Islands in the Sky (Inactive)

Game Master avr

Liam Valenari was born in the Materials Recovery Frigate [MRF] Reclaimer. Growing up the son of two mechanics working on a Fixer Hulk, it wasn’t surprising that he would grow to love tinkering with machines. Every Fixer Hulk was a unique little environment of its own and the MRF Reclaimer was no exception. A relatively small permanent group of a half dozen mechanics and two dozen additional personnel and family called the Reclaimer home. Because of their relatively small community and the slow decline of people actively seeking Fixer services they were always focused on making the most out of their resources. Nothing that could be reused or recycled was tossed aside. Things were always used until they were worn down and then converted into something else to serve another task. The MRF Reclaimer was a perfect visual example of this recycling focused culture as it always looked like multiple ships had just been slammed together and welded into place with one another, even more so than a standard Fixer Hulk.

Even at a young age Liam was helping his parents with minor repairs around the Hulk. Everyone on the MRF Reclaimer was expected to provide something. Not all of them were mechanics, they had farmers, doctors, cooks, textile workers and a variety of other people, but everyone typically knew how to make something that was needed by others on the ship. Liam was an intensely curious boy and a very quick learner, he was always poking his head into things around the ship and he picked up things quite quickly. By the time he was a teenager he was respected as a mechanic in his own right, helping his parents maintain the Reclaimer as well as working on any ships that happened to cross their path and needed repair work. But over the last few years Fixer Hulks have been seeing less and less visitation. A few of the larger ones that have relatively set patrols are still utilized but the Reclaimer was never one of the big ones. Its systems were old and patched over a dozen times. The older mechanics, including Liam’s parents, were beginning to worry about how long their core systems could hold out without needing to be replaced entirely. The MRF Reclaimer was their home, but they couldn’t necessarily rely on simple passive upkeep to maintain it anymore.

So it was that they decided to request that several of their younger mechanics to go and seek a way to revitalize the Reclaimer or if worse came to worse, locate a replacement ship for them. No one wanted to abandon their home but they were all beginning to see the writing on the wall. Liam decided that he would take part in this voluntary pilgrimage. He vowed he would learn whatever he could to improve his skills out in the world at large and return to repair the MRF Reclaimer as soon as possible. His parents told him that he had perhaps four years before they would start running into serious issues. It has been almost three years since he departed and although he had picked up a great deal of new knowledge he has yet to find a definitive way to save his home. He keeps searching and all the while tries not to feel guilty for how freeing it is to be traveling the skies in a realm ship rather than drifting in the MRF Reclaimer. He still loves his home and wants to see it repaired but his last few years in the world have made it clear to him that there is more to see in the world than the small confines of any single ship.

Liam Valenari
Male human technician 4
Init +2; Senses Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 24 (4d8+4)
Fort +3, Ref +7 [+8 vs Traps], Will +5
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Ranged +1 Musket [Sky Splitter - Improved Firearm] +6 (1d12+1/×4)
Special Attacks Deadly Shot (+1d10/+1d6), Pressurized Shot (+2d6)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Extra Combat Talent
Skills Appraise +9, Bluff +7, Climb +6, Craft (alchemy) +14, Craft (firearms) +14, Craft (siege engines) +14, Craft (traps) +14, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +12, Knowledge (engineering) +14, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (local) +12, Linguistics +9, Perception +7, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +6, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +7
Languages Common, +Six Languages
Other Gear mwk mithral chain shirt, mwk musket[UC], travelers any-tool[UE], 1,050 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Danger Sense: +1 Bonus to Relfex to avoid traps and +1 Dodge AC bonus agains them. +1 Perception to avoid surprise. Counts as trap sense.
Deadly Shot: A special attack action adding one [snipe] talent known to an attack. Can expend martial focus to increase damage by 1d10 [1d6 targeting touch].
Gadgets: Can create a number of gadgets each day equal to ½ Level + Int Mod [2+5 = 7].
Gunsmithing: Can make and repair guns.
Inventions: Can maintain up to [2] Inventions at a time.
Martial Tradition [Mechanic]: Gains Expert Reloading [Equipment], Trap Sphere, Firearm Proficiency and Sniper Sphere at first level.
Technical Insights: Gains Technical Insights every 2 Levels.
Technically Minded: Bonus to all Know [Engineering] checks equal to ½ level and takes half the usual time when using Craft to repair. Reduces Disable Device skill use time by one step.
Trapfinding: +½ Level on Perception checks to locate traps and on all Disable Device Checks. Can disarm magical traps with Disable Device.
Trap Specialist: Gains a Talent from the Trap Sphere.
--------------------
Spheres and Talents
--------------------
Alchemy Sphere: Gain 5 Ranks in Craft Traps +5 per Talent in the Sphere, up to HD. Gains Formulae Package [Salve].
Expert Reloading [Equipment]: Whenever you reload a ranged weapon with which you are proficient, you may decrease the required time; hand and light crossbows become free actions, heavy crossbows and one-handed firearms become move actions, and two-handed firearms become standard actions.
Firearm Proficiency [Equipment]: Proficient with firearms, except siege weapons, and gains Gunsmithing Feat.
Focusing Reload [Sniper]: You may regain martial focus whenever you use a move, standard, or full-round action to reload a weapon you are wielding.
Head Shot (snipe) [Sniper]: If your deadly shot deals damage equal to at least 50% of the target’s current hit points, the target must make a successful Fortitude saving throw or die. Constructs, elementals, swarms, and oozes are immune to this ability. This is a death effect.
Salve: You create a poultice that can be used as a standard action to heal yourself or a target within your natural reach for 2d8+5. You can only attempt to heal a particular creature with this ability a number of times per day equal to [2+5 = 7]. You can increase the Craft DC for this item in increments of 10; each time you do so you increase the healing granted by the salve by 5. Base DC: 15.
Sniper Sphere: Practitioners of the Sniper sphere can shoot or throw ranged weapons at a creature engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on their attack roll. Also gains access to the special attack action Deadly Shot.
Steady Shooting [Equipment]: You have mastered techniques for making firearms more reliable and accurate at the expense of power. When firing a firearm as an attack action, you may ignore its misfire chance, but the weapon targets normal AC instead of touch AC. When firing a firearm in this manner, treat its range increment as 10 ft. longer than it actually is.
Trap Sphere: Gain 5 Ranks in Craft Traps +5 per Talent in the Sphere, up to HD. Gains basic Dart and Snare traps.
Warning [Alchemy]: Allies who can see and hear you never trigger your traps unless they choose to.
--------------------
Technical Insights
--------------------
Mechanical Insight: The technician unlocks special options for his inventions, as detailed under that section. He may also give his independent inventions the clockwork subtype by adding the following properties (a construct or independent invention cannot possess more than one subtype): Winding, Vulnerable to Electricity, Swift Reactions, Difficult to Create.
Steampowered Insight: The technician unlocks special options for his inventions, as detailed under that section. He may also give his independent inventions the steampowered subtype by adding the following properties (a construct or independent invention cannot possess more than one subtype): Refill, Hydraulic Force, Vulnerable to Cold, Difficult to Create.
--------------------
Inventions [1/2]
--------------------
Sky Splitter [Improved Firearm]: His musket is modified with steam valves to build up pressure and increase the damage of his shots. By taking a move action the musket can store pressure. The next round, his first attack deals 1d6 + 1d6 every 2 levels past first [2d6].

