Hearing that the flame has gone out, Leopaldon responds to the cryer, "Gone out, you say? Well that's easy. To fix it is a simple matter of..." Before long he finds himself in the middle of a full-throated and densely condescending explanation of thermodynamics. Halfway through entropy, he notices that those close enough to hear him have grown noticeably bored, angry, or both. He hushes up and files onto the boat like everyone else, profoundly embarrassed.
Background:
In the city of Quantium, magical jewel of the world, stands one Leopaldon Root: fearless thinker and conflicted student, pursuing arcane knowledge in the company of the greatest minds on Golarion. Yet, he does not feel like he is one of them. A life of the mind is what he has desired since he was a small boy, but the further he goes with his studies, the more mediocre he feels among his peers. While proud minds propounded their grand theories, each more ambitious than the last, Leopaldon pursues applied magicks and archaeology, finding his niche in in a world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the landscape of a nation overnight. One such catastrophe, found in a dusty book deep within one of Quantium’s libraries, caught the aspiring wizard’s eye.
Many millennia ago something fell from the heavens and crashed in the land of Numeria — something _alien_ — during a time called the Rain of Stars. It broke apart in the atmosphere and peppered the land with alien technologies never before seen by man and in its wake, it created a savage land swarming with barbarians and ruled by masters of its long forgotten secrets. Fascinated, Leopaldon began to pool what little resources he could only to find that very little was known about the land outside of its language and scant evidence. Very little in the way of its alien artifacts every made it beyond its borders, and what little did was kept by nobles and royalty as expensive souvenirs. With little evidence to support his research and his committee breathing down his neck to begin work on something tangible, Leopaldon turned to black markets. Most of the “Numerian” baubles that he got his hands on were either fakes or so rusted through that the proved useless; and then he found the Petromin.
Sold to him along with another piece of alien junk, a bauble that he affectionately called the Egg, Leopaldon had the evidence he needed. Dubbed specimen t260g, the tiny Petromin soon became the subject of many well received papers around Quantium. In particular, the alien’s ability to interface with arcane magics as a bond quickly made Leopaldon a respected name among Quantian’s archaeological societies. Seeing this as an opportunity to do some more original research, Leopaldon secured the blessings of his committee to travel to Numeria and conduct a field study. By this point, t260g had become quite the loyal companion, and Leopaldon elected to bring him along on his journey. With his alien familiar in tow, he set out toward Numeria in the name of his enterprise to unlock its wonders.
Motivation:
To him, this was no mere adventure, it was a responsibility. He would descend on Numeria and study its wonders. If he found that its technologies would move mankind forward, then he would study them. If he found that they were dangerous, then he would do everything in his power to contain them. A scholar foremost, he aspires not to gold nor glory, but to die like all great philosophers and men of the mind — with his body of work written down, entombed in a volume, and set deep in the libraries of the world so that others may come behind him and build upon them.
Spoiler:
Leopaldon Root
Male Human (Garundi) Wizard 1
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +3
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Defense
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AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 7 (1d6+1)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4):
. . 1st—
. . 0 (at will)—ray of frost
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Specialization[UM]
Traits magical lineage, student of philosophy
Skills Diplomacy +4, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nature) +7, Perception +3, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +7
Languages Common, Elven, Hallit, Orc, Osiriani
SQ arcane bonds (arcane bond [familiar]), intense spells, opposition schools (enchantment, necromancy), specialized schools (admixture), versatile evocation
Other Gear 150 gp
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Special Abilities
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Admixture Associated School: Evocation
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Enchantment You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Enchantment school.
Familiar Bonus: +4 bonus on initiative checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Intense Spells +1 (Su) Evocation spells deal listed extra damage.
Magical Lineage (Fireball) A chosen spell counts as 1 level lower when metamagic feats are applied to it.
Necromancy You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Necromancy school.
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Spell Focus (Evocation) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Spell Specialization (Burning Hands) Pick one spell and cast it as if you were higher level
Student of Philosophy Use Int instead of Cha for Diplomacy checks to persuade others and Bluff checks to lie.
Versatile Evocation (6/day) (Su) Change the damage type and descriptor of a spell from acid, electricity, fire, or water to any other of those types.
