| Ability | Score | Mod | Save | Attack | Range | To Hit | Effect | ||||
| STRENGTH | 10 | +0 | +0 | Initiative: +3 | Shortsword | melee | +5 | 1d6+3 slashing damage | |||
| DEXTERITY | 16 | +3 | +3 | Speed: 30' | Dagger | 20'/60' | +5 | 1d4+3 piercing damage | |||
| CONSTITUTION | 13 | +1 | +1 | Armor Class: 13 | Longbow | 150'/600' | +5 | 1d8+3 piercing damage | |||
| INTELLIGENCE | 18 | +4 | +6 | Hit Points: 19 | Shocking Grasp | melee | +6 | 1d8 lightning damage & no reactions | |||
| WISDOM | 15 | +2 | +4 | Perception: 14 | Chill Touch | 120' | +6 | 1d8 necrotic damage & spooky extras | |||
| CHARISMA | 12 | +1 | +1 | Hit Dice: 4d6 | Firebolt | 120' | +6 | 1d10 fire damage |
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Like so many others youths from Elgarond, Dolon was impatient to experience the wider world. Learning the lore and fighting style of his people would have been satisfying if it wasn't so repetitive and dull. When he finally won a scholarship to study magic abroad, he leapt at an opportunity that frightened his peers -- a necromancy fellowship at the distant and infamous Leichespeil Institute. He never could confirm or repudiate rumors that the place was secretly controlled by an immensely powerful lich. Yet he quickly discovered that the place procured research cadavers by less than scrupulous methods. Any form of grave tampering is a politicized matter in Transmania. Truscan authorities insist on strict punishments, but traditional Maniac culture considers it a personal matter -- only problematic if the family of the decedent takes issue. For over a century, Leichespeil operatives covertly robbed graves to provide raw material for necromantic education and experimentation. As Dolon continued his education, assisting in these efforts generated goodwill among the faculty. After being promoted to an instructional capacity, the newly minted wizard became the overseer of a body-snatching crew. Thus he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a newly-appointed provincial governor decided to make an example of someone defying Truscan law. The entire crew was caught by a patrol led by a famed centurion. This witness could not be hushed or discredited. Dolan's colleagues were horrified at the thought they might spend decades in a dungeon, but their leader remained serene through it all. He confessed his guilt and accepted his punishment in exchange for the others' release. He imagined he his elven longevity was a sort of loophole, as the sentence would not amount to even a tenth of his natural life. |
Dr. Dolon planned to use this time constructively. The Institute provided texts enough that his personal spellbook became an arsenal of escape options. With no need for sleep, he still had time to read volume after volume of history, accumulating an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. Conversing with his fellow convicts gave him insights into the criminal mindset and abundant knowledge of how to analyze evidence. He also passed the time picking every lock and disarming every trap in the place, practicing until the mechanisms wore down. Though he could teleport through bars and put ordinary guards to sleep, Dolon showed respect for his captors and was permitted as much dignity as his sentence would permit. Yet his confinement was not without hardship. Staying in the same underground complex day after day, month after month, year after year -- it took a toll on his mind. The only thing worse than the monotony was those episodes of mayhem when a prisoner attempted escape or a potential source of information was tortured. Dr. Dolon already had that ineffably unsettling quality of a necromancer, but to this he added the thousand mile stare of a man who has witnessed unspeakable horrors. Even the day before his sentence was complete, enormous self-discipline was required to remain in that dark and sinister place. As a convicted corpsemonger, Dr. Dolon could not resume his position at the Institute. Yet he knows the world has more to offer than a handful of tricks and a lifetime of nightmares. Whenever possible, he soothes himself with the strongest available substances -- milk of the poppy is a personal favorite. Meanwhile, he remains alert for an opportunity to reintegrate into society (to the extent a non-human necromancer ever integrates) and make the most of his arcane abilities. Intellectually he knows his best days are ahead, even if he remains disturbed by darker times from the not-too-distant past. |