DM Alexander Kilcoyne's Sargavan Saga

Game Master Alexander Kilcoyne

Personality:
Qhude is an open book, though the pages to date are mostly filled with dark words and deeds. Growing up among the tribes he lacks the subtlety of city folk and tends to be blunt and direct. While he drinks deeply of the draught that is life, his outlook is currently bitter due to his life experiences. He enjoys wide open spaces and gets uneasy when in a city or the jungle.
He has cast off the shamanistic roots of his tribe, and is currently not in worship of any single god.
When raised to anger or during combat his demeanour changes. His eyes take on an analytical hardness and he fights ruthlessly to win – deriding his opponent with words and assaulting common decency with his actions.

Appearance:
Qhude is a muscular yet wiry man of five feet and nine inches. His skin is darkened to almost black due to long hours spent in the sun. Hair is cropped short, cut remains in tight curls against his head. A jagged scar across his cheek is the key feature of his face, but when turned to anger his eyes also take on a noticeable hardness. He is garbed in a pair of shorts in the colonial style, but his upper body is left uncovered bar a simple amulet hanging round his neck. The right side of his chest also sports three jagged scars. His feet are bare, as his years of walking the plains has built up impressive callouses.

When garbed for combat, he cuts a different figure. Dropping into fighting stance his left hand is held forward and upward, palm facing the enemy. Though the hand is free, his arm bears leather armor along its length culminating in a pauldron that is secured by a leather strap across his chest. A wide leather belt studded with rivets offers some gut protection. Combined effect of armor would be studded leather

His right hand is held drawn and ready to punch, making a fist while wrapped tightly in rope covered cloth Cestus. His left leg is wrapped is also wrapped in knotted rope, and he occasionally raises it before him as though a shield. His right leg is uncovered and held back, used as a pivot.
Fighting style was inspired by Dambe

Background:
Qhude was born into the Bas’o tribe to a mother who died in childbirth, leaving him as his father’s only child. His father was a butcher, low in the caste structure of the tribe due to his handling of dead flesh. Growing up among the tribe the children held no prejudice and he has happy memories of his early wanderings along the plains of Sargava. His youth spent wrestling, running and sparring helped him grow into a muscular yet wiry frame of five foot nine.

It was in his early adulthood that his caste began to make a difference. When hunting parties were sent, he was not selected and was held from claiming his first scar (Bas’o ritually scar when they kill an antelope or worthy enemy). Qhude would spend the time during the hunt sparring with his father, before being put to work butchering the antelope carcasses during the evening when the hunters returned. Despite being overlooked due to his caste, Qhude was still comfortable in tribal life and enjoyed the days spent with his father.

At the age of twenty, Qhude first competed in his tribes’ annual combat tournament. Fighters were paired off in elimination bouts of wrestling and striking with hand and foot. Bouts were settled through submission or unconsciousness. His first tournament saw him survive only one bout before he was knocked out by the son of an elder with a kick to the head. He let out a womanly cry of pain as he collapsed, which is where he gained the derisive nickname Qhude (or rooster) due to his sign of weakness.

Shame grew from that experience and each day he endured the taunts of those returning from the hunt. Growing bitter as he was repeatedly kept from any opportunity for glory, his thoughts became darker. He spent all his spare time over the year training for the event. Honing his body and fighting style as much as he could to put in a better showing.

When the event arrived he went well through the first few rounds and had to luck to be drawn against the same opponent as the year before. As they faced each other, Qhude settled into his fighting stance while the other man mocked him and insulted his family. In action born out of pure rage, Qhude crippled his opponent with a kick to the groin before launching an uppercut into the other’s chin snapping his head back with a sickening crack. The opponent crumpled to the ground silently as Qhude lived up to his namesake and crowed in victory.

As his foe failed to rise, a medicine man came to his side and tried to rouse him. As Qhude continued to cock and crow, the shaman declared the elder’s son dead. In the aftermath that followed, much was made of the dishonour shown by Qhude in combat and in victory. The bitter elder successfully lobbied to have Qhude and his father banished from the tribe as penance – an act that broke his father’s heart. An unrepentant Qhude took a knife and gave himself his first scar across his cheek at the same time that the elder delivered the tribe's judgement.

