About Blessed Brother Barion"Behold! By the bar, a humble broker of blessings, cast as both brute and benefactor by the believers of Bard’s Gate. His boastful voice, beyond brisk beatitudes, belies a bold set of beliefs, braving the boundaries of a branched faith, building bridges between the benighted and the beautiful. But this is no beginner, no simple bearer of broken bibles and bardic ballads; buttressed by a brilliant bag of tricks, he brags of his past battles as a bad-ass ballistic brawler, one who belongs among his betters. Not wishing to become a bother, Brother Barion briefly bows, before brightly asking for your business." Background:
Abandoned as a child in the shadows of the Stoneheart Forest, Barion was born one of the other half-elves—his parents, presumably, Drow hunters of the dark places among and below the trees. But the riverfolk took him in, somewhat begrudgingly, and his quick wit and strong voice saw him apprenticed to a keeper of records. In a different place, perhaps, Barion would have been a war drummer, beating out arcane rhythms with his excellent sense of timing and magical blood. Instead, he spent decades working among the river boatsmen, poling rafts and guiding gondolas, keeping perfect time with his oar strokes as he learned the many traditional river-songs of his people. In a city as musical as Bard's Gate, however, even the simple songs of the river attracted occasional attention; young Barion gained enough attention and heard enough stories from bards and adventures traveling the river to eventually make his way to the city. Still, Bard's Gate was a strange and bewildering place for a young and restless half-elf. In the Stoneheart Forest, his pointy ears and elven features had marked him as Drow-blooded, a sign of fear and shame, while his connection to the people who had raised him bought some form of acceptance. In the city, where the Arkaji gathered shifty looks and the occasional epithet, it was his elven side that gained praise and acceptance, while he was forced to hide what had been the prestigious side of his identity. And the college was equally bewildering, once he found entry; for a school that trained its students in songs of war, Bard's College had a strict focus on anything but fighting. But magic was in Barion's blood, and the songs he knew were rhythms of war and ballads of loss and longing; and, for a child with the wrong sort of upbringing, this got him into a bit of trouble. Reprimanded for a few magical brawls, he quickly found himself in violation of the terms of his scholarship, and out on the streets long before finishing his studies. Barion was quick, and knew how to look quickly respectable; and perhaps most importantly, he had learned a very martial sort of music, the kind that allowed him to win fights without ever quite fighting. And while he found some work as a pickpocket or a boatsman, the real money came in mercenary work. Often this was a bit... unsavory, as a man who could trash a tavern or threaten a food vendor with his mind found easy employment as a thieves' enforcer. And a lack of weapons or complicated spells made it a bit easier to avoid direct accusations from the city guards, so Barion kept out of trouble for some time. And of course, he read quite a bit. Since the Bard's College, he had spent most of his spare coin on books, learning the laws of magic and physics. And this brought him to questions on the nature of reality, and Barion learned of other planes, and other religions. For an often-confused, never-quite-in-place youngster in the city, the Church of Yidhra held a certain slightly edgy appeal. And so Brother Barion became self-ordained in the faith of paradoxes, and found that by meditating on the rules of reality, he could more easily bend or break them. Perhaps more importantly, though, he could also make easier money as a priest. Instead of threatening shopkeepers, they would pay him to bless their babies and oversee their marriages. A previous history of finding odd jobs, and a Bard's College education in flattery and song, made him one of the more popular of his church's High Priests, as Brother Barion could serve as both priest and choir for only a bit of extra coin. And with the newfound respectability of his priestly robes, Barion found his way to a higher sort of mercenary work. No longer a drop-out and bagman, he could advertise his services as a holy warrior, righteous avenger, or paladin-for-hire. Through new membership in the Society of Arms, he worked mostly as a bodyguard, keeping the city's wealthy secure at parties or trips outside the city without ever needing a license to carry a weapon; and while not the most imposing sight, the string of arguably-occult jewelry he carried, combined with the holy symbol of an unpredictable god, blazoned large upon his back, have been mostly enough to keep would-be criminals from trying too much. Still, the Society is... mostly a rowdy, uncultured group, quicker to use swords than words. And Brother Barion, able to wheedle his way into Bard's Gate high society on occasion, has found that he prefers the fancier life, and the paradoxes present in how the wealthy and powerful avoid violence despite an unparalleled talent for it. And so he has sought membership in the Wizard's Guild, in order to better understand and unravel the laws of reality—and while he has been so far unsuccessful, he has been offered a few odd jobs for the city's wizards, which he hopes is a good sign. Description:
Brother Barion carries no weapons—to do so would be foolish in such a safe city—only a few ceremonial daggers, a small riding whip, and a heavy quiver of arrows, with no bow to fire them. Of course, no stranger to such contradictions, he still walks the streets of Bard’s Gate with self-assured confidence, knowing that he wears a full arsenal of deadly weapons. Clad in the lightest of mail, concealed beneath robes of heavy linen, he never leaves the house without a heavy suit of armor; frequently alone, he is never without allies. And while he practices only a small set of simple, harmless spells, he would never bet against himself in a test of magical prowess. Barion is tall, perhaps, and thin, with strong and pleasant features. Occasionally during his daily walks, but more often during fights, he will suddenly sit and meditate, willing the world to move harmlessly around him (and giving it a gentle nudge when it forgets to do so). His many sets of lavender robes, sewn from expensive linen of the heavy-but-breathable variety, are each hand-decorated in swirling lines of quill pen ink—if asked, he will explain that these are patterns of great significance, and if asked again he will add that he does not know the details of this significance. Besides a practical backpack and impractical quiver worn over his robes, he often carries a set of small hand drums, except on Tuesdays, when he carries wind chimes instead. When casting spells, Brother Barion prefers to settle his nerves by using a holy symbol as a focus, but has never much paid attention to which holy symbol he is using. The Church of Yidhra:
"The Church of Yidhra" would be one of those taverns where people hire adventurers and get into fights... except, perhaps, for its unusual location in the midst of the Temple District. The drinks—for the most part passable, weak beer—do tend to have the interesting quirk of serving themselves, and of course there aren't many other religious establishments in the city that serve alcohol. On the second half of the drinks board, Barion has posted various simple religious services—marriages, blessings, curses, etc—and the nominal fee associated with each, while he takes serious clients upstairs. Taking up a good portion of the second floor, Brother Barion’s parlor has been more or less converted into a working office and shrine. Like many of Yidhra’s priesthood, he understands the value of good business sense in all matters that his god does not voice opinions on; but years at the Bard’s College have given him an extra air of theatricality, and thus the Church of Yidhra, For-Hire has become something of a novelty as far as shrines to the goddess go. While Barion might find most of his jobs through the Society of Arms, the Church provides an excellent place to meet with on-the-fence clients, as well as to perform nearly any kind of religious rite imaginable for a small fee. (Additionally, the general obfuscation of his faith gives Brother Barion a handy excuse to turn down any jobs that feel unsavory or too difficult, just as he supposes the goddess might as well want him to). The actual upstairs "Church" itself can be… a bit difficult to describe. Two tailor’s dummies (“Major Domo” and “Number 3”) take turns opening the door to greet visitors, with the other dummy alternately acting as an immobile coat-rack. Lumiere, an altogether sprightly fellow (and Barion’s personal candelabra), passes around the room on a circuit, briefly visiting each of the room’s sconces in a complicated pattern that is often not complicated at all. At a small writing desk in the corner, his secretary Inksworth—a jaunty quill pen—takes notes on all meetings and conversations; as the poor creature lacks any kind of recognizable intelligence, these notes usually consist of random scribbles. Brother Barion’s desk and religious altar sit bolted to the room’s far wall, jutting out into the room from a plane perpendicular to the floor, in an installation that has altogether not thrilled his landlord. While he usually sits at this desk during business hours and religious holidays, occasionally the priest gets up for a stretch and walks around.
* * * Male Half-Elf Incanter 5 // Bard (Rubato) 5 // Gestalt 5
"Gravity's just a habit that you're really sure you can't break" Init +9, Perception +10, Low-Light Vision, Darkvision
Daily Abilities:
Spell Points 9/9 Momentum Pool 0/9 Tempo Pool 4/4+ Power Points 5/5 Bardic Performance 14/14 --------------------
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Modifiers (hit/dmg|AC):
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- Verbal Casting - Spells have a distinctive, loud component
Caster Level 5
Talent Wishlist:
War Sphere (3 talents)
Enhancement Sphere (1 talent)
Time Sphere (1 talent)
Telekinesis Sphere (5 talents + 2 from feats)
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Elemental Flux (Spellcraft; light blades, monk, thrown; change active element as a standard action)
Maneuvers Known (ML 5; init mod +Cha)
Stances Known
Wishlist: Maybe some Riven Hourglass stuff? Rushing Wake --------------------
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* * * Feats and Traits:
Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting (1) Deadly Aim (3) Improved Initiative (5) 2x Additional Sphere (Incanter Bonus 1, 2) Tribal Rhythm (Incanter Bonus 4) Wishlist: Telekinetic Exoskeleton, Quick Draw, Forge Ring, Create Construct [ooc]Other Wishlist: Tap Animus, Combat Stamina{/ooc] Traits:
Drawback:
Skills Breakdown:
60 points (Bard 30, Int 20, Background 10) *Denotes class skill *Acrobatics +8 (2 ranks)
Equipment and Lodgings:
Coinage: -500 gp Property:
On person:
Efficient Quiver (1.8k):
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