Dr Simon
Explorer
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[RG] Iron Heroes: A Saga of Might
Frozen Messiah
First Post
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[B]Name:[/B] Wade "The Shark" Stern
Code:
[FONT=Arial][B]Class:[/B] Executioner[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Race:[/B] Human[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Size:[/B] Medium[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Gender:[/B] Male[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Deity:[/B] Ramardas, God of Sailors and the Ocean[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Str:[/B] 10 +0 (10p.) [B]Level:[/B] 1 [B]XP:[/B] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Dex:[/B] 18 +4 (4p.) [B]BAB:[/B] +1 [B]HP:[/B] 8 (1d4+5)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Con:[/B] 12 +1 (6p.) [B]Grapple:[/B] +1 [B]Dmg Red:[/B] -/-[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Int:[/B] 14 +2 (5p.) [B]Speed:[/B] 30' [B]Spell Res:[/B] XX[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Wis:[/B] 16 +3 (1p.) [B]Init:[/B] +4 [B]Spell Save:[/B] +X[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Cha:[/B] 8 -1 (10p.) [B]ACP:[/B] -1 [B]Spell Fail:[/B] %[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]. [B]Base Armor Shld Dex Size Nat Misc Total[/B][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Armor:[/B] 10 +1 +0 +4 +0 +0 +0 15[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Touch:[/B] 14 [B]Flatfooted:[/B] 10[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]. [B]Base Mod Misc Total[/B][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Fort:[/B] +0 +1 X +1[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Ref:[/B] +2 +4 X +6[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Will:[/B] +0 +3 X +3[/FONT]
[B][FONT=Arial]Weapon Attack Damage Critical[/FONT][/B]
[FONT=Arial][B]Traits:[/B] Sea Child (Fisherman), Perceptive[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Languages:[/B] Common, Sea Speech, Draconic[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Abilities:[/B] Execution Pool (1 token), Excecutioners Eye, Hindering Cut, Sneak Attack +1d6[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Feats:[/B] Exotic Weapon Prof. (Net), Trident Mastery, Hafted Weapon Mastery[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Skill Points:[/B] [B]Max Ranks:[/B] 4[/FONT]
[B][FONT=Arial]Skills Ranks Mod Misc Total[/FONT][/B]
[FONT=Arial]Balance 4 +4 +2 +10[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Climb 4 +0 +4[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Jump 4 +0 +4[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Hide 4 +4 +8[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Know.(Nature) 4 +2 +6[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Listen 4 +3 +7[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Move Silently 4 +4 +8[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Profession (sailor) 4 +3 +7[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Search 4 +2 +6[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Sense Motive 4 +3 +7[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Spot 4 +3 +7[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Use Rope 4 +3 +7[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Swim 4 +0 +4[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Tumble 4 +4 +8[/FONT]
[B][FONT=Arial]Equipment: Cost Weight[/FONT][/B]
[FONT=Arial][B]Total Weight:[/B] [B]Money:[/B] gp sp cp[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]. [B]Lgt Med Hvy Lift Push[/B][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][B]Max Weight:[/B] 33lbs 66lbs 100lbs 200lbs 500lbs[/FONT]Apperance: Wade Stern holds the look of a man of the sea everywhere he goes. He has a large curly beard which covers most of his neck but somehow allow his solid line of a mouth to be seen easily. His skin is tan from his native skin tone and all of his time aboard a ship. His eyes small but they hold a keen intellect that seems to asses every movment that is made and let nothing go unnoticed. He keeps his hair short. He has many tattoos; on the bottom of his right forearm is a trident, on the left forearm is the name Francus "Dreadnaught" Stern, on his right bicep the image of a shark, and on his left bicep a symbol of two fish that are circiling each other. With the tattos he has many scars on his body.
Backstory: Wade Stern was born in the port town of Kinef. He was born to the Stern family, a large family of sailors that are well known in the town. It is not they're skill or luck at fishing that made them renown but they're family tradition as monster hunters of hte seas. Every man in the family begins their training in the art of their trade, they are taught anatomy, biology, and almost anything else that may help them against the monsters they will fight.
The entire tradition began with the great ancestor of the family Francus Stern who killed a massive Kraken that was plaguing the city and the fishermen after that point he gained the nick name "Dreadnaught" because of the ruthlessness in his encounter with the Kraken.At the age of twenty every male in the family is sent out to sea in a rowboat with a full waterskin, a net, a laof of bread, a lime and a weapon of their choice. They are meant to survive and make their way back home.
