Ausk is a tall, muscular half-orc with a warrior's demeanor and the scars to prove it. Wrapped in dark leather and with a permanent weeks-old stubble, Ausk is the kind of half-orc that takes after his more bestial side. His entire body is covered with ugly scars. His thick forearms and biceps are ringed with sharp tribal designs, and his pointed ears hang thick with piercings. Thick teeth jut up from under his lip. His blue eyes are the only proof he's part human-- a pigment that's never present in full orc-blooded.
Personality:
Ausk is bound by reason and his own code of ethics. Having grown to adulthood in his clan, Ausk seeks to pay penance for his people's activities. He holds himself to an impossibly high standard, his list of moral ethics more complex than the code of a paladin, tinted through the eyes of a savage orc. Violence, humiliation, vengeance, harm and hurt are his primary methods; words come second. He always helps those in need and expects nothing in return. In recent years, surrounded by humans, he's begun to go soft, and knows it. He has to prove it to himself-- and to his wife-- that he's still strong, still worthy, can still fight. And he worries that that's the orc part of him talking.
Ausk Ja'el Gunn
Male half-orc ranger 2
LG Medium humanoid (orc)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +7
-Defense--------------------------------- AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 19 (2d10+4) [10, 5]
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +3
-Offense--------------------------------- Spd 30 ft.
Melee earthbreaker +6 (2d6+4/x3)
Ranged javelin +3 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks favored enemy (orc +2)
-Statistics------------------------------ Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Weapon Focus (earthbreaker), Power Attack
Skills Climb +6, Disable Device +4, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (geography) +5, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +7, Stealth +6, Survival +7 All skills listed are class skills Traits Criminal, Veteran of Battle
Languages Common, Orc, Abyssal
SQ track +1, wild empathy +1, orc blood, sacred tattoo, weapon familiarity, combat style (two-handed; power attack*)
Combat Gear earthbreaker, chain shirt, 3 javelins consumables under gear below
Favored Enemy:
Orc -- +2 atk, +2 dmg, +2 on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, Survival
Traits:
Criminal SourceUltimate Campaign pg. 60
You spent your early life robbing and stealing to get by. Select one of the following skills: Disable Device, Intimidate, or Sleight of Hand. You gain a +1 trait bonus on that skill, and it is always a class skill for you.
Reactionary [Link] SourceAdvanced Player's Guide pg. 333, Ultimate Campaign pg. 64
You have fought in several battles, and each time felt the presence of Gorum guiding your sword-arm, making you ready to act at a moment’s
notice. You gain a +1 trait bonus on initiative checks, and if you are able to act during a surprise round, you may draw a weapon (but not a potion or magic item) as a free action during that round.
Ausk's origin is hardly a secret, but it's unspoken. Son to a human mother and an orc father, Ausk witnessed many horrific things throughout his youth and young adulthood that forged in him an intense desire to do good in the world. His mother was killed in a ritualistic 'weakness bleeding' ceremony that left Ausk emotionally crippled, and afterwards, having survived the same ceremony, he was placed at his father's side. He was to be his father's advisor until he could take his place as the most intelligent and strong among them. There was no end to the 'weakness bleeding' ceremonies or to the stretched goals of what his father believed was strong, and what he viewed as weak. The nightmare of being raised in an orc clan, pulled between two worlds, is something that no one should ever go through.
After aiding his father in leading his clan for years, they captured a group of humans and the cycle began anew. Ausk did not want a wife from the group of humans, but his father pressed one on him: a half-elven woman named Koria. Ausk didn't know what to do with her, but Koria saw something in him and pleaded with him for help. She was the one to bring him back from the darkness he had been slowly slipping into-- to take back his humanity.
That night, Ausk freed the newly-taken slaves and led them, along with Koria, across the plains back to Freedom Town. But it wasn't as simple as unlocking their cage and fleeing into the night. Ausk's tribesmen's blood was on his hands, now, and his father sent a group of outriders to retrieve them. The battle was bloody-- they had few weapons. Some of the humans died. Ausk was scarred across the face by one of his closest friend's blades. Koria took an axe-blade to the knee and was crippled. But, in the end, when the dust cleared, they were still alive.
The only reason Ausk wasn't killed by the Sheriff was that he had saved his deputy-- Koria Gunn-- from a fate worse than death. Ausk was allowed to stay in Freedom Town despite his appearance, his legacy, his race, all due to his actions that day. Guilty, and knowing only violence in his lifetime, Ausk took over Koria's job as the Sheriff's deputy, first to repay the Sheriff, then to keep Koria fed and comfortable. He owed her as much.
It's been over ten years since that day. She hasn't aged at all. He's only grown harder. Ausk and Koria have been married for eight years, now, and every day is better than the last. The sentiments held by the town have faded into normalcy-- no longer a hero, no longer an outcast, just 'one of us.' But, on occasion, Ausk hears a new-comer or a black hat talk about the 'greenskin and his one-legged wife' and how much it's an abomination, that it's likely he cut her leg off so she couldn't run away from him. He doesn't mind the insults. It's not their fault. They were just raised poorly.
But, someone has got to teach these people to respect the law in this town...
