Lien Linestrate

> "*... you know, I used to own a wand of Mage Hand allegedly crafted by a bard. It was said that bard's music really slapped.*"
> ― Lien, on the subject of a certain cantrip
>
>

Of the most recent generation of the Linestrates, founders of Linestrate University, and a rather wealthy family. Recently became the "official" bearer of the Topaz Bolt, too. An old friend of Lamisle's mother, Ieliza. Has traveled to Peregrine because he thinks he's learned something about her cadvercord, which he feels is relevant to his occupation as an appraiser of peculiar relics and artifacts. In truth it's closer to an overstated hobby, but he's made it work for him, and his family's wealth certainly doesn't hurt the practice much.

## Statistics

* **Proficiency**: Arcana, History, Insight, Persuasion

## Appearance

Lien's height is somewhat average, with a frame that usually goes unnoticed under a layer of eye-catching and (debatably) fashionable choice of clothes. His face appears young despite his age, with eyes that glimmer a strong golden color as they observe nearly anything put in front of them--within politeness, of course. His bright blonde hair sticks out in untamed swirls from underneath a gray beanie with intricately woven green patterns. His skin can grow pale over long whiles spent indoors, but quickly shifts to a fresh tan color if he spends nearly any time outside.

The wardrobe worn by Lien makes an attempt to mix fashion and function with an admitted bias towards the latter. His long-sleeved green jacket is made of an expensive material known for its magically enhanceable durability, and his orange scarf is actually a reinforced weapon that can function as a whip while also hiding a blade for more upfront stabbing. Also on his person is a focus crystal he believes strengthens his spells, though when he's not fighting it looks like little more than a belt ornament. A trick he likes to do when casting at range is fit it into the scarf and wrap it up to make the initial tool into a sort of ornate wand.

On his dominant hand sits a ring with a small gem barely noticeable in it. In actuality, the gem is the Topaz Bolt, a legendary item of extreme magical ability. While Lien is able to cast without it, the gem seems to have taken to him, and he sees no overbearing reason to just leave it at home.

## Personality

Having grown up in a notably comfortable environment, it's no stretch to assume Lien to be somewhat spoiled. While over the years he's grown out of particularly detrimental habits incurred by such, he projects an outward aura of nonchalance towards most things, seemingly assuming others can take care of themselves. In reality, Lien is just really indecisive. Deciding what is the "right" thing to do stops Lien dead in his tracks when pressure is applied, and pressure can mean a lot of things in this context.

Suffice to say, Lien is addicted to thinking things through and having long, organized stacks and lists. While it's not exactly how his brain always operates, he often wants little more than the right thing to be the thing that's happening at any given moment. What that thing is and if others agree on it is where his mind often dives into, though, which is where the vice lies for him. However, when the stars align and he feels correct in a course of action, he'll do his absolute best to take the straightest possible shot to satisfaction.

Lien also has a bit of self-assigned pressure, being the child of a family that runs a prestigious university. He's managed to avoid needing to commit to much of that, but even he knows his time is limited on that front--especially as he ages. Until then, though, he just wants to make sure he doesn't act in a way that'll make people take detrimental notice to his family or their relations.

### Traits

 **Quirks:** | Makes very bad jokes about nearly anything he hears to anyone who will listen, when appropriate.

## Character Relationships

Lucas Jones: Lien hopes this young recently-turned-tabaxi is the bearer of the Citrine Earth. He has some serious inner issues that he also finds a professional to address at some point, too. Lien wishes he could do more for his fellow Esper-wielder, but beyond that is simply astonished and elated to have found another in Peregrine City!

Quezal Cotella: A friendly and skilled knight with some seeming self-image issues. Lien met him through a quest and is tangentially invested in his goal to recover a series of MacGuffins he lost carrying them from home. By MacGuffins, he means magical artifacts, of course, but when you deal with such objects on a daily basis you end up having to play with terms to keep yourself sane.

Ieliza Vincons: Lien met Ieliza, Lamisle's mother, through his family connections for an in-depth interview study he was conducting on the history and nature of magical instruments in his early years at the university. She was in town, and the two hit it off surprisingly well due to a shared interest in stories and, to an extent, music. Before the incident that effectively ended her career, he was a somewhat frequent face at her performances when he was able to attend.

Lamisle: He knew Lamisle when she was a kid, but hasn't seen her recently. After arriving in Peregrine she's been awfully prickly to him, though. He can't really blame her due to his sudden introduction and is thankful for her patience with him in other areas of his investigation. Still, his feelings aren't bulletproof...

Roselle Fogue: Holy heated heavens above are *all* of the Esper bearers in this city? That's amazing!!! Lien's made a mental note to try and regard other bearers as more than... just, like, bearers, but when you've only known them for a day or two that's easier said than done. Lien likes how calm she is compared to some of the other characters in the bearer group.

Lumi: A friend of Lamisle's, it seems. Friendly, but with some pretty intimidating alter-egos.

