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Thread: Harald Khorien

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    Harald Khorien

    Harald Khorien
    Male Anuirean Scholar 4/Natural Magician 2/Wizard 4; CR 10
    The Count of Taeghas
    Lineage of Lessor Nobility
    Minor Bloodline of Anduiras, major, 33
    LG Medium Humanoid

    VP/WP 37/12
    Init +1; Senses: Listen +2, Spot +2 (+5 in daylight)
    Languages Anuirean, Old Andu, Basarji, Low Brecht, Sidhelien, Karamhul, Auran

    AC 10, 10 flatfooted, 10 touch
    Fort +4 Ref +3 , Will + 14

    Speed 30 ft
    Melee +4
    Ranged +5
    Base Atk +5 ; Grp + 9

    Abilities Str 8 Dex 10 Con 12 Int 18 Wis 14 Cha 14
    Feats: Trained Memory, Questiones Naturales, Political Astrology, Natal Astrology, Spell Focus (Divination), Scribe Scroll, Election Astrology, Lore, Skill Focus (Knowledge) (Natural Philosophy), Insightful Divination, Timaeus, Spell Penetration
    Skills: Bluff +10, Concentration +8, Decipher Script +16, Diplomacy +16, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +9, Knowledge (Astrology) +22, Knowledge (Natural Philosophy) +19, Knowledge (Nobility) +9, Ride +2, Profession (Astrologer) +7, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +19, Spot +5, Use Magic Device +12 (+16 for scrolls)
    Special Qualities: Rank, Title, Education, Lineage of Minor Nobility, Familiar
    Possessions: ring of mind shielding, bracelets of armor +2
    Description: Harald’s appearance is a mixture of aristocratic and arcane, with fine clothes mixed with the exotic patterns and flurishes one might expect for a wizard.

    Lineage of Minor Nobility Harald Khorien was raised in the court of his father as a younger son. He has a lineage bonus of +2 to Knowledge (Nobility) and Perform (Etiquette)
    Younger Son As a younger son, Harald was sent to pursue an education to aid the family. He recieves a +2 bonus to Int.
    Rank Harald has the right to a unique set of arms, he is also the soveriegn ruler of a state and is a law unto himself.
    Title Harald is universally recognized as Count of Taeghas.
    Trained Memory Harald has learned to memorize long texts by rote. If he takes the time to memorize something, Harald can recall it later perfectly.
    Questiones Naturales This book of natural philosophy has been memorized by Harald in his study of astrology. Harald recieves a +2 book bonus to Knowledge (Natural Philosophy) and Knowledge (Astrology) checks. In disputations, he recives instead, a +4 book bonus to his Knowledge (Natural Philosophy) or Knowledge (Astrology) checks regarding Objections and Replies.
    Political Astrology Harald can use astrology to make horoscopes for a region described by one province and all adjacent provinces. He can determine the general mood and actions of the people in the region.
    Natal Astrology Harald can make birth horoscopes and interpret them.
    Spell Focus (Divination) +1 on save DC’s against Harald’s use of divination magic.
    Scribe Scroll Harald can create scrolls.
    Familiar Gweledigaeth the hawk is Harald’s familiar. His forays out for some “falconry” are often actual reconnicance.
    Election Astrology Harald can use astrology to determine what someone will decide at a given time.
    Lore As a scholar, Harald can always substitute half his class level for ranks in any Knowledge skill. He cannot use this ability for extended tasks, prerequisites, nor may he take 10 or 20. Untrained knowledge checks for a scholar are limited to DC 15 or lower.
    Skill Focus (Knowledge) (Astrology) +3 bonus to Knowledge (Astrology) checks.
    Insightful Divination Harald gains a bonus on initiative and saves when casting divination spells.
    Timaeus Harald has memorized this book, a dialogue on natural philosophy. Its insights grant Harald a +1 on all saves. Additionally in disputations he recives a +10 book bonus to his Knowledge Points based on natural philosophy.
    Spell Penetration +2 bonus on caster level checks to defeat spell resistance

    Harald Khorien was a younger son sent off to study with Lucien of the Seven Stars in order to help the family with an academic, and perhaps even arcane, education. While he was pursuing this education, his father and elder brother were seperatly slain in raids from the Manslayer. It then fell on Harald to take on the mantle of Count of Taeghas. He was a reluctant count, and wished to pursue a life of study and astrology instead of politics and rulership. Lucien, Harald’s mentor, brought Harald together with Darien Avan and helped forge a mutually beneficial agreement. Harald has since been free to pursue astrology and divination and extend his source holdings into Avanil, in exchange, Darien Avan gained practical political control in Taeghas, directing the law and the diplomacy of the realm, and Harald undertakes astrological and divinatory inquiries for Darien Avan. Though Harald normally keeps court in his ancestoral manors and castles. He is a principle advisor to Darien Avan and can be found receiving Avan and visiting Avan in return.

