Veneficus Heketch's page

Veneficus Heketch
Male human magus (kensai) 1/monk (hungry ghost monk/master of many styles) 1
LE Medium humanoid
Init +4; Senses Perception +7
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +1 Int, +3 Wis)
hp 7 (1d8-1)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +5 (d6-1)
Special Attacks punishing kick (1/day, DC 14); spell combat
Magus Spells (CL 1st; concentration +6)
. . 1st (2/day)—
. . 0 (at will)—
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 18, Con 8, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 16
Feats:
1st: Weapon Finesse
Monk Bonus: Improved Unarmed Strike
Hungry Ghost Bonus: Punishing Kick
Style Bonus: Kirin Style
Kensai Bonus: Weapon Focus (katana)
Human Bonus: Slashing Grace (katana)
Traits Style Sage, Nature's Mimic
Skills:
Acrobatics +8
Escape Artist +8
Knowledge (arcana) +9
Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9
Knowledge (local) +10
Knowledge (nature) +10
Knowledge (planes) +9
Knowledge (religion) +9
Perception +7
Sense Motive +7
Spellcraft +9
Stealth +8
Languages Aboleth, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Necril, Sylvan
SQ monk AC bonus, kensai canny defense
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Special Abilities
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Fuse Style: At 1st level, a master of many styles can fuse two of the styles he knows into a more perfect style. The master of many styles can have two style feat stances active at once. Starting a stance provided by a style feat is still a swift action, but when the master of many styles switches to another style feat, he can choose one style whose stance is already active to persist. He may only have two style feat stances active at a time.

Arcane Pool (Su): At 1st level, the magus gains a reservoir of mystical arcane energy that he can draw upon to fuel his powers and enhance his weapon. This arcane pool has a number of points equal to 1/2 his magus level (minimum 1) + his Intelligence modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the magus prepares his spells.
At 1st level, a magus can expend 1 point from his arcane pool as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute.

Spell Combat" At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

Patient Name: Veneficus Heketch
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 120

Past History: The patient Veneficus Heketch arrived at Branderscar Sanitarium by the order of a High Court. According to the court files, Heketch went on trial for the murder of a minor noble during an illegal duel. Although the court originally ordered an execution, this descision was later overruled in favor of interment at Branderscar on the basis of "mental instability," with virtually no other details offered.
Addendum: During an interview, the patient claimed relation to the Heketch family - a prominent shipping magnate. Although I suspect Heketch to have falsified many of his personal details, this connection would explain the mysterious lightening of his sentence - his family must have pulled some strings to avoid the scandal of an execution by having him fake madness. If this is the case I'll likely recommend him to be transfered, as Branderscar is a place only for the seriously mentally ill.
Further addendum: Concluded initial assessment. Patient will definitely remain at Branderscar.

Physical Report: The patient is in good health, albeit lacking in both muscle mass and body fat. An extreme diet is undoubtedly the cause of this; it would be best to keep him isolated from any others with contagious illnesses. At first I couldn't imagine how such a slight and unassuming man could best another in physical combat.
Then we began to test his reflexes. As a doctor I've examined hundreds of patients and never once seen a someone move with such inhuman speed and precision. At one point my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a nearby guard to subdue the patient. The guard, a trained fighter, couldn't lay down a single blow! Thankfully the patient's hand's were bound tightly, otherwise I fear he would have overpowered both of us right then and there. Extreme caution will need to be excersized when dealing with Heketch, I recommend he remain chained in one form or the other at all times, without any exceptions.

Assessment: Obviously, the patient's file left me with no clue as to what exactly the patient's "mental instability" is (if in fact this mental instability is real at all). For this reason, I decided to run him through an interview against the standard Psychopathy Checklist.

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (0 points for absent traits, 1 point for partial traits, 2 points for definite traits)

