Sister Zephra's page

About Sister Zephra

Sister Zephra grew up in a small convent in Lepidstadt, one of many orphaned children given to Pharasma for her followers to raise and teach to serve the goddess and the people of Ustalav. She had no idea who her father was, but she knew her mother worked on the docks by the river and had gone to the cathedral in the city sick and about to die. There she had given her child to the priesthood's safekeeping. The convent was good to Zephra and she was happy there. She would have made a good midwife if fate had not intervened.

When she was only nine years old, on the eve of the Night of Bones she went to the cathedral with a group of other girls and the high priestess to visit their families' graves. It began to rain, and as she sat praying at her mother's marker, she suddenly thought she smelled something foul. She began to stand up, but just then a hand reached up through the earth and grabbed her ankle. She screamed in terror, and watched, paralyzed, as a skeletal shadow pulled itself out of the ground before her.

Thunder pealed above her and the other girls took up her cries of fear, while the high priestess ran to her side and began casting spells. Zephra could do nothing but stare at the ghoulish black creature that had once been her mother. "Sh'z miiiine!" the corpse howled, "Tooook her fr'me! Baaaaack! Baaaaack!" But fortunately with the blessings of the Lady of Graves, her servant was able to quickly put the hollow corpse to rest. Many times after that day, Zephra wondered at how lucky she had been that the high priestess was so close. The goddess watches over me, she decided gratefully.

In the aftermath, she received a visit from a man named Professor Lorrimor, a teacher at the nearby University. He said he had heard about the incident and claimed a scholarly interest in the proceedings. Zephra recounted the tale as best she could, and the professor seemed stunned when she explained that the creature had been her mother. Apparently he had known her before she died. Zephra thought that was sad, and felt sympathy for the Professor. He was moving away to a small town with his young daughter, he said, and when he asked if he could write to Zephra, she eagerly agreed.

As she confided to the Professor, in the years that followed Zephra was troubled by how helpless she had been during the attack. She desperately wanted to be someone who could have fought back, like the convent's high priestess had done. The Professor was happy to help her learn about similar creatures with his expert knowledge, and wrote her pages and pages of information about the undead. But Zephra also confided these thoughts in the high priestess, who took one look at her new sense of zealous conviction and immediately took her to enroll in a special fighting school in Ulcazar.

Zephra is not supposed to discuss the school or its parent organization, the Voices of the Spire, with anyone. However, when she wrote Professor Lorrimor that she was learning to fight undead at a Pharasmin academy in the mountains that she was not supposed to talk about, he seemed to know what she meant. Their correspondence had trailed off soon after that, and for many years they didn't communicate at all. Zephra had been feeling very guilty that she hadn't written to him, when she received word that he had died. She took this as a sign that she had finished her training, and rushed to Ravengro with the intention of attending the old man's funeral. Alas, she was several weeks too late.

Description
Sister Zephra is short (about 5'3") and athletic, with flaxen-blonde hair and dark brown eyes. In fact, her facial features look remarkably similar to those of Kendra Lorrimor-- but that might just be that they are two young Ustalavic women who are about the same age. Also, Zephra has a mark on her forehead, the spiral holy symbol of Pharasma. When arrayed for battle, Zephra wears a fine chainmail shirt but does not typically hold any obvious weapons-- she does have several sheathed daggers strapped to various parts of her body. She is, to put it bluntly, as dumb as a post. She is very dedicated and intuitive, however, and has a good heart. She tries hard and she means well. She also somewhat naively thinks well of others-- living others, of course. She generally believes that most people can be trusted and will do the right thing. This is partly because none of the sisters who raised her ever let on to her that she was part outsider, and Zephra herself has never connected the dots. She has an affinity for shadows and darkness, and she is surprisingly perceptive of evil and the undead, but she assumes this is because of her training and her devotion to her goddess.

Race: Tiefling (Pass for Human)

Alignment: Neutral

Classes: Cleric (Divine Paragon) // Fighter (Skirmisher)

Deity: Pharasma

Abilities: Str 10 (+0), Dex 16+2[race] (+4), Con 14 (+2), Int 8-2[race] (-2), Wis 16+2[race] (+4), Cha 12 (+1)

HP: 31/31 (3d10[10+6+6]+6[CONx3]+3[FCB])

AC: 19 (10 base, +5 armor, +4 Dex)

Initiative: +4

Speed: 35' (light armor, mobility training +5)

Saves: Fort +5, Reflex +5** (+1 vs artillery [conditioning], +1 vs traps/hazards [reconnaissance training]), Will +7

Energy Resistance: cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5

BAB: +3

Weapons:
masterwork dagger +11 or +9/+9** [-1 PA, +1 vs undead] (1d4** [+2/+1 PA, +1 vs undead] P/S damage, 19-20/x2, 10' range)

Armor: +1 mithral shirt (light armor, +5 armor, +6 max Dex)

Tiefling (Faultspawn): Darkvision, Fiendish Resistance, Pass for Human, Skilled [Appraise, Knowledge (local)], Soul Seer

Favored Class Bonus (Fighter): +3 hp

Traits: Corpse Hunter (religion; +1 attack vs undead), Doubt/Family Ties (drawback; Kendra Lorrimor, -4 for 1h on failed skill check), Fate's Favored (faith: +1 luck bonuses), Subject of Study (campaign: +1 damage vs undead)

Feats: Combat Expertise* (EitR), Combat Stamina* (fighter 1), Deadly Aim* (EitR), Deific Obedience* [Pharasma] (cleric 1), Power Attack* (EitR), Two-Weapon Fighting (level 1), Weapon Finesse* (EitR), Weapon Focus* [light blades] (fighter 1); Quick Draw (level 3)

Skills: Acrobatics 2+7*, Appraise 1+3, Climb 1+3*, Knowledge (local) 0+0, Lore (The Whispering Way) 3+1, Perception 2+4, Profession (midwife) 2+7, Swim 1+3*

Languages: Common, Varisian

Cleric (Divine Paragon) 3: aura, channel energy 2d6 (positive), devoted domain (Repose), divine brand, domain power (Repose/Souls: Touch the Spirit World 3+WIS/day), domains (Repose/Souls, Water/Flowing), spontaneous spells (cure)

Fighter (Skirmisher) 3: wilderness training; conditioning +1 (Light Infantry Training), reconnaissance training +1; mobility training (+1 dodge AC, +5' move)

Spells prepared (CL 3):
orisons (4): guidance, stabilize, vigor, empty (1)
1st (3+1): deathwatch+ (D 0/0), magic weapon (1/1), obscuring mist+ (D 1/1), shield of faith (1/1), empty (1/1)
2nd (2+1): cat's grace+ (D 1/1), defending bone (1/1), false life (0/0), gentle repose+ (D 0/0), weapon of awe (0/0), empty (1/1)

Equipment: alchemist's fire 3/3 (60 gp), cold iron dagger (4 gp), masterwork daggers x2 (604 gp), masterwork backpack (50 gp), +1 mithral shirt (2,100 gp), monk's (nun's) outfit (free), scroll of divine favor 6/6 (150 gp), silver dagger (22 gp), warpriest's kit (no backpack, flint and tinder, holy symbol; only 1/1 day trail rations: 10 gp)