Difference between revisions of "Diogenes"

Revision as of 08:12, 22 November 2011

Male Human 4th Level Cleric

Stats Str: 17
Dex: 16
Con: 17
Int: 13
Wis: 10
Cha: 5

Alignment: Chaotic Good

HP: either -2/33 or -9/33 depending whether HP acquired through leveling are attributed to max or max + current HP.

Physical Description: Diogenes is a rather handsome 5'10 Human, save for a presently lost hand. Unfortunately, few people can appreciate his looks while in his presence as he is surrounded by the overwhelming stench that comes from his refusal to eat anything but a paste made of beans. Additionally, during an attack by a nuckalavee shortly after loosing his hand he acquired\ a number of red scars across his feet, remaining hand, and nose from frostbite. The scar on his nose makes it appear as though he was a life-long drunkard. He wears scale mail carries a footman's flail, and also has a sling and 100 stones.

Languages: Greek, Gaelic, Russian

Spells available:
L1
Locate Animals or Plants
Cure Light Wounds
Sanctuary

L2
Resist Fire/Resist Cold
[proposed: goodbean -- modified good berry, works on beans not berries]

History:
Born of a well to do family in Constantinople, Diogenes was fairly well educated. Unfortunately for that family, his education acquainted him with Diogenes of Sinope and the tradition of holy fools, both of which he was taken by. He immediately cultivated a habit of decrying what he saw as hypocracy, especially in his family and their friends. At the time this was taken to be little more than the brazenness of youth...that is until he began working in the garden to develop a cheap but nutritious food with which he could feed the poor. He developed a bean paste that he insisted could feed the poor of Constantinople at little cost to everyone else. When those who lived near or employed the poor caught wind of the olfactory side effects of the food his own family was put under a great deal of pressure to stop his crusade. Not taking kindly to his father's remonstrances, he took a vow before jesus to eat only this paste and left the city.

Upon his exit he spent about a decade living in a tree in the Ukraine, eating only the paste and contemplating what it would mean to live a life without convention and according to Christ. This decade long solitude may have driven him slightly mad, as now he talks to animals and insists to all who will listen (and many who won't) that eating this paste is very good for the constitution. On the 10th night of the 10th month of the 10th year of his stay he had a dream in which Jesus told him to travel to Russia in order to root out hyporcracy in his church--as it was about to take root there in a major way. He promptly went to Kiev where there was a significant misunderstanding. Mistaking the Saint Andrew, holy fool of Byzantium, for the Saint Andrew that first brought Christianity to Keiv, he took this as a sign that there was to be no war-mongering among the Russian Christians. So he fed the poor, called Vladimir a hypocrite, and was kicked out of the country.

Upon his excile he had another dream in which Jesus told him to "go west." When he asked Jesus why he said "I cannot tell you, for you might misunderstand me again. Just trust my guidance." So, he went west, making his way to Wales where he met up with Gwyn. He was fascinated by Gwin, a pagan who seemed to have contempt for the church only in those ways that he thought it contemptible.

While traveling in Ireland to learn more about this pagan religion which had some commonalities with Diogenes' somewhat peculiar take on Christianity, he met up with the Danger Gang (May 989). They found a hidden passage to the Sidhe who offered food that none but Arben ate (he tried to give the Sidhe some bean paste instead). When speaking to the Sidhe, he found that their race "goes west," but that they had not gone west but gone down. He took this as a sign that Jesus wanted him to join up with the Danger Gang, and so he risked life and limb in order to save Arben. This risk paid off in the sense that he was permitted to accompany the DG, but did not insofar as he lost his hand tearing out the whisker of a deranged Sidhe. At the moment he is taking his lost hand in stride, however, assuming that it was simply Jesus' way of warning him of the risk of casting spells around the DG for a while.