Facet 1: Interpersonal

Glibness/superficial charm: {0} While the patient is indeed very eloquent (this is likely a product of his schooling, however), at no point did it seem like he was specifically trying to impress me, rather, he merely enjoyed hearing himself speak. In addition he spoke upon a number of academic topics (including medicine) with such specific detail that he couldn't possibly have been decieving me, at least in this regard.
Grandiose sense of self-worth: {2} This quality Heketch possesses beyond doubt. In addition to rattling off a large number of impressive achievements (many of which I believe are fabricated and will be detailed below), he explicitly stated that he himself is "the greatest one on one duelist alive, that will live, or that may be reanimated hence," as well as a slew of other similar statements.
Pathological lying: {2} The patient very obviously made a large number of contradictory and obviously false statements about his past. What has me stumped is whether or not Heketch truly believes the falsehoods he spouts - it may be that he truly believes his own stories. What follows is a summary of many of his claims, and my notes upon their veracity.
Heketch claims to be related to the wealthy Heketch family (likely true, would explain his dodging the execution) and that he grew up attending a number of prestigious Talirean universities (very possibly true if he did in fact come from wealth). He pursued his academics while simultaneously training himself as a duelist and finally either killed or seriously maimed (contradiction) a rival student at one point, forcing his family to pull him from the academy and send him to a foreign monastery on the mainland (I'm near certain that this is some ridiculous boyhood fantasy Heketch has confused for truth, but it would explain his incredible awareness and reflex). Although he trained under a number of masters with differing fighting styles, the entire time he clung to his own dogma that mental and physical speed could win any battle and refused to take part in any other sort of physical conditioning (this mantra of speed above all else came up multiple times throughout the interview, he seems singularly obsessed with the concept). He finally left the monastery after defeating every Master at once (assuming that the monastery events even happened, I find this extremely far flung even considering the patient's ability) and left the monastery with the monks' prized sword (this sword does indeed exist, it's in our evidence lockers in fact, however, again, I don't buy the whole monk narritive). Back in Talingarde, he defeated hundreds if not thousands of men in single combat (obvious fabrication) while simultaneously driving the development of the Heketch family business to ever greater heights and privately amassing a fortune of millions (another obvious fabrication). After this the patient's narrative focused solely on the duel between himself and the minor noble, whose name I have omitted out of respect. Again I had difficulty following the story, either the noble or Heketch was boasting of their skill with the sword when the other challenged them to an illegal duel, which Heketch obviously won. The patient then went into extremely minute detail about how the duel went down (again, rife with contradictions; for example, at one point Heketch claimed to have killed the noble instantly with a single stroke, at another he expertly sliced both the noble's jugular veins and let him bleed out to death.) Interestingly enough, the patient scoffed when I asked about his trial and sentencing - he went on to insist that neither of them ever happened after all (his words) "you wouldn't be interviewing a common criminal for a position at Branderscar, now would you?" He thinks that he's being hired as a doctor here! I choose to move on to other topics at this point, as I feared that were I to tell him the truth he'd at best flatly ignore me and at worst become uncooperative.
Cunning/manipulative: {1} Although it's clear that his mind is somewhat fractured, the patient nevertheless still possesses a great deal of his intelligence and thus certainly has the propensity cunning. However, other than the unnerving habit he had of sizing me up every few minutes - as an animal might it's prey - I observed nothing else in his behavior that might be an attempt at some form of manipulation.

Facet 2: Affective

Lack of remorse or guilt: {2} The patient exhibits this in spades, not only does he seem to care next to none about the two murder that I believe he actually has committed, but I'm certain that he's (either consciously or subconsciously) revised some of the details to paint himself as the hero of all his escapades.
Emotionally shallow: {2} Heketch's manic obsession with this idea of being the invincible duelist certainly seems to distance him emotionally from the average person. Whether he's hiding these emotions or simply doesn't feel them I can't say.
Callous/lack of empathy: {2} Again, based on the patient's wording he clearly possesses such devotion to perfecting himself that he hardly regards others as anything more than challenges
Failure to accept responsibility for own actions: {1} Despite this "hero mentality" which the patient uses to justify his actions and lighten the blame, he certainly makes no effort to hide his actions, on the contrary, he seems to delight in taking credit for the killings.

Facet 3: Lifestyle:

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom: {1} The patient came off as uncannily calm and collected throughout the interview; I get the feeling he'd make for a patient fighter as well. However, I can't quite see him languishing too long due to his incessant quest for perfection.
Parasitic lifestyle: {0} Nothing I've heard so far would indicate this, although he likely supported himself entirely off his family's resources, he invested most of it in his education.
Lack of realistic, long-term goals: {0} The only long-term goal the patient seems to possess is advancing his craft as a duelist. Given his dedication (no matter how unhealthy), this hardly seems unrealistic.
Impulsivity: {1} No signs of impulsive behavior, however, I have a hunch that the two duels may have been the product of impulse. Just a hunch.
Irresponsibility: {0} The impressive self-imposed training regimen (which I have no trouble believing that the patient actually follows) is proof of his extreme discipline.

Facet 4: Antisocial

Poor behavioral controls: {0} Other than the two murders, Heketch's manner suggests a fairly typical upper class upbringing.
Early behavioral problems: {?} Unknown, patient refused to speak of early childhood, will have to continue this line of inquiry at a later date.
Juvenile delinquency: {?} Likewise unknown.
Criminal versatility: {0} I could discern no other crimes which the patient may have committed.

Score: {14/32}

Final Assessment: While Heketch exhibit many classic psychopathic traits, I believe what really afflicts him is something else entirely. It appears we have a rather extreme case of what's known as a Neurotic Perfectionist on our hands. Nearly every facet of his neurosis revolves around this obsession with dueling. So advanced is this case however, that it has turned the patient delusional as he finds himself unable to meet the ever increasing standards he sets for himself (or so I believe). While I haven't quite deduced the source of this mad devotion, it is clear that interment at Branderscar is his only hope for rehabilitation.

Masterwork Cold Iron Katana (400 gp)
Excessively Fine Garments (100 gp)