Tarion of Soyo

On a campaign world filled with monstrous humanoids who weren't necessarily evil and dangers such as the Hive-Brood, we took a brief interlude with newer characters. Tarion of Soyo was my entry, someone who was a believer in Adventure in its purest form. (Interestingly, a portion of his backstory seems to have influenced the backstory of a very different character.

Tarion
Basic Information
Former home(s)	Soyo
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Occupation	Adventurer
Rules Information
2nd Edition Statistics Alignment Chaotic Good Class 8th Level Fighter Strength 18 (90) Dexterity 14 Constitution 16 Intelligence 13 Wisdom 10 Charisma 13 HP 53

Description

Blond haired, with a short beard. Icy blue eyes. Tarion is not overtly muscular, as his strength is fairly evenly distributed around his body, not just his upper body. He usually wears chain armor, with a quartet of clubs slung on his belt. He also uses his quarterstaff as a walking stick. It might be a fair comparison that he looks like a ranger, even though he's not.

Personality

Much of Tarion's personality can be seen in his journal entries. He tries to write in it once a day, but events have been known to make him skip days.

Tarion is, obviously, never one to pass up a challenge. He seeks Adventures, and the fastest way to get him to do something is to tell him that it is either impossible or that nobody has ever done it before. He's got no long term goals, but seeks Adventure as it comes. It takes a great deal to convince him that something is impossible, even given the proper resources.

Tarion is unfailingly cheerful, unless true tragedy strikes. He is compassionate, and hesitates to use lethal force unless there is no other option. He will offer surrender to his opponents when he is certain his victory is imminent. He has accepted that killing may be necessary, and does not object to his comrades killing to defend themselves-although he will oppose callous murder.

It is important to understand that Tarion does not view himself as a fighter, but as an Adventurer of the purest sort. His fighting skill came from a childhood with a military background, and he has chosen proficiencies with an eye towards things he has never done. When he sets out on an Adventure, he carefully considers what is needed to answer that challenge, and goes about gathering who and what he needs in order to meet it; he thinks out his actions, and rarely gives in to impulse in planning for an Adventure. However, he is willing to improvise during that Adventure, as has happened a few times in the past.

Abilities

Weapon Proficiencies: Quarterstaff, Specialization: Quarterstaff, Style Specialization: Two-handed style, Club, Specialization: Club, Style Specialization: Two Weapon style, Long Bow

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Malkor's Mighty Fortress (Daern's Instant Fortress), Delgarrd's Bowl or Delgarrd's Bane (Bowl of either Commanding Water Elementals or Watery Death...Tarion's not sure which!), Klaatu (Stone Horse Destrier), Pipes of Haunting

Possessions

Equipment: 4 clubs, quarterstaff, chain mail armor, torches, rations, fine longbow, flight arrows

Magic Items: Cloak of Arachnidia; wand of fire extinguishing; Lysanthir, a figurine: eagle (material unknown), capable of transforming into a giant eagle (3/day, for 2 hours each, Move 3/ 48 (D), HD 4, hp: 32, 3 attacks-1d6/1d6/2d6, AC 0); Poison potion (save at -4 or die), philter of love

History

Excerpts from Tarion's Adventurer's Journal.

One

On this day, I formally announced my intentions. I told my family and friends that I had no desire to join the militia. I told them I wanted to explore, to discover. Father didn't take it very well, I'm afraid. No surprise, really: he's always hoped that I'd succeed him as commander of the King's Guard.

I wish he could understand. I've had dreams at night. These dreams of being the first to find lost artifacts, dreams of succeeding where no others ever have. To find adventure. Ah, adventure-not the kind where a warrior slays everything in sight, righting wrongs and such. I am not a hero. I can't see myself ever being one. No, Adventure is something else entirely.

I have even decided how I will spend my first Adventure. Mount Urkeir is, without a doubt, perhaps the largest mountain in the Teeth of the Devil. The gods are said to meet there, every winter solstice. I intend to be there to greet them. I've managed to convince a few friends to help me, who are not afraid that the gods will destroy Soyo for our temerity. Perhaps they will even be impressed by our daring to climb that mountain.

Father is yelling at me from downstairs. I will have to continue later.

Seventeen

The night is over, and I am disappointed. But perhaps that isn't the word I was looking for. Centh is even more disillusioned. He had openly declared that he would serve the god Tormaline, but this event may put that service to rest.

I guess I've got mixed feelings about this. I've done what nobody else has ever done: I've reached the top of Mount Urkeir. My friends and I have waited patiently to see the gods appear. But the solstice is over, and nothing has happened. Dareil believes that perhaps the gods decided not to meet due to our arrival. I wondered if they even met here at all. Centh has been the loudest detractor, wondering if the gods even exist. He might have a point.

Still, for all that disappointment, I have to admit that the feeling I had when reaching the top was exhilaration! I've never felt such...I still don't know how to explain it. I've never felt it before, and I desperately want to feel it again.

Seventy-Four

We've done it! Kaemryn has done some calculations, and believes that we are only eight miles away from our starting point in Kaoma. The lost city of Donn appeared, just as the priest Kalitash predicted it would!

