Background: Lauran family traces its descent to the original Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant himself.
When the crusade was called the Jalars, minor Taldan nobles hungry for glory, responded en masse. During the conflict most of the family perished, but some managed to gain important positions and actually suceeded at the "glory" part of their task, the fact most of them did not survive to enjoy the fruits of their actions was considered a small price to pay for the honor they achieved in death. Nearing the end of the fight only two Jalars, Elmar and Jyan, survived. Officers in the crusade, Lauran ancestors had the privilege to assist into the imprisonment of the Whispering Tyrant .After that was done they decided not to return to Taldor but to stay back and guard the land from the archlich possible return and from the machinations of his remaining agents. Of the two surviving Jalars one moved into Lastwall and gained a prestigious position in the newborn nation as a well respected general in its army. In time he married and his branch of the family was born anew.
His sister instead decided for a different path: choosing Ustalav as her new home, she favored a less direct approach than her sibling. Instead of searching for a place in the military of fractious Ustalav, she decided defending the land required a less blatant approach than it was possiblke elsewhere. So she embraced the way of the inquisitor founding the group known as the Torches of Valor, a Iomedaean sect dedicated to ferretting out undeads and other monstruosities hiding among humans and bringing them to justice (which, in most cases meant a quick burning in the main town square...). Through the years the ustalavian branch of the Jalars expanded quietly, even coming so far as to reqruit trusted outsiders in their ranks in order to expand their net of informats through Ustalav.
While the Torches were by all means not infallible and had their share of setbacks, nontheless they managed to gain an impressive reputation as relentless enemies of evil and undeath. They traced the reason for their success to the fact each generation a female child was born in the family bearing a striking resemblance with the original ancestor, and exibiting uncommon powers. Seemingly blessed by Iomedae this child invariably grew up as a skilled inquistor bringing eternal rest to the horrors still plaguing Ustalav.
The child was not always easy to identify, but while growing around dangers of every kind up the Torches knew her nature would show herself rather quickly (if not the chances of an unpleasant demise were rather high....). In any case any female Jalar was given a sword dating back to the original Shining Crusade. If and when the bearer would prove herself she would be given the original sword Jyan beared during the fight against the Whispering Tyrant.
During this age Lauran is considered to be the most probable heir of the ancestor. She has not done anything so impressive as to convince all of her elders in the family, but she has done enough to sway a number of them. Certainly she has roamed most of Ustalav and, despite being rather young, she has dealt with a number of monstrusities plaguing the Immortal Principality. It was in the very first of her missions that she met Professor Petros Lorrimor.
Lauran had been ordered to observe and report about a group of cultists supposedly following an ancient version of Pharasma's teachings. What she found out was a group of lunatics affiliated with the Whispering Way intent in sacrificing an old man to their foul patron. Despite being severely outnumbered, and having orders to just watch Lauran decided she could not allow the fould deed to be accomplished. Springing into action Lauran managed to scare, confuse and ultimately dispatch most of the cultists, leading the survivors to believe they were up against a large number of opponents, forcing them to flee into the night before completing their ritual. Freeing the old man from the bindings connecting him to the slab of obsidian meant to be the place where he would ahve met his end, Lauran initially didn't think much of the aged scholar giving her an odd look and thanking her with solemn courtesy. She got the impression the old man wasn't entirely happy to be saved as if what he had just undergone was no more than an interesting experience he would have liked to study a bit longer. Anyway the man presented himself as Professor Petros Lorrimor and promised her she would be rewarded for her help. Through the years he actually made good to his promise giving Lauran profound (if sometimes odd) insights into the dark things that roamed he ustalavic nights, and she actually grew to like the man, finding him refreshingly different from the usually dull members of her family.
Learning about Lorrimor's demise was therefore quite unsettling for Lauran. It was with a sad heath that she travelled to Ravengro to bury the man she had called friend and hear her camerade last whishes.
Personality: Lauran is quiet and dedicated. She doesn't talk much if not needed, having been trained to suspect of everything and everyone and to listen to other people's talk for hints of corruption. Lauran shows the world a confident facade, and she certainly trusts in her abilities, yet, she also feels the stress of her family's expectations. Since she was old enough to be trained she was told she was exceptional and she was expected to bring honor and glory to her family. From there she was given a very rigorous training, learning how to best shatter a skeletron spine with a mallet by 4 and 50 different ways to stake a vampire by seven, yet lacking a prospective on what "normal" people did for living. She doesn't exactly understand what she misses, yet she knows she does, and, being curious she started wondering about how would her life be without all the responsabilities she was saddled with.
Phisical descrition: Lauran is tall for a woman, with a lithe figure and short dark hair matched by her blackened armor. Despite her eavy armor Lauran is good at moving silently, probably a consequence of her natural grace.
Some feedback/requests for some of you, I'll get to more of you tomorrow:
Lauran Jalar – How does Lauran feel about the fact that she might somehow be a special descendant, in the image of “the original ancestor”?
Lauran opinion:
Most of her life she's been living with people who taught her she was special, a chosen agent of Iomedae doing her work on the material plane. She never did the things most "normal people" do (her cult like family could have teached her how to disguise herself, or pass for one of the "unenlightened", but she had no real way to feel what that meant, as it was all charade meant to better get near monster disguising themselves as men) she was too busy learning how to distinguish a ghoul from a ghast or how to use a crossbow to effectively kill a vampire. So, on one end she feels proud about possibly being the "chosen child", it's agreat honor and what she was raised for. On the other hand deep down she feels a bit frustrated by the enormous pressure she's subject to. That's part of the reason she liked Lorrimor, despite his utter lack of common sense or pragmatism he didn't expect anything from her and gave her credit for who she was not for who she was meant to be
Mmmh, I could change to Aasimar too if needed. An Archon-Blooded Aasimar would actually fit the idea of Lauran being a chosen child of Iomedae quite nicely.
Dotting for interest, this is Lauran an Inquisitor of Iomedae that was meant for a Carrion Crown Game that got cancelled early. I'd like to try again if you'll have me.
AH! So there might actually be some truth behind all these voices! A great deal of bloodshed and unavenged wrongs are typical symptoms leading to a possible case of haunting. Let's dig more...
Lauran feigns shock at the bartender's words:"How scary! But he got caught in the end... right?" Lauran winks at the man, feeling a bit puzzled by his costant jokes about ghosts and the like.
There's no way he would speak of such things so openly... right?
As the first shadows of night start encroaching the eerie tavern Lauran makes her way to its sorroundings: she circles the perimeter of the structure three times making certain no bolt holes or other "unusual" means of entrance are present. When satisfied she enters the establishment and she takes a place at the bar.
Let's see if this place really is haunted as the townsfolk claim...
She smiles at the bartender, although her smile never touches her eyes:"A chilly evening for travel. I'll have something to warm my bones, spiced wine, maybe?"
As she orders the inquisitrix checks the rest of the room without atracting undue attention. Then, when the bartender returns with her order she asks innocently:"This seems to be a really old tavern. I wonder which kind of stories it could tell if it were able to talk... Any famous tales you know about it, my friend? Seems like the right night for a ghost story..."
@Lauran Jalar: Don't forget to mark down Bonus Spells, not a big deal but didn't want you to forget.
KK I will note them down with a B near them if that's ok
I just noticed the number of bonus spells per day you get is not there on the sheet you linked for me. Just didn't want you to forget them is all.
KK I think the misunderstandin is I usually list bonus spells in that square only if the class grants me some and not if they are derived from high stats (for an int 18 illusionist I would list 2+1 spells per day for example).
Lauran follows the tiefling inside the tavern. She had noticed the creature some time before and determined to check if it was a danger or merely an unfortunate victim of the whims of fate.
Sitting quietely in a table the Iomedean inquisitrix waits for a barmaid to approach and then asks:"May I have something to drink, please? A keg of ale would do, thank you"
Background: Lauran family traces its descent to the original Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant himself.