As they were nearby Katabuto at the time, Qhude gravitated there to attempt to find safe harbour. However the prejudice against Mwangi weighed against him, and he could only find work at a slaughterhouse in the slums of the city. His father, spirit broken by the exile, became ill soon after their arrival. Unable to raise enough money to pay for his father’s care from butchery, Qhude turned back onto his fists and began fighting in shady taverns and rinks set up in dark corners. His practiced hand and killer instinct brought him some measure of success, but despite the additional care it bought – his father still passed on.

Qhude continued to fight in the alleys after his father’s death. Without the guidance his father offered his outlook on life has become even more bitter and twisted. He fights without rules and without honor, but three more scars have been added to his tally. The tail of his story can be filled in as required to mesh in with the party if chosen. I’d imagine that someone saw him during a pit-fight and gave him a better offer.

Aspirations:
Banished from his tribe and his father recently dead, Qhude has no ties to bind him and no moral centre to guide him. He seeks personal glory at all costs, but under the bitter exterior yearns for a sense of family that he has lost.

Array: 15,14,14,14,14,8 Provisionally - still thinking on it
Str: 15, Dex: 14, Con: 14, Int: 14, Wis: 8+2=10, Cha: 14
Feats: Weapon Focus (Cestus), Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick
Skills: Intimidate, Knowledge (geography), Profession (butcher), Survival
Background Trait: None of them work for him exactly, so would prefer to work with DM to create one to suit.
Other Trait: Nomadic (Bas'o) from Sargava guide.
Alternate Racial: Heart of the Wilderness

Qhude is caught between his tribal roots and the man he has become in Kalabuto - an unhonorable brawler. Depending on who he associates with (ie other party members) they could push him in either direction.
Potential to run back into the Bas'o tribe that he was once a member of.

Why Uchendu would survive in Sargava:
Up until his arrival in Sargava, Uchendu's only real interactions with 'the white devils' had been with members of the Aspis Consortium, who routinely pillaged holy sites, or worked with some of the Bekyar tribes as partners in the slave trade, helping to export Mwangi natives Golarion-wide. As such, he has a rather jaundiced view of pale-skinned individuals.

Once he realised that not all people of Taldane descent were cut from the same cloth, and that most Sargavans were simply trying to survive in an environment that, as a rule, they found quite hostile, Uchendu became much more tractable. He had no problems with acting as a guide, and slowly tried to educate the Sargavans about the ways of the jungle, and the richness of the history, and cultures, that it had to offer. At the same time, he tried to learn more about their strange ways, and how they could be used to enhance his own way of life.

Personality:
At heart, Uchendu has a gentle soul; he wants peace, stability, and the contentment of a happy home. However, having been denied that for a good portion of his life, he knows that it is something that is not simply handed to you; it is something that you need to fight, and strive, for.

Whenever he feels lost, and the path his life needs to take is unclear, Uchendu derives comfort from consulting the ancestral spirits which have always guided his people, and have watched over him since he was a young boy; he feels that he is connected to something ancient, an unbroken chain of knowledge the extends backwards through the generations...

If chosen I'd move over to the revised array you put up of 15 14 14 13 13 12

1.)Sasha is a bearded emperor tamarin.
"Whaddya mean Sasha is just an Empr'r Tam'rin? She be a BEARDED Empror Tam'rin! What kinda self-respectin' dwarf has an empathic link widda creature withoutta BEARD! Look at her!" Sasha stares you down even harder than Picklebeard. She even shows her teeth and makes a strange monkey-hiss sound. She seems to have found the stereotyping of her species very demeaning. "Now ye done gone an' upset her! Get outta hur ye danged fool!"

2.)Picklebeard currently wears no jewlery. Although no longer a pirate he still believes in the way of his people. He is opportunistic though. I don't mean he would randomly run around getting drunk, kill folk for for their trinkets...more like- if he has the gold for an amulet of natural armor he'd buy it. He just shrug and say, "No diffurnt than buyin your pretty shiny plate o' steel. I like livin' don't chu? Get off me hairy back!"

