A P P L I C A T I O N

PLAYER INFO
Are you over 18?: Y

CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Taako
Canon: The Adventure Zone
Canon Point: Before the Suffering Game

Appearance:



Age: ?? somewhere over 75 years old at the very least.

Setting:
The official Forgotten Realms setting for Phandalin
The official Forgotten Realms world explanation and description

It's important to note that while the Adventure Zone is technically set in the Forgotten Realms universe, it diverges from the typical tropes in that there are (frequent) iconic pop culture references or parallels to our modern way of life, elevators, moon bases, television, robots— and anything it needs 'for the bit'. Most of the citizens that occupy it live out their daily lives via a mixture of medieval and modern technology, seemingly content to blend magic with mechanics. There's also an undercurrent of grim mysticism alive and active in the setting: multiple universes (parallel, divergent and occult) are shown a number of times, and the heroes themselves are confirmed foreign transplants from another world.

(Ironically, despite being part of the Dungeons and Dragons setting, the trio of protagonists that the story revolves around have only once entered a 'dungeon' and fought off a dragon, all for the sake of a mandatory teamwork exercise.)

History: here I am, saving you valuable minutes with a link
Personality:

When it comes to personality, Taako's got zest in spades. Which, as both a former celebrity and a child raised by performance troupes, seems only fitting. For years the show 'Sizzle it up with Taako' delighted and captivated audiences, and with himself at the center, he was entirely in his charismatic element. It was an experience that seemingly solidified certain aspects of his personality in stone (often times introducing himself as 'Taako— you know, from TV?' or passing out autographs in lieu of currency) where ego reigns king: Taako lives for the limelight, and the limelight lives for him...or else, considering the fact that he once threatened his own student when addressing the subject that someday he 'might even be a better wizard' than Taako himself, refused to let his partner Sazed have any front line part in his show in favor of putting his own brand first, and it's a habit that eventually turned to bite him when it became apparent that he had no intention of sharing. Still, despite everything that happened in the past, he maintains that inherent self-centered streak: stealing antiques, sectioning off his own additional gold funds instead of pooling them with his team, dropping out of combat when it benefits him first and foremost— the list goes on and on.

That's not to say he doesn't care about anyone but himself, it's just a little harder to pry sympathy out of him. Taako is described as being 'chaotic good', a personality type that highlights living to break rules— to live entirely in the moment and not worry about what society perceives as right or appropriate— but drawing the line at being morally reprehensible. Chaotic good characters often place more value on the individual (himself, his friends) rather than the whole, and strive to do right by themselves, respecting others' right to do the same in turn, even if it unintentionally causes a direct conflict. It's an appropriate summary of him...as long as you don't think too hard about the number of people Taako and his friends have murdered along the way. While most of them were thieves and bandits, a good number of innocents have been swept up accidentally in the fray (including an entire town, now completely wiped off of the map), and despite expressing regret over their loss, he also tends to crack bleak jokes about it whenever the opportunity arises. A coping mechanism, probably...

...or maybe it's just the nature of the Adventure Zone being a comedy podcast.

Speaking of comedy, Taako is, according to his creator, an idiot. Initially starting off as a joke designed to keep the episodes amusing, there have been a number of instances where common logic eludes him. When infiltrating a hostile goblin stronghold and impersonating a guard, Taako's initial response was to tell the other goblins to come investigate the intrusion instead of shooing them off. He refuses to learn how to operate a fantasy gachapon machine (insert gold coin, turn lever, that's legitimately as complicated as it gets), and practically lives to give his boss a headache each time she briefs them on an upcoming mission. In short, while there are a few sparks of intelligence every now and then, he is, at heart, pretty dang dumb.

And yeah, he's good with that.

Aside from all the selfishness and stupidity, Taako has heart. He appreciates the ability to entertain and bring delight to the people around them, and while he often demands attention for his gestures of kindness, he does actually care about what happens to the people closest to him: after the incident that brought Sizzle it up with Taako to a horrifying end, Taako expresses a hesitance to cook for anyone he cares about out of fear that he might accidentally poison them. And while he doesn't actually remember his sister Lup at the canon point where I'm drawing him from, the two were apparently inseparable; even after her death her spirit remains with him through the Umbra Staff that he unknowingly wields. He has friends (Magnus and Merle, many members of the Bureau of Balance, even Angus McDonald) that he is willing to risk dying for— and has, in fact, died for— who clearly mean a great deal to him despite any and all denials or threats. Even in returning to the Bureau of Balance and finding it in deserted, at the suggestion of hearing a distant, incorporeal noise his first hopeful thought is that it might somehow be his boyfriend, Kravitz. He dives in between worlds to save Magnus from death, he does, from the bottom of his selfish, fashionable heart, care.

