About Arianna ValeriPhysical Description:
Arianna stands confidently, just shy of 6' tall. She has crimson-red hair down to mid back, mostly straight aside from one braid down the middle, vivid green eyes, and a lightly tanned complexion. She dresses in colorful, attention-grabbing dresses, with bare arms, tight-cut tops, and elaborate skirts with many pleats, streamers, and glittering bits meant to grab the eye while she dances. She favors green and blue clothing.
While she generally looks human, Arianna is a tiefling, with a few features that she tries her best to hide to anyone but to a rare friend. Each of her fingers is tipped with a small claw - not enough to make an effective weapon, but enough to look a bit odd; she usually paints them in such a way as to make them just look like long nails, typically in colors to match whatever dress she is wearing today. She also has a thin black tail with a small barb on the point; it is somewhat prehensile, although she is still working on getting the hang of using it effectively. She keeps it hidden within the pleats of her skirt, outside the occasional attempt to use it to unexpected steal things when eyes are elsewhere. She also has what appears to be a tattoo of demon wings on her back, but rather than a tattoo, this is actually a birthmark. History:
Aria has no knowledge of her blood family, as she was abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage in Mendev shortly after the opening of the Worldwound. She was fortunate to end up at an orphanage where the aging matron, Lydia Valeri, believed that just because a child had a bit of fel blood did not mean they were beyond redemption, and as a result Aria was raised as well as possible for a war orphan.
As a result of her blood, Aria aged quite slowly physically, despite keeping up with her peers in what education they received. She ended up staying at the orphanage into her late 20s, eventually being adopted by Lydia herself and serving as her assistant in the operation of the orphanage. Lydia considered Aria to be her shining example to the rest of the world that Tieflings were redeemable. Aria did her best to uphold that ideal, constantly struggling to suppress and hide the more base and sadistic instincts she often felt welling up from within. Eventually, the woman who was her mother in spirit passed away of old age. Upon hearing that the incoming replacement had a decidedly more stern view on what should become of anyone with tainted blood, Aria took off on her own with little more than the clothes on her back and a blanket bundling a couple of days of food, the only possessions she had accumulated in the lean times of war in Mendev. She started south down the Crusader's Road, never stopping at one place for more than a couple of weeks, doing odd jobs at inns and some occasional petty theft to pay her room and board. At one of these stops, the usual entertainment had failed to arrive for the evening, and the crowd of aspiring "crusaders" at the inn was starting to get rowdy enough to worry the inn keeper. Aria, who was in the back helping to wash dishes, informed the innkeeper that she had come from Mendev, and might be able to tell them some stories of the crusades to calm them down. Reticent at the idea of a completely untested entertainer, he nonetheless felt it was his best option, and sent her out to entertain the crowd. Aria's natural charm, as well as her penchant for singing and poetry, worked wonders; she told stories she had heard in her childhood as verses set to common songs, and the crowed was enraptured, completely breaking the tension and earning Aria her first real bit of coin in her life. That proved the start of Aria's long career as a traveling bard working her way down the Crusader's Road. She honed her story singing and added in dancing, to where she couple practically perform a one-woman musical play, often bringing members of the audience up with her to act out the other parts. While she was at least no longer poor, Aria found herself a perpetual nomad. Every time she tried to settle down a bit, she found herself cast out due to her heritage - some patron at a bar catching sight of her tail, a lover reacting poorly when they found out who they had really been with in the dark of night, or her resolve slipping and giving in to the darkness of her blood, harming someone physically or mentally purely for the satisfaction of seeing their pain. Since then, she has traveled the length and breadth of Avistan, gathering stories to turn into songs and performing these as she goes. There have been ups and downs - brief patronages, angry crowds, and occasionally being the target of theft herself - but each time, she just travels on, finding new experiences, new stories to retell, and a different fortune each time she travels to a new city. She now finds herself in north west Avistan, in Varisia, where she has unexpectedly found an opportunity to join a small company of adventurers, and has decided to take them up on the opportunity, in the hopes of finding new experiences and maybe a bit of relative stability in her life. Statblock:
Arianna Valeri
Female div-spawn tiefling bard 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 168) CN Medium outsider (native) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception -1 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex) hp 9 (1d8+1) Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1 Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee rapier +3 (1d6+1/18-20) or scorpion whip +3 (1d4+1) Ranged shortbow +3 (1d6/×3) Special Attacks bardic performance 9 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 15], inspire courage +1) Bard Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +6) 1st (3/day)—hideous laughter (DC 16), tap inner beauty 0 (at will)—mending, prestidigitation, summon instrument, unwitting ally[APG] (DC 15) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 20 Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14 Feats Weapon Finesse Traits gregarious, tempter's tongue Skills Bluff +9, Diplomacy +12, Linguistics +6, Perform (dance) +9, Perform (sing) +9, Sleight of Hand +7, Use Magic Device +9 Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal SQ bardic knowledge +1 Other Gear leather armor, arrows (20), rapier, scorpion whip, shortbow, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, belt pouch, mirror, perfume/cologne, thieves' tools, infernal rock, 29 gp, 9 sp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex) Add +1 to all knowledge skill checks. Bardic Performance (standard action, 9 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects. Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only). Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks. Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks. Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks. Gregarious (1/day) Reroll a Diplomacy check to improve a creture's attitude, before the results are revealed. Tempter's Tongue +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy/opposed Charisma checks on charmed opponents. Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
|
