DM Kaavek’s Scales of War (Inactive)

Game Master Kaavek

Avandra
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, Travel
Favoured weapon: Shortsword
Avandra delights in freedom, trade, travel, adventure, and the frontier. Her temples are few in civilized lands, but her wayside shrines appear throughout the world. Halflings, merchants, and all types of adventurers are drawn to her worship, and many people raise a glass in her honour, viewing her as the god of luck.

Bahamut
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Glory, Good, Law, Protection, Scalykind (Dragon)
Favoured weapon: Bite or Longsword
Bahamut, also called the Platinum Dragon, is the good-aligned god of justice, protection and nobility. He is the patron of the metallic dragons. He is stern but kind and helpful to the downtrodden. His clerics and followers are taught to oppose evil and help those in need.

Corellon
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Charm, Good, Magic, Plant (Growth), Rune
Favoured weapon: Quarterstaff
Corellon is the deity of spring, the arts, magic, beauty and the fey. He seeded the world with arcane magic and planted the most ancient forests. Artists and musicians worship him, as do those who view their spellcasting as an art, and his shrines can be found throughout the Feywild. He despises Lolth and her priestesses for leading the drow astray.

Erathis
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Artifice, Community, Law, Nobility, Protection
Favoured weapon: Light or Heavy Crossbow
Erathis is the god of civilization, inventions and law. Rulers, judges, pioneers and devoted citizens worship her, and her temples are present in most major cities of the world. She is the patron of the minotaurs after having defeated the primordial Baphomet. She lives with Pelor in Hestavar, where they are known as "the King and Queen of Light" and rule the city.

Ioun
Alignment: Neutral
Domains: Healing (Medicine), Knowledge, Luck (Fate), Rune (Language), War (Tactics)
Favoured weapon: Quarterstaff
Ioun is the god of knowledge, skill, and prophecy. Sages, seers, and tacticians revere her, as do all who live by their knowledge and mental power. Corellon is the patron of arcane magic, but Ioun is the patron of its study. Libraries and wizard academies are built in her name.

Kord
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Chaos, Glory, Strength, War, Weather
Favoured weapon: Greatsword
Kord is the storm god and the lord of battle. He revels in strength, battlefield prowess, and thunder. Fighters and athletes revere him. He is a mercurial god, unbridled and wild, who summons storms over land and sea; those who hope for better weather appease him with prayers and spirited toasts.

Melora
Alignment: Neutral
Domains: Air, Animal, Plant, Water (Oceans), Weather
Favoured weapon: Trident
The goddess of nature, wilderness and the sea, Melora is often worshipped by elves as well as hunters and rangers. She is the antithesis of Erathis, the deity of civilization, and is also known to dislike Asmodeus. She has no astral domain and prefers to simply wander the cosmos. Sailors often make offerings to her before they embark on their voyages.

Moradin
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Artifice, Earth, Good, Law, Protection
Favoured weapon: Warhammer
Moradin is the lawful good deity of creation and patron of artisans, especially miners and smiths. He carved the mountains from the primordial earth and is the guardian and protector of the hearth and the family. Dwarves from all walks of life follow him.

Pelor
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Fire, Glory, Good, Healing, Sun
Favoured weapon: Light or Heavy Mace
Pelor is the god of the sun, agriculture and time as well as the seasonal god of summer. He is known as a healing god and is the most popular god among humans. His clerics are well respected and honoured in most good-aligned realms.

Raven Queen
Alignment: Neutral
Domains: Death, Healing, Knowledge, Repose, Water (Ice)
Favoured weapon: Spiked Chain
The name of the god of death is long forgotten, but she is called the Raven Queen. She is the spinner of fate and the patron of winter. She marks the end of each mortal life, and mourners call upon her during funeral rites, in the hope that she will guard the departed against the curse of undeath.

