About Agos CheimónAgos Cheimón, priest of Trembor Submission for Operation: Hallister Background at Length:
Agos Cheimón stood at the rail of the small veranda built along the cliffside of his home and felt content. Far below his youngest son, Halieus, had just reached the bottom of the narrow stair which led down to the beach, a stair carved into the face of the cliff by his eldest son many years ago. He watched as the lad walked to the end of their short pier and ignored the small boat moored there, opting instead to dive into the surf and swim out to check the traps. I swear that boy must be part seal, the way he takes to the sea - no fear in him at all. He was born just before I completed my third tour, wasn’t he? Or was it my fourth? The old dwarf chuckled to himself. Either way, I’ll have to ask Pira if she got too cozy with any sea lions after my shore leave. A breeze caught at the hem of his robe, tugging it inland, despite the wind blowing out to sea. He paid it no mind. * Later that season he and Halieus took the boat out, though not so far from the coast as the younger dwarf would have liked. ”Father, I can swim out farther than this,” his son grumbled. Agos shook his head with a wry smile. ”Well, I can’t - not anymore.” His eyes scanned the coast and the horizon before settling on the glittering waves, their steady rhythm bringing him a sense of calm. ”Here’s far enough.” Pirates and slavers had grown more plentiful and bold since his day, targeting weaker settlements for attack. He’d even heard rumor of them taking tries at walled towns with militia! While he was confident that his home was safe, high on the cliff with it’s single narrow stair, he knew that on the open water they were exposed. He’d hoped to leave such concerns behind when he’d retired to a life of fishing, but it seemed the newest generation wasn’t cut of the same cloth as the old guard of sailors from his youth. As he pondered such things the gentle rocking of the boat lulled him into a state of half-sleep, and he fancied that he could see strange reflections on the water, images of places and people unfamiliar to him. The images grew more and more ominous - pitched battles, walking corpses, a growing darkness. The wind suddenly gusted and shifted, filling the small sail and yanking the craft around to careen back towards shore. Halieus gave an exclamation of alarm which broke Agos from his trance, and he quickly jumped to and wrestled the craft under control. Shortly they arrived at the beach whereupon the wind immediately died. ”What was that?!” the youth wondered aloud. ”It was nothing, son. I’ve grown tired; let’s go back up to the house.” When the tide came in that day, Agos rushed half-heartedly through his prayers. It was nothing. I am sure of it. * Some months later his whole family gathered beneath his roof to celebrate his 100th birthday. His eldest, Lithos, had come with his wife and three children, and his brother Georgos came from halfway across the island. Both had moved away after back to back bad fishing seasons two decades ago, while he had been away on duty. He believed that his absence had more to do with the timing of their decision than the absence of fish. Now his son scratched out a living as a stonemason in the nearby village, while his brother was turning a love for gardening into a life of farming on some distant plot of land. Lithos never did like the water anyway. He could barely suffer to stand it, let alone work the traps. Still, he could just as easily live here while working in the village. Despite his misgivings Agos was quite happy to see everyone. He’d been troubled by his dreams of late. It seemed every night he re-lived one battle or another from his years of service. Bloody decks and bloody waters, victories against the enemies of the empire. At first they had been of the good battles, ones where he’d spotted the enemy from afar and they’d turned the situation to their advantage. Recently they’d been of his more harrowing experiences: the dawn attack by Burovan privateers whose ship he’d failed to notice against the rising sun until it was almost too late; the sudden fever that claimed the lives of over half the crew, and he’d been sure it was going to claim him as well; the human pirates who managed a stealthy midnight boarding and killed two of their lookouts before the third raised the alarm. Always these dreams