Darrien Vallor's page

-What is your relationship to the gods and religion?

I am a follower of Erastil, he was there for us in our darkest times, and to abandon him now simply because he is as some call "old fashioned" is laughable. After all, his teachings are valuable for any community large or small. As for religion, religion is something that provides support to people. Something they can fall back on, a way to shape and structure their lives... A place to find value. To many, religion is little more than an after thought. But its always there, just like the gods, to turn to when needed.

-Do you have an easy way with strangers?

Why of course, strangers are merely friends you haven't met yet! Sure, one should be cautious, but if I cannot trust a stranger, how would they ever trust me?

-Do you play well with others?

Son, you are speaking with a cleric of Erastil. That's like asking if a paladin of Iomeade fought demons. He gives a smile. Yes, we are at our best when supporting each other. We all must do our part. Even if sometimes I have to remind people about that.

-What draws you to the life of an adventurer?

I would be lying if I said a yearning to wander played no part. However, I do not abandon family or community without knowledge they will be tended. I also find that the more I travel, the more my wisdom grows. I would hope to be someone that can provide guidance to everyone one day. The more I see, the more I know, the more I know, the more I grow, and the more I grow, like a field, the more I can provide.

-Do you identify with a particular animal or element?
A bear He pauses before grinning. Where you excepting a stag or elk perhaps? It is true though, I would fiercely defend my home and family, much like a mother bear would defend her cubs. As for an.. element?.. perhaps water. I like to think I enable others to grow, much as a river or the rain feeds all things. Even as boastful as that sounds.

-What do you find creepy?

Aberrations literally don't sit right with me. Anything he can't deal with physically or a problem he can't work towards solving unsettles him.

-What specific goals do you have, if any?

What can I say? My goals are those of Erastil.
He smiles before laughing.
Alright, outside of keeping family and friends safe and keeping their bonds close knit... I would find ways to better grow food, and to better understand it in general. I would see that people do not forgo the simple joys, the bonds with each other, for perceived material goods. I would see that every man, and woman, has the ability to provide for themselves and contribute. I would see people happy.

-Do the ends justify the means?

No, your reputation is important. If a mans word cannot be trusted then what has he? No, the road to hell is paved with good intentions lad.

further personality building-

answer the following as your character would-
Loyalty, or Honesty?:
A: Why not both? One normally begets the other. If one is loyal, truly, to a friend they would not fear to speak ill of them. Or even to speak to others of their misdeeds. For how could you help them confront their failings otherwise?

Compassion, or Justice:
A: Justice can ring hollow. Compassion can save a life, Justice... Justice can't do that. And out here in the Desert, life is a precious thing.

Love, or Fear :
A: Love, Love, I believe, is fundamental in life. Without it, you lose understanding in many things. Love is what allows things to continue. It provides strength, after all a soldier who fights to defend what he loves is at his most powerful. Fear begets mistrust, hate... it breeds conflict. It can never create a community or family. It tears them apart.

Obedience, or free thinking:
Both have their place, however, if I must choose... Obedience. One must learn to think for themselves, this is true. However your elders have lived much longer than you, and have much more experience in this life. Their wisdom and knowledge should not be disregarded.

Pride, or Greed:
Pride, one should be proud of the work ones hands accomplish. To look upon a job well done instills one with a sense of pride, accomplishment and happiness. Be proud of a successful hunt, be proud of your wife or husband. Be proud of the life you bring into this world. But always remember, you are not inherently better than another.

Group, or Individual:
The group. Without the group, there would be no individual. It was by forming families, communities, that our weaknesses can be covered by another's strengths. An analogy if you will, a lone wolf could never survive against bear. However, a wolf pack has the strength to drive one away. After all, who will care for you when you are old and frail? Your family and community of course. A group.

What is Right?, What is wrong?
Right is hard work. Right is looking out for your fellows. Right is furthering the goals of the community as a whole. Right is making a life for yourself and your family. Right is pulling your own weight in the community. Wrong would be placing yourself above others, it is wrong to mooch of the effort of others. Wrong is trying to profit at your fellows expense. Something that hinder family or community is wrong.

Darrien enters with the cowl of his cloak up, a serious expression on his face as he paces slightly before speaking.

