.Exiel.'s page

a masterwork handaxe
a pouch containing 38 gp, 40 sp, and 18 cp
Padded armor x 3
Short bow x 3
Short sword x 3
buckler x 3
greenblood oil (1)
oil of taggit (2)
mwk studded leather
dagger
light crossbow with 10 bolts
mwk short sword,
Cloak of the Yeti
mwk thieves’ tools
ring of keys
spellbook (contains alarm, chill touch, expeditious retreat, feather fall, identify, locate object, and ray of enfeeblement)
wooden unholy symbol of Norgorber
15 gp
Three scrolls of lesser animate dead (2 HD)
2 more doses of greenblood oil
Small lockbox containing 25 pp, 150 gp, 180 sp, and a blue quartz “ice diamond” (worth 100 gp)
2 oils of magic weapon
3 flasks of alchemist’s fire

RP Concept: An honourable drifter with a deep past to leave behind and an open future to pursue.

The name Exiel is actually a pseudonym adopted and derived from the common word 'Exile'. His true Tien name is kept a secret to hide his past, and in truth he will willingly and permanently part with it in favour of his chosen name if his deeds and achievements under that name become significant enough to better-define him than his hidden past.

Exiel's father was a high-ranking military official in the Tian Kingdom of Xa-Hoi. He had the misfortune of marrying a beautiful woman who turned out to be a practitioner of certain forbidden magics (potentially she could have been a former or disgraced jadwiga/winter witch, but Exiel never knew the details). Desiring to keep himself and Exiel from disgrace, Exiel's father chose to keep the matter under wraps whilst alternating between pleading with his wife to cease practicing her magics and burying himself in his duties to evade the problem.

Sadly, certain rivals in the Dragon King's court discovered the secret and used it to ruin Exiel's father. Exiel's entire family was to be executed, though Exiel was given a chance in light of his youth. He was brought before the Dragon King and asked about his mother's actions. Seeking to protect his family, Exiel lied to the Dragon King, and was afflicted with a powerful curse to teach him to value truth (he will voluntarily start with the restrictions/penalties of the legalistic curse from level 1). He was then exiled from Xa Hoi.

Exiel had been trained as a paladin by his father's aide, a notable warrior by the name of Yi Ruo. Concerned that Exiel might one day grow into a formidable warrior and seek revenge, the rival courtiers decided it would be prudent to terminate Exiel's existence. Their agents followed Exiel's trail to Varisia, where they put up and spread word of a bounty amongst the less desirable members of society. Following a narrow escape, Exiel fled south to Cheliax, and then Absalom before finally realising that being in a big city is dangerous when you don't know who could be hunting you, and where the underworld tends to have a stronger presence. After evading yet another attempt on his life, he fled to the rural regions of Taldor hoping to lose his pursuers by hiding in a quiet little village called Heldren.

In a sense, Exiel is now in Heldren to "lay low in the countryside". He hopes that hiding in an obscure, out-of-the-way village will keep potential bounty hunters from finding him, and a small village means that as soon as a new face pops up, the locals will know. Being a militia member also helps in that regard, and he has a couple of friends in the militia who have been trusted with some details of his secret past and who warn him to lay low when the rare visitor arrives in town. Furthermore, after evading bounty hunters for a few years, a quiet pastoral life can be very appealing change of pace.

His gratitude to the people of Heldren is genuine: if there is a threat against the village, he will fight for them. But his bags are also always packed: if there is a threat coming for him specifically, he will skip town to avoid causing the town trouble, perhaps to drift to another obscure village to hide.

Crunch-wise, Exiel will be a 'gish'-type character, going for the "unarmoured swordsman" look and will take levels of sorcerer to learn buffs that support him in combat (by the end, most of his levels will be in sorcerer, but his conduct will be governed by his paladin levels). He prefers diplomacy and will attempt it where possible, but is quick to raise a sword against evil and tyranny, or to save the world from a wintery threat. Function-wise, regard him as a buff-based warrior with some support-casting options. And I am fully prepared to suffer a fall if I do something stupid/evil without justification.

1. What the heck is your character doing here?

The man of apparent Tian-descent heaves a heavy sigh, and purses his lips for a few long moments before reluctantly replying, his eyes gazing blankly into the distance as he speaks.

"I suppose I was drawn to Taldor because to some extent I empathise with it. A land that remembers a former glory, and desires to regain its lost honour. (OOC note: Exiel comes from a culture where glory and honour are indistinguishable concepts, and has yet to understand that many Taldans view these concepts a somewhat differently.) My father was a military commander in a land far from here. He unwittingly invited... shame into his family, and some rival members of the court, worthless men who envied him, found out. Of that once-proud family, only the youngest was spared, and exiled. The rest were...they are gone.

My people have many proverbs, one of which is "zhan chao chu gen": literally, "cut the grass, remove the roots". An agricultural analogy drawn from weeding...it means that when you remove a problem, remove it entirely...or when you remove someone, also remove any descendants who may later come looking for revenge. My father's enemies cannot do so openly, of course, but many local brigands and underground thugs have heard of a not-so-secret bounty on my head, and thus I have fled from town to town before finally arriving here, where I managed to sign on with the local militia before my past caught up with me. But I live each day knowing that in all likelihood, somewhere out there in the woods, there will be a band or two of brigands who seek my head, and if they find me, I will have to leave once more. (leads on to qns 2 and 4)

So here I am. A drifter in search of a new home, temporarily stranded in a quiet town, with reasons to stay and reasons to eventually go. Perhaps this little town may yet become my home, or perhaps my path will lead to stranger places yet.

The hand of fate pushes me ever forward.

2. Profession or how does your character make a living?
I am a reasonably skilled warrior, and my tales of a distant land are unique enough to entertain my fellow miltiamen when we are out on patrols or on watch.

3. Describe your physical appearance (you may include link to internet image that best represents your character, if you'd like).
Picture 1
Picture 2
Exiel is a young able-bodied man of Tian descent sporting long dark hair. He prefers traditional Tien clothes (such as the one in the picture), but whilst in Heldren prudently dresses in the attire of the common peasantry and uses a broad straw hat to obscure and maintain a shadow over his rather distinctly-foreign features. (I am however prepared for and expect that his other-ness will be noted from time to time.)

4. Why help out when the winter comes? Why not leave and flee? Why get involved?

I have a job to do, and duty alone would require me to help out. But more than that, the town has been kind to take in a stranger, and I owe this town a debt of gratitude. Perhaps the time will soon come when I must wander and drift again, but for now, I will serve and protect these people as best I can.