Samuel Valentine
Male Human Warlord (Steelfist Commando) 4
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init: +5; Senses: Normal Perception: +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 19 FF 14 TAC 15
HP 30
Fort +7 Ref +6 Will +5
Special Defenses:
Force of Personality: add CHA modifier to Will
Resistance +1
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30ft
Melee
"The Left Hook" +10 (1d8+5/x2)
"The Right Jab" +9 (1d8+4/x2)
Ranged
longbow +8 (1d8/x3/100ft)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 8 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 10 Cha 16
Base Atk +4 CMB +3/+4 to grapple CMD 17
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Deadly Agility, Improved Unarmed Strike, Greater Unarmed Strike, Two-Weapon Fighting, Precise Strike
Skills: Profession: Sailor +9 (4), Acrobatics +11 (4), Perception +7 (4), Climb +5 (2), Swim +5 (2), Diplomacy +8 (2), Intimidate +10 (4), Sense Motive +7 (4), Stealth +11 (4), Heal +7 (4), Bluff +8 (2), Kn: History +6 (1), Kn: Engineering +7 (2), Kn: Geography +7 (1)
Languages: Common, + 2 languages
SQ: Skilled, Bonus Feat, FC: Warlord - +4 Skillpoints
Traits: Pirate, Tactician
Combat Gear: cestus (one attuned), mwk studded leather (attuned), longbow
Magical Gear: armbands of the brawler, belt of tumbling, boots of the cat, potion of jump, potion of feather step, 3 potions of cure light wounds
Other Gear: mwk backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, rope (50ft), torches (10), trail rations (5 days), waterskin, climber's kit, healer's kit (10), 10gp
Loyalties: The Captain & Crew, My Honor, Unrequited Love For Devanna
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Warlord's Gambit (3): At 1st level, a warlord selects two gambits from the gambits available to warlords. At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, a warlord selects an additional gambit to learn. Any gambit that would normally use the warlord’s Charisma modifier to determine its effects instead uses his warlord initiation modifier, if it is a different ability. These gambits allow the warlord to recover maneuvers. Due to their reliance on the stresses of combat to bring out the best of the warlord, gambits cannot be used outside combat.

A gambit has two aspects: a risk and a reward. A gambit’s risk describes an action the warlord must take in order to play the gambit. The warlord begin a gambit as a swift action, then performs the gambit’s risk action. He may add half his warlord initiation modifier as a luck bonus on any d20 rolls made while performing this action. The warlord only gets this bonus if he spent the swift or immediate action required to begin the gambit; if taking the actions normally, he gains no additional benefits. If the warlord initiates a maneuver as part of a gambit, he cannot recover that maneuver when the gambit is completed (even if it’s his only expended maneuver).

If the warlord succeeds at his gambit’s risk, he recovers a number of expended maneuvers equal to his warlord initiation modifier (minimum 2) and gains the reward listed in the gambit’s description. Allies who would gain a benefit from the gambit’s reward must be within 60 feet of the warlord and able to see him perform the gambit’s risk. If the warlord fails his gambit (such as missing the charge attack of a brave gambit, or failing the saving throw of an unbreakable gambit), he suffers the gambit’s rake, recovering only a single expended maneuver and taking a –2 penalty on all d20 rolls for one round
Acrobatic Gambit
-Risk: The warlord makes an Acrobatics check to move through a creature’s threatened area without provoking attacks of opportunity.
-Reward: The warlord and each of his allies gains a morale bonus equal to the warlord’s initiation modifier on the damage roll of the next attack they make against that creature before the start of the warlord’s next turn.
Unbreakable Gambit
-Risk: The warlord makes a Fortitude or Will save against a non-harmless extraordinary ability, maneuver, power, spell, spell-like or supernatural ability ability. Unlike other gambits, unbreakable gambit can be activated as an immediate action.
-Reward: The warlord regains a number of hit points equal to three times his warlord initiation modifier.
Brave Gambit
-Risk: The warlord makes a charge attack (if he has the ability to make multiple attacks on a charge, only the first attack roll gains the benefits of the gambit, and that attack must be successful for the gambit to succeed).
-Reward: The warlord and each of his allies gains a morale bonus equal to the warlord’s initiation modifier on the damage roll of the next attack they make against that creature before the start of the warlord’s next turn.

Bonus Feat: A steelfist commando can select rogue talents in place of his warlord bonus feats. Starting at 14th level, he can also select advanced rogue talents.

Unarmed Combat (Ex): At 1st level, the steelfist commando learns to use his body as the best weapon he can bring to any confrontation, He gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. At 3rd level, he gains Greater Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A steelfist commando’s unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

Tactical Presence (Ex): At 2nd level, the warlord’s innate charisma allows his very presence to aid and assist not only himself but his allies as well, just by his being around. Adopting a presence is a move- equivalent action, and only one presence may be maintained at any given time. At 7th level, the warlord is capable of adopting a presence as a free action.
ndomitable Presence: At 2nd level, the warlord shines as a beacon to his allies on the field of battle, inspiring them to fight with him to their last breath. All allies within 30-ft. of his position gain the benefits of the Die Hard feat, and may add his warlord initiation modifier to Fortitude saves versus death effects, fatigue or exhaustion effects, or poison effects as a morale bonus.

Dodge Bonus (Ex): At 2nd level, the steelfist commando is especially capable of avoiding attacks and gains a +1 dodge bonus to his Armor Class. This improves by +1 at 6th level and every four levels after (to a maximum of +5 at 18th level).

Warleader (4): The warlord excels in the theater of war because he knows how best to work with his allies. At 3rd level, the warlord becomes an ever more capable commander and may share tactics with his allies. First, the warlord gains a teamwork feat as a bonus feat (he must meet the prerequisites for this feat to select it). As a standard action that the warlord performs, the warlord and allies within 30- ft. of him can share teamwork feats that they possess with each other, acting as if they both possessed the teamwork feat that they are sharing. The warlord can only share one teamwork feat at a time, either one of his own (with all allies within 30-ft. of him) or an ally’s (in which case only the warlord receives the ability to use the teamwork feat he does not possess). The warlord and allies retain the use of this feat for 3 + his warlord initiation modifier in rounds. The warlord can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + his warlord initiation modifier, plus one additional time per day at 7th level and four warlord levels thereafter.

Force of Personality: At 3rd level, the warlord’s forceful personality and bold, headstrong nature assist him in resisting the influence of others. Where others use personal serenity, awareness of the world around them, or plain old sensibility, the warlord gets by with endless nerve. The warlord may add his warlord initiation modifier in addition to his Wisdom modifier to determine his Will save bonus. If the character is ever able to add his warlord initiation modifier to his Will save through use of another ability (for example. the paladin’s divine grace) he may only add his warlord initiation modifier once to his Will save.

