NPC Profile: Viggio

We're back. Let's try not to make a big deal out of this.

--------------------

Viggio was a member of the Seekers, a continent-wide group dedicated to fighting and hunting different monstrous entities. Viggio was one of the first adventurers that the party encountered upon leaving the abbey.

The party visited Viggio at the request of Dr. Ethan, who asked them to take a mysterious vial to him in Verl’s Crook. When they visited Viggio’s house, they found a corpulent man with a sour attitude. He asked the boys if anyone had touched the contents of the vial (naturally, Virgil had tasted it), so Viggio was forced to inject Virgil with a mysterious substance – the party later found out the vial contained vampire blood, and the injection was meant to prevent any ill side effects from imbibing the fluid.

Later on, while helping Ethan subdue a vampire, they discover that Viggio has been hurt fighting this monstrosity, but that he would recover.

When the party learns of the organization known as the Seekers, they discover Viggio is a part of it. As a member of the Seekers, Viggio participates in some of the bigger events in the party’s story: The Battle of the Cracked Flagon, the dinner meeting with Visgoth, and the Battle for the Basilica in Larst, where Viggio loses his life.

Like all who died in this battle and fought against Argoth, Viggio is revered as a hero.

TOP 10 NPCs

I started playing the 2nd Edition of D&D in 7th grade, and continued through my sophomore year in high school, at which point too many people lost interest in the effort it took to get together for us to continue playing regularly. In the Spring of 2001, Jake introduced me to 3rd Edition, and graciously added me as a player in his veteran game, whereupon I had the time of my life, and a dormant passion was renewed.

Over the last nine years, I’ve played in nine games and run six of my own, and while I’m fond of many of the characters I’ve played, the most communal experience our group has as players is shared fondness / disdain for particular NPC’s that have crossed our path on one or more occasions. The following is a list of the top ten NPC’s we’ve encountered over the last decade, and why I feel they are / were so special (HINT: the secret to a great NPC is the way you react to them and how it inspires you to play as a character).

10. El-Hamanid, Created by: Dave, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: DuPontaine Swashbucklers

The bait and switch is a classic NPC tactic – create an NPC ally / acquaintance who the players come to trust, only to have them turn out to be the “big bad guy” they fight in the end. Of all the bait and switch NPCs I’ve encountered as a player, El-Hamanid was definitely the most unexpected. The reason for this was probably Dave’s ability to immerse us in a world of intrigue where we suspected everyone else. To us, El-Hamanid was simply Trader Joe, a completely different NPC staple – the universal shopkeep. For the first time in my playing history, though, the shopkeep did it.

9. Herb, Created by: Chris, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: The Fantabulous Mage-a-Tron

Herb was your classic wise man – lives in a small town, knows every secret in the game, is folksy and charming. But Chris’ specialty is folksy and charming, which gave Herb a twinkle Burl Ives couldn’t manage. In a world of high fantasy and magic, Chris’ hardy, New England farmer take on Herb was so convincing that I’ve often found myself wishing he were real so I could go to him for the answers.

8. Malkawa, Created by: Joey, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: Mouthus’ Journal

Every Star Wars game that takes place in the Old Republic era is bound to have a Jedi mentor in it. Malkawa could have been that mentor, were she not surrounded by a group hell-bent on re-routing the moral compass of the galaxy to their own whims. In the defense of the players, Malkawa was pretty insufferable; she was a Wookiiee, which made it difficult for her to communicate with most of the players, and she had a tendency towards righteous indignation that rubbed many of the players (particularly Chris and Daniel) the wrong way. I have no doubt that many will disagree about her inclusion; however, her influence alone kept the party from descending into a complete moral vacuum – once she was written out of the game, the criminal elements reigned supreme.

7. Jesus (Egg Pilot Edition), Created by: Dave, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: The Rapture

Jesus in an egg jumped every possible shark imaginable in Dave’s D20 future setting, propelling the story towards a speedy and premature conclusion. While this was regrettable, the character in itself was something of a masterstroke, and indelibly a creation of his DM. Dave’s Jesus was painted in the broad strokes of a Washington Post political cartoon – confused, out of sorts, and blindly poking at straws, the savior of mankind didn’t so much orchestrate his deification as he did stumble into it.

