Ossa the Black's page

Part 1

I was born on a particularly special night to a family of merchants in a port town on the coast. I was born on the blood moon that marked the start of a long famine. While my family was respectable they were not the most wealthy. My parents had to work all day long just to put food on the table, as such I was raised by my father's Quasit Furtim. Now, my family has always been a magical family but I was in another league. We have some draconic blood, Infernal blood, Abysal blood, and everything in between. We even have some Celestial blood in there. Something about the mix of magic in my blood and the fact that I was always around magic caused me to be one of a kind in my family. I was not a typical sorcerer, I was destined for something greater. But I always had to adhere to a strict schedule and code of conduct even though I was already showing signs of aptitude toward the Arcane. My parents worried about me so much that I couldn't even make my own decisions. My whole life was planned out by my parents, from the day I was born to the day I died. I would follow a strict schedule and train to takeover my family's business. But there was something different about me. I hated the fact that my life was not under my own control and my heart burned for adventure. No. A structured, planned out life would not do. I ventured into town under the guise of fetching supplies as I did regularly. This time I took a detour. I pushed open the door to the local tavern and walked in. People were drinking, laughing, and telling stories. There was even a small fight going on in the corner. I looked the scene several times over. "Close the damn door ya darned fool." a very drunk patron yelled. I closed the door just in time to block a mug that was hurled at him. Something stirred in him, and I began to formulate an idea. I had been repeatedly told not to go down to the harbor for there were less than savory characters that gathered there but that is exactly what I did. I had always heard of pirates but of course I was never allowed to see any. I walked up to the meanest, scariest, and most lively bunch of people I could find. "Ossa Blackblood at your service. I want to join your pirate crew. I will swab the decks, cook, clean, and do anything else you might need. I just want to sail the seas and get away from this horrible life. Please. Adventure is in my heart and danger in my soul." I said as passionately as I could. Piracy and the open sea. This is how I can escape, do what I want. I won't look back. I thought. I was pulled back to reality when the group stopped and turned to me. "We're not pirates boy. We are sailors." said the biggest sailor. Another chimed in, "You can still cook for us boy!" The rest of the sailors laughed as I walked away. A hand appeared on my shoulder and stopped me. I turned around to see a man that had been sitting farther down the dock. "Come with me, laddie." The man said as he pulled me down the dock. "Ya want to join a pirate crew do ya now?" the man asked without even so much as turning to look at me.

"So that's how you became a pirate?" the naval officer asked. "Indeed. That was how my career as a free man began." Ossa replied. "A free man? Surely, you must know that being a pirate is not the best way to become a free man." the officer said with a grin, gesturing to the magical handcuffs around Ossa's hands. Ossa smiled and looked back at him. "That is the only way to become a free man."

I learned how to navigate, repair a ship, take what is mine, and do as I please as a pirate. We began by waiting for merchant ships to cross a particularly narrow trade channel. We would board the ship as it was isolated by a small waterway. After killing the merchants and the crew we would take their valuables and sink the ship with our cannons. It was not pretty the first few times, but a few months and about a hundred merchant vessels later, we got pretty good at it. We moved around a lot and as a result we encountered different merchants, sailors, and goods. We had a nice thing going until another pirate tried to take our loot and kill us. We managed to get just out of range and hide behind a rocky outcropping. I came up with the plan. I would go in while invisible and light a barrel of gunpowder on fire. This would blow a whole in the deck and hull and start the ship sinking. What I did was I climbed up the rocks as my ship went to lure them out. I turned invisible and waited for their ship to pass under me. I then jumped onto the gaff and slid down the main mast. I made my way to the hold and rigged up a rudimentary fuse with a trail of gunpowder. I lit it with some flint and steel and ran back up to the main deck. No sooner had I jumped off the quarter deck over the stern than it exploded. This moment started something. We thought, why just take from merchants. Why not other pirates. So we began expanding. It started out small but after a while we grew to be a sizable force. We had stolen from hundreds of merchants, pirates, noblemen, aristocrats, and even the navy. We had become so infamous that other pirates began joining us just so that they wouldn't be targeted. I was even given my own ship to command. I took my crew on hundreds of missions. Eventually we started taking on bigger and bigger challenges for greater spoils. We took over towns, fought other pirate factions, and even fought monsters for their hoards of treasure. Once, we took over a small fishing town on the West coast and forced their lord to pay us a ransom. We also attacked other pirates, generally ones that had sizable wealth and defeated them with superior tactics and magic. I also led my crew to the lair of a red dragon and made away with some of it's hoard. That was a difficult one, thank the gods that it wasn't fully grown. I was one of the wealthiest and most feared pirates in the whole faction. I was not one for mercy. Ossa the Black they used to call me. The pirate faction grew to such a size that we were able to attack small countries and gain vast amounts of wealth. We were strong. Then the war happened. A rebellious and greedy young pirate in a straw hat started spreading rumors that the pirate lords were keeping all of the wealth to themselves. That we were trying to control our pirates in an effort to protect our own positions.

