The Top of the Mountain

twen5 · 12:15pm

Name: Jolton Steamsteel
Race: Firesoul Genasi
Class: Assault Swordmage

Getting To Know Him
Jolton is overall an nice guy, always quick with a joke and to lend a hand, and he is liked by many within the Mackalla guild. When he is on duty though Jolton is all business; he doesn't take any crap from anyone, if someone puts up a fight he brings it to them full force. He tries his best to be the leading figure on his patrols through the guild's territory as he just received his title as patrol sergeant. He is very smart but doesn't always think things totally through, much to the frustration of Twain. Jolton isn't ruled by the official laws of Shareava, instead he follows the orders given to him by his superiors in the chapter house and he follows Twain faithfully. However he also realizes that he must be careful when his own views mix with the official laws of the city. Living on the street has caused Jolton to create his own morale system, which some may see as crude but others, who look deeper, know it is a fueled by a noble survival view on life; he will never turn on his friends, never strike an unarmed woman or child, and he takes pity on those who are forced into the streets. With that said he despises those who are able-bodied but choose to remain beggars instead of finding a job.

His Likes
Jolton loves being a guard and servant for guild Mackalla, especially when Keria is carrying out her studies and he is on duty. He likes to spar with friends, and he is always up for a game of chess or backgammon. He doesn't mind patrolling the streets of Mackalla's territory, always ready to put the squeeze on someone or to get in a quick fight with the scum on the lower parts of Shareava. Always ready to hit a tavern or inn Jolton welcomes a night of drinking, but to the confusion of his friends he never goes after the girls within those establishments.

His Dislikes
What Jolton hates above everything else is people who have the ability to care for themselves, but become beggars or drunks just because its easier. He also dislikes people who feel higher than others out of birthright, if people want respect from him they have to earn it.

Goals
Right now Jolton wants to become the Master of Defense for the house, but only when he has earned the position properly and when Twain has retired. However due to his survival over tradition outlook on life, if a better paying job comes along he will most likely take it.

Living Without a House
Jolton's parents were a traveling couple, never wanting to stay in one area for too long. They would trade and provide services to earn their keep, then pick up and move onto the next settlement. When they reached Shareava, Jolton's mother quickly died from a flu like disease and not soon after while still looking after his young son Jolton's father turned to the drink. They settled in a small hole in the wall within Dura with his father earning just enough money to sometimes feed them and always for him to drink himself to sleep. Many nights he would stumble in, waking Jolton, and displayed marks of fighting. One night his father never came home and Jolton was orphaned near his tenth birthday, but he learned quickly how to survive on the street by stealing and pick pocketing. He met up and ran with a young gang of street ruffians, mugging, and claiming their territory on the streets. Their leader was a big half-orc named Heltreg, who always carried a club with a nail through it, and proclaimed that he killed a guild soldier to get it. No one believed him though, all knowing that he made it himself. Jolton had a hard time becoming part of the gang due to his genasi heritage with some of the other children picking fights with him simply because he was different. He did win most of those fights, however and earned the respect or at least scared others into leaving him alone. His flaming figure also gave him a few other perks; when mugging or fighting his flames gave him the edge of 'shock and awe' that allowed him to bring in a bigger haul or scare off people without even throwing a punch. One week Heltreg caught wind of a small caravan that would be going through their territory at night. Just a couple of wizards and guards he said, no big deal real quick. Joltton wasn't sure about this, attacking a guild that was fairly risky, but he still went along with it knowing the haul would be big. A few nights later they all took their positions at the narrow exit of a square and waited patiently. Jolton saw the wagon as it came through the closed market and focused on where the guards and the best goods were. Then he noticed what the goods were; in each wagon there were three children, all asleep completely unaware of what was about to happen. He saw his fellow thugs getting ready uncaring of what the cargo actually was. He jumped out waving his hands and yelling warnings seconds before the attack started. As it turned out seconds were all the guards needed as they took up their positions and began to push the street boys back. Jolton stood there unmoving as he saw his friends get punished for their failed attack. Then his head exploded in pain, and through his starry vision he saw Heltreg standing over him, club over head nail pointed down, screaming of betrayal. As the weapon came down it was parried away and a foot shot out catching the half-orc in the chest, which sent the half-orc tumbling away. The next thing Jolton knew he was on one of the wagons seeing Heltreg's sneering visage from a shadowed corner before he passed out completely.

