About Awarthannen the Forsaken"Power corrupts only those of weak mind and body." Appearance:
Portrait of Awarthannen.
A grim man of elvish lineage, his severe visage brings forth the primal fear of death even in the stoutest of hearts. The black of his meticulous studded leather makes his bone white hair and ghostly gray flesh all the starker. Most chilling of all are those pupils of golden-white, standing in starkest contrast to the eerily black "whites" of his eyes. A gothic longsword stands sheathed by his side, and a bow and quivers cover his back. Etymology:
Exiles of the elvish kingdom of Kyonin are known as Awarthant in the elvish tongue, or "the Forsaken" in common parlance. Other elves may find it peculiar that Awarthannen ("the Forsaken One") has retained a derived form of this term as his personal name... Prelude:
The moon rises in the night sky. A grim elvish man studiously peers at it through the large window of his old study. With perfect upright posture, and hands folded behind his back, his stern visage seems lost in contemplation for long moments. His somewhat formal attire features a long studded black leather coat, with matching dark shades beneath, fastened by buckles. His white straight hair and light gray skin tone stand out in the moon’s light, contrasting the darkness of his attire, and the wood and stone décor of the study.
With swift exhale, he turns, and walks towards an old solid oak desk. Studded boots thud softly, yet dauntingly, against the creaky wooden floor. Old leather-bound tomes and newer journals alike lie scattered across the desk’s top. Some are left opened to a specific page, others are bookmarked for later perusal. An inkwell and pen await him beside sheets of parchment. The gray elf neglects to light a pair of old silver candlesticks atop the desk. Apparently, the light of the moon is sufficient for his disconcerting eyes of golden-white, with their eery black sclera. Taking a seat, he begins to scribe notes upon the parchment. Within an hour of reading from tomes and journals and jotting down notes, his inkwell begins to dry up. Bending low to reach beneath for a desk shelf, he spots a pool of black ink, and broken glass where his spare vials of ink should be. An unfamiliar small ball rests among the glass in the ink. Pondering this for a second, he turns his head to look back at the same window he’d glanced at the moon through earlier that night. Only then does he notice the ball-sized hole in it, and the fragments of glass upon the floor below it. Awarthannen was so focused on his studies, he’d failed to notice. “Children,” he mutters in a stark baritone voice, followed by a deep sigh. He speaks as if he’d spoken the word “goblins.” The severe man looks down at the broken glass, shaking his head. Standing up from his desk, the man rubs his strange eyes tiredly. 'Perhaps a bit of repose wouldst do me well,' he thinks. Cleaning up the glass and ink, he heads for the second floor bedroom… ... Early the next morning, Awarthannen rises from slumber. After performing his morning preparations and reviewing a particular tome, he gathers his coin pouch, and affixes his sheathed longsword and scabbard to his belt beside twin daggers. He then straightens his coat, asserting his outfit is meticulously put together before a long mirror. His severe visage stares back at him, neither the slightest smirk nor frown to disturb his perfectly neutral, yet intense, expression. Before exiting the creaking front door, the scholar-duelist covers himself in a common gray cloak. He pulls the hood over his head, concealing his identity from anyone who does not stand directly before him. He reflexively shields his eyes for a moment as he takes moment to adjust to the morning sunlight. His recoiling face eventually calms once again, and he carries on down the road. The stark hooded figure makes its way into town. Solemnly passing the headstones of the cemetery, he glances towards a small house across the dead’s resting place. They meet a familiar face: the lovely blue eyes of the cemetery caretaker, Audrahni, meet his with a soft smile. “Good morrow, Lady Audrahni.” The hooded figure pauses to politely make a formal bow as he nears the elvish maiden. Only the most observant would sense that the unsmiling elf is glowing within at her presence. Passing a chapel, he continues down the street. Blending in well in his ordinary cloak, he makes his way to Circle Market… Back Story:
Ages ago, a forbidden love between elf and drow brought great hardship to one lineage of elvenkind. The taint of drow blood remains in Awarthannen’s veins, his disconcerting appearance marking him an abomination in the eyes of both his kinfolk alike. Some council members serving Kyonin's Queen saw to it that the mixed-race boy was officially orphaned and then exiled from the elvish kingdom, never to return to his homeland.
