Sorsha Galven

Sorsha Galven A tiefling wizard who calls the sea her home and her crew her kin.

Personality
Sorsha is a young tiefling whose fiendship predisposition toward malice and cunning has been grilled out of her from a young age. She is a selfless woman, serving her ship and her family to the best of her ability and with little regard to her personal wants and needs. This selflessness comes, in part, from a total lack of confidence in her ability and worth. Beyond those that she calls her family and treats as such, the world turns its back on her, spiting the obvious traits of one born from a hellish union.

She has been raised by two people who care deeply for her and that has countered the cruelty of a world that does not wish to know her. As a result, Sorsha is slow to accept new people in her life, and is strongly guarded against her feelings to protect herself from future, perceived rejection and rebuke. Once accepted and trusting of them, she proves to be a loyal and steadfast companion that seems, in her inclinations, better suited toward being an elf than planar-touched.

She is intelligent and quick witted. A strategist who uses magic as a surgeon uses a scalpel.

She is not fond of dry land, indeed, much as some people suffer sea-sickness, Sorsha struggles with discomfort when land-locked. Her temper shortens and her tolerance for ‘idiocy’ plummets when she is on stable ground. Equally, she dislikes folks being judged by their heritage, or choice of lifestyle and in this she reveals herself something of a hypocrite for, as much as she opposes discrimination, she is given to discriminating against folks that avoid the sea which is, to her, a comfortable place and where she truly relaxes.

With the ocean wind in her hair and sea spray on her face, her impish humour comes out to play and her mood dramatically improves, revealing an almost different person from that sombre and brooding woman who can sometimes be seen sitting in the darkened corners of taverns and drinking with sailors.

Appearance
Sorsha Galven stands at five feet and four inches and, when not aboard her ship, that is roughly all that can be determined about her appearance. She seems stooped and ungainly in her gait and eager to avoid even the most fleeting contact with others. Dressed from head to foot in black or grey robes, she wears a heavy weather cloak at all times and keeps the hood drawn over her head. Only her hands are bare and they, long and slender, betray her craft as they nimbly fiddle and fidget with her hood and cloak. She always carries a staff in hand, and has a wand at her hip, alongside a slender silver dagger.

When relaxed and aboard her ship, she is prone to leaving her cloak in her quarters, though rarely seen out of her slim, fitted robes, those she wears when around her home are cut to allow her long and troublesome tail to flick freely around the backs of her knees. With her narrow shoulders squared and proud, she moves with the grace of an Amnish dancer and, though rum can often be smelt lingering around her, she often sports a ready and hearty smile.

She keeps her hair short, barely reaching her shoulders, and is prone to adorning it with metal bands and intricate pieces of jewellery gifted to her by Cianier.

She has six horns in total, short, sharp and angling slightly back as they line from hairline to her crown, they begin closely placed near her hairline and fan out along the centreline of her skull. Her ears are elongated and spined along the outermost edge. She is slender in build, though a ways off being considered lean – she eats well and while active in her everyday life, is far from one given to exercise. Her hands are made rough by a lifetime at sea and at work. Wide hipped and long legged, she has caught many a sailor’s eye in the past, and has personally thrown more than a few overboard when their attentions press matters too far. For while she is no stranger to intimacy, she is rather picky about whom she chooses.

She has a tendency to flush a little too deeply, considering her fair complexion, and is generally a few degrees warmer than she aught to be. Her tail is long and flanged at the tip and has suffered through her years of apprenticeship – Sorsha always thought that her tail should do more than hang there and so, these days, it does and is essentially subconsciously controlled and semi-prehensile. She loves her tail, and calls it ‘Missy’ when nobody not in the know is around.

History
Sorsha was born in 1353, to a life that should have been filled with all the privledges due to one born into a powerful and wealthy merchant household of Amn. Sadly, and through no fault of her own, the horns and stub of a tail betrayed her mother’s lies in a manner that none could dispute. Sorsha’s mother was hidden away in the villa and, within a couple of years, the household was a place of such turmoil that her older brother, and the only person in the house that had shown her a mote of kindness, took the toddler and fled into the streets.