To Become Mackalla
He woke up in a soft bed with one of the wagon guards sitting next to him. The guard introduced himself as Twain, Master of Defense for the Mackalla guild. When asked where he was and why Twain explained that he was in Twain's quarters of the chapter house, that what he did was incredibly brave, and that Twain could not leave him out with those whom Jolton had just betrayed. Twain then told Jolton that he needed to make a choice either to join Mackalla and train to become a soldier or go back to the street. Jolton quickly agreed to the training knowing that Heltreg was out there looking for him. The genasi also learned the children belonged to some of the upper members of the guild and that he now held the favor of those members, no small thing. Over the next few years Twain took Jolton under his wing, teaching the proper ways of the sword and basic tactics when it came to group fighting; how to lead soldiers, take advantage of openings in enemy defenses, and how to plan in advance. Jolton proved to be both strong in body and mind, picking up techniques quickly and coming up with interesting stratagems to deal with various scenarios. He was also taught how to get information from the street and the basics of interrogation. Once he gained the status of soldier, he was immediately assigned to the magical wing of the guild house, due to the tenants wanting to study him because of his racial heritage. They preformed minor tests on him mostly with what his lines were and how they affected him.

Life in Mackalla
The masters of the house were friendly to him and always made sure his needs were met; never was he hungry, wore unkept clothes, or his gear in disrepair. In Jolton's opinion, however, the best part in guarding the house was Keria, a young half-elf wizard, daughter to Erevan head spell caster of the chapter. Keria was always so beautiful in his eyes, never a hair out of place, kind and gentle to everyone she met, and she always had smile on her face, such a beautiful smile. She would call on him to check her binding circles or to see if her pronunciation was correct on certain words, which he always found strange since she was more knowledgeable than him in such matters. One day she asked him to examine a certain tome she was reading and after he finished studying it, he looked up to see her biting her lip with a strange look in her eye. She quickly ran away leaving her tome and a confused Jolton standing there. Two nights later, while pulling a midnight shift, Jolton heard a scream come from Keria's quarters and he burst in sword drawn, only to find her standing there. He slowly closed the door behind him and she embraced him in a kiss. Soon after Jolton was sent out to patrol Mackalla's territory within the city; making sure certain people pay their dues, protecting certain taverns and inns, or just asking around for rumors about the house. A couple times Jolton has had to rough people up due to their 'behaviour' or because they showed disrespect to the house. He still has guard duty within the house, in which he gets to see Keria, and the spell casters still perform experiments on him but he seems to like most of them.

Boredpirate · 9:31pm

This looks cool! I've been meaning to get back into 4e.

I'll have a character written up soon.

I've got a concept I've always wanted to try that would be perfect for this campaign.

Little_Rudo · 8:13am

Application Status: Complete!

Name: Gwendolyn Wendell

Race: Half-Elf
Class: Druid (Protector, Circle of Renewal)

The Wind Whisperer. The Weather Witch. Blessed by Melora. Gwendolyn Wendell goes by many names. The daughter of a musically-gifted elven priest of Sehanine and his human paramour, Gwen was born and raised in the Hale Valley, where her grandparents and numerous other families tend the farms that ship their produce throughout the land. As a girl she always heard voices, never knowing what they said until she climbed the Wyvern Mountain and heard the wind spirits gift her with their power. After years of aiding the farmers in Hale Valley with her talents, Gwen has heard the wind spirits calling her back to the mountain, and follows them, letting the wind guide her feet.

A young maiden, Gwen is short and petite, her elven blood giving her a slimmer build, wider eyes and tapered ears compared to her human peers. She normally wears thick wool skirts and dresses, tunics, and a number of scarves to help protect her from the wind. She also wears a poorly-sewn hat from a wolf's pelt to protect her ears from the cold winds. She always seem to be not entirely there, head cocked as she listens to something beyond the hearing of most people.

