Beware the Tree Devil

(This is a character related post from the point of view of my current character Aram the Tree Devil)

The truth behind things is easy to see. The trick is to believe that what is perceived can be changed. I found myself wandering the streets of the fair city looking for employment. Money is needed for my ambitions, and so coin is what I search for. Unfortunately I did not find destiny, it found me, and honestly, who wants hand outs from destiny, its an embarassment. Still, the coin was needed, and so I listened to the lady who tried her best to be polite. An act, an illusion of who she is made apparent by her frustration with me. But if she is not tested, both her and I will not know her own shortcomings, so it was a learning experience for us both. It seemed I had a date with a rapist and murderer, also, a man of great power. I use the term loosely, for his is a perceived power, one that he does not have himself, but one that is given to him by others. It does not make him less dangerous, but it makes him easy to see and read. Regardless, the man asked for us, and tasked us with gaining an item for him. A flask containing a demon of dreams.  He didnt tell us this last part of course, but I found it out on my own. I find most things out on my own. Elven enginuity and all that. Ah, but I wasnt the only one invited.  There were three others, all human. One was a priest named Callus, A strange man worshipping a strange god. I didnt really like him much, for he had very little substance. Men of cloth seldom do, they try there best to fit a niche role in there gods profile and become less because of it. How the man attracts followers or shepards his flock is beyond me. Fate and Destiny, letting things come to you or accepting them as they fall in your lap. Its just lazy. I wonder how he brings council and succor to his followers. "Dont worry my child. It will happen, or it wont." I think I'd stop attending services shortly after. Still, he has a single mindedness to him that makes him easy to read, and thus easy to trust. I wont expect suprises from him, and he seems to have a good soul to him. I suppose thats enough, the rest isnt very important to me. At least at the moment. Another human was Erick, he was an odd, short tempered human, but that was to be expected from a warrior. He wanted to turn his blade to make things safe, and that philosohpy is fine by me. My first impression was a good one. His words would be honest, as would his actions. The last human was a Knight. Sir Drake. Well, I didnt like him at first. He was the prime bootlicker of Felix, and that made him another enemy, simply by association.  Still, time and action could prove otherwise, as it did so often.  After being given an assortment of information I hit as many contacts and sources as I could, finding a decent amount of useful information, as well as more than a few tid bits of tediously found useless information. Still, it was enjoyable enough to simply peruse the books for something as sound as an adventure.  Preperations were made after the weekend, its taboo in some insanities to go adventuring on weekends, and so we decided against it. Still, we made good progress, for we had found information from one of the guards that orcs were raiding nearby travelers. We all agreed that killing them and putting an end to the threat of bandit raiders would be worth the expenditure of a bit of effort. Suprisingly, me and the priest work well together. I cant  get a handle on him, but we seem to have a similar mind of tactics. Should he travel with us i'm sure we'll get along just fine, for I can at least understand him on the field of battle. All of our troupes members know there roles quite well, and I was grateful for this actualy. Training an entire adventuring party can be time consuming, but in this one we displayed unity, and that made things all the simpler. Eventually we made it to the Oni temple. No longer an Oni temple mind you, now a rumored base of goblins, and thats indeed, what it was. In hindsight, they werent very smart. The base was known by more than a few people to have been an old stronghold of Oni in the days past. It seemed like a bad move to create a band of goblins so close to the city. If we wouldht have wiped them out soon, the guards would have undoubtedly done so once overall confirmation of there presence was confirmed. I am glad however it was us. The fortress was filled with a great many things. Alot of birds too, an Owl and an Eagle. We rescued them and there young of course. Majestic creatures, and ones relishing there freedom from some prison. I can relate to those sentiments. But the birds were little in comparison to the great beauty we uncovered. Scarred and chained, we found Rayne, a nymph. Even with the scars, one could not steal away her beauty, for sometimes, especially in the fey, it manifests from within. I was quick to free her, and