The Walking Dead of Golarion, by GM Fiendish

Game Master Fiendish Zen

Themes

If it wasn't already apparent, this campaign will be heavily 'survival horror' based. This means constant danger, limited resources and even more limited shelter. If your character ends the day with 1 more trail ration or arrow than they started with, that's a win. Getting a new weapon or map to a possible refuge or supply cache is a great day worth celebrating with that single bottle of ale you found last week, shared with your party of course. In other words, anyone looking for a grand monty-haul dungeon crawl should move along.

The campaign will contain horror themes. I don't mean 'slasher' or 'shock', Saw or Hostel style. I mean themes that might make you squirm a bit, feel a little uncomfortable, push you out of your comfort zone. Your character may have to make choices where there is no immediate right or 'good' path, and have to live with the consequences of their decisions. Again if that doesn't sound fun or challenging, then this isn't the campaign you're looking for. But if what you've read thus far has got your mind whirling, if you've already got a concept or two banging to get out of your skull, then you *should* apply!

The differences in the world today

Clerics and other divine magic users are understandably more valued in this new world than ever before, but are also fewer in number due to the difficulty of maintaining contact with their sources of divine power. As such, there will be a maximum of 1 divine caster in the party. As the first of many difficult choices you may have to make, will you try to create a party member that will be sorely needed and have more competition with other players for the slot? Or will you try a different concept and have a greater chance of succeeding with your application?

Obviously this will be an undead-heavy campaign, but that's not all that you'll be running in to. By all means take favored enemy and other anti-undead abilities, but don't make your character so specialised they'll struggle with other challenges. Also, every character will be mixing it up in combat at some point. This is not the campaign to try out your knowledge-focused librarian cleric build. That guy got eaten real quick (but at least he got a high enough skill check result to realise he'd be coming back ;)

The nuts and bolts

Aside from the nitty gritty day-to-day survival, there will be plot arcs, but no grandiose rail-roading. For the most part what happens will be driven by you in your search for survival. Will you try to put down roots in a defendable location or live as nomads moving from cache to cache?

There will be a small intro scenario, following which you'll advance to level 2. After that, a new level will be your reward for surviving the 'season'. So...plan for a build that works straight from the get-go.

Point buy: 15 - stats no lower than 8 and no higher than 18 AFTER racial adjustments
Races: Core races get an automatic pass, others will be considered but it would be a good idea to have an interesting concept.
Classes: no gunslingers, summoners or playtest classes. Archetypes allowed but must be approved. It would pay not to focus on having a mount as such are few and rare in these times. Nom nom nom.
Alignment: no evil
Traits: 2 - none that increase wealth. I'll handwave reflavored campaign traits if you have a good idea.
Skills: You might want to invest in some craft or profession skills. There are no handy shops to buy arrows, food or camping gear, let alone potions and the like.
HP: max 1st level, average rounded up for every subsequent level (d8 = 5, d10 = 6 etc)
Starting gold: 50 gp and I recommend spending it all. Shops don't really exist beyond the occasional barter, and gold will just weigh you down when you're running from the horde...Yes it is a miserly amount, but it represents having been on the run for 6 months when you couldn't always grab your gear before heading out. To make things a little more bearable, you'll get a useful (minor) magic item for free that I'll select individually for you.
Source material: Paizo only, no 3PP
Posting frequency: Once per weekday minimum please

A nice backstory that gets me excited about your character will go a long way towards getting you a slot. Fluff is more important than crunch! I don't need a novel, but a couple of paragraphs of backstory plus description as a minimum please.

Questions for your character to answer to get you thinking:
Where were you and what were you doing on the night of Red Harvest?
Have you had to do anything you regret in order to make it this far?
Have you got family out there or just a strong desire to survive? What gets you through?
For those creating divine casters... what makes you special that you still have a connection to your powers?

