About Renlo TacksaCrunch:
Renlo Tacksa Medium human woodsman 5 Male humanoid (human) Init +4 (+6 in the Blight); Perception +10 (+12 in the Blight); Reputation 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- DEFENSE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 15 (+5 class, +4 Dex) HP 60 (5d10+10) Saves Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- OFFENSE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Speed 30 ft. Melee longsword +7 (1d8+2/19-20) Melee shortsword +7 (1d6+2/19-20) Melee dagger +7 (1d4+1/19-20) Ranged longbow +9 (1d8/x3) Ranged dagger +9 (1d8/x3) Special Attacks favored enemy (Myrddraal +2, Trollocs +4) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- STATISTICS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Str 14, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10 Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 21 Traits Careful Combatant Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Shadowspawn Hunter (Trollocs), Track Skills Acrobatics +12, Climb +6, Handle Animal* +8, Heal +9, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (the Blight) +9, Knowledge (geography)* +8 (+10 in the Blight), Knowledge (nature) +8, Linguistics* +2, Perception +10 (+12 in the Blight), Ride +11, Stealth +12 (+14 in the Blight or natural environments), Survival +10 (+12 in the Blight or vs Myrddraal; +14 vs Trollocs or Myrddraal in the Blight; +16 vs Trollocs in the Blight) *-denotes background skill Languages Common (Borderlands), Trolloc SQ favored terrain (the Blight), Woodland Stealth +2 Gear longbow with 40 arrows, longsword, shortsword, dagger, ranger’s kit (backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, a flint and steel, iron pot, mess kit, rope, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), and a waterskin), grappling hook, 7 waterskins, trail rations (24 days), stove can, 2 healer’s balms, light horse (Quick), bit and bridle, riding saddle, 7 mk SPECIAL ABILITIES
Background:
Renlo was born in the Shienaran village of Eiju, about three days west of Fal Dara. Being one of the villages closest to the Blightborder, Trolloc raids were common, and all the villagers needed to be on guard against attacks out of the Blight. Renlo’s father was a soldier tasked with defending the village, his mother an Andoran woman his father had met while in the south some time ago. An avid hunter, from the time Renlo was old enough to do so, his father would take him hunting in the wilds around Eiju, teaching him to shoot a bow and how to fight with other weapons. His mother would teach him letters and numbers, and he would do chores around the house. As a boy, when Trollocs came raiding, he and his mother would lock themselves in the basement, the trapdoor hidden by a carpet, while his father went to join the other men in fighting off the Trollocs. Once the raid was finished, his father would come let them know it was safe. After one such raid, though, when Renlo was 12 years old, his father didn’t come to let them out. He had been killed by a Trolloc’s blade, and Renlo was left without a father. His father’s commander gave Renlo his father’s sword, and over that sword Renlo vowed to one day have revenge. His mother, who had hoped he would take up a craft or a less dangerous life than his father had, tried to get him apprenticed to various tradespeople. He would never take to it, however, and focused only on honing his skills with the sword and bow. He practiced tracking, trying to learn the signs of Trollocs. When next the Trollocs came to raid, Renlo was 13, and there was no one to hide the trap door. Four Trollocs broke into the house, found it, and ripped the trap door open. They came down, looking for easy prey, and instead met only death. Renlo killed the first with an arrow through the eye, the second he feathered with two more as it descended, then he drew his father’s sword and cut down the third before it could draw its weapon. The fourth, deciding it wasn’t interested in dying, chose to leave and find easier prey. From that day forward, Renlo trained with the other soldiers, honing his skill, and upon his 15th name day, was deemed worthy of wielding his father’s sword. He joined the patrols around the village, seeking the warning signs of future Trolloc raids, and protected the village from further attacks. Three years later, Renlo’s patrol found signs of a Trolloc raid heading for Eiju. They tracked the Trollocs, only to be led into a trap. Leaping from the trees around them, the Trollocs attacked their patrol. All fought hard, but the Trollocs were victorious. Renlo took a cut to the arm and a blow to the head, rendering him unconscious, and the Trollocs left him for dead