About 'Rabbit'The halfling known as Rabbit is as skittish and quiet as his namesake, and rather more so than the actual rabbit that he frequently carries with him, and refers to as 'Mr. Whisper.' Rabbit (the halfling) is easily spooked by loud noises or being verbally upbraided, though seems paradoxically calmer in real crises. He arrived in Passbog about six months before the Enshardening, and has been relatively close-mouthed about his past, but he would be far from the first escaped halfling slave to take refuge in one of the towns of freedom-loving Andoran, and some in the village have probably guessed at his background accordingly. Though he says little, Rabbit has made himself useful in the village by mending clothes or making new ones; he's also good with bruises and fevers and with small scared children. Of course, since the day the rest of the world went away, the stakes on all of those have risen somewhat. Rabbit is just a shade above three feet tall, skinny, with unkempt sandy brown hair and large green eyes. His clothes are in much better repair than the rest of his person. Full Backstory:
In Cheliax, halfling slaves, called slips, are terribly common. Most aristocratic households have a half-dozen on hand, and even middle-class families usually have the family slip around to do drudgework or entertain guests with a bit of a dance.
Rabbit 'belonged' to the upper crust-- specifically, a wizard named Thracia Morus. Morus was rich enough to indulge her hobbies as she pleased-- devilbinding and magic, primarily-- and rude/eccentric/scandalous enough that her family was content to allow her the use of some property out in the country in order to conduct her outre experiments, rather than offend some noble in the city. Rabbit came to Thracia's tower at a young age-- still just a child, but considered old enough to be useful as a domestic slip. He doesn't remember what name his parents gave him (he barely remembers his parents). Thracia took to calling him 'little rabbit', and if the other slips ever knew his actual name, that was quickly lost in favor of accommodating the mistress's fancies. Rabbit outlasted other servants of Thracia's by learning the fine art of not being noticed, and of assuaging her temper when he couldn't manage the former-- by singing, or by repairing her ostentatious clothing (skills he learned from other slips), and, as he grew older, by displaying some level of intelligence. Thracia noted his quick wit and took a 'fondness' to him-- a dubious and dangerous honor. She might call him clever one day, and the next, hurl an inkwell at his head if he annoyed her. In her more indulgent moods, Thracia used Rabbit as an audience for her endless theories about magic, and an assistant in the more tedious tasks of spell component preparation such as grinding up beetle shells or drying out bat guano. He was always careful to praise her genius and agree with her conclusions (though as he grew older, he found himself increasingly sure that a lot of her theories were, in fact, dead wrong). Aside from his role as sycophant/not-quite-apprentice/spell drudge, Rabbit was charged with taking care of the animals: Thracia kept birds, rabbits, mice, goats and similar animals on hand as sacrifices to imps and other minor devils. Rabbit was the one who fed them, cleaned their cages, pet them, tended to their wounds or small illnesses, and tried to make their short lives as comfortable as he could. The worst part of his job, as he reckoned it, was the day that would come for each animal when Thracia impatiently demanded 'a chicken,' or 'a dove,' and Rabbit had to fetch the hapless creature and bring it up to Thracia's waiting knives. He might still be under Thracia's cruel thumb today if not for the day she picked the wrong rabbit. Among Thracia's indulgent 'gifts' had been the runt of a rabbit litter-- a rabbit that would likely have died if not for the halfling's painstaking care. Amused by the fact that her slave would stay up half the night handfeeding such an inconsequential life, Thracia pronounced he could have the little creature as a personal pet. Rabbit named him Mr. Whisper, and for several years all was well enough. While Rabbit wouldn't have said he was happy, he would have said that he had it better than many, and that it wasn't his place to complain. He was more or less in his mistress's good graces; he had a roof over his head, food to eat, and a beloved pet to feed kitchen dainties to, a tiny room of his own.... twenty years of faithful service to Mistress Morus had granted him some small privileges. When he spilled a glass of wine on Thracia's favorite robe, those twenty years turned out to be not worth very much. In a fine temper of fury, Thracia demanded Mr. Whisper as her next sacrifice, as punishment. Rabbit wept apologies and contrition and begged for the life of his furry friend, but Thracia only sneered at his pleas and ordered him to go get the cursed little beast right now. Tears running down his face, Rabbit accordingly went to his room, picked up Mr. Whisper and held him close, whispering I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... But something in Mr. Whisper's velvet-dark eyes held him whole. Mr. Whisper didn't look scared. Mr. Whisper looked... defiant. The rabbit squirmed from his grasp and bounded onto the floor, scratched at an ear with a hind leg, and cocked its head at him as if to say, So why are we hanging around, anyway? Rabbit stood there a long moment as unprecedented thoughts of rebellion found their way into his head for the first time in his twenty-five years. In the end, he grabbed his few meager possessions-- a few ornate silver candlesticks that did not technically belong to him-- and Mr. Whisper. He expected at any moment to be hit by a blast of arcane fire or Morus's sharp scream to stop, or to