Here’s character I’m thinking of posting to “Cutters”, comments and criticism welcome. Also is there a standard stat block for me to use?
I made him for a player who said he wanted to be evil, REALLY evil. Given that this guy has “Raistlin” Tattooed on his neck and is a little scary I decided to deliver. The piece was originally written in the first person so I’ve adapted it as best I could.
This contains “mature” content, I think I’ve watched too much SVU.
Maelier
Maelier is rapidly becoming a respected, if not liked member of Sigil Society. He is a reclusive gentleman who owns and operates “Many Hands”, a general service firm specialising in providing an immediate labour force at minimal expense. His workers are quiet, skilled, efficient and undead.
“Many Hands” operates out of a small storefront in clerks ward where clients are greeted by an immaculately preserved zombie and leave a list of duties, the required completion date, and their address along with a down payment. Many Hands charges 2 Greens per worker, per days work and are commonly employed to trim back razorvine (Which they do with great vigour), perform general cleaning duties, even acting as waiters and personal attendants for certain establishments where privacy is of the essence.
The technique Maelier uses to make such versatile undead is unknown but “Many Hands” is becoming increasingly popular within certain circles of Sigil’s elite.
Darks
Maelier was rescued from the Vashar as an infant. His ‘rescuers’ were a group of adventuring sensates, looking to experience the rush of battle and the ‘righteousness’ of ‘rescuing innocents from a depraved nation’. Unfortunately none of the party really felt like going through the experience of raising a child.
Maelier was left in the Civic Festhall of Sigil to be cared for by whomever had the time and the inclination eventually being taken in by a man who was willing to feed and house him. In return for this Maelier maintained his house, provided an outlet for his temper and serviced any other needs he and his ‘guests’ were experiencing at the time. Maelier learnt early that while a true sensate craves all experiences, most specialise in on a few favourites. He took to sneaking out at night and reading the tomes available in the festhall, eventually catching the eye of one of the librarians. He provided me with access to the books which contained real power. All Maelier had to do in return was ease the loneliness of his late shifts, something he was already well used to.
After a time Maelier began to practice what he had been reading, small cantrips at first, shifting things around the house without physical effort or indulging his childish longing to have a light in his room. As he grew older Maelier began to unlock deeper mysteries, he learnt to create friends for myself out of the carrion on the street and from the garbage heaps behind the kitchens. These little creatures would not hurt him, they asked for nothing. For the first time Maelier felt that he had power over something, he loved these creatures for this gift that they had given him and he showed them that love in the only way he knew.
In Maelier’s early teens he read of a being who shared his contempt for those things that lived and took. At the age of 14 Maelier gave his life to Nerull and in return for his devotion was given the power to free himself from his ‘Father’. Maelier’s little friends tore he and his guests apart as they slept after one of their ‘little parties’ with young Maelier.
Through visions and dreams Nerull showed Maelier the secrets of blending his arcane skills with Nerull’s own teachings, aiding him in the creation of more ‘friends’, including his beloved father.
Despite this Maelier’s body was still mortal and was beginning to be ravaged by his continued contact with negative energy, he needed money to buy the supplies needed to reverse this damage. To this end he began raising bodies and contracting them out to perform menial tasks around the city, clearing away razor-vine, cleaning out waste systems, forge work and numerous other tasks considered too low or too secret for those with breath and minds which had been left undone with the retreat of the Dustman faction. In a vision from Nerull Maelier discovered how to imbue his creations with a basic awareness, allowing them to handle moderately complex tasks without direct supervision and, more importantly, observe and report what occurs around them.
His ‘friends’ report back to what they see in their duties and Maelier in turn passes that information on to those who would pay for it. Maelier has no grand agenda other than controlling those around him so that he cannot be controlled himself.
Note to Player/DM-
Your character is deeply, deeply disturbed. He is utterly incapable of experiencing normal human emotion and his impression of love and friendship has been so twisted by his early relationships (and his origins) that every relationship he now enters into must be one of dominance and servitude. He does seem to have a certain attachment to his creations and takes pride in their achievements but that is about as close as he can come to healthy emotional attachment. While not trustworthy in the least he will obey directions from his master out of a combination of fear and devotion and will work with others if they aiding him, he’s evil, not stupid. However this doesn’t mean that he won’t leave the rest of his party for dead if they can no longer aid him, nor that he won’t succumb to the effects of his depravity.
NOTE – He’s got some extra feats to make up for the damage caused by his corruption and depravity scores.
Plot Hooks - Maelier has discovered the link between the Bladelings and Razorvine and is frantically sending his minions out to destroy its roots in an attempt to increase his stranglehold on information in the cage. The Bladeling keepers of the vine are none too happy about these attempts and conflict seems imminent.