(Backstory and role-playing notes follow after game stats and rules notes.)
Male human fighter 6/dragonfire adept 2
CE Medium humanoid (Red dragon dragonblooded)
Init +3 (+3 Dex); Senses Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven
AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19
(+5 armor [elvin chain], +3 Dex, +2 natural [scales], +1 natural [amulet], +1 magic [ring])
hp 67 (6d10+2d8+18 HD)
Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +5; +1 all saves cloak of resistence added; +2 bonus on saving throws against magic sleep, paralysis; +1 bonus against magical fire
Speed 30 ft (6 squares)
Melee mwk spiked chain +12/+7 (2d4+6) or +5/+0 (2d4+18) (+7 BAB, +3 Str, +1 mwk, +1 Wpn Spc) or
Melee mwk greataxe +11/+6 (1d12+4) or +4/+-1 (1d12+16 Pwr Atk) (+7 BAB, +3 Str, +1 mwk) or
Melee dagger +10/+5 (1d4+3) (+7 BAB, +3 Str) or
Melee punch +10/+5 (1d3+3 nonlethal) or +7/+2 (1d3+3 lethal) (+7 BAB, +3 Str) or
Melee spiked gauntlet punch +10/+5 (1d4+3 lethal) (+7 BAB, +3 Str)
Ranged +1 thundering longbow +11 (1d8+2) (+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 magic)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; with spiked chain 10 ft
Base Atk +7 (+6 fighter/+1 dragonfire adept); Grp +10
Atk Options Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Power Attack
Special Actions breath weapon (flame or sicken)
Invocations Known (CL 1st)
Least (at will) – Magic Insight
Combat Gear elven chainmail, spiked gauntlets, mwk spiked chain, mwk greataxe, thundering longbow, quiver 20 arrows, steel dagger, cold iron dagger, silvered dagger, +1 amulet of natural armor, +1 ring of protection, six potions of cure light wounds (heals 1d8+1)
Abilities Str 16 (+3), Dex 16 (+3), Con 15 (+2), Int 14 (+2), Wis 8 (-1), Cha 8 (-1)
Feats Armor Proficiency (light, medium and heavy), Draconic Heritage, Dragontouched, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain), Shield Proficiency, Tower Shield Proficiency, Weapon Focus (spiked chain), Weapon Proficiency (simple and martial weapons), Weapon Specialization (spiked chain)
Skills Appraise +5, Balance +1, Bluff -1, Climb +8, Concentration +3, Craft (General) +2, Craft (Trapmaking) +6, Craft (Weaponsmithing) +3, Diplomacy -1, Disguise -1, Escape Artist +1, Forgery +2, Gather Information -1, Handle Animal +0, Heal +1, Hide +1, Intimidate +9, Jump +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +3, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +3, Knowledge (Geography) +3, Knowledge (History) +3, Knowledge (Nature) +3, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +3, Knowledge (Religion) +3, Listen -1, Move Silently +1, Perform (General) -1, Ride +4, Search +3, Sense Motive -1, Spellcraft +3, Spot +0, Survival -1, Swim +7, Use Magic Device +4, Use Rope +3
ABILITY DESCRIPTIONS
Armor Proficiency (light, medium and heavy): You only suffer armor check penalties for the following skills: Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble.
Breath Weapon (Flame): At will, 30-foot link or 15-foot cone, 1d6 fire damage, DC 14 Reflex half.
Breath Weapon (Sickening): At will, 15-foot cone, targets sickened for 2 rounds (-2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks); DC 14 Fortitude save to reduce duration of effect to 1 round.
Combat Expertise: When you use the attack action or the full attack action in melee, you can take a penalty of as much as -5 on your attack roll and add the same number (+5 or less) as a dodge bonus to your Armor Class. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action. These modifiers stack with rules for fighting defensively (+2 AC, -4 attacks), meaning you can gain a maximum of +7 AC on a -9 attack roll penalty.
Combat Reflexes: You may make up to three additional attacks of opportunity per round. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed. A character without this feat can make only one attack of opportunity per round and can’t make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
Draconic Heritage: You gain the dragonblood (Red Dragon) subtype. Appraise is now a class skill. Also, you gain a +1 bonus on saving throws against magic sleep and paralysis, as well as saves against spells and descriptors that have the fire corresponding entry. (In other words, +1 saves against damage from magical fire.)
Dragontouched: You gain the dragonblood subtype. You gain 1 hit point, a +1 bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks, and a +1 bonus on saving throws against paralysis and sleep effects. In addition, you can select draconic feats as if you were a sorcerer of your character level.
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain): You make attack rolls with a spiked chain normally. For other exotic weapons, you suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls.
