War for the Crown with DM Vayelan

Game Master vayelan

With her gone, Quintius was treated even more like part of the family. His charm and skill grew with each passing year.
So did his hatred. He practiced spying on his so-called family, stealing and smuggling minor household items. He studied the noble houses of Taldan in particular. They weren't all outright monsters, but plenty were. He kept mental notes on which houses and which nobles deserved retribution most.

As the AP begins, he wonders why he's been invited by Lady Martella Lotheed to this event. Famous house, hard to get good information on, but something about them smelled. Still, the invitation required looking into. Either they were aware of his activities and plans and wanted to help him or blackmail him OR they had no idea and this could be an opportunity to get to a place where his true plans can finally begin.

Quintius presents as a handsome--lovely, perhaps--human man of his own age. His hair is a light brown with deeper brown accents. Steely blue eyes express the emotions he wishes them to express. He can charm most folks with his easy-going, light-hearted manner, but this is all a ruse. Inside he is calculating and a keen observer of human nature. The nobles like his father will all pay one day, and the corruption of Taldor cleansed.

DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +4 armor, +1 shield)
HP 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +3

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft
Melee falcata +4 (1d8+3, 19-20/x3)
Melee spiked gauntlet +4 (1d4+3, x2)
Melee dagger +4 (1d4+3, 19-20/x2)
Ranged dagger +2 (1d4+3, 19-20/x2, 10 ft)

STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Traits Civilized, Disgraced Noble (Campaign, Class Skill: Linguistics)
Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (falcata), Power Attack
Skills (ACP -3) Bluff +6 (+8 to conceal identity), Diplomacy +10, Disguise +8 (+28 to appear as current identity), Intimidate +6, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (nobility)* +2, Perception +5, Profession (gambler)* +5, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +2
Languages Common
Social Talents Social Grace (Diplomacy)
SQ Dual-identity, seamless guise, vigilante specialization (Avenger)
Other gear falcata, spiked gauntlet, 4 daggers, armored coat, buckler, explorer’s outfit (free outfit worth 10 gp or less), courtier’s outfit, 50 gp worth of jewelry, belt pouch, disguise kit (10 uses), dice, cards (worth 1 gp), 9 gp, 9 sp

Eregos had a gift for discussion, often laying out convincing arguments and speaking with distinction and poise. He hoped to use this skill to prove himself worthy of his father’s affection, but while he applauded Eregos’s linguistic talents, he spent no more time with him than he had previously. Eregos was disappointed. He’d hoped his father would see potential for something in him - perhaps even a place in the Senate. Instead, he was yet an afterthought. Desperate, he turned his attention to his martial training, seeking to prove to at least his father that his skill-at-arms made him just as worthy as his brother. As he grew, he became larger and more muscular than Marcus, in the image of his maternal grandfather. While this helped him in his martial training, it did not help him learn the proper way to use the signature Taldan weapon, the Falcata. He consistently relied on his strength to strike with the blade instead of finesse and agility. In the end, his efforts weren’t enough, and his father continued to all but ignore him.

Then, tragedy struck. At the age of 14, his mother fell ill and died. Eregos was heartbroken at the loss, but the pain was made all the greater by the fact that his father decided Eregos should go to a secondary school away from home, as his father did not have time for his younger son. So, a mere week after his mother’s funeral, Eregos was sent away, to Oppara. Eregos was so angry. He’d tried so hard, done everything his father asked, to prove himself worthy of his father’s time, and instead, he found himself sent away from the family home, barely able to mourn his mother. It was in his anger that Eregos realized the truth - nothing he did mattered to his father. He was nothing but an afterthought. If that was how his father saw him, then it was fine - it meant he could do whatever he wanted.

Eregos arrived at the school in Oppara with a mission. He was going to enjoy himself, and who cared what his father thought about it. It started small - sneaking out at night, breaking curfew with a few friends, other second and third sons sent away from home. They began frequenting taverns, gambling halls, and brothels, spending money freely, laughing and showing up to classes half-asleep and yawning. They earned and then cultivated a reputation as carefree hedonists, men who did what they wanted, when they wanted. After all, they said, what did any of it matter? They were clearly afterthoughts to their families, and no one would care. Unbeknownst to them, someone did.

