Nexan Axiom - Initial Character Sheet

Nexan Axiom

Race: Loring ; Gender: Male (but with highly stylised appearance, and no reproductive organs or nipples)
Height: 5'8"; Weight: 311 lbs; Age: effective 29, actual 619
Eyes: amber with black streaks; Hair: long, shiny black; Skin: white with grey-silver marbling
Primary Class: Arcane Caster (Wizard)

Religion: Pantheist (the Gods exist but they are to be studied, not worshipped); also deeply committed to The Loring Way
Alignment: True Neutral (curiosity over all things)

Virtues:

- Skepticism
- Innovation
- (passionately pro-Loring; will undertake side missions or attempt to influence party goals to save or support Lorings)

Vices:

- Laziness (mundane tasks are such a waste of valuable thinking time)
- Expedience (artificial strictures and sometimes even morality shouldn't halt progress)
- (typical Loring racism towards Tinkers, but in Nex's case it is motivated only by their ugliness and the competition for similar resources; inventive Tinkers are viewed as half-respected rivals; Nexan is above-average racist towards short, ugly or non-intellectual beings, considering them to be practically non-entities; Nexan's definition of short, ugly and dumb is broad; all creatures under 4.5', Humans with CHA < 10, Feralkin with CHA < 12 (sure, CHA != Comeliness, but...), any being with INT < 13; beings with exceptional gifts (especially musical or graceful (DEX > 15)) are viewed as having +2 to the relevant stat for purposes of determining non-entityhood ;)
- (at least initially, Nexan will not venture more than 2 days in mana-poor regions; a wizard's dependence on mana supply is not to be trifled with; Nexan seeks to have some independence from this, which is why he is starting to develop skills that do not depend on access to mana)
- (gunpowder phobic; Nexan's old persona asserts itself with vagrant memories of early accidents involving gunpowder-based weapons; he is adamant about not using them himself and uncomfortable even to be near someone who may use one; a dream involving a cannonball has an even stronger impact (see Background) and Nexan will become uncharacteristically panicky (practically disabled) if he has reason to fear being fired upon by one)

Affiliations:

- The Syzygy Convocation (a breakaway group of Loring seeking power through the manipulation of ley lines; they wish Nexan to continue the researches of his former life, but they have not entirely shared their reasons for wanting this power with him as they distrust him since his reincarnation was only partly successful at restoring his former persona; see Background for more on this group)
- Roots of Narcissus (nominal affiliation, Nexan co-formed a club with 3 other young but promising Loring mages; originally aimed at demonstrating and practising minor feats of magic, as well as minor acts of rebellion, it is now simply a scattered group of friends and former colleagues; see People Known)
- Wizard Academy of Polstown; Nexan studied here for 4 years among humans after completing an earlier informal programme of mentoring (typical among Loring); His academy dues are paid up for this year so he has left behind some personal possessions and has the right to a shared room while visiting any academy (facilities vary from school to school)

Ability Scores

Str 10 +0 [2]
Dex 12 +1 [6, -2 Race]
Con 14 +2 [6]
Int 16 +3 [10]
Wis 12 +1 [4]
Cha 08 -1 [0]

Fort +0(base)+1(con)=1 [x4=0]
Refl +1(base)+1(dex)=2 [x4=4]
Will +1(base)+2(wis)=3 [x4=4]
Initiative: +1(dex)+0(bonuses)=0

Base Attack Bonus: +1 [x10=10] (+1 hit/dmg with ranged weapon to 30')
Grapple Bonus: +0(base)+0(size)=0
Max Hit Points: 8(base)+2(con)*1(level)=10 [x2=16]
Current Hit Points: 10
Armor Class: 10+1(dex)+0(armor)+0(shield)+0(mod)=11
Touch: 10
Flat-footed: 10
Move: 30'

Feats and abilities:

The name of each original re-themed feat is shown *thus*.

