About "Ox" KowalskiNOTE: This is a legacy profile. Useful for knowing what I'll set up if recruited, but not otherwise useful. See my post in recruitment. Hubert "Ox" Kowalski
Defense
Offense
2H Melee [+9] +1 greatsword (2d6 + 7) 19-20/x2 S; [+8] earth breaker (2d6 + 6) x3 B
2H Melee (mutagen) [+11] +1 greatsword (2d6 + 10) 19-20/x2 S; [+10] earth breaker (2d6 + 9) x3 B
Prepared Extracts -
Investigator Talents:
Mutagen (L3) Quick Study (L5) Combat Abilities
Non-combat abilities
Languages - (S) are starting languages (L) are linguistics languages
Traits
Feats:
Armor Proficiency: Light-Heavy (Fighter) Simple Weapon Proficiency (Fighter) Martial Weapon Proficiency (Fighter) Shield Proficiency (Fighter) Tower Shield Proficiency (Fighter) Toughness (L1) Power Attack (L1 Fighter) Improved Initiative(L3) Extra Investigator Talent: Quick Study (L5) Adventuring Skills:
Acrobatics +2 (3 ranks + 1 DEX + 3 class - 5 ACP) Bluff +5/10* (3 ranks -1 CHA + 3 class) [+5 bonus from INT instead of CHA when lying] Climb +3 (1 rank + 4 STR + 3 class - 5 ACP) Diplomacy +7/12 (5 rank -1 CHA + 3 class) [+5 bonus from INT instead of CHA when gathering info or persuading] Intimidate -1 (0 ranks -1 CHA) Knowledge(Arcana) +9+1d6 (2 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Dungeon) +8+1d6 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Local) +12 (5 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Nature) +9 (2 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Planes) +8 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Religion) +8 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Perception +12 (5 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) [+2 to locate traps] Ride 0 (1 rank + 1 DEX + 3 class - 5 ACP) Sense Motive +12 (5 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Spellcraft +10+1d6 (3 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Survival +5 (1 rank + 1 WIS + 3 class) Swim +3 (1 rank + 4 STR + 3 class - 5 ACP) Use Magic Device +12 (5 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Background Skills (1 bonus shifted from adventuring):
Appraise +4 (0 ranks + 4 INT) Craft(Alchemy) +10/14* (3 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) [+4 competence from class feature] Knowledge(Engineering) +8+1d6 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Geography) +8+1d6 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(History) +8+1d6 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Knowledge(Nobles) +10+1d6 (3 ranks + 4 INT + 3 class) Linguistics +8 (1 rank + 4 INT + 3 class) Profession(Farmer) +5 (1 rank + 1 WIS + 3 class) Combat-Relevant Gear
Mundane
Formula Books:
Carried Formula Book (10/50 pages)
Level 2 - 2 pages
------------------------ Backup Formula Book (0/100 pages)
Level 2 ------------------------ Detailed Gear:
Cash: 1114g 0sp 0cp Carried with Ox Magical Mundane Items marked * bought with alchemist's kit for 40 gp
Ox's Encumbrance: Medium - 132 lbs (Light at 116 lbs) (Medium at 233 lbs) (Heavy at 350) Left in a safe location
Mundane
------------------------ Background:
"Ox" Kowalski (ever since adopting the 'insulting' nickname, he's refused to answer to Hubert) was never satisfied with the fate destiny seemed to have in mind for him. Born on a farm deep in the heart of darkest Ustalav, it was his fate to work on the fields as his family had for generations. His mother, Lena Kowalski, was the daughter of a poor farmer. He never knew his father, a wandering Varisian, who abandoned both him and his mother. Instead, his grandfather, Andrezj, was like a father to him. His mother did marry but only when he was old enough to work. After butting heads time and time again with his stepfather, it was with his grandfather that he would stay. On a farm that had been in his family he was born. And in that provincial village clustered amidst a dreary forest it seemed that he would live and die without every having set foot outside. A precocious youth, his curiosity knew no bounds and his mother and grandfather were quickly driven to madness by his endless questions. Unfortunately, with no education and a life spent on a farm, his guardians answers left him badly wanting. He did learn, first eagerly and then grudgingly, the practical lessons of tilling fields, growing the correct crops, what pests to watch for, and more in an endless lesson reinforced by backbreaking labor. The drudgery of the life drove him mad and he swore he would escape when he could. As he grew older, he grew bigger. Bigger then any other boys his age. And bigger then the men too by the time he was sixteen, as well. He was mercilessly teased and called the 'big dumb ox' more times then he could count. Driven to silence by the drudgery of his life, he simply accepted the mocking name with a shrug. But for any with eyes to see, Hubert was not stupid. In fact, a keen mind hid behind his beady eyes and it dreamed of escaping his life as a farmer. Ignorant of the ways of the world and with no money to his name, he left when he came of age. He knew he could never be happy to scrape a living on a farm and to grow old knowing nothing but his little village. A caravan passed by the town, intent on making its way to a place of consequence, and Ox saw his chance at freedom. Though forbidden by his family to leave, he stole away anyway in a fit of stubbornness with little more then the cloths on his back. He earned his keep as a lowly caravan tough who could barely be called a guard. He learned how to fight (by necessity as might be expected in Ustalav) on