Xavier Gildard's page

Xavier recalls little of his childhood before the horrific event responsible for most of his life upto now, just glimpses of his family faces and the small village he grew up in, before he was kidnapped by a group of cultists and forced to participate in whatever dark ritual they intended to do. To this day, he still doesn't know what happened and how he managed to escape, somehow managing to make his way to a big city he could see in the distance.

Hungry, scared and lost in a big city, Xavier quickly turned to stealing what he could to survive. And while his sleep was constantly plagued by nightmares, recalling the ritual he'd been subjected to, he somehow found the shadows conforting and would easily slip in and out of them unnoticed, aiding him greatly in his thieving attempts.

One day, while watching for possible targets in the market, he saw a young girl about his age, wearing a beautiful necklace consisting of a sword and sun. Figuring it would be an easy steal and worth decent coin, he quickly moved to take it and slink away.

Taking the necklace unnoticed by the girl was easy. Her grandfather, however, was a different story. The towering grey haired man caught him easily not far from the market, knocked him down and brought him and the necklace back to the girl, adminishing her for her lack of vigilance.

The girl, Tatiana, was more worried about Xavier. She asked him for his story, and while the old man remained sceptic about the supposed ritual, Tatiana managed to convince him to help the boy and take him off the street and take him into the family.

The old man was Eric Gildard, a renowned paladin of Iomeadae, like his parents and children.

Thankful for the generosity shown by the Gildard family, Xavier quickly decided to join their efforts in the war, asking to join Tatiana in her paladin training, hoping that her goddess's light would help quiet the nightmares he kept having, and remove whatever taint the ritual might have left on his soul.

Eric was a strict teacher and difficult to please, but he nonetheless accepted the request and did his best to train Xavier.

But although he tried his best, Xavier always came short of the old man's expectations. Lack of focus and discipline, he would hear from his teacher. And it was true. The nightmares weren't stopping, either, if anything, they were getting worse, making him worry that the ritual's energy had some hold over him that was getting stronger and that he might place his new family in danger.

Realizing how frustrated Xavier was becoming with his training, Tatiana was the one who again came to his rescue. One day, she offered him a pendant similar to the one she always wore - but one dipicting a shortsword and a moon, and the amulet itself seemed to shine with a dark light - one that would darken its surroundings when uncovered. Xavier was curious about the strange symbol, its magic and its meaning, yet Tatiana just told him he would understand better when they reached the training ground.

There, he found Eric talking with an unkown woman. He called him forth and presented his companion as Kyra Sandara, a follower of Kelinahat, who was to be his new mentor.

Under her guidance, Xavier finally felt he had found his place, a purpose for the shadowy powers he seemed to get from the ritual. And by accepting them as part of who he was, and improving his mastery over them, the nightmares stopped, and he found himself more at peace with himself. Recently, however, he has been having recurrent dreams again, now of a beautiful woman with black wings, surrounded by bats against a moonlit sky. In these dreams, she assures him that his past and his abilities, despite their source, hold now power over him - he is the one who must decide how they are put to use. But she also warns him to remain ever vigilant - hard times are coming, where his skills and abilities will be put to the test.

At the present day, Xavier and Tatiana have both completed their training and are expected to join the ranks of crusaders at the front shortly after this year's Armass festival. To comemorate her ordainment as a paladin, Xavier has spent the last few weeks carefully working on finely crafted rapier he intends to give her after her final vows.

Bonus Class skill Fly
Traits
Stolen Fury You were forced to take part in a demonic ritual as a youth after having been captured by cultists. Whatever the ritual’s purpose may have been, it didn’t work out the way your captors envisioned—rather than corrupting your soul, you absorbed the ritual’s energy and made it your own before you escaped to safety. Ever since, you’ve been haunted by strange nightmares about the ritual, and have long felt that the energies it bathed you in have changed you. Recently, those energies have changed— it’s as if you’ve finally managed to come to terms with your past and have turned the ritual’s aftereffects to your advantage, following the old adage of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. You’ve been unable to learn more about the ritual or what it was for, but the question lingers in the back of your head to this day. This nagging has instilled in you a fury against demonkind. Today, when you face demons in combat, those energies bolster your fury, granting you a +2 trait bonus on all combat maneuver checks against demons. Associated Mythic Path: Champion. Multiple Characters: You and any other PC who takes this trait were all part of the same ritual, and it was only by working together that you managed to escape—further, the support of your fellow ritual survivors has played a key role in your coming to terms with it, and you retain a close bond of friendship (or perhaps a friendly rivalry) to this day.

CalledYour deity or a powerful spirit spoke to you when you were young, dropping cryptic hints about the important destiny that lay before you and how you must win your fights if you are to achieve your predetermined greatness. Once per day upon rolling a natural 1 on an attack roll, you may reroll the die and take the second result instead.

Empyreal Focus The empyreal lord you worship rewards your devotion by granting you an occasional boon. Once per day, before you attempt a skill check, you can use this boon to gain a +2 trait bonus on that skill check.

Vagabond Child (Disable Device)You grew up among the outcasts and outlaws of your society, learning to forage and survive in an urban environment. Select one of the following skills: Disable Device, Escape Artist, or Sleight of Hand. You gain a +1 trait bonus on checks with that skill, and it is always a class skill for you.

Drawback: Oppressive Expectations You were raised with the belief that your family was special, and that those of your status always succeed at whatever they do. Due to your concern about upholding the family name and your memories of the consequences for disappointing them (such as violence or unsettling disapproval), you are easily frustrated. When you fail at a skill check, you take a –2 penalty on checks with that skill until you succeed or until you fail at a different skill check, whichever comes first.

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Background: Bandit: +1 competence bonus to Perception, Stealth, Escape Artist. Bonus Feat: Blind Fight 3d4x10 + 2d4x10= 200gp

Racial
Darkvision (Ex) Range 60 ft.; Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature. Darkvision is black and white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise-invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.

Dimdweller Characters with this trait are at home in gloomy conditions. Whenever these characters benefit from concealment or full concealment due to darkness or dim light, they gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Perception, and Stealth checks.

Dwarves can take this trait in place of the greed and stonecunning traits. Elves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs can take this trait in place of weapon familiarity. Half-elves can take this trait in place of adaptability. Humans can take this trait in place of the skilled trait, also gaining darkvision to a range of 60 feet.

Focused Study All humans are skillful, but some, rather than being generalists, tend to specialize in a handful of skills. At 1st, 8th, and 16th level, such humans gain Skill Focus in a skill of their choice as a bonus feat. This racial trait replaces the bonus feat trait.

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Class and Feats

Variant Multiclass: Inquisitor

Skilled Liar (Ex) Whenever a guerrilla uses Bluff to attempt to deceive someone, she gains a bonus on the opposed roll equal to 1/2 her rogue level (minimum +1). A guerrilla can still use Disable Device to disarm magic traps.

This ability replaces trapfinding.

Cover of Night (Ex) At 2nd level, a guerrilla learns to use darkness to her advantage. She gains a +5 bonus on Disguise, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks while she is in areas of dim light or darkness, and can create mundane disguises in dim light or darkness with a full-round action (instead of the normal 1d3 × 10 minutes). Additionally, while in dim light or darkness, if a guerrilla would have concealment, she instead has total concealment.

This ability replaces evasion.

Sneak Attack: 1d6

Human
Focused Study(4 RP)
Dimdweller (2 RP) (Darkvision 60, Whenever these characters benefit from concealment or full concealment due to darkness or dim light, they gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Perception, and Stealth checks.)
Template:Advanced (+4 all stats, +2 Natural AC)