About Jalal HammadaJalal Hammada
Defense
Offense
Statistics
Racial Abilities
Class Abilities
Feats
Traits
Drawback
Skills
Languages Common, Elven, Osiriani, Ancient
Combat Gear scale mail, arrows (20), dagger, MW Cold Iron longsword, morningstar, shortbow, +1 Magical Scarab Shield, alchemist fire, holy water (2), tanglefoot bag
Scarab Shield - This +1 light steel shield is fashioned in the shape of a scarab beetle—a creature that functions as a psychopomp for Pharasma, guiding the souls of the departed into the afterlife. Scarab shields are especially favored by archaeologists and tomb raiders for the protection they grant against guardians and vermin frequently found in ancient ruins and forgotten tombs. Once per day on command, a scarab shield grants its wielder a +2 sacred bonus on saving throws against fear and death effects for 3 minutes. At any time while this bonus is in effect, the wielder can end the effect as a swift action for a burst of healing energy. The wielder loses the saving throw bonus, but is healed of 1d8+3 points of damage. In addition, a scarab shield can protect its wielder from swarms. If a mindless swarm attempts to enter the wielder’s space, the swarm must attempt a DC 11 Will save. If the save succeeds, the swarm can enter the wielder’s space and attack the wielder normally. If the save fails, the swarm instinctively avoids the space occupied by the wielder, completely ignoring the wielder for 3 rounds. This effect ends if the wielder makes any attacks, but the wielder may use non-attack spells or otherwise act without ending the effect. This ability functions once per day. Background:
Jalal’mederiel descends from a line of nomadic elves who wandered the Osirion desert for nearly a thousand years. In 2953, Pharasman priests sent out a call to rebuild the city of Wati, which had become a wasteland after the Plague of Madness. A few families from the tribe decided to take the priests up on the offer of a permanent settlement and joined brave settlers to reclaim what was left of the city. Over nearly two thousand years, these few desert elves carved out the small niche of elvish life in Wati as their human neighbors swelled the city population. The elves never prospered as their human counterparts did as they tried to retain some sense of independence from the rest of the population. Jalal’mederiel, or simply Jalal as most of his human friends know him, was born in Wati over a hundred years ago. As a child, he found the scrolls and books of his ancestors to be fascinating. He poured over their writings, learning them by heart. He learned of Ketialneded who joined the Pharasma priesthood and helped clear the Necropolis; of Haptuiorus who ventured down into the crypts on a fool’s errand only to return cursed by the undead; of Dorotulmia, who was handmaiden and scandalously the bedmaiden of the Pharaoh, of Glifortius a powerful fighter, who helped defend the growing city from raiders; and of Jignareolided who used elven magic to help divine new sources of water when the old wells suddenly went dry. Jalal was shocked to learn that through Dorotulmia, his family actually had an ancient claim to the Osirion throne. Dorotulmia’s own account of things reveal a pay off and a cover-up by the Pharaoh’s advisors to avoid the scandal of a half-elven child. Over the years, the human blood had been masked by re-integration with elven blood. The more Jalal read, the more he felt like he knew these ancestors by heart. Then one day, as he read another story of an ancestor who worked on the beautiful glass of the Pharasman temple, he thought he could clearly hear a voice reading along, narrating the story of the past. He looked around, but could find no one in the library with him. He heard the voice again, this time accompanied by a second, then a third, and then a fourth. They were all reading different life stories; stories that Jalal knew by heart. In a panic, he rushed out of the library only to barrel into his uncle, Lamthurigal. Lam took one look at the growing child’s books and scrolls and swatted them out of his hands, laughing at Jalal for his obsession. Lam was a spiteful miser of an elf. He ran a silk business in the elven neighborhood. While his quality was top notch, his prices were as well and he was known to cheat customers. He grabbed Jalal and told him he needed an errand boy for the day. The two meandered their way through the city and into Bargetown. As they passed groups of dangerous men, Lam told Jalal repeatedly that he needed protection he could trust. That Jalal should grow up a strong warrior so Lam would have a bodyguard. It wasn’t the first time Jalal had heard that from Lam, but this time it was going to make an impression. As they neared the smuggling house Lam used, five men with knives stepped out into the street. They lunged at the two elves. Two blades pierced Lam, but a shimmer blocked the knives from Jalal’s body. The elf swore he could see an image of Glifortius, the warrior, blocking the blades with a shield, but then he was gone. The men were shocked and for a moment, Jalal had a chance to escape. He took it, running away from the attack with his uncle Lam shouting for Jalal to save him. He didn’t turn back. Later, when Lam’s body was found, Jalal blamed himself for his cowardice. His ancestor had saved him, but he hadn’t had the courage to save his uncle. Still not quite understanding what had happened, Jalal’s guilt soon led him to begin training for the town guard. He joined later and learned how to fight, how to be tough, just like his uncle had needed. It was an unremarkable stint at a guardsman. Jalal was competent, but never excelled at his duties. In his spare time, he still studied his ancestors stories and he soon learned he could call upon their power to help him. Sometimes they would guard him, while other times he could call on their skill or knowledge. It was the last couple years of his guard service that the Pharaoh opened up the Necropolis for explorers. The tombs seemed to call to Jalal, and he knew some of his ancestors had been buried there. Once he was discharged from the guard, he knew it was time to find a way to go into the dead city. But he couldn’t go in alone.
Description:
Jalal is a tall, tanned elf whose featured tell of a long heritage in the hot desert climate. He wears shoulder length hair typically tied back into a tail. He is slim like most elves, but he body has a strength from his time in the guard. He often has a distracted look and sometimes fails to hold eye contact like he’s noticing something out of the corner of his eye all the time. He wears typical flowing desert clothes or armor when he’s expecting battle. Motivation:
”Why do I want to go into the Necropolis? Because the roots of my family are in there, and their spirits are pulling at me. There’s power in my lineage, countless stories of magic, bravery, and skill. I can feel the all the spirits of the desert elves of Wati and I want to find out what they say.” |
