Morgraine's page

My name is Morgraine…. And I was once a witch of Irrisen, but no longer.

I was born some twenty-eight years ago upon the summer solstice, a day either greatly auspicious or one of ill omen, depending on whether you were from the peasantry or the ruling class. I was the third daughter to a minor family in the latter group, and because of this superstition, my parents always told others that I was born the day after. I likely only know the truth because my older sister once confided it to me.

As is the custom amongst some of the Jadwiga, I was given into the ‘care’ of a coven to be raised and taught the ways of magic. The coven gained in me an apprentice which could be molded and shaped as it saw fit. What my family gained from the arrangement, I do not know. It may be best that I never do.

Life in the coven was very…. disagreeable. I do not believe all witches to be evil, in truth I know it is not so - but for Lydilia, head of my coven, there is simply no other word to describe her. She was hateful, vindictive, vile, and above all cruel. Things soured greatly between us one day when a slave spilled wine upon Lydilia’s ermine coat.

As punishment for her, and good ‘practice’ and ‘hardening’ for me, I was to follow her around, repeatedly hexing her and bringing misfortune upon her. Whenever she failed or made a mistake at a task or duty, she was then punished. This I did for a day and a half, until at last I would stand it no longer and defied the witch.

The results were considerably less than pleasant. Yet it was also one of life’s many lessons. I believe it was that event that first opened my eyes to the reality of the world I lived in. The nature of power, and its use and its abuse over others. My hands crossed unlikely paths with a book, a philosophical work from Andoran which would likely be labeled subversive in most places. I began to see and to notice the plight of the Ulfen around me, how, whether slave or free alike, they were treated as chattel, their lives farmed for the gain and power of the elite. It sickened me, and I unwisely began to react to that sickness. I spoke out against what I saw, and I was declared ‘disloyal’.

I was seized and exiled by my own coven; a ritual stripping me of my power and leaving me literally as helpless the commoner I defended (or so it felt) was performed and I was exiled. I suppose I should be thankful. Death is a more common result of my ‘crimes’. So it was, that I lost my name, my title, and most hurtful, my abilities and strength of power which I had spent years crafting under the tutelage of the witches. I was unable to produce even the simplest of cantrips that any novice should create with ease.

I fled my homeland. Exiled by my own kind, distrusted by the underclass because of who and what I was, I wandered for some time until, about seven months or so ago, I happened to cross paths with a merchant gentleman with ties to Taldor. After hearing some of my story, he seemed intrigued and we began speaking at great length. He indicated there may be a place and undertaking perhaps suitable for one such as I.

At his direction, I booked a spot with a caravan heading in the direction I was to go, as that was and is likely the safest means of travel for a woman alone. It was as I was traveling with this group that my life took its latest unexpected turn. I woke one unseasonably chilly morning to the sight of a wild arctic fox next to my bedding. Its paw rested upon my chest as it stared intently at me. The whole situation was unnatural; it gave me quite the fright!

I bolted upright and it fled. Putting the experience aside, I rose to prepare for the day. A few minutes later I noticed it again, watching me. I caught glimpses of it here and there throughout the day.

It returned to my tents the next morn. I awoke with it sitting on me, nose inches from my own. Now I knew something was afoot, for this was far beyond even the odd curiosity of a normal beast. I held still as I lay there, watching it watch me. As we stared at one another, I began to feel dizzy and I could swear I felt whisperings at the edge of my mind… that and something else. As we held thus I began to feel stronger, more… whole. Like some part of what I had lost in that ritual was slowly seeping back into me. Strangely, it always feels strongest when the creature is within reach.

There is a new friend of mine traveling with us, a gypsy woman named Vadoma Alikhan. I told her of my suspicions regarding my new companion and my own returning power, and together the two of us have worked until at last I could coax a spell from my fingertips. A spell! It was very different than what I could do before, but still! I have since grown considerably, and it is obvious now that my power is indeed tied to my mysterious morning fox. It is similar to the relationship of a witch and her familiar, though I believe the spirit behind my own is of a different sort than those found in Irissen.

They say that we should reach our destination in four or five days, depending on the fickle weather. A place called Heldren And then? Well we shall see what else fate has in store for us. Time will tell. I taste a fell wind upon the air. I sense that it brings change. I am uneasy.

1. What does your character look like? Female human, blonde hair, pale blue eyes, fair skin. Aristocratic, delicate features and a slightly upturned nose and the hint of faded freckles on her cheeks. She stands about 5’4 tall and has a slight, lithe build.

2. What is your character’s personality? Friendly, but reserved. Slow to give trust, but very loyal once someone proves themselves worthy of that trust. Pragmatic rather than ‘idealistic’. Driven to succeed at whatever task is before her. A bit proud and over-sure of herself, as well as vengeful towards those who have seriously harmed her. Generous towards her friends; tends to favor trying diplomacy when possible over direct confrontation, but once a fight is joined, makes certain that it is won.

3. Where is your character from? Irissen before her exile. Now essentially homeless.

4. Why does your character have the class, feats, weapon, etc..? This is more or less a repeat of what is in the backstory, but Morgraine was originally trained as a witch in Irissen. She lost those powers, however [insert fate / the gods / chance / whatever plot device the DM would like to use] has made it so that some of what was lost to her is returning – hence the choice in the shaman class as this is a blend of witch and ‘divine’. I actually went back and forth on class between witch, wizard, and shaman. Honestly, I am not all that familiar with mythic (this may be my first game for both mythic tiers and the shaman class), but glancing over it I wasn’t sure which mythic path shaman lends itself to. Hierophant I am guessing. In the end, I went with Shaman even though it might be less than ideal, for it allowed a smattering of her old abilities to ‘return’ while simultaneously transforming her into something else, different from her past.
Her Spirit Sense trait is tied to her class and her reawakened abilities, the silver tongued ability came about because of her training as a noble’s daughter. Great Fortitude from the natural resiliency she has had to draw upon after being exiled and forced to wander the world.

