About MarcaiusStatistics:
Marcaius
Male middle-aged human (Azlanti) cleric of Groetus 1 CN Medium humanoid (human) Init -1; Senses Perception +3 ------------------------------ DEFENSE ------------------------------ AC 14, touch 9, flat-footed 14 (+5 armor, -1 dex, +0 shield, +0 size) hp 11 (1d8+3) Fort +4, Ref -1, Will +5; +2 vs. madness and confusion effects ------------------------------ OFFENSE ------------------------------ Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor) Melee dagger +1 (1d4+1/19-20) or
Ranged light crossbow -1 (1d8/19-20) Special Attacks channel negative energy 5/day (DC 14, 1d6), destructive smite (+1, 6/day) ------------------------------
*ACP applies to these skills Non-Standard Skill Bonuses
Languages Azlanti, Common, Thassilonian EXP 135 Special Abilities:
------------------------------ SPECIAL ABILITIES ------------------------------ Bonus Feat [racial] You gain a bonus feat at first level. Broken Mind [trait] You are used to living with your own madness, and gain a +2 trait bonus on saves against madness and confusion effects. Cleric Channel Negative Energy 1d6 (5/day, DC 14) (Su) [class] Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect. Cleric Domain (Catastrophe) [class] Cleric Domain (Entropy) [class] Destructive Smite +1 (6/day) (Su) [class] Make a melee attack with morale bonus to damage. Improved Channel [feat] Add 2 to the DC of saving throws made to resist the effects of your channel energy ability. Mathematical Prodigy (Knowledge [arcana]) [trait] You gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (engineering) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you. Paranoid [drawback] Aid Another DC 15 for attempts to help you. Scholar of Ruins (Knowledge [geography]) [trait] You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks. One of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you. Selective Channeling [feat] Exclude a number of targets from the area of your Channel Energy equal to your Charisma modifier (+2). Skilled [racial] You gain an extra skill rank at 1st level and an additional rank whenever you gain a level. Touch of Chaos (6/day) (Sp) [class] With a melee touch attack, target takes the lower of 2d20 for each d20 roll for 1 round. Spells:
------------------------------ Spells ------------------------------ (CL 1st, Concentration +4) 0th (at will) detect magic
1st (2/2+1/1) cure light wounds
Domains Catastrophe*, Entropy** *Destruction subdomain, **Chaos subdomain Gear/Possessions:
------------------------------ GEAR/POSSESSIONS ------------------------------ Carrying Capacity Light 0-50 lb. Medium 50-100 lb. Heavy 100-150 lb. Current Load Carried 92 lb. Money 20 GP 0 SP 0 CP (0.4 lb.)
*Purchased as Cleric's Kit (16gp) (44 lb.)
Background:
A man in battered mail, a double-headed flail strapped loosely to his back, stands on a busy street corner. He holds up a hand-made sign that says 'THE END IS COMING' and shouts loudly about signs and prophecies and numerology, wild gray hair whipping in the dusk wind. His violet eyes search wildly about for any sign of attentiveness, but most ignore him, and several people cross the street when they spot him ahead. But he is undeterred; they must know what he knows. The message must get through.
"DON'T YOU SEE?! OPEN YOUR EYES! THE SIGNS ARE HERE! THE END IS UPON US! WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN?!!" **************************** The man known simply as Marcaius [mar-kai-us] (or 'Marcaius the Mad', 'Marcaius the Daft', or 'that damned lunatic street preacher' by the locals) was not always a priest of Groetus. As a younger man, he was born into a minor Taldan noble house, but rejected his surname with the embrace of his Azlanti heritage. Like many young modern Azlanti, Marcaius had a fascination with the romanticized glory of the ancient society, and devoted his portion of the family inheritance to financing a life of scholarship. He studied the arcane art of conjuration and was educated at some of the finest universities that Avistan had to offer. Among the subjects that captured his imagination was ancient Azlanti religion; although hardly devout himself, Marcaius found himself drawn to the imagery of the grand temples and the opulent priesthood of deities such as Acavna, Amaznen, Pharasma, and Groetus, and the young noble often traveled to the site of rumored ruins and artifacts of the great empire. It became his dream to discover the remains of an Azlanti temple, one that would reignite interest in Azlant's culture among the populace. Eventually, ancient texts recovered at no small expense hinted at something so impossible, Marcaius couldn't help but be intrigued by it: the possibility of a Azlanti temple to Groetus that had been magically transported to the surface of the god-moon itself. Marcaius, fixated on his dream of discovery coming true, became determined to bring back proof of the temple from the Great Beyond. Historical records had shown that all who had attempted to make contact with Groetus' moon and survived were rendered irrevocably insane, but the young noble was nonplussed. Against the advice of his family, he used up nearly all of his wealth, connections, and magical knowledge to construct a protective amulet for the sole purpose of traveling across the moon unharmed and perfectly sane, and to teleport him back home at the first sign of danger. Loaded for bear for the expedition, he bid his family and friends farewell and cast the spell that would send him across the planes to meet his destiny. He was discovered nearly a month later locked in the ruin of his private sanctum, gibbering mad and scribbling nonsensical warnings on the walls in a progressively disturbing variety of writing materials. The amulet hung from his neck in a twisted lump. The following years were a blur. Marcaius was institutionalized, disowned, and eventually dumped onto the street. Homeless, he wandered as he may, for reasons that made perfect sense to him only until the next contradictory thought entered his head. But he was not afraid, for he knew, deep down he just knew that he was the only one who wasn't fooling himself. He had seen truth back on that moon, in all of it's terrible, horrible glory, and it was his charge to wake up the masses to the farce that they were all living. It was all coming to an end, and so what did Azlant, or nations, or gods, or anything matter? Nothing really mattered! And if nothing really mattered, then all were free, don't you see? Free, from everything! But nobody else seemed to realize this, so they clung to their institutions and their rules and their beliefs, and remained blind to their freedom, and they insisted that he play along as well. Well, stuff that! He would wake them up, open up their eyes, tell them about what he'd seen there on the face of Groetus. He would be an agent of the only god worth following, the Harbinger of Last Days, the God of the End of World, the Apocalypse Moon. They'd see. They'd all see, because he'd be the one to show them. Crafting his very first unholy symbol from discarded refuse, Marcaius has spent years on the road since, preaching his message far and wide, and he's been encouraged by what he's seen. Something big is coming, and for once he's not the only one who seems aware of it. An army approaches unlike any ever seen before, and the people prepare for war. Could this be it? Could the end finally be imminent? He must be there to see it! This might be what finally wakes them up once and for all! Appearance and Personality:
Marcaius is a middle-aged man of average height and build with wild, stringy gray hair and beard as well as eyes of deep but faded purple, proof of a strong Azlanti heritage. He wears a light gray tunic hemmed with pale blue trim, over which is worn beaten mail armor that looks several years past optimum use. His gaze is unnerving, and prolonged conversation with him quickly reveals his insanity, as he makes reference to obscure arcane phenomena and nonsensical (and often contradictory) places and signs as if they were common knowledge. Still, he always seems to appear to care for the well-being of others, even though there's some sense that he fears that whomever he speaks to is terminally ignorant.
There's a sort of nervous energy that seems to follow him around. Although he can be prone to bouts of mania when excited, paradoxically he is often quiet and seemingly lucid for long periods of time. Above all, he always looks like he desperately wants to tell you something important. |
