Paad Ulhof - Female Human Warlord from Karrnath

Backstory

Paad comes from a family out of the lower nobility in Karrnath. She studied at the famous Rekkenmark Academy from a young ago to join the ranks of what she was told to be the finest warriors of the Khorvaire. During the later years of the Last War the academy had to close. (I don't have a year for that event I hope it goes okay.) Paad, who was still a teenager, had to continue her training to become a warlord at the damaged and wartorn castle of her parents.

When the War finally ended, she was 17 years old and still to young to go to war. At least her parents did not let her sign up. While she somehow understands that fact - her older brother died on the battle field in the Mourning, she blames her parents for being selfish. Wouldn't real patriots be willing to sacrifice their child for the greater good and the glory of Karrnath?

When she was finally old enough to fight the war was over and her education seemed to be worth little in the bled white kingdom. Sure, Paad could have taken a position on her parents' land as marshall or leader of the guards, but she prefered to leave Karrnath as mercenary.

She hopes to find the reason how it was possible for the Karrnath not to win the Last War. She is still very convinced that there must have been a hidden act of treachery within the kingdom - a theory that is pretty wide spread among Karrn nobles and soldiers. She is for example split between cheering for King Kaius III. as righteous leader and seeing him as the one that sold Karrnath under its value by the peace treaty.

Personality

While Paad is for sure still somewhat chauvinistic and naive, the last 2 years have opened her mind for different cultures and ways of life. She is convinced that the Karrns have the highest culture in Khorvaire, but only by understanding and sometimes adopting to the mentality of other people, she can hope to solve the ultimate mystery how Karrnath could loose the war.

Still it's hard for her to hide her pride and her natural talent for leading. She appears quite stubborn sometimes, until she has a moment to cool off and to decide to use what she calls diplomacy.

Physical Characteristics:

Paad is an athletic woman with light brown hair. She normally wears impressive Screaming Scale Armor, covered in ornate patterns of screaming faces, but under most circumstances does not show Karrn insignias while working as mercenary.

D&D4: Olafine, the Dwarven Mountaineer

I try to come up with a back up characer in case my Eladrin Druid Hadalis bites the dust. (He did not loose a single hit point the last session though and I don't remember him ever going down to 0 HP.)

Anyways: back in 2nd Edition AD&D I was puzzled that next to all the archetypes for fighters the German edition pointed out that you could play a "Bergsteiger" (literally "mountain climber") as a fighter variation without needing a special class for it. Actually the paragraph was more or less explaining why there were no more assassins and chevaliers in 2nd Edition any longer, but they also came up with some pretty obscure further examples. The English language version was actually talking about a mountaineer, but the German translation sounded very anachronistic to me, because "Bergsteiger" is a concept that I imagined (and still imagine) to be only invented in the 19th century. I always liked stuff that does not fit in and so I never stopped wondering what a "Bergsteiger" would do in a medieval fantasy party.

Last year when I talked with a friend about playing a 2nd Edition AD&D game (I actually think very low about this specific rule set), it was pretty obvious from second 1 that I would play a "Bergsteiger"/mountaineer. The game never happened, but the idea stuck in my head.

When thinking about a second character for my D&D4 game, it was pretty obvious for me that I wanted to try a defender. Initially I was toying with the idea of a swordsmage (I really despised that concept as a teen btw), but we already got a dwarven one in our game since last session. And because I currently play the paladin Rius Divorie in my D&D3.5 game and Hadalis is a primal, only the Fighter was left.
I actually like fighters. I don't normally like dwarves, because I don't like beards, but then I thought a female dwarf could be fun to play, because D&D4 did pretty interesting things with them graphically and they are half male anyways. ;)

Now I have the problem that a I imagine a mountaineer to be much more like a ranger than like a fighter. It probably should have been that way in 2nd Edition as well. Stupid book! Not only is the concentration on the environment part of the deal, even the dual weapon concept fits a person who is working with multiple hooks.

So in the end I will play a martial striker (next to our half orc barbarian and our eladrin avenger), but hopefully a dwarf has some defenderish qualities after all. And don't complain we will have no leaders or controllers. :P

Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons PDFs

All the free Dungeons & Dragons PDFs Wizards of the Coast offers.

Here are the free 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons 1st level sample character PDFs:

Dwarf Fighter (Martial Defender)
Dragonborn Paladin (Divine Defender)
Half-Elf Cleric (Divine Leader)
Halfling Rogue (Martial Striker)
Human Wizard (Arcane Controller)
Tiefling Warlord (Martial Leader)

Setting specific:
Longtooth Shifter Cleric (Divine Leader)
Warforged Paladin (Divine Defender)

D&D 4th Edition Errata at wizards.com:

Player's Handbook 4th Errata
Dungeon Master's Guide 4th Errata
Monster Manual 4th Errata

Nyrondria - What happend before the break

What the DM told us as recap:

You went to check on the seal to the south of Kinmar
Met a not-so-nice "druid" on the way and told him where you were going
Got captured by weird-looking Orcs
Druid turned out to be a not-so-nice wizard
Nailo went into a fit and killed almost every Orc in sight
Went back to Kinmar
Town was under attack
You went below the tavern to find the blue-skinned elf fighting over a green gem with Lord Orgrim
You distracted Orgrim enough to let the elf take the gem and disappeared
Orgrim went north after him, making sure to stall you
You went after Orgrim

My 3.5 D&D character - now

While I am waiting for Dungeons&Dragons 4th Edition, and generally think that everyone who is staying behind is an enemy of innovation, I was invited to join a 3.5 game now. Ironic?

Anyways this is my basic character idea. I wanted to fill a niche in a party with a sorcerer and a rogue/sorcerer. Obviously a defender would be needed, but also a healer. So Paladin seemed pretty obvious.
I decided to go for something angsty that is not introverted. I want to have a character that I can't turn into the funny relief guy. Happens too easily with me.
I also try not to go for the lawful stupid archetyp - as a Palladin screams for that.

Rius Diovrie

Rius is the first born of the current generation of a noble family, rulers over a small barony in the borderlands. Rius' parents, grandfather and countless generations before have served as Paladins. So it was pretty obvious since his birth that Rius would one day become a divine fighter too.
At the age of 14 Rius finally told his family he had heard his calling - everyone was already waiting hard if it would happen at all - and for the better part of the next decade he received his training - lessons in swordplay, morale, the arts and especially how to serve Dalanos - the father of the gods.
Sometimes Rius was a little worried that he did not feel many of the things he was told about, like compassion or charity, but he just pushed himself in studying harder to come up for that.
The closer the day of his final test and knightly accolade came, the more it became clear to him that all the studying would not help in front of the priesthood examining his heart. They would see that he just pretended perfectly all the years and that following the code with discipline was not enough.
So that very morning - waiting for the ceremony in his shiniest armor - Rius ran off.
Since this day he tries to do his duty as a paladin although he is missing the divine powers. Rius may look like a paladin and behave like one, but in the end he is just a fighter with a strict code. He follows this noble code the same way a lifeless machine would do.

He wants to be good and believes in divine law, he just does not feel compassion, charity or any of those things that would make him a real paladin. At the moment Rius thinks that if he serves as one, one day he will be "healed".

In the meantime he sometimes pretends to others to be a palladin and sometimes he whines about not being one instead. He also fights his tendencies to be a braggart.

His biggest wish is that one day he will be able to return to his parents' land and prove that he always was a palladin. Nearly a paradox as he would have to lie to a certain degree to prove that.

Important people to Rius:

Reto and Estenda, parents, palladins

his younger real palladin sister Franja, a prodigy,
his left behind (female) squire Sorin

(he also was sent as a kid for some time to other noble families/castles)

Stats:

Strength: 16 +3
Dexterity: 12 +1
Constitution: 16 +3
Intelligence: 12 +1
Wisdom: 9 -1
Charisma: 13 +1

Rius is 190 cm in height and athletic. He wears his blond hair long and bound and seems to be perfectly shaven all the time.

Alignment: LN

Human
Language: Common + 1 bonus
1 extra feat
4 extra skill points (+1 extra/lvl)

Palladin
Skills: (2+int)x4 start; +2+int/lvl

Feats:
Power Attack (double with 2 hands...)
Cleave
Mounted Combat [next: Ride-by-Attack]

Age: 19

Attack Bonus: 6 = 3 (BAB) + 3 (Str): Greatsword (2d6(+4,5) 19-20/x2 Slashing)
Power Attack: Attack Bonus: +3 Dmg: 2d6+10
AC 19 (Full Plate: Armor Bonus 8)


Skills: Rank Skill
Climb 3+3-6= 0 (+6 without Armor)
Diplomacy 3+1 = 4
Handle Animal
Heal
Knowledge (Nobility/Royality)
Knowledge (Religion)
Ride
Swim