Strange Friends: Of Mountains & Molehills Rogues Gallery

[Cyronax]

Gareth Steele of Westpoint: Male Mytherian Aristocrat; CR 1; Medium Humanoid; HD 1d8; hp 8; Init +1; Spd. 30 ft.; AC 15 (+4 armor, +1 Dex); Atk0 melee, +1 range; Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5ft./ft.; AL N; SV Fort 0, Ref +2, Wil +2; Str. 11, Dex. 13, Con. 10, Int. 12, Wis. 10, Cha. 15. Height 5’10”, weight 187 lb., age 20.

Skills: Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +3, Gather Information +4, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (nobility) +3, Knowledge (Local History – Barony of Archaven) +2, Listen +3, Sense Motive +2, Spot +3.

Languages: Mytherian (r/w).*

Feats: Expertise, Improved Disarm (never used once ).

Possessions: Masterwork longsword, chain shirt, 2 courtier’s outfits, 1 explorer’s outfit, signet ring, Backpack, waterskin, 5 days of rations, bedroll, 3 sacks, flint & steel, 5 torches, 100’ of silk rope and grappling hook, and 1 gray riding horse equipped with a bit & bridle, 5 days of feed, riding saddle, and saddlebags.

Background: Gareth Steele is the youngest son of Roderick I of Westpoint. Roderick came to the Tsai-Nau frontier in his youth, being little more than a homeless adventurer who had left Southgate and sailed north seeking his fortune. In those days Tsai Nau was a much wilder place than it is today, and Roderick, along with adventurers, missionaries, criminals, and other freebooters, conquered a small Halhyte city named He Lan Shi (Blue River City), and renamed it Archaven.

Roderick was one of Baron Raelin Stafford’s favorite vassals, and it is thanks to the baron’s generosity that Roderick was granted lordship over the Westpoint Castle, which guards Archaven’s western flank from all manner of threats. Roderick raised a large family with his wife Maria, having four sons and three daughters. The sons were Roderick II, heir to Westpoint, Gavin, a favorite guest at any party in Archaven, Martin, an ordained priest in the Church of the Whiteblade, and finally Gareth.

Gareth’s sisters were Jennifer, the Steele family third child after Roderick II and Gaven, and also Maria and Alice who were born well after Gareth. Jennifer was married off at a young age to a minor lordling from the northern colony of Eswhalon, who gave the Steele family a good deal of status since the nobles of the northern colony were actually recognized by the Assembly in Southgate. Maria and Alice are both too young for marriage, though their parents are already looking for suitors.

Gareth grew up in his brothers’ shadows. Roderick was his father’s heir and also a hardnosed soldier, while Gavin was good friends with Baron Stafford’s son Kieran and also an adept politician. Martin quickly left the family at a young age, taking a good portion of his inheritance, in order to seek a position in the Church. Gareth, his parents often too distracted to worry about their fourth son, latched on to Gavin, and learned the subtle art of schmooze and a good amount of cynicism about the world.

Upon turning twenty, having little to show for his time in the social circles of Archaven, Gareth made plans to take what little money he could, and decided to head west with the ill defined goal of “making it big.” He had planned to learn the ways of war from the hardened adventurers in Copper Country, but a stopover in Cherry Knoll changed things considerably……

* - Characters don’t automatically know how to read and the write the languages they can “speak.” They have to spend extra skill points in order to be literate.

 

[Cyronax]

Enter Gorbag.....

NOTE: I made all of my players create their characters using the Standard 25 Point Buy system outlined in the DMG. This allowed them to create characters without me present. They could lower their stats (starting at 8) and get points back on a 1:1 ratio.

Gorbag: 1st Level Male Orc Fighter; CR 1; Medium Humanoid; HD 1d10; hp 12; Init +3; Spd. 30 ft; AC 17 (+4 armor, +3 Dex); Atk +5 melee, +4 ranged; Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5 ft./5ft.; AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will -2; Str. 19, Dex. 16, Con. 14, Int. 6, Wis. 6, Cha. 7. Height: 6’4”, weight 290 lbs., age 18.

Skills: Climb +7, Swim +5.

Languages: Mytherian (Tsai-Nau Orc Dialect).*

Feat: Cleave, Power Attack.

Possessions: bastard sword, patched chain shirt, a traveler's outfit, and a sack.

Background: Gorbag’s background is hard to discern. He’s largely unable to relate much about himself, but a few things are known for sure. He’s from the wild Tsai-Nau frontier and he’s seen his share of battles though he does not relish combat.

Perhaps more on his background will follow. :nudges:: Felix electronically)

EDITED: Correspondence from Felix changed a few, actually a lot of things about Gorbag. Hopefully I got it right this time. Sorry Felix

* - There is no “orcish” language. The orcs of the Tsai-Nau frontier, just like the civilized orcs in Southgate, have lost their racial tongue after centuries of contact with the Mytherians. The Tsai-Nau orcs, despite a three hundred year separation from the rest of Mytherian society, still speak that language, but have developed a dialect all of their own. This dialect incorporates a few Halthyte words here and few Goblin and Ogre words there. As it stands now, the “orcish dialect” is becoming a lingua franca of sorts, among many on the Tsai-Nau frontier.