After 4 years, Eregos graduated the program and was to return home. As he prepared to do so, his father arrived, furious. Eregos’s reputation had reached home, and his father demanded to know if it was true. Deciding not to bother with a lie, Eregos replied that yes, it was true. His father demanded to know what had possessed him to sully the family name so, and Eregos laid everything out. He lit into his father for never spending time with him, for favoring Marcus over him, for sending him away with barely a chance to mourn his mother. They were both shouting by the time it was over. Eregos’s father called him a disappointment and a disgrace. Eregos called his father a washed-up, useless fool, and told him he was so concerned with appearances and his reputation that he’d probably never truly loved his wife. It was the final straw. Eregos’s father told him not to bother returning to the family seat, and that he was disowned, cast out of the family. Eregos said it was fine with him - it wasn’t like he had ever been treated like part of the family anyway.

Eregos remained in Oppara, but it didn’t take him long to learn that he wasn’t well-suited to life outside of the net that had supported him. With no truly marketable skills, he found his only way to make money being gambling. His friends stopped associating with him, Over the next three years, he gradually sold various valuables and finery for coin, relying on gambling and other games of chance to earn enough so he could desperately try and keep himself alive. In doing so, he found just how badly the commoner had it in Taldor compared to the nobility. The safety nets and advantages he had once enjoyed gone, he saw how hard-strapped they were, and how hard they worked for no reward as nobles like him spent money without consequence. He no longer looked down on them - now, he saw them as the true soul of Taldor.

Eventually, he learned the true reason his father had been so furious at him. His father had challenged Maxillar Pythareous, Taldor’s military commander, on some political matter, and won the day. In retaliation, Pythareous accused his family of engaging in demonic and hedonistic rituals and conspiring with enemies of the throne to overthrow the Grand Emperor. Preposterous accusations, all, but Eregos’s behavior in the capital was used as evidence of the hedonistic nature of the family. His father was now dead, supposedly killed in a riding accident, but Eregos knew, deep down, it was no accident.

Eregos was distraught. His actions had directly contributed to the rapid decline of his House. The Villarius name was worthless now - his brother, Marcus, was said to have sold the family estate to someone else, and was constantly shunned by those of high society. Eregos knew reaching out to his old friends would result in no response - they had likely stopped associating with him because of the charges Pythareous laid against his father. Eregos began to quietly hatch a foolish plan - find Pythareous, assassinate him, and then redeem his family name. He could reconcile with Marcus, and then the two of them would be able to rebuild.

But how could he accomplish this plan? He would never get close to Pythareous - his guards would make sure of that. Eregos began to come up with wild, ludacris schemes, ranging from falsified documents proving Pythareous’s guilt to straight up assassinations or duels. Just as he began working on a wild plan involving a goat, a peasant rebellion, and a stolen carriage, agents of Martella Lotheed found him and offered him an option. She knew what Pythareous had done to his family, and offered him the chance at redemption. Eregos leapt at the opportunity. He knew he didn’t have the resources to carry out his revenge, but with her backing, maybe he could. He could take down Pythareous, and prove the false claims against his family.

Knowing he would never be able to enter the Grand Day of Exaltation ball as Lady Lotheed wished, Eregos crafted himself an alternate identity - Hargus Kryn, a minor noble from near the World’s Edge Mountains. This identity would allow him to easily move about society, without the tarnish he’d given the family’s reputation. As Hargus Kryn, he could redeem the Viillarius family name, and then reveal his true identity to his brother, reconciling them.

Besides, Princess Eutropia seemed to have the best interests of Taldor’s citizens at heart - and as he’d learned over the past three years, it was about time someone did.

Languages Common, Elven, Kellish

Special Abilities
*Skilled
*Finesse Training
*Sneak Attack 1d6
*Trapfinding

Traits
*Cunning Liar: Use Int bonus instead of Cha bonus for Bluff
*Child of Oppara : +1 Appraise and Kn (nobility, class skill), nonmagical item worth up to 200 gp (MW studded leather)

Favoured Class
Lvl 1: 1 hp

Adventuring Skills
11 ranks/lvl (class 8, Int +2, Skilled +1)
Acrobatics +8, Appraise +7, Bluff +6, Disable Device +8(+10), Escape Artist +8, Knowledge (nobility) +7, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +4, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +8, Use Magic Device +4
Background Skills
Profession (Gambler) +4, Sleight of Hand +8

Gear
Shortswords (2)
Daggers (2)
MW studded leather armour (trait heirloom)
Backpack
Belt pouch
Caltrops (5)
Chalk (5)
Dice (5)
Dice, loaded
Flint & steel
Grappling hook
Hooded lantern
Marked cards
MW Thieves' Tools
Oil (5 pints)
Silk rope (50')
Whetstone
Taldoran outfit
(Total cost 205.57 gp)

Wealth
32 gp, 23 sp, 13 cp

Having left the family home, Garan began living on his wits. A better than average gambler, he saw long stretches of poverty broken by the occasional period of high living. However, he chafed at the restrictive nature of Taldan society, and soon began to follow a life of crime, justified by donating most of his ill-gotten gains to orphanages, charities, and the needy. Heists and hold-ups were his favoured methods, and he rarely ever wounded anybody during these escapades, let alone killed anyone.

