Schwertleite, Child of Stone's page

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Craftsman: Dwarves are known for their superior craftsmanship when it comes to metallurgy and stonework. Dwarves with this racial trait receive a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks related to metal or stone. This racial trait replaces greed.

Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Defensive Training: Dwarves get a +4 dodge bonus to their AC against monsters of the giant subtype.

Giant Hunter: Dwarves with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoids with the giant subtype. Furthermore, they gain a +2 bonus on Survival checks to find and follow tracks made by humanoids with the giant subtype. This racial trait replaces the hatred racial trait.

Hardy: Dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.

Slow and Steady: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.

Stability: Dwarves receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.

Stonecunning: Dwarves receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice any such features that they pass within 10 feet of, whether or not they are actively looking.

Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.

Aura: A warpriest of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura (as a cleric) corresponding to the deity’s alignment.

Blessings: A warpriest’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. Each warpriest can select two blessings from among those granted by his deity (each deity grants the blessings tied to its domains). A warpriest can select an alignment blessing (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain.

Each blessing grants a minor power at 1st level and a major power at 10th level. A warpriest can call upon the power of his blessings a number of times per day (in any combination) equal to 3 + 1/2 his warpriest level (to a maximum of 13 times per day at 20th level). Each time he calls upon any one of his blessings, it counts against his daily limit. The save DC for these blessings is equal to 10 + 1/2 the warpriest’s level + the warpriest’s Wisdom modifier.

Focus Weapon: At 1st level, a warpriest receives Weapon Focus as a bonus feat (he can choose any weapon, not just his deity’s favored weapon).

Sacred Weapon: At 1st level, weapons wielded by a warpriest are charged with the power of his faith. In addition to the favored weapon of his deity, the warpriest can designate a weapon as a sacred weapon by selecting that weapon with the Weapon Focus feat; if he has multiple Weapon Focus feats, this ability applies to all of them. Whenever the warpriest hits with his sacred weapon, the weapon damage is based on his level and not the weapon type. The warpriest can decide to use the weapon’s base damage instead of the sacred weapon damage - this must be declared before the attack roll is made. (If the weapon’s base damage exceeds the sacred weapon damage, its damage is unchanged.) This increase in damage does not affect any other aspect of the weapon, and doesn’t apply to alchemical items, bombs, or other weapons that only deal energy damage.

At 4th level, the warpriest gains the ability to enhance one of his sacred weapons with divine power as a swift action. This power grants the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus. For every 4 levels beyond 4th, this bonus increases by 1 (to a maximum of +5 at 20th level). If the warpriest has more than one sacred weapon, he can enhance another on the following round by using another swift action. The warpriest can use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to his warpriest level, but these rounds need not be consecutive.

These bonuses stack with any existing bonuses the weapon might have, to a maximum of +5. The warpriest can enhance a weapon with any of the following weapon special abilities:
- brilliant energy
- defending
- disruption
- flaming
- frost
- keen
- shock

In addition, if the warpriest is good, he can add:
- ghost touch
- holy

If he is lawful, he can add:
- axiomatic
- merciful

Adding any of these special abilities replaces an amount of bonus equal to the special ability’s base cost. Duplicate abilities do not stack. The weapon must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before any other special abilities can be added.

If multiple weapons are enhanced, each one consumes rounds of use individually. The enhancement bonus and special abilities are determined the first time the ability is used each day, and cannot be changed until the next day. These bonuses do not apply if another creature is wielding the weapon, but they continue to be in effect if the weapon otherwise leaves the warpriest’s possession (such as if the weapon is thrown). This ability can be ended as a free action at the start of the warpriest’s turn (that round does not count against the total duration, unless the ability is resumed during the same round). If the warpriest uses this ability on a double weapon, the effects apply to only one end of the weapon.

Spontaneous Casting: A good warpriest can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that he did not prepare ahead of time. The warpriest can expend any prepared spell that isn’t an orison to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower. A cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name.

Fervor: At 2nd level, a warpriest can draw upon the power of his faith to heal wounds or harm foes. He can also use this ability to quickly cast spells that aid in his struggles. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to 1/2 his warpriest level + his Wisdom modifier.

By expending one use of this ability, a good warpriest (or one who worships a good deity) can touch a creature to heal it of 1d6 points of damage, plus an additional 1d6 points of damage for every 3 warpriest levels he possesses above 2nd (to a maximum of 7d6 at 20th level). Using this ability is a standard action (unless the warpriest targets himself, in which case it’s a swift action). Alternatively, the warpriest can use this ability to harm an undead creature, dealing the same amount of damage he would otherwise heal with a melee touch attack. Using fervor in this way is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Undead do not receive a saving throw against this damage. This counts as positive energy.

As a swift action, a warpriest can expend one use of this ability to cast any one warpriest spell he has prepared with a casting time of 1 round or shorter. When cast in this way, the spell can target only the warpriest, even if it could normally affect other or multiple targets. Spells cast in this way ignore somatic components and do not provoke attacks of opportunity. The warpriest does not need to have a free hand to cast a spell in this way.

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BLESSINGS
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Holy Strike: At 1st level, you can touch one weapon and bless it with the power of purity and goodness. For 1 minute, this weapon glows green, white, or yellow-gold and deals an additional 1d6 points of damage against evil creatures. During this time, it’s treated as good for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. This additional damage doesn’t stack with the additional damage from the holy weapon special ability.

Increased Defense: At 1st level, you can gain a +1 sacred bonus on saving throws and a +1 sacred bonus to AC for 1 minute. The bonus increases to +2 at 10th level and +3 at 20th level.