3.)I know I stole a few ideas from George RR Martin when it comes to pirates, but I liked them and they would sort of go well with how I feel dwarven pirates would behave. I would like to change how he got the name Picklebeard. He got it in Eleder's prison system by a fellow prisoner named Haskel. Customize Haskel how you want but I figured he is a very rigid, cruel, schemeing hand of some nasty people. The same set of people who Picklebeard owes money to, turns out. Also, the nickname helps him stay a little low(er) to the groud in case anyone back in the Shackles gets wise and wants to hunt down a craven. That would take a lot of effort though. The bounty on him, if it exists at all, would be pretty small and would make his death a rather pyrrhic victory.

4.) Although a little offputting, kooky, salty, hardy, arrogant, proud, cunning, and pretty much constantly slightly inebriated, Picklebeard is deep down more willing to do good than bad. He sometimes talks a tough game but he is an ultimately good natured dwarf and willing to make friends and do what is right. He just has a lot of bad habits. I think being in Sargava will change him and he may even begin to develop a tie to the lands. Assuming he doesn't meet an early demise.

5.)Mechanically, his charisma would be a grand total of 6 after racial adjustments. I hope thats ok. He won't be picking fights or doing stupid things like some fool. He is far too wise, hardy, and canny to run around like that. He just inherited that typical rough dwarven exterior and isn't one for refinement. Growing up in a pretty merciless society also didn't help him much.

Lady Nikalia "Nik'o" Kaladan
NG Human Bard (Court, Detective or Sandman)
S 10, D 16, C 10, I 14, W 10, C 16+2
Human Feat: Agile Maneuver
Feat: Combat Expertise (Int 13)

Campaign Background
Noble of Eleder (Scion of the Arts)

Time Zone
GMT-4 (America, East Coast)

Appearance
Nikalia Kaladan, nicknamed Nik'o, is gifted with a very strong presence. Her light grey eyes captivate and taunt the soul for confidences. She is generally joyful in her demeanor, yet keeps an impeccable posture at all time.

Her voice and her laughter remind one of the sound of water bouncing off the leaves of a luscious green plant at the bottom of a small spring. Youth and energy pervade her movements and her stance.

Trained from her infancy in the arts of entertainment, influence and seduction, Nikalia shows a devout care to her appearance, for she understands the subtle power such things have on people's hearts.

She wears her black hair somewhat short and straight, keeping them lustrous and dense. She paints her lips and often lightens her skin with makeup. Other times, she'll use make up to accentuate her features in a matter appropriate to the circumstances.

She usually mixes Sargavan jewelry of silver and red with Chelish dresses of black and red tones that underline the very fine bone structure of her silhouette. She favors clothes that follow the latest fashion in Westcrown and that are likely to have a symbolic meaning. She often makes small modifications to make them more comfortable for dancing and to stand the Sargavan heat.

Background
About a hundred years ago, Lady Ashaz Dermekis of Westcrown, after loosing her husband, decided to put some space between herself and the Dermekis family. Somehow, her husband's side of the family had a feeling she might be responsible for his death... With her only daughter, she stepped on a boat to the colonies, casting her fate to the winds and the seas.

Upon landing in Sargava's Eleder, she set upon growing a network of connection and influence by holding fast and exciting soirées for Eleder's social elite. For Lady Ashaz, the time of the Empire was a Golden Age, and her goal was to maintain the social fabric of its declining polite society through those meetings of nobles, scholars, artists and aristocrats. Her power of influence thus grew considerably and her daughter, Lady Danaeth Dermekis, took over and continued the tradition upon her death.

But things didn't go as well for Lady Danaeth. She did not have her mother's savvy for intrigue and soon found herself embroiled in clique powerplays that brought down a notch the quality of her patrons, and therefore her revenues. Lady Danaeth was eventually forced to marry and took on the name of Kaladan. Marriage brought resources but also sorrows, for her husband was an ill mannered and brutal lover who did not share the same views on Chelish nobility.

Lord Galeus Kaladan was the twelfth descendant of Donius Kaladan, one of the founding settlers. The Kaladans have always been merchants and importers and well aware of the situation in Cheliax. They see the colony as a beacon of hope for Cheliax and have always worked against the powers in Cheliax.

The Kaladan family was wealthy, but had seen better days. Rumours of strange curses or nefarious deals, as well as bad investments in Cheliax crippled the family's business and Galeus thought it best to try and change its luck by finding a wife.

