About Arakar, Gorewolf RebornBackground outline:
-Arakar was born to a pair of half-orc farmers from a small settlement in the Ragesian countryside. They recognized the tattoo of a folk hero on his infant body – the sign of the legendary Orc warlord Gorewolf. - Fearing that some would seek to use him because of this, or worse; that his ancient enemies, the Elves, would come to kill Arakar just in case, his parents tried to hide this as long as possible. -Unfortunately, it eventually got out, and as many believed he indeed was the reincarnation of Gorewolf, he was then forced to leave the countryside to enlist in the army when he was thirteen. The group that came to collect him was headed by a cleric of the inquisition. -He was trained in the military academy of the late Ragesian emperor, part student and part prisoner, where he eventually graduated. Despite being forced into it, he mostly liked his time there, and found himself admiring the previous Emperor’s tactical prowess. -Unfortunately, meanwhile, a bandit group raided the countryside and sacked the town he was from, among others. Knowledge of this was kept from him, and he wasn’t granted leave (as always) to investigate surrounding rumors or join the dispatched suppression unit. Through bribes and some local contacts, he later found out that this father had been killed in defense of the town and that his mother and sister had presumably been captured and enslaved to face worse fates when it fell. -Consequently, he grew to hate the concepts of religion and fate. His family were simple farmers who worshipped the orc gods just as much as the next one, which did them no good whatsoever, in addition to that he holds the clerical order of the inquisition primarioly responsible for taking him away from his home and not being there when it mattered most. He has since adopted a personal belief that there are no gods worth listening to. Every cleric is simply a puppet who is only granted powers because they furthen that god’s goal, and the gods only pretend to care about the common folk to get the attention and power they crave. -However, knowing that magic was a very real thing and that not being proficient in it put him at a major disadvantage, he studied arcane magic that augmented his martial prowess and was compatable with fighting in armor. -After graduating, he bided his time and served to the best of his ability, keeping a different path to revenge open: rising through the ranks. -The opportunity came when the Emperor died and Leska made a grab of power for herself, starting a war against all the caster’s in Ragesia ‘who weren’t deemed to be loyal’, whatever that exactly meant. The implications of how loyalty would be 'enforced' were also troubling, and he suspected it wasn't just through promises and good faith agreements. -In the resulting chaos and manhunt for these casters, he managed to join a smaller unit under a fake name. When they found their target, he betrayed the unit and helped this caster, a woman named Jorma, escape. -Jorma turned out to be part of Gate Pass’s spy network and an agent of the resistance, so whatever intelligence led the Ragesian army to track her down was legit. At least, in this case. -Arakar, who had been planning to do so anyway, joined her on the road back to the Free City and joined the resistance movement using her as a contact. Next to a hatred for the inquisition and clerics in general, he believes Jeska’s policy of estranging casters is intentionally giving Ragesia a critical weakness that will the empire up for attacks from either Shahalesti or Dassen. If this is indicative of her rule, it will lead her subjects to ruin. -He hopes that if she fails spectacularly in capturing the free city, the people will turn on her and the way for a more capable and less religious leader will open. Possibly himself, if he plays his cards right… Appearance:
An athletic and muscular half-orc, handsome especially by rugged and orcish standards. He walks with confidence and tolerates little disrespect. In combat, he acts without hesitation or fear of death, and something about his presence inspires others to fight just as fiercely. His main weapons are a vicious-looking composite longbow and a traditional falchion, though he also carries a backup Halbard. Though normally hidden, a large part of his back contains a large tattoo in silvery-white of a ferocious wolf in the process of rending a prey asunder. (With a 15-pt buy, few ability scores can reach 16+ or 8- for distinctive traits. For him, it’s mostly his strength at 16, charisma at 14 and wisdom at 8).
Personality:
Stubborn, headstrong, and highly confident in his abilities. Too confident, perhaps, as though he’s smart enough to plan and divise strategies for any given situations, he might not be wise enough to estimate whether fighting at all is the correct option. Or is it instead the Orc blood and perhaps the lingering bloodline of Gorewolf simply edging him to seek violence and glory? He strongly believes in personal prowess and the strength of one’s will to shape the future over the prayers of the meek for deliverance from deaf gods. Arakar is wary of Elves in general due to knowing how those with Orc blood are treated by them. His loyalty ultimately lies with the common folk of Ragesia first and foremost. As a personality quirk I could see him quoting passages from the Art of War (I have a modern translation), with the previous Ragesian emperor standing in for Sun Tsu.