The Hale Valley is, quite possibly, the quietest, most mundane place within sight of the Wyvern Mountain. A land of fertile ground, numerous irrigation streams and acres upon acres of farmland, the hardy human-folk of the Hale Valley are notorious for their stone-headed stubbornness and their commitment to hard work and a normal life. This is why, each year, the simple farmers dread the reappearance of Sehanine’s Monsters. These are no real monsters, like the stories, but simply a band of elven troubadours, bards, and holy men, worshiping their moon goddess by way of wearing disguises and weaving stories, songs and dances in her honor across the land. Every year they come to the Hale Valley, and every year the adolescents and more weak-spirited adults join them for three days of traipsing about and merry-making. When Esther Wendell’s daughter Alita, a normally quiet and well-behaved girl of sixteen years, slipped away from her chores to celebrate with the elves, her parents thought little of it besides the typical teenage disregard of their elders. When three days passed, the Monsters moved on to the next valley and their daughter was still missing, they finally became concerned. Her friends said she drank and dance with them for a day, then the following morning they saw her in the arms of Bandolier, a roguishly handsome elven man who had a reputation for wooing the human women they met in their journeys. The Wendells cursed their luck and considered their daughter lost to them, but by the grace of the gods, she returned after the harvest… with sore feet, a hundred stories to excitedly tell her slightly ashamed peers, and a stomach heavy with Bandolier’s child. She only returned to bear the child and return to the road with her ‘one true love’, and indeed, when Sehanine’s Monsters came and left, she was gone, leaving Gwendolyn in the care of her grandparents.

Little Gwendolyn was an odd child among the normal Hale Valley children. It wasn’t merely her heritage, which granted her a slighter build, tapered ears and wider eyes. After all, many families in Hale Valley have elven blood somewhere along their family tree, not to mention the Tiefling family that runs the windmill and the odd half-giant soul who always helps till the fields. She was quiet and polite and well-behaved, but she never seemed entirely there. She’d often find a place to sit, on top of the house or on the barn or in some blasted tree, and just sit there. Esther suspected she might be slow, but when she asked, Gwen always said she was listening. To what? She could never say. But whatever it was enraptured her wholly, enough that she listed her way through chores and barely played with her fields. Even when Sehanine’s Monsters returned and she could see her parents for their three days a year, she shied away from the loud music and the cavorting, enough so that Bandolier came to consider her one of his least favorite of the many seeds he’s sown across the valleys. Gwen paid it no mind, though, and continued to listen, desperately wanting to hear whatever it was she couldn’t hear.

When she was older, now a maiden instead of a girl, she finally heard. One year, when her grandparents reminded her she was nearly a woman and it would be time to take a husband and settle down, she decided she had to know. Packing her bags, Gwen made sure to bid her grandparents farewell, remembering the stories of how her mother frightened them, then began her journey. Even though Hale Valley is quiet, she couldn’t hear the thing she couldn’t hear because there were too many people, too much noise. She had to get away from people to hear. So she traveled for many, many days, aiming for a tall mountain in the distance: Wyvern Mountain. Her grandmother told her stories and fables of the place, that it was magic, that dragons and wyverns and all manner of magic beast lay within. While that sort of magic, the loud and explosive kind, isn’t real, she’s well aware there are kinds that are. Spirits and gods and the like. If the mountain held so many creatures of fake magic, perhaps it held creatures of real magic as well, ones that could teach her. She followed caravans and traders and a ferry, and at one point even crossed paths with Sehanine’s Monsters again, allowing herself to regale with her parents for the night before they parted ways, both of them wishing her well on her journey. She barely stopped in the many villages and cities at the base of the mountain before she climbed, beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset on some cliff not even half the distance up. She slept the night, a fire keeping her warm and scaring away anything that might bother her, and that morning, she crossed her legs, closed her eyes, listened… and finally heard.

