Auriana Female Elf Druid (of Mielikki) 11, AL N (good tendencies) Stats: Str 12, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 18 (22), Cha 12, Armor Class 22 (+6 armor, +3 shield, +3 Dex), 81 Hit Points. Saves: Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +15. Attacks: Scimitar +10/+5 (1d6+2 damage, crit 18/x2) or Composite Longbow +14/+9 (1d8+3 damage and 1d6 electrical damage, crit 20/x3, +2d10 electrical damage on crit). Skills (ranks/bonus): Concentration 14/+15, Craft (bowmaking) 8/+10, Diplomacy 4/+5, Listen 10/+18, Handle Animal 9/+10, Knowledge (nature) 5/+11, Ride 5/+10, Spellcraft 1/+2, Survival 14/+22 (+24 in aboveground natural environments), Spot 10/+18, Swim 4/+1. Languages: Common, Elven, Sylvan, Orc, Druidic. Feats: Natural Spell, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Track. Move: 40". Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet Racial Abilities: Immune to magic sleep effects; +2 racial bonus versus enchantment spells and effects; Low-Light Vision; Weapon Proficiency (longsword, rapier, longbow, shortbow); +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot; automatic Search for secret or concealed doors within 5'. Class Abilities: Animal companion, nature sense, wild empathy (+14), woodland stride, trackless step, resist nature's lure, wild shape (4/day, Large and Tiny), venom immunity. Spells (6/7/6/5/4/3/2): 0 - create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, detect poison, know direction, purify food and drink; 1st - cure light wounds, entangle, faerie fire, goodberry, obscuring mist, regenerate light wounds*, speak with animals; 2nd - barkskin, briar web*, cat's grace, resist energy, restoration (lesser), warp wood; 3rd - call lightning, magic fang (greater) x2, plant growth, regenerate ring*; 4th - air walk, cure serious wounds, flame strike, ice storm; 5th - animal growth, call lightning storm, commune with nature; 6th - cure light wounds (mass), transport via plants. Equipment: +1 scimitar, +1 large darkwood shield, +1 shocking burst composite longbow (+1 Str bonus), +1 wild* elven chain, +2 collar of resistance*, periapt of wisdom (+4) with wilding clasp*, boots of striding and springing, bracers of archery (greater), quiver of Mielikki (as quiver of Ehlonna), wand of cure moderate wounds (25 charges), 60 masterwork arrows. * from Masters of the Wild Wild Shape (11 HD Dire Wolf): Large Animal; HD 11d8+33; hp 103; Init +2; Spd 50 ft.; AC 20 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural, +6 armor); Atk Bite +15/+10 (1d8+10); Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.; SA Trip (+11 check modifier); SQ Low-light vision; SV Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +11; Str 25, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 18 (22), Cha 14. Skills and Feats as per normal form, except for the following: Concentration +17, Swim +8. Animal Companion: "Luthar'n"; Large Animal (Dire Wolf); HD 8d8+24; hp 60; Init +3; Spd 50 ft.; AC 17 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +5 natural); Atk Bite +15/+10 melee (1d8+12); Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.; SA Trip (+12 check modifier), SQ Low-light vision, Scent, Link, Share Spells, Evasion; AL N; SV Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +6; Str 26, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10; Skills - Hide +1, Listen +9, Move Silently +4, Spot +7, Survival +2 (+6 when tracking by scent); Feats - Alertness, Run, Track, Weapon Focus (bite); Tricks (8) - Attack, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, Stay, utilize air walk. Trained as a combat mount. Character Background: You grew up in the High Forest, in the elven tree-city of Nordahaeril. With the long lifespan of an elf, your childhood was more of a continuous process of growth and learning, spaced out over nearly a century. From your earliest days, you loved animals, and spent much of your time playing with the birds and the squirrels that would reside next to the treehouse you called home. It was believed from your earliest days that you would eventually become a druid or a ranger. Both your mother and your sister were very involved in your upbringing. Marisiena would sit down with you and explain everything that you found while playing...the leaf from the oak tree, the shiny rock from the nearby river, and thorn that stuck in your finger were all explained, as she tended to your various scrapes and bruises. Parianna would play hide and seek with you, taught you how to pet a rabbit without scaring it off, and was there when you needed to talk about your problems. You also had a childhood companion who was a distant relation, named Gyril. He was fun to be around at first, but he began to play pranks on you as he got older. He would jump out from behind a tree when you were standing next to a stream, scaring you and causing you to fall in and get wet. Or he would spook an deer you were about to pet, and the animal would knock you into a pile of leaves as it rushed off. Furthermore, as you came home after these incidents, soaked, covered in leaves, or worse, your parents would dismiss Gyril's actions as the impetuousness of youth, and suggest that you be more careful. Of course, when you tried