5. Is your character religious? She is not especially pious, no. Of course she recognizes the power of the gods and would seek to appease them as much as anyone in a world such as Golarion, but she is not particularly religious. Nor does she have any great affinity for a particular deity, though given her current outlook on life, if she were to become religious at some point, it would likely be Desna that she might someday venerate.

6. What is your character’s reason to get involved with Irrisen? Twofold: First, having been on the receiving end of a small part of the abuses of power in Irrissen society, she would like to see meaningful change, and some of the stranglehold the aristocracy holds over the people lessened. A change towards rule of law, rather than rule of power. She really does want to help the ‘little people’ - even though she is still class prejudiced, and does still think of them as just that: ‘lesser’. She believes in ‘power = responsibility’, while she views Irrissen’s society as being “power makes the rest of you chattel”.

Second, and on a far less altruistic note, if the opportunity should ever present itself, she would like revenge for what was done to her. She wants to see Lydillia hanged and the coven either broken, or else sworn to Morgraine herself.

A shaman casts divine spells drawn from the shaman spell list. A shaman must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a shaman must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell's level. The saving throw DC against a shaman's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the shaman's Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a shaman can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given onTable: Shaman. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score.
Shamans commune with their spirit animals to prepare their spells. Each shaman must choose a time when she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation with her spirit animal to regain her daily allotment of spells. A shaman can prepare and cast any spell on the shaman spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily communion.

A shaman forms a mystical bond with the spirits of the world. She forms a lasting bond with a single spirit, which grants a number of abilities and defines many of her other class features.
At 1st level, a shaman gains the spirit ability granted by her chosen spirit. She adds the spells granted by that spirit to the list of spells that she can cast using spirit magic. She also adds the hexes possessed by that spirit to the list of hexes that she can use with the hex and wandering hex class features.
At 8th level, the shaman gains the abilities listed in the greater version of her selected spirit. At 16th level, the shaman gains the abilities listed for the true version of her selected spirit.
If the shaman takes levels in another class that grants a mystery (such as the oracle), the spirit and mystery must match, even if that means one of them must change. Subject to GM discretion, the shaman can change her former mystery or spirit to make them conform.

At 1st level, a shaman forms a close bond with a spirit animal tied to her chosen spirit. This animal is her conduit to the spirit world, guiding her along the path to enlightenment. The animal also aids a shaman by granting her a special ability. A shaman must commune with her spirit animal each day to prepare her spells. While the spirit animal does not store the spells like a witch's familiar does, the spirit animal serves as her conduit to divine power. If a shaman's spirit animal is slain, she cannot prepare new spells or use her spirit magic class feature until the spirit animal is replaced.
Spirit Animal
By communing with the incredible powers of her spirit, the shaman forges a cherished bond with one specific servant of that spirit—known as a spirit animal. A spirit animal is a creature chosen by a shaman to serve as a conduit, allowing her to more fully access the magic of her spirit on a daily basis. The shaman's spirit animal also grants her special powers. This ability uses the same rules as the wizard's arcane bond class feature and is treated as a familiar, except as noted below.
A shaman uses her level as her effective wizard level when determining the abilities of her spirit animal. A shaman can select any familiar available to wizards to serve as her spirit animal, although her spirit animal is augmented by the power of her chosen spirit. Once selected, the spirit animal cannot be changed. Although a shaman's spirit animal uses the statistics of a specific animal, it is treated as an outsider with the native subtype for the purposes of spells and abilities that affect it.
Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack with shaman levels for the purpose of determining any spirit animal abilities that depend on the shaman's level. If a shaman possesses such levels in other classes, her spirit animal always uses the shaman rules for spirit animals, not those used by familiars of other classes (such as witches, wizards, or sorcerers with the arcane bloodline). If the shaman has witch levels, her spirit animal also serves as the conduit to her patron and stores her witch spells. The shaman's spirit animal is treated as a familiar for the purposes of all spells, effects, and abilities that affect familiars.
If a spirit animal is lost or dies, it can be replaced after 24 hours through a special ritual that consumes material components worth 500 gp per shaman level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete. The new spirit animal must be of the same sort of creature as the previous one.

A shaman can spontaneously cast a limited number of spells per day beyond those she prepared ahead of time. She has one spell slot per day of each shaman spell level she can cast, not including orisons. She can choose these spells from the list of spells granted by her spirits (see the spirit class feature and the wandering spirit class feature) at the time she casts them. She can enhance these spells using any metamagic feat that she knows, using up a higher-level spell slot as required by the feat and increasing the time to cast the spell (see Spontaneous Casting andMetamagic Feats).

Monstrous Insight (Su): The shaman can identify creatures and gain insight into their strengths and weaknesses. As a standard action, the shaman can attempt a Knowledge skill check to identify a creature and its abilities (using the appropriate skill for the monster's type) with an insight bonus equal to her shaman level. Whether or not the check is successful, she also gains a +2 insight bonus for 1 minute on attack rolls made against that creature and a +2 insight bonus to her AC against attacks made by that creature. These bonuses last for 1 minute. The shaman can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier.