Dimitri Montaine

## Overview

**Dimitri Montaine** is a Human-Dhampir Monk of the Way of the Astral Self. He comes from Turlock, Norne where he worked at his family bakery, following which he lived for many years in the Mistera Valley at the Monastery of the Way of the Astral Self before joining The Party.

## Description

### Appearance

Dimitri stands at around 5'10. His build is quite top heavy with muscular shoulders and arms, though he usually has them covered. His skin is pale and almost anemic, causing many to assume he is unwell at first glance.

His hair is a dull strawberry blonde colour and sits on his shoulders at its longest point, shaped in a choppy wolf cut style. Before he became a Dhampir it was more golden in colour.

His eyes are pale red. They used to be blue but becoming a Dhampir caused the pigment to disappear. Under his eyes are dark rings.

Dimitri has pointed fangs that are clearly visible when he laughs, eats, shouts, or opens his mouth. He has a habit of covering his mouth when doing most of these. Constantly concealing his fangs are part of the reason he is so quiet.

His body is covered in scars from the night he was attacked in the bakery - the worst are around his neck and chest. He has a large scar extending from the middle of his neck down to the start of his shoulder where his trapezius was ripped out and healed over when he turned into a Dhampir.

He is noted to have a very similar appearance to his younger brother Andrei. According to Andrei himself, Dimitri looks like their mother.

### Personality

Dimitri Montaine is very quiet and held back. He prefers not to draw attention to himself and tries to keep from making connections with the people around him due to a deep seated fear of hurting others. If the conversation pivots his way he will almost certainly find a way to redirect it to avoid talking about himself. Generally he has a calm demeanor and does not appear intimidating or threatening despite his state as a Dhampir.

He is generally a kind person and loves to indulge in small moments of fun such as playing card games and drinking. Dimitri has a generous spirit and is always thinking of his family, especially his newfound younger brother Andrei, though the safety of his family is also the source of great anxiety.

He has strong convictions about humanity and what it means to be a good person. He is incredibly self critical and is very hard on himself despite always trying to uplift those around him when he can. Dimitri sees himself as irredeemable but does not believe it is an excuse to become the monster he could easily revert to. Instead, he strives to do good and help others see the best in themselves and the world around them. He hates asking anything of those around him and doesn't like making his problems heard, particularly when he needs blood. This frequently becomes an issue as he is still deeply ashamed of this aspect of his Dhampirism, and this has caused him to attack numerous people, including Pearl, from neglecting his hunger in order to avoid scaring those around him.

Being raised in a family of bakers and set to inherit Montaine's Bakery, Dimitri finds great comfort in baking and preparing food for others. Before he became skilled in martial arts, baking was his primary skill. While he cannot stomach mortal food anymore, being able to provide for others in a way that doesn't involve harming others means Dimitri will always leap at the chance to cook for others. He feels a sense of normalcy and a connection to his humanity when he cooks. Growing up in the Montaine household has turned him into a bit of a bread snob, and even though he cannot taste the bread, he can always tell a quality loaf from a bad one. His self critical nature also extends to his baking and he accepts nothing short of perfection, which can be an issue when trying to create meals on the road with limited resources.

### Background

Dimitri was born and raised in Turlock - a backwater town on the edge of Norne. He wasn't poor growing up, in fact he was comparatively well off when compared to the other families in town, though this was through generations of hard work building up the family bakery and providing food for Turlock's hungry citizens for around a century.

##### Childhood

Dimitri had a considerably good childhood. He attended the local school and was friends with Verity Fiorello who would often spend time at his house while her parents were on missions.

A defining memory from this time was the day of the school's sports day. The Montaines attended to watch their son and deliver baked goods as part of the day's catering. Dimitri lost every event but Verity outperformed all of her classmates, winning a small trophy. Her own parents never showed up. As the day came to an end, the Montaines brought her home and were met with the Fiorellos drinking wine in the kitchen and laughing amongst themselves. It was here that Dimitri witnessed his father truly raise his voice for the first time. Boris tore into Marcia and Kalannar - accusing them of being bad parents who loved their jobs more than their daughter. An argument broke out on their doorstep and nearby people started to watch the unfolding fight. Dimitri was quickly shuffled off home by his mother but he broke free of her grasp in time to watch his father get shoved to the ground by a NORM-bot for 'disturbing the peace'.