Unnamed Hero
Male Gnome Alchemist (Chirurgeon) 1
CG Small humanoid (gnome)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0; +2 bonus vs. fear and despair
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee dagger +0 (1d3-1/19-20) and
dagger +0 (1d3-1/19-20)
Ranged bomb +4 (1d6+3 Fire) and
sling +3 (1d3-1)
Special Attacks bomb 4/day (1d6+3 fire, DC 13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +2)
1/day—flare (DC 11), prestidigitation (DC 11), produce flame
Gnome Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +2)
1/day—dancing lights
Alchemist (Chirurgeon) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4):
1st—cure light wounds, shield
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +0; CMB -2; CMD 10
Feats Brew Potion, Point-Blank Shot, Throw Anything
Skills Craft (alchemy) +7 (+8 to create alchemical items), Disable Device +4, Heal +4, Knowledge (nature) +9, Perception +4, Survival +4, Use Magic Device +5; Racial Modifiers alchemy
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Infernal, Sylvan
SQ eternal hope, mutagen
Other Gear lamellar cuirass, dagger, dagger, sling, sling bullets (10), backpack, bedroll, chalk (5), fishhook, formula book, inkpen, spell component pouch, survival kit, 1 gp, 3.5 sp, 5 cp
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Special Abilities
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Alchemy +1 (Su) +1 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Bomb 1d6+3 (4/day) (DC 13) (Su) Thrown Splash Weapon deals 1d6+3 fire damage.
Darkvision (60 feet) (Darkvision) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Eternal Hope (1/day) +2 save vs. fear and despair. 1/day, reroll a 1 rolled on 1d20.
Mutagen (DC 13) (Su) Mutagen adds +4 to a physical & -2 to a mental attribute, and +2 nat. armor for 10 min.
Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Throw Anything Proficient with improvised ranged weapons. +1 to hit with thrown splash weapons.

When someone finally sits down to write about what happened, to tell the story of the Red Harvest and years that followed, they’ll say it was the end of the world.
But they’d be wrong. At least in Polo’s case. His world ended long before that fateful day...

Like most of his kind, Polonius had a gift for magic. But whilst other gnomes concerned themselves with tricking the bigger folk with figments or phantasms, he had turned his keen intellect to the enigmatic relationship between magic and materials. He was fascinated by a type of magic he had stumbled across called chymistry – the study of the composition, structure, properties and manipulation of matter. He was soon obsessed and found he wanted nothing more than to know what made the world tick.

As he entered adulthood he turned his obsession into his profession, buying a modest shop in Magnimar, with what savings he had mustered, from which to sell his alchemical creations and potions. But then she came along. And his world changed.

Polonius was 39 years old, barely out of childhood himself, when he met Amelia Starfall. He had never seen anything as beautiful as her pale, silvery skin and fiery red hair. Their courtship was swift and passionate and within two summers they were married. Within another 4 she was with child and all of a sudden Polo had a family of his own. In the early years nothing brought Polo more joy than his family. Watching his son grow and learn was an experience unmatched by any other in his life and during those years father and son were inseparable. Polo nurtured his son’s gift with fire magic, delighting in his growing talent. The first time Benvolio set the house on fire (accidentally of course), Polo laughed louder and longer than he had in years.

During that time, he was shocked to notice the initial symptoms of the Bleaching in his wife. It started with her already pale silvery skin losing a shade. Then as the years passed it gradually discoloured her hair and eyes and he was horrified to realise she was suffering from ‘The Quicks’ - a rapid, degenerative disease that increased the Bleaching process ten-fold.

He was aware of the sickness and its incurable nature but his obsessive nature simply did not allow him to accept that. Over the next 35 years he changed the focus of his studied from chymistry to chiurgey in a desperate attempt to find a cure. As well as devouring every shred of knowledge he could gather on the treatment of the sick, he spent as much time beside Amelia and Ben as he could, trying desperately to introduce her to new experiences in order to delay the Bleaching process. They were both the best and worst times of his life. In a bitter irony, the stimulation he sought served only to gradually enhance his own colouring, making him more active and virile than even in his tweenage years. All the while his wife’s pale skin grew ever more translucent – she was fading away before his very eyes.

Every spare moment was spent pouring over ancient tomes of lore and meeting with any gnome he could find who displayed evidence of Bleaching. His search for a cure, or even a means to slow the process, was met with nothing but bitter disappointment.

Eventually he stumbled across the name of a gnome who was said to have beaten the Bleaching and rolled his years back before the sickness ever took hold. Dubious and doubtful, Polo felt he could leave no opportunity unexplored and set out to find this gnome – nearly half a world away in Brevoy.

Polo said goodbye to Amelia and Ben, promising to return soon and forever. She gave him the amulet she had worn on the day they met - For luck, she said. It was a plain gold locket but inside there was a tiny chip of rock that radiated a pale, green glow. She had always said it was a piece of a falling star and the reason for her family name as it had been passed down through generations, supposedly since the gnomes first crossing over to Golarion from the First World.
Sadly, he could not keep his promise.

