Raven - Pathfinder Character Concept

As mentioned recently, we will soon be taking a break from our usual Pathfinder characters to discover a bit about the impact they're having on the world by playing other characters. I wasn't sure what to play, so created four different characters with different specialities to pick from, based on what the others went for. Here's the first (now updated with links to feats and stuff).

'Raven' – True Neutral Human White Necromancer (level 10)

Abilities: Str13, Dex15, Con15, Int17, Wis15, Cha22

Skill ranks: Appraise 4, Heal 10, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (religion) 10, Profession (midwife) 3, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 8, Use Magic Device 10

Feats: Arcane Shield, False Focus*, Fast Learner, Great Fortitude, Heighten Spell, Improved Counterspell

Traits: Inured to Death**, Sacred Touch

Alt Racial Traits: Heart of the Wilderness (replaces skilled)

Spells: Level 0 – Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Guidance, Light, Mending, Read Magic, Resistance

Level 1 – Cure Light Wounds, Deathwatch, Protection from Evil, Ray of Enfeeblement, Sleep

Level 2 – Bone Swarm, Cure Moderate Wounds, Darkvision, Spectral Hand

Level 3 – Cure Serious Wounds, Inflict Serious Wounds, Nap Stack

Level 4 – Bestow Curse, Cure Critical Wounds

Level 5 – Chain of Bones

Weapons: Quarterstaff of Entwined Serpents; +1 Compassionate Dagger

Magic Gear: Bracers of Armour + 6, Cloak of Resistance + 3, Handy Haversack, Ring of Seven Lovely Colours, Ring of Sustenance

Mundane Gear: Basic Maps, Bedroll, Belt Pouch, Flint & Steel, Guide to Flora/Fauna, Holy Symbol of Pharasma (gold), Lady Marais’s Journal, Mess Kit, Midwife’s Kit, Pot, Rope, Trail Rations x 5, Utility Knife

I picked Pharasma for her diety thinking the goddess worked slightly differently - I wanted the balance between life and death which Pharasma seems to give, but not the abhorrence of undead. I might revisit this later and create the diety I wanted, but Pharasma is very, very close.

Appearance: About 15, but short and skinny making her appear younger. Her hair and eyes are very dark and her skin very pale.She dresses in practical clothes that look slightly too big for her.

Background:

Raven’s parents were killed in a bandit attack on the caravan her family were travelling with when the leader foolishly decided to fight rather than pay their tithe. Raven survived by being unnoticed when the rest were slaughtered and left for dead. She would have died soon after, except this took place near the territory of self-styled Lord of the Marsh. This living corpse had been the companion of Lady Marais, a white necromancer and follower of the goddess Pharasma, for many years until she eventually grew old and died. He continued to live in the wilderness as discretely as he could until the day he heard the crying child. He took her to the hut he'd shared with his friend and did his best to raise and care for her. He taught her from the books left by Lady Marais; Raven proved a keen and capable pupil.

When she was older, she began trekking to the settlements in the surrounding area, learning from their healers and plying her trade as midwife, healer and palliative carer. She came to be respected for her abilities but some were suspicious of the way she had appeared seemingly from nowhere and her reluctance to talk about where she came from. When a group of undead hunters came to town investigating old rumours of a powerful undead creature haunting the area, the suspicious few passed their concerns on to the hunters, who (with no better clues) followed her the next time she came through. Unwittingly, she led them right to her companion and they raced in and destroyed the Lord of the Marsh. Being aware she was not evil in herself (but not having bothered to discover the Lord of the Marsh also was not), they assumed she'd been held against her will so took her with them. She screamed in horror and fear; when this didn't work, she fell silent and unresponsive. Her change in mien was misunderstood by the adventurers, who took it to be a reflection of the horrors she'd witnessed prior to being 'rescued'.

She eventually managed to escape and, after some wandering, found her way back to her home. The hut was a burned ruin and there was no sign of the remains of her companion. She carefully picked through the ruins, managing to save a few items that had been Lady Marais's, and then walked away for the last time, to begin her life as a wandering adventurer.

*False Focus is a neat little feat I spotted in Herolab: it basically acts as 'Eschew Materials' up to the value of a holy symbol (up to a maximum 100gold pieces). As a worshipper of Pharasma, I thought it worked for Raven, but can't find a link on Paizo's website.

**Inured to Death also doesn't seem to be on the website (neither does the White Necromancer class, which is a shame cos it's kinda cool). It gives a +2 bonus to saves against death effects.