About Dresen Val'ZidaneCombat:
Hit Points: 10 Initiative: +5 Armor Class: 16 (18 w/ Shield) Touch AC - 15; Flatfooted - 11 Silken Ceremonial Armor (not proficient)
Weapons:
Katana* - Slashing Damage L2d6; M1d8; S1d6 Attack Bonus +5; Critical 18-20/x2; Dagger- Piercing/Slashing Damage M1d4; S1d3
Traits:
Weapon Bond (Katana - Dexterity) - Nightflier's House Rules - Mind and Spirit - Select a single simple, martial, or exotic weapon from. You are automatically proficient with this weapon, even if your class does not normally grant access to it. You feel so comfortable with the weapon, it feels like an extension of your body, personality, and intellect. You may choose an ability score other than Strength to modify your attacks and damage with the bonded weapon; consider the chosen ability score’s bonus your Strength bonus for these purposes. For example, you still gain 1 1/2 times the ability’s bonus to damage when using a two-handed weapon. You do not gain the bonus for Strength and your chosen ability when using your bonded weapon type. You gain the benefits of only one of them, and you may switch between the two as a free action. Mighty - Nightflier's House Rules - You can wield weapons up to one size category larger than normal for you without penalty. You still suffer the normal penalties for weapons above that size and for smaller ones. For example, if you are Medium, you can use a Large weapon without penalty. However, you suffer the full penalties for a Medium creature using a Huge weapon; you do not act as a Large creature using a Huge weapon. The benefits of this ability do not extend to shields. You cannot shield bash with larger shields than normal. Shadow Child - Council of Thieves - Campaign - When attacking targets in areas of dim light, you do not suffer the standard 20% miss chance on attack rolls for being in a poorly lit area. Killer - Advanced Player's Guide - Combat - You deal additional damage equal to your weapon’s critical hit modifier when you score a successful critical hit with a weapon; this additional damage is added to the final total, and is not multiplied by the critical hit multiple itself. This extra damage is a trait bonus.
Feats:
Simple Weapon Proficiency - You make attack rolls with simple weapons without penalty. Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Katana) - You make attack rolls with the katana without penalty. Weapon Focus (Katana) - You gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls you make using the selected weapon. Combat Reflexes - You may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity per round equal to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
Special Abilities:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency - A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice. A kensai is not proficient with armor or shields and suffers normal arcane spell failure chance when casting magus spells while armored. Arcane Pool - At 1st level, the magus gains a reservoir of mystical arcane energy that he can draw upon to fuel his powers and enhance his weapon. This arcane pool has a number of points equal to 1/2 his magus level (minimum 1) + his Intelligence modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the magus prepares his spells. At 1st level, a magus can expend 1 point from his arcane pool as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 1st, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon enhancement to a maximum of +5. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves. At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: dancing, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, keen, shock, shocking burst, speed, or vorpal. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's base price modifier (see the Magic Weapon Special Ability Descriptions). These properties are added to any the weapon already has, but duplicates do not stack. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided when the arcane pool point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the magus uses this ability. These bonuses do not function if the weapon is wielded by anyone other than the magus. A magus can only enhance one weapon in this way at one time. If he uses this ability again, the first use immediately ends. Spells - A magus casts arcane spells drawn from the magus spell list. A magus must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the magus must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a magus's spell is 10 + the spell level + the magus's Intelligence modifier. A magus can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see the Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells Table). A magus may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, the magus decides which spells to prepare. Spellbooks - A magus must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook except for read magic, which all magi can prepare from memory. A magus begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level magus spells plus three 1st-level magus spells of his choice. The magus also selects a number of additional 1st-level magus spells equal to his Intelligence modifier to add to his spellbook. At each new magus level, he gains two new magus spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new magus level) for his spellbook. At any time, a magus can also add spells found in other spellbooks to his own (see Arcane Spells). A magus can learn spells from a wizard's spellbook, just as a wizard can from a magus's spellbook. The spells learned must be on the magus spell list, as normal. An alchemist (see the Alchemist description) can learn formulae from a magus's spellbook, if the spells are also on the alchemist spell list. A magus cannot learn spells from an alchemist. Cantrips - A magus can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted in the table above under “Spells per Day.” These spells are cast like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again. Diminished Spellcasting - A kensai may cast one fewer spell of each level than normal. If this reduces the number to 0, he may cast spells of that level only if his Intelligence allows bonus spells of that level. Spell Combat - At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks. Canny Defense - At 1st level, when a kensai is wielding his chosen weapon, he gains the canny defense ability. This is identical to the duelist prestige class ability of the same name (Core Rulebook 382), save that his chosen weapon may be of any type. When wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a kensai adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per kensai class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a kensai is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus. Weapon Focus (Katana) - At 1st level, a kensai gains Weapon Focus with his chosen weapon as a bonus feat.
