Capellan
Explorer
Kull Redfist
Male Half-Orc Cleric1
HD (1d8)+2; hp 10; Init +0; Spd Walk 30';
AC 15 (flatfooted 15, touch 10)
Attacks: Flail (Light) +5 (1d8+4 20/x2) or Gauntlet (Spiked) +4 (1d4+4 20/x2)
SQ: Orc Blood, Rebuke Undead 3/day, Spontaneous casting;
Vision: Normal, Darkvision (60')
AL: LN; Saves: Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +5;
Str 19, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Concentration +4, Heal +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +2, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Spellcraft +4;
Feats: Spell Focus (Enchantment), Weapon Focus (Flail (Light))
Notable Possessions: None;
Deity: Hextor
Domains: Law (You cast law spells at +1 caster level.) War (Free Martial Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus with the deity's favored weapon.)
Cleric Spells: (0:3 1:2+1)
Like most half-orcs, Kull was the product of rape. His home village of Durgan's Cove lay well outside the settled lands of Greyhawk, and was subjected to a harsh annual tribute by the nearby orcs, which were too numerous and powerful for the villagers to resist.
The orcs of the region were led by an unusually gifted and organised leader named Hargash [See Note]. This chieftain recognised the value of the human settlement, as it provided a regular source of food and wealth for his tribe, without the need for the orcs to do any work of their own. Thus, instead of simply destroying it as most orc leaders would have done, he chose instead to merely threaten the villagers with annihilation: and then "allow" them to buy him off with tribute.
Thus, the villagers were allowed to live unmolested, as long as they did not try to resist the heavy annual tribute that was expected of them. Hargash and his warriors would appear just after harvest each year and take away most of the crops and the livestock, leaving the humans with just enough to survive.
Occasionally, of course, someone would try to organise some resistance to the orcs. Kull's father was one such person. Invariably, the results of this attempt would be the same: the ringleader and any allies they had managed to gather would be killed by the orcs, their children abducted, and their women raped.
Usually, if the raped woman became pregnant, she would abort the child. However, Kull's mother was as much a dreamer as her husband, and resolved to have the child in the hope that it would have been fathered by her husband.
Kull, as you might imagine, was a disappointment to her. However, as she has already lost a son (Brannoc) and a daughter (Illyra) to the orcs (who abducted them), she decided to keep the one child she had left, whatever his parentage.
As a half-orc, Kull never achieved full acceptance in the village community. However, he also never experienced active discrimination or harassment, as the villagers did not know how Hargash would react (the chieftain was widely supposed to be Kull's father, for they bore a physical resemblance).
Always bigger and stronger than those around him, Kull had it drummed into him from an early age that he must never use physical force against other people. His mother, knowing that her son was only reluctantly accepted in the community, wanted to make sure that people would have no reason to cast him out. She also hoped to overcome his 'barbaric' orcish nature in the process.
By the time he was 14, Kull was the largest and strongest man in the village, but also the gentlest. His life was hard and often uncomfortable, but he knew no other, and was mostly content. The only thing that he hated was the annual arrival of the orcs and the tribute they demanded, for his mother would always insist on sending him out of the village when this occurred, so that he and Hargash would not meet.
In the year of Kull's 15th birthday, however, one Pradag, a Priest of Hextor the Tyrant, came to Durgan's Cove. Pradag was leader of a small force of warriors. Learning of the orcs and the tribute they demanded, Pradag announced his resolve to fight Hargash and his followers. Some of the people of the village tried to warn the priest against this, but he scorned them as cowards, and would not be dissuaded. His motivations in "defending" the village were not altruistic, of course: he sought the glory of Hextor and the bloodlust of battle, not to protect the meek.
Suspicious that the villagers might try to warn Hargash, so as to protect themselves from his retribution, Pradag used his men to enforce a strict curfew, and prohibited anyone from leaving the village. Thus, for the first time, Kull found himself in town when the orcs arrived.
A vicious fight ensued, with the more numerous but less organised orcs finding themselves stumbling into ambushes set by Pradag's men. However, numbers and physical strength soon began to tell, and the tide turned in favour of the orcs.
Then Pradag himself waded into the combat, shattering the orcish advance and slaying them at left and right. For a time, he and his men held the orcs, and Kull could see - could see so clearly - that if only the villagers would help them, Pradag and his men would destroy Hargash forever.
But no-one moved.
Hargash rallied his warriors. Pradag's men began to fall. The moment was lost.
And something inside Kull seemed to snap.
The half-orc charged into the battle, smashing through the orcs with his bare hands. Reaching Pradag, he bodily dragged the injured priest out of the battle, and then carried him away into the wilderness around the village.
