Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan

## Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan (he/ him)

Art by @digitalintrovert on tumblr. Used with permission. If using this art as reference, please credit the artist.

### Relatives

Saleh Amoun (father)
Hawaa Layla Halima (mother)
Saleh Ibrahim (brother)
Aziza Hawaa (sister)
Saira Hawaa Layla (sister)
Ishaq Saleh Amoun (brother)
Ismail Saleh Haroun (brother)
Apophis (ancestor)

### Affiliation

The London Rangers (We're Still Working on the Name) (former)
London & Other London Outstanding Mercenary Group

## Meta Information

### Introductory episode

Hello!

Hamid is a halfling sorcerer.

## Description

### Personality

Hamid is an intelligent, well-manicured halfling sorcerer with draconic heritage. Personable and good-looking, he is determined to do good and to help people. He is loyal, well-meaning, and generally optimistic. Despite his skill in logic and rational thinking, he is typically driven by his heart and prone to emotional outbursts or reckless acts of bravery when under pressure.

### Appearance

Hamid is a Egyptian halfling. Golden brown skin, large brown soulful eyes, quite tall for a halfling and a lot less hairy. He likes to be well dressed. Immaculate three-piece suits are regular attire, and he magicks himself regularly to remain put together. He has very neat hair, wears tasteful makeup, and is always clean-shaven. When upset, he takes on some characteristics of a brass dragon.

### Changes in Appearance

* Acquired shimmering pearlescent bracers/sleeves called Sleeves of Many Garments in I'm Byron!
* Back scar from the freezing plant creature in the Kew Garden tunnels in Carry on Swarming*(Fact check needed)*
* A spiral scar from his left shoulder down his arm after it was crushed by rubble in the Paris catacombs in Feet of Clay.
* Tiny scars from glass shards down his back after getting thrown through a shop window by the Lads and Blokes. Described in Disappearing Acts.
* Draconic features amplified by Robe of Arcane Heritage in Dishing the Dirt *(Fact check needed)* described in Homeward Bound).
* Wild magic placed him in Azu's body in It's OK, But It's Complicated. He recovered his own body in Mixed Blessings. .

## Relationships

### Zolf Smith

Hamid and Zolf have a complicated relationship and often find themselves at odds with one another. While Hamid is affectionate and emotional with a sincere outlook on life, Zolf is aloof, pessimistic and often brutally logical. Their opposing world views make it difficult for the two to find common ground, and they struggle frequently throughout the series to communicate. Hamid often finds himself coming up hard against Zolf’s emotional barriers, leaving their half-resolved conversations hurt and dejected. Meanwhile, Hamid’s elitism, indecision, and emotional reactions continually frustrate Zolf, often leading him to act even more abrasive and impatient than usual.

Despite their differences, Hamid and Zolf make an excellent team, particularly in combat. Out of all combinations of PCs, they have been together the longest and share an intricate history. Hamid frequently voices his desire to have Zolf’s leadership capabilities and inner strength, and has never hid his admiration and respect for the cleric. In return, Zolf trusts Hamid implicitly, often passing off critical responsibilities without hesitation. While he is often the first to tease Hamid’s sense of propriety and sensitive nature, he is also staunchly protective of Hamid, and seems to expect great things from him.

Towards the beginning of their journey, Zolf perceives Hamid's naivety and lack of life experience as a hindrance to the goals of the London Rangers, and is characteristically dismissive of him. He mocks Hamid’s sense of style, his vanity, and his reactions to violence and trauma, and seems repulsed by Hamid’s friendship with Bertie. Hamid, however, is often visibly impressed by Zolf and takes an immediate liking to him. Instinctually driven to both seek out and provide comfort, Hamid offers his support repeatedly to Zolf. He is typically rebuffed or half-ignored. This tension between them leads to the odd spat, but eventually, he seems to wear Zolf down a bit, particularly surrounding Zolf’s struggles with faith.

Although Hamid’s bright, privileged personality continue to irritate Zolf, he is nonetheless protective of Hamid. This leads to one of Zolf’s first genuinely heart-felt moments in which he comforts a traumatized Hamid after a cave-in nearly kills them in the catacombs under Paris. Zolf is clearly fond of Hamid by their parting in episode 65, and tells Hamid that he will miss him, and that meeting him is the best payment he could’ve received.

The pair reunite in Japan after nearly eighteen months spent apart. They’ve both done a significant amount of growing, but unfortunately, this growth seems to have been done in opposite directions. While Hamid still retains much of his emotional vulnerability, he’s been hardened by the toll of near-constant peril, trauma, and grief. He handles their initial reunion poorly and seems irreparably hurt by Zolf’s callousness. Even once he’s been released from quarantine and Zolf is able to explain himself, hug Hamid, and tell him he’s missed him (showing a remarkable level of character growth on his own part) Hamid remains reserved.

