Character 88 - Ungus Splitlick

Illustration by Luis Perez

As I mentioned in the rolls themselves, I love grippli. There is something about the frog-folk that I really enjoy and I actually cannot put a finger on it. This is the third grippli I’ve done in the nearing two years of the blog’s existence so I wanted to do something different than the first two, even though the stats for this frogman screamed monk.  So where to go this time around?

Looking at some of the background information he is a worshiper of the god of shepherds and herd animals, and he also made his first kill early on. The high wisdom and dexterity means that a wisdom-based caster was probably a good choice but the shepherding and early combat sent me in another direction. I settled on ranger, just a straight-up ranger with an archery focus and I think that would tie in well with a number of the other ideas I had.

Ungus Splitlick

There are many different tribes in the Mwangi expanse. Although the humans are the most populous they are not the only race that has taken up a home among the trees, waterways, and marshlands. There exists within the bounds of the Mwangi Jungle a few tribes of the frogmen known as grippli. They live as primitive herders, tending flocks of large sweetgrass slugs, water possums, and giant amphibians such as turtles and lizards.

Ungus Splitlick was born to one of these tribes. He was an only child to parents whose position in the tribe was to trade with those outside of the grippli communities. For him this meant learning how to travel through the jungle to the larger human villages to trade meat and animal products at a young age. This often meant moving unseen through territory that had other, more hostile, tribes in it.

Illustration by Luis Perez

As he grew he became more adepts at moving through his people’s home territory. There were quite a few other grippli tribes in the area, each a separate entity although led by the grand chief of one of the tribe. He loved exploring and meeting new people, even when his parents weren’t making their trips to the human cities.

On one of these walkabouts he came across a young grippli being menaced by a wild cat. Quick thinking and being more than adequate with his bow allowed him to dispatch the feline and save the young frog’s life. The grippli he saved was the son of the Great Chief and the two became friends.

When the chief died and the son rose to his position Ungus was made the Grand Shepherd. The grippli were herdsmen and each tribe had to protect their flock, but the Great Chief was the shepherd of all his people and the Grand Shepherd was duty bound to protect the herdsmen as his own flock. Given the crook of office the job suited Ungus well as he now had reason to travel from tribe to tribe.

Although his friendship with the Grand Chief was never in doubt, Ungus was plagued with a bit of jealousy. He occasionally felt that some of the others who served the chief were undermining his connection to him and on occasion he may have been a little untruthful so as to make the Grand Chief do things the way he thought was best for his people.

For now, though, with his crook of office -- which he cherishes as the greatest gift he’s ever received -- he patrols all the tribal lands. He protects his people from dangers within and without, following the teachings of the grippli’s patron spirit the great angel Rowdrosh.

What became of your disparate bits of information? What class suits the grippli? How did he get his first kill? Who is the liege to whom he serves? What is the object he is attached to? Tell us in the comments.

The CRB not only brings you the creative content you desire but helps you look inside for your own creativity. If you feel both inspired and pushed to create, please consider supporting your favorite content provider – that’s me, right? – by pledging as little as $1 on my Patreon or making a direct donation to my Paypal.

If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon. And to keep up with my other musings and thoughts you can follow the CRB on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter.

For more art by the illustrator Luis Perez you can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

Character 62 - Caoloai

This character  had a lot of pieces to tie together. Figuring out a character of an ethnic group that is not common to the listed homeland isn’t easy. Nor is how to get the half-sister without making another bastard-born child. And of course what class to choose for this character. 

Choosing a class was really the most difficult part. There were a lot of options and none really stood out. I weeded out any intelligence or charisma based characters to start. The high wisdom meant a divine character would work best, but Yog-Sothoth didn’t lend itself to divine casters. I had also recently done a Warpriest and an Inquisitor so I needed to move away from that. I ended up linking his bird-like celestial blood to his class by choosing a ranger with the falconer archetype. 

