Ranek Clifton Wizard (Runelord) 12 Medium Human Skilled Human Humanoid
Perception +19 (+2 initiative);
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Jotun, Thassilonian, Varisian
Skills Acrobatics (M) +22, Arcana (M) +24, Athletics (T) +15, Crafting (T) +19, Diplomacy (T) +14, Lore: Academia Lore (T) +19, Lore: Magnimar Lore (M) +23, Lore: Xin-Edasseril Lore (M) +23, Nature (T) +17, Religion (T) +17, Society (E) +21, Stealth (E) +20, Thievery (M) +22
Str +1, Dex +4, [/b]Con[/b] +3, Int +5, Wis +3, Cha +0
Items +2 Armor Resilient Explorer's Clothing, Arcane Bond Staff, Staff of Protection (Greater), Clarity Goggles (Lesser), Sleeves of Storage (Greater), Healing Potion (Moderate) (2), Mage's Hat, Backpack, Bedroll, Chalk (10), Flint and Steel, Rope, Rations (2), Torch (5), Waterskin, Soap, Writing Set, Wand of Continuation (4th-level)
AC 30; Fort +20, Ref +21, Will +20
HP 128
Counterspell [reaction] Trigger A creature Casts a Spell that you have prepared. When a foe Casts a Spell and you can see its manifestations, you can use your own magic to counter it. You expend a prepared spell to counter the triggering creature's casting of that same spell. You lose your spell slot as if you had cast the triggering spell. You then attempt to counteract the triggering spell.
You creatively apply your prepared spells to Counterspell a much wider variety of your opponents' magic. Instead of being able to counter a foe's spell with Counterspell only if you have that same spell prepared, you can use Counterspell as long as you have the spell the foe is casting in your spellbook. When you use Counterspell in this way, you must still expend a prepared spell; the prepared spell you expend must share a trait with the triggering spell other than concentrate, manipulate, or its tradition trait. The GM might allow you to instead use a spell that has an opposing trait or that otherwise logically would counter the triggering spell (such as using a cold or water spell to counter fireball or using clear mind to counter a fear spell).
Your deep connection to a specific sin allows you to easily negate spells that sin opposes. Instead of being able to counter a foe's spell with Counterspell only if you have the same spell prepared, you can Counterspell it with any of your curriculum spells if the spell cast would violate your sin's anathema.
Recognize Spell [reaction] Prerequisites trained in Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion Trigger A creature within line of sight casts a spell that you don't have prepared or in your spell repertoire, or a trap or similar object casts such a spell. You must be aware of the casting. If you are trained in the appropriate skill for the spell's tradition and it's a common spell of 2nd rank or lower, you automatically identify it (you still roll to attempt to get a critical success, but can't get a worse result than success). The highest rank of spell you automatically identify increases to 4 if you're an expert, 6 if you're a master, and 10 if you're legendary. The GM rolls a secret Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion check, whichever corresponds to the tradition of the spell being cast. If you're not trained in the skill, you can't get a result better than failure. Critical Success You correctly recognize the spell and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your saving throw or your AC against it. Success You correctly recognize the spell. Failure You fail to recognize the spell. Critical Failure You misidentify the spell as another spell entirely, of the GM's choice.
Delay Trap [reaction] Trigger A trap within your reach is triggered. You try to jam the workings of a trap to delay its effects. Attempt a Thievery check to Disable a Device on the trap with the following results instead of the normal ones for the action. Critical Success You either prevent the trap from being triggered or delay the activation until the start or end of your next turn. Success As above, but the GM chooses whichever is worse for you. Failure No effect. Critical Failure You're off-guard until the start of your next turn.
Runelord's Response [reaction] (arcane, concentrate) Trigger A creature deals damage to you with a spell; Effect You gain a measure of revenge immediately by twisting the magic used by the triggering creature. Spend a Mythic Point. The triggering creature takes 6d8 force damage, with a basic Will saving throw against either your class DC or spell DC using mythic proficiency, whichever is higher. At 14th level, and every 2 levels thereafter, this damage increases by 1d8.
Speed 30 feet
Melee +2 Striking Halberd +19 (Reach, Versatile S, Magical), Damage 2d10+1 P
Melee Staff +17 (Monk, Two-Hand d8), Damage 1d4+1 B
Spell Protection Array [one-action] (Arcane, Manipulate) You inscribe a circle of arcane runes that dampen enemies' magic. You create a glowing magic circle in a 5-foot burst within 30 feet. Creatures in the circle gain a +1 status bonus to saving throws against magic. The circle lasts until the end of your next turn, and you can Sustain it, to a maximum duration of 1 minute.