General

- Literacy [4]
- Fast Learner [4]

Weaknesses

- Can regain hit points by either Heal (1/2 effectiveness) or Repair spells, but do not heal naturally. They do not benefit from mundane healing or repairing skills. Loring healers customarily heal fellow lorings without requesting any form of payment; it is a matter of racial solidarity so strong that it borders on instinct.
- They require 25gp per day to recover lost ability scores. Restoration spells have half effect, but a parallel series of Restore Construct spells has full effect

Loring

- *Pack Mule* [0] (native Loring ability, +2 Str when calculating encumbrance)
- Sparksight (*Dwarven Darkvision* [4])
- Mineral Empathy (*Dwarven Stonecunning* [4])
- Stability: [0] A loring gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground)
- Immunities: [0] Not subject to nonlethal damage, bleeding, suffocation, or gas-based attacks. The are immune to most poisons and diseases of natural origin, and have a Spell Resistance equal to Constitution +5 against supernatural poisons and disease.
- Light fortification: [0] 25% chance of negating a critical hit or sneak attack

Combat

- Weapon Proficiency: Basic Weapons [4], Crossbows [4]
- Point Blank Shot [8]

Skills

Bonus skill points: (3+1(level))*3(Int bonus) = 12
Purchased skill points: [13]
(skill) 0(ranks)+0(ability)+0(modifiers)=0

/ = untrained

Spellcraft 3 ranks + 3 int + 2 mod(Race) + 2 mod(Arcana) = 10 [3]
Languages: Loring 3 [0], Loman 2 [2], Tinker 1 [1]

/ Appraise 0 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 3
/ Appraise 0 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 3
/ Balance 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1
/ Climb 0 ranks + 0 str + 0 mod = 1
Concentration 4 ranks + 2 con + 0 mod = 6 [4]
/ Craft (Alchemy) 0 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 3
/ Escape Artist 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1
/ Forgery 0 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 3
/ Handle Animal 0 ranks + -1 cha + 0 mod = -1
Heal 1 ranks + 1 wis + 0 mod = 2 [1]
/ Hide 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1
/ Intimidate 0 ranks + -1 cha + 0 mod = -1
/ Jump 0 ranks + 0 str + 0 mod = 0

Knowledge (Arcana) 5 ranks + 3 int + 2 mod(Loring) = 10 [5]
Knowledge (Architecture and engineering) 2 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 5 [2]
Knowledge (Geography) 3 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 6 [3]
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 5 [2]
Knowledge (History) 2 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 5 [2]
Knowledge (Religion) 1 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 4 [1]

/Listen 0 ranks + 1 wis + 0 mod = 1
/Move Silently 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1
/Ride 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1
/Search 0 ranks + 3 int + 0 mod = 3
/Sense Motive 0 ranks + 1 wis + 0 mod = 1
/Spot 0 ranks + 1 wis + 0 mod = 1
Survival 1 ranks + 1 wis + 0 mod = 2 [1]
/Swim 0 ranks + 0 str -4 mod (Loring) = -4
/Use Rope 0 ranks + 1 dex + 0 mod = 1

Magic

Style: int-memorized
Alignment: arcane
Degree of Specialization: Quadrant (Battle)
Colleges Available: Air, Distance, Fire, Motion, (Univ)
Max Spell Slots: 3+1/1+1/0 [8] Current: 4/2/0
Slots Free: 1/0/0
Spells Known: 6/6/0 [6*0.75 + 6*1.5 = 13.5]

Wizard Spells Known:

# = spell memorised, - = in spellbook

0th Level:

- (Fire) Flare: Dazzles one creature (-1 on attack rolls).
# (Fire) Dancing Lights: Creates torches or other lights.
# (Motion) Mage Hand: 5-pound telekinesis (25 ft + 5 ft./2 lvl, 15' move, while concentrating)
- (Univ) Arcane Mark: Inscribes a personal rune (visible or invisible).
# (Univ) Detect Magic: Detects spells and magic items within 60 ft.
- (Univ) Read Magic: Read scrolls and spellbooks.

1st Level:
- (Air) Obscuring Mist: Concealing fog surrounds you (20' radius, 20' high, 1 min/level)
- (Air) Mount: Summons (elemental) riding horse for 2 hours/level. (elemental will not fight, dies from 5hp of area effect damage similar to Unseen Servant)
# (Fire) Magic Missile: 1d4+1 damage; +1 missile per two levels above 1st (max 5).
# (Fire) Magic Weapon: Weapon gains +1 bonus.
- (Motion) Shield: Invisible disc gives +4 to AC, blocks magic missiles.
- (Motion) Expeditious Retreat: Your speed increases by 30 ft.

Pending Spells:
(If you succeeded your Spellcraft check, record the date you will
get the spell: 1 week in character or 2 weeks out of character,
whichever elapses soonest.)
(If you failed your Spellcraft check, record the 3 of character
points you need to have before you can attempt to learn that spell,
or any spell substantively equivalent, again.)