Here, on Wyvern Mountain, the winds could finally tell her what they’ve been trying to say… though, to Gwen’s surprise, it wasn’t an order or a request or even a plea. It was merely an expression, an explanation, a display of the world. One wind told her that far below, fires were being to light, charcoal darkening the air as the smell of warm bread wafts upward. Three turns around the mountain, a light spring rain was falling, each droplet creating a single beat in a great musical score that would rival even that of her father. Further still, a lazy adventurer’s campfire had spilled over, spreading a grease fire; it tore through Gwendolyn’s hear, feeling every little life snuffed out recklessly, the angry fires ravaging the air in a way completely unlike the small cooking fires of the villages. She fled, and soon found herself in a storm, the heavy rain revitalizing the spirits. She felt a charge in the air, one that made her toes curl and heart sing, winding and winding, until finally – CRAKOW! The lightning lances, a release of power that made her giddy and exhausted. She was like that all day, her conscious mind drifting from one wind to the next, hearing and seeing and feeling all there was to hear and see and feel. And that night, as her body fell asleep, she felt truly connected to the natural world, in a way she had been striving for her entire life.

Though she was sad to leave the mountain she had journeyed so far to find, as Wyvern Mountain shrank behind her, she found herself more and more glad to return home. Although she’s far away from the Mountain, she can still hear the wind; it’s a part of her now, driving her, always at her back, guiding her every step. Her grandparents were elated to see her return, Esther throwing her arms around her grand-daughter and threatening to never let her go. Instead of returning to her chores, she instead tried something new: She closed her eyes, and let her mind drift on the wind again. She could inherently tell by the way it moved and flowed how the weather would fare: The sun would be warm for most of the day, but a late rain would come. She warned the other farmers, who finished their chores in the fields early and prepared the ground to better hold the evening’s waters. As she watched the fields drink in and retain the rainwater, she felt a surge of pride. This is why the winds called to her. She could help Hale Valley, help the farmers use nature to help their fields, and in turn their people.

Over the next few years, Gwendolyn became a vital part of the farming operations of the Hale Valley. She researched every bit of lore about farming that she could, how to cycle crops to keep the soil vital and how to use bushes, thorns and unobtrusive structures to keep wild animals away from the land. She traveled when she could, meeting with hermits, sages and other learned men in the nearest cities, where she studied natural lore. And when she could, she went out into the wilderness, never as far as Wyvern Mountains, but to the hills surrounding the valley, where she could hear the wind best. It taught her many things, to call the wind and lightning to her aid, summon plants beneath her feet, and even commune with animals. The last skill brought Gwen some discomfort: Esther served a beef stew that night, and after speaking with the animals, the idea of eating their meat turned her stomach. She filled herself on tubers and greens that night, and has since, not eating the meat or milk or ovum of any living creature, if she can avoid doing so.

Lately, though, the winds have begun to trouble her. She has always heard the winds from the Wyvern Mountain as one of the loudest, but whereas once it was one loud whisper of any, now it seems to call to her, overpowering the other winds. It has made it harder to read the weather, to her village’s detriment, as they have come to rely on her predictions. Finally, she can ignore it no more. Something is happening at Wyvern Mountain, and the spirits will have her there to bear witness. Either something has wreaked havoc on the natural order or she must come to learn, but either way, she must come. Once again she bid her family and her village farewell, this time borrowing an old and weary but still mountable horse from her grandfather. If the winds call for her, speed is of the essence, after all. As she nears the mountain, she readies herself for whatever adventures might lie ahead…

Gwendolyn sits across the fire from the stranger. Though the day’s travel has left her tired, when the stranger asks if he might asks her some questions, the young druid nods obligingly. Her grandparents had raised her to be polite, after all. “Ask whatever you like.” She offers with a smile.

1. Why are you an adventurer?

Gwen’s smile grows at this question, as though she were thinking of a private joke. “Oh. I wouldn’t call myself an adventurer.” She quickly clarifies, glancing around at the others who were sharing this camp site. They were arguing over who would take the first watch. Someone had just made an unkind implication about someone else’s mother and a boar. “Adventurers are… they are more capable than I am in their own ways. They slay animals with steel and chop down vegetation in caves and never have any care for the land they leave behind…” Though she continues to smile, it’s a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I am no adventurer. But I go where the winds take me. The spirits bring me where I need to be to carry out their will, and if I happen to be in the company of adventurers as I do so, then so be it.”

2. You have the choice of saving an innocent girl or killing the wizard that holds her captive. Choosing to save the girl ensures the wizard escapes, leaving no trail for you to track. Choosing to kill the wizard ensures the death of the girl. Which do you do and why?

