Ventar Lister's page

"If I know Ventar Lister? You are in luck my boy. Oh, I could tell you many stories about Ventar Lister, not many knew him the way I did. He was always a good boy that one. There are certain things you become privvy to when working as a governess, things no-one outside the closest family learns of. Ah, I do remember him well, even now several years since I saw him last. He was a charming lad, Ventar, his father's pride and joy. Ventar's mother died in childbirth, and being an only childVentar and Master Lister only had each other. Master Lister, Ventar's father, was such a hard worker, single handedly building a successful spice trade even while taking care of infant Ventar. I cannot say I know how he managed, but that he did. I only entered the small family as Master Lister saw that Ventar needed some tutelage, and at that point his business allowed him to employ my humble services as Ventars governess.
It was gratifying to become part of such a harmonius household. Now, you must understand that Master Lister was a very industrious man, dilligent and hard working. That must be why he was so successful in his business ventures. And he was ever so fond of little Ventar, it was always so heart warming to see how much he valued that boy; Do you know, I don't think I can recall a single time Ventar was denied something he wanted.

Mind you, I did find it a challenge to progress his studies, seeing as though he was quite often sick at the appointed lecture times, poor thing. Fortunately he usually seemed to recover quickly so that he could play with his friends in the afternoon. He was most unfortunate in that department, I even think he had the chicken pox five times over the years I tutored him. I do feel for the boy, he did not have the best of luck growing up. First losing his mother like that, and then there was the matter of his pets. His father thought it would be a good idea to get young Ventar a pet dog to keep Ventar company and to watch the house when he was at work and I had gone home. Ventar was thrilled with the gift and they were inseparable. Alas, the dog only lived three months. In the period I worked for Master Lister I do believe something like five puppies and three kittens died for some reason or other. Ventar was devastated after each one. Of course that is not a mindstate where anyone would be fit for learning, so I am saddened to admit that I have been remiss in my duties and have not been able to impart the learning that Master Lister had intended for his son.

My time as governess was nearing its end and Ventar was becoming a strapping young man. Our lectures continued, albeit at a reduced rate, seeing as how Listner had a great many friends who desired his attention and support. I mean, it is only good manners, or even your duty, to lend support to friends who have lost close relatives or experienced other hardships in life, and are in need of a good friend to keep them company as they celebrate the newly departed. These things are not easily completed in a short evening, and night often can become morning before the friend in need of support is able to sleep. It goes without saying that after such a hard night, considering the amount of wine needed to lament the dead, it cannot be expected that any lessons be completed on the following morn.

Now, regardless of the unfortunate circumstances, Master Lister was not fully satisfied with the progress his son was making. After all, he was being groomed to take over the spice trade after his father. I do blame myself you see, for the lack of progess, and was not entirely surprised when Master Lister terminated my engagement, even after all those years. I also believe that Master Lister was having concerns over Venters good hearted generosity towards his grieving friends, as I couldn't help overhearing a conversation between father and son where Master Lister was claiming that the expenditure was hurting the business. It is the only time I have heard that Master Lister denied his son anything, and of course Venter did understand. I remember being filled with pride as Venter told his father that he would double his efforts to reach his full potential and continue to work towards his goals.

Unfortunately misery struck again not long after, leaving poor young Lister alone in the world. The city watch announced that Master Lister and Ventar had been assaulted by thugs as they were working late one evening. Ventar had escaped with only a few scratches fortunately, his father had not been so lucky. Ventar was able to identify the murderers who were apprehended quickly, denying the allegations of course, as is the wont of all wrong-doers.

Ventar was inconsolable, and this time it was him who needed the support and comfort of his friends. For weeks on end the only place I would find him was in the taverns, celebrating his fathers achievements in life, remembering his virtues in death. Needless to say, the business suffered and eventually the competition took over the few remaning customers. After the coin ran out I am not aware of where Ventar went... Perhaps he felt there was nothing left for him here, that there were too many ghosts remaining and that he would benefit from a fresh start. I do worry about that boy, having faced all that hardship in such a young life, I hope he finds what he is looking for, wherever he went...

Oh, and as for the coin he owes you, I truly am sorry, I do not know where to find him, but thanks for listening to my story"

The warrior had come upon the caravan camp in the night, caught the guards unawares and ripped into the guards with abandon, slaying four of them in short order. It had been such a peaceful journey until then, Ventar reminisced.
After liquidating his father’s few remaining assets he had spent most of his remaining coin on some good wine for the road East, the rest he had squandered on a set of armor, a weapon and some minor magicks. Somehow it seemed like the thing to do when going out on adventure. For simplicity he took up with a caravan heading east, but they were never prepared for the onslaught that came upon them in the night. Judging from the sounds of the fighting the camp was under attack from half a dozen assailants. Ventar quickly rolled out of his sleeping bag to defend himself, but by then the remaining traders and guards from the caravan were fleeing for their lives. Letting his curiosity get the better of him was not a new thing for Ventar, and so he suddenly found himself face to face with the warrior who had unleashed his fury on the caravan. Realizing, too late, that there was only one assailant and that he was facing him, Ventar raised his Morningstar in a defensive position; the warrior had single handedly decimated the caravan and now Ventar was next.