## Character Information

### Proficiencies

#### Skills

* Acrobatics
* Athletics
* Medicine
* Perception
* Stealth
* Survival

#### Languages

* Common
* Elvish

#### Tools and Equipment

* Alchemist's Supplies
* Cook's Utensils
* Herbalism Kits

### Notable Items

Dimitri doesn't wear armour or use weapons, meaning he carries basically nothing that isn't immediately stored in one of the group's bags of holding. Being a traveler used to having to move around a lot, he tries not to keep anything with him. The only thing he holds onto that isn't the clothes on his back is a key that once opened the Montaine's Bakery, which was still in his pockets and survived his baker's smock being burned after killing Verity Fiorello wearing it.

### Abilities

#### Astral Self

* **Arms of the Astral Self:** Dimitri can expend 1 Ki Point summon the Arms of the Astral Self. These Arms glow in an outline of crimson red and are wrapped in intertwining thorns. The Arms of the Astral Self themselves are about 7x the size of Dimitri's own arms but lack his mortal body's scars.
* **Visage of the Astral Self:** Dimitri can expend 1 Ki Point to summon the Visage of the Astral Self. This takes the shape of a rose bush bursting from his heart and the brambles curl around his arms and around his face. These also glow in an outline of crimson red, but the Visage also has the ability to bloom roses from the thorns. Despite being metaphysical, the sensation of thorns bursting from his chest and wrapping around his skin is quite painful. It also causes his eyes to glow bright white with red ends. The Visage of the Astral Self provides the following abilities:
	+ **Astral Sight:** The ability to see normally in both magical and non magical darkness to a distance of up to 120ft.
	+ **Wisdom of the Spirit:** Advantage on WIS (Insight) and CHA (Intimidation) checks.
	+ **Word of the Spirit:** When he speaks, he can direct his words to a creature of his choice that he can see within 60 ft. of him, making it so only that creature can hear him. Alternatively, he can amplify his voice so that all creatures within 600 ft. can hear him.

#### Dhampir Abilities

* **Fanged Bite:** Dimitri is able to bite and drain the blood of creatures (excluding constructs and undead) which restores his vitality and stops him entering a hunger frenzy. He needs to drink blood about once every 5 days maximum to avoid attacking someone at random.
* **Spider Climb:** The ability to walk/run/climb across, up, and down vertical surfaces and ceilings at a speed equal to Dimitri's walking speed.
* **Deathless Nature:** Dimitri does not need to breathe and as a result has basically stopped breathing altogether, hardly bothering to pretend anymore. This leads to a disturbingly still body when he sleeps which appears almost corpse-like.
* **Darkvision**

## Relationships

### Justice Serpineheit

Justice is a member of the party and the person Dimitri feels closest to within the group. The two of them bond over being the only two members to come from Norne, though their upbringings couldn't have been more different. Despite this, Dimitri feels a sense of comfort and almost a feeling of home when he's around Justice. Both of them understand the might of the empire's nobility and the power they yield over the common people. Originally, Dimitri thought Justice was one of the nobles he was meant to fear, but now he deeply respects him after the selflessness and generosity he has demonstrated to the people around him, regardless of status. Dimitri knows first hand the lengths people will go to serve their noble overlords, and at first he worried Justice would be just like them. He's unsure if he's been proven wrong on this one.

When Dimitri was ousted as a Dhampir, Justice stood up for him when the party began bombarding him with invasive questions. He gave Dimitri his own blood when he was about to fall in battle, saving his life even when it came at a cost to his own health. When Dimitri had to drink Pearl's blood in the commune, Justice turned Dimitri invisible, which in hindsight Dimitri is incredibly thankful for as he is incredibly embarrassed about that moment. Dimitri can't really gauge how Justice really feels about his Dhampirism, but the fact that he doesn't outwardly appear all that interested does make Dimitri feel more comfortable around him.