    Gweledigaeth hawk familiar
    Khorien pretends to an interest in falconry, but in fact only uses his hawk familiar to aid his reconisance by extending his divination reach by his spell link.
    Last edited by kgauck; 03-24-2007 at 06:17 AM.

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    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    Thanks to Trithemius, whose several conversations on Harald inspired specific and general approaches to this build.

    Some notes.
    Harald is a 4th level wizard now, but everyone would acknowledge that a 5th level wizard is substantaily stronger, so as an NPC, that 5th wizard level is an important step as your players progress.

    Astrology rules are pretty common, but I'll mention the ones I employed here.

    Generally an Astrology check reveals natural phenomenon.
    DC 15 check reveals a natural event. If no special events are taking place, then the weather is known. Earthquake, flood, rain.
    DC 18 some descriptive details about the natural event, generally scope or duration, such a minor earthquake, major flood, rain all day.
    DC 20 Includes secondary details, such as wind or tempreture. Or in the case of a major event, the weather.
    DC 25 Full information of an event, as one might recieve from a witness after the event.
    DC 30 Fully detailed information about everything that is natural and connected to the event.

    Natal Astrology is the ability to divine personal characteristics of another character.
    DC 20 Alignment
    DC 25 Class
    DC 30 Abilities and a broad outline of personality
    DC 35 character level some details of personality
    DC 40 full game statistics and a detailed description of personality

    Political Astrology is the ability to interpret the general mood and actions of a people in a region. For BR a region is a province and all adjacent provicnes.
    DC 20 General activies of the populace, such as harvest, festival, planting
    DC 25 Detailed activities of the populace, such as harvesting wheat, outdoor festival with feasting, singing, dancing, and a joust.
    DC 30 Loyalty rating of the provinces for a single realm or domain
    DC 35 Detailed description of the loyalty of provicnes, including grievances and issues for and against a realm or domain.
    DC 40 Complete knowledge of the activities and loyalty of a region for all of the realms and domiains.

    Election Astrology is the ability to predict the actions of a character at a specific time. Because characters have free will, predicting their actions is notoriously difficult. Election Astrology requires both political and natal astrology as prerequisities.
    DC 30 The most likely decision the character will make
    DC 40 the reasons behind the decision

    Astrology is reading the stars at a specific time, so that time must be studied. You cannot determine when Boeruine will declare war. You have to ask about a specific time and ask what Boeruine will decide about war and peace. With a +22 bonus to Knowledge (Astrology), Harald is a powerful astrologer. He can reliably set a course of events from start to finish through a sequence of checks. Calant is adjacent to all of the provinces in Boeruine except for Dhalaese. It would be very difficult for Harald to be unable to determine that provinces were mustering for war (a general activity requring a DC 20 check). Even specific information, such as a general sense of the army composition is only a DC 25. From this, he can go forward and attempt to determine where Boeruine will attack and who, perhaps even why. Or he can go back and look for a train of events that leads to war, and advise Darien Avan accordingly. Either way, DC 40 checks are not outside the reach of Harald.

    Astrology checks take a half hour. If the astrology is under pressure or interrupted, no skill check succeeds. If the astrologer was not able to take 10 in these conditions, no check could be made. An astrologer is allowed to take 10, but he cannot take 20.

    Astrology reads the stars, and is not a magical effect. It is not blocked by spells or items that block scrying. The greatest weakness to astrology is the free will of human action.

    However, future plans have future consequences, so assasination attempts against Harald Khorien, Darein Avan, or anyone else Harald checks for can be detected, studied, anticipated, and prepared for. While the assasins might detect prevention and change their plan, the very fact of their attempt is anticipated is often sufficient to prevent an attack.

    If a decision of Harald, Darien, or another ally is being made and they consult Harald. If he can determine what will happen (be it random event or domain action or personal action), he can make a check with a DC five higher than the basic detection to determine if a plan might counter the effect. For every five points that the check succeeds by, the decision maker informed of these readings gets a +1 bonus to his primary skill check.

    For example, Boeruine and Avanil face each other at Roger's Pass. Harald succeeds at a DC 20 astrology check and predicts that Boeruine will place archers on the high ground and will fall back with his infantry in an attempt to draw Avanil into a trap. Prince Darien's battle commander, Lord Andrew, asks if the archers could be swept from the high ground with cavalry. Harald returns to his charts and astrolab and checks. He makes a DC 25 check and verifies that the infantry in the pass will be unable to defend the archers in the hills. In fact, since Harald rolled a 14 and so obtained a 36 result, 11 points above that required, Lord Andrew could make his warcraft check with a +2 bonus to surprise the Archduke and sweep his archers away.

    Other rules for Astrology should still work nicely with this build, since the same core skills will be in play. If the associated feats are significantly different, substitution should still be fairly easy.

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