Greetings!
Welcome to Creative Characters. This is where I indulge myself a bit and create an unusual character, based on a concept, idea, theme, feat or whatever else catches my fancy. These characters are NOT supposed to be optimized, but they ARE supposed to be INTERESTING. For the sake of reference, and consistency, all characters here are created with the Elite stat array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) and all hit points are rolled as averages (and rounded down). They are also written so that they can be used as either NPCs or PCs as the reader chooses, and are written with all special abilities typed out, so as to ensure a minimum amount of book-flipping throughout your game.
This is a recurring series, and you should be seeing installments of it each week. Should you wish to see a particular build or idea featured here, then please don’t hesitate to comment
This week, I intend to do things a little differently, for the next few weeks actually. In this case, that’s because I have a specific theme in mind for the next 5 characters. These will all be members of a specific holy order, and come with a built-in reason to adventure together. Please welcome the Holy Order of Saint Gregor, starting with their leader Panoril the Just, one of the Angel-blooded Aasimars.
Panoril the Just (CR 7)
XP 3,200
Female aasimar paladin 8 (sacred shield/warrior of the holy light)
LG Medium humanoid (aasimar)
Init +1; Sense darkvision 60 ft., Perception -1
DEFENSE
AC 30, touch 11, flat-footed 29 (+11 armor, +1 Dex, +4 shield)
hp 71 (10+7d10+14(constitution)+8 (favored class bonus)
Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +10
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee +1 flaming longsword +15 (1d8+6/17-20×2 plus 1d6 fire)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +11)
1/day— alter self
TACTICS
During combat Panoril seeks out the strongest target possibly in any situation, relying on her skill and armor to protect her. She will use her abilities as needed to keep her allies safe, starting with bastion of good and holy shield. She offers mercy to any opponent, once victory seems assured, but if they refuse mercy, then she will work to destroy her opponents to the best of her ability. Should the need arise, she prefers a tactical retreat to keep her allies safe, as opposed to risking them needlessly.
STATISTICS
Str 20 (15 + 1 level, + 2 race, + 2 magic), Dex 13, Con 15 (12 + 1 level, + 2 magic), Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 16 (14+2 race)
Base Atk +8/+3 CMB +12; CMD 21
Feats Armor Proficiency Light, Armor Proficiency Medium, Armor Proficiency Heavy, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Martial Weapon Proficiency (all), Missile Shield, Shield Focus, Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency (all), Weapon Focus (longsword),
Skills Diplomacy +14, Knowledge (religion) +11
Languages Celestial, Common
Gear +1 flaming longsword, belt of physical might (+2 Strength and Constitution) +2 full plate, +2 heavy steel shield, cloak of resistance (+2), backpack, bedroll, blanket, explorer’s outfits (2x), small tent, trail rations (7 days); Coins 823 gp, 9 sp, (these remaining coins can be spent at the GM or player’s discretion before the start of the game session).
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Aura of Courage (Su)
Panoril is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions only while Panoril is conscious, not if she is unconscious or dead.
Aura of Good (Ex)
The power of Panoril’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to her paladin level.
Aura of Resolve (Su)
Panoril is immune to charm spells and spell-like abilities. Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm effects.
This ability functions only while Panoril is conscious, not if she is unconscious or dead.
Bastion of Good (Su)
Panoril can call upon the powers of good to defend her and her allies against evil. This ability functions as smite evil, except Panoril gains no benefit on attack or damage rolls against her target. Instead, any attacks the target makes against allies within 10 feet of Panoril deal half damage. Attacks against Panoril deal full damage, but she gains a deflection bonus to her AC equal to +5 (3 + her Charisma bonus of +2, maximum +6 at 20th level) against attacks made by the target of the smite. As with smite evil, if Panoriltargets a creature that is not evil, her bastion of good ability is wasted with no effect.
Panoril can use this ability 3 times per day, and the effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time she rests and regains her uses of this ability.
Celestial Resistance
Panoril has acid resistance 5, cold resistance 5, and electricity resistance 5.
