Sherman

"Quote goes here" - Who

WORK IN PROGRESS

Origin

Sherman entire tribe was annihilated by adventurers, as often happens to kobold tribes. Two of the adventuring party, a newly wed couple known as Otto and Scarlet Rune-Warden, had snatched noticed a single egg that had survived the destruction of the hatchery. They thought it would make an interesting pet and chose to take the little egg with them.

Very soon after they had returned to their home, the egg hatched and they named the tiny yipping creature that crawled out from it Sherman, after Otto's favorite childhood dog. Sheldon grew and matured quickly, as is normal for his kind. In time, his owners stopped thinking of him as a pet and more as a child. This connection grew even deeper after they had discovered that Scarlet could not bear children after an adventure where she had to be resurrected following a fatal rending incident at the hands of a demon. Sherman came to think of them as his parents and they called him their son.

Sherman's parents were successful mercenary adventurers and very wealthy, which allowed him to live a very privileged life. But they were afraid of how the world would treat him and kept him largely isolated in their home. The only people he ever saw beyond his parents were they adventuring companions, his mother's hateful brother Renaldo who lived in the manor with them, and a few servants who never truly stopped seeing him as their rich master's exotic pet.

Sherman was educated by his mother. She taught him history and about magic. He did not have the knack for spells as she did, but he did prove to have magical talents in other areas. She seized upon this spark and began teaching him what she knew of arcane crafting and alchemy. What she lacked in personal knowledge she made up with in books, scrolls and the occasional dubious tutor (but they were being paid very well, so they taught the little monster their trade despite strong reservations).

Sherman's father was a renown swordsman and his mother a wizard of no small reputation. When he was very young, she had marked him and sealed a sentient entity called Byggir og Verndari within his body, just as she and his father had done to them. She said that it would forever be there to aid and protect him when he needed it. But it was no protection from the tragedy that was to come. When Sherman was 12 (an adult amongst kobolds), his parents and their companions being adventurers, had accepted a mission from an anonymous, mysterious robed man with no credentials, references or reason to trust...in a bar. His mother kissed him goodbye and his parents told him they would be back within a fort night. Seven months later, his "Uncle" Renaldo had successfully bribed and convinced the city to pronounce them as dead. Their wealth and estate was divided up between Renaldo and the city government (debts owed for when they had burned down a quarter of the lords home during an inter-dimensional battle years prior). Sherman was unceremoniously kicked out onto the streets with next to nothing but the clothes he was wearing.

Renaldo ignored Sherman's desperate pleading for succor as he left the manor following its sale. He was never seen again. Shermon assumed he must have moved somewhere else. Sherman had no experience with people and cities, much less surviving on the streets. People were either fearful or aggressive when they saw him. He was forced to live in the shadows and dark places of the city. It was during this time that he met a little girl, a gutter rat named Ophelia. Her mother was a lady of the evening and she had no father. She befriended Sherman and taught him how to survive and how to steal food and take coin from the unwary. Sherman was pretty sure that Avandra, his parents patron deity, was probably frowning down upon this action, but hoped she would understand that he was doing what was necessary to survive.

After a couple of years, Ophelia's mother decided it was time to bring her into the family business, which was no place for her pet "sewer lizard" as the nasty woman called him. Ophelia's new training and responsibilities left her little time for Sherman, though they remained friends and she would visit when she could find the time. Eventually Sherman decided that it was time for him to leave the city and see the world. He thought that perhaps he could find others of his kind and live with them. It would be nice to be accepted. He had no clue.

Sherman traveled and eventually found and moved in with a tribe of kobolds called the Blood Fang. They were...a bit violent. He did his best to live amongst them, but the life was very hard and very fast. He did not relate with anyone, and they took umbrage with his fancy education, weird clothes and mannerisms. The Blood Fang Chief took Sherman aside and told him that he should go before the tribe killed him; which would be that night if he didn't run, very fast, to somewhere far away. The tribe never got the chance as they were attacked by adventurers mere hours after Sherman had left.

Sherman was on the road again, roaming without purpose, not quite sure what he was looking for. One foot before the other, he would let chance and perhaps the favor of Avandra, his patron goddess (if she was not too cross with him for his less than stellar choices in life) lead him...somewhere.

Appearance

Sherman is a rather atypical looking kobold, which is no surprise given his upbringing. He is short (even for a kobold), standing a full height of 3' 6" and on the stocky side for his species. Overweight kobolds are rare, usually due to a lack of food and having to share with massive tribes when they do. Sherman had never wanted for anything when he was growing up, thus food was always readily available and his frame widened as a result. His scales are a rusty bronze color, but his belly, chest, throat and lower jaw is a bold blue. His tiny horns and the barbs that grow upon his arms are the color of old dark rust. His bright eyes are yellow with red, nearly black vertical slits. Sherman bears an engraved "tattoo" upon his scales that glows with a dim iridescence and sometimes changes color based on his mood. The etched design is long and serpentine of complex interlocking runes that coils up from the back of his hand, up his forearm and around his arm to his shoulder, then it spirals out from there over a quarter of his chest and back. When garbed, the markings upon the back of his hand is the only portion that is visible.

