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About Jens Varmodsson

Jens Varmodsson
Male human (Ulfen) cavalier (honor guard) 3 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 32, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 37)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 29 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1; +2 trait bonus vs. emotion spells and effects
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee cold iron longsword +7 (1d8+4/19-20) or
. . mwk warhammer +8 (1d8+4/×3)
Ranged shortbow +5 (1d6/×3)
Special Attacks challenge 1/day (+3 damage, allies gain +1 to hit), tactician 1/day (Precise Strike, 4 rds)
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 19
Feats Bodyguard[APG], Combat Reflexes, Precise Strike[APG], Saving Shield[APG], Shield Focus
Traits exposed to awfulness, grief-filled
Skills Acrobatics -4 (-8 to jump), Climb +2, Diplomacy +4, Handle Animal +6 (+10 to force this mount into an Unnatural Aura.), Intimidate +4, Perception +6, Profession (soldier) +4, Ride +2 (+6 to force this mount into an Unnatural Aura.), Sense Motive +4, Survival +4 (+5 to provide food and water for allies or to protect allies from harsh weather)
Languages Common, Skald
SQ aid allies, intercept, mount (horse (charger) named Alfsígr), order of the dragon, sworn defense
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (2); Other Gear scale mail, heavy wooden shield, arrows (20), cold iron longsword, mwk warhammer, shortbow, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), soap, torch (5), trail rations (5), waterskin, 6 gp, 3 sp, 4 cp
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Special Abilities
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Aid Allies +3 (Ex) Aid Another grants +3
Animal Companion Link (Ex) You have a link with your Animal Companion.
Bodyguard Use an AoO to use aid another to improve an ally's AC.
Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Dragon's Challenge +3 (1/day) (Ex) +3 to damage target, -2 AC vs. others when used, allies gain +1 to hit the target of your challenge.
Exposed to Awfulness (1/day) Vs Death/Incapacitation by demon: Reroll saving throw as free action, keep 2nd result.
Grief-Filled +2 trait bonus to save vs. emotion spells and effects.
Intercept Increase AC bonus granted to ally from aid another by +1.
Precise Strike +1d6 precision damage for melee attacks if you and an ally with this feat flank the same target.
Saving Shield As an immediate action, add a 2 shield bonus to an adjacent ally's AC.
Shield Focus +1 Shield AC
Sworn Defense (Ex) Select a ward during a challange, sacrificing AC to grant bonus to ward's AC.
Tactician (Precise Strike, 4 rds, 1/day) (Ex) Grant the use of your teamwork feats to all allies in 30 ft.

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Alfsígr
Female horse (charger)
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +6 natural, -1 size)
hp 21 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2; +4 morale bonus vs. fear and emotion effects.
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Offense
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Speed 50 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d4+3), 2 hooves -1 (1d6+1)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
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Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)
Feats Power Attack, Valiant Steed
Tricks Attack, Attack, Attack Any Target, Combat Riding, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, Stay
Skills Acrobatics +6 (+14 to jump), Perception +6, Ride +2 (+4 to stay in the saddle)
SQ attack any target, barding training, combat riding, mounted challenge, stay
Other Gear leather armor, bit and bridle, military saddle
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Special Abilities
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Attack Any Target [Trick] The animal will attack any creature on command.
Barding Training 1 Worn armor -1 check penalty, +1 max DEX.
Combat Riding [Trick] The animal has been trained to bear a rider into combat.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Mounted Challenge +1 +1 to damage target, +1 AC vs. others when used
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.
Stay [Trick] The animal will stay where it is.
Valiant Steed +4 vs. fear/emotion effects & to push you into unnatural aura. Wounds don't increase push DC.

Backstory:

Born in 4665 to horse breeders in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Jens grew up knowing the value of physical might and hard work, and took to the saddle almost as soon as he could walk. All Ulfen boys learn how to swing a sword or an axe at an early age, but Jens found the swings easier and more natural in the saddle than on foot. He also took to helping his father with the horses, and when he was five, he first witnessed the miraculous birth of a foal – a colt, who was quickly named Cobalt for his rich coat. The boy and the foal were soon close friends.

When Jens was six, he was attacked by a quasit. The demon’s claws were weak, but the poison they left was a different matter. His developing body wasn’t able to fight it off, and he surely would have perished, had Cobalt not raised a terrible racket of distressed snorts and whinnies that brought Jens’ father running. The quasit met a swift end at the tines of a pitchfork, and a healer was quickly summoned for the boy. Jens made a slow but sure recovery, and from that day forth, he and Cobalt were truly inseparable – the horse was one of few things he took with him when he left home at sixteen.

Ulfen mercenaries and bodyguards are highly desired for their intimidating appearance, which Jens had in spades – reaching a towering height, and sporting a wild mane and beard of wiry golden hair. The lifestyle suited him well enough, too – he travelled across the Inner Sea region, fighting for coin, more often than not from horseback. He learned how to wield a lance properly, and how to fight tactically, as opposed to sheer force. He learned how to use his shield as a weapon, an extension of his arm, and how to shrug off blows that would kill a lesser man. Cobalt was a fierce mount, growing into a shaggy, heavy beast, and an able combatant in his own right. After several years of stints in various militias and mercenary bands, Jens found his wanderlust fading. But Desna smiled, for she sent one of her worshippers to him – a beautiful Varisian bard, who was in the last mercenary troupe Jens joined.