as they moved on, taking some of his companions-at-arms for the cookpots. When Renlo awoke several hours later, he saw the slaughter about him, and knew he needed to warn the village. Staggering to his feet, somewhat dizzy, he nevertheless fixated on the direction of the town and, grabbing his father’s sword, moved in that direction. Renlo went as quickly as he could, walking through the night, but, as the dawn rose in the sky, so, too, did the smoke of fires. The raid was over, the Trollocs had come and gone, and the town, unprepared, had suffered damage. Renlo staggered into town, and collapsed. The village healer treated him, and when he awoke, he found out the damage. Several houses burned, and a number of people dead or taken by the Trollocs. That latter group, he was told, included his mother. At the news, Renlo was left alone, told to grieve and let the last embrace of the mother welcome her. Renlo could not do so. He was filled with rage, and a desire to hunt the Trollocs down and either rescue his mother or avenge her. That night, he took his father’s sword and a pack of supplies, snuck from the healer’s house, and began tracking the Trollocs. He took no notice of his wounds, for he was consumed by rage. He followed the Trollocs’ path from Eiju. These Trollocs did not have a Fade with them, and they had captives, which meant they were moving slowly. Renlo tracked the Trollocs for three days before crossing into the Blight, and then another two days in the Blight, before he finally caught them. That night, he snuck into their camp. The sentry on watch had fallen asleep, lazy as Trollocs are, and Renlo thrust his blade through its throat before it knew he was there. He then moved towards where the captives were. Of those taken, only three were left, the Trollocs having eaten the others. Fortunately for Renlo, his mother was among those still living. She appeared to be somewhat ill, however, and all three of the captives were somewhat weakened from their ordeal. Renlo knew they wouldn’t be up for outrunning the Trollocs, so he set about quietly slaughtering the entire raiding party - every single one of them. Once they were dead, he led the captives from the Blight, back to Eiju. It took a week, but Renlo returned home with the three of them safely. Unfortunately, just as they arrived, his mother collapsed. It turned out she had taken a small cut from a Trolloc blade, and some of the taint of Thakandar had gotten into her. Renlo had been successful in saving her from the Trolloc cookpots, but he had failed to keep her alive. Falling to his knees, Renlo wept openly, cursing the Trollocs, the Dark One, and the Forsaken. Renlo buried his mother next to his father, and over the next few months, while he served punishment duty for what was technically going missing while on duty, his personality changed. No longer was he fiery or did he show much anger. Instead, he became more stoic. He still hated Trollocs, but the hate was no longer the anger of a youth, quick to ignite. It was now the hatred of a life-long enemy, cold, dispassionate. When he killed a Trolloc, he didn’t revel in it - he simply cut one down and then sought out another. For eight more years, Renlo continued protecting the village, showing no interest in any other life. Renlo would often range further into the Blight than others, seeking signs of Trolloc raids from much further out. Thus, it was he who was the first scout out of Eiju to report the signs of Trollocs gathering in the Blight. There were other signs, confirmed by other scouts, to the point that the soldiers agreed - the Trollocs were gathering for a massive army. Trolloc raids continued throughout a winter far worse than anyone could remember, becoming more frequent. Finally, when it seemed spring should start but winter still held on tight, the leaders of Eiju agreed - it was time to move the people to Fal Dara. Upon arriving in Fal Dara, the villagers found that Fal Dara was preparing for battle. They, too, had seen the signs of Trollocs gathering in the Blight, and other villages had fled to the fortress for protection, as well. Lord Agelmar was gathering as many able bodied men as he could to ride to Tarwin’s Gap to prepare to face the Trolloc army. Renlo didn’t hesitate, volunteering his services as a scout. He prepared with the others for a battle that very likely would result in Shienar being overrun, and the Trollocs rampaging through his homeland. On the eve of battle, rumor reached him that al’Lan Mandragoran, the Uncrowned King of Malkier, was in the city, but there was no word of the Golden Crane being raised, and all of the soldiers knew that this battle would be nothing but a stalling action. The army