Caradoc Brown
Sir Caradoc Brown (a.k.a. Doc)
His name was Caradoc, or Doc to his friends, a strange knight made warlock upon his acceptance of a pact with Raphael, a herald of his god Deneir.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Lean and muscular thanks to his knight training. He always carries himself with dignified posture.
Facial Features
Freckles and a rather large nose
Mental characteristics
Personal history
I was born to Clodomir and Morgan of the house Brown in Astor. My family ran a well-to-do merchant enterprise out of the capital city of Torlune. Shortly before my birth, they incurred the good favor of the late King Caradas. In a display of generosity, he elevated our family to the lesser nobility, creating the house Brown. We received ownership of a small estate and the surrounding lands in the fields northwest of the city.
My mother had a rough pregnancy, but both my life and hers were spared due to the blessing of Deneir and the skill of the elfen sage Rathal, in whose laboratory I was born. I was named after the King, whose generosity had so honored my parents. With the increased responsibilities of running a noble house, both of my parents were consumed by work. As a result, I was raised by one of the family retainers, a wise halfling I would grow to love like a father named Hilduin Bilberry.
Hilduin was one of the Scribes of the Path, the disciples of Deneir. He sparked a love of knowledge within me, teaching me with a particular focus in history, philosophy, and natural sciences. Because I was the youngest of four children, I had the least responsibility toward maintaining the house Brown. My three brothers, Inigo, Adalolf, Vedast, were all groomed to take on various positions in the government and to oversee our holdings. My parents eventually decided that I would become a knight of the kingdom. In addition to my intellectual training, I began training as a knight under Sir Jaonos, an elven knight.
When I was 20 years old, our family had a dark revelation. One of our loyal and favored servants, a female halfling named Ingoberg Chubb, was on her deathbed. Wracked with guilt, she confessed to the assembled members of our family a sin she had committed 21 years earlier. At the prodding our mother, she had bribed the late King Caradas. He hadn't elevated our family to the nobility out of generosity, but because he had been bribed. We were all shocked by the revelation. With her deed exposed, my mother Morgan gave the full story. The Brown family merchant business had been on the brink of ruin. In an act of desperation, she had liquidated a portion of our failing assets and used them to bribe the King. The consequent wealth that we had inherited had been more than enough to pay off the family debts and get us back on a firm financial footing.
My family and I were riddled with emotions over this revelation. Obviously what my mother had done was wrong. But it had helped our family avoid falling into ruin. There were worse things in the world than bribery. At least no one was hurt. That's what I told myself in order to reconcile my feelings about my mother. We all vowed never to speak of this secret, less the truth come out and destroy our family. Now that we were nobility, we only had further to fall.
When I was 25 years old, the Alzram Empire extended a hand of political friendship to Astor. A fair halfling maiden by the name of Olivia from the house Elvellon was eligible for marriage, and Alzram wanted her matched with a noble from Astor. House Elvellon was descended several generations down from one of Alzram's dragonriders, so they were now relatively obsolete and held little political sway. For this reason, the King of Astor sought to find a suitable match of low political clout. And that is how I ended up married to Olivia Elvellon.
Olivia and I were immediately engaged and only met three months before our wedding, hosted of course in the Lavender City of Alzram itself. Despite an awkward start, we found that we had much in common. Every day I thank Deneir for this blessing in disguise. Olivia is a marvelous philosopher in her own right and shares my love of learning. Not only that, but she is a devout follower of Deneir. We both share an interest in the lives of the common citizens and make sure to treat our retainers fairly.
After our marriage, I left my family home behind and moved into the Elvellon estate at the outskirts of Amethyst. I became a knight of the Alzram Empire. For the most part, life was good. I could tell that Olivia's family wished she had married higher up into a noble family, but they were outwardly pleasant at least. It helped that she and I liked each other. The outlier was her older brother Drogon, an adventuring wizard. For some reason, he took great offense at me, and although he is rarely around the capital, takes every opportunity to take a jab at me. Life was good, but I felt like something was missing.
The most interesting thing to happen to me in my life happened just last year. In preparation for the year's Great Exchange of Deneir, I was in Amethyst's temple to Deneir helping to catalogue some old tomes. Suddenly there was a flash of red light and standing next to me was a alien being. I cannot adequately describe his form, as it fluctuated between various humanoid and beastly visages like the flickering of a candle. He introduced himself as Raphael, a herald of Deneir.
I was struck with terror as he began to reprimand me. He listed several of the tenets of Deneir:
When I rushed home to tell Olivia what had happened, she insisted upon sharing the story with her family. Soon everyone around me seemed to know what had happened. The Empress herself requested an audience with me, in which I demonstrated some of the supernatural skills that my pact with Raphael had granted me. To my great astonishment, she offered me a place among the Dragon Riders of Alzram. Feeling the hand of Deneir in this fateful offer, I accepted.