"Was that true?" the officer asked. "Only partially, we were trying to protect ourselves but we would never try to control another man's choices." Ossa responded.

The young pirate's name was Jim Hawkins. He sucessfully started a war between the pirate lords and the other pirates. We had only our loyal crews against a mass of pirates all uniting under one flag. We fought as long as we could but their numbers were too large. The war was turning into a slaughter. One pirate lord after another fell until only a few of us were left.

The naval officer excitedly replied "That's when we came in and captured you.", smiling wide at Ossa. Ossa glares at him as he replies "Yes, when we were at our weakest the real soldiers came in and captured the remaining pirate lords." The officer turns red upon hearing Ossa's snide comment. "AT LEAST I AM NOT GOING TO LIVE OUT MY LIFE IN A CELL" the officer screams. Ossa calmly looks at him and replies with "At least I will have lived." Upon hearing this the officer screams to the guards to have Ossa put in a cell to rot.

Part 2

Ossa sits in his cell, like he has done for the past twenty five years. They have outfitted him with magic suppressing handcuffs. Not even his considerable magic power can function with these on. He has become an old man. Life in a cell does not suit him well. Being a pirate lord has its perks though. He was given books to read and has enjoyed the tales of adventure but that is not enough for him. Adventure, danger, and freedom are things that are in his soul. Maybe it is this attachment that helps him cling to life. Maybe he wants to live to spite his captors. Maybe it is the hope that one day he will be free again. At this point he does not know, all he knows is that he must live. This day was not to be like the days before though. "Psssst. Ossa, wake up. Wake...UP!" a voice said as Ossa feels a smack on the back of his head. His eyes open as he looks around for the source of the pain, but he sees nothing. "Ossa, it's me. It's Furtim. I've come to find you." the voice says. Furtim?? The Quasit? Ossa thinks. "Why don't you show yourself so I may know it is you?" Ossa asks the mysterious voice. Almost seemingly in response the guard walks by and yells at him to keep it down or he will come in there and beat him till he can't talk anymore. "We need to get you out of here. Your parents were killed by a pirate in a funny hat because they were related to you. They did not have the treatment a pirate lord gets. It was a slow and horrible death." Furtim whispers. A twinge of guilt fills Ossa's stomach, before quickly disappearing. They should have ran. They should have hidden. It wasn't my fault. "How do you plan on doing that?" Ossa asks a little too loudly. "Well, I can sneak out and ge-" Furtim replies but gets cut off as the guard returns. "You little f*cker. I told you I would come in here and beat you until you couldn't talk anymore." the guard says as he hastily unlocks the door to come in. Not a second after the guard comes in does Furtim appear behind him in wolf form. The unfortunate guard turns around to see a snarling wolf leaping at him. Furtim tightens his jaws around the guard's neck and rips his throat. Jagged flesh and blood litter the ground. Changing back into his regular form and turning invisible again Furtim continues "Well that was one way to do it. Let's go, we need to get those handcuffs off of you." They rushed out of the cell before any guards on patrol could come by. Furtim would scout ahead to make sure that they weren't caught by surprise by any guards as they made their way towards the center of the prison. It wasn't long before they were getting close, Furtim had scouted out the area before coming to Ossa's cell. Soon they heard the march of guards running down the hall ahead of them. Furtim tugged on Ossa's arm and led him to a small alcove off to the side and not a moment too soon. Just as they scooted into the alcove the guards had turned the corner and were headed towards Ossa's cell. Ossa squirmed to get as far into the alcove as possible. "Come on. They have gone." Furtim said after the guards had turned the corner. Furtim led him through a maze of pathways until they got to the center of the establishment. The room they arrived at was heavily guarded. "There is no way I am getting in there!" Ossa whispered. Furtim replied quietly "I will sneak in and get the keys to your handcuffs. Then I will unlock them and you can teleport us out of here." Ossa thinks for a moment before deciding that that is probably the best course of action. "Alright." he replies. Furtim nods and turns invisible once again, this time sneaking into the room. He makes his way past the guards to the keys on the wall. The keys float off the wall before disappearing as Furtim tucks them under his wings. He moves through the room back to Ossa, but not carefully enough. Furtim bumps into one of the swords leaned against the wall. It falls over, knocking several others down with it. As this occurs, two things happen. Furtim bolts to Ossa to unlock his handcuffs and the guards begin to pick up swords and run towards the door and Ossa. Furtim fumbles with the keys as the guards approach. Just as he gets the handcuffs unlocked the guards spot Ossa and him. "Get him!" one guard shouts. Another adds "Kill him!" as the guard next to him says "Don't let him get away!" No sooner than the handcuffs hit the ground does Ossa grab Furtim and begin casting a spell. The guards and their swords get closer, imminent death approaching. But just as one of the guards swings his sword at Ossa, both Furtim and Ossa vanish with a pop. They appear in a small town somwhere far away. "Ossa, you're hurt!" Furtim exclaims. Ossa looks down to find a cut in his side. It seems that one of those guards actually knew how to swing a sword. he thought to himself before he collapsed to his knees. Ossa the Black, done in by a lowly guard. The humor of the whole thing sunk in as he collapsed on the ground, his vision fading. I am Ossa the Black. I am a pirate lord. I have adventure in my heart and freedom in my soul. I...cannot...DIE!! His eyes fluttered open and he looked around. He was in a small cottage. It was the town herbalist. "You're awake!!" Furtim yells excitedly.

