About Saif al-FajrDescription:
Olive skin and curly dark hair betray his Qadiran origins. On brighter days he may wear kohl to counteract the glare of the sun. He has a tattoo of the dawn flower's holy symbol on his left arm and wears fairly large hoop earrings, a common thing to find among the young in Qadira. His clothes also reflect the Qadiran style of dress, with long keleshite robes sometimes layered for the colder months and a Keffiyeh on his head. He carries a scimitar even when not in combat in honor of his goddess. Background:
Saif and his twin sister Manar were born to a paladin enlisted in a Varisian branch of the Halo of Blades, an organization founded to protect travelers on pilgrimages across the continent. Their half-elven mother, taking after her long-lived relatives, abandoned them while the children were still very young, seeing a years long love affair and twins as little more than a fling with unfortunate consequences. Despite their capricious mother, the two had a loving father who considered them blessings from the Dawnflower. This belief was only strengthened by the fact that the girl was born an Aasimar. He named them Saif and Manar al-Fajr, meaning Sword and Guiding Light of Dawn respectively. Their naming proved ironic. While fiery Manar manifested her divine heritage physically — possessing wild red hair and bronzed skin that revealed her divine heritage, Saif's manifested spiritually. He had a presence about him, and could fill a room with the warmth and light of the sun if he so wished. He saw all that was near him as if it were illuminated by the holy light, and unlike Manar, he could heal the sick with little more than a touch and a prayer. They were indeed two halves of one whole: he brought the light, she brought the heat. Their father, however, kept to their names and pushed them toward goals that all but conflicted with their personalities. Manar was made to stay close to the clerics and bards in the local temples they visited, treading a path focused more on magic and healing than swordplay. Saif, on the other hand, was brought up to be as his father, a paladin and knight of the Dawnflower, sworn to being a sword through which her grace might heal the world of its evil. Devout in his studies and embracing his place in Sarenrae's church, he rebelled against the western tropes of combat typical of most every paladin: the heavy armor, two-handed weaponry, mounts; and instead found himself sneaking off with his sister to learn the dervish dance and use it like the fierce bard-warriors of their homeland. Though he could never match the grace and power of Manar (he suspects her divine heritage gave her an unfair advantage in this regard) he became passable at using sword and dance in combat, and continues to perfect the art to this day. As the two grew older their paths began to diverge from that of their father's. While the wanderlust was still strong in both of them, and the Blades was as good an organization as any to help satiate it, each felt it was time to strike out on their own. Manar chose to join the Pathfinders, finding the idea of uncovering Golarion's secrets in the name of their homeland, Qadira, romantic. The dervish unfortunately did not share her views on the Pathfinders, the organization being more cavalier than he was comfortable with, but agreed to help her prepare for her new life. The two of them broke with their father and his band of Blades in the town of Sandpoint, finding Varisia a good place to settle down and find work until Manar's departure. They took up odd jobs, participated in local adventures, and eventually raised enough money for Manar’s departure. (this happens about a year before the game starts) In that time Saif and his sister became favored drinking buddies of Ameiko, proprietor of the Rusty Dragon. She would often listen for hours as the twins told her stories of their time on the road. Some nights, when the drink would get the better of them, they would even give her a scimitar and try to teach her the dervish dance with often hilarious (and disastrous) results. Saif became well acquainted with Ameiko and eventually considering her a good friend and formidable drinking buddy. In his time on the road, he had not had the time to make many friends, and most relationships with people outside of the Halo of Blades were fleeting at best. Because of this reality, the few friends he’s made since living in Sandpoint have become precious to him, and he treats them as family, often calling them brother or sister. After seeing his sister leave, Saif was immediately struck with the wanderlust all over and began growing restless. Although he found solace in his friends company, his unrest began to grow apparent. In order to rid himself of the saudade that had fallen over him, Saif joined Sandru’s caravan guard, citing his time with the Halo of Blades as reason to get hired on. However this arrangement was not to Saif’s liking, as the caravan often avoided dangerous routes and could not satisfy the dervish’s adventuring itch. So after about a year of working with the caravan, Saif quit and parted ways amicably with Sandru’s caravan. Since then he has returned to Sandpoint, where he hangs out at Rusty Dragon and awaits his chance to go on a real adventure.
Personality:
Far more easygoing than others of his ilk, Saif strives to show the trademark patience of his deity and is always willing to be helpful. However, if crossed, he will hold to the code a paladin of Sarenrae swears by. There is hope for redemption in every soul and as an arbiter of that creed he always tries to find the best in people. Outside of danger, Saif becomes much more relaxed, and is known to share a drink or two with friends.
