Caldwell Ulverman

Byzantium: Nightmares Undreamed Of

Caldwell Ulverman

Neutral Cultist L2 (XP: 1 of 3 milestones)

Appearance: Caldwell cuts an otherwise unimposing figure until you catch hold of his cold, sullen eyes. Tinted a unique golden-brown, they are accentuated by the dark clothes the bookhound prefers and are framed strikingly by his unkempt black hair and pale, almost luminous skin. He is more graceful than muscular, and strays toward the gaunt side of lean.

Motivation: For some reason, the incursions from beyond have stoked the flames of urgency for Yuhannah the Revealer. Whereas before she contented herself with the recovery of ancient tomes and uncovering the secrets of the powerful, she has been moved to mobilize seven agents — her Argent Keys, she called them — and dispatching them to locate and decipher the Seven Enigmas before it is too late.

Attributes

Primary Attributes: Health and Willpower

Charisma	Dexterity	Ferocity	Health*	Intelligence	Willpower*	Social Class
9	6 (-1)	10	10	12	15 (+1)	9

Aspects

Bookhound for the Theosophical Society (Background)

Caldwell was a professional 'acquisitionist' for the Theosophical Society, the gathering place for the cult of Yuhannah in Byzantium. Those who were curious about ancient religions, the occult, and hidden knowledge were welcome to peruse their archives, where they would be evaluated for recruitment. Many of the volumes in the Society were brought in by Caldwell and his mentor, Johann Borges, through means both legal and unscrupulous.

Argent Key of Yuhannah (Defining Aspect)

Yuhannah in her sacred wisdom has deemed Caldwell worthy of her blessing and divine appointment. His devotion to his patron is unwavering, his commitment to her cause resolute...until he learned about...

Yuhannah the Unrevealed (Secret Aspect)

Caldwell earned the enmity of his mentor when he beat him in acquiring the journal of the infamous occultist Aleister Branagh, eventually leading to the junior Bookhound being selected over Johann to become an Argent Key. In their cat and mouse dance of wresting ownership of the journal from each other, a page tore from the manuscript, which contained a revelation that sent Caldwell reeling. In it, Branagh speculated that Yulhannah was actually a servant of Mog-Mnogoth, and that her efforts to unearth the lost secrets of this world are simply the means by which the final gate for the Opener of Ways to enter into this realm permanently. Could this be true? Is the self-proclaimed Unearther of Secrets suppressing an inconceivable secret herself?

Combat

• Hit Die: 1d6
• Initiative: +0
• Speed: 7
• AC: 13
• Disposition: 6/6

Weapons

• Battleaxe +2 to hit
• Dagger +2 to hit
• Throwing knives (x4) +3 to hit, 10 yards

Restrictions

• You can’t be of lawful alignment.
• You may fight with your bare hands, throw things at people, use shields, and wear light armour, plus blades and missile weapons. The ones you do not choose are restricted by your cult precepts or you are not skilled at using them. While using restricted weapons or armour, you get no attack bonus, you may not banish your spiritual enemies, and you may not cast spells.
• You must surrender half your income to your cult, in order to gain experience points from recovering it. You may send this money as a tithe to your superiors, or spend it on establishing a shrine or temple of your own.

Skills

Cultists are skilled at practicing their religion and learned in the ways of cult doctrines. When you use your skills and knowledge in a risky manner, you must roll equal to or lower than one of your attribute scores on a d20 to successfully perform your task. The GM will tell you which attribute score to use. Caldwell is also a trained Bibliographist.

Special Abilities

• Add your level to your attack rolls (unless you are using a restricted weapon or wearing restricted armour)
• Spiritual enemy: Dwellers in the Deep.
• You have mastery of 2 spells per level, plus additional spells equal to your Willpower modifier. If the total of your level and modifier is less than 1, you have mastery of no spells.

Signs

1. Studious. You get +1 Intelligence but -1 Ferocity.
2. Ugly Truths. You get advantage on rolls to search or to perceive hidden things, but you have disadvantage on rolls to influence hirelings.

Boons

1. Crow Messengers. Whenever you want a crow to carry a message to someone, you have but to call out and one (or a pair) will arrive as soon as possible. You can only send a crow away with something it can actually carry. The goddess sustains these crows during this task.
2. Spells Revealed. Yuhannah grants you mastery of 1 additional spell per level. Roll on her table above to determine each additional spell. You may select this boon multiple times.

Taboos

1. Invasive Truth. You are unable to cast, master, or memorize spells from the Abjuration or Illusion schools, and you have disadvantage to saves you make against them. If you miscast and the result is a spell from either school, ignore it and roll two other spells instead.
2. The Scribe. You cannot willingly destroy a piece of text. If you do so accidentally, you suffer wounds and lose 1d6 points of Health. If you destroy a magical formula while casting a spell, you take no damage, but the spell does not leave the material plane. Instead, it lodges itself in the memory of some random person within a hundred miles. This may cause them problems if they cast it unwittingly.

