Bennevy's page

Bright and inquisitive, Bennevy left home to work for Herman, the old book dealer, at the age of fourteen. It was not, initially, as exciting a prospect as Bennevy had hoped. His first two years were spent cataloguing the manuscripts and keeping the tomes free of dust and vermin.

During this time, he began to notice irregularities in the dealer's shop inventory.

Bennevy made inquiries about the missing books. Herman's reactions varied from ignoring his questions as if he did not ask them to angrily threatening to have him thrown out into the street with nothing. He was further instructed not to speak of them again. This only served to heighten his curiosity. Bennevy began searching high and low throughout the shop for the missing tomes. He had to know why they were being kept hidden.

His search took another two years, but eventually he found them. He found a hidden alcove beneath one of the shelves he had long assumed was permanently fixed to the wall. He quietly shifted the shelf, and lifted the small stack of tomes from within.

Returning quickly to his room and drawing the curtain, Bennevy lit a candle and laid the books out on his desk. He began reading, each book, over and over. As he read and read again, his mind expanded. He began to understand the very fabric of the universe and how it could be manipulated. He realized that mere academic knowledge, human history, geography, mathematics were akin to a child’s understanding of what truly existed. The final book was most instructive. The language of the Abyss was not the oldest language; there was on far older. He wanted to know more. He needed to know more. He read on through the night until his consciousness surrendered to exhaustion.

Before dawn had broken, Bennevy awoke to the smell of smoke, and the heat of conflagration. An overturned candle had set his precious books alight, and the fire was quickly spreading to the papers and books scattered about. Before he could react, the shop was burning all around him! The fragile pages of the ancient tomes went up like well-pitched torches, and he had only moments to pull a few pages from the bindings before everything was lost.

He ran from the shop, calling for the neighbors to wake-up and bring water buckets. He called for Herman, but the fire was too intense to re-enter and look for the old book dealer. When neighbors and local authorities had extinguished the fire, and were satisfied that the fire was not arson or murder, Bennevy began the process of rummaging through the ashes to recover whatever books might still in condition to sell.

Instead of using the remaining books as the beginnings of a new shop, Bennevy decided to exchange them for traveling gear and weapons. He could no longer continue as a simple shop-keeper. He had to find more of the new Truth that had been revealed to him. He made his way to Magnimar, hoping to learn more by joining the illustrious Pathfinder Society. The well-read young man proved himself worthy to the local venture captain, and has been compiling knowledge through both research and exploration ever since. The lodge has been quite satisfied with his contributions to the library thus far.

One thing that Bennevy has not done, however, is share the contents of the pages he managed to salvage from the lost tomes. He has used them as starting points for his research, and has carefully documented his findings in his personal journal. He jealously guards his secret knowledge, and will not allow someone to beat him to its ultimate revelation.

Worldly: You have acquired an unusual breadth of life experience—more than others of your age, race, or culture. Once per day when attempting a skill check for a skill you're untrained in, you can roll twice and take the better result.

Fate's Favored: The fates watch over you. Whenever you are under the effect of a luck bonus of any kind, that bonus increases by 1.

+2 to One Ability Score: Human characters get a +2 bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.

Medium: Humans are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.

Focused Study: Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st, 8th, and 16th level.

Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.

Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Bardic Performance: Archaeologists do not gain the bardic performance ability or any of its performance types.

Bardic Knowledge (Ex): A bard adds half his class level (minimum 1) on all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.

Archaeologist's Luck (Ex): Fortune favors the archaeologist. As a swift action, an archaeologist can call on fortune's favor, giving him a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. Maintaining this bonus is a free action, but it ends immediately if the archaeologist is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. Archaeologist's luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance. Like bardic performance, it cannot be maintained at the same time as other performance abilities. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 11th level, and +4 at 17th level.

0-level: 4
Daze
Detect Magic
Read Magic
Sift

1st level: 2
Comprehend Languages
Cure Light Wounds

Bluff (cha): +7 (1 rank, 3 cha, 3 class)

Disable Device (dex): +7 (1 rank, 3 dex, 3 class)

Diplomacy (cha): +7 (1 rank, 3 cha, 3 class)

Knowledge (planes) (int): +10 (1 rank, 2 int, 3 class, 3 feat, 1 bardic knowledge)

Knowledge (religion) (int): +7 (1 rank, 2 int, 3 class, 1 bardic knowledge)

Knowledge (arcana) (int): +7 (1 rank, 2 int , 3 class, 1 bardic knowledge)

Knowledge (history) (int)*: +7 (1 rank, 2 int, 3 class, 1 bardic knowledge)

Knowledge (geography) (int)*: +7 (1 rank, 2 int, 3 class, 1 bardic knowledge)

Perception (wis): +5 (1 rank, 0 wis, 3 class, 1 class ability)

Sense Motive (wis): +4 (1 rank, 0 wis, 3 class)

Spellcraft (int): +6 (1 rank, 2 int, 3 class)

Use Magic Device (cha): +7 (1 rank, 3 cha, 3 class)

Skill Focus: Knowledge (planes): +3 to this skill.

Weapon Finesse: Use dex modifier for attack rolls with light and finesse weapons