Normally, Dragon Riders are paired with their dragons at birth, and the pair grow up together. Unfortunately, one of the riders in training had recently perished in an accident. Her dragon, a mercury wyrmling known as Aivyn, The Kind, had chosen to remain among the Riders rather than accept the death as the termination of his obligation to Alzram. Mercury dragons love new experiences, so it was a perfect fit with my adventuring act. Therefore, the Empress decided to pair him with me.
After a year of training, I am certain that regardless of the details, great adventure lies ahead!
My mother had a rough pregnancy, but both my life and hers were spared due to the blessing of Deneir and the skill of the elfen sage Rathal, in whose laboratory I was born. I was named after the King, whose generosity had so honored my parents. With the increased responsibilities of running a noble house, both of my parents were consumed by work. As a result, I was raised by one of the family retainers, a wise halfling I would grow to love like a father named Hilduin Bilberry.
Hilduin was one of the Scribes of the Path, the disciples of Deneir. He sparked a love of knowledge within me, teaching me with a particular focus in history, philosophy, and natural sciences. Because I was the youngest of four children, I had the least responsibility toward maintaining the house Brown. My three brothers, Inigo, Adalolf, Vedast, were all groomed to take on various positions in the government and to oversee our holdings. My parents eventually decided that I would become a knight of the kingdom. In addition to my intellectual training, I began training as a knight under Sir Jaonos, an elven knight.
When I was 20 years old, our family had a dark revelation. One of our loyal and favored servants, a female halfling named Ingoberg Chubb, was on her deathbed. Wracked with guilt, she confessed to the assembled members of our family a sin she had committed 21 years earlier. At the prodding our mother, she had bribed the late King Caradas. He hadn't elevated our family to the nobility out of generosity, but because he had been bribed. We were all shocked by the revelation. With her deed exposed, my mother Morgan gave the full story. The Brown family merchant business had been on the brink of ruin. In an act of desperation, she had liquidated a portion of our failing assets and used them to bribe the King. The consequent wealth that we had inherited had been more than enough to pay off the family debts and get us back on a firm financial footing.
My family and I were riddled with emotions over this revelation. Obviously what my mother had done was wrong. But it had helped our family avoid falling into ruin. There were worse things in the world than bribery. At least no one was hurt. That's what I told myself in order to reconcile my feelings about my mother. We all vowed never to speak of this secret, less the truth come out and destroy our family. Now that we were nobility, we only had further to fall.
When I was 25 years old, the Alzram Empire extended a hand of political friendship to Astor. A fair halfling maiden by the name of Olivia from the house Elvellon was eligible for marriage, and Alzram wanted her matched with a noble from Astor. House Elvellon was descended several generations down from one of Alzram's dragonriders, so they were now relatively obsolete and held little political sway. For this reason, the King of Astor sought to find a suitable match of low political clout. And that is how I ended up married to Olivia Elvellon.
Olivia and I were immediately engaged and only met three months before our wedding, hosted of course in the Lavender City of Alzram itself. Despite an awkward start, we found that we had much in common. Every day I thank Deneir for this blessing in disguise. Olivia is a marvelous philosopher in her own right and shares my love of learning. Not only that, but she is a devout follower of Deneir. We both share an interest in the lives of the common citizens and make sure to treat our retainers fairly.
After our marriage, I left my family home behind and moved into the Elvellon estate at the outskirts of Amethyst. I became a knight of the Alzram Empire. For the most part, life was good. I could tell that Olivia's family wished she had married higher up into a noble family, but they were outwardly pleasant at least. It helped that she and I liked each other. The outlier was her older brother Drogon, an adventuring wizard. For some reason, he took great offense at me, and although he is rarely around the capital, takes every opportunity to take a jab at me. Life was good, but I felt like something was missing.
The most interesting thing to happen to me in my life happened just last year. In preparation for the year's Great Exchange of Deneir, I was in Amethyst's temple to Deneir helping to catalogue some old tomes. Suddenly there was a flash of red light and standing next to me was a alien being. I cannot adequately describe his form, as it fluctuated between various humanoid and beastly visages like the flickering of a candle. He introduced himself as Raphael, a herald of Deneir.
