--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Acid Bomb (Su) When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it inflict acid damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from an acid bomb take an additional 1d6 points of acid damage 1 round later.
Alchemical Weapon (Move Action) (Su) Add the effects of an alchemical liquid or powder to weapon.
Alchemy +3 (Su) +3 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Bomb 2d6+4 (7/day, DC 15) (Su) Thrown Splash Weapon deals 2d6+4 fire damage.
Compass +2 circumstance for Survival or Knowledge (Dungeoneering) to avoid becoming lost.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Familiar Bonus: +3 to sight-based Perception checks in shadows You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Forewarned Can always act in the surprise round. +1 to initiative.
Mutagen (DC 15) (Su) Mutagen adds +4 to a physical & -2 to a mental attribute, and +2 nat. armor for 30 minutes.
Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Precise Bombs (Ex) Select Int mod squares to not be affected by splash effects.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee.
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Swarming (Ex) Can share a square with another with swarming, if both att the same foe, he is flanked.
Swift Alchemy (Ex) You can construct alchemical items in half the normal time.
Throw Anything Proficient with improvised ranged weapons. +1 to hit with thrown splash weapons.
Unnatural -4 to CHA skills vs animals, +2 Dodge AC against animals. Animal starting attitude one step worse.
Background:
Kerwin was born in the seediest part of Harper's Bay with his family eking out their living collecting the refuse for the better part of town and sifting through it to find items to repair and sell back. Shunned by most of the town people, this little community of Ratfolks had established themselves two generations ago after a ship transporting them as slaves and pets had beached on of the treacherous reefs on the southern coast of the town.
Despite their poverty, Kerwin parents always hoped that their kids could escape their situation and had managed to get them through half a year of one of the free schools opened now and them by religious orders or rich citizen before an incident shut them down quicker than you'd think. So whenever they could, Kerwin and his 5 siblings tried to earn their livng running through town as messengers, guides or even reading letters to those who couldn't.
About ten years ago, as he was helping his parents sorting another cart of refuse, he came to a torn-open package containing two sheets of velum filled with lines of strange signs and glass and metal pots filled with colored powers and viscous liquids. Intrigued, Kerwin hid this package from his sibling in order to examine it more closely. Copying some of the signs, he showed them to Maester Arshan a street writer he often delivered messages from and to Tom Thark, a priest of Cayden Caylean that came to tend some of the worst injured or ill whenever he could. The first one was adamant they were a derivative of draconic while the second indicated they looked like some extracts of a deformed spell. But none of them could identify it further.
Still curious about the package, Kerwin managed to track the package back to a busy commercial street where librarians, jewelers, ink-makers and tailors warred for space. Searching the refuse for a week every night and asking some of the customers for their help, he managed to eliminate most of the owners by looking at their writing samples. Selecting one of the remaining shops that was most likely to be the one, he entered the ink and paint-maker shop and came to the counter showing a partial copy of the writings found in the package. "where did you find it?" said the old but surprisingly springy man behind the counter. "This is something I sent to a friend a month ago. I never got any answer." After the young rat explanation and his own description of the box content, Alonius Vonalen bargained the return of the box against a small finder's fee and the promise to use only Kerwin for the delivery of his packages or messages.
This promise was never fully kept as the old man sensed the bright intellect hidden behind Kerwin's eyes and traded the messenger's job for some help in the shop and in the small lab behind it. For Master Vonalen and his spouse were crafting all their wares themselves. And the old man was also dabbling into his own personal research like the alchemist he was.
Over the next few years, Kerwin spent more and more time at the bench, learning as quickly as he could from his master and her wife who had a little training as a seer on top of her mastery of the manufacture of the various pigments.
At first, he started stacking the shelves and preparing the pigments and inks in the lab. While in the evenings, under the supervision of his new masters, he would learn the more dangerous secrets of alchemy. At first he was intrigued by these and soon found a passion for those strange effect he could generate on his body or the way he could coat weapons with flaming, acid or cold mixtures. He was also taught different languages to be able to communicate with the customers and the trades that supplied the shop in rare ingredients.
Alongside his masters, a third being followed his progress. While he soon found the chemical repelled most of the animals, a small owl entered the lab every night and silently observed Kerwin before going out on his nocturnal hunt. »It’s a son of mine », explained his master’s wife. » It really seems to like you and if you want, I’ll show you how to reinforce your links o that he can be a proper ally. » »I’ll name him whisper, because even his hoots are muted when he senses I need to concentrate. »
After two years, he was behind the counter and while some of the customers found it repellent at first, most were impressed by the sophistication of Kerwin and his mastery of the his trade. Most important fro him was that he could now support his family and provide them with better housing. He even spent the little time he had teaching his siblings some of his knowledge and managed to find a place for his two surviving sisters. One as a seamstress, the other as an apprentice with an herbalist.
After sometime, he even convinced his parents to stop working and come and live in a house he bought in the second island, not far from the shop of his master. With this unexpected rise in the city he also created jealousy with his former playmates. One night, as he was coming home, he was set out by a gang of them who wanted to racket him, menacing to mutilate him if he did not comply. But Kervin did not , and gulping one of his potion, transformed himself and jumped into the fray, muscles bulging. While he manage to prevail, he was deeply cut and lost on of his ears. Taking out another vial, he cauterized the would not to bleed out and limped home. From this day on, he spent more time on his weapon training and learned more ways to apply his knowledge to defend himself.
When the undeads started appearing in town, he did not really take notice of them before in started being a real issue. Then one day, when he came home, he found his house caved in and half burnt. Some undeads had entered and had killed by setting the house in fire. They had surely found on of his stock of alchemist fire and cracked some vials, he thought. But there were more urgent issues and he spent the night searching the ruins to find only human remains and none of their families. Asking the neighbors did not give anymore clue as no one has realized anything was amiss until the fire start.
Going back to the lab, he gathered some of his supplies, his best weapons and set out to find them.
Appearance:
Kerwin stands just before 4 feet with a ratlike muzzle and a sparse light brown fur covering most of his body. His tail is quite short and a small blade is often attached to it. But he mainly use it to chop ingredients in his work. In his masters' shop, he wears bright colored robes with a embroidered hood to mask his missing ear and the burnt skin around it. Now that he is looking for his family, he has traded there fancy clothes for a more discreet dark grey hooded garb over a well crafted chain-shirt. He carries two enormous bags with an unsettling ease and his belt is full of buckles carrying vials. He also carries a bow with at least two quivers.
Whisper, Owl familiar:
Owl
N Tiny magical beast (animal)
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +12
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)
hp 12 (1d8)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +3
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee talon +7 (1d4-2)
Space 2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 6, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 6
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 11
Feats Weapon Finesse
[b]Skills Acrobatics +7 (-1 to jump), Appraise -1, Climb +7, Diplomacy +0, Fly +7, Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +0, Knowledge (nature) +0, Knowledge (religion) -1, Linguistics -1, Lore (Harper's Bay) +2, Perception +12, Spellcraft +1, Stealth +19, Survival +4, Swim +7, Use Magic Device +1; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth
SQ improved evasion
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Flight (40 feet, Average) You can fly!
Improved Evasion (Ex) No damage on successful reflex save; half on failed save.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