Argus spent two years supporting the toddler, scrounging what he could to help them survive while he listened for news of his home. Once he heard that all was clear, he left the tiefling (who was no blood relative at all) and went back to his old home, only to find that peace was a ruse and that his father had, at last, killed his young trophy bride in a fit of fury. Argus fled and, that night, grabbed his sister and ran to the docks.

He did not explain to Sorsha that he had heard tieflings could be accepted in Waterdeep, which was their eventual destination. Only, that they had to go. The stowaways slipped off the ship in Baldur’s Gate and swapped over to another merchant vessel, this time buying passage.

Their honesty was betrayed by the new captain. A smuggler with an eye for opportunity, he let the ruse lie until they were a day out of port before he pulled Sorsha’s hood down and exposed her heritage. Three days later, he tried to sell the tielfing to a pirate captain that he rendezvoused with along the Sword Coast. He had supposed that a tiefling was of some alchemical worth to one he, privately, suspected was a wizard.

Sorsha stood there, listening to the merchant’s proud blatherings while his crew restrained Argus. She stared at the pirate, who drifted into a kneel before her and gently ran a hand along the tiefling’s horns. The pirate was the first person, other than Argus, to show her a semblance of kindness, it was enough to still and calm the tiefling while her life was bartered over. Ultimately, the pirate took the tiefling, and her brother, though it was not for any fell purpose. Rather, the pirate cared for the children and allowed them free rein aboard her vessel as it made its way north.

During that voyage, Sorsha spent her time in the captain’s cabin. Answering questions that were asked of her and clumsily reading through those books that were put in front of her. Well fed and cared for, for the first time in her life, the tiefling did not want to leave and Argus, aware of that, made plans to make them useful enough that they would be kept around.

He disappeared for a few days, once they reached Waterdeep. Leaving Sorsha with the captain who did not falter in her nurturing aspect toward the young girl. Unknown to both of them, at the time, Sorsha was the same age as the captain’s missing daughter. Dy’Nien’s only true concern, in that time, was not how to find them work to do aboard her ship, but rather, was how she would convince them to stay on a pirate vessel.

That chance came, with some intelligence granted to her by the Amnish merchant-prince turned street-rat. Their usefulness proven, it did not take Dy’Nien long to draw Sorsha to one side and go through those things that she had been teaching her. Testing the girl’s mind and revelling in a discovery that left her announcing that she would take the child on as her apprentice. Argus was named the cabin-boy, a rank that he rapidly climbed above. The children slept in their captain’s room and while some objected to her keeping such young persons aboard a warship, none challenged the captain’s adamant decision to raise them as she would her own, had she the chance.

Sorsha’s life, thus far, has been spent at sea. Her Mentor and her captain her guide and support and, in time, her mother. Her brother becoming her best and only friend. She led, in that regard, the very life that so many young-children dream wistfully of. Learning magic alongside the logistics of running and maintaining a ship. Sorsha’s devotion to her captain comes second to none, indeed, over the years, Dy’Nien’s importance to Sorsha has eclipsed even that of Argus’s role in her life.

As the girl grew into a young woman, she encountered prejudices against her appearance and heritage and discovered, one night on the docks, that some hate her kind enough to try and kill them. She discovered, in that same moment, that it was not only Dy’Nien who watched her back as a brawl erupted around her and half the crew swept into the defence of the young woman.

Ostracised by her homeland, she has no home beyond the hulls of the ships that she has lived on, though her life is a rich one and her experience of the ocean and its various habits and tricks are second to none. Now though, she finds herself in a quandary. Her Mentor has moved inland and she has stayed at Argus’ side yet, the love she feels for him is one that can never fulfil her – by law and by lifestyle, if not by blood – they are related. And while she wishes him all the best in his life, she cannot now help but to begin feeling the tug of envy.

The captain’s true daughter has surfaced and cast doubts in her mind as to what she is to Cianier. In tandem to this, Argus has brought a bard aboard who Sorsha embraces as a friend yet finds her feelings toward altogether too strong to be simple friendship and the infernal taint in her mind has at last begun to awaken and call her toward selfishness and malice that she has otherwise been without throughout her life.

