Fillian Swiftspark's page

Ability Score Racial Traits: Gnomes are physically weak but surprisingly hardy, and their attitude makes them naturally agreeable. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, and –2 Strength.
Type: Gnomes are Humanoid creatures with the gnome subtype.
Size: Gnomes are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: (Slow Speed) Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Gnomes begin play speaking Common, Gnome, and Sylvan. Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc.
Darkvision Some gnome s trains have lived in the underground depths for so long they have given up on light entirely and gained darkvision with a range of 60 feet. This racial trait replaces low-light vision and keen senses.
Obsessive: Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.
Pyromaniac Gnomes with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using the bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline or the revelations of the oracle’s flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage (this ability does not give gnomes early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability). Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level; the DCs are Charisma-based. This racial trait replaces gnome magic and illusion resistance.
Fey Thoughts (1 RP) Select two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Knowledge (nature), Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim, or Use Magic Device. The selected skills are always class skills for the character. This trait replaces racial weapon familiarity.
Gift of Tongues Gnomes love languages and learning about those they meet. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill. This racial trait replaces defensive training and hatred.

Defensive Strategist (religion) Your study has trained you in defensive strategy. Benefit(s) You aren’t flat-footed during a surprise round that you don’t get to act in or before you get to act at the start of a battle.

Awakened from Stasis (regional) You recently awakened in a strange vault with no memory of how you got there, surrounded by sleeping creatures of every shape and size in smooth glass eggs, all watched over by uncommunicative crab-like automatons. Benefit(s) As a side effect of your stasis, you gain all the benefits of 8 hours of sleep in only 2 hours. This allows a spellcaster who must rest to prepare spells to do so after only 2 hours, but does not allow a spellcaster to prepare spells more than once per day.

Foster Child (campaign) Koya Mvashti might be old enough to be your grandmother, but to you, she’s always been your mom. Ever since your parents passed away, Koya’s been taking care of you as if she were your mother. You never really figured out why Koya took you into her care, but you do know she’s done this before—most recently with Sandru Vhiski, whom you think of as your brother. Growing up, Koya made sure that you had the best education possible, particularly in one particular topic.

Benefits: Choose any Knowledge skill—you gain a +2 bonus on skill checks with that Knowledge skill, and it becomes a class skill for you. In addition, you gain a +1 trait bonus on all attack rolls against foes that threaten your adoptive mother. NPC Choices: Koya.

Attached (drawback) You have a strong emotional attachment to a person or object that you’re terrified of losing. Effect: The GM chooses the object of your attachment (Koya?). Whenever the object of your attachment is either threatened, in danger, or in someone else’s possession, you take a –1 penalty on Will saves and a –2 penalty on saves against fear effects. If the person or object to which you’re attached is ever lost, killed, or destroyed, exchange this drawback for the Doubt drawback.

point blank shot Benefit: You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.

Disadvantageous Deformity:" Distractible If the ogrekin rolls a natural 1 on an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it becomes confused until the end of its next turn. (Fits her explosive reactions as a hot-headed young gnome with impulse control issues)

precise shot Benefit: You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll. Note: Two characters are engaged in melee if they are enemies of each other and either threatens the other.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency Kineticists are proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, but not shields.

Elemental Focus (Su) At 1st level, a kineticist chooses one primary element on which to focus. This element determines how she accesses the raw power of the Ethereal Plane, and grants her access to specific wild talents (see below) and additional class skills. She can select aether (telekinesis), air (aerokinesis), earth (geokinesis), fire (pyrokinesis), or water (hydrokinesis). She gains her selected element’s basic utility wild talent (basic telekinesis, basic aerokinesis, basic geokinesis, basic pyrokinesis, or basic hydrokinesis) as a bonus wild talent. See Elements for the specific abilities granted by each element.

Wild Talents A kineticist can use wild talents—magical abilities similar to spells but drawn from the kineticist’s innate psychic talent and usable at will. Wild talents are typically spell-like abilities (though some are supernatural abilities), and take a standard action to use unless otherwise noted. A wild talent always has the elemental descriptor or descriptors (aether, air, earth, fire, or water) 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. For example, the wall wild talent gains the earth descriptor when used by a geokineticist.

Every wild talent has an effective spell level. A kineticist can always select 1st-level wild talents, but she can select a wild talent of a higher level only if her 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 equal to 1/2 the kineticist’s class level (to a maximum effective spell level of 9th at kineticist level 18th).

Unless otherwise noted, the DC for a saving throw against a wild talent is equal to 10 + the wild talent’s effective spell level + the kineticist’s Constitution modifier. The kineticist uses her Constitution modifier on all concentration checks for wild talents.

