[Hourglass of Zihaja] Chapter 10: Adventuring

[Zeta Kai]

Zafar Asim

Quotes

• “I make the rules here, friend. First rule: I get paid up front. Second rule: I don’t like rules.”
• “The desert is a vast empty place. Anything can happen out there. You never know…”
• “You’d better watch out, friend. You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen, would you?”
• “Well, if that’s our game, then I’d better get some more coin for the trouble.”

Background
Zafar Asim came from a nomadic tribe of kobolds that wandered across the Northern Wastes in a yearly migration. He was one of their most skilled hunters, able to stalk & fell wild beasts with apparent ease. He was particularly adept at hunting sarsaoks, ankhegs, basilisks, & other magical beasts. His talents brought him great acclaim & status within the tribe, but he was exiled for a scandal involving the chief’s daughters.

Zafar wandered the desert alone for some time, growing bitter over his fall from grace, until he came across the city of Alaqur. He quickly became the most successful hunter in Alaqur’s history, as well as one of the longest lasting. He is one of the few hunters to survive an attack from the desert dragons, & is the only one to have brought back a desert dragon’s head as a trophy. He sometimes serves as a guide for less experienced hunters, although his clients have a tendency to not return from their expeditions.

Personality
Zafar is a brooding, grim hunter, devoid of compassion or kindness. He is cruel & cold-hearted, stalking his prey without mercy or remorse, & calmly dispatching them with his axe. He doesn’t speak more than absolutely necessary, & is often silent for hours at a time, which only adds to the unsettling tension that he engenders in those around him. He doesn’t spend much time in town, only staying long enough to collect his bounties, gather supplies, & pick up customers. This is just as well, because the townsfolk universally consider him unpleasant & disturbing, as if he were just as monstrous as the beasts he slays.

Appearance
Zafar has hard, cruel eyes, devoid of any emotion, like those of a vulture. He is usually clad in a stained suit of black studded leather with tall boots, a dark cloak tied at the shoulder, & a plain white keffiyeh on his head. He is often seen chewing on a leaf from a desert shrub. His compact body is covered in crisscrossing scar, a testament to his countless hunts.

Goals
Zafar doesn’t have any long-term agenda. He is content with his current circumstances, & would gladly continue has lucrative practice indefinitely. His “goals” are perhaps better explored by reviewing his routine: he comes to town, unwinds in a local hookah bar while waiting for customers to approach him, takes his fees up-front, leads his clients out into the wild, instructs them on how to properly stalk & kill their prey, possibly kills his customers if they become especially annoying to him, & then he returns to the city to repeat the cycle. He occasionally breaks up his routine by hunting more dangerous game by himself in order to keep his skills sharp & maintain his reputation, which keeps him out of Alaqur when his antisocial behavior becomes particularly reprehensible to the local authorities.

Combat Tactics
Zafar is a cold-blooded methodical killer, one who calmly surveys the battlefield, chooses his targets, & dispatches them efficiently & without fanfare. While he specializes in slaying magical beasts, he has a falchion that is especially effective against humans (which, incidentally, are his most common clients). He is incredibly skilled at stalking & killing undetected, able to sneak up on his targets without being seen until it is too late. This is aided by his equipment, which includes several potions of invisibility. He likes to surprise his foes, who think of him as a dispassionate hunter, by flying into a murderous rage once he gets within melee range.

3E Stats

Spoiler

Show

RACE: Kobold (Hijra) male
CLASS: Barbarian 4/Ranger 11
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
DEITY: Limalia (The Wayfarers, non-practicing)
SIZE: Small
AGE: 37 (born 318 AF)
HEIGHT: 2’9”
WEIGHT: 55 lbs.
EYES: Red
HAIR: N/A (Orange scales)
LANGUAGES: Common & Alhaggi
HIT DICE: 12+3d12+11d8+38 (119HP)
INITIATIVE: +5
SPEED: 40’
ARMOR CLASS: 26 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +7 natural, +2 deflection, +5 armor); touch 14; flat-footed 25
BASE ATTACK BONUS: +15
GRAPPLE BONUS: +13
ATTACK: +18 Destructive** Furious** Battleaxe (1d6+4, ×3, slashing) or +18 Bane: Human Falchion (2d3+4, 18-20/×2, slashing)
FULL ATTACK: +18/+13/+8/+3 Destructive** Furious** Battleaxe (1d6+4, ×3, slashing) or +18/+13/+8/+3 Bane: Human Falchion (2d3+4, 18-20/×2, slashing)
SPACE/REACH: 5’/5’
SAVING THROWS: Fortitude +17, Reflex +13, Will +10
ABILITIES:

• Strength 14 (+2)
• Dexterity 13 (+1)
• Constitution 16 (+3)
• Intelligence 10 (+0)
• Wisdom 14 (+2)
• Charisma 8 (-1)

SKILLS: 94 points

• Appraise +5
• Hide +15
• Jump +7
• Knowledge (Arcana) +10
• Listen +15
• Move Silently +14
• Ride +12
• Survival +20
• Tumble +17

FEATS: Endurance (bonus), Imposing Rage (all techniques)**, Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Stalking Panther (all techniques)**, Track (bonus)
WEAPON:

• +2 Destructive** Furious** Battleaxe (32,310gp, 1d6+4, ×3, 3 lbs., slashing)
• +2 Bane: Human Falchion (18,375gp, 2d3+4, 18-20/×2, 4 lbs., slashing)

ARMOR: Armor of Warding (+2 Studded Leather (22,175gp, +5, maximum dexterity bonus +5, check penalty -0, 15% AFC, speed 30’, 20lbs.))**
EQUIPMENT:

• 8,775gp
• Agal of Rapid Wellness (17,500gp)**
• Amulet of Natural Armor +6 (36,000gp)
• Cloak of Resistance +3 (9,000gp)
• Gloves of Rebuke (8,200gp)**
• Leaping Boots (19,700gp)**
• 2 Potions of fly (1,500gp)
• 5 Potions of invisibility (1,500gp)
• Ring of Protection +2 (8,000gp)
• Tears of Shera Hazadi (7,040gp)**

SPELLS: 2/2/0 (Caster Level 5th, save DC12 + spell level)
RACIAL FEATURES: Darkvision 60’
CLASS FEATURES:

• Rage (5/day).
• Uncanny Dodge.
• Trap Sense +1.
• Favored Enemy (Magical Beast): +6.
• Wild Empathy.
• Combat Style (Two-Weapon Combat).
• Improved Combat Style (Two-Weapon Combat).
• Woodland Stride.
• Swift Tracker.
• Evasion.
• Combat Style Mastery (Two-Weapon Combat).

ANIMAL COMPANION: Sandracer, a camel (5HD, 32HP, AC16 (-1 size, +4 Dexterity, +3 Natural Armor), BAB+3, Bite +1 melee (1d4+2), Fortitude +6, Reflex +7, Will +1, Intelligence 2 (-4), Evasion, Link, Share Spells, Trick: Seek, Trick: Track, Low-Light Vision, Scent, Alertness, Endurance).