Party Role and Build going forward:
Arakar is intended to be a Warlord / Urban Skald. Alternatively, he can also be built as a Warlord/Bard (probably with the arcane duelist archetype) depending on group makeup. Both warlord and Skald/Bard focus on teamwork and buffing allies, so he should be a strong support. His secondary role is either Tank + melee damage or Ranged damage dealer, depending on which weapons he uses, optionally if he uses a shield and which warlord maneuvers he invests in. Warlord is a very flexible class from the looks of things and can go in any direction. Half-orcs have access to Orc Hornbows innately and make deadly archers. However, with Elephant in the Room and one gestalt half that gets bonus feats, I’m considering making him a switch hitter than can function in either role. Medium armor + high HP+ mirror image access should be enough to act on the frontlines and keep him alive under most circumstances. The Skald side was selected because it’s the best and most flavorful complement class, a blend of further supporting allies, being a caster from level 1 and being able to cast while in at least medium armor. It also seems very thematic for a warlord from Rage-sia to grant Rage powers to allies. Those will probably be roleplayed as part of Gorewolf resurfacing and sharing his ancient barbaric might with his allies. Urban skald’s main raging song increases Str, Dex and con as a morale bonus for the entire group without penalties, though it scales slowly. One trick specific to half-orc warlord/skalds is access to the amplified rage feat which they can share with the entire party at level 3, with the Skald song putting everyone in Rage. If a melee presence is not required and/or there’s already barbarians or Skalds in the group with their own morale bonusses to ability scores, the dedicated archer build is probably better as a bard and I’d be happy to fall back on to that one to instead use inspire courage.
Statblock:
Arakar, Gorewolf reborn
--------------------------
Maneuvers Known
Piercing thunder maneuvers Phalanx Lancer stance
"Through heavy conditioning and strength training, you have become adept at using a shield in tandem with a polearm to great effect. While maintain this stance, you can wield a normally two-handed discipline weapon as a one-handed weapon (or a normally one-handed discipline weapon as a light weapon) when using a shield in your off hand. When fighting in this manner, your attacks with discipline weapons and shield bashes deal an additional 1d6 points of damage (+1d6 per ten initiator levels). In addition, adjacent allies (up to a maximum number equal to your initiation modifier) wearing shields may interlock their shields with yours as a free action on their turn. Each shield-bearing character improves their shield bonus to AC by +1 for each ally in this position (up to a maximum of +5). Allies linking shields with you in this manner do not need to be in this stance unless they wish to increase the number of allies within the phalanx as well." Piercing strike
DESCRIPTION You issue a potent impaling blow with your weapon, battering defenses aside and striking bloodily at your foe. During this strike, your weapon’s reach increases by 5 feet. Make a melee attack roll and compare it to the ACs of up to two creatures within your reach that are adjacent to each other. If the attack roll hits a target, it deals weapon damage as normal. Use the same damage roll for each target. Golden Lion Maneuvers: Encouraging Roar
DESCRIPTION The disciple lets out shouts of encouragement to bolster his allies in battle. All allies within 30-ft. of the Golden Lion disciple gain a +2 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls for one round. Hunting Party
When two or more soldiers converge on a single target, the odds of victory increase and the disciple with the knowledge of this strike can assist his comrade’s potential lethality. When this strike is initiated, a successful melee attack may grant one adjacent ally who is attacking the same target an attack of opportunity against that target. Primal Fury Disciplines Crushing Blow
DESCRIPTION By bringing his weapon high and bringing it down with ferocious finality, the disciple’s forceful blow is enough to weaken the defenses of his foe momentarily. The initiator makes an attack and if successful, the strike inflicts an additional 1d6 points of damage and may potentially render his foe flat-footed until its next turn on a failed Fortitude save (DC 11 + initiation modifier). [/b] Panthera on the Hunt
DESCRIPTION With a deep breath and the tightening of honed muscles, the Primal Fury disciple may launch off into a lightning-fast charge. The initiator initiating this maneuver gains +2 circumstance bonus to attack and damage rolls on his charge attack, and ignores attacks of opportunity from moving through threatened squares. --------------------------
Sweeping Gambit
Victory Gambit Unlike other gambits, the warlord must activate this gambit at the start of his turn, before taking other actions. When he does so, he chooses an opponent. If he reduces that opponent to 0 or fewer hit points this turn, the gambit is a success. Otherwise, it is a failure. This gambit does not add the warlord’s initiation modifier as a luck bonus on any d20 rolls. Reward: The warlord and each of his allies gain a morale bonus on their next attack roll during this encounter equal to the warlord’s initiation modifier. --------------------
Traits Fate's favored Skills Acrobatics -5 (-9 to jump), Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +1, Knowledge (engineering) +1, Knowledge (geography) +1, Knowledge (history) +5, Knowledge (local) +1, Knowledge (Military) +5, Knowledge (nature) +1, Knowledge (nobility) +1, Knowledge (planes) +1, Knowledge (religion) +1, Perception +3, Perform (oratory) +6; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at https://www.wolflair.com
Why I’d like to join this campaign specifically:
I’ve heard of this supposedly massive campaign back when I was just starting playing d&d during the 4e era. There was a 4e conversion of this campaign available as a paid subscription on one of the sites back then, and I remember reading the teaser snippets and thinking to myself how epic it all sounded. However, that was fifteen or so years ago and I can’t specifically remember *what* they said (also, I was a very poor student and imply couldn't afford nearly *anything* :( . Still, no way I’d let a chance to play it slip past me without applying! |
