Character 48 - Jertzal Halsipatheu

This week’s randomly rolled character is our gnome out of time. Being from either the past or the present and then worshipping the Demon Lord left a lot of really interesting options open. Dying in his youth added quite another layer to the evil little bugger as well. But as always the question is what class to choose?

Average strength and low dexterity ruled out most martial classes. A good intelligence means he could excel as an arcane caster and an amazing charisma left a lot of the spontaneous caster options open. Eventually I went with what was probably the most obvious choice, the Oracle of Time. It just fit the bill in so many ways as did a 3PP curse I found called aged. At level the character is venerable and gets all the requisite bonuses (+1 to all mental stats for each of the three age groups middle aged, old and venerable), but only takes negatives as if he were old aged (-1 to physicals stats for middle aged, -2 for old aged). In total his stats will change -3 to strength, dexterity, and constitution, as well as +3 to intelligence, wisdom and charisma.

New Stat Block

Str: 7

Dex: 6

Con:  13

Int: 18

Wis: 15

Cha: 20

Jertzal Halsipatheu

Time waits for no gnome, or so the saying goes. Jertzal Halsipatheu was a gnome with nothing but time. Born in the Mivon in the River Kingdoms he had all the freedom he could want and would live for years past the age of any of the humans in the town. The Age of Enthronement was in full swing and it would be only a little over three-hundred years until the Age of Glory, and event he would be alive to see. And then he died.

In 4316 at the young age of forty-two, still yet to be considered an adult by gnomish standards, terror befell Mivon. Records of the event would go on to say that the inhabitants claimed they were attacked by the trees and plants themselves. Rumors swirled of the dead rising from the Sellen River and wizards who could call the moon from the sky. And in all of this chaos and destruction, Jertzal died.

It wasn’t a true death however, and Jertzal awoke in the familiar surroundings of the forest near Mivon. Mostly familiar that is, because the trees were older and taller. The old oak where Jertzal would play as a child was felled and naught but a stump. When he looked down at his own hands he saw that they too were old and withered.

Jertzal returned home to Minvon and there it stood as it always had, but it had also grown. None of the people seemed familiar. None of the children playing in the streets could he remember laughing with. The town had changed from a mix of races including gnome, elf, and halfling to being mostly human, of a stock he did not recognize. This was definitely his home, but it also wasn’t.

Holding out hope Jertzal went to find his parents, their old cottage still stood, although it was now nestled among other small dwellings. No one was home so he went to the shop where his father repaired shoes. Still there, but hunched much more, his father sat working on a pair of fine leather boots. His mother in her rocking chair in the corner watching her husband work. Both of them ancient even for gnomes, and their formerly bright colored hair bleached to a bone white.

His parents aged, the forest aged, Minvon aged, and he aged. The weight of time came crashing down around Jertzal and it crushed him with despair. When the well-dressed man, obviously a noble of some sort, entered the shop and raged at his father over some imagined problem with his shoes--that was the final straw. Jertzal burst in and almost threw himself at the noblemen but the human was faster and drew steel. Jertzal reached out touched the blade and upon it rust began to form. Just as everything else in his life had, the blade aged and crumbled. Terrified the now venerable gnome fled into the streets.

The world was one that Jertzal didn’t know. He felt ill at ease except around other gnomes. His initial interaction with the new human residents of Mivon left a bad taste in his mouth, for human especially. Although gnome enclaves were few and far between, Jertzal managed to attach himself to a mercenary group. From the leader of this group he learned much about Golarion in its current age.

Jertzal’s visions of the time stream began to become more frequent, punctuated with images of worms and decay. Even though Jertzal had an aged body, he still had the mind of a gnome just entering adulthood. His fear that he would die before his time, combine with research of the worm and decay imagery led the not so young gnome to believe that some hoe the Demon Lord Yhidothrus was involved. Oddly he wasn’t angered, but threw himself into the Ravager Worm’s worship. If the Demon Lord had a plan for him, he would see it through.

And there you have it: My version of our timeless, or out of time, gnome. What would you have done with these stats? What class would you have picked? Would he have been from the past or present? Why does he only feel comfortable around gnomes?

Time waits for no gnome and no man, so too does time move on here. If the CRB has made your time among its pages a value to your gaming experience please consider becoming a contributor to my Patreon. If you’d like to see what else the CRB is up to join me on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. My inbox is open on all venues.