K'ihren Cloudwatcher
First draft for K'ihren, shifter druid
[sblock= Mechanics]
K’ihren Cloudwatcher
Dreamsight Shifter, female
>Neutral (tending good); Wardens of the wood/druid
>Druid 1 (shifter druid racial substitution- Beast spirit replaces animal companion)
+Shifter Paragon 3 (druid variant)/(+Ranger, Moonspeaker)
STR: 9 (-1)(1 pt)
DEX: 16 (+3)(6 pts, +2 racial)
CON: 12 (+1)(4 pts)
INT: 14 (+2)(10 pts, -2 racial)
WIS: 18 (+3)(8 pts, +2 paragon 3 bonus +1 at 4th level)
CHA: 9 (-1)(3 pts, -2 racial)
(32 pts)
HP: 36 (8 +3d8 +4 CON)
BAB: +2 (melee +1, ranged +5)
AC: 13 (ff 10/t 13)
FORT: +6
REF: +6
WILL: +7
>Feats: Shifter instincts (level 1); Alertness (Druid 1/beast spirit bonus); Dreamsight elite (level 3);
>Next: Extra shifter trait (wildhunt, level 6)
>Skills/etc.: Wild empathy +20; Balance 1r/+9; Climb 1r/+5; Concentration 1r/+2; Handle animal 5r/+13; Heal 1r/+5; Hide 1r/+4; Jump 1r/+5; Knowledge- nature 7r/+13; Knowledge- religion 1r/+3; Listen 1r/+8; Move silent 1r/+4; Search 1r/+3; Speak language 1r; Spellcraft 1r/+3; Spot 7r/+14; Survival 7r/+16 (+18 natural/aboveground);Swim 1r/+0; Tumble 1r/+4
>Languages: Common, Sylvan, Druidic, Orcish
>Caster level: Druid 3
Spells/day: Level 0= 4 (Create water, Cure minor, Cure minor, Detect poison); Level 1= 3 (Cure light wounds, Endure elements, Entangle);Level 2= 2 (Flaming sphere, Lesser restoration)
>Shifting: 3x/day; lasts 10 rounds; gains Speak with animals, (can add +5 Spot and See Invisible)
[/sblock]
[sblock= Background]
K’ihren was born in the city of Fairhaven in Aundair- both of her parents had been raised in the forests of the Eldeen Reaches far to the west, but when their village was destroyed by bandits during the Great War, they turned their backs on the old ways and migrated to civilization. Both of them found good jobs in the big city, and there was a significant community of other shifters who did likewise. Many of the shifter children were raised semi-communally, watched over by those adults with the free time and inclination to do so. In many cases, these were elderly or infirm shifters, some wounded in the war- many of them had far more nostalgic ideas about the old ways and the wild lands than K’ihren’s parents, both of whom were determined to become civilized folk. K’ihren was her parents’ third child, and even from birth she was small and frail. Both of her older siblings, like her parents, enjoyed the comforts of the big city- and even as a child K’ihren was different. From an early age, she seemed happiest listening to some of the stories from her elders- the tales of the old ways and the deep forests. As soon as she could walk, practically, she developed a habit of wandering off when unattended- more often than not, she was found in a neighbor’s garden, or in the grove of trees at the end of the street, or in a noble’s hedge maze; anywhere where there were green and growing things, and the soft sound of the wind in the leaves. Her parents, determined to live a 'civilized, modern life', were particularly dismayed by her claims to hear voices on the wind and to see messages in the clouds. As she grew, K’ihren rarely joined her siblings and the other shifter children in their races and rough-and-tumble games, no matter how much they encouraged her- in many ways the deeply ingrained predator instinct that most shifters had seemed almost completely absent in her. And she showed little inclination to any of the trades that her parents pointed her towards. She began to spend more time with some of the elders in the shifter community- while none of them had formal druidic training, they did have tales of such folk- and K’ihren soaked up every word like a sponge. By the time she reached the age of twelve, K’ihren had learned everything she could from the local elders- and her habit for wandering seemed to expand by the day. She was no longer content to stay within the bounds of the city, and she was often gone for days at a time. Her parents grew more and more unhappy, and their punishments ever more severe- as one might expect, it was only a matter of time before things reached a breaking point.
