Amon Illiad

> "*What have I done to deserve your kindness, Essatha? Your forgiveness? You know who I am, what I've done. Your companions don't seem to share your sentiments, as well they shouldn't.*"
> ― Lord Amon, to Essatha
>
>

## Character Information

### Also known as

Lord Amon
Lord of Briarton
Ruler of the Emerald Expanse
Bearmaster

### Family

Amelie Jacqueline Clermont-Illiad (mother)
Amelie Montebank (niece)
Arthur Illiad (father)
Camilla Venturi-Illiad (stepmother)
Fontane Venturi-Illiad (stepbrother)
Josephine Illiad-Montebank (sister)
Korey Montebank (nephew)

### Connections

Caesar (pet dog)
Barnabus (friend)

## Stats

### Level

3

Lord Amon Thomas Illiad is a human fighter and minor lord of Etheron. As an NPC, he is played by Amayla.

## Description

### Appearance

Amon is a tall man, lean but muscular. He dresses often in desaturated colours, especially blues, and in furs. Standard garb includes a floor-length mantle with a fur collar, a leather jerkin, tight trousers, leather gloves, and knee-high boots.

### Personality

From what the party has seen so far, Amon is a somewhat solitary man, and not well-known outside of his domain of the Emerald Expanse. He is stern and stoic, preferring his own space and keeping his emotions largely guarded. That said, there is a somewhat melancholy air to him, and his words have indicated a lack of self-esteem.

He seems to put little value on his own life, evidenced by his quickness to throw himself into danger during the "Rescue Giselle" quest. This is supported by the presence of hunting trophies in his home, most of which are large and highly dangerous predators such as bears.

## Biography

### Backstory

Amon was born to Arthur and Amelie Illiad, and raised in Briarton: a small town in the territory of the Emerald Expanse. At the age of 13, his mother passed away from the Winter Fever.

At 15, his father remarried: taking a widowed aristocrat of the White Moors- Camilla Venturi- as his second wife. Her son, Fontane, was two years Amon's elder, and was named heir to the Illiad estate: taking the title away from him.

Over the course of the following year, Amon endured significant abuse by his new stepbrother. Unable to defend himself and finding no aid from his father or stepmother, he resolved to teach Fontane a lesson by shutting him in the family crypt hidden in the manor's cellar. While intending only to leave him there for an hour or two to frighten him, Amon found himself unable to reopen the passage upon returning. Fearing the wrath of his parents, he failed to seek aid in retrieving Fontane from the crypt before he died of dehydration.

Fontane's disappearance went unsolved for 33 years.

### Reclaim Illiad Manor (Quest)

The party first met Amon in the small waypoint town of Harthstrom, at the Boar's Tusk Tavern. There, they learned he had suffered great misfortune: his estate had been overtaken by some unknown entity that had frightened away his staff and the townsfolk, forcing him to flee as well. The party offered him their help in retaking the manor in exchange for coin, to which he reluctantly agreed.

At the manor, the party found the remains of a previous adventuring party and of a servant girl, the latter of whom rose as a zombie to attack them. After ensuring the bodies were left unable to rise again and a thorough search of the manor, they found the family crypt hidden away in the cellar: where Amon's ancestors had risen in their skeletal forms to wander the sealed halls. Defeating the risen undead, they were confronted by the spirit of a young man named Fontane: Amon's long-dead stepbrother. Agreeing to hear his side of the story, they learned that Amon had sealed Fontane away in the crypts when they were children, where he eventually died. They also learned that something had only recently awakened Fontane's spirit, allowing him to exact vengeance on his apparent murderer.

### Rescue Giselle (Quest)

Upon returning to the Boar's Tusk, they found the tavern keeper, Barnabus, kicking Amon out: blaming the misfortune that clung to him for the kidnapping of his youngest daughter earlier that evening. The party immediately regathered themselves to go after her, led by a determined Amon to the bandit camp where she was being held. They freed her, though not without a scuffle with the bandits and their apparent employer: a wizard claiming allegiance to someone called "The Raven Lord." Amon was severely wounded in the fight, but Sulhadur's healing abilities and a potion provided by Essatha kept him on his feet.

After killing the wizard and killing or capturing the entirety of the bandit group, Essatha was able to pry further information on the events at the manor from Amon with some carefully-worded questions. He identified the deceased girl as one of his former servants, a young woman named Marie whom he had helped raise following the untimely death of her parents. He also confessed to the murder of Fontane, expressing immense guilt over the crime.

