Kalaton, Half elf swordsman

[leons1701]

Kalaton: Half-Elf Swordsman

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Kalaton Ancestry: Human Heritage: Half-Elf Background: Warrior Class: Rogue Level: 1 XP: 0/1000 Age: 30 Gender: Male Height: 5' 10” Weight: 200 lbs. Eyes: Dark Brown Skin: Lightly tanned Hair: Very Dark Brown Alignment: CG Faith:

Abilities Ability | Modifier STR: 18 | +4 DEX: 14 | +2 CON: 14 | +2 INT: 10 | +3 WIS: 12 | +2 CHA: 10 | +0 Hit Points: 18 Hit Dice: d8 Armor Class: 18 Size: Medium Speed: 30 ft Senses: low-light vision Perception: +6 Fort Save: +5 Ref Save: +7 Will Save: +6

Artist: unknown

 

 

"The sword isn't the solution to every problem, but it does a pretty good job on the problems made by men with swords."

 

"I'm not one of your fancy duelists. I don't care about perfect technique or an honorable and fair fight. If I draw my blade, it's cause someone or something needs to be dead and I intend to make it happen any way I can."

 

Appearance

Slightly taller than average and well muscled without being bulky, Kalaton is the sort who tends to capture attention without even trying. It doesn't hurt that he is generally considered handsome, at least by most humans. Too bad he doesn't care at all about that. At the fancy party, he's the guy still dressed for crawling about the woods standing over there in the corner trying to figure out how soon he can leave without being too offensive. Not that he really minds being offensive, he'd just rather save it for when he finds it necessary. He does much better with small groups, but even then, eventually you'll get the feeling he'd rather be someplace else.

 

His gear is well cared for but also clearly worn, it's doubtful he was the first owner of anything down to his boots. Even his prized curveblade has clearly been well used, though the blade is a pristine testament to the skill of the smith that forged it, the long hilt is worn and stained with sweat. The overall look is that of a somewhat down on his luck warrior, a fair enough assessment.

 

 

Personality

Kalaton has learned things the hard way all his life, and its definitely left a mark or two. He is slow to fully trust people, though he's quite good at working with them anyhow with only a few hints what he might actually think of them. No sense in setting them off prematurely after all and even less in annoying someone who might actually BE trustworthy. It helps that his general demeanor is calm, cool and controlled, if no one expects a strong response from you, it's much less obvious when you're nearly strangling yourself to avoid saying something that would start a fight.

Kalaton has no use for the sort of swaggering fools that like to start fights. For him, fighting is something done for a serious reason and only when that reason is truly worth killing or at least seriously maiming for. Defending oneself or others is the primary reason he'd accept, slurs to one's nebulous honor is possibly the worst reason short of a desire to take things by force or simply reveling in slaughter. He doesn't brawl and has little respect for those that do.

Though city born and raised, Kalaton actually prefers life in the wilds or at least, on the road. It's not that he hates cities or anything like that, it's just that there are a lot less people to deal with outside city walls (and their interactions are usually much more direct, without nearly as much chance of hidden intent).

 

Background

Kalaton was born and raised in New Stetven. He remembers little of his family, he never knew his father and remembers his mother only as a hard working menial of some sort and then an increasingly sickly woman that died when he was about six or so. There are of course, institutions that are supposed to care for such children, but they are far from perfect and Kalaton ended up living on the streets (and hardly alone as such). During the years he spent surviving day to day, he learned a number of things one might not expect from a swordsman, skills he has kept practiced because one never knows for certain what one might need someday. The less said about life on the streets, the better. Kalaton had plenty of opportunity to observe the worst sort of swaggering bullyboys and even worse predators.

He would likely have grown up on the streets to be just another two-bit rogue if he hadn't tried to pick the wrong pocket one day. A certain wandering champion of Cayden Cailean named Alamandor, a half elf himself, he saw something in the scrawny teenage street rat that spoke to him and a deal was made. The next years were some of the hardest and yet happiest of Kalaton's life, learning to handle himself in a fight and the philosophy and practice of avoiding them when they weren't necessary. Finally having adequate food, he grew surprisingly sturdy, enough that he began to wonder if the training he was getting was the style he was best suited for. How that might have worked out, he never did discover, because his association with Alamador came to a shocking end when the champion was manipulated and trapped into a duel with a particularly ambitious Hellknight. Kalaton still carries a grudge against all Hellknights to this day, and also a good bit of fear.

With no mentor, Kalaton could have drifted back to the streets, but instead he sought out a group of mercenary guards providing protection for travelers in the River Kingdoms and other dangerous spots. It was here that he refined his fighting style into the deceptive blend of raw power and precision that he now favors. It was also here, very recently in fact, that he encountered the minions of the Stag Lord. It did not go well. He was able to escape with his life and most of his gear, but that was all. Hearing about a new expedition to bring peace (and less fortunately, probably law and order) to the Riverlands, he was quick to volunteer his services. He needs the money, and even more, he needs a bit of justice. Some might even call it revenge.

[leons1701]

Link to Pathbuilder.

 

Plan is Mauler Archetype (and eventually some Scout and Swashbuckler) to keep the theme of powerful attacks (including Knockdown and even mass knockdown) that also happen to be painfully precise. He does have at least some traditional Rogue skills, mostly Stealth and Thievery.

[saithor]

@leons1701 Everything seems to be in order except one thing, you only have Trained in ten skills when it should be eleven. 8 Class+ 2 Background+ 1 Racket. Please add Trained proficiency to a skill and I will mark you as done.

[leons1701]

Took me a minute, I knew I'd pulled all the skills from Pathbuilder. Ruffian racket doesn't get a skill, instead it gets proficiency with medium armor.

[saithor]

48 minutes ago, leons1701 said:

Took me a minute, I knew I'd pulled all the skills from Pathbuilder. Ruffian racket doesn't get a skill, instead it gets proficiency with medium armor.

You do get a Skill, you get Trained in Intimidation, which if you already have Trained you can choose a new skill to have Trained

[leons1701]

Dang, that's correct. I knew I'd seen that somewhere and AoN confirms but weirdly Pathbuilder doesn't actually add the skill correctly. (Also, I could have sworn when I read it earlier tonight, it did not list the Intimidate skill, but it is there. I may be going even crazier than I already was. Yikes) Anyhow, adding Society, he might not handle large groups well, but he does understand people, more or less.