Hell's Rebels - Sing a Song of Silver!

Game Master HedwickTheWorldly

1. Marcellano is a tall, handsome Chelaxian man. He has a chiseled face, neatly groomed short dark hair, and blue eyes verging close enough on purple so as to allow him to claim some Azlanti ancestry. Although he has a slight build, he has enough presence that people sometimes forget it.

2. Marcellano is a up-and-coming composer and opera singer in Kintargo. He's lived here all his life, and at an early age showed an an aptitude for music. He's fostered it, and has started to garner some attention from opera aficionados. He enjoys the attention. A devout worshiper of Shelyn, he has been known to sing sacred songs at some of her services.

3. There are rumors of a masked and caped crusader named Nightgaunt who stalks the streets of Kintargo, usually at night. Firing lightning from his hands and disappearing into the shadows, the stories are that he has rescued common folk from muggers and bandits. There are also rumors that he has helped dissidents escape the city, or escape notice by the Chelaxian authorities.

4. Nightgaunt is a devout worshiper of Milani. He has some indirect connections with the church of Milani. None of the priests of Milani admit to having met him, but some seem to know ways to get him messages if there are things that he might be able to help with. Nightgaunt is currently trying to find a way to make contact with the reputed Silver Ravens.

5. Marcellano claims not to believe the stories of Nightgaunt. "Mere fantasy," he says. "But, I might use some inspiration from those stories in the opera I'm working on. If I can get it performed, it will be my first!" Marcellano claims to be apolitical... but his father was a poet who managed to slip subversive messages into his verses, and it's entirely possible that Marcellano doth protest too much about his apolitical nature.

1. Marcellano's Father, Ferdinand Durbin. Ferdinand is a well-aged poet, although he hardly produces anything any more. Fifty years ago, as a very young man, he wrote some anonymous protest poetry about the House of Thrune, which had just a couple of decades previously wrapped its iron fist around the country of Cheliax. Later, he wrote poetry under his name that could easily be interpreted as satire, but which maintained plausible deniability for him. Marcellano was born late in Ferdinand's life, when he was already forty years old. Marcellano's mother, Mylanda, died in childbirth. Ferdinand doesn't know anything about Nightgaunt.

2. Villadie Morse is a half-elven priestess of Milani, currently in hiding and tending to her wayward flock in Kintargo. She is one member of the clergy who has met Nightgaunt, although only a few times. She is intrigued by the man whose true identity she is unaware of. She signals him by leaving a blood-red ribbon (of a color distinct from the red in Cheliax's flag) hanging from a certain window in a poor district of Kintargo. When he sees it, that night Nightgaunt tries to meet her in one of three or four prearranged locations in town.

3. Miriabella Noravia is another opera singer who is associated with the same performing company as Marcellano. She is a Thrune loyalist and a worshiper of Asmodeus. Marcellano frequently performs opposite her. The tabloid broadsheets have begun to speculate about a romance between Miriabella and Marcellano. While Miriabella would like for these rumors to be true, Marcellano has tried to keep their relationship professional; he does not want to be entangled with a Thrune agent and an Asmodean. However, he also doesn't want to harm his work, nor does he want to make her angry enough to look too closely at his life. As such, he tries to stay friendly with her, deftly avoiding bringing up any discussion about romantic relationships. Miriabella could well become a rather complicated enemy for Marcellano during the campaign.

4. Gorvus Stonewarden is a crusty old dwarf... and a costumer. Sometimes other dwarves make fun of him, but Gorvus will defend to his last the artistry of tailoring, that the construction of costumes is as much a worthy craft as the faceting of gems or the creation of jewelry. Gorvus is a secret worshiper of Milani, and he makes and maintains Nightgaunt's costume. Gorvus has no idea who Nightgaunt's social identity is, and doesn't care. Ironically, Gorvus has also made some of Marcellano's costumes for the opera; the relationship between Gorvus and Marcellano is polite if distant. Nightgaunt successfully talked Gorvus out of the "no capes" thing. Nightgaunt really wanted a cape.

[spoiler=Three Memories]
1. Marcellano is eleven, and reading one of his father's poems. He sees something in it that he's never seen before; he realizes that one of the lines of the poem could be read as critical of the Thune government. When he asks his father about it, Ferdinand responds, with a glint in his eyes, "I do not dictate how people interpret my poems. I like readers to be free to think for themselves." Ferdinand takes this answer is a confirmation... and recognizes that it is a subtle confirmation. This is when he first realizes that the Thrune government is not just the legitimate rulers of Kintargo, but that they are oppressive, and that a lot of people would like to see them gone.

2. Marcellano, age 20, is walking home from singng lessons that went late into the night. This is three years ago. Tomorrow is an important day, for he is to audition to join the opera. On his way home, he sees two city guards beat up and rob a beggar; as he does so, he hears the two city guards loudly cursing the beggar for praising Milani. This image has stuck with him ever since. It is this moment that leads him to remember what he'd read in his father's poetry when he was younger, before he became too self-absorbed in his desire to become a celebrity. It is a moment of transition. In many ways, this is the moment that Nightgaunt is born.

3. Nightgaunt, in one of his early outings, comes across Miriabella Noravia helping to smuggle a wanted prisoner out of town. Unfortunately, the escape isn't clean, and the town guard is coming after her. They have her, and the prisoner (a young male halfling) cornered. From a rooftop above, Nightgaunt uses his mystic bolts to distract the guards, and Miriabella is able to escape. As she does so, she briefly locks eyes with him. He sees intensity, intelligence, and compassion in those eyes... and he cannot get that first look out of his mind.