6. Soljus, Created by: Joey, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: The Dominici, The Fantabulous Mage-a-Tron, The DOPP

Soljus is a hybrid character, and this is important because his genius lies not in his creation so much as his development. When he first appeared in my Dominici game, Soljus was a common criminal polymorphed into a monkey by an Archmage; he later regained his human form only to become a monkey again later. In Chris’ hands, he took on a new life: Soljus’ curse was more than just a new form – he was granted an unnaturally long life, and lived so long that wisdom at long last found him after years of stubborn refusal. In my opinion, this makes him a truly amazing NPC – one who achieved real growth and change.

5. Doogal, Created by: Jacob, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: The Order of the Abbey

The top 5 is crowded with Jake’s creations, and few can compare to Doogal. Doogal has been the subject of more discussion than any other NPC I can remember. We respect him, but we fear his potential. Some want to kill him, while others see his value as an ally. Doogal has caused us more trouble than any other NPC on this list, and yet of anyone who has enjoyed “bad guy” status with PC’s, there are few characters we’ve wanted to kill less (with the notable exception of Dave, who kind of wants to kill everyone), and yet in spite of that, we’ve killed him twice. We’ve also spent hours of our lives discussing politics, playing concerts with, and just trying to outwit the guy. Plus, Doogal is the Doogie Howser of international commerce warfare. That concept alone has to be unique to the modern role-playing game.

4. Charles Fox, Created by: Jacob, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: Most of them.

Charles Fox is the epitome of the recurring character. He’s appeared in most of Jake’s games, and most of Chris’s games as well. He’s the frustrating, cryptic, elusive mysterious man in the forest, yet he’s witty, urbane, and quite possibly smarter than everyone else in this joint. In his purest form, Fox is the least fractured element of Jake’s personality when he’s running a game – a moment for him to step in and say, “guys, I know the players determine the direction of the game, but you really need a tour guide right now.” The funny thing is, a character like that (who inevitably leads you around by the nose to where the DM wants you to be) is typically boring, predictable, and makes the game less fun. Charles Fox not only contradicts those traits, he defies your expectations at every turn. That’s special.

3. Father Pious, Created by: Chris, Games in which NPC appeared: The DOPP

The DOPP were men of science. Father Pious was a man of faith. These two forces will butt heads, and the results will not be pretty – it’s that simple. That story has been told over and over, and the dichotomy works when you’re deeply involved in the story, but to an outside observer, it’s rote. Not Father Pious. Perhaps it was his real world inspiration (a priest we knew from our Catholic college days) that brought Father Pious so vividly to life, but I don’t think that really gets to the heart of the matter, because the player who got the most of out of Pious was the one of us who had never met the real guy. Once again, it was a vivid, imaginative, and detailed performance on the part of the DM that gave Father Pious that spark, and made him the enemy you most love to hate.

2. Nordogast, Created by: Joey, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: Con-Agra, Superheroes, Mouthus’ Journal, Serenity (infant cameo)

Nordogast was a true asshole, and you loved him for it. The key to Nordogast is that he was basically a PC – albeit a powerful PC with seemingly unlimited resources. It’s just that Nordogast was playing a different game than the one the players were involved in, and when he crossed paths with you, you were typically after the same MacGuffin. If you weren’t on opposing sides, however, Nordogast was the kind of guy you might like to sit down and have a drink with. In every game in which he has appeared, Nordogast has survived his first encounter with the PC’s (and always from the approach that he is a bad guy) by talking his way into their good graces. You know things will end badly. You know he is planning to screw you. You know you should just kill him now. But you can’t help yourself. It’s Nordogast.

1. Malus (Captain Evil), Created by: Jacob, Game(s) in which NPC appeared: Ravensfeast Trio, The Valley of the Fallen Stars, The Order of the Abbey

The first time PCs met Captain Evil, he was popping the head off of a 5th level cleric and marching towards a fight with a Vecna high-priest that promised to be so bad, the players opted to destroy the entire city in lieu of witnessing it. It would be easy to dismiss Captain Evil as a pile of cool stuff on a high-level warrior, but that would serve to underestimate the guy’s effect – the dude made our knees tremble no matter what level we were, and it was every inch attitude. A man who ate war, death, and destruction for breakfast, Captain Evil has seen and endured more mind-bending grief and torture than you or I could ever imagine. Even the admittedly ridiculous nickname we gave him way back at the beginning cannot mitigate the terror that comes with facing off with this guy. In his time, he has been associated with or appeared alongside some major baddies – Linus, the Horned King, Voltare, Visgoth, Asgaroth (Jake’s no slouch when it comes to scary-ass villains) – but if you were to ask us who’s the one guy we’re scared to fight? Look no further.

