 About Talfen Half-realGeneral Information
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Name: Talfen Half-real Race: Half Elf Class / Level: Wizard (Conjuror) 1 Gender: Male Age: 28 Height: 6’3” Weight: 175 lb Alignment: Neutral Good Ability Scores
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Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 (+2) Constitution: 15 (+2) Intelligence: 19 (+4) Wisdom: 10 Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat Stats and Saving Throws
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Hit Points: 8 Current Hit Points: 8 AC: 12 (dex +2)
Fortitude: +2 (Base 0, Con +2)
BAB: +0
Initiative: +2 (Dex +2) Speed: 30 feet
Weapons
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Light Crossbow +2 ranged (BAB +0, Dex +2). Damage: 1d8 / 19-20 x2. Piercing. Range: 120 feet. Weight: 4 lb 20 bolts. Weight: 2 lb Walking Stick (club) +0 melee (BAB +0). Damage: 1d6 / 20 x2. Bludgeoning. Weight: 3 lb Dagger +0 melee or +2 ranged. Damage: 1d4 / 19-20 x2. Slashing or Piercing. Weight: 1 lb Acid Dart +2 ranged touch (BAB +0, Dex +2). Damage: 1d6 / 20 x2. Acid. Range (max): 30 feet. 7 / day.
Skills
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Acrobatics (dex) +2 Appraise (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Bluff (cha) +2 Climb (str) +0 Craft (int – c) Diplomacy (cha) +2 Disguise (cha) +2 Escape Artist (dex) +2 Fly (dex – c) - Heal (wis) +0 Intimidate (cha) +2 Knowledge, Arcana (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Knowledge, History (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Knowledge, Local (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Knowledge, Religion (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Linguistics (int – c) +8 (1 rank) Perception (wis) +2 Perform (cha) +2 Ride (dex) +2 Sense Motive (wis) +0 Spellcraft (int – c) +11 (1 rank) Stealth (dex) +2 Survival (wis) +0 Swim (str) +0 Concentration (int) +5
Feats
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Scribe Scroll Skill Focus (Spellcraft) Spell Focus (Necromancy) Class Abilities
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Arcane Bond – Bonded Object (Must make DC 20 + spell level concentration check to cast spell when amulet not worn. Can use bonded object to cast any one spell in spellbook even if not prepared. Cannot be used to cast opposition school spells). Arcane School (Conjuration. Opposition Schools: Evocation and Illusion) Cantrips School Powers:
Spells
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Spells / Day: Cantrips: 3, First Level: 2+1 Spells Known:
Spells Prepared:
Racial Traits, Languages, Experience
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+2 to one ability score (Intelligence) Medium size Normal speed (30 feet) Low Light Vision Adaptability (Skill Focus bonus feat) Elf Blood Elven Immunities: Immune to magic sleep, +2 save bonus vs enchantment spells and effects Keen Senses: +2 bonus on Perception checks Multitalented: 2 favoured classes (Wizard and Bard). First level Favoured class bonus used on skill points. Languages: Common, Elven, Draconis, Crown, Gerrou, Sylvan, Gnomish Experience Points: 700xp
Equipment and Wealth:
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Light crossbow 20 bolts Walking stick (club) Dagger Backpack Bedroll Scroll case Chalk Flint and steel Ink bottle Ink pen Hooded lantern Small steel mirror Lamp oil x 3 Paper Belt pouch Trail rations x 3 days Vial Waterskin Travellers Outfit Spellbook Spell Component Pouch Alchemists Fire - thin silver necklace with an amethyst (dark purple variety) crystal in the shape of a lozenge (worth 100gp)
Money
Background, First Draft
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It is little wonder that many half-elves feel divided, conflicted, less than whole; it is in the nature of their race. Neither one nor the other, not quite both. As a boy, Talfen Gar felt this perhaps more keenly than most of his race. He and his mother had moved to a small town in the southern isles when he was a small boy, and it did not take him long to realize that he was different. No elves lived nearby, and precious few half-elves; none his own age. Children can be cruel, adults too, and young Talfen was made to feel different, an outsider. This may well have stemmed, as much as anything, from the fact that he was new to town, that he was small, an easy target, that he did not have a father, but the things that stood out most to Talfen were the taunts about his looks, his pointed ears, that ‘the elves did not want you, and neither do we humans!’ Probably many half-elves have endured this, and many have risen above it, but Talfen found it difficult. He felt human. His family was human. He did not know his father, did not know anything of his elven heritage. He had heard of the war between the high elves and the wood elves – he did not even know which side of that conflict his father had been on, whether he was good or evil, noble or selfish. Whether he had left his mother through choice or … well, what the circumstances might have been. Talfen’s mother loved him, and did her best to protect him, but she would not speak of his father. When asked about him, she would grow sad, or angry, or try to change the subject. “I am just trying to protect you,” was the most she would say, when pressed. Talfen was … incomplete. As he grew older, he retreated into himself, into study. To try to reconcile his other half, he learnt as much as he could of the elves, their history, their war. He painstakingly began to learn the rudiments of their language. He studied what made elves unique, he learnt about their magic. This was the key, he decided. He knew, in his heart, that he was unlikely to be accepted anymore by elves than he felt he was by humans, at least not how he was. He needed something, he needed to prove, to himself, to everyone, that he could become great, that he could master something that the elves had created, that they were the masters of. He would learn magic, become a great wizard. Talfen knew (or thought he knew) that a poor half-elven boy from a small town would not gain entry to one of the great colleges, or find an apprenticeship with a high elven wizard, but through his research into things elven, and magic, he had heard tell of a half-elven wizard of small renown who dwelt some days travel away. Talfen decided that he would do whatever it took to gain an apprenticeship with the wizard, even if just long enough to properly learn the elven tongue and the basics of spellcasting. That would be the beginning of his journey to be a whole person. The decision made, he gathered his meager possessions, kissed his mother goodbye, and set out to begin his life.
