About Detective Dante AlighieriAppearance: Dante is tall, thin, and fit. His face is a bit too angular and bony to be attractive, and his skin has a bit of a pallid tone from spending too much time at overnight stakeouts instead of going out during the day. With thin lips and dark circles under his eyes, he seems haggardly on the end of his rope. He usually dresses well, though not exceptionally well, nor with any unique sense of style. His hair is kept short and simple, and his eyes are gray. Dante is thirty years old. Personality: Dante is a very serious, disciplined man, especially when he has a task to complete. Totally focused on the activity at hand and his role in it, he refuses to acknowledge distractions. He always seeks to know and understand the truth, a value imparted onto him by his father. Other than work, he has few entanglements, though he values taking care of his body and he greatly values cleanliness. He categorically refuses to fraternize casually with his coworkers, instead choosing to seek friendly company through a few hobbies - pool, bridge, and hunting for sport. Crunch:
Dante Alighieri
Male human investigator (psychic detective) 2 // VMC barbarian LN Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Perception +7 -------------------- DEFENSE -------------------- AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 shield)
Background:
Backstory:
Dante was born the second son to a middle-class family in the city of Ghastenhall. His father, a detective, was a harsh disciplinarian, always expecting the best behavior from Dante and his brother. His mother was a local primary school teacher, a soft woman who was not confrontational enough to try to stop Dante's father's behavior but was loving enough to dull its consequences somewhat. Dante's childhood was tough, especially living under the shadow of his older brother's accomplishments - attending law school, entering the civil service, and successfully starting a career as a politician. Dante always wanted to live up to his family's example, so when he began his career he joined the town guard, helping to patrol and protect Ghastenhall. Unfortunately, his father didn't live to see his career move to detective, dying of a heart attack when Dante was twenty-two. Dante worked hard to secure his family's legacy in law enforcement, taking on long hours, a lot of drudgery and many difficult cases. He was a good detective, and earned many accolades from his superiors for the work that he did, although he never stopped being compared to his father and brother. While investigating an underground smuggling ring in the city's warehouse district, Dante came upon a fateful piece of evidence - the personal seal of Bishop Francis, one of the Church of Mitra's higher officials. This seal was packaged in a crate that Dante had uncovered as part of a smuggled shipment of goods, and was impressed upon a few items considered contraband in the city, including a box of spliff cigars and a pipe. Naturally, this made Dante suspicious, and he began to look into the Bishop's dealings. Bishop Francis, a vain and self-important man, was in business with several of the city's criminal rings, and was using them to take care of his political rivals as well as to acquire goods that would normally be considered unsavory for a Bishop of Mitra to have. Over the course of a few weeks, Dante uncovered these things, although he saw setbacks such as evidence being stolen from the lockers at headquarters, and contacts going missing during the investigation. Because of these setbacks, very little of the evidence that Dante had to present appeared legitimate, which meant that his superiors did not take him seriously when he attempted to bring his allegations forward. They told him to move on to one of the many "real" cases that they had, and to stop bringing such absurd accusations forward regarding such a holy man. During this period, Dante met with his brother, who was of the opinion that Dante was trying to fabricate five minutes of fame to bask in. His brother told him to drop the case, that it was embarrassing not only both of them (Dante for his professional reputation and his brother for the political fallout) but also his father, because his father had always valued the truth. Dante's brother urged him to stop lying and to get on with his life. This meeting drove Dante over the edge. Convinced of his objective correctness, he broke into the Bishop's home and threatened him with violence if he didn't confess his wrongdoing. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to take the Bishop's holy magic into account, and the Bishop swiftly defeated Dante by completely paralyzing him with magic. Shortly thereafter, the authorities were summoned and Dante was thrown in jail for assault. Increasingly frustrated and incensed, Dante's appearance in court was characterized by long, angry rants about the stupidity of Mitra's superiority, the hypocrisy of the church and the failure of the government to live up to the god's stated goals. Dante dismissed his lawyer and refused to let up, even going so far as to scream out of his jail windows and argue with his brother and mother during their visit to him. His behavior earned him a conviction of heresy, for daring to try to spread his hateful speech about Mitra's holiness. Today, Dante is beyond furious. Sent to Branderscar Prison on what he believes are trumped-up charges, he feels completely forsaken by everyone and everything he thought cared about him. Not only that, but he feels forsaken in favor of a hollow, false "holiness", which is used and abused in order to retain superiority. Dante wants to escape from Branderscar more than anything in order to visit true justice on those that wronged him and all those who lie to themselves for comfort. Advancement Ideas:
Spells:
0th - detect psychic significance
Feats: 3rd - Focused Disbelief
Investigator Talents: 5th - Empathy
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