Arisl'arial Tathmir's page

Background:
Arisl’arial Tathmir spent the first twenty years of her life freezing with her elven mother in the alleyways of Port Ice, far to the north in Issia. When Tanelara finally succumbed to the cold, Arisl’arial was still too young to really take care of herself, so after three days without food, she began knocking on doors. At the fifth door, she was greeted by a kindly-looking young woman, who took her in ‘just for the night’. Three weeks later, Selnar Oviaden began teaching the youngling elf the basics of magical theory. Aris was hooked instantly, and over the next sixty years, she eagerly devoured every bit of magical theory Selnar could teach her.

Aris fell into a funk when her adoptive mother passed away at nearly eighty-five, and quietly used her inheritance (and the money from selling Selnar’s old manor) to move to Ustalav. There, she joined the students of the University of Lepidstadt, where she poured her every waking hour into understanding magical theory. Her studies, using alchemy as a method of slowing the magical reactions, allowed her to begin to understand not just the overarching theories of magic, but also some of the underlying principles holding the grand theories up.

After a decade of study, the University realized that Arisl’arial never intended to graduate and removed her from the grounds. A bit put-out, but eager to see the brighter side of the situation, she began looking for more practical applications for her skills. A brief time journeying with a band of adventurers came to a quick end in the River Kingdom of Pitax without so much as a single opportunity to see danger. Instead, the other members of the party seemed content to use their inherited wealth to sit around taverns and invent heroic stories about themselves. Frustrated, Aris left and headed north toward home.

When she returned to Brevoy, Aris first tried to make a life in Port Ice, reasoning that she knew the place better than any of the other cities, but the city’s streets brought back too many memories, and someone had replaced Selnar’s old home near the port with a warehouse. Port Ice was never going to be home for the Forlorn elf again, so she headed south and east, eventually arriving in the free city of Restov. With no money, she took a position as aide and librarian for a young would-be Swordlord with money, a seemingly-passionate interest in the history, geography, and denizens of the land south-west of Restov, and a penchant for fine wines nearly as strong as her own, but without even a modicum of self-control. Aside from her duties in the noble’s library (organizing books and scrolls, reading them, and arranging to have the duplicates and triplicates sold off), Aris’larial’s most frequent task was brewing a potion that either delayed hangovers or temporarily eased the symptoms of drunkenness, the better to let her employer and his friends fight early-morning duels.

Over the next ten years, the Koenig library became one of the finer collections of information on the so-called “Stolen Lands” in Restov, and Teodor Koenig grew up from a hot-headed drunken youth to a well-respected and high-ranking Swordlord. By this time, Aris had moved into the Koenig library full-time, skipping meals in favor of more time reading up on the Stolen Lands and only leaving to go to her makeshift laboratory in the basement for arcane and alchemical research. Then, early one morning, the rustling of a parchment being shoved under her chamber’s door interrupted her meditation. As she read the message and accompanying charter, her brow furrowed in concentration. After a moment, her face lit up, and she quickly burnt the letter (keeping the charter) and began packing. Her objective? An assignment from Teodor Koenig and his colleagues to explore the Stolen Lands, and more importantly, and opportunity for her to finally field-test her magical innovations.

Personality:
Arisl’arial is bookish and quiet, a result of her studies and her careful disassociation with the human society she lives in. She was still a girl when her adoptive mother died, and she’s had a hard time forging a bond with the less long-lived races. She’s somewhat aloof and standoffish, trying to keep a professional distance from her fellow adventurers. Aris has a tendency to overplan and be caught off-guard when things don’t turn out the way they’re supposed to, but she’s learning to be flexible and abandon failed strategies. She worships Pharasma quite fervently, hoping that the Lady of Graves is taking care of both her mothers' souls.

Like many elves, Arislarial has the habit of providing only carefully-worded suggestions to her friends and allies, fearing to take control over their decisions. She enjoys swimming in the nude in natural flowing water, though she’s not very good at it and she only does it where the current is slow and she can touch the bottom. She’s also rarely found without her nose in a book, even when riding or exploring, and some people have told her she falls into a trance with a book on her lap. She denies that as ridiculous. She has very little sense of humor, and in many ways is the perfect ‘straight man’ for anyone looking to make a joke. Not only will she not understand innuendo or comedy, but she’s likely to overanalyze it when those around her start laughing.

Description:
Eyes: Icy-Blue, Hair: Gray-White, wavy, and cut at the shoulder blades, Skin: Eggshell white to lightly tanned, Height: 6”, Weight: 114 lbs, Age: 138
Pic: Picture Attached
Tall and slim, Arisl’arial appears to be the embodiment of elven grace, mixed with the faint signs of a childhood spent sick and ill-nourished. Her limbs are almost dangerously thin, and without her clothes on, it’s easy to see ribs through her skin, a result of missing meals in favor of experimentation. In humans, her appearance would be that of an albino, but as an elf, her skin, eyes, and hair reflect the conditions of a street-birth in midwinter in Port Ice; her icy-blue eyes, eggshell-toned skin, and grey-white hair with just a hint of blue all call to mind the cold. Aside from a few blue tattoos below her left eye and at the center of her forehead, she prefers little adornment, including jewelry. Unlike most Issians, she’s desperately uncomfortable even in the not-quite-cold climes of Restov, and wears a thick brown cloak with hood over a fur-lined crimson wool jacket, which she usually wears well into the summer. She keeps a leather-bound book strapped to her belt, in which are notes and sketches of her explorations and research.