Reforging a new relationship continues to go poorly as they bicker and argue their way through the Shoin Institute. After being forced to step into the position of leader in Zolf’s absence - a role he struggled with tremendously throughout their separation - Hamid resents the way Zolf assumes authority within the Institute. They clash several times over combat choices and leadership strategies, particularly when Hamid looses a fireball that blows out a row of windows, potentially revealing their location to their enemies. Hamid says that he feels dismissed and patronized by Zolf, that he doesn’t appreciate being treated like the kid he used to be, and that he’s grown a lot while they’ve been apart. Zolf apologizes, but does not seem especially sincere. It is clear the conflict is not resolved and tension continues to grow between them.

They have a few further conversations in an effort to start over, all of which are only partially successful. Zolf grows impatient, telling Hamid that they aren’t going to solve everything through dialogue and that they’re just going to have to wait for their relationship to rebuild itself over time. Hamid does not take well to this answer. In a private conversation with Azu, Zolf reveals that he carries a lot of guilt about his relationship with Hamid, not only for leaving initially, but for how he’s been treating Hamid now. He admits that he’s done a lot of growing since Prague, that he’s been trying to be better and more open, and that he tends to backslide into bad habits around Hamid. Azu repeats this to Hamid and advises him to seek out Zolf one more time.

In episode 156, they discover Sasha’s letter. Grief-stricken and desperate for comfort, Hamid goes to Zolf’s room and the two share several drinks of whiskey in Sasha’s honor. With some help from the alcohol, they are finally able to have a heart-to-heart. Hamid breaks down and tells Zolf not to feel guilty, that they are still friends, and that Hamid admires him. He reveals that he used to be really angry at Zolf for abandoning him, even though he knows it was what Zolf had to do. He then, through tears, tells Zolf, “I don’t want you to leave again.” Up until this moment, Zolf has been reticent, but his tone turns soft as he promises, “I’m not going to leave again.” Zolf then comforts Hamid until he passes out, and carries him back to his bed.

Their relationship continues to improve through their trip to Svalbard, although they still bicker and Zolf seems extremely irritated by the kobolds’ devotion to Hamid. At one point, Hamid casts the spell “Heroism” on Zolf in episode 166, which Bryn describes as Hamid putting both of his hands on Zolf’s shoulders and standing on his tiptoes in order to press their foreheads together. It is a quiet, poignant moment that does well to symbolize their strained, but nonetheless, profound relationship.

## History

### Family

Hamid's family is a very rich and prominent family in Cairo. They own and manage the network of banks (Tahans of Cairo), which have branches in both Cairo and London and presumably more worldwide cities. Hamid's father, Saleh Sr, appears to manage the family empire of banks. Hamid grew up in the large family house in Cairo until he was sent away to boarding school in England at around age 15.

He is a middle child of five siblings. At the start of the campaign Hamid is 23, and his twin brothers Ishaq and Ismail are still school aged (both 14). Saira is only a few years older than him (27), and Aziza is the eldest sister (33). The oldest al-Tahan sibling is Hamid's brother Saleh Jr, who is 40 at the start of the campaign.

**Warning: Everything below this point contains spoilers!**

#### Bloodline

Hamid is a sorcerer with a draconic bloodline, and throughout the campaign starts showing signs of slowly becoming more dragon-like. This is first shown in episode 10 (Eels and Dogs and Acid, Oh My!), when his hands turn into claws in a time of high stress. Later, during the events in Paris, it becomes clear Hamid is partially resistant to fire and that he can communicate with fire elementals. His skin starts showing a more brass-like, scaly texture in high-stress situations.

After he acquires the Robe of Arcane Heritage in Homeward Bound, it is revealed that Hamid's family are descendants of Apophis. Additionally, the Robe turns Hamid's features more dragon-like while he is wearing it. The fact that he is a descendant from Apophis is later confirmed by Apophis himself in episode 95, Apophis Awaits. Apophis instantly recognizes Hamid's heritage and dragon-like nature. However, Apophis requests the group exercise discretion about the familial link between him and the Tahans.

#### Teenage Years and University

Hamid studied at the University of Cambridge to learn magic, although he only switched to studying magic later into his studies after switching from mathematics. He also had a brief period of around 6 months when he studied abroad at the University of Prague. When he was first sent off to boarding school, he had trouble fitting in as he was young and a foreigner, and his English wasn't very good, and he would get bullied. Eventually, he discovered he could prevent being a target when he made friends with his bullies and joined their bullying, which is how he met Gideon Langdon.

