Aurela half smiled at the catfolk. "Be my guest," she said. "I have a feeling I'm not so good at handling these things."
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Aurela pressed her ear to the door and listened for a moment.
Aurela winced at the sight -- and smell -- of the bodies, but maintained her composure. "The stairs, yes. Please." She said, and started heading that way.
Aurela looked over the equipment and found a satchel that looked the most familiar, with a holy book and a wooden symbol that matched the birthmark on her hand. She donned the simple leathers and took the shield and spear with her satchel, but their condition deteriorated the moment they were in her hands. It was unexpected, but less distressing than it should have been. "I don't feel like I'm a criminal," she added to the conversation. She held up her broken spear and shield. "But there has to be something wrong with me. These were fine, until I picked them up..." "I don't think I would have a secretary, either. I...think I was in a cult or something."
Aurela calmed some after the doctor was killed, but not by much. She felt jittery and wanted to find someplace safe. The smell of the bodies in the next room was nauseating, and she tried not to look beyond her initial glance. She focused instead on the others, and the budding conversation. "I... I think my name is Aurela," she said. "We know each other, I'm pretty sure. But...where are we? Why are we here..? What did we do?" Aurela looked at all the familiar faces, but gleaned little more than the same sense of a mutual connection. She slowly approached the man who had killed the doctor. "Shh, it's alright," she said with a soothing tone. "Are you hurt?"
Aurela rushed out of her cell once it was opened, her first instinct was to flee. She stopped in her tracks however, and stared at the bloody mess on the table...then looked to the struggling doctor. The thought of that vile thing escaping the grapple was enough to spur her to action; with little thought she stepped closer with hand outstretched, not even sure what she was doing...
Aurela gasped at the sight of the enraged doctor slaughtering the screaming patient. She felt near-panicked, and shook her cell door roughly. She wanted to cry out, but a bolt of lightning erupted from another cell... Aurela held her breath, afraid of what might happen next.
Aurela got to her feet. The rush of motion made her light-headed, but she regained her focus and looked around.
She saw the doctor and the patient, and the keyring... Then heard he voice of the man in the alley, and the doctor's response. None of it made sense. A shared dream? And no memory of how she had gotten in the cell. Aurela looked herself over and only vaguely recognized the plain gray robe she wore. She tried to calm herself, and searched herself for injuries.
No worries, but I'm glad you're feeling better!
Aurela drew sharp, heavy breaths and tried not to stare at the dead woman's head. She was about to start running again when the man with her started talking nonsense. "No, c'mon focus!" she snapped. "Whatever you're thinking... That mist will kill us! We'll find a way out, a building, something! C'mon..." Aurela resumed running, as fast as she could manage.
Aurela looked around frantically; the walls were bearing down, the mists had parted, and some...thing was hunting them. She heard the carnage of the catfolk's murder, and saw the gore from the climber's fall... The alley looked just like the one they had woken up in, and she feared running away would be fruitless -- but seeing the demonic, bandaged thing in the fog, she couldn't devise any better plan. "Run!" she said. "There has to be a way out, there has to be!" Aurel ran away from the fog, as fast her legs would carry her.
Should I post, or wait for a prompt?
Aurela stood in the odd alley alongside others, but knew absolutely nothing about who or where she was; much less who those around her were, or what was going on. A Chelish girl of slight stature barely out of her teens, she dressed in little more that tattered robes and well-worn, half broken leathers, and carried a simple spear in need of repairs. A chill ran through her, all she knew was fear as she tried to process her surroundings… ”Who..? What..?”
Thanks for picking me. Now I just need to buy equipment...
Thanks! Going with set 2 then; swapping Dex and Wis, and then Con & Cha, ending with: Str 14
And she'll put her human +2 in Cha. I'll start tweaking her crunch!
Should we assign attributes before rolling them, or arrange them after we roll them? I'm intending to make her Cha, Int, and Con attributes favored, and her Str/Dex/Wis unfavored; I'll roll them in order for now, but re-arrange as desired if allowed afterwards. Set 1:
Set 2:
So, this is a character I had made for a different game that didn’t get enough interest. Aside from having to redo attributes (which could turn out better for her), I think she’d be a good fit for this game. Background is in the profile. Her original crunch is there too, I’ll have to roll attributes and update accordingly; I just want to make sure her basic concept is okay for the game first.
That's disappointing, I was looking forward to this. :(
Critique away, by all means. (Still working on crunch... Btw, how strict are you on trait categories?)
No crunch yet, but here’s everything else: Aurela Grouix
Background (brief):
Aurela lived her early life in the shadows of society, yet in the spotlight of the hidden world that raised her. Hers was an auspicious birth; her parents were cultists of Groetus, and when she was born with a birthmark resembling the skull-faced moon of their deity, the High Priest declared it an omen of the End Times. Her ‘gifts’ showed quickly as a child, nearly everything she handled became broken so long as she held it, and her first words came early -- and in a dark tongue she could not have learned on her own.