We have spent the day exploring the city. It has been deserted for a very long time, from what Naeretar tells me, with no sign of anyone living here. Perhaps the phenomenon that removes the city from this plane also did something to the people. I decided that as night began to approach, we should take our leave. We did find the idols that Kalitash asked us to obtain, and took them with us when we left. Sure enough, Donn vanished before our very eyes!

We will spend the night at our campsite, and return to Kaoma in the morrow. It's a little humbling that we have seen a city that vanished over twelve centuries ago, and that will never be seen again for another three hundred years. I'll be dead and buried when Donn next appears. Someone else will have to solve its mysteries. On the other hand, thanks to our efforts, that "someone else" will at least know where to look!

Ninety-One

I'm not sure how to put this down. Something terrible has happened, and I still don't know how to deal with it. This morning, I killed a man.

Kaemryn tells me it was unavoidable. When we took the job of breaking into the prisons of Pantala, I'd believed we'd sneak in and out. I figured security would be fairly lax; after all, nobody had ever escaped before, and Garnei certainly didn't deserve to be locked in there. But I underestimated security, and the guards forced us to fight our way out. And I killed one.

Centh says that anyone working for the Baron surely had a black heart, but I can't believe that. This man must have had family, perhaps a wife and children. I have shattered that family with a single swing of my staff. I think, too, about my family. My father has never forgiven me for leaving home. Would he care if I were sent home in a box?

Kaemryn tells me that this will likely not be my last...killing, I guess would be the best term. But I have the choice. I swear, from this moment onward, that I will allow any intelligent being the opportunity to surrender before I am forced to act as I must. I am no killer! I am an adventurer, and I will fight only to defend myself.

And perhaps, one day, I will be able to forgive myself for my actions this day.

One Hundred Sixty

Nejdar is a welcome change from the jungles outside. Storm and Ar'then are resting; I guess I am too, since I'm writing this. Ar'then had the worst of it. I'm told he's never taken to well with heights, and climbing out of the caverns of Lelldar must have been a supreme test for him. They're good people. After parting ways with Centh, Naeretar, and Kaemryn, I'd been wondering if I could find companions willing to take on what others call impossible.

Well, chalk up another to the list. We survived contact with the race of Saurials living in the Jungles of Het. I still can't get over their xenophobic personalities, but when your entire race defies what they consider a god, I'd say they have good reason.

Ar'then and Storm have told me that they will be heading back west tomorrow, so I am once again on my own. Perhaps I can find out something of interest to challenge me again.

Two Hundred Forty-Two

I have finally discovered that there are some things that are impossible in truth.

A messenger has arrived from Soyo. My father has been killed in a coup attempt. It happened three weeks ago, about the time I'd been seeking out the lost temples of Buzzbane. I'd always assumed that someday I would make my peace with Father; that's an assumption that has been proven false, now. I hope that wherever Father is now, he understands me now.

This evening, I have spent my time remembering my father. He was a good and honorable man, even though he was a trifle inflexible. For the first time in months, I have sent a prayer to whatever gods may exist, that my mother recover from this blow.

Three Hundred Twenty-Nine

Well, I take back everything I've said about the Princess Audara; she may be beautiful beyond compare, and her smile might make a slave of anyone-myself especially-but I'd have to say, in all honesty, that she's a serious witch.

Almost kind of makes me sorry that I'd rescued her while Markell and I were busy in the gladiator pits in Dilolo. We did manage to dethrone the champion, who had never been defeated in eight years. But Audara wanted out of there, and wanted to be restored to her family in Umviza. So we did that too. Amazing how charming she could be when she wants something, and how she becomes a true fiend when she gets it! Women! Who can understand them?!

She's also been making hints that give me a bit of a bad feeling inside. I've been told she's of marriageable age, and her father's looking for a victim-ah, an eligible suitor. He's been giving Markell and I the Eye, so we've decided to split. However, he's interested in returning to Dilolo to collect his winnings-he never mentioned the bets he'd placed on me. I should've demanded a cut!

As for me, I've heard rumors of some kind of bug war to the northeast. I'll head over to Maniamba and see what they know, and see if there is any challenges around there. At the very least, it'll get me away from Audara before her father decides I'd make a good husband!

Three Hundred Thirty-Seven

Well, the good news is that we killed that three headed thing. The bad news is it hacked me up pretty good. On the other hand, it was a good thing that Jo was with me. The bugbear and the triple header would've been a bit too much to handle at once.

We got some fun stuff out of it, though. I've picked up a set of pipes that Jo tells me has some kind of magic on them, and this really interesting horse. I've called it Klaatu, after one of the command words that brought this stone statue to life.

You know, after all of that, we still haven't seen the bug creatures? Plenty of goblins and orcs, and even bugbears, but no bugs. I wonder if I've arrived here too late?

Rumors and Legends

Given the life he led, it probably isn't surprising that there are tales of Tarion all over his world. Some of which are probably made up-and some of them might actually be true.

It's probably that he also died on one of those adventures. Such a life is not an easy one, and death is often the final outcome.