Wade went through his test and was tossed overboard one time during a strong storm where he was forced to kill a shark, which he fed off of for most of the time afterwards. When he had gotten home he was met with two very welcome things; His own ship that was gifted to him by his family (they are fairly wealthy due to their mercenary stauts for the killing of creatures of the sea, they never ask pay from the town though) and Mary Luka running up and hugging him, Mary was a beautiful blonde girl whose eyes shined blue like the sea and her smile could bring out the sun from behind the clouds.
That evening, as tradition states, he recounted his tale at sea. At the end of the story the eldest male of the family stood up and announced his title. He is now called Wade "The Shark" Stern, Wade wears his name like a military man wears a badge. 5 years later he and Mary got married and moved into a nice house a little bit further down the coast from the city. Wade let Mary name the ship, she called it the "Admiral's Fame".
5 years later Wade was out on the "Admiral's Fame" and a massive storm came up out of nowhere, some say that it was magic of the deep and was some form of revenge while others say that it was a witch in town that was jealous of Mary's life but either way it happened. He was thrown overboard and none of the men noticed because of the crashing waves and went back towards port, Wade doesn't blame them in anyway. Wade began to swim but due to the waves and the rain he became disoriented and swam the wrong way. he was picked up by the slavers ship. Once the shackles were on him he made an oath that he was going to get back to his home, his ship and his wife and nothing is going to stoop him other than death and most likely that will only stall him.
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Code:
Name: Xoria Aurelian
Class: Arcanist
Traits: Intelligent, High Born (titled)
Size: Medium
Gender: Female
Abilities: Level: 3 XP: ?
Str: 8 [-1]
Dex: 14 [+2] BAB: +2 HP: 26 (3x(1d4+2+3))
Con: 16 [+3] Grapple: -1 Dmg Red:
Int: 18 [+4] Speed: 30' Spell Res: -
Wis: 12 [+1] Init: +2 Spell Save:
Cha: 14 [+2] ACP: -0 Spell Fail: 0%
Base Defense Shld Dex Size Nat Misc Total
Armor: 10 2 0 2 - - - 14
Touch: 14
Flatfooted: 10
SAVES:
Base Abil Mod Misc Total
Fort: +3 +3 +6
Ref: +3 +2 +5
Will: +3 +1 +4
Weapon Attack* Damage Critical
Unarmed +6
Eldritch Bolt +6 1d6+4 (50' range inc) n/a
Dagger +6 1d4-1 (10' range inc) 19-20
*Tactics of the Mind Feat taken at 2nd level
Languages: Common, Ur (language of Ur Men), Ancient, First Speech, Imperial (language of local empire)
Abilities:
High Born: +2 to Diplomacy when dealing with nobility
Aspect of Power: Eldritch Bolt
Mana Pool: 18
Primary: Illusion
Secondary: Enchantment
Tertiary: Divination
Feats:
2: Healing Mastery
1: Venom Mastery
1: Tactics of the Mind
Skill Points: 72 pts Max Ranks: 6/3
Skills Ranks Mod Misc Total
Academia 5
Base knowledge specialty: Arcana
Additional specialties: 6
Geography, History, Nature, Local (Zor), Nobility, Religion
Mysticism 6
Social 6
Theatrics 6 (+2 Diplomacy w/nobility)
Base perform: Sing
Additional Specialties: Dancing 1
Sense Motive 6 +1 7
Spot 6 +1 7
Listen 5 +1 6
Craft (Herbalism, trinkets) 4 +4 8
Craft (Alchemy, trinkets) 4 +4 8
Forgery 1 +4 5
Ride 2 +1 3
Search 3 +4 7
Swim 4 -1 3
Climb 4 -1 3
Jump 2 -1 1
Equipment:
Item Cost (gold) Weight(lbs.)
Gold circlet from Montor Roth (3 mana reserve)
Dagger 2 gp 1
Healer's Kit 50 gp 1
Courtier's Outfit 30 gp 1
Pearl necklace & 50 gp 1
Lacquer headpiece
Belt pouch 1 gp 0.5
1 day of rations 0.5gp 1
(pouch)
Waterskin 1 gp 4
364.5 gp in cash
Lgt Med Hvy Lift Push
Max Weight: 26 27-53 54-80 160 400
Age: 20
Height: 4'10"
Weight: 100#
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Skin: Dusky
LEVEL 3 CHANGES:
Base Defense increases to +2
Base Attack increases to +2
Bonus Feat: Increased to Healing Mastery 2
Mana increases to 18
Tertiary spell domain: Divination
Additional skill points: 12
+1 to Academia, Mysticism, Social, Theatrics
+1 Spot
+2 Listen
+2 Climb
+1 Swim
+1 Sense MotiveAppearance: Xoria is a petite, fine-boned woman with long black hair. Her eyes are a piercing brown, and her high cheekbones and clear skin mark her as an aristocrat. In her former life, she carried herself with an aristocratic bearing that only occasionally gave way to overt curiousity. She has carefully kept her hair in her face since taken captive by the Ur Men, and convincingly portrays a broken woman.
