Jack Xavin
CR 3
Half-Orc Ranger 3
N Medium humanoid
Init +2; Senses Listen +6, Spot +4, Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages: Common, Orc
AC 14 (+2 dex, +2 leather armour) 12 touch, 12 flat-footed
hp 16
Immune Smell-based effects
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Speed 30 ft.
Melee: Dagger +5 (1d4+2 (1d4+4 against animals)/19-20)
Ranged: Thrown dagger +5 (1d4+2 (1d4+4 against animals)/19-20)
Base Atk +3
Grp +5
Atk Options: Two-weapon fighting (-2/-2 penalty with daggers)
Special Actions: Wild empathy
Combat Gear Silver dagger, 6 daggers
Abilities Str 15, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8
SQ: No sense of smell, favoured enemy: animal
Feats: Track, two-weapon fighting, combat reflexes, endurance, quick draw
Skills: Heal +4, Hide +8, Knowledge: History +2, Listen +6 (+8 against animals), Move Silently +8, Spot +4 (+6 against animals), Survival +6 (+8 against animals)
Posessions: Combat gear, leather armour, 3 days of food, waterskin, small leather-bound book on history, 2d6 random trinkets, 3d6 gold pieces
No sense of smell - After years of working in the sewers, Xavin has mercifully, totally and permanently deadened his sense of smell (and accordingly, most of his sense of taste). He is now immune to smell-based effects, such as a troglodyte's stench or a stinking cloud smell. He is still vulnerable to inhaled poisons.
Personality[]
"Welcome to the sewers. We got nothin' down here but jack and shit. I'm Jack."
Jack Xavin was born into a poor family and was always on the bottom rung of society. His orcish ancestry was obvious enough for everyone to tell his race, but he was relatively small for it, and was on the losing end of many fights for much of his childhood. Even today, he stands only 5'9 and is of lean build for a half-orc (though his appearance belies the strength he has built up in his career) making him fitted to the cramped tunnels in the literally shit end of society - the sewer cleaner.
"This is my home - watch your head on the doorway there - be it ever so 'umble. Eh, what's you makin' those faces at...oh, right, the smell. Yeah, don't notice that anymore. I woul'n't' suggest sittin' down anywhere, 'less you're as fine with fleas as I am."
Xavin lives in a small home underground, directly connected to the sewer tunnels. He reports to a superior on the sewer's conditions once every week and is given room, board, and a pittance of spending money - better than some half-orcs within the city. His superior communicates only by written messages (Xavin, luckily, being literate) because Xavin, as well as his home and all his posessions, smells like a sewer and is infested with lice and fleas. Xavin doesn't mind, though; not only has he completely destroyed his sense of smell by overexposure, but life in the slums leaves half-orcs with the capacity to tolerate very distasteful living conditions.
"No, eat all you like. My fellow 'alf-orcs hate me 'cause I'm workin' for the humans. The humans hate me 'cause I'm 'alf-orc, and smell like crap an' piss. My boss won't come near me for the stench and everythin' in this sewer tries to kill me. Frankly I can afford to splurge on your meals; peeps lost in the sewers are the only guests I get, heh heh heh."
Everything Xavin owns is filthy - especially because since he tends to collect curiosities he finds during his duties - but well organized. His time is usually spent away from the townspeople; many half-orcs despise him as a sell-out for "the man", while the other races look down on him as per the standard for his race. Usually he spends his evenings reading about history, which interests him. His lack of money, however, prevents him from finding any textbooks of great significance. If anyone does have reason to talk to him, he is a polite but forgettable speaker.
"See 'ere, I got a bit a' mithril alloy in this coin I found. About a hun'red years old from an eastern dwarf land, the book tells me. Got time to figger this out - if I di'n't have my collections and my readin', I think I'd go insane."
Xavin's job description is "sewer cleaning," and while this does include clearing blockages and general patrol, most of his effort goes into killing animals. This is more dangerous than it sounds; rats if unchecked can grow to swarm numbers, and gators are not a myth in D&D sewers. Tackling these are especially dangerous due to his tightly budgeted equipment; even the report that there was a wererat lurking in the sewers got him nothing more than a non-masterwork silver dagger. If Xavin has the opportunity to grab a superior weapon from a slain enemy, he will not hesitate to do so (though he will not resort to illegal action, knowing the guard will waste no time coming down on him).
"I told the boss I need some metal to fix that grate in the south end. Lessee if he gets around to it 'fore it bursts and gets into the lake."
Combat[]
Xavin is in his element; he knows every turn of the labyrinthine sewers and is almost impossible to find by an outsider if he doesn't want to be. If chased by a group, Xavin uses his skill to evade his opponents until they split up. He attempts to lure them into key advantageous ambush locations, or possibly to the lairs of the aforementioned alligators or rat swarms.
In fights with sewer denizens, Xavin usually fights with two-weapon combat at range or melee, preferring the latter unless the monster shows a clear threat.
Hooks[]
Search and Destroy: There's something in the sewers - an otyguh, or some evil organization - that poses a significant threat to the city and is too big for Xavin to handle. The PCs are hired to handle the threat, and Xavin is to serve as their guide. Though Xavin's combat aid may or may not be effective, depending on the CR of the encounter, his familiarity with the terrain will be essential to navigating the sewers.