Mikal Karoly's page

Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
Adaptability: Half-elves receive Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st level.
Keen SensesHalf-elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Low-Light Vision: Half-elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Blended View Prerequisite(s): low-light vision. Half-drow whose non-drow parent had low-light vision might be blessed with a legacy of versatile senses. Characters with this trait keep their low-light vision but also gain darkvision to a distance of 60 feet.

Bloodthirsty: Benefit: Whenever you make an attack that reduces a foe to 0 hit points or fewer or you confirm a critical hit, your attack deals 1 additional point of damage. The additional damage is a trait bonus, and is multiplied by your weapon's critical hit multiplier.

Magical Lineage: One of your parents was a gifted spellcaster who not only used metamagic often, but also developed many magical items and perhaps even a new spell or two—and you have inherited a fragment of this greatness.
Benefit: Pick one spell when you choose this trait. When you apply metamagic feats to this spell that add at least 1 level to the spell, treat its actual level as 1 lower for determining the spell's final adjusted level. (shocking grasp)

Scholar of the Ancients: Growing up with your nose in books, you’ve had a great interest in past cultures and ancient history. Furthermore, having grown up in Varisia, you know the monuments dotting the landscape belong to an ancient civilization known as Thassilon. From your life of study and dogged research, you’ve pieced together the language and partial history of this once-great empire. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (history) checks, and begin play able to speak and read Thassilonian.

Umbral Unmasking Effect: You cast no shadow whatsoever, or the shadow you do have is monstrous. Under normal lighted conditions, this is not hard to observe—but uncommon to notice. Creatures that succeed at a DC 15 Wisdom check notice it plainly (an additional Perception check may be required based on environmental conditions). This telltale sign of wickedness cannot be concealed by misdirection, nondetection, or illusions, except those that also affect shadows (such as invisibility).

Arcane Graduate You graduated from a famous arcane academy, and the rigorous program of study has honed your mind. Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on concentration checks when casting arcane spells.

Skill Focus +3 to any one skill ( 1/2 elf bonus feat) spellcraft

Weapon Focus +1 to hit with selected weapon (kensai bonus feat): scimitar

Weapon Finesse: Benefit: With a light weapon, elven curve blade, rapier, whip, or spiked chain made for a creature of your size category, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls. If you carry a shield, its armor check penalty applies to your attack rolls. Special: Natural weapons are considered light weapons.

Spells: A magus casts arcane spells drawn from the magus spell list. A magus must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the magus must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a magus’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the magus’s Intelligence modifier.

A magus can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Magus. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.

A magus may know any number of spells. He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. While studying, the magus decides which spells to prepare.

Cantrips: A magus can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Magus under “Spells per Day.” These spells are cast like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again.

Spellbooks: A magus must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook except for read magic, which all magi can prepare from memory. A magus begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level magus spells plus three 1st-level magus spells of his choice. The magus also selects a number of additional 1st-level magus spells equal to his Intelligence modifier to add to his spellbook. At each new magus level, he gains two new magus spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new magus level) for his spellbook. At any time, a magus can also add spells found in other spellbooks to his own.

A magus can learn spells from a wizard’s spellbook, just as a wizard can from a magus’s spellbook. The spells learned must be on the magus spell list, as normal. An alchemist can learn formulae from a magus’s spellbook, if the spells are also on the alchemist spell list. A magus cannot learn spells from an alchemist.

Arcane Pool (Su): At 1st level, the magus gains a reservoir of mystical arcane energy that he can draw upon to fuel his powers and enhance his weapon. This arcane pool has a number of points equal to 1/2 his magus level (minimum 1) + his Intelligence modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the magus prepares his spells.

At 1st level, a magus can expend 1 point from his arcane pool as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 1st, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon enhancement to a maximum of +5. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves.

At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: dancing, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, keen, shock, shocking burst, speed, or vorpal.

Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property’s base price modifier. These properties are added to any the weapon already has, but duplicates do not stack. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided when the arcane pool point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the magus uses this ability. These bonuses do not function if the weapon is wielded by anyone other than the magus.

