GMDQ's Skull and Shackles (Inactive)

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The players are good-aligned, and my take on this AP has been to focus more on heroic swashbuckly adventure than on grim-n-gritty criminal behavior. Skull and Shackles can really be played either way so I want to be clear that if your idea of a fun S&S campaign is to be raping and pillaging and slaughtering everything in your way, my version is not for you. We're more about diving gracefully from the rigging to skewer the evil slaver-captain and then singing shanties about our victory afterward. While grim things may happen as the narrative/AP necessitates, I do not intend this to be a bogged-down-in-gore-and-misery-sort-of-game.

The three main PCs have the background of being shipmates together on a different ship before being press-ganged by Harrigan.

The party has recently obtained a stronghold in the form of Ghoral-Rey (an ancient Gholgani temple-stronghold-turned-pirate-cove) and are beginning the process of building it up and hiring crew and hirelings to help do so. They are trying to get themselves established before going to Port Peril to petition the Hurricane King to become Free Captains. There will be a "sandbox period" of gameplay while the party explores the Shackles and works on their stronghold, and this will be where the new member joins the party.

The campaign has a one-free-ressurrect rule--the first time your character would die, you survive with a scar (a la the scars described in the Skull and Shackles players guide, with some houserule tweaks). After that if you die, you die (but can be raised/resurrected if you have the resources to do so). One character has "died" and obtained battle scars in this way so far.

I like to see good interplay both between PCs and NPCs (which this AP has an abundance of). I reward fun heroic risktaking and extraordinarily well described roleplaying and stunts with hero points, loot, or subtler story rewards (like improved NPC loyalty).

I don't like TPKs and impossible-to-succeed challenges; my players may disagree, but I think I'm a fairly lenient, forgiving, and non-deadly GM, to the point that sometimes I probably handhold a little too much if I fear the party's about to swandive into the point of no return. I can come off as grumpy at times, though I normally yell because I care. :)

I expect feedback from players, and if you see I'm running a mechanic incorrectly, I hope that players feel free to point it out. (My players are deeply honorable folk and have sometimes corrected me to their own detriment.) My number one goal is that everyone is having fun, and if players aren't, I want to hear about it so we can change things for the better.

Frequency: Post at least once every 1-2 days. In combat if you haven't posted in 24 hours, I will bot PCs to keep things moving. If you have nothing to say/are ready to move on, I ask that players say so in the discussion thread so we aren't all waiting for you to post, thinking you're just busy or something.
Commitment: I expect players to be grown-up and responsible enough to be able to inform me ahead of time when they are unable to post for more than a couple days. I will bot disappeared PCs. Players who disappear without warning and remain gone for two weeks will be automatically removed from the game, and will not be invited to return in this or any other game I run. Frequent, lengthy disappearances will also warrant possible removal. While of course I am willing to make reasonable exceptions due to emergencies or other dire circumstances, generally I expect players are able to use their phone/borrow a friend's phone/hit the library within a few days to take 30 seconds to at least post something like, "hey, s&@! hit the fan, I will check in when it's all over."
Courtesy: I expect players to be respectful and civil. I appreciate honest feedback, but "honest" should not be conflated with "cruel." I expect players to play only their own characters (and class-feature-based-allies as appropriate), and not presume other PCs' actions or reactions to them. Consent should never be assumed in or out of character; use common sense and respect for other people to guide you here. If in doubt, ask out of character in the discussion thread or via PM. Acts of affection, intimacy, theft, or violence against another PC/player should be described as attempts or offers (e.g., "Sally offers Bob a hug," NOT "Sally hugs Bob" (because if Bob doesn't want the hug, he gets right of refusal first)). If you struggle to comprehend the general mores of respect and common sense that underlie this guideline, this game is not for you.
Communication: I expect players to make a good-faith effort in writing with reasonable clarity and usage of good spelling/grammar, and likewise a good-faith effort in reading others' posts carefully.
Playing: You don't need to have the Core Rulebook memorized, but I expect reasonable system mastery of the game's rules and most particularly a good grasp of your own character's abilities. If you think a roll might be called for, go ahead and roll it. If you want to try something that isn't an obvious solution, go ahead and try or ask about how it might work. While I don't let mechanics do what they shouldn't, I encourage players to be creative within the game's mechanical restrictions.
Note: I WILL read applicants' community posts in and out of PBP to get a sense of your communication skills, courtesy, ability to commit to a game long-term, and roleplaying ability, and bear that in mind when selecting possible recruits.

