PbP: Ashes at Dawn

Game Master AoW_GM

August is the son of an Irrisen witch and Varisian man. His paternal grandmother was a harrower who prophesied that August would be a great harrower and began training him. His mother, not to be out done by her mother-in-law began teaching him witchcraft.

When his grandmother died, she bequeathed her harrow deck to August. The first time he used the deck, the patron of portents reach out to him. Short after, at his coming of age, he decide to set out on his own, to travel and see where destiny took him.

Traveling around Varisia, August preformed harrowing. In the town of Sandpoint, he performed a harrowing for a group of adventures, and when they events cane true, the band ask him to join them.

This took August out of Varisia into Chelax, Taldor, Qadira, and places in between. However, when he heard that his only sister, Amara, had disappeared in Utslav, he left his companions in search of her.

August stands a little over 6 foot tall and is of average build. He has olive skin, but is lighter than typical Varisians. He has shoulder-length straw-colored hair that he keeps braided, and his arms bear intricate tattoos.

August enjoys performing harrowing as well as embellishing the performance with magics. He prefers not to get his hands dirty, using hexes and spells and ranged attacks when necessary in combat over melee.

He also enjoys card games, but doesn’t consider it a game of chance, but a playing out of fate. He is somewhat fatalistic in that sense, though he has seen during his time adventuring how knowing the future and change it.

He is often seen shuffling one of his many card decks when his is nervous.

Rickenstein Marblebeard the Fourth of Ashes, was destined to guard the tombs of his ancestors. He had known this since his father's first words, and had dutifully trained in the ways of his family. Ordering the butler about as a young dwarf, honing his skills. It was unfortunate that learning about the longest dwarven ancestors was so gristly, but Rickenstein carried on. Dourly, and with dwarven stubborness.

As he grew, the weapon training began, as it does with every dwarven clan. Some might call the Falcata a pirate's blade, a cutthroat's carver, a tool of butchery, but The Ashes of Ustalav, in their old forbidden manor, called it a necessary tool for basic maintenance of the grounds. After all, a lighter blade would never chop the death murtles.

Eventually, trained, armed, and wholy unprepared, Rickenstein presented himself to his great great great great great great great great grandmother's ghost, and her thrall. Pleased with this offering, she let his sister go. For the next several years, he spent his time in study and service, doing as the old banshee demanded. Learning the care and maintenance of his ancestress, researching the forbidden maps to find any hint of where their ancestral clan abided. She ached for revenge, and he ached merely to see the sunrise without the smell of rot.

This is when the paladin arrived. Speaking of Torag, shining in armor, and most importantly banishing Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandmother to the beyond and freeing young Rickenstein for a life of adventure. He followed the Paladin for a while, even acquiring a set of armor and picking up the worship of the Paladin's god. Torag, a sensible god of crafting. Rickenstein felt a certain rightness in his bones, after all - he had been making things for the ephemeral and eternal all his life. This was the right path.

Rickenstein has had some other adventures since then, and he's had an awkward lot of practice explaining just how he became what he has become. (Nothing is awful anymore now that Grandmother is gone). Still, he admits he might like to find his ancestral clan, if only to be sure there isn't a phylactery floating about. Grandmother might be watching.

