Statistics
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 14
BAB +1, Base Saves +0, +0, +3
HD 2d6
Racial Traits: Skilled
Traits: Extremely Fashionable, Suspicious
Feats:
1: Cosmopolitan, Extra Hex
Skills (2 + INT + 2 per level):
Appraise +8 (1 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill, +1 Trait)
Bluff +7 (+8) (2 Rank, +2 Cha, +3 Class Skill, (+1 Trait))
Diplomacy +7 (+11) (2 Rank, +2 Cha, +3 Class Skill, (+1 Trait), (+3 Familiar))
Intimidate +6 (+7) (1 Rank, +2 Cha, +3 Class Skill, (+1 Trait))
Knowledge (Arcana) +8 (1 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill)
Knowledge (History) +8 (1 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill)
Knowledge (Nature) +8 (1 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill)
Knowledge (Planes) +8 (1 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill)
Linguistics +5 (1 Rank, +4 Int)
Perception +1 (+3) (1 Ranks, +0 Wis, (+2 Familiar’s Alertness))
Sense Motive +5 (+7) (1 Rank, +0 Wis, +3 Class Skill, +1 Trait, (+2 Familiar’s Alertness))
Spellcraft +9 (2 Rank, +4 Int, +3 Class Skill)
Use Magic Device +6 (1 Rank, +2 Cha, +3 Class Skill)
Special Abilities
Alertness (from Familiar)
Empathic Link
Common Hexes DC = 15 (10 + 1/2 lvl + 4 Int):
Charm (Su) Evil Eye (Su) (-2 AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks for 7 rounds, will save DC 15 reduces to one round)
Slumber (Su) (A creature of any HD within 30ft. falls into a magical sleep for 1 round/level as per the spell sleep, will save DC 15 negates)
Prepared Spells
DC = 10 + 4 (Int) + the spell level
0: 4
Detect Magic - Detects all spells and magic items within 60 ft.
Light - Object shines like a torch.
Read Magic - Read scrolls and spellbooks.
Guidance - touch, +1 on one attack roll, saving throw, or skill check.
1: 3
Mage Armor - Gives subject +4 armor bonus. CRB. Touch, one creature, 1h/lvl, +4 armor bonus to AC.
Ear Piercing Scream - Deal sonic damage and daze target. UM. Close range, one creature, 1d6 per 2 levels sonic damage and dazed, Fort halves/saves.
Burning Hands - 15ft. cone-shaped burst dealing 1d4 fire damage per level, Ref save halves.
Equipment
Fine Clothing (100GP)
Silver Rings (50GP)
Light Mace (as a memento of Hector Quigley)
Familiar:
Vi
Thrush Witch’s Familiar 2
N Diminutive Animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +4 size, +1 Nat. Adj.)
hp 6 (half master’s)
Fort +0, Ref +4 (Improved Evasion), Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee bite +3 (1d2–5)
Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 1, Dex 15, Con 6, Int 6, Wis 15, Cha 6
Base Atk +1; CMB –1; CMD 4
HD 2
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Fly +12, Perception +5, +master’s skills
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Empathic Link
Improved Evasion
Share Spell
Store Spell
Stored Spells:
0:
Arcane Mark - Inscribes a personal rune on an object or creature (visible or invisible). CRB
Bleed - Cause a stabilized creature to resume dying. CRB
Dancing Lights - Creates torches or other lights. CRB
Daze - A single humanoid creature with 4 HD or less loses its next action. CRB
Detect Magic - Detects all spells and magic items within 60 ft. CRB
Detect Poison - Detects poison in one creature or small object. CRB
Guidance - +1 on one attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. CRB
Light - Object shines like a torch. CRB
Mending - Makes minor repairs on an object. CRB
Message - Whisper conversation at distance. CRB
Putrefy Food and Drink - Makes food and water inedible. APG
Read Magic - Read scrolls and spellbooks. CRB
Resistance - Subject gains +1 on saving throws. CRB
Spark - Ignites flammable objects. APG
Stabilize - Cause a dying creature to stabilize. CRB
Touch of Fatigue - Touch attack fatigues target. CRB
1:
Burning Hands - 1d4/level fire damage (max 5d4) in a small cone. CRB
Charm Person - Makes one person your friend. CRB
Comprehend Languages - You understand all spoken and written languages. CRB
Ear Piercing Scream - Deal sonic damage and daze target. UM
Mage Armor - Gives subject +4 armor bonus. CRB
Obscuring Mist - Fog surrounds you. CRB
Identify - Gives +10 bonus to identify magic items. CRB
Ray of Sickening - Ray makes subject sickened. UM
Ventriloquism - Let your voice and other sounds appear from another place. CRB
Sow Thought - Plant a brief thought in the mind of another. ARG
Background Story:
Birth and early childhood
On a cold winter’s night, about 29 years ago, in the far north of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, a child was born. His father, Djorin Drakinsson, the strong leader of the settlement of Skergnholm, a war-warn Viking, prosperous captain and bold hero extolled by the skalds. His mother, Viella, an intelligent and exotic looking woman from the south, said to have been so impressed by Djorin, she immediately fell in love with him and sailed back to his homeland to be his wife. He was given a name worthy of a true Ulfen hero: Ragnar Djorinson.