Based on the party's needs, behaviors, and issues that have arisen in the game so far, I believe the best choice to round out the party is a tanky divine caster. I think full caster would be best, so likely a battle-focused cleric, druid, or oracle would be most desirable, but I would also consider inquisitors and rangers and possibly other options as well depending on build. Paladin is not a good idea for the reasons stated in the Skull and Shackles Player's guide--while the party is good-aligned, you're still being pirates and still pretty much expected to cheat, lie, plunder, and trick. You can try to apply with something other than tanky divine caster, but it would have to be a pretty impressive application to sway me away from what I think would help this party the most. The party does have an NPC cleric to assist them that I believe our bard will be taking as a cohort, but especially given the various negative-conditions lots of monsters inflict, the party could use a PC level healer--and I don't want them reliant on an NPC for certain tasks either. Melee or switch-hitters would be useful, weapon-wise.

Other things: the party is well covered in face skills and athletic ability. Between the sorcerer and the bard we have enough arcane ability. The bard and rogue do well in melee, just can be a little fragile. The bard buffs, and the sorcerer is blasty with a side of battlecontrol. We are notably lacking in Survival and many other Wisdom-based skills (though the rogue has Heal and all do ok for Perception), Crafting, as well as a number of Knowledges and Int-based skills (the party bard is not the usual knowledgey bard since Arcane Duelist loses Bardic Knowledge). Knowledge: Nature could especially be useful because of the seafaring nature of the campaign (though some NPC crew have this). The nature of the campaign makes Profession: Sailor a very useful, but not required, skill. Other Professions like Fisher and Siege Engineer (for the onboard ballista) could come in handy.

The existing PC builds are the type that I wouldn't call optimized, but what they do well, they do very well. I don't want to see foolishly ineffective builds, but something that errs on the side of flavor likely fits in better than something that errs on the side of overpowered.

20 point buy
Races: Core plus planarkin (e.g., tielflings, sylphs, etc.)
Classes: Core (excepting paladin), Advanced Player's Guide (except Summoner). Brawler and Slayer from (ACG), but note preferences for desired character type. Unchained versions of allowed classes are fine.
Traits: Two. You may use a Campaign Trait from the S&S player's guide, but do not have to (especially since you are not going to be anywhere near the Formidibly Maid).
Source Materials: For spells, feats, archetypes, etc.: anything for allowed classes/races from the Official PRD/core RPG line is fine; but do NOT confuse that with or use d20pfsrd. You may also use items and abilities listed in the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide or Pirates of the Inner Sea. Do not use classes, races, or abilities related to classes or races not already listed as allowed above. Do not use other campaign setting materials. Do not ask about using other campaign setting materials or third party products.

If firearms appear in the AP, I'm not writing them out, but I don't believe I allowed firearms during the initial character creation, so I'd rather avoid them in starting PCs. I.e., do not take feats/abilities/archetypes related to firearm usage.

Options/Exceptions: We are using Hero Points (from Advanced Player's Guide), but not feats/spells that increase hero points. You earn hero points through great deeds, great roleplaying, and great risk taking. You will begin play with 3 points.

Starting Equipment: I will send you a list of starting equipment so you're on par with the rest of the party. Feel free, for statblock creation, to presume you have at least a +1 weapon and +1 armor, and either a +1 cloak of resistance or a +1 shield, and of course any items necessary for your class to function (e.g., a holy symbol). If there's something you need for your character/character concept, you can include it in your proposal.
Background: I would like a brief character description and a background story of a few paragraphs. If you would like to be a thought-lost member of the crew of the Aurora's Kiss, the PCs' first ship, that's a great way for the PCs to know and recognize you--but it isn't requisite. As the party is in a "downtime" phase of recruiting crew and other employees, it is very easy to have them meet you at a port or show up as hired help at their stronghold, so feel free to come up with something suitable for how you might run into the party.

If you're interested, post your character either as an alias or with the statblock in a post (either is fine, and if you don't want to create an alias until you might be accepted, that's fine). Recruitment will close one week from today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (yes, that's the 4th of July). I know that's a short period, but I'm only looking for one player (or maaaaaybe two), after all, and I don't want the group to have to wait too long to proceed. After closing, I will select a "short list" of players/PCs that seem the best fit for the game, and ask the current players to vote from that list.

SO! My initial idea (which may change over time) is to create a Human Monk and give him a defensive focused archetype. Then give him a lot of skills, abilities and feats that would be useful for manning a ship. So things like High Jump, good Ref saves, a wide berth of skills, good Wis and associated skills, ect.
The Qinggong archetype can also give me some flexibility on what I can use my Ki points on, so I will probably also spend some extra resources on Ki.

A quick peek at the character:
He hated the sea. He was a land lubber that loved stable ground and cursed any sailors as "foolish idiots" and set his resolve to never set foot on a ship. Some time passes and much to his dismay, he is forced to take a voyage on a ship, and for an extended journey. He spent the first week cursing his sea sickness with every breath he had.
But that too faded with time and he found himself getting used to the rocking motions of the sea, and for the first time on that wretched journey he looked up. What he saw was an infinite expanse of water reflecting a blazingly intense sunset of orange and yellow hues.
He was bewitched.
Having come to understand one facet of beauty on the sea, he resolved to discover more, and so he set himself to task to be useful on the ship, learning the ropes. Having always possessed a strong and athletic body he took to it like a natural, and so he sailed with that crew for many years.
Alas, many years but not forever. The ship and crew ran afoul with another ship and "did not sail away" from the encounter, the surviving crew stranded at port with no ship. Forced back onto land, he came to the painful realization that he had come full circle. The land held no life, it held no beauty. He was captive to the sea, and he would never be free of it again. He knew then and there that he would die on the sea, he would live in its beautiful embrace. And he would be willing to do almost anything to return...
From then on was a bright and blazing career under the sun, always smiling and gazing yonder at the horizon. He offered up his hardened skills as a deckhand to any captain that would have him, sometimes for honest, upright men, sometimes for other sorts, but always smiling towards the sunset. (He even got press ganged once. He laughed, it was like early Christmas!)
Lately he has been having a real rotten go of trying to find a decent crew that's NOT composed entirely of suicidal swabbies and after a rumor of some sort of "Floatin Fortress" out at Ghoral-Rey being constructed, he was curious. "A Floatin Fortress? Ya mean like a galleon? Well. Should be fine as long as it floats. Might wanna check it out..."
and with that, he caught the first ship out of port available, and straight as an arrow towards Warvil's Folly.

Initial Character Traits: (well, ideas at this point anyways.)

• Human Monk
• Defensive build, designed for durability
• I am basically building a vehicle with me as the pilot. I want it capable of doing a variety of things well, the more it can do the more role play options I have available
• Will attempt to add any party support where I can
• Accomplished and seasoned sailor
• Should have many skills and a pretty wide array of skills
• LN alignment with good leanings. (GM willing I might go True Neutral)
• Always smiling. Always staring out at the horizon
• He lives his life wholeheartedly as only a man immersed in his passion every day could
• Willing to do more disreputable work if that's whats required to stay above deck
• Will probably create songs based on previous gameplay, as a way of preserving history through oral storytelling
• Very empathetic and hard working. Often willing to go to significant lengths to help out other crewmembers
• Sometimes quiet and reflective, however he definitely has a grandiose streak and may showboat such as by jumping up to the top of the mast from the deck
• Also punches crewmen. Repeatedly.
• Holds the belief in the need to be able to defend yourself, even if weaponless, and so he holds regular friendly brawling duels between the crewmembers for training.
• He pulls his punches in these training sessions (nonlethal, minimum damage) as he is usually a lot stronger then the other crewmembers, otherwise does his best to teach them
• Is always lending a hand, looking out for others or raising their spirits
• Quick witted, clever and adaptable (hopefully?), he can react to whatever may come

As I think of others and flesh out the character more, I will expand this :)

Lady Minerva Rosala, born in Cheliax into House Rosala. She was raised as a noble, A spoiled little rich girl, used to getting her own way. But the exact circumstances of her birth were not so noble.

Minerva’s mother was with child and was accompanying her husband on a discreet trade mission into the Shackles. The trip took longer than expected, and to avoid a pirate attack their ship ended up too close to the Eye of Abendego. The ship was tossed about in the raging storm but managed to pull through. It was during this storm that Minerva was born. The stories are told that the very Eye ceased when Minerva was born, allowing the ship to regain its course back to Westcrown.

Minerva grew up, never knowing the circumstances of her birth, but she always had a yearning for the sea. She would spend time at the docks, listening to the old sailors talk, hearing the tales told of pirates, and Naval officers that fought them.

At the age of 10 she was permitted on her first venture onto the sea. The ship’s name was “Imp’s Paradise” a small sloop, sturdy enough to go a good distance from shore. She learned the ropes of sailing and was getting the hang of it when suddenly a loose line gave way and the headsail caught the wind just right flailing about knocking Minerva into the sea.

By the time she was fished from the water, she was unconscious and not breathing. She was raced to Westcrown where she was taken to the healers. Minerva was presumed dead, but she managed to survive, but she was left scarred from the incident. A gash cut across her right eye leaving her partially blind in that eye.