After months chasing rumours and coming up empty, he decided to return home. But to his eternal regret he was too late and Amelia had passed by the time he returned.

Ben had nothing but fury for his father. He accused him of so many irrational things, wanting her dead, deliberately staying away, putting his obsession before his family.

Ben ran away the next day. He left Polo a note at least, explaining that he would search for a region in Varisia where the veil between Golarion and the First World was thin, in hopes of bringing her back. You failed as a husband and a father but I will succeed as a son were his final bitter words for his father.

With the loss of his family – Polo’s world ended.

It wasn’t long after that, that the Shroud, as Polo called it, settled over the world – an oily blackness that washed over everything and even blocked out the sun for a time. The end came so suddenly that no one saw it coming. The priests could no longer commune with the gods and the wizards had no explanation for it. The dead began to rise from their graves, clawing their way to the surface and in their inexorable and inexhaustible way began to swarm the towns like a plague of locusts.

Polonius realised that the amount of citizens in Magnimar made it a nightmare place to be, the infection was spreading so fast! He gathered what he could and fled.

He has spent the last lonely months wandering the wilderness, doing what he can to survive and all the while searching desperately for his son. He had no means of substantiating it but despite everything Benvolio was alive – he just knew it!

He tried his best to avoid the towns. Zombies were drawn to them for their promise off fresh meat but over the past few weeks he has grown desperately short of food. Risking just a short incursion into the dead town of Sandpoint, he went carefully from house to house gathering anything that could be useful or that his small arms could carry.

To his surprise he found the inn to be barricaded from the inside – perhaps a final stand. But he was able to squeeze his small frame into a hole in the basement window. But the barricade wasn’t a final stand – but rather the attempts of a small group of disparate survivors to protect themselves from the horrors without. A group that he know counted himself amongst – at least until he could find Ben anyway.

Polonius is slim, stands at just 3’ 6” tall, with a shock of pale blue hair the colour of morning sky. His eyes are a deep violet colour but his skin has a greenish tinge, like oil on water. His long eyebrows are completely white and there is also a white streak in his otherwise blue hair – evidence of the Bleaching that has accelerated since his son’s disappearance.
Polo is a charming and confident man but understandably the loss of his family and recent events temper his humour somewhat. He can be extremely obsessive and is most at home when expounding at great length on some new discovery.

He once dressed in bright, gaudy colours like most gnomes but clearly now does his best to stay out of sight although he has retained his love of hats, the bigger the better.

He is charismatic and confident but very keen to protect those who are close to him. He already feels like he lost his family and anyone he builds significant relationships with become surrogate children.

Polo is obsessed with finding his son. This has made him very inquisitive over the years meaning he is keen to explore and to engage with new people. In his heart of hearts he knows Ben cannot achieve his ambition of crossing over to the First World and bringing back his mother. Although this causes him great sadness as he couldn’t wish for anything greater, he would be happy to just find his son in this nightmare world and be the father he always promised his wife he would be.

I wasn't sure if your changing your mind about custom races meant you are now considering it, or you decided later you are not. But regardless, I put together a quick 10RP "half-turned" race, for those who suffered the bite, but didn't quite die. Here are the stats:

Half-Undead (5 RP)
Half-undead have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
Half-undead gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease and mind-affecting effects.
Half-undead take no penalties from energy-draining effects, though they can still be killed if they accrue more negative levels than they have Hit Dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels they've gained are removed without any additional saving throws.
Half-undead creatures are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. A half-undead creature with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.

Slow Speed (–1 RP): The race has a base speed of 20 feet. If the race is Medium, its members' speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.

Standard (0 RP): Members of this race gain a +2 bonus to one physical ability score, a +2 bonus to one mental ability score, and a –2 penalty to any other ability score.
+2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Int: members of this race are supernaturally graceful, but their minds are eroded by the infection.

Plagueborn (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease, ingested poisons, and becoming nauseated or sickened.

Shadow Magic (2 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against spells of the shadow subschool that they cast. Members of this race with a Charisma score of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—ghost sound, pass without trace, ventriloquism. The caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to the user's character level.

Bite (1 RP): Prerequisites: Small or larger size; Benefit: Members of this race gain a natural bite attack, dealing damage equivalent to that of a creature two size categories lower than normal for their size (1d2 for Small races, 1d3 for Medium, etc.). The bite is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons.

