GM Knightmare's The Vulture Court [Mummy's Mask]

Game Master TheChelaxian

In any case, there aren't that many opportunities to go an ifrit paladin and stay in the campaign's theme. This means that whenever I use the burning hands spell-like ability, I will definitely be shouting "By fire be purged!".

Male Ifrit (native outsider)
Medium Size
LG (Undead Scourge) Paladin of Ra 1
BaB +1
Init +1; Senses: Perception -1, Sense Motive -1 Darkvision
CMB +5 (1BaB +4str)
CMD 16 (1BaB +4str +1dex)
Favored Class Paladin
FC bonus: +1 HP

Defense
AC 19, touch 11 flat-footed 18 (+6 Armor +2 Shield +1 Dex)
HP 13 (10 +2 (1*2Con) + 1 (1*1FCbonus))
Fort +4 (+2 base +2 Con) (+2 vs death effects) (add Endurance bonuses)
Ref +1 (+0 base +1 Dex) (+2 vs death effects)
Will +1 (+2 base -1 Wis) (+2 vs death effects)
Fire resistance 5
Dies only when negative HP is Con score + 4

Offense
Speed 30 ft
Melee Longsword +5 (1d8+4/19-20x2)
Melee Power attack Longsword +4 (1d8+6/19-20x2)
Ranged Longbow +2 (1d8/20x3)
Space 5 ft, Reach 5 ft
Smite Evil 1/day +3/+1

Other abilities and SQ
Aura of Good (Ex):
The power of a paladin’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to her paladin level.

Detect Evil (Sp):
At will, a paladin can use detect evil, as the spell. A paladin can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the paladin does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range.

Smite Evil (Su):
Once per day, a paladin can call out to the powers of good to aid her in her struggle against evil. As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Cha bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.

In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the paladin gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier (if any) to her AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If the paladin targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect.

The smite evil effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time the paladin rests and regains her uses of this ability. At 4th level, and at every three levels thereafter, the paladin may smite evil one additional time per day, as indicated on Table: Paladin, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level.

Smite Evil (Su) (1/day):
This functions as the paladin ability of the same name, but the undead scourge does not deal 2 points of damage per level on the first successful attack against evil dragons and evil outsiders. She does deal 2 points of damage per level on all smite attacks made against evil undead creatures.

Spell-like ability:
Burning hands (DC 11 + Cha) 1/day

Traits:
Resurrected
Blessed touch
Elemental Apprentice

Feats:
Lvl 1 - Endurance

Skills:
Knowledge (religion) +3 (1 Ranks -1 Int +3 CS)

Background skills:
Knowledge (history) +0 (1 Ranks -1 Int)
Knowledge (nobility) +3 (1 Ranks -1 Int +3 CS)

Languages: Common, Ignan

Equipment:
Wealth: 39gp 4sp
Common items
Longsword, Heavy Steel Shield, Chainmail Armor
Dagger, Backpack, Bedroll, Belt pouch, Trail rations x10, Hemp rope, Sewing needle, Soap, Waterskin
Alchemical items
Alchemist's fire x2
Holy water

The ifrit shouted "I don't know!" The voice entoned once again, without changing the tone "Who are you?" The Ifrit paused this time. He managed to remember his name and said "Ozain! Ozain Brimstone is my name." The voice asked again, but this time louder and aggressively "Who are you?"

Ozain was scared. He started to make an effort to remember. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to remember, but he did an effort nonetheless. Slowly his memories started to come. Memories of his life. He was born in a small town in the Osirian desert and lived unremarkably until he reached adulthood. His outsider family never wanted to draw attention to themselves and feel any prejudice from humans. He answered the voice "I'm nobody." The voice calmly asked "What will you do?"

Ozain made an effort to remember all the things he did up to that point. He remembered trying to be useful and helping people. He acted without caring much for himself, acting first and asking questions later. He grew physically strong and people rallied behind him. He faced stronger and more powerful opponents. He doesn't know how he survived fighting gnolls, giant scorpions and snakes. Or did he? He remembers now, he was stung! The fever lasted days. Who took care of him? Who healed him? Nobody! He remembers now, he died! Ozain is dead! Is this the afterlife? Is he talking to Pharasma? No, this is not the river Styx. But if he still had the consciousness to remember all that, then he could make choices for himself. He said "I will continue to fight injustice." The voice paused, then asked "What do you feel?"

