Halanestra Ravenheart's page

Halanestra Ravenheart (a descendant of a cousin of Talindra Ravenheart) knew poverty from the beginning; there wasn't a singular catastrophe so much as poor planning and luck. Her parents prayed to Abadar as people in poverty do when seeking salvation, yet they saw no windfall. Some people just don't succeed in every economy; her family was one of the failures that enabled so many successes. Always dependent on (and earnestly grateful for) the charity of the good faiths and other family members, Halanestra learned to resent charity--not the kindness per se, but rather how necessary it always seemed to be.

Thus, she grew up a poor street urchin, doing what she could to survive. This included thievery, and often saw her spending long hours in the sewers and caverns beneath Absalom evading the law. She hated it, she wished the world was more fair. She desperately wished people could work together to make the world a better place. She laid her eyes on a particularly wealthy-looking type one particular evening, and almost succeeding at filching his purse.

Rather than call for the guard, though, he took pity on the young cutpurse and decided to harness and develop her talents for good rather than let her continue her life of petty crime. For this man was a Pathfinder, and he knew the Society would benefit from her talents. He offered her a cause to fight for, membership in something bigger than herself, and something to fill the emptiness in Halanestra's life. She was skeptical but he managed to convince her.

Surprising everyone, most of all herself, she excelled in both the martial and academic parts of her training. The Master of Scrolls even offered her a teaching position, but the elf knew she'd quickly tire of a desk job, even one where she got to read all day. Instead, she took her knowledge into the field and made judicious use of it--so much that she again caught attention, this time of some venture-captains who wanted her to focus more on intelligence work.

They promised her she'd still be a field agent, she'd still go out on missions like everyone else, but they'd be more sensitive and chosen more specifically to suit her skills. More flattered than anything else, she accepted. Yet even from the first mission, Halanestra saw a worrying trend, one which she could more readily ignore on larger group missions: many Pathfinders are particularly unscrupulous and leadership seems to accept this so long as agents complete their missions. Many Society missions are politically-motivated and didn't uphold the "explore, report, cooperate" slogan.

This lack of scruples reminded her of her past, a past she was trying to escape by joining the Pathfinder Society. Increasingly disillusioned, Halanestra couldn't reconcile the high-minded tenets of the Society with the actions of its agents, and she resigned her commission. She managed to keep the contacts she made, however--many were not fond of the Pathfinder Society themselves, and indeed were not surprised to learn of her resignation.

Soon after this, those contacts pointed her at Krohahn. She used her skills and connections to arrange the clandestine return to Highhelm.

Halanestra is a tall, slight but lithe, pale elf woman with eyes the color of a clear spring sky and jet-black hair that falls to her hips and that is braided in a tight ponytail. She is dressed in black leathers, including her shoes. Her movements are subtle, calculated, and quick, even for an elf. Though perhaps even more striking than her grace is how quietly she carries herself; every step is light, almost like she'd leave no tracks in fresh snow. True smiles are rare, though an occasional grin or wry smirk graces her features. While not sullen and morose like some other elves, her general quiet nature shows in conversation as well, as she prefers to listen and let others speak before saying her piece.

NG Female Cavern Elf Rogue 3
Perception +8; Darkvision
Languages Common, Elven, Dwarven, Halfling
Skills yes please Acrobatics +8 (Trained), Arcana +7 (Trained), Athletics +0, Crafting +2, Deception +7 (Trained), Diplomacy +9 (Expert), Intimidation +7 (Trained), Lore: Underworld +7 (Trained), Medicine +1, Nature +6 (Trained), Occultism +7 (Trained), Performance +2, Religion +6 (Trained), Society +7 (Trained), Stealth +10 (Expert), Survival +6 (Trained), Thievery +8 (Trained)

Str +0, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +1, Cha +2

Items Rapier +1, main-gauche, 3 starknives, shortbow, 20 arrows, leather armor, adventurer's kit (backpack, bedroll, 10 pieces of chalk, flint and steel, 50 feet of rope, 2 weeks rations, soap, 5 torches, waterskin), thieves' toolkit, disguise kit, 50 feet of rope (additional), 2 minor healing potions, compass

Wealth 9.65 gp

AC 19, Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8
HP 33
Speed 35 feet

Melee Rapier +9 (deadly d8, disarm, finesse) Damage 1d6 (P), starknife +8 (agile, deadly d6, finesse, versatile S) Damage 1d4 P, main-gauche +8 (agile, disarm, finesse, parry, versatile S) Damage 1d4 (P/S)

Ranged Shortbow +8 (Deadly d10) Damage 1d6 (P) Range 60, starknife +8 (agile, deadly d6, finesse, thrown 20 ft, versatile S) Damage 1d4 (P/S) Range 20

Background: Criminal: As an unscrupulous independent or as a member of an underworld organization, you lived a life of crime. You might have become an adventurer to seek redemption, to escape the law, or simply to get access to bigger and better loot.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Stealth skill, and the Underworld Lore skill. You gain the Experienced Smuggler skill feat.