Which is probably a good thing, given the fact that he and the other members of his team were hired on to track down some incredibly powerful relics capable of destroying entire worlds.

Canon Abilities/Skills:
INNATE ABILITIES:

• Darkvision - capable of seeing in low light/shadow.
  
• Somewhat resistant to charm.
  
• Immune to magical sleep.
  
• Minor alchemy - capable of slowly transmutating wood, stone, iron, copper, and silver into any one of the others.

SPELLS (this list literally hurt me and murdered my family):

• Mage Hand - a spectral, floating hand appears at a point chosen within range.
  
• Ray of Frost - a frigid beam of blue-white light that streaks toward another creature or person.
  
• Shield - an invisible barrier of magical force appears and protects its caster.
  
• Sleep - a spell that sends creatures into a magical slumber.
  
• Charm Person - charm any humanoid the caster can see.
  
• Thunderwave - a wave of thunderous force sweeps outwards from its caster.
  
• Levitate - one creature or object of your choice that can be seen rises vertically, up to 20 feet, and remains suspended there for the duration.
  
• Detect Magic - sense the presence of magic within 30 feet.
  
• Magic Missile - create three glowing darts of magical force.
  
• Melf's Acid Arrow - a shimmering green arrow streaks toward a target within range and bursts in a spray of acid.
  
• Blink - vanish from the current plane of existence and appear in the Ethereal Plane.
  
• Rope trick - after touching a length of rope, one end of the rope rises into the air until the whole rope hangs perpendicular to the ground - at the upper end of the rope, an invisible entrance opens to an extradimensional space that lasts until the spell ends.
  
• Scorching Ray - three rays of fire and hurl at targets within range
  
• Disguise Self - the caster makes themself — including clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings on their person— look different until the spell ends.
  
• Clairvoyance - create an invisible sensor and choose seeing or hearing, the caster can use the chosen sense through the sensor as if you were in its space.
  
• Crown of Madness - when a target is charmed in this way, a twisted crown of jagged iron appears on its head, and a madness glows in its eyes.
  
• Enlarge/Reduce - cause a creature or an object to grow larger or smaller.
  
• Phantom Steed (Garyl) - Garyl takes the form of a beautiful unicorn, with two big unicorn horns in rainbow colors. When he's first cast, Erasure plays in the background. His whinny travels up the octaves, perfectly tonally. His mane is more like a mullet, but he is making it work. That's the amazing thing.
  
• Fireball - a bright streak flashes from the caster's pointing finger and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame.
  
• Shatter - sudden loud ringing noise, painfully intense.
  
• Prestidigitation - a minor magical trick that novice spell-casters use for practice.
  
• Minor Illusion - create a sound or an image of an object for a minute.
  
• Phantasmal Killer - tap into the nightmares of a creature and create an illusory manifestation of its deepest fears, visible only to that creature.
  
• Evard's Black Tentacles - squirming, ebony tentacles fill a 20-foot square on the ground.
  
• Gust of Wind - a line of strong wind 60 feet long and 10 feet wide blasts forward.
  
• Stoneskin - turns the flesh of a willing creature as hard as stone
  
• Knock - a target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred.
  
• Cone of Cold - a blast of cold air erupts from the caster's hands, freezing creatures in range.
  
• Wall of Force - an invisible wall of force springs into existence. Nothing can physically pass through the wall.
  
• Wall of Stone - a non-magical wall of solid stone springs into existence, the wall is an object made of stone that can be damaged and thus breached.
  
• Otiluke's Resilient Sphere - this spell causes a victim to save vs. spells of imprisonment.
  
• Planar Binding - attempt to bind a celestial, an elemental, a fey, or a fiend to your service.
  
• Ice Storm - a hail of rock-hard ice pounds to the ground in a 20-foot-radius.
  