Marriage, money and a new name brought back some patrons to Lady Danaeth's soirées, and the salon found a second wind, but soon after the wedding, Lady Danaeth was with child. As it turned out, the fates had a plan of their own, for she gave birth to quadruplets: three boys and a girl. The rare event catapulted the Kaladans' social status, as people became fond of Taleus, Finelon, Daltus and the girl Nikalia. Yet, Lady Danaeth still hadn't mastered the intricacies involved in the deadly art of polite society entertainment and manipulation. This time, Eleder's elite simply abandoned her.

This blow crushed her soul, and she soon became very ill. Galeus used their last contacts to secure a loan and buy a small shop near the center. They opened a coffee shop, hoping that the trend that was appearing in Cheliax would spread to Sargava. Galeus also made deals with coffee growers in Kalabuto. Slowly, the lady recovered, and the Lady Ashax became quite popular among the middle upper class of Eleder.

Once again, Lady Danaeth found herself the center of polite society in Eleder.

Meanwhile, her children were growing older. The three boys were of the meanest stock and picked on their parents and especially on their sister. The best way she found to keep them at bay was to help at the coffee shop. She learned a lot from her mother, but also saw the mistakes she made. Somehow, Nikalia had inherited Lady Ashax's acumen for society. Tensions grew between mother and daughter, as Nikalia tried to help her mother.

Nikalia was sent to a boarding school, escaping her brothers, but also being refused to help at the Lady Ashax. Still, she loved school, had great masters that saw and nurtured her potential. She graduated and came back, a young woman, only to find her home in shreds.

Times had been hard. The Grand Custodian's need for money had brought many businesses down, and the Lady Ashax stood on the verge of bankruptcy. Furthermore, her brothers had turned the heart of her home upside down and chosen a path leading to loss and sorrow. Finally, uprisings in Kalabuto had strangled the coffee trade and, she soon understood, her father was secretly funding the rebellion.

Motivations/Philosophy
Nikalia is an open-minded scholar with a knack for business and social influence. Her mother's heritage speaks of a strong upholding of Cheliax's customs and ways, while her father's brings a more pragmatic aspect and a more open outlook on the people of Sargava.

She wishes to help her mother and father through those dark times and perhaps even get enough money to put the Lady Ashax back on track.

Ultimately, she hopes for a renewal in Sargava, where the best aspects of Mwangi and Cheliax are brought together, under the auspices of hope, respect and tolerance. She is ready to get involved.

Gaius Davian is a fraud. He was born to a servant of a dying Chelaxian noble family in Sargava, the House of Davian. The House of Davian lost the Battle of a Hundred Kings to House Thrune, sealing the diabolic ascendency of their most hated enemies. What remained of House Davian fled to Sargava, where they were marginalized by the colonial nobility for the loss that drained most of Sargava's treasure and made it necessary to turn to the Shackles pirates for protection.

The sole remaining scion of House Davian, Julianus Davian, saw the threat of the end of his family's power and nobility. He turned to the same font of power that House Thrune had used to win the civil war: Hell. He made a deal with a powerful devil, ensuring that his family would grow stronger and not simply fade into the annals of history as a defeated line of nobles. The price was simple. The devil demanded the first grandchild of Julianus on his tenth birthday. With Julianus a young man not yet married, he had no trouble making the deal. Thus, House Davian survived and even flourished in Sargava with the assistance of their secret diabolic patron.

Julianus married and had children of his own late in life, hoping to put off the terms of the bargain as long as possible. As the years passed, he tried his best to push the thought of his arrangements away, enjoying the fruits of the agreement and the resurgence of his House. As an old man, he had the opportunity to hold his grandson Gaius on his deathbed. In his final whispers, he told his son Augustan what he had done and begged for forgiveness.