Class feats
Level 1: Trap finder: You have an intuitive sense that alerts you to the dangers and presence of traps. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to find traps, to AC against attacks made by traps, and to saves against traps. Even if you aren’t Searching, you get a check to find traps that normally require you to be Searching. You still need to meet any other requirements to find the trap.

You can disable traps that require a proficiency rank of master in Thievery. If you have master proficiency in Thievery, you can disable traps that require a proficiency rank of legendary instead, and your circumstance bonuses against traps increase to +2.

General feats
Level 3: Incredible Initiative: You react more quickly than others can. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative rolls.

Skill increases
Level 2: Stealth -> expert
Level 3: Diplomacy -> expert

Skill feats
Level 2: Steady Balance: You can keep your balance easily, even in adverse conditions. Whenever you roll a success using the Balance action, you get a critical success instead. You’re not flat-footed while attempting to Balance on narrow surfaces and uneven ground. Thanks to your incredible balance, you can attempt an Acrobatics check instead of a Reflex save to Grab an Edge.

Level 3: Glad-Hand: First impressions are your strong suit. When you meet someone in a casual or social situation, you can immediately attempt a Diplomacy check to Make an Impression on that creature rather than needing to converse for 1 minute. You take a –5 penalty to the check. If you fail or critically fail, you can engage in 1 minute of conversation and attempt a new check at the end of that time rather than accepting the failure or critical failure result.

Ancestry feats
Level 1:
Elven Aloofness: As much as you might care for them, you've come to terms with the ephemeral nature of non-elves, and it makes their threats feel less troublesome. If a non-elf rolls a failure on a check to Coerce you using Intimidation, it gets a critical failure instead (and thus can't try to Coerce you again for 1 week). When a non-elf attempts to Demoralize you, you become temporarily immune for 1 day, instead of 10 minutes.

Nimble elf: Your muscles are tightly honed. Your Speed increases by 5 feet.

Level 3:
Otherworldly Magic: Your elven magic manifests as a simple arcane spell, even if you aren’t formally trained in magic. Choose one cantrip from the arcane spell list. You can cast this cantrip as an arcane innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up. (Cantrip: Figment)

Cantrips
Figment (Traits: cantrip, concentrate, illusion, manipulate)
Cast: One action
Range: 30 ft
Duration: Sustained
You create a simple illusory sound or vision. A sound adds the auditory trait to the spell and the sound can’t include intelligible words or elaborate music. A vision adds the visual trait, can be no larger than a 5-foot cube, and is clearly crude and undetailed if viewed from within 15 feet. When you Cast or Sustain the Spell, you can attempt to Create a Diversion with the illusion, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to your Deception check. If the attempt fails against a creature, that creature disbelieves the figment.

Class Features
Racket (Mastermind): If you successfully identify a creature using Recall Knowledge, that creature is off-guard against your attacks until the start of your next turn; if you critically succeed, it’s off-guard against your attacks for 1 minute.

Sneak attack 1d6: When your enemy can’t properly defend itself, you take advantage to deal extra damage. If you Strike a creature that has the off-guard condition (PC page 445) with an agile or finesse melee weapon, an agile or finesse unarmed attack, a ranged weapon attack, or a ranged unarmed attack, you deal an extra 1d6 precision damage. For a ranged attack with a thrown melee weapon, that weapon must also be agile or finesse.

Surprise attack: You spring into combat faster than foes can react. On the first round of combat, if you roll Deception or Stealth for initiative, creatures that haven’t acted are off-guard to you.

Deny advantage: As someone who takes advantage of openings, you are careful not to leave such gaps yourself. You aren’t off-guard to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.

Halanestra tries to avoid conflict where possible--either by talking (any social skill as appropriate, and she's not above intimidation or lying) or by sneaking. She does seek genuine connections, but always has an eye toward how she can use those connections, what people can do for her. While still caring for the people in her life, her upbringing and experience have shown her how quickly friendships can sour, and indeed how a sweet friend can become a bitter enemy. That upbringing and experience have also taught her many skills, and she is always eager to test / prove herself--and there may even be a bit of validation-seeking to this.

In combat, she seeks flanks whenever possible, using her high mobility and Acrobatics skill to Tumble Through as necessary. When in position, she'll Feint to get in good hits or Demoralize to make a particularly threatening opponent easier to deal with. She generally limits the number of attacks per round to ensure she can maintain a defensive posture and Parry with her starknife. She takes her first swing with her rapier and then uses the starknife for the second swing. If an opponent proves particularly easy to hit and she's not in danger, she'll try a second Strike with the starknife. If an opponent has a particularly dangerous weapon, she'll switch to her main-gauche and attempt to Disarm as well as Demoralize. While she prefers the visceral thrill of melee combat, she's fairly competent with a bow and will switch if her opponents are out of reach. In ranged combat, if an opponent is particularly hard to hit, she'll use Figment to Create a Diversion in an attempt to throw the target off-guard.

She's also, of course, happy to function in the traditional ways a rogue does, i.e. doing unto others what you'd prefer not to have done unto you.