Ozain was suddenly aware that he wasn't feeling anything. In fact, he wasn't seeing anything! Was he blind? Panic started to set into his mind. Instinctively, he tried waving his arms, but he didn't feel any arms or legs, or a body for that matter. Then, he felt a presence. It was the source of the voice. He couldn't explain it, but he felt it there. Its presence was soothing and warm. He felt safe, relaxing under the sun. The sun! Could this be...? He remembered learning about the old gods of Osirion, the undying legacy of the old cult. He started to understand what was happening. He said "I feel resolve." The voice asked "Who am I?"

Ozain could obviously not remember this, but something came to his mind all the same. If this isn't a memory, then... It is obvious, it is a vision from the entity. A vision of undead creatures rising and tearing apart the people of the city of Wati, in Osirion. And the only thing that destroyed the undead was the sun itself. Ozain replied "You are Ra, the sun."

The voice finally asked again "Who are you?" The ifrit answered matching Ra's tone "I am Ozain Brimstone, paladin of Ra, bane of the undead." Ozain opened his eyes. His body was hurt and weak, but he was alive. He picked himself up and started walking. He knew exactly where to go.

Prerequisites: base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using weapons from the selected group. The bonus only applies

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Qet CR –
Giant scorpion (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 37)
N Medium vermin
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 30 ft.; Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 15 (2d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +2 (1d4 plus grab), sting +2 (1d4 plus poison)
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Statistics
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Str 11, Dex 12, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Base Atk +1; CMB +2 (+6 grapple); CMD 12 (24 vs. trip)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, Power Attack
Tricks Attack, Combat Riding, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel
Skills Acrobatics -1 (+3 to jump)
SQ combat riding, finesse weapon attack attribute
Other Gear lamellar (leather) armor[UC]
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Special Abilities
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Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB
Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Combat Riding [Trick] The animal has been trained to bear a rider into combat.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deadly Aim -1/+2 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Dexterity on attack rolls.
Grab: Claw (Medium) (Ex) You can start a grapple as a free action if you hit with the designated weapon.
Poison (DC 12) (Ex) Sting—injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Str; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Tremorsense (30 feet) Sense creatures and objects in contact with ground or water.

MELEE

RANGED

MODIFIERS

Back near the beginning of the First Age of Osirion, the medjai served as the Witch Pharaoh's bodyguards but when she was thrown down and erased from the histories their purpose changed. They pledged to first carry her name into the future so she would not be forgotten, second to hide those of her works they could preserve, and third to protect what could not be hidden. It has been nearly 7000 years since they first took up their task and while for humans that may be an insurmountably long time to keep a pledge, that is not so for elves with their long lives and longer memories.

The medjai throughout Osirion religiously track down artifacts and holy sites they believe were significant to their Pharaoh, because in spite of their efforts many have been scattered to the winds, stolen from under their watch or simply mislaid in the first place. Many of the medjai are warriors but every one has to also be a scholar, dedicating their efforts to learning the history of their secret society and knowing the significance of that which they protect.

Djehuti's mother is an antiquities merchant in El-Shelad on the Scorpion Coast and his father a teacher at Shelad Madrassa, the famous spellcasting academy in the city. Both of them are full members of the medjai and frequently go into nearby Tumen to follow this or that lead or to recover or prevent the loss of a treasure. He and his sister both grew up learning the medjai's lore along with their letters and loving books and trips into ancient ruins in equal measure.

He has always had a clever mind and his trips as a youngster revealed he also has a way with the many traps one finds in Osiriani ruins. With his father a teacher of magic, it was also no surprise he developed an interest in the arcane arts. What was a surprise, however, was the deep, personal connection he always felt to the Witch Pharaoh. While his parents believe in their mission, Djehuti believes in their patron, to the extent that he even derives some level of power from her.

