Stannislav 'Stannis' Grimski's page

About Stannislav 'Stannis' Grimski

Stannislav Grimski
Male Human (Ustalav) Paladin 2
LG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +2
Favoured Class: Paladin
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DEFENSE
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AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+7 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 22
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +5
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft.
Melee Mwk Falchion +9 (2d4+6/18-20/x2) power attk +8 (2d4+9/18-20/x2), Greatclub +6 (1d10/20/x3)

Spell-Like Abilities Detect Evil (will), Smite Evil (1/day)

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STATISTICS
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Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 15
Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 17
Feats Weapon Focus (Falchion), Power Attack
Traits Chance Encounter, Heirloom Weapon
Skills Perception (2,+2), Diplomacy (2,+7)
Languages Common
Gear Chainmail (+6 AC), Armored Kilt (+1 AC), Mwk Falchion, Greatclub, Dagger, Raven Symbol (holy symbol)

APPEARANCE

Height 6ft

Stannis is light skinned and handsome with fair hair and blue eyes. His hands are covered in small scars. Stannis dresses simply, his clothing is clean but worn and he wears battered banded mail under an old grey cloak (and outdoors he wears an equally battered grey hat). In his armour he looks like an out of work mercenary or guard. Out of it the simple commoner he was. He is lean and muscled but his appearance belies his physical strength. Likewise he has a quiet strength of personality beyond what is readily apparent.

BACKGROUND

Stannis was born to commoners in a small town in the south east of Ustalav. His mother was torn apart by a werewolf. His father died from an errant magical blast thrown during a duel between rival necromancers. Anywhere else that may have marked Stannis for note, in Ustalav, just another orphan.

A large but quiet youth he was raised by cousins and worked at a number of jobs: farmer, woodcutter, gravedigger. He kept his head down and but for fate would surely have lived out his life like generations of peasants before him.

In his ninetenth winter a plague of undead struck the region. Whole villages were lost, the lucky fled, the unlucky dead or worse. Stannis was in the pub drinking with his friends when he first saw Elspeth Al'ariamali. An elven knight, little different to a demon herself to the townspeople, she sought a guide to a local barrow. She was about to leave unsuccessful when Stannis stood to the surprise of all (himself included).

In the weeks that followed he served Elspeth as faithfully amd well as he could. At the last when he held her broken and dying body in his arms he wept for the first and only time in his life. She told him that she was a Raven Knight and 263 years ago she, a simple painter, had taken up the charge of a dying dwarf. Before her the dwarf had sat the death watch of a human knight and so on and so on, an unbroken line of paladins, they're lives sworn in service to all goodly races and specifically to the destruction of all undead creatures.

She offered to pass her charge to Stannis but promised no easy life. He would have no wife, he would father no children. He would die in battle as she had and pass on the charge to another.

He chose to accept and as Elspeth died he felt her life energy, the life energy of the raven knights merge with his own. He became stronger, tougher and filled with a presence beyond his simple appearance. The combat skills of a hundred knights filled his mind in a torrent too much to entirely process.

He took Elspeth's sword and while he knew somehow that its magic had faded with her passing he realised it could be refreshed in time.

He never returned to his town. Taking up Elspeth's lonely burden he took to wandering the old paths doing his best to live up to a code and powers he barely understood.

It was some time later that he met the Professor. Somehow he had learnt of Elspeth's death and the passing of her charge to Stannis. He told Stannis that Elspeth had travelled with him on several occassions. He owed her a debt that had transferred to Stannis.