1. Marcellano wants to become a famous musical composer and opera singer. The latter is more likely, but if anything Marcellano wants to be recognized as a composer more. He hopes that after the revolution comes (for the revolution will assuredly come), people will look back on his music as something that was subtly subversive, that helped inspire people and helped give people hope, that helped people see the good in the world despite a (temporary) bad situation in the city and the country.

2. Nightgaunt wants to join the Silver Ravens. He wants to learn more about magic and become a powerful Warlock so that he can use his power to help effect the revolution that Marcellano wants to write subversive songs for.

Frankly, joie de vivre. Despite seeing the oppression around him, despite the recent turn to the more oppressive in Kintargo, despite the fact that he's been motivated to take on a secret identity and fight injustice, he just loves life, and want to see what comes next. He remains optimistic and hopeful, and believes that good will, good people, and, yes, art can bring about positive change in the world. He wants to breathe the air each day and see the sun rise-- or the rain fall, which can be just as beautiful.

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Marcellano Durbin / Nightgaunt, Human Vigilante (Warlock) 1
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NG (Marcellano Durbin) / CG (Nightgaunt) Male Humanoid (human)
Init: +1; Senses: Perception +4

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Defense
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AC: 13, touch: 11, flat: 12 (+2 Armor, +1 Dex)
HP: 9 (1d8+1)
Fort: +1, Ref: +3, Will: +1

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Offense
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Speed: 30ft
Melee: Mystic bolt +1 (1d6), or Rapier +1 (1d6/18-20), or Dagger +1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged: Mystic bolt +1 (1d6)
Special Attacks: Mystic Bolt (1d6 electricity, 30ft range)
Vigilante (Warlock) Spells Prepared (CL 1, Concentration +4):
1st: Obscuring Mist, Charm Person (DC 14)
0th: Read Magic, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound (DC 13)

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Statistics
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St 10 (+0), Dx 13 (+1), Cn 12 (+1), In 16 (+3), Wi 8 (-1), Ch 15 (+2)
BAB: +0; CMB: +0; CMD: 11

Unspent point-buy points: 1

Traits: Gifted Satirist (Campaign), Seeker

Feats: Weapon Finesse, Deceitful

Skills: Artistry (Musical Composition) +7, Bluff +8, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +8, Knowledge (Arcana) +7, Knowledge (Local) +7, Perception +4, Perform (Keyboard) +6, Perform (Sing) +7, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +5,

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Strix

SQ: Dual Identity, Mystic Bolts (electricity, 1d6), Seamless Guise, Vigilante Social Talent (Renown)

1. Orson Maxwell is a Hellknight Armiger of the Order of the Torrent.
2. A young man of only 18 years, Orson has sandy blond hair, bright grey eyes and a winning smile. His body is lean, but muscular, and he stands at a solid 5'10".
3. Orson grew up in Kintargo, and has loved the city his entire life. He joined the Hellknights not only out of a devotion to law and order, but also to his city.
4. Orson is a sunny personality, generally looking on the bright side of things. His preferred method of dealing with conflict is peaceful resolution, and barring that, nonlethal force.
5. Though Orson is a believer in law and order, and respects the rulership of Thrune, he doesn't believe that Barzilai is a fair or reasonable ruler. He isn't joining the protest per se, but he's still attending to ensure things don't get out of hand.

1. Orson's mother has a small house in the city, and he currently lives at home, mostly because armigers aren't paid nearly well enough to live on their own. Millenial problems, amirite?
2. Fortunately, this lets Orson hang out with his 14 year old little sister Emma, a temperamental girl who wants to join the Chelaxian Navy when she grows up.
3. Orson's best friend since childhood, Lukas, has joined the Torrent alongside him, but has a very different view of Barzilai, seeing him as a welcome hand of control on a city that was always too bohemian for his native Egorian liking.
4. Lastly, Orson has seeing a young tiefling named Alice for the last few years, the daughter of a flower shop owner who works there to keep out of the Devil's Nursery.

1. When Orson was 9, his father, an officer in the Chelaxian Navy, was deployed to aid in a series of minor skirmishes with Andoran. He distinctly remembers the day of his deployment, his father placing a hand on his shoulder and telling him he'd be back in a few weeks. His father died on that mission.
2. Further back, Orson's earliest memory was from when he was four years old. His parents brought home a bundle containing a wierd pink blob they assured him was his sister. He wasn't particularly interested at first, until they put the blob in his arms and told him it was his duty to protect her. It sparked a protective instinct that has stuck with him to this day.
3. Shortly after he started dating Alice, she introduced him to her friends, all fellow tieflings, half-orcs, or other disenfranchised citizens of the city. It wasn't their circumstances that bothered him, because he knew, as did all who followed the path of the Hellknight, that there were the strong and there were the weak, and the weak had a lower place on the totem pole (though it was his personal opinion that with the priveleges of strength came the responsibility to protect the weak from undue harm). Rather, it was that their circumstances didn't fit the sort of people they were. Strong, resilient, bright eyed in the face of their adversity. They weren't weak, and there was no reason for them to be put down by society like they were. It was his first exposure to the flaws in an otherwise structured society.

1. Orson wants to become a Hellknight to honor his father's service and help protect his city and its people.
2. Although he isn't fully conscious of it, Orson also seeks to correct the unfairness of society, and keep people like Alice and her friends from being subjugated for their lineage.

Orson gets out of bed in the morning because he will never advance in the Hellknights by lazing around all day. Also, it's such a nice day out.