Ssereth

Ssereth in a typical outfit (Created using HeroForge).

**Ssereth** is a Lizardfolk that hails from the world of Erasmo, once being the advisor and right-hand man of a Lizardfolk-turned-god, God-King Raxes. A talented spokesman and alchemist, Ssereth excels inside and outside of combat with his medley of extracts, vast knowledge, defensive swordsmanship, and silver tongue. He had spent most of his life in pursuit of his God-King, eventually leading him to Dreamer's Respite.

## Physical Description

Ssereth is an older Lizardfolk, most notable by his faded, mossy green scales, and once vibrant orange frills--lining his tail, sides of his face, and down his back-- now dulled to match the similarly once colorful nobleman's jacket he wears, custom-tailored to be lined with fur to warm his cold blood, and bear his God-King's emblem on his shoulder patch. Ssereth's particular tribe is more akin to crocodiles in physical snout shape and features, including teeth protruding from outside their jawline. Ssereth has 5 fingers and 3 toes, all ending in aged, slightly dull claws, and 2 horns, one of which has been shaved down to approximately half it's original size, with an old metal band around it.

Ssereth is rarely seen without his signature cane, an unsuspecting wood cane that has been carefully polished and tended to. the handle of this cane depicts a Lizardfolk, holding a bright yellow crystal within it's open jaws. Ssereth typically also carries with him an array of extracts, stuffed in various pockets among his jacket.

## Background

Ssereth was born among a clutch of hatchlings 40 years ago, and tradition among the tribe in Chain Breaker Swamp was all Lizardfolk help parent and foster the tribe's young, many of the children never knowing who was their real parents. Throuought his childhood, he often looked up to the reigning God-King Raxes, as all others did, grateful for the protection he provided, and the stories he shared of his past. Ultimately seeking to aid the deity as much as possible, Ssereth grew up learning to be an excellent hunter, and invested himself in the affairs of defending the tribe from slavers, prying eyes, and dangerous wildlife among the swamp they lived in.

Raxes eventually took note of Ssereth's unique dedication to his God-King, despite the differing opinions he had on foreign affairs. Offered the position of Advisor, Ssereth quickly accepted, prideful in completing his life work at the time.

several years had passed, and in that time, Ssereth had come to meet the people he heard of in Raxes' stories, including Mark Gorton, a famed hunter and secret lover to Raxes, and Lauren, an elf-turned-lich that Raxes felt close to, who assisted in his quest years ago. Both of these two friends to Ssereth's God-King further introduced him to the foreign affairs he had interest in, giving him the opportunities to speak to the people of civilized cities and ultimately attempt at a peaceful agreement to end slavery of Lizardfolk. To prove they were just as much people as they were, Ssereth learned the arts of diplomacy and alchemy through Raxes' allies, displaying himself as a sophisticated, almost noble-like Lizardfolk. Despite his best efforts, Raxes still was stubborn on the opinion of the only good slaver being a dead one, wishing to wage war on the cities, rather than make peace. This disagreement lead to many minor squabbles between Ssereth and Raxes.

Roughly a year later, Ssereth and a hunting party were ambushed by slavers, and only thanks to Raxes' rescue were the Lizardfolk saved. Ssereth was unknowingly the target, and ended up with one horn shaved down and clasped for chains before being rescued. The opinions of the two opposing Lizardfolk only grew more drastic, but war never was waged.

This is most likely due to the fact that God-King Raxes mysteriously disappeared with no warning, no tracks, and no message for his advisor, Ssereth. Unrest was instilled among the tribe, and in a desperate attempt to restore order, Ssereth, who typically would have been forced to take over the position of authority, instead promised the tribe he would bring their God-King back, and left in search of Raxes.

