- Jul 16, 2004
- 5,995
- 191
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Single
- Politics
- US-Others
Name : Antonio “Italidin” Morelli
Age : 24 Sex : M Race : Human
Height : 6’1” Weight : 183 Hair Color : Dark Brown
Eye Color : Brown Skin Color : Tan
Build: Lean & Muscular
Clothing : Antonio wears a black tunic and breeches under his black plate-mail armor. On his breastplate, over his heart, is a demonic symbol, the mark of his deal with the Lord of the Forest.
Occupation : A Fallen Paladin of Eyrel who has now become a Black Guard
Weapons : Two Long Swords, these blades are magical and allow the owner to strike more often and do more damage than with normal blades:
The Windsword of Sharda (Cristopher Esko): Allows Antonio 4 attacks in a round once per day, a Whirlwind Attack. Also allows him to summon a dust devil, or whirlwind, once per day.
Quietus (Benjamin E Sones): A cruel looking longsword carved from a single bone of unknown origin. It is yellowed, revealing itself to be an ancient weapon, but is so strong it will not chip or break. The blade is covered in rather disturbing looking runes and symbols that glow with an eldrich light in the presence of undead (10' radius).
Any humanoid killed by this blade will quickly wither and decay, leaving only a blackened skeleton. Less than 10 minutes after death the skeleton will rise and obey the commands of the wielder. Maybe.
Every time a new undead is created in this fashion there is a 30% chance Antonio will not retain control of the new skeleton. If this occurs then ALL skeletons under the spell of the sword will turn on him until either they or Antonio are destroyed.
Abilities/Powers : Antonio has powers and abilities commensurate with Paladins, but in an opposite manner. He can heal his own wounds, or to mend a broken undead. Once a day, Antonio may heal a serious wound of his own or a "worthy" comrade. He can bind one minor undead construct of someone else's making to serve him.
Strengths : Antonio is a skilled fighter, preferring the case style.
Weaknesses : Antonio is downright arrogant and self-centered. His personality is so grating there are few who would be willing to trust him with their lives.
Allegiance : himself, and those who have been kind to him (only cares for his own goals)
Affiliation : same as above (is bound to the lord of the forest)
Personality : Antonio is cocksure and conceited. He sets out to be charming, but instead his efforts tend to be seen as smarmy. Antonio is far darker and more obessessed with revenge against those he feels have done him harm in some way, real or imagined.
Attitude : Antonio operates under the assumption that those born to privilege are more blessed than others, therefore better than others. He has a ready smile for the ladies and is not afraid to tell them of his admiration, thinking arrogantly that they will share the same opinion of him. When rebuffed he puts it off to a character flaw in the woman rather than himself.
View on Life : Antonio tends to look out for himself before anyone else, then he seeks to help those who have been kind to him, after that any kind act Antonio performs probably has an ulterior motive. Yes, he is a paladin. How? Read his background, but be advised this is a spoiler. No one in the party knows any of the non-public details of Antonio's past.
Background : Antonio is a paladin, but he is not like any other paladin anyone will ever see. He is selfish, conceited, conniving and has been cruel in his dark past. Born into a noble family, Antonio has always taken advantage of his fortunate heritage, and he has taken advantage of others. Antonio was always the joy of his mother’s heart, but also seemed to be found wanting by his father. In his pre-teen years he found the reason for this, he was not truly the son of Vincenzo Morelli, Count of Tiburon. Antonio was the product of one of the many dalliances his mother engaged in while at court. Antonio was a constant reminder to his “father” of the Count’s humiliation. This knowledge, coupled with his father’s contempt led Antonio to seek approval in many and various ways. Unfortunately, Antonio never seemed to find anyone who wanted to know him, everyone he encountered seemed only interested in the title he would inherit and the favors he could do for them. It was Antonio’s poor judgement that led him to seek friendships in all the wrong places, however. Finding he could have no real friendship, no true pleasure in anything, made Antonio cruel and he used people for his own ends.
After the death of his mother Antonio‘s father informed him he would not be inheriting anything after Vincenzo‘s passing. In fact, he was being banished until he either died or managed to become a decent human being. Vincenzo Morelli used his connections to gain a place for Antonio in the Paladin Order of Eyrel. It was the count‘s hope that Antonio would learn from the example of such fine people as the paladins. Unfortunately, such was not the case and Antonio merely learned to bottle up his feelings of superiority. While on leaves Antonio relieved his pent up anger, venting his frustration and playing his cruel games on those who could not, or would not, report him.
