Insight's Dark Sun: Burning Sands Campaign - Character Roster

DARK SUN: BURNING SANDS
CHARACTER ROSTER

In-Character Thread 1
OOC Thread

***

Please post your characters and keep them updated when you gain equipment, level, that sort of thing. I'll be using thread as a basis for resolving combat and the like. The posts below will be considered the "official" versions.

XP AWARDS
Encounter One: The Sandstorm: 250xp (all)

LOOT AWARDS
Encounter One: The Sandstorm: None

Zimno, Last of the Winterfell (and Mystic Icebox)
Eladrin Wilder Swordmage 1

Appearance & Personality
Zimno is tall and gaunt, and unnaturally pale in a world of dark tans. His remaining clothes that have not been taken by his masters are furs of a white animal about his waste. The eladrin has striking blue eyes, filled with coldness and dispassion, his hair a tangle of what may have been white once. His is almost always chained and blindfolded within the camps of his masters.

Zimno has hardly spoken any words to those in the camps, the few that have seen him. Stories speak of his chilling threats to his captors, of his constant, frigid rage. Tales circulate that he has killed no less than four guards, but his value seems to outweigh this loss.

Background

Zimno comes from a lost city from the Lands of Winds, a place only the most learned scholars know as the Winterfell. A bastion of civilization in a dying realm, its spires of black ice were as unforgiving as beautiful. The eladrin of Winterfell defended it with zeal; their battleminds and psions killing any that may pass near the secluded interplanar fortress.

But Winterfell was dying. Defiling magic was slowly eating away at its foundations. Generation by generation, glacial homesteads would vanish into nothing, none hearing from those that lived there again.

Zimno was a promising battlemind student, but he felt his training was not enough. He needed to stop what was going on. And to do that, he felt he needed to understand the enemy. In forbidden tomes and frozen tablets, he found the stances, the positions, and the way of the sword mage. Over years, he slowly mastered the taboo arcane art, it somehow tainting his fledging mastery of the Way until it was but a thin thread, only reachable in anger. But anger he had, for Winterfell's deterioration was worse every year.

Winterfell's destruction came at the instigation of a sorcerer-king obsessed with its secrets; Zimno never did identify the Templars that awaited the planar junction. Psionic power and arcane arts filled the frozen halls, dark eladrin blood freezing as it was spilt.

It was then Zimno attempted to save his city. Using a ritual from the most forbidden text, he channeled power into his frozen arts. First, it seemed as if it was working as templar after templar fell. But with each arcane strike, more and more of Winterfell melted and collapsed around him. Zimno, however, was blind to it, the battle-lust fueled by his defiling arts sustaining him.

Mid-battle, Winterfell collapsed. One moment, he was in the Great Hall of Sighing Snowflakes, fighting a templar in white, Zimno's fellows looking horrified as what he had become. And then... the desert. Hot. Unforgiving. Alone.

A lesser man would have died. But Zimno endured, his rage chilling him to the heat. Rage at the templars. Rage at his compatriots for their cries of betrayal. Rage at everything and anything. He had done what needed to be done and would do it again.

Weak, Zimno was easy fodder for a band of slavers. They thought the pale eladrin easy prey, but he escape again and again. It took 23 attempts and the death of a quarter of the caravan before someone put a blindfold on him, preventing his "miraculous" escapes. Four more perished before they kept him bound, for even unarmed, his arts were a danger.

He was sold Njeer, for they knew his true worth. As a result of his arcane training, Zimno radiates a faint aura of cold even when not attacking with shards of ice. The auara is not enough to harm, but, in a dark room, meats and fruits keep without salting longer. So, in a dark chamber not large enough to stand in, a shackled, blinded eladrin sits, cooling the food and planning revenge.

Hooks
- Did any of Winterfell survive? What do then think of Zimno?
- Who was the sorcerer-king that sent the templars? Does he still seek Zimno and others from Winterfell?
- Will Zimno temper his rage and seek a perserver path, and do what has to be done and turn even more to defiling?[sblock=CB]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Zimno, level 1
Eladrin, Swordmage
Swordmage Aegis: Aegis of Assault
Background: Eladrin - Estranged Fey (+2 to Endurance)
Theme: Wilder

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 12, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8.


