Father Iscar's page

--------------------
AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +7; +1 vs. abilities that detect lies or force the truth, +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities, +1 vs divine spells.
Defensive Abilities defensive training

--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Special Attacks hatred, judgment 1/day, sneak attack +1d6
Inquisitor (Infiltrator) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +6)
. . 1st (3/day)—lend judgment[UM] (DC 16), protection from law
. . 0 (at will)—brand[APG] (DC 15), light, read magic, stabilize
. . Domain Conversion inquisition

--------------------
Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 20, Cha 6
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 14 (18 vs. bull rush, 18 vs. trip)
Feats Stone-faced[APG]
Traits fast-talker
Skills Acrobatics +1 (-3 to jump), Appraise +0 (+2 to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones), Bluff +15 (+20 to lie or deceive someone (doesn't include secret messages or feint)), Craft (Contract) +4, Diplomacy +14, Disable Device +5, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +9 (+11 to notice unusual stonework), Profession (Preacher) +9, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +5; Racial Modifiers +2 Appraise to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones, skilled liar, +2 Perception to notice unusual stonework
Languages Common, Dwarven
SQ misdirection, necessary lies

Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Greed +2 to Appraise to determine price of nonmagic goods with precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred +1 Gain a racial bonus to attacks vs Goblinoids/Orcs.
Inquisitor (Infiltrator) Domain (Conversion Inquisition) Deities: Any deity.

Granted Powers: You are a powerful persuader. A honeyed tongue empowered by divine argumentation sways the indifferent and adversarial to your side.
Judgment (1/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues.
Misdirection (Lawful Good) (Sp) When prepare spells choose an alignment to count as for magical detection.
Necessary Lies +1 (Su) Gain bonus to saves vs abilities detecting lies or forcing truth.
Skilled Liar +1 (Ex) +1 Bluff to Deceive
Sneak Attack +1d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Stone-Faced +4 Bluff to lie or conceal feelings/motives
Stonecunning +2 +2 bonus to Perception vs. unusual stonework. Free check within 10 feet.
HERESY : You receive a +1 trait bonus on all saving
throws against divine spells.

ONE YEAR EARLIER

“… ‘But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble’. Here ends the reading”. The young acolyte closed the large tome before him and vacated the lectern, leaving a reverent berth for the wide middle-aged dwarf approaching it. As he strode forward, the jowls of the priest bounced softly in time with the crisp click of shoes against stone. The clergymen ascended the dais built years earlier to compensate for his height and firmly gripping the edge of the lectern until his knuckles turned white, he peered down upon his congregation. “Hello, my sheep…”

“When we are but children, one of the first milestones we are tested on is our ability to walk. We learn it at such an age that few of us ever give pause to the marvel of perambulation. In fact, before we can even conceive of the great purposes that our Glorious Maker has for us, our feet are leading us along her paths.” He was dressed in fine white robes lined in purple and a goldthread dog collar tightly embracing his neck. His fiery red hair was streaked with grey and his quadruple chin strained against his collar, both signs that middle age had firmly taken hold. Despite this, the dwarf seemed the very archon of wisdom.

“As we walk though, we rely on our sight. The body as a whole cannot move and avoid obstacles or encumbrances without clarity of vision. We need light to reveal the world we live in, to allow us to take each and every step. And so too, we need the knowledge of our Savior to guide our feet in the paths of righteousness. ”

As he spoke - the words dripping with gravitas – Father Dalmizeil Iscar picked through the parishioners before him and counted sheep. Sixth row, packed against the wall: Jesit Narst. Newly converted, and grinning with reverent glee like she was in on an elaborate private joke. Second row, right by the aisle: Bryon Whitesmyth. The withered old man held a special place in the father’s heart. He’d been the first convert when Iscar had taken up his residency in Green Hill’s temple. A tireless worker for Asmodeus these past seventy odd years, he had been particularly effective in the aftermath of the ‘Mylan Incident’.