Caoloai 

Illustration by Luis Perez

Born in the god-forsaken land of Rahadoum, Caoloai’s life took a tragic turn early. Although his parents were lower-class by birth his father sought to move them out of their current state. His parents lived as subsistence farmers and when Caolai’s mother was pregnant his father joined the Pure Legion.  Although the life of a soldier — hunting those who forsook the laws of man — was no easy profession, he wanted what was best for his family. 

Caoloai had the ashen skin of his people but he was born with a full head of blond hair. This was the first sign of things to come for the young Rahadoumi. As he aged he didn’t grow much despite the fact that his father stood well over six feet tall. Even his twin sisters were taller than him by the the age of ten, and he was two years older.  His father assumed he’d have his growth spurt when he hit puberty but something much worse happened. 

The first signs were the colored streaks in his hair. This was followed quickly by Caoloai’s eye color changing to a deep amber. When the feathers started appearing on his forearms it was clear – at least to his parents – what was happening.  Being a part of the Pure Legion his father was well versed in the divine and he knew his son – his eldest – had the blood of a celestial running through his veins. This posed a very immediate problem. 

Caoloai’s father was torn. Love of his son and love of his country battled in his mind. His mother on the other hand was more decisive; she turned her own son in. They came in the night and took away the confused boy. His father cried but there was little he could do at the moment. It wasn’t until the next day that he made up his mind. He used his position to see his son and broke him out of the local outpost before he could be transferred. 

Flight from the Pure Legion isn’t simple, but his father’s knowledge of their skills and tactics kept them one step ahead. The border wasn’t far and they made it into Thuvia. Heading toward the capital, leaving getting as far away from Rahadoum was their ultimate goal. Boarding the first boat leaving Merab, the father and son ended up at the terminus of their journey in Jalmeray. 

Jalmeray turned out to be a place of new revelations for the young aasimar. As it turns out the celestial blood he inherited belonged to the Garuda. These bird like creatures were supposedly birthed by the Vudrani goddess Janasini. Unlike in his home country, where his celestial blood was reviled, in Jalmeray he was met with awe and wonder. 

Caoloai was drawn to birds. While his father took up work as a guard for hire, his son took an interest in falconing. His Garuda blood made being around the avians feel like returning home. He trained his own bird day in and day out and even began entering competitions. Even so young he distinguished himself as a master falconer. 

He also began to immerse himself in the Vundrani forms of mysticism and enlightenment. There were many gods among the pantheon of the impossible kingdoms and although this left a lot choice for worship, it also meant that many unsavory beings could sneak among the mystery cults of Jalmeray. This would one day become Caoloai’s downfall. 

His father remarried when he was sixteen. His new wife was another outsider to Jalmeray, an elven woman. While his father was occupied with his new bride, and eventually his fourth child - another sister – Caoloai would spend much of his time running with the street kids. His best friend knew everyone and everything on the streets of Niswan. The aasimar became a fairly common face, roaming the streets with his bird and his bow. 

All of this popularity and interest in the mystical drew attention of the wrong sort. It was easy enough for Yandari to seduce the young man, his own self-doubt helped in this account. Using mind-altering substances during meditations as well as more intimate means of actualization kept the boy coming back for more. He thought he was in love, and he thought he was expanding his mind beyond the bounds of space and time. What he was doing was allowing an insidious evil in. 

Things happened so fast. It wasn’t until there were more than a dozen bodies behind him that Caoloai realized what he’d become. At this point he didn’t care though. He had done it all for her, and for their hidden master. When he accepted his true nature Yandari brought him into the fold of the true cult. Worshipers of the outer god Yog-Sothoth. 

Caoloai has left his family behind, disappeared into the underground of Niswan. He has devoted his life to his mistress and her patron. He has become an assassin for the outer god and its minions. His occasional bouts of doubt are soothed by whatever Yandari gives him. 

That is the story of the fall of Caoloi, but that isn’t the only tale that can be told by these stats. What do you create when looking at the given attributes and background information? How did your Mwangi end up in Jalmeray? How did he come to worship The Lurker on the Threshold? 