Maxwell was quick to cover her up. Idiot. I think his cod piece must be on a bit too tightly. I have to say that many of her words didnt reach me, I was too enthralled with her naked beauty. My carnal senses you see, are quite honed, though my stalwart companions seemed more concerned with her modesty. Illusions. My honesty shows my nature, and the revers is true. Hiding my features with illusions is easy, hiding myself with lies however, would be disgraceful. Still, the fey was grateful, and offered us some reward. I should add that my reward wasnt exactly what I had in mind, but it was lucrative. She is an amazing creature, and a link to a past thats long eluded my people. I hope to get to know her better on many levels, though her complexities may end up being too much for me. Still, I'm up to the challenge, especially with one of her looks. Well, after releasing my pure hearted beauty, she asked to remain outside, and tended the horses and malnourished birds. Such a kind creature, especially after seeing such cruelty. Ah, but it was not the only creature we found. Shadow Tail, a mighty bronze dragon appeared to us after some time. He told us of the location of our flask, and of his own problems. He had been kicked out of his lair. I should say, that he was far more intimidating as a mouse than as a dragon, especially after that declaration. We agreed to rescue his lair and treasure after we had secured the flask. And secure the flask we did. More dead goblins and then there leader, a shape shifter. It wasnt difficult, and our troupes teamwork again proved too much for the enemy. Flask in hand, we went into the dragons lair below the stronghold. The new inhabitant was an odd creature, an aboleth. Whatever it was trying to do failed, and although it was no easy task, the creature was dispatched, and the dragons horde saved. After that I cleansed the magic flask in water. This by the way, released the creature inside. The demon was a goblin with tainted blood who could take and give dreams. Honestly, I didnt really understand him much. But he gave me the dragons dream, and that was something I guess. Now I have the compulsion to help the dragon obtain more treasure. Not really my quest, but I suppose fate is heavy handed in and around the evandarks legacy. Maybe its the priests fault. After talking to the thing for a while it vanished, or ran off. Honestly, my attention span was fixated more on the monetary treasure before us, more so than the abstract dream stuff treasure. But perhaps greed is my sin. Maybe pride too. I dont think I would count lust out exactly either. Oh, Maybe I should include envy too, now that I've taken up this mantle of securing dragon treasure for our newest troupe supporter. All jesting aside however, having even a young dragon sponsoring us will allow us a great deal of respect and options in the future. Well, aside from returning to the city and having an outstandingly annoying accountance with Felix, the adventure ended. We got our money, and were tasked again. I shouldnt say task. We didnt have much choice. A do or die thing. Unfortunately our employer is the plot spinning omniscient sort of villain. Knows what we did, what we faced, that kind of thing. I can vaguely see images of him moving pieces on a chess board while bellowing bwa ha ha's down an empty corridor. Apparently he has a host of wizards at his beck and call, i've developed illusions to thwart them in the future. No ones immune to trickery, no matter how much they huff about it. This includes my self. Still, having a predictable adversary is more favorable than having a mastermind at work. He's undoubtedly not the only bit of filth to be watched, but at least we know to watch him. Assuming we can get away from him. His "I'll say its treason" bit is already tiresome, and he's only used it once. We'll have to find away around that, and soon. I wont be forced to follow this tyrant, and making up that bit about me being paid for my trouble was little more than a lie. I wanted to help my comrades, but not if it meant helping Felix. Still, I cant allow fate to get in my way. No matter how it tries to stop me, I'll manage on my own. Or I wont. Its as I always say, I'm truely imortal, up to the point where I die, then the meaning of my life becomes little more than an illusion. Or a lie. Much is in the works for what little respite I have. I have coin to spend, my people to help, and my comrades to watch over. What lies in store to me is easy to say, but hard to see. It will be interesting though, and hopefully lucrative. Regardless, I have my eyes set on many things. Freedom and health of my people, a woman, coin, adventure, and dragon hunting. For an elf of my calibar though, this is but the beginning.
(I'll have more soon, including detailed information on his opinions of his troupe, npc's and what not. I'll try to do perspective based posts after every adventure. Time pending.)

Aram the Tree Devil

(This is a character related post about my new character, Aram the Tree Devil. This character exists in Vic's new and upcoming campaign setting/world)

Aram the Tree Devil -

Who is Aram - Aram is an elf in a city that despises his race. He himself was born into the poor side of life, for the elves have no other way to live currently. During his youth he saw time pass for the world around him, however the elves didnt age, didnt mature, and didnt change. Things moved and revolved around them, but nothing changed for him, or his people. Aram began to see the truth. Seeing an illusion however, doesnt mean that its beaten. Others still percieve it, and still blindly hold onto it as reality. To help his people Aram would need more power than he currently had. He was a smart kid, and his parents did what they could to provide him with hand me down books, bits of lore, and scraps from old bardic tales. Aram absorbed this information, knew it was more knowledge that was needed for him to blossom to his full potential. Through what knowledge he garnered he began to dabble in very fundamental magics. Most elves only knew a smattering of magic, as it was frowned upon by many humans to have people in such squalor wielding any power. He learned what he could, but eventualy was at a wall, at least, until he met his little gnomish master. The gnome was an illusionist, not a very good wizard, or very powerful, but he knew illusions. Also, he was a very kind soul, and tried to provide Aram with all the tools he needed to become greater. With all the gnomes resources at his disposal, Aram began to master all the basics of wizardry, and eventually graduated from his masters needs, and began seeking adventure to compensate for his inate lack of income. Aside from sheer magical prowess, the poor elf needed coin, and a great deal of it, to bring any goals he might have to fruition.  At the end of the day, Aram is a good person. He knows people tend to want to be good, but let prejudice and upbringing get in the way. The young elven wizard can be a handful from time to time, but he's wise enough to know when to quit, or at least when to hold back for a better time.

What Aram wants: Aram is an elf in a city that despises his race. His people suffer, and indeed, due to there long lifespan, have suffered longer than the humans have had there own freedom. Aram feels that the time for this to end is now. The elves grow accustomed to there horrible lives, and most have known only some manner of slavery and misery. Aram however, is above that. There state is a mere illusion, a reality that others have pulled over the eyes of his people, and one that he himself has seen through. His people are faster than the humans, deal with there martial skills more than the humans do, are more attentive, and tend to be both smarter and wiser than the humans. The sad truth is, Elves are better. They just dont know it. There past has been washed away in so much misery that they cant see beyond there suffering. Aram wants what the humans want, the elves dont need a human city, or even there home of a glorified past no one even remembers. Why have an enchanted forest when no elf knows what one does. It burnt down and time and memory let it stay that way. Its time that the elves forgerd there own destiny, create themselves as they see fit, not how the humans see them, or even there past dicates they become. Aram invisions a unified people, a people who believe in there own freedom and the freedom of others. With so few in numbers, only those that have the ability to manipulate the forces of magic will be of much help at the moment, but all of his people are important to him, and not all need to be on the frontlines of his quest. He wont drag the elves kicking and screaming to there destiny, he'll show them that what they want is real, and what they currently are is a shadow of something long gone. Once he pulls back the veil, they'll follow him to a future in which the elves can finally excell.

Arams stats and what they mean :
Strength - Aram isnt any stronger or weaker than any member of his race, or other races. He's about on average, giving into regular excercise to keep up a good state of health and physique. You wont see him on the frontlines of battle in metal armor hoisting big metal weapons, but he can hold a decent adventures pack and a few spare items here and there.
Dex - Elven breeding at its finest. He's not the most nimble member of his race, but he's pretty damn close. Dodging in and out of crowds, avoiding a blow from a local guard or disgruntle human. Sure he didnt hone these reflexes in the great outdoors, but his inherited reflexes remain as important as ever. He prides himself on his aim too, having to hunt for alot of there own food when there not begging, most elves are trained with the bow, and Aram is no exception. Even for a non combative wizard he's  a fair shot, and when targeting magical rays and effects, he's something to behold.
Constitution - He's very healthy for his race. His family has always been a bit more hardy than the next elf, and he and his family rarely gets sick. Unfortunately, many of his family were enlisted into the military and died horrible deaths. Even with there great constitution elves arent great at straight on combat, and humans are usually too ignorant to explore there inherint abilities.
Intelligence - Aram is a tactical genius. As problems present themselves he can create alternatives or solutions within moments. All things have a natural logical conclusion, and seeing this allows him to prepare scenarious for most situations he can think of. Also, he has a nearly eidetic memory, something he has had to hone to help in his mastery of the arcane arts. Only his younger sister was on par with him, and she died of illness decades ago.
Wisdom - All things come to an end, and new beginnings can only happen after careful consideration, planning, and forethought. Most elves dont like thinking about the future, because they have none, and so this attribute has dwindled over time among his race as a whole. Aram however posesses a keen wisdom and understanding of time, and what can be acomplished with the great life span the elves have been blessed with.
Charisma - He's charming, witty, crafty, and good looking, but he doesnt hone this attribute because he doens need to. Actions speak louder than words, and his deeds will cause his people to flock behind him, not some crafted aura of leadership. Still, he's no stranger to social situations, and can be diplomatic, humurous, and flighty as the situation dictates.  

Skills - Learning his craft in the middle of a crowded tavern, or by studying tomes in a packed and noisy shanty, Aram knows how to concentrate. He could probably cast a spell with six inches of steel in his gut while on fire. He managed to learn spells from an absent minded gnome in the middle of a tavern after all. Also, for similar reasons, he can read just about anything put in front of him. Deciphering scripts is second nature to him, because most of his initial knowledge was piecemiel, and from various sources, not all in languages he could understand. Spellcraft and Arcana went hand in hand in his learning, and he picked both up rather quickly. He can understand spells and effects if he sees them, and read enough old tales, tomes, and lore to recognize the ins and outs of magical formula and history. Aram is a religious man, paying tribute to several gods, and so has studied on the various religious practices and what the practitioners actually do for there followers. Mostly, he's looking for a god that the elves can fall behind, but he's not too impressed so far. Still, he knows that by understanding the gods and his followers, things will be far easier in the long run. Nature, this is all second hand knowledge and from books that he's found, as well as overhearing tales from local rangers and druids. He absorbs this knowledge, because its a lost portion of his elven heritage. The woods are to be there new homeland someday, knowing everything about it couldnt hurt. Planes. He's picked up what knowledge he could about the planes, but in all honesty, its not much. There just isnt much of that knowledge out there, the past generations were too considered with all the conflict going on in the prime material plane to worry about the various planes of existence within the great wheel. History. Easy to come by, but not to his taste. Aram has studied a bit here and there about the lands past histories, but finding that most of it is about humans and there plight, stopped studying it as ferverntly. He still picks up info on the past from time to time, but only to humour his intellect.

Feats - Good Learning - Aram is on his own. No ones going to help him, so he's had to develope ways to use every scrap of information thats came his way, and through that arduous training, he gets more out of each level he achieves.
Spell Focus Illusion - He learned magic from a gnome. Illusions were going to be his main stay of spells. He had little choice, but needed none. Illusions would suit his purpose, since he understood the power of them all too well.

Class features and abilities - He can scribe scrolls, though he has no place to do so, he utilizes whatever means he can, usually compensating temples of yuri to allow him to use there communal labs or studies to do his scribing and spell crafting.

Imiediate figment - His mastery over illusions make him an elusive target to nail down. When pressed, he can conjure a double of himself to confuse his foes. This allows him a measure of defense at range, and even in close combat.

Master Specialist - No one knows illusions like Aram. He is the tree devil. Reality is a state of perception, and perception can be changed on a whim.

Religion - Rayzelan and Aeon are ok in his book, and he prays to them for guidance on creating a new future for his people, and overcoming the illusions and chaos his people are currently in. He prays to Leonius to protect his family and community, but not on aspects broader than his elven people. The only god he doesnt like much is Lucidious, for time and fate have been rather cruel to his people. He understands the gods role however, and knows its a very important god to a great many people.

(Ok, i'll have more later)

Heavy Metal

(This is a profile about a character in my current 3.5 game)

Duhkell HammerHorn

Personality - Duhkell is honest, trustworthy, and straightforward. He comes from a long line of honest and hardworking dwarves, and it shows. He has the wisdom of a dwarf much older than himself, and is always the first to admonish, advise, or praise an ally or friend. Duhkell doesnt hide much, and he's fairly easy to read.

Religion - Duhkell worships Sheshensis. Normaly the godess is revered as the god of death, or secrets. Duhkell worships her as the god of earth and metal. Her true form is said to be a great serpent that lives far below the earth, her scales are representations of all the metals that can be found there. He worships her to gain the blessings of the underdark. Minerals, metals, ores, these are the things he seeks out, and the secrets to craft items from them. Although his clan is now mostly made up of surface dwarves, he still takes expeditions down to the underdarks to uncover its secrets. One day he hopes to craft items made from all the secret metals he uncovers on his many journeys.

