Melech ben Hurai
Middle-aged male human (Israelite) Ranger 4
Hit Dice: 4d8 + 8 (32 hp)
Str 12 (13 - 1 (age))
Dex 14 (15 - 1 (age))
Con 14 (15 - 1 (age))
Int 12 (11 + 1 (age))
Wis 16 (14 + 1 (age) + 1 (level))
Cha 12 (11 - 1 (age))
Attack: +7 ranged masterwork mighty (+1) composite longbow 1d8 + 1, +5 melee handaxe 1d6 + 1
Init: +2
AC: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 studded leather cloak), flat-footed 12, touch 12
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +4
Skills: Diplomacy +6 (5 ranks), Handle Animal +6 (5 ranks), Heal +6 (3 ranks), Hide +8 (5 ranks), Knowledge (dreams) +2 (1 rank crossclass), Knowledge (nature) +2 (1 rank), Knowledge (religion) +8 (7 ranks), Listen +7 (4 ranks), Move Silently +8 (5 ranks), Profession (hunter) +10 (7 ranks), Spot +8 (5 ranks), Survival +10 (7 ranks)
Languages: Hebrew
Flaw: World weary
Feats: Track*, Versatile (Knowledge (religion) and Diplomacy), Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot*, Endurance*, Dreamer, Improved Animal Companion*
* = bonus ranger feat or fighting style
Special Abilities: Favoured enemy (animals +2), Favoured Terrain (desert), Wild Empathy +5, Animal Companion (Paqad, hyena - I'll post a stat block later)
Equipment: Masterwork mighty composite (+1 Str) longbow, 60 arrows, hand axe, skinning knife, snares, studded leather cloak, healer's kit, camping and wilderness survival gear (incl small tent, waterskins, blankets, flint & steel, cookpot, etc), desert travelling garments, lionskin cloak.
(The bow might be a bit much, but I assumed since hunting is his only livelihood he would have made sure the tools of his trade were as good as possible. Feel free to disallow it if it's over the top)
In bondage in Egypt, Melech's family laboured to make the mud bricks that went to build Pharaoh's great buildings and monuments. Throughout the tribe of Asher they were renowned for their size and strength, a great boon in such a physically demanding job. Melech, however, grew slight and wiry, without the towering strength of his elder brothers Joel and Eleazar.
Continually surpassed by the might of his brothers and cousins, Melech took to spending more and more time in the wilderness. Over time, by listening to the herdsmen and the trappers, he taught himself to hunt, and soon began to support himself through the pelts he brought home rather then the bricks that he made. Hurai was displeased at this development, and when the time came to divide his possessions amongst, he granted Joel and Eleazar the lion's share. Melech was left to support himself and his young family with little more than his bow and his knowledge of the wilderness.
Melech's wife, Naarah, was disappointed at this - she had married into Melech's family in the hope her children would inherit a respected living in the brickmills when they came of age. She considered divorce, but the couple had two young children, Sarai and Shimon, and she did not want to endanger their future further, Somewhat chastened by the impact that his choices had had on his children's prospects, Melech took great care to see they recieved a proper education in matters both religious and practical. But he still had to put food on the table, and so he spent many long days in the wastes, hunting predators that had attacked Israelite herds and taking pelts to sell.
Sarai married a tailor's son, who Melech met while selling furs, at age 15. Melech found Shimon a position in his old family brickyards, but Shimon resented being a mere labourer for his more prosperous cousins, and eventually bought a spear and shield and became a guardsman and soldier. He married late, to the daughter of a smith whose fondness for wine had diminished his fortunes. Shimon made no secret of blaming his father for his humble circumstances, and, bone-weary of his son's anger and his wife's distance, Melech took to spending more time in the wilderness again. Having spent much of his life roaming them, the wastes held few of the superstitious fears for Melech as they did for most, but this time even he felt as if something unusual was happening.
The occasional strange, unsettling dream he dismissed as the result of regrets and advancing age, but the hyena was a different matter. A big, powerful, heavy-jawed male, it trotted fearlessly up to Melech as he pitched his tent in the desert, and lay down at his feet. In the following days it flushed his quarry, shared his fire and devoured the skinned carcasses he left behind. It even followed him back to the settlement, ignored the skittish herds completely, and guarded his door. Melech's neighbours were deeply suspicious of the strangely-behaved carrion-eater that travelled with the ragged, weatherbeaten hunter, and suspected sorcery or worse. Despite their demands, Melech refused to slay or drive off the beast, suspecting it to be an omen or sign. He named it Paqad, meaning visitor. Relations between Melech and his neighbours deteriorated, and he and Naarah found themselves shunned.
This state of affairs lasted nearly a year before greater events intervened. Moses called down the ten plagues, and the Israelites departed Egypt. Knowledgable wilderness guides were suddenly at a premium, and Melech found himself (barely) tolerated once again. So it continued until Moses climbed Mount Sinai. That night, in his lonely tent on the far-flung edge of the camp, Melech dreamed - the most vivid dream he had ever had. He dreamed of [insert DM's description here], and somehow knew that it was a command from the Lord, that he must [insert DMs desired campaign direction here].
Melech awoke, drained and aching already, just as the call went around for jewellery to be smelted into the golden calf. He had thought he had done enough. Sacrifice to your God, raise your family, teach your son, support your wife, see your daughter well married. And in return? Watch your son grow up to sneer at you, venture out to crack your bones and tear your muscles in the wilderness year after year, accept the filty stares of your neighbours, and learn to ignore the way they fearfully hustle their children aside as you pass by.
And now, yet another burden had been laid upon him. The path of those called by the Lord was rarely a smooth one, he knew. He gathered his bow, stretched long and painfully, and stepped forward, Paqad loping at his heels.
Paqad - Hyena
Medium Magical Beast (augmented animal)
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (18 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+3 Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +3*, Listen +6, Spot +4
Feats: Alertness
Trip (Ex): A hyena that hits with its bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+2 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the hyena.
Skills: *Hyenas have a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks in areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth.
Tricks: Paqad knows the tricks Attack, Defend, Down, Heel, Guard, Come and Stay
Link (Ex): Melech can handle Paqad as a free action, or push him as a move action. Melech gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding Paqad.
Share Spells (Ex): At Melech's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts upon himself also affect Paqad. Paqad must be within 5 feet of him at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting Paqad if he moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect him again, even if he returns to the druid before the duration expires.