-

Spellcasting thematics:

Visible magical effects (e.g. magic missile, burning hands, fireball) appear as a coruscation with a red core and golden corona, surrounded by dozens of blinking flashes of crimson and gold orbiting at high speed (picture an atom with a high atomic weight where the flashes are electrons and the nucleus is like a a small red sun on the verge of going nova). The entire structure. Spell effects that have a visible physical result (e.g. summoning) are prefaced by a twinkling of golden lights and are followed by a brief crimson and gold afterglow.

When casting spells, Nexan's body seems to recall things he doesn't; his casting style is subtle and distinctive, the style of a caster who has gradually personalised and abbreviated his somatic forms over years of experience. As a result, Nexan's spells are cast almost entirely in the fingers, with precise, dexterous and expressive gestures and a few muted syllables. Sometimes he combines these with superfluous but synchronous and correlated movements of his entire body, sinuous and graceful like Earth's Tai Chi forms. It is possible that someone familiar with Exigent Precept would identify him by these martialistic movements, unique as a fingerprint.

Gold Purchased:

125gp [2.5]

120gp (50gp alone on spyglass 3x) assumed spent on possessions (to reflect the fact that everything is of better quality, more beautiful, etc.), travel costs, wizard academy dues, etc.

Platinum: 0
Gold: 4
Silver: 10
Copper: 0

Equipment:

*Weight in pounds shown in parentheses before the item*

Readied
(if Nexan appears to be under threat and is without an offensive spell, he will ready his crossbow, otherwise he keeps his hands free and his options open)

Sheathed or worn
- (8) Explorer's outfit (see Appearance for details)
- (2) Gravus' compact crossbow (equivalent to a light crossbow; 10" long, light, operated one handed; largely made of metal except for the handle; uses a system of gears to allow quick and relatively effortless re-loading; takes 6" metal or metal-tipped bolts; the lubricated launch shaft enables it to achieve the range and penetration of a full-size light crossbow; a cap (rotates quickly into a recess) holds a bolt in place to get the first shot off quickly); a metal ring at the back allows it to be worn hanging from his belt or suspended from a harness
- (1) slightly curved large poignard (1d6, 18-20/×2) in a leather sheath at his belt
- (2) 20 all metal bolts, each strong enough to be retrieved and reused if fired into earth or anything organic; firing into anything stronger (say through plate armour) will require work with a whetstone to restore a decent point for penetration; 10 bolts are stored in a capped cured leather tube hanging from his belt (the cap is on a tie), the other 10 are in his backpack; maximum range is same as a regular light crossbow, but damage is -1 for the last 10'

Stowed in packs or pouches

A. (2) A backpack of excellent quality; well cured leather, strong straps, with multiple compartments including one that keeps heavy items high up on the back,. containing:

1. (1) A sturdy case (11"x14"x0.8" interior, 0.4"thick sides) made of a plain outer layer of hard wood, an inner layer of marble and a middle layer of metal that hooks and bonds the other layers into a solid but relatively light composite; the case contains:
- (0.5) a set of maps; to aid his researches, Nexan has copied the maps of his former life and continues to maintain and extend these copies (the maps may have no actual game significance but they cover real places)
- (0.5) journal; Nexan fears the loss of memory so he maintains a detailed journal in his own cramped coded script (again, potentially of no game significance to start with, but Nexan will write an account of each day's events here)
- (0.5) research materials; these are copies of his former self's detailed notes; Nexan is only beginning to understand them, but they go with him always (ditto)
- 2 quills
- (0.5) charcoal, paint brushes and selection of watercolour paints (Nexan's journal has occasional small sketches, drawings or paintings to illuminate the text)
- (1) a sextant
- (1) spyglass 3x

2. (3) Nexan's spellbook, strong leather binding, wrapped in a light relatively waterproof fabric (Nexan's original spellbooks are stored as artifacts in a secure Elder library, inaccessible to Nexan until the full return of his memory (if that ever occurs); this new spellbook contains only the spells he has learned in his new life)