Tactical Flanker: At 4th level, the warlord is exceptionally gifted at working with his allies to bring down opponents and his skills assist any who ally with him. At the start of the warlord’s turn, he chooses a single square adjacent to him. Until the start of his next turn, he and his allies can treat that square as if it was occupied by him for the purposes of flanking opponents.
--------------------
Manuevers
--------------------
Initiation Modifier (CHA): +3
Manuever Saving Throw DC: 10 + Manuever Level + Charisma Modifier
+2 to DC if using discipline weapon
Manuevers Known: 8
Stances Known: 2
Manuevers Readied (6):

Inner Sphere Stance
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Stance); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance
A defensive stance that focuses on using the disciple’s dance-like movements to confound his foe, Inner Sphere Stance allows the disciple to use erratic movements to defend himself and bolster his confidence. When wielding two weapons while in this stance, the disciple gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC and a +2 morale bonus to Will saves. These bonuses increase by +1 when the character’s initiator level reaches 6th, and increases again by +1 at 12th and 18th initiator level.

Pugilist's Stance
Discipline: Broken Blade (Stance); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance
By adopting a powerful kickboxing stance, the initiator positions himself for lightning fast, potent strikes with his hands and feet. While in this stance, unarmed or discipline weapon strikes inflict an additional 1d6 points of damage.

Shards of Iron Strike
Discipline: Broken Blade (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
By mimicking the speed and piercing power of the legendary shattered blade of the founder of this discipline, the disciple makes a hard jabbing strike at his opponent’s vulnerable spots for maximum pain. The initiator makes an attack against his target foe and if successful, the target is staggered for one round in addition to normal damage.

Brawler's Attitude
Discipline: Broken Blade (Boost); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Instant
By using the skill of the empty-handed warriors that came before him, the disciple focuses his will to using his body in less conventional ways in combat. When initiating this boost, the initiator gains a +4 competence bonus to his next CMB check when using his unarmed strike or discipline weapon to perform the following combat maneuvers: dirty trick, disarm, grapple, or trip.

Offensive Roll
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 full-round action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
As the disciple moves by his opponent, he may drop into a tumbling roll and strike at it from a surprising angle. The initiator must move at least 10 ft. alongside an enemy (which provokes attacks of opportunity unless the initiator is using Acrobatics to tumble) and make a Acrobatics check with a DC equal to the target’s Armor Class. If successful, the target is considered flat-footed and the strike inflicts an additional 1d6 points of damage. The character initiating this maneuver may move up to his full base speed, making the attack along any point of the moment.

Swift Claws
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
The Thrashing Dragon disciple’s skill with his dual weapons allows him to strike with practiced speed and alacrity, allowing him to make an attack with two wielded weapons (or unarmed strikes), using the same attack action. Creatures with more than two arms may still only strike with two wielded weapons.

Dizzying Venom Prana[b]
[b]Discipline: Steel Serpent (Boost); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Next melee attack or ranged attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant Saving Throw: Fort negates
The disciple hunts his foe through the emulation of a hunting serpent, obfuscating his true attack until the moment he strikes. The disciple makes a Heal check with a difficulty equal to his opponent’s armor class. If this check is successful, then the target is made flat-footed and the disciple may make a melee attack against him, inflicting an additional 1d6 points of damage if successful. If this Heal check fails, then his opponent sees through this ruse, and the disciple makes his melee attack with a -2 penalty as the enemy is anticipating his attack.

Pommel Bash
Discipline: Broken Blade (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
When watching a Broken Blade fighter work his art, most watch for the fists and feet. The disciple knows this, and surprises his foe, catching him unaware. The disciple makes a surprise elbow strike to the foe that leaves them reeling. The initiator makes an unarmed attack against the target’s flat-footed armor class, and the blow inflicts 1d6 points of additional damage. Creatures immune to sneak attacks and critical hits are unaffected by this extra damage.

Flurry Strike
Discipline: Broken Blade (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
The disciple of the Broken Blade learns to maximize openings in his opponent’s defenses and makes lightning fast attacks whenever possible. As a standard action, the initiator may make two attacks at his full base attack bonus.

Sting of the Asp
Discipline: Steel Serpent (Strike); Level: 2 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack or ranged attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
Through the use of this maneuver, the disciple readies a weakening dose of ki energy with his weapon’s strike to sap his foe of its power. The disciple makes an attack against a target; if successful the strike inflicts an additional 1d6 points of damage and 2 points of Strength damage (Fortitude save DC 12 + initiation modifier; success halves this Strength damage). On the round following a failed save, the corrupted ki energies inflict an additional 1d6 points of damage and 2 additional points of Strength damage. This is a supernatural ability.

Step 1: Write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character.
-Samuel prefers to go by his last name of "Valentine" then as "Sam". He particularly hates "Sammy".
-Despite no longer being part of a formal military, he still remembers proper military etiquette and follows it.
-Valentine is a smaller, lithe man but his muscles show years of training and skill. Any who imagine him as "weak" due to his strength are in for a rude and violent awakening. His knuckles are scarred from the years of bare-knuckle training.
-Valentine owes his life to one of the fellow players, preferably the captain.
-While Valentine is charismatic, he is not a leader. He prefers to support the captain rather than be a captain.
-While usually calm and collected in most thing, Valentine still gets a thrill from the rush of piracy and combat. In the midst of combat is when one can see him enjoying himself.
-Valentine has no skill whatsoever in dealing with anyone who says they're attracted to him. At all.

Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game.
-It would be fun for Valentine to finally encounter the nobleman that had sent him on such terrible missions and have a chance for vengeance.
-Valentine learned his skills from a teacher. I'd love a scene where they encounter one another again and they have a "student has passed the teacher" moment.

Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet.
- Valentin was involved in a military operation that has gained terrible infamy. What was thought to be weapon smugglers to the Coalition was actually refugee ships, ships that were sabotaged by Valentine and his men. It was this "miscommunication" that led him to abandoning the Empire to its fate. He is responsible for the death of hundreds of innocents, something he does his very best to avoid confronting.
- Valentin was hired by the Rasumussen family, a poweful noble family in the Empire. What he does not know is that he was actually a bastard child of Matias Rasmussen, the patriarch of the family. He is an heir to their fortune and only his greedy half-siblings know it.

Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
- Devanna Gladstone: Devanna was an old childhood friend that was raised with Valentine before he was recruited for training by the Rasmussen family. Kindhearted and forever forgiving, she wrote many letters to Valentine during the war. An old flame that went out, she is now married and is the unofficial mayor a free island after being the bartender of the only tavern in town. Disillusioned by the Coalition, she looks for more reasonable defense for her home; even pirates could count.
- Roland Friedel: Roland was the man who trained Valentine in everything that he knew; how to be a weapon instead of just wielding one. Strict, firm, and slightly paternal, Valentine was one of his greatest students and it angered the man to see his prodigy be used as a disposable weapon. When Valentine had nowhere else to go, Roland helps smuggle him out of a dangerous city with his various connections and influence.
- Vincent Aveline: Vincent was another member of the Empire's special operations, specifically underneath Valentine's command. They were once friends but after the Highpeak Incident, he came to hate Valentine. He blamed his superior for not getting all the intel correct and condemning all those people to die in the Churn. If he could be convinced to work with Valentine now, his knowledge of the black market and smuggling (his new career) could be quite useful.
- Violet Rasmussen: The most notable heir of the Rasmussen family fortune, she developed a cruel streak as long as a peninsula as a child that only grew worse as she got older. She knew exactly what she was sending Valentine and his team off to do, wanting to destabilize the Empire more to begin seizing her own level of control. Intelligent, vicious, and easily manipulating the other family members, Valentine is the only one she considers a challenge to her authority as he "got away" from his grasp.

Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
-Valentine remembers the ache in his body as he pushed himself up off of the sandy floor to prepare against Master Friedel. He can still remember the blood in his mouth, how his right eye had nearly closed. After two hours of fighting, losing, of taking hits; he finally got his first strike to connect against the skilled pugilist.
-Valentine cannot ever forget the Highpeak Incident, the sounds of screams echoing through the air. How shrill and loud they were at first before echoing in the air as they plummeted. It is those screams that keep him up at night, sometimes.
-Valentine will never forget the day he was saved by [PC Here]. They took him under their wing, rescued them from a gang of killers sent to end his life. When they had no reason to, they saved him. For that kindness, he'll die for them.

The Granddaughter of one of the more respected Coalition Admirals, Miziande grew up bouncing on her grandfather's knee and hearing the tales of his aerial adventures. However, her parents wanted to have nothing to do with the war, and so she was raised on Ceres, a mid sized island specializing in the growth of tobacco, a fact that led to her later smoking habit. Living on a farm taught her quickly the value of a gun, especially when it came to some of the nastier varmints. Her grand father often made stops, taking his time to run her through the ropes of an airship, and the art of captaining.

However, as she started to reach adulthood her fiery red hair became more than symbolic. Flames started to manifest at her fingertips, she could invigorate those around her, and most importantly, she could teleport in a flash of flames. Her parents would have probably ignored her powers, had they not spiraled out of control one day, consuming a series of fields in a raging fire. Luckily,

Quickly, her grandfather pulled her off of Ceres, and gave her a choice. She could serve on his ship, or make her own way. When the proud Miziande told him she'd do things his way, her grandfather smiled and simply handed her a bag of silver and his battered tricorn.

With that money, Miziande prepared to accomplish her dream; fly her own airship. Through the Coalition information network, she caught wind of Samuel Valentine's execution. Helping him escape, she stole a ship with his aid, and has been flying ever since.

Often sporting a smirk, Miziande sports long fiery locks that sneak out from the tattered tricorn atop her head. With a set of golden bangles, and chain armor hidden beneath layers of leather, she very much looks the part of the pirate. Her prized fire spewing apparatus is holstered on her left hip, with a small blade on her right and another pistol on her chest.

While hot tempered and callous, Miziande is fiercely protective of anything she deems hers, including her crew and ship. Despite her temper, she comes off personable and charming, often using her silver tongue to get some discounts of supplies and other goods. Her fascination with fire borders on an obsession especially in regards to dragonfire, with her humor often accompanying the scent of burning flesh. Loyal to her crew, she has inherited her grandfather's distaste for the Empire, but only cares about what her people are capable of, not their origin.

Jale's tribe's island met much the same fate as the islands formerly known as the Fates, and now known as the Dross. I was thinking perhaps the 'Lition forces were responsible for much of the plundering of her homeland(s) in much the same way the Orventian's brought about the destruction of the Fates.

As far as I thought it, Jale's folk were (are) matriarchal, semi-nomadic (both due to seasonal/altitude variations and movement of plateaus and mountains/effects of storms and the Churn below) with strong ancestor worship and a vague doctrine of whale and leviathan worship based on a very non-vague and quite extensively detailed caste system for the flying creatures coupled with some fanciful mutation-categorisation topped off with the usual hunter-heroes in the ancestral stories. All of which may now be Churning away in the down below, or perhaps they survived for later [plot]. Jale's heirlooms include a whale-toothed gunstock club and a whalebone boomerang.

Kemosh
Male human investigator (empiricist) 3/ranger 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 30, 100)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +10
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 36 (4 HD; 3d8+1d10+11)
Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +3
Defensive Abilities trap sense +1
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee +1 cold iron bardiche +7 (1d10+10/19-20) or
. . dagger +6 (1d4+6/19-20) or
. . morningstar +6 (1d8+6)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with +1 cold iron bardiche)
Special Attacks favored enemy (humans +2)
Investigator (Empiricist) Extracts Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +6)
. . 1st—endure elements, enlarge person (DC 14), monkey fish[ACG], shield
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 19
Feats Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Acrobatics)
Traits armor expert, student of philosophy
Skills Acrobatics +10 (+14 to move through a threatened square or enemy's space, +6 to jump), Appraise +7, Bluff +6 (+9 to lie (as a result of using Int instead of Cha)), Climb +8, Craft (alchemy) +10 (+13 to create alchemical items), Craft (weapons) +9, Diplomacy +7 (+10 to gather information (You can use your Intelligence Modifier instead of Charisma), +10 to persuade others but not to gather information (as a result of using Int instead of Cha)), Disable Device +8, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (planes) +7, Linguistics +8, Perception +10, Profession (sailor) +6, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +7, Swim +6, Use Magic Device +10
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Sylvan
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +3), ceaseless observation, inspiration (4/day), investigator talent (mutagen[UM]), keen recollection, mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 30 minutes), track +1, trapfinding +1, wild empathy +1
Combat Gear mutagen[APG], wand of shield (50 charges); Other Gear mwk agile breastplate[APG], heavy steel shield, cold iron bardiche[APG], dagger, morningstar, belt of tumbling[UE], traveler's any-tool[UE], investigator starting formula book, masterwork backpack[APG], masterwork thieves' tools
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Alchemy +3 (Su) +3 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Ceaseless Observation (Ex) Use INT instead of CHA for gather information (+3)
Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Favored Enemy (Humans +2) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs. humans foes.
Inspiration (+1d6, 4/day) (Ex) Use 1 point, +1d6 to trained skill or ability check. Use 2 points, to add to attack or save.
Keen Recollection At 3rd level, an investigator can attempt all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Mutagen This discovery gives the alchemist the mutagen class ability, as described in the Advanced Player's Guide. (This discovery exists so alchemist archetypes who have variant mutagens, such as the mindchemist, can learn how to make standard mutage
Mutagen (DC 14) (Su) Mutagen adds +4/-2 to physical/mental attributes, and +2 nat. armor for 30 minutes.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Track +1 Add the listed bonus to Survival checks made to track.
Trap Sense +1 (Ex) +1 bonus on reflex saves and AC against traps.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Wild Empathy +1 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.