Honorable Mention: Celeron, Wyfierd (Galathian), Jeanette Tiso, Garam, Brown Tornado, Goldschmiddt, Won-Huong Lo, The Horned King

NPC Profile: Samarid

Samarid is a former brother at the Morningstar Abbey, and currently a trainer and advisor to the military of The Freelands. He is a large, muscular human with bright red hair and a thick, bushy beard. He dresses in animal skins, and is an adept fighter with an axe or in bare-handed combat.

At the start of the campaign, Samarid served the abbey as a smith and a farmer. His apprentice was Guy Furyaxe (formerly Fiftynames), and in addition to his trade, Samarid would work with Guy on combat techniques. He was reserved and guarded in what techniques he was willing to teach Guy, but sufficient prodding and pleading would often get him to show Guy a new move or style.

Samarid wore a mysterious choker around his neck, which the party discovered was in place to magically suppress his barbarian rage, and to artificially raise his wisdom and intelligence so as to make him a functioning member of civilized society. Guy discovered Samarid’s impressive axe and a helmet made from the skull of Wyvern one day, which effectively put an end to Samarid’s training of Guy.

The night of Teris’ death, Guy removed Samarid’s choker and sent him after Faust, hoping that Samarid could protect Art from harm. Although Samarid and Art were defeated, they were not killed, and Samarid was held prisoner at the abbey. When the boys had completed their adventurer apprenticeships, they returned to the abbey and freed Samarid, giving him his chokere back and restoring his reason. Samarid accompanied the party to the Warrior’s Rest, where he agreed to serve as a bodygaurd to Eric while he conducted research into the party’s heritages.

Samarid would occasionally see the party from time to time when they would meet with Eric, and Guy and Samarid would normally spar and share combat knowledge with each other. When Eric became Bjorn and retired from his research into the Year of the Ram, Samarid joined the party’s newly-formed government of The Freelands as a trainer and advisor to the Freelandian military, where he remains to this day.

NPC Profile: Drooley

Marshall Drooley was a chief of local law enforcement in Arimathea, initially of the small hamlet Verl’s Crook, but eventually, due to takeing credit for an investigation that he did not solve, he was promoted to Marshall of Compassgate, one of hte nation’s largest cities.

Drooley first encountered the Order of the Abbey on their first adventure, when they happened upon a recently murdered woman on the streets of Verl’s Crook. Drooley, sheriff of the town, stumbled upon the scene and promptly revealed himself to be an incompetent drunkard. After being dismissed by Guy, Drooley handed over the reigns of the investigation to the party, and retreated back to the sheriff’s office to drink.

After passing out, Floyd and Virgil beat Drooley senseless and then placed him at the bottom of the stairs to make it look like a fall. When he came to, the party had solved the mystery – Gruth was behind bars, and Tolgas, the mastermind of the crime, was slain. However, due to the machinations of Maggie, the proprietor of The Gilded Lily (Verl’s Crook’s inn and tavern), Drooley was given credit for the investigation and the party returned to the abbey unheralded. Later, under Drooley’s watch, Gruth escaped.

Years later, Drooley would become the subject of one of Floyd Fiftynames’ first songs, “Marshall Drooley is an Idiot.” The song mixed truth and slander to hilarious effect. Other than the reknown brought by the song, Drooley was not a fixture in the lives of the characters until the day the party went to Compassgate to meet the impending invasion of Doogal, whereupon they learned that Drooley had been promoted to Marshall of Compassgate. In an act of supreme stuipidity, Drooley had given the bulk of his force the day off to celebrate the Yule, leaving Compassgate defenseless. The party attempted to talk some sense into Drooley, and when this didn’t work out, he was killed by Guy.

Today, to be “Drooley” is synonomous with stupidity and incompetence.

