Qrigmax Clawstrider

Hand drawn by Joma, colored by me :)

Qrigmax Clawstrider is a kobold Paladin/Sorcerer, played by Tyler Lesaca.

## **Intro**

You hear booming footsteps as the very ground beneath you tremors. In the distance, you see a hulking giant robotic figure towards you at an alarming pace. It approaches you and salutes then turns around to reveal a colorfully dressed kobold strapped to its back.

The kobold, 9 feet in the air, yells to get your attention.

*"HELLO FRIEND, MY NAME IS QRIGMAX."*

Qrigmax points a scaly talon at the shield guardian.

*"HIS NAME BRUTUS, HE FRIEND TOO."*

The medallion on his chest glows and signals the shield guardian to put him on the floor gently. The kobold approaches you and sniffs your scent, signalling friendship. You get a good glimpse of the peculiarly dressed smallfolk now upclose and find him surprisingly well dressed, well, for kobold standards at least.

Qrigmax looks up at you and smiles widely, an arm outstretched.

## **Description**

### **Appearance**

Red scaled kobold with green eyes and purple wings. Not often seen without sporting his signature purple suit and top hat, and a single gauntlet on his right arm.

### **Personality**

Typically lighthearted but methodological when called to action. Qrigmax aims to emulate the righteousness that paladins of devotion are known for, at times however, his kobold carefree attitude can get the best of him.

## **Biography**

### **Early life**

Having grown tired of dragon worship, Qrigmax sought a way to overpass their strength and find a way to free his kobold brethren from dragon enslavement. Stealing away into the night with a pilfered bottle of dragon blood, Qrigmax stowed away on a dwarven missionary boat and left behind all he knew for the small chance at something greater.

The dwarves were not impolite or immediately hostile to him. They cared for and taught Qrigmax their faith to Berronar Truesilver, a goddess from the dwarven pantheon whose domain specializes in the protection of others. Through these faenor, Qrigmax was shown the importance of the home. The home is security, it provides shelter and turns those from wanderer to protector. He has since then carried these virtues with him throughout all his journeys.

Engrossed in his newfound oath, Qrigmax finally started to feel as if he belonged to a family for once, unlike back at home in Chessenta. But the gods had other plans for him when a strong storm overturned their vessel and drowned the dwarves he considered as family. Being the only survivor, Qrigmax salvaged all that he could from the wreckage, a shield with Berronar's symbol, and vowed to show the world the same kindness the faenor had.

### **Life as an adventurer**

His rise to becoming a paladin of virtue was a long and arduous road. After disembarking from the boat, he found himself already being sucked into the mists of Barovia, where he met his now lifetime friends, Parapon and Lux Ferre.
### **Paladin Inspiration**

Despite coming from a family of paladins, Qrigmax was not formally trained yet and thus fought the only way he knew how, as a rogue. It wasn't until one particular adventure where he found himself up against a white dragon zombie where a fellow adventurer named Raven, a paladin, soared through the air and felled the beast in one swing. That moment had struck Qrigmax's thirst to become a hero and he abandoned his old practices and set out on becoming a paladin himself.

### **Hecatomb**

Since then, Qrigmax has vanquished many threats and made many friends in the name of his goddess. After hitting a dead end in his trial to thwart the Vampire Count Strahd Von Zarovich, Qrigmax went on a journey of self discovery. After countless travels, he wound up in a fight to defend Faerun from the resurrection of the goddess of Necromancy. Through serving his duty to overthrow the forces of evil, Qrigmax had lost his beloved shield Guardian Brutus to the Dracolich summoned by the Harpers, Urshalla. At the same time, the faction leader they were tasked in protecting had also died. Using his last remaining spell slot, Qrigmax chose to revive their contact and sacrifice Brutus' life. The Shield Guardian was brought back to life through quick and clever witted ingenuity courtesy of Rhydlax Alduren. This experience fostered a new resolve in Qrigmax to slay any and all evils.

Ensuring to use his strength for good, Qrigmax answered the call to defend Faerun once again from the impending army of the demon lord known as Graz'zt. The assault had been a slog, and things seemed to be at their wits end when Qrigmax was sent to the maze dimension by Graz'zt's second in command, Squallocks. Fleeing from Baphomet, he came to a deadend and was cornered by the goat demon, when all of a sudden, Berronar cast down her light onto Qrigmax and brought him back into the fray. In Her name, Qrigmax smite down the Prince of Darkness and tore his head clean off.

### **Ravenloft Finale**

With a newfound courage, he then went back to finally put an end to Strahd. Using his dinner invitation, Qrigmax entered into the main banquet hall and had found that one of his first ever companions, Lux Ferre, had been turned into a vampire. Outraged, he pulled out the count's tome and a brutal combat initiated. Qrigmax was once again reminded of just how frail his body was when he found himself constantly teetering on the line between life and death throughout their duel. After a grueling fight, the final blow had been struck by a fellow adventurer named Malfurion. She was then later revealed to be current incarnation Sergei's betrothed, Tatyana. During this reveal, Qrigmax and Parapon rushed to the now crumbling body of Lux.

