Raiden

Dicey Dangers, Core Rule

Game by Joel Hills

Raiden, Deity of Reflex

Raiden is the Deity of Reflex, though he did not begin that way. He began as a king. He was called the Dancing Swordsman for the speed and precision of his personal combat, a warrior of exceptional skill who used swift sword movements to end fights before opponents understood they had started. His followers believed him unmatched. In single combat, they were right.

As a ruler, he was a catastrophe.

He is immortal now. He did not choose this. He lives in the ruins of his own castle, which he has been rebuilding slowly for centuries, not for shelter but as a monument. A record of everything he destroyed. He is still working on it. He expects to be working on it for a very long time.

Domain	Attribute	Element
Reflex	Reflex	Electric

Power	Type	Effect
Reflex Blessing	Attribute Blessing	+1 success on Reflex tests
Electric Blessing	Element Blessing	+1 success on Electric attacks / resists
First Strike	Divine Power	Declare at the start of a combat round. The hero acts before all enemies this round regardless of initiative

History

Raiden's empire was elven and ancient, built over generations before he inherited it. He did not build it. He spent it.

The pattern of his reign was consistent: when a battle went poorly, he executed the general responsible. Not for genuine failure, but for the failure of not winning under his orders. Within a decade, every capable military mind in the empire had been publicly executed for outcomes that were the direct result of Raiden's own commands. The empire's armies continued to fight with his orders and without the people who might have quietly corrected them.

The rival empire that eventually destroyed his had inferior soldiers and a functioning command structure. It was not a close contest.

What is less recorded (because Raiden erased what records he could reach in the centuries since) is the woman who served as his legal advisor. She was a witch of considerable power, and she loved him. He did not notice. When she saw the empire collapsing under his decisions, she did not tell him. She began casting spells instead, small adjustments to his thinking, trying to steer him toward better choices through magic rather than words. He noticed the magic before he understood its source. He killed her for it.

The curse she had placed on him (immortality, woven into him over months of careful work) was not punishment. It was desperation. She had made him immortal so he could not leave, so there would always be more time, so the empire might yet be salvageable. He did not understand this until long after she was gone.

Her soul is in Demetra's garden. Raiden knows this. Demetra is, among her other roles, the keeper of everyone he has ever lost: his wife, his children, his generals, the people of his empire who died in wars fought for his reputation. The witch is there too. Raiden has considered asking Demetra to let him speak to her. He has not yet found the courage to make that request. He has had centuries to find it.

After his empire fell, Raiden spent a long time trying to die. He tried everything available to him and discovered that nothing worked. On the day he attempted to throw himself into the only active volcano remaining, he found it had been frozen solid by Pavlossus. Standing at the base of a cold mountain that should have been his end, he watched Faustina and Pavlossus fight for the first time. When the phoenix tackled the giant ox, the impact knocked feathers loose. One reached Raiden. He was blessed with Faustina's Favor.

The blessing did not cure his immortality. It changed what he wanted to do with it. He stopped looking for death and went back to the ruins of his castle. He has been there since, building his monument and waiting for heroes who might help him find the people his empire harmed.

Appearance

Raiden looks like an elf of middle age, because that is what he was when the curse took hold, and he has not aged since. His hair has gone fully white, which he did not expect and cannot explain. Most people who encounter him never see his face; he wears a purple studded armor that he has repaired so many times it barely resembles its original form. He is taller than the average elf.

His body has been infused with electricity since a lightning strike in his wandering years. A faint electric aura surrounds him at all times. It is strong enough to kill insects and small animals that approach him. He is aware of this. He does not discuss it.

Abilities

Raiden's body is completely infused with electric energy. He can control it at will, direct it outward, infuse objects with it, and transfer a portion of his power to other beings. He is capable of levitating and moving at exceptional speeds. Combined with centuries of swordsmanship practice (he has had nothing but time), the person capable of defeating him in combat has not yet been born.

He does not use these abilities without reason. He is not trying to demonstrate anything. If a hero encounters him and fights seriously, he will grant them a portion of his power as acknowledgment. He is looking for people who are genuinely capable, not people who are trying to impress him.

He is also, quietly, looking for help. The monument in his castle requires information he cannot gather alone: names, locations, descendants of people his empire wronged. He does not ask directly. But he does not turn away heroes who ask what he needs.