NPC Profile: Nikolai

Cardinal Nikolai was the alias of Argoth, Lord of Hell, during his time in Western Aggravail in which he attempted to sieze power in the Universal Church and use a generation of Year of the Ram children to fulfill several apocalyptic prophecies. As Nikolai, he was the Cardinal of Arimathea.

Nikolai first entered prominence in the game while the party members were still children living at the Morningstar Abbey. One evening shortly after the party's first adventure, a dwarf traveling north through Arimathea stopped at the abbey to spend the night; over dinner, he told the brothers and the boys the news that the old Cardinal of Arimathea had died, and Nikolai had been named his replacement. This news upset Abbott Teris very much, not only because of his good relationship with the old Cardinal, but also because of Teris' distrust of Nikolai. It is not clear exactly how much Teris knew or suspected of Nikolai, but he never directly implicated him as Argoth or any other kind of infernal outsider.

Shortly after this news, Nikolai sent Faust and Barris to the abbey to end Teris' tenure as Abbott. They succeeded, but did not manage to capture the six boys from the Year of the Ram, as it is suspected Nikolai may have instructed them to do.

After the party finished their apprenticeships and training, they began adventuring in the Twilight Lands, and largely lost track of Nikolai and his activities. In the course of an early adventure, Guy encountered a Ravvid who made Guy promise to one day destroy Cardinal Nikolai's ring, although it was unclear why.

The party did not encounter Nikolai again (except through a run-in with Faust), until a good while later, when they were taken prisoner in Arimathea and placed in the dungeon of the Cathedral of Arimathea. There, they met Nikolai for the first time. Nikolai demanded that the boys pledge their services to him. When they refused, Nikolai stormed out, claiming to already have a Year of the Ram child under his control. In addition, during this capture, Nikolai obtained the Imperial Scepter from the party, which gave him control over Malus.

Upon their escape from the Cathedral, the party, Art, and Ethan happened upon Nikolai's chambers, where they found a large summoning circle that required a considerable amount of evil to create. The boys destroyed the summoning circle, and promptly left the Cathedral.
Later, while traveling in the Bodian Protectorates, they foiled a plot by Nikolai to assasinate Cardinal Aloe, one of Nikolai's political enemies. The party dispatched Barris, who had been sent to carry out the job, and obtained a ring that allowed them to communicate with Nikolai.
When the party founded The Freelands, Nikolai attended the summit of nations along with Luth, King of Arimathea, Lord of the West, Doogal's twin brother, and a member of the Year of the Ram lineage. Nikolai's intent on attending these meetings was to coerce the party into signing the Church Treaty, which The Freelands decided not to do.

Shortly thereafter, Nikolai traveled to Larst, where he began a campaign to have the Universal Church's College of Cardinals choose a pontifical leader. The party traveled to Larst to attempt to influence these discussions as they were certain that Nikolai intended to win the election. The party uncovered a massive conspiracy of bribery and mercenary-dom, paid in gold coins that Brixmore determined to have been forged in Hell from the souls of the damned. This raised considerable alarm among the party, and Brixmore developed an elaborate and dramatic plan to reveal the bribes' infernal influence and to destroy the money.

The party attended several debates and conferences on the matter of elections, even going so far as to back their own candidate. When the election came down to two parties, the party summoned a massive representation of Western Aggravail's power into attendance, including King Gorom of Tutia, several Seekers, members of the Fellowship of the Golden Eagle, Illrean Rangers, Fifty Gnomes, and other governmental and heroic agencies. Under enormous pressure from the College of Cardinals and other agencies to account for accusations brought before him, Nikolai took the podium of the debate hall in the Basilica and revealed himself as Argoth, Lord of Hell.

This revelation ignited the Battle for the Basilica, an enormous skirmish that resulted in the deaths of several innocents, Churchmen, and heroes. After destroying an artifact found by Herbert (the 2nd Gnome of the Fifty Gnomes) in the catacombs of the Basilica that kept Argoth impervious from harm, confronting and defeating (but not killing) Malus, and wading through an army of infernal creatures, the party confronted and destroyed the material prescence of Nikolai / Argoth, forcing him back to Hell.

Nikolai's revelation and death spurred massive reform of the Universal Church, creating a widespread distrust of the Church hierarchy that will take a long time to rebuild.

PC Profile: Floyd Fiftynames

Floyd Fiftynames does not know where he was born. Since he was an infant, he had been raised in The Morningstar Abbey, a non-combatant, religious brotherhood in northern Arimathea, a southwestern country on a continent known as Western Aggravail. Floyd, along with his twin brother Guy, grew up at the Abbey and served as an apprentice to the brothers of the Abbey. Specifically, Floyd was apprenticed to Brother Art, the monastery's quartermaster. Along with his brother Guy, Floyd's friends are the other boys his age who live at the Abbey - the dwarf Brixmore, and humans Virgil, Eric, and Zarin.

When he is sixteen years old, Floyd learns that he and the other boys his age at the Abbey are members of a group known as the Year of the Ram, a select group made unique by the fact that they are born during an annual (recurring every 50 years) wherein births rarely occur. The six boys at the Abbey are half of the only twelve that were born during this year, and the monastery's chief, Abbott Teris, believes that they boys born in this Year of the Ram cycle are bound to fulfill many prophecies about the upcoming fate of the world.

After the shocking news of his origin (compounded by the death of Abbott Teris and the administrative changes made at the Morningstar Abbey), Floyd and his contemporaries are sent off to various adventurers to begin learning necessary skills. Floyd is apprenticed to a minstrel named Titus, who starts Floyd on the path to becoming a bard.

After two years, their training is complete, and four of the boys re-assemble: Floyd, Guy, Virgil, and Brixmore. Eric remains on the periphery doing furhter research into their heritage, and Zarin is heard from very sparingly. Floyd begins adventuring with his brother and their two friends, whereupon they almost immediately fall into some serious business.

Floyd's exploits become known far and wide largely due to Floyd himself, who is a prolific songwriter and talented performer. Floyd tells the tale of the self-christened "Order of the Abbey," through songs, storytelling, and an on-going puppet musical.

Floyd eventually becomes a licensed bard at the now defunct Bardic College of the nation of Illrea, and he is a founding member and author of the bylaws of the League of Bards and Skalds, a branch of an Adventurer's Guild formed after the epic Battle for the Basilica of Larst. In addition, Floyd is a founding member and original Executive Council Member of The Freelands, a democratic nation founded in the former anarchic Twilight Lands. Floyd has since resigned his position on the Council, finding the life of a statesman and politician unsuitable to him, although he has retained his position as the Fiftieth Gnome of the Fifty Gnomes, an intelligence and operatives organization founded in The Freelands by Floyd to be an agency for The Freelands and democracy throughout the continent.

Floyd is a devout agnostic, despite the overt religious symbolism of his birthright. He is a member of the ancient House of Bostwick, one of the original high families of Western Aggravail. Floyd tends toward a life of comfort and ease, and is more often than note driven towards adventure by Guy, Brixmore, and Virgil, who have aggressive personal agendas they wish to promote. However, despite this lack of drive, Floyd is an avid and eager swordsman, and enjoys diving into a good fight (particularly when it seems winnable).

Floyd values friendship very highly. In addition to the inseperable bond he shares with his brother and adventuring companions, he has found many friends and like souls in the Fifty Gnomes' organization, including Ajax, the original First Gnome, who replaced him on The Freelands' Executive Council, and Scaramouche, his young Copper Dragon co-hort. In addition, Floyd is fond of Garam, Abbott Art, Bjorn (formerly Eric), Bricka, Pskenart, and many others. Although he occasionally comes to disagreements with some of his fellow party members (particularly Guy and Virgil), he views them as family, and worth overcoming any disagreements.

Floyd maintains an easygoing relationship with the ladies, preferring no hard and fast commitments. As far as types are concerned, he has a thing for seamstresses and laundresses.
Floyd actively dislikes very few people, and when he does, it's usually because they have done something to deserve it. Floyd was once the victim of identity theft when another Gnome bard named Mitchell played Floyd's songs and claimed them for his own, but Floyd managed to eventually deal with the Mitchell situation without need for bloodshed. In addition, Floyd has no love for followers of the lizardfolk's pagan god Krissk, finding them unreasonably difficult to talk to. He finds Centaurs haughty, religious types hypocritical, and Gruth to be a major d-bag.

Floyd's eventual ambition is to retire as the greates adventurer / entertainer who ever lived. He has designs on the purchase and renovation of The Cracked Flagon, an inn in the unincorporated part of The Freelands, as it was the site of many fond memories. He plans to remain with the Fifty Gnomes organization, and to enjoy good food, fun, and cheer for as many days as he has.

Significant NPCs in The Order of the Abbey Campaign

As of today, The Order of the Abbey has been a weekly running campaign since August 26, 2007. Although we have probably missed more sessions than we would like to admit, we have easily played at least 75 sessions during that stretch. In a game of such scope and size, it is probably no surprise that the campaign has come to have over three hundred significant NPCs, and the number is still growing. What follows is a list of considerably important NPCs as well as guest PCs (those who have played at the table on a non-weekly basis). I will not take the time to describe them herein, only rest assured that each and every one of the characters listed will be the subject of an NPC Profile at some point in the future. It is certainly possible that more names will be added to this list as well.

Characters with an asterisk (*) already have had their profile written.

KEY NPCs

Abbott (formerly Brother) Art
Abbott Teris*
Ajax
Alvin
Barris
Bart
Bjorn, formerly known as Eric
Bricka
Brother Abel
Brother Jarrod
Brother Samared
Cardinal Aloe
Cardinal Nikolai
Doogal
Doovin
Dr. Ethan*
Eric, formerly known as Bjorn
Faust
Garam
Garvey
Goldschmiddt*
Gruth
Harves Raeth
Havern
Herbert
King Gorom
Kleppos
Liam Strongbow
Lil' Skimpy
Luth
Malus*
Mason
McGrath
Mitchell
Murdoch
Oak
Orin
Pope Benedict I
Prince Calay
Pskenart
Rumplemintz
Sally
Scaramouche
Sebastian
Sikator
Strom
Terick
The Allfather
The Bandit King of Clovica
The Duke of Darkenhold
The Harvester
The Huntmaster
The Proclaimer
The Winter Queen
Tok
Uru
Vain
Viggio
Visgoth
Yalla Sola
Zarin (also known as Linus)

I also would like to see each of the PCs write profiles of themselves at some point, but I thought it would be worthwhile to give you some idea of where we're going here.

NPC Profile: Dr. Ethan

When Dr. Ethan is first introduced to the story, he is a long-time resident of the Morningstar Abbey, though unlike many who reside there, he is not one of its brothers. It is assumed that Dr. Ethan lives at the Abbey because of the religious aspect of his missions and because of his long standing friendship with Abbott Teris.

Ethan is presented as a dark, serious figure, but in spite of this, he is neither sullen or anti-social. He dresses in dark clothing and frequently disappears from the Abbey on one of his missions, only to return bruised, scratched, and cut. Of all of the inhabitants at the Abbey, he is the one who appears the most outwardly ready for a fight.

Dr. Ethan was given Brixmore the dwarf as his charge, and as his apprentice, Brixmore comes to appreciate the need to abolish and destroy the undead. Shortly before the party began adventuring, Dr. Ethan began to figure into their lives much more prominently. Ethan showed a willingness to include the boys of the Abbey in missions, enlisting their help in the destruction of a burgeoning vampire, and entrusting them to bring a mysterious vial to Viggio, a friend of the doctor who lived in Verl’s Crook. Initially Ethan earned the distrust of Guy and the contempt of Floyd, but on the night that Abbott Teris died and the party left the Abbey, the entire party had come to trust Ethan as an ally.

Although they do not see Dr. Ethan again for some time, the party learns early on while adventuring that Ethan is a friend and colleague of Garam, a gnome wizard they begin working for who lives outside of the town of Dreia in the Twilight Lands. Through Garam, they discover that Garam and Ethan are both members of an organization called the Seekers, a continental-wide contingent of experts who focus their energies on specific kinds of monsters (Ethan with undead, Garam with the Unseely Court, or the fey, etc.).

The party catches up with Ethan at the Cracked Flagon one day when he writes them for help with a mission he is working on. This mission turns out to be one for scouting and observing the activities of a very powerful vampire named Visgoth as he meets with the Fey Queen of the Unseely Court. The party discovers one of the roots of Ethan’s dedication and interest in the destruction of the undead – Visgoth’s chief lieutenant is Ethan’s daughter Ashlynn, his only child.

Ethan serves as a useful conduit of information for the PCs, giving them background information on the history of the Church, the Proclaimer, and the Betrayer (who the party believes has become The Harvester). He possesses several religious artifacts, including three of the twelve pieces of silver used to betray the Proclaimer, each of which has magical properties. In addition, he teaches Guy how to magically detect the presence of evil, and he provides the party with pieces of Kingsfoil, a rare and valuable herb that can remove evil diseases, curses, and the like.

Dr. Ethan is often present to provide cautions to the party before they embark on particularly dangerous quests. He is present at the Battle of the Cracked Flagon and the Battle for the Basilica, as well as joining the party, Garam, and others for a critical dinner meeting with Visgoth. To Ethan’s credit, he manages to contain his rage at this meeting, knowing full well that his efforts in this fight would be futile.

Ethan becomes less and less of a fixture over time in the PCs lives, but for his last mission, he reunites with them so that they can help. Traveling by ship to Nemia, the PCs discover that Dr. Ethan has located the hideout and base of operations on the eastern end of the continent that is run by Ashlynn for her master Visgoth. Ethan scouts and discerns the location of her tomb, and prepares himself to finish her when the PCs confront and defeat her at her hideout location in Nemia’s coastal city of Barradon. The party is successful at driving her back to her coffin, and Ethan finishes the job.

This endeavor naturally puts Ethan into a deep despair, and he finds he cannot live with himself after what he has been forced to do. He pauses for one last conversation with Virgil, in which Ethan pleads with him to see to it that the PCs do one day face and destroy Visgoth once and for all. Virgil agrees, and Ethan, seeking peace at long last, hurls himself off a cliff and into the bay. His body is recovered by Guy and Brixmore, and the party buries him next to his daughter, sealing off the cave where they are interred.

Of all of the mentors the PCs had at the Morningstar Abbey as children, Ethan has been far and away the one most involved in the party’s adventuring life as adults. While his sacrifice seems heartbreaking and unnecessary to the boys, he will always be remembered fondly.

NPC Profile: Malus *CORRECTED!*

Malus is an individual who has been around for a very long time. He is a large human male of great strength and imposing presence. It is known by the party that long before their birth, Malus was a warrior in an ancient age who was forced to eat the heart of a demon in order to survive a battle in which all of his men had been killed. Originally a valorous warrior, Malus accepted this fate because of a promise he made to one of his soldiers to take a message back to the soldier's beloved. Consumption of the heart changed Malus both physically and spiritually forever.

By the time the PCs meet Malus, he is an anonymous gentleman farmer. He makes the acquaintance of Brixmore during Brix’s apprenticeship as a cleric. Later on, the entire group encounters Malus, who is staying as a guest with the haughty, racist centaurs who kill Hirsute MacGuffin and assault the other party members who are trying to return the centaur chieftain (Proudtail)’s son (Stonehoof). Upon learning of the centaur’s treatment of the PCs, he orders Chief Proudtail to have his shaman reincarnate Hirsute as Chris Tennison. This pull that Malus, a human has among the xenophobic centaurs leads the party to believe he is more powerful than your average farmer.

Malus learns that the party is heading for the famous Tower of Puzzles, and asks the PCs to retrieve a suit of blue enamel armor for him. Chris Tennison finds the armor, and Malus catches up to the party in the city of Britewater, where they give him the suit. Donning it, he almost immediately engages in a fight with Faust, who was in the city unbeknownst to the party. It is heavily implied that Malus covets Fausts’ magical glove which allows him to utilize more than one magic ring per hand. To our knowledge, this glove is completely unique.

What Malus does not know is that at the top of the Tower of Puzzles, Chris Tennison also obtained the Imperial Scepter, an implement that allows the wielder complete control over the wearers of the enamel armor of various colors. Chris Tennison does not realize the power of the scepter, and does not use it against Malus, but unfortunately, the party loses the scepter when they are captured in Compassgate by Faust and Cardinal Nikolai. Although the party escapes, Nikolai retains possession of the scepter, and it is believe that he uses it to make Malus his errand boy.

