Morrison 'Gray' Monroe's page

Gray is aptly nicknamed, being a gray tabby with the startlingly green eyes that only seem to appear in the cat family amongst animals. His fur his patterned and dappled in darker bits of gray, that seem to coalesce at his hands, feet, nose and the tip of his tail. He has the thin and wiry build of a man who swims and climbs often.

Gray wears clothing made from white leather(generally sharkhide) and thick, durable and exquisite silk(Aranea silk). Over the flowing garments one would expect of any pirate from a typical movie or game, he wears a blue leather(Dragonhide) jerkin, studded with brass bolts. He wears a brooch on his shoulder with the four phases of the moon set in relief to one another, the broach acts as a clasp for an obviously tattered black cloak that hangs over his left shoulder.

On either hip within easy access of his hands is an axe, with a pick-like hook rising from each head. The handles are trimmed in white leather, like his gloves, and the heads of the axe each bear a shark motif, the shark having a feline eye.

Gray was born on a world that was mostly ruled by a singular faction filled with greed, conspiracy, and an utter lack of ethics. As a direct result, if you weren't born into the life of nobility, you were quite likely to spend the rest of your life as a peasant, serf, or slave. That is, unless you did something about it. Certainly, no one could challenge the entire nation, but perhaps, single men could change their stars...

Gray's past is a collection of stories that are best left to a bard to tell, but strangely, each story comes with the addition of one of the objects that he carries with him... perhaps the stories he tells are factual, given that he clearly has some degree of evidence...

While Gray doesn't share the story of how he fell into the group of pirates, claiming a great degree of embarassment, he's more than happy to say that when he joined the pirates, they were having a great deal of hard luck. They never seemed to run into any of the merchant ships, and worse still, they'd nearly been run down by the war ships of the capitals on many occassions. That is, until they found the map. Strangely, as they moved up to the island, where the X was clearly marked, the island was utterly devoid of life. Gray, along with two others traveled onto the island and eventually discovered a shrine... dark and cold. Moving into the shrine, they lit the torches lining the walls as they moved deeper, and discovered an old story, the story of Fickle Moon.

Fickle Moon was the trickster goddess of the sea, well known for vengeance, but equally known for fortune and grace. Those who pledged their lives, and gave of themselves to Fickle Moon would receive great rewards... but those who forsook her afterwords would reap terrible vengeance. Throwing in one's lot with Fickle Moon was simple: You merely left what you cared most for upon the altar... and your luck would return to you. Gray won't say what he left behind, but he will say, that his luck turned around that day. As the ship left the deserted island, new life was stirring...

Gray has a story of the crew's travels to the south of the island of Fickle Moon. While traveling along a coastline, they found a small village that seemed to be entirely comprised of women. Gray's story seems a little sketchy on the details of why a crew of pirates would spend a full month in port with such a location, but after three weeks, everything changed. The natives grew restless, and asked the men to leave. All but one of the women... who begged to be taken with them. Gray refers to the woman warmly as 'White', even though his tale ends in sadness.

Three days after the men left port, taking White with them, the poor woman undertook a terrifying transformation... becoming some strange hybrid of spider and woman. Assuring the crew that she was fine and of no danger to them, she was sworn in as a member of the crew... and while she died only a month later, during the time she was with them, she spun them clothing of the most beautiful silk.

Many would be assured that Fickle Moon was angry with the crew when this came to pass, and certainly, she was angry with the spiderfolk among them, because the pirates ran across a merchant ship. This would normally be taken as a good sign, except that, unbeknownst to the crew, the merchant ship was being trailed by a warship. Now, warships may take on any connotation where you're from, but Gray is quite willing to assure you that there are military ships, and then there are warships... in this particular case, warships from Grays world typically come equipped with blue dragons. Yes, the kind that can make entire swaths of water disappear or appear at their leisure, utterly battering and destroying ships without ever uttering a word. A fearsome battle that left their ship in tatters, the merchants ship barely afloat, the aranea dead, and the blue dragon dead upon the mast of their ship. The crew was able to salvage some of their booty, as they moved over to the little merchant ship, having to cast much into the ocean... but Gray did gain a newfound respect for the hides of a dragon in the ordeal. A respect that he carries with him always.

Any sailor worth his salt is well aware that spots on a map saying that there are monsters are simply indicating places of danger. Any adventurer worth his salt recognizes that 'here be monsters' probably means there are monsters. But sometimes greed gets the better of pirates, and once more, the crew had happened upon a map... a map that promised treasures in just such a location, where their current map warned them away. Clearly, the only option was to place everything into Fickle Moon's hands, and throw up the coin to see which map was correct.

Both were correct, technically. The Bay of Teeth held treasure and gems and rare metals... food, and drink, and all manner of wonderful things. But the Bay was aptly named, for a Dire Shark guarded the bay from anything that lived outside of it. Suffice to say that -clearly- gray survived the bout, and had a marvelous story to tell of living on a desert island, covered with riches, if only for a few months... whereupon some idiot found a new ship, and the crew was able to launch outwards... but not before the crew had been able to update their armor and clothing with a bit of hide of the shark variety.

