor of scientific work in the lava tunnels of the south of the Misty Gorge.
He revealed that a separate group of experts had been monitoring all the torments of the young illithid since birth, as part of an experiment to study the infection reaction of a maximally inferior host organism.
- Congratulations, son, you have made an invaluable contribution to our science, - Zalliamus gently placed a tentacle on the young illithid's shoulder. - We wanted to increase our birth rates by purchasing more biological material on the surface, but I always believed that higher quality selection was necessary in this matter. With your help, I have been able to confirm my theory. Excellent work. You may stop your antics.
The scientific supervisor left, and Zinomalleum finally calmed down and breathed deeply. In his soul he had long suspected something like this, but having no physical evidence, for years he simmered in a hell of doubts and conjectures — it is hard to imagine a worse fate for a young and inquisitive illithid mind.
That same day he gathered all his things, prototypes, blueprints, and developments, said goodbye to the grief-stricken rat slaves, and left for the surface — no one even stopped him; he was no longer needed by anyone.

All this happened many years ago; since then, the illithid has firmly established himself in the outside world and made significant progress in biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, and even mysterious alchemy. Naturally, not everyone wanted to deal with the creepy newcomer from the dungeon at first: it turned out that the surface was mostly populated by low-developed high-primate tribes and states of savages whose minds were permanently gripped by prejudice, senseless emotions, and dark ignorance, but some knew how to see a benefit for themselves, and others were subject to different methods of persuasion. Speaking of the mental inferiority of the surface dwellers, it is worth noting that many of them could not even properly remember or pronounce his name, so for the especially stupid, the illithid shortened it to simply "Zim".
Strangely enough, there turned out to be far more rat communities on the surface than underground, and experienced rat breeder Zinomalleum had no problem finding "assistants" for his dubious affairs. Surface rats readily consumed huge amounts of narcotic drugs; many paid well for this. However, the brazen rats of the surface behaved too insolently, and every gang sooner or later tried to commit some kind of foul play — steal, rob, or in any other way lay a hairy clawed paw on the peaceful preparations. Zinomalleum, as usual, did not pry into souls unless the situation dictated it, and these unafraid rat-folk had never lived underground and therefore realized their mistake too late.
However, even among all this riffraff, the illithid managed to find a more loyal assistant than the others. Young but battered Vassar, for some personal reason, was left without a community and became an outcast in the rat society, so he understood that he had not much to hope for. A peculiar fruitful cooperation was established between him and the illithid — protection, a fairly decent life, and of course high-quality narcotic substances in exchange for various services such as escorting, searching for information, various small errands, obtaining reagents (and sometimes test subjects), and so on.
The scientist did not forget Zalliamus's role in his fate and decided in his own way to start where he left off. Taking his inferior organism as a starting point, the illithid tested some of the resulting preparations on himself, sparing not his fragile health for the glory of world science, while also finding biological material of various quality for his own larvae and ruthlessly subjecting them to tests. He defined his goal as an attempt to breed the ideal illithid organism — fast-growing and adapted to any external environment conditions.
Nevertheless, these methods of natural scientific cognition had their limits; however, during many years of research, the illithid came to learn about the phenomenon of own nature magic, which was not even mentioned in his homeland, allegedly healing and rejuvenating the body and granting it regenerative qualities. This information could have a critical influence on the course of research, so the scientist could not help but verify it.
Fortunately, a long journey west into the mysterious lands of ancient civilizations bore fruit: the good-natured people inhabiting those lands turned out to be perhaps the only people on the surface who earned the illithid's respect for their wisdom, selflessness, and understanding. The underground dweller spent several meditative years, very unusual for his rational mind, learning the mysteries of wild, untamed nature that had not been reduced to chemical components, and eventually mastered this amazing skill.
Parting on the most pleasant terms with the local population, inspired by success, two hundred eighteen returned to the rich lands of the Barbarian to move to a new stage in his endless developments, with a firm intention to one day return and repay them kindness for kindness. And for now, new fascinating research awaits him for the glory of illithid and world science.

Characteristics:

Strength 7
Endurance 8
Agility 8
Intelligence 14 + 6
Will 13 + 10
Luck 8


Inventor
Botanist
Chemist
Alchemist


Stone Fist
Renewal

Telekinesis
Will Suppression

Recipes.

Chemistry.
- mana extract: a small piece of paper is soaked in the finished solution, then dried and placed on the tongue at the necessary moment; the user undergoes colorful harmless hallucinations for some time, losing touch with reality and enjoying a surge of spiritual power;
- reaction powder: the result of a complex and lengthy chemical process is a scattering of small transparent crystals, which are then ground into a fine powder and absorbed by any mucous membrane, for example — intranasally; the user notes a sharp surge of strength, speed, and clarity of thought, which is followed by lethargy and apathy after the stimulant's effect ends;
- fortitude pills: taken internally, action occurs within a minute; an increase in the threshold of natural physical strength is observed in the user, as well as a decrease in pain sensitivity, however, with regular use, thinking functions undergo a slight recession;
- paralysis potion: a strong drug in liquid state, administered by injection; causes severe muscle spasms and completely paralyzes the affected organism.

Alchemy:
- levitation potion;
- invisibility potion;
- living creature detection potion;
- elemental potion: all basic elements in one vial — do not shake, do not consume internally.

Inventions:
- Mustard gas;
- Smoke bomb;
- "Devastator 10,000": the latest cry of illithid engineering thought; simply point it toward the enemy, cover your ear cavities and press the button.

Equipment:

- hand telescope, chronometer, sets of all necessary tools for chemical, alchemical, and inventive activity, personal protective equipment for eyes and respiratory organs, airtight container with a brood of illithid larvae in anabiosis, money;
- supply of reagents, supply of potions and narcotics, supply of smoke and mustard bombs;
- injection gun, light multi-shot rapid-fire crossbow, combat staff, light leather armor.

How can I write a quest if there are no gods?

I'm working on them. I lack inspiration.

And I won't write a walkthrough up to this point... :smile06: