Kytes's page

Kytes is somewhat naturally handsome for a Half-Orc, though his personal style could best be described as "unkempt". He stands just over six feet. His hair is medium length and dark, and his light beard shares a similar coloration flecked with some deep reds. His eyes are a piercing sky blue.

The young Half-Orc is muscular and fit, with the ruddy skin and calloused hands of someone well accustomed to peasant work. When decked out for adventuring and facing the forces of evil, he's quite impressive looking: height and armor conspiring to somewhat mask his youth and inexperience.

Kytes hasn't known many other Half-Orcs in his short life, but he shares something in common with a great many of them: he is an orphan. Kytes grew up a foundling in a small farming community on the Tandak plains. While no one in the rather traditional community could quite bring themselves to outright adopt a Half-Orc, he was reasonably well cared for until he was old enough to begin paying for his upkeep through work.

Kytes worked as something of a freelance farmhand in the area, the various farms working out who needed the extra help the most during which times of year. As such, Kytes developed a sense of "home" being less a specific location and more the community one belonged to.

In truth, several of the farmers who raised him grew to feel somewhat shamed as the years went by and Kytes grew into one of the most upstanding lads they'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. By the time the boy was 12, the insular community loved him like he was a son to all of them, and became extremely defensive of the boy to any outsiders who made negative note of his ancestry.

When Kytes was 14, trouble struck the small collection of farms he called his home. A group of bandits, setting their sights on a bigger mark than the average defenseless traveler as well as a comfy retirement, started using a combination of thuggery and (poorly) falsified land deeds to force the farmers off and take control of the farms themselves. Taldan law enforcement, busy being used as a political instrument for any number of scheming nobles at any given time, could be little bothered to deal with the problem.

It was during one of these regular attempted shakedowns that Tove, the patriarch of one of the farm-owning families and one of Kytes' many surrogate fathers, had finally had enough. In disgust and frustration, Tove shoved the bandit leader and demanded he vacate the property. The leader took this as an infringement too far, and an outright fight broke out. Tove was an ox of a man, with a physique the product of decades of fieldwork and barn building, but he was no trained warrior, and he was not armed. The bandit took what licks he needed in order to outmaneuver the burly farmer and plant a dagger squarely in his neck.

Kytes and the rest of the farmers found Tove the next morning, the bandits having sacked his home and vanished into the night. The incident was finally enough to wrest a constabulary detachment from the city, but the bandits were crafty and went to ground. The constables, their hearts hardly set to a task they considered a waste of their time, did poorly in their efforts to smoke the bandits out.

The evening of Tove's funeral, Kytes could not sleep. Instead he sat outside alone, a few feet from Tove's crude headstone, utterly bereft. Other than the occasional passing bigot or spoiled crop, the young Half-Orc had not experienced much in the way of tragedy or loss. He fumed at the ineffective constables, more concerned with standing than with justice. He raged at the craven evil that led these bandits to harass and kill good, hardworking people. He despaired as his good heart understood the underlying tragedy of a world that caused people to believe they must resort to such cruelty to secure a good life for themselves.

As dawn pushed away the darkness of night, and the sun crept up over the horizon, a sharp glint from far across a field struck Kytes' eye, causing him to blink. Had Tove left some equipment out in the field? Gone unretrieved since he was slain? As Kytes made his way across the field to the source of the glint, the sun crept higher. He heard a keening screech from above and look up. A hawk circled lazily in the sky above, no doubt searching for breakfast.

When Kytes reached the source of the reflective glint, he was stunned by what he found. Planted firmly within the earth of the field was a finely crafted longsword, the most exquisite thing the Half-Orc had seen in his entire life. The last few inches of the blade were buried in the dirt, but the rest of the blade was flawless, gleaming steel. The hilt was wrapped in perfectly cured, supple leather that look brand new. At the center of the crossguard was the stylized emblem of a sun with the blade of sword emerging from it, wrought of pure electrum. The sword was a thing of beauty, but minimal in its ostentatiousness.

Kytes recognized the emblem: it was the holy symbol of Iomedae. The boy had little practical education, and the farmers who raised him all mostly worshiped Erastil, but The Inheritor was at least familiar to him.

As Kytes was pondering this, suddenly the hawk circling above let out another mighty screech and dove straight for him. It changed direction at the last moment, shooting over his head before letting out its wings to slow itself and alighting nimbly on the crossguard of the sword. The hawk cocked it's head curiously, looking Kytes directly in the eyes. The young farmhand felt what he could only describe as a presence in his mind, attempting to calm his confusion. Then suddenly, a flash of light that seemed to approach from every direction at once caused him to fall to his knees.

Looking up, Kytes felt as if the sun was a mere seven inches from his face. His eyes could make out an armored figure standing before him, but detail beyond that was impossible as the light burned into him.

A gauntleted hand rested on Kytes shoulder: powerful and certain, but also welcoming and reassuring. Then, a voice: "Valorous hearts are needed to protect the innocent and beat back their oppressors. A blade is an effective tool, but it is not the only tool. Trust your heart, trust my messenger, and your path will be clear."

Kytes awoke hours later, the late afternoon sun beginning it's descent towards the horizon. At first he'd though he'd had some sort of dream, but no: there was the blade, gleaming in the waning sunlight, and the hawk still perched upon it. He felt that calming presence in his mind again as the hawk cocked it's head at him, and then tapped the hilt of the sword with its beak.

