Adventuring Rogue
Hailing from the distant north across the Frozen Sea, Zelf Coldfall came to the Bay of Omens region purely by accident when he stowed away on what he took to be a fishing boat that would take him to another coastal village in his homeland. He was quite startled to discover that, instead, he had traveled far to the south, ending up making his way to Omenaru, then eventually beyond. When he got over his shock at the strange, often uncomfortably warm land that he had come to, Zelf took up a life of adventure, and ever since that time he's been on the lookout for ruins to explore, handsome princes to woo, rare treasure to loot...basically whatever trouble he can find. There's always another hill to climb, a dungeon to delve, or an ancient sleeping evil to poke with a stick!
Background
Some years ago, quite a few by human standards but not all that many by elven reckoning, a child named Zelfarion Nénuvalye was born in the distant north, in the lands of ice and snow beyond the Frozen Sea. He was an oddity in his family, always running off to get into trouble, and as the decades passed he found himself becoming quite the skilled rogue. (He would say "explorer" or, sometimes, "expert treasure hunter." Others would have said "burglar" or "pickpocket," but everyone has an opinion, right?) His life became far more complicated when he stowed away on what he mistook to be a fishing boat that would run him along the coast, and while he napped, he was carried far out to sea.
Zelf was completely on board with this, and not only because he was literally on board the boat, but also because he was excited for new adventures. He ended up in Omenaru, and while the place was a lot warmer than what he was used to, he adapted, and he started a new life. There were ruins to explore and dungeons to delve, all sorts of adventures to be had! He's met quite a few interesting people along the way and made some good friends, especially a very stuffy apprentice wizard named Alfan, but Alfan's really quite sweet underneath his snooty exterior, and besides, he's got an amazing butt!
SIGNATURE ABILITY
Trap-tripping
Zelf has an uncanny ability to somehow set off otherwise extremely lethal traps and come out completely unscathed. This is highly situational, as these are never traps that he has personally set up, more so traps that tend to be found in dungeons or the like. He's just almost impossibly good at somehow charging through the traps and coming out okay, while enemies that come after him tend to end up caught in the messy trail he leaves behind. Zelf insists that this is pure skill. Many have speculated that it might be dumb luck. Whatever it is, he does have a knack for surviving, if not evading traps.
SKILLS
Athletics - Expert Level
Experienced acrobat, climber, swimmer, tumbler, runner, and jumper.
Larceny - Expert Level
Experienced thief, pickpocket, burglar, trapfinder, and lockpicker.
Medicine - Novice Level
Practitioner of first aid and basic remedies.
Melee Combat - Competent Level
Experienced fighter, generally skilled at fighting unarmed or with paired daggers.
Perception - Expert Level
Alert, attentive, curious, attention to detail.
Rapport - Competent Level
Personable, charming, reasonably insightful, sometimes a bit naïve.
Riding - Novice Level
Basically capable, limited experience.
Sailing - Competent Level
Experienced with smaller boats.
Scholarship - Novice Level
Literate, good with maps, basic understanding of the world, multi-lingual.
Stealth - Expert Level
Extremely graceful and sneaky, able to move in silence and stay out of sight.
Survival - Competent Level
Solidly capable enough to get by as long he's not in a desert.
Thrown Weapons - Competent Level
Experienced fighter, generally skilled with throwing knives.
ABILITIES
Innate: Awareness - Enhanced Level
Zelf's senses are all of Enhanced level, and he has extremely keen situational awareness and sensitivity to the world around him, even without directly considering his training as a rogue.
Innate: Cold Immunity - Supreme Level
Zelf comes from a land of ice and snow. He can dive into freezing water or sit naked in the snow with absolutely no ill effect, so environmental cold or even cold-based attacks tend to have little effect on him at all.
Gear: Daggers - Enhanced Level
Zelf carries two fighting daggers of elven make, as well as a number of smaller throwing knives of the same sort. They are not heavily enchanted, but they are imbued with the virtue of skilled magical craftsmanship and do Enhanced-level damage when properly wielded.
Innate: Dexterity - Supreme Level
As one of elven blood, Zelf's natural dexterity and agility are quite strong. His training and personal aptitudes also make him exceedingly nimble, resulting in levels of dexterity that go far beyond those of ordinary beings. He is able to effortlessly move through treetops by leaping from branch to branch, run lightly across snow without leaving a trace, or potentially even snatch arrows in midair. He is also very swift when running, climbing, swimming, and so forth.
Elf Heritage
Zelf's elven blood is unusual but still essentially typical of his race. He has not aged past physical maturity, he is immune to disease, and he is highly resistant to supernatural forms of darkness and corruption. He enjoys the various benefits of an elven bloodline, if an unusual one.
Innate: Vitality - Enhanced Level
Zelf is quite vital and his health quite robust due to his elvish heritage, making him more resistant to toxins, harsh conditions, and so forth.
ADVANTAGES
Connections
Zelf knows people! A few people, anyway. He has contacts around Arcadia, though not many in especially high places. His strongest connection is to an apprentice wizard named Alfan Silverwillow, who famously refuses to fully complete his studies, essentially the wizard equivalent of a perpetual grad student. Zelf and Alfan have a steady if sometimes long-distance relationship, but at least Zelf always has someone he can go to for help with magic stuff.
Equipment
Zelf usually carries a reasonable supply of gear, from camping and survival supplies to basic dungeoneering tools. He keeps several set of high quality thieves' tools on his person as well, often able to produce them from the most surprising of places. His most notable piece of gear is a small "bag of holding," which allows him to carry quite an expansive inventory without taking up much room or being overburdened by heavy weight.
Loot
Zelf isn't wealthy. He just doesn't have a head for keeping track of money. He does usually have a scattering of loot in his possession, though, consisting of various low- to mid-value items that, if he thinks to, he can sell off to get enough coin to get by and pay for his various wants, like a bed to sleep in or food to eat or the occasional splurge for fancy clothes or something like that.
WEAKNESSES
Curious
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but you know what? Satisfaction brought him back! At least, that's Zelf's attitude. He's never one to leave a mysterious box unopened or a promising door lock unpicked. He wants to see everything, explore everywhere, and pull any interesting levers he may find, even if it's probably a bad idea.
Impulsive
It's not that Zelf leaps before he looks, so much as he just looks and tends to leap anyway no matter what. If Zelf thinks it, he tends to say or do it without much hesitation. He's alert and capable enough that he usually survives this, but he tends to dive into things very freely and can, as a result, end up in over his head and having to figure his way out of a problem that would have been easy to avoid.
Oblivious
In modern terms, Zelf might sometimes be considered a bit of an airhead. He's far from stupid, and he's actually quite alert, but his manner tends to make him seem perpetually distracted, and he just does not tend to seem very smart. He's also generally extremely guileless, so he's not especially good at turning this to his advantage.