Sherman wears practical traveling clothes and protective leathers, all of which he keeps well maintained. He wears a long striped scarf that appears to have been made from a variety of left over yarn scraps and a matching stocking cap that is nearly as long as the scarf. He often wears goggles that help dim the bright glare of daylight and as protection when working with alchemical substances.

Sherman generally wears a belt-pouch and backpack holding all of his worldly possessions with a small cylindrical valise containing his portable alchemy lab strapped atop that. He keeps a dagger (that resembles a short-sword in his hands) sheathed at his side and a hand-crossbow opposite it.

Character Record

Race: kobold, Class: artificer, Level: 1, Gender: male, Alignment: unaligned, Age: 16, Height: 3' 6", Weight: 75, Size: small, Deity: Avandra, Theme: Alchemist, Background: Adventurer's Scion

• Abilities: Strength 7 (-2), Constitution 16 (+3), Dexterity 14 (+2), Intelligence 17 (+3), Wisdom 14 (+2), Charisma 11 (0)

• Defenses: AC: 15, Fortitude: 14, Reflex: 13, Will: 13
  • +2 vs. traps
• Hit Points: Max HP: 28, Bloodied: 14
• Healing Surges: Surge Value: 7, Surges/Day: 9

• Initiative: 2
• Speed: 6
• Passive Insight: 12
• Passive Perception: 17
  • Special Senses: Darkvision

• Carrying Capacity: Normal 70, Heavy 140, Max 350

• Skills: Acrobatics +2, Arcana +8, Athletics -2, Bluff 0, Diplomacy 0, Dungeoneering +4, Endurance +3, Heal +7, History +8, Insight +2, Intimidate 0, Nature +2, Perception +7, Religion +3, Stealth +2, Streetwise 0, Thievery +9
  • Special: can re-roll monster knowledge checks, must take second roll

• Languages: Common, Draconic

• At-Will Powers:
  • Melee Basic Attack (Standard Action);
  • Ranged Basic Attack {Standard Action);
  • Magic Weapon (Standard Action);
  • Thundering Armor (Standard Action);

• Encounter Powers:
  • Scouring Weapon (Standard Action);
  • Healing Infusion: Curative (Minor Action)*;
  • Healing Infusion: Resistive (Minor Action)*;
  • Shifty Maneuver (Move Action);

• Daily Powers:
  • Punishing Eye (Standard Action);

• Feats:
  • Alchemist
    • can create 1 alchemical item of level or lower at no cost (may only have one such item prepared at a time)
  • Arcane Familiar
  • Ritual Caster

• Ritual/Recipe Book:
  • Brew Potion
  • Disenchant Magic Item*
    • no component cost
  • Enchant Magic Item
  • Make Whole
  • Alchemist's Acid (Alchemy)

• Possessions: backpack, belt-pouch, ritual book, alchemy case, dagger, hand-crossbow, waterskin, trail rations (10), a well-loved plush rabbit,

• Treasure:

• • 0gp

Byggir og Verndari

PICTURE GOES HERE

Byggir is the name of the sentient arcane entity forever sealed within Sherman's body by his mother. Both of his parents had similar markings. Byggir itself overlays a magically infused "tattoo" etched upon Sherman's scales and appears as a long serpentine design of complex interlocking runes that coils up from his forearm and around his arm to his shoulder, then it spirals out from there over a quarter of his chest and back. When it is in passive mode it appears to be a dimly glowing iridescence upon the engraved markings in his scales that will often flash and shift in color based on Sherman's emotional state. When active, Byggir will flow from Sheldon's body and manifest into an animated luminous image of the runic marking that glides effortlessly through the air with an alien, serpentine grace.

_______________________
Speed 2, Fly 5 (hover)

• Constant Benefits
  • You can perform the Arcane Mark ritual as a standard action for no cost, and other creation rituals require half the normal time for you.
  • You can create alchemical items one level higher than your level.
• Active Benefits

Infuse Mark: When you use healing infusion on an ally adjacent to your familiar, that ally regains 2 additional hit points (if you are using curative admixture) or gains 4 additional temporary hit points when the ally ends the AC bonus (if you are using resistive formula).

• Level 11: 3 additional hit points or 6 additional temporary hit points.
• Level 21: 4 additional hit points or 8 additional temporary hit points.

Other Important Individuals

• Otto Rune-Warden: Sherman's adopted father was a wealthy, well known and highly successful mercenary swordsman.
• Amalthia "Scarlet" Rune-Warden: Sherman's adopted mother, who was a famed mercenary wizard.
• Renaldo Thews: Sherman's hateful uncle on his mother's side, who had only ever been around in order to mooch off of his sister's fortune. He was quick to have Sheldon cut off and thrown out as soon as he was able to have his parents proclaimed as dead by the city some months after they had vanished during a mission.
• Ophelia: A gutter rat, now promoted to lady of the evening, that Sherman ran with for a while.

Projects and/or Downtime

• Find somewhere warm and dry to sleep.
• Find work.

Experience Points

Earned: 0 Session 1.x.13: