Valessa Bareth's page

STR: 14 +1 = 15 (+2 Bonus)
DEX: 14 = 14 (+2 Bonus)
CON: 14 = 14 (+2 Bonus)
INT: 12 = 12 (+1 Bonus)
WIS: 13 = 13 (+1 Bonus)
CHA: 10 +2 = 12 (+1 Bonus)

Class:
Intimidate (6 +3 +1) 10 (+2 in Grey Maiden Plate)
Survival (6 +3 +1) 10
Sense Motive (6 +3 +1) 10
Perception (6 +3 +1) 10

Background:
Craft: Armor (6 +3 +1 +2) 12
Profession: Soldier (6 +3 +1 +1) 11

Military Veteran: (+1 Profession: Soldier)
Artisan: (+2 Craft: Armor)

Gray Maiden Initiate: (Faceless Maiden {+2 to Intimidate in Gray Maiden plate} & Gray Maiden Endurance {+2 HP & can sleep in Gray Maiden plate without becoming fatigued})
Toughness: (+3 HP, +1 additional per hit dice above 3)
Weapon Focus - Longsword: (+1 on attack rolls with longswords)
Dodge: (+1 Bonus to AC {lost if DEX AC bonus lost})
Endurance: (+4 bonus to several saves, may sleep in light or medium armor without fatigue)
Field Repair: (No penalties to craft checks to repair items you have the skill to craft while using improvised tools, materials not required for repairs on such items. 1 day spent repairing item gives the item 1/4 original hp +1.)

Bonus Feats (1st & 2nd Level): Additional combat feats gained at first and even levels (Weapon Focus: Longsword & Dodge)
Bravery: Bonus on Will Saves vs Fear (+1)
Armor Training 1: Reduces AC of armor worn by 1, increases DEX bonus provided by armor by 1, can move normal speed in medium armor.

AC Bonus: +1 dodge Bonus to AC
Defensive Stance: Can enter a defensive stance, maintain for 4 rounds + CON modifier +2 per level after first per day (10 rounds total). Rounds reset after 8 hours rest, does not need to be consecutive. Enter stance as a free action.
Gains +2 dodge bonus to AC, +4 morale bonus to STR and CON, and +2 morale bonus on Will saves. Gains +2 Hit points per hit die, but disappear after stance end (not lost first). Cannot willingly move from location while in stance.
After leaving stance, fatigued for 2 rounds per round spent in trance. Cannot enter stance while fatigued or exhausted, but can use multiple times per combat if applicable. Cannot enter rage effects while in stance.
Defensive Power: Gain access to various abilities every even level. (Renewed Defense: As a standard action, may heal 1d8 + CON modifier while in Defensive Stance. Add 1d8 per every 2 levels beyond 2nd. Only usable once per day.)
Uncanny Dodge: Cannot be caught flatfooted, even by invisible opponents. Can still lose DEX bonus if immobilized or enemy successfully feints.

+2 to one ability score: +2 to CHA chosen.
Medium Sized: No size penalties or bonuses.
Normal Speed: Base speed of 30 ft.
Bonus Feat: Extra feat at level 1 (Toughness).
Skilled: Extra point for skills at every rank.
Languages: Begin speaking Common & regional language (if applicable), can pick any language except secret languages for bonus languages from INT at creation.

F: 7
R: 4
W: 4

Initiative: 2

Hit Points: 56
Hit Dice: 3d10 + 3d12

AC: 27 / 29 (In Defensive Stance)
Flatfoot: 23
Touch: 14 / 16 (In Defensive Stance)

Favored Class: Fighter
Favored Class Bonuses: +3 to CMD VS Bull Rush & Disarm attempts

16000
-5500 (+1 Fire-Forged Steel Gray Maiden Plate)
10500
-2615 (+1 Fire-forged Steel Longsword)
7885
-2020 (+1 Mithril Heavy Shield)
5865
- 600 (MWK Composite Longbow (+2 STR))
5265
-1800 (Efficient Quiver)
3465
- 2 (40 Arrows)
3463
- 2 (20 Cold Iron Arrows)
3461
- 12 (12 Javalins)
3449
- 30 (6 Pilums)
3419
-2500 (Type 1 Bag of Holding - 250 lbs)
919
- 9 (Fighters Kit)
910
- 10 (Small tent)
900

Valessa Bareth was the only child of a now forgotten Korvosan armorsmith and his beautiful, but sickly, wife. While life in Korvosa was never easy, her family eked out enough gold each month to keep food on the table, bureaucrats and tax collectors paid, business flowing and heat in the hearth. Valessa learned a bit about smithing from watching her father work, though he never formally trained her in the arts of working steel and iron. Had life continued as it was projected to he might have decided to do so... but alas, great historical events are rarely prevented for the sake of the common folk.

Shortly after she turned seventeen, Valessa found herself an orphan inside an increasingly hostile city. The old King, Eodred Arabasti, second of his name, died suddenly. The peace of the city died with him. Many a riot was started that night... and under the cover of riots, many thieves and villains rose up from their shadows to turn chaos into profit. One such band of thugs attempted to loot the Bareth family smithy, looking for weapons and armor to aid in what they viewed to be the coming crisis. The blacksmith attempted to stop them, but only succeeded in finding himself bleeding out onto the floors of his smithy from wounds caused by blades of his own making. Her mother, already of poor health, did not survive the plague that spread after the riots finally began to quiet down. In some senses this was a mercy, as she would never have wanted to witness what the gods had in store for her cherished Valessa.

It was not long after these tragedies that Valessa's life would be changed forever. Queen Ileosa, concerned with the fact that the three existing armed forces patrolling Korvosa and its outlying regions were not loyal to her alone, created her own armed force to enact her will within her city. Women of the city, some volunteers, some not so much, were... recruited... to become the steel clad fist of crimson enacting the will of Ileosa throughout the city. These Gray Maidens, as they came to be called, came to be known in the city for their fanatical devotion to their queen and their intimidating faceless steel helms that almost seemed to reflect the guilt of those unlucky enough to cross their paths back to them. Having no where else to go, and no skill to speak of, Valessa willingly volunteered to join this new force. Perhaps she was hoping to be able to bring to justice her father's murderers. Perhaps she thought it would be like the Korvosan Guard... just a job. No matter the reasons, the young girl bit off more than she had bargained for.

Very few people outside of the surviving Gray Maidens know precisely how the indoctrination, initiation and training to become one went. Manuscripts and notes were scarce to begin with, and many have been destroyed since to prevent duplication. Even the survivors have conflicting stories, likely due to the process being tailored to each... applicant. There are three things that have become common knowledge in the years since Ileosa's rule. Each maiden was mentally broken into submission, leaving the wreckage unquestioningly loyal. Each maiden became fit enough physically to practically live in their iconic plate armor (with some, like Valessa, identifying with it so much as to be incapable of not wearing it). And each and every maiden was physically scarred to a greater or lesser extent... for Ileosa would broke no rivals with regards to physical beauty.

After her induction, Valessa served her queen and fellow maidens unquestioningly. As part of a twelve woman squad, they were tasked with bringing the will of the queen to the outlying wilds surrounding Korvosa, especially to the Shoanti tribes (viewed by the Queen as being little more than savages) that still occupied lands east of the city. As such, they were not within the city itself when the cruel queen was finally deposed. Valessa never learned the full story behind the fall of the Ileosa, but what was apparent was that the city was not taking kindly to her surviving personal guard. Isolated from their former leadership, 19 year old Valessa and her fellow maidens relied instead on the guidance of their immediate superior: Adee Vaspe.

Adee was not originally from Korvosa. Her family had been traders originating from the River Kingdom of Artume, leaving their town within primarily due to the instability of the government there. Adee felt that her hometown might be one of the few places upon Golarion that might accept her and her squad mates. The journey was long and hard, both due to the natural dangers of travel as well as the general disposition of most civilized locations to former members of the Gray Maidens. After almost a year of travel, the surviving seven members of the original twelve woman squad (including Valessa) made it to their destination.

For a time, life was relatively peaceful. In exchange for keeping order and repelling the occasional bandit or wild animal attack, Valessa and her fellow maidens were granted relative freedom from questions or constraints. It was not to last though. A major bandit group, backed by a local ousted lord attempting to take control of the kingdom, was sweeping through pillaging any and all towns they ran across. As formidable as the Gray Maidens were, the sheer numbers of the invading forces would be enough to crush their town through attrition alone. The local mayor sent a messenger to the Wild Wolves, requesting that they send mercenaries to help bolster the defenses. While confirmation of their acceptance of the contract reached the town, the bandits arrived before the Wild Wolves did.

For five days straight the town was beset by all sides by the invading bandits, as well as higher trained mercenary forces the disgraced lord had hired. By the end of the third night only 4 of the Maiden company were alive. By night 4, it was down to 3. And on night five none but Valessa were left standing. On the sixth day of the siege, Valessa strode defiantly into the sole remaining entrance to the town that had not been collapsed to the point of inaccessibility (whether intentionally or through combat). Clearing her mind of every though other than the simple, inexhaustible desire to prevent any foe from passing her, she held her ground for three hours. As all hope seemed lost, as the wounds collected through her impressive defense finally seemed to get the better of her, the Wild Wolves finally arrived from behind the enemy lines and shattered them. So focused had they been on removing this final gray and crimson clad warrior that they failed to notice the approach of their doom. Valessa, exhausted and bleeding, collapsed to her knees... only prevented from falling flat by her shield and sword.

After a week of recovery, Valessa was approached by Pip and Shelly, who offered her a place among them. Valessa agreed on the condition that she never be forced to give up her armor pattern and that she be given a week to bury her fallen comrades, the last of her family. Both terms were agreed to, and Valessa set out to bury her companions. Strangely enough, she could not find the body of Adee, despite having seen her fall on the fifth day. For the last few months Valessa has been adjusting to her new family, whom she has discovered is almost as broken in some ways as she is.

Valessa has not been a member of the Wolves for long, barely a month. That being said, she seems to deal better with the so-called "Cursed Contract" members than the rest of the mercenary outfit. She feels a special kinship with them, as she too has lost something about herself that cannot be regained. "We are monsters, yet we are stronger for it. Our strength can be used to defend those who would revile us. Perhaps it is all we have left in this life."

The closest of these newfound friends is a former Korvosian named Mathias, now cursed with the form of a black and white Minotaur. He served in the Korvosian guard back when her father was a young man learning his craft. Though the two never met (that Mathias remembers, anyway) he still has pseudo adopted the younger woman as his protege.

After the tragedies that have beset her throughout her life, Valessa is committed to enforcing the edicts of her new family and to protect them from any and all that might seek their harm.

Normally clad head to toe in the iconic Gray Maiden plate mail, complete with red accents from feathers on the helm and scarfed cape, few have seen the 5 foot 6 inch tall woman's face, let alone her form. Insisting on sleeping in her armor, about the only time she removes the helm is when eating, typically alone. Those that have seen her face describe it as having been beautiful... once. Her blue eyes and short cropped blonde hair still pierce through the vicious scarring patterns from her indoctrination.

No nonsense and by the book, Valessa cares mostly for clarity in orders and laws. Her fellow Wolves have learned that there is no such thing as a 'minor rule infraction' when on assignment with her, and that she will carry out the letter of any given contract she is assigned to... sometimes even at the expense of the intended spirit behind those letters.