Thurman Upton Manly

Placeholder: brief introductory description.

## **In Baldur's Gate**

Thurman is a native to Baldur's Gate. The Manly family has served the Ravenshade family of patriars for generations as a personal guard and chaplain. The Ravenshades made their wealth trading in dyes, inks, gems, and jewelry, and are devout followers of the Lord of Bones, as are the Manlys. The sheer wealth the Ravenshades have acquired have allowed them to keep their faith a relative secret.

### **Home**

Ravenshade Manor sits on the southern side of the Manorborn neighborhood in Upper City, several blocks west of Hhune House. It is an old, gothic looking structure with ivy climbing up the stone walls.

### **Family, Friends, and Contacts**

***Lady Amaranth Ravenshade.*** The dowager matriarch of the Ravenshade family is coming upon her 88th year. She is a dry and hateful woman who clings to her life and title with an iron grip. She is a devout follower of the Lord of Bones and has always maintained a cold respect for the Manly clerics.

***Lord Corvus Ravenshade.*** Corvus Ravenshade is one of Lady Amaranth's middle children, but he gets along well enough with his eldest brother, Lucian, who will inherit the title. Corvus and Thurman are close in age and grew up together. They have always shared a strong friendship and healthy rivalry.

***Carmilla Manly.*** Thurman's eldest child is his 27-year-old daughter, Carmilla. She currently serves the Ravenshades as a lady-in-waiting. Her dreams, desires, and psyche were all shattered after a visit to one of the infamous night revels at Eomane House. Since returning from the event, she has never been the same.

***Martyn Manly.*** Thurman's son, Martyn, is 23. Like all of the men in the Manly family, Martyn is expected to become a cleric of Myrkul. However, his heart has not settled on this and drifts between the calling of the clergy and the thrill of the battlefield. While he demonstrates both great in skill in warcraft and devout worship, Myrkul has not yet blessed him with divine magic.

## **Dark Secret: The Eomane Event**

In one way or another, all of the heroes are tied to the accidental murder of Lady Dolandre Eomane, which occurred roughly two years ago. Whether it was revenge, complacency, or sheer bad luck, each hero is in some way connected to the string of events that led to her death. But Dolandre was not the intended victim...

It is known in certain circles that the Eomane family is fond of hosting scandalous masked revels at their manor. What is less known is that the lady of the manor, Nysene Eomane, likes to extend invitations to hopeful social climbers from other districts with the intent to trap them for the night in a cruel and sadistic game of cat and mouse.

Carmilla Manly was one of these unfortunate victims.

### **Thurman's Role**

The day that Carmilla Manly wandered back to Ravenshade Manor after her evening at Eomane House was a fateful day for Thurman. Carmilla was meek, terrified, an unresponsive. She was unable to speak for several days with the exception of one word: Nysene. Whatever she endured had left her a shell of her former self, and it was Nysene Eomane's fault. Thurman's son, Martyn, discovered Carmilla's diary, which contained notations that she and a friend of hers were filled with anticipation about a masked gala at Eomane House.

Outraged, Thurman brought the diary to the High Hall, seeking justice for his daughter and hoping to use the diary to implicate Nysene. He spoke with a paladin clerk, who reviewed the diary. The clerk informed him that this was not the first complaint that has been received about these events, and that nothing has been done about them in the past. She asked him if he was able to produce concrete proof that his daughter's current condition was a result of Nysene Eomane and he, frustrated, told her that he would take care of it himself.

Thurman decided to enact revenge on Nysene, seeing her as a fitting offering to the Lord of Bones. He was able to bribe a chef at Eomane House, Barney Muckchucker, to allow him access to the home and a delicious spread of food that Barney was preparing for Nysene and an art dealer she was meeting with. After poisoning the food, Thurman left the property confident that he would get his revenge.

Unbeknownst to Thurman and Barney, Nysene had decided she was too busy to deal with art and sent her sister, Dolandre, in her stead. The murder created quite a scandal in Baldur's Gate for a brief time and it wasn't long before Thurman found out that Dolandre Eomane had been killed instead of Nysene. Now, his daughter remains broken and her tormentor walks free, and Thurman can do little about it without implicating himself.

## **Adventure Hook**

In recent weeks, reports of murders and robberies by cultists of the Dead Three have risen to a strangely alarming level. The Ravenshades are concerned that this may negatively impact the family's carefully balanced arrangements. Additionally, Corvus Ravenshade, a close friend of Thurman's, thinks that these cultists are acting outside of the Dead Three's wishes, as such brazen attacks are uncharacteristic.

At the behest of the Ravenshades, Thurman has enlisted in the Flaming Fist's draft to help defend the city in the face of an influx of refugees from the holy city of Elturel for some unknown reason. It is their hope that the authority that comes with being a Flaming Fist deputy will help Thurman to find out more about these reckless cultists. His first instructions are to meet Captain Darmin Zodge at the Basilisk Gate for orders.

## **Statistics Summary**

Thurman is a level 1 human (Chondathan) cleric.

## **Character Questionnaire**

***Which emotion best describes you?***

Answer.

***What are your goals in life?** **What do you need most?***

Answer.

***When did you grow up?*** ***What are your roots?***

Define 3 important things you learned growing up.

* Lesson 1
* Lesson 2
* Lesson 3

***What do you look like? How do you dress?***

Answer.

***What are your personal tastes?***

Define 3 likes.

* Like 1
* Like 2
* Like 3

Define 3 dislikes.

* Dislike 1
* Dislike 2
* Dislike 3

***What are three of your worst fears?***

Define 3 fears.

* Fear 1
* Fear 2
* Fear 3

***What is your deepest regret?***

Answer.

***What are your opinions on the issues of the day?***

Define up to 3 opinions on the issues of the day.

* Opinion 1
* Opinion 2
* Opinion 3

***What is your comfort zone?***

Answer.

***Who has had the biggest impact on your life?***

Answer.

***What are some of your unexpected quirks?***

Answer.