Bringing these character to life is a second full time job. Contributions to my Patreon or Paypal help me be able to invest more of that time into creation instead of worrying about keeping the lights on. If you’d like to support your favorite content provider – come on, that’s me, admit it – please consider contributing. If you’re enjoying the blog, why not join the rest of the fans of the CRB on our social media hangouts? Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter all have a CRB presence and my inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion. 

The character illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

Character Exploration 39 - Azok Lanalan

Coldborn skinwalkers, humans with werebear ancestry somewhere along the line that allows them minor forms of shapechanging. Our randomly rolled character, however, is not like your typical werebear-kin in that he isn’t particularly strong or hardy. The blood in his veins may not give him the vast strength of his ancestors but it has made him gruff or possibly overly hairy. He is from a family that were once slaves but are now free and working the land. The background possibilities are endless but in the end I decided to go with ranger as his class.

Because I chose ranger I also rolled on the ranger random chart and got the following:

Ranger Training: [Survivalist] You were orphaned at a young age and left to fend for yourself in the wilds, or simply lived a life at the edge of society that required a constant scrabble for basic existence. You probably have animals or magical beasts (the edible ones) as your dominant favored enemy, and are adept at lying in wait and springing into action. You gain access to the Hunter's Knack combat trait.

I usually don’t talk a lot about the stats in these character backgrounds but this particular character is built around the idea that he will take certain feats and certain class archetypes. First I’m going to tell the tale before I lay out some of the stuff I’ve chosen. So stay tuned after the character background for some build advice for this character.

Azok Lanalan

Life in Cheliax as a slave meant that your family were also slaves. Azok’s mother and father had been taken separately by slavers on the inner sea and sold into bondage in Cheliax. Amidst all the terrors of slavery they fell in love, although they could not marry in the eyes of Cheliaxian law. They did bear children and Azok was the fifth of their brood.

Azok’s parents longed for freedom, not just for themselves but for their children. It was this hope for their children’s future that entwined them with the paladins of the Westcrown rebellion and the Andoran Eagle Knights. In the dead of night when Azok was nine the family fled with the aid of the rebels. They ended up in Westcrown to lay low for a while.

The plan was always to relocate, but the family lived in a safe house for a few months for their own safety. During this time Azok became friendly with a young man with cloudy white eyes. The man was a seer and he liked the boy, often playing games and telling stories to keep him occupied and soothe his fears. When the family left he took the boy to the side and told him that they were very much the same, that one day he too would have to give up his eyes, but in doing so he would protect his family.

The trips from Westcrown across the border into Andoran was perilous. Sailing was too dangerous with the Cheliaxian fleet always on the lookout for contraband and escaped slaves. The Eagle Knights took the family over land. The trek led up the coast, into the Whisper Wood, and eventually through a pass in the Aspodell Mountains ending up in Andoran.

This was a trek the knights made many times, but this time tragedy fell in the Whisper Wood. Two bears larger than Azok had ever seen or heard of—even in books—attacked the party. A half dozen knights went down but the family and the rest made their escape, except for Azok. In the confusion the boy ran. He ran so far and so fast that when he stopped he realized he was alone.

For the first few days Azok tried to stay put. He assumed that the knights would eventually find him if he stayed where he was. After the fourth day he went searching for them. Without any clue of what to do, not knowing the direction in which his family went, and not wanting to go back to a life of slavery, the nearing-ten-year-old began to learn to live in the forest. For some reason this came as second nature to the boy.

Although Azok learned quickly by watching the animals of the forest which berries and plants were good to eat, he eventually needed to find more filling food sources. Hunting became necessary after the first few weeks and it was a skill Azok took to naturally. His first kill was a small deer which was drinking from the creek all the animals came to. It was almost too easy to pierce its neck with the crude spear he carved from a branch.

Azok spent three and a half years living off the land; hunting, surviving, and avoiding patrols from the Hellknights searching escaped slaves. When he was fourteen he ran across another troop of Eagle Knights leading slaves through the woods. Two of them were in the troupe that led him and his family those many years ago. With joyful hearts they led the boy to his kin.

When Azok finally reached the homestead of his family, they had taken up a farm outside the city of Oregent near the Arthenfell Forest. His mother embraced him with a hug as it had been four long years since the last time they saw each other. She also introduced him to his new little brother. He wasn’t alone anymore and he was happy, although his time in the forest had changed him.