When the crusade was called the Jalars, minor Taldan nobles hungry for glory, responded en masse. During the conflict most of the family perished, but some managed to gain important positions and covered themselves in glory. Nearing the end of the fight only two Jalars, Elmar and Jyan, survived. Officers in the crusade, Lauran ancestors had the privilege to assist into the imprisonment of the Whispering Tyrant .After that was done they decided not to return to Taldor but to stay back and guard the land from the archlich possible return and from the machinations of his remaining agents. Of the two surviving Jalars one moved into Lastwall and gained a prestigious position in the newborn nation as a well respected general in its army. In time he married and his branch of the family was born anew.
His sister instead chose a different path: choosing Ustalav as her new home, she favored a less direct approach than her sibling. Instead of searching for a place in the military of fractious Ustalav, she decided defending the land required a less blatant approach than it was possiblke elsewhere. So she embraced the way of the inquisitor founding the group known as the Torches of Valor, a Iomedaean inquisitor group dedicated to ferretting out undeads and other monstruosities hiding among humans and bringing them to justice (which, in most cases meant a quick burning in the main town square...). Through the years the ustalavian branch of the Jalars expanded quietly, even coming so far as to reqruit trusted outsiders in their ranks in order to expand their net of informats through Ustalav.
While the Torches were by all means not infallible and had their share of setbacks, nontheless they managed to gain an impressive reputation as relentless enemies of evil and undeath. They traced the reason for their success to the fact each generation a female child was born in the family bearing a striking resemblance with the original ancestor, and exibiting uncommon powers. Seemingly blessed by Iomedae this child invariably grew up as a skilled inquistor bringing eternal rest to the horrors still plaguing Ustalav.
The child was not always easy to identify, but while growing around dangers of every kind up the Torches knew her nature would show herself rather quickly (if not the chances of an unpleasant demise were rather high....). In any case any female Jalar was given a aword dating back to the original Shining Crusade. If and when the bearer would prove herself she would be given the original sword Jyan beared during the fight against the Whispering Tyrant.
During this age Lauran is considered to be the most probable heir of teh ancestor. She has not done anything so impressive as to convince all of her elders in the family, but she has done enough to sway a number of them. Certainly she has roamed most of Ustalav and, despite being rather young, she has dealt with a number of monstrusities plaguing the Immortal Principality. It was in the very first of her missions that she met Professor Petros Lorrimor.
Lauran had been ordered to observe and report about a group of cultists supposedly following an ancient version of Pharasma's teachings. What she found out was a group of lunatics affiliated with the Whispering Way intent in sacrificing an old man to their foul patron. Despite being severely outnumbered, and having orders to just watch Lauran decided she could not allow the fould deed to be accomplished. Springing into action Lauran managed to scare, confuse and ultimately dispatch most of the cultists, leading the survivors to believe they were up against a large number of inquisitors fleeing into the night before completing their ritual. Freeing the old man from the bindings connecting him to the slab of obsidian meant to be the place where he would meet his end, Lauran initially didn't think much of the aged scholar giving her an odd look and thanking her with solemn courtesy. She got the impression the old man wasn't entirely happy to be saved as if what he had just undergone was no more than an interesting experience he would have liked to study a bit longer. Anyway the man presented himself as Professor Petros Lorrimor and promised her she would be rewarded for her help. Through the years he actually made good to his promise giving Lauran profound (if sometimes odd) insights into the dark things that roamed he ustalavic nights, and she actually grew to like the man, finding him refreashingly different from the usually dull members of her family.
Learning about Lorrimor's demise was therefore quite unsettling for Lauran. It was with a sad heath that she travelled to Ravengro to bury the man she had called friend and hear her camerade last whishes.
Personality: Lauran is quiet and dedicated. She doesn't talk much if not needed, having been trained to suspect of everything and everyone and to listen to other people's talk for hints of corruption. Lauran shows the world a confident facade, and she certainly trusts in her abilities, yet, she also feels the stress of her family's expectations. Since she was old enough to be trained she was told she was exceptional and she was expected to bring honor and glory to her family. From there she was given a very rigorous training, learning how to best shatter a skeletron spine with a mallet by 4 and 50 different ways to stake a vampire by seven, yet lacking a prospective on what "normal" people did for living. She doesn't exactly understand what she misses, yet she knows she does, and, being curious she started wondering about how would her life be without all the responsabilities she was saddled with.
