Deacon Ridley's page

Blessed by Dreams 1/1
Focused Trance 3/3

Once, “Handsome Ridley” was one of Gate Pass’s criminals of class, equal parts forger, fence, con artist and burglar of opportunity. He chose his crimes carefully, preferring the sort of crimes that left no evidence, and targeting the sort of marks who would not readily report on him—fellow, less scrupulous thieves, or even the occasional Inquisitor—and, as a result, ran into little friction with the law, even if he was not well-loved within the Thieves’ Guild. Talented, cunning, and highly skilled at fast-talking, Ridley was a true up-and-comer.

And then he found the heist that would earn him the reputation he sought as one of Gate’s Pass’s master thieves—a job that would earn him enough to retire, if he so wanted. Foreign dignitaries, visiting from ___, had brought with them a valuable relic that was now stored in one of many vaults below the Gate’s Pass Temple of Sarenrae. There was talk of a story, which he ignored, and a curse, which he laughed at, since far more important was the nature of the relic in question: a ruby half the size of a halfling fist. Even the unscrupulous Handsome Ridley would have felt somewhat uneasy robbing a church—but, as he reasoned, anything with a curse that well-known didn’t belong in a temple of the light, and he’d be doing everyone a favor by selling it to someone who probably deserved a curse.

The temple was known for its compassion, but not its guards, and Ridley found an easy way in with a few small lies. A spare change of clothes and a few locks later, and… the next morning, two monks on cleaning duty found a catatonic halfling, his hands clutched around a giant ruby, muttering an endless stream of prayers in Celestial.

But the Church of Sarenrae was compassionate, and instead of turning Ridley over to the authorities to lose a hand, they moved him to the temple’s recovery wing, selling his masterwork tools and fancy equipment to help pay for his care. Overall, it took months for Ridley to regain consciousness, and when he did, atrophy had taken its toll—he could no longer run, jump, dodge or pick pockets like he had before. But something had come back with him from the place of madness: a magically-strengthened sense of conscience, perhaps, an audible voice in the back of the head that told him right from wrong, and caused him pain and discomfort if he ignored it.

Ridley’s career as a thief was over; stealing and deception caused him real pain, and with his skills far from honed, he found little work of any sort. Reluctantly, he returned to the Church of Sarenrae, where he was given food, robes, a blanket, and menial work tending to the poor and sick. Ridley had always been proud of his lack of conscience as a thief, but now, participating in altruistic acts, he found the angry voice in his head calmed, and changed, giving him access to magical talent he never knew he had. Since then, he has strengthened his connection to the divine, finding that it comes from a place of kindness and heroism he had never much cared for before.

Now, in service of his church, Ridley has become a rather more valuable agent. His magical knack has paid off in healers’ wards, and his old skills have slowly begun to return to him; with the increasing trust of his religious superiors, he’s become a bit of a temple agent, gathering information and providing helpful points of advice and persuasion throughout the city.

Ridley Applewood, Junior Deacon of the Church of Sarenrae, is something of a creature of two minds, striving for balance between his old habits and a voice in his head that tells him to amend them. The first voice is Ridley himself, equal parts unassuming penitent and charming knave. In his old traveling cloak, small and slender even for a halfling, he lurks in the shadows of thieves’ haunts, gathering information on the pulse of the city; in inns and boarding houses, he does what he can to wheedle plans and secrets out of visiting inquisitors; but most often, wearing simple robes of his order, he visits the city’s jails and slums, bringing what food, comforting words, and legal aid he can to the poor and unjustly-imprisoned. When he talks for long enough, he falls into the comfortable patter of an expert swindler, quick to flatter, lie, or tell bawdy jokes—but there’s a nagging voice in the back of his head that keeps him from acting on his old instincts when an easy mark or exposed jewel passes by.

That voice in the back of his head has earned a number of nicknames from Ridley, from “The Angel of Buzzkill” to “Our Lady Wet Blanket,” but he’s begun to accept it for what it is: less deific influence or angelic possession, more of simply an overdeveloped conscience. The more he acts on his sense of conscience, the less annoyance it causes him, but no matter where he goes and what he does, the former thief finds a stream of thoughts in the back of his mind pointing out the injustice and pain around him, and the little things he can do to alleviate them. While he wouldn’t consider it a gift, his conscience has gradually become less of a burden; and, more recently, Ridley has learned that by indulging his compassionate side, he’s opened up a part of his mind he never knew existed, one with its own special talent for healing and protective magic.

Normally, it is Ridley who does the talking, listening to his conscience for reluctant advice, but more and more frequently anticipating its goals and opinions. When he or others are threatened with violence, however, the magical sense of justice takes over, and Ridley finds himself babbling uncontrollably as an avenging force within himself engages in both healing and violence with more enthusiasm than he ever found in his previous career.

