Character 102 - Vasuman Walia

I write the intro to these things after I actually write the character. It gives me a chance to comment on difficulties I may have had and my process. I say that specifically because I am going to point out that even I cannot tie everything together. As I was writing the background I thought I had hit on all the little tidbits, but upon rereading the random rolls post I realized I missed something. I liked what I had and I couldn’t see shoehorning another piece into it, so you will find that the influential person – the academic – has been left out. It just goes to show that this is not always easy and it’s ok if you miss a piece when creating your character.

As for character choices I went looking through the Advanced Races Guide for some information on Suli but there wasn’t a lot. I wanted to play on their natural ability as negotiators, his worship of the Empyreal Lord of communication and music, and his need for pleasure. Although charisma was not his best stat it was still good so I choose the celebrity bard archetype from Ultimate Magic.

Vasuman Walia

The nation of Katapesh has become a common home for Vudrani who seek a life outside of the caste system of their homeland. The people of The Impossible Kingdoms have spread through the region, finding homes not just in the cities, but in the towns and villages as well. The city of El-Fatar, where adventures come to plumb the depths of ancient ruins, is where the Walia family have made their home now on three generations.

VasumanWalia is one of nine children born to Bhupati, a farmer who inherited his land from his father before him. The boy was in many ways the most unremarkable of his brothers and sisters; not the strongest, fastest, or most attractive. And he most certainly was not the smartest, a fact that infuriated his father often.

The boy did have a good heart and a decent voice, and could often be heard in the kitchen singing as his mother prepared meals. His lack of critical thinking occasionally caused him to act out of bad judgment, even if he meant well. He once overheard his father complain about how a merchant “robbed him blind” and so he snuck into the trader’s caravan and stole a few mostly worthless trinkets to recoup his father’s losses. He would never understand why his dad was so mad, but he made him return the baubles.

Vasuman also had a tendency to literally get lost in his own thoughts. He desperately wanted to be famous. Seeing all the powerful warriors, wizards, and occasional scoundrels flock to his city made him dream of that kind of life. Often while practicing swordsmanship or pretending to learn spells he would find himself lost in the desert. Sometimes he could find his way home, other times his eldest siblings would have to search for him.

On one adventure among the dunes the boy ran into a man sitting under a palm tree. He was like no person Vasuman had ever seen before with bronzed skin and eyes that almost sparkled like stars in the night sky. The man at first seemed insulted by the interruption of his nap but he soon realized it was just a boy.

The two talked well into the night with both Vasuman and the man losing all sense of time. The being explained that he was a janni, a type of genie that lived on Golarion itself. The boy asked about wishes, which from a grown less innocent man would have been a grave breach of etiquette, but the janni let it slide with a few tactful words. Before the night was through he told the boy that he too would feel the pull of the elements and left him with that thought at the gates of his parent’s farmhouse.

Eventually, as he aged Vasuman began to see that his chance meeting may not have been by chance. His own blood seems to have been laced with that of the janni, and like the mortal genie he was blessed with the natural ability to understand the desires of people and play to their wants. With a honeyed word and a pleasant tune, the young Vudrani began to make a name for himself in his hometown.

Vasuman hopes to one day be known throughout Golarion for, well, anything really. But that day is not today. Today he starts his adventure in the deserts of Katapesh.

Did you come up with something similar to Vasuman? Which class did your suli gravitate to? What creature did he meet as a child? Why did he steal from a merchant? Who was her academic influence? If you haven’t written your background yet you still have a chance.

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Character Exploration 40 - Bruness Coldforge

This week we saw our charismatic female dwarf make her way into our random rolls. From the frozen north, residing in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, we need to determine if her people are like all the other dwarves of Avistan. Living underground with a mother and an older brother, she died at one point during her childhood; A follower of the matron of the dwarven pantheon Folgrit she values strict adherents to tradition–being Lawful Neutral–above all things. So what did we do with all of this information? What kind of character did I make?

