Aidan of Zel
Ranarim rarely leave the Luvam Wood for any reason, unless they are Aurthelin the Deviant, who has made a thousand-year habit out of visiting villages on its borders to find a new human wife every thirty or forty years. His antics have left him officially Houseless, and since the late-8th millennium FR his many children have taken to pilgrimages in the lands beyond the Luvam to redeem their bloodline. The most recent of these is Aidan, who not only went in search of whatever resistance group might yet endure the Dark Occupation, but was actually able to find one. Though generally considered somewhat past his prime, approaching his fifties by the time he had completed his training, Aidan was nonetheless able to survive nearly openly in the Occupied Kingdoms, despite being obviously elf-blooded and readily identifiable by his offensively red hair.
Aidan ascribes this to the protection of Heshtail, in whose service he acts as a paladin. Whilst capable enough as a warrior, his early days were marked by greater success as a healer and historian, drawing upon his rich elven education to support others in the resistance movement. Indeed, his proficiency with languages, one of the many skills deliberately suppressed in the Occupied Kingdoms to aid in the control of their populaces, proved itself frequently more useful than any of his martial talents. Elves were more amenable when spoken to in Altarian, spies from across the border were debriefed in Kelevan, and his mastery of Kingdom Common gave him an air of competence to the people of Zeland and Orland.
During this time, he was nearly slain by a goblin warband in the foothills of Dimrune. Salvation came in the unexpected form of an Erunian berserker, Embla Aslaug, with whom he has travelled ever since. His current status as a true adventurer was more accidental than intentional, having hesitantly accepted a request from help from a mysterious (and now-defunct) warlock coven in Daven`s Ruin Wood. It would be when he was trying to put together a team to respond to this that he encountered and recruited both gutter runner Isolde Ballussia and the unconventional Brokk the Gnostic. Very little has been heard of this quartet since they went west to Daven, though the forces of evil have experienced stillborn schemes and slain agents from Orland to Kale, nearly every incident allegedly involving a man with offensively red hair.
Unusually for one of elfkind, Aidan wields a huge warhammer as his weapon of choice. This is only due to having lost his original, preferred pairing of mace and shield during the goblin attack that nearly killed him, and having his weapon replaced by giant-blooded Embla, who out of habit had sized it for someone significantly larger than Aidan. Out of both gratitude and politeness, he made no mention of the disparity, and has gone on to use the unwieldy weapon to great effect against both the living and the undead.
For Aidan's exploits, see "The Mists of Daven."
Aidan of Zel
Medium humanoid (half elf), neutral good
Armor Class 16 (chainmail)
Hit Points 96 (12d8 + 36)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 15 (+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 16 (+3) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHR 14 (+2)
Saving Throws Con +7, Wis +6, Chr +6
Skills History +5, Medicine +6, Religion +5
Senses dark vision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Dark Speech, Altarian, Kelevan, Kingdom Common, smattering of Farlandish
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Divine sense (3/day). Aidan can use an action to know the location and type of any Celestial, fiend, or Undead within 60 feet of him that is not behind total cover. He can also sense consecrated or desecrated places or objects in the same way.
Holy aura. Any ally within 10 feet of Aidan when he is conscious has advantage on saving throws versus fear and adds +2 to all other saves. Aidan himself is immune to fear and disease.
Holy radiance. Any fiend or undead that Aidan touches or hits with a weapon attack takes 2d8 radiant damage in addition to any other damage he might deal.
Fey ancestry. Aidan has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put him to sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. Aidan makes two mighty warhammer attacks.
Mighty warhammer: Melee Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) bludgeoning damage.
Sacred strike (recharge 4-6). Melee Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) bludgeoning damage plus 3d8 radiant damage. Aidan's weapon counts as magical when he uses sacred strike..
Reactions
Protect ally. If a creature Aidan can see attacks an ally within 5 feet of him, if he is wielding a shield (which he rarely is), he can impose disadvantage on the attack roll.