Skills:
Acrobatics +5 Appraise +5 Bluff +1 Climb +2 Diplomacy +1 Disable Device --- Disguise +1 Escape Artist +5 Fly +5 Handle Animal --- Heal +2 Intimidate +5 Knowledge (Arcana) +9 Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +9 Knowledge (Planes) +9 Linguistics +6 Perception +4 Ride +5 Sense Motive +2 Sleight of Hand --- Spellcraft +9 Stealth +6 Survival +2 Swim +2 Use Magic Device +5 *note* Favored Class: Magus - Skill Point
Equipment:
Pathfinder's Kit Belt Pouch x3 Explorer's Outfit Chalk x5 Silk Rope (50') Weapon Cord Other Notes:
* = Deadly: When this weapon delivers a coup de grace, it gains +4 to damage when calculating the DC of the Fortitude saving throw to see whether the target of the coup de grace dies from the attack. The bonus is not added to the actual damage of the coup de grace attack. Background:
One of the first things that I shall explain is the one that a lot of races do not understand. Our hierarchy is matriarchal. Drow females are supposed to be stronger and more powerful than the males. Drow males are treated more as servants than people and are there to do the bidding of the females. The highest-ranking male is still lower than the lowest ranked female. Marriage as such does not exist. The matrons often have more than one patron, but only one is the current patron at any given time. When they are no longer needed they are either sacrificed or put to work within the house. Other females may take, then discard, males when they please. Males are treated with contempt because this is how drow females are taught to treat them from birth and this tutoring only continues when they enter into training. As far as birthing goes, drow matrons are famous for multiple pregnancies. However they almost never result in multiple births. This is because ferocity is ingrained into the genetic code of drow DNA. In the womb, fetuses will fight until only the strongest survives. This war within the body results in a type of euphoria for the mother that can sometimes last as long as the pregnancy itself. At birth male infants are almost always put to death unless they exhibit some sort of innate potential. I was one such case. My memory has always been vivid even before I am supposed to have memories. When I sleep I dream of the womb and the fetal brethren that were defeated and absorbed into myself. I take pride in their deaths for their sacrifices have strengthened me. Born to Aranae Val'Zidane, the Matron of now-defunct House Val'Zidane and one of her elite guard, my birth was heralded as a blessing from the gods for my mother. When my abilities began to manifest some years later and word spread of my nobility, assassins were dispatched to kill Aranae and myself. We tried to fight them off. The guard who was my patron was not strong enough to survive the onslaught and perished in a pool of his own lifeblood. I took up his sword, a large drowcraft blade whose edge I have yet to find an equal for, and fought for the survival of my house. It was all in vain though as the assassins overwhelmed us. To ensure my escape, my mother sacrificed herself. It was the first true sacrifice anyone had ever made for me and it opened my eyes to the lies of our culture. House Val'Zidane fell that day and I fled the city taking with me the blade of my father and the love of my mother. My destination was Harrowspire. From childhood, I'd heard stories of the Fighting Society of Harrowspire. My initial arrival was met with the High Commadant's refusal of my entry. I had to kill fourteen of his best students as proof of my worth. Accepted into Harrowspire my quest for enlightenment began. I took up training with my father's blade whom I named 'Aranae' in honor of my mother. My training consisted of both might and magic, and I dedicated myself to the blade and it dedicated itself to me. After 70 years training at Harrowspire and becoming one of the most feared fighters at the Society, Lissala's blessing came to me in the form of an envoy from House Shynklyr in Blackstrand. Seeing beyond my gender I was hired on for my skill, but only after passing the test of the Shynklyr envoy's leader. I passed the test and returned to Blackstrand as a Web Marshall, the title once held by the recently deceased captain of Shynklyr security. I served there for another twenty years until the night that damned wizard botched his own bloody spell and summoned a demon into the house of Shurdriira Shynklyr. The demon nearly killed the Matron's daughter, Elaugvyr, but fortunately for the young girl, her brother intervened summoning into existence an ability I had only ever heard of - the power of psicraft. But the damage had been done. The girl was somehow corrupted with what I can only assume to be the
It has been seven years since that day.
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