Zarku Frallino

Zarku Frallino, known as Zarku Turandorak for his own protection, is a young wizard of Varisian descent. His beloved home is the town of Sandpoint where he spent his adolescence as an orphan, and he is dedicated to giving back to the community. His passion is for language, history, and seeking the magic to bring back the miracles of civilization from bygone eras.

Description
Standing at around five and a half feet and almost obscenely scrawny, Zarku is a pale young man with bright blue eyes. His shaggy black hair is restrained with a band of dark fabric bearing a gleaming golden key motif, and he is almost always cleanly shaven. He dresses in plain tight fitting robes of pristine white wool with a worn bandolier made of netting across his chest, with a short length of silken rope tied about his waist from which a heavy burlap bag at his right side. About his neck rests a silver medallion bearing a seven-pointed star. He has a crooked smile, and a thin hawkish nose with evidence of past breakings.

Personality
When he isn't obsessed over a newly gathered story, Zarku's an easy going but quick talking fellow. He's got a big heart, and bears an obsession of showing respect to people of all sorts until they do something to lose it. He has a small alcohol problem, and takes great joy in the occasional bout of gambling. While his ambitions are tremendous, and his ideas of reclaiming the prosperity of ages past narrow minded, his serious nature is counterbalanced with a high dose of mischief. He is known throughout the town for his elaborate monthly pranks and has gotten in trouble with the law a few times because of it.

He has an dream of transforming Sandpoint into a great metropolis, making it into a beautiful cosmopolitan utopia through understanding the ancient magics of Thassilon. It is this dream that guides him, that inspires him on his path to arcane mastery. While he did not know religion in his time living in urban slums, the golden key of Abadar is a symbol of what his new home could become. He doesn't fully understand faith through his overly analytical mind, yet still he finds himself gravitating to worship the god of civilization.

Background
Born of two Sczarni alchemists in Magnimar, he became an orphan at the age of 12 after an explosion in his parents' experimental drug laboratory. Already a rebellious youth who hated the crime family lifestyle, this took him over the edge - especially due to the irreverence the deaths illicited from others in the family. Fortunately for Zarku, an opportunity to strike back against his family presented itself shortly after the accident. Kendra Deverin, back in her adventuring days, was caught in a confidence scam by his kin, who drugged her and convinced her she was responsible for a murder they had committed. The boy managed to catch her alone and reveal the details of the scam, and with his ingenuity extract her from a financially dangerous situation. His family caught wind of the betrayal, and to save him from their vengeance she faked his death and smuggled him out of town on one of her uncle's ships. Bearing a letter of introduction to Ilsoari Gandethus, he set foot on the docks of Sandpoint for the first time.

His home became Turandarok Academy, but it took him some time to settle in to life there. His last name was stripped, his former connection to his family swapped out for his affiliation with the orphanage. Looking back, he found his lifestyle before alien, so brutal, compared to the one he now found himself in. Law was respected, and common decency celebrated instead of mocked. It was a difficult adjustment for the young man to cope with, but fortunately he found solace in the towns head priest, the late Ezakien Tobyn. Although a follower of Desna, he celebrated the virtues of all of the popular faiths in town - and more than that, the goodness in ones soul. Zarku found the man to be an inspiration, and through him found the love of Abadar and the beauty of civilization. From this man he gained an appreciation of diversity, and cultivated his stunted skills in interpersonal relations. He was well on his way to fully taking on the mantle of an Abadaran priest when the Late Unpleasantness occurred. The experience scarred him emotionally, but did not cripple him. However, he turned away from the thoughts of joining the clergy, and sought other lifepaths.

It was on this journey of self discovery that his penchant for languages became known. He was most comfortable around those not of his blood, partial outcasts, and flocked to herbalist Hannah Velerin to absorb the elven tongue and refined his powers of observation in assisting her with finding local herbs. The world of medicine was not his cup of tea, so he tried his luck with a more practical art and apprenticed under Volioker Briskalberd. He quickly picked up Dwarven and showed some affinity towards locksmithing, but one bad prank got him tossed out on the street. Zarku then tried to apply himself stubbornly to the martial arts, trying to shape himself as a militia man under Belor Hemlock. Picking up the man's native Shoanti and some meager weapon trainings, he dropped out due to both being physically unfit as well as a bit of a troublemaker. Ameiko Kaijitsu took pity on the lad, and from her he learned the menial tasks of caring for the cleanliness of an inn. During his brief stint with her he picked up Tien and a love for stiff drinks. But it wasn't until he won his way into Brodert Quink's tutelage that he really began to shine. He absorbed the language of Thassilon like a starved plant consumes water, and began to learn of both magic and histories.

It was as this sage's apprentice that Zarku found his affinity for arcane language, uncovering a book in Tien that proved to be both a spellbook and a treatise on how magic interacts with the soul. It focused on centering oneself and aligning oneself to a higher power by tapping into what was called the void - somewhat like religion, but based not on faith but on the sheer power of ones intellect. Once he earned access to the sage's library, he decided that the only way to uncover the secrets of the past was to master this strange sect of wizardry. While his raw talent was immense, Zarku was insecure in his poverty and did not want to "burden" any of the arcanists in town with himself as an apprentice. It was difficult enough to inject himself in the life of the unappreciated master he had. Fortunately for him, Brodert Quink was wise to his apprentice's research and aptitude, and acquired tomes of arcane learning on the sly and hid them in his little library for Zarku to find.

