Ad Avis

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## Basic Information

 ### Home

 Calimport

 ### Gender

 Male

 ### Race

 Yuan-ti Pureblood

 ### Occupation

 Vizier, Spy

 ### Age

 37

 ### Patron deity

 Sseth, the Sibilant Death

 ### Known language(s)

 Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarvish

## Rules Information

 ### Alignment

 Lawful Evil

 ### Class

 Wizard (Necromancer)

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Ad Avis is a yuan-ti pureblood spy infiltrating the aristocracy of Calimport. He has been instructed by his current master, Pasha Arhapan, to investigate the source of a curse spreading throughout the Realms afflicting those who have been brought back from the dead.

Pasha Arhapan has sent Ad Avis to Baldur's Gate to confer with an old friend of his, Syndra Silvane, who is apparently suffering from the curse and has relevant information.

## **Description**

Ad Avis cuts a slight, mincing figure. He stands just over 5 and half feet tall and has long, lanky limbs. His features are relatively androgynous, which he keeps mostly concealed with the exception of his emerald green serpentine eyes. His skin is a warm, reddish-brown and he keeps his cherry red hair in long dreadlocks. His forked tongue blatantly betrays his heritage, so he often dons scarves or veils to keep his lower face concealed.

While in Chult, he has eschewed his vizier's fineries for a more nonchalant garb, reminiscent of an astrologer or soothsayer. He wears a simple red robe with an open front and a deep cowl, casting much of his face in shadow. He keeps his body wrapped in light gauze to protect his skin from the jungle heat, and he wears a traditional Calimshani vest and pantaloons under his voluminous robe. He adorns himself with baubles, bangles, and beads, including a veil made of linked copper coins that covers his nose, mouth, and neck.

## **Personality**

Ad Avis is the quintessential worm-tongued sycophant. His words are like sweet honey as they leave his lips but twist into vile poison once they've touched the ear. As with many yuan-ti, he is an expert at feigning and manipulating emotions in order to achieve his goals. In many ways, his life has been defined by the masters he has kept, and he has grown accustomed to high standards for food, drink, and idle pleasures.

Ad Avis works his game by undermining, beguiling, and simultaneously exalting his masters. His best ideas are subtly fed to his masters, instilling a false confidence built on a foundation of insidious whispers. Although he secretly believes himself to be smarter, more capable, and more powerful than his masters, responsibility is not something that Ad Avis covets. It is power and power alone that drives Ad Avis.

Ad Avis worships the yuan-ti god Sseth, but his veneration of the god is nominal. He identifies with Sseth, who he sees as the only yuan-ti patron actively attempting to do anything to retake the yuan-ti's former glory. While Merrshaulk sleeps and Dendar waits, Sseth at least plots. He harbors a slight disdain for devout sects of either of his god's rivals.

## **Abilities**

Prior to Tomb of Annihilation, Ad Avis uses the statistics of a **yuan-ti pureblood** with the following changes:

* He is lawful evil.
* He is able to use the *poison spray* cantrip at will.
* He can cast the following spells 1/day each with his innate spellcasting feature: *disguise self, find familiar, ray of sickness,* and *sleep*.

For the Tomb of Annihilation adventure, Ad Avis advances as a player character beginning at 1st level.

## **Allies**

* **Murkflesh the Bone-eater**: A **grey slaad** from the Tomb of the Nine Gods that Ad Avis has the control gem for.

## **Activities**

Currently, Ad Avis is exploring the jungles of Chult in order to uncover the source of a strange death curse that plagues the Realms.

## **Relationships**

Ad Avis maintains a bond of admiration and respect for his true master, the **rakshasa maharajah** Saqar.

He also harbors a desire for vengeance against Emerick Faramond, a paladin of Tyr, who sent his true master back to the Nine Hells and scattered his brethren to the sands.

Ad Avis is a Cloak (Rank 1) of The Lords' Alliance.

## **History**

Ad Avis was originally a member of a yuan-ti cult that operated in and around Calimport. The cult came under the sway of a rakshasa named Saqar, who used the cult to help him discover the location of a legendary Pool of Radiance off the western coast of Calimshan.

While under the leadership of Saqar, Ad Avis infiltrated a number of influential circles in Calimport. He briefly encountered the adventurer Emerick Faramond while posing as an advisor and food taster for the wealthy merchant, Natraj Garnetgleam. He also served as a vizier to the then Syl-Pasha Djenispool, who was in fact Saqar in disguise.

After Faramond Company defeated Saqar, Ad Avis was able to escape capture and reinvented himself once again. He began serving in the court of Pasha Arhapan, and quickly earned his place as a trusted vizier. In the time since Saqar's demise, Ad Avis has taken to the study of necromancy, and yearns to become a powerful spellcaster like his former master.