Ateris of Worms's page

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Defense
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AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 11 (1d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +2
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee rapier +5 (1d6+4/18-20)
Ranged sling +4 (1d4)
Investigator (Empiricist) Extracts Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4)
. . 1st—expeditious retreat, heightened awareness[ACG]

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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 14
Feats Fencing Grace[UI], Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (rapier)
Traits Student of Philosophy, Arcane upbringing
Skills Acrobatics +7, Craft (alchemy) +7 (+8 to create alchemical items), Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +8, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +4, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +7, Use Magic Device +6
Languages Common
SQ adoptive parentage (weapon focus)[ARG], alchemy (alchemy crafting +1), inspiration (3/day), trapfinding +1
Other Gear studded leather, rapier, sling, sling bullets (10), backpack, belt pouch, blanket[APG], investigator starting formula book, sunrod, thieves' tools, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 4 gp, 9 sp

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Special Abilities
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Adoptive Parentage (Weapon Focus, Half-Elf) Gain Weapon Focus with an appropriate weapon.
Alchemy +1 (Su) +1 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Fencing Grace Use Dexterity on rapier damage rolls
Inspiration (+1d6, 3/day) (Ex) Use 1 point, +1d6 to trained skill or ability check. Use 2 points, to add to attack or save.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.

”Find your own answers.” The words were like a touchstone to Ateris as he slowly sipped at the swill that passed for alcohol at the Feral Dog. Throughout his life, that phrase had never failed to bring focus whenever it felt like he’d hit a dead end, though, if anything could be described as a “dead end” it would be Diamond Lake. Still, they brought memories of a fonder time, and the question that started it all.

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”Who are my parents?”

In a burst of excitement the question just sort of popped out from the young human boy, having finally found the courage to voice the words he’d been dying to ask for weeks. Wiping his brow with his off hand, he held his wooden practice sword in guard position as he glanced up at the silver-haired half elf he called Uncle, with apprehension growing as as seconds passed by. This was probably the first time Ateris had ever seen his adopted guardian truly taken aback and his Uncle’s slanted eyes regarded his charge carefully before uttering the words the boy would come to dread: “Find your own answers.”

”What?” Ateris replied in shock. His Uncle had always had his quirks, but this was the first time in his young life that Uncle Fidealis had ever failed to answer one of the myriad of questions Ateris had peppered him with.

Uncle was quiet for a moment longer, then his features lit with a cryptic grin, whispering, ”A truly important question never has easy answers. And never trust the words freely given someone that would answer them.”

That simple exchange marked a turning point in Ateris’ childhood. From then on, whenever he asked his uncle a question, he received a question at best or a riddle at worst in return (which truly seemed a form of torture for an insatiably curious child.) Uncle still gave him lessons in swordplay, a foundation in the arcane arts, and an introduction to a few less “reputable” skills such as sticking to the shadows and how to pick a lock. However, the real education he received was to hone his mind to be as sharp as a rapier. Armed with an investigative’s training, Ateris opened doors of knowledge that had previously closed through a mixture of keen intellect, dogged perseverance, and the occasional twist from a piece of bent wire. Slowly he pieced together the names of his parents, and that Fidealis, a close friend and confidant, had taken Ateris in when he was two. Facts and rumors forming together like a map missing a destination. And then, Ateris finally had a next step.

Over a decade later from that fateful fencing lesson so long ago, Uncle’s rapier fell to the ground with a metallic clatter. Ateris stood poised with his own rapier pointed towards the half elf’s chest, triumphantly stating the words, ”Diamond Lake. I’m not sure what the relevance is, but Diamond Lake has the answers I seek.” Uncle was silent once more, before offering a grin mixed with a touch of sadness and a final question: ”Why are you still here then?”

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Of course, Diamond Lake was far from the picturesque destination its name would suggest. In short order Ateris learned that the inhabitants were a closed-mouth group in the best of times and even worse for strangers. Questions may have tormented him throughout his childhood, but in Diamond Lake they had made him the recipient of a number of decreasingly subtle threats.

Worse yet, there wasn’t much call for a trained investigator in this corrupt mire. Ateris arrogantly made the mistake of assuming that he could find employ with the local Sheriff’s office; after all his uncle had worked contracted with many cases over the years with various officials of Greyhawk. His first encounter with Sheriff Cubbin, however, had clearly set him on the corrupt official’s bad side and nearly had him run out of town. The two seemed almost polar opposites and took practically an instant disliking to each other; it didn’t take a trained investigator to see that in Diamond Lake the criminals ran the government while the innocent were punished. Keeping a lower profile (suspiciously similar to stuck in a rut), Ateris had resorted to earning coppers for tracking down deadbeats or identify to be roughed up ruffians that had beat up harlots for nearly three years. Each ungrateful assignment seemed to grind him down, yet even that line of work had dried up more than a two copper who--

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Ateris jolted from his musings, abruptly sitting up in attention with his senses alert. Something had changed in the room, like a fresh wind in the stagnant stench of human misery. Something interesting that pulled him out of his thoughts. He couldn’t quite place it, but it called to him. Besides, he had spent far longer at the bar than could possibly be productive; another glass of swill and he’d be little better than one of the miners succumbing to malaise. He might not know where his next meal would come from, but he would not let this swamp of a town suck him in down into a bog of depression. "I have answers to find."

(At one point I had a longer interaction with Sheriff Cubbin, but I didn't want to assume the relationship with a potentially plot pivotal personage. I would assume that they would almost be pollar opposites bordering on rivals, though)

A lithe brown-haired human in his late twenties, Ateris moves with an almost elven grace and displays a sparkle of amusement in his otherwise piercing brown eyes. He tends to dress in inconspicuous clothing but rarely is seen without his rapier by his side. His personality can be best described as "overly intelligent" and "somewhat full of himself", while at the same time he is an incredibly cheerful and sarcastic comedian with an unquenchable desire to solve mysteries when presented with them.

The ever-present gloom of Diamond Lake has started to weigh him down as much as he might try to keep from sinking into the morass of misery. Being stuck alone for years without any meaninful progress and being only a few day's rations away from being left copperless and hungry has slowly introduced a sliver of doubt for the first time in his life.

Combat Posting Sample. Contains Proactive Posting, Complex PbP conditionals, and Vegemighties! Kaddren is probably the personality type I would look to play, though not quite so over-the-top comedian.
Parody / GM posting Sample Minor Siege of Serpents Spoilers, but this is one of my favorite PbP games I've run.