Social, Civilizied - +1 to Knowledge(Local) and Knowledge(Nobility) and Knowledge(Local) is a class skill
Combat, Vigilant Battler - You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Sense Motive checks. This trait bonus increases to +2 when used to counter a feint in combat.
Feats:
Mounted Combat - Once per round when your mount is hit in combat, you may attempt a Ride check (as an immediate action) to negate the hit. The hit is negated if your Ride check result is greater than the opponent's attack roll.
Animal Affinity -You get a +2 bonus on all Handle Animal and Ride skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Alertness - You get a +2 bonus on Perception and Sense Motive skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Dodge - You gain a +1 dodge bonus to your AC. A condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this feat.
Backstory:
Seth Varianna was born to Creo and Celia Varianna. His father was a Captain in the Guard, while his mother was a housewife. The Varianna family had been a part of the Guard for the past three generations: Seth’s father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all members of the Guard, and when Seth was born, Creo expected him to honor the family tradition. Seth began his training at the age of 4, under a friend of his father’s, Lucius Ferot. Lucius was a gifted soldier and was highly respected by many members of the Guard. He accepted the offer to train Seth.
Seth will never forget his first day of training. He woke up that day and ate breakfast, then he was brought to Lucius’ home. There were three other boys there when Seth arrived. One of them was 13-year-old Walter Anren, the next was 10-year-old Hugo Vidni, and the last was 6-year-old Zihark Roco. All three of them were standing at attention; Walter and Hugo each had a long wooden staff with a wide mock blade at one end, while Zihark had a wooden sword at his side. Lucius brought Seth forward and introduced him to the three boys. The way they were standing - perfectly still with no emotion on their faces - intimidated Seth. After Lucius finished, they ran up to Seth and began talking to him. He was amazed that they were able to go from perfect attention to just kids again. Zihark was the most energetic of them: he was just happy there was another student close to his age. Hugo welcomed Seth, and told him that, if he ever needed some help, to just ask. Walter was more stiff and didn’t really pay Seth any mind.
From that day onward, Seth would spend hours upon hours training with these boys. Seth and Zihark became very close over their years of training, many times they would leave their training together when it was over and go play or practice with each other. As they got older, Walter finished his training and joined the Guard, and then did Hugo as well. When Zihark finished his training, he told Seth he would wait for him before he joined, so that they would be recruits together. Seth agreed, but he secretly had doubts about joining. Creo was hard on Seth; he frequently forced Seth to continue training at home after a full day of training and sparring under Lucius. He would force Seth to run laps to stay in shape to the point of complete exhaustion. Creo’s brutal enthusiasm about the Guard really put Seth off from the Guard, in spite of his family’s tradition. He also wanted to stay with Zihark. Seth finally got the idea of working as a mercenary, doing work for nobles, busy inns, and trade caravans, and possible supplementing the Guard at festivals and other such large events.
Seth shared his dream with Zihark at the first opportunity. Zihark was skeptical of the idea, but he believed that, if the two of them worked together, they would be able to make it work. To them, it would be a more loose lifestyle, very different from what both of them were used to. They believed that the life of a mercenary would be free of the daily chores and petty jobs at the Guard. Unfortunately, it was a lot more difficult to start in practice, as they were both young men with very little real combat experience. Since Seth was not yet done with his training, Zihark offered to try to get clients for their potential business.
When Seth finished his training, it was a big day for both him and Lucius, as Seth was Lucius’ last pupil. Lucius told him on his final day of training that he was the most gifted out of any of his pupils, and that he was expecting great things from him when he joined the Guard. It was then that Seth shared his plans with Lucius. Lucius was surprised to hear about Seth’s plans to start a mercenary company, especially given how Creo would react to the news, but he still wished Seth the best of luck in his ventures, and offered to give him whatever he could in support. Seth’s mother overheard their conversation, and when Seth was on his way out, she pulled him aside. She told him that his father would be angry with him, but Seth told her that it would be okay: this was what he wanted to do and he would see it through, regardless of how his father felt about it. She then produced a small pouch and gave it to him. He opened it to reveal a beautiful ring. His mother told him that the ring had belonged to his grandfather, and that it should be able to help him with his new venture. He put the ring on and thanked his mother.
Zihark spent the last 8 months of Seth’s training attempting to get clients for them, and when Seth had completed his training, Zihark had secured their first job. The two were hired to protect a small trade caravan that was going to a village about 30 miles outside of Roland. It was an easy job and paid a decent amount of gold; the group of merchants that had hired them began to frequently ask for their services. Eventually, Seth asked permission to court the merchant’s daughter, whom he had gotten to know during his time serving as a guard for the merchant’s caravan. The merchant trusted Seth, so he knew he could trust him with his daughter. They courted for about 8 months before getting married.
As time passed, the company picked up various loner mercenaries. After a while, they were able to buy a small piece of property that served as their base of operations, where potential clients could find them. The building was a small tavern where mercenaries, mostly those employed by Seth, could go to relax between jobs. The bar was tended by Seth’s now wife Lucia. There is an office in the back where Seth holds meetings with potential clients.
