Apr 27

Apr 27 Belch (Chef) & Samuel Belick (Necromancer)

Header Art: Pathfinder 2e Core Rulebook by Paizo Publishing and Jace Beleren by Magic the Gathering

Belch - Goblin Chef

Belch is a connoisseur of the weird and slimy. He has eaten his way across the lands, in search of the oddest flavors and strangest ingredients. He rarely finds something he'll turn his nose up, unless it includes cheese, and will happily jump into the rotted corpse of a monster to find the best tasting bits.

**Art Inspiration for Belch;** *Pathfinder 2e Core Rulebook,* 2019 Paizo Publishing

Physical Description

Standing at just three and a half feet tall, this goblin carries a large pot and his clothes are coated in years of filth and old food. He always has something to chew on in his hands, or licking old food remains off his clothes.

Backstory

Belch has spent most of his life in a wanderlust for new food. All goblins are known for their unlimited appetite, but Belch is an oddity among his own kind. While a goblin might eventually become full after a full day of feasting, Belch has never found his limit. He has consumed whole hogs, devoured the jellies of an ooze, and digested what otyughs would not.

With his love of food, Belch has traveled far and wide to find new tastes. Unfortunately, few people can understand Belch and his desire for the odd and gross. Many times he has gotten in trouble for trying to 'help' a cook better prepare his food, like trying to add fetid meat to a stew in an inn or destroying a whole wheel of cheese out of anger for its horrific taste. Few people understand Belch, even other goblins find his appetites can be a bit off putting, but they are more likely to try his offerings than others.

Quick Reference Traits

Personality Traits. Belch has his own ideas of what is and isn't food. What he considers food, is often strange and revolting to others, and what others find delicious, he finds disgusting.
Ideals. Every new tasting experience is strange and wonderful! Except for cheese, that's gross.
Bonds. Belch loves his freedom to explore and taste.
Flaws. Belch has a weakness for food, stopping in the middle of everything to try something new.

Adventure Hooks

Belch is seeking brave adventurers to go into the nearby wilds and bring back delicacies. Monsters all taste different, and he wants to sample them all, he'll even offer to cook them some of his food if they do a good job.
Belch is attempting to start up an eating club, but it seems like few people are willing to trust his cooking. He is looking for a group to help him put the club together and get people there, by any means necessary.
A holy temple is trying to apprehend Belch and get him arrested. He ate a holy relic, the preserved finger of a saint within the church, because he wanted to know what holy meat tasted like. He was not a fan, but recalls that that holy temple had another relic, that of the thighbone of another saint that might be tastier.

Samuel Belick - Necromancer

Once a believer in the powers of good, Samuel was fascinated by death and how to control it. Trying to unlock a way to use the powers of arcane magic to resurrect the fallen, Samuel slowly became corrupted by the forces of evil. The ability of such evil forces to raise the dead slowly corrupted Samuel, twisting him into the person he is today, someone willing to raise an undead army to destroy the world in the name of Orcus.

Physical Description

**Art Inspiration for Samuel Belick**; Jace Beleren by Magic the Gathering

A tall, middle-aged human, Samuel has long blonde hair that he usually keeps hidden under a hooded cloak. His eyes are such a crisp, almost silvery grey color, and his thin lips maintain a cruel smirk most of the time.

Backstory

As a boy, Samuel felt conflicted between following in his father's footsteps, a renowned cleric and healer, or his intense passion for the arcane arts. With his father's blessing, he attended Magus university, a top school for those who wanted to learn and master spellcraft and alchemy.

Soon after graduating with top honors, Samuel's father became extremely ill and passed after only a few days. Even the high priests of his father's order could not bring him back to life no matter how hard they tried. On the day of his placement into the family tomb, Samuel swore to find a way to resurrect the fallen using arcane power. He knew in his heart that such magic could succeed where the gods had failed.

Immersing himself in everything he could find about raising the dead, Samuel became obsessed with the power of animating creatures. Combining magic and alchemical science, Samuel was able to bring back all manners of creatures but only for a brief time. As he went farther down this dark path, Samuel found that the twisted magic of demons and devils was his best chance at succeeding in his quest.

Samuel slowly became corrupted by these creatures, who whispered to him in his dreams that he could obtain the power he craved if he gave himself to them. Orcus, Lord of the Undead, promised to grant him the knowledge to conquer death if he pledged his allegiance to the demon lord.

Samuel plans to sacrifice himself on the Feast Night of his fiftieth birthday to serve Orcus as an undead creature of the demon lord's choosing. He currently resides in a large cemetery on the outskirts of Ferrum, made up mostly of pauper's graves and the poorer citizens of the city.

Death Master Alchemy

Samuel's skills include a deep understanding of alchemy. After years of study, Samuel has learned how to fuse his alchemical creations with the power of necrotic magic. He has developed a number of salves, potions, and other substances for raising the dead and protection against those who seek to stop him.

Cause Wounds Cream. This cream is a blend of nightshade, holy water, and the dirt of a freshly dug grave. Samuel then infuses the mixture with a perversion of the cure wounds spell, causing it to inflict damage to those it touches. As a bouns action, Samuel can apply the paste to his hands. If Samuel successfully touches a living creature when the paste is applied, the creature takes 18 (4d8) points of necrotic damage and the cream is rendered inert. The paste has no effect on undead or constructs.

Death Armor Oil. This slick, black oil of Samuel's creation takes 2 actions to spread over his body. Once applied, Samuel's AC increases by 2 and he has resistance to all non-magical damage for 1 hour.

Ghast Infusion Paste. A foul smelling gray paste that is surprisingly silky to the touch. Samuel can spend 1 minute to apply this paste to a ghoul that he has summoned. Once applied the ghoul transforms into a ghast in 1 round. The transformation is permanent.

Undead Defense Dust. The rarest of all of Samuel's creations, this dust is a combination of necrotic energies and the ground bones of a cleric of 5th level or higher. As an action, Samuel can blow the dust in a 30 foot cone. All undead creatures in this area are immune to the cleric's turn dead ability. The effects of this dust last for 1 minute.

Quick Reference Traits

Personality Traits. Samuel is shunned by others which suits him fine as this provides him with the solitude he needs to conduct his experiments.
Ideals. Destruction of the world by raising an undead army.
Bonds. Samuel has pledged himself to the demon lord Orcus.
Flaws. He is consumed by the concept of death and blindly loyal to Orcus.

Adventure Hooks

What started as a nuisance has become a full-fledged crisis. In the beginning, a smattering of undead approached the city walls, but now small armies of skeletons, zombies, and other miscellaneous undead have been trying to force their way through the city gates. The party has been employed to find the source of this evil and eradicate it.
Bodies have gone missing from the city morgue. Along with the cadaver thefts, eerie sounds from the graveyard just beyond the city's limits have led city officials to offer a substantial reward for finding out what is going on.
An army undead, led by the Death Master Samuel, has been slowly marching across the lands, laying wastes to towns and villages in its path. Furthermore, the slain townsfolk have risen to join the ranks of Samuel's ever growing forces. The party is to lead a battalion of the country's finest soldiers to destroy this scourge before it reaches the larger cities.

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