Tszeez'dar (Zadi for short), Blood Knight of the Gloaming Chalice
Zadi's IPlay4e Link
I am really excited to play him. Here is his basic history and a description of his somewhat heretical sect of the Raven Quen.
History and Personality
[sblock]
Tszeez'dar is a member of an ancient and somewhat heretical Turathi sect of the Raven Queen called the Blood Knights of the Gloaming Chalice. Zadi is more Lawful Neutral with some Evil tendencies (by virtue of his sect's beliefs), but he is loyal to the Raven Queen and her desires. He values team work within Her faithful, even though his beliefs and his sect may be stigmatized or somewhat stigmatized amongst those who may be familiar with his sect even within the worshippers of the Raven Queen. He does not find it useful or tasteful to kill without reason or commandment. Through the natural course of things if death comes to a creature then it does, but he does not go around and just kill everything in sight.
Zadi can have a dry or somewhat morbid sense of humor, and is often willing to do things that others will not do and he sees that as a valuable service to the Raven Queen. In his down time he will read scripture, pray, practice weapon play, as well as play the lyre. He enjoys playing the lyre and to play mournful dirges or agressive ballads and war songs. Sometimes he will also regale company with epics of his sect's prophets, heroes and stories.
Combat Tactics (Heavy Support)
In combat he wields a Khopesh in one hand and a rod in the other.
He starts at range cursing every round with every action that he can find and blasting creatures with his Eldritch Bolt (Warlock At-will Attack 1).
When he gets close enough to the front line to Divine Challenge an opponent that is in melee with the front line he will do that and then blast away at it taking advantage of the extra damage that creature that he has Challenged and Cursed take.
He will continue to curse as many opponents as he can and then unleash his Curse Bite (Warlock Encounter Attack 1; close burst 20) to hit all the cursed creatures in range. This is especially effective with minions about.
In melee he uses his paladin attacks combined with his Crimson Legionairre training to inflict horrible wounds upon his opponents. When he is most likely done with ranged attacks he will sheath his rod and wield his khopesh 2-handed for a little more damage, and continue to curse his opponents. He carries a heavy shield, but rarely uses it, in case there is a call for heavy protection and no use of his ranged powers.
Feats
1 Hybrid Talent (Paladin Armor)
2 Turathi Weapon Training
4 Crimson Legionairre
6 Crimson Fire
8 Wrathful Warrior
10 Imperious Majesty
11 Twofold Curse
[/sblock]
The Blood Knights of the Gloaming Chalice
[sblock]
The symbol of the Blood Knights is a blood red raven with its wings open (rampant) on a black field.The raven's claws bear a humanoid left arm with some bone exposed. To the right of that is an upraised sword.
Blood Knights of the Gloaming Chalice are an ancient and somewhat heretical Turathi sect of the Raven Queen, based in a mountain-side citadel called the Citadel of the Raven. The Blood Knights' (Slaughter-whores, Reapers, Blood Harbingers, Blights) prophets and scripture tends to pull from the mainstream church, but also from some of those that are not found in its mainstream scripture or theology. Their beliefs tend and emphasize and draw from the Raven Queen's association with the shadowfell, the darkness and cold of death, as well as the merciless and naturalness of the cycle of life and death. Their scripture and prophets tend to speak of the inevitability and naturalness of death and do not abhor the slaughter of supposed innocents. If the the cold eye of the Blood Queen sets upon a village they do not have any qualms about slaughtering them all, for the Queen of Death has called them into her icy arms. She is the final arbiter of those that should live and those that should die. By her somewhat fickle commandment alone do all creature's continue to draw breath.
They will refer to the Raven Queen as the Blood Queen, Gloaming Queen, Queen of Shades, Queen of Shadows, Lady of Darkness, Winter Queen, Blood Matron, Crimson Rook, etc... They revere and revel in large scale slaughter of sentients. They do not do so wantonly and are not evil per se, but do so only at the request of their Gloaming Queen. If the Raven Queen needs large scale death inflicted upon an area she calls forth her Blood Knights to do her bidding. The mainstream church of the Raven Queen does on occasion find the Blood Knights useful to do that which others prefer or find abhorent or distasteful to do. They have their disdained and untalked about place within the hierarchy.
To become a Blood Knight is, of course, a religious process involving religious study of scripture and rites, but it also involves intense martial training, as well as making a blood pact to the Gloaming Queen (the Warlock's Dark Pact) which involves drinking from an ebon chalice filled with the blood of the recently slaughtered imbued with a tincture of the essence of the shadowfell. Adherents to the Gloaming Queen will, often at the end of a tough battle, take a collection of some of the blood of their fallen and defeated enemies and drink it from a special ceremonial chalice as a blood offering to their Queen. In honor and brotherhood they will offer a drink from the chalice to other adherents of the Raven Queen who will almost all refuse it. [/sblock]