But as stories go, things are never that easy. Ragnar wasn’t the first born of Djorin’s blood. And while his elder brother Ilfir had all the features a true Ulfen needed, long flowing blonde hair, blue eyes and the stature of an old fir, Ragnar came more after his mother. He not even closely resembled his father. As a child, Ragnar already had dark hair and bronze skin that refused to bleach even in thru the darkest and lonest of winters. Even worse, the boy seemed to have difficulties with the harsh weather and remained inside whenever possible. Sitting around didn’t help with muscle build either and so Ragnar grew up to be the smallest and skinniest child in all of Skergnholm.
Still, Djorin loved him as only a father can, leaving no opportunity out to encourage him to take up a stick and shield and go play with his brother and the other youngsters. How could he know the cruel names the kids called Ragnar and his beloved mother? While Viella’s fierce pride and stern assertiveness had intimidated the other citizens enough that they would never dare to speak out against her, behind her back they called her a southern witch and worse. With Ragnar they never minced their words and even though he tried, he knew he would never fit in.
His only true friend was his mother. She knew from the beginning that Ragnar wasn’t born to lead in the Ulfen sense of the word. His brother would take up his father’s banner one day and be the sung hero people around here preferred. No, Ragnar had a quick wit and was eager to learn. He quickly adopted words from Dwarves and Tians passing on the Path of Agenhei and was ever so interested in the stories they had to share. He had already learned the dialects of all the settlements in the area and used to speak both his mother’s native tongues, Varisian and Taldane, fluently.
Teenage years
On his eleventh birthday she presented him with a very special gift, a chess set of pure white marble, skilfully crafted by a Tian master. The evenings they spent together, going over rote moves and doing practice plays, were the most anticipated moments in Ragnar’s youth. One day, she looked him deep in the eyes and promised him, that one day, when he would be able to beat her, he would be ready and all his life would change.
It shouldn’t be before his fourteenth birthday that this day would come. He was a faithful son, always trying his best to live up to his father’s expectations and to impress his mother. His brother had already slain his first beast and everyone in town was expecting Djorin to soon step back and let Ilfir take over for him. Ragnar was equally proud and envious of his brother’s fame. Then, one evening, the time had come. With a streak of good luck he managed to outwit his master and finally won his first game of chess. A tear ran down his mother’s face, something he had never witnessed before, not even when his younger brother died as an infant. She caressed his cheek, nodded and handed him the white knight, a beautifully crafted bird. Without a word she stood up and left him alone.
He sat there, puzzled, his mouth half open, thoughts running through his mind. His life would change, she had said. He didn’t even notice it at first. The tickling in his hand. The chirping that accompanied the crackling of the fire. Then he head a soft little voice that almost sounded like his mother’s. ”Now would you be so kind as to release me?” it chirped in a high-pitched tone. Ragnar flinched, tripped over the bench he was sitting on and landed on his bottom in the middle of the room. A small thrush was whirring in the air only a few feet away from him. It had brown-feathered wings and a white belly, dotted in brown and, and one cannot stress this detail enough, it was talking! ”I need to breath you know?”
These were the first words he heard of his new companion. He came to call her Vi, after unsuccessfully trying to convince the bird to give away her real name. She didn’t quite like it, but couldn’t convince him to call her “Master” either. Still, this wouldn’t be the last surprise for the evening. As it turned out, the songbird wasn’t just a gift, it was a memento. Viella had vanished into the night and was never to be seen again.