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TRAITS
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Armor Expert: You have worn armor as long as you can remember, either as part of your training to become a knight’s squire or simply because you were seeking to emulate a hero. Your childhood armor wasn’t the real thing as far as protection, but it did encumber you as much as real armor would have, and you’ve grown used to moving in such suits with relative grace. When you wear armor of any sort, reduce that suit’s armor check penalty by 1, to a minimum check penalty of 0.

Roll With It: You’ve trained with some of the best giantslayers out there, and have learned how to avoid the worst effects of a giant’s powerful attacks. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Reflex saves. In addition, once per day, when a creature with the giant subtype successfully confirms a critical hit against you with a weapon or a slam attack (not a spell or special ability), you can roll with the attack. You take normal damage from the blow, as if the critical had not been confirmed. You must be aware of the attack and able to react to it - if you are denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, you can’t use this ability. If you are a dwarf or a gnome, you can use this ability twice per day.

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FEATS
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Steel Soul: You receive a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities. This replaces the normal bonus from the dwarf’s hardy racial trait.

Weapon Focus (warhammer): You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using the selected weapon.

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SPELLS
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Orisons (4/day)
(*) Detect Magic
(*) Guidance
(*) Mending
(*) Read Magic

1st (3/day)
(2) Divine Favor
(1) Shield of Faith

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GEAR/POSSESSIONS
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Carrying Capacity
Light 0-76 lb. Medium 77-153 lb. Heavy 154-230 lb.
Current Load Carried 115 lb
Warhammer (5 lb)
Dagger (1 lb)
Sling (0 lb)
Sling Bullets x10 (5 lb)
Heavy Steel Shield (15 lb)
Chainmail (40 lb)
Iron Holy Symbol of Torag (1 lb)
Belt Pouch (0.5 lb)
Spell Component Pouch (2 lb)
Backpack (2 lb)
*Acid Flask x 2 (2 lb)
*Scroll: Cure Light Wounds (0 lb)
*Bedroll (5 lb)
*Holy Text (1 lb)
*Flint and Steel (0 lb)
*Iron Pot (4 lb)
*Mess Kit (1 lb)
*Rope (10 lb)
*Soap (0.5 lb)
*Torch x10 (10 lb)
*Trail Rations x5 (5 lb)
*Waterskin (4 lb)
*Well-worn Tongs (Masterwork Tool: Craft) (1 lb)

*Stored in Backpack

In battle, Schwertleite will try to either hit something or create an anvil for someone else to break an opponent upon.

Outside of combat, she keeps an ear out for falsehoods or other signs of weakness.

”Return whin ye hae proven yersel' worthy o` yer hammer.”

“'N' whin wull that be?”

”Ye wull ken whin. Noo gang.”

That was months ago now. That was when Schwertleite still lived in Kraggodan. That was the last thing Forgemaster Ironheart had said to her before she packed her bags and “voluntarily” left the city for “a quest o’ spiritual awakening”.

It was unfair - yes, she’d let the sneaky little goblins get into the city during her watch, but that was because she had been busy keeping her eyes on the hillsides for approaching giants that could cross the vast plain surrounding the town in minutes and break through the city walls. And the walls were supposed to keep the stupid goblins and orcs and random human bandits out, so why spend a lot of time looking at them? They were made by dwarves, after all - they weren’t some flimsy wooden structures thinner than a baby’s beard, but masterpieces of defensive architecture!

And she would consider herself highly qualified to talk about dwarven architecture and crafting, having been raised in the Temple of Torag since she was a wee babe. Her parents certainly hadn’t considered breaking tradition - the family had given the firstborn of each generation to the priesthood since before the Quest for Sky, renouncing the family’s claim to the child and removing them from the family tree. In return, the forgemasters would give the new acolyte the title ‘Child of Stone’ in acknowledgement of their commitment to the Father of Dwarves himself and their work in His service. Schwertleite didn’t know if she’d ever met her parents, and she prided herself on not having ever asked about them since she’d learned of how she’d been ‘rebirthed’ into the faith of her ancestors.

Some things she’d taken well to - the history of warfare, the art of shaping metal and stone into protective forms, the tactics of how best to defeat an opponent without revealing the weak points in one’s own defenses. Some things had been a struggle for her - the finer points of theology, decorum, and compromise being consistent topics of discussion between her and the Forgemaster each year. And some things - like tact - she’d completely given up on. Maybe that was been part of the reason why the blowback from her miniscule mistake had grown like an unchecked furnace - but she wasn’t giving that idea any sort of foothold.

And in all honesty, Schwertleite hadn’t complained (much) since she got to decide where she was going. It had taken her only a few seconds to decide on the Hold of Belkzen to the north. Giants and orcs and goblins - all the ancestral enemies of Torag’s children gathered together in one convenient place for knocking down and casting into the slag heap where they belonged!

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Three long weeks of riding in the back of carts and wagons later, she had arrived in Trunau - the town of survivors. One day after that, she had bullied her way into serving in the militia and staying at the Longhouse with Rodrik and Kurst (and Jargin - though she had given him the cold shoulder ever since he refused to admit the superiority of time-tested dwarven tactics in repelling orcs). After two more weeks, she had finally gotten over her aversion to Morninghawk’s obvious ancestry and started helping at the half-orc’s forge when not training at the Commons or on patrol atop the walls. She still hadn’t gotten her head around why Agrit didn’t want to talk about traditional fighting techniques, nor why she put her faith in something as flighty as magic rather than a sturdy shield and a solid hammer, but Schwertleite was certain that with enough time even a mountain would bend itself to both her will and the will of the Forgefather.

Stubborn, unyielding, tough. These are all words Schwertleite would use to describe her weapons and armor - and all words anyone who’s known the dwarf for more than a few minutes would use to describe her. With her long hair pulled out of her face and a hammer hanging from her belt, she is the very picture of the dwarven ideal.