His superior officers in the Paladin Order have wracked their brains trying to figure a way to teach Antonio true nobility, to no avail. Antonio has been warned that he is in an order of those who have chosen a life of service, and he has been told he must open his mind to God’s view of people, not man’s. It is believed by many that Antonio is sincere in his desire to serve God and Eyrel, and perhaps he once was, but Antonio has yet to learn this important lesson. Now Antonio has been given an opportunity to learn humility and true honor by being attached to a Pra Yer Warrior on a very important mission. The commanders in Kelamir have determined this will be Antonio’s last chance to show some potential as a paladin.
(Antonio has wasted his last chance and is about to waste his very life. He has made a deal with the demon lord of the forest to gain power. He is becoming a black guard.)
Antonio is now bound to the Lord of the Forest and is working in cahoots with Grigor Reaperfang to gain Lord Kiva's trust. He toyed with the idea to change his name along with his occupation, thinking Il Diavolo would be a properly ominous monicker, but Grigor talked, or laughed, him out of that notion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Power over the undead
A blackguard gains the ability to rebuke undead like an evil cleric, rather than turning undead like a paladin. A rebuked undead will be stunned in awe of the blackguard, while a commanded undead will become the Blackguard's servant.
A Blackguard can also make a bolster check to give the undead more strength against a good cleric's turning attempts.
Similarity to paladins
Blackguards and paladins are dramatically opposed, but not complete opposites. Many of the abilities of a blackguard mimic or replace abilities of a paladin (such as the fiendish servant ability, which replaces the paladin's special mount ability). Blackguards are required to be of any evil alignment, while paladins are required to be lawful good.
While uncommon to rare (depending on the campaign's Dungeon Master), some paladins have turned evil or otherwise broken the paladin code of honor lose their original abilities but gain bonus abilities if they take the blackguard prestige class. The more levels a character has as a "fallen paladin", the more and greater those bonuses become to the point where if a paladin of 10th level or higher becomes a blackguard, they may even convert any paladin levels for the same number of blackguard levels. Though they lose any bonus abilities they would have gained from the levels of fallen paladin levels.
Abilities
Like paladins, the abilities of blackguards are tied to their charisma and wisdom scores. Most of a blackguard's abilities are reversals of paladin abilities, such as:
Age : 24 Sex : M Race : Human
Height : 6’1” Weight : 183 Hair Color : Dark Brown
Eye Color : Brown Skin Color : Tan
Build: Lean & Muscular
Clothing : Antonio wears a black tunic and breeches under his black plate-mail armor. On his breastplate, over his heart, is a demonic symbol, the mark of his deal with the Lord of the Forest.
Occupation : A Fallen Paladin of Eyrel who has now become a Black Guard
Weapons : Two Long Swords, these blades are magical and allow the owner to strike more often and do more damage than with normal blades:
The Windsword of Sharda (Cristopher Esko): Allows Antonio 4 attacks in a round once per day, a Whirlwind Attack. Also allows him to summon a dust devil, or whirlwind, once per day.
Quietus (Benjamin E Sones): A cruel looking longsword carved from a single bone of unknown origin. It is yellowed, revealing itself to be an ancient weapon, but is so strong it will not chip or break. The blade is covered in rather disturbing looking runes and symbols that glow with an eldrich light in the presence of undead (10' radius).
Any humanoid killed by this blade will quickly wither and decay, leaving only a blackened skeleton. Less than 10 minutes after death the skeleton will rise and obey the commands of the wielder. Maybe.
Every time a new undead is created in this fashion there is a 30% chance Antonio will not retain control of the new skeleton. If this occurs then ALL skeletons under the spell of the sword will turn on him until either they or Antonio are destroyed.
Abilities/Powers : Antonio has powers and abilities commensurate with Paladins, but in an opposite manner. He can heal his own wounds, or to mend a broken undead. Once a day, Antonio may heal a serious wound of his own or a "worthy" comrade. He can bind one minor undead construct of someone else's making to serve him.
Strengths : Antonio is a skilled fighter, preferring the case style.
Weaknesses : Antonio is downright arrogant and self-centered. His personality is so grating there are few who would be willing to trust him with their lives.
Allegiance : himself, and those who have been kind to him (only cares for his own goals)
Affiliation : same as above (is bound to the lord of the forest)
Personality : Antonio is cocksure and conceited. He sets out to be charming, but instead his efforts tend to be seen as smarmy. Antonio is far darker and more obessessed with revenge against those he feels have done him harm in some way, real or imagined.