His father was distraught when he found out the love of his life was gone. He searched for her in the surrounding wilderness and along the Path of Agenhei for more than a year before finally realizing there was nothing he could do. He lost hope, felt forlorn and finally stepped down from his position in favour of Ilfir. Ragnar never saw his old man drink and cheer again ever since. Meanwhile Vi, that refused to speak when observed by anyone but Ragnar, continued Viella’s work in tutoring Ragnar. Interestingly enough, she mostly covered mythic topics, awaking an ever-more growing curiosity in Ragnar for the arcane. Vi stressed that Ragnar was not to speak to anyone about her or anything he learned from her. In his sorrow, his brother had come to blame Ragnar for Viella’s vanishing. As soon as he held the shield and sword of his father, the symbols of rule over Skergnholm, in hand, he sent Ragnar away from home to live with his uncle in the buzzing port city of Kalsgard.
Adolescence
Bjorn was an old friend of the family. Not truly of the same lineage, but still Ragnar and his brother used to call him uncle. Even though everyone in the south thinks of the Ulfen as raiders and barbarians, in truth most of them lead normal lives and Bjorn was a successful businessman, trading Tian wares that came down the Path of Agenhei for curiosities from the south. In fact his uncle still had contact with Viella’s family in Varisia and had already passed on news of her vanishing to her relatives.
Kalsgard was the city Ragnar had always dreamed of. A place where he was not frowned upon just for having dark hair, amber eyes and a not so sturdy built. Also his skills were finally useful. His uncle showed him how to evaluate goods, calculate a price and barter with customers. He also showed the boy how to make an impression. Even though he was smaller than the Ulfen they mostly traded with, he could use his natural charisma, his wits and a firm and determining voice to intimidate his opponent into backing down from unfair prices.
Within a year Ragnar was allowed to barter small exchanges on his own and even got paid a little pocket money. Two weeks before his eighteenth birthday his uncle took him to one of the best Tian dressmakers. He gave the elderly man a large pouch of gold coins from every part of the world and told him to tailor an outfit for his nephew that would be worthy of the successful merchant he was. Two weeks later, an elaborate red silk robe with silver ornate was presented to the young man. This attire would become Ragnar’s favourite and till today he clothes himself in the same way, only that he can now pay for his clothing himself.
While Bjorn shaped Ragnar’s social skills, Vi continued his mystical training. She never really told him anything directly useable, only theories and stories, but he soon noticed, that he could sometimes get way better prices than he normally should have and that people around him more often than not were insecure all of a sudden. With the years he became suspicious, that the little songbird knew more than he was willing to tell. Vi would be evasive when it came to Viella, her whereabouts or how the bird, well, chess piece, came into her possession. Was all this but a coincidence? Or was there something more, something no one was willing to tell him? Neither his brother nor father were willing to talk about Viella and her past. Both couldn’t even look him in the eyes, as if they knew something or were at least expecting something. His Unlce was of no help either, refusing to tell Ragnar the names and locations of his mother’s relatives.
Adulthood
At first Vi managed to calm him down, to tell him all those suspicions were just a product of his imagination and that he was seeing conspiracies where there were none. But over the years, doubt crept into Ragnar’s mind. Who was he really? Where were those ever more powerful manifestations of his arcane abilities coming from? What part had Vi to play in all of that? And his Mother? He had read about witches and their powers and when he confronted her, Vi admitted, that he was just that, a witch. In the Land of the Linnorm Kings this was as good as a death sentence after the great Witch War with Irrisen. No wonder he had to keep his powers hidden! Being able to cast spells, now didn’t seem so great after all.
With twenty-two Ragnar finally made a decision. He started to scrape together every copper coin he earned and a year later he had enough to book a passage to Korvosa in Varisia and start looking for his mother’s family there. He confronted his uncle the day before the ship was to leave port and squeezed the name of one of Viella’s relatives out of his mentor. Bjorn beseeched him to not go down that route, but by that time Ragnar had long made his decision. Without a word to his father and brother he set sail to Varisia a day after, fear, anger and shame in his heart. He had crossed his uncle, Vi had stopped talking to him and he might likely never see his brother again, let alone his father.
His search for the truth took him to every port along the Steaming Sea and through most of Varisia and some of the bordering lands. With the years his bond to Vi draw ever closer, even though she would still refuse his request for information. He is somewhere in north-western Avistan and just spent his last copper coin to buy a meal in a local tavern when finally destiny is calling. He has nothing more but his well-tailored mantle, a few silver rings braided into his beard and a singing bird sitting on his lap.
