Ari Ostin, LN Human Hexblade 3
Ari Osten CR 3 (2000 xp)
Male human (Aundair) hexblade 3;
AP 6
LN Medium humanoid
Init -1;
Senses Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common
AC 13, touch 9, flat-footed 14
hp 28 (3 HD)
Fort +3,
Ref +0,
Will +3; arcane resistance +2, mettle
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +1 longsword two-handed +7 (1d8+5/19-20) or
Melee cold-iron morningstar two-handed +6 (1d8+4) or
Melee spiked armor +6 (1d6+3) or
Melee +1 longsword two-handed +3 (1d8+5/19-20) and spiked armor -2 (1d6+3) or
Melee cold-iron morningstar two-handed +2 (1d8+4) and spiked armor -2 (1d6+3) or
Melee alchemical silver dagger +6 (1d4+2/19-20) or
Ranged 6
+1 javelins +3 (1d6+4)
Base Atk +3;
Grp +6
Atk Options Hexblade's curse 1/day, Aberrant Dragonmark 3/day, Aberrant Vigor
Spell-like Abilities (3/day, CL 1, DC 12):
Abilities Str 16, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 15
Feats Aberrant Dragonmark:
chill touch, Aberrant Dragonmark Gift, Aberrant Vigor, Skill Focus: Survival, Track
Skills Gather Information +5, Intimidate +8, Survival +6
Possessions longsword, cold-iron morningstar, alchemical silver dagger, chain shirt with armor spikes, +1
chainmail (carried), backpack with waterskin, one day's trail ration, bedroll, sack, flint and steel, silk rope (50'); 3 sunrods, 3 torches; identification papers, traveling papers; 17.3 gp
Aberrant Vigor (Su): As an immediate action, Ari can sacrifice one of his uses of his
chill-touch spell-like ability to gain 3 temporary hit points that last and hour.
Arcane Resistance (Ex): Ari adds +2 to any save vs. spells or spell-like abilities.
Hexblade's curse (Su): Once per day, as a free action, Ari can unleash a curse upon a visible foe within 60'. The target takes a -2 penalty on attacks, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage for 1 hour thereafter if they fail a DC 13 Will save.
Mettle (Ex): If Ari makes a successful Fortitude or Will save vs. an attack that would have reduced effect on a successful save, he instead completely negates the effect.
Appearance and Personality
Ari is a striking figure: A tallish, well-muscled young man of 28 years with black curly hair and brown eyes. His clothes are stark, accented by the wicked spikes on his armor and the thick black gloves and boots he wears. Beneath his left glove (the
sinister one) lies his secret---a red/blue scar-like Aberrant Dragonmark.
Ari is not a lone wolf by any means, and enjoys the company of others. However, he takes his work very seriously and grimly. There is dark anger beneath his friendliness, an anger against all the monstrous things that prey on the Five Nations. Ari will do what needs to be done to hunt down his quarry, and will defend any charges to the death.
Background
Ari is the son of well-off merchants in Fairhaven; they could have kept him out of the Last War. However, he fought with relish. But he did not fight for his country; he fought for money. As a House Deneith mercenary, he fought all over Khovaire. And what he found angered him---soulless constructs, vile undead, and other monsters. Thus, he utilized his Deneith ties to train himself as a monster hunter. Deneith found in him some spark---probably tied to his Aberrant Dragonmark he kept hidden---and trained him has a hexer. He used his skills successfully during the final years of the War.
After the War, Ari left Deneith---he did not want protection work, he wanted to hunt the creatures that prey on civilization. He thus began to freelance with House Tharashk. It was a simple arrangement---any job they provided, he would give them a commission on; any "off-the-books" work was his own.
Two years ago, after doing some freelance hunting work near the Mournland/Breland border, the patriarch of an Cyran-expat family approached him. It was protection work---escort them to Newthrone in New Galibar---but the pay was good and Ari know that Tharashk was establishing operations in Q'Barra. It was also during this expedition that he met Taviss; they formed an odd sort of bond during that time. After he landed in the New Galibar seaport, he sought out the Finder's Guild house.
