The Darkest Corners Table 2

Game Master Nidoran Duran

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DEFENSE
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AC 16 , Touch 12 Flat-Footed 14 (+2 dex, +4 armor) (+1 dodge vs traps)
HP 20
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6 (+1 ref vs traps, +2 fort vs poison, +2 ref in dim light and darkness)
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OFFENSE
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee
- Mwk Elven Curve Blade +4 (1d10+1 / 18-20x2)
- Kukri +3 (1d4+1 / 18-20/x2)
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Ranged
-Composite Longbow +6 (1d6) x3
--20 arrows

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STATISTICS
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Str 12 Dex 15 Con 12 Int 15 Wis 15 Cha 14
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative
Traits Dusk Dancer (+2 Reflex saves in dim light or darkness), Resilient (+1 Fortitude), Truth's Agent (+1 Diplomacy to gather information, +1 Knowledge (Local))
Drawbacks Haunting Regret (-2 on Concentration checks, mind-affecting effects, and the distraction ability of swarms)
Skills

Acrobatics +6 (1 rank +2 dex +3 trained)
Appraise +6 (1 rank +2 int +3 trained)
Bluff +7 (2 rank +2 cha +3 trained)
Climb +5 (1 rank +1 str +3 trained)
Craft (Alchemy) +9 (1 rank +2 int +3 class +3 trained)
Diplomacy +6 (1 rank +2 cha +3 trained)
Disable Device +9 (1 rank +2 dex +1 class +2 circ +3 trained)
Disguise +6 (1 rank +2 cha +3 trained)
Escape Artist +6 (1 rank +2 dex +3 trained)
Heal +6 (1 rank +2 wis +3 trained)
Knowledge (Arcana) +6 (1 rank +2 int +3 trained)
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +7 (2 rank +2 int +3 trained)
Knowledge (Local) +8 (2 rank +2 int + +1 trait 3 trained)
Knowledge (Nature) +6 (1 rank +2 int +3 trained)
Linguistics +11 (2 rank +2 int +4 race +3 trained)
Perception +9 (2 rank +2 wis +2 race +3 trained) (addition +1 when searching for traps)
Sense Motive +7 (2 rank +2 wis +3 trained)
Sleight of Hand +6 (1 rank +2 dex +3 trained)
Stealth +9 (2 rank +2 dex +2 race +3 trained)
Use Magic Device +6 (1 rank +2 cha +3 trained)

-Can add +1d6 to any skill check by using 1 point of Inspiration
-Can add +1d6 on Knowledge, Linguistics, Spellcraft, Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Intimidate, and Sleight of Hand without using a point of Inspiration

Languages Common, Tengu, Undercommon, Halfling, Aklo, Goblin, Elven, Draconic
Equipment Mithral Shirt, Mwk Elven Curve Blade, Kukri, Composite Longbow, 20 Arrows, Cloak of Resistance +1
Gear Traveler's Outfit, Mwk Backpack, Waterskin, 50 ft. Silk Rope, Grappling Hook, Flint and Steel, Everburning Torch, 238 gold

Weight Carried: 44 lbs Light - 50 lbs Medium - 100 lbs Heavy - 150 lbs

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Sneaky +2 Perception and Stealth
Gifted Linguist +4 Linguistics. Gain 2 languages per rank of linguistics
Swordtrained Proficient with bastard sword, dagger, elven curve blade, falchion, greatsword, kukri, longsword, punching dagger, rapier, scimitar, short sword, two-bladed sword
Natural Weapon Bite, 1d3.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as human in conditions of low-light.

Alchemy +3 on Craft (Alchemy_ when making an alchemical item. Can use Craft (Alchemy) to identify potions as if using detect magic.
Inspiration Pool: 3. As a free action, expend 1 point to add +1d6 on a skill check or ability check. Can use this ability on any Knowledge, Linguistics, or Spellcraft check without using a point, if trained in that skill. Can spend 2 points to add +1d6 on an attack roll or saving throw.
Trapfinding Add half level to Perception to locate traps and Disable Device.
Poison Resistance +2 save vs poison.
Poison Lore Cannot accidently poison self. Can make Knowledge (Nature) and Knowledge (Arcana) checks to identify natural and magical poisons after 1 minute of study. If successful, can make a Craft (Alchemy) check to neutralize poison.
Investigator Talents
-Underworld Inspiration - Can use inspiration on Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Intimidate, and Sleight of Hand without using an inspiration point
Keen Recollection Make all Knowledge checks untrained
Trap Sense +1 bonus on AC and Reflex saves against traps

Karlaw was born in Korvosa amongst the slums and more or less raised himself in his early years, not knowing what happend to his parents and not really caring. When he was still quite young, he banded together with some other outcast, downtrodden, and/or orphaned children for company and safety. His fast and closest friend was a halfling named Tellin, whom Karlaw came to know as a brother. Not long after, Karlaw, Tellin, and the rest of their band took to pickpocketing and conning the people of Korvosa to get by, and most became quite good at it. Karlaw and Tellin were particularly promising at lifting purses and spinning lies, and were quickly looked to as the leaders of the gang. Things went on as such for some ten years, seeing the children into young adulthood.

By this time, the wealth that the group had accumulated was enough for them to procure a hideout and furnish it, but they did not live lavishly. They still remembered what it was like to be hungry, so their money, though taken amorally, was mostly spent on necessities. Still, none of the gang members stole and conned just for the rewards - most of them quite enjoyed it as well. Karlaw became particularly confident and arrogant, receiving smug satisfaction whenever he performed a successful heist or con on a highborn, or anyone else for that matter. He was looked up to as the ultimate leader of the gang, though he shared with and trusted in Tellin still.

The gang saw rivalries with other small-time organizations, but successfully held out against them due to the wit and guile of Karlaw and Tellin. One rivalry was with a the runners of a small inn in a bad part of town which, though a legitimate business, often saw illegal activities within, and whose owners were making a bonus off of it, and also saw to some illegalities themselves. One day, Karlaw successfully duped a few guards protecting a small warehouse and conned the foreman into giving him a particularly interesting crate. After taking back to the hideout, they found within a few interesting baubles, but in a locked box at the bottom was a strange and captivating amulet. Judging it to have some sort of magic, he was pleased with his acquisition, and knew it was valuable.

A few days later, a well-dressed woman came to the hideout door. It was a peculiar visit, for not many people of such obvious standing every found themselves in Karlaw's corner of the city. The woman was inquiring as to the whereabouts of a piece of cargo that went missing from storage, and that its contents included heirlooms that were very important to her. Unable to resist another con, and wanting to get one over on his rivals at the inn, Karlaw explained that he had heard about someone boasting about cargo going missing through his informants, and that the owners of the inn were responsible. The woman thanked him and left. A few hours later, during a celebration of what was a successful heist, Karlaw told Tellin to go down and see the fallout at the inn. The halfling left, but did not return for many hours. Finding that strange, Karlaw went to investigate.

When he arrived at the inn, he got a strange feeling. Only one low fire was flickering through the window, and no noise was coming from within. he entered the inn and was presented with a horrible and gruesome sight. The innkeepers, the patrons, and Kellin were all dead, eviscerated and strewn about in a grisly display. He stood in shock, overcome with regret for what he had done, and the woman he saw before came out of the back room, covered in blood. Her form changed then, from the attractive woman he dealt with before to a horrible humanoid monster. Karlaw fled, and he never returned to his hideout. He melted into the underworld of the city, haunted with grief and self-loathing. Over the next few years he did an abundant amount of research and uncovered the truths about what lurked in Korvosa. He discovered the type of creature that the woman truly was, and expanded his knowledge on all related subjects. He met with hunters of such creatures and others, and learned about the best ways to find them and defeat them. He accrued a vast amount of knowledge and know-how and became a somewhat known figure amongst those "in the know" for his insights and abilities. Not much of a outright fighter himself, Karlaw would lend crafted materials and knowledge to those who would hunt, knowing that he was making a difference. He continued his personal hunt, however, for the woman he had seen years before, who killed all of those people and his adopted brother. Eventually, the hatred he felt towards her and himself led him to take to the streets as well, ever-investigating for the whereabouts or identity of the murderous woman. Every day he looks at the amulet that he stole from her, and it reminds him of his purpose. He never did find out what powers the object holds, but it is his catalyst for vengeance.

