Maelicent, the Gudwulf
Goblin Ranger 3
NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +4;
Senses Spot +8, Listen +8
Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages Goblin, Common
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AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14
hp 25 (3d8 HD)
Fort +5,
Ref +7,
Will +3
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Spd 30 ft.
Melee greatsword +4 (1d10+1) or handaxe +4 (1d4+1) or spiked gauntlet +4 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow +8 or +6/+6 (1d6+1)
Base Atk +3; Grp +0
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Abilities Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Chr 8
Feats Track, Endurance, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Skills Hide +13, Listen +8, Knowledge (geography) +4, Move Silently +13, Ride +10, Spot +8, Survival +8
Class feature Favored Enemy (Ex): Outsider (chaotic)
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Possessions Explorer's outfit, studded leather armor, buckler, composite longbow, 25 arrows, greatsword, handaxe, 2 cold iron spiked gauntlets, 3 daggers, backpack, bedroll, chalk, flint & steel, 3 sacks, waterskin, 10-ft. pole (collapsible), 5 tindertwigs, glass alchemy instrument, 2 Al-mi'raj horns (stowed), bag of caltrops (stowed).
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Treasure 240 pp, 20 gp, 10 sp
Experience 4610
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Height 3' 1"
Weight 40 lbs
[sblock=Appearance]Standing barely waist-high to a human, Maelicent is nonetheless disconcerting when first seen. Little of the goblin's dark ochre flesh can be distinguished through the motley assemblage of leather bits, cloth wrappings and black metal he wears. While the small warrior has made an attempt at symmetry while putting together his piecemeal array of clothing and armor, it remains largely half-hazard in appearance. Layers of stained russet colored fabrics, trimmed with bits of fur and stitched together with sinew form a long sleeved overcoat of sorts. Beneath it Maelicent wears a boiled leather breastplate studded with black iron jacks and embossed with an abstract depiction of a snarling wolf's head in red. The goblin's arms are adequately protected by a pair of wickedly barbed blackened iron gauntlets peeking from beneath his tattered sleeves. The details of the goblin's face are hard to distinguish due to the shadows cast upon it by the large boiled leather cap he sports atop his head. Affixed with a pair of upright sharpened boars tusks and trimmed with a mesh of iron chain, it helps to keep the small warrior's head upon his shoulders during battle. An assortment of weapons, some easily distinguishable and some less so, form suspicious bulges beneath Maelicent's clothing. The most disconcerting fact about Maelicent's appearance however is that it is usually unheralded, as the goblin remains as hard to notice as a snake moving through the grass.[/sblock][sblock=Background]Maelicent had trained with the other males since early childhood in the proud military tradition of the Gudwulf tribe. He'd learned the art of the shield, spear and bow alongside his six brothers. The young goblin had drilled in group tactics, been taught to hide himself and patiently wait for hours in ambush alongside his gangmates. Maelicent's had proudly underwent the rite of adulthood the previous year with his best friend Grimshaaw at his side. He'd subsequently sworn the blood oath with his gangmates before the assembled kinsmen beneath the auspices of Chief Hortenz and his wife Aezza, the tribe's witch. He'd never been prouder in his life.
Following his official indoctrination into the Tribeland's military force, Maelicent's gang was assigned their first commission as warren-warders; a tour which was supposed to last a year. If his sergeant, an old brutish shrew named Kurdven, found his gang's service to be satisfactory then the young goblin could have looked forward to a tour of duty as one of Tribelands perimeter-wardens. Two more years of faithful service and he would have been eligible for duty amongst the esteemed Gudwulf raiding warbands. If his exploits amongst their number caught the eye of one of the Chief's lieutenants then Maelicent might even be considered for training amongst the tribe's elite warriors, the Thunder-riders; the military's mounted worg-rider division. The young goblin dreamed of nothing less grand.