Dimitri worries, deep down, that Justice is getting exploited by Augustine. While Dimitri doesn't know the true nature of their relationship, he can't help but feel as though Justice overworks himself for the sake of his superior, especially as it became clear how much the two had been communicating along the journey and the amount of danger Justice was willing to put himself through to retrieve the artifacts for him. This feels even more complicated when Justice refers to Augustine as a friend.

One of the most precious moments Dimitri has shared with Justice was when he learned that Justice was a father of three children. Having just learned he was a big brother now, the two of them put together a small storybook to send back home. It revealed a softer, more earnest side to this stoic, deadpan man Dimitri had known. Deep down, Dimitri knows Justice has the intelligence, compassion, and humanity that could make Norne a better place. He just hopes he doesn't work himself to death to do so.

### Boris and Yara Montaine

Dimitri cares incredibly deeply for his parents. He misses them more every day, but feels as though his actions have blackened the family name they worked so hard to build up. He also feels responsible for Boris and Yara losing their bakery. Dimitri was taught to bake by both of his parents but he learnt the ins and outs of actually running a business and managing clients from his mother, Yara. There was an unexpected pressure to having your parents also be your bosses, and Dimitri often felt the line between parent and employer got too blurred at times; as if he was worried they wouldn't think he was capable of running the bakery. He mostly stayed out of trouble growing up for this reason.

### Augustine Vincendius

Dimitri understandably fears Augustine and his uncomfortably close connection to his situation. What once was a faceless noble that ruled Turlock from his ivory tower has now become a constant watching presence practically breathing down Dimitri's back. Dimitri never knew that Augustine had become the lord of his hometown until it was revealed to him in the events of session 4.

He doesn't like the amount of stress he appears to cause Justice and thinks that, despite appearing to help the party at times, he doesn't see the rest of the crew as anything but common dirt that he can use for his own gain. He almost gets the impression that Augustine watches them like characters in a show; causing conflicts and drama on purpose to add flavor for his own viewing pleasure.

After the events in session 11, Dimitri feels an extra level of fear and almost paranoia surrounding Augustine - this man seemed to take pity on his parents out of nowhere and for no apparent gain. He feels Augustine might know more about the vampire in the bakery than he lets on, but Dimitri is too scared of possibly giving Augustine information that could get him in trouble or blackmailed to delve deeper. This was demonstrated when Augustine asked Dimitri about his attacker - Dimitri claimed he didn't get a good look when in reality the face haunts his dreams. Dimitri is particularly rattled by the looming reminder that Augustine somehow knew that Dimitri was a Dhampir.

### Andrei Montaine

Sadly, Dimitri had not got to know his younger brother until very recently. The two only met when Dimitri was unexpectedly reunited with his parents, and even then they were never properly introduced. While he bears no resentment towards Andrei, Dimitri cannot help but feel a bit like his parents tried to replace him. Since getting to spend some time with him on Emperor's day in Dracksrock, he feels even more responsibility to keep his family safe, but also a sense of immense guilt as he hears the bits and pieces Andrei has overheard.

He wrote some short stories for Andrei with the help of Justice. Dimitri also won some toys with him on Emperor's day.

## Trivia

* Since becoming a Dhampir, Dimitri has lost his sense of flavour; however he can still experience textures, temperatures, and mouth feel. He can also experience all of the same adverse effects of eating - rotten food will make him sick, food that is too hot or cold will hurt his mouth, alcohol will still make him drunk, and eating/drinking anything that is not normally edible will result in the same issues as if an ordinary person attempted to do the same.
* Growing up, he had an overweight pet calico cat named Rusty
* Dimitri has always been a showoff when he gets drunk. Combined with his monk and dhampir powers, he usually forgets he's supposed to be laying low and will pull out every party trick in the book (Walking up the walls, catching flying darts etc)