Brand Firestorm's page

Brand in many ways is the embodiment of flame.

He is warm and comforting much of the time, especially when the world is cold and there is nowhere else to turn. He is the flame that people know will be there when they need it.

He is light when there is darkness. A beacon to light the way for others when they know not where to go.

He is destruction to his enemies. He is swift of action and leaves nothing behind him but ashes.

Brand Desolar Firestorm was born five minutes after his twin sister Gwendolyn to a minor noble family in a village near Kintargo. He grew up in the family manor named Silverglade under the tutelage of his father and his arcane mentor Old Grim.

Magic has always been a facet of the Firestorm family heritage. Magic runs strongly in the family but skips generations, running most often from grandfather to grandson. Occasionally a child of great talent is born and their magical aptitude is apparent from the very start. Unfortunately for Brand, Gwendolyn got all the talent. He got the lesser gift of trying to keep up with her. In many ways it was a gift, it drove him to study harder, study longer, apply himself more, and be the very best that he could be. But Gwen was always just a tad bit better.

Instead of resenting this, Brand grew to idolize his sister. He wants to be what she is. Smart, beautiful, capable. A prodigy at magic and its manipulation. She is his hero.

Calen, Brand's father, however resents the gift that his twin children have inherited from his grandfather, while he had a grim existence in the military. Due to this resentment he has always been cold and distant from his oldest children for most of their lives. Once he finally realized his mistake, he felt it was too late to repair their relationship and has thrown himself into his work to hide from his wife and family.

Old Grim was an elven Magus that has been a retainer to the Firestorm family for many many years. He teaches soldiery to one generation and magic to the next, giving each enough training in both arts to be able to relate to their fathers and their children in most cases. Once an accomplished adventurer, he has many magical items and trinkets that he keeps locked away in his study to examine and experiment with in his spare time, often using one of the Firestorm children to help. Grim is a great friend and advisor to everyone in the family.

In an effort to bond with both Grim and his father, Brand took to liking many of the soldierly arts early in his childhood. Strategy and in particular siege warfare have always interested him greatly, books on castles and fortifications, cannons, gunpowder, or any other advance in weaponry or tactics will keep him interested for hours if not days and weeks. Engineering is his forte only after spellcraft.

This is a link to a short story I wrote a few years back featuring this character. While it isnt entirely about him, it is mostly in first person perspective from the character, so you get a good sense of what makes him tick.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzk4ljypXQyhRGl3WFpvb3FyTnc/edit?usp=sharin g

What sends Brand eventually out into the world is the disappearance of his sister. Having finished her magical training, she ventures out into the world to explore and get a bit of it under her feet and to go find her fate. This is when Brand and her are both 17, she promises that she will either return or to send word by the next Spring. When the next Summer arrives and there has been no word or sign from her, Brand sets off to find her. The last place that he heard she was headed was a place called Sandpoint.

Full disclosure: I've played this character in one variation or another since around '96 so I know this character quite well. The reason I want to take this character on more adventures is because I'm always interested how he will react and come out on top of any give situation. Historically he is incredibly lucky with the dice (I hope to not break that streak) and has a tendency to seem gifted by luck and fate (I chalk it up to the underdog syndrome he has). I've seen him fight wizards sword to sword once the spells run out, get eaten by demons after saving townsfolk, and flatten orcish armies. I had a blast (pun intended) every second of it.

This character in past incarnations has been a Wizard. Our group has always played with spontaneous arcane casting however because none of like memorized spells. Which I understand many people feel is too unbalancing. So to overcome that hurdle and ease myself more into the vancian style, I chose to make the character a sorcerer instead. I feel it works just the same with a smaller spell list.

If you look for my post history on characters you'll find that it's pretty sparse. I've been accepted in one online pbp game and it fizzled out after about a week, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. Since then I havent really tried until recently to join another game, but I am active on the forums from time to time and try to be helpful where I can be while staying well away from the endless arguing.

Brand Firestorm (CoT)
Male Human (Chelaxian) Sorcerer (Wildblooded) 2
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +9; Senses Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+3 Dex)
hp 13 (2d6+3)
Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +3
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +4 (1d8/19-20)
Spell-Like Abilities
7/day—elemental ray
Sorcerer (Wildblooded) Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +6):
1st (5/day)—grease (DC 15), mage armor
0 (at will)—daze (DC 14), detect magic, flare (DC 14), message, prestidigitation (DC 14), read magic, spark (DC 14)
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative, Toughness
Traits reactionary, the pathfinder's exile
Skills Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +3, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (local) +3, Linguistics +3, Spellcraft +7
Languages Common, Elven, Ignan, Varisian
SQ mutated bloodlines (primal)
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (3); Other Gear crossbow bolts (30), dagger, light crossbow, wayfinder, backpack, masterwork, ink, black, inkpen, paper, parchment (4), shaving kit, sorcerer's kit, survival kit, torch, twine (50'), 38 GP, 1 SP, 5 CP
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Special Abilities
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Elemental Ray (7/day) (Sp) Ranged touch attack deals 1d6+1 Fire damage.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Primal (Fire) +1 damage per die for [Fire] spells.
The Pathfinder's Exile Receive a magic compass (+2 survival to avoid being getting lost, light on command)
Wayfinder (empty) A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of the Azlanti, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself (see Seeker of Secrets page 51).