First, let's talk about matching the creative process with the mechanics. Researching the Land of the Linnorm Kings it seems that not much lives up there other than the Ulfen, dwarves, gnomes and a lot of fey. To me, that means the dwarves there probably don’t fight a lot of goblins as is common with the standard dwarves. In looking at the alternate racial traits I saw that there is not only a trait to replace this defense against goblins, but also a trait to link her to the fey that permeate the land. I decided to swap them out.

The normal dwarf greed and stonecunning traits became fey magic. I did this because there is an invisible rift into the first world up there. Fey magic means the character gains the use of Cure Light Wounds, Enhanced Diplomacy, Purify Food and Water, and Stabilize once a day each as spell-like abilities. I also exchanged the Hatred ability for the Giant Hunter ability to make the frost giants of the frozen wastes her people’s natural foes.

As for class, I chose Bard. You’ll see why in the story, but this means I also rolled on the background chart for Bards on the random background generator.

Bard Training: [Gift] Someone gave you a special instrument or a collection of songs and stories at a time in your life when you needed them most. You have treasured this object above all other possessions, and it started you on a path to new songs and stories.

Bruness Coldforge

In the frozen wastes of the Land of the Linnorm Kings, only the hardiest of dwarves can eke out a meager living. Although their dwellings below the surface protect them from the worst of the cold weather, the land is notoriously short on veins of ore. The dwarves near the crown of the world mostly live there out of habit and stick to stonework instead of metalwork to fill their desire to toil.

The Coldforge family were once one of the few mining and forging dwarf clans in the north. When the vein of iron went dry and the forges went cold they had to stoop to becoming farmers in the fungus fields for one of the bigger clans. Bruness and her brother, Irngel were born into the Coldforge clan at this, their lowest point.

In her early years, Burness was always fascinated with the stories of her family’s life, back when they made weapons and armor for the other dwarf clans. Her brother thought of these dreams of old as fanciful, telling her that one day she would work like all the other members of the family. He counseled her to give up on the stories of the past and live in the future.

Although even the stone underground seemed frozen, there were many pathways around the small subterranean town in which Bruness lived. Some of these led to vast caverns that the dwarves used for storage. Others led deeper into the bowels of the Darklands. On occasion creatures from the deep would push their way closer to the surface and raid the dwarven village.

When the young dwarf was barely out of her thirties a raiding party of duergar attacked the town. They specifically hit the mushroom fields in an attempt to take off the workers as slaves. Bruness and Irngel were in the fields with their father that day and he stood forward to defend them. Bruness was frozen in terror as her father mounted his defense. The child turned to find her brother but Irngel was nowhere to be found. Bruness’ father died that day, and for a few moments so did Bruness.

Bruness’ death was short lived. Something in her began to warm, not just her body, but her soul from the inside. The warmth spread and she was healed, although still gravely injured. The young dwarf was carried out of the fields and brought to her mother. The town was so small that they had no healers of their own, as such Bruness was confined to her bed as she healed.

After her convalescence, Bruness lived as normal a life as could be had in the cold tunnels beneath the Land of the Linnorm Kings. She took up the faith of Folgrit, learning from the songs and stories in the book her mother gave her. Irngel eventually took up the life of his father, toiling in the mushroom fields. Burness fell in love with another young dwarf who toiled in the fields as well. If life had remained this way maybe, just maybe, the Coldforge family would have remained whole.

Eventually the duergar again attacked the fungal fields. They took Bruness’ one true love and a few others. Burness was there again, this time with more ability. She hid for sure, but she watched and she saw her own brother receive payment from the dark dwarves. Not only that, but she heard him admit his allegiance to the evil dwarven god Droskar.

Turning on your own is one thing but submitting to the worship of Droskar is quite another. Bruness was torn because it was her own brother, but turn him in she did. She went to the elders with what little proof she had. The questions raised were difficult for her brother to deny, but he did—just long enough to make his escape into the tunnels, presumably back to his Duergar masters.

With her family torn apart, her one love lost to the halls of the duergar, and the still lingering painful reminders of the initial attack that left her injured, Bruness Coldforge had only one place she could turn to. The book of tales that her mother gave her.  In her time of need, the words and songs in the book got her through. Not only that, they gave her power.