Part 3

Ossa walks down the road through town. He has spent the three years since he escaped traveling. "What are you looking for Ossa?" Furtim asked, buzzing along beside him. "Answers." Ossa replied. When he had woken up, it was with the realization that he could not let himself die. He had to find a way to stop himself from dying so that he could go on adventuring forever. He had been traveling from library to library in each town looking for an answer, but those mundane works held nothing for him. He needed information that could not be gained by something so...tame. He turned to Furtim as a sudden realization came to him. "Furtim, we need to head to my parents old shop." Furtim flew to Ossa and he teleported them back to his late parents' shop. Ossa reaches out his hand to towards the shop, a quick zap assures him that his enchantments are still in place. Good to see that my protection has held off any looters or adventurers. Ossa dispels the enchantment and walks inside. The dusty and stale air fills his lungs as he takes a deep breath in. Why didn't you two run? he thinks as he looks around. Ossa begins searching the store for what he came here for. He checks every shelf, every counter, even the back store room but can't find it. An idea pops into his head and he heads upstairs, Furtim following close behind. Ossa climbs the stairs, two at a time. He reaches the top of the stairs and looks around. He can see where his parents room was, where they ate dinner when they had it, and where his bedroom was. Ossa paused for a moment as he took it all in. This was where he grew up, where he spent his time when he was sick. He went to his parents room and looked around. The room was a mess, things strewn all over the place. What went on here?[i] Ossa wondered. He walked about the room picking things up and putting them back in their proper places, trying to restore the room to the state it used to be in. He had not been able to come back up here since he escaped, so this was the first time he has seen this place in a long time. After cleaning the room he begins looking through his parents' bookcase. [i]Where is it? Ossa thinks angrily. Instinctively he heads to his room to mull over the problem in frustration. He closes the door quite loudly as he plops on the bed. He feels a pain under him as he sits down and immediately stands back up. He turns around and looks at the bed, noticing a bulge under the blankets. He pulls the blanket back to reveal a book, no, not just a book. The book lying there is just what he was looking for. It was a book of his family lineage. Ossa picked up the book and began to open it when a piece of paper fell out. He stooped down to pick up the parchment. Dear Ossa, We know we have not always been there for you. We know we have not always been the best of parents. We do want you to know that everything we have done has been for you. we knew you would need to come back here eventually and we thought you might need this. Just remember we love you.We hope to see you again so we can see the kind of man you have become. Furtim looks up at Ossa as two tears fall from his face. Then his face turns to a stone cold expression before it all comes out. After a few minutes Furtim manages to calm him down. The anger that the thought of Jim Hawkins killing his family had brought upon him had lit a new fire in his eyes. He began pouring over the book, searching through its pages for one person. "There she is!" Ossa exclaims pointing to a woman in the book. Furtim peeks over the edge and reads aloud "Arazni?" looking at Ossa quizzically. Ossa nods and explains "Arazni is one of my oldest ancestors. She was a knight that was reanimated by Geb as an undead warrior." Furtim's eyes light up as he realizes what Ossa is thinking of doing. "Ossa, you plan on turning yourself into an undead don't you?" Ossa nods again. "I just have to fine tune the ritual to myself in particular." With that he begins his study. He comes up with a list of the primary active reagants of the concoction. For the better part of the next decade Ossa spends his time retrieving materials for the ritual. "Furtim, it is time." Ossa replies, by now a very old man. Ossa gathers up his materials and begins his ceremony. He starts by combining some dry ingredients (dust from a dead vampire, black fester, urea, soul stimulant, arsenic, Furtim's poison etc.) into a bowl. He then crushes the ingredients into a fine powder with a freshly harvested skull from a child. Then he combined the wyvern poison in with some unholy water and mixed it around. After opening up the skull, he pours the ungodly mixture into the skull and put that in a fire. He began placing candles around the room and drawing arcane marks as well as an enormous symbol to Urgathoa on the ground and smaller versions upon his body. After placing the spell desecrate on the area as well as the spell unhallow, the foul concoction began to boil. Ossa walked over to the fire and slit his hand with a dagger, letting his blood drip into the mixture. He then cuts his other hand and drops the dagger to the floor. He began tracing the symbols on his body while beginning a prayer to Urgathoa. Ossa then casts a spell on himself to take a more undead appearance and walks over to the skull. He lifts it out of the fire, burning his hands as he does so and finishing the prayer to Urgathoa. At this point he begins to drink the mixture. His throat and insides burn as he drinks the boiling liquid of poisons, blood, and foul reagants. His body literally decaying as he drinks. The pain is so intense but he resists the urge not to scream. This mixture is enough to kill most anyone, and Ossa is no exception...kind of. As he dies the symbol to Urgathoa glows brighter and brighter until a flash of green fills the room. Rise my child. You have more to do in this world. I have seen into your soul and you have work that has yet to be done. I am the one who first denied Pharasma, you will become one as well. I am granting you power to become more than a mortal sorcerer. Go my child. Ossa's eyes open as he sits up. He looks down at his body and realizes the symbols he traced with his blood have turned black and stained his skin. His skin! It is cold to the touch. Had the ritual worked? In truth he was in a state between life and death, fueled by the necromantic magic filling his body. The adamantine ball in the center glows green. He can't help but walk over. Ossa picks up the dagger and begins cutting his own chest. He reaches in and cuts his heart out, holding it in his hand. He then touches the non-beating heart to the ball in the center of the room, and it begins to pass right through the outside as if it were water and not metal. Once the heart was fully immersed the ball returned to its normal form of hard metal and another flash of green light filled the room. A surge of power flows through Ossa as the ritual is complete, his soul is bound to the ball and his body is fueled by magic. "Furtim, look at m-. Furtim? FURTIM?" Ossa yells as he looks for Furtim. He is about to put his head in his hands after giving up when he sees something. Among all the chaos, Furtim's fate must have become linked to his own more tightly than ever before. There was a stylized tattoo of Furtim on the back of his hand.

