Post by Stephen on Apr 6, 2013 14:32:39 GMT 8
You see before you a rather dashing figure in black-on-green puffed-and-slashed leather, tight in all the right places. Standing his full 5'11 and 3/4" with a bit of heel to compensate, his pale skin contrasts with a dark goatee and slicked-back hair. A small silver tankard hangs like a charm from a chain round his neck. This must be the famed Venino der Flinke you've heard about, intrusion specialist and initiate of the mysteries of Cayden Caileen.
Venino der Flinke
Rogue 11 / Cleric 1, 5'11"3/4, Chaotic Good
Initiate of Cayden Cailean, lay member of Brigh
SKILLS
Acrobatics 20(25), Bluff 18, Climb 13(15), Craft (Clockwork) 6, Diplomacy 12, Disable Device 31, Escape Artists 20, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 6, Knowledge (Local) 12, Knowledge (Nobility) 6, Knowledge (Planes) 6, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Perception 18(23), Perform (Act) 6, Sense Motive 6, Sleight of Hand 24(26), Spellcraft 6, Stealth 25, Swim 7, Use Magic Device 18
Languages: Taldane, Osiriani, Kelish, Varisian
Traits: Indomitable, Fast Talker, Reactionary (Eastercon boon)
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Deft Hands, Improved Critical: Rapier, Two Weapon Fighting, Combat Expertise, Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Shadow Strike
Rogue Talents: Trap Spotter, Resiliency, Combat Trick: Improved Feint, Combat Swipe
Advanced Rogue Talents: Crippling Strike
Cleric Domains: Chaos, Travel
GEAR
Weapons: +1 Agile Rapier, +3 Dagger
Worn: Armour: +2 Shadow Mithril Chain Shirt; Head: Buffering Cap; Neck: +1 Amulet of Natural Armour; Body: Robe of Needles; Wrists: none; Hands: Gloves of Reconnaissance; Feet: Daredevil Boots; Headband: +2 Headband of Vast Intelligence; Eyes: Pirate Eye Patch; Shoulders: +2 Cloak of Resistance; Rings: +1 Ring of Protection and none; Chest: Vest of the Cockroach; Belt: +4 Belt of Incredible Dexterity.
Misc: Wayfinder w/Clear Spindle Ioun Stone; Floating: 2x Cracked Vibrant Purple Prism, Cracked Incandescent Blue Sphere, Cracked Pink and Green Sphere, Handy Haversack
BACKSTORY
Venino was born on 13 Gozran 4686 AR to a member of the household staff of a merchant of Absalom. He was christened Valentine and took his mother's family name of Fletcher. He grew up neither knowing nor missing a father and, though essentially poor, was never short of affection, being mollycoddled by the ladies of the household staff.
Valentine's placid demeanor and patience caught the attention of a frequent visitor to the merchant's house, a reserved but dignified artisan by the name of Gantree, and in 4793, at age seven, Valentine was apprenticed to the artisan and began to learn his craft of designing and assembling clockwork automatons and mechanisms. (Lay membership of Brigh, the [neutral] goddess of invention, particularly clockwork and constructs.)
The partnership was a good one. The aging Gantree had found an able assistant, with good eyes and deft fingers, and Valentine had a father figure and an enviable craft and prospective career. With the sale of a few of Gantree's signature singing birds, the artificer could afford to have a housekeeper. Valentine proposed his mother and it was agreed. Sadly, the city of Absalom's fateful year of 4698 saw the dream shattered. The twelve-year-old Valentine was on an errand to the Clockwork Cathedral in the Merchant's Quarter when the earthquake struck. His mother, Gantree along with the workshop-showroom in Beldrin's Bluff had disappeared into the sea.
With nothing tangible to rage against, the young Valentine's reasoning shut down. For days he kept retracing his steps as if he had just lost the showroom, and that if he only looked hard enough he'd be able to find his family again. Gradually the neighbourhood morphed into the seedy Precipice Quarter. Ambivalent about the bad company he found himself in, he was easily led and his moral compass became seriously skewed. The mean streets taught him new meaner lessons that he adopted with little thought. His own innocence preyed on, he in turn preyed on the gullibility of others to become a con man and street thief. Not wishing to sully the name his mother had given him, he adopted the nom de plume of Venino der Flinke
With the growing undead problem in the Precipice Quarter the gangs had to move out, Venino with them. In time Venino began to appreciate the diversity of the city and its people and to take an interest in their lives. He stopped preying on people indiscriminately and began to rationalise his conning and thievery based on whether he felt his marks deserved it.
A major turning point came for him when he discovered the theatre. Here was such a great diversity of characters and personalities, bound together in comradeship. It gave him an opportunity to present different faces to the world and, perhaps more importantly, to be able to use the skills of trickery he'd learned for survival and turn them towards entertaining people. He drew so much energy from the roles that he often would take these personalities off the stage. To many of his friends, the distinction between his own personality and the roles he played became increasingly blurred. His favourites were the courtly roles, and he changed his style of dress to match his conception of courtly fashion and to adopt a gentleman's dueling rapier.
His introduction to the Pathfinder Society came with his meeting with Major Colson Maldris. He overestimated the major, seeing him as a gullible Andoran mark, and tried to snare him in an elaborate con involving the supposed sale of one of the city's landmark bridges. Maldris played along, not giving away his hand until the last minute. Always on the look out for talent, the Major recruited Venino there and then into both the Society and the Andoran faction.
