Merryvane Garrenswroat, Master Alchemist of the Savage Coast

"Aye, I've got just the thing for thy ills... Now, lessee, where'd I put it..."

 

While adventurers are not uncommon amongst the Bearded Folk, there are many, especially among the elders of their clans, that look upon the wanderings of these individuals with some disapproval; in their minds, the adventuring dwarves were shirking their responsibilities at the clanhold, to go off on some harebrained quest instead of helping with the work. However, the same clan elders are more than willing to turn a blind eye when one of the clan wanderers managed to do well for themselves--after all, aside from the elves, no other race truly knows how to honor heroes than the dwarves.

Merrivane has certainly made a name for herself, in the Savage Coast and back at her family's hold, where she is hailed as the clan's heroes, much to her chagrin. Stricken by wanderlust relatively early in her life, she left the clanhold before her parents could even voice their disapproval. Trained as an acolyte of the Healing Mother, the young dwarf knew that her healing abilities would be much in demand, especially among the various adventuring companies wandering the Savage Coast and the Northern Marches--and she was right. She quickly proved her worth, and soon she gained a reputation of not only being an excellent healer, but as a stalwart and loyal companion as well.

After countless encounters, including one where she aided in the sealing of an ancient demon lord, Merrivane came to realize that, while she loved the danger and excitement that adventuring brought, the dwarf saw that she couldn't continue doing it forever--she was already advancing in age, and it was quickly becoming apparent that Merivane could no longer endure the rigors adventuring brought. Unsure of what to do, and not willing to retire just yet, the dwarven priestess sought advice from her longtime friend Castor the Evenhanded, a senior priest of Saulle and head of the congregation at the town of Greenvale.

Castor put forward an intriguing solution to her quandry: she could retire, yet still use her skills to aid other adventuring folk, but this time in an indirect fashion. And how, one might ask? Well Merrivane was especially skilled in brewing potions, and in fact it she normally brewed a few bottles in between adventures to augment her clerical powers. Since she was settling down, so to speak, why doesn't she brew potions full-time? The income brought be the sales alone would ensure a comfortable retirement, and since healing potions are always in demand among the adventuring set, she was virtually assured a steady clientele. Not only that, it would spread Saulle's grace to folk who really needed it.

Intrigued at the possibilities, Merrivane promised her old friend to give it a try. Using some of the gold she gained through her adventures as capital, the dwarf priestess started a potions shop in the city of Turnsride. It succeeded well beyond the two friends' expectations, and made the shop a must-visit destination for adventurers before leaving on expeditions.

Merrivane still appears like she did a hundred years before, still hale and hearty, though there are more graying hairs now in her immaculately-groomed beard and hair than she would have wanted, as well as more wrinkles on her tanned skin. She is rarely seen these days without her work apron, but she keeps her trusty mace on hand just in case some troublemakers decide to cause a racket. She may be retired, but this dwarf can still bash in a few heads when she needs to.

She is rarely seen at the store counter these days, content to leave the everyday details of running the business to her senior assitant Alderen Quickwind (NG female half-elf cleric 7 of Saulle/master alchemist 6) while she makes potions with her other assistants in the store's backroom. The old dwarf is fair, kind, quick to laugh, and more than willing to shave off quite a bit off her prices for down-on-their-luck adventurers, but she nevers forgets people who cross her. She is especially loved by the poor folk of the city, whom she organizes soup kitchens for, provides healing for free, and regularly hires when she needs extra help for deliveries.

Since her store is a regular target of thieves and ruffians, the church of Saulle keeps a regular watch on her, as well as the surviving members of the Balance and their apprentices, but so far she has seen no need to call for help.

 

Merrivane Garrenswroat, female dwarf cleric of Saulle 8/master alchemist 10: CR 18; Medium-sized Humanoid (Dwarf); HD 8d8+32 plus 10d4+40; hp 157; wp 16; Init +1; Spd 20 ft.; AC 14 (touch 14, flat-footed 13); Base Attack +11; Grapple +11; Attack +14 melee (1d8+3/19-20/x2, +3 impact sure striking adamantine heavy mace), or +12 ranged (1d8+1/19-20/x2, +1 distance light crossbow), or ranged touch (by spell); Full Attack +14/+9/+4 melee (1d8+3/19-20/x2, +3 impact sure striking adamantine heavy mace), or +12 ranged (1d8+1/19-20/x2, +1 distance light crossbow), or ranged touch (by spell); SA Divine spell use, turn undead 4/day; SQ Aura of good, brew 4/day, brew potion (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th), darkvision 60 feet, dwarf traits, improved identification, spontaenous casting (cure spells), stability, stonecunning, weapon familiarity; Alignment Neutral Good; Saves Fort +16 (+18 vs. Poisons), Ref +9, Will +25 (Fort +18, Ref +11, Will +27 vs. Spells and Spell-like abilities); Str 11, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 16, Wis 28, Cha 13. Height 4 ft.5 in.

Aging Penalties and Bonuses: Merryvane is of old age, and thus has a -3 decrease to all her Physical ability values, while gaining a +2 increase to all her Mental ability values.