be questioned by the estate's guard-- but strange luck seemed with him that night, as he slipped from shadow to shadow and then to the outer grounds, and then-- to the forests beyond... Rabbit ran. He ran and he ran, terrified of every strange noise in the trees, terrified of the vast world that lay outside the only one he'd ever known, terrified to go, but above all terrified to go back. It was a journey he was ill-prepared for, but desperation got Rabbit through the first few miles away from Morus Tower to the nearest village, and then the next few miles, and the next few... Rabbit's skill at going unnoticed allowed him to filch bits of food from farms or back gardens. He and Mr. Whisper would creep into haylofts, barns, or garden sheds to sleep during the day, then travel at night. The biggest surprise for Rabbit came when he realized he could do magic. He whispered some of the syllables he had heard Thracia say, in the order that seemed to make the most sense to him-- and little lights appeared in the dark of the forests. As they traveled, he began to try out other combinations of murmured magic, and through trial and error discovered that this all seemed to work better the closer he was to Mr. Whisper. Eventually, Rabbit and Mr. Whisper were far enough away from Morus Tower that he felt bold enough to try traveling in the daytime, whilst keeping an eye out for other travelers. Fortune continued to favor Rabbit, because he ran into the best group of travelers that he could have: a group of Bellflower Tillers camping off the road to avoid discovery, just as he was. They pegged the disheveled, dirty, hungry halfling instantly as an escaped slave, at which point they promptly had him sit down at their fire and eat with them. The Bellflowers guided Rabbit the rest of the way out of Cheliax, many, many miles more, miles he surely wouldn't have managed on his own. At the Andoran border they bid him good luck and free travels. With Mr. Whisper still in his arms, Rabbit took his first steps into Andoran as a free man. Unwilling to linger too long by that border, however, he took the Bellflowers' advice to join up with a merchant caravan for protection. He put his skills to work as they traveled-- singing for his supper, stitching clothes or broken household items-- and even a little bit of the magic he was becoming more comfortable using. The caravan went to Almas: a city bigger than Rabbit had any idea existed, a city he found truly overwhelming. As soon as he could, Rabbit left again, this time on a boat going upriver. All he wanted was to find a place that was quiet, far away from Cheliax, where Mr. Whisper could graze on green clover and he could perhaps make a living as a tailor. When he finally reached Passbog, Rabbit felt like he could stop running. When the world broke into a thousand pieces, Rabbit was as discomfited as anyone else, and yet-- he couldn't help but think that now, Thracia could never find him... Statblock:
Rabbit
Male halfling witch 3 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 65) NG Small humanoid (halfling) Init +8; Senses Perception +4 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 size) hp 21 (3d6+9) Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +5; -2 penalty vs. fear and no benefit from morale bonuses on such saves -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 20 ft. Melee dagger +5 (1d3/19-20) Ranged dart +5 (1d3) or . . light crossbow +5 (1d6/19-20) Special Attacks hexes (cackle[APG], fortune[APG], healing[APG]) Witch Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +7) . . 2nd—cure moderate wounds, . . 1st—cure light wounds, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15) . . 0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, guidance . . Patron Agility -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12 Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 13 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Alertness, Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, Extra Hex[APG], Power Attack, Precise Shot Traits beast bond, - custom trait - Skills Acrobatics +3 (-1 to jump), Craft (clothing) +14, Diplomacy +8, Handle Animal +7, Heal +6, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (planes) +10, Perception +4, Perform (sing) +7, Ride +4, Sense Motive +4, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +8, Use Magic Device +6 Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling SQ craven[APG], finesse weapon attack attribute, witch's familiar (rabbit named Mr. Whisper) Other Gear crossbow bolts (20), dagger, dart (2), light crossbow, bedroll, dart sheath made by Jaxom, familiar satchel[UE], masterwork tool (tailoring), mess kit[UE], spell component pouch, 10 gp, 7 sp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB Cackle (Su) As a move action, extend the duration of other hexes by 1 rd. Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack. Craven +1 to hit when flanking, -2 penalty to save vs. fear, can't get morale bonus vs. fear, +10 ft speed and +1 AC when affected by a fear effect. Deadly Aim -1/+2 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage. Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you. Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar. Familiar Bonus: +4 to Initiative checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach. Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Dexterity on attack rolls. Fortune (1 round) (Su) Ally in 30 ft can roll 2d20 for an attack, save, ability, or skill check (and take higher) once/rd. Healing (1d8+3) (Su) Heal touched creature, but each target can only benefit once per 24 hrs. Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee. Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch. Witch's Familiar (Ex) Gain the services of a special familiar that stores spells. |
