Ice

## Synopsis

Ice is a former adventurer from another world. After a long life of adventure in the world of Noveska, he was whisked away in a dream by a strange tabaxi named Patches, who claimed to have an important task for him. Patches granted Ice limited access to his own divine magic, and transported him to Materi, on a mission to retrieve a mysterious artifact for an unknown purpose.

Shifting planes from Noveska to Materi had several strange effects on Ice. Most notably, his body began to mutate and change races chaotically - an effect of lingering fey magic from his adventuring days. In addition, he lost the majority of his memories from his former life, and awoke in Materi with little idea of where or who he was.

## Adventuring Origin

At a ripe old age after a long life of daring adventure in the world of Noveska, Ice was visited in a dream by Patches, a mysterious tabaxi who he had seen in his dreams on a few occasions before. Patches tasked Ice with traveling to the world of Materi in search of an artifact called the Phaelux Beacon. Patches told him this artifact could be found at the Luxturrim Obelisk in Ayn Sitael, and that it was needed to save the world.

Before sending him on his way, Patches gave Ice a holy symbol - for himself, he claimed - which would allow Ice to access Patches' divine magic.

Patches also warned Ice that he would suffer some side effects from traversing between worlds, including partial amnesia, which he assured would recover in time. Most notably, however, Ice discovered that he was no longer tabaxi; in fact, his race was rapidly shifting and changing to dozens of different races. According to Patches, these changes were lingering effects of fey magic that Ice had been exposed to in his adventuring days, combined with the effects of world-hopping.

After giving Ice his task, Patches magically transported him to Materi.

When Ice awoke in Materi, he found himself in the Emerald Highlands, washed up in the wilderness on the banks of the Bastion River. He had no recollection of who or where he was. Suffering from amnesia, he wandered his way to the city of Avallon, where he spent several weeks living on the streets and doing oddjobs to get by. Unable to remember his name, he introduced himself as Patches when asked, due to his patchy memory.

Over the weeks he spent in Avallon, Ice began to recover bits and pieces of his memory. He had vague recollections of his former life as an adventurer in Noveska, but couldn't recall details such as his name or identity. But he did begin to regain a clear memory of Patches, and the task that he was sent to do. He asked around Avallon about the Luxturrim Obelisk and the Phaelux Beacon, but nobody that he asked seemed to recognize the names.

After about a month in Avallon, Ice had gotten his bearings and recovered his mental wherewithal enough to set out on his own in search of the Luxturrim Obelisk. He set out into the wilderness southeast towards the desert city of Karaad, on advice that it was a large port town, and speculating that perhaps a sailor or traveler would have more information for him.

The trek from Avallon to Karaad was dangerous at times, as Ice discovered that the wildernesses were filled with dangerous monsters. But his adventuring instincts kicked in, and he was able to safely navigate the journey, with the assistance of an ally he made along the way (see below).

## Secret Origin

Unbeknownst to Ice, his bond with Patches is due to the magic of a Deck of Many Things. Patches drew a Knight card from the deck, which earned him the service of Ice.

## Party Connections

### Louche

While traversing the deserts of Chwaka towards Karaad, Ice came upon a lone wanderer in the desert, who introduced himself as Rye (in truth, the newly-mortal Louche). The two decided to travel the rest of the way to Karaad together for safety, and have stuck together since. They have known each other for about a week.

## Planned Story Arcs

### Retrieving the Phaelux Beacon

Ice must travel the the Luxturrim Obelisk in Ayn Sitael, and retrieve the Phaelux Beacon. During this excursion, Ice will learn that the beacon can be used to open a crypt where a powerful archmage from the Age of Arcana was imprisoned during the Gods' War. Patches will then explain that he needs Ice to go to the ruins of Volus, find this archmage's crypt, and release him from imprisonment.

### Opening the Crypt of Tamrius Grimm

In Volus, Ice must find and open the crypt of the archmage. During the encounter, he will learn the identity of the archmage - Tamrius Grimm, the father of Patches. Once the crypt is open, Ice will be ambushed by Johann Conrad Dippel, who takes advantage of the situation and steals Tamrius Grimm for his own nefarious purposes - seeking to release him from imprisonment in exchange for his secrets.

### Rescuing Tamrius From Dippel

Ice must travel to Asaria and rescue the imprisoned Tamrius Grimm from Johann Conrad Dippel. Patches will then urge Ice to release Tamrius Grimm from imprisonment, but the choice will ultimately be up to Ice.

## Story Rewards

### Team Skill: Don't Break The Ice

Once Ice awakens Syntithenai, he permanently gains the following skill, which he retains even after he ends his attunement to the blade.

***Don't Break The Ice.*** At the end of each long rest, you can choose an ally to be attuned to your Team Skill. The ally remains attuned to your Team Skill until you complete another long rest. You can only use your Team Skill on the attuned ally, and you can only ever have one ally attuned to your Team Skill at a time.

When you cast a spell that restores hit points to your attuned ally, you gain temporary hit points equal to half of the hit points that you restored.

### Story Reward: The Dice of Time and Space / Patches' Matches

After Ice retrieves the Phaelux Beacon, Patches will reward him with a set of magical dice, the Dice of Time and Space, as well as a box of his signature Patches' Matches.