When the Ruby Prince announced the reopening of the Half-Dead City of Wati, Djehuti jumped at the chance to go and catalog the necropolis's many treasures. The order believes an amulet that once belonged to the Witch Pharaoh can be found in the necropolis.

As did Pharaoh Neb-se-mennu III. And Pharaoh Janais I. When Janais died under mysterious circumstances, his first wife became The Witch Pharaoh while her latest child to adulthood. Strangely enough, she WASN'T responsible for killing him. Freak ibis accident. But people suspected...

The real trouble began when her older children, sons and daughters of the other two pharaohs, got jealous.

Though the Witch Pharaoh governed with an uncanny grace, her reign was fraught with suspicion and discontent. The eldest children of Neb-se-mennu III and Janais I—already seasoned in courtly intrigue—resented their half-siblings, born of the strange elven queen, whose ageless beauty seemed to mock the passage of years. Rumors whispered through the gilded halls of the capital: that she enchanted the Pharaohs, that her blood was not merely foreign but divine, cursed or blessed by gods forgotten.

As her youngest son from Janais approached his coronation, the Witch Pharaoh bore three more children—two sons and a daughter. These were fathered not by mortal hands but, it was said, by the stars themselves, for no mortal consort was known. Each child exhibited peculiar traits: the eldest son bore eyes like molten gold, his voice a commanding resonance that could demand obedience from even cows. The second son was wreathed in an aura of shadow, moving with the silence of an assassin, while the daughter possessed a preternatural affinity for healing, her touch mending flesh and bone as though time itself heeded her will.

These children became both a boon and a threat. The Witch Pharaoh sent her daughter to the Mwangi Expanse, ostensibly to seek allies among the elf enclaves that still lingered there. Her shadowed son vanished into the deserts of northern Osirion. The golden-eyed heir remained by her side, a towering presence in court, whose very existence deepened the enmity of his elder half-siblings.

Jealousy turned to outright rebellion. The scions of Neb-se-mennu III and Janais I conspired to overthrow their enigmatic mother, spreading tales of her dark sorcery and her inhuman offspring. Their plotting culminated in a bloody uprising, known in the annals of Osirion as the War of the Obsidian Lotus. She won, barely.

But the Witch Pharaoh's downfall was inevitable. As the years stretched into decades, the court's whispers of her unnatural longevity became cries of outrage. How could an immortal elf—a being most Osirians barely believed existed—legitimately rule over their land of gods and men? The seeds of dissent, planted by her elder stepchildren, found fertile ground in the hearts of Osirion's nobles and priests.

Her reign ended not with a grand war, but through insidious betrayal. A distant, fully human descendant of Neb-se-mennu, one who had avoided the bloodshed of the War of the Obsidian Lotus, emerged as a unifying figure for those who yearned for a return to tradition. He presented himself as a restorer of Ma’at, the divine order, and claimed the Witch Pharaoh's rule was a cosmic aberration. His name was Ankhesemnihu, and under his leadership, a cabal of conspirators rose in a coup.

On the eve of her exile, the Witch Pharaoh was seized within her own palace. Her accusers desecrated her memory even as she lived, declaring her a false queen and a seductress who had bewitched their noble Pharaohs. Ankhesemnihu declared her rule and her lineage a blight upon Osirion. Statues of her likeness were toppled, her name struck from official records, and her once-glorious reign rewritten as a dark chapter of Osirion's storied past. Even the most Osirionologists consider knowledge of this period, even to the names of her husbands and children, to be lost to the shifting sands of time.

Taken pretty much entirely from this Reddit post, with just a few tweaks.

A sign of his close connection to the Witch Pharaoh (and along with his bluish skin perhaps a hint that she was one of the first drow elves), Djehuti's eyes are a shade of purple so light they are nearly white; people tend to find their coloration unsettling so he usually covers them with some sort of colored lenses.

He has a complex tattoo inked on the inside of his left wrist.

