About Jassminder ShahBACKGROUND:
Jassminder doesn’t talk much about her past, even to her few friends. The scars where manacles once were on her wrists and ankles tell their own story, but how she escaped a childhood of slavery and ended up seeking refuge in a temple is a story she keeps to herself. It became very clear though very quickly that although she had an aptitude for many things, she excelled in combat; and she had absolutely no ability at all to make friends or empathise with other people. Fortunately, one of the wiser priests at the temple took her under his wing and did his best to teach her how to ‘read’ other people, and how to understand what they were feeling even if she couldn’t feel it for herself. He sometimes worried that he was teaching a remorseless sociopath how to fit in among ordinary people, but he justified his concerns by telling himself that Jassminder was a weapon of Good, to be pointed at Evil. So far, he has been proven right and Jassminder has not fallen. Unusually, Jassminer requested her assignment in Nidal - when her superiors tried to explain the dangers (an everlasting night where the creatures that won't kill you instantly will torture you endlessly instead, a land where nobody can be trusted and even the shadows have claws that will bleed out your soul), she gave a strange smile and replied that was pretty much everything on her birthday list; not that she knows exactly when her birthday is. She has spent the last few years doing low-key work, predominantly scouting and preparing reports but occasionally intervening directly on missions to e.g. escort escaping slaves to the border. She generally poses as a mercenary, of the principled sort that keeps her word and can be relied upon. DESCRIPTION:
Jassminder doesn’t know fear... or pretty much any other emotion, really: guilt, remorse, joy, love, jealousy, anger – OK, no, that’s not right. She’s got anger sorted. But the others? Meh, she’s kind of aware of them but it’s more as though there’s a party in a house she is walking past: she can smell the food, and hear the laughter of the guests enjoying themselves, but there’s a wall between them and herself. It’s not something she worries about. She may not participate in the emotional highs of ‘normal’ people, but she doesn’t suffer from doubt, fear, despair, panic or any of the other afflictions ‘normal’ people have to endure. That said, be in no doubt: Jassminder is Good, by choice. A world of people who are Good is a world of people who are less likely to betray her or stab her in the back or enslave her. She may not share their propensity to, say, go all ‘gooey’ over small children and kittens and the like, but she would rather live in a world of good people than in a world of evil people. For the good people to be safe, the evil people have to be eliminated, and that’s Jassminder’s role in life – one she excels at without taking joy in killing. Bragging about it, or keeping trophies or notches or records of kills, is simply not in her nature: they’re dead, you’re alive, end of story, move on. Jassminder is also Lawful: orderly, methodical (all her arrows are fletched in the same way, with the same amount of twine wound in the same pattern), rational and above all, calm even in the midst of battle. Well aware that no plan survives contact with the enemy, she survives by being well-prepared: even when she has to improvise on the spur of the moment, she does so on the back of well-rehearsed and well-trained movements. She is not given to panic, or to moments of careless individualism. She is also truthful: it’s enough effort that her entire emotional life is a pretence, and she has no inclination to complicate things further. But anyone who expects a typical humourless paladin would be in for a surprise: Jassminder has a keen sense of humour, and can unleash weapons-grade snark or sarcasm on an unsuspecting opponent. Or a friend, if they let themselves in for it. In terms of appearance, Jassminder is relatively compact (just over 5 feet in height), although her broad shoulders tend to mean people think of her as taller than she really is. Her hair, like most Keleshites, is black, and she wears it long because it’s easier than cutting it regularly. Her eyes are dark and tend not to meet other peoples’ very often, usually making initial contact and then darting away. She appears to be in her late twenties, although she has lost track of her exact age. She doesn’t fidget, or have any particular mannerisms; although perhaps her ability to be still no matter the circumstances, until she explodes into action, is a mannerism in itself. Even when caught by surprise she is highly unlikely to flinch or jump. Human (Keleshite) Paladin (Tortured Crusader) 4 Alignment: Lawful Good Deity: Kelinahat Languages: Common, Draconic, Shadowtongue, Infernal, Celestial, Abyssal Initiative +4; Senses Perception +9 _______________
AC 20, Touch 13, Flat-footed 17 (7 Armour, 3 Dex) HP 36 (d10 +1 Con +1 Favoured Class) Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +8 _______________
Speed 20 ft Melee Greatsword +6 (2d6+3) Ranged +1 Longbow +9 OR +7/+7 (d8+3); +1 to hit and damage within 30 feet _______________
Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 20 _______________
Climb 3 (1 point, 2 Str) Heal 9 (3 points, Class Skill, 3 Wis) Intimidate 8 (4 points, Class skill, 1 Int) Perception 9 (4 points, Class Skill, 2 Wis) Sense Motive 9 (4 points, Class Skill, 2 Wis) Stealth 10 (3 points, Class Skill, 4 Dex) -2 ACP Swim 3 (1 point, 2 Str) Survival 8 (3 points, Class Skill, 2 Wis) Background Skills Craft (bowyer) 8 (4 points, Class Skill, 1 Int) Linguistics 4 (4 points) _______________
