Feat Tax Rules
Combat Expertise: Replace with Defensive Stance maneuver.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
You can choose to take a -1 penalty on melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +1 dodge bonus to your Armor Class. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, the penalty increases by -1 and the dodge bonus increases by +1. You must choose to use Defensive Stance before making an attack roll and its effects last until your next turn.
Improved Unarmed Strike: Altered to the following:
Unarmed Combatant (Combat)
You are skilled at grappling and fighting while unarmed.
Prerequisite: Dex 13
Benefit: You are considered to be armed even when unarmed - you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you attack foes while unarmed. Your unarmed strikes now deal 1d6 damage if you are medium sized or 1d4 damage if you are small sized, and you can deal lethal or nonlethal damage, at your choice. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a grapple combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to grapple a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense whenever an opponent tries to grapple you.
Normal: Without this feat, you are considered unarmed when attacking with an unarmed strike, and you can deal only nonlethal damage with such an attack. You provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a grapple combat maneuver.
Power Attack: Replace with Risky Strike maneuver.
Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +1.
You can choose to take a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all damage rolls. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by -1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use Risky Strike before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.
Weapon Finesse: Eliminated. The “light weapons” category has been renamed to “finesse weapons.” Characters can choose to use either their dexterity bonus or their strength bonus to hit with these weapons, no feat required. “Finesse” is also now a weapon attribute like “brace” or “trip,” allowing a weapon in another category to be finessed (like the rapier).
Weapon Focus: Altered to the following:
Weapon Focus (Combat)
Choose one weapon group listed under the fighter’s Weapon Training class feature.
Prerequisites: Proficiency with at least one weapon from the selected weapon group, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using any weapon from the selected group.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new weapon group.
Appearance and Background
1) A fairly tall human male of Vudrani descent, Darvan Singra possesses fairly dark skin, a completely clean-shaven head and face--which he laments, but considers a necessity--and a vibrant tattoo in bright blue ink of Irori's holy symbol on his forehead. Lacking hair and beard to properly ornament, he indulges himself in bright clothing--though cut in the Brevic style and suited for the environment when needed--and a rather painful-looking assortment of beaded and gemmed piercings in his ears and eyebrows.
2) Darvan Singra is an itinerant holy man in service to the Master of Masters, whose life path is a bit unusual. Early on, he was apprenticed to one of Jalmeray's three Houses of Perfection (he persistently refuses to divulge which of the three it was) when he somehow managed to attain Irori's sanction as one of the Master's enlightened ones, as the paladins in his service are known. Leaving his House, Darvan decided that his personal code required him to travel far from the lands most familiar to his people. A roll of the dice made north his chosen direction, and Darvan was soon on his way.
3) As he traveled, Darvan's personal code gradually grew and changed. He realized that overcoming foes in trials meant little if he didn't understand how to overcome them most effectively, as well as why they were foes to begin with. So he began to study, consulting sages of all sorts when he could, and learning by direct observation when he couldn't. He amassed a unusually broad body of knowledge on a variety of creatures, whether mundane, magical, or extraplanar in origin.
4) Eventually reaching Brevoy, Darvan was startled to receive guidance from Irori directing him to be a certain time and place. Arriving as required, he found himself interrupting a suicide attempt. A bit of discussion revealed the reasons behind this act, and Darvan struggled to find a reason for the maimed young man, Theodric, to not go through with. Fortunately, inspiration struck, and Darvan convinced Theodric to give him a year of his time, during which Darvan would teach him ways to compensate for his disability and become a warrior once more.
5) Following his successful teaching--and entirely unintentional conversion--of Theodric, Darvan elected to join him on his journey to perfection, seeing it as a wonderful opportunity to improve himself, watch Theodric's development, and aid a friend, which Theodric had since become. Theodric's interest in the offer posed by Noleski Surtova has sparked Darvan's interest as well, as this venture promises to repeatedly test both of them to their limits.
Goals
1) Attain perfection by honing his mind and body through constant challenges and ruthless self-reflection. A long-term goal whose precise methods are somewhat open, but Darvan won't let that discourage him from pursuing it.
2) Spread Irori's message to those who seem receptive. A fairly recent goal, Darvan has never been interested in proselytizing before. However, having gained Theodric as a convert has sparked Darvan's desire to find further potential adherents in the region.
3) Catalogue the knowledge of various beings and creatures which he has been acquiring into a compendium meant specifically to be use of on the battlefield. The information will be accurate, concise, and devoid of flowery language or useless self-glorification that often infects scholarly works of all types. While similar compendiums exist--and Darvan in fact possesses several himself--he feels that these volumes are too unwieldy for rapid consultation on the field of battle, where every moment counts.
Mannerisms, Memories, and Quirks
1) Darvan has a habit of fiddling with one of his piercings when his attention wanders. In fact, it's actually possible to gauge his general state of mind by observing which piercing is the subject of his unconscious attention. A left ear piercing indicates worry or anxiety, while one in the right ear indicates anger. A left eyebrow piercing, on the other hand, indicates a happy or content state, while fiddling with a piercing on the right indicates excitement.
2) Darvan occasionally espouses belief in a philosophy that focuses on making the most of the present. Learn from the past, yes, and plan for future, of course, but live in the now. As such, his memories are not something he dwells much upon.
3) Darvan is a bit a know-it-all, and cannot resist adding some relevant fact or detail--if he has one available--to any conversation. His only saving graces when doing this is that he confines himself to subjects he actually does know about, and he doesn't hesitate to own his mistakes.
Role and Advancement:
Much like his friend Theodric, Darvan is at his best when he engage his foes in close combat, though it is a strong preference in Darvan's case, not a necessity.
