About Teobold ValdemarAppearance:
Thick black hair, pale skin, and a clipped Magnimar accent mark Teobold as a southern Varisian of Cheliaxian decent. He wears well-made sea boots and a rugged new leather cloak over the gold-and-white garb of a servant of Abadar, all neatly tailored to his slight frame. An amulet of a golden key, symbol of his faith, hangs on a fine chain from his neck. Teobold carries himself with the quiet confidence of a banker. His dark, honest eyes miss very little.
Background:
As the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, much was expected of Teobold Valdemar. He was expected to learn about shipbuilding and shipping and fishing, everything he’d need to know to keep the Magnimar end of the Valdemar family business running smoothly. He was expected to know how to manage people from dockworkers, sailors, and family servants to merchants, customs officers, and nobles, as the heir to the family fortune must. He was expected to be respectable, industrious, cunning, and ambitious as he led the family business forward. One thing more: he was expected to pay a proper amount of devotion to the family’s patron god, Abadar the Gold-Fisted, great lawgiver and civilizer of the world. No one could have expected that this young boy, serving his turn on the city watch as part of his religious training, would respond with such zeal. He stood sentinel over the shining streets of the Marble District where his family’s manse sat among many others just as grand. In the stillness of the morning hours of his lonely watch, he heard a calling to be not the head of a single family, but rather to be shepherd to all whose hard work raised cities out of the wilderness. Inspired and filled with a fervor for pure service, Teobold abdicated his claim to the family business to enter the church of Abadar with no distractions. His father Teobart hid his disappointment as best he could. The Temple of Abadar is particularly powerful in Magnimar; it would not do to offend its priests or the Archbanker by showing any anger over losing an heir to the priesthood. He took consolation in knowing he had other children who might steer the family after him, and started grooming his oldest daughter Thaywyn as his new successor. He could also hope Teobold, with his education and connections, would rise high in the church’s hierarchy. Having an influential son in a strong faith, even one as dedicated to impartiality and incorruptibility as Abadar’s, would surely help the Valdemar family fortune. Teobold did do well, at least in regard to religious instruction. His troubles began when other devotees of Abadar noticed a key-like birthmark at the base of his skull, fueling rumors he might be especially blessed by the God. Many in the Temple saw great potential in this talented youth, and conceived a place for him in their own schemes. Competing factions in the Magnimar temple sought to draw him into their spheres of influence. Their subtle infighting was entirely beyond the young priest’s experience, and he became an unwitting pawn in their games of intrigue, tarnishing his reputation. Only his inborn sense of fair play kept him out of a corruption scandal that pulled down several bankers and a priest who were found to have been suborned by the Aspis Consortium. Discovering that the Temple of Abadar had been tainted by criminals drove Teobold into a cold fury. He recognized in the Aspis Consortium exactly the sort of threat that he had been called to watch for, a conspiracy of immoral men and women who used the law to enrich themselves when convenient, then abused it and cast it aside whenever they chose. The extent and reach of the Consortium became clear to him. To fight such a monster, he reasoned, he would need an organization of his own, one filled with commerce and justice, influence and power, a new arm of Abadar’s service, but one that would incorporate elements outside the god’s usual congregation in the defense of the law. Here was an ambition worthy of a Valdemar son, one that would take a lifetime to achieve. Still dogged by rumors of scandal, an older and wiser Teobold decided that his first steps would have to be taken away from the Aspis Consortium’s sphere of influence in Magnimar. Hearing of a growing community of young people with similar divine birthmarks in Sandpoint, he took that as a pretext to travel to the Valdemar family’s base of operations there and strengthen his contacts. He prayed to Abadar to guide his path, to help him find the allies he would need to defeat the threats facing the civilized world. In the other chosen youths of what Teobold came to think of as the birthmark circle, the young zealot believes he has found Abadar's answer to his prayers. With the proper organization and guidance, they could be a potent force in the world. He intends to direct that force according to Abadar's principles.
