Howdy there, I just wanted to say that I am super interested in joining this AP. Wrath of the Righteous was actually the first AP that I ever played but we didn't even make it through the first book before real life prevented our DM from being able to run it any longer. It was a huge bummer. But now I have the chance to try something entirely different both in terms of my character and the fact that this is play-by-post. I wrote up a longer history than I expected so I put that behind a spoiler, along with the in character sample of rping with him since that might be confusing just tacked onto the rest of the post. And I also hid the crunch since like you said that's less important here. But here are a few of the other things you asked for about him. Any questions or things you want fleshed out just asked, I'm really looking forward to getting involved in this if I'm picked for the party.
Party Role - He's a witch so he's all about debuffing with a little bit of support thrown in there as well. I dont really see him doing a lot of damage, hopefully just enabling others to shine even more because he's there. Because he's a cartomancer he can use touch spells as a ranged attack by throwing harrow cards. I've never played with it but it seemed like a cool idea that I wanted to explore with a character so we'll see how that goes. It also fits into the whole, fortune, misfortune theme I've got going for him.
Personality - He's a little shy and awkward around people in one on one situations. But he loves performing, his adoptive father was a gnomish bard which is where he picked up card tricks and the like. He's a bit of a book worm when left to his own devices though. Witch carries a bad connotation with him and he really wants to prove that his power can be good and not just negative, so there's a bit of self-doubt there and a willingness to prove himself to others. He's a good person at heart though, willing to do what it takes to do good, even if that doesn't always line up with what is lawful or even agreed upon by others.
Appearance - He's a bit short and lanky, not very strong by any means. But he has long and fairly nimble fingers, something he puts to good use with his hard tricks [and the reason he has slight of hand as a background skill]. Naturally he has blond hair and blue eyes and tends towards being pale. Rupert, the bard who raised him, taught him a lot about stage makeup though. So most often he uses makeup and dyes to put on a "stage face", something he is generally more comfortable performing in front of people in. The icon I chose to represent him is a decent approximation of what the "stage face" might look like.
It came as a surprise to both of them when at the age of fourteen Liam began to show signs of being a Cartomancer, one who masters a harrow deck and draws out its powers. It was a surprise because it was discovered almost entirely by accident. Liam had been doing card tricks alongside Rupert’s performances and someone in the audience made a comment about how cheap tricks were nothing next to seeing a harrowing performed. Liam, always somewhat quick to rise to a challenge, said anyone could read a harrowing deck—it just took a flair for the dramatic. To prove it be asked around and discovered that another member of the audience had a beaten up harrowing deck, he offered to draw for the man who’d interrupted earlier and refund the man if the fortune didn’t come true. Of course Liam fully intended to be vague and bluff his way through the reading, using answers that couldn’t help but to come true. But as he shuffled the cards and listened to the man’s question, he felt a strange power thrum through him. His shuffling took on a rhythm that he didn’t entirely feel in control of and when he drew the first card he couldn’t explain why but it felt right, like he couldn’t have possibly drawn any other card. The fortune was somewhat vague, but far less than he had intended, and the experience left him feeling very strangely indeed. He was shocked when the next night the man came up to him after the show and apologized for doubting him, he said that the fortune proved true indeed. Unfortunately the fortune had been that the man would lose everything the next time he gambled. That was the first of many unfortunate fortunes that Liam would draw for the people of Nerosyan. He began carrying the harrowing deck with him, and at times he would feel compelled to offer a drawing for a certain individual. But almost every time that he did, the fortunes were negative, warning of bad things to come. This went on for several years, until Liam began to get something of a bad reputation around certain parts of Nerosyan. There were those who muttered behind his back that he was actually cursing the people that he read, hexing them, that he was a cruel witch. Although neither Rupert nor Liam could explain it there was no cruelty in what Liam was doing, but as is often the case that didn’t matter much to some people.
When Liam was sixteen he was beaten bloody by a man whose wife had been cheating on him, a misfortune that didn’t really even have anything to do with what he had asked of Liam the night before. Rupert was distraught when Liam stumbled back to the inn that they had permanent rooms at. After cleaning him up Rupert decided that it was time to tell him a bit more about his parents. They talked for hours, Rupert explaining that his parents had both been Riftwardens, a secret society whose marking is the same was the odd scar on Liam’s shoulder blade. He told Liam that his family had a history of magic in their veins and that his parents had been so determined to use their talents for good. They had been on the way to the Worldwound on a mission from the Riftwardens when they disappeared. Last they had been heard from was somewhere around Kenabres. Rupert said that although he had no proof, he had to believe that they were dead and he suspected foul play was involved. When Liam asked why, after all this time, Rupert decided to tell him all this the gnome just shook his head. Rupert said that he saw a lot of Liam’s father in him and he didn’t want the same thing to happen to Liam. Liam’s father had wanted to use his abilities for good and in all likelihood it had cost him his life. But Rupert went on to say that he saw that he couldn’t just be scared of what might happen any longer It was clear that Liam had special talents that needed to be utilized and that hiding the truth about his parent’s death because of that was unfair. Liam thanked Rupert and said he would need some time to think things over.
Liam spends the next few years saving his money and trying to find out whatever he could about both his own powers and the Riftwardens. As to the latter he could find almost no information in any books, scrolls or stories around Nerosyan. But he was able to learn have to better control his own abilities. If people were going to see him as a witch, let them, but he wouldn’t let himself be held back from the fear of that label any longer. Once he got past his fear, he was finally able to start learning what it meant to be a Cartomancer. Liam felt that he would need to be able to control his powers if he was going to hide them while in Kenabres. That was his plan now, to go to Kenabres and try to find out what happened to his parents. But everyone in Mendev had heard horror stories of the Kenabres Witch Hunts and both Liam and Rupert were horrified at the idea of Liam being accused of witchcraft while there. But after several years of preparation Liam is ready to set out to Kenabres. Rupert bought him a beautifully painted and sealed harrowing deck, along with a polished dark wood case to keep it protected on the journey. He also got him a light crossbow, although Liam was a fair hand at juggling knives, Rupert wanted him to have something with a bit more oomph to it should anyone harass him on the road. With gifts and goodbyes exchanged Liam set out to uncover the secrets of his own past.
Male human (Iobarian) witch (cartomancer) 1 (Pathfinder Player Companion: The Harrow Handbook, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 65)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Hero Points 1
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 8 (1d6+1+1)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +2
Defensive Abilities
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger -1 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +0 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks hexes (cackle[APG], evil eye[APG], misfortune[APG])
Witch (Cartomancer) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +7)
. . 1st—ear-piercing scream[UM] (DC 15), ill omen[APG]
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, guidance, light
. . Patron Time
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 11
Feats Extra Hex[APG], Extra Hex[APG]
Traits pragmatic activator, riftwarden orphan
Skills Craft (alchemy) +8, Fly +6, Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Perception +1, Sleight of Hand +3, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome, Infernal
SQ human witch, witch's familiar
Other Gear dagger, light crossbow, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, candle (10), chalk (10), flint and steel, harrow carrying case, harrow deck[UE], ink, inkpen, mess kit[UE], pot, soap, spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 14 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Cackle (Su) As a move action, extend the duration of other hexes by 1 rd.
Evil Eye -2 (7 rounds, DC 14) (Su) Foe in 30 ft takes penalty to your choice of AC, attacks, saves, ability or skill checks (Will part).
Misfortune (1 round, DC 14) (Su) Foe in 30 ft must take the lower of 2d20 for rolls (Will neg).
Witch's Familiar (Ex) Gain the services of a special familiar that stores spells.