Ah yes, one may compare ruling a burgeoning kingdom to that of growing a garden or, perhaps more applicable, a grove. It is a rather arduous undertaking and one of no small time investment. Like a garden, a kingdom will have in it only that which you allow to grow there. It is to you in which the burden of choice lies. You decide that which you plant and cultivate, and it is you who must enforce your will and remove the weeds. It is also you who decide how the work is done. Though I find well structured and routinely kept gardens to not only grow the healthiest with the least effort, after all if you weed only after the weeds have run rampant the task is much more difficult, but to also be the nicest to gaze upon. Mixing the beauty of nature with the pleasing aesthetic of order. It is a labor long in the making, with fruit born after long hours of unrewarded effort.

He pauses for but a moment before continuing

Yet, there is little better than the feeling one gets as one stands in the sun with the breeze in their hair as they look upon the fruits of their labor. The life, and order brought by their own hands. Of course, for true success one needs knowledge. And knowledge need not be won through hardships alone. Look to your family and friends for aid. Your communities pool of knowledge. Seek an elder, who has grown many gardens, to give you the knowledge of what best grows in your land, and at what time of year. Ask the merchant which of those crops would provide the best return. Though one must take care about those they seek knowledge from, to be sure it is true knowledge. The same is it said for a kingdom, by my count. Now, I am no merchant, or silver tongued diplomat. Nor am I learned in the ways of war and military tactics. I do however, know much of the common man, or woman though a little less. I know much in the formation of a community and in strengthening those bonds. I know which crops grow well, and in which areas and when and where one should hunt what game. I would offer you my knowledge, and my aid, in maintaining your, our, this kingdom. After all, as a citizen of it, it is all my community, and I would be remiss were I to not at least offer my aid... I also am an ace shot with a bow. His serious expression slowly changes to a friendly smile as he pulls the cowl from over his head and winks as he makes the last statement.

But, enough of such serious matters, one thinks better after some physical activity and a good hearty meal! Over a good meal you can drill me of any questions you may have. Though truth be known I would rather show than tell.

Darrien was born and raised by a pair of rangers, one who worshiped Erastil another Gozreh, who had up until his birth worked to protect the small settlements in the river kingdoms. Particularly those of the harsh and unforgiving stolen lands. After Darrien's birth the two settled down to raise him and his two future siblings. It was from them he learned the ways and values of Old Deadeye and Gozreh. As he grew, he was shown how to hunt, track, and grow. However his greatest love was archery. He enjoyed the feel of the wood, the sound of the bowstring when released and he proved to be exceptional in its use. His eyes so keen they had to be blessed by Erastil himself. He would often perform reckless actions in his attempts to show off. To his fathers worry his reckless, a trait he got entirely from his mother and a fact his father never forgot to remind him, nature never seemed to temper as he aged. Also to his fathers dismay Darrien seemed to show no sign of settling down with a wife either. Though Darrien always claimed that was no real fault of his own. After all, it was important to find the right partner. Not just a partner. However, the real reason was his fancy with a fey being. A Nymph whose curiosity he had managed to capture, and affection, or at least interest, had seemingly won. He was unsure of how his parents, or at least father, would take the news and decided against speaking of it until the matter was more... set in stone.

On one of his many hunts when he was younger, he caught sight of a silver stag and had been tracking it for a couple of hours when he found it defending itself from a bear. After a few moments hesitation, he prayed to Erastil for aid and fired a couple shots into the bear, drawing its attention. To his surprise instead of fleeing the bear turned and charged him. The ensuring battle proved almost too much for Darrien, his arrows unable to bring the angry bear down before it reached him. However, battered and bloody Darrien finally managed to fell the bear. He managed to tend to the worst of his wounds using some local herbs he had gathered and calling upon Old Deadeye's aid. Afterwards, he investigated and discovered the reason the bear had been so aggressive. Two small bear cubs played in a nearby thicket. After a good bit of contemplation he sighed. Leaving them would guarantee they would not survive so he, with great effort and more than one cut, managed to get the cubs back to his small home. There, he did his best to raise them at arm length. Seeking aid from his mother and father on how best to keep them ready for life in the wild. Of course, Darrien's father berated him for acting so brashly at fist. However while skinning the bear, they discovered it had been suffering an unnatural sickness, and likely would have perished soon without Darrien's intervention. It was also likely due to this sickness that Darrien was able to survive the encounter. This caused Arden, Darrien's father, to claim that the stag Darrien saw was sent to lead him to the bear. To give the two cubs a chance at survival. This took a weight from Darrien's shoulders, who was relieved that his brashness had not caused this ordeal. And was thankful to Erastil for teaching him a lesson while being able to perform a good deed. Over the next few months, Darrien tended the cubs, even, with the help of a druid, leading them on hunts. Eventually they returned fully to the wild. With something so simple, Darrien's brashness had been tempered, and his understanding of how people, and animals, often depended upon each other to survive and grow. Afterall, his endeavor with the bear cubs would have failed were it not for his family, and the community at large(the druid's aid, and others who contributed to help feed the cubs). It was after this Darrien renewed his vows to Erastil, fully embracing the deities teachings. While out planting a small field to add credence to his words, the silver stag from those many months ago appeared and approached him. Gently placing its muzzle on the back of Darrien's left hand. There was a bright flash of green light, which caused Darrien to shut his eyes briefly and when he opened them the stag was gone and on the back of his left hand, almost as if burned into it, was the symbol of Erastil and approaching him was one of the two bear cubs he had saved.