to get him back for these things, you were seen as being petty, and should know better. You were happy during your youth, despite Gyril's pranks. But you felt something was missing. Nature could be cruel as well as kind, and you felt as if you were being sheltered from its harmful aspects. Even the druids of Nordahaeril didn't speak about such things often. You felt this was wrong...without knowing all of nature's aspects, how could you be expected to truly know nature? You kept these thoughts to yourself, sensing that your mother and sister would not truly understand. Then, a half-elf came to Nordahaeril. You saw pity in the eyes of your fellow elves, as they looked upon him. When you asked your mother about it, she said that a mixed heritage is inevitably tragic: "One of the parents dies long before the other, and the child is torn between the impulsive haste of his human side, and the patient wisdom of his elven nature. Thus, we look upon half-elves as an elf cursed with a shorter lifespan and a human's faults." You didn't see anything wrong with the half-elf. He looked youthful, with only a single streak of white in his hair hinting at his true age. His name was Pelathor, but he preferred to be called Pel. You quickly found out he was a druid, and found he was much more willing to talk about all aspects of nature, including the darker ones: "Nature is about survival...it is the natural order of things. Just as people will sometimes do terrible, unspeakable things in order to cling to life, so will animals eat a fallen packmate if food is scarce, or a weed will slowly strangle the life from the plant it is wrapped around." Pel planned to leave the next day, but your questions intrigued him. He stayed for nearly a month, and when he prepared to leave, you asked to go with him. He went to speak with your parents, and they eventually agreed to apprentice you to him. The next morning, you left Nordaharel, and knew that your home was now the world, and not just a single house built on a single tree in the forest. Despite being a half-elf, Pel taught in the elven fashion. His lessons were spread out over a long period of time, and he could suddenly return to a question from a month ago and ask something in relation to it. His lessions also involved a good bit of philosophy: "What does it mean to be one with nature? Man, for example, is part of nature. Is it then wrong for us to stop him when he cuts down a tree for firewood? I look upon our role as shepherds, watching for signs of excess, and doing our best to bring things into balance. Cutting down a tree isn't necessarily wrong - cutting down an entire forest would definately upset the balance of things." "You may find it difficult to judge what to do when you see a possible threat against nature. Be assurred that unnatural creatures are always a violation of nature's way. The owlbears that resulted from magical experiments are an aberration that you should feel free to silence. Undead are also such an aberration. Still, you will have to trust your judgement, and realize that you are capable of making mistakes - nothing in nature is perfect. Also remember this - as a druid's real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do...." You and Pel travelled extensively. You have tread through more of the High Forest than most elves ever do, seeing such wonders as The Sisters and Unicorn Run. You have wandered the dark depths of the Moonwoods, treading through areas that have not seen human or elf in years. You even spent a year on the High Moor, as Pel felt you should see more of nature than just woodlands. You stayed for a while in the tree homes of Tall Trees, a monument to the druidic art. When orcs attacked on one occasion, you were amazed when their flasks of oil refused to light the woods on fire, and the druids calmly disposed of the orcs with swarms of bees, columns of fire brought down from the sky, and even calling forth a treant to chase down the survivors. As your apprenticeship neared its end, Pel took you to Zelbross. It was the first time you had stepped foot in a human settlement - which is precisely why he took you there. "Even this is part of nature, Auriana." He even took an apprentice from one of the human youths in the village, and had you help in his training. The new pupil was named Saloth, and he had all the impatience that the humans are known for. You quickly learned that humans have trouble picking up a lesson from a month ago...they are too focused on the here and now. Still, Saloth was a quick study, once you adapted to his style of learning. You knew your apprenticeship was about over, but you wanted to stay with Pel. There was no reason to go out on your own, when you knew that what he had taught was but a fraction of his total knowledge. His mastery of the druidic teachings could take an elven lifetime to learn...and he wouldn't live that long. As you pondered this, you heard a noise nearby, like that of a human untrained in woodlore running through the forest... Recent History: After the battle of Woodhill, Auriana withdrew from civilization to watch over the Southwood. For the most part, she stays away from others, and her only companion is the dire wolf Luthar'n. © 2003 Casey McGirt Home