As time went on after the incident, Minerva was different. Her connection to water was even stronger. Her family decided that she needed help, and it was requested that she be taken to a small temple on an island off the coast of Rahadoum near the port town of Botosani. Here Minerva learned the teachings of Besmara and the art of swordplay.

Upon completion of her training, Minerva was requested to remain at the temple, but her desire to be at sea was too great. She left the temple to return to Westcrown. There, she returned to her home only to find that House Rosala had fallen in status. Much of her father’s holdings had been transferred to House Thrune. Wnting to restore her family’s holdings, Minerva looked to what she knew, the sea. She commandeered the last ship in port the family still owned. She set sail toward the Shackles following the charts her father had left detailing the trade agreements he had work on many years ago. She hoped to use her family name and call in old favors.

But as time passed since the first meeting her father had made, much had changed in the Shackles. Old contacts were no more, she had to now answer for debts her father had left, the pirates had swindled and stole large amounts of gold from House Rosala, leaving them nearly broke. Minerva refused to accept her father’s failings as her own. She turned her small Chelaxian Sloop into a pirate vessel, hunting down those that swindled her father and House Rosala, flying under the flag of a red rose over crossed sabers.

Minerva, stopped several smugglers and slavers hunting the pirates that had taken from her family, she had earned the nickname “The Blood Rose” she had learned of another group. There was only one pirate left, the Captain of the Wormwood, probably the toughest she had ever faced.

The Blood Rose knew she could not face him alone, nor even track him. Besides that, her activities are starting to arouse the attention of the Pirate Council. She need allies in the Shackles and she heard rumors of just the group to petition.

She set course to begin her search for a ship, aptly named, Besmara's Whim

Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Besmara 7
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Hero Points 3
Init +2; Senses Perception +10
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 56 (7d8)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +10
Resist cold 10
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 rapier +9 (1d6+1/18-20) or
. . unarmed strike +7 (1d3 nonlethal)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 7/day (DC 15, 4d6)
Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +11)
. . 7/day—icicle (1d6+3 cold)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +11)
. . 4th—control water[D], cure critical wounds, freedom of movement
. . 3rd—cure serious wounds, dispel magic, water breathing[D], wind wall
. . 2nd—cure moderate wounds (2), fog cloud[D], hold person (DC 16), make whole
. . 1st—cause fear (DC 15), cure light wounds (2), divine favor, obscuring mist[D], shield of faith
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, mending, read magic, stabilize
. . D Domain spell; Domain Water
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Statistics
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Str 11, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 11, Wis 18, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 18
Feats Alertness, Dodge, Extra Channel, Selective Channeling, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (rapier)
Traits besmara’s blessing, cheat death
Skills
Acrobatics +2
Appraise +7
Climb +1
Diplomacy +6
Heal +13
Knowledge (nobility) +4
Knowledge (religion) +7
Perception +10
Profession (sailor) +13
Profession (siege engineer) +8
Sense Motive +6, Swim +2
Languages Common

Gear
+1 chain shirt
+1 rapier
cloak of resistance +1
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Special Abilities
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Cleric Channel Positive Energy 4d6 (7/day, DC 15) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Cleric Domain (Water) Granted Powers: You can manipulate water and mist and ice, conjure creatures of water, and resist cold.
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Energy Resistance, Cold (10) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Familiar Bonus: +3 to Appraise checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Hero Points Hero Points can be spent at any time to grant a variety of bonuses.
Icicle 1d6+3 cold (7/day) (Sp) As a standard action, ranged touch attack deals cold dam to foe in 30 ft.
Selective Channeling Exclude targets from the area of your Channel Energy.
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Speak with Animals (Ex) Your familiar can communicate with animals similar to itself.
Speak with Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.

Female parrot (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide)
N Tiny magical beast (animal)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural, +2 size)
hp 28 (1d8-1)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +7
Defensive Abilities improved evasion
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Offense
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Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee unarmed strike +9 (1 nonlethal) or
. . bite +9 (1d3-4)
Space 2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks deliver touch spells
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Statistics
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Str 2, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 9, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 11
Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse
[b]Skills Acrobatics +6 (-2 to jump), Appraise +0, Climb +7, Diplomacy -1, Fly +6, Heal +8, Perception +11, Swim +8
Languages Common; speak with animal (same kind only), speak with master
SQ empathic link
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Special Abilities
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Deliver Touch Spells (Su) Deliver master's touch spells.
Empathic Link (Su) You have an empathic link with your master.
Fly (40 feet, Average) You can fly!
Improved Evasion (Ex) No damage on successful reflex save; half on failed save.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Share Spells Spells with a target of "You" can be delivered by a familiar with a range of touch.
Speak with Animals of its Kind (Ex) You can communicate verbally with animals similar to yourself.
Speak with Master (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your master.