ended with a strange march inland among companions he did not recognize, a march that never was. Also, Pira had found his old sea chest, long forgotten, at the foot of their bed, though none had moved it. Why suffer these dreams now, when I should be happiest? I paid the price for my success with a lifetime of service to my god and my kinsmen. Why now must I pay it again every night? His mind drifted to the strange happenings of the past year, but he stubbornly pushed such thoughts out of his head. ”Happy birthday, father.” Lithos trudged in from the veranda, sopping wet. ”You could’ve warned me rain was on it’s way.” ”Rain?” Agos’s brow furrowed. ”The skies were clear not an hour ago. There should be no rain,” he grumbled irritably. Lithos merely shrugged and continued on through the kitchen, where Pira was trying to teach two of her grandchildren how to properly knead dough. Agos threw his coat on and stamped outside to see this rain for himself. He stepped into a sideways downpour, his hood snatched back by howling winds which drove him staggering across the patio to the rail. Waves pounded his name against the cliffs below, the ground shaking from their fury. The sky spat forth thunder onto his head, the voice of the Great Protector crashing through his skull. Why do you defy me? The old dwarf clapped his creased hands to his ears, clutching the sides of his head. ”I do not, Father of All!” he cried out into the storm. Thunder broke again above him, forcing him to his knees. You hear my wishes, but you do not heed them. ”Your wishes?” Agos knew then what his god asked of him. ”My lord, I have served you more than most dwarves ever will. For every prayer they whisper in your name, I have taken action ten times over. All I ask is to be left with my family to enjoy what few years I have left.” It is for others to ask from me. It is for you to act for me. Resentment swelled then within Agos’s heart. All the years spent in training, all the years spent in prayer, his best decades spent guarding the seas of Atharosse just a lucky sword-stroke or unfortunate mis-step in the rigging away from never seeing his family again. Had all of this meant nothing - still must he serve? Where were the priests who came after him? Why did they not serve in his place? The dwarf rose to his feet and threw his head back to the sky. ”No!” he roared. ”Let someone else serve your wishes. I am done! I have earned my respite - I have given my whole life to them, and to you!” No, you haven’t. A volley of lightning erupted from the swirling clouds, and Agos’s face turned to horror as the ground lurched under his feet. Not yet. The sky seemed to spin as the cliffs began to rush by as his veranda - indeed, his entire home - broke free from land and fell towards the crashing waves below. He flailed in vain towards the house, the screams of his family ringing in his ears as the water swallowed him, and all went black. * I command the waves. I command the wind. I command you. Agos woke to wracking pain, his lungs full of seawater. He vomited brine as he struggled to his hands and knees, waves washing across the sand under him. Do my will and when Karuk comes your final reward shall be a song to lift you to your family’s side forever. Fail me and Romorra’s skiff shall deliver you to your fate. Eyes stinging, Agos looked about him. The sky was clear and bright, without a trace of the storm which had destroyed his home. His home. What little of it remained was strewn across the beach: a block of stone, a roof tile, a stray timber, a child’s shoe; the rest had been swallowed up by the sea. All that remained intact was his old sea chest, sitting within arms reach of him and filled with the relics of his past at sea. An emptiness yawned in the pit of his stomach and pulled at his heart. Shivering, weak, and still coughing up water, he pulled himself to the chest and fumbled it open. ”What… what would you have me do?” Despite the stillness of the air he felt a breeze caress him, then tug at his beard, pulling him inland. He slowly took up his old tools of war and took a long, last look at the sea. It’s rhythm now seemed that of a drum, pressing him to move. For a moment he considered walking out into the surf, walking until he found Pira and Halieus and Lithos and… But then he remembered Trembor’s promise, and with a desperate longing he turned away and began to march.
Background in Brief:
Agos Cheimón was born in a small village on the coast of Karrita Morianna to a poor family, often sleeping on the beach to try and apprentice himself to fishermen during the warm seasons. As a youth he felt the call of the sea and entered into the priesthood of Trembor. After completing his religious studies he served as ship’s priest and lookout in service to both his god and his empire for most of his adult life. He still managed to find time to marry his wife Pira and have two children by her, their sons Lithos and Halieus. His earnings were sent home to them, and by the time he retired to a life as a fisherman they’d constructed a small cliffside villa overlooking the sea. A decade into retirement he began to experience strange occurrences - odd breezes pulling at his clothes, strange scenes of peril reflected in the sea, dreams of past battles always ending in strange inland marches, and his old naval sea chest appearing at his bedside. He ignored all of these, adamant to enjoy his retired life. Finally, on his 100th birthday celebration, the Great Father visited him in the form of a terrible storm and reprimanded him for ignoring his portents. Agos rebelled against his god, refusing to answer his call to action. In response Trembor cast the priest’s cliffside villa, including Agos and his entire family, into the sea. When Agos awoke his house and family were gone, and his god left him with an ultimatum: Do his bidding and see his family in the afterlife, or refuse him and be damned. Agos has chosen the former option for the time being, though more from a love of his family than a love of his god, and so marches inland to an unknown fate at his god’s behest. Appearance and Personality:
Picture reference Agos is an old dwarf, thin and gaunt and weary; skin weathered by wind and wave, face scarred from battle, hands scarred from handling wet rope and fishing cord, hair bleached yellow-grey by the sun. His eyes, however, remain undimmed, and are the deep blue of the open sea. He wears a hooded leather longcoat over several layers of woolen clothing, as well as hard leather boots. At his waist hang a waterskin and a bronze belaying pin; about his neck hangs a symbol of Trembor carved from driftwood. Slung around his left shoulder and across his chest is a coil of strong cord with a three-pronged grapnel attached. He moves slowly and purposefully, his face set in a mask of grim determination. The old sailor is determined to follow the will of the Great Father as best he understands it, while inwardly he struggles with his faith in the benevolence of his god. He is forthright in speech though he chooses his words carefully; generally he refrains from telling others their business and expects them to return the courtesy. In his prime he would never suffer braggarts or fools, however his own recent hubris has left him bereft of the moral high ground against such folk. Now they serve as an aggravating reminder of his own faults and he does his best to bite his tongue.
Statistics:
Male Dwarf Cleric 4
NG Medium Humanoid (Dwarf) Init +0; Senses Perception +11 (darkvision) ------------------------------ DEFENSE ------------------------------ AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +0 dex, +0 shield, +1 deflection) hp 31 (8max@1st + 5@2nd + 8@3rd + 2@4th + 8 Con) Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +11 All Saves: +2 vs poison, spells, and spell-like abilities. ------------------------------ OFFENSE ------------------------------ Speed 20 ft. Melee Belaying pin +4 (1d6+1/x2) Ranged Sling w/magic stone +4 (1d6+1/x2; 2d6+2/x2 vs undead) See domain powers below for ranged combat maneuvers
Feats Skills (16 total ranks: 8 class levels + 4 Int + 4 FCB) Heal +10 (3 ranks + 3 class + 4 Wis + 0 feat + 0 racial + 0 trait)
ACP of 0 applies to these skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim. Languages Common, Dwarven, Goblin Class Abilities:
------------------------------ CLASS ABILITIES ------------------------------ Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Clerics are proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields). Clerics are also proficient with the favored weapon of their deity. Aura (Ex): A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity's alignment (see the detect evil spell for details). Spells: A cleric casts divine spells which are drawn from the cleric spell list presented in Spell Lists. Her alignment, however, may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs; see chaotic, evil, good, and lawful spells. A cleric must choose and prepare her spells in advance. To prepare or cast a spell, a cleric must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a cleric's spell is 10 + the spell level + the cleric's Wisdom modifier. Like other spellcasters, a cleric can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Cleric. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells). Clerics meditate or pray for their spells. Each cleric must choose a time when she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. A cleric may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation. Channel Energy (Su) 4/day for 2d6, DC 13: Regardless of alignment, any cleric can release a wave of energy by channeling the power of her faith through her holy (or unholy) symbol. A good cleric (or one who worships a good deity) channels positive energy and can choose to deal damage to undead creatures or to heal living creatures. Channeling energy causes a burst that affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the cleric. The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels beyond 1st (2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th, and so on). Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the cleric's level + the cleric's Charisma modifier. Creatures healed by channeled energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost. A cleric may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A cleric can choose whether or not to include herself in this effect. A cleric must be able to present her holy symbol to use this ability. Domains: A cleric's deity influences her alignment, what magic she can perform, her values, and how others see her. A cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to her deity. A cleric can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if her alignment matches that domain. If a cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, she still selects two domains to represent her spiritual inclinations and abilities (subject to GM approval). The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
Spontaneous Casting: A good cleric (or a neutral cleric of a good deity) can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that she did not prepare ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any prepared spell that is not an orison or domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name). Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A cleric can't cast spells of an alignment opposed to her own or her deity's (if she has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaotic, evil, good, and lawful descriptors in their spell descriptions. Bonus Languages: A cleric's bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively).