Garan soon found that his roguish alter ego, the Shadow Prince, was being hotly pursued by the law enforcement of Oppara. For the past six months, he has not dared to steal or rob, and has been simply trying to win enough at cards and dice to live (although his marked cards and loaded dice do help him scrape by).

Garan is currently feeling pretty low; at least as the Shadow Prince, he felt he was doing a little bit to help balance the scales. He currently has little direction, and is feeling quite jaded. The Loyalists seem to have the right idea, but he's not sure he'd fit in; he's now more a thief than a nobleman. All he needs is to find a cause, a way to make a positive impact on his homeland…

Stechris Nickham was happily born into such a role, but he had other aspirations, like attending the Kitharodian Academy and pursuing his love of the arts. The prestige of such work was not equal to that of military service, but Stechris believed honing such talents may be the key to charming his way further up the social ladder, that he might ingratiate himself through such means to some powerful noble scion, or even find a noble's hand in marriage with his fame. Ambition took him, as he wished for something greater than simply to record history; he wished to be a part of it, wished to make it. From an early age he threw himself into learning etiquette and how to deal with nobility more readily than most children would, with the intention of being ready for such a time.

Stechris's father Jorick rose up in prominence as well. An accomplished scribe whose fast, deft hand never left a single mark out of place, he found himself the scribe of High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus himself, an incredible honour that Jorick was incredibly grateful for. Performing well in this role could have launched the family's stock much further and perhaps even come with a rise up the social ladder, but Jorick had grown up just low enough on the social ladder to see the plight of the lower classes, and found himself arguing with the commander about certain issues that the more traditional military leader vehemently disagreed with him on.

Perhaps it was the way Jorick said it, perhaps it was the idea that Maxillar as a matter of pride would not let a mere scribe stand against him in front of his men, perhaps there was some other slight that Jorick hadn't even known he'd committed that turned the commander against him. Whatever the case, it took mere days for allegations to arise that Jorick Nickham was a social radical who changed what the dictations he was told to write down to fit his own social views. There was no proof he had written anything but precisely what he had been told, but it was enough to have the Nickham family stripped of their titles and of almost all their wealth, taken in retribution and in lieu of imprisoning Jorick; the sort of prison sentence a knight would have earned paled in comparison to the stripping of a family's wealth and prestige, and being sent tumbling down into the ranks of the Unbearded proved a much more bitter and scathing punishment.

Stechris was a teen by then, and all of the comfort he'd known vanished overnight. His dreams of attending a bardic college were dashed, as the family only had what small fortune they had stashed away. It was enough that they never starved, but for Stechris, the idea of losing all luxury and comfort was devastating. His dreams crumbled and he knew that his chances of finding his way back up were gone. He could have accepted his fate and become a destitute street performer, seeking pittance from nobles, but he refused to give up. Those same talents he believed could bring him to higher station weren't gone, he'd simply have to develop them himself, and find new ways to use them.

The streets required their own skills that Stechris had to develop. He learned how to sneak, how to pick pockets, how to listen in on conversations. Rather than getting a real job or plying a dead end trade he believed would only distract him from finding ways to redeem his family name, he resorted to thieving here and there where needed. Eventually, he realized that such talents could be easily employed with nobility as well, that his knack for sneaking about and going from the vibrant center of attention to the quiet, slinking shadow was almost too easy for him. The more he learned his way around it, the more confident he felt in exploring and expressing the idea that such unsavory talents could do something for him.

Fake names and personas soon filled in, as Stechris began to experiment with lies and disguises, further developing his means of infiltrating the upper class. Were he to truly make a move, he would need to have an identity other than Stechris Nickham, though he now mostly called himself Chris. His last name carried too much baggage, and so he often claimed his name was simply Chris Nicks when he didn't feel like concocting an elaborate lie for himself. He knew not to feel bad about his lies; lies were what had put him into this predicament, and it was lying his way back up and finding a means of redeeming his family that would surely save the day.

