Thanks Marky poohkins... I am looking forward to playing this character.

Alenka Thatcher

Alenka was born to loving parents she does not remember. She was told that they were traders of some sort that were traveling with the whole family in two large wagons. They had evidently hired three guards, but that was not enough to defend against the bandits that struck. The carnage was discovered hours later by nearby villagers. Alenka, a toddler at the time, was found sleeping where she had wrapped the arms of her dead mother around her. The wagons had been emptied and burned, and Alenka was the only survivor. All she knows of her family was from what those villagers saw when they arrived. They assumed Alenka had been hidden during the attack.

The Thatchers, a young family of the village called Standing Oaks, took her in and named her Alenka, which meant “Lost one.” They treated Alenka very well. She was always loved, and she was a happy child. Her adoptive parents were Gerald and Saliana, and she had 2 sisters and 3 brothers.

This village was deeply religious, and they isolated themselves as much as possible from the rest of the world. They did not trust strangers, and they felt that living apart from others would ensure their safety and way of life. Alenka, when she was old enough to understand, was told about her true parents. She then came to realize that there was another difference between herself and the true blood children of Standing Oaks. They would all be expected to remain in the village. She would be given a choice.

She was a sweet girl who loved the people here. She did not know where else she would go, but she understood these people were only trying to be fair to her. When she was 17, a dear friend named Bilson asked her to marry him. She happily accepted, but the village elders said she must first decide to stay. She said she wanted nothing more than to stay, but the elders said she could not decide until she had seen what she was giving up. She was invited to go on a trading trip with her uncle Silas and a few others to the city. All the children talked about the wonders of the city, but no one under 25 years old had ever been permitted to go. The village elders feared it would corrupt the youth, but in this case they needed to be sure of her. If she returned and still wanted to stay, she could marry Bilson.

The journey took three days by wagon, and when they arrived Alenka could not believe her eyes. She had never seen so many people. She wanted to talk to everyone since, in her experience, the world was full of kind people. They were waiting at the gates behind several other wagons being searched for contraband when she began speaking to total strangers. Her uncle kept one eye on her, but she seemed to be enjoying herself on a well-lit morning. He did not think there was much cause for concern despite the crowds waiting to get into the city and those hoping to sell at the gates so they did not have to pay tariffs. Alenka eventually spoke to an old man who hobbled on a cane. After discussing the whether and why they were both there, the man asked if he she wouldn’t mind carrying a small package for him. It was a present for his wife, and he wanted it to be a surprise. He could meet her at the inn where she was staying (Teaspoon Inn) that evening. He would be willing to pay her five coppers for the task. She was happy to help and said he didn’t need to pay her. The man told her to hide it in case his wife was watching and not to mention the package to anyone. Needless to say, Alenka thought this was a wonderful game. Had it not been for the fact that the weather warmed up quite a bit before they got their turn at the gate and she took off her blue cloak, she may indeed have won the game. Instead, the guards spotted the bulge on her back.

Her uncle tried, but could do nothing. She didn’t even know what was happening and continually shouted it was a mistake. She tried to explain the man, but no other witnesses remembered seeing him. She was convicted of smuggling potions and sentenced to three years of hard labor. Fortunately for her, hard labor for women was much kinder than hard labor for men. Her sentence could have been as high as 25 years.

She counted the days, the many days, until her release. Most of her labor involved scrubbing floors, but it was typically for 12 hours a day. She learned many hard truths about life. Once she began her sentence, she thought everyone was wicked. After a year, she learned most people are wicked, but there are a few wonderful people that became friends. She learned that anything can be stolen, even if everyone is equal. Someone will steal a blanket on a cold night so they will have two and another will have none. She wondered why the elders ever thought she would prefer this.
After three years, she was no longer a naïve, delicate girl. She was a woman, and she set out for home. When she arrived back at Standing Oaks, it caused quite a stir. Everyone came out to see her. But as she thought she would be embraced for enduring such an awful time, they kept their distance. Bilson came out… with his wife Melinda and his their son. A village elder came forward.

“Child, why have you returned?”

“I don’t understand. This is my home. Where else would I go?”

“You are a criminal. This is no home for criminals.”

“I’m not a criminal! I didn’t do it!”

“We worried about your blood when you first came here. We hoped you could resist your base urges found in unclean blood, but you did not. Do not also lie to the only family you have known.”
Silence followed. She understood the decision had been made, probably when Silas returned with the news, and she could not appeal. “But, where will I go? I have nowhere else to be.”

“That is not our problem. As a sinner, your place is not here, and that is all that matters. Still, we are not heartless. The Thatchers not agree with the ruling of the Elders and they think most kindly of you. They could not bear to see this. Because of them, you will be given some coins and a dagger. Then you must depart and never return. Still, it would not be unkind of you to send a message to the Thatchers so they know how you are doing.”

Alenka left Standing Oaks but minutes later. She returned to the city, and she embraced the hard ways of life. She learned how to use her looks to make men do her bidding. She learned to steal. She learned to move without noise and find hidden gold. She surrendered her bright, beautiful dresses and wore black leather pants. She had the looks to do well as a bar maid, but she refused to serve anyone who was not her family. She closed her eyes and could see the little boy of Melinda and Bilson, and she would be happiest making dinner for him. Getting by on looks and darkness was a close second, though.