The warrior charged with reckless abandon and Ventar barely managed to deflect the blow sufficiently to avoid being split in two. As it was he suffered a grievous wound to the chest and realized that he could not stand in single combat with this opponent. Stepping back slightly Ventar channeled the divine energies granted to him into a forceful command: “Fall!” Muttering a short praise, Ventar observed as the spell took effect, and the warrior fell to the ground. He knew though that the warrior would be getting up, and so he fled. As Ventar fled and hid he could hear the trashing of the caravan, the destruction of the wagons, the merchandise they carried and the senseless slaughter of the horses. Fortunately he found a cave suitable for shelter and as midnight came he was able to pray for new favors from the pallid princess. Taking stock he realized that he had been forced to leave most of his possessions in the camp as he fled. Even so, he still had some his more expensive items carried on his person, amongst them a wand of healing and some scrolls (of animate dead) .

Not wanting to leave his other possessions behind, Ventar healed himself and started to scheme on how he could regain his possessions. The obvious way to do that was to search the campsite for his backpack in the morning and hope it was still intact. As morning came Ventar snuck back to the caravan and observed from a distance the carnage. Nothing was left untouched and no one was left alive, man or beast. Except the warrior who had caused all of this. Having completed his destruction, he was now sleeping in the midst of the wreckage, apparently not an early riser. A plan formed. Ventar made his preparations and gambled that the warrior did not wake too soon. He did not. Having all the pieces of his plan in place, Ventar went into execute.

Again sneaking up on the warrior he stopped a good distance away, found a good place to rest his crossbow, aimed carefully and buried a bolt deep in the warriors left thigh. Waking with a scream of anger and bewilderment, the warrior was quickly in his feet and in pursuit. He was markedly faster that Ventar, but was also somewhat hindered by the bolt in his thigh. That and the headstart Ventar had allowed him to reach his cave before the warrior caught up with him. As he did though, the trap was sprung. The warrior had leaped into the cave area where Ventar had cast desecrate before he had created a pair of zombies (after all, there was plenty of raw material from the previous night). The zombies fell on the warrior as Ventar conjured up a magical darkness around them, preventing normal sight. As the sounds of fighting reached Ventar from close by he once again called on the dark energies and filled the cave with them, harming the living and bolstering the undead. After some time the sounds of fighting stopped and Ventar lifted the magical darkness to find the warrior lying severly wounded on the floor.

Wanting to savour his victory he ordered the one remaining zombie to stop attacking. The deadly warrior was stripped of his weapons and armor and bound hands and feet. Making sure he was sufficiently restrained and wounded, Ventar expended a charge of his wand so that he could gloat about his victory to the defeated warrior and perhaps see the fear in his eyes as he told him about his plans. As the warrior awoke and found himself restrained he raged for a while before Ventar could confirm that they indeed spoke the same language. As they were talking, much to Ventars surprise the fear he was hoping for never surfaced. Curious he continued the interview, and found that this warrior might actually be of more use to him alive than (un)dead. As the realization struck home for them both that they might accomplish more together than separately, a strange bargain was made;

Albrek, for that was the warriors name, swore to enter into companionship with Ventar and restrain himself from wanton destruction whenever the urge came upon him. In return he would get to unleash all his destructive capabilities on demand, but in a way that was aligned with the greater goals. Goals which would guarantee an even greater level of destruction in the future, though sometimes this might not be obvious at the time. Also, he would keep his life for now. As a separate part of the deal, when Ventar came sufficiently into his Gods good grace, he would find a way to turn Albrekt into his undead form of choice, possibly a vampire, and so enable him to unleash his wrath and destruction on the world until the end of time. Thus having struck a win-win deal for both, they set off, still heading east…

Ethical hedonism is the idea that all men have the right to do everything in their power to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible to them. It is also the idea that every man's pleasure should far surpass their amount of pain. Along with those ideas ethical hedonism supports that idea that it is morally and ethically right to do what is needed to achieve such pleasure.

Ventar also argues a qualitative approach. Ventar believes that there can be different levels of pleasure - higher quality pleasure is better than lower quality pleasure. He also argues that simpler beings (he often refers to pigs) have an easier access to the simpler pleasures; since they do not see other aspects of life, they can simply indulge in their lower pleasures. The more elaborate beings tend to spend more thought on other matters and hence lessen the time for simple pleasure. It is therefore more difficult for them to indulge in such "simple pleasures" in the same manner.