Adventuring - Duhkell adventures to cover his monetary needs. Most of his expeditions also take him in to old mines, caverns, and underground temples and buildings, these allow him the chance to uncover more secrets of the underdark.

Combat - Duhkell is fairly straightforward. He moves towards his enemy to attack, he uses masterwork warhammer to pummel his foes, and uses his heavy plate armor and great shield to allow him to withstand his foes assault. When needed, he unleashes prayers from his goddess, but usually reserves that energy to heal his comrades. 


Description - Duhkell is fairly large for a dwarf, being just over five feet in height. He has dark red hair and brown eyes. If out of his armor he dresses in sturdy brown leather clothing, usually consisting of breeches, a vest, and a white cloth shirt. When armored he can be seen in a set of dark full plate armor, with a steel shield strapped to his left hand. He wears a simple helmet to cover up his head, but it has no face plate, as he like showing off his single braided red beard. He's not one for jewerly or ornaments, but wears a wooden holy symbol of his god around his neck, the center of it decorated with various plates of metal to resemble a coiled serpent.

Goals - Aside from wanting to adventure in the underdark more, and to create glory for his clan, his wants, goals, likes and dislikes are fairly uknown. He's not one to brag about himself, though can be caught bragging about his clanmates from time to time.

(ok, that wraps up the dwarf for now)

A damned profile

(This is a gaming related post about the game I am currently running. 3.5.)

Character Profile -

Indeera - Imp familiar -

Personality: so far Indeera has been pleasant, kind, insightful, and earnest in her efforts to serve her new master. Its apparent she's an imp, but none have seen her in her true form, which leads the party to believe she doesnt care much for it. Most of the time she likes assuming her humanoid form, a beautiful red headed half elf. The only noticeable trait is that she likes people to take what is in front of them. If an oppurtunity presents itself, its a waste to let it slip by, for it might not appear again.  She seems to have a tactical mind and keen intellect. Her ambition is also apparent. She doesnt want to waste away, she wants to use her newfound freedom to create more for herself. Its possible that her ambition could put her at odds with the party, but so far she has worked happily alongside them.

Wants and Needs : Indeera likes pretty things, expensive things. If she is pleased, she will be more likely to lend her magical powers to that of her master and allies. If left to her own devices, she will use her powers of persuasion and charm to get what she wants. She seems attracted to social settings, and likes the feel of the market place of fetter hill, where she can shop and mingle as her whims dictate. Its apparent that she also desires other things, but her true wants are yet to be found out by any member of the party.

Combat - She is not bound to aid in combat, but realizes that if her master dies she must go back to her home plane, or be trapped in that dungeon yet again. If she so chooses to fight, she will do so at a distance, using her magic and spells to misdirect or hinder her foes. if given magic items, she will be more likely to take on a support roll, or use ranged magic items when her help is truelly needed.

Aligned Stance - All devils are Lawful Evil. Although she seems to be kind and attentive, there is no doubt she does what she does to keep her station. Ambition is the key to most lowly devils, and she probably hopes her master can become powerful enough to increase her station within the ranks of hell. Increasing her personal power, and remaining on her masters good side will allow her to remain on the prime material plane and create a better existence for her self.

Goals - Her master needs more power. He doesnt seem to know what to do with it, but she does. She looks constantly for ways to allow him to attain more power. The greater he becomes, the greater she becomes.

Appearance (humanoid) - Indeera is a 5'5 beautiful half elven woman. She has long flowing red hair, beautiful and enchanting green eyes, and an extremely catching physique. She usually dresses in a combination of white or green clothing, but she also looks beautiful in darker colors, especially black. She always wears a golden necklace with two golden orbs attached, and carries a belt that has several small vials attached, as well as a simple ivory scroll case. She usually carries a spell component pouch on her hip, and stashes her small spell book in there as well. any new jewelry is always worn, though as she gets more expensive jewelry she'll stop wearing the shoddier pieces, even if they have sentimental value.

(ok, thats it on indeera for now.)

First Post

Ok all. This is going to be my brand spanking new gaming post-a-ma-place. I'll leave posts up occasionally. Make sure to check them out. =)