Toxic (1 RP): Prerequisite: Aberration, dragon, plant, or undead type, or grippli, half-undead, reptilian, or vishkanya subtype; Benefit: Members of this race gain the following extraordinary ability: A number of times per day equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day), a member of this race can envenom a weapon that it wields with its toxic saliva or blood (using blood requires the creature to be injured when it uses this ability). Applying venom in this way is a swift action. When you take this trait, choose one of the following venoms.

Life-Stealing Venom: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user's Hit Dice + the user's Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Con; cure 1 save.

Carrion Sense (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a natural ability to sniff out carrion. This functions like the scent ability, but only for corpses and badly wounded creatures (creatures with 25% or fewer hit points).

Kaars scraped the dirt off some bugs he had managed to extract from their homes in the ground. The last few months had been alot of this scrounging. Trying to find enough food to keep moving, supplies to keep his alchemy experiments going. He needed to find more formulae, or discover them. The insects tasted bland, but still nourished his body
enough to make it another day. Another day to search for a safe place on this forsaken planet. Could there be anywhere that didn't stink of rotting corpses and powerful necromancy? Go west they said. In Varisia are answers. Go south others had said, Absalom has not yet fallen. He had travelled with other groups. Safety in numbers is what his people had alwasy believed in. He could hear the rumbling of several undead nearby, time to move on. He started running again, just like he had done on the day everyone seemed to call the red harvest.

'He had been trading in Andoran, his wife with him. Their usual trade route buying and selling miscelaneous treasures along with alchemical items he created. It was the last thing he ever would have expected to see. They must have come from the graveyards first. They overwhelmed alot of the village before anyone could react. Most were not even capable of defending themselves. They tried to leave, barely getting out with their horse and cart and most of their possessions. Wherever they went people were running or dead. No where seemed to be safe. Several weeks after they were ambushed by another group of survivors who took their horse and left them for dead. The damaged cart still
held all his equipment and a few scraps of food. He had to leave alot of it behind when some more undead found them.

They ran, staying away from others at the beginning. Desperation caused most people to do things they wouldn't usually do in more normal situations. Some groups wanted to help everyone survive. These lasted weeks at best. Not many they came across were very well equipped to survive. A few broken weapons, limited food. Until they came. A military group from Cheliax. They took everything and those who didn't join them were left with nothing. Those who did became prisoners. The Cheliax were using people for experiments. Trying to find ways to stop the plague or find a way to resist it and become immune. Some were immune to disease, but this plague seemed to ignore such restrictions. They were going to use him next when an unexpected attack occured. Nightmarish creatures larger and more dangerous than any revived dead. In the confusion he was able to escape and rescue his wife Kenaraa.

Months later they got through Cheliax and into the mountains north. Supposing that the heights were to be less populated by undead that the rest of the country. It turned out to be a huge mistake. Anything that hadn't been was still alive and dangerous. Moreso by the limited food sources. Running through tunnels trying to get off the mountains, one minute he was running, the next falling through the ice and into the freezing water of a river. There was no time to react, the water was fast and cold. Miraculously one of his potions was in a pocket and not crushed. Without a thought he pushed the opening of the vial to his mouth and sucked the contents out. Instantly he felt warmer. He would not die of the cold. Perhaps instead be dashed againt a rock or the ice. Indeed he was knocked out and woke up on the edge of a lake. Kenaraa was no where to be seen. He was unable to search far, having to run when confronted with more undead. His potion of endure elements had saved him. Perhaps Kenaraa hadn't been able to drink hers, or it was broken in the fall, or the water had killed her some other way. He ran, praying that by some crazy chance that she had survived and been left somewhere else.

He made it to Korvosa, where they had originally intended to go and waited for her but after a month she had not returned and he was forced to move on. He joined a group that intended to head to Magnimar and find a boat. They hoped that there was an island somewhere that had been untouched by the plague. He only went along because heading
that way had been their plan before. Always holding out hope that his wife was out their, maybe even already waiting for him there. All they found in Magnimar was burnt out husks of ships, nothing usable or fixable with the resources they had. They headed out up the coast. Sandpoint wasn't far. There they found a boat, too small to carry everyone and Kaars was one of the first ones to be voted out of the group, being the only nonhuman in the group.

Nowhere to go and nothing that he cared for left in the world he stayed in sandpoint and waited to be overwhelmed by the hordes of undead. Months later he was still alive and something forced him to keep going, recover supplies and find a way to keep going. She wouldn't have wanted him to give up.'

