About GaxGax is a tall lanky humanoid. Seen from a distance he may look normal, but his limbs are oddly long. As you get closer to his tent, you see that small horns jut out of his slightly greasy black hair. Although no older than thirty, Gax looks dissipated and seedy. He smells of sour ale and has bags under his eyes. He wears lose travelers clothes and a long tail sticks out from his lower back. The tail is hairless, but it whips around in an impatient way, reminiscent of a cat. As you approach you see that he is playing with a deck of cards with horrific pictures on them. He shuffles them and make them bridge in the air. "Let me tell you what the fates have in store for you," he says in a low, ominous tone. You extend the pouch of coins your source told you to bring. As he reaches for it, a gust of wind puffs up his sleeve and cards come tumbling out to the ground. He scrambles to pick them up, frantically. As he flaps around at cards blowing in the wind you begin to laugh at a supposed seer who didn't have the foresight to realize what effect a windy day would have on the cards up his voluminous sleeves. You turn and walk away. Background:
From the beginning of his life, fate has always seemed to be against Gax Uskelli. Born of an anonymous human father to the powerful demoness Isery, Gax retained enough of his human father's characteristics that his mother found him abhorrent. Thinking quickly, Isery struck a bargain with an impoverished human couple who could not conceive to sell them a child in exchange for their souls. However, the couple quickly realized the depth of their mistake upon finding an infant with demonic horns and a tail on their doorstep the night after making their bargain. Disgusted, they abandoned the child at a nearby temple of Serenrae. There the clergy cared for him for a time and named him after a famous saint of the church, Trudqser Pekchat, in hopes the holiness of the name would redeem what even the most generous-minded of the country temple's clergy would admit was a very ill-tempered and disruptive child. The demon-spawn always hated the name, but the temples kindly old matriarch, a cleric named Cetyi Kosap who had lived her long life in service of Serenrae, repeatedly refused his frequent complaint that he wanted to change his name. As he grew Trudqser acquired a fondness for pranks and cons. After one such prank resulted in an angry mob advancing on the temple seeking to "purify him with holy flames" Cetyi had the young Trudqser transferred to a temple in the more cosmopolitan capital Almas, where he was less likely to be shunned for his oddities. Trudqser never really had the connection with any of the clergy at the Almas Temple of Serenrae, and left to make his own fate shortly after his tenth birthday. Although Truqser strayed far from the church's teachings he always maintained a fondness for the devotees of Serenrae. After departing the temple, he had a brief and unsuccessful career as a pickpocket and beggar in Almas, but his unfortunate name followed him around. Eventually, the young tiefling faked his own drowning, and left the name behind in Almas. Eventually, he took the name Gax Uskelli after deciding he liked it when he overheard someone say the name in a tavern. By age 12, Gax was living in Absalom and running a con with a small group of friends. Gax, using his alien appearance, would tell minor fortunes for coppers, which his small gang of friends would then ensure happened through trickery and deceit. Once the mark was convinced of Gax's legitimacy, Gax would raise his prices dramatically ensuring increasing profits for his gang. Over time, Gax developed a reputation as a minor seer, which made his cons easier. Growing increasingly confident and lax with his cons, Gax made a drunken comment at a tavern about how the son of a local member of the High Council, who happened to owe Gax and his cronies a good deal of money, could "shove a sword up his backside." Unfortunately for Gax, the Councilman's son, a notorious lech and gambler, was murdered using this technique by other people he owed money within a week of Gax's unintentional "prediction." Given the high standing of the victim's father and the public nature of his comment, Gax was arrested shortly after this on suspicion of murder. Eventually Gax was exonerated of the charges when the actual murderer made a boast about getting away with the crime at the same tavern where Gax's now-famous "prediction" had been made. Fate had an unexpected twist in store for Gax, and the father of the murdered man, a member of the High Council, a lord named Tyim Darsdan, eventually became convinced that Gax was legitimate and asked him to serve as his personal seer. Gax, who had always aspired to the high life and wealth, accepted. Gax enjoyed the good life for about a year, making predictions for Lord Darsdan based on gossip he overheard while frequenting taverns. Eventually, the Darsdan became suspicious of the accuracy of Gax's prophecies and summoned a legitimate wizard, a retainer serving the Primarch himself, to investigate his seer. The wizard, Eress Votia a young and beautiful elven wizard who was a specialist of the divination school, quickly realized that Gax was a fraud, but she sensed that he had a latent potential to do actual magic. Eress knew that the councilman would have Gax killed if she revealed him as a fraud, so to save his life, Eress confirmed that he had a gift but told the councilman that he needed training. Eress then took Gax as an apprentice and taught him divination magic. Around 15 at the time his arcane education began, Gax developed a hopeless infatuation with his lovely elven teacher. Eress didn't need her abilities as a diviner to realize that her pupil, 90 years her junior, was developing feelings for her that she couldn't possibly reciprocate and worked hard to make sure that he understood nothing would ever happen between them. Still, Gax nursed a crush on Eress for the next several years as she trained him in magic. Eventually, Darsdan became frustrated that while more accurate than before, his pet seer was unable to make many useful predictions for him and kicked Gax out. Gax managed to scrape by performing minor magics for people and living in a tiny room above a foul-smelling tannery. After being turned out by Darsdan, Gax still visited Eress to train, but at that time his interest was more in his teacher than his lessons. He tried, with comic lack of success, to woo Eress. Eventually, Gax decided that his lack of success was caused by his lack of coin and began to resume his old habit of telling fortunes to the gullible, but he now used illusions and legitimate magics to make his cons more believable. Eress, by din of her own magics, realized what Gax was up to almost immediately, and shunned Gax for using what she had taught him to cheat people. Distraught at this rejection, Gax fell thoroughly into dissolution, and began to drink, fight and gamble excessively. Out of coin, he began to aimlessly wander the Inner Sea region, making his way telling fortunes and hustling other travelers. Abilities:
Abjuration (Opposition School) Bonded Object: Tarot Cards (1/day) (Sp) Divination (Focus School) Enchantment (Opposition School) Foresight Forewarned +1 (Su) Prescience (8/day) (Su) Tiefling Charecteristics: Tieflings are quick in body and mind, but are inherently strange. +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Cha Darkvision: Tieflings see in the dark up to 60 feet. Skilled: Tieflings have a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Stealth checks. Spell-Like Ability: Tieflings can use darkness once per day as a spell-like ability. The caster level for this ability equals the tiefling's class level. Fiendish Resistance: Tieflings have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5. Feats and Traits:
Child of the Streets
Fast-Talker Scribe Scroll Toughness +3 Wizard Weapon Proficiencies Charismatic Foresight (+1 to Bluff and +1 to Diplomacy) Skills:
Acrobatics +3 (DEX (3) +Ranks (0)) Appraise +5 (INT (5) + Ranks (0)) Bluff +7 (CHA (-1) +Ranks (1)+Trait (2) + Class Skill (3) + Racial (2)) Climb -2 (STR (-2) +Ranks (0)) Diplomacy 0 (CHA (-1) + Ranks (0) + Trait (1)) Disguise -1 (CHA (-1) + Ranks (0)) Escape Artist +3 DEX (3) +Ranks (0)) Fly +3 (DEX (3) +Ranks (0)) Heal -1 (WIS (-1) +Ranks (0)) Intimidate -1 (CHA (-1) +Ranks (0)) Knowledge (Arcana) +9 INT (5) +Ranks (1)+Class Skill (3)) Perception +0 (WIS (-1) +Ranks (1)) Ride +3 (DEX (3) +Ranks (0)) Sense Motive +0 (WIS (-1) +Ranks (1)) Sleight of Hand +8 (DEX (3) +Ranks (1)+Class Skill (3) + Trait (1)) Spellcraft +9 (INT (5) +Ranks (1)+ Class Skill (3)) Stealth +6 (DEX (3) +Ranks (1)+ Racial (2)) Survival -1 (WIS (-1) +Ranks (0)) Swim -2 (STR (-2) +Ranks (0)) Saves:
Fortitude +1 (Ability (1)) Reflex +3 = +3 (Ability (1)) Will +1 = (Ability (-1) + Base (2)) DR 5/Cold
Hit Points and Armor Class:
HP Total: 11 HP Current: 11 AC Total: 13 (10 + 3 (Dexterity))
BAB/CMB/CMD:
BAB: 0 CMB: -1 (BAB (0) + Strength (-1)) CBD: 12 (BAB (0) + Strenght (-1) + Dexterity (+3)) Initiative and Movement:
Initiative: +4 ( Dexterity (3) + Class Feature* (1)) Speed: 30 Size: Medium *Class Feature: Forewarned (Su) You can always act in the surprise round even if you fail to make a Perception roll to notice a foe, but you are still considered flat-footed until you take an action. In addition, you receive a bonus on initiative checks equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum +1). At 20th level, anytime you roll initiative, assume the roll resulted in a natural 20.
Weapons:
Light Crossbow Attack Bonus: +3 (BAB (0) + Dexterity (3)) Damage: 1d8 Critical: 19-20/x2 Type: 2 Hand/P Range: 80' Club
Club (Thrown)
Dagger
Dagger (Thrown)
Spellbook:
All 0 Level Wizard Spells except Abjuration and Enchantment Level 1 Wizard: Color Spray Silent Image Identify Mage Armor True Strike Shocking Grasp Feather Fall Touch of the Sea Gear and Money:
Current Cash: 60 GP, 5 SP, 3 CP Total Weight Carried: 25.4/80lbs, Light Load (Light: 26lbs, Medium: 53lbs, Heavy: 80lbs) Gear Backpack (empty) 2 lbs Bedroll 5 lbs Bolts (Crossbow) x40 4 lbs Candle x5 Club 3 lbs Crossbow, Light 4 lbs Harrow Deck - Ink (1 oz. vial, black) Inkpen x2 Money 1.4 lbs Paper (sheet) x10 Spell component pouch x1 2 lbs Traveller's Outfit (Free) - Waterskin 4 lbs |