When he made trips to Oregent with his father he always felt like an outsider. The other teens called him “the wild boy”. All he wanted was to be accepted, but his time alone had left him without an understanding of the social cues others did. Still, through his young adult years he had quite a few relationships. His constant desire for approval, however, made him come off as needy which ended most of these dalliances. There was one that made a particular impression on his heart; the one that got away. At the end of the relationship he stole an expensive locket from her, a family heirloom, so as to always have her near.

Although the farmlands of Andoran were mostly safe, the nearby woods were not. When his younger brother lost his way in the woods Azok went in to find him without hesitation. His brother had stumbled into the path of one of the woods denizens, a large wolf. The boy came upon his cornered brother and stepped in to defend him. The battle was fierce and the wolf managed to knock him flat making him lose his knife. For the first time since the Whisper Wood he thought he might die and that’s when the change happened.

Azok’s body grew heavier and thicker, sprouting dense wiry hair as his nose elongated into more of a snout  and from his fingers extended razor sharp claws. The tide turned and the changed boy managed to kill the wolf, but in the process his face was clawed badly. He lost the use of both of his eyes and his face was covered in scars left behind by the creature’s sharp claws. His brother, however, was saved and that is all that mattered. Thinking back, he realized the prophecy of the white-eyed man in Westcrown had come true.

Unsure of himself and his life, Azok took to spending more time in the woods; mastering his ability to shift his form. He learned to focus on his animal nature, mostly the blood that ran through his veins which brought forth a bear’s endurance. He found that he could, with force of will, muster other abilities. He also learned to fight blindly, both with and without his enhanced senses.

All the physical training in the world was not enough to soothe the pain in Azok’s soul. Most considered him a freak. He felt sorry for himself because of his eyes, and due to his time alone in the woods, his survivalist nature made him feel separate and alone. In his search for inner peace to quell his anger and pain, he found Vildeis, the Cardinal Martyr. As he had lost his eyes so she had given them up willingly that she wouldn’t have to look upon evil. With this guidance Azok left home once more, this time to emulate his patron and fight evil in the world. He pledged to give his all so that others do not have to, even if that eventually means his death.

Rules Stuff

First off, he’s going to take three archetypes for ranger. Shapeshifter, which gives up favored terrain, camouflage and Master Hunter for the ability to add animalistic traits and eventually shapeshift fully into an animal form. Wild Hunter gives up favored enemy, woodland stride, and swift tracker to use the Hunter’s animal focus ability and share it with either your animal companion or one ally. And lastly, skirmisher, just cause I hate spellcasting and he has a low Wis anyway.

All of these changes allow for a character that is very much in tune with his shapeshifting nature. I thought it all went very well with the character background and is a way to intertwine mechanics with story. Some people don’t like over use of archetypes. I think it’s great, when it makes sense.

Feats are another thing that are important to a build. There is a new line of style feats called Blinded blade style and, of course, the blind-fighting line of feats to counteract his actual blindness. The high Dex low Str means I chose weapon finesse as the first feat because it can apply to natural weapons. He has to take the natural weapon combat style feats, so improved natural attack and eldritch claws are on the list as well. Lastly, at fourth level he’ll take his bonus ability in Con making it 13 which qualifies him for the extra feature feat so his natural shape-changing ability gets more powerful and stays within the theme of the character

So that’s the character I made, but what did you do? What is your story for these stats? How did he come to follow Vildeis? Where and why were his family slaves? Tell me in the comments.

Have you been inspired to make your own random characters, or use one of these as an NPC in your game? The CRB thrives on the support of its viewers, consider becoming one of its supporters by contributing on my Patreon. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck. Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all now have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

Random Roll 39 - The Randomness

A new race for me this time around, a skinwalker. In this case our lycanthrope blooded character is of were bear decent. Smart and nimble but with an incredibly low charisma. Maybe he’s ugly, gruff or socially inept. Maybe he’s all three. From a large family formerly slaves but now freeholders in the democracy of Andoran. Apparently he’ll do anything for love, craving social acceptance, although even with his low charisma he’s flittered through quite a few relationships. But ow did he come to be a devotee of the Cardinal Martyr, the Empyreal Lord Vildies?