For many years the dwarves of her town hadn’t had a cleric, but the power of the songs made Bruness a healer. She discovered within herself the ability to heal the injured, and in some cases cure the sick. She became not only a healer for her people, but a historian. Caring for her people as Folgrit would for her own children, she counseled them to keep to tradition. To keep the tendrils of Droskar from finding their way into others, the old ways are the best ways. She believed the songs would not only heal, but keep the hearth of her people still burning.

All of that information has congealed into the story that is Bruness Coldwater. During the week I’ve seen some interesting backgrounds from other readers, but not from all of you. So what would you have built? Who is your dwarven follower of Folgrit? How did you make your decisions when fashioning a background like this?

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Character Exploration 34 - Uka'mbe

A smart and charismatic Undine born of elven parents. The stats alone left many class options to choose from. The background rolls—love of magic items, influenced by a wanderer, and loyal to a fault—didn't do much to help narrow my choices down. It was a line in the write up for Svarozic on the Pathfinder Wiki page that read, "To inspire great deeds with the younger generation." that eventually led me to picking Bard as this character’s class. In particular, I decided to go with the Undine specific Watersinger archetype.

On a mechanical note, I decided to use some alternate racial traits. Amphibious—which allows the character to breath under water—replaces the Undine's spell-like ability trait, and Terrain Chameleon—which gives a bonus to spell checks under water—replaces the Undine's energy resistance.

Uka'mbe

The Mwangi expanse is more than just the jungle which bears its name. Although colonists, pirates, and smugglers have divided it into a few different lands, Sargava, the Shackles, and the Sodden Lands were all once inhabited by the Mwangi peoples. The human Mwangi are not the only people to inhabit these lands. Savage demon worshiping halflings and aggressive tribal elves, as well as more exotic creatures, make their home among the many jungles and rivers here.

The colonialist Chelaxians of Sargava have displaced many of the native people of the lands they now inhabit. Included among those are a tribe of elves in the Laughing Jungle called the Abebi a distant offshoot of the Ekujae tribe of the Mwangi Jungle. This tribe is often at odds with the traitors in Sargava's second largest port, Port Freedom.

Uka'mbe was born in the tribal village of Abebi. His mother died while giving birth and his father never revealed to him the secret that he was conceived when a group of colonist warriors captured and assaulted his mother. Being born of full elven blood instead of a half-elf, hiding his mother's traumatic encounter, made this omission easier. It wouldn't be until later that his true father's ancestry would be made apparent.

All throughout his childhood Uka'mbe was enamored of his mother's brother. Unlike many of the other older Abebi members, Uncle Wakandi bucked many tribal traditions and traveled the world. Stories of the other lands of Garund, including the great Osirian cities, the strange devices of Alkenstar, and the godless folk of Rahadoum filled the child's mind with thoughts of adventure. His uncle had even piloted a ship on the inner sea and stopped at some of the strange lands of Avistan.

On one particular visit his uncle bequeathed him a small feather which had belonged to his mother when she was a child. Uncle Wakandi told him the feather had magical properties which his mother never used. Even his uncle was unsure what properties it had, but he warned Uka'mbe that whatever they were they could only be activated once.

Conflict with Port Freedom ebbed and flowed. Rarely was there ever a full out assault from either side, and never in young Uka'mbe's lifetime. Young members of the tribe, however, would tease and dare each other to make their own little raids on the port. This infrequently amounted to anything more than vandalism, mischief, or at the very most, petty theft.

Entangled in games that adolescents play, Uka'mbe found himself caught up in a twilight "raid" on Port Freedom. Using colored paste made from plants, he and a few of the other young Abebi invaded the outskirts of the town, painting obscene remarks and warnings in their native tongue on the sides of buildings. This attracted the attention of Port Freedom's guard, who chased the children out of town. A few of the guardsmen almost caught Uka'mbe and in desperation he used the feather that had belonged to his mother. An incredible gust of wind blew the guardsmen off their feet allowing him to escape, leaving the feather bereft of magical energy and ever after inert.