Spells

Memorized 2/2
Currently Memorized: Identify, Tongues

• Find Poison, L1 Divination spell | Range: Senses | Duration: 1 day/CL | Effect: Caster only

For the duration of the spell, you can tell if anything that you can see, hear, or touch is poisonous and how strong that poison is. You can find poisonous plants in the woods, or determine if food is poisoned. Variations: • Level 3. Effect: 1 creature. Range: Touch. • Level 5. Effect: 1 creature. Range: Senses, 50 feet per caster level.

• Read Languages, L1 Manipulation/Wards and Runes spell | Range: Touch | Duration: Special | Effect: 1 long text or several short texts

The target may read directions, instructions, and similar notations written in unfamiliar or even unknown languages. This spell is good for several short pieces of text, one long reading, or one spell formula.

• Divine Guidance, L7 Revelation spell | Range: None | Duration: Instantaneous | Effect: Caster only

When you cast this spell, ask a particular deity or supernatural power for guidance. It sends you an omen or sign regarding its wishes. Roll 2d6 plus your Intelligence modifier. Add +1 if you worship this deity, +1 if you sacrifice something of value to it, and +1 if you cast this spell in a location sacred to it. [see table on TNG 236]

• Message Ward, L3 Wards and Runes spell | Range: Senses | Duration: Until dispelled | Effect: 1 item or location

This spell leaves a magical message on a specific item or location, which is triggered whenever someone touches the item or enters the location. The message can be writing that appears, a spoken message accompanied by an illusion of a mouth that delivers it, or images of things seen by the caster. The message may be as long as you want, but if it is more than a few moments long, the spell cannot be cast in a single round.

• Identify, L3 Divination spell | Range: Senses | Duration: Instantaneous | Effect: 1 creature, item, or location

This spell identifies a single creature, item, or location. It gives you a person’s name and what they are best known for. It gives you a location’s name, and who owns or occupies it, if anyone. Cast upon items and built environments, the spell identifies the maker and owner. Cast upon magical items, this spell reveals what the item does and how to use it. Variations: • Level 2. Range: Touch. • Level 6. Effect: 1 creature, item, or location per caster level.

• Locate Object, L3 Divination spell | Range: 50 feet/CL | Duration: 1 turn/CL | Effect: Caster only

Name a specific object or a type of object and this spell informs you how far away it is and in what direction, if it is within the range of the spell. If you choose a type of object, you become aware of the closest item of that type in whatever direction you face (within range).

• Clairaudience, L3 Divination spell | Range: Infinite | Duration: 1 hour/CL | Effect: Caster only

Name a location and for the duration of the spell, you can hear it as if you were there. You can only name locations you know exist, although you can use this spell to hear what is beyond a door you know of. Variations: • Level 6. The sounds of the location you name also occur at your location, so that anyone present may hear them as well.

• Tongues, L2 Mind spell | Range: Touch | Duration: 1 hour/CL | Effect: 1 person

For the duration of this spell, the target may converse in unfamiliar or even unknown languages. This does not grant any ability to communicate with creatures that do not use language, or the ability to read writings in a foreign language. Variations: • Level 4. Range: Senses. • Level 5. Effect: 1 person per caster level. Range: Senses.

Equipment

Key: (t)-tiny item, (s)-small encumbering, (r)-regular encumbering, (#)-value of item encumbrance
Limits: Encumbering Items: 5/6 | Small Items 3/16

• Worn
  • Light Armor
  • a waterproof woolen cloak
  • 1 pouch attached to a belt
  • a dagger, and four throwing daggers
  • a key-shaped battleaxe (1 handed) (r)
  • an amulet that is a piece of amber with a fly preserved inside it
  • holy symbol on chain around neck - metal disk with stylized bison

• Backpack (r)
  • 50 feet of twine cord
  • a strong magnet
  • a bouncy rubber ball
  • a cigar cutter
  • a drinking vessel made from a bison horn
  • a jar of pickled vegetables
  • a lantern that has run out of oil
  • a dubious university degree
  • a jar of glowing insects
  • a purse with 25 cyphers worth of foreign coins in it
  • a weird skull mask embellished with locks and key motif
  • 2 flasks of oil
  • Scribe's kit

• Coinpurse
  • 22 cyphers + 25 cyphers worth of foreign coins

Special Moves

Contacts

1 remaining

• Drummond Clive, a self-styled... exorcist. His door is midnight black, and called the Starless Door. At first glance it bears the appearance of wrought iron. Closer scrutiny reveals it is made of something...other, some sort of obsidian metal not known to this civilization. If Drummond spent any time maintaining it, it would gleam like ebon glass, but he does not feel compelled to do so, as besmirched with grime and soot it blends more easily with its environment. Associated with the hidden mysteries of the City of Ancient Knowings.

Notes

Amata assisted Caldwell in beating Johann to the journal of Aleister Branagh. She was also privy to Caldwell's personal breakdown after reading the page.