Str. 17 (+3)
Dex. 13 (+1)
Con. 14 (+2)
Int. 8 (-1)
Wis. 12 (+1)
Cha. 14 (+2)

BAB: +1
CMB: +4
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Movement: 30’ (20' in chain mail)

Masterwork Longsword +5, 1d8+3, crit: 19-20 (x2), Slashing

Cold Iron Morning Star +4, 1d8+3, crit: 20 (x2), Bludgeoning & Piercing

Heavy Crossbow +2, 1d10, crit: 19-20 (x2), 120’, Piercing

HP: 12
AC: 19 (Touch 11, Flat-Footed 18)
CMD: 15
Fort. +4
Ref. +1
Will. +3

Step Up

Ride (1) +6 (+3)
Sense Motive (1) +5

Background:
Handle Animal (1) +7
Profession: Farmhand (1) +5

Beast Bond:
+1 bonus on Handle Animal and Ride. One of these skills (your choice) is a class skill for you.

Well-Prepared Adventurer: Holy Warrior
Your starting gear is determined by the package you select. You do not receive any starting gold.

Attached:
You have a strong emotional attachment to one of your possessions, and you are terrified of losing it. If the object is threatened, in danger, or in someone else's possession you take a -1 penalty on Will saves and a -2 penalty against fear effects. If the object is lost or destroyed, exchange this drawback for the Doubt drawback. Kytes' object of attachment is the Masterwork Longsword sent to him by Iomedae.

Divine Emissary:
At 1st level, a chosen one gains an emissary familiar, treating their paladin level as their wizard level for the purpose of this ability.

Religious Mentor:
The familiar’s sworn duty is to help train the chosen one for their future glory. The familiar is treated as having a number of ranks in Knowledge (religion) equal to the chosen one’s paladin level. The chosen one doesn’t gain Knowledge (religion) as a class skill.

Delayed Grace:
A chosen one begins her adventuring career without fully understanding their true potential. The chosen one uses the barbarian, rogue, sorcerer column to calculate their typical starting age. They receive the smite evil ability at 2nd level and the divine grace ability at 4th level. This does not affect the rate at which they gain additional uses per day of smite evil, so they still gain their second use at 4th level, their third at 7th level, and so on.

Aura of Good:
The power of a Paladin's Aura of Good is equal to their Paladin level.

Detect Evil:
At will, a paladin can use detect evil, as the spell. A paladin can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the paladin does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range.

Monstrous Sympathy:
+2 on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks against Evil creatures.

Weapon Familiarity:
Proficient with Greataxes, Falchions, and any weapon with the word "Orc" in the name.

Darkvision:
Can see in the dark up to 60'.

Orc Blood:
Counts as both a human and an orc for any effect regarding race.

N/A

Common, Orc

Heavy Steel Shield, Masterwork Breastplate, Cold Iron Morning Star, Heavy Crossbow, Crossbow Bolts (x10), Masterwork Longsword, Alchemist's Fire (x3), Holy Water (x4), Oil of Bless Weapon, Potion of Cure Light Wounds (x2), Potion of Protection from Evil, Sunrod (x3), Backpack, Bedroll, Belt Pouch, Candle (x5), Chalk (x5), Crowbar, Flint & Steel, Holy Symbol (silver), Mess Kit, Sack, Silk Rope (50'), Trail Rations (x5), Waterskin

Weight Carried: 102lbs (Medium Load)

Platinum:
Gold: 5gp
Silver:
Copper:

Hawk Familiar (Emissary)
Tiny Animal
Deity: Iomedae
Alignment: Lawful Good

Str. 6 (-2)
Dex. 17 (+3)
Con. 11 (+0)
Int. 6 (-2)
Wis. 14 (+2)
Cha. 7 (-2)

Offense:

BAB: +0
CMB: -1
Initiative: +3
Movement: 10', Fly 60' (Average)

2 Talons +5, 1d4-2, crit: 20 (x2), Slashing

Defense:

HP: 6
AC: 16 (Touch 15, Flat-Footed 13)
Fort. +2
Ref. +5
Will. +4

Feats:

Weapon Finesse

Skills:

Fly (1) +7
Handle Animal (1) -1
Knowledge: Religion (1) +2
Percepiton (1) +14
Profession: Farmhand (1) +6
Ride (1) +4
Sense Motive (1) +6

Class Abilities:

Emissary Skills:
The Emissary Familiar treats Heal, Knowledge: Religion, and Sense Motive as class skills.

Divine Guidance:
The Emissary Familiar can cast Guidance at will.

Share Will:
Whenever an emissary or its master fails a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect that affects only one of them, the other can attempt the saving throw as well. If this second saving throw is a success, treat the original result as a success, and the emissary and its master can’t use this ability again for 24 hours. On a failure, both the emissary and its master suffer the effects of the failed saving throw, even if one of them wouldn’t ordinarily be a valid target.

Improved Evasion:
This works like evasion, except that while the Familiar still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, they henceforth take only half damage on a failed save. A helpless rogue Familiar does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Empathic Link:
The master has an empathic link with his familiar to a 1 mile distance. The master can communicate empathically with the familiar, but cannot see through its eyes. Because of the link’s limited nature, only general emotions can be shared. The master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.

Racial Abilities:

+8 bonus on Perception checks.