Paul Granius's page

His soul was now complete. Of course, his outer shell was still disgustingly human. As he shackling moved through the house, he realized that the priest’s spells were quite...effective. He was barely able to lift anything, there were other spells that filled the house. He made his way to the kitchen, the servant there confused at his odd behavior. He grabbed a knife and when the servant moved to ask him what was wrong, Paul stab the man in the throat. The innocent’s man’s blood flowed and covered the floor. Paul realized that the spells in the house seemed to weaken slightly with the man’s death. That man was the only servant at the time so Paul couldn't be guaranteed to find another easy kill. His mother and father were away on business and wouldn't be back until the night...more than enough time to take care of his siblings in the house…

He wondered if his parents had felt the wrongness in the air when they returned. He guessed so, his father was armed when he entered the study, the place where Paul had made his simple…”lair”. It didn't help him, the man wasn't really expecting his son coming from the darkened corner, brandishing a blade darkened with blood. It also didn't help that the walls of the study were blanketed with the symbol of Paul’s new...former?...true patron in a nice shade of blood red. His father was weak, untrained, unskilled. It took only a few cuts to bring him down. Unfortunately, he wasn't expecting his mother to be in the hall right behind his father. He could hear her screams as his father’s blood splattered the wall. He stepped out trying to grab her but missed her by inches. She moved fast for her age and Paul realized that he could not catch her, as weak as the spells were making him. He realized he had little time to enact his ritual and gave up on finding her. She would fall soon enough. Moving back into the study and using his father’s body to complete the ghastly circle in the middle of the room. He chanted the only words that came to mind. The symbols around the room glowed. He chanted. The room began to shake. He chanted. With a crack that sounded like lightning echoing throughout the house and into the surrounding streets, Paul was transformed into his true self, claws, tails and horns all. The false symbol of Mitra on his hand was burned off, replaced by the 5 pointed star of Asmodeus.

The ritual complete, his true self restored, Paul saw in front him the blood take it’s own shape. While only vaguely in the shape of a face, it was clear to Paul who it was. Kneeling before the shape, he said “My master, I have come from your test born anew. I am yours to command.” The dark figure laughed, cold and uncaring “You believe your test complete? Hah, your test has only just begun, welp. Our bargain still stands. You have much work to do, and I believe you haven’t even really started. Go, my Vessel. Go and complete your dark work or I will have my enjoyment playing with your soul.” The blood pooled and stopped moving. Not entirely sure what his master was talking about, but certain of his goal, he collected a few things and made to leave the building. He was stopped not much long after leaving.

A collection of soldiers were already swarming the area before Paul heard the magic being woven. Paul could not move, could not even call out in surprise. The figure that came out of the shadows was that of some priest, he couldn't make out much of the figure, though if he had to guess it was one of those witch hunters that tended to be around. he was bound in change before the spell could end and carted off into the night.

The trial (Paul was honestly surprised there was one) was rather short and to the point. He was convicted of many things, blasphemy largest on the list. Little mattered. He realized now what his Master was talking of before though what little good it did, he wasn't sure. When asked his name at trial, few believed him. Most raged at him using the name of one of his victims though the body of “Paul Granius” could not be found. However, one person...witness...victim in the crowd had come to the horrible conclusion that the creature at trial was Paul Granius. It was probably something in his eyes, or maybe just a memory of that horrible night 19 years ago. Regardless, Karin Granius knew that the creature was her son...

Name: Paul Granius
Race: Tiefling(Devilspawn)
Class: 1 Cleric of Asmodeus(1 Fiendish Vessel of Asmodeus)
Speed: 30ft
Alignment: LE

11 1d8+3
Crazy Build
(Base + Race + Increases + Misc)
Str: 17
Dex: 9
Con: 14+2=16
Int: 14
Wis: 18+2=20
Cha: 13-2+2=13

BAB: +0
(Base) + (Stat) + (Mis) + (Items)
Fort: +2+3
Ref: +0+-1
Will: +2+5
Init: 0-1+4=+3