Venino der Flinke
Rogue 11 / Cleric 1, 5'11"3/4, Chaotic Good
Initiate of Cayden Cailean, lay member of Brigh
| Str 12 | Int 12(14) | HP 95 | Fort 9 | Speed 40' |
| Dex 17(21) | Wiz 14 | AC 23 | Ref 14(17) | Init +7 |
| Con 14 | Cha 14 | | Will 9(10) |
SKILLS
Acrobatics 20(25), Bluff 18, Climb 13(15), Craft (Clockwork) 6, Diplomacy 12, Disable Device 31, Escape Artists 20, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 6, Knowledge (Local) 12, Knowledge (Nobility) 6, Knowledge (Planes) 6, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Perception 18(23), Perform (Act) 6, Sense Motive 6, Sleight of Hand 24(26), Spellcraft 6, Stealth 25, Swim 7, Use Magic Device 18
Languages: Taldane, Osiriani, Kelish, Varisian
Traits: Indomitable, Fast Talker, Reactionary (Eastercon boon)
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Deft Hands, Improved Critical: Rapier, Two Weapon Fighting, Combat Expertise, Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Shadow Strike
Rogue Talents: Trap Spotter, Resiliency, Combat Trick: Improved Feint, Combat Swipe
Advanced Rogue Talents: Crippling Strike
Cleric Domains: Chaos, Travel
GEAR
Weapons: +1 Agile Rapier, +3 Dagger
Worn: Armour: +2 Shadow Mithril Chain Shirt; Head: Buffering Cap; Neck: +1 Amulet of Natural Armour; Body: Robe of Needles; Wrists: none; Hands: Gloves of Reconnaissance; Feet: Daredevil Boots; Headband: +2 Headband of Vast Intelligence; Eyes: Pirate Eye Patch; Shoulders: +2 Cloak of Resistance; Rings: +1 Ring of Protection and none; Chest: Vest of the Cockroach; Belt: +4 Belt of Incredible Dexterity.
Misc: Wayfinder w/Clear Spindle Ioun Stone; Floating: 2x Cracked Vibrant Purple Prism, Cracked Incandescent Blue Sphere, Cracked Pink and Green Sphere, Handy Haversack
BACKSTORY
Venino was born on 13 Gozran 4686 AR to a member of the household staff of a merchant of Absalom. He was christened Valentine and took his mother's family name of Fletcher. He grew up neither knowing nor missing a father and, though essentially poor, was never short of affection, being mollycoddled by the ladies of the household staff.
Valentine's placid demeanor and patience caught the attention of a frequent visitor to the merchant's house, a reserved but dignified artisan by the name of Gantree, and in 4793, at age seven, Valentine was apprenticed to the artisan and began to learn his craft of designing and assembling clockwork automatons and mechanisms. (Lay membership of Brigh, the [neutral] goddess of invention, particularly clockwork and constructs.)
The partnership was a good one. The aging Gantree had found an able assistant, with good eyes and deft fingers, and Valentine had a father figure and an enviable craft and prospective career. With the sale of a few of Gantree's signature singing birds, the artificer could afford to have a housekeeper. Valentine proposed his mother and it was agreed. Sadly, the city of Absalom's fateful year of 4698 saw the dream shattered. The twelve-year-old Valentine was on an errand to the Clockwork Cathedral in the Merchant's Quarter when the earthquake struck. His mother, Gantree along with the workshop-showroom in Beldrin's Bluff had disappeared into the sea.
With nothing tangible to rage against, the young Valentine's reasoning shut down. For days he kept retracing his steps as if he had just lost the showroom, and that if he only looked hard enough he'd be able to find his family again. Gradually the neighbourhood morphed into the seedy Precipice Quarter. Ambivalent about the bad company he found himself in, he was easily led and his moral compass became seriously skewed. The mean streets taught him new meaner lessons that he adopted with little thought. His own innocence preyed on, he in turn preyed on the gullibility of others to become a con man and street thief. Not wishing to sully the name his mother had given him, he adopted the nom de plume of Venino der Flinke
With the growing undead problem in the Precipice Quarter the gangs had to move out, Venino with them. In time Venino began to appreciate the diversity of the city and its people and to take an interest in their lives. He stopped preying on people indiscriminately and began to rationalise his conning and thievery based on whether he felt his marks deserved it.
A major turning point came for him when he discovered the theatre. Here was such a great diversity of characters and personalities, bound together in comradeship. It gave him an opportunity to present different faces to the world and, perhaps more importantly, to be able to use the skills of trickery he'd learned for survival and turn them towards entertaining people. He drew so much energy from the roles that he often would take these personalities off the stage. To many of his friends, the distinction between his own personality and the roles he played became increasingly blurred. His favourites were the courtly roles, and he changed his style of dress to match his conception of courtly fashion and to adopt a gentleman's dueling rapier.
His introduction to the Pathfinder Society came with his meeting with Major Colson Maldris. He overestimated the major, seeing him as a gullible Andoran mark, and tried to snare him in an elaborate con involving the supposed sale of one of the city's landmark bridges. Maldris played along, not giving away his hand until the last minute. Always on the look out for talent, the Major recruited Venino there and then into both the Society and the Andoran faction.