With his sack over his shoulder he walked back into town. There were others here.

Ok I can see where you're going with this, I have the following suggestions:
+Dex plus slow speed doesn't work thematically, I'd prefer to see +con or str. These are the usual half-decayed corpse types rather than quick moving rage zombies.
Shadow-magic feels 'tacked on' and doesn't flow with the rest. How about Shadow Resistance or Natural Armor instead?

I like the bite, venom and carrion sense, they fit nicely :)

A typical day, just like any other, the monasteries garden was as beautiful as ever, The lake in the middle glimmered golden as the noon sun struck it perfectly. Serene, calm, the perfect environment for meditation and training. The monastery to Irori, sarenrea, and Iomeade was the largest building in the town of Spero (hope). Cedric Lorell was training under the guidance of the head weaponsmaster of the monk order, The Emerald dragons. Cedric was the top of his class, strange, as he was a foreigner in this kingdom, a babe found in the woods one morn. The Sensei took him in, and cared for him as a son. A stronger bond had formed between them now, one of great value, and love. In the shade of the cherry blossoms they meditated. Then from off in the distance a great rumble began. The air grew heavy, and dark. The sensation of all the hair on the back your neck rising came over Cedric. He looked to his master, who now wore a look so horrid, he was afraid to ask. Clerics began murmuring as they discussed what this foul energy was.

That’s when they heard the distant ringing of the alarm bells, the town was in trouble, with not so much as an explanation Mater Wu charged off towards the town, soon after a caravan was following him, a paladin by the name of Derick lee lead the company. Soon they lost sight of Master wu as he ran further ahead. The trip to town was short, no more than 5 minutes, but when they came to the last hill, they saw smoke, there was a foul smell in the air and screams could be heard off in the distance. Cedric raced ahead to try and find his master, when he crested the hill his heart dropped. Looking down, he saw hordes of undead, and off in the distance on the road leading to the town gate he saw his master fighting them as he kept moving forward. Off he raced, determined to aid his Sensei for the first time in real battle. He cared not whether his foe was human or monster, zombie or skeleton, These beings were attacking the town he had friends in, loved ones, He WOULD defend it. He finally managed to catch up with his master, who yelled for him to return to the monastery, for the first time in his life. He disobeyed his master’s words. For the first time in his life, the master was glad he did.

They fought their way to the gate of the town, where could be seen the archer militia dutifully holding off the hordes. But something wasn’t right. That’s when the saw, the militia that got bitten fell and then arose as one of the dead. They raced to the town center, gathering as many villagers as they could, When Cedric looked back, he saw the caravan overrun with the dead, what clerics were left alive fled back to the monastery. Soon, the horde was inside the town, making their way towards the largest center of people, the middle. It was here that Master wu, Cedric and what few guards remained made there stand. It was here the people, the guards, the children, all were slain. Save one. Master wu, in his death throes, was somehow able to fight his way out of the horde carrying Cedric. Into the woods they fled, to the last sacred place, as by this time, the beautiful monastery and its serene gardens where lost. A wooden Temple, simple, yet enchanted with powerful magic from the deities it once served. No undead could enter there. Not yet. It was here, that Master wu, performed the treatments to Cedric, where he saved Cedric life, it was when Cedric awoke, days later, that a weary master finally, smiled, and bid his young student, hid adopted son, no, his son, farewell.
"To you, I give my strength. To you my student, my son. My final task for you,(deep exhale) is for you to.. liv-" are the last words he speaks.

Cedric shouted in despair, everything he had known, his life, his friends, his family, all was gone in a matter of an hour. He cried out in anger, anguish, despair, and defiance He shouted and cried for those that could not. It was here, on the holy ground to the gods Iori, Iomeadea, Sarenrea, That he would not rest, He would not fall, until he had righted the wrongs wrought upon the land. He would rebuild, after slaying those who caused this, he would build again a society, a stronger society. He took a vow a truth, so that all would never doubt his word. This was his duty, his responsibility, he would not fail, not again…
He sat in meditation for several days after, preparing himself, mind, body, soul, for the trails he would soon face. At the end of this meditation, he set out. He went and gathered all he could from the monastery, (the 50gp) Slaying any undead along the way.

