Matsu Xiangu
The Haruspex
All images within this post are credit to the awesome Vlad Marica.
Name: Jiéshù ('The End') Squad
Intent: To flesh out a unit I’ve written as part of Matsu’s character almost since her inception, and provide a reference for her necromancy for other players.
Affiliation: Matsu Xiangu
Availability: Unique
Quality: Depending on each individual’s level of decay, they range anywhere from C to D.
Type: Infantry
Strength: 150
Description: Known for raising the fallen around her to fight for her, the One Sith, or any of her allies, Matsu took it upon herself to stockpile the dead. Having spent the last two decades experimenting with necromancy and the body’s decay, it behooved her to have a ready-made army of the undead prepared for conflicts.
Through generous donations from underground contacts in Coruscant – a place where people disappear every day and no one misses them – and her own hunting for soldiers, Matsu manages to amass an army that can be replenished quickly after the fact even if every single one of her unit falls on the battlefield. Stored deep within Coruscant, a few layers below where the last poor soul scrapes by, her zombies walk, shuffle, or drag themselves along in the dark until she comes to pack them on to transports for a move toward a battle.
Strengths: Since they are pre-raised, Matsu does not have to expend energy or break her concentration on the battlefield. Her necromancy allows for her to give them simple commands and prevent them from turning on her allies. They are armored in basic, flimsy gear – enough to let them sustain a hit or two in combat and stay animate for as long as possible. They are given simple weapons, axes, clubs, nothing that takes a lot of thought since they don’t have any. But this lack of thought contributes to what makes them so formidable on the field: without thought they have no pain, no brainwaves warning them they are pushing too hard. As long as they have not been left to rot for too long, they run and jump at peak human performance. Even those with a month or two on them are nothing to trifle with, the sorcery that brought them back to "life" keeping them moving until they can't any longer. They experience no fear and will attack anything they see, using their numbers to overwhelm opponents. Most – especially those who have been dead longer – have developed, through necromancy, putrid rot that spews from their mouths and wounds. This is, perhaps, their most devastating feature as a full blast will burn the flesh right from a target’s bones (cannot penetrate high-quality armors). As they are already dead, they need to be completely dismantled (crushed, dismembered, brain death) before they are neutralized. They know nothing but unnatural hunger and will do whatever it takes to bring down and devour their target.
Weaknesses: Though provided gear, it is only to ensure some form of longevity on the battlefield. It will do nothing to stop blaster bolts, lightsabers, or prevent them from being crushed under the wheels of a tank. The armor is not fitted to them as Matsu uses bits and scraps that she puts on herself after raising them, therefore leaving gaps and openings that higher-quality, customized armor would lack. Though they take simple commands from Matsu they are incredibly stupid and act only on instinct. If they run in to a problem more complicated than ‘climb over this wall’ or ‘eat this person’ they have no ability to solve it. They will not be able to take down large, armored opponents without sufficient numbers. Although Matsu has the ability to replenish their numbers on an extremely regular basis, some will always drop from the ship on to the battlefield as just a torso and a pair of arms, useless in combat. They are useless for stealth as they are almost always making some sort of noise. They need to be transported, and therefore are useful only when the battle has been planned or there is sufficient lead-time.
Links: Sink Into The Crust | Matsu transports her undead to Sullust in aid of the Trade Conglomerate.
Terror From The Deep | Example of Matsu raising Dead.
* Almost all my threads allude to/include Matsu raising dead, her sorcery, and her necromancy so check out my thread list or anything I have ongoing for more.
I appreciate it - those are things I didn't think to include.