On the boy's tenth birthday, a succubus appeared at the door to take the boy away. His parents, knowing there was no way out of the arrangement without destroying House Davian, reluctantly handed him over and put their plan into motion. The other noble houses of Sargava would never abide by their usage of Hell's favor, as being beholden to the same patrons as Cheliax would mean that they were bound to the Thrice-Damned Queen. Thus they brought forth a young boy of nearly the same age and appearance, the son of a servant of the House and Augustan Davian, who fathered the child soon after learning of the agreement. They put him in Gaius's place, to seamlessly pick up the life of their son. To the outside world, they simply kept him inside for a year, citing an illness, then unveiled him again. For his part, the new Gaius Davian played along despite knowing of the fraud. The new life was one of privilege and learning, though not one of love. His father treated him as nothing more than a means to an end, and his "mother" wanted nothing at all to do with him in private. He would frequently steal away to see his true mother for some semblance of love and attention, though she too could barely stand him because he represented everything wrong with House Davian.

After reaching puberty, Gaius felt a touch of magic in his veins. He taught himself to hide it, especially from his family. He found that he could change his appearance to suit his needs, as well as to create the illusion of things that are not there. He uses the ability to slip unnoticed into Eleder, where he has cultivated a number of alternate identities.

Gaius, as he is now referred to exclusively, despises his family for treating him as a pawn in their power struggles. He seeks to gain his own honor and prestige, perhaps earning the respect of his father in the process. Having lived the life of a noble son for ten years, he is well-educated and quite skilled in courtly affairs. He is quite skilled at lying, having a decade's worth of constant practice. He reluctantly keeps the secret of his birth and his grandfather's arrangement, a constant source of inner tension for him. Gaius is understandably cynical, though he is charming and witty with a dry humor.

To change to a Barbarian I'm going to lose the Dirty Trick angle, and instead go for a Grapple / Intimidate focus. Will still be no holds barred in combat, just more with descriptive terms.
Barbarian (Brutal Pugilist Archetype)
Array: 16,14,14,14,12,8 (Str: 16+2, Dex: 14, Con: 14, Int: 12, Wis: 8, Cha: 14)
Feats: Weapon Focus (Cestus), Power Attack
Skills: Knowledge (geography), Intimidate, Perception, Profession (butcher), Survival

Chaotic Good Half-elf Rogue 1

Character Build: Fighter (Free Hand Fighter) / Rogue (Swashbuckler) / Duelist

Campaign Background: Crown's End Smuggler

Array: 15, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12

Str 14, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 13
Alternate Racial Trait: Ancestral Arms - Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Aldori dueling sword)
Favored Classes: Fighter, Rogue (+1 skill point/level)
Trait: Reactionary
Skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Knowledge (Local), Perception, Perform (Dance), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Aldori dueling sword), Weapon Finesse

CG Human (Chelaxian) Rogue (Sniper) 1

Campaign Trait:
Laughing Jungle Hunter or Survivor of Smuggler's Shiv
Note: More about the Campaign Trait in the Background.

Time Zone:
EDT (-5)

Appearance:

Sarien is a small young man of wiry build. At 5'4" he prides himself on moving gracefully through crowds without drawing notice. He keeps his black hair cut short and his face clean shaven, taking great pains to make himself as commonplace amongst the Sargavans as possible in a town filled with the more exotic natives.

He dresses plainly as well, in light-colored, loose cotton clothing he wears over his plain leather armor. His shortbow and arrows are his only visible weapons.

Background:

Born in Westcrown, Sarien was a child of the streets whose natural leadership led him to forming his own small gang of street urchins. This responsibility for the others in that dark city of unnatural shadows nurtured in him a sense of compassion for the downtrodden and less fortunate. When he was given the opportunity to join a group fighting for change in the city, "To take back the night," as was their motto, he joined them enthusiastically. Unfortunately, those plans went awry when the small organization drew the attention of a particularly brutal noble lord. Sarien only just escaped the city with his life, sneaking aboard a ship departing for Eleder in the small hours before dawn.

His life as a stowaway came to a sudden end when the ship got caught in a sudden late summer storm and Sarien found himself shipwrecked on a strange island populated with razor beaked reptilian birds and roving groups of ferocious wild goats.

One of several survivors (including the first mate who was furious to discover there had been a stowaway aboard) Sarien found himself once again as part of a group with a common purpose: survival. Sarien's city skills were of little use in the wilds and he was forced to rely on the other survivors far more than was his want. Having left everything he owned in Westcrown, Sarien had little more than the clothes on his back, a sharp dagger and a bow and quiver of arrows he found in the ship's wreckage.

