Finrik "Fivepieces" Overdale's page

--Appearance--
The tall, pale halfling is clad in dark, loose clothing, under which can be seen leather armor, dyed a deep black and dented in several places; the only hint of contrast on his person is supplied by the faded, yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. His prematurely-aged visage gives him a tough, weary mien, but his dull, brown eyes nevertheless hold a glimmer of vitality and enthusiasm. The halfling's short, blonde hair features a long segment swept over the left side of his face, and his face is adorned by a dark soul patch. His left eye, when unobscured, is opaque and milky, but, oddly enough, the halfling can somehow see with it.

--Backstory--
Born to a Calistrian family in an integrated human / halfling village in the heart of the Dathalan Empire, Finrik Overdale lived a life characterized by hardship. One of the halfling's earliest memories is awakening in his bed after suffering significant cranial trauma in an accident Finrik can't bring himself to remember; the event had lasting effects on his mind, though, and Finrik began to develop an undue fear of the outside world. To compound his troubles, as a scrawny, clumsy youth with a bad eye, Finrik often received harsh treatment from his peers, many of whom were human and thus nigh unstoppable due to their size advantage. Ultimately, Finrik immersed himself in his faith and his studies as a coping mechanism; his favored academic topic was the art of crafting poisons, which he favored due to its connections to his goddess's favored animal, and he became obsessed with Calistria's teachings on revenge.

As an adult, Finrik pursued a career as an apothecary, though this was mostly a façade; the halfling knew little of medicine and used his business as an excuse to experiment with poisons, claiming to be searching for better antidotes. On one cold, winter night, though, his work was unexpectedly disrupted by feelings of hyperthermia and delirium that radiated through his body. As he was still somewhat of a klutz, Finrik assumed that he had accidentally exposed himself to one of his poisons and fruitlessly examined himself for symptoms, but was shocked to see his reflection in a nearby window; in lieu of its regular, blank state, his left eye briefly appeared to have a striking, yellow iris contained between an inky pupil and a matching sclera. As the color drained from his eye, Finrik's discomfort faded, leaving him perplexed, but he quickly reached a conclusion: this occurrence was a sign of his goddess's favor, urging him to follow through on his long-held fantasies and strike back at those who had wronged him.

Finrik spent the next month preparing himself for action, training rigorously to overcome his limitations and placing highest emphasis on mitigating his clumsiness. When he saw himself fit for his plan, Finrik began crafting an array of potent poisons to further his odds of success at his mission. Armed with an arsenal of new skills, Finrik took revenge on all of his childhood tormentors over the course of the next night, than packed up his essential belongings and skipped town after the last person was handled, figuring that nothing remained for him in his hometown. Finrik's last action in the village was to ransack his own business, mimicking the signs of an attack by bandits—or worse—so that his disappearance would not draw suspicions.

After basking in his moment of glory, Finrik contemplated his next move. He considered starting a new apothecary shop in a nearby town, but he felt that he was not finished serving his deity; Finrik thus decided to make use of his talents to exact revenge for those who could not do so themselves, becoming a mercenary of sorts. He would take any job that was sent his way, often executing violent actions on the part of those who could not do so themselves. Because he considered it best when a victim was made to experience the full extent of his actions, Finrik primarily used non-lethal methods to accomplish his tasks, such as damaging reputations, destroying relationships, or changing appearances, although he would kill for a higher price. Furthermore, the halfling had a few odd habits regarding his services; he always charged sums able to be paid in some multiple of five coins, and, because he viewed such jobs as a divine duty, Finrik majorly slashed prices if his mission served as a form of revenge for a client. The first habit was found especially worthy of discussion and highlighting, so Finrik eventually adapted it into a new name for himself, by which clients could more easily locate him: "Finrik Fivepieces."

During this time, Finrik discovered that he possessed unexpected supernatural abilities, including minor magical talents and, notably, the ability to psychically manipulate living beings' internal temperatures and circulation, which caused his left eye to change color when used; however, due to the head trauma he suffered as a youth, Finrik was unable to control the full power of this latter power and exposed himself to its effects whenever it was used. Aside from this downside, these skills greatly enhanced Finrik's effectiveness at his job, and, on many occasions, the halfling owed his survival to their judicious use.

Eventually, though, Finrik's fortunes plummeted once more. Due to his excellent reputation as an assassin, Finrik's services were sought out by clients of increasing status who hired the halfling for incredibly complex and dangerous jobs, which he nearly failed to complete at an alarmingly high rate. Following the first task he lost in three years (a particularly disastrous assignment involving the assassination of a visiting diplomat), Finrik barely escaped retribution with merely a broken blade and a wounded spirit to show as the fruits of his effort. As he fled through the night, Finrik reviewed his career and realized that he no longer saw the point of risking his life on a regular basis, when he could make a simpler and safer living if he resumed the business he had abandoned so many years ago. Resolving to "go straight" and retire when he returned home, Finrik assumed a renewed vigor for the remainder of his travels.

