Nalesa of the North Star's page

Nalesa was born to a human, half-breed Mwangi-Zenj (part Varisian) woman named Xabala, and an unknown Elven male (her mother never spoke of him over the four years Nalesa was in her care). Her actual place of birth was also unknown, yet she spent most of her life in Varisia and considered herself one of its people.

As a young child, Nalesa was abandoned in Roderic's Cove, a small town on the Varisian Gulf. Her mother never gave her a reason why - she simply handed her over to the bardly priest, Miesalo Salen, of the Temple of the Stars and Roads and went on her way, never to be seen or heard of again.

The Desnans and the community which aided Miesalo helped raise and teach her. Yet, as a half-elven child, Nalesa never felt quite settled/placed/fixed and her heart was troubled with mixed emotions.

Even though she was not the brightest child, she had curiosity, drive and a sense of responsibility to those who raised her. So, she strived to learn - history became a favourite subject (especially learning more about the Mwangi Expanse, being her mother was one of the Mwangi and she in part as her child) alongside her religious studies. Yet, Nalesa felt better getting out among people and lands and doing the actual work and applying what she had learned. There was only so much one could learn from books. One had to venture out and experience the lands and people. Desna seemed the perfect goddess for her - the wanderlust and yearning for a deeper fulfillment was something that was significant part of Nalesa. She often wondered if she should go in search of her mother or make inquiries to discover her Elven ancestry. Whatever sliver of pride remained inside her stopped her from pursuing either (for now) and instead she wished to travel the lands, discovering unfamiliar cultures. There had been other orphans left at the chapel in Roderic's Cove and she got along with almost all of them well enough, except for Zafiria. She had made life certainly more troublesome, and Nalesa could not understand the other half-elven girl's constant need to prove she was better in every way. Nalesa made a conscience effort to avoid Zafiria whenever she could or bore her ire/rancor with great patience.

Over the years, Nalesa was given the opportunity to travel to the Cynosure Tower in Magnimar and meet the priestess, Bevaluu Zimantiu; who became a sort of mentor/friend to her. She probably only met with Priestess Beavluu once or twice a year, yet that was enough to inspire Nalesa in her own journeys and aspirations.

As Nalesa moved about the roads and lands, her natural, down-to-earth charm won over many a person and she found she could make friends readily among the strangers she spoke to and lived among for short periods of time.

Yet, there was something greater missing inside of her. It disturbed her with its growing need, and, so, she made her mind to travel to Sargava's capital city to discover what prospects could be found there and what mettle she was made of.

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Skin: Dusky brown
Hair: Shoulder-length, thick, dark-brown, curly.
Eyes: Deep Blue
Ears: Pointed, but rounded at tip – less prominent
Voice: Pleasant, with slightly husky timbre
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 128 lbs
Build & Features: Lean with comely features due to Elven ancestry.

==Image of Nalesa ==

Free-spirited, independent thinker, warm disposition (is able to make friends readily in her travels), loyal, devoted, enjoys travelling and exploring, helpful, has a deep fascination with history and a natural born curiosity. She accepts people from all walks of life and does not distinguish between stations, ranks and privilege when it comes to providing healing or divine counsel. Has a natural, down to earth personality that instantly puts people at ease. She believes that people can create their own luck in life, with the gods’ blessing and a strong personal drive. She can be a realist or an optimist, depending on the situation at hand.

General info:
• Her mother is a half-breed human – part Zenj/Mwangi and part Varisian.
• Her father is an Elf – she does not know anything more about him.
• The location of where she was born she cannot remember, but Nalesa was abandoned at four years of age in Roderic’s Cove, Varisia, at the Temple of the Stars and Roads.
• She was trained as a healer during her time with the church.
• She boarded the Jenivere in the Mwangi Expanse.

1) I'd like 5+ points that capture the concept and story of the character. More are welcome, but no less than five.

• Nalesa does not turn away any good people in need. She is a truly empathic person/healer.
• When faced with adversity or when things turn sideways, Nalesa hunkers down to get the job done (doesn’t give up easily).
• Nalesa considers herself an orphan, having never known her Elven father and being abandoned at four years of age by her Human mother, Xabala. Therefore, she will not abandon a friend or ally.
• Nalesa thrives on the wanderlust – she enjoys the freedom of wandering and not having a permanent/fixed address/home. She is guided by her goddess and her own free will. Or, perhaps, some need she cannot name, or, will not acknowledge.
• Nalesa considers herself fortunate to have been adopted and raised by the Church of Desna. In her opinion, the church saved her life.
• Nalesa believes that as long as one is strong of spirit or faith, then they can accomplish/overcome anything that they put their mind (and heart) to.

2)Two goals that you'd like the character to accomplish in-game.

• To find some peace inside her to temper the constant wanderlust – perhaps locating her mother or father and trying to forge some kind of bond with them. or finding a place to call home.
• If she doesn’t find her parents, to learn to be content in herself and what she has earned in her life. To become settled in a way, either with friends, companions or allies and forge deeper/more meaningful connections with people.