That bow, along with the generosity of the other survivors, saved his life on more occasions than he'd later be able to count, and he developed a lasting preference for the weapon and his companions that remained with him when he finally managed to escape the island.

Note: Though the Smuggler's Shiv trait provides a survival bonus, I was hoping that I could interchange the bonus with the Point Blank Shot feat provided by Laughing Jungle Hunter. If that's not an option, I'll be happy to just go with the standard bonus; flavor-wise the Smuggler's Shiv trait is too nice an addition to the background for me to pass up. Also, if Sarien is chosen for the game I'd be happy to flesh out his time on the island a little more, especially if one of the other players chooses the Survivor of Smuggler's Shiv trait.

Once in Eleder Sarien found himself settling all too quickly into old habits. The nobility in Eleder were at once similar and different from those in Westcrown. The influence of Asmodeus was not so unpleasantly obvious but they still carried themselves with the familiar air of superiority that had always grated on Sarien's nerves back home. Since he was of Chelaxian blood people tended to pay less attention to him than they did the natives and slaves, allowing him to move easily amongst them, quietly lightening their purses as he went.

Though he was a capable thief Sarien preferred to keep only what he needed to survive, donating the rest of it to those who were hungry or occasionally contributing to organizations that sought to help the natives or to free those who were enslaved.

Aside from a few scraps and the occasional encounter with the local law, life was pleasant enough. As the months passed, however, Sarien began to feel restless. He frequently found himself thinking back to his brief time with the Children of Westcrown and he realized that he wanted to be a part of something. With that in mind he began to keep an eye out for something that mattered, the opportunity to play a role in an event that had value.

Motivations/ Philosophy:

Sarien felt most alive for the few days that he was working with the Children of Westcrown. Though outwardly he appears nonchalant and unconcerned for the welfare of others, the truth is that he wants to be a part of something, to give his life greater meaning. He gives freely of his skills and coin to those he deems in need and he has gotten himself into trouble more often by helping those who could not defend themselves than by feeding his greed.

One thing Sarien shares in common with the leaders of Eleder is the constant fear that the Chelaxian navy will return to take Sargava back into its empire. He has no desire to live under such rule again and will fight alongside the same people he preys on to ensure such a disaster does not happen.

Personality:

Outwardly, Sarien enjoys presenting himself as a common man just getting by with the bare minimum of effort. He tends toward sarcasm and an aimless, flippant attitude, happy to lower other's expectations of him. Despite this attitude, however, he genuinely cares for the well-being of others, especially those who are disadvantaged or weak. When he sets aside his guise of bored apathy, he demonstrates a sharp intelligence and easy charm. He is content enough to let others lead but when there is no one else, he'll assume the responsibility without hesitation.