Attitude : Antonio operates under the assumption that those born to privilege are more blessed than others, therefore better than others. He has a ready smile for the ladies and is not afraid to tell them of his admiration, thinking arrogantly that they will share the same opinion of him. When rebuffed he puts it off to a character flaw in the woman rather than himself.
View on Life : Antonio tends to look out for himself before anyone else, then he seeks to help those who have been kind to him, after that any kind act Antonio performs probably has an ulterior motive. Yes, he is a paladin. How? Read his background, but be advised this is a spoiler. No one in the party knows any of the non-public details of Antonio's past.
Background : Antonio is a paladin, but he is not like any other paladin anyone will ever see. He is selfish, conceited, conniving and has been cruel in his dark past. Born into a noble family, Antonio has always taken advantage of his fortunate heritage, and he has taken advantage of others. Antonio was always the joy of his mother’s heart, but also seemed to be found wanting by his father. In his pre-teen years he found the reason for this, he was not truly the son of Vincenzo Morelli, Count of Tiburon. Antonio was the product of one of the many dalliances his mother engaged in while at court. Antonio was a constant reminder to his “father” of the Count’s humiliation. This knowledge, coupled with his father’s contempt led Antonio to seek approval in many and various ways. Unfortunately, Antonio never seemed to find anyone who wanted to know him, everyone he encountered seemed only interested in the title he would inherit and the favors he could do for them. It was Antonio’s poor judgement that led him to seek friendships in all the wrong places, however. Finding he could have no real friendship, no true pleasure in anything, made Antonio cruel and he used people for his own ends.
After the death of his mother Antonio‘s father informed him he would not be inheriting anything after Vincenzo‘s passing. In fact, he was being banished until he either died or managed to become a decent human being. Vincenzo Morelli used his connections to gain a place for Antonio in the Paladin Order of Eyrel. It was the count‘s hope that Antonio would learn from the example of such fine people as the paladins. Unfortunately, such was not the case and Antonio merely learned to bottle up his feelings of superiority. While on leaves Antonio relieved his pent up anger, venting his frustration and playing his cruel games on those who could not, or would not, report him.
His superior officers in the Paladin Order have wracked their brains trying to figure a way to teach Antonio true nobility, to no avail. Antonio has been warned that he is in an order of those who have chosen a life of service, and he has been told he must open his mind to God’s view of people, not man’s. It is believed by many that Antonio is sincere in his desire to serve God and Eyrel, and perhaps he once was, but Antonio has yet to learn this important lesson. Now Antonio has been given an opportunity to learn humility and true honor by being attached to a Pra Yer Warrior on a very important mission. The commanders in Kelamir have determined this will be Antonio’s last chance to show some potential as a paladin.
(Antonio has wasted his last chance and is about to waste his very life. He has made a deal with the demon lord of the forest to gain power. He is becoming a black guard.)
Antonio is now bound to the Lord of the Forest and is working in cahoots with Grigor Reaperfang to gain Lord Kiva's trust. He toyed with the idea to change his name along with his occupation, thinking Il Diavolo would be a properly ominous monicker, but Grigor talked, or laughed, him out of that notion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Power over the undead
A blackguard gains the ability to rebuke undead like an evil cleric, rather than turning undead like a paladin. A rebuked undead will be stunned in awe of the blackguard, while a commanded undead will become the Blackguard's servant.
A Blackguard can also make a bolster check to give the undead more strength against a good cleric's turning attempts.
Similarity to paladins
Blackguards and paladins are dramatically opposed, but not complete opposites. Many of the abilities of a blackguard mimic or replace abilities of a paladin (such as the fiendish servant ability, which replaces the paladin's special mount ability). Blackguards are required to be of any evil alignment, while paladins are required to be lawful good.
While uncommon to rare (depending on the campaign's Dungeon Master), some paladins have turned evil or otherwise broken the paladin code of honor lose their original abilities but gain bonus abilities if they take the blackguard prestige class. The more levels a character has as a "fallen paladin", the more and greater those bonuses become to the point where if a paladin of 10th level or higher becomes a blackguard, they may even convert any paladin levels for the same number of blackguard levels. Though they lose any bonus abilities they would have gained from the levels of fallen paladin levels.
Abilities
Like paladins, the abilities of blackguards are tied to their charisma and wisdom scores. Most of a blackguard's abilities are reversals of paladin abilities, such as:
- cause disease instead of cure disease
- cause light wounds instead of lay on hands
Last edited by a moderator:
