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gaeleth:people:johannes_whermak

Johannes Whermak

Character concept by John Schmidt, all rights reserved.

Prior of Arpelos

“Let me show you the light of Arpelos!”

Date of Birth: Unknown, though believed to be some time in 1308 Avard.

Current Status: Summer, 1331 Avard. Johannes is the Vicar of the Searing Light temple to Arpelos in Teras.

Appearance

He is a slate male, approximately 5'10“ and 184 pounds, dressed in heavy armor and heavily armed.

Background

Traveling priest of Arpelos; worked as a circuit priest before the War of the Four Winds; fought during the war as a priest for the farmers; continued circuit farming afterwards but felt he could do more good, some other way.

In his youth, when barely out of diapers, Johannes's family became victim of a mild plague. After his father died of the bloody cough, their farming community brought food and supplies to the home. When the neighbors began to show signs of the disease Saskia, his mother, feared retribution and fled to the nearby woods to seek help from the wiseman of the woods, the druid Borjhan.

Borjhan wisely counseled that he could cure the plague, but there was little he could do to calm the superstitious fears of the locals. Fearing for the safety of herself and her child, she seduced Borjhan. They stayed almost three years, with little Johannes learning as much as he could from his assumed father. But the lonely ways of the Druids did not wear well with Saskia, and dreams of hearth life returned. During Johannes’s seventh spring he reluctantly said goodbye to the woods and hills that had been his first stomping grounds.

Four days ride north they traveled to the lands of a transplant knight named Kreigle, a veteran of many campaigns. Borjhan had traveled with him for several years on many exiting adventures. When the letter of introduction was given, there was no delay in the little family’s acceptance. Saskia cooked, and when needed, made poultices or served as midwife.

Johannes found his calling slowly as he grew at the plantation. Not to say he did not work, he gladly accepted all work, and loved the companionship of the knight’s estate. But his time with Borjhan had marked him, set him to seek the deeper meaning of things. It was at the rumblings of war when an adventuring preist of Arpelos would convert him at a fireside chat about the coming troubles.

In the years before the War of the Four Winds Johannes traveled to many of the nearby villages. Eventually covering an area four weeks ride across, and gaining the respect of the local families. His power of healing, knowledge of nature, and easy manner made most homes welcome him.

As the tides of war began to wash over his flock, he tried in vain to keep peace. Learning the language of the invaders, trying to spare the wounded, and even healing some did not stop the bloodshed. The war for him was mostly waged farm by farm, burying his friends, and spilling blood on fields he’d sewn the previous Spring. He would hold the hands of the dying for want of poultices and powers that could have been gained if he’d pushed harder in the years of peace prior.

Johannes’s war ended anti-climaticly. A cloth merchant casually strolled into the fortified manner house of his patrician, Kreigle. The survivors, held a “feast” and began picking up their lives. For years Johannes would continue on his circuit. Praying for last family members, rebuilding homes, and carrying on the faith he returned to his quick smiles and impromptu fireside flute dances.

But the echoes of war continued to resound in his dreams. So as his flock became strong enough to make the fall harvest, and the walls of their homes rose up among the tents they lived in, it became time to go. Not to move on, but to seek out. He would find answers to his questions of faith. He would find the next war before it started. He would learn the mettle of his skill before it would fail those who he loved. He received his blessings from his three fathers. The aging Kreigle gifted him with his fallen brother’s armor. Borjhan taught him the gift of shape-change. And his blood father visited him in dreams with Arpelos’s blessings and wisdom.

So onward, West he traveled to the great city. Where the mages learned their art would also serve as his gateway to adventure.

Character

Imagine a southern Baptist preacher – in body armor and armed.

4E Stats

4th Level Human Cleric of Arpelos
Str 13, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 11, Wis 18, Cha 14
AC: 21 Fort: 15 Reflex: 11 Will: 19
HP: 41 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 10
Trained Skills: Nature, Diplomacy, Religion, Heal, Arcana, Insight.
Feats: Ritual Caster, Initiate of the Old Faith, Durable, Weapon Focus (Flail), Radiant Soul
Powers: (At-Will) Sacred Flame, Lance of Faith, Righteous Brand; (Encounter) Grasping Claws, Cause Fear, Daunting Light; (Utility) Bless; (Daily) Beacon of Hope
Equipment: Ritual Book, Adventurer's Kit, Flute, Battleforged Plate Armor +1, Medic's Flail +1, Symbol of Confrontation +1, Circlet of Authority (heroic tier), Muleback Harness (heroic tier)
Rituals: Gentle Repose, Brew Potion, Comprehend Language, Create Campsite, Tenser's Floating Disk, Banish Vermin, Animal Messenger, Endure Elements, Seek Rumor, Knock, Enchant Magic Item

gaeleth/people/johannes_whermak.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/28 15:49 (external edit)