Oro Steppewalker

Your friendly neighborhood greataxe-wielding Cleric, now with 100% more man-sized eagles!

Weapons, Abilities, Skills and Spells
Weapons: +2 Greataxe +11, 1d12+8 (3d6+9 when enlarged) Longbow +7, 1d8

Abilities:

Channel Positive Energy 3/day, 4d6

Enlarge (as the spell) as a swift action 7 rounds/day

Bramble Armor: 1d6+3 damage to opponents who strike in melee, 7 rounds/day

Animal Companion: Kwahu, large roc

Skills:

Diplomacy +4 (+6 on king's business) Fly +5, Heal +12, Handle Animal +1 (+5 when handling Kwahu), Perception +7

Spells Prepared:

4th––Spiritual Ally, Summon Nature's Ally IV (Animals Only)D

3rd––FlyD, Dispel Magic, Invisibility Purge, Prayer

2nd––BarkskinD, Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength, Grace, Silence

1st––Bless, Divine Favor, Enlarge PersonD, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith, Protection from Evil

0th––Create Water, Detect Magic, Light, Mending, Read Magic

D Domain Spell

Tactics:

Given time to prepare, Oro casts Barkskin, Bear's Endurance, Bless, Bull's Strength, Fly and Shield of Faith before major encounters. If immediate violence is not required, he casts Divine Favor or Prayer in the first round.

Background
Oro's mother was abducted during an Orc raid on her Erivan tribe in which her parents were killed. Warriors from the tribe were able to rescue her a few days later but she had already been defiled by the Orc chief. A devout woman who believed in the sanctity of life, she refused to end her pregnancy or give up the baby that resulted. She raised the half-orc as she would any child, and as Oro grew up he saw the strength his mother found in her faith. As the tribe's healer she taught him as many wilderness remedies as she could, though he wasn't always the fastest learner. Though Oro knew he wanted to devote his life to serving Erivan, whom he credits for his very existence and his mother's perseverance, he knew he couldn't do so in the same way his mother did. The greataxe felt natural in his hands, and defending the tribe against Orc raids came naturally in his youth. When a group of traveling clerics gave him an opportunity to study his faith in Roth Koria he took it, hoping he could curb his natural disposition toward solving problems with violence. After a year, the head cleric declared him unfit for instruction and sent him out into the city. Still a devout follower of Erivan, Oro has decided to advance his goddess' goals in new ways, and a request for warriors by King Basitor has piqued his interest.

At only 19 years old, Oro's childhood is still a strong influence on him. Though some in the tribe were willing to accept him, most shunned him as a symbol of Orcish violence. Other children made fun of his strange appearance and picked fights with him. This lasted until puberty, which happened early for Oro due to his Orc blood. When he gained over a foot of height between his tenth and eleventh birthdays, the bullying quickly stopped and other children started to grudgingly accept him. This prevented many catastrophes, as Oro's strength and temper both began to flourish at this time. The tribe's warriors began training him to fight against Orc raids, which continued to be a problem in the area, while Oro's mother tried to guide him towards more peaceful activities. Oro excelled more at fighting than healing, but never forgot his obligation to Erivan. Many members of the tribe would visit his mother for healing and he often overheard their conversations. As he grew up he came to realize exactly how difficult it was for an Erivan to be the mother of a Half-Orc, and how important it was to her to know she was doing her goddess' work. He made an oath to himself and to Erivan that although he excelled at fighting, he would dedicate his life to Erivan's causes and do whatever he could to protect the weak against violence.

Role
Oro has grown up as a front-line fighter. In spite of his youth he was one of the more powerful members of his tribe and was used to getting the first blow against attacking Orcs. As a spell-caster, he uses some buffing spells in combat, but prefers to have enough warning to cast them before the fight begins. While he can heal using magic or his own skills, he prefers to do this after a fight, as he is able to deal much more damage than he can repair. He sees himself as a good flanking partner for Rán, though if other party members or summoned creatures are doing that he's happy to fight alone. While he doesn't have quite the resilience in combat that he'd like, Oro is certain he'll improve with time.

Although Kwahu is but a baby, Oro has trained the bird to aid others in combat. The bird can't currently hover and make full attacks, but he can make flying attacks with the intention of distracting foes, allowing others to receive a bonus to their own attacks. With time Oro hopes to teach the bird to understand Common, so that everyone may instruct it during combat and not rely on simple animal tricks. He also wants to teach it to hover, so that it can make full attacks with its beak and talons and be a good flanking partner to whoever in the party needs one.

Beginnings
Oro is currently pleased with the progress he's made since the head cleric banished him from the temple in Roth Koria. The group of companions he joined have proven to have a diverse collection of skills. The King's test revealed much about their personalities, and though some exhibited less restraint than he would prefer, he believes he can get along with all of them. The events of the next day proved to Oro that this is a good group. He was especially excited by the King's reward, as it gave him the opportunity to replace his old greataxe, which was of Orcish make and had seen many battles. He has found his own performance acceptable, though a nighttime attack by a pack of wolves did shake his resolve slightly. He continues to try to hold true to Erivan's ideals, and though he misses his mother he has been able to do healing work in some of the villages he's passed through, which he knows would make her proud.

Princess Nakatomi
The incident at Princess Nakatomi's cottage shook Oro deeply. He failed in battle and was unable to prevent the escape of a dangerous criminal. He regrets leaving Ràn's body behind in the mirror room with only two summoned eagles to protect her and regrets failing to help the group escape their bonds in the main hall. His ineffectiveness at grappling when he was weaponless motivated him to prepare Spiritual Weapon, which allows him to conjure a magical weapon that can attack foes on its own. In retrospect Oro isn't sure how he and his fellow adventurers could have done better, but the failures still sting.

Maneray
In contrast to the problems at the Nakatomis' Oro is quite happy with the group's performance in and around Maneray. The thoughtful planning of attacks allowed him to cast important buff spells and everyone worked well in their own specialties. He is especially grateful to Lewin for blinding so many Orcs during the ambush. Ràn and Apollo made great combat companions and he's sure this will continue when the rest of the party comes to Maneray. Oro is very grateful to Felderin the Wise for the headband of wisdom he recieved after defeating the Orc leader. Though he still believes arcane magic to be nearer to witchcraft than his own divine powers, he has found the wizards he's met recently to be good people, and his prejudices are slowly fading.

A New Companion
The morning after the raid on the Orc camp, Oro awoke to find a huge bird's egg in his room at the inn. Before he could begin his morning prayers to Erivan, the egg began to shake, and soon a bird's beak poked through the shell. A baby roc emerged, and Oro knew Erivan had heard his prayers of the last several years. Rocs are native to the Highlands of his youth, and he often admired them soaring on thermals high overhead. On a dare, he once tried to climb the side of a high cliff to reach a roc's nest, but failed miserably as rocs pride themselves in building nests in places that are inaccessible except from the air. Oro believes his respect and admiration of the roc are the reason Erivan granted him the Feather domain, and is thrilled to have this companion, whom he has named Kwahu.

The Tournament
(stuff here later)