Even her fake smile falls now as Gwen stares at the stranger across the fire. “…that is a dark imagination you have, friend.” She warns, but she doesn’t seem to shy away as she ponders for a time. “I think… I am hesitant to take the life of any being with a spirit. Even an evil being. Evil is often little more than an inconvenience, after all… wolves are not evil just for following their instincts, but if they kill a shepherd’s flock, they are branded as evil.” She muses. “I admit, I have no love for wizards, though. If it came to it, I would have to kill the wizard. This girl deserves to die no less than the other innocent girls he will kill again. All I can do is hope her spirit finds peace knowing that the evil has ended with her.” She decides, though appears unsettled by the question. She will think on it more tomorrow.

3. How do you like your eggs cooked and why?

“…just what are you asking me, stranger?” Gwen asks quietly, raising an eyebrow. But before the stranger can clarify, she continues. “I do not eat living beings. Birds or beasts or fish, I cannot stand to eat their flesh, or milk, or ovum. I bear no ill will to those who do, but it is not for me.” She explains, seeming to loosen up with the less somber discussion. “…but, if times were hard and I had to, I suppose I would boil the egg. It seems the most humane to any creature that might be growing inside, doesn’t it? Better to end one’s life in a warm bath than a hard smash.”

4. If you were a king/queen, what would be your first edict?

Gwen’s laugh is a little too harsh at this question, and she quickly quiets down when a pair of mercenaries looks at her askew. “…forgive me. Have you ever met the King or Queen? I imagine you haven’t, but you’ve dedicated a lot of time and effort into knowing who they are, who they once were, their customs, their laws, their edicts… if we spent even half that time loving our families or listening to the natural world, we could be far more at peace. My first edict as queen would be to abolish the monarchy, and let us all live our lives. If you must have a second edict, it would be to tell me how I might help you instead of how you can follow my every word.” After a few moments of awkward silence, she quietly adds, “…I do not think I’d make a very good queen.”

5. What is your one regret in life?

Gwen shakes her head, bemused. She should have expected the stranger to shift from something somber to amusing to somber again. “I sometimes wonder… have I been following the spirits as much as I should be?” She asks, understanding why the stranger might find that answer strange. The woman seems to be nothing but a druidic worshipper of the wind spirits, having already spoken of them so much. “After I first heard the spirits, I could have traveled the world, listened to a hundred different winds and learned a thousand different things. But what do I do? I return to a tiny farmstead in a valley and help ensure the crops are the best they can be and the land is well-maintained. It is important work, but… what if I was meant for more? What if I was turning a deaf ear to the spirits when they called to me before this?” She asks quietly, now staring into the fire.

“…and what if I’m not ready to do what they ask of me now?”

Gwendolyn Wendell, Half-Elf Druid (Protector)
Init +3 HP 38/38 Bloodied 19 Healing Surge 9 (0 used /10)
AC 18 Fort 15 Reflex 15 Will 17 Speed 6
Str 10 (0) Con 16 (+3) Dex 14 (+2) Int 10 (0) Wis 19 (+4) Cha 8 (-1)

Chill Wind
A howling gust of icy wind savages Gwendolyn's enemies, scattering them.
At-Will * Cold, Implement, Primal
Standard Action, Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: Each creature in the burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 cold damage, and Gwen slides the target 1 square
Level 21: 2d6 cold damage.

Chill Wind,

Storm Spike
A bolt of lightning spears Gwendolyn's foe and charges the air around it. If her enemy doesn't move away, a second spark will erupt around it.
[b]At-Will * Implement, Lightning, Primal
Standard Action, Ranged[b] 10
Target: One creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + Wisdom modifier lightning damage. If the target doesn't move at least 2 squares on its next turn, it takes lightning damage equal to Gwen's Wisdom modifier.
Level 21: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier damage.

Storm Spike,

Gust of Wind
A blast of air buffets nearby enemies, hurtling them backwards as it drives them to the ground.
Encounter * Implement, Primal
Standard Action, Close blast 3
Target: Each creature in the blast
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + Wisdom modifier damage, and Gwen knocks the target prone.
Effect: Gwen pushes the target 2 squares.

