Benedic's page

Benedic is tall for a human, with dark hair and a commanding gaze. Yet there is something otherworldly about him, a glow in his cheeks or his countenance that suggests that he is more than he seems. Restless and impatient in Kenabres, Benedic is prone to bounce between fits of activity and frustrated sighs of boredom. He usually gives people the impression that his time is too important to waste on them. He is thoughtful and insightful but seems to lack empathy, too distant to understand the needs of others beyond the abstract. When pursuing a cause he is hyperfocused and tenacious, and his faith is deeply rooted.

Benedic's great-great-grandmother was Queen Galfrey's younger sister, and so as a distant part of the royal family the young man was born with a meaningless title and an oppressive set of expectations. He never knew his mother, and the hateful gossip is that she was an outsider who bewitched his father and fled to the Worldwound immediately after his birth. His father was the former High Priest of Iomedae in Nerosyan, and Benedic grew up idolizing him and the goddess to which they were both devoted. His father died a hero near the end of the Fourth Crusade, defending the heart of the Cruciform Cathedral from a surge of demonic forces bent on defiling the holy monument.

Benedic was not present, as he had been sent away to Kenabres for his safety. He loves and misses his father, but he still hasn't forgiven him for keeping him from the battle, since he wants to fight in the Crusade and has been training for it his whole life. He believes it is his birthright to command. Now, he feels he will never get the chance again. Worse, his father had told him before his departure that he had something important to tell him about his mother, and that they would discuss it when he came back. Benedic is angry and afraid that it was something very bad indeed, and believes that now he will never know the truth. Consequently, he has never returned to Nerosyan.

Queen Galfrey sent him a very formal letter praising his father's service and inviting him to come live with her in the palace now that he was her ward, but he politely declined and asked to remain in his house in Kenabres. For the past seven years he has had a new role model: Prelate Hulrun Shappok, the head of the inquisition in Kenabres. He has often dreamed about tracking down the creature who abandoned him and his father, and of forcing her to repent of her actions. It has been many years since they burned witches in Mendev, but demons and the lost souls who have fallen to their wiles are a terrible plague on the Crusade, and Benedic fervently believes it is his sacred duty to smite them with Iomedae's holy fire. He has studied demons and their servants with a passion bordering on obsession. If he ever finds his mother, he will have more than twenty years of pent-up resentment to take out on her.

Benedic has given both Queen Galfrey and Prelate Hulrun great cause for concern by falling in with some of the most overzealous witch hunters in Mendev. Hulrun has tried to dissuade him, uncomfortable with the increased scrutiny that comes with a prince hanging around his city, and has recommended to the queen that the best way to direct him down a different path would be to assign him to a company and take him out of Kenabres. However, for now she still prefers to keep her ward out of the war for reasons of her own.

Benedic has grown up very proud and distant, and though he occasionally wonders why he doesn't have any friends, he is not often given to self-examination. Most of his cousins live in Nerosyan, though he has never been especially close to them, for many of them have had no qualms about telling him that he is a spoiled brat. And while he pursues Good morals in the abstract-- in the greater good, good of the community sense-- he tends more toward Lawful in his alignment, as many nobles do. He has not had many opportunities to understand the common people, sheltered as he has been, and his concept of duty is mostly about the duty owed to him rather than the duty he owes to others. One of the only windows he has into a life with less privilege is his squire, Beatrics, a young woman whose family runs a tavern in the poorer parts of Kenabres. He rarely spares her any thought, however.

Benedic tells himself he is attending Armasse to be watchful for suspicious activity among the lay folk, but in truth he has been growing tired of the pious and abstemious conditions among the inquisitors and old nobles at the cathedral and has decided he would like to experience the city alone and unaccompanied for a change. The festival seems like the perfect excuse; he has donned his armor and put on a soldier's uniform in the hopes that he will be taken for a visiting crusader. In this guise he has been exploring the city and eagerly watching the various events. These wanderings brought him to a public house called the Painted Sign, where he was surprised to find his squire. He left this meeting unsettled and suspicious, and after reporting back to the temple he commanded the local constables to question the girl's family. The next morning, he confirmed that they had arrested Beatric's parents and were holding them for questioning until after the festival.

ARMOR
Benedic wears heavy armor and carries a shield, so improvements to magical full plate and his light shield are great. He really needs a reliquary shield to reach his full potential.
• Celestial Armor: Beatrics has only light armor proficiency, so this is the best mail she can wear
• champion: since he'll be challenging and occasionally smiting
• channeling: adding this to his shield would be valuable
• defiant: doesn't stack with magic vestment but still good vs evil outsiders
• determination: pricey but incredibly useful
• rallying: more fear resistance for everyone

RINGS
• ring of freedom of movement: everyone wants these, for good reason
• ring of protected life: lots of minor channel improvements, including excluding any evil outsider allies we might have
• saltspray ring: to improve Beatrics's defense

RODS
It's tough for Benedic to use rods in combat because of his shield, so they are probably best for use between fights. Beatrics can use them to great effect, however.
• ascendant rod of metamagic (lesser/normal): if this item exists, it would be extremely useful for both Benedic and Beatrics
• dazing rod of metamagic (lesser): Beatrics could make good use of this on a spiritual weapon

WEAPONS
Benedic is locked into Radiance as his weapon, and Beatrics doesn't fight with her weapons at all.

WONDROUS ITEMS
Automatic Bonus Progression takes care of most of the typically necessary items.
• banner of the ancient kings: Beatrics needs this
• champion's banner: boosts challenge level
• cloak of displacement (minor): constant miss chance is good
• insignia of valor: allows a swift channel after defeating target of a smite
• mantle of the faithful vessel: adds tier to Benedic's channel damage
• spellguard bracers: since Benedic occasionally casts in combat
• uplifting boots: gives 1m of air walk for 1 channel
• vestments of war: more channel uses