Eww, soulborn. I'd rather be a totemist. Much more flavor.
Someone knows their Incarum quite well!
If I hadn't already locked into an Alchemist, I wouldn't have minded going for a Psychic Warrior/Totemist myself... Also, I find it quite amusing that 3PP is not allowed, yet we've got Psionics and Incarnum/Akaschic anyway.
Also, I find it quite amusing that 3PP is not allowed, yet we've got Psionics and Incarnum/Akaschic anyway.
And hopefully a smattering of PoW, which normally I wouldn't ask about except for all the 3.5 content being ported in - content written for Pathfinder seems like a smaller ask.
I am still working on my character sheet but otherwise my application is complete. If you could let me know if you have any suggestions or critiques, it would be greatly appreciated.
Question, is it acceptable to have purchased an object with eclipsed continual flame on it? It's in essence an inverse torch, though I would have it on a necklace or something easy to put away to stop the effect when wanted. As far as I understand RAW it would be costed at 110 gp but there is some arguments about whether or not the metamagic feat required would make it more expensive, and I'd be happy to pay 250 gp or something instead to account for that.
Edit: Looking more at the overall budget, the use case I was considering is irrelevant, so nevermind.
Last edited by SirXave; Jun 27th, 2024 at 02:30 PM.
Name: Lord Gaius Bursio Race: Human (Korvosan) Classes: Magus//Slayer
Gaius is tall and lean, a body built for both agility and strength, and honed from years of rigorous training. His sharp, angular features are framed by shoulder-length dark brown hair. He usually ties it back, keeping it out of his face and clear of his intense, brown eyes, which match his hair with uncanny fidelity. A faint scar runs from his left temple to just above the jawline. His hands are calloused, yet they move with grace and precision. Gaius’ attire is a blend of practicality and opulence. When not in armor, he tends towards dark-colored, hip length leather jerkins, the kind where the sleeves are sewed on but left with enough of a gap to show his shirt underneath. The jerkins always have attractive, contrasting red stitching. He tends towards hosen of light weight boiled wool in gray, completing the homage to Korvosa’s color in a default red-black-silver sartorial color palette. Almost always he has on a deep green cloak of velvet or wool, either a short cloak buttoned along the shoulder or a larger square one clasped at the shoulder - either way worn with a brooch bearing the insignia of his house.
A constant companion at his side regardless of his outfit is a finely crafted longsword, appointed in gold at the pommel and quillons, the hilt engraved with runes, and the grip wrapped in leather. The exquisite sword hangs from a belt of ornamentation befitting the sword’s quality, decorated with plaques of gold. Around his neck, he wears an amulet—a simple gold piece with a sapphire in the center. He has the plate elements of his armor heat treated to a champagne color, edges in lateen, and his mail edged in brass rings. Despite his rugged exterior, there's an air of quiet confidence and calm about Gaius. Some people's personality fills the room, for Gaius it is his posture and movement which command respect and caution. He moves with a fluidity that blurs the line between motion and magic, each step carefully balancing the man between the physical and mystical realms.
Gaius is an ambitious, intelligent, and disciplined man with a keen mind, strong body, and a restless spirit. Driven by a desire to make a name for himself, he is both confident and resourceful. His early sense of inadequacy which drove him to overachieve has mellowed into a habitual drive to succeed, without the chip on his shoulder. He is a disciplined and dedicated person, but also values independence and autonomy, preferring to choose his own path and challenges rather than conform to expectations. Even considering the pampered privilege of noble birth, he is practical and grounded, willing to contribute to his family's affairs while maintaining his own pursuits. Gaius is also curious and intellectually inclined, with a passion for learning and improving his skills. His adventurous spirit and love for testing his mettle against challenges make him a formidable and dynamic opponent, an exciting and engaging companion, and a reliable defender of the commoner and Korvosa; even if he does uphold his ideals largely on his own terms.