Skills and Feats (with Synergy bonus included): Concentration +14, Craft (Alchemy) +27, Craft (Woodcarving) +13, Diplomacy +4, Heal +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +21, Knowledge (Religion) +7, Spellcraft +21; Brew Potions, Combat Casting, Craft Wand, Magical Artisan (Brew Potions), Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Craft: Alchemy).

Languages Spoken: Celestial, Common, Dwarven, Goblin, Orc.

Cleric Domains: Healing (Cast healing spells at +1 caster level), Sun (once per day, perform a greater turning against undead in place of a regular turning, acts like a normal turning attempt, except that undead that are normally turned are destroyed instead).

Commonly prepared Cleric Spells per Day (6/8+1/7+1/7+1/7+1/6+1/5+1/4+1/4+1/3+1; Save DC = 19 + spell level): 0 - create water, detect magic, detect poison, mending, read magic, resistance; 1st - bless, bless water, comprehend languages, detect evil, divine favor, endure elements (D), obscuring mist, remove fear, sanctuary; 2nd - augury, consecrate, enthrall, heat metal (D), hold person, remove paralysis, silence, spiritual weapon; 3rd - create food and water, daylight, dispel magic, invisibility purge, obscure object, protection from energy, remove curse, searing light (D); 4th - death ward, dimensional anchor, divination, divine power, fire shield (D), freedom of movement, restoration, sending; 5th - break enchantment, commune, dispel evil, flame strike (D), raise dead, scrying, true seeing; 6th - blade barrier, forbiddance, greater dispel magic, heal (D), undeath to death, word of recall; 7th - holy word, greater restoration, greater scrying, regenerate (D), repulsion; 8th - greater planar ally, greater spell immunity, holy aura, summon monster VIII, sunburst (D); 9th - gate, mass heal (D), miracle, summon monster IX. Caster level 18th, 19th for Heal spells.

Known Possessions (equipment with asterisks are considered on hand but not worn except in specific circumstances): +3 impact sure striking adamantine heavy mace, +1 distance light crossbow*, +2 moderate fortification mithril full plate mail*, +2 fire resistance heavy steel shield*, ammunition* (10 cold steel crossbow bolts, 10 normal bolts, 10 silver crossbow bolts), bracelet of friends (attuned to four Knight-Errants of Saulle, all fighter/clerics or paladins of at least 10th level), cloak of minor displacement*, girdle of robust health (as amulet of health +6 and periapt of wound closure), gloves of dexterity +6, Heward's handy haversack*, ring of defense +3, ring of mind shielding, Saulle's Amulet of Clarity and Purity (as periapt of wisdom +6 and periapt of health), wand of cure light wounds (33 charges left), wand of cure moderate wounds (24 charges left).

In addition, Merryvane has a fully-stocked alchemist's lab with at least 5,000 gold pieces worth of potion ingredients, as well as two hundred or so potions and oils of varying spell levels up to 9th (though only spells that can have personal or creature touched as targets can be made into potions, it is rumored that she has one or two potions of miracle stashed away somewhere for emergencies) scattered around her workshop.

 

Class Abilities and Special Qualities:

Aura (Ex): Merrivane radiates a powerful aura of goodness.

Brew (Ex): Merrivane has perfected the act of brewing potions, to the point where she can brew four potions (totaling no more than 1,000 gp market value) in one day (an 8-hour period) instead of one.

Brew Potion 4th-9th: Merrivane's advanced study of alchemy allows her to brew potions emulating spells of 4th level to 9th level. The market price of such potions equal to 50 gp per spell level times her caster level.

Divine Spell Use: Channeling the power of her deity, Merrivane can cast a number of divine spells per day.

Dwarf Traits (Ex): Darkvision 60 feet, +2 racial bonus to saves vs. poison, +2 racial bonus to saves vs. spells and spell-like effects, +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, +4 dodge bonus againts giant-type monsters, +2 racial bonus to Appraise checks regarding stone or metal items, +2 racial bonus to Craft checks regarding stone or metal.

Improved Identification: Merrivane is so sure in her knowledge that she may use her Craft: Alchemy skill to identify potions and other such substances more quickly and simply than others. She needs no alchemical equipment, spends no gp, and needs only 1 minute to identify such a substance. Add +10 to the normal DC required for identification (meaning she can't take 20); if the identification fails, Merrivane must use the normal identification rules as described under the Craft: Alchemy skill.

Spontaenous Casting: Merrivane can 'lose' any prepared spell in her repertoire in order to cast any cure spell of the same level or lower.

Stability (Ex): Merrivane gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped while standing on ground.

Stonecunning (Ex): Merrivane has a +2 racial bonus to Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding doors, stonework traps, new construction, unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Just passing within 10 feet of unusual stonework gives her a Search check as if she was actively searching, and she can use Search like a rogue to find stonework traps. She can also intuit depth, sensing her approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.

Turn Undead (Su): Merrivane can turn undead four times a day as a 7th-level cleric.

Weapon Familiarity (Ex): Merrivane treats dwarven waraxes and dwarven ugroshes as martial weapons, instead of exotic weapons.