On her 13th birthday she left home for good, carrying only a bedroll, some spare clothes, and a few odds and ends. She headed west, traveling mostly at night- guided by the light of the moons that she knew her people held sacred. It was mostly blind luck that she wasn’t robbed or murdered as she traveled- she was often cold, wet, and hungry but she was stubborn enough to persevere. After weeks of travel, she finally reached the borders of the true forests, well beyond the formal boundaries of Aundair. As one might expect, a border patrol found her almost immediately- once she explained herself, they brought her deeper into the forest and turned to her over to the leaders of the local druidic circle. While the druids respected her motivations, their training was not open to everyone- nor was it free. K’ihren was tested, as were all those who sought druidic training- and despite her determination and all she had learned, she had, after all, been born and raised in the city. Her fate hung in the balance then, and she was obliged to plead her case before the most revered figure in the druidic hierarchy of the Eldeen Reaches- the Great Druid Oalian. For someone so quiet and unassuming, this was a terrible trial, as great as any dragon. Luckily for K'ihren, Oalian's wisdom was profound- she barely managed to stammer out a few words before he read the truth that was written on her soul.
Oalian's pronouncement was swift- it was clear, he said, that K'ihren was destined to be a druid, but it would be a long process. The Moonspeaker sect was so rare that even one potential candidate was a valuable resource- but K'ihren would have to begin her druidic education as the youngest initiates did. Her first years of study would have her exposed to the wisdom and tradition of each of the sects- only once she had progressed appropriately would she be allowed to petition the Moonspeakers for further training. K'ihren spent nearly five years in this first round of studies, but in time she was accepted as a fully initiated druid. Then her education was turned over to the shifters within the various druidic traditions- they realized that her lingering ties to civilization, and her lack of exposure to the true heritage of her people were hindering her spiritual growth. In a sacred ceremony, she was bonded with one of the ancestral predator spirits of the wood, and then assigned to spend a year with the shifter bands that patrolled the forest around Greenheart. It was a diffcult time- while she was deeply attuned to nature, her personal inclinations were for the wind, the plants, and the gentler animals; she was hardly a hunter at heart. She completed that year, though with difficulty, and in doing so she found a deep connection with her shifter heritage- her parents would have been appalled. But her predatory instincts were still as weak as a child's- she had the heart of a wild beast, but not a hunter. Her druidic intructors helped her perform a great ritual, to receive visions of the path that she would have to take to gain further enlightenment. With the skill and wisdom at their disposal, they were able to interpret the signs from her vsion- and to foretell a great journey. With great surprise, they saw that her path led far from Greenheart, far from the Reaches, and even far from Khorvaire- whatever future lay before her, it would not come from learning at the feet of the wisest and most experienced druids in the land; it would come alone, in the distant land of Xen'drik. The visions she had been shown were clear- whatever future she had, whether it led to greatness or death, she would find her destiny in the jungles and ruins far from home. Within a day, she had gathered her few possessions and said her farewells- and her next journey began...
[/sblock]
[sblock= Assorted notes]
>1. One word character description: Fluttershy
>2. Future planning: K'ihren has journeyed to Xen'drik as part of a vision quest along her road to becoming a Moonspeaker- she intends to take her next level as Druid 2. One of the things that is limiting her spiritual growth is her underdeveloped predator instincts. As part of learning to embrace that part of her shifter heritage, she will plan to take the Extra Shifter Trait (wildhunt) feat at level 6- she will also take that level as Ranger 1. Then she will take 3 more Druid levels, including the racial substitution levels at Druid 4 and 5. After that, Moonspeaker.
>3. Druidic affiliation: K'ihren has received at least some instruction from each of the major druidic traditions in the Eldeen Reaches (learning to speak elvish with the Greensingers and Orcish with the Gatekeepers), as well as some more general religious grounding. She is most comfortable with the Wardens of the Wood, the largest and best-known sect, and is uncomfortable with the Children of Winter. Her true goal is to become a Moonspeaker, and they have members from all of the traditions.
>4. General role/philosophy: Summoner/support caster, ranged combatant (sling), scout.
>5. Sources: PHB (base druid class); ECS (base shifter race info); Races of Eberron (Dreamsight trait, Moonspeaker PrC, Shifter instincts and Dreamsight elite feats, shifter druid racial substitution levels); Eberron Paragons download (Shifter paragon-druidic variant)
[/sblock]