I included only the basic equipment from the recruitment thread. I would like for her to have some sort of signature rapier (possibly adamantine)
Also I took an Archetype from The Skull and Shackles called Besmarian cleric, I sacrifice acces to one domain and gain a parrot familiar just like an arcane familiar except cleric level in place of wizard level.
I also included a small ship but that can be lost later if selected or just added to the party’s small fleet if they want to go that way

LINE BORSDOTTOR

Female Human (Ulfen) cleric 7. CG medium humanoid (human)

Init +1; Senses Perception +12,

Aura Aura of Chaos, Aura of Good,

Languages Aquan, Common, Polyglot, Skald

AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10

hp 52 (7HD). Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +8

Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), Agile Feet (6/day), Liberation (7 rounds/day)

Face 5 ft. by 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.

Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 18

Special Actions Channel Positive Energy (4d6, DC 14, 6/day),

Prepared Spells Prepared Spell List
Cleric (CL 7th):
4th - freedom of movement (DC 17) , restoration (DC 17)
3rd - dispel magic , remove curse (DC 16) , searing light , water breathing (DC 16)
2nd - burst of radiance (DC 15) , ironskin (DC ) , remove paralysis (DC 15) , spear of purity (DC 15) , spiritual weapon
1st - bless , comprehend languages (DC ) , longstrider (DC ) , protection from evil (DC 14) , read weather (DC ) , shield of faith (DC 14)
0th - create water , detect magic , light , mending (DC 13)
*: Domain spell.

Deity Desna; Domains Liberation, Travel,

Abilities Str 14, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 17, Cha 13

Special Qualities Agile Feet (6/day), Aura, Aura of Chaos, Aura of Good, Bonus Feat, Liberation (7 rounds/day), Orisons, Skilled, Spontaneous Casting,

Feats Channel Ray, Extra Channel, Fast Learner, Selective Channeling, Waterway Caster

Skills (*Background skills)
Acrobatics +1,
Acrobatics (Jump) +5,
Appraise +5,
Craft (Untrained) +1,
Diplomacy +6,
Heal +11,
Knowledge (Arcana) +8,
Knowledge (History) +6,
Knowledge (Religion) +8,
Linguistics(Aquan) +5,
Perception +12,
*Profession (Brewer} +10.
*Profession (Midwife) +9,
*Profession (Sailor) + 10,
Sense Motive +8,
Spellcraft +9,
Stealth +1,
Survival +3,
Swim +10,

Possessions

Agile Feet (Su) As a free action, you can gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take any penalties for moving through it. You can use this ability 6 times per day.

Aura (Ex) A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity's alignment (see the detect evil spell for details).

Aura of Chaos (Ex) You project a strong chaotic aura.

Aura of Good (Ex) You project a strong good aura.

Bonus Feat Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.

Channel Positive Energy (Su) You can unleash a wave of positive energy. You must choose to deal 4d6 points of positive energy damage to undead creatures or to heal living creatures of 4d6 points of damage. Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a DC 14 Will save to halve the damage. You can use this ability 6 times per day.

Cleric Extra Channel

Domains

Liberation (Su) You have the ability to ignore impediments to your mobility. For 7 rounds per day, you can move normally regardless of magical effects that impede movement, as if you were affected by Freedom of Movement. This effect occurs automatically as soon as it applies. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

Orisons You can prepare a number of orisons, or 0-level spells. These spells are cast like any other spells, but they are not expended when used and may be used again.
Seeker You are always on the lookout for reward and danger. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks, and Perception is always a class skill for you.

Skilled Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.

Spontaneous Casting You can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that you did not prepare ahead of time. You can "lose" any prepared spell that is not an orison or domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with "Cure" in its name).

Touched by the Sea You've always felt the call of the sea and your blood surges with the ebb and flow of the tides. Perhaps one of your parents was a sailor or pirate, or maybe one of your ancestors had a bit of aquatic elf or undine blood in them. Whatever the reason, you're as comfortable in the water as you are on land. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Swim checks and Swim is a class skill for you. In addition, penalties on attack rolls made underwater are lessened by 1. You came to Port Peril in search of your destiny, and after a few drinks at a tavern called the Formidably Maid, you went down to the docks to take in a view of the sea. The last thing you remember is a blow to the back of your head and the waves rushing up to meet you.

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Background: 
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Seven days and seven nights they spent trapped in the Eye. Darvan had entered a youth of no particular devotion, but when the Red Mermaid limped out of the Eye of Abendego he had pledged his devotion to Gozreh in exchange for safe passage. This is how his faith was forged ….