Within an hour, Kull could see smoke rising from his old home, and knew it had been destroyed. All for want of the courage and organisation to face the orcish leader.
That night, as he tended the injured Pradag, the priest awoke. Kull told him of what had happened, and then and there Pradag welcomed him into the church, dubbing him "Redfist" in honour of the gore that had drenched his hands in his first battle.
Since that day, Kull has lived to serve the Church of Hextor, believing with all his heart that it offers the only path to security and protection for the civilised peoples of the world. "There are two requirements for survival: courage and obedience. We must have leaders of courage, who can make the difficult choices and lead the fight to protect us. And we must have followers who are obedient, and understand the need for that obedience."
Having completed his time learning weapons and theology with the Church, Kull is now ready to set out for himself and bring Hextor's Word to the wider community. He feels driven to do this, not just because he sees himself as one of those "courageous leaders" (which of course, he does) but also out of a genuine sense that people will be better off if they listen to him, and act in a coordinated fashion to defend themselves.
Kull's personal beliefs drive him to go out and prove himself and his faith in battle against any and all threats he can find. He is eager to find a cause for which he can fight and which will win Hextor (and coincidentally, himself) respect, admiration and followers. One day he intends to be a great warrior of the temple, ready to strike down any of Hextor's enemies. These factors understandably make him a keen and ardent adventurer, always ready to take on a quest. He is also brutally scathing of those who seem reluctant to fight to defend themselves or what they believe in, or whom exhibit a reluctance to risk danger. Kull is firmly of the opinion that it is risk and challenge - and demonstrating your ability to overcome them - that makes life worth living.
The Church's leaders are not convinced of Kull's arguments, but they have decided that they are intriguing enough to allow him to pursue them. After all, if he succeeds he will bring glory to the church, and if he fails he can easily be written off as a "renegade" with no official church standing. Consequently, they have given him permission to travel to one of the more distant settled lands and begin putting his ideas into practice.
Which is how he comes to be in the midst of a sea voyage ...
Kull has one last objective that he has not shared with his superiors: he intends one day to face his (supposed) father Hargash, and either slay the orc leader, or convert him to Kull's own beliefs.
Note: the orc leader Hargash is named after, and directly inspired by, Blackdirge's NPC Over A Lifetime
Male Half-Orc Cleric1
HD (1d8)+2; hp 10; Init +0; Spd Walk 30';
AC 15 (flatfooted 15, touch 10)
Attacks: Flail (Light) +5 (1d8+4 20/x2) or Gauntlet (Spiked) +4 (1d4+4 20/x2)
SQ: Orc Blood, Rebuke Undead 3/day, Spontaneous casting;
Vision: Normal, Darkvision (60')
AL: LN; Saves: Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +5;
Str 19, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Concentration +4, Heal +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +2, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Spellcraft +4;
Feats: Spell Focus (Enchantment), Weapon Focus (Flail (Light))
Notable Possessions: None;
Deity: Hextor
Domains: Law (You cast law spells at +1 caster level.) War (Free Martial Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus with the deity's favored weapon.)
Cleric Spells: (0:3 1:2+1)
Like most half-orcs, Kull was the product of rape. His home village of Durgan's Cove lay well outside the settled lands of Greyhawk, and was subjected to a harsh annual tribute by the nearby orcs, which were too numerous and powerful for the villagers to resist.
The orcs of the region were led by an unusually gifted and organised leader named Hargash [See Note]. This chieftain recognised the value of the human settlement, as it provided a regular source of food and wealth for his tribe, without the need for the orcs to do any work of their own. Thus, instead of simply destroying it as most orc leaders would have done, he chose instead to merely threaten the villagers with annihilation: and then "allow" them to buy him off with tribute.
Thus, the villagers were allowed to live unmolested, as long as they did not try to resist the heavy annual tribute that was expected of them. Hargash and his warriors would appear just after harvest each year and take away most of the crops and the livestock, leaving the humans with just enough to survive.
Occasionally, of course, someone would try to organise some resistance to the orcs. Kull's father was one such person. Invariably, the results of this attempt would be the same: the ringleader and any allies they had managed to gather would be killed by the orcs, their children abducted, and their women raped.
Usually, if the raped woman became pregnant, she would abort the child. However, Kull's mother was as much a dreamer as her husband, and resolved to have the child in the hope that it would have been fathered by her husband.
Kull, as you might imagine, was a disappointment to her. However, as she has already lost a son (Brannoc) and a daughter (Illyra) to the orcs (who abducted them), she decided to keep the one child she had left, whatever his parentage.