Time zone: GMT-8 Seattle, USA
Bones.
Jakob Mulle. NG Human (Sargavan of Cheliax decent) Haunted Nature Oracle.
Campaign background trait.
I was thinking Laughing Jungle resident to represent a childhood spent up country, or Native Sargarvan to reflect growing up the square peg. But Noble of Eleder looks good. Scion of peace would fit and be an unusual choice for a fighter. Yes, not the most combat optimal but the most flavorful, Noble of Eleder to represent the sheltered, upper-class child hood, Scion of Peace to reflect his personal attitude.
Flesh.
Baqckground.
The Mulle family is well established in Sagava. They are a trading family with interests from the inner sea to the deep interior. They do not have the best reputation. They are known to deal with the Apsis consortium and are closer to several leading shackled pirates than the Sagavan government likes. Most suspiciously they pay their taxes on time and correct to the copper.
Jakob is not an ornament to the family. He is not a drunkard, or a womanizer or incompetent or trying to sell his soul to demons. The family could deal with that, Gorzeh knows they have in the past. No Jacob is honest, upright, friendly and has no head for business.
Luckily the family noticed this flaw and kept him from becoming aware of anything too upsetting, but Jakob was getting brighter. He was asking questions. Something had to be done.
So they sent Jakob to a school in Magimar. They hoped it teach him how the world works, or at least keep him quiet while he learned something useful. The reports sent back by the investigator the family hired to keep an eye on Jakob were exactly what the family had hoped for. Jakob was doing well in classes, making friends and contacts, even getting in a squabble with the local law. The family was happy. But in the last year the reports changed. They told of Jakob focusing more on his studies following a relationship gone sour. They told of him starting to excel at history , ethics, and Natural philosophy. They even mentioned private tutelage under Abraxes, a prominent thinker and powerful druid.
That was the last straw. The family would not have one of theirs hanging around with those green blooded rabble rousers. They were the cause of half the security and labor problems up country. Jakob was pulled home fast. Not knowing what to do with him the family sent him to Kalabuto to inspect a date plantation the family was buying.
Jakob enjoyed the trip. It was good to get out of the city. More and more of what Abraxes had spoken to him about on their long walks was making sense; the need for a balance between the urban and the wild, between different peoples, between the parts of the self.
The date plantation was in a bad shape. The orchards were salvageable with work but the buildings were badly overgrown the guide who led him to the remote station warned him to stay out of the main warehouse but Jakob felt he needed to make a full inspection. The rotted floor gave way. Jakob never felt himself hit the ground because the cellar was a breeding ground for dream spiders. It took two days for the guide to smoke out enough of the spiders to get Jakob free. It was a clear week before Jakob could talk again.
Since then Jakob has taken to wandering. Taking long walks in the forest surrounding the city; meeting with tribal people in strange taverns and road houses. At least he seems disinterested in family business but he is becoming an embarrassment.
The Trials of Gallus were an answer to the family’s prayers. They are applying some gentle persuasion to see Jakob is chosen. If he dies, it is unfortunate but an acceptable loss. If he wins he may yet make a profit.
I see the family as something like a proto-mob. Closed, conservative to fascist politically, profit oriented, prone to violence but under strict internal rules. Jakob is someone with strong liberal ethics who received half a druidic education and a massive dose of hallucinogens. He is a hippy raised by the Cosa Nostra.
Appearance.
Average height. Not bad looking more supporting cast than leading man if you know what I mean. Skin tan from the sun. Favors dusty reds and browns. You could pass him on the street except there is something that catches your eye. He always seems relaxed .
Attitude and Motivations
Attitude.
Jacob is not as stupid as his family thinks he is. He is aware that his family business is frequently well over any conceivable line. He has even started to do something about it. Some of the people he meets work for the government or have ties to the more active resistance movements. The information he is passing is not very important but it is useful.
Jakob knows that Sargava has problems. The 'fees' paid to the Shackles pirates make normal commerce and government very difficult. Jakob sees this as the main force driving the exploitive relations with the native population and the rising role of crime families in the government. Up until now though he didn't know what to do about it. He hopes the Trials will open up more options. Jacob knows the government has an agenda in sponsoring the trials he just hopes it is an agenda he can agree with.
Motivations.
Long term.
Jacob wants to see a strong Sargava.; one not as dependent on the shackles for defense and not as fearful of, nor as rapacious towards the interior. He knows this is an ideal and like all ideals something that can never be reached but he hopes in spite of that. He sees adapting to the land as key to the future. The government is trying to force the jungle to act then way they want it to. This is dooming the former colony. Only by living with the jungle can Sargava prosper. Northern methods can be adapted to these southern climes but they cannot be imposed.
Short term.
Jakob wants to complete the Trials and whatever real mission lies behind it. He hopes this will be a quick path to influence or at least a way out from under the families thumb.
To do this he will need help. So his first priority is to find friends and comrades among the others competing in the trials or among those he knows in the adventuring community. His family contacts with the Apsis might be useful here or they might lead him to the wrong kind of people.
Once the trials begin though Jacob's main goal will be to see that everyone survives. He will work with people he disagrees with in pursuit of long-term goals.
Personality.
Friendly. Open. Outgoing. Jakob actually enjoys helping people. He can take a joke and prefers to trust people until they betray him.
Why change class?
Two main reasons, first because I have yet to play an Oracle and I always enjoy trying new things. Second because Jakob fits better this way. He is an example of a Sargarvan native adapting to the expanse think a third generation immigrant who has stronger ties to their local area than to the home country. As a fighter I didn’t really have a grasp of his voice. A fighter would be more direct and would make a clean break with the family. A more nature oriented character would more easily see a less direct more nuanced path. Or at least that is what I think.
And then there’s the phrase ‘a hippy raised by the mob’. How could I not try to play this?