Background Skills 2 (+2/lvl)
Kn: Engineering +6 0 +5 Int +1 trait
Kn: History +10 1 +5 Int +3 CS +1 trait
Linguistics +9 1 +5 Int +3 CS

Languages
Common (free)
Elven (free)
Celestial
Ignan
Kelish
Osiriani (Modern)
Orisiani (Ancient)
Terran

SPELLS MEMORIZED
0 (3): Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound
1 (3): Color Spray, Protection from Evil, Silent Image
-can spontaneous cast Patron spells

ARMOR

GEAR
Spellbook

Total weight: lbs.
-without pack: lbs.

Light load lbs.
Med. load lbs.
Hvy. load lbs.
Lift (over head) lbs.
Lift (off ground) lbs.
Push or drag lbs.

MONEY 120gp to start

Mansoor Farazm Yousef Tarabin comes from a nomadic desert tribe. He was exiled after falling in love with a betrothed woman and refusing to recant his feelings. The final straw for his tribe was Mansoor performing a salacious poem in front of the woman, her family, and her fiance.

Mansoor is seeking glory and riches in the Half-Dead City to both prove himself worthy of her love and rub his tribe's noses in his success.

Mansoor Farazm Yousef Tarabin

Human Ranger (Skirmisher)
CG Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses Perception +2

Defense

AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +1 shield)
hp 13 (1d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Melee scimitar +6 (1d6+4/18-20), light spiked shield (1d4+4)
Special Attacks favored enemy (undead +2)

Statistics

Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 11

Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 16
Traits Genie Blood (race), Devotee of the Gods (campaign), Desert Child (regional)
Feats Shield Focus, Powerful Maneuvers
Background Skills Knowledge (geography) +3, Handle Animal +4
Skills Climb +3, Knowledge (nature) +3, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +6, Ride +0, Survival +6
Languages Common
Gear scimitar, light spiked shield, chainmail, ranger's kit, hot weather outfit

Wayfarer: Humans maintain the largest trade networks and the farthest-reaching civilizations, putting them in contact with a huge number of cultures. Humans with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost, Knowledge (geography) checks, and Knowledge (local) checks. Whenever these humans gain a rank in Linguistics, they learn two languages rather than one. 

Unstoppable Magic: Humans from civilizations built upon advanced magic are educated in a variety of ways to accomplish their magical goals. They gain a +2 racial bonus on caster level checks against spell resistance. 

Special Abilities:
Disruptive Bloodrage (Su): At 1st level, the DC to cast spells defensively increases by 2 for enemies within your threatened area. This increase stacks with that granted by the Disruptive feat.

Bloodrage: At 1st level, a bloodrager can bloodrage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, he can bloodrage for 2 additional rounds per day. Temporary increases to Constitution (such as those gained from bloodraging or spells like bear’s endurance) don’t increase the total number of rounds that a bloodrager can bloodrage per day. The total number of rounds of bloodrage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours need not be consecutive.
A bloodrager can enter a bloodrage as a free action. While in a bloodrage, a bloodrager gains a +4 morale bonus to his Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, he takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the bloodrager 2 hit points per Hit Die, but these disappear when the bloodrage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While bloodraging, a bloodrager cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
A bloodrager can end his bloodrage as a free action. When the bloodrage ends, he’s fatigued for a number of rounds equal to twice the number of rounds spent in the bloodrage. A bloodrager cannot enter a new bloodrage while fatigued or exhausted, but can otherwise enter bloodrage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a bloodrager falls unconscious, his bloodrage immediately ends, placing him in peril of death.

Fast Movement: A bloodrager’s land speed is faster than is normal for his race by 10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the bloodrager’s speed due to any armor worn or load carried. This bonus stacks with any other bonuses to the bloodrager’s land speed.

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DEFENSE 
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AC: 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11
HP: 11
Fort: +4
Ref: +1
Will: +0 (+2 vs fear)
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OFFENSE 
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Spd: 40 feet 

Melee: 
Scimitar +5 (1d6/18-20/x2)
Light Mace +5 (1d6/x2)

Ranged: 
Shortbow +2 (1d6/x3/60ft)
20 Arrows

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Equipment and Money 
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Starting Money: 180 po
Combat gear: 
Defense: Studded Leather , Shield (light steel),
Offense: Light Mace, Scimitar, Shortbow, Arrows.
Other possessions: Air Bladder, Bedroll , Bullseye Lantern, Chalk (2 pieces), Flint and Steel, Fortifying Brew (2), Silk Rope (50 ft), Grappling Hook, Hot Weather Outfit, Oil (10), Piton (4), Soap, Tent (medium), Torch (3) , Trail Rations (3), Waterskin

Spare Money: 
PP: 0 
GP: 3
SP: 8
CP: 3
Other valuable: 
Carried Weight: 115 lbs (65 without the tent)

Encumbrance: 
0-100 lbs: Light Load 
101-200 lbs: Medium Load 
201-300 lbs: Heavy Load
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Statistics:  (18, 8, 12, 13, 14, 11)
--------------
Str 18
Dex 13
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 11
Cha 14
Base Attack: +1; CMB:+5, CMD: 16

Feats:
Simple Weapon Proficiency
Martial Weapon Proficiency
Light Armor Proficiency
Medium Armor Proficiency
Shield Proficiency (except tower shields)
Combat Reflexes (+2 additionnal AoO / round , even when flat-footed)

Skills: 4
Acrobatics +5
Climb +8
Perception +4
Use Magic Device: +7

Background Skills:
Lvl 1: Swim +8
Linguistics +1

Traits:
Dangerously Curious: You have always been intrigued by magic, possibly because you were the child of a magician or priest. You often snuck into your parent’s laboratory or shrine to tinker with spell components and magic devices, and frequently caused quite a bit of damage and headaches for your parent as a result. You gain a +1 bonus on Use Magic Device checks, and Use Magic Device is always a class skill for you.

Open-Minded Explorer: You grew up constantly interacting with people who speak unfamiliar languages and have diverse customs; your manners may not be polished, but your acceptance of others is genuine. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks. This bonus increases to +2 when you’re speaking the racial or ethnic language of the target creature.

Wati Native : You were born and raised in the city of Wati, and you know its streets and secrets well. Although it’s frowned upon by the city’s authorities, you have sneaked into the necropolis on multiple occasions to wander its dusty, abandoned streets. Out of respect for the deceased, you’ve never actually entered one of the necropolis’s silent tombs, but you have no fear of what might lie inside. You gain a +2 trait bonus on saves against fear effects. In addition, your knowledge of the city grants you a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (local) checks, and that skill is always a class skill for you.

Languages (3): Osiriani, Common, Aquan

Spellbook:

Amal is the second child of a powerful wizard and a marid. He wishes it were as amazing as it sounded.

How do you even begin to explain the day-to-day life of a family with reality-bending power at their fingertips? Suffice to say that retired adventurer Hafiz el-Irfan liked to teleport straight to the university he taught at. Thankfully, he always had plenty of Unseen Servants to help around the house when he was not there.

It was a bit more complicated to answer questions about his mother, who, for that matter, was rarely home. Lidhalla had gone from being a mere servant to a shahzada in the Water Plane to striking an advantageous match with an adventurer that allowed her to do pretty much whatever she wanted. She had traveled the world, and sometimes, even the planes, her musical talents no longer outshined by any member of marid nobility. She had started a little family of her own – a little pet project, barely a century long, by genie standards. When she missed them, she actually went home, for a while. But she had never tolerated a routine, and sooner or later she was gone again.

It was a strange upbringing. The second-hand embarassment that Amal got from other kids gawking at their parents and proclaiming how very, very cool they must be never quite diminished as they got older. He much preferred saying nothing about his parents than attempting to explain their life choices to other people. No, his father wasn't upset with his mother; if the el-Irfans lived by one rule and one rule only, it was to respect that other people thought differently than you did, and never to will someone into something they weren't. No, Lidhalla was no desert genie and, in fact, didn't talk to them much; she had tried, and found their obsession with human politics quite bothersome. It was not her business. Why had they moved to Wati? Because it was Hafiz' hometown, and between the remote location, the ancient graveyard and the infamous plague outbreak, real estate was cheap. Amal also suspected that it was appropriately far away from Khemet III and his antics – but he kept that to himself.