Never in his wildest dreams however did Maelicent imagine what would bring about the end of all such hopes. It started simply enough; a horn call warning of trespassers entering the Tribelands. Maelicent's gang was put on alert along with all other members of the military; his gang would remain so until the all-clear was sounded. Somewhere nearby traps were being set, troops were being deployed and ambushes were being prepared; all pre-planned defenses set off by the simple horn call. The first hint of a problem soon followed in the form of another horn-call signaling a retreat off the perimeter-warders. Maelicent and his gangmates were suddenly on edge and nervous. Would they possibly see battle on that day? Would they bleed in defense of the Tribelands? There yet remained many more defensive lines of entrenched warriors waiting in ambush with a network of traps protecting all advances into the warrens. It seemed unlikely.
Too soon however, another horn-call announced that the second perimeter had been breached. Panic began to grip the inhabitants of the warrens; Maelicent and his gangmates did their best to maintain order. Sergeant Kurdven soon appeared, informing the young warders that the invaders were a gang of small giant-kin; humans and dwarves most likely. It sounded ludicrous; a gang only totaled 4 to 8 individuals. How could they have possibly penetrated through two lines of defense in so short a time? It would mean that they'd bested nearly two score goblin warders. Very quickly however, the Thunder-riders were ordered to saddle their mounts and head out of the warrens at the behest of the Chief. Nothing could surely stand against their vicious onslaught.
Something did; and kept coming.
The witch was frantically trying to divine these invaders' weakness while her husband ordered the women and children to flee down into the underdark through the secret tunnels. Maelicent's gang was ordered to hold their ground at the warren's gate to buy their fleeing kinsmen time to escape. Maelicent and his trembling gangmates didn't have to wait long to meet their fate. Like gods upon the earth they strode forth, with nary a sign of fear or remorse in their eyes. Their footfalls left a trail of blood in their wake and the air around them hummed with power as they approached. Fire, lightning and other eldritch forces that Maelicent had no names for danced along their bodies and bared weapons. The young goblin had never seen anything the likes of these folk, they were the stuff of legend; they were
Adventurers.
Maelicent and his gangmates didn't last long against the otherworldly might of such beings. Be it either luck, indifference or perhaps a mere oversight the young goblin was left bleeding but alive in the invaders' wake. The carnage went on for many hours it seemed, though it was likely only a few minutes. The young goblin, left unable to move, was forced to lay amongst his dead gangmates and stare at the death rictus upon his dear friend Grimshaaw's charred face. From deep within the warrens Maelicent heard the crack of thunder and felt the shaking of the earth beneath his prone body. The Gudwulf tribe seemed doomed. The proud Tribelands would fall and nothing but blood soaked earth and ashes would be left of his world.
When the adventurers left, they stepped over Maelicent's broken body as easily and casually as when they'd entered the Tribelands. With great difficulty, the young goblin lifted his broken and bleeding body and crawled out into the light to catch a glimpse of the Harbingers of Death as they departed. He knew he was meant to turn around and crawl back into the comforting shadows of the warrens, but something made him stay where he was. There would be survivors in hiding down in the underdark, somewhere. They'd be determined, as always, to move elsewhere, lick their wounds, count their numbers and begin anew. Maelicent saw no point in joining them. He'd seen mortals, not terribly unlike himself, wield powers previously undreamed of. The full might of the Gudwulf tribe had broken against the advance of the invaders like water upon a ship's prow. Crawling around in the dirt, breeding a new generation of warriors who in turn he'd teach to fight with the same paltry skills and tactics he'd been taught seemed ludicrous now. More than he'd ever dreamed possible existed out there, outside of the Tribelands; a might he himself could, would learn to wield in time. Then perhaps he'd have something worthy to teach the next generation of the once proud Gudwulf tribe.
Maelicent picked himself up off the ground with difficulty but with a fierce new resolve in his heart. He took an uncertain step into a larger world as he set off in search of a new dream; he would become an Adventurer.[/sblock]