Hegar Male NG Half-Orc Oracle of Life 1

Campaign Trait:
Survivor of Smuggler's Shiv

Time Zone:
GMT (-5) Bismarck ND

Appearance:

Hegar is young and strong, his broad shoulders unbowed by time. His black eyes, however, put the lie to his carefree appearance, and it is obvious he has seen many dark things in his short life. His hair is flame red and is body covered in ritual scars.

Background:

Born of a wealthy nobleman's dalliance with an Orc Shaman, Hegar was raised among his mother's people for a time. When his gifts first manifested the tribe scarred his body in an attempt to channel his powers in a direction useful to the tribe. Not wishing her son to live as nothing more than a pet to the tribe, his mother freed him one night and cast him into the wild on his own.

Finding his way to the nearest city Hegar peddled his healing arts for passage to the cost and eventually onto a ship heading as far from his tribe as he could get.

While traveling south to Eledar to find work as a healer, his ship was driven aground on the dreaded Smuggler's Shiv, and although his healing abilities were instrumental in escaping that place alive, it is obvious the experience has stayed with him.

Having seen life in the jungle and faced the terror of such an unknown environment, Hegar seeks to confront his fears head on. In the finest tradition of his people, he refuses to allow the jungle to best him, and will continue going into it until he has it's measure or it becomes his grave.

Motivations/ Philosophy:

He is a good person who cares little for law or the lack of it. He believes all should be allowed to live as they will, and while he values all life he has no fear of taking it if the situation warrants.

His primary motivation is to increase his power as a healer while learning more about himself, and conquering his fear of the unknown. One day he would like to return to his tribe and live with his mother again, on his terms not the tribes.

Personality:

Outgoing and friendly, Hegar is both likeable and a bit of a grifter. He has no qualms about living by his wits, and tends to take each day on it's own, with no thought to the future. Though not the tallest, strongest, or smartest, his force of personality cannot be denied and those who meet him either love him or hate him shortly after.

Hegar Male NG Half-Orc Oracle of Life (Sarenrae) 1
Campaign Trait:
Survivor of Smuggler's Shiv
Time Zone:
GMT (-5) Bismarck ND
Appearance:
Hegar is young and shorter than average for a half-orc. His black eyes, however, put the lie to his carefree appearance, and it is obvious he has seen many dark things in his short life. His hair is flame red and is body covered in ritual scars.
Background:
Born of a wealthy nobleman's dalliance with an Orc Shaman, Hegar was raised among his mother's people for a time. When his gifts first manifested his mother scarred his body in an attempt to increase his power. Living with his people for time and acting as a healer and backup for his mother, Hegar began to desire travel beyond the confines of the tribe.
With his mother's blessing Hegar left the tribe to discover his own way in the world, promising to return to her when he had seen his fill of the world. Thinking to find his father, Hegar made his way to Magnimar. Although he was unable to find his father, Hegar did find the life in the city exciting, and began providing services to the local half-orc community in exchange for food and shelter.
After several years living in Magnimar, Hegar's wanderlust struck him again, and on impulse he boarded a ship to Eledar. This almost became Hegar's final adventure, for his ship was driven aground on the dreaded Smuggler's Shiv, and although his healing abilities were instrumental in escaping that place alive, it is obvious the experience has stayed with him.
Having seen life in the jungle and faced the terror of such an unknown environment, Hegar seeks to confront his fears head on. In the finest tradition of his people, he refuses to allow the jungle to best him, and will continue going into it until he has it's measure or it becomes his grave.
Motivations/ Philosophy:
He is a good person who cares little for law or the lack of it. He believes all should be allowed to live as they will, and while he values all life he has no fear of taking it if the situation warrants.
His primary motivation is to increase his power as a healer while learning more about himself, and conquering his fear of the unknown. One day he would like to return to his tribe and live with his mother again.
Personality:
Outgoing and friendly, Hegar is both likeable and a bit of a grifter. He has no qualms about living by his wits, and tends to take each day on it's own, with no thought to the future. Though not the tallest or strongest, his force of personality cannot be denied and those who meet him either love him or hate him shortly after.