I was struck with terror as he began to reprimand me. He listed several of the tenets of Deneir:
If you never venture out, how can you know life is true? To be a scholar is to live the richest life, but only if he leaves the library to use his knowledge. When one leaves to explore the world, guess what? They find it.He told me that Deneir had greater plans for my life than one spent in Amethyst. I tried to argue that I didn't have any great skill to be an adventure. How could I go out on a great adventure? To which he quoted me another tenet:
They say 'curiosity killed the cat,' I say, 'at least the cat was brave enough to try.'Then he offered me an unexpected chance. I could accept Raphael's pact on behalf on Deneir, going out to have a grand adventure, and in return I would become a warlock. Having been so thoroughly confronted with my shortcomings as a follower of Deneir, I accepted his offer. Immediately I felt a rush of eldritch power flow through me. Although I still don't know much of anything about the workings of magic, Deneir gives me everything that I need to succeed.
When I rushed home to tell Olivia what had happened, she insisted upon sharing the story with her family. Soon everyone around me seemed to know what had happened. The Empress herself requested an audience with me, in which I demonstrated some of the supernatural skills that my pact with Raphael had granted me. To my great astonishment, she offered me a place among the Dragon Riders of Alzram. Feeling the hand of Deneir in this fateful offer, I accepted.
Normally, Dragon Riders are paired with their dragons at birth, and the pair grow up together. Unfortunately, one of the riders in training had recently perished in an accident. Her dragon, a mercury wyrmling known as Aivyn, The Kind, had chosen to remain among the Riders rather than accept the death as the termination of his obligation to Alzram. Mercury dragons love new experiences, so it was a perfect fit with my adventuring act. Therefore, the Empress decided to pair him with me.
After a year of training, I am certain that regardless of the details, great adventure lies ahead!
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Honoring his pact with Raphael, a herald of Deneir, and seeking out adventure
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Skilled in religion, history, philosophy, and rhetoric
Inept at knowledge of magic, outdoor survival, nature, and sports
Social
Family Ties
Born into the Brown noble family in Astor. Married into the Elvellon noble family in the Alzram Empire.
Religious Views
Follower of Deneir
Social Aptitude
Very charismatic and adept in all sorts of social situations, ranging from common folk to upper nobility.
Mannerisms
Smiles often, always carries himself with proper posture
Speech
Has a Astorian drawl
Wealth & Financial state
Lesser nobility
Caradoc Brown was raised as a knight in a lower noble family in Astor. After a diplomatic marriage and a fateful meeting with a herald of Deneir, he now serves as a warlock dragon rider for the Alzram Empire.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Lawful Good
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Sir Knight
Age
27
Birthplace
Torlune, Astor
Children
Current Residence
Amethyst
Gender
Male
Eyes
Sea-foam aqua
Hair
Golden
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tanned
Height
3 ft
Weight
34 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
They say 'curiosity killed the cat', but at least the cat was brave enough to try.
Secret of the faerie dragons
After journeying for two days in Mystra's Amulet, we finally found the secret grove of the faerie dragons! And it was quite a sight to behold! Faerie dragons darted and swooped across the clearing, playing with their purple mage aconite that we had come seeking. But before I get caught up in the wonder of the scene, I should explain what happened previously.
After our dreadful encounter in the Quag with the ogres and the shadow figure, we spoke with the Autumnach town mayor, a well-dressed green dragonborn named Verotosh. He knew nothing of the ogres, the shadow, or the name Ravina, but he advised us to seek answers at Hag's Roost. Apparently the townsfolk tolerate the presence of a particularly enigmatic hag who lives out on a small island in the Quag. She is reported to be surprisinglybenign and offers advice to seekers who ask it, if not freely. Two of the items that she will accept in exchange for information are Blindcap Mushroom or Mage Aconite. Not wanting to seek the mushroom near the layer of a known black dragon, we chose to head to Mystra's Amulet, where faerie dragons create mage aconite by breathing on the crystals of the forest.
Mystra's Amulet is a wonderous place! Although Rega kept fouling the air with curses about Mystra, who he seems to take great offense at. The forest floor was covered in strange blue fruits, which B Phrygian determined contained random unknown magical properties. We put a few in our bags to try to sell but determined not to eat any after unknown magic was involved. The first day we wandered for hours in the forest and caught only the briefest glimpse of a fairie dragon before it fled. We were however, accosted by two rainbow colored Flail Snails. B Phrygian learned the hard way that their shells reflect magical attacks. Fortunately I saw this, and decided to focus on healing everyone while Aivyn and the other dragons took care of them. We took the shells with us on our way out of the forest. B Phrygian is sending them to the Loremaster, who can apparently craft something special with them.
We eventually gave up the search and decided to camp out for the day. While I slept, I had a visit from Raphael. He was pleased that I am finally fulfilling my pact to seek adventure. In fact, he appeared to me so that he could give me a boon! He gave me a tome he called the Book of Fate. Whenever I need assistance or am trying to learn something, I can write in the book and Raphael might help me out with some information! Furthermore, it contains some special power that allows me to cast spells! So far I only have three spells written in the book, but I hope to be able to add more! Magic is so fascinating!