AC: 14 Fort: 13 Reflex: 14 Will: 14
HP: 31 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +6, Arcana +11, Athletics +6, Intimidate +4, Endurance +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +1, Heal +1, History +6, Insight +1, Nature +1, Perception +1, Religion +4, Stealth +1, Streetwise -1, Thievery +1

FEATS
Level 1: Intelligent Blademaster

POWERS
Swordmage at-will 1: Frigid Blade
Swordmage at-will 1: Sword Burst
Swordmage encounter 1: Chilling Blow
Swordmage daily 1: Frost Backlash
Wilder encounter 1: Psychic Surge

====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======[/sblock]

[sblock=Kesh, the Elven Monk]Kesh Dunestrider
Elf Wilder, Iron Soul Monk
Background: Wanderer
Level 1
HP: 28 (bloodied 14)

STR 10
CON 16 (+3)
DEX 18 (+4)
INT 10
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 10

AC: 18 (+1 when wielding a weapon)
Fort: 14
Ref: 15
Will: 13

[sblock=Defenses: Show Your Work!]
AC equation: Baseline (10) + Dex (4) + Unarmed Agility, feat (2) + Unarmed Combatant (2) + Mental Arsenal, shield (1) + Enhancement (0) + 1/2 Level (0)

Fort equation: Baseline (10) + Con (3) + Monk Class Bonus (1) + Enhancement (0) + 1/2 Level (0)

Ref equation: Baseline (10) + Dex (4) + Monk Class Bonus (1) + Enhancement (0) + 1/2 Level (0)

Will equation: Baseline (10) + Wis (2) + Monk Class Bonus (1) + Enhancement (0) + 1/2 Level (0)
[/sblock]

Trained Skills: Endurance, Stealth, Acrobatics, Perception (+4)
Other Skill bonuses: Nature (+2)
Initiative: +4
Healing surges: 10 (value: 7)

[sblock=Feats]
1. Unarmored Agility[/sblock]

Attack bonus: 4

Damage bonus: 4

[sblock=Attack/Damage Bonuses: Show Your Work!]
Attack equation: 1/2 Level (0) + Dex (4) + Enhancement (0)
Damage equation: Dex (4) + Enhancement (0)[/sblock]

[sblock=ABILITIES]

At-Will
Iron Soul Flurry of Blows
Lion’s Den
Dragon’s Tail

Encounter
Psychic Surge
Open the Gate of Battle

Daily
Stunning Palm

Utility
Elven Accuracy

Features
Mental Arsenal (+1 to AC when wielding a weapon)
Unarmored Defense (+2 AC)
Background Benefit: Wanderer +2 to Perception[/sblock]

[sblock=Equipment]
Clothes[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Kesh's Tale]
Kesh was born to the chief hunter of the nomadic Dunestrider tribe of the Tablelands. He grew up quickly, honing his psionic fighting skills against the beasts of the desert. One year ago, Kesh returned from his hunting duties to find his tribe nearly wiped out, crushed in the wake of one of the Tyrian nobility’s private armies. Kesh tracked the army from the Tablelands to the Ivory Triangle, barely surviving, doggedly pursuing those that slew his kin.

When the army set up camp two days outside of Gulg, Kesh crept among the tents, preparing to strike at the commander of the force, believing himself the dispenser of vengeance. He slipped into the officers’ tent while they slept, and he raised his jagged hunting knife over the bearded human’s heart. The dreaming officer, in the throes of homesickness, muttered a woman’s name. In this moment, the soldier displayed a heavy enough shred of humanity that Kesh knew doubt. His fingers slipped, and the knife tumbled out of his hands.

Kesh still doesn’t know whether he would have killed the officer. If he’d had another moment to steel himself, perhaps he could have. Perhaps, though, he would have forgiven the leader of this force – the man with a family of his own.

The knife clattered to the floor. The officers sprang from their bed and subdued Kesh. He was sold to a gang of bandits in exchange for safe passage through the Ivory Triangle. Since then, he has been passed along from master to master, finally finding his place in the salt mines, toiling away, preparing for his chance to flee.

Kesh will one day escape from his accursed masters. He will again feel the sand of the Tablelands under his feet, and perhaps he will form a new tribe. But first, he must know. He must find the officer again and stand face to face with him. He must make the choice – vengeance or mercy?