(I expect Ridley’s former alignment/natural inclinations to be something like TN/CN, with a LN voice in his head acting as something of a phantom paladin keeping him in check. I don’t plan on actually acting out both voices, but Ridley will be wracked with some amount of pain or general unease any time he suggests or acts out wantonly lawless or cruel behavior—and I see the two “halves” as fitting neatly with sides of a gestalt)

-Jack of all trades, master of none, with excellent switch-hitter capabilities
-Oracle + channeling for full divine caster and decent healing
-Awesome at many skills, a very limited number of times per day (with future Glory/Heroism domain and current revelation, large but infrequent bonuses to all Int- and Cha- skills)
-Unchained Rogue + future talents and possible dips focusing on single-target no-save debuffs, with some melee DPS
-Lore Spirit Summoner/Lore Oracle allow casting of any spells from wizard list, but only a very limited number
-Decent utility/crowd control summoner (with future Sacred Summons/Summon Good Monster), though not as strong as a real summoner
-Good at siege weapon targeting, if that ever becomes necessary in “epic battles"

-The moral compass of a Paladin, without any pesky need to tell the truth
-Equal parts BMX Biker and Angel Summoner!

Feats:
Blessed by Dreams (Campaign Bonus) (1/day re-roll save by self or 30-ft ally and take better)
Extra Revelation: Focused Trance
Weapon Finesse (Rogue Bonus)

Traits:
Trap Finder (+1 Disable Device, class skill, can disarm magical traps—this is here mostly for story)
Reactionary (+2 Init)
Illuminator (+2 Diplomacy)

Drawback:
Pride (-2 on Diplomacy, Sense Motive when insulted)

18 points (Rogue 8, Int 2, Background 2, Campaign 2, Birthday Bonus 4)
*Denotes class skill

*Acrobatics +4 (1 rank, -3 ACP)
*Appraise +8 (3 background ranks)
*Bluff +10 (3 ranks, +1 class)
*Climb
*Craft (jewelry) +8 (3 campaign ranks)
*Craft (locks) +6 (1 rank)
*Diplomacy +14 (3 ranks, +2 trait, +2 enhanced diplomacy, +1 class)
*Disable Device +11 (3 ranks, +1 trait, must remove armor first, only detonates below DC-10)
*Disguise +8 (2 ranks)
*Escape Artist
*Heal
*Intimidate +5/+7 out of combat (2 ranks, -4 size, +2 enhanced diplomacy)
*Knowledge (arcana)
*Knowledge (dungeoneering)
*Knowledge (engineering)
*Knowledge (geography) +6 (1 rank)
*Knowledge (history)
*Knowledge (local) +6 (1 rank)
*Knowledge (nature) +6 (1 rank)
*Knowledge (nobility)
*Knowledge (planes)
*Knowledge (religion) +7 (2 ranks)
*Linguistics
*Perception +10 (3 ranks, +2 racial)
*Perform (acting) +9 (3 campaign ranks)
*Sense Motive +8 (3 ranks)
*Sleight of Hand +6 (3 background ranks, -3 ACP)
*Spellcraft +6 (1 rank)
*Stealth +8 (8 ranks, +4 size, -3 ACP)
*Swim
*Use Magic Device +9 (3 ranks)

Languages:
Common
Halfling
Elven
Read Lips
Celestial

500 gp?

Masterwork Chain Shirt (+4 AC, +4 Max Dex, -3 ACP) (60 gp)
Thieves’ Tools (30 gp)
Light Wooden Shield (+5 Shield AC, -1 ACP) (3 gp)
Artisan’s Tools, Jewelry Forger’s (5)
Artisan’s Tools, Locksmithing (5)
Dagger (2 gp)
Rapier (20 gp)
Sap (1 gp)
Halfling Keepsake: Vital Cup

Cures: Tongues
-May only speak/understand Celestial in battle

Revelations:
-Focused Trance (+20 to Int skill, Cha/day)
-Two Minds (+2 to Will vs enchantment, will eventually give will re-rolls)

Bravado’s Blade: Forego 1d6 sneak attack damage for free intimidate

Sneak Attack +1d6

Halfling:
Skulker (+1 to hit vs enemies denied Dex to AC)
Fleet of Foot (30’ base speed)
Keen Senses (+2 Perception)
Halfling Luck (+1 racial bonus to all saves)

-Possible dip on rogue side into either mesmerist (for proficiencies, psychic skill unlocks, stares and tricks) or brawler/fighter (for BAB and combat feats)
-Maybe Outslug Style? TWFeint?
-Sacred Summons + Expanded Summon OR Summon Good Monster for angel-summoning goodness at higher levels

Level 4: Combat Expertise
Level 4 Talent: Weapon Focus
Level 5: Two-Weapon Feint
Level 6: Summon Good Monster
Level 6 Talent: Outslug Style (via ninja)
Level 7: None
Level 8: Improved TWF
Level 8/Ftr 1: Two-Weapon Feint
Level 9: Lunge
Level 9/Rg 8 Talent: Outslug Weave (via ninja)
Level 10: Sacred Summons