Chris ~~ Al-Askari Pitch

Lawful Good Half-Orc Paladin Dropped of at a temple as a baby by his ashamed mother, he was raised in the faith and put to work visiting the cemeteries, providing funeral rites and preventing vandalism. One day, he came into a town on the verge of destruction by an undead force. Following a priestess of the Kelemvor into the catacombs to stop the profane, he felt Death's extreme disgust at the unnatural life the undead were given. When they emerged triumphantly, he knelt before the doomguide and vowed an oath to fight the risen dead by her side and make the world safe for the living. She became his mentor and teacher. He grew up serving a whole pantheon of gods. She showed him the one that was simultaneously the most important and most ignored. He learned the dual tenants of death, to comfort the dying and remove their fear of the grave and to put an end to the blasphemy that is undeath. On their travels, the priestess was wounded during the removal of a ghost. She declined healing after the battle, saying she could hear her name being called in the Gray City. She passed quietly into the presence of her god. Al-Askari solemnly promised to continue their mission and meet her again in the city of the dead. Now he continues his holy purpose, preforming rites for the dying, tending to the dying who's names are being called to early, and punishing those who would try to elongate their life unnaturally.

Alright. Good start. Let's talk about Priestess, now - her name was Laura, right? What's her story? In terms of build, are you going vengeance oath? Seems like a good character. I love Half-Orc paladins - my first 5e character was a Half-Orc paladin when we did the Mine of Phandelver thang.

Yeah, definitive vengeance oath inbound. And he her name was Dena. I actually have a whole backstory for her as well. Do you want all that too?

Chris H. said: And he her name was Dena. I actually have a whole backstory for her as well. Do you want all that too? Man... where did I get Laura from? I suck with names. Yes, let's talk about her. I like to try to work NPCs brought in from the characters into the story. She may be dead but not out of the story entirely. I'm not sure, atm, how I could use her, but I'm going to try to find a way.

She described her commission to Al-Askari only once. It began with her death. She was a mousy little housewife to a guardsman. A noble and virtuous man, his unit was entirely corrupt. He was loyal to his brothers-in-arms, and declined the dirty coins without turning them in. Nervous about his silence, some of his fellow patrolmen visited his house one night under the guise of dinner guests. They stabbed Dena while she was int he kitchen preparing the food, before murdering her husband. But a second on this plane is a long time in death. As the life faded from her, she whispered frantic prayers to whatever deity would hear her. When Kelemvor came to collect her soul, he heard her prayers. He explained the nature of death and how it should was not to be feared, but simply the natural order of life, leading to the next portion of existence. She told him she understood, but begged him to intercede on her husband's behalf, exhorting his good and honorable qualities. He agreed to let her husband remain under some conditions. She must represent his interest on earth as a priestess for him and her husband's time was over. He would have life again, but with a new life. One that didnt remember her or anything of his old life. Agreeing, she rose again, empowered. She dispatched the guards with a kitchen knife, her husband's body mysteriously gone from the scene. She fled, following divine instruction to his faithful who outfitted her for her new life. She only spoke of it once. But spoke countless times of the kindness in the Judge of the Dead and the stoic beauty of the gray City of the Dead...

I wonder. Does he take issue to, say, clerics resurrecting the dead? If one of the other characters in the party died, how would Askari react to someone trying to revive him/her or have someone try to revive him/her?

Not at all. Kelemvoor teaches balance. Life is just as important as death, and his followers are healers and preservers of life as much as they are guides to the dead. It's not uncommon at all to find his priests at the bedsides of the injured. Sometimes, it's just not their time yet. But Al-Askar himself wonders how he would react with the opprotunity to be ressurected.

You recently received an message from your superior from The Order of the Gauntlet. They have heard some rumors about gang of cruel bandits planning a raid somewhere in the Dessarin Valley. You are to investigate the rumors and, if true, secure allies and put an end to the threat. The bandits supposedly report to someone named Grimjaw and are holed up in a place called Rivergard Keep.