Racial Abilities:
-------------------------------- RACIAL ABILITIES -------------------------------- +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Dwarves are both tough and wise, but also a bit gruff. Medium: Dwarves are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. Slow and Steady: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance. Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Defensive Training: Dwarves gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype. Greed: Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones. Hatred: Dwarves gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the Hardy: Dwarves gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities. Stability: Dwarves gain a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground. Stonecunning: Dwarves gain a +2 bonus on Perception checks to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking. Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word "dwarven" in its name as a martial weapon. Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Domains:
Domain (Subdomain) Air (Wind Subdomain) Wind Blast (Su) 7/day CMB +8: As a standard action, Agos can unleash a blast of air in a 30-foot line. Make a combat maneuver check against each creature in the line, using his caster level as his base attack bonus and his Wisdom modifier in place of his Strength modifier. Treat the results as a bull rush attempt. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Wisdom modifier. Electricity Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, Agos gains resist electricity 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, he gains immunity to electricity. Domain Spells: 1st—whispering wind, 2nd—wind wall, 3rd—gaseous form, 4th—air walk, 5th—control winds, 6th—wind walk, 7th—elemental body IV (air only), 8th—whirlwind, 9th—winds of vengeance. Water (Ocean Subdomain) Surge (Su) 7/day CMB+8: As a standard action, Agos can cause a mighty wave to appear that pushes or pulls a single creature. Make a combat maneuver check against the target, using his cleric level + his Wisdom modifier as his CMB. If successful, he may pull or push the creature as if using the bull rush or drag combat maneuver. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Wisdom modifier. Cold Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, Agos gains resist cold 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, he gains immunity to cold. Domain Spells: 1st—obscuring mist, 2nd—slipstream, 3rd—water walk, 4th—control water, 5th—ice storm, 6th—cone of cold, 7th—elemental body IV (water only), 8th—horrid wilting, 9th—tsunami.
Spells:
Concentration +10 (+4 caster level +4 Wis +2 trait) Prays to regain spells at dawn (or high tide?). ----------------------------------------------- Level (times/day) Save DC: prepared ----------------------------------------------- 0th (4/day, at will): create water, detect magic, purify food and drink, read magic 1st (4+1/day) DC 15: comprehend languages, 2nd (3+1/day) DC 16: *denotes a domain spell
Equipment & Encumbrance:
------------------------------ GEAR WORN ------------------------------ Clothing [Cost -] Holy symbol, driftwood; Wgt - [Cost 1gp] Mithral shirt +1 (attuned); +5 AC (armor), 0 ACP, max Dex +6, 10% ASF, Wgt 10 lbs [Cost 1,100gp] ------------------------------
*Brass belaying pin +1 (attuned) (club); 1d6+1/x2, Range 10’, Type B, Wgt 6 lbs [Cost -]
1 waterskin (seawater); Wgt 4 lbs [Cost 1gp]
Rope, silk (50’); Wgt 5 lbs [Cost 10gp]
Pearl of power (1st), in left boot; Wgt - [Cost 1,000gp]
Money 0 PP / 0 GP / 0 SP / 0 CP ------------------------------
Current Encumbrance Level: Light Light 0-33 lb. Medium 34-66 lb. Heavy 67-100 lb.
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