In an effort to shake any potential pursuers, Finrik took a long, winding course that frequently led him through unusual and potentially dangerous areas. With approximately two-fifths of his journey left, Finrik cut through a desolate hobgoblin village that appeared to have been destroyed in a recent altercation. As he traveled through the ravaged area, Finrik darted through what once had been dwellings, looking to ease his imminent transition in career by scavenging any valuables he could find. Finrik's search produced no items of value, but, while digging through the rubble, the halfling was shocked to find an infant hobgoblin, seemingly abandoned and likely orphaned by the apparent conflict; still more surprising were the results of a quick examination that revealed the child to be alive and mostly uninjured. Finrik was faced with an odd situation, and he ultimately chose an odd solution: viewing his chance discovery as another sign from his deity, he decided to take the child with him and raise her as his own, hopefully producing an heir to his business.

After settling in the "safest" town he could find that held worship of Calistria, Finrik re-established an apothecary business and led a happy, "normal" life for the next six years. Nevertheless, Finrik is quick to point out that this stage of his life seemed destined to fail; many of his fellow citizens had heard snippets of the halfling's exploits, and were understandably cautious about purchasing medicine from a rumored poisoner. Those who risked visits to his business were treated with the effectiveness as any other apothecary, but these results were not enough to overcome Finrik's reputation, and he found maintaining his business to be increasingly difficult. Eventually, as the halfling would say, his situation was dire enough that his mounting debt left him desperate for funding.

Luckily, Finrik was soon made aware of an opportunity to remedy his woes. The Tathran Federation had an important caravan that needed an escort, and was offering a hefty sum as reward for one's services. Although he had sworn off of an adventuring life, Finrik was hard-pressed to find a better way to pay off his debt and ultimately resolved to acquire the job. Bidding a final "good-bye" to his new home, Finrik gathered his equipment, left his "adopted" daughter under the care of the Calistrian church, and set off to restore his business.
[spoiler=Statistics]Finrik "Fivepieces"
Male Halfling Mesmerist 3 / Unchained Rogue 2
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CN Small Humanoid (Halfling) Mesmerist (Autohypnotist) 3 / Unchained Rogue (Poisoner / Scout) 2
Initiative: +7; Senses: Normal; Perception: +8

--Defenses--
AC: 19 (10 + 3 Armor + 5 Dex + 1 Size), Touch: 16, Flat-Footed: 14
HP: 36 (8 + 4d8 + 10)
Fort: +5, Ref: +13, Will: +9

--Offenses--
Speed: 20 ft.
Melee: +1 Kasatha Spinal Sword +10 (1d4)
Ranged: Hand Crossbow +9 (1d3)
CMB: +1, CMD: 16
Space: 5 ft., Reach: 5 ft.

--Statistics--
Str: 8 / Dex: 20 / Con: 14 / Int: 12 / Wis: 10 / Cha: 16
Base Attack: +3
Feats: Poison Focus, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Kasatha Spinal Sword), Weapon Finesse, Accomplished Sneak Attacker
Skills (0 ranks remaining): Acrobatics +13, Bluff +12, Climb +3, Craft (Alchemy) +9, Disable Device +14, Escape Artist +9, Heal +4, Perception +8, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +17, Use Magic Device +11 (+13 when emulating Elves)
Background Skills: Linguistics +9, Profession (Assassin) +3, Sleight of Hand +12 (+14 to hide small objects)
Traits: Reactionary, Unpredictable
Languages: Common, Halfling, Goblin, Orc, Elvan, Sylvan, Aklo, Kasatha
Bold Stares: Lethality
Rogue Talents: False Attacker
Mesmerist Tricks (4/day): False Flanker, Spectral Smoke
Special Abilities: Consummate Liar, Autohypnosis, Touch Treatment (minor), Sneak Attack +2d6, Poison Use, Finesse Training, Evasion

--Spells (CL 3)--
1st (DC 14) (4/day): Burst of Adrenaline, Obscure Poison, Unseen Servant, Vanish
0th (DC 13): Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Light, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation

GP: 205

Equipment: +1 Kasatha Spinal Sword, Darkleaf Cloth Studded Leather Armor, Hand Crossbow, Crossbow Bolts x5, Cloak of Resistance +1, Handy Haversack, Ring of Sustenance, Poisoning Sheath (keyed to Kasatha spinal swords), Troll Styptic, Rogue's Kit w/ Masterwork Backpack and Masterwork Thieves' Tools, Elf-hair Wand Tassel * (Masterwork Tool; +2 on UMD checks to emulate the Elven race), Kasatha-Common Dictionary (Masterwork Tool; +2 on Linguistics checks relating to the Kasatha language), Wand of Blend, Scarf, Pickpocket's Outfit, Shaving Kit, Portable Alchemist's Lab

--Poisons--
Drow Poison x3
Giant Wasp Poison
Large Scorpion Venom
Red Tears x3

--Drugs--
Opium x3

Alternate Racial Traits: Human Shadow, Skulker

Favored Class: Rogue
FCB: +1 Skill Rank

* A decoration for a wand fashioned from a lock of hair Finrik received from a woman whose emotions he was hired to manipulate. When affixed to a wand, it grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Use Magic Device checks to emulate the Elf race for the purpose of activating the wand.