Colorful Characters 10: Khatael Nafleed, Elven Soldier

In the immense forest of Uvnebrie, larger in size than any of the great nations, Lady Tevre is the absolute authority. For centuries she has led her fellow wood elves in the judicious application of law in the largely lawless wilderness. She is a kind and goodly ruler, and freely allows any who wish to pass through the forest in peace to do so unmolested. But if any wrongdoing occurs within the Uvnebrie's boundaries, Lady Tevre's network alerts her instantly. What her scouts do not see, her wizard's wards spells or her cleric's divinations will catch. And what they do not catch will be whispered to Tevre's druids by the trees themselves. Nothing happens within Uvnebrie to which the wood elves are not a party.

And when wrongdoing does occur, The Lady's justice is swiftly carried out by her fearless and loyal warriors. Khatael Nafleed is one such soldier. He has served the lady with a fierce loyalty since shortly after her reign in the forest began, as one soldier amongst thousands. And he has always been happy in his role as a bringer of justice, and as a vassal to the Lady Tevre. Like many of her subjects, Khatael loves her as his queen.

Some few decades past, Khatael was part of a team sent to dispatch a necromancer. The fool human had thought he could twist the forest's creatures into fearsome undead predators, and avoid The Lady's justice with his simple concealment spells. The battle was bloody. The necromancer had managed to corrupt a number of wolves and bears, and bend them to his service. Four elves were lost, but the Necromancer was felled, and his abominations put properly to rest.

This was the most significant altercation within the forest boundaries in several decades, so lady Tevre herself came to survey the damage that had been done. She sent her honor guard to help gather the corpses of the corrupted animals for burning, and knelt in prayer beside each of the four elven corpses, wishing them a speedy journey to the afterlife. As she prayed, an undead wolf, who had escaped the earlier fighting, bounded into the clearing. The monster made to leap upon the elven queen, but Khatael ran between them, taking a vicious bite to his face before a volley of arrows ended the wolf's unnatural life.

Lady Tevre herself helped Khatael onto her horse, and for Oakshead Fortress, her stronghold in this section of Uvnebrie. She pushed her horse forward without rest, but even so it took the better part of a day for her to get the wounded soldier to the healers at the citadel. The healers were able to stop Khatael from worsening, but were unable to completely heal his wounds. The bite-marks of the undead wolf had been suffused with necromatic magics. They would remain as black craters in the soldier's skin for the rest of his life. For his part, Khatael viewed the wounds as a badge of honor.

The healers would not release Khatael for two weeks, until they were certain they had done everything they could for his wounds. Once free of the healers, he was immediately summoned to appear before lady Tevre, who had since withdrawn to her primary stronghold of Forestheart Citadel. When he arrived, she offered her personal thanks for saving her life. And, in recognition of his devotion to his duties, she granted him the rank of Captain, and gave him command of a dozen soldiers. Finally, as a personal gift given in gratitude, she gave him a rapier which had belonged to a very dear human friend and companion, who had died long before she had become ruler of Uvnebrie.

In the time since, Khatael has led the elves under his command on many successful campaigns throughout the forest. They were the first to discover that some more of the necromancer's animals had gotten loose, and spread their corruption to others in the forest, and were on the forefront of the battle to eliminate the monsters. They also routed the attacks of several drow raiding parties. Perhaps what Khatael is best known for is his defeat of the Great Forest Worm, a colossally sized vermin which destroyed whole acres of trees before it was killed.

Personality

Khatael's only concern is his service to the Lady Tevre and her goals. He is utterly, and ruthlessly indifferent to all other concerns. He considers any problems outside of the Uvnebrie forest to be of no importance to him. He lacks even the foresight to see which outside problems could potentially spread to become problems within Uvnebrie. However, if a clear argument is made, demonstrating how an outside problem will soon affect Unvebrie, he may be willing to listen. However, he is still likely to conclude that any problems can be dealt with once they reach the forest.

Tactics

Khatael is a master of both the blade and the bow, and can engage in armed combat of any kind comfortably. He is significantly more skilled as an archer, however, and often prefers to snipe his enemies from a great distance. While fighting within the borders of Unvebrie, he will never give up. He may retreat temporarily to tend to wounds or to formulate a plan, but he will never remove himself so far that he might lose track of where his foe is.

Thoughts on Use

Khatael could be used during any encounter with wood elves. If the PCs are working in the interest of a forest, Khatael could be a very useful ally. Though if their actions could be viewed as harmful to a forest, Khatael and the elves under his command (Rangers & Fighters of levels 5-8) could make deadly foes. It's also worth noting that Khatael is the type who could easily become overzealous in his duty. While his patroness is Lawful Good, Khatael himself is Lawful Neutral. He may be of the opinion that it is simply better to never let anyone into the forest, rather than risk allowing them to harm it.

Interesting Facts

• This character was largely randomly generated. Dice were rolled to determine everything from gender, to class. Stats were rolled organically (thank goodness they matched up with the class!) Number, type, and specific magic items in his possession were likewise rolled. I drew magic cards randomly from my green collection to determine events in his past, and what type of personality he was. Even his name is based off items in a randomly selected pages of randomly selected books.
  

Khatael Nafleed, Elven Soldier (CR 10)

XP: 6,400
Male Elven Fighter 11
LN humanoid
Init +8; Senses Perception +6, Low Light Vision

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Defenses

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AC 24, Flat Footed 19, Touch 15 [10 + Armor(9) + Dex(4) + Dodge(1)]
hp 85 (11d10 + 11)
Fast Healing 1
Immunities Sleep effects, Bleeding
Fort +8 Ref +7 Will + 4 (+6 v. Enchantments)(+7 v. Fear)

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Offense

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Speed 30ft
Melee Rapier of Puncturing +17/+12/+7 (1d6 + 5/18-20 x2)
-----Special(Wounding): Successful hits also deal 1 point of bleed damage. Damage stacks, applied at the start of each turn.
-----Special(Puncturing): 3/day, wielder may make a touch attack with the weapon to deal 1d6 points of CON damage.
Ranged Composite Longbow +21/+16/+11 (1d8 + 10/x3)(100ft)

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Stats

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Str 16 (+3) Dex 19 (+4) Con 12 (+1) Int 13 (+1) Wis 8 (-1) Cha 15 (+2)
Base Atk +11/+6/+1; CMB +14; CMD 28
Feats Dodge, Iron Will, Lunge, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Longbow), Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Specialization (Longbow)
Skills Perception (+6), Intimidate (+16), Stealth (+10), Survival (+13) [Armor Check Penalty: -2]
Languages Common, Elven
SQ
--Weapon Training 2: +2 to Bows, +1 to Light Blades
--Lunge: You can increase the reach of your melee attacks by 5ft for one turn by taking a -2 penalty on AC until your next turn.
--Quick Draw: Draw weapon as a free action.
--Point Blank Shot: +1 attack and damage for ranged weapons on targets within 30ft
--Far Shot: Range penalties reduced by half
--Precise Shot: No penalties for shooting into melee
--Rapid Shot: Make one extra ranged attack. Both attacks suffer a -2 attack roll penalty.
Gear +3 Composite Longbow (Str Rating +3), 50 arrows, Rapier of Puncturing (PFCR Pg. 474), Ring of Regenration (PFCR Pg. 462), Gem of Seeing (PFCR Pg. 514), Iron Flask (PFCR Pg. 521), Masterwork Full Plate Armor, 50ft of fine elven rope, three days worth of rations, a warm cloak, 80gp.