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The monster in question is a monstrous humanoid, but as I didn't know what specific creatures you planned on using, I left what type vague. Perhaps a medusa or a hag? The amulet is likewise vague - he doesn't know what it is, but knows it was something important enough for the monster to kill an inn of people for.

His specialty is knowledge, primarily. Hunters or other folk that know about the monsters seek him out for advice, tools, or information, but he does do a bit of dirty work himself.

The Escominate family first immigrated to the great city of Korvosa from their native Ustalav when little Theodosia was just old enough to know what leaving a homeland behind meant. Ustalav had become an unkind place, or so her parents told her. The scourges of the undead and the constant threat from unbelievable monsters made the nation an insular place and its people paranoid and violent. So the Escominates, the mother, father, uncle, grandmother and four children set out for neighboring Varisia and south to Korvosa. Theodosia, second youngest of the children in this family of the race colloquially known as the “Catfolk,” though a rather disingenuous term lending their feline qualities the stigma of a common house-cat, could hardly remember the place where she grew up. What she did remember she was all too ready to forget.

The tendency of most immigrant families has been most often to settle into ghettos of the racially and culturally similar. This proved true for the Escominates as they moved into a subsection of Korvosa’s cityscape, into the Catfolk ghetto derisively called elsewhere in the city as “the mousetrap.” Their apartment was small and the social circles among Catfolk even smaller. Theodosia’s father and uncle found work as teamsters, but made little and spent all they had in supporting their large family.

Her uncle was a drunken sod, a whiner and, as her father called him, “a bleeding parasite of a worm.” Theodosia’s grandfather, whom she called great-pa, injured in a war he would always refuse to talk about, taught Theodosia of Catfolk culture, Catfolk history and Catfolk beliefs. Theodosia’s mother was nervous in her new surroundings. Outside the district of her people, the alien sights, the sounds of languages she could neither speak nor write and the fashionable and energetic people evoked a powerful feeling of dread in her. She stayed at home most days, keeping her family locked away in their cramped apartment except for community events, in which she was happy to participate.

The Catfolk were a naturally ethnocentric group. The community was led de facto by what many people called, “the chief,” who was universally male and often led the group until his death or until he unceremoniously passed off his chieftainship to a protégé of some kind. Her father, a naturally cunning man in the ways of mercantile business, worked his way out of his miserable position and eventually came to own an emporium in one of the wealthier parts of the city. The Escominates became wealthy, and with the providence of wealth came the promise of power. Theodosia’s father was a natural contender for chieftainship and after the death of the previous one, her father assumed the position.

Theodosia, throughout most of her young adult years, began to feel she was being consumed by her small pocket of society. Beyond everything, she wished to get out of the ghetto, to see beyond into the parts of the city she could only dream of. It seemed, however, like her mother never slept. When she tried to sneak downstairs and out the front door, her mother was there knitting on the couch. She finally got her chance to escape at the age of 13, when she managed to evade her mother’s omnipotent gaze during a community dance and wander blindly into the city proper.

She was mesmerized by what she saw there, towers and buildings taller than any in her ghetto. Shops and stalls selling goods and services from far off places like “Tian Xia” and “Katapesh.” It wasn’t too long before she had become hopelessly lost. Finding herself in a dark alley, she was set upon by three savage looking muggers. She was saved only by the intervention of a group of youthful-looking swordsmen and women, driving the thieves to the walls of the alley and violently murdering themselves. Theodosia was knocked out by a wayward strike during the fight and only awoke to the sight of a dozen or so lounging youths. The first of the youth to speak to Theodosia introduced herself as “Coraline.” They were a group of “like-minded individuals from all walks of life,” as Coraline called them, but elsewhere in the city they were known on broadsheet headlines as the “Dearly Departed.” Some were the sons and daughters of wealthy nobles or merchants. Some were street rats from ghettos like Theodosia’s, but what they all had in common, as Coraline described, was a willingness to “stop worrying about what the other stooges think. We do what we like, how we like it. There’s only one thing that can stop us, and that’s us.”

