About Karsis AlevondeBackground:
Born to Korvosan spice merchants Elindra and Castor Alevonde, Karsis and his older sister Evette had a fairly normal childhood. Their parents, while not rich, made enough money to provide for their children, and as law abiding citizens, they never had to fear from city officials or the Hellknights that kept order in Korvosa.
Aldrin and his sister helped out their parents with managing and selling their stock, but it was clear that they did not have any aspirations to continue the trade as adults. Both he and Evette became quickly enamored with Korvosa's most prestigious magical school, The Acadamae, after witnessing an impressive display of magic as part of the institution's recruitment drives. The siblings would beg their parents every day for the chance to attend Acadamae, wanting to be able to perform staggering feats of arcane mastery promised by the recruiters. Sadly, tuition at the Acadamae is quite expensive, even for well-off spice merchants, and even being accepted into the institution requires prospective students to understand the basics of magic, and have supplies such as spellbooks and reagents. Mr and Mrs Alevonde went over their available funds, and realized that with all the preparation required, only one of their children would be able to attend the university. Unfortunately for Karsis, Evette was chosen since she was the oldest, leaving the child helping his parents sell spices for the foreseeable future. Although he was dismayed about their decision, he supported his sister, and asked her to visit him as often as she could. Four years passed since Evette was admitted into Acadamae, and during that time, Karsis' life was mostly uneventful, helping his parents with their merchandise, and spending most of his free time by himself, reading up on basic magical theory. One night, while his parents were asleep, Evette visited the home with a wild look in her eyes, and an ambitious plan on her mind. She told Karsis that she met a merchant named Gaedren Lamm, who needed a wizard to help him get away with a certain scheme he was planning. The whole idea sounded dangerous to Karsis, but then he heard why she was so interested in helping the sketchy fellow: if all went according to plan, her cut of the profits would be enough to get Karsis enrolled in the Acadamae. The whole plan still seemed suspect to the aspiring mage, but the promise of being able to finally realize his dream of becoming a powerful wizard like his sister stopped him from trying to dissuade Evette. He gave his sister a hug, wished her good luck, then eagerly returned to his books, expecting to make use of the knowledge sooner than he ever expected. That was the last time he saw Evette alive. Late in the evening on the following day, a Korvosan guard stopped by the Alevonde residence in the Shingles. Her body was found slumped by the entrance of a looted warehouse, with copious amounts of dried blood poring out of claw wounds all over her back. Karsis and his parents were devastated, and although the guards promised they would do everything they could to find the culprit, one week later, no progress had been made. In his depression, Karsis almost completely gave up his spellcasting aspirations, until one night when heard a strange tapping noise against his bedroom window. He opened it up, and a raven swooped in, landing on a desk; it was his sister's familiar Cedric. Cedric explained that his sister was murdered by Lamm. While she was binding a bearded devil to stand watch while she and Lamm looted the warehouse, the crime lord purposely smudged the binding circle, allowing the outsider to kill Evette while Lamm slunk away in the shadows. With Evette dead, Lamm was able to grab everything for himself, within having to pay Evette the agreed upon share. Cedric managed to escape by flying away as fast as possible, but the sudden shock of losing the magical connection with his master nearly killed the familiar. When he eventually recovered, he sought out Karsis as soon as possible so the two could formulate a plan. Alas, with only a rudimentary understanding of spellcasting, and no real leads on the location of Lamm, Karsis fears he may not be able to avenge his sister. But should the opportunity arrive, he will not hesitate to end the wretched man's miserable existence. Personality:
Karsis is normally friendly and sociable, but the recent death of his sister has left him morose. He is quick to make friends, but tries not become too attached in case anything were to happen to them. He blames himself for Evette's death, reasoning that he should have at least tried to dissuade her from the criminal plan. As a result, Karsis is overly cautious, preferring safe or peaceful plans to any that involve a high degree of risk or danger.
The beginner wizard is very interested in magical lore and spells, but he only has a rudimentary understanding from basic instructional tomes, and the occasional lesson from his sister when she visited. After learning of how she died, Karsis has doubled up on his efforts to learn abjurations and other defensive spells, while eschewing the powerful, but dangerous summoning spells. Normally he is not a vengeful individual, but Karsis will not rest easy until Gaedrem Lamm is either imprisoned or dead. Until the day he sees justice, Karsis is focused and on edge, not allowing minor distractions to deter him from his course. He has never killed before, but he is willing to do so in this extreme case. Appearance:
Karsis is average height with a slender build, standing at 5'9" and 145lbs. His light brown hair neatly falls below his shoulders, and he takes great care to keep it well-maintained. His green eyes sparkle whenever he speaks on a topic he's interested in, and he is quick to smile when in pleasant company... or when trying to assure others that he is holding up.
The aspiring mage has no clothing specifically for combat, and wears a loose tunic and trousers in order to keep him mobile and unhindered in combat. He keeps his clothes clean with daily prestidigitation spells, because as his parents taught him: appearance is everything. Sample post:
The fire elemental advances slowly toward Karsis, its surging, flaming form threatening to burn him to cinders.
Sweat pours down the mage's face, half from the heat, half from fear. Cedric was long gone, having flown away at the first sign of trouble. Typical, really, but what use would the raven even be in this situation? "Focus, Karsis. Remember the spell." he stammers, thinking to the elemental protection spell he scribed a mere five days ago. The words of power come to mind, and he quickly yells the incantation, while tracing a sigil in the air. Suddenly an ephemeral barrier manifests in front of the wizard, diverting the path of the elemental's fiery slam. Licks of flame spatter harmlessly around Karsis, preventing an untimely disaster. That should buy me enough time for now. Hopefully the others will get here soon. Stat Block:
HP: 8/8 AC: 12 T: 12 FF: 10
Fort: +3, Ref: +2, Will: +4 Perception: +3, Initiative: +7, Hero Points: 0 ---------------------
Abjurer Spells Prepared (CL 1, concentration +6)
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1 Diplomacy
Background Skills
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Arcane Temper - Karsis is intensely concentrated on protecting his allies and taking out villains like Lamm. +1 to initiative and concentration. Merchant - From his upbringing as a spice merchant, Karsis has learned how to barter for goods. +1 to appraise and sense motive when bargaining. ---------------------
Racial Traits:
Skilled: +1 skill point/level
Bonus Feat: extra feat at 1st level Class Abilities:
Resistance: You gain resistance 5 to an energy type of your choice, chosen when you prepare spells. This resistance can be changed each day.
Disruption: At 1st level, you gain the ability to disrupt spellcasting with a touch. As a melee touch attack, you can place a disruptive field around the target. While the field is in place, the target must make a concentration check to cast any spell or to use a spell-like ability in addition to any other required concentration checks. The DC of this check is equal to 15 + twice the spell’s level. If the check is failed, the target’s spell is wasted. This field lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum 1). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier. ---------------------
Abacus
Total Weight: 31lbs [spoiler=Spellbook]
Familiar:
Cedric, Raven
Quick stat block HP: 4 (half of Karsis) AC: 15 T: 14 FF: 13 Fort: 1 Ref: 4 Will: 4 Bite +4 (1d3-4 damage) Abilities: Alertness, Emphatic Link, Share Spells, Improved Evasion, speaks common (SU) Grants +3 to appraise checks |