Will continue the story more if not immediately eliminated, as of this point Ossa is a Tattooed Impossible Lich Sorcerer 11/Archmage 1.

Acrobatics 0 (DEX:0 + Ranks:0)
Appraise* 7 (INT:7)
Bluff* 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Climb* -2 (STR:-2 + Ranks:0)
Craft* (Ships) 22 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Diplomacy 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Disable Device 0 (DEX:0 + Ranks:0)
Disguise* 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Escape Artist 0 (DEX:0 + Ranks:0)
Fly* 15 (DEX:0 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Handle Animal 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Heal 3 (WIS:3 + Ranks:0)
Intimidate* 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Arcana)* 22 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Knowledge (Dungeoneering)* 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Engineering)* 22 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Knowledge (Geography) 25 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Feat:6)
Knowledge (History)* 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Local) 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Nature)* 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Nobility) 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Planes) 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Knowledge (Religion)* 22 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Linguistics 7 (INT:7 + Ranks:0)
Perception* 41 (WIS:3 + Ranks:12 + Class:3 + Lich:8 + Feat:10 + Eyes of Eagle:5)
Perform 11 (CHA:11 + Ranks:0)
Profession* 3 (WIS:3 + Ranks:0)
Ride 0 (DEX:0 + Ranks:0)
Sense Motive* 30 (WIS:3 + Ranks:12 + Class:3 + Lich:8 + Feat:4)
Sleight of Hand 1 (DEX:0 + Ranks:0)
Spellcraft* 22 (INT:7 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)
Stealth* 8 (DEX:0 + Lich:8)
Survival* 3 (WIS:3 + Ranks:0)
Swim* -2 (STR:-2)
Use Magic Device* 26 (CHA:11 + Ranks:12 + Class:3)

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Feats
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Eschew Materials (1st) You can cast any spell with a material component costing 1 gp or less without needing that component. The casting of the spell still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. If the spell requires a material component that costs more than 1 gp, you must have the material component on hand to cast the spell, as normal.