He grew up near the town of Greenblood in the Sodden Lands. The son of subsistence farmers he decided that fishing was preferable to digging in the earth and signed aboard Master Harisko’s ship, the Red Mermaid, at the age of sixteen. He knew nothing of the sea then, only having swum some in rivers and occasionally paddled a canoe or small boat.

He learned navigation and ship handling aboard the ‘Mermaid, and even if the life was more boring than he had wished for, it was preferable to village life. Two full years and a half of another Darvan spent building muscles and learning the sea. During this time aboard ship he took up smoking a pipe in imitation of Master Harisko, a habit he continues to this day.

That boredom changed one day during his third year at sea. They were drawing their nets in deep waters, farther from shore than was usual when Harisko, the Red Mermaid’s master, spotted a dark sailed ship on the horizon. The crew’s fears were confirmed as the ship drew closer, using it’s greater speed to cut them off from the safety of the shore. As it closed, it could be seen flying the banners of a pirate out of Port Peril.

They had seen Pirates out of the Shackles before at a distance, but none had ever given more than half-hearted chase. The ‘Mermaid was a poor prize and Harisko had always been able to race for the shallows and shoals along the shore in order to avoid serious pursuit. Such was not the case this time.

Harisko bade them to cut loose their nets, dump their catch, and put full sail on as he turned north to flee from the pirate. Being fleeter than she looked, she kept ahead of the pirate until dark and she kept on full sail as the headed into the night, hoping to lose her pursuers in the darkness. Dawn found the dark sails still on the horizon, and the pirate again started to close the gap.

By now the ‘Mermaid had run north into the rough weather along the edge of the Eye of Abendego. Harisko declared that a clean death in the storm would be preferable to torture and slavery at the hands of pirates. “We have a chance if we can run with the winds and skirt along the edge of the storm!”, he shouted over the rising sound of thunder and rain.

The ‘Mermaid entered the storm and the unknown pirates broke off their pursuit rather than follow the suicidal fishermen. They spent a total of seven days and nights riding out the storm before they were able to break out from the churning currents.

During their time in the storm Darvan and his crewmates went from a typical indifferent worshippers of the sea gods to a devout adherents of Gozreh. All were convinced that their strident prayers were all that kept them from watery graves. Lending credence to this fact for Darvan the next day was that when he drew his shirt over his head he found that he now had a trident shaped mark on the skin of his upper chest.

The Red Mermaid limped back into its home port of Greenblood and Darvan left Master Harisko’s service to began a study of his new religion in earnest. He served a number of different priests over the next several years, learning more of the sea and how the priests of Gozreh serve their god.

He traveled for a time with a ship’s doctor/priest named Ramagh aboard a swift merchanter named Sherlock’s Gull. After months of visiting smaller ports ranging from Sargava to Shackles, Darvan had a chance to see the home of the pirates that changed his life years ago when they delivered a mixed cargo of various supplies to the infamous city Port Peril.

In Port Peril Darvan sought his fortune, taking service on vessels sailing the sea though the shackles. He serves as ships's doctor and chaplain, spreading the faith of Gozreh as he travels.

He has avoided service with any of the more villainous ship's captains. Honest (mostly) merchants and traders along with privateers who defend convoys from pirates have been Darvan's employers for the last several years.

Darvan is human man of Bonuwat Mwangi descent. Uncertain of his exact age, he claims to be 26 years old (and is close enough to right that it makes no difference). Like many of his people, he is tall (just topping six feet) and he is well muscled at 190 pounds. Since taking up service to Gozreh, he has started braiding both his black hair and beard into ropey dreadlocks that lash about his head when runs or otherwise exerts himself.

He carries a small sea bag slung over a worn set of studded leathers he purchased from a trader in Sargava. This bag contains his more prized possessions including a scrimshawed whalebone pipe and supply of leaf in a waterproof pouch.