• Leomund's Secret Chest - hide a chest, and all its contents, on the Ethereal Plane.
  
• Arcane Eye - create an invisible magical sensor that sends visual information to the caster.
  
• Cloudkill - this spell generates a bank of fog, similar to a fog cloud, except that its vapors are yellowish green and poisonous.
  
• Mislead - become invisible at the same time that an illusory double appears.
  
• Bigby's Hand - create a Large hand of shimmering, translucent force it moves at the caster's command, mimicking the movements of their own hand.
  
• Disintegrate - a thin green ray springs from the caster's pointing finger to a target, if this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, it is disintegrated.
  
• Banishment - attempt to send one creature to another (harmless) plane of existence.
  
• Polymorph - this spell transforms a creature into a new form; it can’t speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech.
  
• Fire Shield - thin and wispy flames wreathe the caster's body for the duration, shedding bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
  
• Fabricate - convert raw materials into products of the same material. For example, fabricating a wooden bridge from a clump of trees, a rope from a patch of hemp, and clothes from flax or wool.
  
• Dominate Person - beguile a humanoid; while the target is charmed, the caster has a telepathic link with it as long as the two are on the same plane of existence.
  
• Animate Objects - choose up to ten nonmagical objects within range that are not being worn or carried, and force them come to life at command.
  
• Greater Invisibility - the caster or a creature they touch becomes invisible until the spell ends.
  
• Flesh to Stone - attempt to turn one creature into stone.
  
• Tasha's Hideous Laughter - a creature of choice as hilariously funny and falls into fits of laughter if this spell affects it.
  
• True Seeing - this spell gives a willing creature the ability to see things as they actually are.
  
• Hunger of Hadar - open a gateway to the dark between the stars, a region infested with unknown horrors. A 20-foot-radius sphere of blackness and bitter cold appears, centered on a point. No light, magical or otherwise, can illuminate the area, and creatures fully within the area are blinded. This void is filled with a cacophony of soft whispers and slurping noises that can be heard up to 30 feet away. Any creature in the area will feel milky, otherworldly tentacles rub against it.
  
• Drawmij's Instant Summons - touch an object weighing 10 pounds or less whose longest dimension is 6 feet or less. Speak the item’s name and crush a linked object, and the item instantly appears in-hand.

Spell slots:
Each day, Taako starts with five total spell slots, dictating the number of spells he's capable of selecting and then using that day (ie out of the entire list, he can only choose five spells when he wakes up in the morning). A long rest (considered to be an hour or more) can be used to realign spell slots or replenished used spell slots as long as he's doing nothing else distracting/substantial for the duration of that hour.

Cantrips (listed under 'innate abilities' above) take no spell slots, and can be used at will.

ON STATION 72
Symbiote Specialization: Rho
Symbiote Ability:

[Good Out Here]

RANK I: At any moment of his choosing*, Taako is capable of rolling back time by ten seconds to effectively 'reroll' a botched action or spell. As time moves to catch up during the rewind, Taako is unable to cast spells or take any additional actions— and afterwards is left somewhat drained of energy. *This ability can only trigger in response to extremely negative or disastrous stimuli, and not on a whim.

If he attempts to repeatedly activate this ability in rapid succession (ie: fail, redo, fail, redo) to circumvent a problem, he will exhaust himself to the point of collapse.

RANK II: At any moment of his choosing*, Taako is capable of rolling back time by fifteen seconds to effectively 'reroll' a botched action or spell. As time moves to catch up during the rewind, Taako is unable to cast spells or take any additional actions— and afterwards is left somewhat drained of energy. *This ability can only trigger in response to extremely negative or disastrous stimuli, and not on a whim.

If he attempts to repeatedly activate this ability more than twice in rapid succession to circumvent a problem, he will exhaust himself to the point of collapse.

RANK III: At any moment of his choosing*, Taako is capable of rolling back time by twenty seconds to effectively 'reroll' a botched action or spell. As time moves to catch up during the rewind, Taako is unable to cast spells or take any additional actions— and afterwards is left somewhat drained of energy. *This ability can only trigger in response to moderately negative stimuli, and not on a whim.

If he attempts to repeatedly activate this ability more than three times in rapid succession to circumvent a problem, he will exhaust himself to the point of collapse.