Tarolina Malcruz: Tara seems nice, if not a bit inconsistently smug about himself. He also likes to go on his phone during meetings, it seems, which is less nice. But the guy's an alright discount therapist.

Zephyr Sekery: A friend of Lamisle's, it seems. Zephyr also bears a striking resemblance to Quezal. Should he ask? Eh. That's a question for another day—literally.

Crimson: A coworker within the Proto-Arena Tournament. Lien thinks Crimson would be a cool guy to hang out with if he didn't always turn the conversation on others with words sounding like vanity.

Xeno: At first he was intrigued about Xeno's obsession with "Koop". But after seeing the reactions of others, now he's just concerned.

* Knows these Characters:
	+ Ellie Gante
	+ Gell Atta
	+ Lincoln Kloksmute
	+ Ryke Tailor
	+ Val
	+ Wren Fair-Terri

## Skills and Abilities

### Acquired/Learned Abilities

* **Magic**: Lien knows magic! His casting methods generally center around letting the world's influence "flow" through you, not too unlike how many perceive druidic magic. He's taught himself to speed up his casting via his use of focus crystals, something known and accepted by most mages, though his cited reasons for it are... admittedly not backed up with the most evidence.
* **Relic Studies**: Lien studied magical relics and artifacts while attending his family's university. While he's more interested in what he finds in the present, he knows a decent bit about magical items if asked.
* **Fighting Studies**: Amidst his academics, Lien knew if he wanted to search out the relics he was so interested in he wouldn't be able to do it from the comfort of home all the time. Due to such he also trained his fighting skills and can be surprisingly dextrous when wielding a weapon.

### Esper Arts: Topaz Bolt

The Topaz Bolt represents the ability to reason and assert judgement. Besides that, though, it has powerful magics tied to affinity for lightning and electricity. Lien generally sticks to using the magic boost for his own spells, but knows a couple tricks drawn from the gem's power itself.

* **Lightning!**: Exactly what it sounds like, usually accompanied by form of the aforementioned phrase.
	+ ZAP
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- 120 feet range
		- Ranged spell attack
		- 2d10 lightning damage on a hit
* **Lightning Rod**: Latch onto an opponent and give them an electric shock!
	+ D20 mechanics:
		- You can use your melee weapon to perform a grapple (on hit, escape DC 14)
			* When an opponent is grappled this way, you cannot use the weapon to perform attacks, and cannot grapple another opponent this way
		- As a bonus action when you have someone grappled, you can force them to make a CON save against 2d6 lightning damage, taking half on a success
		- On a failed save, they additionally cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn
* **Judgment Paralysis**: Bring someone to terms with their transgressions and stop them in their tracks.
	+ If successful, the transgressor's limbs refuse to let them run, compelled to stay by the Topaz Bolt.
	+ D20 mechanics:
		- Lien locks eyes with a target within 30 feet who he can see and that can see, hear, and understand him and issues a denouncement of their misdeeds. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against Lien's spell save DC (14).
			* If the misdeeds spoken by Lien are untrue, the target automatically succeeds on the save.
		- On a failure, they are incapacitated (see condition) and their speed becomes 0.
		- This condition lasts 10 minutes and requires concentration.
			* Once as a reaction while concentrating on this feature, Lien can cast Shield without expending a spell slot.
		- This feature cannot be used again until Lien completes a long rest.

* **Sync**: Sometimes Lien and the spirit within the Topaz Bolt (known oftentimes as "Ramuh") get on the same page. A lot.
	+ Gives Lien a heightened cap on his magical ability for 30 seconds and opens nearly every facet of the Topaz Bolt's power, basically turning him into a human lightning nuke.
	+ On the downside, he has no idea how to activate this, bar something vague about "forging his own justice" or whatever.
	+ He knows it exists, at least?
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- For the duration, Lien gains the following benefits. All of these benefits end after 30 seconds.
		- Lien temporarily gains 2 additional spell slots. These can be of any level he chooses, as long as he's able to cast it. Only one of the slots can be above 5th level, if applicable.
		- Any time Lien deals lightning damage, he adds his Wisdom modifier to the total damage

