Damian Lepado

Race: Mothran

Class: Soul Knife Rogue

Character Summary:

The son of Mafioso Byron Lepado, Damian spends most of his time partying and getting into trouble. Because of his disabilities and the death of his mother, however, his father would much prefer Damian stay at home where it’s safe. Forever. When a delivery goes wrong, and Damian is forced to ally with an old friend and the rest of their sea fairing crew, both he and his father find that Damian’s world just got a whole lot bigger.

The Setting:

Hundreds of years ago, the world as we knew it was flooded when a hole was torn in the rift between it and the elemental plane of water. This resulted in the drowning of hundreds of civilizations, save for a few that clung to floating islands or some cobbled form of life support. At this time (for reasons I do not know, as I am not the DM), all the gods had died. In a desperate attempt to survive, a collection of scholars learned how to craft the bodies of these gods into powerful magic crystals that could supply them with the energy needed to forge a new life below the surface. Cities blossomed in bubbles of air below the surface, and the knowing world adapted to these changes. Of course, not all sought refuge below the surface.

The Mothran*

Of the six varieties of crystals in existence, it is the yellow crystal we need to focus on right now. Endowed with the ability to awake the mind, a strange occurrence took place when hordes of insects flocked to one en mass. Stimulated by the crystal’s magic, they began to change and grow in their own unique ways to take on a more Sapient form. For now, we will simply focus on the Mothran and their home.

Like all Bugfolk, the Mothran call the floating island of Trash City home. Trash City, born of the refuse of the world before and below, is much like what we imagine a grungy, apocalyptic version of New York to be. Various gangs run amuck, powers vi for each other, but all in all life goes on. The Bugfolk have found a way to exist with minimal butting of heads, which is largely to keep to themselves. The Mothran take this a step further, though. Unlike the Wasps or the Bees, which have a matriarch, the Mothran’s main person of power is a man by the name of Byron Lepado. Byron runs the organization known as The Mothfia, which in itself is a criminal syndicate known for its discreet smuggling of stolen power crystals to all parts of the world below. Though they themselves cannot breathe underwater, they have enough submarines and other vehicles to make the trip.

It’s worth noting that not all Mothran follow Byron and his illegal operations. Some choose to live a more peaceful life, such as legal commerce or other forms of social integration. However, there is safety and comfort in numbers, and Byron has proven himself to be both ruthless and kind in the protection of his “family,” however big it may be. That doesn’t mean everyone appreciates it, though.

*This lore for the Mothran pertains to this specific setting, but I have other lore written for them in general that integrates better into most campaigns. If you want to see it, comment and I’ll write up a post about them.

Damian The Trash Prince

Damian Alphonse Lepado is Byron Lepado’s only son, and that is the least of his issues. As one of the first Mothran ever born (the race itself only being around twenty years old), Byron and his wife Matilda weren’t sure what to expect of their child. He seemed to struggle with strange sensitivities to things, such as the feel of certain cloths or the volume of sound. What they didn’t have the knowledge to understand was that Damian suffered from something akin to Sensory Processing Disorder.

Mothran, already being a sensitive race when it comes to their environment, are rumored to be so perceptive to things that they could see the future. While it’s debated whether that’s true as a whole, it definitely is in Damian’s case. As a side effect of the crystal’s radiation, Damian seemed to have been born with a birth defect causing him to be too in-tune with his surrounds, causing loud noise, bright light, or other strong sensations to be uncomfortable to the point of pain.

This on its own would not be too much of an issue, were it not for the band of red crystal on his wrist. Never able to get an answer for how it got there, or how it grows in size with him as he ages, this crystal has been a constant struggle for Damian. To be clear, he is not an overly intelligent individual. However, even he can tell that this crystal heightens his already strained senses, causing the results of any overstimulation his senses endure to be…undesirable. Only a few meltdowns have ever happened in his life – the most noteworthy resulting from learning of the murder of his mother – but they have all ended in massive displays of psychic force beyond his control.

To keep himself in check, Damian constantly wears noise-filtering headphones and thick sunglasses, and refrains from unnecessary touch as much as possible. That doesn’t keep him from wanting to learn and explore, though, as he is a great lover of pleasure and excitement and adores sneaking out at night to various parties across the city. Since his father constantly insists on being both overprotective and overindulging, Damian has learned to recklessly take what he wants, then talk himself out of the consequences. There were several times he went on escorted missions below the surface with his father’s men, then had to explain why he broke away from them to interrupt college parties or buy alcohol and other such luxuries on his own.

Finally, his father allowed him to go on a mission on his own. Since the Mothfia had worked with this scientist before, Byron was willing to try letting his son go alone. Of course, no one could have predicted the catastrophic events that would follow, forcing Damian to join the crew of an old friend from his college party crashing days and rapidly learn far more about himself and his abilities than he ever wanted to.