(Base + Dex + Armor + Shield + Misc)
AC: 10+-1+4+2 = 15

Languages:
Common
Infernal
Abyssal
Elven

Traits:
Blasphemy: +2 Knowledge(religion)
Birthmark: +2 vs Compulsion/Charm, Divine Focus

Skills
(Base+Int+Misc)
2+0+2+2(one must be craft/profession/Perform) + 1 (Favored Class)
Appraise (Int)
Bluff(Cha)
Craft (Alchemy) (Int) 1 + 2 + 3
Diplomacy (Cha) 1 + 1 + 3
Disguise(Cha)
Heal (Wis)
Knowledge (arcana) (Int)
Knowledge (history) (Int)
Knowledge (nobility) (Int)
Knowledge (planes) (Int) 1 + 2 + 3
Knowledge (religion) (Int) 1 + 2 + 3 + 2
Linguistics (Int)
Perception (Wis) 1 + 5 + 3
Profession (Wis)
Sense Motive(Wis) 1 + 5 + 3
Spellcraft (Int) 1 +2 + 3
Stealth(Dex)

Feats
1st: Improved Initiative

Special/Class Abilities/Racial Abilities
Lawful/Evil Aura
Spells
Channel Evil 4/Day: Evil Heals 1d4, Good Will Save 11 to Negate. On failure, sickened for 1d4 rounds
Domains:
Evil(Devil)
Hell’s Corruption (Su): You can cause a creature to become more susceptible to corruption as a melee touch attack. Creatures touched take a –2 penalty on all saving throws and must roll all opposed skill checks twice, taking the worse result. 8/Day, 1 Round

Trickery
Copycat (Su): You can create an illusory double of yourself as a move action. This double functions as a single Mirror Image and lasts for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level, or until the illusory duplicate is dispelled or destroyed. You can have no more than one copycat at a time. This ability does not stack with the Mirror Image spell. 8/Day

Spells:
Spells per Day: 3 3+1
Spells Prepared:
0: Detect Magic, Light, Read Magic
1st: Bless, Doom, Cure Light Wounds, Command

Weapons/Attacks:
Leather bound club: +3 1d6+3

Equipment:
Chain shirt
Heavy Shield

Past:

More than 300 years ago, the Granius family was deep rooted in the worship of Asmodeus as was the tradition so long ago in Talingarde. The current patriarch, Paul ‘The Black’ Granius was a great servant to Asmodeus and held much in favor by the kingdom. However, a dark portent fell upon Paul. He was shown the eventual fall of Asmodeus’s worship in the kingdom and despicable hand that his family would play. His progeny would turn from their dark master and worship a sickening god of “good” and “light”.

Paul refused to allow this though he knew he would be long dead and forgotten by the time it would transpire. He spoke out to his dark lord, looking to prevent this travesty. Asmodeus knew of the coming times and had been looking for way to plant the seeds of his eventual return to Talingarde. The land was firmly his and whatever play this “Mitra” was trying would not stand. The cries of Paul Granius were heard and a deal was struck. In return for the souls of his family for the next 300 years, Asmodeus would taint the family line fully. The taint would permeate through his descendants and forever more, their souls would be given to the dark lord even before their lives were conceived. While they may not realize it, nor would any god recognize the taint, their souls would already be destined for the pits of Hell.

In return, Asmodeus would give Paul another chance. Asmodeus would enact a dark ritual to reincarnate Paul’s soul into Talingarde. When Asmodeus deemed it acceptable, Paul’s soul would be used as the soul for the body of one of his descendants. After so many years in Hell tortured and pained, the soul would undoubtedly be tainted black but it would also unfortunately degrade and dilapidated. His memories would be in tatters. However, he would be given the chance to bring Asmodeus back to Talingarde. Should he succeed, eternal reward in Hell. Should he fail, his soul would be dropped into the deepest part of the pits, forever tortured and damned.

Paul would gladly accept this deal. He would enact a ritual to bind his family and accept the deal. The ritual destroyed the family, their mansion in the capital, and much of their wealth. Paul and many of his families members died in the unholy fire that engulfed the mansion. Only two of the family would continue to exist: Varin Granius a distant cousin in Varisia and Marcia Granius, daughter to Paul. Marcia would swear her silence of the pact. She would blame the fire on Asmodeus and profess a hatred for the dark god. She would distance the family from the church of Asmodeus and outwardly seem go against the current church. Over the years, Marcia would make moves to ensure that the families connection’s to Asmodeus were destroyed or killed.