### Bury the Dead (Quest)

Returning to the Boar's Tusk with the party, Amon was accepted back into the establishment by a grateful Barnabus. The following morning, he expressed to the group that he was willing to be turned in to the Council of Etheron and tried for Fontane's murder once his affairs had been put in order. Abernathy firmly denied intent to do so, and he accompanied the party forward to Himloroth unhindered.

## Relationships

### Barnabus

Amon seems to have a long-standing friendship with Barnabus, the owner of the Boar's Tusk tavern. They refer to each other as "friend," and speak to one another more as equals than as Lord and subject. Barnabus' children also seem attached to Amon, Giselle expressing immense concern for his safety during the "Rescue Giselle" quest and looking to him for comfort. This relationship goes deep enough for Barnabus to casually refer to Amon as an uncle to his children, despite no shared blood.

Barnabus also seems to have intimate knowledge of Amon's family and life, stating to Essatha that he's known Amon "since he was a wee tyke."

### Caesar

Amon owns a large Tibetan Mastiff by the name of Caesar. He raised Caesar as a puppy, and trained him as a hunting dog to help him take down animals as powerful as bears. The dog is immensely loyal to him, and they are extremely protective of one another.

### Fontane Venturi-Illiad

Amon's relationship with Fontane is somewhat complicated. As a child, Amon suffered emotional abuse by his older stepbrother, leaving lasting issues with his self-esteem and a deep-seated need to prove himself. Though despising Fontane as a result, Amon also exhibits immense guilt over having caused the boy's untimely death.

Amon keeps Fontane's official portrait in the gallery of his manor, refusing to erase his memory. When prompted about him, he does not speak ill of Fontane: saying only that they didn't get along.

Despite his regrets, he could not bring himself to remove Fontane's remains from the family crypt, leaving them there to eventually be found by the party.

## Character Information

### Abilities

As a Fighter in the Battle Master path, Amon excels in controlling the battlefield. He specializes in a number of combat maneuvers that allow him to counter and disarm opponents.

#### Feats

* Martial Adept
	+ Maneuvers: Riposte, Trip Attack
	+ +1 Superiority Die

#### Fighter Abilities

##### Class Features

* Action Surge
* Fighting Style: Dueling
* Martial Archetype: Battle Master
	+ Maneuvers: Disarming Attack, Parry, Sweeping Attack
	+ Student of War: Carpenter's Tools
	+ Superiority Dice (4d8)
* Second Wind

### Notable Items

* Ring of Protection +1
* Dagger of Frost [x2]

## Quotations

* "I will *not* be spoken to in such a crude fashion, let alone by this... *ruffian!*"
* "I will not be threatened by this feathered upstart, nor will I be disgraced by the likes of you."
* "Did you not hear me? The last group didn't. Come. Back. I'm not going to ask any of you to risk your lives to whatever the *hell* has taken over my manor."
* "I'd prefer not to pay them in anything but their own blood."
* "Bandits have a tendency to be... *rash* and prideful. Perhaps we can appeal to a competitive streak."
* "If you have moved to harm a *single hair* on Josephine's head I swear I will tear you **limb from limb.**"
* "I... can't say we got along. Let's leave it at that. But his body was never recovered. Anything could have become of him."
* "...I did. I did it. I... *I* killed Fontane. I didn't mean to kill him, you have to believe me. I just... I wanted him to stop..."
* "You weren't there! You didn't live with him, day after day. He didn't *berate* you constantly, never *pushed you around,* never *lied* to get you in trouble. You didn't have to deal with him *lording* everything over you."
* "What have I done to deserve your kindness, Essatha? Your forgiveness? You know who I am, what I've done. Your companions don't seem to share your sentiments, as well they shouldn't."
* "...It wasn't *one mistake,* Essatha. Locking him in there was a mistake. Every moment of my silence after was a mistake. Every chance I failed to take to get him out was a mistake. Every day his body sat there was a mistake. I should have laid him to rest properly years ago, and I didn't. Nothing I ever do will make up for every wrong I have done him, every *inaction* I have taken. And now I have to pay for it. Do not fool yourself into thinking otherwise."

## Trivia

* Amon had a second dog named Brutus, which was killed by Fontane's ghost for barking too much.
* His horse's name is Maestro.
* He prefers his coffee served black.