Salom Mortara's page

Thea Mortara
Homunculus
CG Small construct
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)
hp 18 (1d10+13)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +1
Immune construct traits
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft., fly 30 ft. (poor)
Melee club +2 (1d4) or
. . bite +2 (1d4)
Ranged sling +4 (1d3)
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 15, Con —, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Toughness
Skills Acrobatics +2 (-2 to jump), Fly +0, Perception +5, Stealth +10
Languages Common (can't speak)
SQ sympathetic alchemy, telepathic link, extra class skills (Acrobatics, UMD)
Other Gear club, sling
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Special Abilities
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Construct Traits (+10 HP) Constructs have many immunities.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Fly (30 feet, Poor) You can fly!
Immunity to Ability Damage Immunity to ability damage
Immunity to Ability Drain Immunity to ability drain
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Death and Necromancy effects You are immune to Death and Necromancy effects.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Energy Drain Immune to energy drain
Immunity to Exhausted You are immune to the exhausted condition.
Immunity to Fatigue You are immune to the fatigued condition.
Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects.
Immunity to Nonlethal Damage You are immune to Nonlethal Damage
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Sympathetic Alchemy (Su) Your homunculus can benefit from your extracts as a construct or humanoid.
Telepathic Link (1500 feet) Your homunculus can convey to you everything it sees and hears.

. . 1st
cure light wounds
enlarge person
long arm
shield
true strike

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane. Behind closed (and open) doors, in the back (and front) rooms of Wicken’s taverns, and even ‘twixt the pews of church, a common, frequent topic of debate has been the propriety behind the mental infirmity afflicting poor Salom Mortara. For Salom is certainly mad, but only because he has loved. And love is only madness in one of its many forms. And as Salom could tell you, anyone who has ever loved has gone mad.

EARLY LIFE
Under a dreary fog that blanketed Wicken and persisted nearly the entire autumn (why, the townsfolk still speak of it when their arthritic joints get to aching), Salom was born. His father was Horadicio, an accomplished watchmaker, perhaps too skilled for such a small town (and rumors spread most urgently as to why such a man would not pursue his trade in Castorhage). His mother was Luorna, née Dreswitch, a simple homemaker with a crippling case of ill nerves that kept her locked inside most days. And that was before Salom was born. After the birth, Luorna took to wailing fits all day and all night, and a meager troupe of midwives were needed to care for the babe (and ensure his safety). It was important he live, you see, as it was noted with much concern during worship and other social gatherings that Luorna would likely never have another child.

Salom grew into a bright boy and took to helping his father around the shop, Timeworn Treasures. At first, Salom just watched and cleaned, but was later entrusted with simple tasks and projects. He proved to be quite dexterous with his fine motor skills and adept at repairing the cracked and broken specimens that the townsfolk would bring to Horadicio for repair. He enjoyed examining how seemingly simple components fit together in complex ways to create a whole, and would spend hours dismantling and reassembling pocket- and wristwatches, even when he wasn’t working. It seemed magical to him that from only bits of cogs and spring, one could craft moving, mechanical constructions. It was almost as if he were creating, well, living things...

During this time, Luorna’s nerves continued to degrade, and she rarely left her room except for her midnight prayers, which grew in frequency and fervor as time passed. For his part, Salom took little interest in such things, coming to view devout religious belief as a product of hysteria and a passtime for the delusional. He viewed his mother as a chore, and grew to be embarrassed by her. He hated the sympathetic but curious looks his presence could garner, the needful whispers that would ensue as he passed, and for all this he blamed Luorna. His father, however, he held in high esteem, aspiring to follow in his footsteps and continue the clockwork shop.

ADULTHOOD
As inevitable as such things are, Salom came to fancy a girl, Theophila Grembly, daughter of a grocer in Wicken’s East End. Theophila was fair and pretty, and as gentle as a butterfly, or so Salom imagined when he watched her in her family’s store. He spent weeks afterward planning and creating a gift with which he hoped to win her affection, even visiting the town’s smithy to have some brass components melted and re-fashioned according to his specifications. The result of his labour was a mechanical butterfly with spring-rigged wings that could flutter with the tug of a simple chain. While he might have acquired cold feet, he was far too invested to stop then, and so nervously presented it to her when he caught her alone in the grocery hall. Whether impressed by the exquisite beauty of the gift, or by Salom’s accompanying, bumbling speech and manner, Theophila was charmed, and the two began a courtship that culminated in a marriage the following spring. She was with child soon after, and the two young lovers settled into their newly built home, looking forward to the simple pleasures that their simple but charmed lives would bring.

But life, well, it had other plans.

The consumption came. Some accused the traveling gypsies, either of carrying the illness or else passing a wicked curse upon the towns they passed. Others claimed it was the gods, hungry for sacrifice. Still others swore it was the poison of decadent Castorhage seeping into the very soil and polluting the surrounding lands and their people.

