Cator Garess's page

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A barbarian is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).
Fast Movement (Ex)
A barbarian’s land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the barbarian’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn. This bonus stacks with any other bonuses to the barbarian’s land speed.
Rage (Ex)
A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear’s endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.

While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.

A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.

Cator stands at 6 feet tall, broad shoulders atop an heavily-muscled frame. Gone is the rich boy's hair, cut to the latest style. Now the dark brown hair is worn long, often tied and dreaded behind his head.
The barbarian no longer wears the trapping of a noble born. Cator wears hide armor, piecemeal-ed together from various bears, wild goats, and a smilodon pelt worn on his shoulder. Across his back, Cator wears a greatsword and a shortbow, a quiver of 20 arrows hangs off his hip.

Due to Cator's long absence from court life, the noble-turned-barbarian's social graces have dulled since then. Cator is fiercely protective of Vesnia, and any slight against the tiefling will be met with hostile aggression, at best; violence at worst. Over the years, Cator has gotten quite good making leather items out of his kills, making living in the wilderness easier. Cator has a low opinion of nobility and brevoy society in general.

Cator Garess was born into a minor branch of The Garess Family, a prominent noble house in Brevoy. Cator's the third son of Dardalus and Barbana Garess, with two older brothers, Micinius and Centius. The family lost Barbana in a mountain climbing accident when Cator was about 5 years old. This left the running of the house and raising the 3 boys to Dardalus, with help from various nannies over the years.

Cator, along with his older brothers, slowly grew into a noble, well-behaved adolescent. This all changed one harvest festival, when young master Cator met a Vesnia Uritio, a low-born desnan acolyte. Both teenagers were so enamored with each other, and quickly fell in love. Over the next few weeks, Cator would climb out of House Garess to meet his love under Desna's starry mantle. It was Micinius, who was coming back from a late hunt, who found the lovers together. The older stronger brother, along with some house guards, dragged Cator and Vesnia before Dardalus Garess in his study. The house patriarch was horrified to find not only his youngest son was cavorting with a low-born desnan priestess, but that Vesnia was a tiefling!! Dardalus forbid his youngest son of seeing 'the tainted abomination' every again, and son and father argued, railing into each other personally. Cator was under house arrest and Vesnia was thrown out onto the cobblestones. After a few days, Cator escapes with what meager belongings he could pack and left House Garess to find Vesnia and run away into the Golushkin Mountains.

At first, Dardalus was certain his youngest weaker son would come crawling back in a day or two after he escaped. But days turned into a week. The elder Garess sent out his older sons and various dwarven hunters out to find the young scion. But thanks to Desna's guidance, Vesnia was able to keep ahead and out of sight of any search party. Cator would rage against the efforts of his father to keep the two lovers apart, and the racist undertones of Brevoy society that reinforced his father's beliefs. The two lovers might have starved if it wasn't for a kind, dwarven trapper named Norberolf Highpeak. The dwarf, oddly enough, was also of noble birth, being able to trace his lineage back to a dead branch of one of the Five Mountain Kings line. Noberrolf took Cator under his wing, and taught both human and tiefling about wilderness lore and how to survive the harsh environment of The Golushkin Mountains. Meanwhile, word got out about the wayward Garess and his tiefling lover. Tales became romanticizes across Brevoy as 'The Lovers in the Mountains', but a tale of derision among the young nobles, looking for any weakness among their number.

For three years, Cator and Vesnia lived together and survived in the Brevoy wilderness, keeping one step ahead of Garess search parties. Cator's body transformed from a slim, noble stature to a hulking, muscle-bound protector of Vesnia and dedicated fur hunter. Then, one misty mountain morning, Cator and Vesnia were overlooking a ridge to find what looked like an out-of-place older noble man chasing a girl barely out of adolescence. Both barbarian and cleric intervened. It was discovered that the Lebeda noble man smuggled the girl into Brevoy to be his sex slave. With the girl's welfare at stake, and the noble's crime to report, both Cator and Vesnia brought both parties to New Stetven. There Cator and Vesnia collaborated the slave girl's story and brought justice to the Lebeda noble. Immediately afterward, Cator and Vesnia were ambushed and captured by House Garess forces. Cator fought against his captors to viciously, the barbarian had to be both chained and paddocked.

Human barbarian and tiefling cleric were transported back to House Garess. There Dardalus Garess was shocked to find in place of his youngest boy was a hulking wild man who raged against his shackles, merely addressing the patriarch as "Father". Also, pharasman priests were able to confirm the tiefling Vesnia was with child, Dardalus's grandchild. So enraged at his son for going behind his back, falling in love and getting a low-born tiefling pregnant, while evading his ever-expensive attempts to get his son back, Dardalus Garess brought a missive from King Surtova, asking for brave individuals to tame The Stolen Lands. The elder Garess declared the only way he would let the two lover go if they promised to undertake the journey into the Stolen Lands, and never return. With no other options, Cator and Vesnia agreed.