In episode 95, Apophis Awaits, it is revealed that Hamid and Gideon used to be best friends and even went to Cambridge together. Hamid tried to make new friends at university, which is how he met Liliana Beekos and began a relationship with her. Hamid was a pretty bad student, having no affinity for magic as taught by wizards. One day he discovered he could do magic, but it was much easier and different than the wizards made it out to be, so he stopped listening to his teachers and began to hang out with Gideon a lot more. Gideon still had the habit of going wherever he pleased and making others suffer. In one incident, Gideon and Hamid tried to prank a teacher Gideon hated, and Gideon had Hamid create an alchemic reaction that was supposed to function as a stink bomb. However, Hamid noted the formula down wrong and Gideon doubled all the quantities, and the prank backfired. The professor, a powerful wizard, managed to get most of the class out but not all, and he and several students were killed and hurt. After this incident, Hamid was expelled from university and Liliana broke up with him.

#### Post University

After Cambridge, Hamid decides to move down to London and appears to have fallen on hard times. He is rapidly running out of money, although he owns a London flat (bought for him by his parents). His family historically has a problem with gambling, and the first time we meet Hamid in London he is gambling away his money at a casino. Hamid eventually decides to try to become a better person, to make up for his past mistakes. His family wanted him to become a merchant, but he decides he wouldn't be improving anybody's life by being a merchant, and that he should join an adventuring group instead. He joins Zolf's mercenary company a few months after his expulsion from university.

## Mechanics

### Traits

* **Fearless:** +2 on all saving throws against fear.
* **Halfling Luck:** +1 on all saving throws.
* **Sure-Footed:** +2 on Acrobatics and Climb checks.
* **Keen Senses:** +2 on Perception checks.
* **Influence:** +1 on Diplomacy checks and Diplomacy becomes a class skill.
* **Rich Parents:** Born into a rich family and starts with 900 gp.

### Class Features

* **Draconic Bloodline:** Hamid's distant ancestor is a brass dragon, and this bloodline is the source of his magical abilities. Brass dragons have the fire subtype and this influences the specific nature of the powers he gains. While wearing the Robe of Arcane Heritage, Hamid's sorcerer level is treated as 4 higher than normal for the purpose of determining what bloodline powers he can use and their effects.
* **Bloodline Arcana:** When casting a spell with the fire descriptor, that spell deals +1 damage per die rolled.
* **Claws:** As a free action, Hamid can grow claws. He can make two claw attacks as a full attack action using his full base attack bonus. These attacks deal 1d4-1 points of damage plus 1d6 fire damage, and the claws are considered magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. He can use the claws for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier.
* **Dragon Resistances:** Hamid has fire resistance 10 and a +2 natural armour bonus to AC.
* **Breath Weapon:** Once per day, Hamid can breathe fire in a 60-foot line. This deals 14d6 fire damage with a DC 21 reflex save for half damage.

### Feats

* **Eschew Materials:** When casting spells, Hamid can ignore any material component requirements as long as the components cost 1 gp or less.
* **Combat Casting:** +4 on Concentration checks to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability when casting defensively or while grappled.
* **Spell Focus (Evocation):** Evocation spells cast by Hamid have +1 to the DC for saving throws.
* **Spell Focus (Enchantment):** Enchantment spells cast by Hamid have +1 to the DC for saving throws.
* **Improved Initiative:** +4 to Initiative.
* **Leadership:** Hamid gains a cohort and followers based on his Leadership score. Skraak is Hamid's cohort.
* **Spell Specialization (Lightning Arc):** When casting Lightning Arc, Hamid's caster level is treated as being 2 higher than normal.

### Skills

* Bluff
* Diplomacy
* Knowledge: Arcana
* Perception
* Perform: Act
* Profession: Tailor, Airship Crew
* Spellcraft
* Stealth
* Use Magic Device
* Linguistics: English, French, Arabic, Halfling, Czech, Draconic

### Spells

Hamid is a spontaneous arcane caster and can cast any spell he knows without preparing it in advance, as long as he has the prerequisite spell slots. He regains all spell slots after a long rest.

### Equipment

* Light Crossbow
* Daggers
* Adventuring Kit
* Lots of Clothing

#### Magic Items

* Sleeves of Many Garments: A set of sleeves that allow Hamid to transform the appearance of his clothing. Received as a belated birthday gift from his parents in episode 20.
* Headband of Overwhelming Intellect +2: Gives +2 to Intelligence and Charisma. Purchased in episode 72.
* Robe of Arcane Heritage: Allows Hamid to treat his Sorcerer level as 4 higher when determining what bloodline powers he can use and their effects. Taken from Newton's vault and described in episode 87.
* Belt of Dexterity +2: Purchased in episode 96.
* Amulet of Natural Armor +1: Gives +1 to AC.
* Ring of Protection +1: Gives +1 to AC.
* Cat Burglar's Boots: Give +2 on Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks. Once per day the wearer may also reroll any one failed Acrobatics, Climb, or Stealth check. Acquired in episode 196.
* Goggles of Night: Grants the wearer 60-foot darkvision. Acquired in episode 196.
* Metamagic Rod of Maximize: Allows Hamid to cast up to three 6th level or lower spells per day that are maximized. Acquired in episode 204.