Unnamed Hero
Male dwarf eldritch knight 5/swashbuckler (rondelero swashbuckler) 1/necromancer (life[APG]) 5 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 56, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 146, Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures 75, Weapon Master's Handbook 6)
LN Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13
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Defense
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AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex)
hp 104 (11 HD; 5d6+6d10+44)
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +5; +2 bonus vs. spells and spell-like abilities of undead, +2 bonus vs. negative levels
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Offense
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Speed 0 ft.
Special Attacks command undead (DC 12, 0/day), deeds (dodging panache, opportune parry and riposte), panache (1)
Necromancer (Undead Master) Spells Prepared (CL 9th; concentration +14)
Opposition Schools Abjuration, Enchantment
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Statistics
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Str 12, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 20, Wis 9, Cha 10
Base Atk +8; CMB +9; CMD 21 (25 vs. bull rush, 25 vs. trip)
Feats Arcane Armor Training, Command Undead, Craft Wondrous Item, Elemental Spell[APG], Empower Spell, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (falcata), Heighten Spell, Maximize Spell, Toughness, Weapon Focus (falcata), Weapon Specialization (falcata)
Traits eldritch smith, thrown-together fashion, unwelcome business
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +9, Bluff +4, Climb -1, Diplomacy +14 (+16 on checks regarding undead creatures, +12 on checks regarding living creatures), Disguise +15 (15 when disguised as a Duergar), Escape Artist +0, Fly +0, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (arcana) +19 (+21 on checks regarding undead creatures, +17 on checks regarding living creatures), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9 (+11 on checks regarding undead creatures, +7 on checks regarding living creatures), Knowledge (local) +9 (+11 on checks regarding undead creatures, +7 on checks regarding living creatures), Knowledge (nature) +9 (+11 on checks regarding undead creatures, +7 on checks regarding living creatures), Knowledge (planes) +9 (+11 on checks regarding undead creatures, +7 on checks regarding living creatures), Knowledge (religion) +9 (+11 on checks regarding undead creatures, +7 on checks regarding living creatures, +11 to identify undead (may make check untrained)), Linguistics +9, Perception +13, Ride +0, Sense Motive +3, Sleight of Hand +0, Spellcraft +19, Swim -1; Racial Modifiers craftsman[APG]
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Orc, Terran, Undercommon
SQ arcane bond (ring of telekinesis), barrow scholar[HA], death's end, dwarf wizard, falcata emphasis, healing grace, necropolitan, oppressive expectations, reanimator, shadowhunter, share essence, swashbuckler finesse
Combat Gear ring of telekinesis; Other Gear headband of twisted intellect +2, 36,500 gp
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Special Abilities
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Abjuration You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Abjuration school.
Arcane Armor Training Swift action: -10% arcane spell failure due to armor.
Arcane Bond (Ring of telekinesis) (1/day) (Sp) Use object to cast any spell in your spellbook. Without it, Concentration required to cast spells (DC20 + spell level).
Barrow Scholar +2 to knowledge (religion) to ID undead and can attempt check untrained.
Command Undead (DC 12) Stnd act, 1 channel energy, undead in 30 ft. obey your commands as per control undead (Will neg).
Craftsman +2 on Craft/Profession checks related to metal/stone.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Death's End +2 AC vs. undead and +2 bonus on saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities of undead.
Deeds
Elemental Spell (Electricity) You can cast a spell with half or all its damage type replaced with this feat's damage type.
Empower Spell Numeric effects of a spell are increased 50%. +2 Levels.
Enchantment You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Enchantment school.
Falcata Emphasis (Ex) Gain proficiency with falcatas and may deal piercing damage using falcatas.
Faster Crafting (+1000/250 gp per 8 hours, Craft Wondrous Item) Increase item creation speed per hour.
Healing Grace (x1) (Su) Whenever you cast a spell that has targets, affects creatures in an area, or requires an attack roll, you may heal creatures affected by the spell a total of 1 point of damage per level of the spell. This healing may be spread out between the targets
Heighten Spell Increases spell level to effective level desired.
Life Associated School: Necromancy
Maximize Spell All variable effects of a spell are maximized. +3 Levels.
Necropolitan +2/-2 (Ex) +2 on Diplomacy and Knowledge checks vs. undead and -2 on checks vs. living creatures.
Oppressive Expectations When you fail a skill check -2 with that skill until you succeed or fail a different skill.
Panache (Ex) Gain a pool of points that are spent to fuel deeds, regained on light/piercing crit/killing blow.
Reanimator (Su) Spontaneously cast several undead-based spells
Shadowhunter Attacks affect incorp foes as though use magic weapon, 2x phys ab heal from undead, +2 to save vs. neg levels.
Share Essence (1d6+2 temporary hp, 8/day) (Sp) As a standard action, take nonlethal dam to grant same as temp hp to touched ally for 1 hr.
Swashbuckler Finesse Use Dex for att with light/1-hand pierce wep. Use Cha instead of Int for combat feat pre-reqs.