Background: The youngest child of Count Aurelian, Xoria was raised to survive in the cutthroat world of Zor's political life. She was trained in proper courtly etiquette, from choreographed manners to genteel and routine deception. She learned her lessons, though her heart truly belonged to scholarship. She followed in her mother's footsteps and studied the arcane arts.
It suited the House's needs to have an unmarried daughter to dangle before possible allies, and so Xoria remained unmarried to the unseemly age of 20. This hardly bothered her, as it left her free to pursue her studies without concern for the more worldy concerns her future marriage surely held.
The attack on her family was utterly unanticipated. Baron Corran could not be faulted for a lack of ambition as his band of elite assassins infiltrated the Aurelian mansion and wiped out the family and most of their servitors. Xoria was spared only because she was at the royal library, absorbed in one of her texts.
Baron Corran was aware of her whereabouts, and dispatched a group of his men-at-arms to kill her as she exited. But these were not his most loyal forces, and they saw an opportunity to turn a profit. They ambushed Xoria as she departed the library, but took her alive. She was discreetly sold to an Ur Man slaver, on condition that she immediately be taken from the city.
Since arriving at the salt mines, Xoria has taken pains not to draw attention to herself. Too weak to swing an axe or carry ore, she was tasked to carry the water bucket and tend to other odd jobs. She has concealed the fact that she speaks Ur, and has carefully accumulated as much information on her captors and fellow prisoners as she can. She has learned the names of individual guards, and as much as possible about their operations, including the storage of weapons and food and the watch shifts they take. She has tried to learn what she can about their friendships and rivalries. And she has taken careful note of her fellow prisoners, to find those who might be useful to her.
Because once, mere months ago, her role in an aristocratic family of Zor meant little to her. But that changed when she learned from other slaves arriving from Zor that her family had been annihilated. Now, her books and her alchemical laboratory seem frivolous toys. The Ur Men, for all her hate for them, are an obstacle that will be overcome. It is Baron Corran who occupies her thoughts, and she dreams of the day when she stands over his bloodied, broken corpse.
Countess Xoria Aurelian will return to Zor, and woe to any who stand in her way.
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Walking Dad
First Post
Olmar
[sblock=Level 2 increases]
Level Up HPs (1d4+8=12)
+1 Trait, +3 Con = Total new HP: 34
+5 skill points (increase all taken skills by 1)
Feat: Axe Mastery (Reduce enemy DR by 2)
Fury pool increases by 1
Saves by 1
Bab & BDB by 1
[/sblock]
[sblock=Level 3 increases]
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2674762/HP roll for level 3 (1d4+8=10)
+1 Trait, +3 Con = Total new HP: 48
+5 skill points (increase all taken skills by 1)
Fury pool increases by 1
Berserker Ability: Primal Howl
Saves by 1
Bab & BDB by 1
[/sblock]
Appearance: A big and massively build man who moves with surprising grace. He has green eyes and the night black hair and slightly red tan of his folk. He has all his teeth, but isn't particularly handsome. Maybe this is from his long unkempt hair and the beard he got in his time of slavery.
Background: A hunter in his tribe, Olmar and his fellow huntsmen cam back after a successful hunt for boartusks as they saw the smoke rising from their village. The attackers used their superior numbers and equipment to defeat them. After his village was raided, his wife killed and worse, Olmar was thrown into the mines. More intelligent than most think, he tries to keep his body in a good shape as the fury in his heart grows and he waits for an opportunity for revenge.
Code:
[FONT=Courier New][B]Name:[/B] Olmar
[B]Class:[/B] Berserker
[B]Traits:[/B] Powerful, Mountain Folk (Tough as Stone)
[B]Size:[/B] Medium
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Abilities:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New] [B]Level:[/B] 3 [B]XP:[/B] ?