Kesh is completely possessed by his obsession with the Tyrian officer. All of his dreams, all of his hopes, are predicated on his ultimate confrontation with him.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Kesh Quick Reference]
HP: 28/28 Surges: 10/10
AC: 18 Fort: 14 Ref: 15 Will: 13
[sblock=Powers]
Iron Soul Flurry of Blows
Dragon's Tail
Lion's Den

Psychic Surge
Open the Gates of Battle


Stunning Palm

Body Equilibrium
Elven Accuracy[/sblock][/sblock]

Brandis, human sorcerer-king pact warlock (templar)

[sblock=character sheet]
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Brandis, level 1
Human, Warlock
Build: Deceptive Warlock
Eldritch Blast: Eldritch Blast Charisma
Eldritch Pact: Sorcerer-King Pact
Background: Society - Noble (Diplomacy class skill)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 9, Cha 18.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 9, Cha 16.


AC: 15 Fort: 12 Reflex: 15 Will: 16
HP: 25 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 6

TRAINED SKILLS
Insight +4, Intimidate +9, Diplomacy +9, Bluff +9, Arcana +8

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics, Dungeoneering -1, Endurance +1, Heal -1, History +3, Nature -1, Perception -1, Religion +3, Stealth, Streetwise +4, Thievery, Athletics

FEATS
Human: Killing Curse
Level 1: Mindbite Scorn

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Hand of Blight
Eldritch Blast: Eldritch Blast
Power User Choice: Templar's Fist
Warlock encounter 1: Cruel Bounty
Warlock daily 1: Curse of the Dark Dream

ITEMS
Leather Armor, Adventurer's Kit, Rod Implement
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
[/sblock]
[sblock=background]
Brandis was his name. Not long ago he could have claimed membership in one of the great Houses of Balic. Not long ago he was a newly-elected templar in Androponis' service. Perhaps with a little more compassion for the common man than was healthy, but the Sorcerer-King had been of a mind to indulge the people for a time by allowing him to hold office.

When Darian Haraxes' men had come for him he'd claimed it had just been a matter of ignoring some smuggling for the favors of a pretty merchant girl. Templars in every city on Athas did that sort of thing all the time, even if that was a bit against his reputation. He'd kept up with that story right up to the time they decided that his family was not so important as that, and he could be tortured after all. Actually a bit beyond that; he'd kept silent until they actually did torture him. By then his lover had escaped the city, but someone had learned she was a courier for the Veiled Alliance. And that he had been covering for her.

He'd been stripped of his titles, and sold into slavery soon after that. He wondered why he hadn't been executed. Did they want a lever on his lover? Or his family? Or was he to be 'repatriated' when Androponis wanted to make another show of his generosity? In any case, he had been sold, and sold again before reaching the salt mines of Rarun. And kept at the most back-breaking labor; his captors had made no secret of who he had been, so no slave would take his orders, and House Njeer was not about to let someone like him find a chance to use his mind or his natural charm to escape.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Mannerisms & Appearance]
Brandis is just above average height, slender, fair-skinned and fair-haired by Athasian standards, and quite attractive despite the scars left by Haraxes' torturers and various slavemasters. Every slavemaster who has owned him has been sure he was plotting an uprising and his escape, and told tales to limit his ability to befriend the other slaves. Their fears were quite justified; Brandis most certainly was planning an escape, and he was a natural leader; it was easy to see why Androponis' had originally decided to let him win election to a templar's position; rigging the vote against him would have streched the sorcerer-king's credibility quite a bit.[/sblock]
[sblock=plot hooks]
- What happened to Brandis' lover Micala after she escaped Balic? Is she plotting his rescue, or angry that he somehow let her secrets be uncovered?
- Does his family still protest his innocence, or at least maintain that belief in private?
[/sblock]

Appearance


Background


[sblock=Sheet]Amica
Human Elan Psion 1
Discipline Focus: Shaper
Background: Created - +2 Arcana
Str 8
Con 13
Dex 10
Int 18
Wis 14
Cha 14

AC 14
Fort 12
Ref 15
Will 15
Hit Points: 25 Surges: 7, Surge Value 6
Languages: Common, Giant, Telepathy 5
Power Points: 3

Trained Skills
Arcana +11, Diplomacy +7, Insight +7, Perception +7

Feats
Psion: Ritual Caster
Human: Elan Heritage
Autohypnosis

Powers
At Will
1 Mind Thrust
1 Static Mote
Human - Dishearten
Wild Talent - Make Tool

Encounter
Theme - Adept's Insight (Close burst 5, Add +1 to own or ally attack, save, or skill)
Feat - Elan Resilience

Daily
1 Summon Thought Servant

Ritual Book
Sending (Usable 1/day with no cost)
Purify Water[/sblock]

Korg Wellspeaker, Dwarf Shaman (Animist)

[sblock=Quicksheet]
level 1
Dwarf, Shaman
Companion Spirit: Animist Spirit
Background: Sea of Dust (Learn Primordial)
Theme: Elemental Priest
Wild Talent (1d10=9): Telekinetic Grasp

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 13, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 13, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 8.