His performances soon became notable enough that despite a lack of classical training, Chris found himself occasionally paid to perform for the events of minor nobility or merchants. Parties that were the lowest of high society. It was there where he could charm his way into information, zeroing in on the most loose-lipped gossips for dirt. Rumours were powerful tools; they could be traded for information, or even simply used as leverage or blackmail. A forged letter and a vague threat were sometimes all it took to loosen up some information or even simply some money. It was not the act of an upstanding man, but the secrets Chris dug up were rarely about the upstanding and the moral. In his mind, the idea of abiding the law had died the moment his family was slandered into poverty; he needed only walk the line of being a good man and not hurting those who didn't deserve to be hurt.

The system was irreparably broken, and Stechris didn't believe he could fix it all himself, but he could at least right the wrong done to his family, right other wrongs along the way, and perhaps if he could find his way to a position of prominence, put his charmed words and sharp wit to work at righting as many wrongs as one man could.

To that end, he spent his childhood squired to a Knight who followed the ways of Arnisant in the small port town of Ridonport. He watched as Arnisant's decadent descendent betrayed the ideals he was supposed to be the scion of and quickly found himself caught up with a group of political reformers among the low nobility - a faction trying to petition Taldane senators to reform Taldor and bring it back in line with the ideals that once made it great.

The young halfling has not been at this long. His short blonde hair and practiced smile, baby-bottom smooth face display his innocence and naivety for the world to see. He is a dreamer and his good nature defines him. He wants to see the best in everyone. He has dared to walk straight up to Count Vernisant and tell him he needs to shape up, an act that got him a face full of mud. He will probably need to learn to manage a more wily approach if he wishes to be considered a serious political player, but he remains undeterred. He looks to the sky with a Pollyanna, can-do attitude and refuses to give up. It is his family's legacy to be in the service of the Righteous leader of his times. So it is Harald's first order of business to find who that might be.

He admires Princess Eutropia as she is clearly of more sound and ambitious mind than her father and hopes to one day see if perhaps she could be the Arnisant of this age. Until that day, he keeps on grinding setting a good example for the other squires and ready to go join the crusade of his times.

Special Abilities
*Order of the Sword: Knowledge Nobility and Religion are class skills, add 1/2 cav level (min 1) to Sense Motive vs Bluff
*Cavalier's Challenge 1/day (+1 to damage, +1 to hit as long as on mount)
*Mount (Silver Legacy)
*Ride Mount (no ACP on Ride checks)

Traits
*Seeker: +1 to Perception; Perception is a Class Skill
*Taldan Patriot: +1 Knowledge:History and +1 Sense Motive; In addition, once per day you can recall a specific fact about a Taldan noble’s personality—quirks such as a hobby or pet peeve— including information you would normally learn as a discovery check in social combat.
*Purity of Faith: +1 to Will Saves and +1 on all saves vs Evil outsiders
Drawback:
*Headstrong: I feel compelled to correct every action and argument that contradicts my worldview. Must attempt to stop actions or arguments that go against my creed or be shaken for 1 hour.

Race Traits
* Outrider (+2 to Ride and Handle Animal)
* Irrepressible (+2 on saving throws vs dominate and possession effects)
*Halfling luck + 1 racial bonus to saving throws
*Halfling Weapon Familiarity
*Keen Senses: +2 to perception checks

Favoured Class
Lvl 1: 1 hp

Adventuring Skills
5 ranks/lvl (class 4, Int +1)
Diplomacy +7, Knowledge: Religion +6, Perception +8, Ride: +8 Sense Motive: +6
Background Skills
Knowledge: History +6, Handle Animal + 8

Gear
Cold Iron Longsword
Cold Iron Lance
Halfling Sling staff
- 10 bullets, regular
- 10 bullets, sharpstone
- 10 bullets, softstone
- 10 bullets, spongestone
Four Mirror Armor
Heavy Wooden Shield
Squire's Outfit
Backpack
Bedroll
Belt Pouch
Bit and Bridle
Flint and Steel
Holy Water
Mess Kit
Soap
10 Torches
2 flasks of oil
Waterskin
Mirror

Wealth
24 gp, 7 sp,

Mount
Silver Legacy
Medium Sized Pony (animal)
Speed 40 ft
Feat: Agile Maneuvers
Stats:
Str 13 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 2 Wisdom 11 Charisma 4

HP:11
AC 16 touch:11 flat-footed:15 (+3 Parade Armor, +1 dex +2 natural)

