Haroof

Haroof is one of two remaining original party members. As a Tiefling Bard, his main responsibilities are crowd control in fights and (very) limited healing. He can often be found screaming "loot the corpse" or collecting trophies from his enemies, even rats.

**Personality Traits**

When he is not in combat, Haroof can be found in a local tavern talking up women of questionable morals and age, or playing a musical instrument. His sarcastic wit leads to Haroof playing more for the challenge than the reward, and enjoys proving his skill to shame the more accepted races into accepting him. He has a hunger for power, and is often pondering ways to improve his equipment by asking around for additional opportunities for adventure. His skills of persuasion lead to favorable deals for his team. He has a keen interest in historic symbolism in architecture and lore, possibly in an effort to understand his own history.

In combat, he generally prefers to act after others. It may turn out that he is just readying himself to act once a sufficient meat-shield is in place.

**Preferred Spells and Skills**

In a casual setting, Haroof is lighthearted and fun. In combat, he applies calculated logic and preemptive crowd control against his enemies, charming them and vexing their minds. Recent skill advancement left him favoring Hypnotic Pattern against especially powerful foes, with Major Image as a follow-up. He also especially relishes Vicious Mockery, with its ability to cause an enemy to flee opening them up for attacks of opportunity by other party members.

When spells are unavailable, Haroof generally helps soak damage in melee range with his Rapier (raping) while Syd whistles on in excitement. His magical lute provides some flexibility in exploration and protection.

**Armor and Weapons**

Haroof currently has a Silvered Rapier, Long Bow, and Dagger to choose from when attacking without casting. His armor is a little more interesting, consisting of a Chain Mail which was customized with a prized Manticore-leather "H" in the center. His gear is rounded out with a left-hand Shield, tunic, and other traveling attire.

**Demonic Heritage**

Taken from the main Tiefling reference page, "Tieflings were originally introduced as humans with demonic ancestry. A Tiefling is a being whose lineage can be traced back to some degree or another to that of a fiend or demon within the *Dungeons & Dragons* universe." This ancestry is split between both Devils and Demons, with Devils being the more benign. Haroof first traced his ancestry as Devil, though recent developments have proven to be surprising...

As a Tiefling, Haroof never developed some of the innate abilities of his peers. This led to a sense of ostracization with his family and community. In his teen years, the small black marks on his right forearm stretched into long grayish streaks, which eventually blackened and thickened. These are often hidden by a loose-fitting tunic due to cultural considerations. This darkened skin has recently manifested as a demonic claw when Haroof takes significant amounts of damage, accompanied by a dark rage and soul-staining. It seems like the more the claw is allowed to draw blood, the more evil Haroof behaves.