Xavier

>
>
> Xavier
> ------
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Far and white lieth the road to Knowing, and down it in the heat and dust go all wise people of the earth, but in the fields before they come to it the very wise lie down or pluck the flowers. By the side of the road of Knowing stand many temples, and in the doorway of every temple stand many priests, and they cry to the travelers that are weary of the road, crying to them: "This is the End".*
>
>

## Early life

Xavier was born in Calimport to Denin, a drow warrior from the east, and Dana, the daughter of a local merchant and secretly a cultist of Nyarlathotep. From a young age he become proficient with magic and mastered the basic Drow spells. He would create figures from light and have them dance around the house to his parents' amusement. Denin tried to teach the young drow what he knew of magic and even some basic weapon training. Later the parents decided to begin teaching him the secrets of Nyarlathotep.

## Joining the cult

The new lessons showed Xavier a facet of magic his father did not touch upon. There were many books explaining the Weave and the Goddess Mystra, it always made him curious how a god and the entirety of magic could be interlinked. History has shown this was a precarious balance as the death of a god caused great chaos across the land.

The ancient tomes spoke of worlds where men made bonds with spirits and consumed light from gems to cast magic, others where metals were eaten to give power to spells and worlds with no magic but contraptions that could make the greatest artificers and alchemists of Faerun stare in awe.

The day came to test the young half-drow. In a great ritual a gate was opened and Nyarlathotep himself stepped through. Dana guided her son through the portal following Nyarlathotep back to the center of ultimate chaos. The sights there could not be described as the world did not seem to follow any logical pattern. In the middle of it all slept theboundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes. Xavier fell to his knees screaming at these sights, but his mother gave him the courage to move on, and finally he wrote his name in blood on one page of the Book of Azathoth, next to where Dana wrote hers decades ago. Xavier had become a Warlock of Nyarlathotep.

## Life in Calimport

Xavier's life continued peacefully in the city of Calimport, where he had time to study ancient secrets and go out with other cultist in search for eldritch artifacts or books.

As time took it's toll Dana died of old age. She was buried in the city and after Denin told his son:

> *There is no pain greater than this; not the cut of a jagged-edged dagger nor the fire of a dragon's breath. Nothing burns in your heart like the emptiness of losing someone, before you truly have learned of their value.*
>
>

To the long lived Denin losing his human friends has never been easy, and now his wife was dead. He was worried that someday he might lose his only child as well - as half-elfs don't always outlive their elf parent.

Years later Denin remarried a drow female Anisa, and had a second child, a daughter named Imoen. Xavier did not particularly like Anisa, she was a good mother and took care of him but could not replace Dana. Imoen on the other hand was the greatest thing Xavier has seen in his life. He loved his younger sister and spend as much time as possible with her. He insisted on teaching her drow magic, normally the parents could do that. Imoen learned quickly all the tricks and was becoming more adept at magic than Xavier was at her age. Soon he began inducting her in the cult of Nyarlathotep, her parents approved. She became adept at magic and incredibly artifice, spending time with dwarf smiths, gnome tinkers and priests of Gond to learn their craft.

The day came for Imoen's test. Xavier was so proud to be at his sister's side as Nyarlathotep guided them to the center of chaos. Imoen was overcome by the chaos of the place and could not continue. Desperately Xavier tried to steel her to continue but failed. He carried her back through the portal to Calimport.

After the ordeal Imoen was not the same. The joy in her eyes was not there any more and did not want to talk to anybody for weeks. Xavier thought that she could try again later after some more study, and until he had more time to prepare himself. One night she disappeared.

Xavier combed the city for her and got in trouble for using people in the cult to help find her, he did not care. If it came to blows he would deal with them later. They finally found her in a small temple dedicated to Ilmater. The old priest in the temple, known for his kindness and devotion, led the agitated warlock to see Imoen. Xavier tried for hours to convince his sister to come home, accepting to even put an end to any attempt of induct her in the cult, but ultimately failed.