The cousin, Varin Granius, would move to Talingarde as part of the will left by Paul. He would gain most of the Granius holdings. A devout man of Abadar, he would still fall to the feminine wiles of Marcia and the two would be wed in Talingarde under an Abadarian marriage. And so, it was guaranteed that the Granius family would stay within Talingarde...

Present:

20 years ago, a devout Mitran priest, Carl Granius, would fall into the ancient family mausoleum while playfully chasing his newly wedded wife across the family estate. Having not really cared too much about the family line, the names upon the ancient tombs mattered little. He happened upon an old tomb, ancient really. It’s name plate was badly eroded but Carl would make out the name ‘Paul Granius’. Huh, the boy barely a man thought, an interesting name. Has a nice, almost regal sound to it. Dusting himself off, he left the mausoleum without much more thought to it.

19 years ago, a Priestess of Mitra would give birth to a bouncing baby boy. The boy was heralded as having a divine blessing from Mitra, as upon the back of his hand was the sunburst symbol of Mitra. Born to Karin and Carl Granius, both devout Mitrans and nobles to boot, the boy would undoubtedly live a blessed life. His father, Carl, would name him Paul with Karin’s blessing, both having found a liking to the name for no real reason other than it sounded. Paul would be loved by his family and have many friends. He would be creative and accomplished in many physical activities. He studied a variety of fields even at a young age, from religion to the arcane to martial matters. He was imaginative, his family laughing as he told them of his imaginary friend, who always seemed to get him into trouble. However, he always felt a little disconnected from everyone, like a part of him was missing.

As he grew, he would, unsurprisingly to his parents and peers, start religious studies. He had to abandon his childhood ways early to please his parents. He continued to hear his imaginary friend occasionally, noting it but never mentioning it to anyone, such were children’s things. As he grew into a refined young man, most expected him to follow his families ideals and follow Mitra. However, Paul was reluctant to follow, if only because of his insatiable need for knowledge….and the soft whispers he would hear telling him to wait, and investigate more.

He moved through the ancient family library, reading books of all sorts on all different matters. He read the history of talingarde, the dark times before Mitra, House Darius arrival to power, the resulting purges. He made note of the absence of any old family records, most history stopped some 300 years ago. His mind intrigued he delved further into his family's history. The voice of his childhood imaginary friend, now only called the voice by Paul, continued to encourage his investigation. His parents became worried about his continually more reclusive nature but had too many other problems like Paul’s young sister and infant brother along with their duties as priests of Mitra.

He delved deeper into the family history, searching for whatever small hint he could find. His search would lead him to the family mausoleum. He would find the small tomb of his namesake Paul Granius. Opening the tomb, he would slice his hand on part of the old casket that held his ancestor. The pain was little compared to the shock of the black blood that wept from the wound. He ran back into the house, bandaging the wound and finding the blood back to the normal red he was used to. Confused, he asked his parents to look over the wound. They dodged most of his questions and told him to see the family healer, another Priest of Mitra. He went to see the priest who asked him to drink a poultice. He was knocked out but awoke feeling better than ever. His hand was fully healed except for what looked like some reddening of the skin around the wound.

However, he was unsure of what to think of his parent. He knew his parents were hiding something but couldn’t figure out what. The voice in his head was louder than ever, telling him of some sort of power that was inside of him. His parents were weak and pathetic, holding him back. He tried to tune the voice out. He continued to investigate.

The night he found the focus point of a protection spell many things changed and many things made sense...finally. The focus appeared to be a symbol of Mitra, one among many in the house. The spell was for inside of the house. From his limited knowledge, he knew it was a form of protection from evil but much more powerful. Confused, his head pounding from the incessant voice, he reached forward and broke the symbol.

