About Varian TanessenVARIAN TANESSEN Human Cleric (hidden priest) of Milani 1
Carrying Capacity 43 lbs. or less (light), 44-86 lbs. (medium), 87-130 lbs (heavy)
He must make a skill check (DC 10 + twice the level of the spell) to disguise his casting and successfully cast the spell. The type of skill check depends on the type of caster he pretends to be: Craft (alchemy) for alchemist, Perform for bard, Knowledge (arcana) for sorcerer or wizard. Using Spellcraft to identify the spell works normally, though unless the observer beats the DC by 10 or more, she doesn’t suspect the source of the magic is divine. For example, a hidden priest pretending to be an alchemist wants to cast cure light wounds on a wounded townsperson. If he makes a DC 12 Craft (alchemy) check, he disguises his spellcasting as the mixing of an alchemical extract or potion (perhaps with the words disguised as reciting an obscure formula or talking herself through the list of ingredients), which he gives to the target. An observer making a DC 16 Spellcraft check can identify his spell as cure light wounds, but doesn’t realize his “alchemical” methods are a sham unless her check result is 26 or higher. When the hidden priest uses this ability, he must still provide any divine focus components for the spells he casts. However, the divine focus doesn’t need to be an obvious symbol of his faith. It could be a small coin, tattoo, or garment bearing the symbol, whether presented openly, disguised, or hidden within a larger picture. For example, a hidden priest of a god of dawn or light could use a coin with an ankh or sunburst, a complex tattoo or scar that has an ankh shape hidden within it, a glove with an ankh stitched on the inside of the palm, and so on. He must use this replacement divine focus just as he would his true one (for example, he couldn’t leave the coin in his shoe). If a spell requires a divine focus with a specific or minimum cost, the replacement divine focus must be of similar value to be used as the divine focus. A hidden priest adds half his class level (minimum +1) on all Bluff skill checks to send secret messages about religious matters, and on all Sense Motive checks to recognize similar messages. He also adds this bonus on Perception and Sense Motive checks relating to agents of the laws against his religion (including city guards in lands where these laws are in effect). This ability replaces one of the cleric’s two 1st-level domain powers (her choice; touch of good from the good domain). Liberation (Su) You have the ability to ignore impediments to your mobility. For a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level, you can move normally regardless of magical effects that impede movement, as if you were affected by freedom of movement. This effect occurs automatically as soon as it applies. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Background:
Varian was born in Kintargo, son of the noble house Tanassen. As the second son in the line of succession, his fate was determined on the same day he was born. Not destined to inherit neither his family's lordly title nor any land, Varian was intended to join the ranks of the Asmodean church since his first crying. Varian grew up with all the commodities deriving from his family’s noble standing: he received a good education, guided by a private instructor, and was also trained in the martial arts, following his family’s tradition. He was in good terms with all of his relatives, even though his soul was gentle and more than once his benevolent behavior costed him the harsh reproaches of his father and older brother. =============================================
When Varian reached the age of 11 he was sent to join the Asmodean church as intended: the young boy showed some opposition to the decision, but in the end he was forced to accept the choice made by his family, without any chance to freely determine his own fate. After a short period of 3 years spent in the local church of Kintargo as an acolyte, he was sent in Egorian’s chapter to be further instructed in the divine arts. There his problems were born. Varian didn’t believe in any of the rigid Asmodean tenets, and the more he studied the principles of the Asmodean faith the more he grew edgy and prone to rebellion to his superiors. Things were further complicated by the fact that he appeared not to be able to channel Asmodeus’ favor through spells and negative energy. The other acolytes looked down upon him, and the clergy began to deem him as an incompetent. The truth was that Varian’s heart never belonged to Asmodeus: he was forced to spend hours and hours studying intricate legal texts, dark summoning rituals and even darker rites such as sacrifices. His heart was true however and his soul too pure to gain Asmodeus’ favor. When the thing became clear, there was some discussing within the church whether to keep him in the church’s ranks as a barrister (due to his good rethorical skills) or to send him back to his family with a note of disapproval. The first option prevailed, also because Varian’s family was prominent enough to grant him what was supposed to be a preferential treatment. Varian was sent back to the Kintargo’s chapter, where he should have had to become a renowned barrister. His family was displeased, but Varian was now an adult, and he was convinced to have the full right to determine his own fate, even though that would cost him to rebel against his own family. During the journey back to Kintargo, Varian sneaked out of the camp in which his escort was sleeping, stole a horse and fled back alone to his homeland. His pursuers weren’t able to catch him in time: only one of them managed to catch up with him, but using those same summoning techniques the church of Asmodeus had taught him, Varian summoned a celestial eagle to fight the pursuer, while he continued his escape. That proved enough, and in that moment Varian realized that he was benefiting from the favor of another deity that protected him. He noticed that the red birthmark on his neck, resembling to a rose, was itchy. He didn’t deepen that matter at the moment, but it was clear that something was changing in his life. =============================================
