Lorenzo Mancini's page

APPEARANCE
Lorenzo is an athletic young man, bulging forearms built from working his stonemason trade give way to calloused hands. Not particularly tall, the young man is lithe with strong shoulders and stronger legs, useful for carrying stones around.

He has olive-colored skin and finds it hard to grow a beard. His black hair is usually kept loose. He cleans up rather well, getting more than his share of looks from the high-class ladies that his work puts him in contact with.

When dressed for prayer or battle, he wears a scale mail and straps on a longsword and a couple of daggers. He always tries to have something white or golden to honor Iomedae.

BACKGROUND
Lorenzo was born 19 years ago to squalor. He still lives in the northern slums of Westcrown and was lucky to have gained an apprenticeship as a stonemason with a grumpy old dwarf with a flair for the dramatic. That was five years ago.

He briefly remembers his grandfather, Tobias Mancini, as a drunkard. His father, Vicenzo Mancini, died in a work accident when he was young forcing his mother Marcia to try and fend for the family, the drunk grandfather, Lorenzo, and his two younger sisters (12-year old Sara and 7-year od Giovanna). Luckily his grandfather disappeared and is presumed dead, so that there was one less mouth to feed.

His mother worked herself to death doing whatever honest job was available, from washing clothes to cleaning homes. Lorenzo started helping her out when he was barely past 10 and did so until he started to learn his craft.

Now that his mother passed away, Lorenzo is the sole support of his two younger sisters. He is worried because they are both coming of age and are being tempted by money to lead a sinful life. Lorenzo abhors the possibility but also recognizes that opportunities are scarce for the uneducated poor in Westcrown. He just works harder and prays to Iomedae for a better chance at life for his sisters.
_________________
About a year ago, Oleg, the dwarven master craftsman, piqued his curiosity with fanciful tales of his ancestors. According to Oleg, the Mancini’s were a well-established noble house who lost everything when Thrune came to power. They must have also lost their history because Lorenzo is finding it hard to corroborate what his boss tells him. But Lorenzo is still looking.

An 'older lady' provided Lorenzo's sister with a copy of The Acts of Iomedae, with which he instantly became obsessed. He absorbed all her teachings; he probably recite the Eleven Acts from memory. He longs and fantasizes of having the opportunity to do something so heroic, so useful to those in need. Reading the book was like having the goddess talking to him. He proclaimed his faith and adopted the Inheritor’s beliefs of honor, valor, and justice. Lorenzo seeks someone who practices Iomedae’s faith to continue his learning.

Along with the religious text, this older lady also provide a book that details his past family members, what their lives were like, and their accomplishments. There he learned of his family's legacy and that some ancestors had fought for the Lady in the past, some even side-by-side. What Oleg had told him appeared to be true.
___________________
Recently, things have been looking bleak for the young man. He sees injustice in Westcrown that is rooted deeper than he previously thought. The lack of social and economic opportunities, the fake freedom of religion, and the ill-gotten gains and privileges of the aristocracy are slowly stewing in his mind and heart and are about to explode…

PERSONALITY
Quiet, kind, and conscientious, interested in security and peaceful living. Extremely thorough, responsible, and dependable. Usually interested in supporting and promoting traditions and establishments.

Well-organized and hardworking; he works steadily towards identified goals. He can usually accomplish any task once he has set his mind to it.

Rich inner world of observations about people. Extremely perceptive of other's feelings. Usually puts the needs of others above his own needs. Interested in serving others. Well-developed value systems which he strictly adheres to. Well-respected for his perseverance in doing the right thing.

Day 13, Month of Arodus (August), Year 4708
Vaeno Dioso, Westcrown, Cheliax

The sledgehammer went up and came down. SLAM! Stone chips flew everywhere.
Lorenzo wiped sweat from his brow and hefted his sledgehammer again. He was smiling. This was good honest work. Although he sometimes lacked the patience for fine stonework, none could say he did not put his back into this type of work.
And it was the destructive part of his craft that he really enjoyed. So his dwarven boss, Master Stonemason Oleg, always allowed him that satisfaction. Most stone repair work usually started with some sort of minor demolition and Lorenzo relished that part. SLAM!

After a few hours of breaking things, it was time to build them back up. Master Oleg called Lorenzo over and started chipping away at large stone blocks to make them fit the archway they had just demolished. It was slow and tedious work and the dwarf knew that Lorenzo had much to learn in that aspect of the craft.
Lorenzo’s hands were not ideal for hefting a small hammer and stencils. His calloused hands felt more comfortable around the pommel of a longsword or around the shaft of a heavy hammer. Still, this was good honest work and he needed to the money to feed his two younger sisters now that his mother passed away. And Oleg wasn’t bad at all, even if the old dwarf sometimes went on with crazy stories of the past. Of Westcrown’s glory days.