Gust of Wind,

Wind Wall
Swirling wind stirs up a wall of dust and debris, tossing Gwendolyn's foes about and deflecting projectiles that pass through it.
Encounter * Implement, Primal, Zone
Standard Action, Area wall 8 within 10 squares
Target: Each enemy in the wall
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
Hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier damage, and Gwen can slide the target 1 square.
Effect: The wall creates a zone that lasts until the end of Gwen's next turn. The zone grants superior cover against ranged attacks made through it that target AC or Reflex.

Wind Wall,

Summon Natural Ally
Gwendolyn calls out to the spirits of the natural world, which send a faithful creature to do her bidding.
Daily * Primal, Summoning
Standard Action, Ranged 5
Effect: Gwen summons a creature associated with her Primal Aspect, Primal Guardian, and of her level or lower. The creature appears in an unoccupied space within range. It is an ally to her and her allies.
The creature lacks actions of its own. Instead, Gwen spends actions to command it mentally, choosing from the actions in the creature's description. She must have line of effect to the creature to command it. When she commands the creature, she and the creature share knowledge but not senses.
When the creature makes a check, Gwen makes it using her game statistics, not including any temporary bonuses or penalties.
The creature lasts until it drops below 1 hit point, at which point Gwen loses a healing surge (or hit points equal to her surge value if she has no surges left). Otherwise, it lasts until she dismisses it as a minor action or until the end of the encounter.

Summon Natural Ally,

Air Spirit
With a flick of Gwendolyn's fingers, the air stirs before her to lift objects with ease.
At-Will * Conjuration, Primal
Minor Action, Ranged 5
Effect: Gwen conjures an air spirit in an unoccupied square within range. The spirit lasts until the end of her next turn or until she uses this power again. When the spirit appears, it can pick up or manipulate an object weighing 20 pounds or less.
As a minor action, Gwen causes the spirit to pick up or manipulate a different object of the specified weight. As a move action, she moves the spirit up to 5 squares. As a free action, she causes the spirit to drop an object it is holding.
As a minor action, Gwen causes the spirit to shed bright light in a 4-square radius. She can extinguish this light as a free action.
Sustain Minor: The spirit persists until the end of Gwen's next turn.

Air Spirit,

Call the Spirits
The greatest of the primal spirits boasts a power that Gwendolyn can only dream of one day gaining access to. However, even the least of the spirits can prove useful in her everyday life.
At-Will * Primal
Standard Action, Close burst 5
Effect: Gwen uses this power to produce one of the following effects.
* Cause one candle, torch, lantern, or campfire in the burst to burn more brightly, increasing the radius of its illumination by 1.
* Open or close a door that is not latched, locked, or stuck.
* Create a light gust of wind that can blow small, unattended objects in the burst that weigh less than 1 pound to any other location in the burst.
* Create sparks from her fingertips that can light one candle, torch, or campfire in the burst.
Special: Nothing Gwen does with this power can deal damage or hinder another creature's actions. This power cannot duplicate the effects of any other power.

Call the Spirits,

Senses of the Wild
Gwendolyn closes her eyes, so that she might sense the upheavals in the balance of nature that otherwise cannot be seen.
At-Will * Primal
Minor Action, Close burst 5
Effect: Gwen uses this power to produce the following effects:
* Automatically detect the presence of a disease or a diseased plant or creature in the burst.
* Detect the presence or absence of a type of mundane plant or animal of her choice in the burst.
* Until the end of the current turn, gain a + 5 power bonus to Perception checks and Insight checks to detect poison or hazards that deal poison damage in the burst.
* Sense the presence of corpses in the burst.

Senses of the Wild,

Knack for Success
Gwendolyn's mere presence is enough to tip the balance of fortune for her and her allies.
Encounter
Minor Action, Close burst 5
Target: Gwen or one ally in the burst.
Effect: Choose one of the following.
* The target makes a saving throw.
* The target shifts up to 2 squares as a free action.
* The target gains a +2 power bonus to his or her next attack roll made before the end of his or her next turn.
* The target gains a +4 power bonus to his or her next skill check made before the end of his or her next turn.