"I finally have a place in heaven now." were Lux' last words. Leaving behind his ashes and the Sunsword they had found together. Pulling the hilt from Lux' remains, Qrigmax now continues to live life as an adventurer in hopes of finding a way to defeat evil once and for all, and relinquish his kobold race from enslavement.   "Tiamat, you're next."

### **First kiss of death**

His first ever adventure in Barovia's Death House is where he learned that life doesn't stop at death.
While having not died permanently yet himself, Qrigmax is no stranger to the great beyond. Many of his fellow adventurers have been on the brink of death and Qrigmax will thrust aside all other obligations to prevent their untimely demise.

Qrigmax met his end at the hands of arch-lich, Larloch. Details below.

## **Journal Excerpts**

*Qrigmax’s Diary*: (Translated from Draconic)
Date: *Alturiak 17, 1498 DR*
The events at Chult have left me shaken. While I now have found a new resolve to quicken the destruction of undeath, I cannot lie that what they enacted upon my friends was anything short of unnerving. Szazz Tam may have been bested but he was but a pawn among the grand scheme in the hierarchy of evil at play. Ever since Myth Drannor, I find myself unable to shake the feeling that something, or someone has been watching me closely.
Larloch, a name that I’ve been hearing in hushed whispers amongst the more magic inclined members of my adventures. The threat of his undying gaze seems to linger despite freeing myself of the burdens of that fateful day in the ruined city. I can only hope it’s just paranoia; in the meantime, I must remain vigilant in the rehabilitation of the three kobolds I’ve adopted from Waterdeep. They are my children now, my responsibilities. I hope to imprint upon them my virtues of defending the home. They can be rambunctious at times, but I love them all the same. They seem to have taken a liking to my shield guardian, Brutus, and as long as they’re happy, that’s good enough for me.

Date: *Alturiak 25, 1498 DR*
I was enjoying supper with my new family when I received another summon to aid Faerun. My children reacted with worry, but I assured them I’d see them tomorrow to continue their paladin training. I promised them I would be gone 3 days at most. Touching the floor and burning some incense I casted Fine Steed and brought Bessy, my brown bear, back into the world. I touched my palm to her forehead and entrusted her to watch over my children in my absence.
I arrive now at the grand library known as Candlekeep. I am greeted by an odd yet experienced looking troupe of fellow adventurers. Niceties were exchanged and we were guided through the facilities by a good lad nicknamed Inkpot. Passing by the research facilities, I handed them the Tome of Strahd I had acquired from that dreadful demiplane; that chapter in my life I now consider long closed. With this gesture I hope to further the scholar’s studies as well as put to rest the misconceptions of the famous vampire. He may have been a confusing fellow, but he deserves respect in the afterlife all the same.
We were given a parcel which upon opening, imprinted itself onto our Warlock. We entered a new plane of existence, unfamiliar to us all despite our years of experience. Said realm transformed into caverns with the usual evil bad guy decorations, nothing too unfamiliar.
We now stand before a lich who refers to himself as Rhaugilath. He claimed that the door beyond was the nest for a crystal known as the Writhing Battery, as to what it did, he would not say, only to task us with burying it lest his master Larloch use it to end all of Faerun. There was that name again, if this meant throwing a wrench in a great evil’s plans, then allying with a lich, while questionable, sounded like the lesser of evils at the time. He warned us that if we came back before our quest complete, we would most certainly die. When we opened the door, my heart sank as the laboratory made itself known to us. Dozens of Pillars of Annihilation orbiting the area, a green gargantuan crystal at the center, and a dracolich made of worms resting atop it.
With little effort, our team made quick work of the dracolich that anticipated our arrival; I banished the dead dragon to Celestia to show the Platinum Father how far I’ve grown. Through some quick thinking, our spellcasters shattered the ceiling and buried the Writhing Battery in the rubble.
Our task complete, we made our way back to Rhaugilath’s door. It was locked.
“What are we scared of, we’re Lichslayers!”, I declared, and strode forward, unphased by Rhaugilath’s threat.
“Let us in! We’ve served our due!”, demanded our bladesinger.
The door remained rigid, refusing to move despite any means of effort displayed. The others immediately sprang away and cast their means of teleportation magic, but there wasn’t enough magic for me and Mana to escape as well.
Understanding the situation I was now in, my throat dried as I realized this is the end of the line for me. I undonned and handed over my Scimitar of Speed and White Robes of the Archmagi, my most prized possessions, to our bard, Hiraya.
“Make sure this gets to Pako. You are still young, save yourself and the others.”, I said to her.
“Are you sure?”, she questioned.
“I’ve carried my oath, and I will die upholding it,” to steel myself for a losing battle, I called upon Berronar one last time to cast Crusader’s Mantle.
“Now go!”, my claws ablaze with the same familiar scorching radiance, I charged at the spot where Larloch was materializing. Slowly he became whole, a lich in every sense of the word. His gangly limbs draped in robes similar to my own, items upon items, and circling around his head were all 21 ioun stones. I shuddered and fought back against my instincts to grovel, I wouldn’t go down a coward. I was face to face with strongest adversary I’ve seen thus far, and I will not falter, not now. My life has lead to this moment! I am more than just a kobold and today I would prove it!
I leapt forward, gunning for the master of undeath, weaving inbetween annihialiation columns, losing life force as I pushed onward. With my wings, I flew directly for Larloch yet stopped right infront of his visage, I remained frozen in the air. My consciousness retained, I realized I was locked in time. Larloch stared at me with a grin, his smile writhe with worms.
“Kyuss shall return”, he wretched out.
My life flashed before my eyes as I recognized Larloch moving his hands in sequence to cast a spell. I worried, what would he cast on me? This was a diety capable of untold horror. Would I be intact? Why had Berronar chosen me? Had I let Her down? Could I have done more? Had I let every kobold down? Was everything I worked for in vain? What of my family? Would Rhydlax remember me? Would anyone? Would I meet with Oglok? Would I be resurrected in Celestia like Lux was?
I never got to tell Parapon I love her.
Magic unfurled from Larloch’s hands as a purple smoke. It enveloped me yet to my surprise, I felt no pain. With a simple wave of his hand, I am called to the dark void. There is nothing here. I meet with no one, I am simply no more.