marched to Tarwin’s Gap, Renlo helping scout the way, and the Shienaran armies were able to join together and take a defensive position in the Gap, to force the Trollocs to come to them. Here the battle was joined, as the Shienaran armies desperately sought to hold long enough for the people to flee to safety. After many hours of fighting, which all seemed to blend together, the Shadowspawn pulled back. Breathing heavily, out of arrows, Renlo held his father’s sword, standing with the others waiting for the next charge. It would surely be the charge that broke them, but they would hold as long as they could. As the Trollocs began to charge, Renlo blinked. It looked to him as though a man was standing in the middle of the gap before the charge. A soldier who had missed the retreat? He would surely be overrun. Suddenly, lightning struck out of a clear sky, killing the Dragkhar flying overhead. The earth heaved, and the Shadowspawn armies were broken, scrambling, fleeing from the Gap as quickly as they could. The sun shone brightly, and Renlo winced. Once he could see again, the figure had vanished. The army stood, stunned, for just a moment, and then cheers rang out. Renlo, too, was glad of the victory, but his jubilation was subdued. Who was that he had seen standing in the Gap? Men spoke of the Creator reaching out and saving them, but Renlo was sure it was something else. The only other explanation, though, terrified him. A man who could channel, a man destined to go mad, had likely saved the army. Renlo was subdued for much of the celebration back in Fal Dara, which those who knew him chalked up to his being disappointed he hadn’t killed as many Trollocs as he’d wanted to. For the first time since his mother’s death, though, Renlo thought of something other than hunting down and killing Trollocs. He thought of that man he had seen, and a verse of the [i[Karaethon Cycle[/i] he had once heard a gleeman recite echoed in his mind, “The Shadow shall rise across the world, and darken every land, even to the smallest corner, and there shall be neither Light nor safety.
Could the army have been saved, not by the Creator, but by a man who could channel? A man who could be the Dragon Reborn? When his village returned home, he went with them, but he remained distracted. A peddler who came through had a copy of the Karaethon Cycle, which Renlo purchased from him, and read further, trying to determine what it was he had seen. Renlo could make neither heads nor tails of the meanings of the Prophecies, and he found he had more time to read than usual. The Blight was still, the Trollocs licking their wounds after their defeat. Word reached them of a Trolloc raid in Fal Dara itself, but Eiju remained undisturbed. Apart from a single raid in the summer, the Trollocs were quiet. Renlo had far too much time to think and read. Over the winter, word of some sort of battle happening in Falme, all the way over on Almoth Plain, began arriving in Eiju. A battle was fought, Tarabon and Arad Doman over the land as they have so many times before. No, the armies of Artur Hawkwing had returned, and been repelled by an alliance of Tarboners and Domani. It was the Whitecloaks who had driven the armies away, with Hawkwing himself riding at their fore. No, it was Birgitte who had fought them. It wasn’t until spring that a peddler, bearing a drawing, brought news of a man with reddish hair battling the Dark One in the skies above Falme. He also brought news that, supposedly, on that same day, Mazrim Taim, the False Dragon in Saldaea, and another in Haddon Mirk, in Tear, had both been defeated and captured. Renlo was now sure - the Dragon walked the world yet again. The Blight remaining quiet, Renlo finds himself in a difficult place. He aches for battle, and to hunt Trollocs, but he knows that, if he’s right about the Dragon being reborn, the Last Battle will come soon enough, and with it, the chance to kill even more Trollocs. The Dragon would surely lead them to battle, so remaining a soldier was his best chance to fight them. However, the Last Battle could be a decade or more away. Resigning, and going into the Blight to hunt the Trollocs was appealing to Renlo, and he was growing restless. That path, however, would only result in him dying in the Blight, without the last embrace of the mother. What was a Trolloc-hunting soldier to do? Despite his uncertainty, Renlo’s commander tasked him with carrying a message to Fal Dara, and then suggested he take a few days liberty there to try and unwind. So, message in hand, Renlo set off with his horse, Quick, for the city. Perhaps Renlo could find purpose in the fortress-city.
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