Naelith Duneshaper — The Primal Caster (Building Toward Shamanism)
Sand Elf expedition guide and spirit-negotiator from the Jazirah interior, now ranging north.
She casts Primal spells, not in the Arcanum sense of technique and grammar, but as a conversation with things older than formal tradition. She explains her intentions to them, and they decide whether to help. She has an excellent track record with rivers and a complicated history with two particular mountains. Shamanism, the combined Divine-Primal tradition, is where she is heading; she has the prerequisites and the philosophy. She does not have the talent yet. That is the first thing she will spend XP on.
Naelith has been outside the Jazirah for eleven years, following the planar disturbance north in the way that a healer follows a disease, not to study it, but to do something about its effects on the people caught in it. She is not a military figure. She is not formally religious, though she acknowledges Kraut with the first food of any meal and is careful about rivers. She negotiates with the elemental and spiritual presences that most travelers either ignore or fear, and she has a talent for finding terms that hold.
She is mobile, perceptive, and cast in both the Primal and (at rank 1) the Divine tradition; the foundation for Shamanism, the combined tradition that will define her at higher levels. Right now she is a skilled wilderness operator with unusual capabilities and a SAV 4 that makes her very hard to surprise.
Species: Sand Elf (Aelvar-Dunar) Background: Wilderness Career: Expedition Member
Patron Deity: Kraut (Positive alignment); required because she holds Divine 1+
Sand Elf special abilities: Keen Senses (remove 1 Bane Die from all Perception and Readiness checks; never Surprised unless attacker beat a Stealth check first); Long Memory (once per session, free Lore check on any topic within elven experience; additional uses cost 2 Strain); Desert-Adapted (no strain or penalties from heat exhaustion, dehydration, or arid conditions; remove 2 Bane Dice from Survival and navigation checks in desert or arid terrain); Eye Membrane (remove all Bane Dice added by bright light, glare, airborne dust, or visual impediments to Perception checks).
Characteristics: Sand Elf base (MIG 2, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 3, WIL 3, CHA 2). Free swap: SAV +1 → 4, CHA −1 → 1.
| Derived Value | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Wound Points | 10 + Might (2) | 12 |
| Strain Points | 11 + Willpower (3) | 14 |
| Resistance | ⌈2 ÷ 2⌉ = 1 + leather armor (+0) | 1 |
| Melee Defense | 0 + leather armor (+1) | 1 |
| Ranged Defense | 0 | 0 |
| Initiative (On Watch) | Savvy 4 + Perception 1 | 4 dice, 1 Mastery |
| Initiative (Surprised) | Willpower 3 + Readiness 1 | 3 dice, 1 Mastery |
Note: Keen Senses means Naelith is never Surprised unless an attacker specifically beat a Stealth check against her first.
Skills
| Skill | Rank | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Primal | 2 | ★ Profession |
| Survival | 2 | ★ Profession |
| Divine | 1 | Out-of-profession |
| Perception | 1 | ★ Profession |
| Readiness | 1 | ★ Profession |
| Light Melee | 1 | Out-of-profession |
Sand Elf free skill rank (no XP): Survival 1.
Talents
- Specialist (Primal (drawing on elemental sources) [Free Starting Talent, Tier 1]) Once per scene on a Primal casting check involving an elemental or natural source, upgrade one Ability Die to a Mastery Die (or add 1 Boon if none available).
- Wayfarer [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Remove 1 Bane Die from Survival checks involving travel, shelter, food, water, or route-finding in natural terrain.
- Cool Head [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Remove 1 Bane Die from Readiness checks to resist panic, surprise, fear, or being caught off guard.
Equipment
| Item | Profile |
|---|---|
| Dagger | Dmg 3, Crit 3, Engaged, Accurate 1 |
| Leather armor | +1 Melee Defense |
| Elementalist's focus | Primal focus (natural materials, spirit tokens); +1 Boon Die to Primal casting checks |
| Survival kit | Rope (hemp, 50 ft), tinder box, trail rations (3 days) |
| Bedroll | Enc 2 |
| Trail rations (3 days) | Enc 1 |
| Waterskin | Required for sustained travel |
| Starting funds | 2d10 gold flargons |
XP Accounting
| Purchase | XP |
|---|---|
| Primal rank 1 (profession) | 5 |
| Primal rank 2 (profession) | 10 |
| Divine rank 1 (out-of-profession) | 10 |
| Survival rank 2 (profession, from rank 1 free) | 10 |
| Perception rank 1 (profession) | 5 |
| Readiness rank 1 (profession) | 5 |
| Light Melee rank 1 (out-of-profession) | 10 |
| Wayfarer (Tier 1 talent) | 5 |
| Cool Head (Tier 1 talent) | 5 |
| Total Spent | 65 XP |
| Banked | 25 XP |
Suggested Advancement
- Divine rank 2 (15 XP, out-of-profession): Buy this first. The Shaman talent only needs Divine 1, but every Shamanism spell requires at least Divine 2 and Primal 2, so the talent does nothing for Naelith until Divine reaches 2. This purchase also lifts her Shamanism casting rank from 1 to 2 (floor of the average of Primal 2 and Divine 2).
- Shaman rank 1; Initiate (5 XP): Buy this second, once Divine is at 2. Naelith can then learn and cast Scout Spirit and Spirit Drum immediately. Together with Divine 2 this spends 20 of her 25 banked XP and makes her a working shaman from her first session of advancement.
- Adventuring Lore rank 1 (5 XP, profession): The last 5 XP in the bank. It is the only other prerequisite standing between her and Wild Tongue, the Shamanism spell that lets her speak with beasts and spirits of the wild.
- Survival rank 3 (15 XP, profession, after play): The wilderness expertise that everything else hangs on. No one who does what Naelith does should have a Survival rank below 4 by mid-campaign.