Throughout the long 150 winters of his existence, loneliness has been the Forsaken One's most prevalent companion. His daunting countenance has ever burdened upon him the brunt of prejudice wherever he's traveled. He learned long ago how to play up the intimidating persona to protect himself, using the unexamined fears of others against them, frightening most away to avoid conflict. But within the monstrous shell lies a determined brilliance. Ever focused on loftier goals, Awarthannen's chosen to fill his forlorn life with purpose rather than pity. Astuteness, discipline, equanimity, arcane mastery, martial acumen, these trainings have embodied his way of life. Refusing to wallow pointlessly in the tragedy he's endured, Awarthannen has ever shaped and sharpened both mind and body to triumph over all obstacles in his path. For this brilliant scholar-swordsman, knowledge is power. For to ever-expand upon what he knows is to ever-enhance his power to bend the world to his will. Awarthannen has researched new lore, new powers, and new martial skills as an apprentice to several respected masters far and wide. Throughout his travels, he's trained with several renowned duelists, focusing on the arts of both fencing and archery. One of them was even an Aldori Swordlord of Brevoy. His talent for magic has also earned him admission into the most prestigious of all arcane academies of the Inner Sea, the Arcanamirium, located in that den of intrigue and power known as Absalom. More recently, he's worked at the Acadamae in the Varisian city of Korvosa. He's even managed to learn under the tutelage of Headmaster Toss Ornelos himself... a disciplined man of power after his own heart. Having acquired a passion for ancient Thassilon since he'd heard news of Runelord Karzoug's return, he's traveled between Korvosa and various Varisian sites to explore ancient ruins and their newly unearthed secrets firsthand. Awarthannen has been on a perpetual quest to uncover even the most remote secrets of the magician and the duelist alike, even combining these two art forms into a singular, complementary style. Wandering the world, he may never satiate his passion to acquire more arcane power and martial supremacy. For in his heart, this conservative elf greatly values his elvish heritage in spite of his dark past, and the pursuit of perfect mastery over both elven pursuits drives him to his steely core. But buried deep within Awarthannen’s psyche, bitterness and rage over the forlorn history of his family clouds his otherwise detached and clear judgment. His aloof disposition bears an unseen burning resentment under the surface. A powerful passion to empower and prove himself worthy of being called an elf fuels his purpose. He's generally a cordial and cooperative soul, albeit with a fair dose of sarcastic wit. Yet this dark marring of Awarthannen’s soul beckons him from deep within to crave power. He might never be free from this dark ambition… and one day, it could twist his mind into a sinister evil the world would not wish to reckon with. Or perhaps his ambitious mind will one day come to relax enough to recognize and deal more appropriately with his inner demons. Perhaps love will open his heart to this potential... While passing through the port town of Roderic's Cove several years ago on his way to explore a Thassilonian dig site, Awarthannen's eyes caught sight of Audrahni. An elvish caretaker and gravedigger for the cemetery, her likewise solitary and melancholy spirit left a strong impression on the warrior-mage... as has her beauty. He's returned to town numerous times since that day. Eventually, he bought an old abandoned home adjacent to the cemetery, to live in the Cove part of the year. He's never missed an opportunity to visit the cemetery while there. To unwind... or so he's said. The two are sometimes seen taking long walks together in the cemetery at dawn or dusk. Awarthannen's purposes for being in town have been the subject of rumor and speculation among the locals. Aside from his visits with Audrahni, he does not come out much during the day, like normal folk do. Stories have spread about the eerie glow of strange and unnatural lights coming from his home at all hours of the night. Others tell tales of devilish incantations and mutterings coming from within as well. A few have blamed the strange behaviors and illnesses of kids on his supposedly dark delvings in the occult. His home does nothing to abet these rumors. It's an old, dark, and rickety place, with very old and twisted trees. The children regard it as the haunted house, sometimes daring each other to play pranks there (causing some annoyance to the solitary researcher). Some think him a devilish spawn, there brewing who-knows-what sorts of sinister trouble for the town. Others who are more open-minded see him as a quiet and odd but relatively harmless man, who is probably just doing magical research. At all hours of the night. I mean, there must be some valid reason for that... I mean, right? Stat Block:
LN Elf Magus 4 Medium humanoid (elf) Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity, Perception +8 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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Melee longsword +7, 1d8+4/5 slashing (19-20/x2) magic, arcane pool
Cast Defensively +15 concentration, +1 to +3 for -1 to -3 to AB
Base Atk +3
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Feats Breadth of Experience, Combat Casting.
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Coins 50 gp, 60 sp, and 17 cp. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
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As a swift action, Awarthannen can expend 1 point from his arcane pool to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack. This bonus doesn’t function if the weapon is wielded by anyone other than Awarthannen. Awarthannen can only enhance one weapon at a time. If he uses this ability again, the first use immediately ends. Spell Combat (Ex): Awarthannen can cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time; like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. He must have one hand free to use this (even if the spell doesn’t have somatic components) while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other. As a full-round action, Awarthannen can make his melee weapon attacks at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (attack rolls made as part of this spell also take this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, Awarthannen can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls of up to 3 (Int mod) and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. Awarthannen can either cast the spell or make the weapon attacks first. Spells: Awarthannen casts arcane spells drawn from the magus spell list. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, Awarthannen decides which spells to prepare. He can also prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, which are not expended when cast and may be used again. Spellbooks: Awarthannen must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook except for read magic, which all magi can prepare from memory. Awarthannen begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level magus spells plus 6 (3 + Int mod) 1st-level magus spells of his choice. At each new magus level, he gains two new magus spells of any spell levels that he can cast for his spellbook. At any time, he can also add spells found in other spellbooks to his own. Awarthannen can learn spells from a wizard’s spellbook, just as a wizard can from a magus spellbook. The spells learned must be on the magus spell list, as normal. An alchemist can learn formulae from his spellbook, if the spells are also on the alchemist spell list, but Awarthannen cannot learn spells from an alchemist. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Cantrips Prepped Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Mage Hand
Traveling Spellbook, 21/50 pages used:
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