3) Two secrets, one the PC keeps to herself, and one kept from the PC. I'll come up with a third that both the character and player aren't aware of, in hopes of shocking surprises within the storytelling.

Secret 1: The feeling/secret shame of being unwanted and abandoned remains with her. It’s like a dark shadow that can leave her feeling defeated/unloved at her most loneliest and desperate moments. She can feel deep sadness, however will not show it – instead placing a smile on her face and concerning herself with other people and helping them. Sometimes she is envious of people who have been raised in happy, loving families.
Secret 2: Her Elven father’s identity and whereabouts are known by the Desnan church which raised her and this information was kept from Nalesa on strict instruction from her errant mother.

4) 3-5 people that are tied to your PC by blood, love, rivalry, honor, etc. I'd like at least one enemy in a set of three or four, with no more than two for a set of five.

• Human mother, Xabala. (blood relation)
• Elven father, name unknown (blood relation)
• Miesalo Salen, priest in the Temple of the Stars and Roads, in the Varisian town of Roderic's Cove. He is the one who accepted/took in the unwanted half-elf child Nalesa.
• Desnan Priestess Bevaluu Zimantiu, from Cynosure Tower - Magnimar’s temple to Desna (colleague/mentor/friend she visits during her travels and when the priestess is in residence and not on her own wanderings.)
• Enemy/Rival: Zafiria: A female novice she trained/lived alongside in the chapel. There was always a troubling rivalry between the girls (although the rivalry originated more from Zafiria than it ever concerned Nalesa), both being half-elves and abandoned around the same time. Zafiria wished to be the most notable, sought after and beloved by her teachers and travelling priests and Desnan faithful. However, Nalesa’s natural charm and down to earth nature drew people’s notice and attention with very little fuss or tactic. Over time, a deep-seated resentment grew within Zafiria and she would often try to embarrass or undermine/malign Nalesa’s efforts and character.

5) Three key memories that define your character as the person they are at the time of submission.

• Her mother leaving her at the church and walking away without turning back; never to be seen or heard of again. This broke the little girl’s heart.
• Having no blood family connection or knowledge thereof of her parentage/familial connections on both sides (human and elf). (Nalesa feels disconnected/untethered from her past – having no real memories or experiences to draw from and mould/drive her.)
• The first time she left/ventured from the church to go wandering on her own the preach Desna’s teachings. The exhilaration outweighed the fear.

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Clerics are proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields). Clerics are also proficient with the favored weapon of their deities.
• Aura (Ex): A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity’s alignment.
• Spellcasting: A cleric casts divine spells which are drawn from the cleric spell list. Her alignment, however, may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells. A cleric must choose and prepare her spells in advance. Clerics meditate or pray for their spells. Each cleric must choose a time at which she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a cleric can prepare spells. A cleric may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
• Orisons: Clerics can prepare a number of orisons, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Cleric under “Spells per day.” These spells are treated like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again.
• Channel Energy (Su): A good cleric (or a neutral cleric who worships a good deity) channels positive energy and can choose to deal damage to undead creatures or to heal living creatures. Channeling energy causes a burst that affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the cleric. The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels beyond 1st (2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th, and so on). Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the cleric’s level + the cleric’s Charisma modifier. Creatures healed by channel energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost. A cleric may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A cleric can choose whether or not to include herself in this effect. A cleric must be able to present her holy symbol to use this ability.
• Domains: A cleric’s deity influences her alignment, what magic she can perform, her values, and how others see her. A cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to her deity. Each domain grants a number of domain powers, dependent upon the level of the cleric, as well as a number of bonus spells. A cleric gains one domain spell slot for each level of cleric spell she can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a cleric can prepare one of the spells from her two domains in that slot. If a domain spell is not on the cleric spell list, a cleric can prepare it only in her domain spell slot. Domain spells cannot be used to cast spells spontaneously. In addition, a cleric gains the listed powers from both of her domains, if she is of a high enough level. Unless otherwise noted, activating a domain power is a standard action.
• Spontaneous Casting: A good cleric (or a neutral cleric of a good deity) can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that she did not prepare ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any prepared spell that is not an orison or domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name).
• Bonus Languages: A cleric’s bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively). These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of her race.

Racial Traits:
• Elven Immunities: Half-elves are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells and effects.
• Alert for Betrayal (alternate racial trait): You gain a +2 racial bonus on saves against illusion spells and effects. Perception and Sense Motive are class skills for you. This racial trait replaces adaptability.
• Keen Senses: Half-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.
• Multitalented: Half-elves choose two favoured classes at first level and gain +1 hit point or +1 skill point whenever they take a level in either one of those classes.