The party sends a messenger to warn Malus of this fact, but when the party follows up on the mission, they are dismayed to find Malus’ farm in shambles, and the messenger's dead body on the property. This is the last they hear from Malus for several years, until the battle for the Basilica of Larst, when Nikolai, who reveals himself to the world as Argoth, Lord of Hell, summons Malus to engage the party in battle. The PCs manage to overcome Malus at this juncture, but they do not kill him. Instead, Malus escapes, bloodied and beaten. When the party defeats and banishes Nikolai, they can find no sign of the Imperial Scepter. It is unknown at this time what has become of this artifact, and Malus remains at large.

NPC Profile: Goldschmiddt

Goldschmiddt is a gnome who runs The Warrior's Rest, one of the taverns that the PC's frequent. The Warrior's Rest is located on the southwest side of the former Twilight Lands (now territory of the Freelands). It is a tavern built out of the tomb of a great warrior, but despite its macabre origins, it is a rather homey and comforting place.

Goldschmiddt has been the proprietor of the Warrior's Rest since the party's first encounter at the tavern, when they were taken there by Abel the ranger the night that Abbott Teris died and the boys' adventuring lives truly began. Goldschmiddt presents himself as a mopey, depressed individual who frequently supposes his own demise at the hands of one of his customers (even the PCs). He is the polar opposite of his cheery assistant barman, the gnome Rumplemintz.

In actuality, Goldschmiddt is a hardy, steely, and resourceful man who is fiercely protective of the things he holds dear, and his "Eeyore" persona is a front that allows him to keep watch over his charges from the relative safety of his tavern.

Goldschmiddt's relationship to the PCs is one of casual respect, but in recent years he has come to consider the PCs as powerful individuals who are less in need of his direct assistance, and more often in need of his guidance as a liason to the worshippers of the Dagda, a druidic organization in the southwestern Freelands who revere nature.

Through Goldschmiddt, the PCs have been introduced to Doovin, and Goldschmiddt was present at the climactic battle with The Harvester. In opposition to the High Elf invasion, Goldschmiddt assisted the alliance of the Western Continent armies by single-handedly destroying the conquered city of Britewater.

Goldschmiddt seems to know a great deal about the history of the Year of the Ram, but he is selective in what information he releases to the characters, preferring that they work to discover their own origins. The PCs have on occasion encountered him after he has been through a particularly brutal fight, but he always seems to bounce back and continue on at his post behind the bar.

NPC Profile: Abbott Teris

The following is the beginning of an occasional series wherein we profile an NPC in the Order of the Abbey campaign.

It seems only natural we should start with Abbott Teris, who was the first major NPC in the lives of the Order of the Abbey. Abbott Teris was the Abbott of the Morningstar Abbey, an organization of brothers dedicated to the faith who earned their keep by making wine and ale. As Abbott, Teris was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Abbey as well as keeping an eye on the spiritual well-being of its inhabitants.

The boys saw Teris as a father figure, as they had all been raised at Morningstar since they were very young children. Teris was completely trusted as a father figure and authority by the PC's, and that trust was both tested and amply rewarded when it came time to reveal the truth about the party's birthright. The boys, along with Eric (now Bjeorn) and Zarin (also known as Linus), were all born in the same year, designated on an ancient zodiac as the Year of the Ram, which occured every fifty years. The Year of the Ram was often notable because of a world-wide phenomenon wherein an exceptionally low number of births occurred. In this particular Year of the Ram, only twelve children were born; six sets of twins (more information is available on the Year of the Ram by consulting the game notes).

The night of Abbott Teris' death, he revealed the truth of the boys' origins to Brix, Eric, Floyd, Guy, and Virgil, and bound his spirit to them via a magic ritual which allows the PCs to summon the spirit of Teris from time to time. The rituals also protect the party from select negative energy and massive damage effects, and enable the boys to stay in contact with each other via magical messages and the ability to see through each others' eyes.

The party has summoned Abbott Teris sparingly, preferring to allow his spirit to rest in peace save for only the most important situations. Recently, while cleaning out a lich's cavern below the original edifice of the Abbey, the boys encountered a magic image of a much younger Teris, who stood gaurd at the door to the cavern and warned potential adventurers and explorers of the danger that lay within.

Although Abbott Teris was only alive for a brief portion of the PC's adventuring career, he has had a profound effect on their lives and remains to this day their principal father figure.