Family:

Selnar Oviaden: (Deceased Adoptive Mother) 83 (at death) year-old human war-widow. Selnar Oviaden was just twenty when she took Aris in, thinking her a starving girl of perhaps eight. She was quite surprised when Aris, after a few meals, told her she was actually in her twenties herself. Despite this, she didn’t stop caring for the elven girl until her death sixty years later, and on her deathbed she gave Aris a family heirloom; a beautiful tiara of copper and silver, saying it “looked elvish to her”. Even after 50 years, Arisl’arial has never stopped thinking of Selnar as her mother, despite the racial differences.

Friends:
Teodor Koenig: (Swordlord Patron) 35 year-old human duelist and noble. Once a childish, entitled young man with a tendancy to drink and an antiquarian’s love of the region’s history, Teodor has blossomed into a respected noble. He’s been a driving force behind the Swordlords’ desire to explore the Stolen Lands. While Aris doesn't exactly consider him a friend, they've shared a few bottles of wine over the ten years of her employment.
Juney Barethis: (Halfling Serving-Maid) 29 year-old Halfling servant. Juney is probably Arisl’arial’s only really true friend in Restov. She’s kept the elven woman from starving herself to death in the name of research several times in the last five years, and she’s either Aris’s roommate or next-door neighbor, depending on the month. Despite her myriad skills, Juney has no interest in being anything but a servant, and has never really said why.

Hopes and Dreams:
1. Aris has heard about Kyonin, and she’s had ample opportunity to go, but she’s scared. She’s been treated poorly by a lot of ‘pure-raised’ elves throughout her life, and she doesn’t want the promise of an all-elf kingdom to become the reality of an entire population that treats her as less than she is. However, one of her most secret dreams is to at least visit Kyonin and spend some time in their fabled academies.
2. Despite spending countless hours researching the denizens of the lands to the south of Brevoy, Arisl’arial has never encountered a reliable guidebook to interacting with the fey. One of her goals is to write such a book, complete with a Taldan-to-Sylvan translation guide and interviews with as many of the First-Worlders as will grant one.
3. Finally, Arisl’arial wants desperately to come to terms with her long lifespan. None of her associates up until this point will outlive her, and she’s had a hard time forging relationships that are less than strictly professional as a result.
========================================================================

Arisl’arial Tathmir
Female Elf Arcanist (occultist) 3
N Medium Humanoid (elf)
Initiative +2; Perception +0; low-light vision
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 12, Touch 12, Flat-Footed 10 (+2 Dex)
HP 20 (3d6+3+1)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +3 (+2 vs. Enchantments)
Immunities: Sleep Effects
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee
Dagger +0 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged
Light Crossbow +3 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks:
Spells (Concentration +7, +9 Defensive) Spell List
0th (5 Prepped, DC 14): Daze, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Resistance, Dancing Lights
1st (3 Prepped, 4/day, DC 15): Vanish, Ray of Enfeeblement, Magic Missile
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 08 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 19 Wis 10 Cha 12
BAB +1, CMB +1, CMD 11
Feats:
{1st}Breadth of Experience: +2 to Knowledge/Profession checks, can make them untrained.
{3rd} Spell Focus (conjuration): +1 to DCs for conjuration spells.
[ooc]
[b]Traits:
Forlorn (race): +1 trait bonus to Fort saves.
Issian (campaign): +1 trait bonus to Will saves.
Skills (Format is name: total (explanation for total) (12 Ranks Total)
Appraise: 8 (1 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS)
Craft (alchemy, BG): 9 (2 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS)
Craft (jewelry): 8 (1 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS)
Knowledge (arcana): 12 (3 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Knowledge (dungeoneering): 11 (2 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Knowledge (local): 12 (3 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Knowledge (nature): 12 (3 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Knowledge (planes): 10 (1 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Profession (librarian, BG): 5 (2 rank, 0 ability, 3 CS)
Knowledge (religion): 10 (1 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS, 2 feat)
Spellcraft: 10 (3 rank, 4 ability, 3 CS) (+2 to ID magical items)
Languages: Common, Elven (french), Gnome (irish), Sylvan (welsh), Goblin (basque), Draconic (japanese), Celestial (hebrew)
--------------------
Equipment
--------------------
On Person: Spellbook (_, 3), Cold Weather Outfit (_, 7), Dagger (2, 1), Light Crossbow (35, 4), 20 Bolts (2, 2), Silken Ceremonial Armor (30, 4)
On Mule: Mule (8, _), Wizard’s Kit (21, 21), 5 Days’ Animal Feed (.25, 50), Journal (10, 1)
Encumbrance: 21 (26/53/80)
Finances: Cash: 5 gp, 7 sp, 5 cp
--------------------
Race/Class Features
--------------------
Elf
Favored Class (arcanist): 1 hit point/level (1), I max arcane point per leve (1)
Elven Immunities: Immune to Sleep effects, +2 vs. enchantments.
Keen Senses: +2 to Perception.
Elven Magic: +2 to CL checks to overcome SR, +2 to Spellcraft to ID magical items.
Arcane Focus: +2 to Concentration when casting defensively. Replaces Weapon Familiarity.
Low-Light Vision: See twice as far as humans in low-light.
Arcanist
Occultist
Arcane Reservoir: 3: Max 5. Powers Arcanist powers, can make spells more powerful.
Arcanist Exploits: 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
Quick Study: Consume an Arcane Reservoir point to change spells as a full-round action.
Consume Spell: Can eat uncast spells to gain Arcane Reservoir charges, 2/Day.
====================================================================

Spellbook
0th: All
1st: Color Spray, Mage Armor, Vanish, Ray of Enfeeblement, Snowball, Magic Missile, Enlarge Person, Expeditious Retreat, Obscuring Mist, Unseen Servant, Ear-Piercing Scream
========================================================================