Callies Song – Bors

Design Notes

Starting with the attribute rolls of : 8; 11; 17; 14; 9; 12, we finally have a high wisdom character we can turn into our Cleric! He won’t be the classic tanking Cleric there to fill in the Fighter’s gaps, but we have a lot of fighting types already.  We will look to a different kind of cleric, one who pals around with Sharvon for inspiration instead. Korotiku is an Immortal of trickery and enlightenment through pranks and riddles – a classic “good” trickster figure.

Having started with Korotiku, weapons won’t be as important, especially with those low scores for STR, DEX, and CON.  The staff is actually an excellent defensive option with Weapon Mastery and it is not bladed so we can meet the Cleric’s weapon restrictions.  Similarly, the limited number of languages means that Darokinian, Chaotic, and Thyatian are all Bors has picked up.

With the General Skills option selected for this campaign, all Clerics must take the Honor (Immortal) skill as part of character creation. We will round out this clerical skillset with Lip Reading, Detect Deception, Pilot (Small boats), and eventually Storytelling.  This gives him a great opportunity to pick up on the truth as others know it around him by “overhearing” conversations, sensing when someone is lying, and eventually weaving a story or parable to try to catch them off guard in their thoughts. The Guidance skill will be next as he advances his ability to lead or counsel people in a more straightforward manner.

As a Cleric, Bors has access to all of the spells at each level he can cast and may change those out when he honors Korotiku daily and prays for spells. He usually has the following spells in his queue:

1st Level

• Cure Light Wounds
• Cure Light Wounds
• Protection from Evil

2nd Level

• Silence 15’ Radius
• Know Alignment

3rd Level

• Continual Light
• Locate Object

Optional D &D Rules

As a Cleric of Korotiku, the optional rules allow Bors to be Chaotic and also to possess the Hide in Shadows ability as if a Thief of similar level.  This skill doesn’t have any restrictions on armor use, but common sense does place some limits on it.

With limited weapon specializations, this unusual cleric has focused on the staff and thrown objects.  Thrown objects, even though at basic level, includes flasks of holy water which are always useful to lob at the undead. When using the thrown objects, Bors can also break out a shield to increase, well decrease, his Armor Class for added protection.

• Staff – Skilled

As a Skilled Staff fighter, Bors has +3 to hit his opponents (+4 for Skilled Weapon Mastery and -1 for his STR penalty) doing 1d8+1 (already factoring in the -1 from his STR).  While this isn’t much, he also gains an additional -2 AC bonus against the first two attacks of any kind in the round as well as two rolls to deflect missile attacks.

Character Notes

A Darokinian Cleric of Korotiku is a strange sight to be sure.  Korotiku is a Hierarch of Thought in the Mystara (™) Immortals, but more of a trickster deity that focuses on exploration of ideas.  He is one of the great Founders of The Hollow World, but is primarily worshipped on the Pearl Islands in The Thyatian Empire. How this influence makes it to the Callie’s Song is a story indeed.

As a good Darokinian youth, Bors was apprenticed to a trading house to get some experience and see what sort of trade work would best suit him.  He was the youngest of three children already and was not expecting there to be room as a Keeper (that’s Darokinian for a Shopkeeper) in his family inheritance. In those travels, he ended up in Thyatis.  Thyatis City to be specific. A chance encounter with a group of Pearl Islanders, including several Rakes (or non-thieving thieves), really did make him re-evaluate all he held dear.

Maybe trade and wealth were not as important as he thought.  Maybe he needed to challenge his family’s assumptions Abandoning his caravan and quitting on the spot, Bors booked passage to the Pearl Islands and became immersed in the culture.  He discovered the clerics of Korotiku and the idea that we can become too rigid, and too calcified, in our thoughts appealed to him. Certainly, the dynamism of Darokin was proof that change can be good but he struggled with how to carry that back with him.

Returning to home, as Darokin was still with his heart, Bors began to poke and prod his fellow Darokinian’s to challenge their beliefs.  An unlikely friendship was struck up with Sharvon, who embodies much of the Darokinian drive but this odd pairing became fast friends. When a strange Minrothad Merchant came through trying to drive a caravan overland, Bors knew that he had found a way to challenge many assumptions.  It certainly didn’t hurt that a Sindhi magic-user, fugitive dwarf, and freed Ork Gladiator were along for the ride.

In the aftermath of the Fall of Alphatia, Bors sees an even greater need to help people challenge their assumptions, change their beliefs, and adjust to a rightfully dangerous new world that resulted.  

Besides, he’s already seen more of the Known World than anybody else in his family.

Bors

Callie’s Song Overview Here.

Fillable Sheet from  Left Rachael Strange Sock available at Pandius.com

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