Cyrus Rozodre
Male Human Stalker 4
Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init: +7; Senses: Normal; Perception +10

----------
Defense
----------

AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 20 (+5 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge)
HP 27
Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +8
Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge

----------
Offense
----------

Speed 30 ft.
Melee
kukri (attuned) +8 (1d4+5/17-20)
kukri +7 (1d4+4/17-20)
Ranged composite longbow (STR +1) +7 (1d8+1/19-20 x3)
Special Attacks deadly strike

----------
Statistics
----------

Str 13, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 19
Feats Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Piranha Strike
Skills Acrobatics +11, Bluff +6, Climb +5, Craft (Alchemy) +4, Craft (Traps) +4, Disable Device +8, Disguise +4, Escape Artist +8, Heal +10, Knowledge (engineering) +1, Knowledge (geography) +1, Knowledge (history)+1, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (martial) +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Linguistics +1, Perception +10, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +9, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +11, Survival +7
Traits resilient, unorthodox method (lose Solar Wind, gain Primal Fury)
Languages Common, +1 language
SQ bonus feat, skilled
Combat Gear kukri (2)(1 attuned), dagger (2), Composite Longbow STR+1, arrows (20), mithral shirt (attuned)
Magical Gear Daredevil boots
Other Gear portable alchemist's lab, artisan's tools (traps), mwk backpack, bedroll, caltrops, flint and steel, mess kit, belt pouch, trail rations (2 days), poison pill ring, mwk thieves' tools, waterskin, spring-loaded wrist sheath (2), 14 gp
Ki Pool 6 points

----------
Special Abilities
----------

Combat Insight (Su): At 2nd level, the keen senses and awareness of the stalker delivers him a sort of sixth sense. This insight performs as an intuitive alarm, alerting him of danger. Through his rigorous practice and learning to trust his instincts and intuition to an unearthly level, the senses of the stalker are unusually sharp.

At 2nd level, the stalker’s combat sense opens his third eye, granting him defensive reflexes that protect him in combat. The stalker may add his stalker initiation modifier to his initiative score and to Reflex saving throws as an insight bonus.

At 4th level, the heightened perceptions of the stalker allow him to know when his prey could get the jump on him, granting him the uncanny dodge class feature (see rogue class for details).

Deadly Strike (Ex): The stalker is capable of maximizing his deadliness whenever he lands a critical blow upon his opponent, opening his target up for future punishment as the stalker becomes attuned to his prey. Whenever the stalker scores a successful critical hit against a creature, his deadly strike ability activates against that creature for a number of rounds equal to his stalker initiation modifier. Deadly strike inflicts extra damage, to only this target creature, on all of the stalker’s attacks. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by 1d6 for every four stalker levels thereafter. When the stalker scores a critical hit, this extra damage is not multiplied, it is simply added to the damage. If the stalker scores a successful critical hit during the time his deadly strike is active, the duration of this ability is extended by one round (no more than one extension can be made per round). Ranged attacks can count as deadly strikes only if the target is within 30-ft.. Deadly strike is more effective with weapons with higher critical multipliers, such as scythes and battle axes. Weapons with a x3 critical multiplier inflict damage with deadly strikes using a d8 instead of a d6, and weapons with a critical multiplier of x4 use d10’s. Damage multipliers higher than x4 use d10’s for deadly strikes damage.

Deadly strike may not be used with weapons that inflict non-lethal damage. The stalker must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. Creatures immune to critical hits or precision damage cannot be targeted by a deadly strike. A stalker cannot deadly strike while attacking a creature who has concealment.

Dodge Bonus (Ex): The stalker’s heightened perception of danger allows him to defend himself from attacks as they are made against him, anticipating the attacks as they come. A stalker gains a +1 dodge bonus to his Armor Class at 2nd level, which improves by an additional +1 every four stalker levels thereafter. When recovering maneuvers as a full round action, the character may add his stalker initiation modifier to his AC as an additional dodge bonus; his defensive precognition being heightened by centering his ki through maneuver recovery.

Ki Pool (Su): At 1st level, a stalker gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in the stalker’s ki pool is equal to 1/2 her stalker level + his stalker initiation modifier (minimum of 1).

At 1st level, the stalker may spend 1 point of ki to grant himself a +4 insight bonus to a single Perception or Sense Motive check as an immediate action, as he uses his ki to feel out the vibrations of others and their hidden motives.

Maneuvers: A stalker begins his career with knowledge of six martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Broken Blade, Solar Wind, Steel Serpent, Thrashing Dragon, Veiled Moon, and either Riven Hourglass or Tempest Gale. If he does not have that discipline’s associated skill as a class skill, he gains it as a class skill. Once he knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by stalkers is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. His maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one. He learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown above. The stalker must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. See the Systems and Use chapter.

Upon reaching initiator level 4th, and at every even numbered initiator level thereafter (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), the stalker can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, the stalker loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. The stalker need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes his restriction on the highest-level maneuvers he knows. The stalker can swap only a single maneuver at any given level. A stalker’s initiator modifier is Wisdom.

Maneuvers Readied: A stalker can ready four of his six starting maneuvers, but as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he must choose which maneuvers to ready. He readies his maneuvers by meditating and focusing his ki for 10 minutes. The maneuvers he chooses remain readied until he decides to repeat this again and change them. Stalkers do not need to sleep or be well rested to ready their maneuvers; any time he spends 10 minutes in meditation, he can change his readied maneuvers. He may not ready any individual maneuver more than once. He begins an encounter with all readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he may have already used them since he chose them. When the stalker initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until they are recovered, see below).

Stalkers may recover their maneuvers in one of two ways. The stalker may either center his awareness of the combat momentarily as a standard action and recover a single expended maneuver of his choice.

Alternately, he may recover his stalker initiation modifier in expended maneuvers (min of 2) as a full round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, centering his spirit completely to re-align his perceptions of the battle and change his place in it. When recovering his maneuvers in this way, he may move up to his base speed and adds a +4 insight bonus to his Armor Class as his ki defends his form while he re-centers himself. In addition, the next attack he makes this encounter adds his deadly strike damage if it hits.

Stances Known: Stalkers begin play with knowledge of one stance from any discipline open to stalkers. At the indicated levels (see class table), the stalker selects an additional new stance. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended and he does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he is currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, the stalker cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

Stalker Arts: As a stalker gains experience, he learns a number of arts that aid him and confound his foes. Starting at 1st level, a stalker gains one art; he gains an additional art at 3rd level and new arts every four class levels attained after 3rd level. A stalker cannot select an individual art more than once (unless noted).
-Killer’s Implements (Ex): The stalker chooses a melee weapon he is proficient with, and gains the benefits of the Weapon Finesse and Deadly Agility feats when using that weapon, even if that weapon could not normally be used with those feats. At 6th level and every five levels thereafter, the stalker chooses an additional melee weapon to gain the benefits of this ability with. The stalker can change one of these weapon choices by practicing with a new weapon for ten minutes. This stalker art counts as both Weapon Finesse and Deadly Agility for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.
-Critical Edge (Ex): The stalker’s deadly efficiency in combat allows him to increase the critical threat range of any weapon he wields by +1. This bonus is applied after abilities such Improved Critical or the keen weapon property and cannot be doubled.