“Some of you may be tempted to peer into the darkness. To seek even a fleeting taste of it’s fruit.” Thirteenth row, fourth from the left: Harlston Thorklesen. A promising candidate, the young man was so up to his neck in gambling debts that soon he’d sell his soul for a single gold piece. The fact that he’d lost all his money to one of Iscar’s previous converts was just good resource management. “To some, the darkness might appear as a release from the glare of a life lived in Mitra’s righteous light.” Even from this distance, the subtle shift in posture and tensing of shoulders was an easy ‘tell’, something the father had learnt to watch for long ago. The war raging inside the man was between two voracious forces: a lifetime of indoctrination to do the petty good works of Mitra was falling to the wayside against a fear of death and the stain of sins that had already taken hold. “Indeed, there will be those who come to you and promise you the answer to your every problem if you would only turn from the light a moment…”

Iscar always had to force himself not to grin like the cat who caught the canary at this point in his sermons. The turmoil on the young mans face spoke volumes, and in a few days (a week at most) the Good Father would certainly find a knock on his door in the evening from a devout child seeking absolution and advice. Certainly, advice was something Iscar had in abundance. That and contracts. Oh so many contracts.

As Iscar wound his sermon to a close, again admonishing the people in the room towards vigilance, he noticed a new face at the back of the room he had never seen before. He always made a particular note of welcoming people to the town but something about this man didn’t sit quite right with him. It was like (for once) he was being watched back. “Truly, I say to you all again… the path to ruin is not a great fall, it is when the least amongst you stumbles.”

Grignar was born and orphaned in one of the larger trade city of Talingarde. He spent his early years getting by as a street urchin and pickpocket, but not being very dexterous he was largely unsuccessful. As dwarven orphans are relatively rare (and also age quickly), he eventually found work as part of a street gang who specialized in the short con. He learnt and mastered the ‘Spanish Prisoner’, the ‘Pigeon Drop’, the ‘Fawney Rig’, the ‘Fiddle Game’ and many others cons. Although he never really made much of a living at it, Grignar thrived. In particular he excelled at playing the straight man, the erudite individual who convinced their mark of the wisdom in seizing ‘the unbelievable but true’ opportunity before them.

Sometime in his 30s, a pair of particularly zealous enforcers caught Grignar in the midst of a short con. They beat him near to death and threw him in a cell to await a summary execution. Whilst lying comatose in the cell, Grignar was visited by a Phistophilus, the contract devils of Asmodeus’ court. The fiery humanoid draped in infernal contracts offered Grignar a deal too good to believed: release, power, reward and the chance to excel at his work in a way that he never had before. All this in exchange for service to Asmodeus.

That day the dwarf Grignar died in prison custody, and a fresh-faced acolyte of Mitra by the name of Dalmizeil Iscar appeared at the temple for his initiation rites. He completed his priesthood training, as well as a Doctoris Juris in Divine Compacts, before being allocated to the town of Green Hill.

For the last 77 years, Iscar has worked his long con in the town, converting many to Asmodeus whilst openly preaching Mitra’s virtues. Over the last few years Iscar had even been considered for promotion to bishophood due to his pious service. This ultimately would be what led to his undoing, as the tests to his ascendency lead to the witchhunters coming…

Father Iscar appears to be warm and welcoming, albeit with a strong sense of justice. He is open and caring for both friends and strangers alike, and seems at all times to favor their best interests over his own. Of course, this is all an elaborate front for the methodical, calculated conspirator that lies beneath. A long devotee of Asmodeus, he is an expert at drafting contracts (regular and infernal) to benefit both his short-term and long-term needs.

Iscar is willing to trust people who also worship Asmodeus with his true personality, and is sometimes blind to that fact that those who also serve his master may not have his best intentions in mind. In particular, Iscar will defer to people that clearly have greater strengths than his. In particular, he will happily allow more intelligent or stronger individuals to take charge in the foreground if it lets Iscar make tactical decisions from the shadows.