Ishana Tamanna's page

Ishana Tamanna
Female half-elf arcanist (brown-fur transmuter) 4 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, 77)
CG Medium humanoid (elf, human)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 enhancement)
hp 32 (4d6+8)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4;
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 dagger +5 (1d4+3/19-20)
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (6/11), arcanist exploit (potent magic[ACG]), consume spells, hardened fists
Arcanist (Brown-Fur Transmuter) Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +9)
2nd (3/day)—burst of radiance (DC 17)
1st (6/day)—color spray (DC 16), grease, magic missile
0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 9, Cha 17
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Eldritch Heritage[UM], Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Disguise),
Traits calistrian courtesan, seeker
Skills Bluff +10 (4), Diplomacy +10 (4) (+11 to gather information), Disguise +13 (4), Knowledge (arcana) +12 (4), Knowledge (Society) +12 (4), Knowledge (local) +12 (4), Knowledge (nature) +12 (4), Knowledge (religion) +12 (4), Perception +0, Sense Motive +0
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Elven, First Speech, Hallit, Sylvan
SQ elf blood, powerful change +2
Other Gear dagger, handy haversack, sleeves of many garments[UE], arcanist starting spellbook, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, disguise kit, flint and steel, ink, inkpen, mess kit[UE], pot, soap, spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 727 gp
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Special Abilities
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Arcane Reservoir +2 DC or CL (11/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +2 CL or DC while cast spell.
Consume Spells (3/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Elf Blood Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Elven Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Hardened Fists (6 rounds/day) (Su) Natural unarmed or claw attacks deal damage as if one size category larger.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Powerful Change +2 (Su) Spend 1 reservoir point to bolster ability score gain from transmutation spell.

Spellbook Spells
1st Level: Burning Hands, Charm Person, Color Spray, Grease, Heightened Awareness, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Mount, Obscuring Mist, Shield, Vanish,
2nd Level: Burst of Radiance, Alter Self

Most children know their birthplace, or even their birthday, but Ishana knew none of those things. Found on the doorstep of a Calistrian Temple in Kyonin as a newborn, Ishana grew up as an orphan, not knowing who any of her parents were, or even why she had been left alone.
Like many elves, Ishana possessed strong arcane power, even as a young child. Her branch of magic was a little different than the norm however, combining innate power from her unknown bloodline, but her magic also responded to magical study, where a traditional wizard’s strengths might lie, giving Ishana a little of both worlds. Ishana instinctively knew how to wield her unique style of magic, sometimes better than her peers, something that caused no small amount of envy. As someone who lacked parents, as well as her half human, half elf heritage, she was frequently the target of some minor bullying, occasionally cruelly teased that she must have been an accident or unwanted child. These insults always distressed Ishana, and she frequently petitions the priests and priestesses of the temple for divinations, but unfortunately nothing turned up.

In the absence of any guardians, Ishana grew up in the temple, calling it a ‘home’ of sorts. Life in the temple was fairly pleasant. As a centre of religious worship, Ishana ended up learning quite a bit about the various religions in the area, their customs and duties. Despite being knowledgeable about religion, as well as growing up within a Calistrian Temple, Ishana herself was not especially religious, but still felt a sense of obligation to the Church for taking care of her, providing shelter, a religious education, and general care. In return gratitude, Ishana would help out wherever she could in the Temple, and as she grew older, even worked as a courtesan for a brief time in order to repay a debt she felt honour bound to make up.

As very little was known about how exactly Ishana’s style of magic worked, her arcane tutors would frequently push Ishana into adopting the ‘right’ way of using magic. Particularly horrible teachers would even set lower benchmarks for success due to her half human heritage despite Ishana being fairly skillful for her age. Being rather headstrong, Ishana always resisted this, subscribing to the view that flexibility and an open mind were far more important than sticking to tried and true traditions. Some teachers were even worse however, and would give condescending smiles whenever she achieved something, as if it was some miracle she could handle the most basic of spells. One day, after a long argument with a particularly irksome tutor the day previously, Ishana skipped her tutoring and instead attempted to take martial combat lessons, purely to spite her teacher. She learnt that wasn’t particularly good at swinging bits of metal around (lack of practice and skill made her pathetic with anything bigger than a dagger) but it was the principal behind it – that she could (and would) do anything she could set her mind to.

Whenever the bullying or unrealistic expectations became too much, Ishana would adopt a disguise and slip away into the vast forests, watching the wildlife and nature around her. She liked transmutation magic for its ability to turn something into something else, and longed to be like the nature loving druids who could transform into anything they set their mind to. Once, she had even asked an old elder who had druid magic if he would teach her, but apparently she lacked the proper mind-set – and regardless, divine nature magic did not come easily to her.

As time wore on, and her arguments with her tutors grew more common, Ishana began to realize that she wouldn’t quite fit in where she was. She didn’t want to conform to anyone’s expectations, and in fact hated doing so. She wanted to be free, changeable, to forge new paths and new branches of magic, a forward thinking focus. She heard that the Stolen Lands were being settled, and decided that working alongside such settlers, with an eye on the future and positive change would be a definite improvement (albeit a challenge) that she could look forward to. Despite trying to be sociable, Ishana lacked friends, so when she made the decision, it was an easy choice to make. She took a moment to bid farewell to the temple that had sheltered her for much of her early life, and then she set up towards an uncertain future.

Ishana is a 21 year old, olive skinned, half-elf of medium height and build, with long flowing brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. While some arcane students preferred to stay indoors and study, Ishana split her time indoors and out, leaving her skin lightly tanned, and her build being slim, but slightly muscular, due in no small part to her time spent rolling around in the dirt trying (and failing) to learn swordplay. Ishana loathes armor, finding it heavy and restrictive, but also shuns long flowing robes and being absolutely impractical. Therefore, she tends to favor light, tighter fighting clothing (being slightly better for combat and travelling in the wilds) that isn’t overly movement restricting. She isn’t above putting on something a little more daring, such as something more fashionable on occasion, but finds such things rather few and far between. She wears standard boots for footwear, and usually forgoes any jewelry. Her hair she likewise keeps unbound, again, hating keeping it tied up.
It is worth noting that the above description is Ishana’s natural form, unadjusted by disguises or makeup. As someone well trained in the art of trickery and deception, as well as someone suffering from casual bullying in her past due to her heritage, Ishana has a talent for looking like someone else. For Ishana, appearance is like a change of clothing, something to be discarded or changed from day to day depending on the situation or mood. It is not uncommon for Ishana to portray herself as a full blooded elf, or alternatively a full blooded human, making use of her dual heritage in order to change things up.
Ishana’s penchant for Disguise is mostly driven by her strong desire to stand out in a crowd. Some might call it shallow, but Ishana merely wants to celebrate differences rather than hide them. She could show up to a high society event in something scandalous, or she could equally wear a unsuitable dress in the forest. She does temper this desire with practicality in all her choices regarding appearance, but the aim is to be different and to celebrate that. Sometimes it gets too much for her, and she defaults back to ‘blend in’ disguises if she has had enough and wants to avoid people, effectively ’shutting out’ but otherwise she tries to be as daring as possible. She is however, respectful of people’s customs, and tries to avoid be rude for the sake of rudeness.

Despite wanting to stand out, Ishana takes care not to offend others in her choice of appearance. She is always polite, and tries to carry herself elegantly at all times, and has mastered the art of a quick and easy smile to set concerns at ease.

In terms of core motivations, Ishana hates tradition, and loves change. She likes creativity and freedom, and to be expressive. It’s precisely this fact that drew her to transmutation magic as well as her unusual branch of transmutation magic she is working on (ie her ability at higher levels, which lets her defy the norm and polymorph other people in addition to just herself). She wants to go to the Stolen Lands to both start fresh and orchestrate change. She will (in future) want to set up a school for arcanists to learn about their magical talents, as well as for anyone wanting to learn her style of transmutation magic. She wants to create a place where people with mixed heritage, or who just don’t fit in to be welcome without worrying about misfortunes of birth. Ishana knows that this is somewhat of an idealistic dream, something that has been frequently tried and failed, but still feels the goal or vision itself is worth pursuing.

Unfortunately, Ishana does have a few significant flaws. Somewhat ironically for a person that loves disguise, Ishana still focuses on superficial appearance. Her desire to stand out means she is more likely to portray herself as someone attractive rather than ugly when using disguise magic, and always attempts to show poise or bearing of someone of a higher upper class than usual. This isn’t a rule per say, but takes conscious effort for her to break this pattern. Quite why she struggles with this is difficult to say, but probably has something to do with being an orphan, without parents she feels the need to play a role more superior to herself which ironically doesn’t make her all that different. Ishana also has a passionate temper. Someone forcing her into a stereotype or pigeonholing her in some way immediately earns her ire (and probably a desire to show them up / prove them wrong at earliest opportunity).
In terms of any eccentricities, Ishana is a huge history buff. Her fascination with her own bloodline means that she is an expert in lineages, lines of succession, significant historical events, and so on. She would (at some stage) want to build a library of some description once the Stolen Lands are settled, as part of her thirst for knowledge, but its mostly been driven up until now by a desire to learn her parentage, something she has utterly failed at.

In looking at where Ishana fits in society, she fits into some sort of awkward category between a historian/library/scientist. She is an arcane caster, but is very individualistic and therefore wouldn’t have much of a guild connection. Likewise she loves nature but would be a terrible scout, being rather unobservant. Growing up in a religious temple, she knows rather a bit about deities, customs and duties, and yet possesses to divine spark of her own. Eventually, she will look to transition her knowledge into leadership, and/or diplomatic relations but at this early stage, she isn’t quite there yet.

Ishana will take the Archmage Mythic Path, and I foresee her mythic power coming from her bloodline. Quite where that bloodline fits in, I haven’t quite decided yet as her unknown parentage means she has a large number of possible opportunities as to how exactly her bloodline ties into her mythic power. I rather like the child of deity angle as a possible option since it would explain why Ishana has been utterly unsuccessful about learning about who her parents were, but seeing as Ishana has no idea who her mother or father is / are or what happened to them (or even why she was abandoned) there is a lot of flexibility. I’m hoping that her quest for answers (and repercussions) unfolds over the course of Ishana’s life, as it’s driven quite a lot of her decisions and personality up until now.