• Be sure that you’re eating great and delicious meals, be with good friends and drink quality wines. Enjoy stimulating conversations with the people whose company you truly enjoy. Have lots of wine and don’t forget your yummy dessert. You are indulging your senses spectacularly this way.

• Don’t be afraid to fall in love. Don’t think too much about things and just give yourself over to the experience of falling and being in love. It is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

• Remember that you only have one life to live so even if it sounds cliché to say that you have to live your life to the fullest, that is what you should really do. Don’t wait to experience regret for not having done things you would have wanted to do. There is no time like the present they say. And when you die, a whole new set of experiences will open up for you as you become undead.

• Be sure and get yourself pampered. Spend a luxurious day at the brothel, get a new haircut, treat yourself to a body massage or spend the day at the inn. Indulge yourself! Make sure that you’re surrounded with lots of beauty and beautiful things. You will surely feel much better with being surrounded by beautiful people and things, as they will also make you feel more beautiful in the process.

• Don’t rush through life and instead take it one day at a time. If you work yourself to the ground, you’ll end up getting overworked and feel burned out. You have to understand that the world doesn’t revolve on you alone. Take a step back and have the time to “smell the roses”. Life is not supposed to be a running contest.

• Don’t be overwhelmed with your material possessions. Experiences are your greatest treasures rather than your material possessions.

• Don’t be afraid of changing your view on life. Life is what you make of it and it is what you want it to be.

• Laugh always. Laughter is the best cure for anything. Positive energy begets positive energy improving your overall well-being.

• Every once in a while, detach yourself from your surroundings, taverns, wenches and anything else that might be construed as interruption to a relaxing afternoon. Instead read that book you’ve always wanted to read. Some quality alone time is really one way to indulge your emotional health.

• Remember that the main goal is always about pleasuring yourself and no other. Relax, enjoy and live!
  

If Ventar was a real person he would likely be diagnosed with Reactive attachment disorder and Narcissistic personalty disorder...

HP: 27/27 ([18]/class + [6+3] per level con + fav class )
Speed: 30 ft
with armor: 20 ft

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SAVES
Fortitude: 5 = +3(base) +2 (con)
Reflex: 2 = +1(base) +1 (dex)
Will: 5 = +3(base) +2 (wis)

ATTACKS
-----------------------------------------------------
Initiative = +1
Base Attack = +2

Melee: 3 = 2(base) +1(str) +0(size)
Ranged: 3 = 2(base) +1(dex) +0(size)

CMB: 3 = 2(base) +1(str) +0(size)
CMD: 14 = 2(base) +1(str) +0(size) +1(dex) + 10
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Total AC = Base Shield Dex Armour Size Misc
---------------------------------------------------------------
standard: 19 = 10 +2 +1 +6 +0 +0
vs Touch: 11 = 10 -- +1 -- +0 +0
Flatfooted: 18 = 10 +2 -- +6 +0 +0
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WEAPONS TAB DMG Crit Range Size Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------
Morningstar +3 1d8 +1(str) x2(20-20) melee M P/B
Dagger +3 1d4 +1(str) x2(19-20) melee M P/S
Light Crossbow +3 1d8 +0(str) x2(19-20) 50 ft M P
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ARMOUR AC Dex Penalty Spell Failure Speed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breastplate +6 +3 -4 25% 20 ft
Hvy wood shield +2 - -2 15%
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MISC. BONUSES
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Channel Negative Energy 30 ft burst 2d6 energy, DC 15/will for half
Death’s Kiss Touched creatures are treated as undead,
1/2 lvl rnds, 3+Wis/day
Seize the Initiative grant ally within 30 feet the ability to roll
init dice twice. 3+Wis/day
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SKILLS Abil Mod Abil Ranks Misc (details)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skill points/level: 9 = 2(class)+0(int)+1(human)
Total Spent: 9/9 +0(favoured class)

--Class--------------------------------------------------------------------
Appraise int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Craft (-) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Diplomacy cha 7 = 3 + 1 + 3(class)
Heal wis 8 = 2 + 1 + 3(class) +2 (healer's kit)
Knowledge (arcana) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Knowledge (local) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Knowledge (history) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Knowledge (dungeoneering) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Knowledge (nobility) int 4 = 0 + 1 + 3(class)
Knowledge (planes) int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Knowledge (religion) int 4 = 0 + 1 + 3(class)
Linguistics int 0 = 0 + 0 + 0(class)
Profession (-) wis 3 = 2 + 0 + 0(class)
Sense Motive wis 6 = 2 + 1 + 3(class)
Spellcraft int 6 = 0 + 3 + 3(class)
Use Magic Device cha 7 = 3 + 1 + 3(class)