[B]Str:[/B] 16 [+3]
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 [+2] [B]BAB:[/B] +3 [B]HP:[/B] 48
[B]Con:[/B] 16 [+3] [B]Grapple:[/B] +5 [B]Dmg Red:[/B] 1d4
[B]Int:[/B] 12 [+1] [B]Speed:[/B] 30' [B]Spell Res:[/B] -
[B]Wis:[/B] 14 [+2] [B]Init:[/B] +2 [B]Spell Save:[/B]
[B]Cha:[/B] 10 [+0] [B]ACP:[/B] -0 [B]Spell Fail:[/B] 0%
[/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]. [B]Base Defense Shld Dex Size Nat Misc Total[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 10 2 0 2 - - - 14
[B]Touch:[/B] 14
[B]Flatfooted:[/B] 12
SAVES:[/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
. [B]Base Abil Mod Misc Total[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] +3 +3 +6
[B]Ref:[/B] +3 +2 +5
[B]Will:[/B] +3 +2 +5
[B]Weapon Attack Damage Critical[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
Unarmed +6 1d3+5 20/X2
[B]Languages:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]Basic, Mountain Folk
[B]Abilities:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
Powerful: Count as large for grapple, bullrush... and load.
Mountain Folk (Tough as Stone): +3 HP first; +1 each other level
Fury pool (13 max)[/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
Berserker ability (Berserk Strength, Furious Strike, Primal Howl)
[B]Feats:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
1: Unarmed Combat 1 (unarmed counts as armed power weapon, also
+2 to damage and can choose between non-lethal and lethal damage)
1: Power attack 1
2: Axe Mastery 1 (-2 enemy DR when using axe or pick.)
[B]Skill Points:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New] 25pts [B]Max Ranks:[/B] 5/2
[B]Skills Ranks Mod Misc Total[/B]
Athletics 6 +3 - +9
Spot 6 +2 - +8
Listen 6 +2 - +8
Intimidate 6 +0 - +6
Survival 6 +2 - +8
[B]Equipment[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]:
Chains
Pickaxe
Item Cost (gold) Weight(lbs.)[/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
[/FONT][FONT=Courier New][B]. Lgt Med Hvy Lift Push[/B]
[B]Max Weight:[/B] 152 306 460 920 2,300
[B]Age:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New] 23
[B]Height:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
[B]Weight:[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Courier New]
[B]Eyes:[/B] Green
[B]Hair:[/B] Black
[B]Skin:[/B] light tanned[/FONT]Level Up HPs (1d4+8=12)
+1 Trait, +3 Con = Total new HP: 34
+5 skill points (increase all taken skills by 1)
Feat: Axe Mastery (Reduce enemy DR by 2)
Fury pool increases by 1
Saves by 1
Bab & BDB by 1
[/sblock]
[sblock=Level 3 increases]
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2674762/HP roll for level 3 (1d4+8=10)
+1 Trait, +3 Con = Total new HP: 48
+5 skill points (increase all taken skills by 1)
Fury pool increases by 1
Berserker Ability: Primal Howl
Saves by 1
Bab & BDB by 1
[/sblock]
Appearance: A big and massively build man who moves with surprising grace. He has green eyes and the night black hair and slightly red tan of his folk. He has all his teeth, but isn't particularly handsome. Maybe this is from his long unkempt hair and the beard he got in his time of slavery.
Background: A hunter in his tribe, Olmar and his fellow huntsmen cam back after a successful hunt for boartusks as they saw the smoke rising from their village. The attackers used their superior numbers and equipment to defeat them. After his village was raided, his wife killed and worse, Olmar was thrown into the mines. More intelligent than most think, he tries to keep his body in a good shape as the fury in his heart grows and he waits for an opportunity for revenge.
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[sblock=Vela of the East]Name: Vela
Race: Human
Class/Level: Harrier 3
Gender: Female
Exp: 0
Desc
Vela is of medium height and has a slim, athletic build for a human woman, though her loose clothes tend to hide her shape. She is an exotic beauty, with high cheekbones and a slender neck. Her skin is a deep, sundark brown; her eyes the color of liquid honey that's just been poured. Her hair is equally strange...a single long, black glossy tail from a head that is otherwise shaved bare. She is dressed in a thin, baggy tunic worn under a coarse, plain brown robe and a sort of very thin, long hooded poncho that fits over everything else but leaves her arms free to move.
Strength (STR) 14
Dexterity (DEX) 18
Constitution (CON) 14
Intelligence (INT) 12
Wisdom (WIS) 14
Charisma (CHA) 10
Alignment: Neutral Good
AC: 17 (10 + 4 Dex + 3 class)
Hit Points: 24
Roll Lookup
Movement: 30' (Combat Move: 40')
Init: +4
Base Attack Bonus: +3
Melee Attack: +5
Ranged Attack: +7
Fort: +5
Reflex: +7
Will: +5
Traits
Desert Born (+2 vs fire, +4 survival in desert, 1/2 food/water, +2 balance/tumble)
Dextrous (+2 Dex, -2 Con)
Class Abilities:
Combat Speed Bonus: +10'
Combat Mobility - +4 defense vs motion-incurred AOO, Tumble at full speed w/no penalty
Mobile Assault - +1 to attack per each sq of movement preceding
Skills:
Agility 6
- Balance +12
- Escape Artist +10
- Tumble +20
Athletics 6
- Climb +8
- Jump +8
- Swim +8
Knowledge: Geography +7 (6 ranks)
Hide +10 (6 ranks)
Move Silently +10 (6 ranks)
Listen +8 (6 ranks)
Sense Motive +8 (6 ranks)
Spot +8 (6 ranks)
Survival +8 (6 ranks)
Feats
1 Unarmed Combat (Finesse)
1 Weapon Finesse (Finesse)
2 Mobility (Defense)
Languages - Common, Imperial?
Money -
Weapons -
Unarmed, +7 to hit, 1d3+4 dmg
Armour -
Gear -
Misc and Sundry
[/sblock]
To the east, over the mountains is a sea of sand. It is said that each grain sparkles like a tiny diamond, and that at mid-day in summer the shifting ground is hot enough to burn the shoes of anyone who dares to walk upon it. Caravans with great hunchback beasts of burden cross that desolate land though, lured by the coin of trade between our people and the cruel, dissolute Empire of Jade, farther to the east even than the desert. The caravaners speak of men who live in the desert; cunning raiders who spring ambushes to slaughter and steal. Other tribes live in relative peace, finding and fortifying one of the few springs that provides precious water in the wastes, then defending it with all the tenacity of a lion guarding its kill.
Vela was born to one such tribe, hidden away in the erosion-carved caves where rocks plunged upward like broken teeth through the sand. What ancient waters, now long gone, had started and sandstorms had continued, Vela's tribesmen expanded on as they hollowed out chambers and passages from natural caverns. The water bubbles up from below to make a small underground lake suitable for washing and bathing. For drinking, tribesmen tend boiling vats constantly to ensure a constant supply. They keep to themselves, with two exceptions.
They do occasional trade with caravans, though only at some distance from their caves. They make a point of refusing all metals...never purchasing it. This is because if there is one commodity the raiders covet beyond food, water and women...it is metal to sate their constant hunger for weapons. To make up for this lack, the 'metalless' tribes learn to fight without weapon, or with simple weapons of wood only. Thus they avoid the attention of most raiders...and those that do come suffer far more greatly than they expect to. It is a way that has worked for all recorded history.
The tribe keeps its history in the form of 'books,' scribed upon the stone walls of a series of narrow passages. Each book contains the anecdotes and musings of one of the 'Wise,' tribesmen who have gone out into the world, experienced much that none others do, and survived to return. The Wise are venerated as guides and sources of great learning, even after death. They are generally referred to collectively only, as their wisdom has no owner.
Each generation, several young tribesmen are selected to leave and go out into the world, perhaps to return as one of the Wise. How many are selected, and who, is determined by the Wise present. The secret truth is that it is frequently done to prevent the tribe from outstripping its limited resources of water and food by growing too fast. Most that go out, do not return. Those that do only return many years later. Either way, the tribe's burden is lessened. It is seen as a great honor to be chosen; to be recognized as having the potential to become Wise.
Vela has been sent out. She has crossed the endless sea of sand not with a caravan, but with a map that showed the paths between sources of water...even small ones. Using this to 'leapfrog' from water to water, Vela was able to cross without needing camel or caravan. The map came to her from her father, who said he had purchased it some time ago at great cost, but would give no more specific answer.
Now, in the savage wetlands armed only with her wits and the words of the Wise, Vela seeks learning and experiences that she can one day scrawl into the stone of her own book.
Race: Human
Class/Level: Harrier 3
Gender: Female
Exp: 0
Desc
Vela is of medium height and has a slim, athletic build for a human woman, though her loose clothes tend to hide her shape. She is an exotic beauty, with high cheekbones and a slender neck. Her skin is a deep, sundark brown; her eyes the color of liquid honey that's just been poured. Her hair is equally strange...a single long, black glossy tail from a head that is otherwise shaved bare. She is dressed in a thin, baggy tunic worn under a coarse, plain brown robe and a sort of very thin, long hooded poncho that fits over everything else but leaves her arms free to move.
