Lu Tze Background: My character is a half-orc who was abandoned as a baby - left literally on the doorstop of a monastery outside of (town name goes here). The monks named him "Lu Tze": "Lu" for a monk who had passed on a few weeks ago, and "Tze" the Draconic word for the month in which he was found. Lu Tze was ridiculed at first by the five or six other children his age at the monastery. The monks of the Order, though, were impartial and treated him fairly in all things. Bullied by his classmates, he turned his thoughts inward, and practiced the Path of Enlightenment. Lu Tze's growth soon outstripped that of his fellow students, and the bullies, Kelan and Roland, moved on to softer targets. Remembering the pain he had felt at their hands, he often intervened to defend younger students from their petty harassment. This earned him the respect of some and the friendship of one or two of the younger children, but also earned him the enmity of those he had thwarted. Lu Tze grew to the age of eighteen at the monastery - growing rather more quickly than the monks were really used to, something which caused some consternation as he outstripped the other trainees and had to be moved to more advanced courses before his mind was truly ready. Lu Tze had to work hard during those years, striving to master his mind before he could master his body. During Lu Tze's last few years at the monastery, his rivalry with Kelan and Roland grew more and more fierce. Those of the Order had mastered the art of nonlethal attacks, so sparring among the youngsters was encouraged; Lu Tze's battles with his rivals, though, were often fierce, and sometimes stretched the definition of "nonlethal". He learned to walk the halls of the monastery in the company of others, lest his rivals challenge him to an impromptu "duel", two against one. Things came to a head in early spring of Lu Tze's eighteenth year: he wandered alone one day, enjoying the clear air away from the monastery. Kelan and Roland somehow found him and attacked him, striking to kill rather than to stun. He knocked Roland unconscious during the battle but was too badly wounded to defeat Kelan as well; fortunately, his calls for help were answered in time to save his life. The head of the monastery considered the whole incident a disgrace: monks of his Order had been physically restrained by outsiders from trying to kill each other. He expelled all of them from the monastery, extracting an oath from each to go his separate ways and never try to find any of the others. Lu Tze left the monastery and headed silently for another city, telling no one of his destination. ---------- STR 18 | +2 for half-orc | 20 DEX 17 | +1 at fourth | 18 CON 15 | | 15 INT 15 | -2 for half-orc | 13 WIS 10 | swapped | 18 CHA 18 | swapped, -2 | 8 4 levels Monk Level 1 feat: Wpn Focus Unarmed Level 3 feat: Expert Tactician (delayed taking until fourth (legal?)) Monk feats: unarmed strike, stunning attack, evasion, Deflect Arrows, Still Mind, Slow Fall 20ft Skills: Tumble 7 ranks Climb 7 ranks Listen 7 ranks Move Silently 7 ranks Hide 7 ranks Stuff: ring of prot +1 2000 amulet of nat armor +1 2000 cloak of res +1 1000 4 potions mage armor 200 2 potions magic fang 100 2 silvered kama 20 4lb monk's outfit 5 2lb backpack 2 2lb 6 days food 3 6lb waterskin 1 5lb (full) silk rope 50ft 10 5lb ------------- 5341gp 24lb carry cap 133/266/400 Base speed 40ft Attacks: base 1d8 BAB +3 STR +5 +5 wpn focus unarmed +1 ------------- +9 1d8+5 +9 or +7/+7 at 1d8+5 AC: 20 (4 dex, 4 wis, 1 nat, 1 defl) Saves: Fort: +7 (+4 base, +2 CON, +1 cloak) Ref: +9 (+4 base, +4 DEX, +1 cloak) Will: +9 (+4 base, +4 WIS, +1 cloak) note: Still Mind +2 vs ench ================================ A note, on further development: Lu Tze has been expelled from the monastery, and the longer he spends away, the harder he finds it to meditate and reach inner peace. The way of the monk is closed to him; he must find another avenue of growth. Expelled from the placid environment of the monastery, Lu-Tze's alignment drifts towards the half-orc norm, namely, chaotic. His next level is Barbarian.