Saria Dalavon's page

About Saria Dalavon

Background

She'd grown up feeling like her body didn't fit - like it was a coat that was three sizes too small with sleeves six inches too long. Her parents' reminders that she'd be the "man of the house" someday bothered her in a way she couldn't describe, and the name "Artor" weighed on her every time she was called. But when Saria was taken to the Temple at age 14 after a bad cut grew infected, she met a priest that defied her expectations in every way; she'd never seen someone who wore a neatly cropped beard with chandelier earrings and a long, flowing gown. Speaking with the priest, she learned that the disconnect she felt between her mind, body, and expectations wasn't an insurmountable obstacle - she had the power to express herself the way that felt most like who she was inside.

Growing up in the Agricultural Quarter, she'd had little reason to closely consider tumults of the mind before - talk among the farms tended toward more tangible topics. But even this brief glimpse into the many ways thoughts could differ fascinated her, and she had to learn more. Whenever the chance arose, she'd steal away to the smaller temple the priest had directed her toward, and they helped her to explore the life that fit her best. Speaking to others in the temple and learning more about their myriad experiences fascinated her; when adulthood came, she decided to move to the Academic Quarter, dedicating her life to learning more about how others experienced the world and using it to improve the lives of everyone she could. Now, in addition to working as a healer in the Temple, she has spent years interviewing people from all walks of life and documenting their experiences in order to further understanding on the workings of the mind. She even uses her studies and her interactions to make connections (both friendly and romantic) between people who otherwise would have never realized how well they fit together.

Personality

Saria is very welcoming and accepting of everyone she meets (even those considered strange by most standards), and curious almost to a fault about the lives of others. With her work focusing on interacting with others, she has developed an intuition for how people tick, as well as honing her ability to work with and draw forth information from others. Her desire to make others feel welcome can come across as clinginess, though once she notices it bothers someone she'll back off.

With her church's focus on enjoyment, she's grown accustomed to the finer things - while she still remembers a few tricks from raising grapes in the Agricultural Quarter, it's a time long past for her. What's stayed fresher for her is her combat training. While there is little need for violence within Axiom's walls, the priests still drill with the flail as an exercise in adapting to the unknown in life, as its movements are anything but predictable. Between this and practice on her own with the beautiful shield she was given upon her induction into Arshea's cult (she's named it Splendour, at least in her own mind), she's confident that she'll be able to handle any threat the outside might pose. (Well...mostly confident.)

Why her?

Everyone Saria's interacted with has had one glaring commonality - the influence of Axiom and the inevitables on their lives. While she doesn't have anything against them, she does realize that it's likely to lead to a bias in her work, and that she may not even be able to understand the extent of that bias. As such, the chance to interact with people free of that influence is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she isn't about to pass it up. She submitted her name for consideration the moment she heard. With her work as a priest and her own less-orthodox experiences, Saria is one of the most worldly people Axiom has to offer, and one of the most open-minded. She is also fairly charming and interacts well with others, which makes her a good choice as a first contact between Axiom and the outside world. And the moment she heard of the opportunity, she began to work double-time on her fighting form - after all, an explorer that can't defend herself isn't much use.

Brief mechanical highlights (statblock to come)

Mechanically, Saria will be a melee cleric fighting with flail and shield. With a higher Charisma, she'll also be a reasonable healer, and most of her spellcasting will be used for party buffs and status removal. She'll also be investing in becoming a passable party face. For a flaw, she'll take what perhaps the entire group should automatically have - Urbanite. After all, she hasn't done a lot of camping lately. ;)

Saria Dalavon
Human cleric 1
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +2
Aura aura of good

----- Defense -----
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 DEX, +5 armor, +1 shield)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4

----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Flail +4 (1d6+4), shield +4 (1d3+2)
Ranged Sling +3 (1d4+4)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 6/day (DC 13, 1d6+1)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Cleric Spells (CL 1st; concentration +3)
1st—charm person (domain), bless, endure elements
0 (at will)—create water, light, purify food and drink

----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 16
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Two-Weapon Fighting, Selective Channeling, Improved Shield Bash, Urbanite (drawback)
Skills Diplomacy +8, Handle Animal -1, Heal +6, Knowledge (religion) +5, Sense Motive +6, Survival -1
Traits Heirloom Weapon (Splendour), Blessed Touch
Languages Common, Elven
Gear flail, quickdraw light wooden shield (Splendour), scale armor, cleric's kit, sling, sling bullets (20), small tent, 2 gp, 9 sp

----- Special Abilities -----

Domains Charm (Love subdomain), Good (Friendship subdomain)
Love subdomain - Adoration (Su) As an immediate action, you can attempt to thwart a melee or ranged attack that targets you. This ability functions as sanctuary, but only against one individual attack. You must use the ability after the attack is declared but before the roll is made. The creature attacking you receives a Will save to negate this effect. If a creature has more than one attack, this ability only affects one of the attacks. You can use the ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Friendship subdomain - Powerful Bond (Su) As a free action, you can open a link to communicate telepathically with a single ally within 60 feet. The telepathic link is two-way and lasts for 1 minute. Unlike normal telepathy, this ability requires a shared language. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Favored Class cleric Favored Class Bonuses Used 1 skill point