1st Level (1/day): Hero's Defiance _______________
Brusing Intellect (social): Your sharp intellect and rapier-like wit bruise egos. Intimidate is always a class skill for you, and you may use your Intelligence modifier when making Intimidate checks instead of your Charisma modifier. Armour Expert (combat): ou have worn armor as long as you can remember, either as part of your training to become a knight’s squire or simply because you were seeking to emulate a hero. Your childhood armor wasn’t the real thing as far as protection, but it did encumber you as much as real armor would have, and you’ve grown used to moving in such suits with relative grace. When you wear armor of any sort, reduce that suit’s armor check penalty by 1, to a minimum check penalty of 0. Indomitable Faith (faith): You were born in a region where your faith was not popular, but you still have never abandoned it. Your constant struggle to maintain your own faith has bolstered your drive. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Will saves. Meticulous (drawback): You plan and prepare everything in detail, and aren't good at improvising when things don't go as planned. You take a –2 penalty on skill checks for skills with which you're untrained. _______________
Point Blank Shot: You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet. Precise Shot: You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll. Rapid Shot: When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, you can fire one additional time this round. All of your attack rolls take a –2 penalty when using Rapid Shot. _______________
Torment: Torment: A tortured crusader’s great suffering in the face of inevitable horror strengthens her faith and resolve, even as it makes her introverted and far less personable than most paladins. A tortured crusader uses Wisdom instead of Charisma as her key spellcasting ability score (to determine her spell DCs, bonus spells per day, bonus on concentration checks, and so on), and to determine the effects of lay on hands. Smite Evil: Once per day, a paladin can call out to the powers of good to aid her in her struggle against evil. As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the paladin Self-Sufficient: A tortured crusader adds Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (planes), Perception, Stealth, Survival, and Use Magic Device to her list of class skills, instead of Diplomacy and Handle Animal. She gains a number of skill ranks equal to 4 + her Intelligence modifier at each level, instead of gaining a number of skill ranks equal to 2 + her Intelligence modifier. This ability alters the paladin’s class skills and skill ranks per level. All is Darkness: Everything around a tortured crusader is so bleak that detecting evil only reminds her that the odds are always against her. A tortured crusader doesn’t gain the detect evil or divine grace class features. At 1st level, a tortured crusader gains the smite evil ability, but she doesn’t add her Charisma bonus to attack rolls or a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma bonus to her AC against the target of her smite. At 2nd level, she adds a +4 bonus to attack rolls and a +4 deflection bonus to AC against the target of her smite. This ability replaces detect evil and divine grace and alters smite evil. Lay on Hands: Beginning at 2nd level, a paladin can heal wounds (her own Alone in the Dark: Faced with endless foes, a tortured crusader can’t ask others to confront the same horrors she does. She can’t use her lay on hands ability to heal others or to channel energy, though starting at 4th level, she can convert two uses of lay on hands into an additional use of smite evil. Her aura of courage, aura of resolve, aura of faith, and aura of righteousness affect only her, not her allies. When she selects a divine bond, it must be with a weapon, not a mount. Second Chance: At 2nd level, once per day, a tortured crusader can spend two uses of lay on hands and choose an unambiguous trigger such as “when I am paralyzed” or “when I am about to fall unconscious from hit point damage,” as well as a mercy she knows starting at 3rd level. When the named trigger occurs, the tortured crusader gains the benefits of a lay on hands with the chosen mercy without spending an action. This healing can prevent her from falling unconscious or dying. If the effect doesn’t trigger, it expires the next time the tortured crusader recovers uses of lay on hands. Aura of Courage (self only): At 3rd level, a paladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Divine Health: At 3rd level, a paladin is immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases, including mummy rot. Mercy - Fatigued (self only): At 3rd level, and every three levels thereafter, a paladin can select one mercy. Each mercy adds an effect to the paladin's lay on hands ability. Whenever the paladin uses lay on hands to heal damage to one target, the target also receives the additional effects from all of the mercies possessed by the paladin. A mercy can remove a condition caused by a curse, disease, or poison without curing the affliction. Such conditions return after 1 hour unless the mercy actually removes the affliction that causes the condition. _______________
Magic Items Breastplate +1 (1,350 gp) (Max Dex +3, ACP -2)
Other Gear Weapon blanch, adamantine (100 gp)
Weapon blanch, cold iron (20 gp)
40 arrows (2 gp) Greatsword (50 gp) 4 Daggers (8 gp) 2x Acid flasks (20 gp)
Silver holy symbol (25 gp) 100gp of standard adventuring gear (backpack, rations, rope, clothing, etc) |
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