She was not evil. In fact, most would consider her good. She only took what she needed to get by. She shared with those worse off than herself. Her favorite targets were merchants who were known to have shady dealings. She had no problem letting a man believe more had been offered than it had been. She did not murder, and many children in the streets would run to her for protection.

Are you thinking mostly fighter with some rogue, mostly rogue with some fighter, or an even split?

Mostly caster... because I would be AWESOME!!!

Funny.

Just let me know when you've carefully read every word of every arcane spell in the PHB and Complete Arcane. Until then, here's your metal stick with a pointy end.

Alenka must have been born before the Zhentarim blew up the remaining Two Towers Of Sorcery, and never heard the message "Patrons should never leave bags or horse-drawn carriages unattended and never accept packages from strangers. Castle officials ask that anyone that sees suspicious activity report it to a castle security official."

Thanks for that.

Nice.

I meant to say "after", but hey, I think teh funnay still came across.

So should she be more rogue, sir H, or would she serve the party better with more fightery skills? And will rogues be allowed a d8 or the PHB weak ass d6?

I believe you will be the only rogue (based on the last rumors I heard from Cooley), but a rogue is not necessary. I will be invisible and flying, so for scouting I should have that covered. My suggestion is that you just do what you whichever will make you happy, and if that's mostly fighter then we can bash open doors with a chain instead of picking locks.

As opposed to bashing a door with a rapier?

I have never really played a rogue, so it might be fun to go that way.

I think rogues are fun. Since PAR went wizard, I considered being a pixie rogue instead, but I'm going to stick with sorcerer until I'm killed in the third encounter and have to pick something else.

I would probably do a 50/50 split between the two if it were my character.

"Bashing". Yeah.

Take some levels of rogue and discover how awesome it is to find and disarm traps, and to use finesse to open a door instead of bullying it into submission.

I don't think John uses as many traps as I do. I like to reward someone for being rogue and, well, if I were a bad guy I'd set a lot of traps. I'm sure there will be some, as well as some locked doors.

My two favorite traps... well, there was the one that pissed off the wizard. It was the only trap I had that could affect someone at a long range, and it was the only one you guys decided to set off from a distance instead of disarm. And the wizard went insane.

The other was disintegrating the rogue. A trapped chest with a jewel inside... the jewel was the second trap. That night made quick work of two wishes.

My games normally have plenty of traps, maybe a tad less than yours. It depends what you are doing, of course.

I almost got rid of dungeons completely after that astral construct fiasco.

A split between the two seems like the best mix given the party.

Playing a duelist later might be fun, but I will see how it goes.

96 total so...


Total pts spent =96.

Do these allocations look effective for what I want later down the road?

I think an 18 intelligence is too high. I would be dumber and stronger.

Yes. The high INT is nice for extra skill points for a rogue, but it's not necessary to spend those valuable points getting there. A higher STR would be better. Also, a slightly higher WIS wouldn't hurt, if you want to make Will saves with any regularity.

Skip that part. I plan on having fun with the filthy human.

Errr, forget I said anything. In fact, take your WIS down to a 4 and use those extra points elsewhere.

Rogues will have a d8. I was the one that convinced Zem to go with that

I think an 18 Int is too high given how the stats are charged. 14 or 16 are both good. 15 has a 1/3 chance of becoming a 16.

Skill points are, of course, important. I just think that 18 is excessive unless you REALLY want a smart character.

Thanks guys.

Ok, I looked over the stuff for dualist again. Intelligence bonus for armor is only applied at a plus one per class level, so really I just need the +1 to reap that benefit. I made it a 13 just in case I get that extra point. It will then help Alenka to gain extra skills and such.

Anyway, does that look a bit better?

I'm not quite sure of how the int bonus to AC works. I think it works like this...

You get +1 to AC per duelist level up to a maximum of your intelligence bonus.

I would suggest something more like this. It's up to you, but I wouldn't put Wisdom higher than 12.

I see your point.

Wisdom seems to play on the listen, motive, and spot checks. These are listed as a class skill, so Alenka would get one rank in each and the bonus if it was available.

Meh...

Generally, I guess would suggest these "guidelines" for a rogue/fighter going for duelist...

Strength above 16.
Intelligence 12-16
Wisdom 10-12
Dexterity above 16.
Constitution 12-16
Charisma 10-12



And since they are "guidelines," I assume you'll come up with the perfect stats for a multiclass wizard/priest.

I did not think about the Int to AC.

What Mark says is correct. The old duelist had just Int to AC. So plenty of players would get just like ONE level of duelist, then go cherry pick some other broken shot from another class.

I still think 18 is a bit high.

Yeah, a +1 to AC in 10 levels isn't really worth the hit and damage with every swing.

For now, let us assume that we will use:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/pres ... es/duelist
instead of:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/duelist.htm

The Pathfinder one is weaker in exactly one way: elaborate defense is much weaker. Everytihng else is stronger. How sold were you on Elaborate Defense? I would be ok with the modified Elaborate Defense working with Combat Expertise as well as total defense and fight defensively.

H, I will role with Paizo. If you think elaborate defense should be better... well, I obviously wouldn't argue