#### Weapons

 **Breath Weapon** | 1
Deals an additional 4d6 damage when wearing the Robe of Arcane Heritage

## Quotes

"No, it, it’s time, it’s time to... to do something else. [...] I... huh. I wonder what... happens now."
―**Episode 1**[src]

"Look, it’s very possible to do things that you didn’t mean to, that you didn’t agree with, because someone else bullied you into it or did it without your knowledge."
―**Episode 13**[src]

"I'm- I just, I feel like, I mean- we've met Sasha's maybe, slightly evil family, Zolf has this weird ring that he doesn't wanna talk about, Bertie has these mysterious lawyers, I just- I should probably just say right now: I got kicked out of university. 'Cause then it won't be surprise when it somehow comes along very soon, maybe."
―**Episode 19**[src]

"I'd rather die heroically than live my life as a *coward.*"
―**Episode 23**[src]

"I’ve made mistakes. I did… *things*. People got hurt. Stuff I *regret*. I’m *trying* to make up for them. And we’ve made mistakes! Since we’ve started working together, I know that, I *know* you feel, like, the things we’re doing aren’t good enough, and I know- you know I feel the same, and I’ve *failed* and I’ve got *hurt* and I’ve got *other* people hurt, and… I haven’t helped when I wanted to help. But- that doesn't mean we should stop trying! We’re just *people*, we’re all *people*, and we’re not *perfect*. It doesn’t- matter, if we make mistakes, what matters is that we don’t give up, is that we keep *trying* to do good, we keep *trying* to help, that we *make up* for the mistakes- we don’t let the mistakes become all we are, we don’t let the mistake be the final *thing*, the final *word* on us, we don’t let the mistake be the only thing we ever contributed to this *world*. Shutting off that computer was *not* a mistake. It’s led to some consequences, some *horrible* consequences, but that *doesn’t mean* it was wrong. And the thing that *would* be wrong, is giving up on that decision, is letting *that* be the last thing we do. If we go out there, we keep helping, then that’s… that’s what matters."
―**Episode 55**[src]

"I feel like it was all a different… I was so young and stupid, and maybe I still am, but…I’ve changed. I’ve changed a lot. I feel like I see everything a bit more clearly now. Mum and Dad they smoothed it over, they sent me a letter, they said… “Don’t come back until you’ve made something of yourself."
―**Episode 88**[src]

"I’ve been where you are, Saleh. And it’s horrible, and I can’t tell you that it gets easier, and I can’t tell you that you can move past it, but…you have to face it, you can’t run from it. You have to be honest, and you have to work at it. And you have to find ways to be better."
―**Episode 90**[src]

"You can’t clean something up in the darkness, you have to bring it into the light, you have to face it."
―**Episode 90**[src]

"I will follow your lead, I will do what you ask me, if you keep me involved. I know that I was a stupid kid, I know that I’ve made my mistakes, but I want you to see the man I have become. Trust me. Saleh, was falling apart under the pressure and what you are doing is incredible. But if this is your plan, you won’t be there to help him afterwards. And this is not, unfortunately, the only problem he has created. If you are dealing with this one, then I will deal with the other part of the situation that he’s gotten himself into, and we need to be coordinated in those responses. Father, let me help you."
―**Episode 92**[src]

"We’ve all got a past, Azu. We’ve all done things that we’re not particularly proud of."
―**Episode 93**[src]

"I got kicked out. Liliana dumped me. I left Cambridge behind. I hoped I’d left Gideon behind forever. Sometimes I worried that with Bertie I was getting back into the bad habits, but I tried to be better. I’m gonna keep trying to be better. And I just…I know how easy it is to think that what you’re doing is okay when the people around you are telling you that it’s okay, and you feel like you don’t have a choice, and you feel like just one more thing and you’ll be able to escape. And I…I felt like the same thing happened to Saleh, and I thought I could give him the chance I had. And I see…that I shouldn’t have. And I’m sorry I let you guys down. And if you don’t want to work with me anymore, if you don’t want to be part of an adventuring group with me…I’ll understand."
―**Episode 95**[src]

"I have to say, sir, that nothing that we have accomplished would have happened without Sasha. She’s done more than any other person in terms of the accomplishments we’ve made over the last few months. Times when I’ve fallen or started to give up, she’s the one who’s been able to carry on and none of it would have happened without her."
―**Episode 95**[src]

"She didn't say zero."
―**Episode 127**[src]
Art by @uhhhhhhhhh-huh on tumblr. Used with permission. A bust of Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan, an Egyptian halfling wearing a dark green suit. His dark hair is slicked back with a single curl over his brow, and he is staring neutrally at the viewer. There are light scales around his eyes and down his nose. The background is an image of brass.