As a half-orc, Kull never achieved full acceptance in the village community. However, he also never experienced active discrimination or harassment, as the villagers did not know how Hargash would react (the chieftain was widely supposed to be Kull's father, for they bore a physical resemblance).
Always bigger and stronger than those around him, Kull had it drummed into him from an early age that he must never use physical force against other people. His mother, knowing that her son was only reluctantly accepted in the community, wanted to make sure that people would have no reason to cast him out. She also hoped to overcome his 'barbaric' orcish nature in the process.
By the time he was 14, Kull was the largest and strongest man in the village, but also the gentlest. His life was hard and often uncomfortable, but he knew no other, and was mostly content. The only thing that he hated was the annual arrival of the orcs and the tribute they demanded, for his mother would always insist on sending him out of the village when this occurred, so that he and Hargash would not meet.
In the year of Kull's 15th birthday, however, one Pradag, a Priest of Hextor the Tyrant, came to Durgan's Cove. Pradag was leader of a small force of warriors. Learning of the orcs and the tribute they demanded, Pradag announced his resolve to fight Hargash and his followers. Some of the people of the village tried to warn the priest against this, but he scorned them as cowards, and would not be dissuaded. His motivations in "defending" the village were not altruistic, of course: he sought the glory of Hextor and the bloodlust of battle, not to protect the meek.
Suspicious that the villagers might try to warn Hargash, so as to protect themselves from his retribution, Pradag used his men to enforce a strict curfew, and prohibited anyone from leaving the village. Thus, for the first time, Kull found himself in town when the orcs arrived.
A vicious fight ensued, with the more numerous but less organised orcs finding themselves stumbling into ambushes set by Pradag's men. However, numbers and physical strength soon began to tell, and the tide turned in favour of the orcs.
Then Pradag himself waded into the combat, shattering the orcish advance and slaying them at left and right. For a time, he and his men held the orcs, and Kull could see - could see so clearly - that if only the villagers would help them, Pradag and his men would destroy Hargash forever.
But no-one moved.
Hargash rallied his warriors. Pradag's men began to fall. The moment was lost.
And something inside Kull seemed to snap.
The half-orc charged into the battle, smashing through the orcs with his bare hands. Reaching Pradag, he bodily dragged the injured priest out of the battle, and then carried him away into the wilderness around the village.
Within an hour, Kull could see smoke rising from his old home, and knew it had been destroyed. All for want of the courage and organisation to face the orcish leader.
That night, as he tended the injured Pradag, the priest awoke. Kull told him of what had happened, and then and there Pradag welcomed him into the church, dubbing him "Redfist" in honour of the gore that had drenched his hands in his first battle.
Since that day, Kull has lived to serve the Church of Hextor, believing with all his heart that it offers the only path to security and protection for the civilised peoples of the world. "There are two requirements for survival: courage and obedience. We must have leaders of courage, who can make the difficult choices and lead the fight to protect us. And we must have followers who are obedient, and understand the need for that obedience."
Having completed his time learning weapons and theology with the Church, Kull is now ready to set out for himself and bring Hextor's Word to the wider community. He feels driven to do this, not just because he sees himself as one of those "courageous leaders" (which of course, he does) but also out of a genuine sense that people will be better off if they listen to him, and act in a coordinated fashion to defend themselves.
Kull's personal beliefs drive him to go out and prove himself and his faith in battle against any and all threats he can find. He is eager to find a cause for which he can fight and which will win Hextor (and coincidentally, himself) respect, admiration and followers. One day he intends to be a great warrior of the temple, ready to strike down any of Hextor's enemies. These factors understandably make him a keen and ardent adventurer, always ready to take on a quest. He is also brutally scathing of those who seem reluctant to fight to defend themselves or what they believe in, or whom exhibit a reluctance to risk danger. Kull is firmly of the opinion that it is risk and challenge - and demonstrating your ability to overcome them - that makes life worth living.
The Church's leaders are not convinced of Kull's arguments, but they have decided that they are intriguing enough to allow him to pursue them. After all, if he succeeds he will bring glory to the church, and if he fails he can easily be written off as a "renegade" with no official church standing. Consequently, they have given him permission to travel to one of the more distant settled lands and begin putting his ideas into practice.
Which is how he comes to be in the midst of a sea voyage ...
Kull has one last objective that he has not shared with his superiors: he intends one day to face his (supposed) father Hargash, and either slay the orc leader, or convert him to Kull's own beliefs.
Note: the orc leader Hargash is named after, and directly inspired by, Blackdirge's NPC Over A Lifetime
If you look closely, you'll probably notice a couple of skills lower than they should be as well. Same reason.