The dwarf just finished showing him how to polish a stone to a smooth surface, ”You know son. This could have been all yours?”
Lorenzo scoffed, ”What? The cobblestones? You didn’t get paid by the master of the house again. Master Oleg, you know I need to buy food for me and my sisters. I can’t make soup from the stones.”
”Be quiet, silly boy. You’ll get paid this week, like always even if I don’t.” He pointed to the manor house just beyond the archway. ”I mean all of this. This vaneo used to belong to the Lord Mancini, your grandpa.”
Lorenzo blew on a stone to remove the dust and examine his work product, ”No disrespect sir, but I think one of my chips hit your head or something. I knew my grandfather and he was a penniless beggar. He was a drunk who couldn’t even hold down a decent job down.”
”Be quiet, silly boy. OK so maybe he was your great grandpa or your great-great grandpa. I don’t know. But this should be yours by right.”
It had been a hot day and Lorenzo’s fuse was short, ”Listen Master Oleg. I’m getting tired of your fanciful tales and stories about what it was like in the old days. I am Lorenzo Mancini, a stonemason, a good stonemason that’s trying to become better so I can provide well for my sisters and future family. Don’t you think if this were mine, I would know about it? You know there are deeds and books that keep track of who owns things, especially things like a vaneo.”
The master stonemason smiled, his teeth barely visible through his heavy beard, ”You’re reading the wrong books.” He looked about and whispered, ”Listen son. I am old and have lived here for almost two hundred years, ever since I came from the Five Mountains with my father. I know what it was like and I also know about the thrice dammed house.” The dwarf spat on the floor to ward off evil spirits or bad omens. ”Their scribes write new history every day.”
Lorenzo was intrigued, ”New history? How can there be new history? You don’t make sense.”
”And you’re just a silly boy. Now get back to polishing your stones. Bring those blocks from over there here. My legs and back ain’t what they used to be.”
As the boy left, the dwarf whispered after him, ”Silly boy or Lord Mancini…”

I will learn the weight of my sword. Without my heart to guide it, it is worthless—my strength is not in my sword, but in my heart. If I lose my sword, I have lost a tool. If I betray my heart, I have died.

I will have faith in the Inheritor. I will channel her strength through my body. I will shine in her legion, and I will not tarnish her glory through base actions.

I am the first into battle, and the last to leave it.

I will not be taken prisoner by my free will. I will not surrender those under my command.

I will never abandon a companion, though I will honor sacrifice freely given.

I will guard the honor of my fellows, both in thought and deed, and I will have faith in them.

When in doubt, I may force my enemies to surrender, but I am responsible for their lives.

I will never refuse a challenge from an equal. I will give honor to worthy enemies, and contempt to the rest.

I will suffer death before dishonor.

I will be temperate in my actions and moderate in my behavior. I will strive to emulate Iomedae’s perfection.

• «Iomedae was born a mortal in Cheliax» ― Thus, patriotism and Iomedae’s worship are compatible and this link comes almost naturally; Iomedae was one of Cheliax’s greatest heroes, and those who believe in her are firmly convinced that Cheliax should have emulated her instead of turning to diabolism during the harsh days of the Civil War. I suggest to give Lorenzo a marked patriotic motivation; not one concerning current Cheliax, but a patriotism inspired to the pre-Thrune Cheliax and his former glory. As a result, part of his patriotism should consist in believing that Westcrown is the true capital of Cheliax, the symbol of his past glory and the model a true Cheliaxian should conform to.

• «When Aroden died, Iomedae inherited most of Aroden’s remaining followers» ― To a Cheliaxan faithful of Iomedae, this could mean that when Aroden died, the country should have searched certainty in his rightful Inheritor instead in the dark embrace of diabolism. Current Iomeae worshippers in Cheliax consider themselves as inheritors of pre-Thrune Cheliax, although this is a dangerous position to hold in public and priests and paladins are encouraged to keep it private, fighting gradually in order to restore the way things should have gone in the past.

• Valor, glory, honor, justice, and strength ― Key concepts of Iomedae as a goddess and ideals to which her worshippers on Golarion inspire their lives. Lorenzo should be eager to be valorous, acquire glory for himself, his family, his home city and his country, pursue justice even in the devil-haunted country of Cheliax, even by strength if necessary.

• «Though skilled in war, Iomedae does not see herself as a war-deity; she would rather convince evildoers to lay down their arms in honorable surrender than cut them down in the midst of battle, but she is fearless and willing to fight for what she believes in. […] She loathes incorrigible evil, fiend-spawn, traitors, » ― I think that this should be the starting attitude Lorenzo has been taught to behave according by his holy text. This would also justify his high Diplomacy modifier and his frequent use of that skill. This attitude is particularly fitting to Lorenzo’s situation, because oftentimes the evildoers he hopes to fight are Cheliaxan men and women just like him and he’d rather have them surrender instead of killing them. Of course, mercy has no place when a faithful is faced with irredeemable evil such as devils and traitors.

• « As the only major ascended deity who is female, the Inheritor has a unique perspective when it comes to a woman’s role in the world. She has abandoned none of her femininity in her pursuit of justice; she is not a masculine deity who happens to be a woman—she is a warrior woman, strong and supple like a tempered steel sword, able to bend without breaking. She doesn’t stand for old-fashioned deities like Erastil and Torag telling her what a woman’s role should be, nor does she let Cayden Cailean disrespect her like some common bar wench. Her church is a haven for women seeking freedom from oppression by men, whether slavemasters, pimps, or cruel husbands, and many of these have gone on to prove themselves warriors in their own rights or earn positions of influence in her church. » ― Since we have 2 women in our party, I think that Lorenzo could use these lines of inspiration to know how to deal with adventuring/fighting women such as Faustinia and Catina.Faithful of Iomedae in Cheliax usually have a high respect for women, especially those who are able to protect themselves.

• «Iomedae manifests in the form of mundane objects reshaping into sword-like forms, mysterious white or golden lights on a person or object, or a compass-like pull on a longsword or other long metal weapon. Common folk in need of a weapon to defend themselves may happen upon an old, rusty blade that still has the strength of a new weapon and grows shinier the more it is used in the name of justice and honor. » ― I think that adding one of these events, or something along that line, to Lorenzo’s backstory would help you in explaining how he really comes to be sure to be a servant of the Inheritor, chosen by the Goddess herself and justify Lorenzo’s calling.

• «Iomedae is associated with lions, horses, eagles, griffons, and hippogriffs. » ― As such, I believe that one of these animals would be a good fit for Lorenzo’s family heraldry.

• « Formal raiment is a white cassock with gold or yellow trim and matching mitre; most followers prefer these colors and wear them in their day-to-day garments. Pious adventurers usually wear a narrow chasuble in the goddess’s colors » ― These lines could serve as a good inspiration for describing Lorenzo’s clothing.

• «The church is organized into circles, each consisting of 10 to 50 priests or knights of similar ability, attitude, and rank. The leader of a circle is called a sword knight, and each sword knight is part of a higher-ranked circle reporting to a superior sword knight. The high priest or priestess is called the first sword knight of Iomedae; her circle is the first circle, comprised of 14 second sword knights, each of whom leads a second circle, and so on. There is much competition to join a circle led by a famous valorous sword knight and it is a mark of honor to be selected for such a knight’s circle. The sword knight ranks correspond to military ranks in standard armies (general, colonel, captain, and so on). » ― I suppose that Lorenzo needs to be familiar with the Inheritor’s church organization, although the Church of Iomedae in Cheliax is not so strong anymore. His ancestors might well have been sword knights or superior sword nights before Thrune rose to power.

• «The devout often create a shrine of stones on the site of any great battle fought in the name of Iomedae, sometimes capping it with a broken sword thrust into the top of the pile. A flat stone carved with the goddess’s symbol, the sculpture of a down-tuned sword or, in its simplest form, a hilt-like cross marks where the faithful buried their dead.» ― Interesting thing to do after defeating an enemy!

• « Priests must act honorably, show courage in battle, uphold righteous laws, and bring evildoers to justice. They must set a good example for common folk and especially children, both in appearance and attitude, and even the most battle-weary priest stands proud and tall in the presence of impressionable youths. Some refuse to enter a city if they are dirty, stopping by an outlying inn or home for wash-water. They take their responsibilities very seriously, and most conduct themselves like great knights.» ― More inspiration on how Lorenzo should behave. Mix this with the love for fashion that every Cheliaxan has on his own, and you get a fine and elegant knight as a result.

• «THE ACTS OF IOMEDAE: The holiest of Iomedaean writings are the Acts of Iomedae, usually called simply the Acts among her faithful. Each act recounts an episode of heroism performed by Iomedae during her life as a champion in the service of Aroden. Tales of valor and adventure, these stories serve as examples of Iomedaean virtues. While regional variations between the stories exist, all have the same general themes, with the goddess herself acknowledging that it is the lessons, not the particulars, that are important. » ― I believe that you should have at least passing familiarity with the Acts of Iomedae in order to really bring to life Lorenzo! Go ahead and read them yourself!

• « For Victory, for the Heart: Whether whispered as a prayer or shouted as a challenge, this saying refers to striking at the heart to make sure a foe is slain. Knights use it in battle, priests use it when baptizing a new acolyte, and farmers use it when cutting a tree stump. » ― A good aphorism Lorenzo should be using to add a little flavor.

Finally, I would suggest you to consider the Inheritor Prestige Class presented in the featured article I’ve focused on in this post and also the Iomedaean Sword Oath feat.

Iomedaean Sword Oath
By swearing to never use a weapon other than a longsword, you can achieve things normally limited to the most highly trained swordsmen.
Prerequisite: Proficient in longsword, Weapon Focus (longsword), base attack bonus +4, worshiper of Iomedae.
Benefit: You may select longsword-related feats as if you were a 4th-level fighter. For example, you may select Weapon Specialization (longsword) as a feat. Special: If you ever use a melee or ranged weapon other than a longsword in combat, you lose the benefits of this feat until you receive an atonement spell. You may still use spells that act as weapons (such as flame blade and spiritual weapon) without affecting your oath.

For the purposes of this feat, I wouldn’t consider your shield as a different weapon if you plan to attack with it; thus, attacking with your shield wouldn’t count as breaking your oath.