Kale and Abin, Thieving Half Brothers
Kale and Abin are traveling thieves, constantly trying to cut out a small territory for themselves. So far they have been unsuccessful, they have been forced out by more powerful and more secure gangs, but their skill is undeniable. They have terrified and left in ruin many thieves guilds in their search for a home.
Kale is the oldest of the two, born of a human woman named Ara and an elven man named Barim. He was still very young when a barbaric orc tribe came into the elven village and slaughtered everyone they could find. Barim hid his wife and child only moments before the chief orc beheaded him, right in front of Kale. The chief found Ara, but rather than kill her and her child he took her as his wife, an honor she had no choice but to accept.
For the next few years Kale and Ara suffered constant abuse from the chief and the orc tribe. Kale was beaten for his elvish blood, other orc children bullied him to prove their strength. Ara was hit by her new husband for the smallest thing, serving food the slightest bit late, not being as polite to the chief as he thought he deserved or even just being in his way at the wrong time. But it was not until Ara got pregnant that she took Kale and fled the camp. She knew that her new son would be abused by the chief just like Kale had been, so she ran for weeks. Away from the orcs, away from civilization, to a small, abandoned farmhouse.
Abin was born, a half-orc. Ara took time to teach him humanity, to be kind and merciful. Abin grew up to be a religious man, a cleric, and he spent his few free moments each day praying. While Ara may have failed to make Abin a truly good man, she certainly gave him some small amount of humanity, to at least know what was right and what was wrong.
Ara died one day from a disease that the family could not find enough gold to cure. Kale even went as far as to kidnap a traveling priest and browbeat him into healing his mother, but it was no use. The priest did not have the power to save Ara. Kale would have killed the priest if Abin did not stop him. For a while after their mother’s death Kale and Abin worked the farm. But Kale realized that, without their mother to help, come winter there would not be enough food for the both of them. So he persuaded Abin to, reluctantly, abandon the farmhouse and make their way towards civilization.
But without any real skills, the brothers found that they could not find any decent work. Worse still, Abin was prejudiced against for his orcish blood. He almost died while giving a sermon, when a mob formed and tried to lynch him. Kale saved his brother by slaughtering everyone in the mob, a crime for which he now has a generous bounty on his head, dead or alive. The two simply could not find any place that could support them both. Any city that would accept Kale would fear and hate Abin for his orcish blood, and anywhere that would accept Abin would hate Kale for his elven father. The only logical choice, Kale argued, would be to take up robbery.
Abin was reluctant to accept this idea, but Kale slowly wore him down. He reminded his half-orc brother that the two of them had tried to find honest work, but it seemed impossible. If they were to survive, they would have to take whatever they could get. So they started their careers as bandits, robbing any caravan that came by. They have been forced to keep moving by larger gangs, but the two reason that it will not be too long before they find a place to settle down and begin a prosperous career.
Kale dresses in black armor and carries a large axe. His face has been scarred over the years, both by the fights he has gotten into and by the beatings he received at the orc camp. He believes that he can still feel the wounds even after all this time, and he can often be seen dampening his scars to ease the pain. Kale is undoubtedly the crueler of the two brothers, his difficult and unfair life has made him a very bitter man. He loves the combat that comes with his new profession, he uses it as a way to release the anger he has stored up for years. Whenever he takes down an opponent he almost always takes an additional round to coup de grace his fallen enemy. Still, Kale is not beyond redemption, and with proper help he might be able to atone for his misdeeds. For his part, Kale does not like Abin, but he certainly cares for him. He has rescued his brother many times, putting his own life at stake to do so. Some claim that he just relies on Abin for healing, but in truth he does care about the half-orc. Kale’s first action is always to go into a rage. He targets arcane spellcasters first and then tries to take down the divine casters.
Abin dresses in much heavier armor than his brother. While he may not be smarter than his brother, he is far more calculating and patient. This has led him to receive fewer wounds than Kale has. In combat he fights and heals as necessary, but he is far more merciful than his brother. If Kale is not looking, he might even stabilize a dying foe. Abin knows that what he is doing is wrong, but he believes that he has no other choice. Abin loves his brother very much, but he is very concerned about him. He is afraid that Kale’s love of battle and cruelty will one day get him killed.
Kale and Abin often times have followers, a group of bandits that they have managed to gather. They have trouble maintaining this group, however, both because they have to keep moving and because Kale tends to kill followers who displease him.
Kale
Chaotic Evil male half-elf (medium humanoid)
Barbarian 10th
Hit Dice: 10d12+30 (90)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft, Base 40 ft
Armor Class: 23 (+10 armor, +3 dex, natural +1)
Base Attack/Grapple: (+10/+5)/+12
Attack: Greataxe (+15/+10)
Damage: Greataxe (1d12+5)
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 5
Skills: Ride +18, Survival +12, Climb +11, Swim +11, Handle Animal +10
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Iron Will
Special Abilities: Damage Reduction 2/-, Trap Sense +3, Rage 3/Day, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Fast Movement, Illiteracy, Immune to Sleep Spells, +2 Racial Bonus Against Enchantment Spells or Effects, Low Light Vision,
Languages: Common, Elven, Orcish
Equipment: +5 Breastplate, +3 Greataxe, Amulet of Natural Armor +1
Abin
Chaotic Neutral male half-orc (medium humanoid)
Cleric 10th
Hit Dice: 10d8+20 (71)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, Base 30 ft
Armor Class: 27 (+13 armor, +1 dex, +3 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: (+7/+2)/+10
Attack: Longsword +11/+6
Damage: Longsword (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +18
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 18, Cha 10
Skills: Concentration +10, Heal +13
Feats: Skill Focus (concentration), Skill Focus (heal), Dodge, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Special Abilities: Spells, Turn Undead, Spontaneous Casting (cure), Domain Abilities (Luck and Trickery)
Languages: Common and Orcish
Equipment: +5 Full Plate, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, One Diamond Worth 5,000 gp.
Spells: 0th-Cure Minor Wounds (x4), Create Water, Detect Magic 1st-Cure Light Wounds (x4), Command, Entropic Shield 2nd-Cure Moderate Wounds (x3), Lesser Restoration, Remove Paralysis, Invisibility 3rd-Cure Serious Wounds, Remove Disease, Dispel Magic, Create Food and Water, Protection From Elements 4th-Cure Critical Wounds, Neutralize Poison, Restoration, Status, Dimension Door 5th-Raise Dead, Plane Shift