B. A leather pouch containing:
- the map that best describes the current region (or a fresh sheet of paper if Nexan is mapping new terrain)
- (0.25) a compass
- 5 quills, 5 chalk, 5 charcoal in a light wooden box
- (0.5) three bottles of ink in a fitted cured leather pack (black, red and blue; high-quality, relatively waterproof)
- (2) Loring utensils for extracting, grinding and mixing edible minerals and crystals (hammer, chisel, mortar and pestle)
- (1) a utility knife (e.g. for carving new wooden bolts)
- (0.5) a whetstone for sharpening knife, poignard and bolts
- (0.5) a small bottle of pre-made lubrication for the crossbow shaft (ground fat or oil)
- (0.5) 2 days rations
- 2"x3" flat mirror, wrapped in cloth
- (0.5) flint and stone (firemaking)
- a waxed envelope with tinder

Encumbrance: (effective Str 10 +2 Loring) 43 lb Lt., 44-86 lb Med., 87-130 lb Hvy.
Total weight carried: 28.75lb (Light)

Stowed off ones person

- (2) additional backpack, containing:
* (5) extra clothing: dark green tunic, breeches in a still darker green, spare shirt (similar to the one worn), 3x spare socks and underclothes
* (0.5) leather tube full of 12 regular pages and 5 scroll-quality vellum
* (0.5) leather bag containing a small stone ornament that he carved at 10 years (a careful, abstract but naive rendering of a Loring woman's face, his "mother" (though Loring families are rather more open than humankind and adults take turns looking after groups of children to allow each other to continue to enjoy a cultured life); Nexan occasionally gets this out and handles it while thinking)
* (3) a 3' x 4' strong leather sheet with metal eyelets 1.2" in diameter sewn carefully into each corner; this is rolled and tied on top of this backpack (Loring anatomy is such than standing or sitting in one place is effortless; Lorings sometimes enter dreamtrance in a prone position, but more often they simply recline or even sit; Nexan prefers to adopt a Lotus position (he has mastered the crossing of the legs only after much practice)
* (3) bullseye lantern and 1.5 pints of oil (9 hours worth)
* (0.1) 6" sieve (e.g. for locating edible minerals in material from a river bed)
* (0.5) repair kit (needles, thread, odd squares of leather)
* (4) waterskin (full)
* (4) 16 days mineral rations (Loring food is expensive but very compact)
* (1.5) 3 empty sacks
* (3) winter blanket
* (2.5) makeshift bivuouac (2.5 square yards of waxed canvas, 2 2' long strong sticks, tie strings and tent poles)
* (2) woolen poncho
* (5) artisan's tools
- (2) Two sealed cured leather bags with tie strings (tied to the backpack), capable of being inflated through a flexible valve (Nexan has dreamt occasionally of lying for an age in near-darkness at the bottom of a shallow lake; he fears water and will go to lengths to avoid it, but if needs must, he will use these as buoyancy aids)
- (5) 50' of silk rope, capable of bearing 400 lbs of weight, sealed carefully at both ends; one end is tied firmly to a sturdy metal ring 6" in diameter
- (6) a plain 6' sturdy quarterstaff of hardwood (capable of bearing 400 lbs of weight if the load is evenly spread), with metal caps and rings at 6" intervals (Nexan is minimally trained in the use of a staff, but fell in love with this one, maybe some memory from his former life; he plans to tie the bags to the staff if he needs to cross water any deeper than 4 feet)

Appearance:

In one sense, Nexan has the appearance of a robust male in his early twenties, however his body and features are oddly stylised like some statues, not typical of the naturalistic appearance of most Lorings. His face has the symmetry and smoothness of Lorings, marred only by a light marbling of dark gray streaks permeating his silver-grey skin; one such streak begins wide at his left temple, crosses the eye and nose before gradually narrowing and fading to the other side. His nose is large but well-formed, his chin chiselled.

However at no time does his face look statue-like as more often than not he is raising an eyebrow, holding his chin and tapping his nose thoughtfully, grinning impishly or peering critically (say at a lump of horse doo-doo he has just stood in, or at a Tinker (especially a particularly deformed one) that happens to cross his path).

For the road, he wears a long soft dark brown hooded leather cloak (it is oiled to stay waterproof (leaks after 15 mins of heavy rain) and there is a collar sewn into the inside which stands up when the hood is down), soft cream cotton shirt with a long collar, tan coloured soft leather tunic, brown leather breeches tucked into knee high soft leather boots with hard leather soles.