In addition to the wild talents she gains from her other class features, at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a kineticist selects a new utility wild talent from the list of options available to her. A kineticist can select only universal wild talents or those that match her element (see Elemental Focus above). At 6th, 10th, and 16th levels, a kineticist can replace one of her utility wild talents with another wild talent of the same level or lower. She can’t replace a wild talent that she used to qualify for another of her wild talents.

Burn (Ex) At 1st level, a kineticist can overexert herself to channel more power than normal, pushing past the limit of what is safe for her body by accepting burn. Some of her wild talents allow her to accept burn in exchange for a greater effect, while others require her to accept a certain amount of burn to use that talent at all. For each point of burn she accepts, a kineticist takes 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. A kineticist can accept only 1 point of burn per round. This limit rises to 2 points of burn at 6th level, and rises by 1 additional point every 3 levels thereafter. A kineticist can’t choose to accept burn if it would put her total number of points of burn higher than 3 + her Constitution modifier (though she can be forced to accept more burn from a source outside her control). A kineticist who has accepted burn never benefits from abilities that allow her to ignore or alter the effects she receives from nonlethal damage.

Kinetic Blast (Sp) At 1st level, a kineticist gains a kinetic blast wild talent of her choice. This kinetic blast must be a simple blast that matches her element.

As a standard action, the kineticist can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 feet. She must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage, if she doesn’t have hands). All damage from a kinetic blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. The kineticist is never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions; see Infusion), and she 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 (Su) * If she has both hands free (or all of her prehensile appendages free, for unusual kineticists), a kineticist can gather energy or elemental matter as a move action. Gathering power creates an extremely loud, visible display in a 20-foot radius centered on the kineticist, as the energy or matter swirls around her. Gathering power in this way allows the kineticist to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent she uses in the same round by 1 point. The kineticist can instead gather power for 1 full round in order to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent used on her next turn by 2 points (to a minimum of 0 points). If she does so, she can also gather power as a move action during her next turn to reduce the burn cost by a total of 3 points. If the kineticist takes damage during or after gathering power and before using the kinetic blast that releases it, she must succeed at a concentration check (DC = 10 + damage taken + effective spell level of her kinetic blast) or lose the energy in a wild surge that forces her to accept a number of points of burn equal to the number of points by which her gathered power would have reduced the burn cost. This ability can never reduce the burn cost of a wild talent below 0 points.

Infusion (Su) At 1st level, a kineticist gains an infusion wild talent from the list of options available based on her elemental focus. She gains additional infusions at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, and 19th levels. By using infusions along with her kinetic blasts, a kineticist can alter her kinetic blasts to suit her 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 the kinetic blast 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 the kineticist uses one of her kinetic blast wild talents, she 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 the kineticist’s Dexterity modifier instead of her Constitution modifier. When a kineticist modifies 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 a kineticist’s form and substance infusions both alter the kinetic blast’s damage, apply the substance infusion’s alteration first.

At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, a kineticist can replace one of her infusions with another infusion of the same effective spell level or lower. She can’t replace an infusion that she used to qualify for another of her wild talents.

Fire Kineticists who focus on the element of fire are called pyrokineticists. Pyrokineticists wield elemental fire as a potent weapon, and they possess a powerful offense.

Class Skills: A pyrokineticist adds Escape Artist and Knowledge (nature) to her list of class skills.

Wild Talents: 1st—basic pyrokinesis, burning infusion†, cold adaptation, fan of flames†, fire sculptor, fire’s fury, heat adaptation; 2nd—searing flame; 3rd—eruption†, firesight, flame jet, heat wave, smoke storm, torrent†; 4th—flash infusion†; 5th—flame jet (greater), flame shield, trail of flames, unraveling infusion†; 6th—brilliant infusion†; 7th— explosion†, pure-flame infusion†; 9th—from the ashes.

Kinetic Blasts Kinetic blasts comprise simple and composite blasts.

Simple Blasts A kineticist gains a simple blast from her primary element at 1st level—some elements offer more than one option.

When a kineticist gains a new element via the expanded element class feature, she gains a simple blast from that element as well. Each simple blast is either a physical blast or an energy blast.

Physical blasts are ranged attacks that deal an amount of damage equal to 1d6+1 + the kineticist’s Constitution modifier, increasing by 1d6+1 for every 2 kineticist levels beyond 1st. Spell resistance doesn’t apply against physical blasts. Energy blasts are ranged touch attacks that deal an amount of damage equal to 1d6 + 1/2 the kineticist’s Constitution modifier, increasing by 1d6 for every 2 kineticist levels beyond 1st.

Fire Blast Element(s) fire; Type simple blast (Sp); Level —; Burn 0 Blast Type: energy; Damage fire You unleash a gout of flickering fire to burn a single foe.