Skill Focus [Perception] (Bonus) You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving the chosen skill. If you have 10 or more ranks in that skill, this bonus increases to +6.

Mage's Tattoo [Necromancy] (Bonus) Select a school of magic (other than divination) in which you have Spell Focus—you cast spells from this school at +1 caster level. Additionally, you gain a single spell-like ability usable up to three times per day. Touch of Fatigue

Eldritch Heritage (3rd) Select one sorcerer bloodline (Linnorm [Draconic]). You must have Skill focus in the class skill that bloodline grants to a sorcerer at 1st level (for example, Heal for the celestial bloodline). This bloodline cannot be a bloodline you already have. You gain the first-level bloodline power for the selected bloodline. For purposes of using that power, treat your sorcerer level as equal to your character level – 2, even if you have levels in sorcerer. You do not gain any of the other bloodline abilities.

Craft Wondrous Item (Bonus 3rd) You can create a wide variety of magic wondrous items. Crafting a wondrous item takes 1 day for each 1,000 gp in its price. To create a wondrous item, you must use up raw materials costing half of its base price.
You can also mend a broken wondrous item if it is one that you could make. Doing so costs half the raw materials and half the time it would take to craft that item.

Expanded Arcana (5th) Add one spell from your class’s spell list to your list of spells known. This is in addition to the number of spells normally gained at each new level in your class. You may instead add two spells from your class’s spell list to your list of spells known, but both of these spells must be at least one level lower than the highest level spell you can cast in that class. Once made, these choices cannot be changed. Shadow Evocation

Improved Familiar (7th) When choosing a familiar, the creatures listed here are also available to you. You may choose a familiar with an alignment up to one step away on each alignment axis (lawful through chaotic, good through evil).
Improved familiars otherwise use the rules for regular familiars, with two exceptions: if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change; and improved familiars do not gain the ability to speak with other creatures of their kind (although many of them already have the ability to communicate).

Skill Focus [Knowledge Geography] See above

Quicken Spell (9th) Casting a quickened spell is a swift action. You can perform another action, even casting another spell, in the same round as you cast a quickened spell. A spell whose casting time is more than 1 round or 1 full-round action cannot be quickened.
Level Increase: +4 (a quickened spell uses up a spell slot four levels higher than the spell's actual level.)
Casting a quickened spell doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity.

Mortal Visage (11th) You do not appear to be an undead. You gain a +10 bonus to Disguise skill checks to appear mortal and Bluff and Disguise are always class skills for you.
You can temporarily drop the disguise as a swift action and reveal your true nature. Only then does your fear aura special attack become active. Restoring the illusion of normality is a full-round action.

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Traits
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Two-World Magic (MAGIC) Select one 0-level spell from a class spell list other than your own Know Direction. This spell is a 0-level spell on your class spell list (or a 1st-level spell if your class doesn't have 0-level spells).

Paragon of Speed (REGIONAL) You are quicker than normal members of your race, and gain a +2 trait bonus on Initiative checks.

Furtim (Quasit Familiar)
CE Tiny Outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)
Init:+2;Senses:Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3;
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Defense
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AC 17, Touch 12, Flat-footed 18 (+8 natural, +2 Dex)
HP 99 (12 HD)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +9;
DR 5/cold iron or good;
Immunities electricity, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft., fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Melee 2 claws +7(1d3-1 plus poison),
bite +7 (1d4-1)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 6th)
At will—detect good, detect magic, invisibility (self only)
1/day—cause fear (30-foot radius, DC 11)
1/week—commune (six questions)
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Statistics
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Str 8 Dex 14 Con 11 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 11
BAB +3; CMB +0; CMD 12;
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Skills
Languages Abyssal, Common; Telepathy (touch)
SQ alertness, change shape (wolf, bat), empathic link, deliver touch spells, improved evasion, speak with master
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Special Abilities
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Alertness (Ex): While a familiar is within arm's reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.

Empathic Link (Su): The master has an empathic link with his familiar to a 1 mile distance. The master can communicate empathically with the familiar, but cannot see through its eyes. Because of the link's limited nature, only general emotions can be shared. The master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.

Deliver Touch Spells (Su): If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the “toucher.” The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master would. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Speak with Master (Ex): If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.