About Kaiden CouslandKaiden’s story:
Kaiden Cousland is the youngest son of house Cousland. At a young age he always enjoyed watching his brother spar with the guards in the castle barracks hoping that one day he two could become a great warrior. He would often run throughout the halls of the castles swinging around a large stick challenging anyone he saw to a duel. This did of course cause more than a few problems. Lord Cousland knew he needed someone to look after his son at all times for fear the boy may drive off the castle staff. So Aaron Burn was fired to be Kaiden’s tutor and arms instructor. The boy bonded well with the man. Aaron was a soldier and hunter, he fancied the hand axe and bow. Kaiden on the other hand showed no talent in either. It wasn’t until the day Kaiden was training with a dummy that he decided to get a larger adult training sword instead of the usual one handed kids sword and knock the dummy over. It was clear at this point Kaiden had better control and skill with a weapon so long as he wielded it in both hands. Thus Kaiden’s training in the martial specialization of greatswords had begun. While during his training, Aaron had often told Kaiden of his adventures while hunting. He told the boy that many beasts of the forest would often prove a greater challenge than any man on the battlefield. Aaron proceeded to tell Kaiden of the time he fought off a hungry pack of wolves or how he survived encounters with other monsters of the wilderness. By far Kaiden’s favorite story was about the time Aaron felled a great bear with just a sword. The story was filled with action and suspense as it was one of Aaron’s greatest challenges. Kaiden often dreamed he would one day take down such a beast himself. As time went on and Kaiden grew up, Aaron started to take the boy out hunting, teach him a thing about surviving in the wilderness. Kaiden was always a brash and imposing character. Often times around the castle he would brag about his skills and show off to people. He simply became an all-around nuisance. Aaron thought hunting would be a good way to show the boy the lessons of battle and survival. Kaiden was thrilled at the prospect of hunting, finally he would have his chance to pit his skills against a great beast and destroy it like his mentor Aaron did. However, hunts proved to be more boring than in the stories as all they every hunted were rabbits and deer. Also, Aaron always insisted that Kaiden use his bow instead of his sword. What was the point of all that training if he couldn’t use the weapon he focused on? Needless to say, Kaiden’s patience and incompetence on the hunts yielded little success in the long run. While Aaron kept complimenting and encouraging Kaiden’s growth, Kaiden grew more frustrated. He couldn’t help but feel Aaron was holding him back more than he was helping him grow. Kaiden would often ask to go after creatures more feroscious but Aaron always said “You’re not yet ready for such a foe. You must continue to grow in skill and you will one day reach the strength” Kaiden heard this so much he was reciting it in his sleep. Out on hunts there were often encounters with wolves or bears but Aaron always knew the way to get around them. “Fighting something like that should only be to protect the life of yourself or others. Never for the sheer pleasure of it.” More and more these philosophies grated on Kaiden’s nerves before finally he took matters into his own hands. One day before he was to meet with Aaron for a hunt, Kaiden snuck out of the castle with his greatsword and without his mentor. He crept into the wilds of the forest alone in search of such challenges. By chance he stumbled upon a mighty bear. This was it, the challenge he had wanted all this time. Not even bothering to hide himself, Kaiden stepped out and challenged the bear. He charged the beast and as one would expect, the bear dropped Kaiden in a single swipe. Kaiden was badly wounded and now the bear had the upper hand. Suddenly for the first time in his life, Kaiden saw his life was really in danger. Kaiden injuries were too great from just one swipe that he couldn’t flee. The bear was coming in for the finishing blow when suddenly an arrow caught the beast right in the neck. This bear was huge though and it seemed more enraged by the attack than hurt. It turned to face off against its new attacker. Kaiden manage to pull himself up to see who his rescuer was, it was in fact, his mentor Aaron. Kaiden watched as the battle ensued. The bear only got hit with another arrow as it charged at Aaron. Aaron was forced to drop his bow and draw his axe to face the beast. It was a vicious battle and Aaron was wounded badly. Yet in spite of his injuries, he was able to bring down the bear. Though the battle was won, both Kaiden and Aaron were fatally wounded. During the battle, the bear had snagged Aaron’s pouch of poultices and had thrown it hard against a tree. Only one health poultice remained and it was cracked and leaking. There was only enough useable fluid for one dose. Aaron of course gave it to Kaiden. Once the poultice worked it’s magic and Kaiden got to his feet, Aaron collapsed unconscious at Kaiden’s side. Kaiden was filled with fear and desperately tried to wake up his mentor. Aaron was not responding. Kaiden had worked hard on his strength and was able to hoist Aaron onto his shoulder. He then dragged his mentor back to the castle where he could hopefully be healed. Kaiden made it back to Highever with Aaron without further incident. Kaiden collapsed in the courtyard from exhaustion as servants rushed to his aid. Aaron was taken to the castle chantry to be healed and Kaiden was scolded by his mother for being so reckless. It was a miracle that Aaron had survived the attack. He was in such bad shape. Kaiden was relieved to hear his mentor had survived and swore to Aaron that he would never be so reckless again. Years past and in spite of what he had promised, Kaiden was still really reckless. Though this time was different, he was more prone to foolish or rather risky tactics in training rooms or when dealing with local thugs or miscreants. Usually he did these things to protect others and often look out for those less fortunate. Or to simply overcome some challenge folks said he couldn’t do. This time though, his recklessness had its limits. Nothing he ever did was life threatening or dangerous…..well not TOO dangerous. Kaiden was a very free spirited boy who trained daily. He had grown much stronger and had gained a degree of patience as well…a small degree really. He still longed for excitement, adventure, and great feats of battle. Though as his father promised, the time would one day come. Aaron had left only a few years back saying that there was nothing more he could teach Kaiden. Kaiden was sad to see his mentor go but he promised they would meet again someday. Kaiden kept up the hunting with his brother Fergus and his good friend Sir Gilmore. Both of whom were also gifted warriors in their own right. Kaiden had learned that it was never a good idea to venture the wilds alone and that good skilled company was always better than going alone. As this tradition went on, it just so happen that one point while Kaiden and his fellows were out in the wilds they stumbled upon a caravan. It was ransacked and there were armed robbers. These were no normal ruffians like the ones Kaiden was used to dealing with back home, but cold blooded killers. The bandits had a small family all huddled up. The brutes circled them like sharks. It was clear they were eyeing the daughter and mother. They would likely kill the father. Kaiden had promised not to be reckless but this was a moment of desperation. Without warning he leapt from their cover and rushed the nearest bandit drawing his greatsword. With a mighty swing powered by fury and resolve, he cleaved the man in two. Seeing as they now had no choice, both Fergus and Gilmore also rushed to Kaidens aid. The battle that followed was vicious and bloody. But somehow Kaiden and his fellows prevailed. Though the family thank them profusely, Kaiden was seen staring at his blood stained sword and the blood that was all over him. This was not only his first battle, but the first time he had ever killed anyone. The feelings inside him were a startling mix of excitement, and horror. It took his brother Fergus shaking him to bring Kaiden back to himself. The family thanked Kaiden and the group escorted the family back to Highever. Cleaning up, Kaiden and Fergus had a long talk about battle and what it was Kaiden had felt after the conflict ended. Kaiden and Gilmore were both trained soldiers and had experience in battle but Kaiden himself was still in training. It took Kaiden a bit before he was able to cope with the feelings and soon he was ready to see action again. Back to his old self. The day did come when it was said that the darkspawn began to return and that the king was calling together all the Lords of Thedas to join in a campaign to face them. Kaiden had never even seen a darkspawn before but the stories he heard never deterred him from the idea of facing them. Horrible monsters that threatened the lives of countless innocence, what more could Kaiden want? It was much to Kaidens disappointment when he was told he wouldn’t be joining the battle but instead, he was put in charge of Highever as a house sitter. Kaiden longed for the chance to experience the thrill of battle once more, but it just seemed he would have to wait a little longer. MMMM Crunchies:
Kaiden Human Fighter (Two-Handed Fighter) 1 NG Medium Humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses Perception +1 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex) hp 13 (1d10+3) Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +0 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee Greatsword +6 (2d6+9/19-20/x2) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 18, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 14 Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 17 Feats Cleave, Power Attack -1/+2, Weapon Focus (Greatsword) Skills Acrobatics +1, Climb +7, Escape Artist +1, Fly +1, Intimidate +6, Perception +1, Ride +1, Stealth +1, Survival +4, Swim +7 Languages Common, Orlesian Other Gear Studded leather armor, Greatsword, You have no money! -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Cleave If you hit a foe, attack an adjacent target at the same attack bonus but take -2 AC. Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Defining moment abilities:
Near Death Experience: +1 to Stabilization Checks, -1 Survival Checks Stalwart against Villains: unsure |