As of today, Darrien has taken on a rather strange role for many in Erastil's grace. He wanders between towns and villages providing aid as needed, usually this is in aiding harvests, or hosting town feats to foster ties of friendship among community and strengthen the bonds thereof. Though, on occasion, he has been called to solve issues of sickness, either in the people or in animals and plants as well as to defend them. His latest journey has taken him to the town of Uringen, to find what, if any, food producing flora can be grown amidst the swamps, and to try and aid the towns sense of community despite its... flicker problem.

personality:
Darrien is a man of action more than words. He is more apt to hold a BBQ for people than tell them they are appreciated. While he is capable of speeches, he prefers to let deeds do the talking. Normally. He is protective and while helpful will never do something for another. He will show them, and teach them how. He is a bit gruff if openly friendly and amiable and while a traditionalist, as many followers of Erastil are, his views are more flexible. Though family and community are still the center piece of his faith. When troubled, he will busy himself, either with the harvesting of a recent hunt, tending to a field or garden, or in the preparation for some community event, be it a feast, fair, or contest. He enjoys walking along a bustling village street and seeing people leading happy lives or taking a stroll along a hidden forest path and taking in the beauty of it all. He holds a love and respect for animals more so than most of his fellows in faith. This however does lower his love of hunting, or well seared meat. He does however give respect to the animals he hunts, and only hunts those animals he knows would not be tending young based on the time of year.

-Full Divine support, (resist energy, delay poison, restorations, heals and all the other benefits that brings) he will be a full cleric, with at most 1 or 2 levels of dip into either fighter or ranger. His domain choices will also give him access to the fly and mass fly spells.

-Ranged DPS, his ranged damage is acceptable at this level, and will only get better as we level. (many shot/clustered shot/deadly aim) At level 14, he will likely be using his wisdom score for both to hit and damage with the longbow.

-Off tank-He also will bring a grizzly bear animal companion which will function as a mount at times and a melee fighter at others.

-Perception and nature/survival- He will have a decent know. nature and survival skill, as well as being insanely good at perception (atm he has a 19 total bonus)

-His wisdom score is sitting at 20 at the moment (thanks to +1 at 4th and a headband) so would be able to fill both Warden and (preferably) the High priest role. (example- would rather divert funds to creating natural reserve/hunting ground than say, a courthouse or some such)

He will be making use of the Divine Paragon, Theologian, and possibly the angelfire apostle archetypes for the cleric.

Theologian merely lets his AnC function at level-1, and allow him to prepare domain spells in non-domain slots from the animal(feather) domain.

Angel-fire Apostle gives the following-
At 5th level, the angelfire apostle can spend two uses of his channel energy ability to cast remove blindness/deafness or lesser restoration as a spell-like ability.

At 7th level, he can choose remove disease or remove paralysis.

At 9th level, he can choose neutralize poison.

At 11th level, he can choose breath of life.

At 13th level, he can choose heal.

At 15th level, he can choose regenerate.

At 17th level, he can choose restoration but cannot affect permanent negative levels.

At 19th level, he can choose resurrection but can affect only a target that has been dead no more than 1 round per his cleric level.

At the cost of a 1 spell per level.

In other words, slightly less resources per day for much higher flexibility.

I'm not entirely sold on the archetype though. So any thoughts would be welcome (on the larger whole, even if I am not accepted I'd be interested in peoples general thoughts on the archetype)