Description, 6’2”, Black hair, has grown out some, Muscular, Green eyes, wears no shirt, and only pants. Sometimes dons a widebrimmed hat in the fashion of his master, whose loss has never stopped stinging.
Personality- He inherited his master’s serious nature, but has an outgoing side when around those he trusts, He will protect any of his friends showing little mercy to those who threaten or harm them. He is disciplined, though has moments of spontaneity, He seeks true companionship, perhaps even a disciple of his own someday. Through all the hardships he has endured to date, he is still a kind, and gentle man to most.
Human, Male, Age 21, LG (can he be NG?) worships Irori, also follows Sarenrea and Irori.

Leather armour - 10gp - 15lbs
Tail Blade - 11gp - 0.5lbs
Alchemy Crafting Kit - 25gp - 5lbs
Dagger - 2gp - 1lbs
Rope(50ft) - 1gp - 10lbs
Rations(2 days) - 1gp - 2lbs

total = 60gp
weight = 33.5lbs

Kaars Arden
Ratfolk Alchemist(Vivisectionist/Beastmorph) 1
CG Small Humanoid(Ratfolk)
Init +3; Senses Perception +7; Dark Vision 60ft.
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 dex, +2 armour, +1 size)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +1
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +1 (1d4)x2
Melee Tail -4 (1d2)x2
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Spellcasting
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1st level formulae DC 14, 1+1 per day Crafter's fortune, Cure Light Wounds, Reduce Person, Shield, Expeditious Retreat.
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 12
Feats: Throw Anything, Brew Potion, Sharp Claw.
Traits: Slippery, ?.
Trained Skills: 1 Craft(Alchemy) +9(+1 to create an alchemical item), 1 Nature +7, 1 Perception +7, 1 Spellcraft +7, 1 Stealth +11, 1 Survival +5, 1 Use Magic Device +5.
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Draconic, Orc.
Other Gear
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Special Abilities
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Weapon and Armour Proficiency/Familiarity Alchemists are proficient with all simple weapons and bombs and light armour.
Small Ratfolk are small and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC and a +1 size bonus to attack rolls. -1 to their Combat Maneuver checks and to CMD, and a +4 size bonus on stealth checks.
Slow SpeedRatfolk have a base speed of 20ft.
Dark Vision Ratfolk can see in the dark up to 60ft.
Rodent Empathy Ratfolk have a +4 racial bonus on handle animal checks made to influence rodents.
Swarming Two ratfolk can share the same square and are considered to be flanking.
Tinker Ratfolk gain a +2 bonus on Craft(Alchemy), Perception and Use Magical Device.
Sneak Attack +1d6 A Vivisectionist gains sneak attack as the rogue skill.
Alchemy(Su) When using Craft (alchemy) to create an alchemical item, an alchemist gains a competence bonus equal to his class level on the Craft (alchemy) check. In addition, an alchemist can use Craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using detect magic. He must hold the potion for 1 round to make such a check.
Brew Potion(Ex) An alchemist can brew potions of any formulae he knows (up to 3rd level), using his alchemist level as his caster level. The spell must be one that can be made into a potion. The alchemist does not need to meet the prerequisites for this feat.
Throw Anything(Ex) You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised ranged weapon. You receive a +1 circumstance bonus on attack rolls made with thrown splash weapons.
Mutagen(Su) When an alchemist brews a mutagen, he selects one physical ability score—either Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. It’s a standard action to drink a mutagen. Upon being imbibed, the mutagen causes the alchemist to grow bulkier and more bestial, granting him a +2 natural armor bonus and a +4 alchemical bonus to the selected ability score for 10 minutes per alchemist level. In addition, while the mutagen is in effect, the alchemist takes a –2 penalty to one of his mental ability scores. If the mutagen enhances his Strength, it applies a penalty to his Intelligence. If it enhances his Dexterity, it applies a penalty to his Wisdom. If it enhances his Constitution, it applies a penalty to his Charisma.
Formulae Book 1st:Crafter's fortune, Cure Light Wounds, Reduce Person, Shield, Expeditious Retreat.
Favoured Class Bonus(1/6 discovery) +1HP or +1 skill point or 1/6th of a discovery.
Sharpclaw You gain two claw attacks. These are primary natural attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage.

Riko is a tall man, he wears his long grayish-brown hair tied back into a ponytail and his skin seems much to pale. All of Riko looks almost corpse like except for his eyes, his eyes are vibrantly Golden and almost seem to glow with energy. He wears slim black clothing with a heavy black coat on top and he often fingers the handle of the morningstar at his belt.