A magus can only enhance one weapon in this way at one time. If he uses this ability again, the first use immediately ends. (4)

Spell Combat (Ex): At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice. A kensai is not proficient with armor or shields and suffers normal arcane spell failure chance when casting magus spells while armored. - katana

Diminished Spellcasting A kensai may cast one fewer spell of each level than normal. If this reduces the number to 0, he may cast spells of that level only if his Intelligence allows bonus spells of that level.

Canny Defense (Ex) At 1st level, when a kensai is wielding his chosen weapon, he gains the canny defense ability. This is identical to the duelist prestige class ability of the same name, save that his chosen weapon may be of any type. Canny Defense: When wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a duelist adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per duelist class level as a dodge bonus to her Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a duelist is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.

Weapon Focus (Ex) At 1st level, a kensai gains Weapon Focus with his chosen weapon as a bonus feat.

all 0 lvl magus cantrips
1st lvl spells: mirror strike, shocking grasp, color spray, frostbite, infernal healing, grease

lvl 0 - 3/day dc 13 - acid splash, prestidigitation, arcane mark

lvl 1 - 1/day dc 14 - frostbite (1d6 and fatigue)

13 gp
rapier
morningstar
backpack
belt pouch
flint and steel
ink
inkpen
mess kit
rope, silk 50'
soap
spell component pouch
trail rations (5 days)
waterskin

Mikal was born and raised in Magnimar to Dariusz Karoly, one of a few town alchemists, and his lovely elven (half-drow) wife, Lyryc. They lived quietly and raised two daughters and one son. All three were trained in at least a modicum of alchemy skills, limited only by each one's talent in the field. Mikal showed the most aptitude and was given a bit more training than his siblings. Their mother had been a traveling bard in her youth, specializing in dance and song, so the children were brought up in a house full of music and dance as well. However Mikal showed little talent for the arts, and was often jealous of his twin sisters Rhiannon and Lhiannon.

Still, he at least tried and participated, though often to the laughter of his siblings. He sometimes got even with them with childhood alchemical pranks like stinkbombs and disappearing ink in their pots when they did their lessons. Yet, despite all this, there was no lack of love in their household, and childhood slights and bad blood gave way to love and respect as they grew older. Rhiannon met and fell in love with another half-elf and married him, with Lhiannon as her maid of honor. Lhiannon then left to study performing arts further, traveling with a troupe of itinerant players while she learned her craft. Eventually, she settled in Sandpoint, where she frequently stars in local plays and musical reviews. Rumors have been heard that she met and lives with a very lovely human actress and they have been together for about three years now, but she has never confirmed this to the family.

Mikal discovered a love of magic, and after a great deal of pleading to his parents, he was given the funds to attend the Academie in Korvosa. He proved an apt enough pupil, though perhaps not with the natural abilities of some of the other students. One of his teachers though saw him dancing in the rain one afternoon and saw his love of movement, even if it wasn't a well-honed skill. He approached Mikal and asked if he wanted to learn to blend his magic training with swordplay and dance. The professor got him a weaponmaster to tutor him in fighting arts and dance, for many of the movements required are actually very similar, while he continued his magical studies as well.

Three years of training later, he finally mastered the basics of combining magic with swordplay, and was given his certificate of completion of the most elementary skills the Academie had to offer. He was ready to pursue a career! He considered several options, and for a little while, returned home to serve in the Magnimar militia, but it had been quiet in the area of late, with little chance for him to use his skills very much. After six months of fairly boring inactivity, he left to join the Pathfinder Society. Almost a year later, between assignments for the Society, he took on a job as a caravan guard, because, well, jobs for the Society pay only what Pathfinders find along the way. The Society pays nothing in terms of a stipend.

The caravan traveled from Magnimar to Riddleport, stopping in Sandpoint along the way. Mikal took the opportunity to visit with is sister, Lhiannon in Sandpoint. At her insistence, he arranged to leave the caravan and stay in Sandpoint for the opening ceremony for the new cathedral to Desna in the town.