Clowe

Overview

Player: John Finlay Campaign: Under the Bus
Race: Human
Class: Rogue
Level: Unknown
Alignment: Unknown
Affiliation: The Chosen

Clowe was John's character in Under the Bus. John was an irregular player rather than a weekly member of the group, but he participated in substantially more than one or two sessions.

Clowe was a human rogue whose primary contributions were scouting, stealth, trapfinding, and dealing with locks. As one of The Chosen, he also possessed unusual abilities beyond what a normal member of his class would have had.

Character Concept

Clowe filled the party's traditional rogue role, particularly as a scout and specialist in traps and locks. His combination of rogue abilities and Chosen abilities made him particularly useful when the party needed someone to investigate dangerous areas without immediately exposing the entire group.

His most clearly documented capabilities included:

• Scouting and stealth
• Trapfinding and trap disabling
• Lockpicking
• Sneaking ahead of the party
• Ranged or melee combat when necessary
• Special abilities granted through The Chosen

The Chosen

Clowe was one of the extraordinary player characters who became The Chosen. In the world of Under the Bus, The Chosen received special abilities as they advanced that placed them above ordinary people. These abilities could reproduce powers normally associated with prestige classes or grant characters capabilities they could not otherwise obtain.

Clowe's recorded Chosen abilities include:

• Darkvision — explicitly identified in the campaign reports as a Chosen Power.
• Canny Defense +1 — recorded as one of Clowe's abilities; treated as a Chosen ability based on the campaign's Chosen progression.
• Hide in Plain Sight — recorded as one of Clowe's abilities; treated as a Chosen ability based on the campaign's Chosen progression.

The exact Chosen level at which each ability was gained is currently unknown.

Scouting

Clowe's most prominent role was as a scout.

When the party was trapped outside Toreon, with a large battle between werewolves and undead forces separating them from the Sunchaser, John was sent forward to investigate. Using his stealth and darkvision, Clowe approached the battlefield alone and discovered an illusory wall surrounding a large bowl-shaped area.

From his position he observed an enormous battle involving undead forces and hundreds or possibly thousands of werewolves. He also saw a large purple portal and Cain personally fighting on the battlefield. Clowe returned to the party and reported what he had seen.

This was a good example of Clowe's value to the group: he could obtain information without requiring the entire party to expose itself.

Traps and Locks

Clowe's rogue skills were particularly useful during the Dragon Hunt.

The party encountered a massive stone door disguised as a boulder. Clowe searched the door and discovered the pressure-plate mechanism that opened it.

The later discovery of the dragon's hidden treasure chamber was even more characteristic of Clowe.

The party found a dragon carving containing a difficult lock. Clowe attempted to open it but failed to detect a needle trap concealed in the lock. He was poisoned and initially made his saving throw, but later rolled a natural 1 and suffered 10 points of Strength damage.

Rather than abandoning the attempt, Clowe continued working on the lock. Dugan Lifebrew assisted him, while Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest loaned Clowe his Gloves of Dexterity +2. Clowe eventually reached the required DC 40 and opened the lock.

The party then discovered another trap inside the dragon carving. Clowe successfully disabled it, allowing the group to uncover the concealed chamber containing the dragon's enormous hoard.

Combat

Although Clowe's primary role was scouting and utility, he was capable of contributing in combat.

During the battle with the Red Dragon, Clowe positioned himself between the dragon and Bo Duke. The dragon used Awesome Blow to knock him aside, allowing her to reach Bo. The resulting repositioning also exposed the dragon to attacks from other members of the party.

Clowe was less effective against opponents whose defenses specifically negated his rogue abilities. During the battle against the lich in Aegea, the party determined that Clowe was unable to contribute much damage because of the lich's damage reduction.

Dragon Hoard

Clowe played a direct role in discovering the dragon's hidden treasure chamber.

After opening the trapped lock and disabling the second trap, Clowe and Dugan Lifebrew pushed the dragon carving aside. This revealed a chamber containing a massive collection of gold, silver, jewels, art objects, and magic items.

The total hoard was subsequently estimated at approximately 175,000–200,000 gp, including the magic items.

Relationships

• John Finlay — player.
• Bo Duke — fellow Chosen and frequent scouting partner.
• Tim — fellow Chosen.
• Smah Tepants — fellow Chosen.
• Dew Gooder — fellow Chosen.
• Dugan Lifebrew — assisted Clowe with the dragon-hoard lock.
• Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest — loaned Clowe his Gloves of Dexterity +2.
• Malachi — fellow Chosen and Battle Chess teammate.
• Kamal — later party member.
• The Chosen — Clowe's organization.
• Toreon — location of his major scouting mission.
• Sunchaser — ship the party was trying to reach during that scouting mission.
• Aegea — site of the lich encounter.

Known Statistics

Notable Events

• Scouted the enormous werewolf/undead battle outside Toreon using stealth and darkvision.

• Discovered the mechanism opening a disguised stone door during the Dragon Hunt.

• Was poisoned by a needle trap while opening the dragon-hoard lock and ultimately suffered 10 points of Strength damage.

• Opened the difficult DC 40 lock with assistance from Dugan Lifebrew and Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest.

• Disabled the second trap protecting the dragon's hidden hoard.

• Helped expose the Red Dragon to attacks from the rest of the party after being knocked aside by Awesome Blow.

• Participated in the battle against the lich in Aegea.

Open Questions

• What was Clowe's level?
• What was his alignment?
• What were his ability scores?
• What feats did he possess?
• At what levels did he receive Darkvision, Canny Defense +1, and Hide in Plain Sight?
• Did he possess additional Chosen Powers?
• Did he have a legacy item?
• What weapons and armor did he normally use?
• What was his backstory?
• What eventually happened to Clowe?