----------
Maneuvers
----------

Initiation Modifier (WIS): +3
Maneuver Saving Throw DC: 10 + Maneuver Level + Wisdom Modifier
+2 to DC if using discipline weapon
Maneuvers Known: 9
Stances Known: 2
Maneuvers Readied: 6

Inner Sphere Stance
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Stance); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance
A defensive stance that focuses on using the disciple’s dance-like movements to confound his foe, Inner Sphere Stance allows the disciple to use erratic movements to defend himself and bolster his confidence. When wielding two weapons while in this stance, the disciple gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC and a +2 morale bonus to Will saves. These bonuses increase by +1 when the character’s initiator level reaches 6th, and increases again by +1 at 12th and 18th initiator level.

Running Hunter's Stance
Discipline: Primal Fury (Stance); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: One creature Duration: Stance
The swiftest hunter catches the prey, and the Primal Fury disciple has trained his body mercilessly to increase his speed and sharpen his senses. While in this stance, the initiator gains a +10 enhancement bonus to his base land speed and gains the scent special ability.

Minute Hand
Discipline: Riven Hourglass (Boost); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
You make an incredibly swift strike which sacrifices some accuracy for speed. Make a melee attack with a –2 penalty on the attack roll. If it hits, it deals weapon damage as normal.

Disturbing Blow
Discipline: Veiled Moon (Strike) [mind-affecting]; Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Special
By establishing counter-resonance within the spirit of an enemy with a well-placed blow, the disciple may disrupt and disturb its next action. The initiator must make a melee attack against a target creature, and if successful, cause the target to suffer a -4 penalty to the next d20 roll that he makes.

Inner Sense
Discipline: Veiled Moon (Counter); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 immediate action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Instant
By sensing ripples in the spiritual world around him, the Veiled Moon disciple is capable of better avoiding dangerous effects and situations. This counter grants the disciple a +2 insight bonus to a single saving throw.

Offensive Roll
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 full-round action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
As the disciple moves by his opponent, he may drop into a tumbling roll and strike at it from a surprising angle. The initiator must move at least 10 ft. alongside an enemy (which provokes attacks of opportunity unless the initiator is using Acrobatics to tumble) and make a Acrobatics check with a DC equal to the target’s Armor Class. If successful, the target is considered flat-footed and the strike inflicts an additional 1d6 points of damage. The character initiating this maneuver may move up to his full base speed, making the attack along any point of the moment.

Swift Claws
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
The Thrashing Dragon disciple’s skill with his dual weapons allows him to strike with practiced speed and alacrity, allowing him to make an attack with two wielded weapons (or unarmed strikes), using the same attack action. Creatures with more than two arms may still only strike with two wielded weapons.

Hunting Serpent Blow
Discipline: Steel Serpent (Strike); Level: 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
The disciple hunts his foe through the emulation of a hunting serpent, obfuscating his true attack until the moment he strikes. The disciple makes a Heal check with a difficulty equal to his opponent’s armor class. If this check is successful, then the target is made flat-footed and the disciple may make a melee attack against him, inflicting an additional 1d6 points of damage if successful. If this Heal check fails, then his opponent sees through this ruse, and the disciple makes his melee attack with a -2 penalty as the enemy is anticipating his attack.

Raging Hunter Pounce
Discipline: Primal Fury (Strike); Level: 2 Initiation Action: 1 full-round action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
With the ferocity of a raging great cat, the disciple of Primal Fury provides the very real fear that users of this discipline are known to inspire with their reckless assault techniques of offense over all. The initiator makes a charge attack and makes a full attack at the end of the charge against the target creature. He must focus all of these attacks against a single target, and if the target is brought to 0 or fewer hit points, then any remaining attacks are lost as the initiator savages the foe’s body with the remaining attacks.

Fading Strike
Discipline: Veiled Moon (Strike) (teleportation); Level: 2 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Personal Target: Up to the disciple’s movement speed Duration: Instant
The disciple learns the basic technique at this level for walking between worlds to reach locations that previously could be inaccessible on the mortal world and potentially attack foes at those locales. As a standard action, the initiator may either teleport to a location no farther away than his maximum movement speed, and make an attack action against an opponent as part of the same standard action, or attack an adjacent target and then teleport to a location no farther away than his maximum movement speed. The teleportation destination must be clearly seen by the disciple to teleport to that location, and it must be unoccupied.

Flick of the Wrist
Discipline: Thrashing Dragon (Strike); Level: 2 Initiation Action: 1 full-round action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instant
With two rapid slaps from his blades, the Thrashing Dragon disciple’s ferocity puts an opponent off balance and with a flick of the wrist the disciple takes away the weapon of his foe. The initiator makes two rapid attack rolls at his full base attack bonus against the target’s AC with a +2 bonus. If both attacks are successful, the target is disarmed of his primary weapon (no roll needed). Resolve damage from the two attacks made as part of this strike as normal. If the target is using natural attacks or the target has a locked gauntlet, then this maneuver is ineffective for disarming a foe.

According to the Raal:

Once ago, the world lay upon the Mother Leviathan's generous back as she swam through the skies. Verdant lands of rivers and forests, deserts and savannahs, jungles and polar plains, dotted with the ziggurats of her tribes of worthy attendants, of whom the Raal were among the least. A compact the Mother made with her folk, that they would train her whales, breeding them, caring for them and keeping them pure with mutations and new strains. And in return, those who were deemed the utmost were accorded the great honour of riding select whales - brave chieftesses, Whaleriders.

But there were, among the unworthy, those who would seek to wrest power from the Mother, and secretly trained and rode whales not suited for riding, not promised as such by the wise among the folk. The unworthy waged unholy war on the loyal folk, and the battles of skyfire and errant technologies damaged the Mother - despite the best efforts of the wisest and most learned mothers, she sickened, and in time, died.

And thus, the World broke. The Mother's writhing sent chunks of land hither and yon, and the Raal, humble trackers and herders were thrust apart from others of their kind, and in time, lost, wandered upon their own few islands, keeping their whale lore and wishing again to be counted pure and ascend to the art of whaleriding.

*****

When the airships came, the Raal at first thought these were strange whaleriders, and welcomed them with open arms, gifts and the great treasures of their harvests. But these dank cousins, (if cousins they were, for did they not count men and not only women among their chiefs?) were uninterested in the Lore, uninterested in their gifts and treasures, and only interested in whales absentmindedly, as if as a passing notion. Their dead-whales (ships) spewed forth men and labourers and carts and tools and guns and steel....and death. A plague of illness the Raal were unused to, alcohol and drugs they were not familiar with, and, the greatest poison of all - greed.

Within a generation the Raal were decimated by one evil or another, and in turmoil the Mothers reached far back into the Lore and summoned a great spell that destroyed the moored dead-whales and scattered the rest - trading posts splintered and men flung into the Churn.