### Skills

* **Spellcasting**: Lien would be remiss if he didn't know a few spells. It's more a hobby of necessity, though, and one he's personalized to an intense degree. Thusly most of his magical skills take to the element of lightning instead of their more commonly-cast forms.
	+ Believe it or not, that was all the case *before* he obtained the Topaz Bolt, but the artifact has absolutely changed some aspects of his magical ability.
	+ D20 Mechanics:
		- A **\*** next to a spell indicates that it deals lightning damage in place of other damage types
		- Lien's spellcasting ability is WIS (Save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared.
			* Cantrips: Blade Ward, Fire Bolt**\***, Lightning Lure
			* Lv 1 (4 slots): Feather Fall, Ice Knife**\***, Ray of Sickness**\***
			* Lv 2 (3 slots): See Invisibility, Shadow Blade**\***
			* Lv 3 (2 slots): Lightning Bolt
* **Wardweave Jacket**: Lien's coat is for more than just looks. Once per day, he can focus his own magical ability through it to give himself a significant defensive boon as a mage armor-like spell wraps itself around him.
* **Lightning Resistance**: Courtesy of the Topaz Bolt.
* **Topaz Offense**: The Topaz Bolt provides a significant offensive boost when facing off against inherently good or evil creatures, for some reason. Lien's running hypothesis is that those creatures fall under the gem's oversight as a sort of "judge." He'd also appreciate it if you didn't ask why he was ordered to shock an angel that one time.
	+ Inherently good or evil creatures (celestials, fiends) take double damage from Lien's Esper Arts and have disadvantage on saves against them.
* **Topaz Defense**: Due to the Topaz Bolt's influence, Lien resists the damage from sudden accelerations. The image of a lightning bolt zig-zagging as it flashes across the sky might come to mind to explain the sensation.
	+ Provides resistance to bludgeoning damage from falling or being thrown into things
	+ Also halves the damage taken by things if he is thrown into them

### Weaknesses

* **Needs the Clear Shot**: Lien never acts decisively unless it's either a matter of life or death or he believes his actions are notably uncompromisable. He can defend himself just fine, but when it comes to preventing scenarios that would require him to need to defend himself he nearly never makes any headway. If he works too hard without feeling justified he can also fall into a rut rather quickly.
* **All to Nothing**: When Lien does decide to act, he always gives it all, rarely considering the exact amount of effort needed for a specific task before devoting himself 200%. However, his reserves aren't infinite, and if he overdoes something it's easy for him to be left drained.
* **Fire**: For some reason the Topaz Bolt attaches an innate weakness to fire onto poor Lien. Dang. Maybe he should stop wearing so many warm clothes?

## Equipment

### Key Items

* **Topaz Bolt**: A small topaz gem possessing the esper spirit of Ramuh, an overseer of choices and bringer of judgement.
	+ Fitted into a subtly ornate ring on Lien's left hand

### Weapons

* **Reinforced Scarfwhip**: A sturdy, stylish, and exceedingly utilitarian weapon.
	+ Can be coiled into a rapier-esque tool, used like a whip with an enhanced slashing tip, or even more!
	+ The cloth is enchanted to not get dirty, and mends itself in the instance of any break or tear
		- Naturally, this is a *very* expensive item to buy

* **Focus Crystal**: A small, semi-transparent orb used to focus Lien's magic
	+ Glows mesmerizingly when magic is cast in its vicinity
	+ Can be fit onto the coiled scarfwhip to use like a wand

### Other Equipment

* **Patterned Beanie**:
	+ Doesn't look half-bad

* **Wardweave Jacket**:
	+ An expensive coat with a built-in warding function

* **Pants**:
	+ With a belt to attach various things

* **Shoes**:
	+ Very debatably fashionable

* **Backpack**:
	+ To hold stuff that does fit on his belt
	+ Not the roomiest, but it doesn't muddle the look he's going for
		- ... wait, he's going for a look?

### Inventory

* **Traveler's Supplies**: What? You think he was in Peregrine this whole time?
	+ Mainly rations, water purification things, a cover tarp, and a small bit of artificed tech to keep him warm on the colder outdoor nights.
	+ Though he didn't use these on the way to Peregrine. He arranged to get driven in.
	+ He has the tools just in case, though.

* **Spell Scrolls**: Lien keeps a stash of these in case of emergencies.
	+ Known Scrolls:
		- Create/Destroy Water
		- Wall of Water

## History

Lien was born into the Linestrates and studied magic and fighting from a young age. Those around him growing up admired adventuring and what could be gained from it, and even while Lien was studying in more proper institutions he remained practiced for when he could go out into the world and change it the way he and others he knew so admired.

In his mid-20s, Lien pulled some strings with shady sources (in his defense he wasn't able to tell they were shady) to get his hand on a "glass statuette of inexplicable power" or something. He was at the peak of his collector's phase, and the deal was both oddly inexpensive and tantalizing enough to tempt him. Unbeknownst to him, hiding within the statue was the Topaz Bolt. Lien discovered such when a few years later he accidentally broke it open while moving his artifact hoard to a new location. After the incident and a bit of research, the identity of the newfound Esper became exceedingly apparent. However, nobody knew the Bolt was hidden inside before then, so for years it had simply gone undetected.

Through his digging Lien also learned more of the individuals that sold him the statue containing the Esper were... not the greatest. Since then he's been living with seething guilt that he even owns the Esper.

More recently, however, the Topaz Bolt has called out to Lien and chosen him as its bearer. This was around the time Lien finished his education and started to go on adventurer-like expeditions to satisfy his still-active collector's hobby. Why he was chosen Lien's not entirely sure, and it's a lot of pressure to take up. But he's not about to just reject a high-magic artifact! If anything, he wants to learn more about the other bearers through his own status as one.

He's come to Peregrine because, looking over some of his relics as well as his own knowledge, there's something peculiar about Ieliza's cadvercord he wants to get a better analysis of...