About Viyko KhardeApplicationy Stuff:
--Personality:
--People (3) tied to you:
--Long term goals:
--Important events in Viyko's life that shaped who he became:
--Cherished item: The finger bones (first and second fingers of the left hand) of his mother and sister that he keeps tied in his hair. --Character sheet [check]
BACKGROUND:
Viyko Kharde (born in 957) and his 2 older siblings (sister Rimika, and brother Artero) were born to a family of hedge magic, herbalism, witchcraft, and soothsaying (their father killed by a werewolf in the Nightwood, and their mother an accomplished herbalist and diviner). While his siblings reveled in the darker arts, Viyko focused more on hedge craft and dreams, leaving the undead to his siblings. Viyko was always an eccentric, and his mother always wondered whether he was a little mad.
Growing up in the small village of Orusk, between Karrlakton and Vedykar, Viyko sated his wanderlust by tagging along with caravans and merchants in his youth, and spending weeks in the large cities, while his older siblings fought in the war. Viyko, while patriotic, was in no hurry to grow up, but when the war came to his hometown in 974, killing a good number of his friends and neighbors, he enlisted immediately. Since Viyko displayed magical talent (even if *just* simple hedge magic), he was admitted to Rekkenmark on merit (and because his siblings had graduated there with honors). Viyko did not live up to the prestige and necromantic aplomb that his siblings had garnered; in fact, he was not that exceptional as far as graduates go--middle of the class. After graduating in '78 at the age of 20, he was lucky enough to be assigned as a 2nd Lieutenant to his sister's unit, comprised of skeletal archers and human scouts. His naivete about war was soon replaced by the grim reality, and he became solemn and hardened, and his eccentricities manifested into nightmares, noticeably odd mannerisms and twitches, and a mild dissociation toward normal citizens. Off and on throughout the war, the three siblings were able to be assigned to the same division or fort, and became somewhat famous as "The House of Khardes." The siblings combined pike and shield wall formations with skirmishing archers and magic to devasting effect as a specialized flanking unit (their formations often resembled a house or castle, and some of their maneuvers resembled the shuffling of cards). Viyko often used his witchcraft in inventive new ways, cursing enemies and even causing them to fall asleep in mid-battle to have them cut down by his comrades. While Viyko hated battle, he learned to support those around him effectively. From 982-990, Viyko and Rimika fought side-by-side, but never saw their eldest brother due to conflicting assignments. During this time, the two siblings used their magic and bows to harry the Cyran forces along the southern border, often skirmishing against the Valenar mercenaries Cyre employed. Viyko still has little love for the Valenar. In 990, when 2nd Lieutenant Viyko and Lieutenant Rimika were scouting the southern borders, near Fort Bones, following up rumors of Valenar mercenaries, they encountered Brigadier General Dalvan ir’ Tolvek's gathering forces, and were given new orders to join them. As fate would have it, Captain Artero's unit of undead pikemen were also there. While the siblings weren't able to fight side-by-side in the battle proper, they were able to see each other and catch up about the last decade. Rimika did not survive the battle, being cut down in one of the last fights against the Thranes, and Artero defected shortly thereafter out of grief and anger. Artero was furious and blamed the Karrnathi troops for Rimika's death, claiming that the cavalry broke formation and caused the enemy knights to bear down on the vulnerable archers. Her corpse was too mangled to bring back as an undead soldier, and due to Artero's defection, and the nature of military bureaucracy, Rimika was never resurrected--even