He seems out of place on the road as if he has spent too long poring over dusty tomes in marble halls or in reverie in a museum, but he is somehow keen to proceed despite the inconvenience of travel and the triviality of the task of guarding a caravan.

Background:

Before his reincarnation, Nexan was the truly great Loring scientist and inventor Nexan Exigent Precept, having dedicated the last 70 years of his life to the study of the movement of ley lines (in terms of identifying the conditions that cause it, predicting when and where it will happen, and even determining how to make it happen through magic).

Before he reached the maximum age for his body (619 years, prolonged through 2 rejuvenations), a splinter group of Loring Elders (The Syzygy Convocation) determined he would be reincarnated into a new construct body out of respect for his achievements and aspiration for the future success of his unique research. They sought permission from the Elder Council but this was withheld (see below for the reason why), however they proceeded anyway in secret. Only a handful of Loring know that Nexan is a re-born.

While rejuvenation restores the existing body, the Loring reincarnation process transfers the soul into a new construct body. It is a difficult process, not unlike the Loring act of procreation but with the added complexity of transferring a mature soul rather than simply awakening the soul that emerges within a new formed construct. In the last 100 or so years, Loring have come to view the reincarnation process as a form of contra-life as the new construct body is capable of forming a new soul but this is effectively suppressed by the transfer of the mature soul.

Loring rejuvenation is a lengthy and demanding process that generally succeeds twice for an individual, thereafter it tends to simply have no effect - the person rejects the infused and topically applied materials, leaving their exterior and internal specialised automata ("organs") in their original aged form.

Rreincarnation on the other hand has a very significant chance of failure (resulting in irrecoverable death) and an even larger chance of simply failing to accurately transfer the entire memories and personality. A very small percentage of reincarations actually leave two souls fighting for control of the body; the mature soul usually loses as a once-born soul has an incredibly strong will to live.

In Nexan's case, the reincarnation was a partial success. The once-born soul was completely suppressed, but most of his original memories initially appeared lost. Gradually it became apparent that at least some are latent. Recurring dreams seem to indicate he has travelled Unaerth extensively, possibly in connection with his research; some of his dreams are filled with pain and periods of recovery; one specific dream mixes images of white walls bearing artwork with darker images of a funeral ceremony - this dream is accompanied by a sense of great loss but he can't recall the face on the figure that lies within the pyre or determine if this is the same person in another dream who is literally shattered by a dark incoming projectile (cannonball?).

Fragments of his personality seem to have been carried over, so he behaves at times like an old great man, noble and decorous beyond his years, aristocratic and autocratic, impatient with petty things and eager to progress towards his goals. At other times, he is as naive and curious as a kitten and as full of energy as a pup.

It is common among Loring to complete the procreation process on a propitious festival day; the Convocation had intended that Nexan be re-born on Runeswall, but Nexan entered pre-death early and they lacked the resources to keep him alive until that day; instead he was re-born on the day that the Chzil Got cultists chose to celebrate Gotsday that year, 29th of Janniary.

The Convocation have given him a complete copy of the materials of his former researches and remarkably he is able to understand them in some degree (Nexan was known for using a compact and impenetrable code to capture his thoughts, investigations and experiments). He carries them with him always; they are a prized possession, not least because they occasionally stir memories of his old self. Nexan is fascinated but also frightened by the resurgence of these memories because they bring with them the sensation of being observed by an overwhelmingly powerful and complex mind that seems to overshadow his own. To protect him from old enemies, his reincarnation bears the family name Axiom instead of the proud Exigent Precept, but they gave him the personal name Nexan because they thought it might help to restore his memories.

While his main goal is to complete his researches and continue practicing his "hobby" (the closest Loring term for "profession") as a mage, he is looking for a way to integrate this ancient personality into his own youthful ego and he is begining to realise he must escape the watchful eye of the Convocation who are afraid his exhuberance will end the researches of the original Nexan.

Nexan's distrust of most Tinkers and all technomancy is such that he is reluctant to use gunpowder-based weapons. He is however happy to use Gravus' compact crossbow, and he enjoys the discipline of the poignard and the graceful but powerful movements needed to employ it well.

Nexan quietly longs for the day when he will procreate a new Loring, fresh without the imprint of a former life, but while he has no concerns about his ability to bestow life force and intellect, he fears his lack of artistry would produce a hideous child - unthinkable! For this reason, his relationships with female-formed Lorings has been fraught - he thinks only of their skill with Forming and Creating lore, and not their compatibility for friendship. If he is influenced by non-Convocation Loring, he may eventually adapt to the view that procreation is a group process without gender roles.