Basic Stats:
STR 10 (+0) DEX 18 (+4) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 18 (+4) CHA 10 (+0) AL: LG
Defenses:
AC: 18, Touch: 14, Flat-footed: 14 (when armed) CMD: 14 Fort: +4, Ref: +4, Will: +6 Offense & Weapons:
Light Crossbow +4/19-20 x2/1d8 Morningstar +0/20 x2/1d8 Feats:
Point-Blank Shot: +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet. Precise Shot: Can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on the attack roll. Traits:
Birthmark: This birthmark of Abadar's key serves as a divine focus for casting spells and as a physical manifestation of faith. +2 trait bonus on all saving throws against charm and compulsion effects. Focused Mind: +2 trait bonus on concentration checks. Truth's Agent: Skilled at weeding out information. +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks made to gather information and Knowledge (local) checks. Knowledge (local) is always a class skill. Class Features:
Conversion Inquisition: Charm of Wisdom (Ex) -- Uses Wisdom modifier instead of Charisma modifier when making Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks. Judgment: 1/day. Monster Lore: Adds Wisdom modifier on Knowledge skill checks in addition to Intelligence modifier when making skill checks to identify the abilities and weaknesses of creatures. Stern Gaze: Receives a morale bonus on all Intimidate and Sense Motive checks equal to 1/2 inquisitor level (minimum +1). Trade Domain: +10’ movement. Silver-Tongued Haggler (Su) --When making a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Sense Motive check, can as a free action gain a bonus equal to 1/2 level on the roll, up to 3 times per day. Skills:
[6 (inquistior) + 2 background] x 1 (lvl) = 8 Bluff +8
*Background skill
Gear:
Note that only the outfit, belt and spell component pouches, holy symbol and coins are on his person on a typical day. The rest are in his sea chest at home. If on watch or expecting trouble, Teobold dons the parade armor, armored kilt and steel buckler he wore as a sentinel in Magnimar’s city watch. The gold-and-blue enameled steel is emblazoned with the cliffs of Magnimar and Abadar’s vault key. He also carries a light crossbow and a morningstar. Well cared for and polished to a high shine, his gear would look perfect in the streets of the Marble District, but has clearly never seen battle. Armored Kilt
Backpack
12 gold
Spells:
Spell DC: 14 + spell level Per day:
Spells Known:
Level 1:
Sample Post:
At Teobold’s raised finger, the innkeeper stopped scratching on his chalkboard and came to take his order. “Black tea for you, Master Valdemar?” “Yes, and a fishcake, if the fish was fresh from the docks this morning.” Teobold nodded at the chalkboard. “Raising your prices for the festival?” “Well, yes. Not for you, of course.” Teobold shifted in his chair to make the gilt key on his neck more evident. “Don’t.” The innkeeper frowned. “Surely Abadar approves of me making a profit!” “We all want Sandpoint to profit and prosper during the festival, and for many years to come.” Teobold drew from his bag a small ledger and a charcoal pencil as he spoke. “The pilgrims that come this year will spread word of Sandpoint far and wide. What do we want them to say of our town—that we are fair and welcoming, or greedy and quick to take advantage? There’s more money in shearing sheep year after year than in skinning them once.” Teobold opened the ledger as he finished speaking and focused his whole intent on it, effectively cutting off any discussion. The innkeeper gave a slight bow and went for his tea. The ledger was filled with row after row of goods and costs, which Teobold ticked off mechanically as he read, hardly pausing as the innkeeper returned with his tea and cake. The innkeeper peered at the page. “Working on a spell?” “What?” said Teobold, amused. He went back to ticking off entries. The townsfolk have formed the strangest ideas about the birthmark circle, he thought. “No, I’m checking over the cathedral accounts. This is a record of every purchase and payment they’ve made from and to Talton Walse.” “Talton? You think he’s been cheating the church?” “I think Talton is as honest as any man in Sandpoint.” Tick, tick, tick. Teobold hid a smile as the innkeep turned away. That night the inn’s gossip would be about how closely Abadar’s priests were watching the church’s money. Teobold might never catch someone cheating or embezzling with his double-entry bookkeeping, but making citizens think twice about trying such things was victory enough.
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