A kineticist gains the defense wild talent from her primary element at 2nd level.

Infusion wild talents change the way kineticists use their kinetic blasts.

A kineticist can select a wild utility talent at each even level, provided she meets the prerequisites.

fire blast ranged touch energy attack, 1d6+4 fire (1d6+1+1/2 con mod+1 for point blank shot)

Burning Infusion dc 15 Element(s) fire; Type substance infusion; Level 1; Burn 1 Associated Blasts blue flame, fire, magma, plasma
Saving Throw Reflex negates
Your kinetic blast ignites your foes. Whenever an infused blast hits a foe and penetrates its spell resistance, that foe catches on fire, regardless of whether it takes damage. A foe that catches fire takes 1d6 points of fire damage each round until the fire is extinguished. Against a creature on fire from this infusion, any fire kinetic blasts gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls, to DCs, and on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance.

Background:
Fillian was destined to be a flamethrower from the day she was conceived. Her parents, lava gnomes who worked with the Umbral Carnival, raised her and trained her to be part of their act, which came to be called ‘The Amazing Flames’. Fillian, along with brother Feolomew, and sister Feri, became the stars of the little family act, while their parents took on rolls that were more as trainers, MCs and managers than performance-oriented. Their father, Scirheabul, and mother, Treywyn, were talented choreographers and fire-dancers themselves, and taught their children everything they knew and let them develop their own variations to the acts as well…The family was happy and loved their life on the road.

Feolomew fell in love with Petal, half of the Kressling Sisters, a pair of conjoined twin halfling sisters who traveled with the Carnival. The two sisters had a falling out over Feolomew’s attentions to Petal and her sister, River, demanded the affair stop. Instead of ending though, their relationship blossomed. Petal and Feolomew made plans to marry, to River’s dismay. River refused to perform any longer and the sisters left the circus, and Feo followed them, breaking up the Swiftspark family act as well.

Feri and Fillian chose to stay together, their parents going back to performing with them… They remained one of the main attractions of the Umbral Carnival for another decade, but eventually Feri, too, fell in love, this time with a rube, a gnome who had visited the carnival when it went through Magnimar. He followed the circus and attended every performance, pursuing her relentlessly until she agreed to marry him.

Months later, when the carnival went through Illsurian, a small town in central Varisia, the circus folk were framed for a series of murders, and though finally cleared by an intrepid group of tengu wanderers, a pall was over the whole circus. The owner and Ringmistress, Almara, and her right-hand, Jerizhana, managed to keep the circus going and in time it began to recover. But the whole experience had the Swiftspark family reconsidering their profession. About three months later, when the circus was going through Sandpoint, the little gnome family took their leave, tearfully bidding their extended circus-family farewell.

You can take the fire-dancer out of the circus, but not the circus out of the fire-dancer. Fillian and her family continued to perform from time to time for the townsfolk at Festivals and market-days, but Scirheabul had to take other work to support the small family. He went to work for the local smith, working the forge for him, and learning the trade. While not super-strong as many smiths are, he was talented and artistic, and strong for a gnome. He became a very sought after smith, making small intricate items, leaving his mentor to make larger things like horseshoes and wagon parts. Scirheabul became known for thin, light (but strong) chains, locks, latches, wrought iron designs, and the like. He kept very busy and built up a healthy business. The family was quite comfortable.

Fillian was bored in town though…. There were few other gnomes, and she was a bit lonely too. When her mother, Treywyn, died after suffering from a winter’s-long lingering cough and weak lungs, Fillian was devastated. Her father turned to his work to deal with the shock and pain of his loss and Fillian was left to her own devises to deal with her mother’s death. That’s when she met Koya, who, though not a gnome, was friendly to her. Fillian sought her out for a Harrowing at first, but the old human woman was so sympathetic and sweet to her, that it wasn’t long before a unique relationship developed between them… Koya became almost like the mother she’d lost, baking her cookies, reading her Harrow cards for her, and fussing over her clothes, her moods, her solitary lifestyle. The old woman tried to introduce her to the few gnomes in town, but Fillian had met and discounted them all already.

What Koya didn’t know, at least not initially, was that one of her Harrow readings on Fillian was coming true… it predicted that Fillian would meet someone tall and handsome. She’d known Sandru Mvashti, Koya’s son, for some time, having met him on her first visit to Koya, but not thinking much about him at the time. They shared a few drinks at the Rusty Dragon and talked, and a mutual friendship developed. It wasn’t til sometime later that Sandru started showing a romantic interest in the little gnome lady. Fillian knew that their racial difference would be an impediment to a relationship, but in time, their feelings for each other grew, and she set aside her reservations. Sandru and Fillian became more than friends… they were in love. While Koya was accepting of their love, Scirheabul was not so open to it. Parental disapproval tends to make such things grow, like fueling a flame… They were the talk of the town of Sandpoint and rarely apart for a year, and talk of a wedding was beginning… Scirheabul was even coming around and while not giving total approval, he stopped complaining about it all.