Whatever the reason, it came. And no amount of conjecture could prevent what Salom saw happening. His mother Luorna went first, her convulsive, bloody coughing racking her body with paroxysmal spasms. Her body seemed to consume itself, wasting away to loose skin and bone before, at last, she succumbed to the illness. His father Horadicio, perhaps overwhelmed by grief, suffered an attack of the heart shortly after. Salom was grateful that his death, at least, was swift.

But then Theophila fell ill. His lovely butterfly, his bride, the mother of his child--now a daughter, they knew--began to suffer the night sweats and chills characteristic of the disease. She began to waste away, as though her loveliness were simply being erased from the world. Salom sat by her side, helpless, watching the light fade from his life.

He buried her under the willow trees. She had always liked it there. Afterward, he stayed by the grave, speaking to her under the moonlight, until the next day, when those that knew him carried him back to his home.

A shadow seemed to pass over his life, and from that day on Salom seemed a different person. He boarded up his home and moved into his father’s, now his shop, Timeless Treasures. Then he boarded that up too, reclusing himself behind its walls and hardly ever making a public appearance. His watchmaking ceased, though deliveries arrived regularly with supplies, and loud banging and mad screaming could often be heard from behind the walls.

Months later, he re-opened his shop, much to the dismay of Wicken. For his beautiful watchmaking had deteriorated into--into horrifying toys. Today, where well-oiled mantle clocks and polished pocket watches had once stood proudly on display, now dozens of glass eyes, crooked and crazed, glare from the heads of malformed and half-carved mechanical dolls and toys lining skewed workroom shelves. His latest creation, his magnum opus, sits on display near the back of the shop, a remarkable construction generally resembling a little girl adorned with butterflies. He calls it Thea, though whether it is a hypocorism for his late wife, or the planned name of their daughter, no one knows.

Today, Salom is certainly mad, but only because he has loved. And love is only madness in one of its many forms. And as Salom could tell you, anyone who has ever loved has gone mad. The only difference is whether they’ve ever come back. And poor Salom? Well, he is still finding his way.

Appearance
Salom Mortara is a tall man, though slender, with strikingly large hands that he uses often to gesture as he speaks. His fingers are long and dexterous, and he is often asked if he plays an instrument (he doesn't). His hair is unkempt, long and dark, with hints of gray prevalent around the temples. He is clean shaven, though the appearance of his stuble suggests that a beard could appear in a matter of days. His skin is pale, his eyes dark, their brooding accentuated by the dark circles beneath them. And there is a sadness to them, as though he is searching for something and hasn't quite found it.

Personality
Salom is eccentric, some say a bit mad. He is prone to making jokes at inappropriate times, comfortable with the dark humor that is born of tragedy. Perhaps this is simply his way of coping with his own personal grief following his wife's passing, but it has a jarring effect on many he meets. His fascination with his macabre toys has led some to speculate that he was driven mad by the death of his unborn daughter. While he does speak of his past, he avoids discussion of that particular topic, nor does he explain the child-like appearance of his latest invention Thea.

Party Role
The Promethean Alchemist loses bombs and mutagen in favor of a construct "pet". Thea (the pet) will provide melee support in combat and serve as a scout outside of it (thanks to the telepathic link between them). Salom is also built to provide melee support and will make use of infused extracts to provide utility and buffs for himself and Thea (and, beginning at level 2, the rest of the party). At later levels, he will utilize feats and discoveries to deliver poisons through melee strikes.

Level 1: FCB (hp); Feat (Toughness); Alchemy; Discovery (Promethean Disciple/Craft Construct); Homunculus Companion; Homunculus Feat (Toughness)
Level 2: FCB (hp); Discovery (Infusion); Poison Resistance +2; Poison Use
Level 3: FCB (hp); Feat (Power Attack); Swift Alchemy; Homunculus Feat; Homunculus (Evasion)
Level 4: FCB (extra formula); Ability Score (Con); Discovery (Spontaneous Healing)
Level 5: FCB (extra formula); Feat (Master Alchemist); Homunculus Ability Score; Poison Resistance +4
Level 6: FCB (extra formula); Discovery (Poison Conversion); Swift Poisoning; Homunculus Feat; Homunculus Speech
Level 7: FCB (extra formula); Feat (Extra Discovery: Sticky Poison)
Level 8: FCB (extra formula); Ability Score (Int); Discovery (Alchemical Simulacrum); Poison Resistance +6
Level 9: FCB (extra formula); Feat (Toxicological Timing); Homunculus Feat; Homunculus SR
Level 10: FCB (extra formula); Discovery (Doppleganger Simulacrum); Poison Immunity; Homunculus Ability Score