 About The Waiting Room 2True Shadow, Proselytizing Dark Folk Oracle "Without light, there is no shadow - only darkness." Background Precis:
True Shadow (or Anino Tinuod in the tongue of the dark folk) was born Gloom's Price (Bili Kasubo), so named because his clan's owb, Actuary Gloom (Kasubo Abogado), made a bargain with his parents, taking the light from his soul in exchange for guaranteeing all their descendants would be made stalkers like they were [Tainted Spirit]. This also resulted in his stunted growth, which angered his parents; as recompense, the clan's callers gave them magical trinkets to satisfy them. As a child he played with these trinkets and learned how to make them work without being taught [Dangerously Curious]. When his brother Gloom's Promise (Saad Kasubo) was born and made a stalker, his parents grew resentful of the burden Price's shortcomings posed, and the clan's callers convinced them to send him into the farthest reaches of the fungus fields to work. There Price worked among the glowing dzuwa fungus, learning to see better in their dim light [Dim Seer]. Meanwhile Actuary Gloom and the clan's callers convinced Promise that Price planned to usurp power from the stalkers and rule the clan himself. Price overheard this triumvirate plotting his demise and chose to flee, eventually making his way all the way to a mountaintop cave opening to surface world. There he saw the sun, which burned his arms when he blocked his eyes and filled the darkness left inside him by Actuary Gloom with fire and light, revealing the true nature of Shadow to him. Now empowered by primal light and shadow and convinced of the owb's malignant tyranny over his people, he re-named himself True Shadow, and returned to his clan to expose the owb's lies and overthrow it. Unfortunately Actuary Gloom had foreseen Price's possible return, and his callers and Gloom's Promise had convinced the clan that Price had fled after a failed attempt to murder his brother. Upon arrival True Shadow battled his clan's stalkers, callers, and even Actuary Gloom, and was forced to flee back into the wilds. True Shadow commenced a nomadic life in the Darklands, preaching his messages of owb tyranny and dark folk empowerment to any settlements of his people he came across, gradually gaining a small following of believers. He also came to know the lands and tongues of many of the Darklands other inhabitants. This life hardened his body while his meditations on Shadow strengthened his soul. He and his followers eventually came across a Nightrunner agent beset by a storm of stirges and faring badly. True Shadow intervened, driving off the stirges and providing the agent succor. Impressed by his abilities and willingness to confront danger, the agent proposed to put in a good word with his employers in Telderist - the Nightrunners Guild - if he was ever looking for employment. The promise of a relatively safe home for his followers and employment that allowed him the opportunity to travel the Darklands wilds (and preach to any dark folk settlements he found there) was too good to pass up, and so True Shadow came to Telderist to make his and his people's fortunes [Nightrunner Apprentice]. Appearance and Personality:
Emaciated even by dark folk standards, True Shadow's frame borders on the skeletal. While he follows the dark folk custom of dressing in multiple layers of cloth, colored fabrics of red, orange, yellow, grey, and white are woven in with the more traditional black garb. On his left arm he wears an elbow-length leather glove that seems over-sized on his spindly limb; in fact it looks as if it would fall off without the fine buckler strapped on over it holding it in place. His right arm is bare to the elbow, the exposed grisly flesh charred black. When in public he covers his face and head with a silken, diaphonous shawl; in private he may lower the cloth to reveal a pale face of stark intensity. Often the heady scent of strange incense clings to him. True Shadow is cautious and slow to trust strangers, save those dark folk who have been swayed by his sermons. Even so, he can be moved to help others if there seems little risk of sociopolitical entanglements (for instance he may assist someone being attacked by feral monsters, but he's not going around freeing slaves or anything). He trusts fellow Nightrunners to look out for him while on the job, and does the same for them. In general he prefers moderation and compromise, though when provoked his response is proportional to the provocation. (In the case of the owb, their provocation is untold centuries of subjugating his people through deceit and induced mutation, so he's pretty adamant about them having to go.)
Statistics:
True Shadow (Anino Tinuod)
Male caligni (stalker-kin) oracle of shadow 8 NG medium humanoid (dark folk) Init +3; Senses Perception +15 (+17 in dim light) (see in darkness, low light vision) ------------------------------ DEFENSE ------------------------------ AC 18/23*, touch 14, flat-footed 13/18* (+1/6* armor, +1 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 natural, +2 shield) *if Cloak of Darkness is in effect hp 91 (8 x d8 + 4 Con + 1 Toughness + 1 FCB) Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +9 Cannot be dazzled. ------------------------------
Melee Ranged +9 ranged spell attacks
Automatic Bonus Progression armor attunement +1/+1, deflection +1, mental prowess (Cha) +2, physical prowess (Con) +2, resistance +2, toughening +1, weapon attunement +1/+1. Traits
Drawbacks
Feats
Adventuring Skills (24 points; 32 class levels - 8 INT) Bluff +9 (1 rank + 3 class + 5 Cha + 0 feat + 0 racial + 0 trait)
Background Skills (16 points; 16 character levels) Craft (aromatics) +4 (2 ranks + 3 class - 1 Int + 0 feat + 0 racial + 0 trait)
ACP of 0 applies to these skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Swim. Languages: Aklo, Common, Dark Folk, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Undercommon. Oracle Mystery & Curse, Solar Bloodline:
------------------------------ SHADOW MYSTERY ------------------------------ Class Skills: Bluff, Disguise, Knowledge (dungeoneering), and Stealth. Bonus Spells: blurred movement (2nd), invisibility (4th), deeper darkness (6th), shadow step (8th), vampiric shadow shield (10th), shadow walk (12th), mass invisibility (14th), greater shadow evocation (16th), shades (18th). Revelations:
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Sunsight (Su). At 1st level, you gain low-light vision and cannot be dazzled. If you already have low-light vision, you instead gain a +4 bonus on saving throws against blindness effects.
Caligni Racial Abilities:
-------------------------------- RACIAL ABILITIES -------------------------------- Ability Score Racial Traits: +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int
Spells:
Level (times/day) Save DC Orisons (at will) DC 15: create water, detect magic, detect poison, enhanced diplomacy, light, purify food and drink, read magic, stabilize 1st level (8/day) DC 16: ant haul, blurred movement*, burning disarm, burning hands**, cure light wounds, sanctuary, touch of blindness 2nd level (7/day) DC 17: blinding ray, cure moderate wounds, dark whispers, flaming sphere**, invisibility*, scorching ray**, visualization of the body 3rd level (6/day) DC 18: cure serious wounds, deeper darkness*, searing light, shield of darkness 4th level (4/day) DC 19: blessing of fervor, cure critical wounds, shadow step* *bonus spell from shadow mystery
Gear/Possessions:
------------------------------ GEAR/POSSESSIONS ------------------------------ Shawl of life-keeping Wgt 1 lb (1,000 gp)
Outfit, explorer's +1 armor bonus [attuned] (free starting outfit)
Money 545 GP / 0 SP / 0 CP ------------------------------
Current Encumbrance Level: LIGHT Light 0-23 lbs Medium 24-46 lbs Heavy 47-70 lbs
Current Load Carried 14 lbs
Cohort - Enduring Grace (link) The Shadow Folk:
True Shadow and his followers refer to themselves not as dark folk, but shadow folk. The shadow folk are monetarily supported by True Shadow and spend their time in meditation and growing dzuwa, a luminescent fungus they consider holy which True Shadow transforms into incense, snuff, and other consumables for use during rituals and the casting of certain spells. Miscellanea:
Aphorisms: Without Light, there is no Shadow - only Darkness. A thing requires it's opposite, otherwise there is only the absence of both.
Background - Darkness & Light - Work in Progress:
How did I become True Shadow? I will tell you. I was born into darkness, as are all of our people. When I was brought before Actuary Gloom, my clan's owb, it found it could not shape nor dim the light within me, and it knew me for what I was - caligni. Unable to steal my light, it bartered for it instead, promising my parents that in exchange for the brightness in my soul all their descendants would be made stalkers like themselves, an unbroken legacy of authority. Of course they agreed, and so I was named Bili Kasubo, or Gloom's Price in the common tongue. Denied even the cold, pale flicker the owb would leave inside other of our kin, my body grew weak and scant as I aged. This angered my parents, and so the callers gave them magical trinkets to appease them. As a child I would play with these, and learned to make them work without being taught how. This childhood lasted until my brother Saad Kasubo - Gloom's Promise - was born. The owb made good on it's bargain and he was made a stalker, much to my parents' delight. With a new, healthy child to care for and proof that their bargain was sound, I found myself brushed aside, my needs and frailties now an annoyance my parents barely tolerated. The callers suggested that I be put to work in the fungus fields, and so I was, sent to their farthest edge where the dzuwa grew. The dzuwa is a fungus that glows a faint silver. The owb hated them because of their light, much like it did me, but no matter how hard my people tried to destroy them the dzuwa thrived. I felt a kinship to them and admired them for their tenacity, soon learning to see better by their light than in darkness complete. A good thing, too, for many times did their light allow me to spot a predator in time to hide. You see, the callers made sure that everyone else in the fields stayed far away from me, so that there were none to help me if I was threatened. In time it even seemed to me that the fungi's light grew a little brighter when danger was near, allowing me to escape into the shadows. While I grew up among the dzuwa, Gloom's Promise did so among the callers and their owb. They convinced him that caligni were traitorous, blasphemous creatures, and that some day I would try and overthrow the stalkers to rule in their stead. I know this because one night when I went to visit my brother I overheard them plotting - overheard the callers, the owb, and my own brother plotting to kill me. I had no real friends or allies, and knew that I must flee. I snuck into my parents' chamber and stole one of my favorite childhood toys - a mummified hand the callers had given them, whose ghost could be summoned to do one's bidding. Then I was away to the fields to collect as much dzuwa as I could carry before fleeing into the wilderness. The fungus I brought with me filled me more than any food ever had, and by its light I found my way safely for miles and miles, the paths the dzuwa shone dimmest always seeming to lead upwards. I know not how long I went thus, but eventually I came up into a cavern so large it defies belief. It's walls and ceilings were so distant that I only knew they were there by the twinkling fields of dzuwa the grew upon them, little more than specks of light to me eyes so far way were they. I discovered I stood atop a stalagmite of dizzying height; when I found it's edge and looked down it went on for miles! A chill wind blew across it and I retreated back into the tunnel mouth to huddle down and sleep. When I woke I left the tunnel to find that smoke now hung in the air far above my head for as far as my eyes could see. Despite this a light filled the cave from beyond the smoke, and I could see that the cave floor far below stretched away endlessly in all directions, a row of stalagmites just as large as the one I stood on curving off into the distance. I stared, wide-eyed, in absolute awe. And then the smoke parted. A disk of fire a thousand times brighter than any you have ever seen stared down at me from above! I threw my arms up to protect my face and they burst into flames. And as I stared at my charred arms blocking the light, I understood. I was a creature of shadow born into darkness, and only darkness had I known; my light had been taken from me, and so too my shadow. But now this fire filled the hollow in my soul left by Actuary Gloom, filled me full of furious, radiant light. And the brighter the light, the deeper the shadow. I stumbled back into the tunnel, summoning forth light and wrapping myself in shadows. Dazed from my revelation, I made my way back down the tunnels I had come, thinking only of all the owb had robbed from me and my people, their lies now plain to me. If they had created us, and we caligni were akin to our oldest ancestors, then why can't they choose our fates as they do others? If they are lords of shadow, why do they despise the light? No, the owb had stolen the power of my people and warped our fates with lies and darkness. And I would see them undone.
&
Background:
Little Traveler (Mopanaw Gamay) was born to a dark dancer and spent her early years travelling from clan to clan with her mother, watching her dance and entertain the dark folk. When Little Traveler was still young her mother took ill during a visit to a village and died a few days later. Orphaned, she was taken in by the village's callers. They trained her to serve them as a bodyguard but their owb, Rectifier Stain (Mansa Tarongon), had other plans in store for her. The owb began experimenting on her, attempting to overcome her caligni resistance to it's transformative abilities. She underwent torturous arcane rituals at the hands of the owb; unable to induce traits of other dark folk breeds, it instead began trying to alter her physiology in any way it could. The results warped her body and mind. Her biology became unstable, exhibiting permanent superficial changes such as claws and the realignment of joints and features. More interesting to Rectifier Stain was her ability to temporarily adopt more extreme changes. Intrigued, the owb planned to increase it's efforts via arcane vivisection; the clan's dark stalkers, however, began to balk at the caligni's treatment. At this time True Shadow arrived in the village. At first welcomed as a guest, the clan's attitude soured when he began speaking of light, shadow, and the tyranny of the owb. As Little Traveler listened, however, her suppressed anguish and rage came to the surface. She began telling True Shadow of her treatment at the hands of Rectifier Stain and it's callers; the clan's callers immediately retreated to summon their owb. Seeing the shame on the faces of the gathered stalkers True Shadow knew her words were true, and one of the stalkers told him to take her and go. Simmering with fury, but with his defeat at the hands of his own clan still fresh in his mind, he took their offer, and she has been his devoted guardian ever since. In honor of the suffering she withstood True Shadow re-named her Enduring Grace (Grasya Molahutay). Over time she has become his most trusted companion, and under his spiritual guidance she has further developed her connection to both the natural world and to Shadow.
Appearance and Personality:
At a glance Enduring Grace looks like any other dark folk, but as one's eyes linger one notices there is something wrong with her. Her gait and movements are unnerving, and if one should see her face revulsion rises at strangeness of her countenance - as if there are subtle errors in the manner which her limbs and features fit together. (I'm imagining her bodily changes have resulted in her suffering from the uncanny valley effect). Much like her mentor, Enduring Grace dresses in multi-colored cloth wrapped about her frame in the traditional dark folk style. She usually bares her face only in private amid those she trusts. Her long leather gloves are fingerless, leaving her claws exposed and making one wonder why she bothers with the short sword that hangs from her belt. A buckler of fine manufacture is worn on her right arm, and she carries a brace of javelins upon her back. Enduring Grace is patient and attentive, though she has little time or care for matters outside of assisting True Shadow. She holds a grudge against any who insult or threaten her, her mentor, or her fellow followers, and her patience quickly wears thin for those who disrespect the oracle. At his suggestion she practices dancing, her routines inspired by what few memories of her mother she still has. Utterly devoted to him and his cause, she is awed by his courage, charisma, and power, accompanying him wherever he goes unless specifically commanded not to. Her gratitude for his rescuing her from the clutches of Rectifier Stain and for his faith in her own abilities knows nearly no limit, and she would gladly die to protect him. She believes him to be an avatar of Shadow who will lead her and any other dark folk wise enough to join them in creating a permanent, owb-free dark folk community.
Statistics:
Female caligni (dancer-kin) ranger (witchguard / shapeshifter) 6
N medium humanoid (dark folk) Init +3; Senses Perception +12 (see in darkness) ------------------------------ DEFENSE ------------------------------ AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 10 (+3 armor, +3 Dex, +1 deflection, +1 shield) hp 70 (6 x d10 + 3 Con + 1 Toughness + 1 FCB) Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +6 ------------------------------ OFFENSE ------------------------------ Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claw +10 (1d6+2/x2) [attuned]
Ranged Javelin +9 (1d6+1/x2) 30' range ------------------------------
Automatic Bonus Progression: +1 resistance, +1 armor attunement, +1 weapon attunement, +1 deflection. Traits
Feats
Adventuring Skills (30 points; 36 class levels - 6 INT) Acrobatics +15 (6 ranks + 3 class + 3 Dex + 0 feat + 2 racial + 1 trait)
Background Skills (12 points; 12 class levels) Linguistics +5 (6 ranks + 0 class - 1 Int + 0 feat + 0 racial + 0 trait)
ACP of 0 applies to these skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim. Languages Aklo, Dark Folk, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Undercommon. Ranger Abilities:
------------------------------ RANGER ABILITIES ------------------------------ Archetypes: Shapeshifter and Witchguard Favored Enemy (Ex): +4 humanoid (dark folk), +2 humanoid (elf) At 1st level, a ranger selects a creature type from the ranger favored enemies table. He gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures. At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by +2. Track (Ex): +3
Wild Empathy (Ex): +4 animals, +0 magical beasts Combat Style Feats (Ex): Natural Attack Style - Aspect of the Beast, Improved Natural Attack.