Great Cleave: If you deal an opponent enough damage to make it drop (typically by dropping it to below 0 hit points or killing it), you get an immediate, extra melee attack against another target within reach. You cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra attack. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature. So long as you continue to drop opponents, there is no limit to the number of times you may cleave attack each round.
Invocations: You have spell-like abilities (caster level 1), each of which requires a standard action to use and provokes an Attack of Opportunity as would a spell. Being attacked forces a Concentration check (generally DC 10 + damage dealt; see skill description other DCs).
* Magic Insight: You can create a 60 ft. cone-shaped emanation lasting up to a minute which detects magical auras. Information gained is based on time: 1st round, presence or absence of magical auras; 2nd round – number of different magical auras and the power of the most potent aura; 3rd round – strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Spellcraft skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura; DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + half caster level for a nonspell effect.) Magical areas, multiple types of magic, or strong local magical emanations may distort or conceal weaker auras. Outsiders and elementals are not magical in themselves, but if they are summoned, the conjuration spell registers. Each round, you can turn to detect magic in a new area. This ability can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
While the Magic Insight invocation is active, you can end the effect as a full-round action to determine all properties of a single touched item (as the Identify spell, but with no material component or longer casting time needed). This effect determines all magic properties of a single magic item, including how to activate those functions (if appropriate), and how many charges are left (if any). This invocation does not function when used on an artifact.
Languages: You can speak and write in the Common language, Draconic, and Dwarven. [p. 12, 82]
Power Attack: Before making a melee attack, you can take a penalty of up to -7 to your attack roll and, if you cause damage, gain a bonus of up to +7 damage. The penalty on attacks and bonus damage last until your next turn. Two-handed weapons (such a greatswords), or one-handed weapons used in two hands, cause +2 damage per -1 attack penalty. This effect only works for medium or heavy weapons, unarmed attacks, or natural attacks; it cannot be used with light weapons or ranged attacks.
Shield Proficiency: You typically do not suffer additional penalties to skills for using a small, medium or large shield.
Tower Shield Proficiency: You typically do not suffer additional penalties to skills for using a tower shield.
Weapon Focus (spiked chain): You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using a spiked chain.
Weapon Proficiency (simple and martial weapons): You make attack rolls with simple and martial weapons normally. For exotic weapons, you suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls.
Weapon Specialization (spiked chain): You gain a +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make using a spiked chain.
ARMOR CLASS & MOVEMENT NOTES
+0 medium size
+5 armor bonus (elven chainmail; base move 30 ft.; -2 armor check penalties; 20% arcane spell failure)
+3 Dexterity bonus (Dex 16) (max. +4 due to elven chainmail)
+1 magic bonus (+1 ring of protection)
+1 natural bonus (+1 amulet of natural protection)
up to +5 dodge bonus (from Combat Expertise feat; -5 BAB) – redundant (and better) than fighting defensively
AC 20: Equipped; base move 30 ft. << MOST COMMON AC
AC 17: Equipped but flat-footed; base move 30 ft.
AC 13: Equipped touch only
ENCUMBRANCE & LIFTING LIMITS – STRENGTH 16
Light load: up to 76 lbs.
Medium load: 77-153 lbs.
Heavy load: 154-230 lbs.
Lift over head: up to 230 lbs.
Lift off ground: 460 lbs.
Push or drag: 1,150 lbs.
EQUIPMENT
Item – Value – Weight – Notes
Traveler’s outfit — 1 gp — 5 lbs. – shirt, leggings, boots, cloak
Manacles of the Goshept Lohighr — 1,000 gp – 0 lbs. – +1 bracers of armor; +1 magic to AC
Arcane cloak — 1,000 gp – 1 lbs. — +1 cloak of resistance; +1 magic to Fort, Ref, Will saves
On person while adventuring unless notes otherwise…
Item – Value – Weight – Notes
elven chainmail – 4,150 gp – 20 lbs. – adds +5 armor bonus for AC; armor check penalty -2
spiked gauntlets – 5 gp – 1 lbs. – backs of hands; can also punch non-lethal
masterwork spiked chain – 325 gp – 15 lbs. – two-hand weapon; can attack both close and reach 10 ft.
masterwork greataxe – 310 gp – 6 lbs. – two-hand weapon; reach 5 ft.; on back
+1 thundering mighty longtbow – 330 gp – 2 lbs. – bow +1 strength; on back
quiver of 20 arrows – 1 gp – 3 lbs. – on back
heavy leather belt – 2 gp – 0 lbs. –
steel dagger – 2 gp – 1 lbs. – “default” dagger in combat; on belt
cold iron dagger – 2 gp – 1 lbs. – for use against fey, demons; on belt
silvered dagger – 22 gp – 1 lbs. – for lycanthropes; -1 damage; on belt
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial on belt
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial on belt
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial on belt
belt pouch (20 gp) – 0 gp – 0.5 lbs. – left side
belt pouch (3 horde gp) – 1 gp – 0.5 lbs. – right side; sewn to belt with copper wire
subtotal – 1,500 gp – 60 lbs.
Backpack for adventuring…
Item – Value – Weight – Notes
backpack – 2 gp – 2 lbs. –
bedroll – 1 gp – 5 lbs. – attached to backpack
flint and steel – 1 gp – 0 lbs. – in backpack
lantern, hooded – 7 gp – 2 lbs. – in backpack
oil flask – 0 gp – 1 lbs. – in backpack
misc. armor repair tools – 5 gp – 5 lbs. – in steel vial in backpack
flask of holy water – 25 gp – 1 lbs. – in steel vial in backpack
flask of acid – 10 gp – 1 lbs. – in steel vial in backpack
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial in backpack
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial in backpack
potion of cure light wounds – 50 gp – 0 lbs. – heals 1d8+1 hit points; in steel vial in backpack
subtotal – 201 gp – 17 lbs.
Elven Chain: This extremely light chainmail is made of very fine mithral links. Speed while wearing elven chain is 30 feet for Medium creatures, or 20 feet for Small. The armor has an arcane spell failure chance of 20%, a maximum Dexterity bonus of +4 and an armor check penalty of -2. It is considered light armor and weighs 20 pounds.
No aura (nonmagical); Price 4,150 gp
BACKSTORY
Once upon a time a great dragon named Rhanvansevaykor the Horrible settled into a cave beneath a mountain near the frozen north. After a few centuries of plundering dwarf mines and ambushing trade caravans, the great dragon became infamous and rich, changing his name to Rhanvansevaykor the Magnificent. Between month-long sleeps, the increasingly lazy dragon would count and recount his treasure horde, loving every last scrap of it as sweet nectar. Among the items collected were holy texts and worship manuals stolen from pilgrims over the years, and within these books the dragon discovered an idea he had never encountered before: A practice of a tithe.
Within days the dragon again renamed himself, this time to Rhanvansevaykor the Divine. Claiming lineage to the great spirits which shaped the world, the dragon flew into the human villages and towns south of his lair and announced himself as their new god. In exchange for avoiding his further wrath, the humans were to provide him with 10% of their gold every year, along with enough cattle and sheep to satisfy the dragon’s ravenous feedings. At first the local priests were outraged, but several incinerated churches later, they learned to play along. (Besides, the dragon’s new deal was cheaper and easier than enduring the human and financial cost of his previous raids.)
Word of these deeds soon reached the ears of senior church elders to the south, and bands of adventurers were hired to slay the profaning arm. The repeated failure of these ill-fated heroes, combined with the dragon’s increasing eloquence with phrases and themes of sacred imagery in his “sermons” to the townsfolk, began to genuinely shake people’s faith in their “true” gods. To the churches, the nuisance was becoming a serious threat.
A year ago, an elite band of Imperial paladins were dispatched to silence Rhanvansevaykor once and for all. The battle was terrible, and though he was victorious, the dragon suffered painful wounds. Enraged, Rhanvansevaykor flew out from under his mountain and laid waste to nearly all the human towns from which he had demanded reverence. He then returned home to his lair, walled himself in, and fell into a long, healing slumber.
When he awoke, he was no longer Rhanvansevaykor the dragon. He found himself small, weak, confused – in a human body, bandaged and under the care of healers treating homeless refugees – among those made victims by a great dragon’s fiery devastation. Cut onto Rhanvansevaykor’s naked, hairy chest was a draconic rune which, from one direction, meant “SERPENT,” but when read upside down, instead read as the rune for “REPENTS.”
At first the dragon was amused, believing his situation to be a dream. After a day or two, the amusement had worn off, and the dragon grew annoyed. Clearly some spellcaster had gotten to him with a polymorph, a problem easily fixed with certain dispel magic or remove curse castings. Hiding among the “meaties,” the dragon traveled south to the capitol city, where he figured an archmage or two owed him a favor for past secrets shared toward their arcane research. It took some effort to convince the college guards to grant an audience, but soon one of the archmages believed his story and agreed to help. Disjunctions were made, yet to his horror, Rhanvansevaykor remained firmly trapped in his manly form. Frustration overcame him, and for a brief time, the once-knightly false god dragon went mad.
It has been nearly a year since Rhanvansevaykor came to live in the capitol city. Now taking the pseudonym “Ruhg Norwind,” he worked as hired muscle until teaming up with [the other player characters – need to digest more on the weekend and rework]…
WHO’S BEHIND THE DRAGON’S TRANSFORMATION?
Rhanvansevaykor’s has theories…
1.) THE GODS: The clerics petitioned their powers for help, and one or more sympathetic deities may had made a divine intervention. There’s no way to be sure which specific power was to blame, but they’re all alike to a dragon anyway.
2.) AN ARCHMAGE: While nothing personal, the dragon’s treasure horde would go a long way in outfitting a wizard’s secret army. Epic wizards have visited the dragon every few years, and as long as they brought appropriate gifts, they were welcomed with a degree of hospitality. Some recent visitors…
a.) Geughthic the Unclean: A megalomaniac necromancer who claims to have an undead army in storage somewhere, ready to conquer the human lands and set the archmage up for all unlife as the new Eternal Emperor. Yeah, whatever. The guy’s a little too intense and, uh, “has issues,” but he’s a fairly decent chess player when he visits.
b.) Lady Syxiu Moj: An arcane diviner obsessed with prophecies involving the current Emperor. She always asks about old bloodlines and lineages from the various nobles families. She’s a bit pushy and always smells of seawater; the dragon figures she probably bases her secret citadel beneath the waves of some ocean.
c.) Old Greybread: An archetypal retired adventurer – friendly old man, long beard, pointed hat, drinks way too much – just seems to like hanging out with dragons. But not everyone is what they seem.
3.) ANOTHER DRAGON: Though body switching is a bit too arcane for most great wyrms, getting a rival out of the way would be completely in character. Again, some suspects…
a.) Lord Faerlough: An ambitious old green dragon to the south who “rules” his forest like a warlord, demanding tribute from orcs and elves alike. Claims to have fathered dozens of human sorcerers while out slumming polymorphed in the civilized Imperial lands.
b.) Bahhec Urrikophestis: A self-righteous silver dragon to the west who fancy himself a protector of cosmic goodness and law. What an ass.
c.) Cryssiettetc: A sniveling old white dragon to the north who has to stoop to hanging out with frost giants just to have any friends. Rumor has it the dragon just found some artifact buried in a glacier, probably just a story he came up with to get his name sung about by bards. The wyrm’s a total loser.
4.) OTHER IDEAS…
– “Rhanvansevaykor” is no dragon, just an insane man who somehow has false memories relating to ancient history and dragon lore. If this is the case, does “Ruhg Norwind” actually have past friends, family or enemies looking for him?
– Rhanvansevaykor was actually killed by the elite Imperial paladins sent to punish him, but someone botched a reincarnation/resurrection spell in bringing the dragon back to life. Next question: Who would raise a dead dragon?
– A global psionic mishap has randomly switched the thoughts of a few beings. While the mind of a dragon is now in the body of a man, somewhere else a man’s mind is in a mouse’s body, and a mouse now finds itself in the body of a dragon. See above for issues with “Ruhg Norwind’s” real past.
ROLE-PLAYING TIPS/QUIRKS
Rhanvansevaykor hates living as a human – being too weak, too dumb, too small, flightless, vulnerable to cuts and spells – but worse of all, BEING POOR.
– A bit confused by the privileged children of nobles: He thinks only the strong deserve to take and have wealth, yet these spoiled kids seem weak, dim-witted and just plain frivolous – but they are allowed to keep (and spend – give away!) vast amounts of gold however they want. This facet of human society makes no sense.
– Seems to switch from polite behavior to savage violence and back again on a whim. (“Excuse me, may I have that seat? WHAM-SLASH-BAM. Thank you.”)
– Utterly shocked when he once was burned by a candle. That was depressing.
– Finds eating tiny meals three times a day, then taking a tiny nap for seven hours, ridiculous tedious.
– Recently began to hear bards sing fictional accounts about the “fall of Rhanvansevaykor” (lies!), the discovery of his hidden lair (true), and the plunder of his unguarded treasure horde (also true). This irks him a lot. Recently he found proof his lair was discovered after finding three gold pieces he recognized as coming from his treasure horde. (He always knows his own treasures, and it’s all precious, MINE, yes it is…)
– Finds “epic” tales of “dragon slaying” darkly hilarious.
– Is fascinated by human interactions: Lovers having an argument, parents playing with their children, merchants haggling over a price, and so forth. His only previous interaction with humans was either with adventurers (thieving murderers!) or with archmages (boring nerds who only want to hear about ancient mysteries and legendary times – yawn).
– Firmly believes robbery and extortion are “honest work.”
– Shows respect to fellow party members and will aide them on adventures, but really sees everyone else as just a means to an end. (“If you can’t do your role, you’re no use to anyone.”)
– Already speculating about which other dragons may have moved in to claim his hunting grounds, and how he’s going to get rid of them when he returns.