"The prophecy foretold that the elements would break their bonds in the foundation of the world and wreak vengeance upon the gods, the firmament would shatter, and a darkness would swallow all of creation - and that was what happened. There were signs, indications of what was to come, but we haughty few of the Octad thought we could manipulate them, manipulate fate itself, to attain an outcome we desired. We were wrong.
"T'was the Beckoner that saved me and your ancestors. When she called to summon me to the Spire, as the world crumbled beneath a falling sky filled with warring gods, I sensed the darkness bloom behind her and consume our brethren. I warned her, and in that instant she chose not to save herself, but to save me. She conjured forth the Sphere, locking me and the entire town away from the world, safe from anything outside. Perhaps the founders of this place had some inkling of it's fate when they named it Bastion.
"I have used my own power - indeed, my very soul - to make this place more hospitable and to extend it's existence. For every day that has passed for us here, a hundred have gone by outside - if Time even still exists outside of this place. I have tried to make life meaningful and enjoyable for you and your ancestors; preparing for the day, this day, when I am spent and the Sphere ceases to protect us. But I must admit to you, the last of Bastion - it may have all been for naught. Not even I can see beyond the Sphere, and all my predictions and foretellings end with it.
"I have tried to best teach you the foundations of my skill and trade, Wizardry, and you have taken to it like no other I've seen. While the things you know may seem simple compared to the powers I wield, they are the tools with which all greater feats are made. And remember this: it is the simplest things which are the strongest.
"Now go and prepare yourself as you see fit; the end is nigh, and I would that I perish alone."
- the Optimumist, Master Diviner
Treasures both Humble and Grand:
Acquired in Bergmann:
Bergmann cold weather outfit. Total weight: 7 lbs
"Hot rock" x3 and box w/harness. Provides a bonus on saves against cold weather environmental effects equal to the number of hot stones used, i.e. +1 to +3. Weighing 1 lb each, these dark grey, uncut stones absorb heat; for each hour heated in a fire, they will provide one hour of warmth. After 4 hours in a fire they are too hot to handle directly. When placed in the hot box, the stones feed off of each others' heat to stay warm for a cumulative length of time, i.e. two stones which would normally stay hot for 4 hours each will provide heat for 8 hours when placed together in the box. The box provided is made of iron and straps across the chest or back underneath one's outer garments to provide warmth. Chest slot item; Total weight: 18 lbs
Salted bogoat meat and dried berstalk. 3 days rations remain. 5 days trail rations. This bogoat meat has been cured and salted, removing it's pleasant texture and taste but not the sustenance it provides. The dried berstalk may be chewed as-is, or may be boiled to produce a pleasant broth; sadly the bogoat is little improved if used in the soup. Total weight: 5 lbs
Ioun armillary of resistance. Resembling a black pearl, this object is in fact a miniature armillary constructed of pure force, spinning at such a speed as to make it indistinguishable from an actual sphere by normal touch. A spellcaster may activate it by casting a spell into the sphere; the sphere then grants a resistance bonus equal to the level of the spell cast against any spells of the same arcane school for the next 24 hours. Spells cast into the sphere have no other effect. Once activated by a caster in this fashion it will orbit the caster in a manner similar to an ioun stone; any attempt to physically handle the sphere by anyone other than the caster currently gaining it's benefit (whether to grab it out of the air to separate it from it's owner or pick it up while inactive) requires withstanding a Reflex +20 check, as does a user who does not immediately stow the item. If targeted by dispel magic, the spell fueling the armillary is targeted and if the spell is successfully dismissed the sphere falls to the ground and ceases to function until a new spell is cast into it; if there is no spell currently fueling the sphere, then it grants the caster the appropriate bonus against abjuration spells and begins to orbit. The sphere has hardness 30 and 400 hit points; if targeted by a disintegrate spell or effect while active, the sphere is instantly destroyed; if inactive, it grants the caster the appropriate bonus against transmutation spells and begins to orbit. Though of unusual construction, the sphere operates on the same basic principles as Vernalis's rod. Total weight: nil
Character Creation Guidelines:
No 3PP.
25 point stat buy.
Automatic Bonus Progression and Background Skills will be used, as will Unchained rules for skills; the Signature Skill feat may be taken multiple times and applied to a different skill each time.
Allowed Races: human. Alternate human racial traits may be taken if desired.
Hit Points: Max at 1st level, may choose to either take an automatic 4 or the result of a die roll at each subsequent level.
Spell selection: as normal; it may eventually come up that we need to know what spells you have on your own without the ring.
Traits: 2, may take a single Disadvantage.
Gear: 120 gold worth of equipment, plus a metamagic rod and ring, as described below. Your starting gear can include scrolls you have scribed yourself.