Race: Skinwalker (Coldborn Werebear-kin)
Human Ethnicity: Taldane
Nationality: Andoran

Age: 16
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 200lbs

Alignment:

Str: 10

Dex: 18

Con: 12

Int: 15

Wis: 10 (12)

Cha: 6

Homeland: Town or Village
Parents: Both of your parents are alive.
Siblings: You have 5 biological siblings.
- biological older sister
- biological older brother
- biological younger brother
- biological older brother
- biological older brother
Circumstance of Birth: [Born into Bondage] You were born into slavery or servitude. Your parents are likely slaves or servants, or you were sold into slavery as an infant.
Parent's Profession: Yeomen
Major Childhood Event: [First Kill] You've had blood on your hands since your youth, when you first took the life of another creature. Whether this act repulsed you or gave you pleasure, it was a formative experience.

Influential Associate: [The Seer] You were close to a person who claimed to see the future—perhaps an oracle, seer, prophet, or merely some festival charlatan. Whether they're true or a trick, you've seen visions of distant places and of times that may come to pass. The seer's influence either made you into an optimist with a drive to change the future or a fatalist resigned to accept it.

Conflict: [Major Theft] You stole expensive items.
Conflict Subject: Lover or former lover.
Conflict Motivation: Love.
Conflict Resolution: [Denial] You feel little if any regret, and deny the event mostly so others won’t judge you. Few if any know of your part in the conflict, and your constant denials are meant to keep it that way.
Deity/Religious Philosophy: Vildeis

Romantic Relationship(s): [Several Significant Relationships] You’ve engaged in a number of partnerships, but for some reason or another your relationships always fail.
Drawback: [Social Acceptance] You want others to accept you, to believe you’re special and worthy of merit. You are self-conscious about your social flaws and breaches of etiquette. Rejection is among your greatest fears. You might go to extraordinary lengths to be accepted by or seek favor from your peers.

Available Traits/Feats/Drawbacks

(Trait) Killer

(Trait) Kin Guardian

(Trait) Life of Toil

(Trait) Militia Veteran

(Trait) Savanna Child

(Trait) Scholar of the Great Beyond

(Trait) Undead Slayer

(Story Feat) Innocent Blood

(Drawback) Dependent

In the comments please tell us what character you would make with this information? What class would he naturally gravitate too? Who is this werebear-kin with the huge family? And don’t forget to stay tuned Friday when my background hits the CRB.

The CRB not only brings you the creative content you desire but makes you look inside for your own creativity. If you feel both inspired and pushed to created please consider supporting your favorite content provider (that’s me) by pledging as little as $1 on my Patreon. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon. And to keep up with my other musings and thoughts you can follow the CRB on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.

Random Roll 37 - The Randomness

A Monkey Goblin from the Mediogalti Island on the edge of the never ending storm of the eye of abendego. Strong and quick but with a glass jaw, this little guy also certainly smarter than your average goblin. Shying away from the blatantly evil ways of most of his people he has embraced the worship of the deity Feonia. What to make of this interesting little guy.

Race: Monkey Goblin
Nationality: Mediogalti Island

Age: 18
Height: 3’ 2”
Weight: 37lbs

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Str: 16

Dex: 19

Con: 9

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 9

Parents: Only your mother is alive.
Siblings: You have 2 biological siblings.
- biological younger sister
- biological older brother
Circumstance of Birth: [Lower-Class Birth] You were born among peasants or slum denizens. You grew up working the land around a village or manor, practicing a rudimentary trade, or begging in a settlement.
Parent's Profession: Serfs/Peasants
Major Childhood Event: [Bullied] In your early life, you were a victim— easy prey for those stronger or cleverer than yourself. They beat you when they could, using you for their sport. This abuse nursed a powerful flame of vengeance.