Bodyguard (Ex)
Shifter’s Blessing (Su): 1/day for 9 rounds; Form of the Cat
Defend Charge (Ex): 1/day for 3 rounds; +4 dodge to AC, +4 circumstance to concentration
Patron (Su): Shadow
Caligni Racial Abilities:
-------------------------------- RACIAL ABILITIES -------------------------------- Ability Score Racial Traits: +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int
Spells:
----------------------------------------------- Level (times/day)Save DC: prepared ----------------------------------------------- Caster Level: 3 1st (2/day) DC 14: cheetah's sprint, silent image Patron spells: 1st - silent image, 2nd - darkness, 3rd - deeper darkness, 4th - shadow conjuration
Equipment & Encumbrance:
------------------------------ GEAR / POSSESSIONS ------------------------------ Outift, explorer's (free starting outfit) Leather armor; +3 armor bonus [attuned], +6 max Dex, ACP 0, Wgt 15 lbs (10 gp)
Short sword; 1d6/19-20 x2, P, Wgt 2 lbs (10 gp)
Money 0 PP / 0 GP / 0 SP / 0 CP ------------------------------
Current Encumbrance Level: LIGHT Light 0-43 lbs Medium 44-86 lbs Heavy 87-130 lbs
Current Load Carried 32 lbs
* Work in Progress:
Str 10 Dex 18 (20) Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 13
Fort +1 Ref +7 Will +4 BAB +4 CMB +? CMD ?? Hp 38 base AC ?? (T ?? / FF ??) Class Abilities: bardic knowledge +2, rallying cry, inspire courage +2, fascinate, inspire competence +2, bladethirst +1, arcane bond, expert acrobat, finesse training, sneak attack 1d6, evasion, rogue talent: spell storing (Su)? Traits: noble born: surtova (campaign), threatening defender (combat), magical knack (magic) Drawback: occult bargain Feats: weapon finesse, combat casting, dodge, mobility, combat reflexes, disruptive, canny tumble Skills: acrobatics +16, diplomacy +13, intimidate +13, sense motive +10, spellcraft +12, stealth +16, use magic device +13 Background: knowledge (geography) +7, knowledge (history) +7, knowledge (nobility) +13, perform (sing) +13 Spells by level 0: dancing lights, detect magic, light, mage hand, message, open/close 1: clarion call, cure light wounds, expeditious retreat, grease 2: bladed dash, hold person, shatter Equipment: cold iron rapier +1 of spell storing (arcane bond item) [5,640 gp], mithral shirt +1 [2,100 gp], buckler +1 [1,155 gp], shawl of life-keeping [1,000 gp], boots of the cat [1,000 gp], belt of incredible dexterity +2 [4,000 gp]; [9,605 gp remains] 60 total - 7 max + 11 pts Background Gist:
Raised in the country, sang in the choir of a modest temple of Abadar. Heard a voice when sweeping up, which led her to an old sword long hidden beneath a floorboard. She began to spend all her time at the temple, singing and receiving religious instruction by day, and by night "cleaning" - actually training un the art of the sword under the tutelage of the voice. This went on throughout her childhood years, the voice even teaching her how to speak to swords and other weapons to awaken their souls. When she came of age she was presented at court and she insisted on wearing her sword. A young nobleman of higher rank took umbrage with this and mocked her; in response she challenged him to duel her if he thought himself superior. He took her up on her challenge and was promptly defeated. Impressed, her Surtovan uncle took her into his service as a courtier, where she's acted on his behalf with discretion and merciless efficiency in a variety of tasks. Unbeknownst to any she continues to be mentored and guided by the phantom voice. |