Emberar Lealtus
Half-elf cleric of Keltheald 6/Horizon Walker 1
Favored class: Cleric and Ranger | FCB: 6 skill ranks
CG Medium Humanoid (Human, Elf)
Height: 5'10" Weight: 165 lbs.
Init +1; Senses Perception +4
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +1 Dex)
HP 79 (6d8+1d10+14+7)
Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8 (+2 to saving throws against enchantments)
Immune: sleep effects
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Offense
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Speed 40' (30' armored)
Melee +1 halberd +9 (1d10+4 P or S/x3)
Ranged TBD
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Statistics
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Str 16 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 15 Cha 12
Base Attack +5; CMB +8 CMD 19
Feats Skill Focus (Knowledge (History)), Endurance, Toughness, Power Attack, Furious Focus
Traits Ancient Explorer (Campaign), Worldly (Social)
Skills Knowledge (Geography) [6] +9, Knowledge (History) [3] +10, Knowledge (Local) [2] +6, Knowledge (Nature) [4] +7, Profession (Sailor) [2] +7, Swim [2] +8, Linguistics [1] +4, Survival [4] +9
ACP: -3
Languages Common, Elven, Cyclops, Polyglot
Gear +1 halberd, +1 breastplate, cloak of resistance +1, remainder TBD
Cash TBD
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Special Abilities
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RACE
Elven Immunities: Immune to sleep effects, and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantments.
Adaptability: Gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat.
Keen Senses: Gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Low-light vision
Elf blood: Count as both elves and humans for the purposes of effects relating to race.
Multitalented: Emberar has two favored classes: cleric and ranger. He gains 1 hit point or 1 skill rank each time he takes a level in either.

TRAIT
Ancient Explorer: Emberar has been exploring old ruins and strange ways his entire life, and lately he's become fascinated by the ruins of lost Ghol-Gan. He gains a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (History) and Knowledge (Local) checks, and Knowledge (Local) becomes a class skill for him. He also gains Cyclops as a bonus language.
Worldly: Emberar has seen quite a bit in his varied travels, and can call up some specific experiences at need. Once per day, when attempting a skill check in which he is untrained, he can choose to roll twice and take the better result.

CLASS
Aura: Emberar has a strong chaotic good aura.
Channel positive energy: 3d6, 4/day, DC 14
Domains: Travel (increases base speed by 10'), Chaos
Touch of Chaos (5/day): As a melee touch attack, you can force a foe to submit to chaos. For the next round, any time the target rolls a d20, they must roll twice and take the less favorable result.
Agile Feet (5/day): As a free action, you gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take penalties for moving through it.
Spontaneous Casting: Cure spells.
Favored Terrain: Water: Emberar gains a +2 bonus to initiative checks as well as to Knowledge (Geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks while above or in water.

FEAT
Skill Focus (Knowledge (History)) [half-elf bonus]: You gain a +3 bonus to all Knowledge (History) checks. If you gain 10 or more ranks in it, this bonus increases to +6.
Endurance: You gain a +4 bonus on the following checks and saves: Swim checks made to resist nonlethal damage from exhaustion; Constitution checks made to continue running; Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march; Constitution checks made to hold your breath; Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from starvation or thirst; Fortitude saves made to avoid nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments; and Fortitudesaves made to resist damage from suffocation. You may sleep in light or medium armor without becoming fatigued.
Toughness: Gain bonus hit points equal to your HD.
Power Attack: You can take a -2 penalty to attack rolls to gain a +4 bonus to damage rolls (+6 with a two-handed weapon).
Furious Focus: When you are using a two-handed weapon (or a one-handed weapon used in two hands), you do not take penalties on the first attack you make each round using Power Attack. You do take the penalties on every subsequent attack (including AoOs).

Emberar, also known as Sunstruck, Lealtus gets his name in part from his boundless enthusiasm for new places and new people, and in part from his combination of sun-bronzed skin and dark blond hair that hangs down to his shoulders. Rarely seen without a cheerful grin on his face, Emberar is unusually stocky for a half-elf, although he tends more toward the broad-shouldered than the barrel-chested. He wears comfortable, loose clothing that allows him to move around a town or a ship with ease, often in bright colors (particularly red and orange), and straps his breastplate on over a lightly padded shirt when he has reason to expect trouble. His long cloak is a deep red color, and he has a (bad) habit of using the shaft of his halberd like a walking stick when out in the countryside. His boots are always comfortable-looking, and always very well-worn.

Corentyn, in southwestern Cheliax, is a city of ruins, so you can understand how those ruins might fascinate a young boy. So in his years growing up along the ocean, running through the city's wide streets and crawling over its crumbling ruins, Emberar Lealtus developed a healthy fascination with the old, the forgotten, and the romantically beautiful.

Emberar grew up as an only child, the son of a successful spice merchant named Brenadine Lealtus. Who the boy's father might be was a mystery, although Emberar's ears, build, and facial features all pointed toward at least some elven heritage--and he first appeared, after all, as an infant after his mother took a long and successful trading voyage up through Isger and Druma to Kyonin. Although some of her neighbors were quietly scandalized at Brenadine's single-parent status (and the more so because she refused to talk about her son's father in any way), Brenadine was a successful enough merchant to afford a good house in Easttown, and Emberar led an early life of quiet ease.