The Bursio family is a minor noble Chelaxian Dock Family controlling but one moderate sized dock, and their manor in the East Shore. Born Calistril 14th he is the fifth son, Gaius knew from a young age he would never, barring some unimaginable calamity, ascend to being Lord Bursio himself and run the House or their dock, and as such set his mind on other aspirations. Classically schooled by tutors instead of school, Gaius’ natural aptitude and intelligence benefitted from being able to chase material as quickly as he was ready for it, which often was quicker than some of his teachers could keep up with. By the time he was in his early teens he was not just literate to an advanced degree, capable at mathematics, and an energetic and athletic swordsman, he was already adept at minor magics.
Gaius, in his youth and idealism, knew his responsibility as a nobleman, especially in absence of the administrative work of the household, was his skill at arm and spells. He felt an initial calling to the Sable Company - they were noble knights on unique steeds, emblematic of his homeland. However, Gaius underestimated the nature of the relationship with a griffon. It was substantially different from just riding a horse, and shortly his dreams were dashed, as he could not develop the rapport or connection with griffons required to be in the Sable Company. His father tried to direct him to the Korvosan Guard, but Gaius was interested in too many disparate things to feel comfortable being stuck patrolling the streets. Though not something he admitted to often, but when he was young being the most junior son of the household has left him with a minor chip on his shoulder, and he chafed at the idea of being among the rank and file of the Guard, diluting what already feels like a diluted sense of nobility. This sense has dissipated as he has made a name for himself independent of his heritage.
Enterprising on the luxury of an unencumbered nobleman’s son’s life, free of the burdens of work or survival or even having to cook, Gaius undertook an ambitious and rigorous dual enrollment at both the Orisini Academy and the Acadamae. For nearly a decade he spent every waking hour in training, sparring, and studying. He found his time in the Academy far easier than his time in the Acadamae, the practical application and immediate feedback of martial arts being more rewarding than the more theoretical and long term orientation of the Acadamae. Blending the two forms together likewise slowed his progress, especially at the Acadamae, but he found valuable outlets for his fascination with teleporation magics, which at least kept him in the good graces of the conjurers’ hegemony at the school.
Completing his trials, by the skin of his teeth (and singed eyebrows) Gaius took a step back from the Acadamae, and the personality conflicts in The Heights, and took a summer off to live life: now an adult who has not taken a weekend to breathe since he was a teen. He was never going to be a great wizard, and did not want to be, and he knew he’d be bored teaching at the Academy all day, so despite owing much to both institutions, neither held a future for him. His prospects for inheriting the household was no better than before, the Hellknights were insane, the guard still sounded claustrophobic, he was never going to be a Sable marine - confronted with the prospect of being another meaningless minor noble performing perfunctory work for his father he instead chose to make a name for himself in the world. His summer off idea was a sea cruise, but an exciting one, so he signed aboard with Captain Broadcastle, leveraging his father’s name for position in the stern instead of as a regular sailor. It was a disaster, for all Gaius’ experiences with boats had been in the bay and the river before. The open water made him miserably seasick, and while at some point he became functional, he was never comfortable. As soon as they returned, he swore off the sea forever.
Back on land where he belonged, Gaius came to the decision working in an ancillary capacity for the household was not as bad as he originally thought, and what little duties he did contribute to the household kept his allowance flowing to feed the quality of life he’d grown accustomed to and took for granted. It also gave him free time take up part-time adventuring which he found enriching as he could choose what jobs or quests to take part of, so he upheld much of the ideals of something such as the town guard (striving perilously in defense of the commoners) but only with people and in situations he approved of.
Years have passed and Gaius, in his late twenties now, is a metropolitan man with minor renown which exceeds the token title he bears from the luck of his birth. He is an enthusiastic aid to his brothers and aging father in running the docks, though he is still far outside the social circles of court. While his father wasn't an ardent supporter of Queen Ileosa or oppose the rebellion, neither did he position the Bursio house to be outspoken supporters of her overthrow, effectively having a neutral effect on the marginal standing of their name. He found himself spending more time at the previously snubbed Theumanexus College in independent study, for there was a more relaxed and less strict and hostile atmosphere. He returns on a regular schedule to the Academy to spar and train. Sometimes he even heads back up to the Heights now and again, especially if he knows Toff’s out on other business. But his major passion is to look out for opportunities to join in with the guard, or with Sable company missions, always ready to test his mettle against any enemies of his beloved Korvosa. He leverages his name whenever possible to forge connections with higher ranking members of each organization, and many view him as an unofficial officer of the guard (though many of the watch sergeants and senior guardsmen may resent him for not paying his dues and only picking the assignments he's interested, instead of doing the whole job like the rest of them.) It is this close association between the guard, noble status in the city, and a freelance-style employment habit which counted him among the unique pool of adventurers then Field Marshall Kroft called on to solve particular problems the Guard or Sable Company couldn't address. While he does not know her personally, she must have remembered hi and appreciated his earlier efforts enough to call upon him again, this time as Queen.
Basha: Gaius considers Basha one of his personal accomplishments in breaking back into his father’s management of the docks. By befriending Basha he was able to work out a deal where Gaius feeds Basha clients, and Basha only sells quality maps to those staying on the Bursio docks. Though it cannot completely remove Basha’s well-earned reputation, the counter-reputation regarding customers that go through House Bursio has made some traction as well. The relationship requires regular maintenance, though, to incentivize Basha’s continual compliance, such as being fed information, giving a favor, helping make a supplier’s debt disappear, etc.
Finley Broadcastle: A deal brokered long before Gaius had anything to do with it, one of the Bursio family’s claims to fame, despite having a moderate holding and a minor house, is that Captain Broadcastle uses their dock as his home port. They had never met before Gaius had the wild hair he wanted to be a swashbuckling privateer, and that piteous voyage did little to bring them closer together. It has only been in the last few years as Gaius has spent more time working with the rest of his family on managing their dock that they’ve developed a strong working relationship, even moving past Captain to Finley in casual conversation.
Tepest Geezlebottle: Another recent friendship, it has only been a few years since Gaius deigned to try to avoid a trip to The Heights in search of a specific scroll and sought access to the Theumanexus library. As the founder, and keenly aware of the tension between the two schools, he became interested in the Acadamae alum slumming it in his (literally named after him) hall. They had common ground in their gripes about methods and personalities. Tepest and Gaius are on good terms, though they never see each other outside the context of the Theumanexus library.
Toff Ornelos: Gaius and the headmaster of the Acadamae butted heads frequently while he was a novice student there. Toff did not approve of Gaius’ lack of focus on the art of wizardry and martial distractions. He looked for multiple excuses to expel or fail Gaius, and made no misgivings about how irksome it was Gaius passed his trial. Toff does not consider Gaius a “real” magician, alum or not.
Trina Sabor: Though Gaius has had his trysts over the years, no matter how committed to his studies he may have been, there was always time to heed the siren call of infatuation. However, Trina stirred in him something markedly different from the youthful puppy love and lustful indulgences he’s indulged in the past. He happened to, by chance, sit for a portrait on a lark once. Since then, he comes up with excuses to go back, or buy a painting, or commission artwork. In addition to adoring her painting itself, he likes to manufacture opportunities to talk to her. He worries she only considers him just another customer.
Vencarlo Orisini and Dengaro: When Gaius began training at the Orisini Academy, over fifteen years ago, Vencarlo taught more than he does now. Though he transitioned away from primary instruction long before Gaius stopped attending the school daily and had turned over much of the primary instruction to Dengaro, Gaius considers Vencarlo his sword master, though that does nothing to diminish the respect he has for Dengaro as a scholar of the sword. He found he missed them both as much as he missed swordplay during his hiatus, and eagerness to maintain the friendship (even in the master/student way of friendship) was as much the reason for going back to the Academy as keeping his swordsmanship sharp.
Jun 27th, 2024, 08:07 AM
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