For herself, Jale knew not how much to believe of the tales, for she was born in the period after the 'Lition landed, and much of the fracturing of her folk was well entrenched. Her parents had moved deeper into the wilderness, it was true, and trained her in the ways of their people, but when they sickened and died leaving her with three brothers and a baby sister to care for Jale turned to the towns in the days before the Mother's final answer. She was lucky to be aboard ship when the cataclysm struck, having fostered her kin out with a half-sister who married a 'Lition soldier - Jale had snuck aboard a ship and was prising "valuables" from it when the disaster occurred. In the ensuing chaos, Jale jumped from freighter to frigate, clipper to tug, hiring herself out as an able airwoman, fit enough to rough it while aloft and deadly with her club and 'rang.

Now, Jale finds herself among a misfit crew of possible-pirates and salvagers. She keeps to herself mostly, a nest of belongings is her space and hers alone. She scribbles notes, her scrawl almost illegible even unto herself - half-remembered snippets of the Lore, notes on whale sightings and any intelligence she can gather - on whales, the Leviathan or the lost Raal or other tribes who revere the Mother.

But mostly, riding this dead-whale, Jale dreams the dream of her folk, of riding a whale, and with that her soul shall be free.

Step 1 Write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character.
- Cyrus comes from one of the poorest areas of one of the largest cities affiliated with the 'Lition. He and his twin sister Rebecca practically raised themselves. They never knew their father, and their mother may as well have been absent too; when she vanished one day, they barely noticed.
- He is a former operative for the Free Coalition (or at least an organization associated with the Free Coalition) who was tasked with carrying out a number of clandestine operations on its behalf. Though he worked alongside 'Lition soldiers and sailors and has some passing knowledge of military decorum, he was never actually in any kind of military unit, and so does not conduct himself as such.
- Cyrus was recruited at about 9 or 10 to train and learn to be a covert agent, among other things, only when he was promised that his sister would be looked after. She disappeared shortly before she could be reached, though, and he hasn't seen her since.
- He was taught to believe in the ideals of the Free Coalition, but has a difficult time reconciling that with all the things he was trained to do, and ultimately what he did do during the war.
- After the end of the war and the collapse of the Coalition, he found himself on the frontier offering what skills he had to those who had need of such things.
- His team and organization garnered something of a reputation for ruthless efficiency during the war. This helped Cyrus find work afterward, but did little to endear him to those who found out exactly who he was.
- He maintains a generally unremarkable appearance by choice. He's slightly above average in height and has a hardened, athletic figure, but otherwise presents himself in a way that wouldn't cause most people to look twice.
- Cyrus has a friendly if reserved demeanor most of the time. He always seems alert, scanning his surroundings, watching what people do. When he fights, he displays very little emotion, be it anger, excitement, fear, or anything else.

Step 2 List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game.
- Cyrus would very much like to find out if Rebecca is still alive or not, what happened to her after he left, where she went, etc.
- More broadly, I think it would be interesting for Cyrus to have to confront what he did during the war and come to terms with his inner conflict about it. I imagine this coming about via an emotional confrontation with a former teacher or teammate, but it could go a lot of different ways.

Step 3 List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet.
- During the war, Cyrus was part of a small team tasked with eliminating one Thomas Tremaine, a respected and popular nobleman within the Empire. The idea was to simultaneously remove a competent Imperial figure and demoralize a large section of the public at the same time. They decided to do this by sabotaging his personal airship, causing it to fail and go down the next time he left home. This worked remarkably well. The ship suffered a number of catastrophic failures leading it to plunge into the Churn far below. What the team hadn't expected, however, was that Tremaine had brought his wife and three children aboard the ship with him. Though Thomas' younger brother remained suspicious, the deaths of Thomas Tremaine, his family, and the entire crew of his ship was declared a terrible accident. If the truth of this incident and Cyrus' role were ever discovered, he'd find himself with a number of new enemies he'd rather not have.
- Rebecca is still alive somewhere. She initially stowed away on a cargo ship leaving the city, and was eventually picked up by a sky pirate crew operating at the edges of civilization, where she has since thrived. She assumed Cyrus died a long time ago, and hasn't made any efforts to track him down.

Step 4 Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
- Rebecca Rozodre: Cyrus' twin sister, the person he spent every single day of his pre-'Lition life with. She was always more strong-willed and direct when they were children, which combined well with her brother's more analytical and thoughtful approach to things. Cyrus assumes she died a long time ago; in fact, she's been very successful living a rough-and-tumble life after being picked up as a girl and adopted into a sky-pirate crew.
- Elizabeth Morgan: Simply Elizabeth or Liz to Cyrus; sometimes "Lizzie" if he ever felt like pushing her buttons. Elizabeth is a former trainee and teammate with whom Cyrus had an on-again, off-again relationship for several years. Passionate, clever, and highly determined, her friendship and support helped Cyrus make it through the earliest parts of his training. She proved to be skilled and reliable as a teammate, though the two would often butt heads outside of missions over all sorts of things. The two have maintained in contact in the years since the war. Cyrus has been able to keep a finger on the pulse of things nearer the Core thanks to her, and he believes that she could be counted on for support if push comes to shove.
- "Master Marcellus": Likely not this man's real name. Many different people were involved in teaching Cyrus and his cohort to become agents of stealth, deception, and death, but the man known as Master Marcellus was the one who taught Cyrus the most and had the greatest impact on his development. He has a jovial disposition and an almost-goofy smile, with a hearty laugh to go with it. This kind of attitude initially surprised Cyrus, and the way he spoke in a very casual, matter-of-fact way about certain things -- like where exactly to stick a knife in someone for a particular result -- was quite jarring. Eventually he got used to it. Master Marcellus was very demanding of those he taught, but he knew how to get the most out of them. Cyrus communicated with him only sporadically while actively serving during the war, and after the war's end he cut communication almost completely, unsure how to face the man who had taught him the things that caused so much turmoil.
- Joseph Tremaine: The younger brother of the late Thomas Tremaine, and current head of the Tremaine family after his brother's death. He never quite accepted that his brother died in a mere accident, and indeed, he has made progress in the last several years in narrowing in on the true culprits. Joseph is out to avenge his brother, and is unlikely to stop until he gets what he wants.

Step 5 Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
- Cyrus remembers looking back down at his city as he left for the first time, scared and desperately missing his sister, wishing she could have come with him. Master Marcellus' firm hand on his shoulder, his friendly smile, and his reassuring words did little to alleviate the apprehension he'd felt then. Cyrus knew something big was going to change; he just didn't know what.
- He remembers hiding in a safe vantage point, watching the Tremaine airship slowly fail and begin to plummet, knowing that he had just aided in destroying an entire family. What still shocks him is that, although he expected to feel horror and revulsion at this revelation, he felt more numb than anything else. That reaction to the incident scared him as much as the incident himself.
- One of his favorite memories is of an observation mission he, Liz, and a few others were sent on about a decade ago when they were all around 17 years old. They had been told to head to a small island in the Fates ostensibly to keep an eye on a small Imperial mining operation that was supposed to be getting started there. When they arrived, they found a beautiful green little island, but no mining crew. The intel was bad, and no crew ever materialized, but they hardly cared. Cyrus, Liz, and the rest were able to spend several days on a little vacation on that verdant piece of rock, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. It was a taste of peace and tranquility, and for a brief moment they could all forget training, missions, and the war entirely. They were just a group of kids enjoying life like they hadn't been able to in many years.