Your Metamagic Rod:
This device is a rod of your own manufacture; at one end is a single hoop, it's inside face inscribed with mystic symbols, which spins for the duration of the rod's effect once activated. Given time and experience, new hoops may be constructed and added to supplement the rod's abilities.
"Magic is simply binding the energies of reality to create a desired outcome, and the truest test of a wizard is in the creation of one's metamagic rod. As we bind a spell into existence with sound, motion, and matter, so too does a rod, but does so as a matter of mechanics - it still requires the will of a wizard to fuel it.
"The effects achieved with a rod can be useful, but are of limited scale. To create a perfect mechanical binding would require a sphere, such as we exist in; not only is such a feat very difficult for even the most skilled of wizards, but it also suffers the drawback that no magic may then pass through the sphere from either side. Instead, with our metamagic rod we emulate a sphere with a spinning ring, specially crafted and tuned for it's task. The energies which pass through the ring are subjected to the effects of the additional bindings imposed."
Current Maximum Uses per Day: 3
Current Effects:
Extend, Lesser. By focusing the arcane energies of your spells through the ring, they may be extended in duration; this is done not by boosting the energy of the spell, but rather by altering the flow of time for the spell relative to that of the rest of existence. Currently spells of levels 1 - 3 may be affected.
"Time, my apprentice. Time is the most basic property of existence, the most fundamental. Without it there is no change, and without change, there is no purpose - no life, no thought - simply Stasis. It is a fluid thing, Time, and it's flow may be altered to suit the purpose of a wizard. Be careful, however, for while it's course may be altered, it's destination cannot: Time will always flow towards the future, and any mistakes you make while tampering with it will most likely be magnified..."
The Optimumist's Ring:
This platinum band is set with a single small triangular diamond. When worn, it functions as a spellbook containing all divination spells from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. It also grants you the powers of the Divination (Scrying) specialty in addition to those of your current school specialty.
"Take my ring - it contains knowledge and power which may help you."
The Town of Bastion:
Bastion was originally a seaside port; when the world at large began to end it was threatened by a cataclysmic tidal wave, causing most of the inhabitants to flee inland despite the rumblings of the earth beneath their feet. Thus, when the Sphere formed, there were relatively few townsfolk saved within it. From a handful of people five generations have passed and resulted in you (roughly a century has passed).
The town is built of sturdy timber and stone on hard clay, with several piers stretching out over a short coastline. The air and seawater trapped within the Sphere is somehow given current by the Optimumist, though few fish remain in the latter. The Sphere itself is 2 miles in diameter and radiates a white glow which dims and brightens to approximate day and night, but the temperature maintains at about 65 degrees. The portion of the town trapped within the Sphere could easily house several hundred people, and any mundane items you begin with have most likely been scavenged from the town rather than built new.
Your parents died when you were still a child, leaving only you and the Optimumist; you have since realized that they were starving themselves to ensure that you would have enough resources to sustain yourself. The Optimumist has been training you in the ways of magic since infancy; he is a fair but exceedingly logical man (in 1st ed. speak he would be lawful neutral with strong good tendencies), and was training you to fulfill his promise to the people of Bastion that together they would produce the most capable people possible to survive after the Sphere.
Feel free to imagine your parents however you like, though they wouldn't have had any PC levels or magical abilities.
Variant Combat Feat Rules:
Any feat that normally applies to a single weapon instead applies to all weapons in that weapon group, such as Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization.
Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, and Power Attack no longer exist, and are removed as a prerequisite for any other feats. Instead, the benefits of these feats are combat options open to all characters.
Point Blank Shot no longer exists; any feat which lists it as a prereq now requires Precise Shot instead (except, obviously, for Precise Shot itself.)
Weapon Finesse is no longer a feat; instead, all weapons the feat would normally apply to gain the 'finesse' quality, which allows a wielder to use their Dex bonus to hit if they so choose.
Agile Maneuvers no longer exists; instead, one adds their Dex bonus to their CMB when using a finesse weapon and applying their Dex bonus to hit, and their Str bonus on all other attacks as normal.
Dodge now gives the benefits of both the Dodge and Mobility feats; as such, Mobility is no longer a separate feat.
Deft Maneuvers(new!) replaces the Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, Improved Dirty Trick, Improved Feint, Improved Reposition, and Improved Steal feats, granting a +2 bonus on checks with these maneuvers and becoming the prereq for the relevant Greater combat maneuver feats.
Powerful Maneuvers(new!) replaces the Improved Bull Rush, Improved Drag, Improved Overrun, and Improved Sunder feats and functions in a similar manner to Deft Maneuvers above.