Anyways, the next morning I suggested a new course of action. Given that faerie dragons might be too shy to appear for humans, I proposed that Aivyn, Miirthana, and Xalar go looking for the grove by themselves. The others agreed so the dragons headed off. While we waited, Rega decided to make a stew with some of the magical fruit to see if that would attract any dragons. It didn't attract any dragons, but it did attract two very perturbed wind elementals. They blew past us, dealing grievous injuries, but thankfully didn't stick around. During the brief encounter, Welphina was hit so hard she began slipping towards death! I quickly pulled out my Book of Fate, and used it to cast Healing Spirit, casting a true magic spell for the first time. Thank Deneir, it worked! Welphina, and the rest of us, were brought back to perfect condition by the Watchful Eye's power.
Shortly afterwards, our dragons returned to us. They had found the secret of locating the faerie dragons! Apparently we had to eat the strange fruit in order to find the grove. I'm surprised that Miirthana was the one who discovered this and not Aivyn. Given his penchant for trying new foods, I'm amazed that he didn't try eating a fruit before Miirthana. Regardless, seeing no alternatives, we all ate one of the fruits. Aivyn and I seemed blessed with additional fortitude while several of our companions had more detrimental and psychedelics experiences. After consuming the fruit, we all seemed to posses a sixth sense leading us to the grove.
And that brings me back to my original topic, the grove of the fairie dragons. The floor was covered in mage aconite, but I did not think it proper for us to take any without permission. Thankfully, the faerie dragons were incredibly gracious and friendly hosts. Through Reya's mindspeak, and Miirthana's fruit-induced telepathy, they told us that we could each take one crystal, and also that we could stay the night in the grove. That was incredibly generous of them! After B Phrygian stumbled through a drugged performance, I tried to entertain them with some Thaumaturgy. I like to think that I was mildly successful.
After staying the night and picking up the Flail Snail shells, we made our way back to Autumnach. It was already late by the time we arrived so we went to sleep. I had strange dreams of wolves that gave me a fitful night's sleep. I wouldn't mention it, except that Aivyn had similar dreams. Anyways, today we are going to investigate the town records to prepare for our trip to haggle with the hag. Tomorrow is the Day of the Creators. Since we already missed the Song of Reflection, it would be nice to be in town for the celebration.
Adventure Begins
It finally happened: I'm off on an adventure of my own! It'd been over a year since I made my pact with Raphael to go out and seek adventure. After long hours of training, I was finally able to put my preparation into practice. My friend B Phrygian, summoned Welphina, Valera, and me to the small town of Autumnach. There we met an experienced wilderness expert named Boyan. B Phrygian had contracted him to lead us into the local Quag, from which various monsters had been emerging with increasing frequency.
Before we could head into the Quag, we had to deal with three ogres destroying a local cabbage farm. Another patron at the tavern got swept up in the excitement and joined in our impromptu quest to defeat the ogres. He is a curious individual who introduced himself as his holiness Rega Kadosh. He likely has Kalashtar ancestry since his preferred method of communication seems to be speaking directly into our minds. The battle at the farm was a quick and decisive victory. Aivyn was particularly fantastic, he managed to use his radiant breath attack twice during the fight with great accuracy! I also noted that B Phrygian is able to use Eldritch Blast, which he told me later involved a long story.
After we defeated the ogres, I graciously offered our services to the owners of the farm. They requested that we clear the dead bodies off of the farm, which I assured them we would do. I faced a surprising amount of resistance from the rest of the party, especially Boyan, who thought it fitting to leave rotting corpses on the farm after they had kindly asked us to remove them. With the help of our dragons we managed to drag them into the swamp, where Boyan assured us they would quickly be eaten away by insects.
Assuming that the attacking ogres fit into the same problem of monsters from the Quag that had been the focus of our original mission, we followed the ogres' tracks to find their origin. After skirting the Green Fire region and spending a night at the edge of the Quag, we trekked to the Green Chasm, passing by the interesting Fey Tree. There we found a large number of ogres, too many for us to handle, kneeling around the Chasm and chanting "Ravina." B Phrygian kindly provided the translation and informed us that a large fountain of necrotic energy was emerging from the Chasm.
Suddenly dark smoke flowed from the Chasm and formed into the image an ominous dark woman. She spoke to us in our minds, sending chills down my spine. She seemed far too interested to find intelligent beings in the Quag besides the ogres. Dark tendrils of smoke rushed towards us, so I hopped on Aivyn and we fled the swamp. The tendrils didn't seem able to leave the Quag. There is certainly a foul evil afoot in the Quag. It is our mission to figure out its intentions and put a stop to them before it's too late.
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