Character Sheet
Name: Sorsha Galven Race and Age: Tiefling, 20. Class and levels: Wizard/War Weaver/Stormcaster 5/5/5 Height and Weight: 5'4", 120lbs. Eyes and Hair:Dark Brown, Dirty Blond. Alignment:Chaotic Neutral Deity:Mystra Allegiance: The Amastacia Challenge Level:15 Caster Level: 13 (15 with some spells)

Abilities and modifiers: • Str: 10 (0) • Dex: 16 (+3) • Con: 14 (+2) (12th) • Int: 22 (+5) (4th, 8th) (int 28 with headband) • Wis: 12 (+1) • Chr: 16 (+3)

HD: 15d4 (75hp) Initiative: +3 Speed: 30ft. Reach:5ft/5ft

Saving Throws: • Fortitude: +8 • Reflex: +9 • Will: +11

Base Attack Bonus: +6/+1 • Melee Attack: • Ranged Attack:

Special Abilities:

Racial: • Darkvision 60’ • Fire, Cold and Electricity resistance 5 • Darkness 1/day at character level • +2 bonus on hide and bluff checks

Class Granted: Eldritch Tapestry – May connect herself with (int bonus) 5 allies, to share certain spells. Quiescent weaving 4 – may weave up to 4 spells into her tapestry, storing them for later and instant release amongst those woven into the tapestry. Enlarge Tapestry – Spells cast through the tapestry have their range increased by one increment.

Storm Spell Power – Air, Electricity, Sonic, water spells are cast at +2 caster level. Thunderclap – more turn any memorised spell into a thunderclap, 30 foot radius emanation effect dealing 1d4 damage/spell level, and stunning all targets for one round (fort save) Resistance to Electricity – 10. Shield of winds – Immediate action to shield herself with an equivalent to wind wall for one round. Eye of the Storm – listen checks and attack rolls no longer suffer penalties in high winds. Thunderbolt – All spells that deal electricity damage deal an additional 1 point of sonic damage per spell level, and stun any creature damaged for one round.

Item Granted • Water walk (unlimited use) • Create water (unlimited use) • Water breathing (unlimited use) • Wall of ice (once per day) • Ice storm (twice per week) • Control water (twice per week)

Permamency: Resistance - +1 to all saving throws Read Magic Arcane Sight Tongues Detect Magic.

Skills: Concentration (Con), 27 (18 ranks) Craft: Weaving (Int), 15 (6 ranks) Craft: Alchemy (Int), 19 (10 ranks) Decipher Script (Int), 19 (10 ranks) Knowledge: Arcana (Int), 24 Knowledge: Nature (Int), 16 (5 ranks +2 synergy – Survival) Knowledge: Arch and Engineering (int), 14 (5 ranks) Knowledge: The Planes (Int), 14 (5 ranks) Listen (wis), 6 (5 ranks) Perform: Dance (chr), 5 (2 ranks) Profession:Sailor (Wis), 6 (5 ranks) Survival (wis),6 (5 ranks, +2 when above ground) Spellcraft (Int), 29 (18 ranks, +int +Synergy – Knowledge)

Feats: • Scribe Scroll. • Summon Familiar. • StormHeart • Enlarge Spell • Craft Wonderous Item • Explosive Spell • Ship Mage • Quicken Spell • Brew Potion

Spells/day: 0th 4 1st 7 2nd 6 3rd 12 4th 8 5th 5 6th 3 7th 2

Inventory: • Head: Headband of Intellect +6 • Eyes: • Neck: • Torso: • Body: Robe of the Archmagi • Waist: • Shoulders: Mantle of spell resistance • Wrists: Bracers of the entangling blast. • Hands: • Left Ring: Ring of Wizardry III • Right Ring: Ring of Elemental Command (Water) • Boots: Winged Boots • In Hand: Staff of Power

Bowl of commanding water elementals. Crystal ball (with see invisibility)

Treasure:  1,500gp statuette (Contingency)

Familiar: Viper +8 AC, int 13. Alertness, improved evasion, share spells, empathic link Deliver touch spells Speak with master Speak with animals of its kind Spell resistance Scry on familiar