Theodosia liked them immediately. So she started tagging along on their escapades. Sometimes the group would knick wares from the unaware cart vendors. Sometimes they’d beat down a bunch of low-lives or even Korvosan guardsmen who went too far or thought to mess with them. Once in a while they’d commit to “big jobs,” casing, a high value target, then stealing or infiltrating areas to steal valuables artifacts or, more importantly valuable information. Theodosia, for her part, watched and learned. She’d sneak out at night, not caring for her mother’s wrath. Eventually, Theodosia was allowed to participate in some of the groups bigger jobs, and what’s more, she learned she was quite good at it. Theodosia was quite good at scaling a wall, remaining unseen by guards and making out with the goods. She became a deft hand with sword and pistol and by her seventeenth birthday could outmatch even the best swords in the departed. She had one more special talent, however, and that was her tongue. Theodosia excelled at infiltrating noble banquets and balls, posing as some up jumped human merchant heiress thanks to liberal potions of disguise self. Information soon became her trade.

Theodosia was having the time of her life. She began experimenting in drugs, gaining a certain liking for harlot sweets and even trying a little bit of pesh on occasion. She loved her knew family, spending less and less time with her old. She hardly even minded when Coraline told her the group had been gathering all these political secrets and all this wealth to find a magical means towards becoming intelligent undead. “Here’s a big secret that everyone seems to know and nobody seems to want to say,” she told Theodosia one day. “The upper crusts, they’re the ones really dabbling in it, and doing more than dabbling. How many do you think prance about at night sucking blood from the living like they do normally in the day? They’re evil, all of them. If they want to live forever, the parasites, why shouldn’t we. We’re better than all of them. Think about what we can do, Theodosia.”

Theodosia had learned enough from her time with the aristocracy to know what Coraline said was mostly true. Thoughts of her past nagged at her, though, memories of the witch-hunts and the angry mobs in Ustalav. She remembered one family, neighbors, who woke up one night to find their youngest daughter, a sweet thing, eyes closed and pale with two bite marks gouged in her throat.

Theodora’s activities hadn’t gone unnoticed by her parents. She spent hardly any time at home and what time she did spend was unconscious in bed, hung over or elsewise exhausted after a major heist. She could feel her heart ice over when she was told she was to be married. “A nice boy they said, “very respectable.” It was all the motive Theodora needed to join the departed.

The preparations and research took months more. The Departed’s resident wizard, a handsome devil of a half-elf who called himself Rake, sent Theodora and the rest on missions of subterfuge and espionage, all in the name of obtaining undead immortality. The months passed in a drug-saturated blur. It was only at the end of all these preparations that Theodora began to wake up. The group she had once known had become decadent and hedonistic. They were a name known throughout the city, a den of murderers, thieves and debaucherous villains. They wanted to keep the orgy of pleasure going unbroken forever, and they now had the means to do it.

They finished preparations on the night before the new year. Theodosia was 17 now. For four years she had prepared for a night like this, unknowingly at first but willingly soon after. But that night, the apprehension began creeping back. It was only when they brought the human sacrifices in, the few men and woman aristocrats who would be feasted upon once the transformation had been completed that Theodosia knew she had made a mistake. She first tried reasoning with them, but they were completely absorbed by the idea of immortality. She began arguing, yelling at them and trying to show what they’d become, but it was too late for them. It was Coraline who ordered the rest to kill her.

Tears in her eyes, Theodosia drew her sword and fought the rest of them. It wouldn’t have been a fair fight with Theodosia by herself, but most of the Departed had already begun the ritual. Theodosia fought them, killing four of their original twelve, but was fought back to the ends of her ropes and forced to retreat. She ran, but in her head all she could hear were the screams of the men and woman sacrificed to the departed’s bloodlust. She vowed she’d find them all and, failing at reasoning with them, that she would personally kill each and every one.

Theodosia was now a known member of the Departed’s cabal. She was sought like any other high-profile criminal and now had to watch her back for the inevitable knives of the remaining Departed members in the dark. For more than a year she has been on the run, scrounging to live day to day and not daring to return to her family. Yet, somehow, Theodosia knew what Coraline had said was true. “The only thing that can stop us is us.”