'Dean' Ninian Beard's page

N. Beard stands about 5'10" and weighs in at around 170 lbs. His hair is prematurely gray, although it appears to have once been black. His skin is pale, not from heritage, but because he looks to never get outside in the sun. If he were to spend any significant time outdoors his skin would become very dark like any other Varisian. When he walks, it is with a profound limp, which gets worse when he tries to walk fast. When he runs, however, it is like he never had any injury, and can easily overtake any other man, or even some barbarians. He carries a long, black oak cane to help him along, but really this cane is a weapon which he can use to bludgeon any enemy, and it has a long rapier hidden inside which can be drawn out with a twist. He wears a loose suit, reinforced with boiled leather plates and studded leather pieces to protect his vital areas. His long jacket has a built in protective cape along the left arm that he will grab up and use as a shield during a fight. Sometimes he wears a a top hat, but usually just lets his long, grey hair flow or holds it in a loose windknot.

...excerpt from the Sandpoint Weekly Examiner...and they pulled the body of the mass murderer known as the Chopper from the wreckage of the... local boy, Ninian Beard was found in the basement of [blurred ink], an artisan who had an eccentric habit of.... young Beard was taken to, interestingly enough, to Rouno Dekstraud, a priest of Cayden Caileen who miraculously saved young Ninian's life even though he may never be able to walk again....end

Ninian was able to walk again, thanks to Mr. Deksraud's healing magic and the will of Cayden Caileen. From then on, the orphan spent most of his time in the Caileen temple, learning the tenets and keeping things clean. He was nicknamed "Dean" because he was at his college more than the real dean. What was he doing? Something wasn't right about the Chopper incident, and the fire soon after. In his mind, the two tragedies were to close together to be mere coincidence in this relatively troubled town.

He has had to work odd jobs to pay for his schooling, and the most profitable one was treasure hunter. He would take a commission to research some kind of archeological artifact on Varisia, hire a team, then go out and find it. Of course, he needed to develop some martial abilities to survive, and that he did.

Sword Cane

From the D & D Arms and Equipment Guide
Bolt, Tumbling: A tumbling bolt resembles a stan- dard crossbow bolt except for a few minuscule holes and vents along the shaft. A channel allows air to pass through the bolt, which causes the bolt to tumble when fired. The bolt deals +2 damage but only has one-half its normal range increment due to the way the projectile moves through the air. 5gp

From the Ultimate Equipment Guide Vol. 2
Dueling Cape
Though it is not uncommon for people to go armed at all times, carrying about armour or a shield is a different story. For the individual who wants an alternative to his trusty shield, there is the dueling cape. Constructed of heavy velvet and shot through with hundreds of metal threads, the dueling cape is a stouter garment than it seems. It drapes from the neck of the wearer, hanging down his back. Generally, the left side of a dueling cape is longer than the right, hanging all the way to the level of the wearer’s knees, while the right side drapes only to his waist (on a left-handed wearer, this is reversed). If the wearer of the dueling cape finds himself in combat, he may, as a move action, grab the lower corner of his cape and wrap the slack around his arm. The heavy material of the cape acts as an impromptu
buckler, increasing the armour class of the wearer by one for as long as the cape holds out. As sturdy as the cape’s construction is, it is not truly armour and will almost surely be destroyed in a protracted battle. Any blow that strikes the dueling cape (that is, any blow that would have hit the cape’s wearer if not for the cape) deals its damage directly to the cape itself. A dueling cape has a hardness of 5 and 5 hit points. Once the cape’s hit points are gone, it is too badly damaged to continue functioning as a buckler. Though the dueling cape can be repaired with a needle and thread, it is impossible to repair the damage of a fight without the repairs being obvious, unless magic is used. For that reason, many people prefer to simply buy a new cape.
Dueling Cape: 45 gp; 4 lb.

Travel Domain
Deities: Abadar, Cayden Cailean, Desna. Granted Powers: You are an explorer and find
enlightenment in the simple joy of travel, be it by foot or conveyance or magic. Increase your base speed by 10 feet.
Agile Feet (Su): As a free action, you can gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take any penalties for moving through it. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Dimensional Hop (Sp): At 8th level, you can teleport up to 10 feet per cleric level per day as a move action. This teleportation must be used in 5-foot increments and such movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You must have line of sight to your destination to use this ability. You can bring other willing creatures with you, but you must expend an equal amount of distance for each creature brought.