these and subsequent travels as he scrounged for any penny he could earn. He would travel for a time across the north of Avistan, learning to fight and scrounging whatever pitiful pay he could. He grew to love the road and seeing new and exciting lands and he might have been content to stay a simple caravan guard if not for a fateful meeting. In time, he found himself in the employ of certain professors from the University in Lepidstadt. They traveled to the city of Magnimar intent on studying the strange and ancient architecture left by the Thassalonian empire. None of this meant anything to the still ignorant farmboy from Nowhere, Ustalav. But the glimpses of a world of knowledge drew the bright young man like a moth to the flames. Of particular interest to him were the alchemical works of Professor Petre Reduva. The professor, having caught the guard idly watching his work with interest, began to explain what he was about. Thinking the brutish guard would understand none of it, he was surprised when he was asked surprisingly penetrating questions and seemed to grasp the concepts presented. The next months of travel were among Ox's fondest as he learned whatever he could from the Professor. When they finally separated, Ox was convinced that at long last he had found a calling. He knew that he wished to further his understanding, but had little idea of how to go about it. With pay in hand, he started by acquiring a simple alchemical kit and tinkered with it as he could. He would travel the next several years, tinkering with his alchemy when he could, as a guard in order to keep funding his new obsession. In time, he was able to prove himself a worthy apprentice and he settled in Lepidstadt to finally attend those vaunted halls he'd dreamed of since he met the Professor. He would, over the next years, prove himself to be an adept of alchemy and then go on to fund his studies at the University of Lepistadt with his alchemical pursuits. His graduation was, and is still is, a high point in Ox Kowalski's life. To have earned his Philosophical Degree of the Alchemical Sciences was a mark of all he'd striven for since leaving his childhood life behind. Now armed with a broad basis of knowledge, Ox was unsure how to proceed. He'd grown to love the road and travels just as much as he craved more knowledge and to further master the alchemical sciences. Without a path ahead of him, he simply set out again with what savings he had and an itch in his feet. He would spend some time on the road, travelling further and further east as he worked as a wandering alchemist, guard, or mercenary for hire as the situation demanded. He found that his growing skill in alchemy was a fine complement of his ability to fight. His travels eventually led him into the River Kingdoms. It was here that he would find his calling. The constantly shifting lands with its many diverse people and multitude of constantly changing kingdoms had a vitality that he greatly appreciated. He could pursue whatever knowledge he cared to by offering his new very desirable services as an educated fighting man. Often initially underestimated, he found that he had a knack for ferreting out secrets and making sense of the tangled web of factions fighting for supremacy in this wild land. Several years have passed since he arrived in the River Kingdoms, and Ox finds his feet have begun to itch again. He's recently heard of the downfall of some bandit 'lord' away to the north and the rising of some new kingdom with the Restovic Swordlord's blessing. Intrigued, he severs his ongoing contracts and makes his way to the north to see what opportunities he can find. Perhaps he might even open his own school and help those like him, but never had a chance at something different.
Appearance:
"Ox" Kowalski deserves his adoptive moniker. At six foot three inches, he towers above most in Varisia, Ustalav, and further abroad. Even among those near his height, few are as brutishly thick of arm and body. With his squashed face and relatively beady eyes, he will never win any contests of looks. But to those who keep looking and see beyond his brutish facade, see the hawkish intensity of his grey-green eyes. The many small burn scars on his hands seem out of place, until you see him hunched over his alchemy table hard at work. Personality:
Ox is generally not the first to open his mouth and speak. He has a naturally reserved nature, and until he's had a chance to evaluate he's reluctant to take charge. When he does, his broad knowledge, time spent studying scholarly debate, and years of practice negotiating for pay or to resolve conflict make him surprisingly eloquent (if logical rather then inspiring). He has a natural curiosity and desire to learn more about the world and it should be no surprise that his life from childhood has been spent doing his best to sate it. He has picked up many of the courtly graces by necessity in his years spent at University and in the courts of various River Kings. From time to time, however, the rough Ox of provincial village and caravan guard slips through. He may have found an education, but he won't miss the chance to carouse in an inn with his comrades.
Prized Possessions:
- A journal in which he has taken notes from his time with Professor Reduva and what he's learned since. - Several more journals in which he's started outlining a book he hopes to eventually publish on the practical applications of Alchemy. - A scarf his mother gifted him on his graduation, made in the traditional Varisian style. |
