About Dervin OskanderTrait Magical Talent: Acid Splash (1d3)
HP 15
FORT 0
Morningstar +0(1d8+0/x2)
+8 // Acrobatics (+4 DEX, +1 Rank, +3 Class Skill)
Leather Armor, Cloak, Belt & Pouches, 2x Waterskins, Signal Whistle, Backpack, 3x Sacks, 3x Vials, Chalk, 2x Scroll Tubes, Crowbar, 50ft Silk Rope, 5x Pitons, Hammer, Entertainer’s Outfit, Travelers Outfit. Spell Component Pouch, Spellbook, 1x Tanglefoot Bag, 2x Acid Flask, 1x Antitoxin, Thieves Tools, Disguise Kit. 3gp
Alchemist - Can make 1x Bomb per day (20ft range) +5 to hit(1d6 dam)
Dervin was raised well-to-do, the only child of the owners of one of only two mills in the Nirmathan border city of Skeldt. Dervin never showed an abundance of good decision making growing up, but was quick on his feet to run when trouble came up, and always seemed to have the right words on his tongue to charm or cajole others into giving him what he wanted. Dervin never really wanted for anything, really, and was thus convinced his was a charmed life, that he was destined for greatness. The needs of the Nirmathan war for independence from Molthune eventually reached as far as the folk of Skeldt, and Dervin’s father geared up and left for war, tussling his son’s curly blonde hair as he departed. Not long after, some wounded veterans came rolling in, trying to pick up the pieces of their lives now that could no longer serve. Dervin hung on their every tale, longing for the day he came of age and could start his own famous life. His mother, in the meantime, tried her best running the mill, and soon forced young Dervin to help out; managing the place and the workers was a task quite beyond her meager homemaker abilities. Dervin bucked and chaffed at his duties, felt it demeaning to have to work at something, instead daydreamed of glory, and sought an escape whenever possible to hear the veterans talk. The year before Dervin’s maturity by Nirmathan standards, bad news came to Skeldt. Dervin’s father had died in one of the last engagements of the war. His mother wailed in misery. But all Dervin could focus on was the fates robbing him of his chance to make his mark as a war hero. Embittered, Dervin now treated those veterans he idolized before with barely concealed jealousy. The day marched on, and Dervin's distraction with not putting a full effort behind his work, his shortcuts and inattention to detail causes his mother to take on more and more responsibilities with the mill, which leads to her accidental death. Not recognizing his own measure or guilt in that, she was barely in the ground when he sold the mill and used the resulting substantial amount to leave, attempting to bribe his way into the Korvosan Academae through a contact that visited Skeldt, Tamalius Arkona, who presented himself as the son of Glorio Arkona, one of the best-connected families in the city. Dervin had determined that since he could not come to fame as a war hero, instead he would learn magic, he figured the Korvosan Academae was the closest and most famous place to learn, his smarts and gold were all he needed to get his life rolling. Tamalius even taught his a rudimentary cantrip. It was a scheme, “Tamalius” was a con man with no relation to Glorio Arkona, and in fact, the Academae requires no sponsorships for enrollment, no fees at all. It was all a ruse to rob Dervin. Thinking he was a, “made man,” Dervin arrived in Korvosa, demanding entry to the Academae based on his sponsorship. The teifling guards denied entrance. Tephestus Killgore, an instructor at the Academae, was exiting the facility at this time and was accosted by Dervin, who again demanded entrance based on his sponsorship. Tephestus set down his bag, and gave Dervin the beat down of his life, gleefully pointing out with every fist that the Academae had achieved its quotient of applications this year and was closed, but, “please come back sometime and make the same demand of me again!” Humiliated and alone, Dervin found his bought and paid for sponsor suddenly wanted nothing to do with him and he discovered that in Korvosa, the respect & standing he thought his coin bought him was merely a temporary farce to part him of that same coin. Almost penniless, with no friends, no desire to get back to Skeldt even if he wanted to or was welcome there anymore, Dervin turned to a life of freelance crime to earn what he can -- plying the Shingles and streets, the alleys, sewers and rooftops; earning, stealing, finding, scraping together what he could by guise, hook or crook. Learning more about where exactly he was now, and the death rate of Academae students, Dervin has no desire to enter the school anymore, and seeks some other way… Occasionally, his magnetism and easy gift for barbed words found him some meager earnings at various open-night playhouses, his satirical wit spearing some of the more disliked among Korvosan elites and the unpopular public policies.. Longing for respect and admiration, Dervin will occasionally lie that he once was an Academae wizard, now cursed with reduced mystical abilities due to the jealousy of senior Academae Administrators. They tried to kill him, to bind him, but he barely escaped their grasp; the only reason he lives this way now is to escape their scrutiny. He will flash a tattoo he got, claiming it is mystic and prevents, "users of the arts," from scrying his location. He found temporary respite for his woes with Esla Dollinger, a trollop that soon was found dead. Dervin was taken to ID the body only to discover a gift he had given her was the only thing stolen off her body. Some searching in the barter shops revealed the stolen ring was connected to Gaedren Lamm, a noted underworld criminal. FIVE POINTS:
1 Convinced of his own greatness. 2 Blames others and the fates instead of his own actions. 3 Despite showing outward pride, secretly digs through mud for coppers. 4 Holds grudges. 5 Gave up on any family connection. TWO GOALS:
1 Epiphany that one must work for what one wants. 2 Epiphany that happiness is a decision, not a condition to strive to achieve. TWO SECRETS:
1 (He knows) The ring he gave Esla Dollinger was actually stolen from an instructor at the Academae while Dervin was being beaten by that same instructor. 2. (He does not know) Tamalius Arkona was a con man’s alias, Glorio Arkona has no son by that name. 2 (He does not know) The reports of his father’s death are wrong, his father was wounded and is amnesiac, may eventually recover. TIED TO THE PC:
1 Tephastus Killgore (Enemy. Academae Instructor who beat down an insolent Dervin near the steps of the Academae, who is starting to wonder where that durn ring went...) 2 Gingi Doorsa (Honor. Room mate and best friend of the late Esla, she is manipulative and guilt-tripping Dervin into finding Esla’s murderer.) 3 Klaathaan (Sorta Enemy. An imp Dervin bumped into on the rooftops in the Shingles, Klaathaan took an immediate dislike and cause Dervin to plummet, with only dumb luck saving his life in the fall. Dervin does not realize it, but the imp is treating finding Dervin like a hide and seek game, hoping to run into him on the roofs again for more fun.) 4 ”Tamalius Arkona” (Revenge. Dervin blames who he thinks is the son of Glorio Arkona for his social and financial downfall since arriving at Korvosa, in fact, it was a con man (DM fiat if this comes back).) FLAWS:
1 Prone to poor decisions. 2 Not willing to work hard/seeks shortcuts. 3 Practically ignored his mother’s needs after his father left for war. FEARS:
Dervin really is an almost heartless coward that yearns to be famous and adored by the public, his biggest fear is to die without anyone knowing who he was, to shake his mortal coil anonymously, alone, in the dark, forgotten by all.. |
