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Stringbean2142
21st of October, 2009, 06:18
Name: Renaltus
Race: Human
Class: Druid5
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Height/Weight: 5'9" 168 lbs
Xp: 10,000

Str: 10(+0)
Dex: 12(+1)
Con: 10(+0)
Int: 15(+2)
Wis: 18(+4) (17+1)
Cha: 16(+3)

Hit Points
Total:27 (8+6+3+2+8)
Current:27
Temporary:

Saves
Fort +4 (4+0Con)
Refx +2 (1+1Dex)
Will +8 (4+4Wis)

BAB +3
Melee +3
Ranged +4

Weapons
Weapon....................WAB,....Dammage.....Crit ..............Range
Knife.....................[-1]...[1d4]........[x2]..............[10]
Quarterstaff..............[+4]...[1d4+1/1d4+1][x2]..............[NA]

AC: 13 = 10 + 2(Armour) + 1(Dex)
vs. Touch = 12
Flat Footed = 15
Armour Penalty = 0
Spell Failure = 10%

Languages:
Common
Elven
Sylvan
Druidic

Feats:
Human - Endurance
1st - Investigator
3rd - Track

Skills
Tot - Name....................................Stat[ranks+mod+misc]
+ 4 - Appraise................................INT [ 2.0 + 2 + 0]
+ 1 - Balance.................................DEX [ 0.0 + 1 + 0]
+ 4 - Bluff...................................CHA [ 1.0 + 3 + 0]
+ 0 - Climb...................................STR [ 0.0 + 0 + 0]
+ 2 - Concentration...........................CON [ 2.0 + 0 + 0]
+ 6 - Craft (Whittling).......................INT [ 4.0 + 2 + 0]
+ 3 - Diplomacy...............................CHA [ 0.0 + 3 + 0]
+ 3 - Disguise................................CHA [ 0.0 + 3 + 0]
+ 1 - Escape Artist...........................DEX [ 0.0 + 1 + 0]
+ 2 - Forgery.................................INT [ 0.0 + 2 + 0]
+ 6 - Gather Information......................CHA [ 1.0 + 3 + 2]
+ 7 - Handle Animal...........................CHA [ 4.0 + 3 + 0]
+10 - Heal....................................WIS [ 6.0 + 4 + 0]
+ 1 - Hide....................................DEX [ 0.0 + 1 + 0]
+ 3 - Intimidate..............................CHA [ 0.0 + 3 + 0]
+ 0 - Jump....................................STR [ 0.0 + 0 + 0]
+10 - Knowledge (Nature)......................INT [ 6.0 + 2 + 2]
+ 8 - Listen..................................WIS [ 4.0 + 4 + 0]
+ 1 - Move Silently...........................DEX [ 0.0 + 1 + 0]
+ 3 - Ride....................................DEX [ 2.0 + 1 + 0]
+ 4 - Search..................................INT [ 0.0 + 2 + 2]
+ 4 - Sense Motive............................WIS [ 0.0 + 4 + 0]
+10 - Spellcraft..............................INT [ 8.0 + 2 + 0]
+ 8 - Spot....................................WIS [ 4.0 + 4 + 0]
+14 - Survival................................WIS [ 8.0 + 4 + 2]
+ 0 - Swim....................................STR [ 0.0 + 0 + 0]
+ 1 - Use Rope................................DEX [ 0.0 + 1 + 0]

Equipment
A few items in Renaltus's keeping need an explaination. First, the knife and whetstone. Renaltus uses them in his whittling; the knife has the same weight, cost, and damage as a dagger, but it's a small knife and as such is an improvised weapon if he should ever use it in combat.

Second, Renaltus's staff has a special history. It was originally his master's staff, and when Thorian died it passed to Ren. The staff is a simple magical staff, but the magic must be maintained. Torian taught Ren whittling specifically because of this staff, although Ren now does the craft for its own merits. The middle of the staff is smooth for handling, but the last foot of the staff on each end is intricately carved with the history of the staff and of Aos. The Bomen is on there, as is Thorian's receiving the staff as a young adult. The Red Moon disappearing is on there as well, and Ren has recently begun to add in the rats. The carvings must be maintained for the staff to continue to be magical; if it becomes outdated enough, it will just be a staff, nothing more. The wood is in no danger of being whittled away thanks to the staff's magic, and there always seems a place to whittle or carve new histories.

The herbs are just that: herbs. He brews them in tea, swears by them to aid in day-to-day health, and may on occasional use narcotic herbs. He's out of the fun stuff right now, so they're just fluff.