Nexan comes fresh from the wizard academy at Polstown where he left behind Numani, Exponentus and Aestheta. He has minimal survival skills, has never ridden a horse in his life, but he has a broad smattering of knowledge and theory, including the basics of survival. He will start out depending a lot on his companions (to date, he has only ever depended on friends, mainly Lorings) but his pride will drive him to become more independent very quickly.

People Known:

- Sympatico Rhyme (Loring); she has indirectly been asked by one of the Convocation to take Nexan along because the caravan's direction is relevant to his researches; Nexan met her briefly before the caravan trip began; she has little patience with his manner as it varies from abstracted to intense and only tolerates his eccentricity because he has proven offensive and defensive spell capability; as if to justify her instant dislike, Nexan arrives to the caravan late and has to be picked up en route.

- Gravus Guphor (Tinker male Scientist); Nexan met Gravus (a wizened, horrifically deformed Tinker who is experimenting with the use of heat to create pressure to move a wheel (steam engine)) at a time when his ancient personality was to the fore and somehow they clicked despite their racial differences; right now, Nexan is somewhat doubtful that he could bear to converse with Gravus again, but he wonders about the application of an evolved form of the Continual Flame spell to this technomancic project; perhaps he will seek Gravus out again if he discovers or researches such a spell). The compact crossbow Nexan carries was a gift from Gravus after Nexan inspired a solution to something Gravus was working on. Nexan learnt the basics of the Tinker language as a courtesy to his host.

- Numani Eulorica (Human female Wizard, Society of Mind); Nexan was introduced to Numani by the Convocation in the hope of finding a way to accelerate the process of recovering his latent memories; Numani was intrigued but had no immediate resolution; Nexan was impressed by the security of his residence and Numani's great fortune to have sited his tower directly at a location where a ley line had re-located from a nearby city; Nexan suspects that the Numani personality he knows is actually a Lanternfolk.

- Tumultic Theorem (Loring male noble Wizard, Syzygy Convocation); Tumulta leads the Convocation and is the most fanatical in his propogation of their aims

- Fractian Hypothenuse (Loring male Sorceror, Syzygy Convocation); Fractian claims to have evidence of massive attacks, enslaving and deportation of Loring by humans; he appears most cultured and respectable but in his youth he personally led a group of Lorings in night guerilla attacks against human villages, slaying adults and leaving children to suffer ("to let them experience the torment of their race's genocide against Loringkind")

- Syllabi Chord (Loring female Wizard, Syzygy Convocation); wholeheartedly accepts Fractian's claims and acts in her own way against humans; her preferred tactic in secret is to poison wells or set fires in human settlements; Nexan is aware that she writes hate propoganda against humans, and he has fallen sway to some of the more subtle and persusasive of her writings

- Ecstatica Octavo (Loring female Wizard, former Syzygy Convocation); Ecstatica is 248 years old, partially restored to youth through a botched rejuvenation that restored one entire side of her body but left the other half even more fragmented and even splintered; she knew (and secretly loved) Nexan before his reincarnation; the old Nexan spurned her because of his obsession with his work (he never procreated in all his long years); given her role on the Convocation, Ecstatica is well aware that Axiom is the old Exigent Precent - she views this young and partially restored Nexan as an abomination and wants to see him die horribly, preferably discredited in the eyes of all Loring; so far Nexan has no memories of her whatsoever...

- Crimson Cadence (Loring female Sorcerer, Roots of Narcissus); an extravagantly beautiful, wildly charismatic and ambitious sorcereress with a wide streak of ambition that taints every act with a near insuperable desire to be the best; Nexan hasn't seen Crimson in several months; she disappeared without a word, but Nexan knows that she practically moved in with Exponentus for 2 weeks, driving him relentlessly to do some research for her shortly before she left; Exponentus is so terrified of her that he refuses to say anything, but from the visible papers lying strewn on Exponentus' desk, Nexan found evidence of research into a complex collaborative spell that appears to locate the weaknesses in stone and summons elementals sequentially to those locations; in the hands of a master wizard, such a spell could cause avalanches, topple towers, crumble castle walls, and potentially shatter large numbers of mineral-based constructs...