Strength (STR) 14
Dexterity (DEX) 18
Constitution (CON) 14
Intelligence (INT) 12
Wisdom (WIS) 14
Charisma (CHA) 10
Alignment: Neutral Good
AC: 17 (10 + 4 Dex + 3 class)
Hit Points: 24
Roll Lookup
Movement: 30' (Combat Move: 40')
Init: +4
Base Attack Bonus: +3
Melee Attack: +5
Ranged Attack: +7
Fort: +5
Reflex: +7
Will: +5
Traits
Desert Born (+2 vs fire, +4 survival in desert, 1/2 food/water, +2 balance/tumble)
Dextrous (+2 Dex, -2 Con)
Class Abilities:
Combat Speed Bonus: +10'
Combat Mobility - +4 defense vs motion-incurred AOO, Tumble at full speed w/no penalty
Mobile Assault - +1 to attack per each sq of movement preceding
Skills:
Agility 6
- Balance +12
- Escape Artist +10
- Tumble +20
Athletics 6
- Climb +8
- Jump +8
- Swim +8
Knowledge: Geography +7 (6 ranks)
Hide +10 (6 ranks)
Move Silently +10 (6 ranks)
Listen +8 (6 ranks)
Sense Motive +8 (6 ranks)
Spot +8 (6 ranks)
Survival +8 (6 ranks)
Feats
1 Unarmed Combat (Finesse)
1 Weapon Finesse (Finesse)
2 Mobility (Defense)
Languages - Common, Imperial?
Money -
Weapons -
Unarmed, +7 to hit, 1d3+4 dmg
Armour -
Gear -
Misc and Sundry
[/sblock]
To the east, over the mountains is a sea of sand. It is said that each grain sparkles like a tiny diamond, and that at mid-day in summer the shifting ground is hot enough to burn the shoes of anyone who dares to walk upon it. Caravans with great hunchback beasts of burden cross that desolate land though, lured by the coin of trade between our people and the cruel, dissolute Empire of Jade, farther to the east even than the desert. The caravaners speak of men who live in the desert; cunning raiders who spring ambushes to slaughter and steal. Other tribes live in relative peace, finding and fortifying one of the few springs that provides precious water in the wastes, then defending it with all the tenacity of a lion guarding its kill.
Vela was born to one such tribe, hidden away in the erosion-carved caves where rocks plunged upward like broken teeth through the sand. What ancient waters, now long gone, had started and sandstorms had continued, Vela's tribesmen expanded on as they hollowed out chambers and passages from natural caverns. The water bubbles up from below to make a small underground lake suitable for washing and bathing. For drinking, tribesmen tend boiling vats constantly to ensure a constant supply. They keep to themselves, with two exceptions.
They do occasional trade with caravans, though only at some distance from their caves. They make a point of refusing all metals...never purchasing it. This is because if there is one commodity the raiders covet beyond food, water and women...it is metal to sate their constant hunger for weapons. To make up for this lack, the 'metalless' tribes learn to fight without weapon, or with simple weapons of wood only. Thus they avoid the attention of most raiders...and those that do come suffer far more greatly than they expect to. It is a way that has worked for all recorded history.
The tribe keeps its history in the form of 'books,' scribed upon the stone walls of a series of narrow passages. Each book contains the anecdotes and musings of one of the 'Wise,' tribesmen who have gone out into the world, experienced much that none others do, and survived to return. The Wise are venerated as guides and sources of great learning, even after death. They are generally referred to collectively only, as their wisdom has no owner.
Each generation, several young tribesmen are selected to leave and go out into the world, perhaps to return as one of the Wise. How many are selected, and who, is determined by the Wise present. The secret truth is that it is frequently done to prevent the tribe from outstripping its limited resources of water and food by growing too fast. Most that go out, do not return. Those that do only return many years later. Either way, the tribe's burden is lessened. It is seen as a great honor to be chosen; to be recognized as having the potential to become Wise.
Vela has been sent out. She has crossed the endless sea of sand not with a caravan, but with a map that showed the paths between sources of water...even small ones. Using this to 'leapfrog' from water to water, Vela was able to cross without needing camel or caravan. The map came to her from her father, who said he had purchased it some time ago at great cost, but would give no more specific answer.
Now, in the savage wetlands armed only with her wits and the words of the Wise, Vela seeks learning and experiences that she can one day scrawl into the stone of her own book.
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