The gems are what he likes to carry if he needs money. They're natural (unlike worked coinage), they're light, and they're impressive. Since he hates dealing with money anyway, he tends to keep them around for bartering. I'm not worried about pricing them right now, as I'm actually going to be under the 4500gp limit anyway.

Weapons
Knife (1lb)
Magical Quarterstaff +1 (4lb)

Armour
Boiled Leather Armor(15lb)

Gear
Pouch, left side belt (0.5lb)
- Holy Water (flask) (1lb)
- Antitoxin (vial) x2
- Flint and Steel
- Whetstone (1lb)
- Tiny Gem x3
Pouch, right side belt (0.5lb)
- Rations, trail x2 (2lb)
- Herbs (3lb)
- Mug (1lb)
Explorer’s outfit (8lb)
Tindertwig x5 (-lb)

Money
Pp:0
Gp:12
Sp:5
Cp:6

Class Features
Druid1: Bonus Languages
Druid1: Animal Companion
Druid1: Nature Sense
Druid1: Wild Empathy
Druid2: Woodland Stride
Druid3: Trackless Step
Druid4: Resist Nature's Lure
Druid5: Wild Shape

Spells
Known per Day:
Level 0: 5
Level 1: 4
Level 2: 3
Level 3: 2

History
Renaltus of the Guarding Thorns, known as Ren to his friends, was raised by his uncle Pollar. Pollar was a trapper living just outside the outskirts of a medium-sized village. Growing up, Renaltus was much more comfortable walking the trails with his uncle than in the town, and Pollar seemed to understand. When Renaltus was seven, Pollar introduced him to a friend he knew who leaved even further from the village. The friend's name was Thorian, and he was an aged druid. In Renaltus he found a spirit who was deeply in tune with nature, and with Pollar's blessing he began to teach young Renaltus of the natural world around him.

When he came of age, Renaltus was accepted as a junior member of the Guarding Thorns, an informal druidic order tasked with defending Aos from any unnaturalness. The initiation to enter the Thorns was very tough (return a kidnapped bear's cub to its lair without harming it or the mother), and Renaltus actually failed at his first attempt. After healing from the bear's mauling, he tried again and while still outclassed overcame the obstacle with sheer determination. He became a Thorn, and for a time lived with Thorian while his real training began.

When the Red Moon ceased to rise, the Thorns swore to not set foot again in the Bomen until they could kneel before the Elder Druid and tell him that the Red Moon has risen again and order has been restored to the world. Of course, they had absolutely no idea how they would accomplish this, and the informal nature of druidic orders meant information was shared slowly. Renaltus, like most, began travelling the land, searching for some clue of why the Red Moon would not rise. Advancing into the world alone or with a single partner, the order took heavy losses from a combination of the increasing danger in the world, the lack of support for the druids, and their willingness (or foolishness) to walk places that ought not to be walked. Renaltus himself bears several scars from the last few years of searching, and he had to bury his long-time mentor and friend Thorian along the way.

And then the storms of Edinway began, and Renaltus knew that this was an unnaturalness that left unchecked would sweep through his beloved world and destroy it. When Renaltus joined the Thorns, he gave up the traditional life he could have had for one of service to Aos. When the Red Moon disappeared, he gave up all but a small hope at ever walking through the Bomen, a dream of any druid. Now, he feels compelled to do what he can to help in this fight against the rat invasion. He gave up the freedom of the wood for the cramped, decaying confines of Edinway, the largest city in the islands and a place now of death and despair.

Once in Edinway, he found the city a warzone. Rats outnumbered the rest of the inhabitants, and they seemed to know it. Twice Renaltus was faced by hostile rats on his way through the damnable buildings that squatted around him. Eventually he found his way to the Grand Plaza, one of the relatively safe places in the city, and learned of the Cathedral's locks. Their numbers were few and the rats were growing increasingly bold; feeling much older than the 37 years he actually had, Renaltus volunteered to hold the line while the locks are raised. After that, he feared his time in this accursed prison of worked stone and dead earth called Edinway was just beginning...

Description
Renaltus is a short, skinny man. His frame is not weak, but there's no sense of physical power in him either. His face is narrow, almost hawkish in features. It is dominated by his nose, a monolith rising from what is otherwise a very unremarkable face. He isn't exactly ugly, but there's little of beauty in his features either.