though she was a valued necromancer. Artero is still on the lam, as far as Viyko knows. After the battle of Fort Bones, Viyko gained the notice of the Brigadier General, who highly valued Viyko's and Rimika's track record as scouts and harriers, and was assigned (with the remaining forces of his sister's archer unit) to work under him on special scouting missions over the next two and a half years. During these years, Viyko came to regard the aging Dalvan ir’ Tolvek as a friend--the two of them often having lengthy philosophical discussions about the gods, ethics, and the nature of warfare. Dalvan would become one of very few people that Viyko would consider a friend in life--almost a father figure, as he valued Dalvan's intelligence and scope of vision, even though they often disagreed on many ethical points. Viyko also gained a fair bit of renown as a scout, working his way up to Major, and renamed his unit The House of Khardes in honor of his sister, but he was becoming weary of this never-ending war. In The Confused Year of 993, Viyko received a an official letter informing him that his mother had passed on. Viyko made up his mind, which felt suddenly clearer, and retired from military service as quickly as he could, and bid farewell to the Dalvan. He headed back to his home village of Orusk to pay respects to his mother, see what his cousins had left after doubtless vulturing over her possessions, and see if he could re-integrate into society again. After finding that he could no longer view his former friends and neighbors the same way, especially after seeing so many close comrades die and come back as mindless corpses just to continue fighting, and after learning of the unimaginable destruction of Cyre, Viyko left Karrnath to become an insular, bitter wanderer. He spent the last 5 years wandering the world as a drifter, often along rivers and coastlines, keeping clear of people. The few comrades he kept for any length of time were warforged, as he felt a level of kinship with them, due to their alien personalities and war-inspired origin. The Treaty of Thronehold's idea that the 'forged were universally given full rights as "people," seemed curious to him at first, but as time went on he came to see the wisdom of that decision. (While he didn't begrudge their sentience, he never got close enough to them during the war to regard them as being more than a curious magical tool of war.) Occasionally he would sign on as a guard or sailor as part of a caravan or ship's crew for free passage, but otherwise kept a low profile. Recently, he's been down on his luck finding work, and decided to head back to his native Karrnath, which he's not seen more than the coast of in years. (I assume that either through divinations or customs/border patrol, that my wherabouts became known again in order to receive the summons to Dalvan's deathbed.)
DESCRIPTION:
Viyko is a tall, weather-worn, slightly unkempt Karrnathi with wild and always-scanning eyes. The strange carved bone ear jewelry (Talenta halfing, Uruk, Shifter, and various other tribal races met during his travels), and his facial tattoos (a family tradition for those who pursue witchcraft) gives him an exotic and unsettling air. His hair is a sea-stained brown, with a few dreadlocks containing bits of coral, sand dollars, bones, and arrow tips, and he wears goggles around his neck or on his brow most of time. His centipede familiar, Ivan, can occasionally be seen crawling in and out of Viyko's hair and clothing; the centipede rarely leaves from under his master's clothing. His clothing is a hodge podge; a leather Karrnathi military scout's jacket--with rank and insignia covered while in nations previously hostile to Karrnath-- under an oiled leather hooded long coat, well-made and well-worn Aundarian boots, and multiple belts with a myriad of ties, pouches, and loops. A finely crafted longbow is slung over his shoulder, and he sometimes carries a walking staff.