Knack for Success,

Surefooted Stride
Gwendolyn's expert woodcraft allows her to move easily through difficult terrain and use it to her advantage in battle.
Encounter * Primal
Move Action, Personal
Effect: Gwen moves up to her speed, ignoring difficult terrain. Until the end of her next turn, she gains a +2 bonus to AC and Reflex if she is in difficult terrain, and she gains combat advantage against enemies that are in difficult terrain.

Surefooted Stride,

Nature's Growth
Encounter * Primal, Zone
Minor Action, Area burst 1 within 10 squares (burst 2 at 11th level and burst 3 at 21st level)
Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of the encounter. The zone is difficult terrain for all creatures except Gwen. She can dismiss the zone as a minor action.

Nature's Growth,

Warding Wind
Winds howl around Gwendolyn, shielding her from harm and hurling her attacker away.
Encounter * Primal
Immediate Interrupt, Personal
Trigger: Gwen is hit by a melee attack.
Effect: She gains a +2 power bonus to all defenses until the end of her next turn. If the triggering attack misses her, she slides the attacker 2 squares.

Warding Wind,

Staff of Verdant Growth +1
Power * Daily (Free Action): Gwen uses this power when she would use an area power. All creatures (including flying creatures) in the area of the power are slowed until the end of her next turn.

Staff of Verdant Growth +1,

Hide Armor of Adaptable Resistance (Necrotic) +1
Power (Augmentable) * Daily (Immediate Reaction):
Trigger: Gwen takes damage from an attack of a type other than Necrotic.
Effect: Choose one of the damage types dealt by the attack. The armor's resistance changes to match that damage type until the end of the encounter.

Hide Armor of Adaptable Resistance (Necrotic) +1
Notes -
Languages: Common, Elven, Goblinoid
Skills: Heal (+10), Insight (+12),

Wild Sage: +5 feat bonus to Nature knowledge checks and to monster knowledge checks to identify a natural creature.

Nature (+12), Perception (+10)
Racial Features:

Gwen can take feats that have either elf or human as a prerequisite (as well as those specifically for half-elves), as long as she meets any other requirements.

Dual Heritage,

Gwen grants allies within 10 squares of her a +1 racial bonus to Diplomacy checks.

Group Diplomacy
Class Features:

While Gwen is not wearing heavy armor, she can use her Constitution modifier in place of her Dexterity or Intelligence modifier to determine her AC.

Druid Circle - Primal Guardian,

When any ally in Gwen's nature's growth zone or adjacent to it spends a healing surge to regain hit points, he or she regains additional hit points equal to her Constitution modifier.

Druid Circle - Healing Growth
Theme/Background Features:

+2 to Nature

Sage,

Gwen can tell which way is north, and she gains a +5 bonus to any skill check to avoid becoming lost, find her way to a specific location, or spot a distant landmark.

Explorer Starting Feature
Feats:

Prerequisite: Trained in Nature
Benefit: Gwen gains a +5 feat bonus to Nature knowledge checks and to monster knowledge checks to identify natural creatures.
In addition, she has mastered the Portend Weather ritual and can perform it once per day without a ritual book and without expending components.

Wild Sage,

Benefit: Gwen gains a +1 feat bonus to the attack rolls of implement powers and weapon powers that she can use with a staff. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level.
In addition, when she makes a ranged or an area attack with a staff as an implement, she doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for doing so.
When she makes a melee weapon attack with a staff, the weapon's reach for that attack increases by 1.

Staff Expertise
Rituals:

Gwendolyn sees what the weather will be in the near future.

Level: 1
Category: Divination
Time: 5 minutes
Duration: Instantaneous
Component Cost: 10 gp
Key Skill: Nature (no check)

Gwen determines what the weather will be like for the next 24 hours within a 50-mile radius around her. She and any allies present for the ritual gain a +5 bonus to Endurance checks to endure extreme weather she has foreseen.

Wild Sage: Gwen has mastered the Portend Weather ritual and can perform it once per day without a ritual book and without expending components.

Portend Weather,

The lake, tainted by a now-dead demon that laired in its depths, becomes crystal clear and refreshing to drink.

Level: 1
Category: Exploration
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: Instantaneous
Component Cost: 10 gp
Key Skill: Arcana, Nature or Religion

Gwen purifies a volume of water. The amount of water she can purify is determined by the result of her Arcana, Nature, or Religion check.