It was on the day that he had to answer questions about one room from his house disappearing overnight – Lidhalla had wished to turn her private hammam into a pocket plane for the sake of convenience – that Amal had sneaked into the necropolis for the first time. At the moment, being surrounded only by ruins and the ghostly presence of those who had nothing to prove or explain felt more comforting than whatever was outside.

Contrary to what a lot of kids his age seemed to expect, Amal had never inherited any cool powers from either of his parents. Quite the opposite. At age eleven, his eldest sister already moved and danced with a fluid, supernatural grace that made her Lidhalla's pride and joy – but nothing of the sort had manifested in Amal. They had no talent for music. They couldn't wrap their heads around a spellbook. They had turned to fencing with not much natural talent, and never could win a fight against their sister, who would defeat them bare-handed. Neither Hafiz nor Lidhalla seemed to mind that Amal failed where his parents or sister were excelling, or even to consider that he was not skilled in the first place. But Amal did mind; and here, in the dust and ancient ruins and silence of Wati's necropolis, in its half-faded hieroglyphs that he would painstakingly draw to look up the meaning later, he had truly felt like he had discovered something that belonged only to him.

The ancient writings were undecipherable, but here or there he would discover a symbol that could be associated with ancient gods. As Amal painstakingly mapped out the ancient pantheon, they began to leave small offerings in front of the religious symbols in the necropolis: an incense stick, usually, or flower petals, that could easily be covered by the sand or blown away by the wind. They became particularly interested in one ram-headed figure – Khnum, so the books said – that supposedly ruled over the oceans. During the peak of his obsession, Amal would collect small objects that more or less related to Khnum, and arrange a small corner in his bedroom to be dedicated to the god. Hafiz and Lidhalla were not religious, but they did not comment on these strange habits.

If there truly was something that could faze his parents, then, for a long time, neither Amal nor his sister had found it. Lidhalla was happy enough to grant her first-born a wish, and turn her into the woman she wanted to be. Hafiz was happy enough when his daughter changed her name to Pallavi, and helped her out when she decided to try her luck at an Iroran monastic retreat on the island of Jalmeray, and got accepted. They had never quite understood why Amal insisted so much on doing things without any magical help – including his own transition – , but such decisions were his own entirely.

They were, however, slightly more shocked that he had entered the lottery to explore the tombs of the necropolis – not that they had remained blissfully unaware of his excursions there. Amal had talked about them out loud, but he knew full well he had not been discreet, and they had only turned a blind eye out of politeness. Convincing his parents that he would go in on his own, with standard training and some equipment, while refusing any of their help, was less of a conversation and more of a full-blown argument. But Amal was tired of being the black sheep of their family, and the opening of the necropolis to adventurers, while still embarrassingly close to home, was what he hoped to be a good path to emancipation.

While Amal tends to come off as rather blasé and taciturn, his definition of what he would consider unusual simply goes against most people's expectations. Having lived most of his life being exposed to unbelievable things, he craves normalcy. He can be left unfazed by the wildest travel accounts of Osiriani aristocrats returning from a trip to the Impossible Kingdoms, and yet express genuine interest for the happy childhood of the baker at the corner of the street who learnt how to make perfect bread with his grandmother. This keen interest in everyday experiences, no matter how mundane, makes him quite likeable to most of his conversation partners.

Born to powerful spellcasters who traveled the world and met all kinds of people, Amal is very open-minded. He was exposed to different cultures, races and mindsets, yet his knowledge is seriously wanting regarding very practical information. To their frustration, they would be unable to locate the places they've visited on a map, much less master most foreign languages beyond "hello", "thank you", and "tea, please". As a result, they almost doggedly refuse any magic help beyond the bare necessities.

Like most of his maridar ancestors, they are genuinely curious about the world and get easily bored. They rarely read a book more than once and dislike most routines, seeking change and new life experiences to thrive.