Merrick Talbar's page

Ki Mystic
The ki mystic believes that violence is sometimes necessary, but knowing and understanding is the true root of perfection. Through meditation and spiritual visions, a ki mystic can see beyond the veil of reality to the underlying truth of all existence.

Qinggong Monk
The qinggong monk is a master of her ki, using it to perform superhuman stunts or even blast opponents with supernatural energy. Some achieve their power over ki through extreme discipline, while others attain this power by intentionally or accidentally ingesting rare herbs or strange mystical fruits, and a few are gifted these abilities by a dying qinggong master.

Ability Score Modifiers: Human characters gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
Size: Humans are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common.
Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.

Background: Love Lost (Orphaned)
After Gaedren Lamm murdered your parents, you forced at an early age to support yourself. Gain a +2bonus on one of the following Skills: Craft, Perform, or Profession.

Character: Axe to Grind There is a fire in your heart that can’t be quenched.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage against foes who are threatened by only you.

Character: Reactionary You were bullied often as a child, but never quite developed an offensive response. Instead, you became adept at anticipating sudden attacks and reacting to danger quickly.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on initiative checks.

Drawback: Betrayed You second-guess your instincts constantly, leaving you never sure whether or not to trust someone and endangered if you encounter that group’s agents again.
Effect(s): You roll twice and take the lower result on Sense Motive checks to get hunches. You cannot reroll this result, even if you have another ability that would normally allow you to do so.

Hit Die: d8
Alignment: Any lawful
Starting Wealth: 1d6 × 10 gp (average 35 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str)

AC Bonus
When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

Level 1
Bonus Feat taken from the following list: Catch Off-Guard, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Grapple, Scorpion Style, and Throw Anything.

Unarmed Strike
At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes. Usually a monk’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but he can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on his attack roll. He has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling. A monk’s unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons. A monk also deals more damage with his unarmed strikes than a normal person would, as shown above on Table: Monk. The unarmed damage values listed on Table: Monk are for Medium monks.

Flurry of Blows
Starting at 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When doing so, he may make one additional attack, taking a –2 penalty on all of his attack rolls, as if using the Two-Weapon Fighting feat. These attacks can be any combination of unarmed strikes and attacks with a monk special weapon (he does not need to use two weapons to utilize this ability). For the purpose of these attacks, the monk’s base attack bonus from his monk class levels is equal to his monk level. For all other purposes, such as qualifying for a feat or a prestige class, the monk uses his normal base attack bonus.

A monk applies his full Strength bonus to his damage rolls for all successful attacks made with flurry of blows, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands. A monk may substitute disarm, sunder, and trip combat maneuvers for unarmed attacks as part of a flurry of blows. A monk cannot use any weapon other than an unarmed strike or a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. A monk with natural weapons cannot use such weapons as part of a flurry of blows, nor can he make natural attacks in addition to his flurry of blows attacks.

At 8th level, the monk can make two additional attacks when he uses flurry of blows, as if using Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat). At 15th level, the monk can make three additional attacks using flurry of blows, as if using Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (even if the monk does not meet the prerequisites for the feat).

Stunning Fist
At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. The monk may attempt a stunning attack a number of times per day equal to his monk level, plus one more time per day for every four levels he has in classes other than monk.

At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a new condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This condition replaces stunning the target for 1 round, and a successful saving throw still negates the effect.

At 4th level, he can choose to make the target fatigued.

At 8th level, he can make the target sickened for 1 minute.

At 12th level, he can make the target staggered for 1d6+1 rounds.

At 16th level, he can permanently blind or deafen the target.

At 20th level, he can paralyze the target for 1d6+1 rounds.

The monk must choose which condition will apply before the attack roll is made. These effects do not stack with themselves (a creature sickened by Stunning Fist cannot become nauseated if hit by Stunning Fist again), but additional hits do increase the duration.

Level 1
Improved Unarmed Strike (Class)
Stunning Fist (Class)
Improved Initiative (1st lvl feat)
Pummeling Style (Human bonus)
Dodge [EitR] (Class Bonus): You gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC. This bonus increases to +5 against AoO caused when you move out of or within a threatened space. A condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this feat.

Level 2
EitR: Risky Strike & Defensive Stance

Skill ranks/lvl: 4(Class) -2(Int) +1(Skilled) = 3 (+1 favored class, lvl 1)
Ranks+Class+Ability+Trait
6 Acrobatics (1+3+2)
8 Climb (1+3+4)
7 Perception (1+3+3)
9 Profession: Sailor (1+3+3+2)

35 gp

"Look at him, he's so weak!" The shove that came next put Gregor on his backside, his school-grays fouled on the muddy cobblestone.

Another bully kicked him in the side. "Go home and cry. Mother will take care of her little boy!" The pack of older boys laughed and took turns kicking the smaller child, finally leaving him to sob face-down in the dirt outside the school gate.

"Well now, aren't you a pathetic soul," announced a gravelly voice.

Gregor turned his head to see a gaunt older man staring down on him from around a post on the opposite side of the thoroughfare.

"Why do they torment you, boy?"

Forcing himself up, Gregor sat on his feet. "They hate my father."

"Hmm? And who is your father?" asked the strange man.

Gregor considered him before answering. There was a sinister tone to his concern, and he looked disheveled, out of place. How long had he been standing there? Was he waiting for someone at the school? But he seemed interested in Gregor, which was enough to loosen the boy's tongue.

"Davos Falconbridge. He's a mer--"

"I know who he is," the man snapped. He paused to regard Gregor, then straightened, his body elongating with the fluidity of a snake. Then he smiled. "Well, the best revenge is revenge, I always say. Toughen up, boy. Here, take this." He produced from a pocket a little knife.

Gregor took to his feet and stepped closer, struck by the notion that he could do anything about the bullies, and that it should involve greater violence. But how he hated them. And then he was standing next to the older man, and the knife was pressed into the palm of his small hand. It felt warm, almost familiar.

"There now. It's not hard to figure out what to do with it. Good luck, boy." And with that, the old fellow drew a hood low, covering the exaggerated features of his face. A moment later Gregor stood alone, wondering what to do next.

*****

It wasn't difficult for Gregor to convince his father he needed to learn how to defend himself. A new conviction stirred in the young boy and Davos, who abhorred the weakness in his son, was all too pleased to pay for private martial training with a member of the Korvosan Guard. Each day after school Gregor was given a gold piece to pay for the lessons. Although he benefitted from rigorous exercise, he was unable to shake a natural clumsiness with a wepon in his hand. When he asked to be trained with the little knife, the guardsman laughed at him and batted his ears.

Not long after that, Gregor took his gold piece elsewhere. Afraid to tell his parents, he looked to The Shingles. There a gang of boys beat him and stole his gold, but another older figure took pity on him and carried him to a ramshackle rooftop abode.

"You are not from here?" The man cleaned Gregor's scrapes and gave him hot tea. The boy shook his head. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm weak," Gregor explained. "I'm a disappointment. Wherever I go I get kicked in the mud. I was hoping..." His voice trailed off.

"To be treated with dignity, is that it? Krovosa punishes you, for no reason? Your family, Same?" The man sighed and took pity on Gregor. "Tired, you are. Tired of sadness, of anger. But channel those feelings, and you can learn to defend yourself. Is that what you want? Is that why you are here?"

Gregor sat up. "Yes."

The man stood and bowed. "I am Ip-Xi Han, and I will teach you."

*****

For the next year Gregor would take his gold piece to The Shingles. His father never asked about his martial training; it was enough that the boy seemed more confident and there were fewer incidents at school. Davos assumed the guardsman's training was taking root in his son. But instead, Gregor learned from Master Ip-Xi. His body slowly transformed and as he grew taller he became stronger as well. He learned forms and striking techniques, sparring with a wooden dummy. They raced acoss the rooftops of the old city and in this way Gregor learned balance and speed. For his part, Master Ip-Xi never accepted payment, insisting Gregor use the daily gold piece to improve te lot of someone in The Shingles, and this became the first ritual before any training would commence.

One early afternoon Gregor spied a street urchin skulking in the shadows, eyeing an older woman carrying a small loaf of dark bread. The dirty child leapt at her with a little knife and she gave up her evening meal. The attacker fled quickly and Gregor rushed to help the woman, giving her his gold piece. The next day it was Gregor who faced the knife.

"You've got a piece of gold in your pocket. Give it to me," said the other boy, his voice a mix of desperation and fear. The knife was dirty and it reminded Gregor of the one given to him more than a year ago.