Influential Associate: [The Mystic] You were especially close to a holy person in your community who fundamentally changed your life by opening your eyes to the incredible powers that exist beyond the natural world. Regardless of whether you follow a faith, certain religious artifacts, rituals, and texts played a large part in making you the person you are.

Conflict: [Minor Theft] You stole several small or inexpensive items that belonged to someone else.
Conflict Subject: Leader.
Conflict Motivation: Hatred or Malice.
Conflict Resolution: [Denial] You feel little if any regret, and deny the event mostly so others won’t judge you. Few if any know of your part in the conflict, and your constant denials are meant to keep it that way.
Deity/Religious Philosophy: Feronia

Romantic Relationship(s): [Experience but No Substantial Relationships] You’ve had a fling or two, but have so far shied away from any ties or commitments.
Drawback: [The Past] You long for the world to return to a past age. You’ve adopted the manners and style of this age, and are fascinated by its customs, relics, and artifacts, and by the historical figures of that time. Perhaps you live so much in this past age that your connection to the present is tenuous. Or your pretentiousness annoys others.

Available Traits/Feats/Drawbacks

(Trait) Bullied

(Trait) Child of the Temple

(Trait) Kin Guardian

(Trait) Log Roller

(Trait) Poverty-Stricken

(Trait) Wisdom in the Flesh

(Drawback) Sentimental

In the comments please tell us what character you would make with this information? What class would he naturally gravitate too? Who is this monkey goblin? And don’t forget to stay tuned Friday when my background hits the CRB.

The CRB not only brings you the creative content you desire but makes you look inside for your own creativity. If you feel both inspired and pushed to created please consider supporting your favorite content provider (that’s me) by pledging as little as $1 on my Patreon. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions through Amazon. And to keep up with my other musings and thoughts you can follow the CRB on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.

Character Exploration 35 - Minas Greymane

Our dexterous hafling follower of the fey lord of forgotten things, solitude and sadness has begun to take shape. I’ve picked a class and I’m ready to make the scant pieces of information come to life. The story of the our little folk is not an altogether happy one, but neither is it altogether sad.

Minas Greymane

Born in the lands of the Vishov family in shadowy Ustalav, Minas was destined to have the life of a serf. Much like the Varisian families that had stopped their wandering ways and put down roots in Ustalav; so too did a number of hafling groups, dotting the land with small villages of the wee folk. Minas’ mother and father worked the land as farmers and his older sister would look after the boy while they would tend the fields.

As the child grew, he too would work the land with his parents. That is, when he wasn’t wandering off into the woods nearby. Minas always felt more at ease alone with his own thoughts in the forgotten places in the forest. His parents didn’t so much enjoy their son’s need for solitude as it meant he lost time in the fields. His sister, however, always felt for him, seeing how uncomfortable the presence of others made him.

The Vishovs were fair rulers and even their tax collectors and overseers treated those who worked their lands with respect. Although Minas was, for the most part, not inclined to want the feel of a big city, he did enjoy stories of city life. A few times a year when the Vishov’s representatives would come through to collect the harvests and hear the townsfolk one of them, a man named Herin, would tell the boy these tales. Herin had a way with Minas that overcame the shy halfling’s desire to be alone, and through this Minas was probably one of the most informed serfs in all of Golarion.

When the halfling was just sixteen the unthinkable happened and the Vishov family fell from grace. The now widowed countess’ brother was accused of conspiring to overthrow the prince. Some who were complicit, including Minas’ friend Herin, were imprisoned. The countess was exiled and the land be overseen by Baron Creelisk through the length of her banishment.

The change in rulership left the land in chaos. Baron Creelisk’s men were not as thoughtful toward their charges as the Vishov’s had been. On top of that scoundrels, thieves, and brigands were turning up everywhere. When Minas found that one such thief had arrived in town to hide from the authorities he took it upon himself to relieve the criminal of that which he had stolen. The boy’s original intention was to keep the item for himself and his family but guilt made him turn it into the authorities, and the rogue was arrested.