DM Background
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Your wizard can either be first or second level. You decide once you have a feel for the character. The party will mostly vary between those levels but there needs to be some discrepancy because of the way people have written up their PC’s. Wealth will be the maximum that a wizard can have for that level. Naming, I liked the idea of the high elves having Latin sounding names to show their longevity, but maybe Talfen comes from the other side of his heritage. Also he gets one trait either drawn from a PF product or made up by you. Wrath and I worked out mine for his game and I’m sure we could do the same again. The background you gave fitted exactly with what I wanted, a young half-elf wizard, so thanks for that. I would like to slightly change things so that he was raised much further north, nearer the Western isles that the adventure takes place on. When I said that high elves are aloof and proud, arrogant and isolated I was understating that. My concept for them comes from an Isaac Asimov novel set on Mars where the few people living have homes hundreds of miles from each other. Even married couples only meet once or twice in their lives to procreate. The rest of the time communication takes place via magical holograms. The high elves do not have robots though they employ slaves, kobolds or goblins taken from the woods centuries ago and turned into dumb servants. The question is how do half-elves occur? One way is when a high elf must travel to a college or for a meeting then they do stop at noble castles and the like along the way, if they cannot teleport. These wizards are generally archmages so research can include grabbing the odd maid or noble daughter for a bit of how’s your father along the way. But it would be a cold, clinical thing that the elf barely remembers. The result as you said would be a pariah. The colleges act as crèche for growing high elves that is where the younger ones spend many years honing their talents until they too can take over a Tower. It is a very regimented system, with a rigid hierarchy of ability. But we are talking about only a couple of hundred elves across a large mainland, however their impact is huge because they seem to control the nobility. The colleges also contain nobles, many do not progress in magic, some do, some just go for knowledge of history, nobility and land management. The ones favoured by the elves generally do better in the future and that includes most of the highest nobility. Your master, Staff Sir Aristor Ganaeus, is self-taught with a title he made up and a thirst for knowledge. He has overcome many of the barriers the colleges put in his way to become the grumpy old half-real he is today (half-real means half-royal and stands for the way that the high elves regard their blood). In fact, Aristor is a fatherly figure who has taken great pains to give Talfen the best start in life that he can. Recently his cough has worsened and the draughty, run-down, old monastery he lives in has not helped. The Hospitalers of the Dove who run an infirmary in the monastery have tried to help but there is an inevitability about his long fight with illness. Magically Aristor is close to three schools, Divination, Conjuration and Necromancy. He studies the latter to learn more of the body and has several banned tomes in his possession. But the college inspectors rarely surprise the old codger now, the local villagers of Flamboun protect and warn him of anyone who approaches in thanks for all the good work he has done.
The Letter
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Recently a gnome, Lazarus Quint, arrived with a letter for Aristor. The mage eventually sent for Talfen and introduced him to the gnome. And showed Talfen the letter. My Old Friend and Advisor in the Arts, Aristor We have discussed before how old age appears to have robbed us of our youth and we face a cold future. Remember that cold dragon we fought and slew in the dverge mountains all those years ago, and that seems like only yesterday but I doubt I could do it now. And I need to. My isles have been left without me these last few years and that has done them no good. Lochaude in particular could be the start of a wild fire of rebellion if it is not pruned out sooner rather than later. But my bones are on fire whenever I move, that wasting spell of the War is taking its toll. I am calling in younger blood to deal with this and wonder if you could help? Can I borrow your protégé for a while, until mine is settled in. It would be the education in the real world that you mentioned in your previous missive. It would benefit him greatly and I would secure a laboratory for his needs until they return to Flamboun.
Marquis Burnd, Master of the Lochillin Isles, Devoted of Our King Hezeroux Mothman - you need to decide what if anything of this letter that you pass on to the gnome. He has not seen the contents of the letter yet.
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