Arlaan

Arlaan, Dwarf Defender

Arlaan Abarakolor

Background

Born very small and given a name that means "worthless wet rubble." (Ossyllargh) But, he has gigantism. When this was discovered, he was cast out of his clan. They see the condition as being a curse and call it "the curse of the mountain's disdain" (Thutel Dorsargh).

He left his people, and while in the winderness, he saved a bear cub from a mountain puma. The cub's mother was a talking bear (dire bear, or "Awakened" bear). She taught him how to fight, and taught him of his own value to others. She have him his new name, which means, "boulder of the wild's strength" (Arosonn Abarakolor)

10 questions

• Describe what your hero's glorious death might be.
  • Standing guard in a narrow pass, his bulk filling the gap from side to side, facing a legion of orcs who suddenly feel small staring up at the face of a dwarf the size of a house. The mounting piles of orcs at his feet after having fought for many hours, he eventually falls to exhaustion as his allies sieze the advantage they now enjoy, having lost but one against a decimated army of orc and legate.

• Describe what your hero's worst fated death at the hands of [the ENEMY] might be.
  • Enslaved by minions of the Shadow, he serves alongside trolls and ogres as a living machine, forever pushing a grinding stone. His beard stubble never getting long enough to notice before it is burned off, and the sores under his heavy manacles perpetually bleeding, he eventually gives in the the despair that grips all who fall under the thumb of the Shadow and ends his own life under the weight of the grinding stone.

• What is the worst thing [the Shadow] could do to your hero? (this could include things done to loved ones)
  • Crush his spirit through enslavement. Convince him somehow of the worthlessness that his own family instilled within him as a child.

• Describe a victory that your hero would like to have against [the Shadow].
  • To return one of the greatest mirrors to nature, or to know that the dwarven people's defenses will always hold against the Shadow.

• What action would your hero never do? (meaning type of action "like burn a village down", NOT a general idea like "give in to the shadow")
  • Have sex with a man.
  • Crush the spirit of a child.

• What would cause your hero to break down to sadness or fear?
  • Enslavement and powerlessness.

• What do you hope your hero's honorific would be?
  • "Irreplacable" or "the Grizzly-Father"

• What would it take for your hero to turn traitor? (these can result from bribe or blackmail)
  • Most likely, trickery. Or, if he was convinced that all those he trusted had betrayed him.

• PLAYER: What's your favorite monster or NPCs to fight?!!
  • Anything intelligent enough to use tactics and have great swag. Except vampires - they suck. Goblins are always fun, since they're almost people, and not so monstrous that there are no laughs to be had.

• PLAYER: What do you most enjoy about RPGs & D&D? (meaning battling monsters, solving puzzles, political roleplaying, etc..?)
  • Kevin :) Okay, with less sucking up... I love working toward having a great story to tell. Building interesting twists in the history of the characters that comes together in the end to be really intriguing. Many times, this comes through killing bad guys, which I love. Especially if I get to keep their stuff and get rich. Not so big on the puzzles.

3x3

Contacts

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Allies

• Ma - The dire bear that found Arosonn in the wilderness. She taught him how to be a defender, gave him his name, and instilled within him a heroic spirit.
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Enemies

• Koremdek - The tribe of hill giants that had enslaved his people in the past. They are still around, and are sworn enemies of Arosonn's clan.
• Dekkur - Arosonn's brother. Arosonn doesn't know that Dekkur hates him so much, but their relationship is strained somewhat. Dekkur's prestige has suffered greatly due to being the brother of him who carries the curse. Dekkur intends to one day kill Arosonn, hoping that this will assuage his family's shame.
• Name -

Covenant Items

Celestial Strap

Celestial Strap

History

This is a beautifully-decorated woven leather strap. Supple and thin, it can be worn as either a decorative strap (sash, belt, etc) or wrapped tightly around a person's fist or foot, granting the wearer special abilities when fighting unarmed. The strap has the spirit of a celestial being bound to it. This being is powerful, but non-intelligent.