Deselde. Her mind was as quick as her body, and, by an amazing stroke of luck, she found him as irresistible as he did her. After a brief and beautiful courtship, the two were married, settling down where their last contract ended – just within the borders of Mendev.

Jens purchased a breeding mare, and took to raising horses, like his parents. He and Deselde had two children – a daughter, Sólveig; and a son, Zuristren, both beautiful as their mother, but hale and hardy as their father.

But good things seldom last forever.

In 4692, the family of four travelled to Kenabres with the plan of selling some horses to the Crusaders – possibly staying on for Armasse, if the coin was good enough. Jens knew how to talk up his animals (and fine animals they were, too), and Deselde knew how to handle the customers. The plan couldn’t have gone smoother.

Until, that is, the Storm King, Khorramzadeh, attacked Kenabres. The earth trembled beneath his feet, and his whip felled buildings and people alike. Demons swarmed the city before being driven back by the Crusaders. Jens bellowed over the roar of what felt like an apocalypse for his family to stay close, but it was to no avail – he was stabbed in the side by a Babau, falling victim to its slime soon after.

When he awoke, the dead were already being buried. Among them, Deselde. A broken man, he retrieved her kapenia, her family scarf, and began searching through the bodies for Sólveig and Zuri. It was no use. He searched the city, high and low, but found no trace of his children. He buried his wife, and set out looking for the one thing he had left – Cobalt.

Cobalt was there, of course. Standing over the corpse of a Babau – no doubt the very same one that had nearly killed Jens. And with him was a young filly – a creature he’d written off as being unsellable, but who Sólveig had begged him to keep as a pet. Alfsigr was her name, a young bay with a fierce white blaze on her brow and a meek, clingy disposition. With a heavy heart, Jens made arrangements to sell his business, and gathered his last few possessions from home. It was then that he swore to join the Fourth Crusade.

For a few years, his ferocity served him well – he now had nothing left to lose, spare Cobalt. He grew older, wearier, jaded. His golden beard and hair began to streak with silver. His body began to get wearier. He looked like a man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Cobalt grew older, too.

Soldiering on to the end, Cobalt gave no indication that he was close to death until, one morning, when Jens rose, the old horse didn’t. And that was that. Jens was thirty-five.

He buried his last remaining friend, and stopped volunteering for Worldwound patrols. His drive and passion gone, he turned to a different project – training new crusaders, people younger and more able-bodied than himself. He trained scores of young men and women, saw them head into the Wordwound, full of promise – and saw few of them return.

Jens has been there since, training people for their deaths. But part of him burns with a fierce desire to head back into the Worldwound, back into the face of death – to take the fight to the demons. And, if need be, to not return.

Appearance:

Jens is a big man, typically Ulfen in stature - standing at a towering 6'6", and broad to match. His shoulders are big, his chest is like a barrel, and his midsection is beginning to fill out in his middle-age, the more defined muscles of his youth fading more each day to be replaced by bulk. His thighs are thick, his legs long, and his feet large. Jens is a big man with a big presence to match.

His voice is loud and resonant when he wants it to be; slow and cold otherwise. Even decades of travel haven't quite worn off his accent from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings - when he focuses, he can keep it clipped, but in moments of high passion - anger, blood-lust, or despair - the accent is thicker, only adding more to his intimidating presence.

Jens dresses in plenty of layers, mostly to provide comfort when wearing his armour, partly because he's getting older and feeling the cold more. He favours heavy armours, and is deceptively agile for his size and age, especially in the saddle. His hair and beard are both long, thick, and golden - both braided, and both streaked with silver. He knows he isn't getting any younger, and sees no shame in going grey.

Personality:

Jens has a big personality to match his size. When joyous, he's boisterous, quick to clap someone one the back to congratulate a job well done, quick to raise a tankard in good cheer, quick to laugh at a good joke, usually accompanied by a good thigh-slapping. When he falls silent, it means one of two things - either the time for cheer is over, and a serious tone is expected of all; or he's trying to figure out whether to run you through or bash your face in.

As a man who's lost everything, Jens is quick to take risks. He knows better than to attempt something outright suicidal, but he never stops looking for his glorious death. He's a man without a purpose, with nothing left to live for, and a cause worth dying for.

To those younger than himself, Jens is a gruff father figure - he acts almost patronisingly to those twenty years or more his junior, always trying to talk them out of dangerous actions. This isn't out of disrtespect - rather,it is out of fatherly instinct. He hasn't seen his own children for many years, after all, presuming them dead in the demon raid, and is wracked with guilt. He could have protected the, he thinks, had he only been there. No young man or woman should have to die when there are old men like himself to take the blows. He

Jens knows better than to take stupid risks, but will do so if it means protecting those more deserving of life. If protecting young soldiers, particularly if they remind him of his own children, he will gladly fight to the death. He doesn't wish anyone to suffer the fate of his own offspring.

Alfsigr:

A large man needs a large horse, and Alfsigr fits the bill perfectly. 12 years old, standing at an impressive 18 hands, and with a stocky build to match, she, like her master, is deceptively fast and agile. Her coat is thick, rough, and shaggy, a rich bay colour. Bred for war, and sired by Jens' old horse Cobalt, Alfsigr displays absolute loyalty, and has been trained for nothing less.