[Hourglass of Zihaja] Chapter 10: Adventuring

[Zeta Kai]

Lord Ghadhib

Quotes

• “The darkness of these days… it weighs on me.”
• “This city… it calls to me. It needs a defender… a champion. I sit here & wonder: could that be me? Am I worthy of such a task?”
• “The sand in the glass runs low. The dawn of a dark day approaches.”
• “We will do what we must, as we have always done.”

Background
Lord Ghadhib, king-priest of Nahraldikh, has led a quiet, insular life, one of study & ease. The only son of the previous king-priest, Lord Kelbe, he has hardly had to lift a finger for anything in his privileged life. There have always been servants, advisers, courtiers, ministers, courtesans, & clerics to attend to his every need or desire. Thus, he grew to have little understanding of the troubles of ordinary men & women, despite the many moral lessons that were instilled in him.

Ghadhib took the Amulet of Kings from his father’s deathbed about 20 years ago, & has done his best to rule the city as Lord Kelbe would have done. At first, the task was an easy one, as the city was peaceful, the people were prosperous, & the royal councilors attended to most of the daily concerns. But twelve years ago, the shaghali first arrived on their strange boats, & have wreaked havoc ever since. This has greatly worried the populace of Nahraldikh, as well as Ghadhib in particular, & a recent series of grisly murders with possible ties to a shaghal cult has confounded the royal guard & sent Ghadhib into a state of despair.

Personality
Ghadhib is a pessimistic leader nowadays, full of self-doubt & fear of what the future may bring. He was once much more cheerful, but the looming shaghal invasion has weighed on him for years. He wants to do what is best for his people, & is a capable decision-maker, but he believes that will not be enough to see him or his city through a potential crisis such as this. He is agreeable, diplomatic, & considerate of others, as he was taught to be, but his upbringing left him without an understanding of what it means to work hard, to do without things, or to suffer. For this reason, he is unsure of how to deal with the hardships that his city may be facing soon.

Appearance
The lord’s posture is stiff & straight, making him seem even taller than he already is. He has deep-set eyes & a sad, somber face, which is unused to smiling. He rarely wears the finery of his station, preferring simple robes of a lesser priest. His only concession to his position is a medallion bearing the symbol of Akasha in Nahraldikh’s colors.

Goals
Above all else, Ghadhib wants to restore Nahraldikh to its former state of contentment, before the shaghali first arrived. He is particularly worried about how the shaghal invasions will affect the region. So far, the incursions have been small, with isolated raids of no more than one or two ships of attackers, but the common belief is that there are many more shaghali where these foes came from. These fears are not without merit, as the shaghali are implacable enemies, & they already have a Natharite cult in the area, the Children of the Night, that is causing no small amount of trouble. Ghadhib wants to be rid of them all, so that the city may return to the calm peaceful place that it once was.

Combat Tactics
Ghadhib is not a warrior by any stretch of the imagination. Despite his moral convictions that would demand that he fight evil, he is unaccustomed to pain & stress, so he makes for a poor combatant. He is protected by the Knights of the Shield, an elite squad of the royal guard (Fighter 5/Hoplite 3) that are sworn to protect the king-priest at all costs, two of which are at his side at all times. If he were to be personally threatened, he would use spells from the Protection domain on himself, spells from the Presence domain on his enemies, &/or use a scroll of dimension door to escape.

3E Stats

Spoiler

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RACE: Gnoll (Nahr) male
CLASS: Aristocrat 6/Cleric 4
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
DEITY: Akasha
SIZE: Medium
AGE: 44 (born 311 AF)
HEIGHT: 7’5”
WEIGHT: 275 lbs.
EYES: Green
HAIR: Brown (Spotted Black)
LANGUAGES: Archaic, Celestial, Common, & Gnoolun
HIT DICE: 8+9d8+6 (54HP)
INITIATIVE: +6
SPEED: 30’
ARMOR CLASS: 21 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +7 armor, +2 shield); touch 11; flat-footed 20
BASE ATTACK BONUS: +7
GRAPPLE BONUS: +7
ATTACK: +8 Wounding Glaive (1d10+1, ×3, slashing, 10’ reach) or +8 Dagger (1d4+1, 19-20/×2, 10’ range increment, piercing or slashing)
FULL ATTACK: +8/+3 Wounding Glaive (1d10+1, ×3, slashing, 10’ reach) or +8/+3 Dagger (1d4+1, 19-20/×2, 10’ range increment, piercing or slashing)
SPACE/REACH: 5’/5’
SAVING THROWS: Fortitude +7, Reflex +8, Will +16
ABILITIES:

• Strength 10 (+0)
• Dexterity 14 (+2)
• Constitution 11 (+0)
• Intelligence 14 (+2)
• Wisdom 22 (+6)
• Charisma 15 (+2)

SKILLS: 70 points

• Bluff +10
• Diplomacy +15
• Intimidate +14
• Listen +14
• Sense Motive +19
• Spot +14
• Survival +13
• Use Magic Device +15

FEATS: Common Senses**, Gift of Tongues**, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
WEAPON:

• +1 Wounding Glaive (18,375gp, 1d10+1, ×3, 10 lbs., slashing, 10’ reach)
• +1 Dagger (2,302gp, 1d4+1, 19-20/×2, 10’ range increment, 1 lb., piercing or slashing)

ARMOR:

• +2 Breastplate (4,350, +7, maximum dexterity bonus +3, check penalty -3, 25% AFC, speed 20’, 30lbs.)
• +1 Retributive** Buckler (9,165, +2, check penalty -0, 5% AFC, 5lbs.)

EQUIPMENT:

• 408gp
• Cloak of Resistance +1 (1,000gp)
• Gloves of Dexterity +2 (4,000gp)
• Periapt of Wisdom +2 (4,000gp)
• 2 Scrolls of dimension door (1,400gp)

SPELLS: 5/5+1/3+1 (Caster Level 4th, save DC15 + spell level)
RACIAL FEATURES:

• Darkvision 60’.
• Social Acumen.

CLASS FEATURES:

• Turn Undead.
• Domain: Presence**.
• Domain: Protection.