Inventory:

• Short Sword
  
• Pickaxe
  
• Adventurer's Kit - backpack, bedroll, flint and steel, belt pouch, 2 sunrods, 10 days of trail rations, 50 feet of rope, and a waterskin.
  
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective Elves - a book documenting Taako's life so far.
  
• Uncle John's Elven Bathroom Reader - a simple spell book (with leaves on the pages).
  
• Umbra Staff - Umbrella wand that consumes the powers of the magical foes defeated in combat.
  
• Bracer of Balance (and Bracer Brush) - an Taako's right arm.
  
• Ring of Frost - makes beverages frosty and refreshing; defends against frost damage.
  
• Unlimited Pasta Pass - all you can eat pasta and drinks; only applies to Olive Garden.
  
• Wand of Switcheroo - Purchased for 300GP from Fantasy Costco; switches users' place with another person or item of similar mass.
  
• Port Wand - Originally belonging to Jenkins. Useless wooden wand.
  
• Briefcase - a briefcase.
  
• Pocket Spa - Fully contained pocket dimension perfect for rest and relaxation. Get away from it all!
  
• Marvey's Stun Baton - it's a stun baton.
  
• Mongoose Mask
  
• Small bottle of Silverpoint poison - empty
  
• Cloak of the Manta Ray - A slick, black leather cloak. When the wearer is submerged in water, it grants water breathing, and allows 60ft of underwater movement speed.
  
• Plastic Sheriff's Badge - grants a feeling of false authority.
  
• Immovable Rod - it's a heavy rod that stays where you put it.
  
• Music Box - Johann's hottest mixtape.
  
• Whetstone - Gift from Killian; shaped like a duck.
  
• Airplane bottles of booze - Gift from Avi.
  
• "Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop" Book - Gift from Angus
  
• Potty Chair - Gift from Magnus
  
• Iron-on badge copy - Dark blue circles, iron on; comes with note that reads "For Your Eyes Only"
  
• Maureen's Core - Contains Maureen's prophecy.
  
• Hole-Thrower - Throws a hole into any non-living object once per day.
  
• Mockingbird Gum- Allows player to mimic a voice for an hour or so.
  
• Arcane Trickster's Glove - Turns Mage Hand invisible.
  
• Low Sodium Salt Shaker - Sprinkle on food; if it turns pink, the food is poisoned.
  
• Requirement Bag - Gift of the goddess Istus; contents unknown.
  
• Band of Projected Thought - Communicate telepathically with any creature inside of 30 ft.
  
• Rickle Axager's Guide to Adventuring 3rd Ed. - Once per day, read section on skills and be better at that selected skill.
  
• Flaming Poisoning Raging Sword Of Doom - A sword purchased at Fantasy Costco, featuring a gigantic blade wreathed in flames with a crooked, oozing scorpion’s stinger affixed to its point.

SAMPLES
Samples: 'We do that.'

Rescue Write-up:

[Ten more hit points. Ten more and he's in the red, and he's checking them off on some internal counter like it matters—

It helps, considering the alternative is acknowledging the fact that he's currently bleeding out on the floor of the Bureau of Balance without either Merle or Magnus in sight and no sign of help on the way. One busted nose that his compadre wouldn't fix if his life depended on it (too busy burning off all those helpful zones of truth), Umbra Staff just out of reach behind the heels of...whatever that thing is that managed to bust its way in here, and it's not looking like a good day for Taako.

Definitely not Taako's Tuesday.]

I'm usually not all for hugging it out, but on the off chance you feel like making an exception instead of murdering the hell out of me...

[Crash— bang— it reads like a flash grenade, or whatever the spell equivalent of that is: a bright, dazzling burst of light that seems to scare that alien creature away for a few, desperately needed moments. Long enough for Taako to clamber awkwardly to his feet. To hear out the suggestion of a permanent way out of this mess.]

I've come here to save you. To offer you the chance to escape the coming storm and pr—

Sure, yeah, whatever.

But you— you haven't heard what I'm going to say.

Well you're getting me out of here, right?

Yes, but—

Coolio. That's all I need to know. [Taako claps his hands together, palms raw and stinging from the fight; it's a short, brisk walk to his staff, and he makes it in record time, pointing upwards to the ceiling.

His spell slots are shot. This stranger's? Not so much.] Beam me up, Scotty, let's go.