- Exponentus Corollary (Loring male Wizard, Roots of Narcissus); a bookish wizard, focussing on abstruse and theoretical ways to use magic in building and enhancing architecture; Nexan admires Exponentus' mind, but finds his interests run too often to the abstract; Nexan visited Exponentus to say goodbye (bringing him some choice crystals to eat, which he tends to forget about)

- Aestheta Rhapsody (Loring female Bard, Roots of Narcissus); trained initially as a wizard but drifted into being a bard, at which point she discovered her talents with music and manipulation; exceptionally dextrous (Dex 15) for a Loring, she has mastered the 10-string lyre (strummed with a plectrum) and is working on the flute (though Loring anatomy makes it difficult to get the subtlety of tonality from the lips); Aesthetica waved Nexan off, giving him a red and yellow silk scarf which he still wears about his neck and touches pensively every once in a while

Racial Traits and Abilities:

(directly from http://roleplaymarket.com/document.aspx?topicID=11472 )
- Stability: A loring gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
- +2 Strength solely for the purposes of determining carrying capacity.
- -4 on Swim checks, and unable to improve.
- +2 on Spellcraft and Knowledge (arcana) checks.
- When lorings use magic, it is always within, or intersecting, the Concrete Inanimate quandrant, and never within the Abstract Animate quadrant.
- Can regain hit points by either Heal (1/2 effectiveness) or Repair spells, but do not heal naturally. They do not benefit from mundane healing or repairing skills. Loring healers customarily heal fellow lorings without requesting any form of payment; it is a matter of racial solidarity so strong that it borders on instinct.
- They require 25gp per day to recover lost ability scores. Restoration spells have half effect, but a parallel series of Restore Construct spells has full effect.
- Not subject to nonlethal damage, bleeding, suffocation, or gas-based attacks. The are immune to most poisons and diseases of natural origin, and have a Spell Resistance equal to Constitution +5 against supernatural poisons and disease.
- Light fortification: 25% chance of negating a critical hit or sneak attack.
- Lorings eat certain inorganic minerals, and they do drink water, alcohol and certain chemicals. Their provisions cost twice as much as a human's food supply. Deprived of nourishment, they will suffer, and can weaken and eventually die, but at a slower pace than a human starving. Lorings can search for minerals and scavenge them from the wild, but doing so is more time-consuming than hunting.
- They rejuvenate their minds through 8 hours of dreaming trances per day, in place of sleep.

Character Points

Starting: 101 (+1 from Fast Learner)
Earned & spent:
Earned & unspent:

Character Point Log

(Keep a log in the following format. Update it approximately once a
week. You earn 1 character point per post if it contains 2 or more
sentences of roleplaying content; dice-rolls, game mechanics, & OOC
chatter do not count)
yyyy/mm/dd (points earned)

Character Development

Short-term Goals:

- earn enough to afford a familiar (bat)

Ongoing:

- map ley lines and other magic flows, also geography/geology

Major goals:

- complete his researches to find a way to shift ley lines and cays through magic
- promote Loring equality (superiority), both for individuals and as a race
- found a centre of Loring learning independent of the super-abundant humans and untainted by Tinkers
- create an improved mechanism of transportation to aid the spread of resources among scattered Loring settlements

Goal-related Behaviours:

- converse with other arcane casters, especially to learn about possible spell choices, learned wizards and sages, libraries, etc.
- speak with travellers to add detail to his maps
- map clusters of Lorings
- map new sources of mineral resources (food and material for Loring procreation)

Feat Explanations

- Sparksight: similar in effect to Dwarven Darkvision (Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function just fine with no light at all), but the mechanism is rather different; Lorings with this gift actually see motes of metal and minerals, so they see especially clearly in stone surroundings and can clearly detect beings that wear or carry metal or stone; unadorned organics (biological beings and plants) can be seen less clearly but are still visible due to the presence of minerals in their structure.

- Mineral Empathy: similar in effect to Dwarven Stonecunning (this ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up)

Level-up plan

: [ ]
Soon

- Rapid Reload (crossbow) [8]
- *Mana Sense* [8]
- Lesser Stone Tell (as a feat)

Some time

- (feat) Mighty Hunter (gather Loring minerals for multiple persons, or for one more rapidly) [4]
- (ability) boost Int gradually to reflect the gradual reawakening of the Nexan Exigent Precept persona [20]