Planned Progression:
Level 2 (Pal 2): Can use lay on hands 3x per day to heal 1d6. Level 4 (Pal 4): Lay on hands 5x per day for 2d6 or sacrifice 2 uses of lay on hands to channel positive energy 2d6. Level 5 (Pal 4/Ora 1): Choose the life mystery and grab the life link revelation. Level 7 (Pal 4/ Ora 3): 3 levels of oracle give 3 life links to play with. If we take Channel Energy as a second revelation, we get a second channel energy pool that heals 2d6 (doesn't stack with paladin channel energy). At this point we will have made an effective healbot tank paladin with more healing options than your average cleric, albeit the cleric will be able to channel for 4d6 to heal 14hp on average, but with this character that burst shouldn't be necessary because his heals will keep on coming. Level 10 (Pal 4/ Ora 3/ Holy Vindicator 3): At this point, any cure spell the vindicator casts on himself will be empowered. He can also continue advancing his channel energy class feature from the paladin levels, and his spellcasting class features from his oracle levels. So he'll channel energy as a 7th level paladin (4d6) and cast as a 5th level oracle. We'll stop progressing lay on hands but our other options will make up for that. Besides if we start running a little low, he could always pick up extra lay on hands. Past that its all gravy really. Channel energy continues to progress, the party will have fast heal 5, and considering this is a dex based paladin he'll have the AC to survive most things that are thrown at him. It's an optimized heal tank, but only in that it makes for a decent frontliner and fairly good healer without sacrificing too much on either front. If we were to take it to 20 (which I doubt as this is an official paizo AP and only WotR has done that since the pathfinder system became the norm), he would channel as a 17th level paladin and cast as a 10th level oracle.
Halo of Blades:
The Everlight Oasis is a common pilgrimage site for the devotees of Sarenrae, and its popularity draws brigands and cutthroats to prey on weary travelers. As the mercenaries that pilgrims hire for protection are frequently in league with the highwaymen, the faithful of the Dawnflower have long since decided to take matters into their own hands. Thus was born the Halo of Blades, paladins and clerics who see the protection of their flock as their primary mission. Indeed, they have become so serious about their oaths that they have expanded their operations well beyond the Everlight Oasis and across the continent. Their mission is to eliminate all those who prey on honest travelers, and it is not uncommon to see their red pennants snapping high above their scimitars as they destroy ambuscades on the roads between the cities. They do not venture deep into the wilderness unless they are chasing their quarry; they are protectors of the roads and byways of civilized lands. The only exceptions they make to this rule are to hunt the minions of Rovagug, and to aid those in obvious distress. They’re no fools, and they rarely fall for ambushes themselves, thanks in large part to their incredibly efficient scouting and communications.
Sarenrae's Code:
The paladins of the Dawnflower are fierce warriors, like their goddess. They provide hope to the weak and support to the righteous. Their tenets include: Crunch:
Saif al-Fajr Male Human (Keleshite) Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) 1 LG Medium humanoid (human) Init +4; Senses Perception +6 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex) hp 10 (1d8+2) Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +4; +2 morale bonus vs. charm and fear effects -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 20 ft. Melee kukri +2 (1d4+3/18-20) and . . scimitar +6 (1d6+6/18-20) Ranged shortbow +6 (1d6+2/×3) Special Attacks bardic performance 5 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1), battle dance: inspire courage Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +2): 1st (2/day)—dazzling blade (DC 12), grease (DC 12) 0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, prestidigitation (DC 11), read magic -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 14, Cha 12 Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15 Feats Dervish Dance, Enforcer, Weapon Finesse Traits blade of mercy, caravan guard Skills Acrobatics +5 (+1 jump), Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (geography) +2, Perception +6, Survival +3 Languages Common, Kelish SQ battle dance Other Gear studded leather, arrows (20), kukri, scimitar, shortbow, backpack, belt pouch, wooden holy symbol (Sarenrae), holy text, mess kit, torch (2), trail rations, waterskin, 85 gp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Bardic Performance (standard action) (5 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects. Battle Dance (move action) A Dawnflower dervish is trained in the use of the Perform skill, especially dance, to create magical effects on himself. This works like bardic performance, except that the Dawnflower dervish’s performances grant double their normal bonuses, but th Battle Dance: Inspire Courage +2 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls. Blade of Mercy No penalty when inflicting nonlethal damage with a slashing weapon, +1 to nonlethal damage inflicted with a slashing weapon. Dervish Dance Use Dex modifier instead of Str modifier with scimitar Enforcer If you deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon, make a free Intimidate check to demoralize. |