Powers

• Cure spells cast on the wearer affect the strap as well, healing it of damage as though it were a living creature.
• A certain number of times per day (once per 4 levels of the wearer) the strap can grant the Celestial Blessing effect, activated with a command word as a free action. For 10 rounds this grants +2 Dodge bonus to AC, +2 to all saving throws, and an extra standard action per round. For defenders with the Speed Training Defender Ability this stacks, making it possible for the character to engage in two full-attack actions in one round.
• Changing the strap's location (from sash to handwrap, from handwrap to footwrap, etc) takes a full minute. In order to tie it properly in place, a Concentration check may need to be made in stressful situations.
• If the strap is used as a handwrap:
  • In order to use it as a handwrap, the wearer must have the Improved Unarmed Combat feat, and have 15+ Strength.
  • As a handwrap it causes the wearer's fist to be considered a magic weapon with a +(1 + 1 per 4 levels of wearer, max 5) bonus to attack rolls and damage. It also grants a bonus of +2 Strength, and +2 vs. Grapple, Trip, Overrun, and Bullrush.
  • It functions in this manner like a spiked gauntlet of the appropriate size for the wearer (though it deals bludgeoning damage). It has the bane (evil outsiders), and bludgeoning (like keen for blunt weapons) abilities. Attacks made with this item are considered unarmed attacks, and any character who wears the item may deal his usual unarmed damage instead of its 1d4. This weapon penetrates Damage Reduction as though it were Good-aligned.
  • As a handwrap, the wielder can choose to fight with the wrapped fist alone, adding Str bonus x 1.5 to damage rolls. The offhand must be free for this ability to function. Two-weapon fighting, holding an item in the offhand, or grappling cause the wielder's wrapped fist to again behave as though it were a light weapon, as normal.
• If the strap is used as a footwrap:
  • In order to use it as a footwrap, the wearer must have the Improved Unarmed Combat feat, and have 15+ Dexterity.
  • As a footwrap it causes the wearer's foot to be considered a magic weapon with a +(1 + 1 per 4 levels of wearer, max 5) bonus to attack rolls and damage. It also grants +2 Dex, +2 Initiative, +2 Balance Jump and Tumble, a +2 circumstance bonus to AC versus attacks of opportunity, and +5 base land speed.
  • It functions in this manner like a spiked boot of the appropriate size for the wearer (though it deals bludgeoning damage). It has the bane (evil outsiders), and bludgeoning (like keen for blunt weapons) abilities. Attacks made with this item are considered unarmed attacks, and any character who wears the item may deal his usual unarmed damage instead of its 1d4. This weapon penetrates Damage Reduction as though it were Good-aligned.
  • As a footwrap, it gives the wearer the benefits of Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, and recudes the two-weapon fighting penalty by 1 (minimum -1). In order to gain this benefit, the wrapped foot must be used as the wielder's primary weapon, and another weapon (such as a fist) must make the offhand attacks.
• For characters with more levels in Defender than other classes:
  • The strap grants an additional Stunning Fist use.
  • Celestial Resiliance - Once per day per wearer's character level, the strap can grant the wearer +3 temporary hit points. Activating this ability is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity as though it were a spell being cast.
  • The strap's celestial spirit gives a subtle glammer to its wearer, granting a +3 divine bonus to Charisma.

Mithril Cub

Mithril Cub

Description

The Mithril Cub is a very small mechanical, metallic bear with limited intelligence and personality. It can perform simple tasks at the command of its master. It can run and fetch things, open unstuck doors, relay simple messages, clean and mend, among other things. Because it has a Strength of 2, it can lift only 20 pounds or drag 100 pounds, and it weighs only 20 pounds. The mithril cub cannot attack in any way; it is never allowed an attack roll. The mithril cub also has many abilities that mimic spells.

The mithril cub is under its own control, and is never compelled to follow an order given to it by its master, except those given through its control box. It generally avoids actions which would put it into direct harm, such as swimming through lava or jumping onto the back of an orc, and avoids combat situations by disguising itself or hiding. It has a peculiar personality and sometimes attempts to tell stories of its life to those nearby, for no discernable reason, even if they were a part of the story themselves. It eats metal scraps and gets hungry for metal, but obediantly waits to be fed by its master without eating just any source of metal it can find. It understands little about the ways of humanoids, and often asks questions about why things are done, or makes strange suggestions.

Powers

• Minor Image - At will, the mithril cub produces the effects of the spell minor image, though it usually uses this ability only at personal range. It uses this ability at its own discretion. This is the only means by which the cub can communicate with others, by creating images above its head that describe what message it tries to convey. Sometimes it uses this ability to disguise itself as something non-metallic, or to confuse those who attack it.
• Repair - At will, the mithril cub can produce the effects of the mend spell, though it requires the cub to actually work at repairing the item (with no skill roll needed), which takes a full minute.
• Tinkering - The mithril cub can swallow bits of metals to use as raw materials, and using its internal mechanisms, craft small mundane metal items weighing no more than 5 lbs (such as arrowheads, nails, sling bullets, a sword pommel, etc). It uses its Craft (tinkering) skill for this ability. Once the item has been created, the mithril cub mysteriously produces the finished item to its master without revealing how it was acquired. Generally, the cub determines what to make by observing the needs of those around it, but sometimes makes small items that it just thinks look pretty. The mithril cub is in a continual state of tinkering away, creating new items without needing to concentrate on the activity, and without any of its other actions interfering with the process.
• Spark - The mithril cub can produce a small flame at will by creating a spark next to a self-generating flammable gas source (just like a lighter). This is a free action, and is usually done only when the need for a source of flame is observed.
• Communication - The mithril cub understands everything said by its master, in any language its master uses. However, the mithril cub cannot speak at all, and only understands one language (limited to languages which the cub hears its master commonly speak), which can be changed by using the cub's control box.
• Lamp - At will, the mithril cub can generate a half-circle or a focused 5' beam of light, just like a hooded lantern.
• Control Box - The cub has a control box, held by its owner. This has the ability to turn the cub on and off, as well as the following abilities:
  • Status - The cub's control box monitors the condition of the cub, and the distance and direction to the cub, as the spell status with a continual duration.
  • Smoke Cloud - #/day the mithril cub can duplicate the effects of obscuring mist by belching black smoke out of its vents.
  • Hide the Way - #/day the mithril cub can follow its master, swiftly clearing away any visual evidence of the group (and the cub) passing that way, as the spell pass without trace, though the scent of those who passed is not masked in any way. This ability lasts 100 minutes.
  • Slick Spot - #/day the mithril cub can create a slick area in any 5 ft. square immediately adjacent to the cub, with effects otherwise identical to the grease spell.
  • Cub Burrow - At will, the mithril cub can burrow into the ground, creating in 30 minutes' time, the effects of the spell halfling burrow. If the cub stays within the burrow, it scoops out a pocket in a wall, allowing it to not be counted toward the total space used by creatures inside.

All abilities controlled by the mithril cub's control box are activated by its master as a move action, assuming that the control box is available (not packed away). These abilities are used at Caster Level 10, and require a standard action by the mithril cub.

Stats

Mithril Cub

Tiny Construct
Hit Dice: 8d10 (51 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 5 ft., climb 10 ft.
AC: 21 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +5 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/-4
Attack: -
Space/Reach: 2.5 ft. / 0 ft.
Special Qualities: Self repair, hardness 15, construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities: Str 2, Dex 19, Con -, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 2
Skills Climb +12, Craft (tinkering) +15, Disguise +16, Hide +16, Move Silently +8, Search +1/+7
Feats: Run

Self Repair (Ex): The mithril cub is able to create body parts out of scrap metals. Generally, it can repair 1d6 hp/hour. If it has mithril or lots of other metals it can repair 2d6 hp/hour.
Skills: The mithril cub has a +8 bonus on Climb checks, and can always take 10 on any Climb check, even in stressful situations. It has a +8 bonus on Craft (tinkering) checks, which is uses to make small mundane items out of metal. The mithril cub uses its Dexterity bonus for Disguise checks, and can use this skill to form itself into any Tiny inanimate metallic object, for which it gains a +12 bonus. It gains a +4 bonus to Hide and Move Silently. When searching for pits and snares it gains a +6 bonus.

• Item -

Equipment

Carried wealth

30 vp worth of hides, tools, crude art, and food (6 days).

Arms

• farmer's ropes
• a large bone club (1d8, range 10 ft., 6 lbs.)
• 2 light hammers (used mainly for throwing)
• a sling and 20 bullets
• mostly dressed in crude leathers - he is used to living in the wilderness

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Midnight:_the_SHADOW_KILLERS
Midnight: the Shadow Killers player Bill