AC: 13 Fort: 12 Reflex: 13 Will: 15
HP: 30 Surges: 8 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature +9, Heal +9, Endurance +8, Perception +9

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics, Arcana +3, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +6, History +3, Insight +4, Intimidate -1, Religion +3, Stealth, Streetwise -1, Thievery, Athletics +1

FEATS
Level 1: Toughness

POWERS
Shaman at-will 1: Haunting Spirits
Shaman encounter 1: Scorching Sands
Shaman daily 1: Cleansing Wind of the North

[sblock=Power Details]
At-Will Powers

Telekinetic Grasp: minor, r5, manipulates or moves 20 pounds item

Call Spirit Companion: minor, cb 20, calls companion

Spirit's Wrath: OA, spirit m1, +4 vs Reflex - 1d6 + 4, and the target grants combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

Spirit Infusion: standard, Spirit m1, spirit companion disappears, and the target can make a basic attack with a +2 power bonus to the attack roll and a +3 power bonus to the damage.

Haunting Spirits: standard, r5, 1d20+4 vs Will - 1d6 + 4 psychic damage. Until the end of your next turn, the target grants combat advantage to an ally of your choice.


Encounter Powers

Healing Spirit: minor, cb5, The target can spend a healing surge. If the target does so, one ally adjacent to your spirit companion, other than the target, regains 1d6 hit points.

Speak with Spirits: minor, personal, During this turn, you gain a +4 bonus to your next skill check.

Spirit of Athas: minor, r5, You conjure a spirit of Athas. You and your allies gain a +1 power bonus to all defenses while adjacent to it. As a standard action, you can dismiss the spirit and make the following melee 1 attack from the spirit’s square:
standard, special, +4 vs Reflex - 1d10 + 4 damage, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and all defenses until the end of your next turn.

Scorching Sand: standard, spirit m1, +4 vs Reflex - 1d8 + 4 fire damage, and the target gains vulnerable 5 fire until the end of your next turn. You and each ally adjacent to your spirit companion can choose to deal fire damage until the end of your next turn. This fire damage replaces an attack’s normal damage types. - Effect: Your spirit companion disappears.


Daily Powers

Cleansing Wind of the North: standard, cb 5, +4 vs Fort - 1d10 + 4 cold damage.
Miss: Half damage. - Effect: Each ally in the blast makes a saving throw with a +5 power bonus.

[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Background]
Korg Wellspeaker had lost his family to diease and was pressed into slavery to pay for the rites and their funeral. Before he got his slave markings, it was decided to transport him to another city state. His mekillot caravan was raided by ex-slaves, who freed all prisoners and offered them to join their slave tribe. Korg find peace again and found his focus in protecting the tribe as long as they need them. Finally he courted a dwarf woman and got twins with her...

Both died in the templar attack on his tribe and he was mortally wounded. In typical templar justice, they simply left him back to die in the desert, because he lacked any slave marks and they were only there to get the slaves back.

Korg crouched to the small but deep well of the tribe to commit suicide, having lost his focus and family again. But as he fell in the water, his wounds miraculousy healed and he heard a voice: "Not the time, the Water will not kill but sustain you!" In a geysir he was thrown back on land.
With his newfound strength he ran into a still burning hut, but the fire didn't burn him. "Not the time. The Fire will not burn you, but your enemies.
Desperate to die he finally climbed a big rock and jumped onto the sharpsurface, but the voices were back: "The Air will halt your fall and the Earth will not smash but sustain you!" He landed without harm.

As he accepted that the elements has chosen him, his mind cleared and he saw a new focus: find his love, free the people and heal the land.

H marked himself a slave and let himself caught, but was not brought to the same place as his wife, but to the Ivory Triangle's Rarun Salt Mines, his self inflicted marks interpreted as the ones of house Njeer. Here he waits what the voices will say next to him...[/sblock]