Attacks 2 hooves +2/+2 1d3 + 1

Tricks
Aid
Attack
Combat Riding
Come
Defend
Down
Guard
Heel

Skills
Perception: +4 (SCENT)
Acrobatics: +2
Gear:
Parade Armor Barding
War Saddle
Saddlebags
Feed

Disfigured and twisted by Lamashtu's influence over her birth, Chana has struggled since infancy to survive in the sewers and streets of Oppara. Kinship with the vermin that surrounded her, her dark-piercing eyes, sharp teeth, and unusual strength, coupled with an unyielding tenacity, helped bring her to young adulthood in the Narrows. A life of unending struggle led her to form close bonds with other street urchins, and she began to think of them and the creatures of the sewers as her tribe.

-----------------
"Talkin' propa? Yea I can. Bu' ets about comfort. Abou' wot you grew up wif. Still, sometimes it can help to seem like someone else, yea? The people in the courts see and hear what's on the surface. It's not so hard to just *be* what they expect."
-----------------

Chana was finally located by her aunt Sophie Durante at 14 years of age. Her aunt subdued the ratling girl and returned with her to the estate that still, in name, belonged to Chana's parents. Her parents: two minor nobles who found joy and madness in Lamashtu's teachings, who had been silenced years earlier by their relative, Sophie. Chana, or Chiara, was the last of the Durante bloodline, and Sophie's last chance for her and her half-elf husband to cling to nobility.

But Chana was a half-human monster, and a girl besides. With no male heir, the Durante line would end in a secret abomination. Sophie, hopeless, resolved to at least take the girl in and care for her.

------------------
"Snips says I have many friends. I like to think of them as my family. They're all so important to me. They don't deserve the treatment they've gotten from this city. The rot that festers in its high towers leaks down to choke the hungry mouths of those deemed 'lesser'. (Chammy wrot' det one for me. Noice, innit?)"
------------------

Chana was not someone to accept things as they were. She cannily saw through to the truth of what was oppressing not only her newfound aunt and uncle, but all the people on the streets. The old ways of Taldor, the racism, the disdain for the poor, the endless, intricate webs of rules. Those things were her enemy. But to change them she needed to change the very 'rotting towers' that held power. And she couldn't do that as just another urchin on the street. So she had her aunt Sophie teach her everything about nobility and the niceties of court. A few years later she picked up the reins of her birthright, and set out.

To bring a monster to court.

Plenty of effort has been made to make her less of a slouch in social situations. She's half decent at Bluff and stellar at Sense Motive and Perception. With knowledge local and nobility, she knows enough to avoid critical faux pas. :> She's particularly capable against fellow humans, both in combat and with skills.

Chana is somewhat monstrous and deformed: sporting a misshapen face, an extra eye, jagged teeth, and bony protrusions at her joints. This manifests through some of her traits and her drawback. It also makes the concept of the AP (social maneuvering) extra challenging. I hope to have her use veils, bulky hats and clothing, and a standoff-ish attitude to navigate the social challenges of the first book. We'll see how things progress once Oppara is left behind.

Olivia eventually met up with and joined the Cult of Iomedae. This was originally an effort just to find a place to belong, but their code of honor impacted her greatly. With honor and dignity she felt like it gave her meaning to live, and without it she would have nothing. She especially looked up to Iomedae, as even long in the past there was a woman who rose up the ranks so far that she eventually became a Goddess. Now armed with her faith, she travelled to the Worldwound to serve in the military for 1 year. Though grueling, it taught her many lessons, and worked as a sort of 'growing up' experience.

After returning as a mature young woman, and an official paladin, Olivia thought her family might see her in a new light. Someone capable who has proved their worth. She was so incredibly wrong. She had not turned into a dainty lady, or beautiful priestess, but a manly woman pretending to be something she was not.
Furious, she vowed that she would rise above this and secure equal treatment. Too long has she been held back just because of her gender. Whether it would be as the heir of Vernisant, or a leader of her circle, or as a personal knight of the royal family, she did not care.

For another two years she worked off and on within both the courts and the circle, but to no avail. She was out of her league. Furthermore, her family distanced itself even more so from her. Just as she's about to falter, Olivia is contacted by Lady Martella Lotheed. She wants Olivia to take part in The Exaltation Gala, in the interest of Princess Eutrophia Stavian. Steeling herself for what she considers her final effort, she dresses in her finest clothes and departs. Hopeful that whatever Lady Lotheed has planned aids in changing the laws of primogeniture, and maybe even helps Oliva get closer to the princess, someone she has always looked up to.