Basil Damascus

* Part 2: Awakenings
* Part 1: Origins

RP
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**Basil Damascus** is a player character in the **Chronicles** campaign. He is a yuan-ti artificer/fighter who has been described as both "a cinnamon roll" and "a little existential."

## Description

#### Physical

Basil is a lean yuan-ti with scaled skin and dark hair, and he wears blackened steel arcane armor inscribed with runes. He has scars running shoulder to hip from the party's final battle with Iymrith, when he was down to one death save. During the time between Frostfire and Chronicles, Basil acquired tattoos over his right forearm (Eldritch Claw) and heart (his family crest). His hair was temporarily dyed gold after a night out clubbing on the Blood Isles (Frostfire EP 12).

**Giant Might:** In his full glorious Rune Knight form, Basil becomes Large. Giant runes glow along his arms, legs, and neck.

**Primal Form**: For 1 minute while connected to his ancestral leylines in this form, Basil's hair grows several feet and his tattoos and eyes light up. One hand glows green with instant crit power (when punching), the other shines white with healing (also punching). Basil gains the effects of Death Ward. After 1 minute, he immediately suffers 4 levels of exhaustion.

#### Personality

He is polite, anxious to prove himself, and loyal to his family and friends above all else. Basil has difficulty lying and will either avoid situations where he must, or admit a truth to “balance it out.” He eagerly befriends anyone he can learn from and is at his most socially awkward around his peers. Basil often freezes under pressure and is quick to dismiss his skills if he feels there is a chance of failure.

## Biography

#### **Family History**

Basil comes from a long line of renowned inventors and artificers. He grew up with his family in a small neighborhood in the trade city Yartar.

Basil’s mother Atheris is an esteemed alchemist. His father Ophi is a blacksmith, as well as Atheris’ partner in the Family Business. Basil also has an older sister who lives in the city, and an “aunt” Cosmia – another revered artificer, and professor emeritus at Strixhaven.

#### **Early Life**

Basil spent most of his comfortable childhood in his parents’ workshop and forge, where he tinkered, read, and studied. He strove to live up to his parents’ legacy and expectations, although the pressure was largely self-inflicted. His family resides on a defensible wooded isle off the Dessarin River near Yartar.

#### **Leaving Home**

In the week before Basil’s departure from Yartar, 2 key events lined up:

1. the arrival of a rejection letter from Strixhaven (which he hastily hid), and
2. the impressive but devastating theft of magical items from the Damascus household...

Partially motivated by the letter, Basil decided to leave and track down the stolen artifacts himself. He set out, following a lead north to Mirabar. On the road, and under military lockdown in Mirabar due to the giant attacks, Basil found himself overwhelmed and surprised by having to Afford Things and Not Die. He quickly latched on to the party when they approached him for help on their quest.

## Chronicles of Frostfire

**EPISODE 1:** En route to the Spine of the World, Basil begins learning sleight of hand and much-needed street smarts from Vahera. He also spars with Raswar and busies himself studying the workings of The Falcon, Harlock's Halruuan airship. He has a heart-to-heart with Amalia while homesick. When the party seeks entrance to the Oracle’s chamber in the Eye of the All-Father, a statue guardian of Annam bars their way. He requires a volunteer with pure intentions to undergo a trial and join the giant family, as a show of good faith. Basil accepts. As he passes the trial of constitution, he grows in both stature and mind. He receives 3 gifts: the strength of the giants, their ancient ability of rune casting, and the honorary title Basil Thunderfist. His fate becomes intertwined with that of the giant kin.

Between EPISODE 15 & 16, Basil is summoned by Raswar to the Warrior’s Rest. He meets the warforged construct Four who reveals he was built by Dr. Cosmia, Basil's "aunt"/family friend who teaches at Strixhaven.

**EPISODE 16:** After Vahera's confession and the unexpected emergence of Jon's college persona, Basil reveals his true motivations for traveling with the party. He shows them the letter he had been keeping – a rejection notice from Strixhaven – and tells them he was embarrassed to come clean to his family about his failure. Instead, he spent the past several months writing letters to maintain the ruse that he was attending classes. The party helps him realize he feels ready to come clean to his family once they return to the mainland.

**EPISODE 18:** After battling Kaicilius, Enialis' father Markus reveals he was the one who stole an item from Basil's family workshop. He returns the replica crystal sphere.

**EPISODE 19:** The party visits Basil's family for the emotional equivalent of a beach episode. The Damascus home is situated on the outskirts of Yartar, on a wooded island along the Dessarin River. The home itself, carved into a hillside, is practical, defensible, fortified, and flawlessly engineered. Visitors are warned not to stray from the marked path unless they watch their step (something about automated turrets...) Outside, the home is surrounded by an herb garden. Inside is an active forge, a cozy living den with family photos, and some sketchy locked doors. Magic spells are dampened within the house. After initially posing as Basil's college friends, the party helps Basil reveal his truths to his parents.

> *"Do you know what Damascus is, Basil? It’s a type of steel that we created, our forebears of the house Damascus. It’s recognized across the realms for its durability, beautiful patterns... It’s impossible to shatter, perpetually tough, and it can be honed into the most keen of blades. So Basil, all you've done is proven yourself through your actions. You have forged yourself into this heritage. You, my son, have become Damascus." – Ophi Damascus*
>
>

It also becomes obvious that the Damascus family deals in arcane weapons, perhaps outside the law. Who's to say. When Basil returns the replica crystal sphere that Markus had stolen, Ophi reveals it is an "embarrassing" simple item he crafted in hopes of opening a planetarium. He tells the party Basil can focus power through it to help destroy the shield around Iymrith's stronghold.

