About Kane Madigann"Okay, I'm afraid... but that doesn't mean I can't fight back!" Stats:
Male Human Wizard 3/Fighter 2 LG Medium Humanoid (Human) Deity: Erastil Homeland: Nirmanthas Init +3; Senses Perception +5
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Spells Prepared CL 5; Conc +6
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Spellbook:
All cantrips available
1st - Abundant Ammunition, Animate Rope, Gravity Bow, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Vanish 2nd - Acid Arrow, Burst of Radiance, Cat's Grace, Entangle Background:
Kane has never had the strongest spine in Nirmathas. His mother died shortly after child birth, and being left alone with his father, a Chernasardo Ranger captain, did little to bolster his confidence. His father did his best, but had a stern style of upbringing, leaving Kane feeling inadequate in his father's shadow. His efforts to bring Kane into the fold of the Chernasardo Rangers didn't really help much either. Kane always preferred reading and studying magic to the hunting lifestyle his father tried to instill in him. He certainly made efforts to try and compromise with his father, demonstrating that his magic could mimic and reflect the divine nature of other rangers and druids, and developing a knack for using hunting traps and constructions to aid in his hunting forays. However, his father was a much simpler man, and never could truly grasp Kane's fascination with the arcane. As such, Kane grew up feeling that every effort he made to earn his father's approval was never good enough.
When the Ironfang Legion launched their attack, the Chernasardo Lodge both Kane and his father lived in was woefully unprepared for such an assault, and within a matter of minutes, the lodge fell and the rangers scattered. Kane fled despite knowing his father stayed behind to fight, running as fast as he could through the woods being pursued by hobgoblin scouts. After running all night, Kane huddled up under a canopy and fell asleep, angry at himself for his cowardice and leaving his father behind. Kane awoke to the sound of fighting from a nearby glen, and on investigation, found a dryad under attack by a hobgoblin war band. In a rare moment of courage, Kane drew his bow and lobbed arrow after arrow upon the hobgoblins, bleeding into the foliage before emerging to strike again to launch magical projectiles at the aggressors. With a bit of luck, he managed to drive the hobgoblins into retreat. Grateful for his aid, the dryad healed Kane's battle scars and gifted him with the "Fangwood's Blessing", a majestically crafted longbow made from the wood of the dryad's personal tree, a magically enhanced suit of Rosewood Armor, and lastly, a magical song that could briefly summon the rain. In return, she asked him to use these gifts in saving the Fangwood from the invasion. On a personal note, she asked that Kane keep his eyes out for "her little sapling" in his travels, her runaway daughter. Though in his shock, Kane completely forgot to ask what her name was or what she looked like, and by the time he realized it, he'd lost track of where the glen was. Now, Kane is looking for survivors of the invasion to shepard to safety, along with fellow Chernasardo Rangers in the hopes of rallying some sort of defense together to fight the invasion. What exactly that plan will be, he has no clue, but as far as he knows, he is the only active member of the Chernasardo in the forest. It falls to him to protect the Fangwood... even if he must do it alone.
Personality:
Kane is timid and cowardly. His choice to fight with a bow is less to do with skill, and more because he loathes head-on confrontation in melee. His archery keeps his targets at a distance, which is how he likes it, and it will take serious motivation to coax him into melee combat. Kane also feels extremely guilty for his actions during the Ironfang attack. Kane believes that his father died with the burning of the lodge, and desperately wishes to retake it in the near future, hoping to recover his father's legendary longbow, Deadeye's Antlers, a bow fashioned from a pair of majestic stag antlers. Even without the guilt of his fleeing the lodge, Kane feels inadequate about his skills. For him, nothing he does is ever good enough, always just short of actually making a meaningful difference, even if presented with evidence to the contrary. Despite his perceived failures, he pushes through, believing that one day, he will succeed to the point that he can forgive himself for his past shortcomings.
Despite his social ineptitude and timid nature, Kane has a fascination with mechanics, specifically in the realm of traps. He is also an avid scholar and reader, favoring knowledge to see him through dangerous situations just as much as his bow. More than a few of his hunting missions have been wrapped up neatly thanks to his clever use of traps and spells, though his father has always told him not to rely on such methods and to hunt like a real man. For Kane, traps and magic are as much a hunting tool as his bow or blade, and believes it's about pitting his intellect against his prey, rather than his sheer strength or skill at arms. Despite his cowardice, Kane has a good heart and his flight from the lodge has left him with a profound sense of resolve to never abandon anyone ever again. Even from the thickets of the forest, Kane can be counted on to protect and defend those on his side, and if worst comes to worst, he will not think twice about drawing his sword and entering the fray head on. Kane has sworn to protect the forest twice now, once to the Chernasardo and again to his dryad savior, and he has a great deal of respect for the forest around him. One can always count on Kane to keep his promise, and he will gladly go to great lengths to keep his word. While primarily an effective hunter, Kane has a number of hobbies to pass the time when he's patiently waiting. Kane always carries a small clay ocarina that belonged to his mother before she passed, and has taken great pains to learn how to play it, his father teaching him a number of songs that calms and supposedly charms wild animals. While he's hardly an expert musician, the instrument gives him a sense of security and closeness with his mother, knowing that she once played it as well. He enjoys playing, but recognizes that doing so usually gives his position away, not to mention it's embarrassing, so he takes great care to play only when he thinks nobody can hear him. Kane more often chooses to read to pass the time; while it's hard to get good books in the wilds of Nirmathas, every so often, a passing merchant has books for sale. His current obsession is a book he treasures dearly, even moreso now that he believes his father is gone: a book on building hunting traps. His father may not look favorably on his use of traps, but he knows Kane likes reading and specifically went out of his way to acquire a book on the subject to give Kane. As a result, Kane is never without these two possessions, and if anyone wants to see what Kane looks like when he's enraged, the surest way is to threaten or steal these items from him. Despite his cowardice and insecurities, Kane is a fantastic tactician, and his love of traps in particular grants him an edge against the Legion. Kane's father has hammered the motto of "Take nothing the forest gives you at face value" into him many times over the years, and as such, Kane is ever alert for potential danger. But more importantly, he understands and appreciates the necessity of patience when facing a superior foe. Every giant, no matter how big, has a weak spot, and with time and observation, one can pinpoint the most vulnerable spot to strike at. Kane is a master of this, ever alert for details he can use to his advantage.
NOTE: I initially said that Kane's father survived, but whether he does or not doesn't change that Kane believes he is dead. I will leave his father's fate up to GM discretion, if they have other things he'd like to use that plot hook for or not. |
