Felix Stauf
Alright, final draft of my character. Bear in mind that these are not all his base stats, many of them are written in the current state that they are in. All that that really means is that I wrote his land speed to include encumberment penalties. As he changes (gains items and such), I will post an updated stat page in a subsequent post, to be updated as needed. This will remain the same, however, to serve as a point of reference.
[sblock]Felix Stauf
Stats
Human Gestalt Harbinger 3/Hexblade 3
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice: 3d10+6 (31 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) [30 ft. Base]
Armor Class: 16 (+2 Dex, +4 masterwork chain shirt), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+6
Attack: Large masterwork executioner's mace +5 melee (3d6+4/x3) or kukri +6 melee (1d4+3/18-20) or masterwork mighty +3 composite longbow +4 ranged (1d8+3/x3)
Full Attack: Large masterwork executioner's mace +5 melee (3d6+4/x3) or kukri +6 melee (1d4+3/18-20) or masterwork mighty +3 composite longbow +4 ranged (1d8+3/x3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Bardic music 3/day (countersong, encourage failure, fascinate, instill fear -1), Hexblade's curse 1/day
Special Qualities: Arcane resistance, bardic knowledge, ignore arcane failure from light armor, mettle
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 18
Skill Ranks: Bluff 6, Concentrate 6, Diplomacy 4, Gather Information 2, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Knowledge (religion) 4, Perform (sing) 6, Speak Language 3, Sense Motive 2, Spellcraft 6, Use Magic Device 6
Feats: Ability Focus (Bardic Music), Monkey Grip, Power Attack
Alignment: Neutral
Equipment: Traveler's outfit, masterwork chain shirt, large masterwork executioner's mace, kukri, masterwork mighty +3 composite longbow, 40 serpentstongue arrows, 2 spiked guantlets, spell component pouch, backpack, belt pouch, waterskin, bedroll, sack, dirge mask, flint & steel, whetstone, crowbar, bullseye lantern, 5 pints of oil, 2 days of trail rations
Coins: 105 platinum coins, 7 gold coins, 2 silver coins, 8 copper coins
Weight Carried: 96.5 lbs.
Weight Capacities: Light – 0-76 lbs. Medium – 77-153 lbs. Heavy – 154-230 lbs.
Spells:
Level 0: detect magic, light, lullaby, mage hand, read magic, resistance
Level 1: charm person, expeditious retreat, feather fall
Languages: Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon
Equipment Details
Weapons:
Large Masterwork Executioner's Mace: Felix named this weapon Anathema, in memory of the role it took in the killing of his mother. For Felix, it has come to symbolize his tragic luck and his wicked life. It once belonged to his father. This particular executioner's mace is designed to be as intimidating as possible. The overall appearance and design of the mace exaggerates the weapon's brutality with jagged blades, massive size, and an overall lack of elegance. The mace's head is shaped as a cylinder, with the head being noticeably thicker than the haft of the weapon. The base of the weapon quickly tapers into the haft. The entire head is covered in fairly flat pyramid-shaped studs, and on one side of the mace there is a long, saw-toothed axe head (the saw teeth curve downward, in order to preserve the cutting power of the blade). The axe blade does not extend outward particularly far, but it runs along the entire mace head, tapering off into a wicked-looking point a few inches past the base of the mace head. It resembles an elongated, jagged headsman's axe. Opposite the axe head on the mace, the studs are replaced by a row of five similarly saw-toothed spikes. The spikes resemble jagged daggers, extending outward about as far as the axe head, and are designed to rip and tear at flesh as they are pulled out. The weapon can be swung to use either side. After obtaining the mace, Felix went to a master engraver to engrave the weapon's new name upon the axe blade. Engraved along the left side of the axe blade, written in Infernal, is the weapon's name, Anathema. Engraved along the right side of the axe blade, written in Celestial, is the name Carmina. Because of this, the weapon's name could be interpreted as either, but Felix currently considers the weapon's name to be Anathema. When he finds whatever he is looking for and somehow redeems himself, if he ever does, he will change the weapon's name to Carmina, in honor of his mother's memory.
Armor:
Chain Shirt: Felix's chain shirt is made of a black alloy, with a slight dark red sheen to it. Felix requested that the sheen be added to the armor, in memory of his mother; the red taint to the metal represents the blood of his mother, staining and tainting every aspect of his life. He wears the chain shirt underneath his outer clothing.
Items:
Dirge Mask: Felix usually wears a black mask over his face, in order to remain harder to identify. The mask is made of stiffened black cloth reinforced with a thin sheet of metal, and it is worn around his neck, resting on his shoulders. The mask encircles his entire neck, and it extends upward to cover his mouth and the lower half of his face, ending at the bottom of his nose. Around where his mouth should be, a simple, red jagged line extends around the mask, resembling a crude, tooth-filled mouth. The jagged red mouth serves to remind Felix of the evil powers housed within his body, and that his every breath carries a curse, whether he intends it or not. Many find the mask unnerving or even frightening, making Felix appear to be considerably more intimidating whilst wearing the mask. The mask covers his mouth, but due to the reinforcing of the mask with a thin sheet of rare, resonant metal, his voice is given a slightly eerie echoing quality, enhancing the effectiveness of his haunting melodies.