Seizing on his assailant's hesitation, Gregor grabbed the boy's arm and pulled, tripping him and landing atop his back. He disarmed him of the knife and then let him go. "Here, take it," he said to the defeated child. The gold piece changed hands and the child picked up his knife and ran off. It was the first time Gregor had tested his new skills. He would not have to wait long to test them again.

Two days later the same boy was back and two others were with him. This was the moment. If Gregor showed weakness he would never be able to return. He had to fight. He had to win.

The boys were aggressive but not coordinated. Gregor slipped the first knife attack and threw his attacker down. Then as the next boy came at him he kicked him in the chest. When the last boy tried to get around him, Gregor causght him by the arm and struck him in the face. The fight was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

"You've done well, boy," said an old familiar voice. The gaunt man emerged from the shadows. "Took my advice, I see. Good for you. Now I need something in return. You see, those were my boys. They're just like you were, only they don't have rich families to run back to. I show them how to survive, and there are many more of them."

"Who are you?" Gregor asked.

The old man smiled but his eyes betrayed cold malice. "Gaedren Lamm. I look after those who got no one else. You were that child not long ago. You know how I mean. But you ain't from here and my Little Lamms are hungry. You can start paying me back by giving me that gold in your pocket."

Gregor was afraid of Lamm, but he also felt a pull of sympathy, and possibly some measure of gratitude. The gold piece found it's way to Lamm's hand as easily as the knife had come to Gregor one year earlier.

Lamm knelt down and looked Gregor in the eyes. "Now, let's talk about your father."

*****

Everything happened too fast. Gregor didn't tell Master Ip-Xi about Gaedren Lamm for the same reason he didn't tell his father about Master Ip-Xi. He just didn't want things to be complicated. That happened anyway.

Within a month Lamm was plotting to break into the Falconbridge estate. "No one would get hurt," he promised. Besides, Gregor hated his old man as much as everyone else did, and his reasons were personal, so why not give the rich bastard a taste of his own medicine?

For a creepy old guy, Lamm was surprisingly nimble in the shadows. He and his small band of Little Lamms evaded the Guard and Gregor met them near his home. He showed them how to get into the house so that the watchman wouldn't know until it was too late. He told Lamm where the most lavish valuables were kept. He expleined where his parents would be at this hour and that they would almost certainly be willing to be locked in the cellar when confronted. And of course, they wouldn't be overly concerned with their son's welfare, because when had that ever been the case?

Gregor remained out front on lookout. It was his job to deflect the Night Watch from suspicion. Lamm led his crew inside from the back alley but things almost immediately went sideways. Gregor heard a scream, then the sound of children howling like wolves. He rushed back inside too late. His mother's throat was cut and his father lay face-down on the floor , bleeding out from a rough castration. Lamm held a bloody dagger and a fistful of gems and was reaching for more.

The old villain sneered as Gregor stood mortified in the hall. "You are your own man now, kid," said Lamm. "How's it feel to be free?"

Gregor coiled up against his mother's lifeless body until the Korvosan Guard arrived early the next morning. Little of the Falconbridge fortune remained and his father's creditors demanded the estate. Left with nothing, his spirit crushed, he returned to the only person who had shown him true compassion in his young life: Master Ip-Xi Han.

*****

Though Gregor had been bitterly unhappy before, he at least enjoyed lavish meals, a warm fire, a soft bed, and a sturdy roof overhead. Apprenticing to a monk sworn to a Vow of Poverty was a difficult transition. And while Lamm himself was laying low while the Korvosan Guard investigated the murders, his child henchmen freely roamed the narrow throroughfares of Old Korvosa for easy prey. For Gregor, that meant he was constantly wary and getting into scrapes.

Master Ip-Xi was having difficulty supporting a growing teenage boy on charity, and though it pained him to do so, he suggested Gregor find work to earn the means to fill his own belly. Knowing his family name no longer held sway in the city, he gave it up, taking the common assumed name Merrick Talbar. He had no skills except those learned from martial training, but he had become very strong and his young back allowed him to make short work loading and offloading goods from the merchant ships harboring in Korvosa.

Another year and he was a regular hire on deck. While not particularly bright, Gregor's physical aptitudes made him a useful crew member, and for the reaminder of his youth he sailed on merchant vessels to ports across the region and learned the trade of the sea. This limited his training, but whenever he returned to The Shingles he gave himself fully to Master Ip-Xi's teachings.

Throughout this period in his life, Gregor kept the little knife. He knew one day he would finally use it - to cut Gaedren Lamm's throat.