**EPISODE 20:** During the battle against Iymrith, Basil gives up a turn to snap Amalia out of paralysis and help her reach Enialis' slain body. Unfortunately, combat puts him directly in the raging dragon's path. She hits him with 4 consecutive attacks that take him straight to his final death save. Amalia saves the day again and brings him, along with the rest of the team, back up through mass cure wounds.

## Chronicles of Legends

Between the events of Frostfire and Legends, Basil returns to Maelstrom to learn about rune knight responsibilities from the storm giants and Queen Serissa. He travels with the frost giant Harshnag to meet with stone, cloud, and mountain giants, spreading a message of unity. During the journey, he learns some limited tattooing skills from Harshnag.

**EPISODE 03:** Basil helps Vahera infiltrate the City of Brass in hopes of taking down the reigning Sultan. After a series of puzzles and an exploding decoy sultan, Vahera is encased in a force cage that starts to kill her with cold from the inside. Basil tries to break it with various elemental magic, then tries to absorb her damage, but it doesn’t work and the bubble heals any damage it took. As Vahera falls unconscious, desperate Basil sees the magical ley lines he saw once before in an old yuan-ti ruin. When he reaches out to them, a snake appears through his tattoos, speaking to him of the fate of the world and his lineage. He begs it for help to save Vahera, promising he fights for unity, balance, family. He tells the snake he is willing to die to save his friends. It bites him and he unlocks his Primal Form (1 min superman mode followed by immediate 4 levels of exhaustion).

**EPISODE 04:** Caught up in the heat of battle with Karsus at Green Hollow, Basil accidentally redirects a lethal amount of damage to possessed ally Sgt. Grimm. Distraught, he rushes the body to Amalia for resurrection. When Sgt. Grimm is revived, Basil rolls an uncharacteristically good bluff to convince Grimm he was the hero of the battle.

**EPISODE 05:** Basil speaks with Delaan Winterhound (delegate of Icewind Dale, Reghed Glacier, and Hartsvale) before the first meeting of the Council of Legends. He offers food to Delaan's hound. Delaan tells Basil he represents a strong force of many tribes who are notoriously difficult to rally behind the same cause. Tapping into his studies with the giants, Basil appeals to Delaan's spirituality and the idea of eternal reward for righteous deeds. Delaan agrees this concept might work to unite the tribes for now and offers his support. Basil submits to Loska's judgment and nearly fails (lmao), but is deemed trustworthy because he fed the hound first.

**EPISODE 06:** Basil rethinks his conversation with Delaan. He clarifies that while he appreciates the belief in an afterlife, he cannot ask others to fight for a good death, stating that his best friend carries this mentality and it makes him sad. He asks Delaan to rally the tribes around the fight for a good life instead. Basil then spots Enialis returning from his journey and goes to join the council at their table, saving a seat for Vahera. He catches up with his storm giant friend Queen Serissa. After the council, the party & Harlock surprise Basil with a small Halruuan airship of his own – The Cinnamon Roll.

**EPISODE 07:** Aboard the Cinnamon Roll, Raswar casts Zone of Truth so everyone will fess up about their recent power changes. Basil is unaffected by the spell but tells the party everything about his encounter with the serpent anyway. When Raswar looks at him with the Eye of Vecna, he mentions that both of Basil's eyes – not just the left one that has physically changed – look different. Raswar and Basil also work together to figure out Vahera has been cursed with cold giant runes.

**EPISODE 08:** Basil "wakes up" alone in his childhood home and hears a persistent scratching from the basement door. ("Oh hell no!") He arms himself, kicking open the door to reveal a giant serpent coiled for attack. It lunges into the house, grappling him. Many voices ring from the snake – "We Are You" – as it bites off his head. Basil wakes up on the ship, immediately throws up magical green bile, tries to hide it in a jar, and is (ooc) told to subtract 2 constitution and "keep track of it."

When the party arrives in the Coldlands, Vahera is immediately knocked down by the combination of her cold curse and the frigid environment. Basil activates his giant form, scoops Vahera, and sprints to the main hall where he tosses her into a fire. He's intrigued by the bloodstone/magic system they use to produce heat in Helgabal.

## Notable Inventory

* Atheris' Arcane Firearm & artificing tools
* Ingot of the Skold Rune
* Replica Crystal Sphere
* Gauntlets of Thunder & Lightning (reworked staff stats)

## Trivia

* Basil's first homunculus servant "Sticky" was made from a jar of honey gifted to him by Amalia
* When Basil first met the party at a tavern in Mirabar, he helped them win rooms during a drinking contest by enchanting an opponent’s mug to smell terrible (forcing him to flee the table from nausea - classic Stink Mug)
* Despite not joining the party until after their fight against Vahera's father, for a time Basil was the only member who knew Kaicilius was still active in Vahera's pendant
* Basil is based loosely on the rubber boa, often considered one of the most friendly and curious snake species (:
* His favorite food is snake-shaped macaroni & cheese
* A Dorky Basil-Vibes Playlist
* "...Basil, the sweet but brave boy took on the mantle of Rune Knight and now gives it his all to ensure his fellow party members safety." *- Part of very kind comment on Legends ep. 10 ;v;*