He is awkward in social settings, often keeping to himself, or over-explaining. He tends to always be looking around, scanning the room and searching for something. This combined with his awkward gait and occasional twitches tends to make strangers uncomfortable around him. While Viyko can be jovial enough to those who get to know him, he rarely sticks around long enough for most to do so. 6' tall, tan skin, brown hair (sun-bleached from dark brown), golden brown eyes (the left one mottled with blue flecks). [As a modern analogy, imagine a stereotypical war vet that turns hobo-ascetic; much like a train hopper or aging crust-punk (sans alcoholism/substance abuse), except he has magic and a bow.] GAME STATISTICS Initiative: +2 [+2 Dex]
AC: 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13; [+2 armor, +1 shield, +2 Dex]; 15% Arcane Spell Failure Hit Points: 21 [d6 (6)+2 Con+1 Class+d10 (10)+2 Con]
Fort: +4 Ref: +4 Will: +2
COMBAT:
Base Atk: +1; CMB: +2; CMD: 14
Melee Dagger: +2 to Hit; Dmg 1d4+1; crit 19-20/x2 Ranged
HEXES (for reference):
Evil Eye (Su) DC 14 Viyko can cause doubt to creep into the mind of a foe within 30 feet that he can see. The target takes a –2 penalty on one of the following (Viyko’s choice): AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks. This hex lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + Viyko’s Intelligence modifier (7 rounds). A Will save reduces this to just 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. Slumber (Su) DC 14
Spells Prepared for the Day:
Spell Focus (enchantment) grants +1 to DC of enchantment spells. Spells per Day: 0—3; 1st—2
1st— (DC 15); charm person (DC 16), beguiling gift (DC 16)
SKILLS:
Skill Ranks Per Level: 1st: 6 + 4 (Int) + 1 (human)
2nd: 2 + 4 (Int) + 1 (human) + 1 (favored class: witch) [+2 on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against Humanoids] • Climb +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 Str)
FEATS:
Bonus Starting Feat: Skill Focus (Perception) Familiar Feat: Viyko gains Alertness when within 5ft of his familiar. Feats: Extra Hex (Slumber), Spell Focus (Enchantment) WITCH ABILITIES:
Cantrips, Witch's Familiar, Hex: Evil Eye, Patron (Enchantment) RANGER ABILITIES:
Track +1 to Survival skill checks when trying to follow or identify tracks Wild Empathy
Favored Enemy (Humanoids)
SPELLS:
Spell Focus (enchantment) grants +1 to DC of enchantment spells. Spells per Day: 0—3; 1st—2 0-Level Witch Spells Stored— (DC 14); bleed, dancing lights, daze (DC 15), detect magic, detect poison, guidance, light, mending, message, putrefy food and drink*, read magic, resistance, spark*, stabilize, touch of fatigue.
1st-Level Witch Spells Stored— (DC 15); beguiling gift* (DC 16), bungle** (DC 16), charm person (DC 16), command (DC 16), cure light wounds, ray of enfeeblement, sleep (DC 16), daze monster (DC 16), burning hands, fumbletongue** (DC 16), and restore corpse**
FAMILIAR:
Ivan the Centipede N Tiny magical beast Init +4; Senses Darkvision 60ft, Low-light vision; Perception +8 DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
FEATS: Skill Focus (Stealth), Alertness (B)
SPECIAL
Store Spells: Starting at 1st level, Viyko’s familiar stores all of the spells that he knows. This does not allow the familiar to cast these spells or use spell-trigger or spell completion magic items. Starting at 2nd level, and every two levels thereafter, a Viyko’s familiar adds new bonus spells to the his spell list based on his patron.
Share Spells: Viyko may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch spell) instead of on himself. Viyko may cast spells on his familiar even if the spells do not normally affect creatures of the familiar’s type (magical beast). Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails. Empathic Link (Su): Viyko has an empathic link with his familiar to a 1 mile distance. Viyko can communicate emphatically with the familiar, but cannot see through its eyes. Because of the link’s limited nature, only general emotions can be shared. Viyko has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does. Alertness (Ex): While a familiar is within arm’s reach, Viyko gains the Alertness feat.
EQUIPMENT: On Person:
BACKPACK (2lbs):
Total Weight:(41 lbs) [48lbs] Carrying Capacity:
Light: 43 lbs. or less Medium: 44–86 lbs. Heavy: 87–130 lbs. POISONS:
Oil of Taggit: ingested, Fort DC 15, Onset: 1 min., Frequency: -, Effect: Unconscious 1d3 hours, Cure: 1 save (Viyko crafted these) DICE NOTATIONS:
[dice]1d20 + [/dice] Fort Save: [dice]1d20 + 4[/dice] Ref Save: [dice]1d20 + 4[/dice] Will Save: [dice]1d20 + 2[/dice] CMB: [dice]1d20 + 2[/dice] Dagger: [dice]1d20 + 2; 1d4 + 1[/dice] Comp Longbow: [dice]1d20 + 3; 1d8+1[/dice] Dagger (thrown): [dice]1d20 + 3; 1d4 + 1[/dice]
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