Appearance And Personal Info
Age: 18
Height: 5' 9".
Weight: 150 lbs.
Skin: Fair.
Hair: Rough black hair, about shoulder length. Never ties hair back, it's kept down to partially obscure his face; this decreases the chance of somebody remembering his face.
Eyes: Golden yellow. Under most circumstances, his eyes would be considered attractive, but they have a quality about them that seems a little more unnerving than pretty. However, he can force a smile and suppress this slightly sinister trait.
Clothing: Wears a simple black cloak with loose grey pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. The clothing is designed to be unremarkable, unlikely to make any impression in the minds of those who see him.
Personality: Felix is fairly introspective, but he will speak his mind when he feels compelled to do so. He tends to have a pessimistic outlook on his life, believing his to be a cursed existence. Occasionally, he displays a slightly fatalistic attitude, or lapses into self-pity and self-hatred. He believes his very existence to be a scar on the world, and is determined to redeem himself and prove his worth by any means necessary. Most people are a little put-off by his dark outlook on life, hopeless attitude, but he is very polite and can usually overcome these traits with his natural skills in language and speech.
Musical Style: Felix is an incredibly talented singer, with a smooth, soft voice that most find quite soothing. He learned how to sing from his mother and practiced throughout his life, even after the death of his mother. Nowadays, his lyrics tend to be extremely melancholy, but well done nonetheless. Although his music might not be cheerful, he can send entire crowds into a hushed silence with his moving lyrics of grief and despair. Some of his songs have the capability to shock and frighten his enemies, especially when enhanced with his innate magical talents.
Family: Father, Sal, and mother, Carmina; both deceased.
Background And History
A child was born to Sal and Carmina Stauf in a town by the name of Riverhead. From his infancy onward, he knew the trials and tribulations of war. With the nearby cities occupied by the legions of the Dragon Lords, the little town was left completely defenseless. With daily patrols hauling off followers of the Elder Gods and the Dragon Lords alike, the town lapsed into chaos. Murder was commonplace, theft was a daily issue, and one could not even trust their closest friends. The child's name was Felix. Felix was born into anarchy.
As a child, Felix had no friends. The other children though that he was a jinx, a freak, someone to be avoided, or in some cases, hurt. Bad luck seemed to follow him wherever he went, like a continuous black cloud affecting him and others around him. Felix though that he was just unlucky – he had no idea that this bout of bad luck was the first sign of his special gift, and his special curse, of which he would learn the true severity of later on in his life. Nobody wished to associate with him, save his mother.
Carmina was a kind woman, with a lovely smile and a beautiful voice. She always sang to Felix whenever he cried, whenever he was hurt, whenever he was scared. He always calmed down whenever he heard her soothing melodies of hope, of better times on the horizon. She even taught Felix to sing for himself, in case she wasn't around to comfort him. Felix loved his mother with all of his heart – she was his mother, she was his best and only friend.
But his father, Sal, was a cruel man. He sold out his friends to whatever side seemed closer to victory, stole what he saw fit, and silenced any who challenged his methods. What truly made Felix hate his father, though, was that Sal hurt Carmina on several occasions. Whenever Sal caught Carmina apologizing to others for his actions or attempting to return something that he stole, Sal would hurt her very badly. Felix was just a child, he had no idea what was going on. All he saw was his mother's pain, and all he felt was anger and grief.
This continued on through Felix's childhood, despite him secretly urging his mother to leave town, to take him with her, and leave his father behind. But she couldn't go. It's not that she feared for her life, it was that she didn't want Felix to be left alone or come to harm. Both Sal and the town of Riverhead became more violent and cruel, more unpredictable and dangerous. But they adjusted, as they always had.
Felix became a young man, and his powers developed and grew. Felix began to realize that he had a special gift, something more than just a black cloud following him wherever he went. He found that he could control this force, if he truly focused. If he tried, he could direct his bad luck towards others, instead of it lashing out at him and everyone around him. Not only that, but he found that he could summon up other strange powers – he could move small objects with a flick of the wrist, he could change the temperature slightly, along with other minor things. But he recognized the potential of these powers – they grew every day. As much as he hated to, he kept this from his mother, fearing that she would be frightened by his power. He became obsessed with his new power, realizing it for what he truly believed it was – the one weapon he had against his father. He failed to realize the level of his power until it was too late. He didn't realize it until that fateful Autumn night, one week after his fourteenth birthday.
Felix was returning home from his daily wanderings, pocket lined with the few coins he had managed to earn during the day. He sighted his family's hut, and he sighed with relief, looking forward to a night's rest. It was then that he heard the scream. His mother's scream. He had heard that scream before, and it always made him go cold. But this time, something was different. Something was very wrong. Felix ran. He ran until he reached the door, only to find it locked. Not even thinking, he tried to kick down the door, but it didn't budge. In his panic, he called up some of his new power, and he kicked the door again. The door made a cracking sound and flew open, revealing a sight that threw Felix into a panic – his mother, face bleeding, on the floor before his father. He looked to his father, and saw a weapon in his hand – his father's mace. Felix lost control. All of his hatred, all of his loathing, all of his feelings for his father welled up inside him, and it's as if Felix merely watched his hand raise on its own accord, merely listened as his mouth uttered a word of a foreign tongue. It was then that he realized that he didn't have complete control anymore.
Sal advanced on Felix, face contorted with rage, and then Felix's powers manifested. His father's legs suddenly buckled, and he fell to the floor. The mace left his hands and clattered to the floor in front of Felix, seeming to offer itself to him. Offering him a solution, offering him justice. Without thinking, Felix grabbed the mace with both hands, and as he felt the cool steel of the mace's head, he watched as his father rose to his feat, blind with fury, and charged him. Felix made his choice. Drawing from an unknown well of strength, he swung the weapon at his father's head. It all happened so fast. The mace's blunt face connected, and his father stopped, filled with disbelief at the blood gushing from his mangled face. Felix swung again. The mace made another dull thud as it connected with the other side of Sal's head, sending him sprawling. Sal scrambled on the ground, and somehow stood up. He stared at his son in disbelief. Felix began to swing again. He felt that power rise within him again, that same feeling that he had a few minutes before, when words sprang to his lips unbidden. He knew something terrible was about to happen, and he tried to stop. He tried, he truly did. The mace connected with his father's head again, and he watched as the blood-slicked mace shattered his father's skull, forever destroying that hateful, leering face that caused his mother so much pain. The mace slipped from Felix's grasp. It flew across the room. Frozen in place, frozen in time, Felix watched as the terrible powers inside of him finally showed themselves for what they truly were. The mace seemed to slowly drift across the room, towards his mother, the only person who had ever loved him. His mother's scream stopped, and Felix's began.
Felix ran. He ran, he didn't care anymore. He looked down, hardly noticing that he had picked up the mace in his panic and sorrow. He felt bad about running, but he had to do something. He ran through the city, dripping blood, ignoring the shocked faces around him. Felix snatched a length of rope from a stall, and ran for the river. He hastily tied a knot around the weapon in his hands, the weapon that ended all of the love and hate in his life. Still running, not thinking, in a frenzy of light and motion, he tied the rope to his neck. He ran to the bridge, high above the swift river. He threw himself from the edge, not yelling, not screaming, not feeling at all.
Days later, Felix woke up on a riverbank with a broken rope around his neck. He looked beside him, and saw his father's mace. At that point, he realized his punishment for his deeds, his birth, his very existence – he would live.
Years passed, and Felix wandered. He felt the pain from the magical forces of the world being torn apart, but he endured. He fought countless fights, but he endured. He earned money wherever he could, never staying in one place for long, never growing attached to anything. And he endured. He still carried the mace, which he named Anathema, as a reminder of his curse. He continued to sing, even if nobody listened. It was all he had to remember his mother by. He had to fight to survive sometimes, when others thought that they could take advantage of him. His powers grew, both in mind and body. He detested his powers, but he trained them nonetheless. In order to live, he had to fight. In order to fight, he had to grow stronger.
Felix carried a curse, a penance placed upon him by his very birth and his every deed – he was to live, and he was to redeem himself by any means possible. He would honor his mother's memory, he would make her proud, wherever she was. As soon as he found a cause worth fighting for, something his mother would be proud of, he would fight to the death for it. Felix knew that he could never atone for the evil dwelling within his soul, nor could he atone for the tragic happenings that fateful Autumn night. But he could try. Such was his fate.[/sblock]
OK, and as for an explanation of unusual equipment that he has that I have yet to explain...
Serpentstongue Arrows are from Races Of The Wild, and the only difference is that they are wide-headed arrows that do Piercing and Slashing damage (both at once) and they do full damage to objects with a hardness of 5 or less (as opposed to 1/2). They cost three times as much as normal arrows and they weigh the same.
The Dirge Mask is a combination of two masterwork tools, one for Perform (sing), and one for Intimidate, giving a +2 bonus to each. The mask weighs 2 lbs., and it costs 200 gp (the weight and cost of two masterwork tools). Intimidate is an important skill for Felix, and it just isn't fair that all of the instrument-based Perform skills have masterwork instruments, but Perform (sing) doesn't.
FreeXenon, if you have any issues at all with my equipment (game imbalances, flavor issues, etc.), please let me know in the OOC thread; I really want to know, and I will fix any problems as soon as I am able.
A quick and handy reference point for most of the non-core rules provided here (without having to buy all the books) is at
http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/index.php. Just follow the appropriate links for PDFs whatever you want to see (all you'll really need to look at are Feats, Base Classes, and Equipment). It's fairly accurate, the only major error I found was that the Hexblade was listed as having a good Fort save, an easy mistake to make. Other than that, it's pretty accurate, and yes, it is legal.
Oh, and Blackroot, I think it might be a good idea if you convert your gold pieces to platinum pieces, in the interest of avoiding 50 lbs. or so of encumberment.