After reaching Kintargo, Varian accessed the city thanks to a forged certificate‒paradoxically, it was the second time already in which the education received in the Asmodean church proved useful in a way that the clergy would have never imagined. Traveling undercover, he began wandering his home city in search of like-minded people who were willing to embrace him in their ranks or follow him in a battle for freedom and liberation. Soon enough he found out the existence of the Silver Dragons, a group of rebels planning to rise up against the local government, which rules and laws had grown much more strict since Varian had left. Varian always loved his city, and was willing to protect it with his own life: at least, that would be a fate chosen by himself. Varian quickly joined the Silver Dragons, all the while people were still searching him‒he was proclaimed missing, and his family hired some agents to find out where he was. =============================================
In the Silver Dragons Varian found that freedom he had always been searching for: the group aimed to great goals, and even though things were not so easy to change, they strongly appreciated to have a noble scion as Varian among their numbers. Varian had a hard time try to prove the sincerity of his intentions initially: many among the Silver Dragons believed he was a spy or a traitor of some sort, infiltrated among them to sabotage their grand plans of uprising. It was only thanks to the intervention of a noble man, whose name was Alazario Tauranus, that the Silver Dragons began to trust Varian. It seemed like Alazario trusted Varian for a strange reason only them know; the truth was that Alazario was a former member of the Rose of Kintargo, and as such a faithful of Milani the Everbloom. One day Alazario noticed, by accident, the birthing mark on Varian’s neck, and from that day on everything changed: Alazario seemed to believe that Varian had received a blessing from Milani and that his presence among the rebels would have helped them to fulfill their goals. Alazario initiated Varian to the faith of Milani, in long-lasting private meetings in which the young renegade noble scion developed his faith in the Everbloom step by step, before embracing it with true heart and full conviction. He was taught how to channel the favor of Milani into spells and positive energy, and contrary to what happened in the church of Asmodeus, Varian had no difficulty at all to draw upon the power of the goddess. Alazario taught Varian all the he knew: the former was a high-ranking member of the Silver Dragons, renowned and well loved by its people; the latter had only recently joined the group, but thanks to his natural charisma and rhetorical skills, he had already begun to be beloved by its new companions. He gave his speech every night, inciting his fellow rebels to uprising, depicting a better world in which freedom and good would rule. The Silver Dragons accepted Varian as a full member, and soon thereafter he engaged in a romance with Alazario’s daughter, a girl named Celissa. Years passed, and even though the Silver Dragons were forced to act in secrecy, contenting of small acts of subversion instead of grand uprising, the group was strong and tight-knit. Varian earned his living working for the rebel organization, funded by their leader to take care of the Silver Dragons’ resources and meetings. For years he left their refuge only for short visits in the outside world: nobody was searching him anymore, and from what he heard, he was deemed dead by his family and – most importantly – by the church of Asmodeus. =============================================
When Lord-Mayor Barzillai Thrune took over from Lord-Mayor Jilia Bainilus, Varian was going to marry Celissa. The group was already increasing its numbers thanks to the rumors of a iomedaean insurrection far to the north. The citizens were growing bolder, and in the Silver Dragons the sensations that time was right for action was mounting inside any member of the organization, including Varian. In the their nightly encounters, the Silver Dragons discussed about the news coming from the North, bringing a wind of fresh new hope, but after Thrune’s took over, the principal topic of discussion quickly became the absurd restrictions that the new government was imposing, along with the speculations about the former Lord-Mayor’s fate. When the Lord-Mayor established the martial law and began to enact his seven proclamations, the feeling that the already frail borders of individual freedom were going to be violated became a bitter reality. The Silver Dragons were plotting something big, but precisely before a communal discussion that would have had decided the future actions of the organizations, the government’s forces burst into the Silver Dragons’ refuge. The battle that ensued was tragic, with Varian fighting side by side with the rebels, putting his martial training and recently acquired divine powers to use. Unfortunately, both Alazario (his beloved mentor) and Celissa (Alazario’s daughter and Varian's bride-to-be) lost their life in the fight, and the Silver Dragons were crushed in a single night. Those few who managed to survive went into hiding or missing at best, or were publicly excruciated at worst. Varian was among the formers. His soul broken for the loss of both her mentor and bride-to-be, without mentioning the many friends he had into the organization, he went into hiding himself, scrapping out a meager living out of misery and grief for 2 weeks, until the chance to revolt against those who had taken anything from him arose. Personality:
Varian has a complex personality born of his intricate personal story. He considers himself as a true cheliaxian, and was educated in the upper society: as a consequence, he’s self-confident, ambitious, brilliant, gifted with an extraordinary rhetoric, skilled at arms and perhaps even a bit haughty. He doesn’t, however, share a number of things with his compatriots who are loyal to the established government: he values freedom as the highest of one’s rights, believes in liberty of thought, faith and action, and refuses to obey to any law he deems clearly unjust. He’s convinced that through good actions and self-sacrifice, courage and valor, men could gain that happiness that sometimes (especially in Cheliax) the government prohibits. He’s willing to fight for the good of his people and city as a true cheliaxian would, but despite fearing for his own life and family, he’s willing to sacrifice everything he possesses, including his own life, for the common good and a better tomorrow. He’s charismatic, authoritative and with a natural predisposition for leadership as any true cheliaxian should be, but he also believe that without a common goal and the efforts of thousands of people no goal would be achieved. Being a Kintargan, Varian witnessed in first person how local noble houses chose the city to avoid being caught in the political matters of Cheliax. He himself deems this behavior as craven, since in his opinion one should always fight personally to improve his homeland. He’s always reproached his father for this cowardly behavior, and as a consequence, he’s strongly attracted by the idea of being the leader of a popular subversion or other political movement of uprising that would make Kintargo a better place to live in. He’s convinced that acting is always better that endure passively. His innate sentiment of independence is largely due to his kintargan origin, since the city has always had a tradition of autonomy towards Egorian’s government. He finds that groups such as the Silver Dragons not only can prove useful for the city, but also that only such groups stay true to the city tradition of indipendence. Being relatively young, Varian seems not to be sharing with most of his fellow citizens the worry about the consequences of an open uprising against the government. He’s surely aware that a popular revolt would cost a lot of lives and could make his beloved city bleed, but his juvenile passion drives him to think that even those things would be a reasonable price to pay to obtain freedom and autonomy.
Faith:
Varian is a devout believer of Milani. His birthmark seems to make him a “chosen” of some kind, and this only reinforce his faith. Varian never truly believed in Asmodeus, and the faith of Milani came as a natural call to him: when he realized that a deity who values hope, freedom and uprising existed, he felt like he had finally found his way. As a consequence, he strongly believes in personal freedom, and doesn’t use any spell or ability that implies taking control of someone’s mind or actions, unless they are open enemies. Worshipping a forbidden deity, Varian is used to be careful about not showing clues of his faith in public: he wears the clothes of a scholar to not draw attentions upon himself, doesn’t carry a holy symbol of his deity nor speaks explicitly of his faith. He does, however, bear a tattoo that a varisian friend of his had created for him: it reads “Hope never dies” in Celestial. The tattoo is located on his left pectoral. Varian prays Milani every morning after waking up and every night before going to bed: he always asks his goddess to protects the citizens of Kintargo and grant him the strength to fight for freedom and the rhetorical ability to show others that autonomy could be gained only through revolution.
Abilities:
False Arcanist and Knowledge (arcana) ‒ Being a faithful of a prohibited goddess in such a legal nation as Cheliax is it’s not an easy task: Varian was instructed since the beginning to hide his faith. At first he refused to learn those tricks Alazario offered to teach him, deeming them cowardly. But then he realized that openly showing a fate forbidden by the local laws would have caused unrest and put in danger the Silver Dragons, in case he was arrested for his crimes. As a consequence, Varian accepted Alazario’s teachings and learned how to draw upon his goddess’ powers without anyone noticing it: he studied a complex method to disguise his movements and words, letting everyone think that his spells were actually arcane magic, and as such not explicitly prohibited. He also developed a personal method to avoid using a holy symbol when casting spells: he managed to channel his powers into the birthmark the shape of a rose. This way, he could use its powers without anyone noticing that forbidden divine magic was in action. To make his tricks more credible, Varian has recently started to study arcane arts in their theoretical aspects, gaining a good insights on things he would have never knew before. Birthmark ‒ Varian was born with the stylized symbol of a rose upon his neck. He didn’t gave much importance to the thing until he realized that he was able to cast divine spells using its birthmark as a focus. Then, training with Alazario, he managed to improve his casting abilities and better channel his energies through his birthmark. Now that he’s a faithful of Milani, Varian tends to explain his birthmark as a sign of the Everbloom’s favor. Summoning Abilities and Knowledge about Planes ‒ Varian studied the planes during his education in the Temple of Asmodeus. He was forced to do so, but he applied himself hard enough to gain some deep knowledge about planes and extraplanar creatures. This way he developed some great skills at summoning creatures, a talent he didn’t manifested until he tried to summon good creatures. Varian loves to emphasize that those he fights against are the ones who gave him the tools for fighting them, referring precisely to his summoning abilities and planar knowledge, who makes up a great part of his abilities. He has recently begun to study good extraplanar creatures such as Azatas, by far his favorites among the many good outsiders for their love of freedom and autonomy. Martial Prowess ‒ Varian is quite skilled at arms despite him not being a professional soldier. He owes this prowess to the martial training he received in his family’s estate, guided by a personal swordmaster. Additionally, he inherited the strength of the Tanessens, which has defined them for generations allowing the family to hold commanding positions in the city militia, in the Hellknights and even in the most militarist Asmodean’s church branches. Although trained to fight with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, after becoming a Milani’s devout, Varian began to train himself to learn how to properly use a morning star, the sacred weapon of his deity. In general he’s a good fighter, strong enough to rival everyone except the strongest warriors in the city; he has not completed his training though, and this manifests in him not being enough nimble and quick in his moves. To make up for this disadvantage, Varian tends to wear medium armors. Diplomacy ‒ Varian is very skilled in using his words to get what he wants, be it inspiring courage in his fellow rebels, protesting against injustice or dealing with nobles and other important people. He’s eloquent and inspiring in his speech, and his voice is imperious, but he can also be passionate and involving when he needs to. He owes his silver tongue to his noble heritage and to the opportunity he always had to study and accompany himself with people of high cultural stature. Due to his skill in the art of the word, Varian prefers to talk his way out the most dire situations, preferring to avoid conflict especially if innocent citizens are involved. This feature makes Varian a strong leader and an inspiring figure to hear and emulate, as well as a cautious diplomat capable of finding the right words at the right time even in the direst situations. Linguistics ‒ Varian learned to speak and write Infernal while in service in the Temple of Asmodeus. There, he also learned how to detect and create forgeries, read testaments, study old documents and examine complex contracts, while deciphering possible hidden messages and obfuscated truths. He always loves to remark that even this skill he owes to his current foes, since it’s thanks to their teachings (often involving infernal contracts and rewriting history) if he’s able to use this weapon against them now, as he has done when he accessed the city after he fled from his escort back to Kintargo.
Appearance:
Varian is a typical cheliaxian young man. He’s got raven hairs cut short, a muscular build and a masculine face. He has eyes blue as the ice and is usually defined very handsome by the women. He prefers to dress in an elegant way, according to the current fashions, and he appreciates beautiful-looking armors and weapons. Despite this, he’s usually forced to dress like a scholar, to not draw other attentions on him. Varian is manly and strong-looking in his attitude and walking, even though some define him as a little bit too haughty. Actually, he rarely smiles, but this is only because he knows that he has to be a paragon of hope and strong will, and can’t afford to show his weaknesses in public. In private, he’s far less standoffish and indulges in laughter and cheerfulness. Reason to Be at the Protest:
To Protest the Government - Varian spent the last 2 weeks after the destruction of the Silver Dragons scraping off a meager living. The new government led by Barzillai Thrune has taken anything away from him: not only his organization, but also his mentor, his bride-to-be and his beloved friends. Now he’s seeking vengeance, but this is not the only reason because he joins the protest: he always detested Thrune’s government, with their infernal complicity and restriction of personal freedom. Rebel against them is the main goal of his entire life, since he simply doesn’t share nothing with them, seeing them as traitors, usurpers and tyrants. The recent takeover has only worsened the situation, and now Varian is only looking for the right chance to strike back. The Aria Park protest seemed like a good occasion for him to meet some like-minded individuals with whom to organize an armed resistance.
Ties:
Kintargo has long been known as a haven and draw for artists, particularly composers, directors, and musicians eager to expand on Cheliax’s operatic traditions. Varian’s mother was a renowned singer in her youth. Since he was a child, Varian was taught how to sing with a private teacher, but he never showed any particular talent, apart from being able to whistle Kintargan folk songs. As a result, Varian appreciate bards and in general those gifted with any artistic gift, as he sees this trait as a typical feature of Kintargo’s culture. He has insisted that the Silver Dragons had their own song written down by a famous composer, but there was no one with such skills among their numbers. After the Chelish Civil War ended and House Thrune seized control of
To Varian, being true to his Chelish heritage means to be a libertarian. This concept is based on the idea that only through freedom one could really belong to something, since only in that case his belonging would be true and chosen freely. Kintargans spend the warm, humid summers quietly tolerating being
As a result, it’s no wonder that Varian loves winter and turns a bit edgy during summer. Kintargo’s history is strangely devoid of much information, leading
Varian has always been interested in his home city story. He remembers being frustrated at finding out that there was not so much to learn about the topic when he was young. He has done some researches in the past, but in the end he had to surrender to the impossibility of finding any useful piece of information which hadn’t been already revised. He has never completely given up on this goal and plans to continue his research sometime in the future, led by the strong conviction that only in his city’s story lie the roots of Kintargo’s original and genuine spirit. I plan on putting some of his background skills ranks in Knowledge (history) as a result, as I’ve already tried to mirror giving Varian an early rank in Linguistics, suggesting that he has been spending a lot of time trying to decipher old documents and discern if they were revised or not.
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