Gray and his crew found themselves, unsurprisingly, on yet another island once again, for some unknown reason unsettled. But, of course,

being who they were, the fortune-favored crew did what any god-blessed group would do... they went into the island to see what could be plundered. Even if it were only food,

it would be worth the trouble. What they found there were ruins of the ancient and stone variety. The kind that, unsurprisingly comes with traps, pitfalls... and most

importantly treasure and loot. The ancient monsters were simply an additional set of problems. Snake people, of course, because why wouldn't there be snake people?

Gray would be lying if he said that the snake people were friendly. He would likewise be lying if he said he could understand a word they said... and he would likewise be lying if he said that he was proud of what his crew mates did that day. Gray had always been in the life because of inequality... but what his crew did that day was the reason for the eventual divide that left him alone in port. Even still, part of the ship, part of the crew. The blood was on his hands... and he kept it that way when he got his white gloves enchanted with the ability to see and hear through walls... so that every time he used them, he'd be reminded of that dark day.

There really isn't much story to tell here. More a lesson to be learned in humility. A ship known as the Quarry was found sunken, having run aground amidst coral. Certainly, pieces of it were not sunken, and that's why the crew had spotted it. Moving towards the merchant ship amidst row boats, the crew was able to collect a small token of what the ship had once hauled. As for gray, the moon-shaped broach and the tattered cloth was all he could stomach to take for a share.

Finally, the crew returned home, overladen with money to bring to their families. To possibly take them to one of the islands, to settle where no one knew their names. Perhaps to continue being pirates... but Gray had no family. So he spent his money on the simplest thing he could think of: He had a pair of boarding axes made by the finest dwarven smith he could find. He had them delicately carved and made explicitly with him in mind. The finest wood, steel, and hide was used in making the set, and a wizard was found to enchant the creations. Gray returned to the ship... to find it gone. The crew had told him that they had returned for their families, but had set sail the very next day, leaving only Gray and a few of the other pirates behind. Behind with a mess of a money trail, and a great deal of fortunes that didn't belong in that part of town...

Acrobat: Having trained from a young age, you're capable of amazing feats of daring. You gain a +1 bonus on Acrobatics checks, and you take only a —2 penalty instead of the normal —5 penalty when using the Climb skill to attempt an accelerated climb.

Child of the Moon: Choose either Climb, Stealth, or Swim. You gain a +1 trait bonus on checks made with the chosen skill. On dates during and after the first quarter of a lunar phase but before end of the last quarter (the half of the lunar cycle where the moon is fuller), this bonus increases to +2. During the full moon, this bonus increases to +4.

Ability Score Racial Traits: Catfolk are sociable and agile, but often lack common sense. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, –2 Wisdom.
Type: Catfolk are humanoids with the catfolk subtype.
Size: Catfolk are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Catfolk have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Catfolk begin play speaking Common and Catfolk. catfolk with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Elven, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Orc, and Sylvan.
Cat's Luck (Ex) Once per day when a catfolk makes a Reflex saving throw, he can roll the saving throw twice and take the better result. He must decide to use this ability before the saving throw is attempted.
Natural Hunter: Catfolk receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks.
Climber: Catfolk hunters excel at hunting prey from trees and other high vantage points. catfolk with this racial trait possess a climb speed of 20 feet (along with the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks a climb speed affords). This racial trait replaces sprinter.
Low-Light Vision: catfolk have low-light vision allowing them to see twice as far as humans in dim light.

A Daring Infiltrator may select Alertness, Antagonize, Comsopolitan, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Disarming Threat, Persuasive, Prodigy, or Skill Focus in addition to other Bonus Feats

At 2nd level, a daring infiltrator gains a +1 bonus on Bluff checks. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels beyond 2nd.

At 3rd level, a daring infiltrator with at least 1 panache point gains a +2 bonus on Disguise and Stealth checks. Also, as long as she has at least 1 panache point, when she successfully aids another with a Disguise or Stealth check, she grants the subject a +4 bonus on the skill check instead of the normal +2.

At 3rd level, when a daring infiltrator with at least 1 panache point succeeds at a trip or grapple combat maneuver check, the target is rendered mute for 1 round. For every 5 by which the result of the combat maneuver check exceeds the opponent's CMD, the target remains mute for an additional round. A mute creature cannot speak, use language-dependent effects or verbal components, or use command words. This deed replaces menacing swordplay.

More than just a lightly armored warrior, a swashbuckler is a daring combatant. She fights with panache: a fluctuating measure of a swashbuckler's ability to perform amazing actions in combat. At the start of each day, a swashbuckler gains a number of panache points equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Her panache goes up or down throughout the day, but usually cannot go higher than her Charisma modifier (minimum 1), though feats and magic items can affect this maximum. A swashbuckler spends panache to accomplish deeds (see below), and regains panache in the following ways.

Critical Hit with a Light or One-Handed Piercing Melee Weapon: Each time the swashbuckler confirms a critical hit with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon, she regains 1 panache point. Confirming a critical hit on a helpless or unaware creature or a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the swashbuckler's character level doesn't restore panache.

