(Circa "The Day of the Sword" [Kull and the Barbarians #3 and Savage Sword of Conan #78])
Medium-sized Human, 16 years old
Fighter
Level 1
Hit Dice: 1d10+2 (12 hp)
Initiative: +4 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 14 (Dex)
Attacks: Longsword +5 melee
Damage: Longsword 1d8+3
Face/Reach: 5 ft x 5 ft./5 ft.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 15
Skills: Jump +7, Swim +7, Ride +8, Move Silently +6, Gather Information +4
Feats: Lightning Reflexes, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Climate/Terrain: Hyrkania
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: By Character Class.
Then, one chill afternoon when Sonja was in her teens, a troop of fighting men rode up to the farmhouse, led by the man who was Ivor's second-in-command in his former mercenary company. With no provocations save perhaps an old grudge that has festered into unreasoning hatred, the intruder ordered his men to kill Ivor when he learned that his wooden leg would no longer allow him to soldier.
The murder triggered a storm of carnage, as the mercenaries ran amuck. Alone of her family, Sonja is spared the sword. Raped by the brutal commander, she was left to her fate in the wake of the attack, as the marauders burnt the house and rode off.
As the flames climbed into the bleak sky, a strange Vision came to Sonja: a bright, ethereal figure that hovered over her, blade in hand. The spectre offered the girl a life as a wanderer, and supreme skill in swordplay. But first she must pledge never to love any man unless he defeats her in fair battle: "Something," the shining Vision adds, "that no man is likely to do after this day."
Through some fantastic alchemy, the touch of the gossamer blade imparted great strength and lightning reflexes to Sonja. These new faculties were soon tested, as one of the soldiers snuck back to force himself on the girl. Instead he finds death - as the first man to fall before a very real sword in the hand of the reborn Red Sonja. That same steel, she vowed, would one day cleave the heart of the nameless captain who butchered her family.
Details of her career for the next two to three years are scarce, but she does manage to hone her miraculous powers with the blade.
Combat
Although her ability with the sword is greater than any commoner, especially an untrained one, she is still young and needs to work on her skills.