9 or lower: 1 square
10-19: 2 squares
20-34: 4 squares
35 or higher: 10 squares

Purify Water,

Neither the biting cold nor the searing heat troubles Gwen anymore. She travels in arctic or desert wastes as comfortably as in temperate climates.

Level: 2
Category: Exploration
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 24 hours
Component Cost: 20 gp
Key Skill: Nature (no check)

The Endure Elements ritual lets Gwen designate up to five ritual participants, including herself, who ignore penalties associated with extremes of nonmagical weather.
An affected creature suffers no ill effects from ambient temperatures between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and the creature's equipment is likewise protected from the ravages of these temperatures and of precipitation.

Endure Elements,

Fire leaps and dances at Gwen's command, brightening or dimming.

Level: 3
Category: Exploration
Time: 1 minutes
Duration: 8 hours
Component Cost: 25 gp
Key Skill: Arcana or Nature (no check)

Gwen gains mastery over nonmagical fire. For the ritual's duration, or until she takes an extended rest, she can manipulate nonmagical flames within 10 squares of her as a minor action. She can make a fire that normally provides dim light produce an equal amount of bright light, or she can double the radius of bright light a fire produces. Alternatively, she can diminish a fire's light, reducing its area of bright light to an equal amount of dim light, or reducing its area of dim light to darkness. Reducing a fire's light to produce no light does not extinguish the flame. She can extinguish 1 square of nonmagical fire as a minor action.

Affect Normal Fire,

Level: 3
Category: Exploration
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 3 hours or until discharged
Component Cost: 25 gp
Key Skill: Arcana or Nature (no check)

Gwen whispers a message or sound, of up to 25 words, into the air. A breeze carries that message at a speed of up to 6 miles per hour to a location that she has visited and is on the same plane as her. When the wind arrives, it audibly conveys her message or sound whether or not anyone is present to hear it.

Wind Words
Equipment:

Damage: 1d8+1
Proficient: +3
Critical: +1d6 damage

Staff of Verdant Growth +1,

AC Bonus: +4
Check: -1
Gwen gains resist 5 to Necrotic damage.

Hide Armor of Adaptable Resistance (Necrotic) +1,

+1 Fortitude, Reflex and Will
Property: Gwen gains a +2 item bonus to saving throws against effects with the charm, illusion, or sleep keyword.

Amulet of Mental Resolve +1

Churlish · Aug 24 '12, 5:29am

Nice, really really nice.

Little_Rudo · Aug 24 '12, 5:48am

Thank you kindly.

Glyph · Aug 24 '12, 9:35am

Ah, Little_Rudo! As always your applications are always a notch higher than top-notch! I hope you get in!

Personally, I'm going to be applying with a Sunspray Human Paladin. She's going to have a slight arabian/desert theme about her =P

Harsgault · Aug 24 '12, 4:59pm

It is unfortunate that Gwendolyn will starve to death though. Plants, fungus and algae are living things too.

Harsgault · 6:53am

Name: Kurgan Dunalgul
Race: Goliath
Class: Runepriest

ghataria · 8:11pm

I've just taken the time to look at the game profile and saw that there were already two people approved. Although I know we aren't intended to be statted out yet, can we have some idea as to what role they see their characters filling? I don't think someone would have a fun time making some shadowy assassin type person to find out that there's already been a striker type person accepted.

Although it makes no difference. I'm running a musician. And no one ever runs leaders.

ComicsFan · Aug 24 '12, 8:32pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghataria

I've just taken the time to look at the game profile and saw that there were already two people approved. Although I know we aren't intended to be statted out yet, can we have some idea as to what role they see their characters filling? I don't think someone would have a fun time making some shadowy assassin type person to find out that there's already been a striker type person accepted.

Although it makes no difference. I'm running a musician. And no one ever runs leaders.

Sure. Celtic Guardian 7 and EBursch were in an old game that I was going to run that ended before it began (it was my fault -- I had a loss in the family and was off-grid for awhile). When I ended the game, I told the players they could be in this one if they were interested, and CG7 and EBursch were interested.

Celtic Guardian will be running Elly Lyosha, a Tiefling Warlord. I'm not sure if EBursch is still running Tosun (Deva Swordmage) or not.