 

[Cyronax]

Hear's the old dretch taanari himself.....

Kelec: 1st level male hill dwarf druid; CR 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d8; hp11; Init: 0; Spd. 20 ft.; AC 12 (+2 armor); Atk -1 melee, 0 ranged; Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.; AL NG (still a jerk though ); SV Fort +5, Ref 0, Wil +5; Str.9, Dex. 11, Con.17, Int. 13, Wis. 16, Cha. 4; Height: 4’5”, weight: 145 lb., age: 62.

Skills: Appraise +4, Animal Empathy 0 (spent points to counteract low Cha.), Concentration +6, Heal +6, Hide +2, Wilderness Lore +5, Swim +1, Knowledge (nature) +2.

Languages: Dendar (r/w), Mytherian, Ogre.

Feat: Track.

Special Qualitites: Nature sense, Stonecunning, and all the other dwarven racial traits.

Spells Prepared (3/2): 0 – cure minor wounds, detect magic, flare; 1st – cure light wounds (x2).

Possessions: Club, throwing axe, leather armor, traveler’s outfit, backpack, waterskin, bedroll, sack, flint and steel, mistletoe, 3 torches.

Background: Kelec came to the Tsai-Nau frontier over ten years ago. Leaving behind his bitter childhood spent among his stodgy Dendar brethren of northern Tyradis. He was seeking the life of a hermit, and he found what he was looking for on the wild frontier.

After the space of a few years, Kelec met another hermit, an old half-orcish druid called Porblin Gandalaxe. The old rock-blood had also left the sweaty, crowded lands of Western Mythrus, and had come to the frontier to be close to nature. The half-orc helped Kelec find his place in the natural world by teaching Kelec about the ways of the druid. Kelec took to the teachings like most dwarves took to war or craftsmanship, and soon the dwarf was content. Those were happy days, and Kelec had few desires save quiet solitude, good food, and often a shot or two of ole Porblin’s moonshine.

One of the few things that could anger the dwarven hermit was authority figures, and though he was isolated in the frontier, he found that even the most reclusive druids must occasionally work with the other druids in the region to deal with pressing threats against nature’s balance. It just this sort of threat that sent Kelec to Cherry Knoll at the behest of the de facto leader of the Circle, as the loose druidic network is known. This leader is the mysterious and manipulative Nexatatus, a figure that even the normally boisterous Porblin had learned to fear and respect.

 

[Cyronax]

Li Hai: 1st level male Halthyte sorcerer; CR 1; Medium humanoid; HD 1d4; hp 11; Init: 0; Spd. 20 ft; AC 10; Atk -1 melee, 0 ranged; Face/Reach 5 ft. by 5ft./5ft.; AL LE; SV Fort Fort +4, Ref 0, Wil +2; Str. 8, Dex. 10, Con. 18*, Int. 10, Wis. 10, Cha. 15; Height: 5’10”, weight: 145 lb., age: 17.

Skills: Spot +2*, Listen +2*, Spellcraft +1, Concentration +5 (+9 while casting on the defensive), Move Silently +1, Bluff +2, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (arcana) +1.

Languages: Mytherian, Halthyte (r/w).

Feats: Alertness*, Toughness, Combat Casting.

Spells Known (cast 5/4): 0 - detect magic, flare, magic hand, read magic; 1st burning hands, true strike.

Possessions: Light crossbow, dagger, backpack, waterskin, 2 days of rations, bedroll, sack, flint and steel, bolt case.

Toad Familiar: HD 1, hp 5; Spd. 5; AC 16; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Wil +2; Int. Skills: Hide +21, Listen +5, Spot +5.

Background: Li Hai has never revealed his true origins. He vaguely refers to the lawless, pirate-infested Turtle Islands as his homeland, but never goes further than that. “Li Hai,” meaning capable or powerful in Halthyte, is not even his true name.

Beyond his strange interest in the long dead tyrant Radeem the Mad and his near meglomaniacal need to hold authority over others, Li Hai’s true goals in life have not been revealed.

* All benefits of his familiar.

Note: Li Hai’s stats weren’t generated using the standard point buy method that all the other PCs used. Li Hai’s player rolled up those stats and “convinced” me to let him play those stats even though they were “better” than the other PCs’ stats. I looked over the stats, told him that I’d let it slide since I knew he was such a great roleplayer. The player never got the joke..since his stats are actually worse than somebody would get if they used point buy. There’s deficit of 1 point.

 

[Cyronax]

Edited: This'll be a place holder for things to come.....

 

[Cyronax]

Bumping this bad boy for later use. Check back soon!

C.I.D.