Personality
Renaltus has a deep disdain for modern, urban living. Bartering bores him, and often he will overpay to avoid dickering salesmen. He also has unlearned many of the polite conventions more civilized people may have, and is rather blunt. He rarely lies, but has little hesitation when telling a person he won't reveal something. People often find this trait either endearing or annoying. Sometimes in the same conversation.

He looks to nature for a guide as to how he can live his life and so can be considered a bit brutal or pragmatic by normal standards. He isn't a cold or an evil man; in fact, his sense of humor is wonderful and he can be quite kind. But for him, it comes down to survival. He will kill to survive, but never finds enjoyment in the kill. He just sees it as a necessary action.

Stringbean2142
28th of October, 2009, 00:59
*
The Staff

"Tell me again about the staff, sir." Ren sat cross-legged in front of Thorian, young hands clasped in front of him. They had been practicing meditation, but for a young boy meditation is hard to focus on. Wicked cool stories were so much better.

Thorian smiled. In truth, he liked telling the story and was glad to have someone like Ren to teach. "Ok, but then we go back to our mind-clearing techniques.

"The druids were born in the Bomen. In the vast forests of creation, nature and sentient peoples were able to communicate. How did they communicate at first?"

Ren sighed inwardly. Even in a story, Thorian found a way to teach. "Meditation, sir."

Thorian nodded. "Which is why we practice it now. But the natural spirits soon wanted to see the world outside the Bomen. The first druids were messengers of the Bomen spirits, and each bore a staff. Inside the staff is a spirit of the Bomen tree the staff was carved from. And each druid carved out the events the staff saw onto the head and foot, to record what was seen and done. The largest, most beautifully carved staff was called the Great Staff, and it never left the Bomen. It's said the spirit of the forest itself resides in the staff, and it has powers beyond any other staff but only in the confines of the Bomen.

"These staffs are passed on through the years, but their true heritage only comes about when returned to the Bomen. The Great Staff is held by the Elder Druid, and each staff when present before him will write its history into the Great Staff. The spirit in the Staff will sing to the Bomen spirits, and in this way the world comes to the Bomen and the spirits of the Bomen can embrace the world."

He paused, looking at Ren's face. One day, son, you'll carry the staff. But not today. For today... "Right, back to our practice. Clear your mind, son..."

*
Thorian's Passing

"It came from... *cough, cough* ... from behind." Thorian coughed more blood onto the ground and tried, again, to stand. Ren gently held the old man down.

"Stop moving, sir. You're just making it worse."

"I never even saw it, son. Whatever it was, it was huge." Ren knew that just looking at his mentor's body. Something large had used Thorian as a punching bag, and the shape of his chest and back was not the proper shape a person's body should have. It looked lumpy, like dough kneaded by a child. And blood continued to flow out of Thorian's mouth and nose. It was dark blood, and Ren thought he could smell excrement in it. Thorian's guts were open inside him, and that meant he wasn't long for this world.

"Take my staff. Go to the Bomen once we have returned the Red Moon. And please, promise you won't look for vengeance. This creature, this evil, is too strong for you, son. It is so very strong." Coughs racked Thorian again, and he spit out more blood. It's doubtful he ever heard Ren's response, spoken through tears.

"Then I shall get stronger."

*
The Village

Since the Red Moon's disappearance, Ren had seen horrible things. Thorian's passing, two days of blood and pain. A family of slaughtered farmers, pieces of their bodies covering the floor. Undead openly walking the world. This was not one of those times.

The village had been small, maybe 40 people in all. And they had obviously left voluntarily, maybe retreating to nearby Edinway. The doors were mostly boarded over and everything of value had been taken. Not that any of the new tenants would have use for things of value.

The natural world was retaking the village, but in a way that seemed unbelievable. Several of the boarded doors were open again, and rabbits, squirrels, and other small furry animals had turned this village into their own. Babies ran through the growing grass of the village square. When Ren had arrived, several of the animals had been gathered in a type of semi-circle around a large, older rabbit. It had looked exactly like a town council meeting.

When they saw Ren, though, the chattering stopped and they formed a line between him and the rest of the village. The babies had scattered back to their homes, and for the life of him Ren could not remember a group of animals that looked more like a skirmish line.

If they were protecting their homes from him, as it seemed they were, these were some of the noblest creatures Ren had ever seen. They deserved to be left alone.

Ren bowed low to the line of animals and turned away, leaving them in peace. As he walked, he reflected on how human-like animals could seem at times. If he had turned back, perhaps he would not have missed their bow back.