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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 595250" data-attributes="member: 221">here's mine...It's written from the perspective of a DM.  I was thinking of a 'behind the scenes' villain when I wrote it and could see a couple plot hooks in the idea (including an irate goddess who wants her ancient temple undefiled)Tribulus, Male Half-Elf Brd14:  CR 14; Medium-size Humanoid; HD 14d6-14; hp 37; Init +5; Spd 30 ft; AC 17; Melee +13/+8 (1d6+1+1d10 Icy Burst Rapier) ; Ranged +11 (1d8+poison Crossbow); SA ; SQ Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Immune to Sleep, +2 vs. Enchantments, Lowlight vision, Elven Blood; AL CE; SV Fort +3, Ref +10; Will +9; Str 8, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18 (20). Skills and Feats: Diplomacy +22, Gather Information +22, Hide +18, Perform +22 (17 ranks), Pick Pocket +18, Knowledge (Politics) +12; Dodge, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw,  Weapon Finesse (Rapier).  Spells Known: 0 – Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Flare, Light, Read Magic, Resistance; 1 – Feather Fall, Identify, Magic Armor, Sleep; 2 – Cat’s Grace, Cure Moderate Wounds, Invisibility, Mirror Image; 3 – Bestow Curse, Charm Monster, Keen Edge, Major Image; 4 – Break Enchantment, Cure Critical Wounds, Improved Invisibilty, Modify Memory; 5 – Dream, Nightmare, Persistent Image (cast 4 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 1).Equipment: +2 Icy burst Rapier, Scabbard of Keen Edges, Vial of poison (4 doses), light Crossbow, Cloak of Charisma (+2), Ring of Protection +2, Ring of X-Ray Vision, Leather Armor +2, Sash of Valor.Appearance and Role-playing: Handsome and charming, Tribulus is always friendly to everyone, regardless of what he is planning for them.  His clothes are always fashionable and he is seldom seen without his Sash of Valor.  In court he plays the role of the statesman, standing tall and well groomed.  In private however, he is manipulative and treacherous in his words and dealings.  Tribulus avoids combat, knowing he is not built for it.  The unseen knife in the back is more his style.  Tribulus has pale skin, black hair, cut fashionably, and piercing green eyes.  Background]Tribulus has from the beginning relied on his charming personality to get by.  As a boy he was always something of a sneak and a con artist, and he only got better at it as he got older.  Never as strong or as healthy as other boys, he found it was easier to smile his way out of problems than fight.  A natural aptitude for music gained him the attention of a local bardic teacher who tried unsuccessfully to mend his pupil’s selfish ways. Tribulus’ teacher eventually turned Tribulus out because of the young man’s lying tongue but Tribulus found a group of adventurer’s who accepted him and from whom Tribulus learned much of the world beyond his childhood village.  Tribulus was not good in a toe to toe fight, but his conniving mind often found other solutions to problems.Eventually Tribulus realized that adventuring could get him killed and began looking for another line of work.  He soon found it as a court bard to a minor nobleman, a count.  But Tribulus was ambitious and he soon found a way to work himself into the court of the king.The count Tribulus was working for was dissatisfied with many of the policies of the king and had joined a rebel faction intent on overthrowing the king.  Tribulus killed the count and rode to the king with proof of the rebellion.  The king awarded Tribulus with a Sash of Valor, a royal decleration of honor (and one which Tribulus is seldom seen without) and made him a member of the royal court.Currently Tribulus dwells in the royal court as an advisor and entertainer.  But he also serves as a spy, both for himself and for the king.  He often travels the halls of the castle, invisible, snooping on the lives of the courtiers.  Some things he shares with the king in an effort to continue to make himself useful.  Many things he keeps for his own use.  There are few courtiers who are not being blackmailed by Tribulus in one way or another.    Aside from the castle, Tribulus also maintains his own private retreat.  He does not live there but he uses the site when he wishes to get away, whether to relax, or to work on some nefarious scheme.  The retreat is located in a secluded grove in the midst of one of the king’s forests and is only twelve miles from the castle.  This area is seldom frequented by others but even so Tribulus has arranged illusions which prevent others from being able to find the exact spot.  He himself discovered it whilst exploring the lands around the castle.  It is the remains of a temple to Athena but has not been used as such in a long, long time.  The upper part of the temple is almost gone, save for a few marble walls and a solid marble floor.  A statue of the goddess still stands at the back, but its head is long gone.  Underneath however is a collection of rooms that Tribulus uses as his own.  The entrance to these rooms is trapped.  The trap is not of Tribulus’ devising but he keeps it the way it is and has learned how to avoid it.  A reverse spiked-pit trap is built into the ceiling just beyond the stairs leading down to the rooms.  There are hooks on the floor that one may use to avoid the trap, but anyone walking through the area normally is struck with an anti-gravity field which propels them upwards into the twenty foot tall chimney/pit and onto the spikes.Beyond this trap, Tribulus maintains a library, a music room, a bed chamber and several other areas in which he can experiment, study or relax.</blockquote>

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