Although some of Corentyn's ruins are rumored to be haunted, plagued, or otherwise unhealthy, most are no more dangerous than any other decrepit building, and Emberar used the streets as his playground. After exploring a tumbledown old temple, dwelling place, or one of the many fortifications for which Corentyn is known, he'd inevitably find his way to the Museum of History to beg Zefiro Ballinger, the curator there, for information about the place he'd been. Zefiro could sometimes give him answers, and sometimes not (for reasons both practical and legal), and in school the boy was never more than an average pupil, but as he grew older Emberar sought out a particularly robust education in the history of Cheliax and Corentyn, which broadened into a fascination with tales of great deeds and wondrous places across the globe. His obsession with fantastic stories was both historical and geographical; he loved accounts of distant lands as much or more than stories of ancient heroes. As soon as he was old enough to be trusted in such situations, he began to take journeys as far afield as he could, accompanying his mother on her business travels from puberty and, in his late teens, occasionally venturing on his day off across the Straits of Aroden to that not-too-distant, but still exotic, patch of Cheliax that borders Rahadoum in Kharijite. When he came of age, he reported (reluctantly) for his mandatory two-year stint in the Corentyn navy, and spent the required time manning lines and accosting ships entering the Arch of Aroden for taxes. Although he found the work as a member of the military distasteful, Emberar became a competent sailor, and after he finished his required service he immediately went to work for his mother, sailing on a long voyage up the coast to Magnimar and working as a deckhand while also keeping an eye on her property.

The journey to Magnimar took longer than had been expected, and was cut off in the worst way possible: Emberar was summoned home by a sudden sending that let him know that his mother, not yet a truly old woman, had been injured in a warehouse accident and was likely to succumb. Emberar rushed home as quickly as he could, but it was too late: his mother died, leaving him bereft and directionless.

Although he had enjoyed his work, it became quickly clear to Emberar in the following months that he had enjoyed the travel and the physical labor, not the counting of coin, in his mother's trade. He soon chafed at the necessities that merchant work imposed on him, and after just three months of trying to manage his mother's company, he sold the business to an acquaintance in the trade and used the proceeds to fund his own trip back to the place he'd last been happy: Magnimar. There, he wandered the city--so aware of its history, like his hometown, but not allowing it to crumble as Corentyn did--and one day found himself staring in awe at the sun setting on the Irespan. As he watched, heart swelling with joy, a kestrel alighted on a small shrine nearby, and Emberar discovered the faith of Keltheald, the Sunset Spires.

Inspired, Emberar vowed to travel the world as much as he could, learning from the people there and seeing the great sights--both natural and man-made--that it had to offer. In the seven years since he's traveled widely and seen much: the Cyphergate of Riddleport, the Mordant Spire of the Steaming Sea, the wide plains of the Atteran Ranches in Nidal, and more. In each place he takes copious notes and compiles the results into attempts at books; these travelogues he then sends back to Cheliax, or (more recently) Andoran for publication. He's attained a small but loyal following in Andoran, Absalom, and other places with intelligentsia interested in history and vivid descriptions of distant people and places, although he sees very little actual money from his work. Most recently, a trip along the northern coast of Garund ended with his spontaneously traveling down to Senghor, which he'd hoped to see for a great deal of time, where he spent several months researching the city's history. As happens often to Emberar, one thing led to another, and he has become obsessed now with the history of lost Ghol-Gan. Always eager to feed his obsessions, Emberar has made his way north into the Shackles, where he's begun to survey and investigate every Ghol-Gani ruin he can find. He's recently heard that a group of pirates have seized a ruin for themselves and begun to turn it into a stronghold, and his worked his way toward this group, serving as a deckhand from ship to ship in pursuit of his prize...

I'm not married to every aspect of this build, but I do like the idea of the cleric/horizon walker combination. Horizon Walker will boost Emberar's attack bonus, hit points, and skill ranks, all of which are helpful given the need for particular skills that you mentioned. It also will give him some pretty handy water-based abilities. I'm happy to swap some of his skill ranks around if there are some areas that would be redundant and could be tweaked to better fit the party, though K (Geography) is required for the build and K (History) makes so much sense I'd probably want to keep it. I'm not sure exactly how far I'll go in the Horizon Walker prestige class, but the idea is basically to scale up both classes some throughout--keeping access to spells of roughly the right level, just slightly delayed. I'm also torn on his second domain; Travel was an easy choice, but Keltheald's Sun domain is mostly helpful for fighting undead, and the Good and Chaos ones are...very alignment-oriented. Right now Chaos seems the best choice to complement the rest of the party, but if another build seems more helpful, I'd be happy to look at that.

I've left his spells blank, since they change each day, but I can put in a sample day if you'd like! Let me know if everything makes sense, particularly if I accidentally used anything from a forbidden source!