Many years had passed in Ssereth's pursuit of his God-King, where two events unknown to him took place. The first was a civil conflict between the Lizardfolk who were still at the tribe's location, many of the hunters and warriors fighting for the empty throne left behind. The second, much more prominent event, was the reason for Raxes' disappearance becoming fulfilled. God-King Raxes had reached the end of his life, and deemed he would rather die fighting for survival, rather than in comfort. Raxes was slain by an old ally, Jack Langdon, but lived on as a deity in the afterlife. Neither events were known to Ssereth, and he spent over 14 years looking for any clue to his God-King's whereabouts. During his hunt for information, Ssereth befriended an elf woman, and began developing an information network to reach as far and as wide as he could, hoping to find Raxes in that method. However, the elf betrayed Ssereth's trust and got arrested by a city guard, selling out the Lizardfolk to be set free in exchange. Rather than defend the allies he had made, Ssereth fled, driven by survival instincts and the drive to find his deity. In his escape, Ssereth was offered a ferry by the Ferryman, and took the offer to be transported to Dreamer's Respite.

## Post-Ferry History

### In Pursuit of God-Kings

Once Ssereth had been delivered to Dreamer's Respite, immediately he presumed this was a sign, finally, that he was on the right track to finding his God-King Raxes, and began his investigation shortly after. Initially he was skeptical of Halcyon, presuming it was the creation of the evil that once lied in his world, and the same evil would have drawn Raxes to Dreamer's Respite to eliminate the threat. Eventually his doubts were corrected, but Ssereth's determination for a clue brought him to kidnapping a druid, insisting they scry their God-King to find his location. When the druid did not find any trace of Raxes, Ssereth was brought back to no leads. It was not until the arrival of The Crystal Castle that allowed him to pursue his God-King, finding a talon from an ancient Lizardfolk inside the castle. Refusing to believe the idea that Raxes was deceased, Ssereth temporarily assisted the Sin Envy, in exchange for help finding his God-King. The deal was never acted upon, as he decided the hunt should be something he completes on his own. On a final expedition through the Crystal Castle, Ssereth, aided by Zhepe, found a lich skeleton of his God-King, missing a talon, the same one Ssereth had found. The skeleton imbued doubt and dread in his mind, thinking his deity had given in to lichdom to seek true survival, but was proven wrong as the vision of Raxes appeared before him, taking the opportunity to commune with Ssereth, finally, and set things right. The lich skeleton was a simple ruse, used by the castle to dissuade Ssereth from investigating the castle further. Raxes and Ssereth had a lengthy discussion, savoring the moment before Raxes would forever be gone, awaiting his Advisor in the afterlife. Still somewhat in shock and denial, Ssereth pleaded for a way to save him or revive him, but never got the opportunity again. Instead, Ssereth was told that he must 'protect his own tribe now'.

### Project Avarast

In the wake of this, Ssereth contributed signifigant amounts of gold to Project Avarast, being the largest donator. This earned him a visit with Darkan and Griniek, where Ssereth was promised a permanent place as an Advisor for the city of Avarast. However, the previous interaction with Envy, and the Commandments of Pride, left him unworthy, and once sought the Shrine of Charity to atone for his mistakes, and prove that he is free of sin.

After the events of Project Avarast, and the city not coming into the world of Dreamer's Respite as promised, Ssereth began an investigation into the knowledge and efforts put forward by prominent members of Charon. The end of the investigation left him with barely a lead, but subsequent visits with Griniek in Avarast's condensed state only gave him more questions than answers. Intending to ask Darkan questions, he instead found his body decayed, a wicked knife still embedded in his chest. Ultimately, Ssereth decided to perform the ritual that Griniek provided him that would bring Avarast into existence, believing initially that the ritual was dangerous, and the city would appear on top of the ritual performer. The only clues the lizardfolk has now are to the library of infinite knowledge, pointed out by a significantly aged Griniek.

## Combat

In combat, Ssereth excels in defensive fights, where he has the time and opportunity to provide an array of buffs to himself and allies. Thanks to various feats and items, Ssereth has high AC and several options at his disposal to reduce incoming damage. Doubling as a support, Ssereth has healing extracts, and the ability to replace allies' certain skill checks, and Fort/Reflex/Will saves with his own, as well as free rerolls of a single d20 per round. Swordplay feats combine with his studied combat to provide massive single-target bonuses, making him an excellent one-on-one combatant. However, he lacks area-of-effect capabilities, and damage output.