During daylight hours, he is often found studying spellcraft or devoting his time to his master's latest project. Zarku has also been known to take on little jobs to make ends meet, including aiding the townspeople with official documents, translations, and assisting the occasional inebriated shopkeeper who has locked himself out of his home. When the sun sets, he is often found at the Rusty Dragon, satisfying a vice or simply enjoying the company of the oddball companions who will often join him in surviving Ameiko's good-humored abuse.

Records
The recorded tales of Zarku and his friends can be found inside of his journal. One of his great passions is fusing his Minkaian arcane focus on expanding his awareness with the ancient virtuous arts of Thassilon - and he has detailed records of such efforts in his workshop.

Character Sheet
 Zarku Frallino

Lawful Good Male Human Wizard 5

Init +2; Senses Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 12 [16/20], flat-footed 10 [14/18], touch 12 [16/20 vs incorporeal] [shield or mage armor/both]

HP 32 (5d6+10)

Saves Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +7; +3 insight bonus to saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee dagger +0 (1d4-2/19-20)

Ranged dagger +4 (1d4-2/19-20/10'), acid splash +4 touch (1d3+1)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks reveal weakness 8/day

Spells (CL 5; concentration +10, bonus spell per day of any level from bonded object)

3rd (2+1/day) - dispel magic*, haste, halt undead (found, 90gp), mad monkeys (store, 135gp)

2nd (3+1/day) - glitterdust, invisibility*, flaming sphere (store, 60gp), resist energy (store, 60gp), bull's strength (store, 60gp), see invisibility*, fox's cunning, mirror image (Lyrie, 40gp), shatter (Lyrie, 40gp), locate objects (Lyrie, 40gp), spider climb (Lyrie, 40gp), alter self (store, 60gp), web (store, 60), eagle's splendor (Ninfant), burst of radiance (store, 60gp)

1st (5+1/day) - color spray, enlarge person, feather fall, grease, magic missile, protection from evil, shield*, mage armor, true strike*, long watch (Ren, 10gp), burning hands (Lyrie, 10gp), ray of enfeeblement (Lyrie, 10gp), comprehend languages (Lyrie, 10gp), detect secret doors (Lyrie, 10gp), floating disc (Lyrie, 10gp), identify (Lyrie, 10gp), minor image (Lyrie, 10gp), obscuring mist (Lyrie, 10gp), sleep (Lyrie, 10gp)

0 (4 spells at will) - all (2 slots for ray of frost)

STATISTICS

Abilities Str 7, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 21*, Wis 14, Cha 12

Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 12

Traits Ease of Faith, Eyes and Ears of the City

Feats Toughness, Scribe Scroll (Human bonus feat), Craft Wondrous Items, Craft Arms and Armor, Craft Wands

Skills Arcana +13, History +13, Disable Device +10/+12 with MW Tools/+14 vs traps, Perception +11/+13 vs traps, Linguistics +10, Spellcraft +13, Local +13, Diplomacy +10, Religion +9, Planes +9/+13 with headband

Languages Common, Varisian, Shoanti, Elven, Dwarven, Minkaian, Thassilonian, Aklo, Celestial

SQ Void Awareness, Arcane Bond, Tinkering

Possessions Masterwork Thieves Tools (100gp; 2 lbs), Dagger (2gp; 1 lb), Acid Flask (10gp; 1 lb), 2 sticks of charcoal (1gp), 6 sheets of rice paper (3sp), Scholar's Outfit (6 lbs), Spell Component Pouch (5gp; 2 lbs), Canteen (2gp; 1 lbs), Bandolier (5sp), Spellbook (3 lbs), Spare Spellbook (in Rusty Dragon, 3 lbs, 355gp), Spare Spell Component Pouch (on Ren, 5gp), 2 Spring-loaded wrist sheathes (10gp; 2 lb), 2 Pearls of Power (level 1), Headband of Intellect +2 (tied to Knowledge Planes), Sihedron Rune Medallion, Wand of Magic Missile (24 charges), Scrolls (Enlarge Person, 2 Protection from Evil, Grease, Comprehend Languages, Long Watch, Mage Armor CL1 ; 12.5gp to create each ; 2 Resist Energy, See Invisibility, Spider Climb CL3 ; 75gp to create each); 25 pp, 3 gp, 5 sp

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Arcane School (Void Elementalist) bonus spell per spell level for void element spells*, prohibited water element school (two spell slots to memorize, -4 to Spellcraft checks in regards to them)
 * Void Awareness +2 insight bonus to saving throws vs spells and spell-like abilities, increases by +1 for every 5 wizard levels
 * Reveal Weakness standard action, one target within 30' takes a penalty to AC and saving throws equal to half wizard levels (minimum 1), no save, 8/day

Arcane Bond bonded object amulet, allows the use of one spell in spellbook cast spontaneously 1/day, required to cast spells, DC 20+spell level concentration checks to cast spells without amulet

Tinkering bonus equal to half wizard levels (minimum 1) to Perception and Disable Device checks vs traps, allows trap disabling as rogue, Disable Device is a class skill (substituted for class bonus feat Scribe Scroll)

Formatting for character sheet from Jeff's Basement