Merian Benvalla's page

About Merian Benvalla

Merian grew up on a farm in the hinterlands of Molthune, the third child in a family of seven siblings. For the first part of her life, she seemed perfectly ordinary, a happy, determined, healthy young woman whose world was larely constrained within the bounds of her small farming community, and she had no reason to wish otherwise. And then, on her 16th birthday, she began to dream, nearly every night, of a sword and shield, and a hole in the world through which fiends poured, and were met by armies in clashes of steel and fire. Though nightmarish, she never awoke from these dreams scared - instead, they seemed filled with purpose. Purpose for her.

Two months after the dreams began, she told her parents she was leaving their farm. They wept and protested, but she would not be swayed, and at last, they relented. Following her dreams, Merian traveled north, until she eventually found herself on the pilgrim trail toward the Worldwound, and when she heard about the war there, she realized where she was being called to.

She arrived and joined the Fourth Mendevian Crusade. She was one farmgirl out of hundreds, but her zeal was astounding, and miracles flowed from her will. For three years, she served on the front lines of the Crusade, battling horrors from the planes of evil on a daily basis. The words of the angels themselves poured our of her as she fought, and she rejoiced to know her purpose was at last being achieved.

Roughly six months after she joined the Crusade, she met Professor Petros Lorrimer during a rotation back to Lastwall. Her unusual calling and success against the demons had intrigued him, and they struck up first a correspondence and then a friendship, as she kept the inquisitive and good-hearted professor appraised of the state of affairs at the Worldwound. She did what she could to keep the tone light, even as the battles ground on interminably.

She was on a long patrol and amid fierce fighting when the letter arrived at her barracks, and so she did not hear for weeks that the professor had moved on to Pharasma's judgment. When at last she did find out, her conscience tore at her - her purpose was at the Worldwound, but he had asked specifically for her as a pallbearer.... After a long night's internal debate, she made her decision. Requesting her first leave in three years, she made her way to Ravengro, in Ustalav, hoping against hope that she had not already missed the funeral. Even as she went, she felt stirrings of frustration at having her purpose denied her. It has not occured to her that perhaps her divine patrons have chosen a new purpose for her...

Appearance
Merian is a tall, strongly-built woman in her late teens or very early twenties, with dark-red hair cut short, in a warrior's fashion. Her brown eyes tend to be restless, continually moving, and she seems quite comfortable with the weight of the longssword on her hip. Though some might call her pretty, there is little to indicate romance is anything of a concern for her - while she has no hesitation in joining her companions in a laugh or a drink, she does so from a spirit of friendship rather than amour. Most of the time her expression is serious and her manner determined, but she is quick to grin at a well-timed joke, as long as it's not a distraction from something important. She typically wears heavy scale mail under a tabard marked with the sword-and-sun of the Fourth Crusade and carries a large steel shield, on which the symbol of Iomedae is prominently displayed.

Merian Benvalla

Human oracle of battle 2
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +6
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DEFENSE
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AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17
(armor +5, Dex +1, shield +2)
hp 16 (2d8+6); current 12
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +4
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft (30 ft unarmored)
Melee longsword +5 (1d8+3, 19-20/x2) or
dagger +4 (1d4+3, 19-20/x2) or
shield bash +4 (1d4+3, 20/x2)
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8, 19-20/x2) or
thrown dagger +2 (1d4+3, 19-20/x2)
Special Attacks skill at arms, weapon mastery
Spells Known (CL 2nd, touch +4, ranged touch +2, concentration +6 [+8 casting defensively])
1st (5/day, 3 cast today) - cure light wounds, divine favor, enlarge person, protection from evil
0 - detect magic, guidance, light, read magic, stabilize
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STATISTICS
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Str 16 (+3), Dex 12 (+1), Con 14 (+2), Int 10 (+0), Wis 13 (+1), Cha 14 (+2)
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Extra Revelation, Warrior Priest, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Skills Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (planes) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +6, Profession (soldier) +5, Spellcraft +5; armor check penalty -6
Traits Focused Mind, Subject of Study (evil outsiders)
Languages Celestial, Common
SQ oracle's curse (tongues - Celestial)
Combat Gear scroll of cure light wounds (x2), sunrod (2), wand of cure light wounds (15 charges); Other Gear longsword, scale mail, heavy steel shield, dagger, light crossbow and 10 bolts, explorer's outfit, backpack, belt pouch, spell component pouch, waterskin, 50 ft hemp rope, bedroll, rations (10), flint and steel, 8 gp, 9 sp (Encumbrance: 90.5 lbs, medium load). Loot none yet.