Goals:
Short-term
Replenish: With only the cloths and Jewellery he is wearing left of his savings, it is time to start earning some money again. This isn’t the first time Ragnar is searching for work since he started his journey, but it is the first time he has even had to pawn his backpack and everything in it. He won’t part with his jewellery or robe, a salesman should always be clothed appropriately.
Refine skills: Whatever lies at the end of the road, Ragnar need to prepare himself for it. His training thus far won’t be enough to stand against the challenges to come.
Pick up the trail again: The trail is cold for now, but someday there will be an opportunity to pick up the trail again and continue unravel Ragnar’s past.
Medium-term
Find Iacobus: He was the one Bjorn sent the letters to back when Viella vanished. According to Bjorn he was Viella’s family’s bookkeeper. But in Korvosa he was nowhere to be found and the address was nothing more but a simple tavern. This trail was cold faster than it should have been. Something odd is going on, but Ragnar wasn’t able to find out what it is.
Find Mariela: Mariela is a seer that is travelling with a troupe of Varisian showmen that have travelled far and wide. Rumor has it, that she and Viella crossed path at some point. But what did a Taldan merchant woman have to do with a charlatan?
Long-term
Find out the truth: Who was Ragnar’s mother really? What did she hide from him and the other family members? Or is there someone who knew all along? Is there some prophecy Ragnar was never to hear? What are the family’s secrets?
Family reunion: Ragnar feels the guilt of letting everyone down deep in his heart. He wants nothing more than to apologize to Bjorn and to take his father into his arms. And maybe even his brother will someday look him in the eyes again. But what if he comes too late? His father is old, he might die any winter now and his brother is a fierce warrior, maybe even on his way to become one of the Linnorm Kings, or die trying. And what of Ragnar's mother? Could it be that she is still alive? Where did she go and why?
Notes:
The Stranger
Ragnar was approached by a female dwarf named Koraga. Her movements and accent felt off somehow. She revealed to him, that she was working for some sort of organization, whose leader had the goal to consume the energy stored in him (or Vi) and in other subjects to achieve immortality. She seemed not to be too pleased with her role in all of this and showed sympathy for Ragnar and his fate. Still she loyally carried out her orders.
Ritual Chamber
Ragnar was only one of over two dozen prisoners. There were about twenty hooded figures and the naked man with the medallion. Three tattooed women came through a portal to rescue them and prevent the ritual, but who were they?
Teleportation Circle
The stone circle Ragnar and the others reappeared in had an aura of conjuration about it, as one you’d expect after a teleportation. The same goes for Ragnar and the others. But the aura over Raven Six was incredibly strong, stronger than everything Ragnar knew first hand and close to the most powerful things he had ever read of. Since Raven's body had somehow fuelled the teleportation...
Death
As Hector Quigley died, his body was consumed by the same energies that were present in the ritual chamber. Possibly that is what will happen to everyone who was used in the ritual.
Additional Appearances
The additional members to the group were all teleported by the same kind of magic and they had all used Raven Six as an energy source. The last teleportation has consumed all the rest of this source and has rendered Raven lifeless.
The Town of Douleurs
This town is Douleurs, which is beholden to the Chateau Douleurs up on yonder hill. This is the county of Caliphas in the Principality of Ustalav. The countess, ruler of this settlement, is her Highness Silnastasia Calphvaso. She is a powerful wizard that lives on the chateau, but she is away from town to court for months now. The Chateau is apparently legendary as a place full of disturbing magical wonders and noone is allowed there. Prince Aduard Ordranti the Third rules Ustalav from Caliphas. The wealthy town lies on a lake and is surrounded by a city wall. A week ago, it has been overrun by a group of 20 hobgoblins and an ogre. They killed the Sheriff, locked up the Mayor and scattered the militia. The hobgoblins patrol the area in groups of five.
Marit drew a crude map of the town, explaining it like this: "Say that's north. It's not really, but for the map it's north. That's the lake. The town is up against it like a big square. With gates here, here, and here." She draws parallel lines in the wall to indicate gates in the west, east, and south. "We're east of town right now - according to the map."
She then fills in a few crude details. "Most folks are in their houses, the inn, the temple, or the textile factory. The temple is right by the east gate, same with Mr. Silversleeves' factory. Town square is in the middle here. Inn is across from it. Armory and barracks are north of the inn!"
