Kjaer Half-hand
Male Dwarf Druid 1, Neutral Good
Attributes
STR 12 (+1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 12 (+1)
INT 12 (+1)
WIS 16 (+3)
CHA 10 (+0)
Combat
HP 9
AC 13 (+2 leather armor, +1 DEX)
BAB +0
Size Medium
Speed 20ft.
Initative +5 (+4 Improved Initative, +1 DEX)
Melee Attack
+1 longspear 1d8+1 x3 Reach
+1 dagger 1d4+1 19-20/x2
Ranged Attack
+1 sling 1d4 x2 50ft.
Saves
Fort +3 (+2 base, +1 CON)
Ref +1 (+0 base, +1 DEX)
Will +5 (+2 base, +3 WIS)
Special Abilities
Racial
Darkvision (60ft.), Stonecunning, Weapon Familiarity: Dwarven Urgrosh & Dwarven Waraxe, Stability, +2 on saves vs. poison, +2 on saves vs. spells and spell-like effects, +1 on attack rolls vs. orcs and goblinoids, +4 dodge bonus vs. giants, +2 on Appraise checks dealing with stone or metal items, +2 on Craft checks related to stone or metal
Class
Animal Companion (
Dog, Link, Share Spells, Tricks: Attack (including undead and abberations), Fetch, Seek, Stay, Track, Heel), Nature Sense, Wild Empathy
Skills
Concentration +3 (+2 ranks, +1 CON), Craft (Stonework) +3 (+2 ranks, +1 INT), Handle Animal +4 (+4 ranks, +0 CHA), Knowledge (Nature) +5 (+2 ranks, +1 INT, +2 Nature Sense), Listen +5 (+2 ranks, +3 WIS), Spot +7 (+4 ranks, +3 WIS), Survival +9 (+4 ranks, +3 WIS, +2 Nature Sense)
Feats
Improved Initative
Spells
Spell Points 3
Prepared Spells 0th -- Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, 1st -- Omen of Peril (from Complete Divine), Produce Flame
Equipment
Longspear, Leather Armor, Sling, Sling Bullets (x100), Dagger, Backpack, Artisan's Tools, Spell Component Pouch, Explorer's Outfit, Hemp Rope (50ft.), 9gp
Description
Kjaer stands just over four feet tall, broad of shoulder with a proud swell of belly. His hair, the ruddy red glow of autumn, piles across his back in knotty tangles, blending easily with an equally unruly beard and mustachio. Deep crows feet sit the corners of a coal black and cunning gaze. His dress is roughspun and patched -- a deep brown tunic with three black dogs sewn just below the collarbone, thick canvas pants, hard boots, and a volumous black cloak with a deep hood.
A shaggy gray dog with eyes the color of honey is never far from the dwarf.
Background
Early and often in life Kjaer, son of Kjorn could be found rolling and wrestling with the Kennelmaster's hounds, and the hard-edged admonishment provided by the mother, Anid, was a common sound to follow. Much to the shegrin of poor Anid, the fleas Kjaer welcomed into hearth and hair were not the only troubles the boy dwarf would bring home. Rarely did Kjaer return to his familial hall dripping not mud from studying the cave fish found in Blackwater Lake, or without a putrid smelling sack of rare, but pungent, fungus.
Yet it could not be denied that the boy had a gift. Kennelmaster Magrin, his voice the braying of a cur itself, oftentimes called on Kjaer to quiet a particularly disruptive hound, and when a very difficult to find plant was needed for a salve or compress, it was Kjaer who came through. Kjaer did not, however, stare in awe of the great forges and foundries Lord Tetrax's vast armories required. Nor was he captivated by gems or shining things. Kjaer was content to wrestle the dogs and watch the fish.
Magrin was found dead a cold winter morning, stark in the harsh light painted on the floor by a window slit in the kennels. Kjaer retched at his daily companions throat being torn in such a way, the head at such an angle. A hulking gray dog was pacing the bars, a tell-tale cage left open, snapping at the other dogs.
Kjaer, nearly a man grown, was named the new Kennelmaster. There was simply no one else. Magrin had no apprentice, being a scant few hundred years old. "Put the snarling thing to the axe," Lord Tetrax decreed that afternoon after the ceremonial entitlement had passed.
And so it was the boy who inherited his mother's red hair and his father's dark eyes lost three fingers to the gray beast, earning the name Half-hand.
But it was not put down. Instead Kjaer took the shaggy gray dog as a companion, naming it Rejix, a dwarven word for "trust".
"You are the Kennelmaster," boomed Lord Tetrax, upon finding his command disobeyed, "I hope you retain the rest of your hand."