Sehanine
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Chaos, Darkness (Moon), Magic, Plant (Decay), Trickery
Favoured weapon: Shortbow or Longbow
God of the moon and autumn, Sehanine is the patron of trickery and illusions. She has close ties to Corellon and Melora and is a favourite deity among elves and halflings. Scouts and thieves ask for her blessing on their work.

Read the guide above for inspiration. Your character should live in the town Brindol, or have arrived there recently.

I am asking for a 10-minute background from all applicants, following the format outlined below.

Step 1: Write at least 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to the image of your character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile etc.

Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another could be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.

Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves them but that they are not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that centre around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!

Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. Feel free to use characters mentioned in the Player’s Guide.

Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavour.

Eldric's rise through court was momentous, achieving in a few short months what he had dreamed about for years. He married above his station, and had a handsome son whom he named Godwyn. To his own surprise, he found that he loved his child, and soon regret the pact that he made in the foolishness of his youth. But the years rolled on, and the hag never came for his son. In time, Eldric convinced himself that it had but been a dream.

On Godwyn' sixteenth birthday a cloaked stranger came to Eldric's estate. Immediately he knew who it was, for he remembered her from the pact that he had made nearly two decades ago. To his horror he saw Godwyn, already bound by contract to marry and groomed to inherit the estate, walk towards the hooded stranger as if though in a daze. The hag had come to collect what was her due. In his haste Eldric ordered the hag to be killed, and his guards raised their crossbows. The hag was filled with no less than a dozen bolts before she could raise a hand. For a brief moment Eldric thought he had escaped his fate. But, as the hag fell, so too did Godwyn.

Godwyn lay in a comatose state for over a year. His father hired the best healers in Brevoy to attend to his heir. But as the weeks and months rolled on, Godwyn only seemed to worsen. His nails began to grow longer, and soon became as claws. His teeth sharpened, and in his fevered sleep he growled and moaned as if in pain. As the condition worsened, Eldric spent everything to both keep his son's condition a secret, and to find a cure.

But with the hag dead, the enchantment that led to his rise was dispelled. The increasingly haggered nobleman lost his position in court. His businesses began to fail, for he did not have the skill or knowledge to truly run them. Plague then swept through his land, and the commoners who lived there fled en masse. When the plague in turn took his beloved wife, Eldric was shattered. Everything he had loved and cared for had been taken from him. Before long even the healers abandoned him, for he could not afford them. Sitting alone in his manor, he stopped eating and drinking, never leaving Godwyn' side. And it was there that he died, alone and broken.

When his father breathed his last, Godwyn's eyes shot open. Sitting upright, he looked around wildly with eyes that saw far more clearly than ever before. He looked down in horror at his father's emaciated body, and then at his hands. Jumping to his feet, he ran through the manor, calling for his mother, his servants, the guards...anyone. But he was alone. Where once he was a proud young noble, dreaming of his future, he was now a cursed monster.

Godwyn buried his father, and soon learned the fate of his mother as well as the surrounding lands. He also learned that the outside world thought him dead along with them, for the healers when they left had reported that there was nothing they could do to save him. Seeing himself as a monster, he fled. Deep into the wilds he went, living as best he could.

It was a hard life, going from the pampered existence of a nobleman to that of a vagabond. But, he learned that with his curse came abilities that he never would have dreamed of. He could heal the injured, he could will minor magical tricks, and he was stronger than what he once was. That, and he was hungry. Always, always hungry. But no matter how much he ate, he never seemed to stay full for long or to gain weight. Animals also shied away from him, sensing the unnatural magic that infused him.

Hiding in the Vale, working odd jobs, Godwyn is living day to day. It is his hope that opportunity will present itself so that he can start rebuilding his life.

Appearance
Godwyn appears to be a well groomed, handsome young man in his early twenties. He wears a courtier's outfit, which by his force of will is as clean and mended as it was the day it was made. With it are gloves that he wears over his hands, though with his claws they do look slightly to long for a normal man to wear.

It is when one gets close to him that they can see his curse. Godwyn is infused with the essence of the hag which claimed him. His teeth are sharp, like those of a predator. When he must fight, he removes his gloves, showing the claws that he can never be rid of.

Personality
Godwyn is polite and educated, as would befit a man of his station. But inside of him is a hunger for blood and meat which he always struggles against. And the long buried desire to once again rise to the station that he lost.

Female Elf slayer 1. CG medium humanoid (elf)

Init +4; Senses Low-Light Vision, Perception +8,

Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Orc, Sylvan

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12. hp 12 (1HD)

Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +1, +2 vs. enchantment spells and effects
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 16

Ranged composite longbow str +0 +4 (1d8/x3), within 30 ft. +5 (1d8+1)
Melee dagger (cold iron) +3 (1d4+2/19-20)
Ranged dagger (cold iron/thrown) +4 (1d4+3/19-20), within 30 ft. +5 (1d4+3)
Melee dagger (alchemical silver) +3 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged dagger (alchemical silver/thrown) +4 (1d4+2/19-20), within 30 ft. +5 (1d4+2)

Special Qualities Elven Immunities, Elven Magic, Keen Senses, Low-Light Vision, Studied Target, Track +1, Weapon and Armor Proficiency, Weapon Familiarity,

Feats Point-Blank Shot

Skills (* Background skills)
Acrobatics +7,
Bluff +1,
Climb +6,
*Craft Traps +7,
Disable Device +4,
Disguise +1,
Escape Artist +3,
Heal +1,
Intimidate +1,
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +7,
Knowledge (Local) +7,
Perception +8,
*Profession Cook +5,
Ride +3,
Sense Motive +5,
Stealth +7,
Survival +5, Survival (Follow or identify tracks) +6,
Swim +2,

Possessions leather; outfit (traveler's); thieves' tools; Composite Longbow STR +0 ; Wrist Sheath, Spring Loaded [ Dagger (Cold Iron); Dagger (Alchemical Silver); ];
Elven Immunities (Ex) Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.

Elven Magic (Ex) Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. In addition, elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks made to identify the properties of magic items.

Frontier-Forged (Any Frontier Area) A hard life on the edge of civilization has made you resourceful but has also given you a streak of self-preservation bordering on paranoia. You receive a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks and a +1 bonus on Survival checks made to get along in the wild.

Keen Senses (Ex) Elves receive a +2 bonus on Perception skill checks.

Low-Light Vision (Ex) You can see x2 as far as humans in low illumination. Characters with low-light vision have eyes that are so sensitive to light that they can see twice as far as normal in dim light. Low-Light Vision is color vision. A spellcaster with low-light vision can read a scroll as long as even the tiniest candle flame is next to her as a source of light. Characters with low-light vision can see outdoors on a moonlit night as well as they can during the day.

Studied Target (Ex) A slayer can study an opponent to gain a +1 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, and Sense Motive; a +1 bonus on Perception, and Survival checks attempted against that opponent; and a +1 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against it. The DCs of slayer class abilities against that opponent increase by 1. A slayer can only maintain these bonuses against 1 opponents at a time; these bonuses remain in effect until either the opponent is dead or the slayer studies a new target. If a slayer deals sneak attack damage to a target, he can study that target as an immediate action, allowing him to apply his studied target bonuses against that target (including to the normal weapon damage roll). At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels, the bonuses on weapon attack rolls, damage rolls, and skill checks and to slayer DCs against a studied target increase by 1.. In addition, at each such interval, the slayer is able to maintain these bonuses against an additional studied target at the same time. The slayer may discard this connection to a studied target as a free action, allowing him to study another target in its place. A slayer can study an opponent he can see as a move action.

Tactician You know how to take advantage of enemies who are unprepared for your assault. You gain a +1 trait bonus on initiative checks. In addition, once per day when you make an attack of opportunity, you gain a +2 trait bonus on the attack roll.

Track (Ex) You gain +1 to Survival checks made to follow tracks.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency A slayer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as with light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Weapon Familiarity (Ex) Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word "elven" in its name as a martial weapon.
Background elements.

Jathal is of the Tiri Kitor. While she understands the need to protect the Marth forest from those who would exploit it, she much prefers hunting down and removing Orcs and Hobgoblins to dealing with humans.

While Jathal is pleasant company, and attractive, her focus on hunting and killing those she considers a danger to her people can put some off. As she’s felt little or no interest in romance at this stage of her life, this doesn’t worry her.

Jathal is of average height, slender and attractive, with black hair tied back, and her skin lightly tanned from the time she spends outdoors. Her eyes are green, she prefers to wear her armor rather than dresses, and she has a habit of twirling a dagger in her fingers when she’s idle. Her sense of humor is very dry, and tends towards sardonic, black humor.

She does enjoy meeting those of other races, such as Humans, Dwarves and Halflings. As long as it’s somewhere the meeting can be peaceful, such as Brindol. There she can be quite sociable and enjoy herself browsing the market and sampling the various alcoholic drinks to be had.

Rather than deal with threats as they arise Jathal hopes to one day be involved in a campaign or organised hunt of those she hates. Getting together with others to hunt down and eliminate Orcs is something she thinks would serve Elsir vale better than waiting for another Red hand to arise.

Goals.

Jathal wants to be more active in seeking out and killing the enemies that threaten the vale. If that means working with Humans and Dwarves then so much the better.

She also has a strong case of wunderlust. While she loves her home, she wants to get out and see more of the world.

Secrets.

The one Jathal knows: She observed a group of Humans hiding a cache of treasure in the Marth forest. As they were not cutting trees, or hunting she didn’t confront them. Since they seemed a suspicious group Jathal waited until they left, then shifted the cache to a site only she knows of. Planning to open the chest and see what is inside it when she has the skills to deal with traps and locks.

The one she doesn’t: When the group of Humans discovered the cache was gone they argued among themselves and turned to conflict. The only survivor has since used scrying magic to find the identity of the person who moved the cache, and is now looking for Jathal.

What's in it, and who knows is yours to play with.

People.

Ereval, the leader of the patrol group Jathal is a member of. A veteran of scouting and patrols, Ereval worries about Jathal’s obvious hunger for combat and danger. He tries to give her guidance and mentor her in patience.

Soumral Miteratha. Her mother is an Elven wizard. She loves her daughter but can’t begin to understand how the child of two scholarly Elves grew into such an adventurous combat seeker? This has left them little connection with each other and Soumral finds the gap growing wider the more time Jathal spends away from home.

Losk Orckiller. A Dwarven ranger with a deep hatred of Orcs. There is little they have in common aside from the mutual desire to rid the vale of Orcs and others like them. Jathal killed several Orcs who Losk had been hunting. The Dwarf regards that as theft of his rightful kills and insulted Jathal bitterly. The pair are now very hostile to each other.

Quirks.

Jathal has a sense of humor, she’s just remarkably deadpan in expression. Tending to be taken seriously even when she means to joke.

She has developed a taste for Whiskey, and drinks it like most Elves would drink wine, it also makes her feel flirty, and sadistic. Leaving the object of her attentions confused, frightened and aroused.

Jathal can’t forget the look on her mother’s face when Jathal refused the train as a mage. It angers her because she had no desire to simply be what her parents thought she should be, and it saddens her because she loves her mother and wishes she could make her happy.

In order to avoid being affected by the curse, shadar-kai live extreme lifestyles, embracing strong emotions and peak experiences. Most of them use pain to keep their focus, decorating their bodies with tattoos, scarification, and body piercings, in extremely sensitive parts of their bodies. Likewise, some of them engage in self-flagellation, to the point of injuring themselves if they feel that they are being overtaken by the curse.