The cult became her extended family. She was well cared for, protected and revered. They moved around a lot, usually only at night, and there was an every-revolving number of cult members at any given time. Madness claimed some, but many others left for supplies and never returned. They dwelled in ruins, and in abandoned husks of temples originally meant for other gods. When they had to move on it was usually with little warning. Aurela knew very little about the outside world, only that there were people who would destroy her and her family, and they needed to be avoided at all cost. With little contact outside the family, she got used to being protected and fawned over. She always had food even when stores were low, people brought her gifts and toys (which rarely survived for long in her hands), and when she spoke everyone listened. Even so, there was little freedom or privacy. When she was a little older, a great tragedy befell the cult. People called Hellknights came to rout them, to wipe them out entirely. Only the high priest, herself, and a handful of other cult members made it out alive, and they began a long trek to a place called Varisia -- eventually to the city of Magnimar. Aurela was a young adult by then, and smart enough to realize their life was far from normal; that there was an entirely different world out there, often just a few steps away. Magnimar was more open and accepting, but her family was too protective to let her see much of it. One night she managed to sneak away and see the city for herself; by morning she had decided that she was never going back. After a few short months living as best she could, trying to find friends and avoid her family, Aurela joined the Pathfinder Society. They were open minded, and not judgemental of those like her...and as beautiful and vast as Magnimar was, membership offered her the chance to travel, to see more sights -- and a chance to put some distance between herself and her ‘family’.
5+ points that capture the concept and story of the character.:
-Ruin and bad luck seems to follow her and she worries it affects those around her. -She despises the source of her powers, and hates being a pawn in whatever games the gods are playing. She’s not intolerant, but tends to roll her eyes at any religious ceremony and dislikes anyone trying to prosthelytize. -Deep down she strives to help others, hates seeing anyone in distress, and genuinely wants to do good in the world -- though greatly fears she’s destined to only make things worse. -She’s not an anti-hero, but more of an anti-villain. She rejects her supposed destiny and tries not to abuse her powers, avoids positions of power and leadership, and doesn't want to use or deceive others for her own advantage. -Strong themes of rebellion, doom, hope, inevitability, and trying to deny one’s fate or even turn it on its head by making the world a better place.
Two goals:
-To make something, either a useful item or work of art. -To use her destructive gifts to prevent a disaster. Two secrets:
-She still prays to Groetus. Not out of reverence, but out of habit. -Her parents were not her parents; she was born to a respected family (but not nobility) from Cheliax, who fell under scrutiny due to her birthmark. When the cult heard about her, they abducted her and fled the area.
3-5 people that are tied to your PC by blood, love, rivalry, honor, etc.:
-Gosbert Draeger, the high priest and leader of the Groetus cult. He was neither evil or mean, protected her and groomed her to lead the cult, herself, but he was still a fanatic and probably still searching for her. He may or may not suspect she ran away, and might assume she was taken. Getting away from the cult is her primary reason for joining the Pathfinder Society, hoping they would transfer her to a lodge outside of Magnimar. -Amadeus Amélineau, a former member of the cult who went missing while out on an errand. He betrayed them to the Chelaxian authorities and has since become an inquisitor of Asmodeus. He has been tasked with finding Aurela, though why is unknown; likely to either eliminate her or return her to her real family. -Otilia, the closest thing Aurela had to a childhood friend. She was part of a Varisian caravan they had traveled with for the better part of a year, and one of the few non-cult members Aurela got to interact with. She sometimes wonders what ever happened to her friend. -Yllaria de Cormeilles. Before joining the Pathfinder Society, Aurela did have some adventures in Magnimar, and made many friends. One was Yllaria de Cormeilles, an adventurer and talented swordswoman. Aurela accidentally caused the loss of Yllaria’s heirloom rapier, promptly ending their friendship on a sour note. Though not an enemy in any sense, her memories of their friendship is a harsh reminder of Aurela’s nature. -Sandre Szemere. More an acquaintance than a friend, they never had any adventures together but did frequent the same taverns and locales. He was rakish and bold, a former Sczarni gang member, and part of the Pathfinder Society. Aurela developed a soft crush on him, but never acted on it. She didn’t join the Society because of him, but does hope to work with him someday...though she fears she’d bring misfortune to him, like she did to Yllaria.
Three key memories:
-While she has a lot of memories of the cult’s time in Cheliax, the most prominent one is the night the Hellknights came to wipe them out. She had always been warned that the outside world wished her harm, but that night was the first time she saw proof of that. -Traveling with the cult. On their way to Varisia she saw more of the outside world than ever. Sometimes they met those outside the cult in amicable encounters, securing passage or supplies, or even temporary lodgings and travel companions. These are some of her fondest memories. -Her first night out in Magnimar. She snuck away with the intent to look around and then go back, but that night was full of so many beautiful sights, colorful people, and genuine fun that she couldn’t bear to return to her family.
Fear or paranoia that causes your character to shiver, cower, or panic: -Being alone. Even though she may seem like she should be a loner or hard to be friends with, she is actually warm and quick to make friends, and she needs other people around to feel anchored. When alone for too long she feels adrift and lost. She has seen people go mad worshipping Groetus, and fears the same will happen to her eventually. Being around others, particularly among friends, makes her feel happy and safe. -The full moon. Not hide-under-the-bed terror, but it makes her edgy and paranoid when she can see the full moon. |