In the years that followed Xavier would visit his sister often and occasionally try to convince her to come back with him. The old priest had died in a village far away trying to protect it from undead, so Imoen took over in his place in Calimport. She would finally convince Xavier that each must have the freedom to do as he wished no matter what others thought was best or how well meaning.

## Mission for the cult

Nyarlathotep called his followers in Calimport and gave them a mission to search Faerun for other warlock cults. The entity has spawned many such organizations during his previous visits, but could not keep track of them. These cults would have mutated, merged with others or disappeared altogether. It was the job of the Warlocks to investigate and find out what happened. The seekers could communicate with Nyarlathotep in their dreams and ask for guidance.

Xavier was selected among others. He received a book of shadows, the one his mother owned, to continue the legacy of the family and a magic rod. He left after a few days of preparation and saying his goodbyes.

Life on the outside was not simple but through perseverance and force he survived. There were fights, deaths and little enjoyment.

## Da Boyz party

At some point he joined a group of adventures and it gave him an excuse to travel to different parts of Faerun. Even how he is in Amn on a new adventure.

## Relationships

**Denin** - is Xavier's father and a drow fighter. He was born and raised in a city in the underdark controlled by Priests of Lolth. As a male he was considered inferior and practically a slave to any priestess. Once there was the opportunity he ran to a drow city on the surface and became a devotee of Vhaeraun. The new god was more accepting and Denin could rise to any position he wanted provided he worked for it. After many ears of fighting and backstabbing he became tired of the constant infighting and the natural drow arrogance so again he left to journey across Faerun. On the road to Calimport he met a merchant caravan and accepted to join as a bodyguard. The family of merchants was welcoming and this is where he met Dana. The young woman was charming, intelligent and shared Denin's disdain for priests. They talked for hours about many things. Something kept him close to the family and became their bodyguard, he would follow the family on business trips and negotiations.Years later he asked Dana to be his wife and she accepted. They moved together in Calimport, Denin started training mercenaries and guards in the city while Dana continued as a merchant. Life became good for the drow when his wife told him he is about to be a father.

**Dana** - is Xavier's mother and a Warlock of Nyarlathotep. She was raised in Calimport, the daughter of a merchant and member of the cult that used magic and influence in the city to earn money. Dana was not so interested in the acquisition of money as her father was, and used her position in the cult to expand it's power in the neighboring area and influence events on a larger scale. On one of these trips her family took a dark elf Denin as a bodyguard. She could not understand why but insisted that her father keep the drow as a house guard. She fell in love with him as the years passed and was very happy when he finally asked to be her husband. It was now that Dana was about to tell Denin her greatest secret - that she was a Warlock. He laughed when she told him, to the naturally suspicious drow the comings and goings in the house at odd hours was noticeable and he admitted of following her one night without her knowing to a cult meeting. She did want to punch him but it would not be proper. Their time together was pleasant and later had a child - Xavier.

**Imoen** - she is the half sister of Xavier and a priest of Ilmater. She is raised in Calimport by her parents (Denin and Anisa) and big brother. The two siblings got along great and in spite of the difference in age Xavier was always there for his sister. More then once people that teased her ran away like mad or turned chalk white at the sight of her after getting a talking to from him. She loved learning to do magic and later secrets from ancient books that looked like madmen wrote them. At some point Xavier admitted he was a warlock looking for ancient forbidden magic. She was fascinated by this and wanted to learn, which pleased him greatly. Over the years he showed her the various artifacts and books in the possession of the cult. But for all of his knowledge and power her brother seemed like the magic equivalent of a battering ram at the city gate. He lacked the compassion to help others with his power - the search, acquisition and best use of power were everything he cared for, the consequences did not matter. Ultimately he, like their father, hated everything that had to do with priests and their magic. He considered them weak because their power came from a being that could be as fickle as the worshipers, that had to intervene on a cleric's behalf. The fact that these were the few that used their power to heal and cure others because of their belief was irrelevant to him. Besides the magic training she liked to invent gadgets and spend a lot of time with the artisans of the city. She was very happy when her brother thought her ready to join the cult. In the realm of chaos she collapsed in terror at the revelation of Azathoth - the end of all things. Her brother tried to help but it was in vain, she did not want to be part of it. The next weeks the thought of what to do with this knowledge, and ultimately decided to endure and dedicate her life to helping others. One night she left for the small temple of Ilmater in the city. Had she let her family know her plan they would have tried to stop her. She warned the old priest to lead Xavier to her when he comes. And come he did - after hours of talking he still did not understand why she was doing this. He would visit often over the years and talk like old times. One day he came to say goodbye, he was leaving on a mission from the cult and would be gone for years maybe - they have not seen each other since then.

