Severa Zadyra's page

I uploaded these to my imgur to ensure the links will go somewhere reasonable.

Kelesh father

Garuda mother

A younger Severa

I was pleased to be able to get a little skin tone matching between dad, Severa photo, and paizo alias. It was also nice to be able to match feather colors a bit between my Garuda mother and young Severa.

(I'm borrowing heavily from people and places in Golarion, e.g., Zadim is an established character [and even a slayer, specifically] who acts as an assassin for the Cult of the Dawnflower. Forgive the length of the backstory but I figured that an aasimar comes from a very specific origin and I wanted to establish that origin and help explain how that made her who she is)

Twin blades in the night for Sarenrae, Zadim's work took him far outside of his home in Qadira across the Empire of Kelesh and beyond. When a mission took him to the Impossible Kingdom of Vudra, his jaded eyes saw through every exaggeration and fanciful display of the native Vudrans. Even the garuda, flapping through the air on brightly colored feathers, did not elicit more than a raised eyebrow.

But his mission required him to get close to one of them, Zephyra, a scholar with elegant green and white plumage. She had information on the whereabouts of the target, a cutthroat dealer in magical weapons who occasionally consulted in Zephyra's archive. Intuitive and observant, Zephyra soon recognized Zadim as no traveling scholar. But when she confronted him, the Qadiran assassin pleaded that his mission was just, striking up a lively series of debates during hushed meetings.
Debating so earnestly, they came to learn each other's values and, on rare occasions, one would convince the other to adjust their views. The stimulating friendship spiraled quickly into a secret romance. Awkwardly, both Zadim and Zephyra were firm believers in love and personal loyalty, leading to a dangerous, hidden marriage. Soon, the arms dealers was dead and Zadim had to return to Qadira. But the couple would rendezvous discreetly whenever he could accept a mission anywhere near Vudra or scholarly travels could take her into the Empire.
He feared that his enemies would discover the relationship and seek to harm her. A flying arcanist herself, Zephyra scoffed at the idea but honored Zadim's concerns. And their veiled relationship worked well, until things grew more complicated with the birth of Severa.
Foolish or not, both parents found their work too important to leave. So Severa grew up between the two nations, only rarely getting to spend time with both parents together. When living in Vudra, she learned her mother’s fierce passion for books (Knowledge skill ranks, esp. planes and books in inventory) and even how to care for them (Craft: bookbinding). The Garuda even taught her daughter a few magical tricks to entertain herself (ghost sound, prestidigitation). But more importantly, Zephyra taught her daughter her values. While directly descended from the Divine, Zephyra had a rather theoretical view of all magic. ”Even divine magic is simply that which we do not yet fully understand.” (at 2nd level, Severa will be able to use wizard magic to cast cleric spells) And while Zephyra instilled a love for equality, liberty, and compassion, she viewed the gods more as great mortals, rather than beings worthy of wholehearted reverence (no rank in K religion, no deity).

Her upbringing was rather more practical, however, during her years in Qadira with her father. Severa learned many tools of his trade (perception, stealth, alchemical weapons) but did not care for wielding his favored implements (proficient with some armor and weapons but don’t really use them). Mostly, she spent her time waiting for him to come home sneaking around the city, playing minor magical pranks, and reading her books. But her quiet childhood was shattered violently when one of Zadim’s missions made enemies in Mendev. In retaliation, some corrupted crusaders allowed demonic assassins through to wander far from the Worldwound to get their revenge. The demons hit her home, leaving her dying on the floor, before Zadim could slay them. While her recovery was slow (exposed to awfulness), she resolved to study the Worldwound and a darker side of the extraplanar than her heritage came from. Perhaps, she could prevent a similar fate for others (crusading magic).

One balmy evening in Qadira, twenty-year old Severa seized the chance to talk to both parents at once. ”I’m going to Kenabres to study more directly.” Zadim threw up one overprotective objection after another. But Zephyra smiled. ”My love, when have you ever been able to keep your ladies completely safe from harm? We simply will not allow it.” He sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. ”May the Dawnflower help me and protect my daughter.” Mother and daughter laughed and threw their arms around him.