It wasn't until after puberty that Uka'mbe's true father’s racial heritage showed itself. While causing mischief he gained the ire of other colonialist explorers. Outnumbered, he headed for the river in an attempt to lose them. Diving in, he had not the time to swim away but when they peered into the water around where he had submerged they seemed to completely overlook him. It wasn't until after they left that he realized he had been underwater for a full five minutes without losing breath. And when he looked at his skin he saw that it had turned from its usual dark brown to a mix of greens, blues, and grays that matched the vegetative bottom of the riverbed. This soon faded but his flesh and even his hair retained tinges of watery green.

Upon return to the Abebi village his people were fascinated by the changes that overcame him. Elves being a bit more forgiving of the differences granted by having the blood of an Outsider saw Uka'mbe's unique abilities as a gift, but Uka'mbe was unsure how he felt about this newfound racial heritage. It wasn't until one of his uncle’s return trips that he decided how he would use his powers.

Uncle Wakandi told his nephew that change is an important part of life. One of the reasons he left the tribe to wander was that often the tribe refused to change. He spoke to him of leading the younger generation, inspiring them with great deeds and helping to redesign obsolete traditions. Uncle Wakandi left him to make his decision with many books, including those about singing, oration, and texts on the many Empyreal lords of the great beyond.

Uka'mbe took his uncle's words to heart. Finding his own inspiration in the stories of the Empyreal lord Svarozic, he decided to end his mischievous ways, mostly. To lead his people he needed to know more about the world he wished to bring them into. Taking after his uncle, Uka'mbe decided to spend a few years traveling before returning to his tribe.

Bard may not have been your first thought as it was mine. What class would you have chosen for this character? What background would you have written to match these random rolls? Why did you make these decisions?

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Random Roll 34 - The Randomness

Undine, the water elemental touched humanoids, in his case of elven descent. Smart and Charismatic and given a magical gift early in his childhood, could mean so many thing. The stats and background rolls have been laid bare, what character would you come up with? Check back Friday for my interpretation of these rolls.

Undine (Elf Parentage)

Male

Neutral Good
Nationality: Sargava

Age: 139
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 124 lbs.

Str 10

Dex 12

Con 13

Int 16

Wis 10

Cha 14

Homeland: Forest
Parents: Only your father is alive.
Siblings: You have 1 biological sibling.
- biological older brother
Circumstance of Birth: [Born of Violence] Your birth was caused by violent, unwilling means. You have one parent, and the other likely remains unknown.
Parent's Profession: Tradespeople
Major Childhood Event: [Magical Gift] When you were a child, you found, stole, or were given a magic item that gave you an extraordinary ability. You may have used this item for mischief, crime, or good. Since that time, magic items have always held a special fascination for you.

Influential Associate: [The Wanderer] You knew someone who traveled from place to place with the changing of the wind, such as a minstrel, convict, merchant, outcast, soldier, or sailor. This person brought you wondrous mementos and told you of all the places he had traveled and the people who lived there, inspiring a wanderlust within you.

Conflict: [Petty Crime] You committed a minor crime, like vandalism, trespassing, or mischief.
Conflict Subject: Enemy or rival.
Conflict Motivation: Amusement or Entertainment.
Conflict Resolution: [Mixed Feelings] Sometimes you regret the conflict, but other times you feel as if you didn’t have a choice in the matter or that you made the right decision. Most of the time, you just avoid thinking about the conflict. Only you and maybe a select few people know of your involvement.
Deity/Religious Philosophy: Savrozic

Romantic Relationship(s): [A Few Significant Relationships] You’ve tried to make deep connections with individuals on several occasions, but it’s never worked out.
Drawback: [Loyalty] You value loyalty over all things. You treasure the friends, associates, and lovers you have earned throughout the years, and when someone breaks your trust or betrays you in some way, you become utterly unhinged.

Possible Traits

(Trait) Artisan

(Trait) Axe to the Grind

(Trait) Bastard

(Trait) Life of Toil

(Trait) Log Roller

(Trait) Magical Talent

(Trait) Empyreal Focus

(Trait) Worldly

(Drawback) Pride

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