About Talia RensongEvery day I'm soldiering:
With deep red sour ale, or even some camaraderie-engendering misadventures, Talia Rensong might open up to you about her background - but such things are impossible to obtain here in Branderscar. Let's suppose you know a few things anyway. Talia had joined the military as a means by which to advance her family in Talirean society, and turned out to be a rather capable soldier, not exceptional but running roughly in the middle of the pack (thanks in part to some innate magical talent). She had seen some people advanced over others, and while for the most part these were meritorious choices, in more than a few cases it was obvious that familial connections paved the way more than aptitude. This had always irked her somewhat, though never so much as when Farr became her commander. Wendell Farr was the son of some merchant-turned-politician in Talingarde; he was soft-handed, soft-bellied, and soft-headed. He couldn't read a map, had no nose for tracks, stuttered giving orders, and ultimately displayed no capacity for tactics or logistics whatsoever.
Commander Farr's inability to lead was aggravating during training, but really came to a head on a week-long excursion to root out an organization of bandits. Talia knew she and the rest were doomed from the get-go and therefore, resolved to avoid death by (Wendell's) stupidity, began plotting a way to escape. Sure enough, the bandits had easily caught wind of their unit as Farr forged an aimlessly winding path through their territory, and had subsequently executed a successful ambush that left her entire unit utterly eviscerated - save for Talia, who had escaped in the midst of the fighting. She traversed the wilds of Talingarde for two days alone, judiciously avoiding both patrolling monsters and deadly hazards. When she finally, blessedly made it back to the garrison, she gave a silent thanks to Mitra - and was subsequently charged with desertion and taken in chains. She'd concocted an alibi during her return, and trusted that, barring any other witnesses, it would set her free and clear her name. However, Wendell's father had stormed in an emotional rage around the magistrate's office, decrying "the lies of a tiefling who cost him his son," and her own explanation thereafter seemed feeble and excusatory in comparison. The trial did not last long, and did not end in her favor. Tenkirk and Smiley Tawd:
Talia has just finished a 10-day journey being transported via barred wagon across the countryside to Branderscar. Talia always believed someone should follow a personal code, and all her life had believed in the principles of Talingarde, perhaps foolishly. But now, seeing the land from behind bars and having nothing to do but mull over her impending and quite legal execution, she sees that the golden principles this land claims to defend is nothing more than thin gilding, especially for people like her. Over the past days, she has bitterly begun to recall how so many fellow soldiers and "friends" didn't speak up for her; how the magistrate acquiesced to a flimsy argument based on his own racist assumptions; how the system abuses, has abused, and continues to abuse certain social elements in general; and how the so-called Holy Church of Mitra does nothing about any of these injustices. These nascent feelings only grew after she was shunted from one jail to another on her way down to Branderscar, surrounded by other downtrodden members of society; they had in turns echoed and reinforced her developing resentment for the current state of affairs in Talingarde.
In one such makeshift lockup in Tenkirk just south of Ghastenhall, she'd listened to Smiley Tawd, a fellow incarcerated tiefling and political prisoner incarcerated for trying to convince others of the wisdom of a new, more fair and representative government; he had been arrested for merely outlining a method by which tieflings and others might find fairer restitution and justice in Talingarde, but had been shouted down by the "good" citizens who had later kicked him and pelted him with food as the guards dragged him off. He wasn't bound for the Scar, though - he'd pissed off some local magistrate who was determined to get his pound of flesh personally. Even then, she was still holding on to some semblance of faith the morning that she'd heard - though had not been permitted to see - Tawd forcibly taken out of his cell and brought to the headsman's block. And though he'd tearfully begged for mercy and shouted for real justice, she'd somehow still made out the whisper of the heavy axe falling heedlessly, and in the sudden silence that followed, a piece of Talia's soul broke off. In that moment, all the stress and rage and fear welled up and reached a tipping point. She swore an oath of retributive vengeance against the monarchical and ecclesiastical regime, should she ever escape her guards. No such opportunity availed her before they reached Branderscar, however, and as for Doom approaches, both her desperation and the depths to which she will sink to extract her revenge grow. Characterization, Motivation, and Possible Arc:
Talia Rensong is carrying a strong personal vendetta against the church of Mitra and the government of Talingarde, and should she escape Branderscar, she will seek to wage something of a righteous "holy/unholy war" against those edifices. I don’t know what her arc will be, but I’m sure it will involve the themes of righteous indignation and how small systemic weaknesses (a spoiled son of a politician achieves a position he didn’t earn, the presumption of guilt for a racial group) can backfire and spark into a growing threat to the system itself. Talia and Asmodeus:
Heverly wrote: "Why? That wouldn't be a problem for you, would it?" "Not at all." Talia punctuates her curt response with a scowl. In all truth, she'd grown up hearing horror stories and theological propaganda vilifying Asmodeus and his cults, and even now she remained uncomfortable with the thought of devil worship. But if so many of the other things she'd been raised believing had been false, why not this as well? Name: Talia Rensong
Initiative: +3
--- RACIAL FEATURES ---
Fiendish Resistance: Have resist 7 cold, electricity, and fire. Smite Good (repl. Spell-Like Ability and Fiendish Sorcery): Once per day, you can smite a good-aligned creature. As a swift action, choose one target within sight to smite. If the target is good, you add (CHA mod) to attack rolls against the target, and gain a bonus on damage rolls against the target equal to your number of HD. This effect lasts until the first time you successfully hit your target. Pass for Human (repl. Type and Subtype, and modifies Starting and Bonus Languages): You don't need to succeed at a Disguise check to appear to be human, and you count as humanoid (human) as well as outsider (native) for all purposes (e.g. humanoid-affecting spells like Charm Person or Enlarge Person). You do not automatically gain your associated outsider language, but you may select it as a bonus language if your INT score is high enough. You also may not select other racial traits that would grant you obviously fiendish features (e.g. fiendish sprinter, maw or claw, prehensile tail, scaled skin, or vestigial wings alternate racial traits from the ARG). --- ATTRIBUTES ---
--- DEFENSE ---
--- OFFENSE ---
--- MODIFIED SKILLS ---
--- TRAITS and DRAWBACKS ---
Desertion (Campaign):
Gain a bonus skill point per level that must be spent on the Profession (soldier) skill, and Profession (soldier) is always a class skill for you.
Unscathed (Basic: Magic):
Each type of energy resistance you have (if any) increases by 2 points. --- FEATS ---
Opening Volley:
Whenever you deal damage with a ranged attack, gain a +4 circumstance bonus on the next melee attack roll you make against that opponent before the end of your next turn. --- CLASS FEATURES ---
Elemental Focus:
Choose one primary element on which to focus. This element determines how you access the raw power of the Ethereal Plane, and grants you access to specific wild talents and additional class skills. You gain your selected element's basic utility wild talent as a bonus wild talent. Wild Talents:
You can use wild talents - magical abilities similar to spells but drawn from your innate psychic talent, usable at will. They are typically spell-like abilities (though some are supernatural), and take a standard action to use unless otherwise noted. A wild talent always has the elemental descriptor(s) matching its Element entry. A wild talent that can be used with any of several elements gains the appropriate elemental descriptor when used with an element. Every wild talent has an effective spell level. You can always select 1st-level wild talents, but any others may be selected only if your kineticist level is at least double the wild talent's effective spell level. Kinetic Blast and Defense wild talents are always considered to have an effective spell level of half your class level (to a max. effective spell level of 9th at kineticist level 18th). Unless otherwise noted, the DC to save against a wild talent is (10 + wild talent's effective spell level + your CON mod). You use your CON mod for all concentration checks for wild talents. In addition to the wild talents you gain from your other class features, at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you select a new utility wild talent from the list of options available to you. You can select only universal wild talents or those that match your element. At 6th, 10th, and 16th levels, you can replace one of your utility wild talents with another wild talent of the same level or lower. You can't replace a wild talent that you used to qualify for another of your wild talents. Burn:
You can overexert yourself to channel more power than normal, pushing past the limit of what is safe for your body by accepting burn. Some of your wild talents allow you to accept burn in exchange for a greater effect, while others require you to accept a certain amount of burn to use that talent at all. For each point of burn you accept, you take 1 point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage can't be healed by any means other than getting a full night's rest, which removes all burn and associated nonlethal damage. Nonlethal damage from burn can't be reduced or redirected, and a kineticist incapable of taking nonlethal damage can't accept burn. You can accept only 1 point of burn per round (2 per round at 6th level, and +1 per round every 3 levels thereafter). You can't choose to accept burn if it would put your total number of points of burn higher than (3 + CON mod), though you can be forced to accept more burn from a source outside your control. If you have accepted burn, you never benefit from abilities that allow you to ignore or alter the effects you receive from nonlethal damage. Kinetic Blast:
Gain a kinetic blast wild talent of your choice; it must be a simple blast matching your element. As a standard action, you can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 ft. You must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage if you have no hands). All damage from a kinetic blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing DR. Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. You are never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions), and you can't use Vital Strike feats with kinetic blasts. Even the weakest kinetic blast involves a sizable mass of elemental matter or energy, so kinetic blasts always deal full damage to swarms of any size (though only area blasts deal extra damage to swarms). A readied kinetic blast can be used to counterspell any spell of equal or lower level that shares its descriptor. A kinetic blast that deals energy damage of any type (including force) has the corresponding descriptor. Gather Power:
If you have both hands free (or all of your prehensile appendages free), you can gather energy or elemental matter as a move action. Gathering power creates an extremely loud, visible display in a 20-ft. radius centered on you, as the energy or matter swirls around you. Gathering power in this way allows you to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent you use in the same round by 1 point. You can instead gather power for 1 full round in order to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent used on your next turn by 2 points (to a minimum of 0 points). If you do so, you can also gather power as a move action during your next turn to reduce the burn cost by a total of 3 points. If you take damage during or after gathering power and before using the kinetic blast that releases it, you must succeed at a concentration check (DC 10 + damage taken + effective spell level of your kinetic blast) or lose the energy in a wild surge that forces you to accept a number of points of burn equal to the number of points by which your gathered power would have reduced the burn cost. This ability can never reduce the burn cost of a wild talent below 0 points. Infusion:
Gain an infusion wild talent from the list of options available based on your elemental focus. Gain additional infusions at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, and 19th levels. By using infusions along with your kinetic blasts, you can alter your kinetic blasts to suit your needs. Infusions come in two types, each of which changes a kinetic blast differently: a substance infusion causes an additional effect, while a form infusion causes it to manifest in a different way. Each infusion can alter only certain kinds of kinetic blasts, which are listed in its Associated Blasts entry. Each time you use one of your kinetic blast wild talents, you can apply up to one associated form infusion and up to one associated substance infusion. Some infusions change the action required to activate a kinetic blast or entirely transform the kinetic blast's normal effects. The burn cost listed in each infusion's Burn entry is added to the burn cost of the kinetic blast the infusion modifies. The DC for a save against an infusion is based on the associated kinetic blast's effective spell level, not the level of the infusion. The DCs for form infusions are calculated using your DEX mod instead of your CON mod. When you modify a kinetic blast with a form infusion and a substance infusion that both require saving throws, each target first attempts a saving throw against the form infusion. If a target succeeds and a successful save negates the infusion's effects, the entire kinetic blast is negated; otherwise, the target then attempts a saving throw against the substance infusion. If your form and substance infusions both alter the kinetic blast's damage, apply the substance infusion's alteration first. At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, you can replace one of your infusions with another infusion of the same effective spell level or lower. You can't replace an infusion that you used to qualify for another of your wild talents. Burn:
You can take up to 1 point of burn per round. Infusion:
Gain 1 infusion wild talent from the list of options available based on your elemental focus. Earth Blast (burn 0):
You shape earth into clumps or shards and send them flying at a foe. This is a simple physical blast dealing 1d6+1+(CON mod) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. Basic Geokinesis (burn 0):
You can move up to 5 pounds per kineticist level of rocks, loose earth, sand, clay, and other similar materials up to 15' as a move action. You can search earthen and stone areas from a distance as if using the Sift cantrip. Kinetic Blade (burn 1) (form infusion):
You form a weapon using your kinetic abilities. You create a non-reach, light or one-handed weapon in your hand formed of pure energy or elemental matter. (If you’re a telekineticist, you instead transfer the power of your kinetic blast to any object held in one hand.) The kinetic blade’s shape is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the damage dice, critical threat range, or critical multiplier of the kinetic blade, nor does it grant the kinetic blade any weapon special features. The object held by a telekineticist for this form infusion doesn’t prevent her from using gather power. You can use this form infusion once as part of an attack action, a charge action, or a full-attack action in order to make melee attacks with your kinetic blade. Since it’s part of another action (and isn’t an action itself), using this wild talent doesn’t provoke any additional attacks of opportunity. The kinetic blade deals your kinetic blast damage on each hit (applying any modifiers to your kinetic blast’s damage as normal, but not your Strength modifier). The blade disappears at the end of your turn. The weapon deals the same damage type that your kinetic blast deals, and it interacts with Armor Class and spell resistance as normal for a blast of its type. Even if a telekineticist uses this power on a magic weapon or another unusual object, the attack doesn’t use any of the magic weapon’s bonuses or effects and simply deals the telekineticist’s blast damage. The kinetic blade doesn’t add the damage bonus from elemental overflow. Elemental Whispers:
You form a friendship with a fragment of your element. The element speaks back to you empathically, like a familiar. Pick a type of creature usually allowed as a familiar when you gain this wild talent. You gain the Alertness feat and the special abilities granted by a familiar of that type. As a standard action, you can give the voice of the element the body of such a creature, using elemental matter of the appropriate element within 30 feet. As long as you concentrate, the familiar can take actions as a normal animal of its type, and it can move any distance away from you, though if it takes any damage or you cease concentrating, it returns to your mind. You lose Alertness while the familiar is manifested in this way. The familiar gains abilities as usual for a familiar of its type, though it never gains the ability to speak with animals of its kind. Flesh of Stone:
Your skin hardens like stone, dampening the impact of most attacks. You gain DR 1/adamantine. This DR increases by 1 for every 2 kineticist levels you possess beyond 2nd. By accepting 1 point of burn, you can increase the DR by 1 until the next time your burn is removed, to a maximum DR equal to your kineticist level. Whenever you accept burn while using an earth wild talent, the energy surging through you causes your damage reduction to change from DR/adamantine to DR/— for 1 round. You can dismiss and restore this effect as an immediate action.
--- POWERS ---
--- EQUIPMENT ---
Armor/Shields
Gear:
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