The local House leader, Khalar d'Tharashk, did not recognize Ari's name, but a quick Message Stone message soon sorted that out. Ari was offered the opportunity to be part of a Tharashk operation in "an area of interest"---Seawell. Tharashk was to use it as a base of operations for dragonshard delving in the region. The Seawell chapterhouse would be controlled by Dhelleck d'Tharashk, and Ari could be part of any bounty hunting or similar operations brought to the House. Ari agreed, and left with a very small contingent (six or so) House affiliated members. He convinced Taviss to follow; Ari did not believe the man would find solace in the bustling, swampy city.
Ari did not concern himself with the workings of the Tharashk operation---when a job was offered, he took it. After a few Tharashk jobs, the locals began to realize that they could go to Ari directly. This did not endear Ari to Dhelleck, but as the main function of the chapterhouse was dragonshard extraction, he let it fall by the wayside.
Ari assisted in many monster hunts, earning a bit of reputation in town. There was that odd swamp creature with purple tentacles which ate some of Tebick Luttin's livestock; Ari politely refused the "introduction" to one Sire Luttin's many daughters. Another case was that of Watchman Citen, who asked Ari to assist in finding some errant blacksmith-cum-treasure hunter that lizardfolk may have eaten; they later tracked this "Garrick" to some forgotten stone rubble, healthy as pie. While the townsfolk would not come to him for many jobs, they did think of him when his special skills were needed. They sometimes even thought of him when those skills were not needed---as a joke, the owner of the Green Lilac once offered some "giant rat" hunting. He left that to the cats.
Thus, Ari found himself busy for the next two years---one day, he would be killing the deformed green kobold that infested the Rattenback Tavern (which lead to its eventually closing), the next he would be "clearing" a potentially lucrative dragonshard field for his Tharashk semi-associates. Though he does not consider himself settled, he does feel a sense of community with the Seawell locals and feels a sense of accomplishment in his protecting them from the vile creatures of the night.
Ari on the Other PCs
Amycothe "Amy" Dyne, Human Fighter
Amy is very popular with the Seawell children, and seems to know his way around a sword too. Ari appreciates those skills, but notices the the older man is occasionally hesitant about doing what needs to be done. When the mood strikes him, Ari will join a tale of his own to Amy's; though he holds the children's attention, they always find his stories more frightening for some reason.
Garrick Yandson, Human Rogue
Ari finds Garrick a bit flighty, to often neglecting his safety. He has heard that the "treasure hunter" has a lizardfolk associate somewhere out there; as long as this associate does not do anything to merit a contract, Ari is not concerned.
Jina Silversun, Elf Swashbuckler
The young elf---and that is what she is, regardless of her real age---likes to play at swords. She, however, has not seen real War; nor has she seen the unnatural horrors it can bring. In that respect, Ari both envies and pities her.
Khalia ir’Indari, Human Archivist
Even though he left home long ago, some old habits die hard, and Ari still has an instinctual distrust of those of the Flame. Ari, however, does not have anything particularly against Khalia, and has offered his services should she require. He has yet to be taken up on that offer.
Nelson Luttin, Human Bard
Ari somewhat regrets taking that job from Tebik Luttin; he may have been able to avoid the attentions of the Luttin clan otherwise. They do scurry throughout the town, and some of their attentions can be...distracting. Nelson seems a personable one, however, and his knowledge has been useful in finding the yellow salts needed to remove the Green Kobold.
Taviss Jarga, Human Ranger
Ari understands Taviss more than he would like to admit, and tries to bring out the humanity in the damaged man. Taviss is better at tracking, and thus is Ari's go-to man when his skills are not sufficient.
Zan, Changeling Wizard
In his few dealings with the Librarian, Ari has found Zan straight-to-the-point, a useful skill in a business associate. His help was invaluable in determining the nature of the purple thing infesting the Luttin farm.
Combat and Tactics
Ari is smart enough to use the right tool for the right job: He will use whatever weapon seems most appropriate, will flank, bull rush, etc. as the battle takes him. For a very large enemy, he will
curse them to turn luck his way, and surprise them with a
chill touch delivered with his left hand.