Riko was never a rich man and he tended to avoid people usually. In a way he was less effected than most by the night of red harvest because he didn't have any loved ones or home to lose. His entire life Riko lived on the streets and it has left him well prepared for this apocalypse. He always knew that he had some magic ability but Riko never dreamed that it might come from the same magic as this terrible darkness. He always had a sense of his angelic lineage and assumed that was all but somewhere in his families past there was a dark secret, a secret he has no way of knowing. Fortunately for him his strong connection to the undead manifested in a favorable way, the ability to effect the undead with spells most would not be able to use on them.

Riko Blackbourne
Male Human Sorcerer (undead/empyreal) 1
LN Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3 Senses Perception +5
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DEFENSE
----------------
AC 11
hp 12
Fort +2
Ref +1
Will +4
----------------
OFFENSE
----------------
Spd 30ft
Melee -1
Dagger -1 1d4-1
19-20/x2 piercing or slashing

Morningstar -1 1d8-1
x2 bludgeoning/piercing

Ranged +1
sling +1 1d4-1
x2 bludgeoning
50 ft. [20] bullets

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
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STATISTICS
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Str 8
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 10
Cha 18
Base Atk +0
CMB -1
CMD 10
Feats
eschew materials
toughness
light armor proficiency

Traits
Poverty stricken
Arcane temper

Skills
Knowledge (religion) +4
Perception +5
Survival +9
Total Points: 3
Languages Common
Combat Equipment
Sling
20 bullets
dagger
morningstar
Other Possessions
6 gp
4 sp
haramaki
backpack
bedroll
tent
50 ft. of silk rope
signal horn
flint & steel
traveler's outfit
(10) torches
8 days rations
(2) waterskins
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Undead/Empyreal bloodline arcana
Heavenly fire
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SPELLS
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Spells per day
1 - 4

Spells Known
0 - detect magic
daze
disrupt undead

1 - sleep

human, dual talented. core monk +qinngong
Str:16
Dex:12
Con:14
Int:10
Wis:16
Cha:8

Traits- Wisdom in the flesh (acrobatics)Quin martial artist,
Drawback-

Feats- scorpion Style, Great Fortitude.

Saves
Fort: +6
Ref: +2
Wil: +5

AC:14

HP:10

Skills
acrobatics-1
Perception-1
Survival-1
Swim-1
Climb-1

gear
Temple sword-35g
backpack-2g
bedroll-4sp
Flint and steel-1g
Rope 50f-1g
Sack-1sp
waterskin (2)-2g
torch (10)-1sp
Grappling hook-1g
hammer-1sp
Rations (20)-1g
belt pouch-1g

Olo dreamt only of wealth, of being well off and living in a big mansion with servants and fine food, but only dreams they were for an orphan street urchin.

Olo spent his days as a petty thief and gang member buy protection where he could and stealing pawning whatever he could steal for gold. He was actually starting to make a name for himself on the fateful day. Spending the night in the dungeon after getting caught for filching food by a gaurd, there was a comotion outside the keep and then he was alone, for days he saw no one, the gaurds didn't feed him and hunger drove him to attempt escape. Looking out of his dungeon cell window, a task that took some doing for the three foot halfling, he watched in horror as the townsfolk devoured one another. Escaping the cell he found himself pressed to survive.

Always the optimist, Olo decided to look at it this way, this leveled the field, he no longer had to climb the societal ladder, all he had to do was own the most rescources and he would be richest in the land. He has had to steal some things from people who probably died there after but hey survival of the fittest, it bothered him a little though. Survivning alone he made his way to an abandoned inn...

Here's a 12RP revision. I went to cut Shadow Magic and found Fell Magic, which is just way more thematic. Bleed, Chill Touch, and Touch of Fatigue? That's so zombie.

I also changed the stats from +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Int, and went with +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int. Strong, tough, and dumb. I think it's much more thematic that way. Less vampire/skeleton, more shuffling undead.

Half-Undead (5 RP)
Half-undead have the darkvision 60 feet racial trait.
Half-undead gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease and mind-affecting effects.
Half-undead take no penalties from energy-draining effects, though they can still be killed if they accrue more negative levels than they have Hit Dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels they've gained are removed without any additional saving throws.
Half-undead creatures are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. A half-undead creature with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.

Slow Speed (–1 RP): The race has a base speed of 20 feet. If the race is Medium, its members' speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.