… But as quickly as such things as love can flare into being, they can cool, too. Nothing was said, there were no fights, no heart-wrenching breakups either. The relationship just… dwindled to a deep friendship, and both knew that their love had changed from passionate, romantic infatuation into a deep, familial connection… and Koya, Fillian’s unofficial foster-mother, was happy that they were parted on such good terms… her son and ‘daughter’ were as close as true siblings. She couldn’t ask for more, and Fillian, who desperately missed her own brother and sister, had found a new brother with whom she could share all her thoughts and dreams. Her father, Scirheabul, accepted Sandru as his daughter’s ‘brother’…

All four of them jested that the opportunity was perfect for Koya and Scirheabul to marry and truly make them siblings, though of course, that was only a joke. Still, Fillian’s father did get to know Koya a bit and even visit her for the occasional Harrow reading.

Her life in Sandpoint was stable and Fillian was content, though she still missed circus life. To keep busy, she learned about the Harrow cards from Koya, got a few Varisian tattoos as a lark, and took a job at the Rusty Dragon serving drinks and keeping the hearth lit and warming the ovens. Life was good.

1)I'd like 5+ points that capture the concept and story of the character. More are welcome, but no less than five.
1 – born and raised in a traveling carnival
2 – acrobat, fire-dancer, -thrower and -juggler
3 – worked with parents and siblings in fire acts
4 – turned to human, Koya, as a mother-figure when her own mother died
5 – fell in love with a human… not gnome-centric

2) Two goals that you'd like the character to accomplish in-game.
1 – grow in her flame powers, with perhaps a dip into bard for a couple of levels
2 – see more of the world than just varisia

3) Two secrets, one the PC keeps to himself, and one kept from the PC. I'll come up with a third that both the character and player aren't aware of, in hopes of shocking surprises within the storytelling.
1 – Fillian slept with her brother and got pregnant as a ‘tween’ (in her late 20s). She never told anyone who the father was and the baby was given to a sweet childless gnome couple in Magnimar when the circus was there. Not even her brother knew he was the father.
2 – Sandru is really still in love with her, but she not so much, so he professed his brotherly love instead of his romantic love.
4) 3-5 people that are tied to your PC by blood, love, rivalry, honor, etc. I'd like at least one enemy in a set of three or four, with no more than two for a set of five. PLEASE consider the players reference guide for ideas.
1 – Koya Mvashti, Fillian’s ‘foster mother’
2 – Scirheabul Swiftspark, Fillian’s father
3 – Sandru Mvashti – Fillian’s ‘foster brother’ who is in love with her
4 – Ameiko Kaijitsu – Fillian’s employer and friend
5 – ?? - rival for Sandru Mvashti when they were an item... still hates Fillian

5) Three key memories that define your character as the person they are at the time of submission
1- Being surrounded by flame in a small wagon fire while with the circus as a child… She and her best friend were trapped in the wagon and she sculpted a path out for them, but was almost overcome by the smoke… Her friend pulled them both out through the opening she’d made
2 – Burning her little brother with a poorly thrown flame during a juggling practice. He never fully healed, always retaining the scars of the incident on his arm and hand.
3 – Falling in love with Sandru, and the two of them eventually almost dying of laughter as they tried to consummate their relationship. The difficulties of the size difference leaving them both in stitches… this was the beginning of the segue from romantic love to a sibling-like relationship.

6) I'd like you to include with your submission a fear or paranoia that causes your character to shiver, cower, or panic. Anything from spiders to unexplained happenstance, but I'm sure you'll all come up with some awful stuff on your own.
Fillian is terrified of excessive snow and ice… a little bit is fine, but during the circus’ travels one year, they were caught in a blizzard. She had horrible nightmares that night, dreaming that she was buried in ice and couldn’t burn her way out. when she woke the next morning, the wagon was buried in snow. Her father used his flame to soften the ice and a shovel to move it all out of the way, but Fillian never got over her terror of the white stuff.

7) I would like to know what performance you will specialize in (your signature move or performance), preference on characters will be given to whose feats, traits, skills, and class directly show what type of performer you are. (example a knife thrower taking blind fight would make sense with acrobatics, but a knife thrower that takes cosmopolitan with history knowledge would not.)
Fillian has several performance specialties, all of which center around fire… flame-dancer (using acrobatics as well as dance skill), fire-thrower, fire-breather.