Tithe

Of Amor, Armor, and Alchemy

Back Story/Concept

As a baby, Tithe was given up by his parents as a gift to a holy order of the Stone Elves. It is unknown to Tithe whether this was to compensate for some transgression, or for some other reason. Upon reading his auspice signs, it was decided to send Tithe to the Temple of the Forge at Caminus, for it seemed he had some destiny there. Once he reached toddling age, he was given off to a band of Stone Elf warriors led by a well-known soldier named Tolmen. Most of his childhood was spent with this band, on the road, learning the way of the warrior, and his cradle was a heater shield, carried by his countrymen or laid on the hard ground.

Tolmen and his band eventually were sent to Caminus, at least in part to offer some defensive training to the city's troops for fighting off the vicious blood elf raids that plagued the island, and to establish some political ties for the Stone Elves amongst the inner isles. Tolmen approached the temple with two gifts: a suit of finely wrought Stone Elf armor, and Tithe, then old enough to hold his own shield, albeit barely. The band stayed on for many months, training soldiers - specifically the guardians of the temple - in certain Stone Elf strategies, then headed off to explore the surrounding regions, leaving Tithe behind.

As of the present, Tithe - now 17 - has lived on the temple grounds for a number of years. Though he has always been a bit of an outsider (the temple authorities did not know quite what to do with the gift of a young elf), Tithe has made something of a place for himself as a guardian of the temple and bodyguard of its priests. Although the temple was at first reluctant to encourage this activity, as Tithe has matured into a relentlessly dedicated warrior, they have welcomed his presence a bit more. Still, Tithe has few close ties. Tolmen - the only parental figure in Tithe's life - stops by sporadically to continue Tithe's training, and then disappears again. The only real friend Tithe has is Daenerys, who has gone out of her way from the beginning to be kind to him and include him in conversations and activities. Tithe treasures this friendship greatly. Indeed, in truth, he has a persistent and hidden crush on her.

Tithe is tall, lithe, and wiry, with grey skin, a shaved head, and a blue-inked tattoo of the sign of the forge at the base of his neck. He is patient, quiet, and prone to standing still for long periods of time, which makes him a potent watchmen. Though quiet, he isn't dour, he enjoys riddlelike jokes, and has a noticeable laugh, though his sense of humor is a bit odd to most. He is also a bit of a sensate, particularly enjoying sounds. He can sometimes be found simply listening to the wind for long stretches of time. Seemingly uncharacteristically, Tithe also enjoys games of chance, and is usually keen to play any of the various gambling games that are popular, though he isn't particularly fond of money and likes to play the games for stones or other worthless items.

Tithe jointly worships two dieties: Amor (in the pure form generally respected by Stone Elves) and the Goddess of the Forge. He reveres both as dual-faceted aspects of creation. Amor represents the bedrock of creation, the natural, and the spiritual connections between all things. The Goddess of the Forge represents the creative abilities given to the sentient races, the synthetic, and the material forces out of which all are made. Tithe has also been known to be civil to Jaksan, giving offerings to him when trekking through the wilderness, especially in the mountains.

Tithe fights defensively, a one-man phalanx in hoplite style with spear and shield or shield and short sword/dagger. He was fairly recently earned the right (according to Tolmen) to actually wield a shield in battle.

Character (120pts.)

Characteristics (45pts.)

Tithe

Val	Char	Cost	Roll	Notes
18	STR	5	13-	HTH damage 3 1/2 d6 END [2]
14	DEX	12	12-	OCV: 5/DCV: 5
15	CON	10	12-
12	BODY	4	11-
10	INT	0	11-	PER Roll 11-
10	EGO	0	11-	ECV: 3
10	PRE	0	11-	PRE Attack: 2d6
10	COM	0	11-
8	PD	4		Total: 8/10 PD (0/2 rPD)
7	ED	4		Total: 7/9 ED (0/2 rED)
3	SPD	6		Phases: 4, 8, 12
7	REC	0
30	END	0
29	STUN	0
6"	Run	0
2"	Swim	0
4"	Leap	0

Str: 18 [8pts.]

Dex: 14 [12pts.]

Con: 15 [10pts.]

Body: 12 [4pts.]

Com: 10

Int: 10

Ego: 10

PD: 8 [4pts.]

ED: 7 [4pts.]

SPD: 3 [6pts.]

Skills (9pts.)

WF: Common Weapons [2pts.]

AF: Shields [1pts.]

Stealth [3pts.] 11-

Language: Human, no literacy

Language: Faerie, literate [1pt.]

Climbing 8-

Conversation 8-

Deduction 8-

Paramedics 8-

Shadowing 8-

Survival (Mountainous AND Forest) 8-

High society 8-

Trading 8-

PS (Bodyguard) 11- [2pts.]

Powers (18pts.)

Life support (1600 years; 4pts.)

Sphere of Silence (Darkness to Hearing Group, 1" Radius, Usable as Attack (+1), Ranged (+1/2) (12 Active Points); Gestures (-1/4) 10pts.)

Fearless (+10 PRE (20 Active Points); Only Usable Against Fear-Based Attacks (-1 1/2) 4pts.)

Martial Arts (13 pts.)

Martial Block (1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4pts.)

Counterstrike (1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike, Must Follow Block 4pts.)

Defensive Strike (1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Weapon Strike 5pts)

Equipment (27pts.)

Bag of Stuff [5pts.]

"Vengeant" - Attuned Short Spear [13pts.] w/ Smite (+4 OCV) 1x/day [4pts.]

Daenerys-forged Dagger (+1 DC; FREE BITCHES!)

Large Shield (+3 DCV; 7pts.)

Medium Leather Armor 2PD/2ED [2pts.]

Disadvantages (50 pts.)

Normal Characteristic Maxima (0)

Distinctive Features (Greyish-blue skin, white hair, pointed ears, & tall, slender build; -5pts.)

Social Limitation (No permanent settlements, high respect for "guest rights"; Frequently, Severe Consequences, not limiting in Stone Elf cultures; -15pts.)

Psychological Limitation: Dogmatic (generally refuses to break established laws/principles/precepts, usually for no other reason than because they are laws/principles/precepts; Common; Strong; -15 pts.)

Psychological Limitation: Obstinate (once Tithe chooses a course of action, it is very difficult to persuade him to do otherwise; Common; Strong; -15 pts.)

Questions for GM

(1) Is it alright that I took my Sphere of Silence power without the Incantations limitation? It still has the Gestures limitation.

BEN: That's fine: thematically, I think it makes some sense that a silencing power could be silent itself. Note that you can't gesture with a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, however, so unless you have fast draw, you'd need a half action to drop and/or pick up your spear to do this.

That's right. I've got an easy decision procedure designed to make this not a problem:

Step 1: Throw spear at bitch ass spellcaster's head. If this fails to sufficiently distract him, move to step 2. Step 2: Silence bitch ass spellcaster. If spellcaster is not yet sufficiently dead, move to step 3. Step 3: Draw dagger. Stabbity stabbity stab stab. END

Experience Points (43)

(3 sessions)(15pts.) = 45 points - 2 (Medium Leather Armor) -1 (Miracle to suspect High Attendant) +1 (Reward for suspicion) -10 (Sphere of Silence) -1 (Swim +1", to return to normal) -4 (Fearless) -13 (Martial Arts) -1 (Faerie Literacy) -6 (DEX +3) -3 (STR +3) -4 (Smite)

= 1 point to spend (Reserved for Miracles)

Thoughts for Future Development

Silent Scream (Flash silencing power, 5d6; 15pts.) - likely obsolete

Dispel (vs. magic spells/effects)

Suppress (???)

Notes

Language: Human, no literacy

Language: One other, no literacy

Climbing 8-

Conversation 8-

Deduction 8-

Paramedics 8-

Shadowing 8-

Survival (2 terrain types) 8-

Streetwise OR high society 8-

Trading 8-

One PS at 8-

Stone Elves: 24 Dex, 10 PD/ED Maxima, 23 INT, 25 EGO, 25 COM. Your other basic language is Faerie. 4 points of Life support (1600 years). Distinctive Features -5pts. Social Limitation (type varies by elf-type: for sea elves, as an example, this is their inability to live and/or settle on land for long periods of time)-15 pts. (Frequently, Severe consequences, not limiting in some cultures).