Killing Blow with a Light or One-Handed Piercing Melee Weapon: When the swashbuckler reduces a creature to 0 or fewer hit points with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon attack while in combat, she regains 1 panache point. Destroying an unattended object, reducing a helpless or unaware creature to 0 or fewer hit points, or reducing a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the swashbuckler's character level to 0 or fewer hit points doesn't restore any panache.

At 1st level, a swashbuckler gains the benefits of the Weapon Finesse feat with light or one-handed piercing melee weapons, and she can use her Charisma score in place of Intelligence as a prerequisite for combat feats. This ability counts as having the Weapon Finesse feat for purposes of meeting feat prerequisites.

At 3rd level, a swashbuckler gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC while wearing light or no armor. Anything that causes the swashbuckler to lose her Dexterity bonus to AC also causes her to lose this dodge bonus. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels beyond 3rd (to a maximum of +5 at 19th level).

At 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, a swashbuckler gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as combat feats. Swashbuckler levels are considered fighter levels for the purpose of meeting combat feat prerequisites.

In addition, upon reaching 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, a swashbuckler can choose to learn a new bonus feat in place of a bonus feat she has already learned. In effect, the swashbuckler loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. A swashbuckler can only change one feat at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time she gains a new bonus feat for the level.

At 5th level, a swashbuckler gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with one-handed or light piercing melee weapons. While wielding such a weapon, she gains the benefit of the Improved Critical feat. These attack and damage bonuses increase by 1 for every 4 levels beyond 5th level (to a maximum of +4 at 17th level).

At 1st level, a swashbuckler can spend 1 panache point when she makes an Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, or Swim check to roll 1d6 and add the result to the check. She can do this after she makes the check but before the result is revealed. If the result of the d6 roll is a natural 6, she rolls another 1d6 and adds it to the check. She can continue to do this as long as she rolls natural 6s, up to a number of times equal to her Dexterity modifier (minimum 1).

At 1st level, when an opponent attempts a melee attack against the swashbuckler, the swashbuckler can as an immediate action spend 1 panache point to move 5 feet; doing so grants the swashbuckler a dodge bonus to AC equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 0) against the triggering attack. This movement doesn't negate the attack, which is still resolved as if the swashbuckler had not moved from the original square. This movement is not a 5-foot step; it provokes attacks of opportunity from creatures other than the one who triggered this deed. The swashbuckler can only perform this deed while wearing light or no armor, and while carrying no heavier than a light load.

At 1st level, when an opponent makes a melee attack against the swashbuckler, she can spend 1 panache point and expend a use of an attack of opportunity to attempt to parry that attack. The swashbuckler makes an attack roll as if she were making an attack of opportunity; for each size category the attacking creature is larger than the swashbuckler, the swashbuckler takes a –2 penalty on this roll. If her result is greater than the attacking creature's result, the creature's attack automatically misses. The swashbuckler must declare the use of this ability after the creature's attack is announced, but before its attack roll is made. Upon performing a successful parry and if she has at least 1 panache point, the swashbuckler can as an immediate action make an attack against the creature whose attack she parried, provided that creature is within her reach.

At 3rd level, while the swashbuckler has at least 1 panache point, she can kip-up from prone as a move action without provoking an attack of opportunity. She can kip-up as a swift action instead by spending 1 panache point.

At 3rd level, while she has at least 1 panache point, a swashbuckler gains the ability to strike precisely with a light or one-handed piercing melee weapon (though not natural weapon attacks), adding her swashbuckler level to the damage dealt. To use this deed, a swashbuckler cannot attack with a weapon in her other hand or use a shield other than a buckler. She can even use this ability with thrown light or one-handed piercing melee weapons, so long as the target is within 30 feet of her. Any creature that is immune to sneak attacks is immune to the additional damage granted by precise strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from the additional damage of a precise strike. This additional damage is precision damage, and isn't multiplied on a critical hit. As a swift action, a swashbuckler can spend 1 panache point to double her precise strike's damage bonus on the next attack. This benefit must be used before the end of her turn, or it is lost. This deed's cost cannot be reduced by any ability or effect that reduces the amount of panache points a deed costs (such as the Signature Deed feat).

Weapon Focus(Boarding Axe): +1 hit with Boarding Axe
Slashing Grace(Boarding Axe): Treat as Piercing weapon, and apply Dexterity Bonus to Damage rolls instead of strength.
Stealth Synergy(Teamwork): While you can see one or more allies who also have this feat, whenever you and your allies make a Stealth check, you all take the highest roll and add all your modifiers to Stealth.
Combat Expertise: Can take -2 to hit for +2 to AC.

Aranea Silk Dilletante's Outfit: DR 3/B or S.
Sharksin Gloves of Reconnaissance: +2 to Climb(does not stack with axes) and Acrobatics.
+1 Blue Dragonhide Studded Leather: Armor is immune to electricity. Lucky armor.
2x +1 Boarding Axes with Sharkskin Grips: +2 to CMD v. Disarm
Cloak of Resistance: +1 resistance bonus to saving throws. He wears a cloak clasp rather than a full cloak.