The protection around the house down, memory flooded into him, as if he was looking at his life from another position, away from himself. Always close but not him and yet him. He was in the arms of a woman...his mother, suckling on her breast. Instead of the normal hand, he saw his tiny hand rise, red and clawed. His mother seemed catatonic. In his periphery, he saw his father wringing his hands and a priest reaching out to him. A blinding light and he was now seeing everything from outside of himself, as if he was looking down on the scene. The babe in his mother’s arms was now a normal human. “This will fix everything, right?” The man who looked like his father said. “It will keep the malevolent spirit at bay for now. I will need to refresh the glamour on occasion. It will sometimes lose a little strength, that is the sign to see me.” the other Priest said, “I will erect a spell upon this house to keep the spirit from entering him again. It should be fine…”

His soul was now complete. Of course, his outer shell was still disgustingly human. As he shackling moved through the house, he realized that the priest’s spells were quite...effective. He was barely able to lift anything, there were other spells that filled the house. He made his way to the kitchen, the servant there confused at his odd behavior. He grabbed a knife and when the servant moved to ask him what was wrong, Paul stab the man in the throat. The innocent’s man’s blood flowed and covered the floor. Paul realized that the spells in the house seemed to weaken slightly with the man’s death. That man was the only servant at the time so Paul couldn’t be guaranteed to find another easy kill. His mother and father were away on business and wouldn’t be back until the night...more than enough time to take care of his siblings in the house…

He wondered if his parents had felt the wrongness in the air when they returned. He guessed so, his father was armed when he entered the study, the place where Paul had made his simple…”lair”. It didn’t help him, the man wasn’t really expecting his son coming from the darkened corner, brandishing a blade darkened with blood. It also didn’t help that the walls of the study were blanketed with the symbol of Paul’s new...former?...true patron in a nice shade of blood red. His father was weak, untrained, unskilled. It took only a few cuts to bring him down. Unfortunately, he wasn’t expecting his mother to be in the hall right behind his father. He could hear her screams as his father’s blood splattered the wall. He stepped out trying to grab her but missed her by inches. She moved fast for her age and Paul realized that he could not catch her, as weak as the spells were making him. He realized he had little time to enact his ritual and gave up on finding her. She would fall soon enough. Moving back into the study and using his father’s body to complete the ghastly circle in the middle of the room. He chanted the only words that came to mind. The symbols around the room glowed. He chanted. The room began to shake. He chanted. With a crack that sounded like lightning echoing throughout the house and into the surrounding streets, Paul was transformed into his true self, claws, tails and horns all. The false symbol of Mitra on his hand was burned off, replaced by the 5 pointed star of Asmodeus.

The ritual complete, his true self restored, Paul saw in front him the blood take it’s own shape. While only vaguely in the shape of a face, it was clear to Paul who it was. Kneeling before the shape, he said “My master, I have come from your test born anew. I am yours to command.” The dark figure laughed, cold and uncaring “You believe this to be a test? Hah, your test has only just begun, welp. Our bargain still stands. You have much work to do, and I believe you haven’t even really started. Go, my Vessel. Go and complete your dark work or I will have my enjoyment playing with your soul.” The blood pooled and stopped moving. Not entirely sure what his master was talking about, but certain of his goal, he collected a few things and made to leave the building. He was stopped not much long after leaving.

A collection of soldiers were already swarming the area before Paul heard the magic being woven. Paul could not move, could not even call out in surprise. The figure that came out of the shadows was that of some priest, he couldn’t make out much of the figure, though if he had to guess it was one of those witch hunters that tended to be around. he was bound in change before the spell could end and carted off into the night.

The trial (Paul was honestly surprised there was one) was rather short and to the point. He was convicted of many things, blasphemy largest on the list. Little mattered. He realized now what his Master was talking of before though what little good it did, he wasn’t sure. When asked his name at trial, few believed him. Most raged at him using the name of one of his victims though the body of “Paul Granius” could not be found. However, one person...witness...victim in the crowd had come to the horrible conclusion that the creature at trial was Paul Granius. It was probably something in his eyes, or maybe just a memory of that horrible night 19 years ago. Regardless, Karin Granius knew that the creature was her son...