Specialized (1 RP): Pick either mental or physical ability scores. Members of this race gain a +2 bonus to two ability scores of the chosen type, and a –2 penalty to one ability score of the other type.
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int: members of this race are strong and hardy, but their brains are rotted by the infection.

Plagueborn (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease, ingested poisons, and becoming nauseated or sickened.

Fell Magic (3 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race gain +1 to the DC of any saving throws against necromancy spells that they cast. Members of this race with a Wisdom score of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—bleed, chill touch, detect poison, touch of fatigue. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user's character level. The DC for these spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell's level + the user's Wisdom modifier.

Bite (1 RP): Prerequisites: Small or larger size; Benefit: Members of this race gain a natural bite attack, dealing damage equivalent to that of a creature two size categories lower than normal for their size (1d2 for Small races, 1d3 for Medium, etc.). The bite is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons.

Toxic (1 RP): Prerequisite: Aberration, dragon, plant, or undead type, or grippli, half-undead, reptilian, or vishkanya subtype; Benefit: Members of this race gain the following extraordinary ability: A number of times per day equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day), a member of this race can envenom a weapon that it wields with its toxic saliva or blood (using blood requires the creature to be injured when it uses this ability). Applying venom in this way is a swift action. When you take this trait, choose one of the following venoms.

Life-Stealing Venom: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user's Hit Dice + the user's Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Con; cure 1 save.

Carrion Sense (1 RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race have a natural ability to sniff out carrion. This functions like the scent ability, but only for corpses and badly wounded creatures (creatures with 25% or fewer hit points).

If you think the race is too OP I can trim it down. It's higher RP than most core races, but it's comparable to Dhampirs (at 11) and less than Aasimar and Drow (at 15 and 14).

I like this arrangement much better. It's more thematic and it's also more viable for this type of campaign (since a bonus to Charisma mostly helps paladins, oracles, and clerics, which are scarce, and samurai/ninjas/cavaliers, which don't make much sense as half-turned).

Logandi Velos was born upon the sands of Osirion in a nomadic tribe of barbarians. His mother was the second daughter of the tribe's chief, this kept him safe from the people who feared and hated him because he was different but still he became a lonely outcast.

He fled the tribe at a young age when they passed within a hundred miles of the city Sothis in an attempt to find a place to fit in. He didn't.

Life in a city was just as hard, if not harder, than life in the tribe. Lo was tricked traded and imprisoned time after time. He eventually became adept at not getting caught. This earned him the attention of a small group of thugs who needed a disposable person. Lo was made an offer he couldn't refuse, join the team and be accepted, all he had to do was kill a man.

The plan was to use Lo as a scape goat so the rest of the group could get away. Turns out Lo was too quick and quiet to be caught by the guard. Realizing they came out with an extra person on hand the band of thugs kept Lo on staff as a spotter. Years of playing sniper for the thugs honed Lo's skills and made him a cold killer.

When the group started to fall apart due to money percentages and drinking Lo found out about the true reason they brought him to "The team" and slaughtered his fellow thugs, he was ruthless and evil and now he had no one.

He knew how to kill and he knew how to hide. This made his next life choice simple. He appointed himself as a hit-man and went to work. With bow in hand Lo made a life out of death. Traveling from town to city damning souls with practiced precision.

Six months ago he was on a job like any job. In a bar on a river in the city of Magnimar there was a cheating husband, with a jealous wife, who had to be extracted from the earth. The plan was to take him out while he was on his way home in a drunken stupor, knocking him into a watery grave that would send his lifeless body down river never to be seen again.

With his shot lined up and his target on his way the deed was about to be done. There he was right on the bridge, right... where... he...

*Boom!* The shock wave of the spell came over Lo and the drunken man toppling them both. The man fell into the water where undead sprouted from the river bottom immediately grabbing him and devouring him. Lo looked on in astonishment until something grasped at his feet. As he turned the moans and growls of the undead filled his ears along with the cries of the city's inhabitants.

Lo thought he was evil but after seeing the death and mutilation brought about by the vicious undead he was changed. It took months of crawling through piles of gnawed bone and walking corpses to get out of Magnimar. It was time to end the killing, time to start helping out, time to give back what he took. Seeing the people you impassively killed consume each other makes one see life differently.

After escaping the city and living in the wilderness while traveling down the river to Sandpoint Lo has reached the now decrepit town hoping to find some supplies and maybe find an old Varisian tribe of people. Their resourcefulness would be invaluable .