Divert Destiny [free action] (Mythic) Trigger An attack or effect would reduce you to 0 Hit Points or kill you outright. You defy the fate before you, calling on wells of mythic vitality to sustain your life and allow you to persevere. You expend 1 Mythic Point and survive the triggering attack or effect, lose the wounded or dying conditions entirely, don't increase your doomed condition, and are conscious and standing with a number of Hit Points equal to 10 + your level, regardless of how many Hit Points you had before.
Sinbladed Spell [one-action] (Spellshape) Prerequisites Runelord Dedication Requirements You are holding a weapon in the polearm or spear group You punctuate your spellcasting with a flourish of your weapon, imparting physical force to your magic. If the next spell you cast is a non-cantrip sin or curriculum spell that affects a single target, and you either succeed on your attack roll or the target fails its saving throw against the spell, a wound in the shape of your personal rune appears on the target, dealing additional persistent bleed damage equal to the spell's rank, in addition to its regular effects.
Archaeologist's Luck [free action] (Fortune) Prerequisites Archaeologist Dedication Frequency once per hour Trigger You fail a check against a trap, such as a Thievery check to Disable the trap or a Reflex save to avoid its effects. You are more than just skillful; your drive to find the secrets of the past manifests as a strange kind of luck. Reroll the failed check and use the new result.
Mythic Casting [one-action] (Mythic, Spellshape) You can infuse mythic power directly into your spells to make them exceptionally potent. Spend a Mythic Point; if the next action you use is to Cast a Spell, use mythic proficiency to determine your spell attack rolls and save DC for that spell.
Trick Magic Item [one-action] (General, Manipulate, Skill) Prerequisites trained in Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion You examine a magic item you normally couldn't use in an effort to fool it and activate it temporarily. For example, this might allow a fighter to cast a spell from a wand or allow a wizard to cast a spell that's not on the arcane list using a scroll. You must know what activating the item does, or you can't attempt to trick it. Attempt a check using the skill matching the item's magic tradition, or matching a tradition that has the spell on its list, if you're trying to cast a spell from the item. The relevant skills are Arcana for arcane, Nature for primal, Occultism for occult, Religion for divine, or any of the four for an item that has the magical trait and not a tradition trait. The GM determines the DC based on the item's level (possibly adjusted depending on the item or situation). If you activate a magic item that requires a spell attack modifier or spell DC and you don’t have proficiency in the relevant statistic, use your level as your proficiency bonus and the highest of your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifiers. If you're a master in the appropriate skill for the item's tradition, you instead use the trained proficiency bonus; if you're legendary, you instead use the expert proficiency bonus. Success For the rest of the current turn, you can spend actions to activate the item as if you could normally use it. Failure You can't use the item or try to trick it again this turn, but you can try again on subsequent turns. Critical Failure You can't use the item, and you can't try to trick it again until your next daily preparations.
Drain Bonded Item [free-action] (Arcane, Wizard) Frequency once per day Requirements Your bonded item is on your person. You expend the magical power stored in your bonded item. During the current turn, you can cast one spell you prepared today and already cast, without spending a spell slot. You must still Cast the Spell and meet the spell’s other requirements.
Rewrite Fate [one-action] (Uncommon, Fortune, Mythic) Trigger You roll a skill check or saving throw and don't like the result. Destiny, fate, or some other force bends around you as your mythic power swells, manifesting in a flash of light or visible surge of energy emanating from your body as you cast aside the chains of fate. You expend a Mythic Point and reroll the check or save with mythic proficiency, taking the new result.
Clarity Goggles (Lesser) [two-action] (Invested, Magical) Activate concentrate; Frequency once per day; Effect You focus on your environment and the creatures around you to see them as they really are. The GM rolls a secret counteract check using your Perception bonus against any illusion effect created by a 3rd-rank or lower spell or a creature of 8th level or lower. You must be able to see the illusion, and it must be within 60 feet. If the check succeeds, you see through the illusion for 10 minutes.
