Merric Highhill III
General Merric Highhill (a.k.a. Merric the Brave)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In his prime, Merric was incredibly strong for both halfling, and even human, standards; allowing him to match the strength of many of his foes during battle. However, after a long stretch of time spent chained up in the dungeons under the Clover Hill town hall, he had weakened to a great degree.
Special abilities
After he was seen to be a great soldier and commander in the eyes of Peylore, Merric was granted several abilities and equipment. One of his best abilities that he was gifted by Peylore was his ability to turn into a sabre-toothed tiger at will. This ability would prove greatly useful during battle as it allowed him to take on enemies of even greater sizes than he had before.
Apparel & Accessories
During the final battle of the War of the Split, Merric had the honour to be allowed to wear the legendary armour of Peylore's Vanguard. This included the golden pauldrons, bracers, shin guards, and chainmail; the beautifully white tunic with yellow trim, with the symbol of Peylore in its centre; and the golden helmet (Which in Merric's case was designed with an open face).
Specialized Equipment
The most famous piece of equipment that Merric wields is his greataxe, a magical weapon that he carried into every fight he participated in during the War of the Split. The weapon had the ability to magically teleport back into his had after it had been thrown or dropped when commanded.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Merric Highhill was born to a large farming family in the southern halfling territory based around the Clover Hills. The family was well known and respected in the local community and had amassed a small fortune with their farming business. Merric began working on his father's hog farm when he was 13 and quickly grew very knowledgeable of the creatures with the combined knowledge of his ancestors. Merric eventually took over the farm when he was 35, with his wisdom the farm grew and his family's fortune doubled.
When the war between the gods broke out, not even the halflings could ignore the call to join the fight. At the start of the war, Merric and the other farmers who settled on the clover hills exported dried meats and other rations to the soldiers who fought for Peylore; however, Merric didn't feel like he was doing enough to aid in the war. So he began breeding a new set of hogs that would be used for battle. By 17 AR, Merric had convinced enough of his extended family and bred enough hogs to ride into battle. Merric quickly gained notoriety as a skilled tactician and gained favour in the eyes of the Peylore's generals, and in 15 AR he was granted command of his own unit: the 1st Hog-rider Battalion.
In the winter of 1 AR, Merric was personally called to Peylore who had set camp near the centre of Cresteria. The god was planning for a large assault on the enemy's armies and was summoning all of his best units. Merric arrived with two of his battalions, the 1st and 3rd (led by the owner of Merric's neighbouring farm). Once Merric arrived at Peylore's tent, he took his place among some of the greatest warriors and generals of his time. Together they devised a daring plan to eradicate the enemy army and finally bring an end to the war. However, like is well known, the plan did not go well and much of their forces were destroyed during the battle. Particularly, the 1st Hog-rider Battalion was cut off from the other forces when the attempted to destroy a set of giant-mounted ballista that were wreaking havoc on Peylore's air-based units. This is where the story originated of Merric's death: struck down by a giant; however, those who knew Merric and knew of his abilities know that there was no way that he could have died by just a giant, so there was always hope that he still lived.
Merric Highhill's Statblock
Known Languages
Common, Halfling
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Date of Birth
15th August 57 AR
Year of Birth
57 AR
89 Years old
Birthplace
Clover Hills
Children
Current Residence
Clover Hills
Gender
Male
Eyes
Deep green
Hair
Short, dirty brown hair with white specks throughout.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Slightly tanned, weathered and battle-worn
Height
3'5''
Belief/Deity
Peylore
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