When she reached Kenabres, Severa found it a fascinating, stimulating place for more direct study of the demonic and the Worldwound (skill rank in Lore: Worldwound). But the city also proved full of distractions. Her otherworldly appearance drew unwelcome attention of two kinds. Some young men tried to court her, but they were more interested in the exotic than Severa and she spurned them quickly, pranking them with her magic to clarify that they should leave her alone. Others, spurned courters among them, seized on her extraplanar heritage and magical abilities to target her in witch hunts. These she slipped away from quietly or combated with her legal knowledge (K local).

Thankfully, these unwelcome attentions did not define her year in Kenabres. She had many opportunities to help feed, clothe, or tutor refugees from Sarkoris. She would happily put on a show, flashing her feathers in dramatic poses, somersaulting (acrobatics) and lighting up a courtyard with trumpet blasts and glowing orbs (ghost sound and dancing lights) to help the war orphans momentarily forget what they had lost.
But while she was committed to this work, she was drawn to get closer to the Worldwound. Maybe she could learn more about it that would actually help prevent more children from losing their parents.

Unnamed Hero
Female garuda-blooded aasimar (plumekith) alchemist (mindchemist) 2/gestalt 2/wizard (exploiter wizard) 2 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels 23, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 133, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 26, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 7, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 19)
CG Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+3 Dex)
hp 19 (1d8+3)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +4
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Ranged bomb +5 (1d6+4 fire)
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (4/5), bomb 6/day (1d6+4 fire, DC 15)
Alchemist (Mindchemist) Extracts Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
1st—shield, shield, shield
Wizard (Exploiter Wizard) Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
1st—mage armor, grease (DC 15), grease
0 (at will)—ghost sound (DC 14), message, detect magic, ray of
frost
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Statistics
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Str 7, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 7
Base Atk +1; CMB -1; CMD 12
Feats Brew Potion, Extra arcanist exploit (potent magic), Scribe Scroll, Throw Anything
Traits exposed to awfulness, highlander (hills or mountains)
Skills Craft (alchemy) +8 (+10 to create alchemical items), Craft (bookbinding) +8, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (nature) +13, Knowledge (planes) +16, Knowledge (Religion) +12, Knowledge (history) +12, Lore (Worldwound) +8, Perception +6, Profession (soldier) +5, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +9 (+10 in hilly or rocky areas); Racial Modifiers +2 Knowledge (planes), highlander (hills or mountains)
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Sylvan
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +2), cognatogen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 20 minutes), crusading magic
Combat Gear acid (8); Other Gear alchemist starting formula book, book of puzzles[ACG], bookbinding tools, canteen[UE], ink, ink (2), inkpen, inkpen (2), journal[UE] (2), measuring cord (10 ft.) (2), paper (10), pathfinder chronicle[ISWG], powder[APG] (2), scroll case, spell component pouch, trail rations, wizard starting spellbook, 106 gp, 7 cp
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Special Abilities
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Alchemy +2 (Su) +2 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Arcane Reservoir +1 DC or CL (4/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +1 CL or DC while cast spell.
Bomb 1d6+4 (6/day, DC 15) (Su) Thrown Splash Weapon deals 1d6+4 fire damage.
Cognatogen (DC 14) (Su) Mutagen adds +4 to a mental & -2 to a physical attribute, and +2 nat. armor for 20 minutes.
Crusading Magic +2 racial bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Quick Study (Ex) Use 1 reservoir as a full rd action, consult spellbook to switch out mem spell (provokes AoO).
Throw Anything Proficient with improvised ranged weapons. +1 to hit with thrown splash weapons.

Overall plan: Go into arcane trickster at level 5. Around then, I'll multiclass out of slayer, probably into kensai+eldritch archer magus so I can make spell attacks and bow attacks, trying to get sneak attacks on all of them. She'll have to get used to using a bow for that, which she knows how to use from her dad's training but isn't a huge fan of (low strength). She'll use full sneak attack progression+sense vitals to throw a lot of d6s onto each of multiple attacks. In general, she'll be blasting a good deal but also buffing the party, e.g., with the teamwork feats and shared studied target she gets as a vanguard slayer.

Feats: Accomplished sneak attacker (lvl 3), spell penetration (lvl 5), greater spell penetration (lvl 7), kirin style or arcane strike

Equipment: Amulet of mighty fists with training special ability (4k gp) to get the gang up feat (dirty fighting is required as a prereq for this). This will allow her to sneak attack with her spells as long as two allies are threatening an enemy.

As soon as she can (which will be a while), Severa will learn sending so she can let her parents know how she's doing.