Innate Arcane Spellcasting DC 31, attack +21; 6th darkvision
Mythic Magic Arcane Known Spells DC 31, attack +21; 6thAnimated Assault (H+4), Warrior's Regret (H+4), Flourishing Flora (H+5) (5 slots); 5th (0 slots); 4th (0 slots); 3rd (0 slots); 2nd (0 slots); 1st (0 slots); Cantrips Arcane Prepared Spells DC 31, attack +21; 6thTruesight, Cast into Time, Never Mind, Spellwrack; 5thMirror Malefactors, Blinding Bottle, See the Unseen (H+3), Dispel Magic (H+3); 4thUnfettered Movement, Containment, Web (H+2)[/i], Fly; 3rdFear (H+2), Haste, Slow, Thief of Fortune; 2ndKnock, Telekinetic Maneuver, Entangling Flora, Stupefy; 1stBefuddle, Kinetic Ram, Fear, Enfeeble; CantripsDetect Magic, Telekinetic Projectile, Telekinetic Hand, Light, Phase Bolt, Tangle Vine Focus Spells (2 points) Cutting Eye [reaction]
Personal Runewell [two-action]
Additional Feats Additional Lore (Magnimar Lore), Additional Lore (Xin-Edasseril Lore) Advanced School Spell, Aerobatics Mastery, Archaeologist Dedication, Avenging Runelord Dedication, Become Shadow, Cat Fall, Clever Counterspell, Clever Improviser, Ears that Hear the Truth, Fleet, Haughty Obstinacy, Incredible Initiative, Magical Shorthand, Mythic Magic, Quick Recognition, Runelord Dedication, Settlement Scholastics, Settlement Scholastics, Sin Counterspell, Sin Reservoir, Skilled Human, Toughness, Trap Finder, Untrained Improvisation
Additional Specials Arcane Bond, Mythic Calling (Runelord), Mythic Destiny (Avenging Runelord), Mythic Magic (Intelligence), School of Rune Magic (Envy), Skilled Heritage (Stealth), Spellbook, Wizard Spellcasting
Ranek was born to a wealthy Magnimarian merchant who desperately sought to climb the social hierarchy. Realizing that marrying his son into a noble family was his best way to do so, he spared no expense in hiring tutors and trainers to groom Ranek into a suitable match for a noble’s daughter. He wasn’t concerned about which noble house - just so long as he married into one. Because of how wealthy his father was, Ranek was able to grow up in a great deal of luxury. He rarely wanted for anything - except for socialization. His father was so focused on grooming him into the perfect suitor that he rarely had the opportunity to socialize with children his own age. When he did, it was at formal functions where nobles would be present so that his father could make sure they knew Ranek was there, and to show off his education.
As he grew older, his father realized that he needed to ensure Ranek was also ready to take over the family business. He began teaching his son how to handle the books and how to price wares in between his other lessons. Ranek had a keen eye, although he was never good at bargaining, being somewhat awkward with a tendency to stumble over his words, and stubbornly insisting that the price he had evaluated the merchandise at was the correct one.
When Ranek was 10, his father hired a tutor named Gavin Helscar. Gavin Helscar was a retired Pathfinder and wizard who thought tutoring would be an easy way for him to earn money to fund his research. What he found instead was that Ranek was intelligent, curious, and well-suited to the study of the arcane arts. Ranek was careful enough he wouldn’t rush too far ahead in his lessons, but curious enough that he would never give up his arcane studies. Gavin began to teach him the fundamentals of magic, and Ranek proved to be an adept study. He would, in his lessons, sometimes achieve stunning insights, making an unexpected leap forward in his understanding of magic and spellcraft.
After three years, Gavin spoke to his father about permanently apprenticing Ranek to him. Gavin wasn’t a typical stodgy researcher - he knew how to wheel and deal. He tried convincing Ranek’s father that by allowing Gavin to apprentice to him, he would eventually have a reliable source of magic items. That the skills of wizardry would pair well with being a merchant, and that his control of magic would increase his suitability as a match for a noble family. Ranek’s father refused, and fired Gavin on the spot.
When he learned what his father had done, Ranek was upset. Gavin had been the most reliable teacher, and Ranek had felt Gavin would unlock his potential. So, he waited for his father to leave on business, then packed some of his belongings, took some money and other valuables, and slipped out of his bedroom window. He went to Gavin’s cottage and said he wanted to continue his studies as a wizard, and that he would leave home if he had to. Gavin agreed to take him on as his apprentice, and, in order to avoid any trouble with the law, they left the city that night. Their journeys took them across Varisia, to Riddleport and Roderic’s Cove, and then to Korvosa. There, Gavin opened a small shop to buy and sell scrolls and various trinkets, both magical and not, to the residents of the city. Ranek would help in the shop, and Gavin would teach him magic when they could. Though Ranek would sometimes miss his father and the life of luxury he’d known, he felt his studies in wizardry were worth the sacrifice, and one day he would return to Magnimar, to figure things out.
One day, ten years after having left home, Ranek decided that day had arrived. Gavin agreed, saying that Ranek would have to learn on his own from here on out. Before he left, Gavin handed him a letter, saying that if he found himself in need, he should give the letter to the owner of a tavern called the Blue Whale down in the Shore district of Magnimar. Taking the letter, Ranek booked passage on a ship to Magnimar, looking forward to returning home. Unfortunately, it was not the homecoming he’d thought it would be.
Upon arrival, he went to his father’s house, only to find it dark, with a member of the guard posted out front. When he inquired as to what was happening, he was directed to a guardhouse, where he learned his father had been murdered. His body was found in bed with a seven-pointed star carved into his chest. Ranek was shocked. How could this have happened? Who could have killed him? Ranek didn’t know what to do. He took a room at an inn, to wait until he could return to his childhood home. Alas, even that was not to be. His father’s will was found, and it appeared that his father had, instead of leaving the estate to Ranek, left it to a group called the Brotherhood of the Seven. Ranek had never heard of them, and tried to fight the will in the courts, but the justice in charge of the case, an elf named Ironbriar, said there was nothing they could do, and everything appeared to be correct.
Desperate, Ranek remembered the letter, and took it to the Blue Whale. The owner, a half-orc named Kragar Redbelt, read the letter, then told him it was a letter of recommendation for joining the Pathfinders, and that if Ranek wished, he could board a ship bound for Absalom tonight. Not knowing what else to do or where else to go, Ranek accepted, and went to the Pathfinder Grand Lodge in Absalom.
During his training to become a Pathfinder, Ranek came across some information about the seven-pointed star that had been carved into his father’s chest. He learned that it was called the Sihedron Rune, and that it had been of great importance in ancient Thassilon. Ranek began to focus much of his efforts on studying Thassilon, on learning what it had been and its traditions. He learned of their magic, and eventually returned to Varisia, where the Thassilonian ruins were located. Ranek could learn why his father had been killed, and what had happened to cause it. In his studies, he learned of how the Runelords had embodied what had become the seven deadly sins, and how that had shaped their magic.
Upon his return to the city of Magnimar from Absalom, as he was staying at the Blue Whale, the Irespan suddenly began to hum and vibrate. Emerging from the inn to stare, the ground suddenly began to heave and shake as an earthquake rumbled through. People around screamed in panic. The quake lasted nearly half a minute. Quickly looking around, it appeared as though most buildings were undamaged. Ranek knew, however, that after a coastal earthquake, a tsunami could soon follow. He quickly began trying to get people to evacuate people in the immediate area, encouraging them to get to higher ground in the city. For 15 minutes, he and others spread the word. Then the wave crashed in. He had been so focused on getting others to leave the area, he had forgotten to get himself to safety!
A thought came to him, unbidden - a spell he cast almost without thinking, enveloping himself in a globe of force that protected him from the battering of the wave, from being pulled out in the undertow. With the first wave passed, he fled from the area, heading for the higher ground himself, as four more waves crashed into Magnimar, each in succession. Ranek assisted in cleaning up in the aftermath. During this time, he heard that a group of Pathfinders in the new Varisian Lodge had found the shards of an ancient Thassilonian artifact, the Sihedron, and it had been reforged. Wondering if the destruction could be related, Ranek eventually presented himself at the Pathfinder Lodge.
Now working with the Pathfinders, Ranek set about further expanding his knowledge of that ancient empire. In particular, he began venturing into the hollow chambers of the Irespan, returning with Thassilonian artifacts and drawings of murals, as well as more and more theories of Thassilonian spellcasting. He somehow knew when a theory was correct or incorrect, like a sixth sense. It was as though something guided him towards the correct information. For the next six years, he continued in his explorations and studies, ever more confident he was growing close to a breakthrough.
The true impetus was the defeat of the Runelord Alaznist in her attempt to return and, according to the heroes who defeated her, travel back in time and rewrite history. In the process, they returned the city of Xin-Edasseril to the world, along with the Runelord Belimarius. The Runelord Sorshen, returned as well, took up residence in the city of Xin-Shalast. With actual Runelords and Thassilonian cities open to him, Ranek ventured to Xin-Edasseril. Over the course of two years, he studied Thassilonian spellcasting traditions, finally achieving the breakthrough needed. He had unlocked the secrets of Thassilonian spellcasting!
Feeling that he was on the path to whatever his destiny, Ranek committed himself to the magic of the sin of Envy. Magic had protected him throughout his career - therefore mastering such magic felt like the natural course. Inscribing his rune on a halberd, Ranek left Xin-Edasseril due to Belimarius’s seemingly increasing despotism. He left the city and returned to Magnimar, before undertaking an expedition to Hollow Mountain to further study the Thassilonian ruins there.
When the invitation from Sorshen arrived, Ranek was surprised he had attracted her notice. Still, the festival provided an opportunity to speak to a Runelord who, he was fairly sure, wouldn’t consider killing him out of envy. He could hardly pass up such an opportunity, could he?