The sun has set over a small cottage on the borders of Cormanthor forest, the Moonsea region a quiet and serene calm. The three kobolds playing around their iron behemoth like a jungle gym when all of a sudden, its light fades as it shuts down and becomes inanimate. The kobolds stared at each other in disbelief, their wordless understanding shared amongst them.
Their father would not be returning home, not tonight, not ever.

## **Relationships and Affiliations**

### Rhydlax Alduren

A drow elf and bestfriend that Qrigmax had met fairly early into his journeys. Their dynamic in combat is unparalleled.

### Parapon

A human turned halfling that had accompanied Qrigmax throughout his entire ordeal in Barovia. Her healing spells have brought Qrigmax back countless amounts of times. They share a bond that cannot be broken. Secretly loves her but will not tell.

### Lux Ferre

An Aasimar that Qrigmax met during his travels in Barovia. Upon finding the Sunsword, instead of claiming it for himself, Qrigmax gave it to the fellow paladin as kobolds and sunlight don't mix. Lux was ultimately turned into a vampire under Strahd's control. (Or so Qrigmax believes)

### Oglok

A half-orc whom Qrigmax met late into his adventures. They both share an affinity for peace, love, and gardening. Frequented Oglok's estate in Mulmaster on vacation trips.

## **Character Information**

### **Modules Played (In order)**

* Death House
* The Seer
* A Dish Best Served Cold
* Dark Lord
* Redemption of Kelvan
* Tyranny in Phlan
* Great Upheaval
* Occupation of Szith Morcane
* Hecatomb
* Assault on Maerimydra
* OOTA Maze
* And lots of CoS inbetween

### **Magic Items**

* Cloak of Displacement (Attuned)
* Insignia of Claws (On Shield Guardian)
* Shield + 3
* Shield Guardian Amulet (No Rarity)
* Amulet of Health (Attuned)
* Scimitar of Speed (Attuned)
* Dex Tome (Used)
* Luckblade (Used)
* Sunsword

### **Story Awards**

* Demiplane of Dread
* Touched by the Mists
* Escaped from the Demiplane of Dread
* Scarn Slayer
* Faction Savior
* Gatekeeper of the Divine
* Shared Valor

### **Notable Play Style**

Actions tied to his devotion to Berronar, when there is no person in immediate need of help, does his best to dish out damage using smites.

### **Personality Traits**

Carefree and righteous, methodological when called to action.

### **Ideals**

In a world full of evil, seek to do good. Who else will?

### **Bonds**

Find a home for me and all those who need one

### **Flaws**

Helping those in need is always first priority. Gets depressed when party mates don't attempt to parley first.

#### **Quotes and Best Moments**

*"Qrigmax knows not what Berronar has intended for him. But you who have killed my friends, prepare to face justice." - Short monologue to a blue dragon before flying up and critting it with disadvantage, slaying it.*

*"Break my toys? If you so much as touch Brutus, I will break your spirit!" - Qrigmax's final words to the Dark Prince Graz'zt before sending him back to the abyss.*

*Clutching Lux by the shoulder, watching him turn into dust. Qrigmax whispers only one audible word, saying goodbye to his longtime companion. "Friend."*