Physical Description: They look human, with a few exceptions. Their skin is a dusky gray, a trait that being born in the Shadowfell, has given them, and sometimes in extremes of emotion they will "bleed" shadows. Their eyes and their hair are both always of the purest extremes of color, no matter what color it is. Hair is usually the pure forms of natural hair colors, like blood red, snow white, and raven black, while the eyes can range through any color, though that color is always vibrant to non-Shadar-Kai.
Last and most noticeable of all, Shadar-Kai are covered with a web of scars, either self-inflicted or gained in countless fights.

Society: The Shadar-Kai have a love of battle so great that they spend most of their time training and sparring, though there are sects of their social structure that act as merchants, smiths, and priests. In point of fact, there are two types of Shadar-Kai, those that grew up in the city or came to one after leaving their original home, and those that live and stay in one of the many scattered enclaves in the Wastes of their native Shadowfell. Those that remain in the enclave are wild and more dependent on violence and pain to anchor themselves to their bodies so that they do not fade, though that is a part of who the Shadar-Kai are as a people.

Relations: They can get along with most races, and have actually made trade partnerships with humans, elves, and halflings. Also, like most races, they do not get along with orcs, though for them it is because they do not see orcs as worthy opponents in battle. Unlike most races, they can identify with the Drow elves and even respect them. To the Shadar-Kai, the Drow are also born of chaos and darkness, and their love of battle makes them adversaries to be enjoyed. The Drow are almost always given the honor of the Shadar-Kai's full ability in combat.
Their chaotic nature and their birth on the Plane of Shadows also mean that they feel the need to anchor themselves to their bodies, which leads them to establish bonds with vicious and unpredictable creatures.

Alignment and Religion: Shadar-Kai tend to assume a neutral allignment, with chaotic neutral the most common. In the distant past, the Shadar-Kai made a pact to serve the Raven Queen as her mortal agents, moving to the Shadowfell and setting up their communities on the borders of Letherna, the Raven Queen’s domain. The shadar-kai believe that, through their pact, they are the chosen people of death and winter. Through their pact with the Raven Queen, each shadar-kai is an instrument of death and fate. The Raven Queen doesn’t demand worship from the shadar-kai, although she receives it in abundance. She demands only that they observe the pact by keeping her commandments regardless of other beliefs. So most shadar-kai hold no pity for the dying and try to punish those who defy fate. But shadar-kai also believe that nobody truly knows what fate holds. Individual shadar-kai, therefore, seek to make the best of all possible fates.

Adventurers: Long eons in the Shadowfell have shaped the shadar-kai into a fiery and, some say, cruel people. Fighting the apathy pervasive in their home plane, shadar-kai live passionately and fearlessly, if grimly. They see themselves as instruments of death and dissolution, the bringers of the righteous end to complacency, stagnation, and life itself. Theirs is a harsh society of self-interest. Among shadar-kai, the strong of body and mind excel and create legends. The weak molder to dust, passing into eternity unremembered.
Some typical shadar-kai characteristics are: ambitious, bloodthirsty, detached, excessive, grim, intrepid, rash, ruthless, sinister, thrill-seeking, unconventional, violent, zealous

Male Names: Albrek, Baden, Codren, Emul, Horiam, Hutahn, Ioan, Lucyan, Mahahn, Niku, Ovid, Petru, Razvahn, Serbahn, Shathys, Teodahr, Vasylay, Zahar
Female Names: Afyn, Anka, Bahnka, Codruta, Doru, Dyon, Floahr, Ghita, Helayna, Ioana, Jenit, Katryn, Lucya, Markella, Nadya, Roduka, Sahyeh, Tabita, Yalda, Zyna

1/day—shadow walk (self only)

When a Shadar-Kai reaches 13th level in any combination of classes, they gain the following spell-like ability (the caster level is equal to the user’s character level):

1/day—plane shift (self only to the Shadowfell or the Material Plane only)
(5 RP)
Languages: Shadar-Kai begin play speaking Common and Shadoespeak. Shadar-Kai with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Aklo, Aquan, Auran, Draconic, D’ziriak (understanding only, cannot speak), Ignan, Terran. (0 RP)