--Cross Class-------------------------------------------------------------
Acrobatics dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Bluff cha 3 = 3 + 0
Climb str* -3 = 2 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Disable Device dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Disguise cha 3 = 3 + 0
Escape Artist dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Fly dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Handle Animal cha 2 = 2 + 0
Intimidate cha 2 = 2 + 0
Knowledge (engineering) int 0 = 0 + 0
Knowledge (geography) int 0 = 0 + 0
Knowledge (nature) int 0 = 0 + 0
Perception wis 3 = 3 + 0
Perform cha 2 = 2 + 0
Ride dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Sleight of Hand dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Stealth dex* -4 = 1 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
Survival wis 3 = 3 + 0
Swim str* -3 = 2 + 0 - 5(AC penalty)
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*armour check penalty applies

LANGUAGES
----------------
Common
Varisian
________________

FEATS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
(Human) Selective Channeling Choose whom to affect with channel energy
(1st) Command Undead Channel energy can be used to control undead
(3rd) Craft Wondrous item
[(5th) Improved Channel +2 bonus on channel energy DC]
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TRAITS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
Sacred Conduit +1 trait bonus to the save DC channeled energy
Dangerously Curious +1 Use Magic Device, class skill
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Unless otherwise noted these are the spells Lister most commonly prepares when expecting to work for a living.

SPELLS (D = Domain Spell, A = Abjuration, c = Conjuration, etc)
Lvl/Dom or School Spell
0 ---------------------------------------------- 4
A Guidance (A = Abjuration, c = Conjuration, etc)
C Detect Magic
En Light
E Mending

1 ---------------------------------------------- 2 + 1(wis) + 1(dom)
Bless
Command
Cure Light Wounds
D Cause Fear

2 ---------------------------------------------- 1 + 1(wis) + 1(dom)
Silence
Summon Monster II
D Ghoul touch

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These are the spells most often prepared in between adventures.

SPELLS
Lvl/Dom or School Spell
0 ---------------------------------------------- 4
Guidance
Detect Magic
Light
Mending

1 ---------------------------------------------- 2 + 1(wis) + 1(dom)
Dream Feast
Command
Tap Inner Beauty
Cause Fear (Domain)

2 ---------------------------------------------- 1 + 1(wis) + 1(dom)
Ancestral Communion
* Undetectable Alignment (Cast every morning)
Ghoul touch (Domain)

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INVENTORY Cost Weight
------------------------------------------------------------------
Worn/Wielding
Armor - Breastplate (200gp) 30lb
- Heavy Wooden Shield (7gp) 10lb
Weaps - Morningstar (8gp) 6lb
- Light Crossbow (35gp) 4lb
- Dagger (2gp) 1lb
- Glass Dagger* (Spellcraft DC 24.)
Ammo - Bolts (20) (2gp) 2lb
Bag - Backpack (2gp) 2lb
Outfit - Explorer's Outfit (0gp) 8lb

Belt -
Body -
Chest -
Eyes -
Feet -
Hands -
Head -
Headband -
Neck -
Shoulders - Cloak of resistance +1
Wrists -
LHand -
RHand -

In Backpack
(1) Bedroll (1gp) 5lb
(1) Flint & Steel (1gp) 0lb
(1) Healers kit (50gp) 1lb
(1) Grappling Hook (1gp) 4lb
(1) Rope, hempen (1gp) 10lb
(1) Torch (1cp) 1lb
(1) Waterskin (1gp) 4lb
(3) Trail Rations (1gp) 3lb
(5) Paper, inkpen and ink
(50) Wand of cure light wounds
(2) Potion of Vanish
(1) Potion of lesser restoration
------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Personal Load: 91lb
------------------------------------------------------------------
(Type of Mount) (???gp)
(0) Saddle, (type, if owned) (???gp) xlb
(0) Barding (type, if owned) (???gp) xlb

In Saddlebags (if owned) (?gp) xlb
(x)

------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Mount Load xxlb
+ Personal Load xxxlb
__________________________________________________________________

ENCUMBERANCE
-----------------------------
Personal Encumberance

Light Load: 50 lb or less
Medium Load: 51 lb - 100 lb
Heavy Load: 101 lb - 150 lb
-----------------------------
Mount's Encumberance

Light Load: xxx lb or less
Medium Load: xxx lb - yyy lb
Heavy Load: xxx lb - yyy lb
_____________________________

COIN AMOUNT
-------------
pp 0
gp 50
sp 0
cp 0

Prestige 0
Fame 0
_____________

Held for the Group
Coins, jewelry, and other assorted valuables worth at least 900gp in total. (Appraise DC 18 for a more exact estimate, can be done untrained.)
A pair of magic rings. (Spellcraft DC 21 to identify the first one, DC 26 for the other.)
Wayfinder.
A finely-crafted rapier with large garnets set into the basket hilt.
Masterfully crafted red leather boots
Mithril chainmail +1