Growing up, Seps never really felt in step with the children around them. Neighbors would whisper and stare at the strange kid with pale gray skin and hollow eyes, who spoke too fast and cast no shadow where they stood. There were the occasional bullies, of course, but more hurtful were the near-universal signs of discomfort or fear. And the difficulties only increased as Seps grew older and began to realize they weren't the girl everyone saw them as. Struggling and failing to make connections, Seps instead learned to fade out of view, to pass unnoticed on the streets and cut themselves off from the world.

Seps lived on a fairly quiet, hilly plateau in the Orventian Empire, with parents who were well-off but often distant. As a teenager, they began spending more and more time shut up in their room, poring curiously over mechanical diagrams and maps of the open skies. They became fascinated with the ways technology could provide freedom from all sorts of rules and constraints - tradition, biology, even gravity itself was nothing before the power of human ingenuity. So Seps began training as an apprentice mechanic, and at the age of nineteen they got a job on a small merchant vessel leaving from a nearby port.

This turned out to be a new way forward. All the pressures of the ground seemed to fall away up there in the sky, where no one cared what you looked like or what pronouns you used so long as you kept the propellers spinning. In this newfound freedom, Seps gradually grew out of their shell, learning that the same instincts that had helped them fade away could be used to bring people together. They became friendly, even sociable, in this little bubble of community in the sky. At the same time, they became familiar with the ins and outs of a ship, even learning to handle a sword and crossbow to defend against the occasional raiders. For a time, they were happy.

But then - the war. They had tried to stay clear of it for as long as they could, but it found them in the end. Caught in the middle of a skirmish, their ship was damaged by a particularly fierce Coalition attack. Seps desperately struggled to keep them airborne as they fled to a nearby Empire outpost for help. The moment they arrived the Empire seized the vessel and its cargo 'to aid in the war effort,' giving the captain 'fair compensation' in oil and grain.

And just like that this respite was over. Seps was left right where they'd started, two feet on the ground, with no freedom and no purpose and no home. It seemed that nowhere in these endless skies did anyone care enough to stand up for those who fell.

So Seps would have to stand up themselves. Working with a few of their old crewmates, they used whatever ships they could find to help carry refugees away from the conflict. Coalition, Empire, or caught in between, it didn't matter who they were - anyone who wanted a way out of this war would have it. The work was dangerous and unpleasant, but now more than ever Seps felt that they were doing something right. They quickly increased in martial prowess, but beyond mere physical skill they felt a strange power at hand, fueled by their belief in something larger than themselves.

Seps continued smuggling refugees for a time even after the war ended, but there wasn't much point - no one was sure who the should run from or where they could run to. Still, Seps searched for a place they could do some good, reaching for that freedom implicit in the vastness of the sky. Eventually Seps found their way aboard a certain Lancer - they weren't sure if it would give them a cause, but for the moment it gave them a home.

Harper Seps
Agender fetchling paladin (virtuous bravo) 4
Medium humanoid (human) / outsider (native)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision; Perception +10
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 22, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 shield)
hp: 3d10 + 10 + 8 ⇒ (8, 6, 7) + 10 + 8 = 39
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +9
Defensive Abilities aura of courage, divine grace, divine health, dodging panache, shadow blending; Resist cold 5, electricity 5
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee cutlass +11 (1d6+10/18-20)
Ranged light crossbow +10 (1d8+1/19-20)
Special Attacks bravo's finesse, channel positive energy, lay on hands (2d6, 6/day), menacing swordplay, opportune parry and riposte, panache (5 points), precise strike, smite 2/day
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th, concentration +8)
At-will - detect shadow
1/day - disguise self
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 7, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +4, CMB +2 (+11 with cutlass), CMD 16
Feats Slashing Grace (cutlass), Weapon Focus (cutlass)
Traits Highlander, Seeker, Tactician
Drawback Umbral Unmasking
Skills Craft (ships) +7, Diplomacy +11, Knowledge (engineering, geography) +4, Perception +10, Profession (sailor) +6, Stealth +17
Languages Common, Auran
SQ aura of radiance
Other Gear boots of the cat, feather token (tree), plume of panache, sleeves of many garments, traveler's any-tool, cutlass, light crossbow, studded leather armor, buckler, masterwork tools (Perception, Stealth), speed sheath, backpack, bedroll, blanket, explorer's outfit, flint and steel, rope (50 ft.), torches (10), trail rations (4 days), waterskin, 2 gp, 3 sp

First he is loyal to learning and the spirit of innovation. Always seek new knowledge and ways to utilize that knowledge to better not only your own life but the lives of others.
Second he is loyal to the idea of being economical. Don't destroy something that could be remade or reused. Don't cast aside anything, or anyone, who could still serve a purpose.
Third he is loyal to the MRF Reclaimer and all other Fixer Hulks. The Fixers are in decline but he respects any who still stick it out to provide the services they have for years.

Gregor Hassan: The lead mechanic of one of the largest still operational Fixer Hulks the Forever Resplendent. The Forever Resplendent has a set path so that its easy to find when someone needs repairs done and Gregor was one of the first Fixer Captains to make a decision like that. Its clear Gregor doesnt love being tied down but the decision has helped his ship and its people stay prosperous. Liam respects him immensely for having to make that choice.
Callio Finnick: A young man whom Liam was incredibly close to from the MRF Reclaimer. Callio left the MRF Reclaimer several years ago to join up on a merchant ship and make some money to send home. He had worked as a textile designer and manufacturer on the MRF Reclaimer before that and Liam hopes to cross paths with him again some day.
Quin LaFan: A grifter who passed through the MRF REclaimer at one point. She scammed Liam's mother out of a bit of money as well as some personal jewelry, playing on the woman's sympathy for someone 'down on their luck'. She was eventually chased out but she left with more than she had shown up with and Liam regretted not getting his necklace back at least.

Whales/Leviathans - true inheritors of the skies and resplendent reminders that flight is many things - escape, offense, journey and means
Bravery - only the coward can be brave, so if you're scared face your fears head on and conquer them, else live life as a shadow
Churn - taker, giver, ending and beginning. If you want something gone, give it to the Churn

[b]1. The Ship and it's Crew-Miziande has dreamed of operating an airship since she could walk, and she'll be damned if she lets anything get in her way of that. The ship and the crew are her responsibility, and the only way she'll achieve infamy is having a well oiled crew assisting her.
2.Her grandfather-The old man gave her a dream, and both the funds and the skills to achieve it. She doesn't care particularly about either the empire or the coalition, but as long as Gramps back the coalition she'll give them a hand.
3.Earning a Reputation-One can hardly properly call themselves a pirate queen if they haven't earned it, and Miziande likes to earn her haul. She'll have her name sung in taverns and whispered by passing vessels, even if she has to steal, kill, and cheat to do so.