Totally stackable, in my book. It's because they're good berries. And berries are good for you. OH THAT MEANS TWO THINGS!. 

After some advice, assistance, and lots of back and forth with Lady Dark, I think I've gotten to a point where it's character creation time! To that end, below is what I've come up with thanks to all of you! I won't bore you with stats just yet but here are "the basics" where our future Eldritch Knight is concerned. Enjoy!

Name: Castien Mithretaryl

Race (Sex): High Elf (Male)

Class (Lvl): Fighter (1)

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Height: 5’10”  Weight: 145 lbs

Eyes: Blue  Hair: Black

History: Castien’s parents, Jarenion and Saerima, were unregistered Bladesingers who operated, primarily, in the Deeper Wilds of Khadask for many years before being discovered by the Arcaren Authority. Their refusal to register with and submit to the Arcaren’s mandates quickly made them targets of the Authority’s Agents. As Saerima had recently given birth to Castien, she and Jarenion decided that, rather than staying in Khadask and trying to raise their son on the run from the Arcaren Authority, they would try and escape to The Evril Islands; their ancestral home and a place where the Arcarens had no presence. They made it as far as Watertown before the Authority’s Agents caught up to them.

There were very few ship captains who would so much as listen to the elves pleas once their destination was uttered and even fewer who so much as pretended to have any interest in making the trip whatsoever. With their options running out, their time growing short, and the Agents closing in, Saerima sought out the Sisters of Astryliene and, rather than allow him to be captured and/or killed along with her and Jarenion, entrusted the care and raising of Castien to the Sisters. Saerima left Castien with a kiss, her sword, and her shield, then, she and Jarenion attempted to flee the city. Their fate is unknown to this day.

Thus, Castien was raised in the Temple of Astryliene on the small island off the coast of Watertown where She was born. His memories of his true parents are few and even those are vague and dreamlike and, since he grew and trained in service to the Sisters of Astryliene, he simply acknowledges Grand High Father, Umanu, and the Grand High Mother of his order as his “parents.” He has been a devout and tenacious student over the course of his years at the Temple and, as such, given the balance he has managed to strike between his magical aptitude and martial prowess, Umanu has chosen to induct him into the elite team of acolytes known as Astryliene’s Blades. With this high honor bestowed upon him, Castien has redoubled his efforts to prove himself worthy of the title and the Blessing of Astryliene that comes with it. With his training now nearing completion, Grand High Father Umanu has decided that Castien is ready to face The Trials that will cement his standing as a Blade…

Appearance: Castien is readily identifiable as an elf, of course, with his slender, graceful build and the eerily beautiful features of his people. His ebon hair is worn long but neat, secured from ever falling into his eyes by a series of simple braids and a ponytail that pins the majority of his tresses behind his elegantly pointed ears. His eyes are a blue almost as clear and pure as the waters in The Pool of Tears; as beautiful as they may be, though, Castien’s eyes are rarely described as such, instead, words like “stoic” and even “severe” are utilized far more often. The studded leather armor he wears is dyed an almost muted blue-gray hue and is tooled and embossed in a motif that evoke an homage to The Living Storm. He wields an elegant scimitar of elven make that was once carried by his mother, Saerima, and, also her shield of banded ghostwood, though these are not his only weapons.

This is fantastic, Eol! 

I can't wait to see what everyone's thinking of so far. Also, I forgot to respond to the variant human question, and yes, the varient is totally allowed. 

If I have not yet added in a part of the Lore you need or want to see, let me know. Right now, we have info on the Arcaren Authority, most of the Khadaskian gods, and I'm still trying to figure out how to port in the world map so you have an idea of what it looks like overall. 

i think i have sorted out what the remaining place holders will be. 

I went ahead and rolled up his "final stats" and equipped him per the PHB, as well. PM'd that to you for review when you get a chance.

I'm also looking forward to see what everyone else comes up with character-wise! Can't wait to meet them all!

P.S. If you need help with the map, Lady D, just let me know. I can probably assist with that.

How many characters named Jarenion have you run Eol?  (It is the parent this time, but you get the idea.)  Where'd the idea originally come from anyway?

And it will probably be this weekend when I can roll up the Druid.  Probably Saturday.  Gotta start thinking about more details then just "druid."  

Just the one, really... Two if you count Cas' father, now. I want to say that the name originally came from the Sylvari Name Generator here at the Inn. I dunno... I just like the name, I suppose.

Looking forward to getting a glimpse of the druid.

I'm leaning more towards the arcane trickser

thinking that'll be using magic to disguise himself while he pulls cons off, constantly lying and trying to hide his true identity.  

Only issue i'm gonna need a reason to stick together with the party.  My first rule when making a rogue is come up with why they don't screw with the party.. 

I'll put a backstory once I get some more thinking done.  As for now here's what I have 

Human: Lived in? 

Perhaps an urchin that made a living by stealing little bits of food and sharing em
Was part of a very tightknit group of friends
Grew up, started pulling bigger jobs, some that actually had a gold piece or two instead of the usual silver
One of his very close friends started dabbling in magical arts
Perhaps due to the stigma with magic, some in the group didn't like it
Eventually he was curious and started watching her practice
Someone betrayed them, ,reported her to the organization?
He burned her spellbook to prevent the evidence against her, but kept one page?  
She got taken away
He was framed to be the one who told the guard, 
Got a sum of gold that was ridiculous (compartively, I think urchins start off with like 5 or 10 gp?)
The group chased him away

Motivations
Find the bastard that told the person
Find a new group that he is able to work with

I need a motivation that makes him keep his word though....  I'll tweak it some more but what do you guys think?

First, I like the concept. It should be a fun and interesting add to the group.

As far as motivation to stay true to the party goes, I can come up with an idea or two...

1. Maybe he's not dedicated to the party so much as he is to a certain other member of the group. As long as said other stays loyal to the group, so does your character. Any number of factors could contribute... I can think of one or two possible scenarios with Cash if you'd like to explore that... Or you can wait and see what the rest come up with and link up with someone else.
2. Perhaps the group as a whole gives him a sense of security and belonging (or maybe just convenience) so he staves off any impulse if turning on them until he's gotten his use of them.
3. Maybe he doesn't! Could make for some interesting RP.

I'm facing my usual difficulty in narrowing down my ideas to just one...

So far, I got it down to:

• Barbarian, Half-Orc or Human [Variant], with the Entertainer/Gladiator or Urchin background
• Stout Halfling Monk with the Acolyte, Entertainer or Hermit background
• Half-Elf Rogue with the Entertainer or Sailor background

If Impulse is thinking Rogue, I'll focus on one of the first two. I think I'm learning towards the Monk... though the Barbarian with the Urchin background might make some easy connections with Impulse's character.

Anyway, that's where I'm at.

I really like the 1st idea.  The second idea is what I had in mind, needing a group for protection and security but I'd much rather have a solid idea/motivation to really stick with the group when the going gets tough. 

If you wanna come up with a method for our two chars to know each other that would be appreciated!

As for the barbarian Urchin, If we wanna know each other as well, I"d be happy to do that.  

The third option I don't really want to do... I've had a lot of issues with group PVP and it doesn't end well... At least in my experience.  I had to leave a campaign because of some IC issues that leaked into OoC hatred.  

...as far as your character and Cas having some kind of relationship is that, perhaps your trickster was being chased down by some folks that meant to do him harm and Cas intervened, keeping your character from being beaten silly or worse. Maybe he did get beaten pretty soundly and, after chasing of his attackers, Castien took him back to the Temple for healing/recuperation. Compassion is a pretty major tenet of Astryliene, after all.

We can run with that idea, if you like, or we can brainstorm others. Up to you.

I love seeing these ideas spilling out! 

Urchins are a big problem in parts of Port Sacrifice, and there's a decent sized ang of them in Watertown that more or less terrorize the docks and the market areas. 

Humans are everywhere, and there's even some humon-only towns and vilages along The Long Road. They're also found across the other continents as well, so I don't  want you to feel like you have to come from Khadask. 

Keep those ideas coming! You guys are great! 

I'm exceedingly jazzed for this game to get rolling but, still, happy to sit here and "dig into the depths" before things really take off. Got so into it, last night, that I broke out the sketchbook and started drawing Castien.

Mayhaps I'll slap some color on it and post it up a bit later.

Eol, which background did you choose? Acolyte?

I went with acolyte. Given Castien's history and the details I got from Lady Dark about what growing up in the Temple would have been like, acolyte made the most sense. I looked at Faction Agent, as well, but realized they were essentially the same thing (just swap out "faith" for "faction" and they're practically identical). Cas is probably something of a zealot where it comes to Astryliene.