Phisical descrition: Lauran is tall for a woman, with a lithe figure and short dark hair matched by her blackened armor. Despite her eavy armor Lauran is good at moving silently, probably a consequence of her natural grace.
As for non combat feats I've got to ask if Toughness is considered one as such or not. According to Paizo it's not but gaining + hps may very well be considered helpful in combat. So you tell me.
As for the characters I could play here's 3 of them:
Lauran: You know her already as I changed her BG only a little to suit the WotW AP.
Lauran is the last living scion of a noble family (House Jalar), brought low for its ties to the previous order.
Lauran, being an infant when her House was sacked and her parents put to the pyre for their ties to Asmodeus and his cult was spared that grisly end. Instead she was put in an orphanage and quickly forgotten.
Unfortunately Lauran didn't forget. She remembered all too well what she had lost due to the meddling agents of the so called forces of good and wanted only one thing... revenge.
First thing she had to do was to escape from the orphanage she was dumped in. It took a couple of tries but eventually she suceeded. Then she needed to find a way to survive, so she apprenticed herself to one of the last remaining thieves guilds, honing her skills at subterfuge, deception and sleight of hand. Showing exceptional capacities and wanting more she started to take more dangerous jobs and then commissions for murder. She suceeded in several of them but unfortunately it could not last. One one last job she managed to kill a pious member of the clergy only to be discovered before being able to flee. So she was captured, convicted and sentenced to death for murder, sentence to be executed into the brandescar prison...
Dimral: A Ranger with the trapper archetype (so he'll be able to provide trapfinding to the group as well as a mean hitter. Note I'll be developing him with two weapon fighting mastery in mind, but he'll be able to provide the group with several important skills).
Dimral's story is pretty simple: he was a member of a tribe of animistic barbarians living on the northen edge of the realm of Talingarde. He was an hunter and trapper for them and as such he was tasked with providing the tribe with game and venison. Despite his huge size Dimral excelled at these tasks and was a well valued member of the tribe. Unfortunately he also grew in arrogance as his successes increased his fame. So when the tribe decided to move further north to avoid the Talingarde's patrols he openly defied the chief of the tribe and the shaman wishes claiming he could deal with the soldiers and that none should force the tribe to move away from their ancestral hunting grounds.
To prove his point, Dimral embarked in guerrilla warfare against the Talingardian troops resulting in several successes on his part. Yet, after one particularly well executed ambush he returned to the tribe's site to find it gone. The chief and the shaman decided to move anyway leaving him to his own devices! Dimral's first instinct was to hunt down his tribe and slaughter the betrayers. Then a beter plan crept into his mind: he would kill the Talingardian's chief, bring his head to his tribe, challange the coward who lead them and take control of the tribe. Then wage glorious war against the southerners!
The first part of Dimral's plan effectively worked as he crept into the Talingardian's enchampment and managed to locate the captain's tent. What didn't work was that, although he was able to kill a couple of sentries he failed to kill his quarry as he and his men managed to subdue him after a vicious battle. Decided to show Dimral the difference between a civilized people and unruly barbarians the captain had him sent to Brandescar, where the sentence for murder would be executed...
Ulnar: This is a paladin I created recently that I converted into an antipaladin with little effort. She will be able to provide the group with a tank and dish out some solid damage against the scions of good! :D
Ulnar was born an Angelkin Aasimar and "donated" to one of the many churces of Talingarde. As such she was supposed to be a paragon of good and virtue, and she was rised exactly that way by overzealous nuns and priests, eager to see her blossom into a paragon of their faith.
They spared no effort to indoctrinate Ulnar.
They acomplished exactly the opposite result.
Ulnar came to see their devotion and faith as hollow lies and wishful thinking, supported by hipocrisy and fear.
So, while by day Ulnar appeared as the shining beacon of light she was supposed to be, by night she plotted the downfall of the corrupted royal family of Talingarde. She ammassed followers and prepared to strike... only to be discovered and sentenced to death for High Treason. Therefore she was sent to Brandescar for the sentence to be carried out...
