Creative Characters – Merrik Draven, Captain of “the Neutralizers”

Welcome to the return of Creative Characters. In taking over from Kim’s amazing work, and continuing this intriguing series, I’ll be venturing to present some interesting character builds, with a twist here and there. As with the original run, 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. If you have a theme or idea you’d find particularly interesting to see, feel free to comment.

While it was introduced partway in last time, this time around there will be a focus on showcasing the wealth of great Third Party (3pp) material available in EVERY entry. The first set will all be level 5 but will be created with a 3rd Party Published Race, 3rd Party Published archetype, or interesting 3rd Party Published gear or spells. Don’t worry, we’ll start simple, while at the same time doing something I especially enjoy, making the mundane exciting. Without further ado, the Spellscorn Fighter.

Merrik Draven CR 4

XP 1,200
Male human fighter 5 (spellscorn fighter)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +1

DEFENSE

AC 23, touch 13,  flat-footed 22 (+7 armor, +1 deflection,+1 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 50 (30 class (5d10) +5 (favored class bonus)+15 Constitution )
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +4 (+5 vs. charm or compulsion effects)
Defensive Abilities evasion

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 longsword +9 (1d8+4/19-20×2) or mwk cold iron warhammer +8 (1d8+3/x3)
Ranged mwk composite longbow (+3) +6 (1d8+3/ x3)

TACTICS

During Combat Merrik will doggedly target any obvious spellcaster, closing with them immediately and making use of the Step Up and Following Step feats to relentlessly press the attack, making spellcasting difficult. Due to his knowledge of Spellcraft, and his spellscorn shield ability, he has been known for extreme tactics, like charging through a fireball and coming out untouched.

STATISTICS

Str 16 (+3), Dex 13 (+1), Con 16 (+3), Int 10, Wis 12 (+1), Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 19
Feats Armor Proficiency Light, Armor Proficiency Medium, Armor Proficiency Heavy, Blind-Fight, Following Step, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Martial Weapon Proficiency (all), Shield FocusShield ProficiencySimple Weapon Proficiency, Step Up
Skills Knowledge (arcana) +5, Spellcraft +5
Languages Common
Magical Gear +1 breastplate, +1 heavy steel shield, potion cure light wounds (2), potion of bull’s strength, ring of protection (+1), Non-magical Gear backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, a flint and steel, an iron pot, a mess kit, masterwork manacles, rope, soap, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), uniform, and a waterskin. Coins 1125 gp, 6 sp, (these remaining coins can be spent at the GM or player’s discretion before the start of the game session).

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Hardened Mind (Ex)

Merrik gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against charm and compulsion effects.

Spellscorn Shield (Ex)

While using a shield, Merrik may add half his shield bonus to his AC as a bonus to all Reflex saving throws and to his touch AC. He also gains the evasion ability while using a shield other than a buckler.

Mage Killer (Ex)

Merrik gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls against creatures that have cast a spell or used a spell-like ability in the past round, as well as against summoned monsters.

ABOUT

Merrik’s life took a pivotal turn down its current path when, as a young newly commissioned member of the City Watch, he witnessed his entire patrol unit killed in an instant by a stray fireball, collateral damage from an argument between two drunken adventurers in the tavern they’d picked to wind down from their shift.

At that moment, the young guardsman gained a true understanding of just how dangerous magic could be, and more importantly, how much of a threat to the public magic users were. Focusing his training and devoting the next few years to honoring his friends, Merrik trained for countless hours, going out of his way to expose himself to magic, and the development of tactics to counter it.  His hard work didn’t go unnoticed, and when he petitioned his commanders with the idea of developing a special counter magic unit to neutralize hostile or dangerous magic users in defense of the public, his ideas were rather well received.

As Captain of this special unit, nicknamed “The Neutralizers”, the grim, jaded warrior finds continued purpose, making the city just a little bit safer for the average citizen.



About markt

Mark has been playing RPG's for over 25 years, the last 10 primarily online. A veteran of countless Play by Post games, he is also a content creator for OGN and an RPG Superstar alumni.

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