## Mhrru Amun 'iieada cult

The cult name roughly translates in Common to "The liberators of Amun-re". It is an ancient cult established by an unknown number of adventurers that freed the ghost of a long dead pharaoh from his tomb. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh\_(module)). The ghost of the pharaoh, Amun-re, asked the adventurers to free him by raiding his "thief-proof" tomb. As a reward he shared knowledge including the rituals of communing with the Great Old Ones. Some of the adventurers contacted **Nyarlathotep** and became his first cultists.

The current day cultists don't know the full story of the cult creation. There are hints of some ancient rituals in some journals but nothing more and there is no mention of ghosts or tombs. The founding members are more a legends as well as any artifacts from that time have been lost.

## How to play

**Familiar** - Jaheira is your familiar, the most useful form is an Owl, but others like rat or spider might come in handy for scouting. While in owl form use the flyby(moving away from a target does not generate attack of opportunity) and help action to give advantage to someone on the next attack(yourself or some important attack like a paladin smite). Use this in conjunction with Elven accuracy for extra damage - reroll the lowest dice to try and get a crit. Outside combat use it for scouting in advance in front of the party. You have 100ft max distance plus 120ft vision radius - 220ft in front of the party.

Try to keep the familiar alive as much as possible, away from archers and area of effect spells.

**Roleplaying**

* *Support discussions* - using Awakened mind(Starting at 1st level, your alien knowledge gives you the ability to touch the minds of other creatures. You can telepathically speak to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language.) you can tell the person talking if you notice someone lying. Also you can have private conversations with someone.
* *Use intimidation* - threaten with ritualistic sacrifice if the person does not comply - not all cultists use ritualistic sacrifice but people actually believe this.
* *Blessed of Nyarlathotep* - you ALWAYS have guidance cast on you, If any other character opens his mouth say "Go with God" and tell him he has guidance. Spam this ability for everything - stealth checks, athletics etc - if you encounter anything that looks like a problem cast guidance.

**Combat**

*Eldritch blast* is going to be the primary damage dealer. In case of environmental hazards (fires, pits, etc) try to push enemies with the repelling blast ability of eldritch blast.

Positioning is very important for the character as he is still a caster, so keep him away from the front lines and not very close to other characters. You should have at least 40ft distance from the main combat.

Easy fights - just cast eldritch blast every round

Medium fights - cast eldritch blast and as a bonus action cast hex on the target you want to focus on. Hex lasts for **8 hours** if you can maintain concentration so you can use it in multiple battles. Alternatively if you don't have a spell slot for Hex you can use the racial spell Faerie Fire - this gives advantage on attack to all allies, but it's just once per day.

Difficult combats - depends a lot on the situation. Use Hunger of Hadar on bottlenecks and Repelling blast to push them in it's area. "Hold person" is good for keeping dangerous foes in check (the big fighter or mage).

Running away - yes you might need to do that - if enemies get to you in close combat never rely on melee(Xavier sucks at it). Use darkness(spell or racial ability) to get away and find a better position. Dissonant whispers can get the enemy away from you and a big portion of damage. Lastly cast Eldritch Blast with disadvantage and push the enemy away.