These are the characters I came up with. Let me know which one of them you think will suit the campaign better. I admit I'm partial to Dimral, but maybe one of the others will suit the campaign better.
Once you tell me what you prefer I'll write down the char sheet in the form you suggested.
I second Lucias question: do we have to use the rolls in order according to the sequence of stats? If that is the case my character won't work well as an assassin (too low on Str having to focus on Dex), but with those rolls I could do a decent antipaladin or a vicious ranger or barbarian and considering how the group doesn't actually have a tank it could be a good idea.
For the antipally stats would be something like these:
Lauran dismisses Xrezth concerns"A waste of effort. She was dead already. Trust me... I know such things... even if only in a theoretical way of course"
Mmmh, no, I'm in 6 pbp campaigns right now and if I play a 7th I want it to be Shattered Star
If I do run it now, it takes the place of this one. I don't have time to try and run three games. Two is pushing it.
So, that said, if you guys want I can wait until we finish this dungeon (Only God knows when that will happen.) or I can go ahead and get things ready for the Way of the Wicked AP and run this group through that. You can keep your characters if you want and tweak them to fit in with Talingarde, or create new ones.
I will be honest, I think you'll enjoy that more than this. I'm literally making this up as I go, and I'm not that good at thinking off the top of my head.
Ah, ok. Then of course I'm interessed. Let us know what changes would be needed.
"Oh well... I liked her but it seems our frienship is not to be. Rather unfortunate I'm forced to side with such uncouth individuals... Ahhh, no use crying over spilled milk..."
Smiling apologetically Lauran plunges her rapier in the half-elf's back.
Just to clarify: move action to draw the rapier and standard action to attack the flat footed opponent, sneak damage added, +1 to attack roll if Lauran is considered flanking
Lauran takes her share of the rations without uttering a word, while studying her companions.
"Seems like none of my "companions" here is the burly type... a pity, I would have enjoyed having someone to use to distract my victims... of course, if things get heated anyone could do..."
Not exactly sure what Lauran was looking for or referring to here, but I am pretty sure that Dogar qualifies as the 'burly' type. Perhaps not to his advantage ; )
What Lauran meant is she didn't see anyone who could take the enemy head on while she backstabs him. Dogar doesn't hit her as a warrior but more like a drunkyard... ;D
Lauran takes her share of the rations without uttering a word, while studying her companions.
"Seems like none of my "companions" here is the burly type... a pity, I would have enjoyed having someone to use to distract my victims... of course, if things get heated anyone could do..."
Lauran goes to her equipment and checks it out silently:"Everything seems to be here. How stupid can these people be? Phrasma judgment be damned, I won't leave my stuff to anyone else! Especially these jackals or those two gleaming b*!@@es!" while she arms herself Lauran smiles at the others, plesantly.
"Yeah, yeah and then some..." says Lauran as the two celestial creatures disappear "You made an enemy, b#+&!! rest assured I'll find a way to deal with you and your little sister there... count on that!".
"So, let's get our stuff abck, find this priestess and walk out of here. Seems pretty easy, isn't it? If not for this little dungeon and those vile jailers!" Lauran actually smirks while finishing her discourse.
Lauran goes out of the room and follows silently behind Xrezth in the next room. Before doing so she checks for traces near the door
Lauran assumes an offended air:"I mantain there was a huge mistake somewhere! But if you require me to prove my good faith to you I'll do it... gladly" "I wonder how do you kill these insufferable creatures? A blade between the ribs could just do the trick... but let's leave that for later, first I need my stuff back, then to find this priestess..."
[i]"Mmmmh... where am I? The last thing I remember is I was rotting in a prison cell and I was on my way for a trial from those unsufferable paesants bufoons in Gralton! This could be called an improvement if it weren't for all these unwhashed... creatures... still better be careful, until I know where I've landed"[/b]
"There must be some kind of mistake! I'm an highborn lady and I'm innocent of any wrongdoings! I don't need to redeem myself! I just need to be freed!"
