Isen Kalla's page

Mythic Power - 5
Spell Points - 13
Silver Pieces in Stock - 463sp

Tall, with broader shoulders than the typical elf, Isen is heavier built than most of his kind although he’s still narrower in the hips and shoulders than most humans of his height. Isen’s arms and legs are covered in thin cords of muscle, and he has a flat stomach. He wears a neatly trimmed beard and wears his dark hair tied back with a silver clip, keeping himself meticulously groomed and well kept.

Typically, Isen dresses in dark greys and charcoals, with soft soled boots of dark leather and no discernable pattern, to make tracking more difficult. He doesn’t tend to wear jewelry or ornaments and keeps his equipment plane too, although it’s usually of the finest quality he can buy (or steal, from the suitably awful).

Isen tends to make sure he’s clean and well kept, wearing cologne and a pair of darkened glasses to try and protect his light-sensitive eyes from the worsts of the light on most worlds. He typically wears a long, heavy coat lined with warm fur, having spent far too much time in cold places, but in reality is far more comfortable with the colder worlds than the hot ones.

There are any number of contradictory ways to describe Isen, and as with many people there is an element of truth to all of them. Isen can come across as cold, uncaring and overly pragmatic when he needs to be. And yet most people find him friendly and charming. The truth is somewhere between the two - he’s nowhere near as ruthless as he claims to be, and feels at least some guilt every time he steals or cheats. He’s gotten to a point where he tends to only steal and cheat people who’ve earned it.

On the other hand, he’s typically wary of people. His charming act is at least partially that - an act to help set people at ease. He finds if people like him even on a surface level, they’re less likely to try and harm or cheat him. At least, usually. Still, he does have a fairly charming personality, and tends to rarely lack for the company or men or ladies when he needs it.

Much more concerned with wrong and right than what the law says, Isen has an utter disregard for most laws. He can follow them, when it makes more sense, but considers them more guidelines to make you think before you break them. It’s not like laws have feelings and get hurt, after all - people can, and if the laws aren’t keeping them safe…
Similarly, Isen is a typical rogue, in that he doesn’t regard fighting fair as sensible or at all a good idea. If you’re fighting, the goal is to defeat your opponent, not to earn points or show off. If that means to kill from ambush or to fight at range when they can’t, then do it. It doesn’t make sense to give an opponent a chance to hurt you, but unless he feels it will put himself, a job or others at risk he’ll usually tolerate such actions from others. After all, if they’re distracting the enemies, he can sneak up behind them.

Generally, Isen is a loyal and useful ally, although he occasionally has moments of selfishness.

Once upon a time, when two people loved each, they enjoyed each other’s company in a most adult fashion and the results were a bouncing baby boy. And maybe that wouldn’t have been too much of a story...if it hadn’t been an Elf and a Half-Orc that had loved each other, and the results hadn’t been Isen.

For the most part, Isen appeared to be an Elf rather than a Half-Elf. When people say ‘Half-Orc’ they assume a Human/Orc offspring, but at least some of Isen’s father had been Elf too, and that resulted in Isen appearing to be an Elf. Well, mostly. There were...mutters...among the other Elves of his home. About his odd eyes, how he flinched from the light, how he was bigger and stronger than most of the children his age…

Perhaps it wasn’t too big a surprise that such a child would wander further from the village than most, and ignore the wisdom of Elders who looked at him with such disdain. He climbed the cliffs they claimed should not be climbed, entered the woods that were too dangerous, and explored the forbidden ruins. They were wrong about himself, Isen rationalized, so why not about these places? And for the most part he was right.

However, legends and tales tend to be there for a reason. When exploring the ruins of the Temple, Isen discovered a room that was sealed away behind a lock of magic and gears. It took Isen two years, on and off, to finally pick that lock and find out what was behind him, but two years in the life of an Elf was a small price to pay.

The following ten, however, were somewhat more horrific.

Behind the door was a gate - a gate to another world. The gate, however, took Isen on a trip to a Jagladine controlled world. Lost, alone and young, he was easy to capture. His magical training was enough to interest someone, however, especially when combined with his physical physique, was enough to interest someone. Elf with a touch of Orc. He was taken and experimented on.

Thankfully, Isen can only remember flashes of the next ten years. He considers this a blessing, and constantly tries to not remember the few bits he can, utterly convinced that if he could recall what was done to him, he would go quite mad. Even seeing the brand on his shoulder, the twisted script of the Jagladine reminding him of the experience.

Isen still isn’t sure happened, but his first coherent memory is of cold. The facility he had been held in had been attacked, it’s walls breached to winter. Whatever had been holding him had finally failed. The Jagladine had been driven off or killed, and whoever had attacked them had no interest in Isen himself.

The young Elf hunted, but couldn’t find the portal home. He wasn’t even sure if he was still on the same planet he had once been on when he was captured, let alone where it was now. Instead, he gathered what supplies and clothing he could from the remains of the Jagladine place, shuddering involuntarily at the sight of strange machines that taunted the edge of his memory, and fled into the cold.

The people of the planet were a harsh group, but utterly uncomplicated in many regards. They didn’t care about Isen’s odd heritage, or the shape of his ears. They cared about his skills at seeing in the dark, and burgeoning magical gifts. It was this that which attracted the attention of the local casters...and there Patron.

Pragmatic, like there people, they taught Isen there ways. Calling on his Orcish blood at first, he learned to heal and to hide himself. Isen was greedy, however, stupid and young, and hunted for more power. Power that perhaps was better left alone. One of the casters was...cantankerous, a servant of the cold that gripped this world. The local tales said that it was he had destroyed the Jagladine base, among other heroes, and so it was he Isen bartered with - knowledge for silver, his currency of choice.

Of course, Isen, thinking he was clever, had no intention of paying. His tutor, however, was more clever than he was. Isen’s new magic was formalized with the gift of the familiar, Dremas...and the information that each spell he cast would remove silver coins from his person. Worse, the new magic of winter’s might was linked to his own, now one and the same. Laughing hysterically, the old man slammed the door in his stunned expression.

Still, Isen’s powers were useful, and he now knew where to find the local portals to other world. Embarrassed, he decided to leave, and find his way to other places. Having learned his lesson, he found that a certain level of honesty was generally a good move. People you broke a deal with didn’t deal with you again, but a reputation for honesty was a great help...especially during the occasional game of cards. Isen earned much of his money that way.

But, he discovered that along with honourable dealings, he actually enjoyed acting in a less selfish way. While he doubted his survival instincts would ever allow the kind of self sacrifice he heard in the stories of so many worlds, and he could never quite understand the idea behind fighting fair or honourably. It seemed like, if someone had to die, they might as die quickly and with as little chance to harm Isen as possible.

But...helping people felt surprisingly good. Isen discovered that he rather liked the feeling of satisfaction it gave him. It wasn’t always as useful as gold, but then, it rarely got him into as much trouble, either. Perhaps he should do more of it. And, hey, sometimes you got make earn currency too - those were the best days.

Dremas
Male Thrush Valet Familiar
Initiative; +2 Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 14 touch 14 flat-footed 10
hp 16
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4
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Offence
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Speed 30 feet.
Melee
Claws x 2 - + 4 to hit - 1d2-4 damage x 20 crit
Bite - + 4 to hit - 1d3-4 damage x 20 crit

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Statistics
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Str 3 Dex 15, Con 8, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha, 7
Base Atk +2; CMB -1; CMD 13

Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision, Scent.
Skills
Climb +7, Perception +7, Stealth +14

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Special Abilities
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Able Assistant - Gains the effects of co-operative crafting when aiding it’s master.
Deliver Touch Spells - When delivering non-harmful touch spells, it can move before and after touching them.
Prestidigitation - Gains prestidigitation as a spell-like ability, usable once an hour.
Teamwork - A Valet has all Teamwork feats it’s master possesses.