Months later Minas’ sister went missing, lost in the night, taken from the family home. Although there was no sign of struggle neither Minas or his parents believed the girl would have left of her own accord. Of anyone, Minas was closest with his sister—she understood him even in his desire for solitude. Minas would spend days and nights searching for her.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Minas never gave up his search for his sister. In this he was occasionally joined by his sister’s best friend. In their time of quite investigation there grew a bond. Through the forest and the field, from town to city, the two never gave up and eventually fell in love. Alone but together with the shared hope of the return of Minas’ sister, her best friend.

On a moon-shrouded night among the trees of the dark wood, they made a promise to each other and to Minas’ sister to never forget. In their sadness, alone but together they found some small hope in the worship of the Lost Prince. Giving themselves over to the Melancholy Lord, the fey lord of forgotten things so that his sister would never fall into his realm, never be forgotten.

Using these disparate pieces of information, what character did you make? Why did you choose that class for this character? Who is your little halfling?

If you enjoy seeing the process of creation please help fund what amounts to a second unpaid full-time job. Become a Patron today for as little as $1 by donating to my Patreon. If you can’t wait for new content on the CRBs schedule, look to the other forms of social media the CRB is on. Twitter, Tumblr, and now Facebook. Check out as I live tweet my games, see when I might be at a con near you, and find out when new works I’ve contributed to are being published. The CRB itself can also be sent directly to your Kindle by signing up for Amazon’s Kindle Subscriptions, don’t miss a single post.

Character Six: Argus Holt

Before we get into it here are the random rolls in case you forgot.

Alright so I'd chosen a class and what we're looking at here is a Ranger with the Freebooter Archetype. I rolled on the Ranger chart and got:

Detached Observer: You set yourself apart with a pall of cold logic that allows you to see weaknesses in members of your own race that you strive not to succumb to yourself. Most likely, you pick your own race as your dominant favored enemy, and you excel as a spy or assassin paid to capture enemies of your organization. You gain access to the Cold and Calculating combat trait.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Argus Holt

Argus Holt, son to a sailor and born with the elven blood of his mother's great grandfather running through his veins. Argus lived in a small coastal village, his father was away most of the time and his mother worked as a clothes washer for what little extra cash they could get. Life was quiet but it wasn't easy, and it got worse when his father's ship went down in a storm. The young half-elf who had already felt very alone became even more withdrawn and with his father's income gone he and his mother lived in near poverty.

Despite the fact his father died at sea, the waves always called to young Argus. From the time he chanced upon a school of Hippocamus at the age of ten, dreams of living on the water always traipsed through his mind. He hopped his first ship at 12 leaving his mother to see the world. He had a hard time connecting to the other sailors but he would watch and listen, often disgusted by what his own kind could get up to in their boredom. But despite humanity’s shortcomings, Argus longed for the acceptance of his peers.

One of the passengers during his first sea voyage was a young noble and his son. The aristocrat’s son seemed to be so good at everything; climbing the rigging, running the rails, tying knots, even helping to fend off a boarding party of Sahuagin. Argus tried to make friends in his own clumsy manner but the noble boy clearly felt superior to him. He took this as a challenge and swore to always push himself, always trying to be better than the young noble boy.

Being in close quarters with so many people for long periods left Argus with a need to clear his head during his time ashore. He began looking for other forms of solace and this led him to the church of Gozreh. Prevalent in every coastal city was at least a small church to the god of the wind and the waves. Dedicating himself to a life at sea Argus took Gozreh as his patron giving himself over as a waterborn and taking whatever the god could throw at him good or bad.

Now Argus has built at least a small reputation for himself as an able-bodied seaman. He was known to be an excellent helmsman even in the roughest storms, a child of every port of call. The Half-Elf ranger travels the world one boat at a time.

For some simple mechanics I gave him these traits:

Worldly social trait: Once per day when attempting a skill check for a skill you're untrained in, you can roll twice and take the better result.

Storm Pilot regional trait: You gain a +2 trait bonus on Profession (sailor) checks, and you treat the wind force of environmental wind effects (see Table: Wind Effects) as one step less powerful for the purposes of determining any penalties on ranged attacks and Fly checks as well as whether you would be checked or blown away.