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GEAR & EQUIPMENT (160gp starting wealth (as rolled on the board))
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Starts playing with Explorer's Outfit (worth 10gp, 8 lbs) (Includes sturdy boots, leather breeches or a skirt, a belt, a shirt (perhaps with a vest or jacket), gloves, and a cloak. Rather than a leather skirt, a leather overtunic may be worn over a cloth skirt. The clothes have plenty of pockets (especially the cloak). The outfit also includes any extra accessories you might need, such as a scarf or a wide-brimmed hat.)

Weapons, Accessories & Ammunition
• Light Mace (5gp, 4 lbs)
• Light Crossbow (35gp, 4 lbs) (1d8 damage, Crit 19-20/x2, 80ft range)
• 20 Xbow Bolts (2gp, 2 lbs)

Armour
• Lamellar cuirass (15gp, +2 to AC, 0 ACP, Weight 8 lbs)

General Gear & Equipment:
• Bedroll (1sp, 5 lbs)
• Spell Component's Pouch (5gp, 2 lbs)
• Belt Pouch (1gp, 0.5 lbs) (A belt pouch is crafted of soft cloth or leather. They typically hold up to 10 lb. or 1/5 cubic ft. of items.Empty Weight: 1/2 lb.1 Capacity: 1/5 cubic ft./10 lb.1 )
• Holy symbol, iron (Desna) (5gp, 1 lbs)
• Holy Text: The Eight Scrolls (1gp, 1 lbs)
• Canteen (2gp, 1 lbs)
• Healer’s Kit (50gp, 1 lbs) (This collection of bandages and herbs provides a +2 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. A healer’s kit is exhausted after 10 uses.)
• Backpack, Masterwork (50gp, 4 lbs) (This backpack has numerous pockets for storing items that might be needed while adventuring. Hooks are included for attaching items such as canteens, pouches, or even a rolled-up blanket. It has padded bands that strap across the chest and the waist to distribute its weight more evenly. Like a common backpack, it can hold about 2 cubic feet of material in its main container. When wearing a masterwork backpack, treat your Strength score as +1 higher than normal when calculating your carrying capacity.)
• Mess Kit (2sp, 1 lbs) (This kit includes a plate, bowl, cup, fork, knife, and spoon, made of wood, horn, or tin. Each item has a handle or small hole, and can be tied together using the included leather cord.)
• Grooming Kit (1gp, 2 lbs) (This pouch of toiletries includes a comb, scissors, a nail file, a sponge, a hairbrush, a miniature mirror, soap, a chewing stick, and tooth powder.)
• Flint & Steel (1gp, - lbs)
• 1 Flask of Acid (10gp, 1 lbs) (You can throw a flask of acid as a splash weapon. Treat this attack as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet. A direct hit deals 1d6 points of acid damage. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the acid hits takes 1 point of acid damage from the splash.)
• Outfit, Hot Weather (8gp, 4 lbs) (Covering your body from head to foot in light, airy cloth keeps you cooler than baring your skin to the sun. This outfit typically consists of a loose linen robe and either a turban or loose head covering and veil. The outfit provides a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves to resist warm or hot weather. This does not stack with any bonuses gained from the Survival skill.)

Total Money spent out of 160gp: 140gp & 3sp (approx 20 gp remaining)

Total Carrying Weight: 41.5 lbs (medium load) (STR 11 due to M/W backpack. Light Load: 38 lbs. or less, Medium Load: 39–76 lbs., Heavy Load: 77–115 lbs.)

Devout Pilgrim: While most clerics are associated with a particular temple, adventuring clerics spend much of their time away from their favored place of worship, and there are those who worship primarily on the road and during the journey. These clerics see the act of travel and the arrival at sites sacred to their religion as valuable, and perhaps more so than time spent sequestered inside a church. These pilgrims love to travel, typically on foot or with caravans.

A devout pilgrim has the following class features.

Fortunate Road:
At 1st level, a devout pilgrim must select the Chaos, Community, Liberation, Luck, Travel, or Weather domain (or the Exploration, Fate, Freedom, Trade, or Seasons subdomains if available in the campaign) as one of her domains. If the cleric worships a deity that doesn’t normally grant one of these domains, she gains access to this domain but can only pick this one domain—she effectively loses the option to pick a second domain. As a result, very few clerics who worship deities who don’t grant access to one of the domains or subdomains listed above opt to become devout pilgrims. In all other respects, this works like and replaces the standard cleric’s domain ability.

Caravan Bond (Su):
At 1st level, by leading a group prayer for 1 minute, a devout pilgrim can select a number of traveling companions equal to her cleric level + her Wisdom bonus. She may use her domain-granted powers on any of these traveling companions as if they were her. She can use these abilities on her traveling companions at a range of up to 30 feet, even if the ability normally requires her touch.

This ability replaces the cleric’s proficiency with medium armor and shields—she retains proficiency with light armor only.

Blessing of the Harrow (Su):
At 8th level, once per day the pilgrim may perform a harrowing for herself or another creature. This is otherwise identical to the blessing of the harrow from the harrower prestige class.

This replaces an 8th-level domain power of the devout pilgrim’s choice.