Detect Evil (Sp)
At will, Panoril can use detect evil, as the spell. Panoril can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, Panoril does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range.
Divine Bond (Su)
Panoril has formed a bond with her shield. As a standard action, she can enhance her shield by calling on the aid of a celestial spirit. This bond lasts for 8 minutes. When called, the spirit causes the shield to shed light like a torch. The spirit grants the shield a +2 enhancement bonus. These bonuses can be added to the shield, stacking with existing enhancement bonuses to a maximum of +5, or they can be used to add any of the following armor special abilities: arrow deflection, bashing, blinding, fortification (any), reflecting, and spell resistance (any). The reflecting enhancement may be used once each time Panoril makes use of her divine bond. Adding these armor special abilities consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property’s cost. These bonuses are added to any properties the shield already has, but duplicate special abilities do not grant any extra benefit. The bonus and special abilities granted by the spirit are determined when the spirit is called and cannot be changed until the spirit is called again. The celestial spirit imparts no bonuses if the shield is used by anyone other than Panoril, but it resumes giving bonuses if she resumes using the shield. She can use this ability once per day.
If a shield with a celestial spirit is destroyed, the Panoril loses the use of this ability for 30 days, or until she gains a level, whichever comes first. During this period, she takes a –1 penalty to her armor class and on saving throws.
Divine Grace (Su)
Panoril gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (+3) on all saving throws.
Divine Health (Ex)
Panoril is immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases, including mummy rot.
Holy Shield (Su)
Panoril can channel her faith into her shield, protecting any nearby allies. All allies adjacent to her gain a shield bonus equal to her own shield bonus, including any increases from the shield’s enhancement bonus. This bonus does not stack with any existing shield bonuses. Panoril radiates light as a light spell while the shielding is active.
Using this ability consumes two uses of Panoril’s lay on hands ability, and the effects last for 3 rounds plus a number of rounds equal to her Charisma bonus (+3), so a total of 6 rounds.
Lay On Hands (Su)
Panoril can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can use this ability 9 times. With one use of this ability, she can heal 4d6 hit points of damage. Using this ability is a standard action, unless she targets herself, in which case it is a swift action. Despite the name of this ability, Panorilonly needs one free hand to use this ability.
Alternatively, Panoril can use this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures, dealing 4d6 points of damage. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Undead do not receive a saving throw against this damage.
Mercy (Su)
Whenever Panoril uses lay on hands to heal damage to one target, the target also receives the additional effects from all of the mercies possessed by Panoril. A mercy can remove a condition caused by a curse, disease, or poison without curing the affliction. Such conditions return after 1 hour unless the mercy actually removes the affliction that causes the condition.
- Shaken: The target is no longer shaken.
- Diseased: Panoril lay on hands ability also acts as remove disease, using her level as the caster level.
Power of Faith (Su)
Panoril has learned to use the power of her faith to bolster her defenses and aid her allies.
Panoril gains 2 extra lay on hands per day, for a total of 9 times per day. She can spend a use of her lay on hands ability to call upon the power of her faith as a standard action. This causes a nimbus of light to emanate from Panoril in a 30-foot radius. All allies in this area (including Panoril) receive a +1 morale bonus to AC and on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws against fear as long as they remain in the area of light. This power lasts for 1 minute.
Further, the nimbus of light heals Panoril and her allies, curing of them of 1d4 points of ability damage, as per the spell lesser restoration. A creature can only be healed in this way once per day.
HISTORY
The Order of Saint Gregor is dedicated to the recovery of religious artifacts of all kinds. For benevolent religions, they will return these to the clergy of those religions (usually at whatever local headquarters that they have) or destroying them in the case of those belonging to evil religions.
The leader of their adventuring company (or “Recovery Department” as the members jokingly call it), is Panoril, a young, headstrong woman who has learned the value of allies and keeping her cool. Unfortunately, keeping her cool is NOT her strong point, and she often loses her temper, seeking forgiveness afterward. So far, she’s managed to keep herself out of trouble, mostly due to the help of her allies, and she’s come to value them higher than even her allegiance to the order, something she keeps VERY quiet about.
