Magister Painu, Master of the Mint Magister Painu is a well-known and important figure in Llaza; a spry 75 year old with startling blue eyes under a mop of stark white hair. Painu is a master philosopher, inventor and polymath, perhaps the greatest sage since Teshnuvar. Dorash Painu was born in the small village of Apricot Trees about 70 miles northeast from the City State of Llaza. His father was a minor Member of the Merchants League and Painu followed in his footsteps in the procurement business. Painu was brighter and keener than his father although he lacked focused ambition. His mind was drawn to all manner of things, both technological and magical but his true skill lay in understanding the underlying theories and patterns that described, and governed, the natural world. As a member of the Merchant class, Painu was taught the use of the so-called Merchant Maths, a much more flexible and utilitarian system than the cumbersome Imperial Mathematics, and he was able to create several innovative theorums to describe the behaviour of changing and moving systems. At the same time, he entered the Magisterial service and passed his exams with ease, but still spent more time in his pursuit of theories. The young Painu became the protégé of Magister Anarvin, a respected League Member and financier, and Painu found that his theoretical skill extended into finances too. During this time he moved to Llaza and helped devise several cunning seaward defences for the city. For a long time Painu was content to work on his interests, under a pension from Anarvin, and paid little interest to politics or the wider affairs of the world until the death of Anarvin put his future in jeopardy. It was then that he finally took on his Magisterial duties that he had been trained for as a youth and began to work his way up the League structure. From Magister Administory, through a spell as Magister Judiciary he was eventually appointed Master of the Mint, charged with the duty of overseeing coin production, monitoring the Glassblower's Guild, managing the budget and tracking down counterfeiters. Painu has pursued this duty with his characteristic gusto for the last ten years and yet somehow found time to indulge his favourite hobby, the study of magic. Painu is no great magician himself, being little more than a dabbler, but he is fascinated by magic and the theories of magic. His studies into the mathematics of the physical world led him to the belief that maths was only able to describe the Concordant part of the world. Even the most ordered of systems did not fully behave as his models predicted - there was something else, the will of the Immortals perhaps, that added a chaotic element to all matter. In his pursuit of the Chaotic Factor, Painu turned to the study of magic, the most chaotic of systems. Painu probably has as large a body of writings on the subject as the Lorewardens of Thalsa, and through his studies he has become, at least tangentially, aware of such things as the Followers of Vuul, the Dark Sphere and the Lesser Dragon Empire. Dorash Painu, Magister of the Six Winds, Master of the Llaza Mint Male human Exp11/Wiz1: CR 2; Medium Humanoid; AL LG Abilities Str 4 (-3), Dex 6 (-2), Con 8 (-1), Int 23 (+6), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 11 (+0) Initiative -2; Speed 20 ft. Armour Class 8 (-2 Dex) touch 8, flat-footed 8 Saves Fortitude +2, Reflex +1, Will +13 Hit Dice 11d6+1d4-12; hit points 29 Base Attack Bonus/Grapple +8/+5 Melee Walking cane (club) +5 (1d6-3) Special Attacks None Special Qualities None Skills: Appraise +17, Bluff +3, Decipher Script +14, Forgery +9, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +16, Knowledge (geography) +18, Knowledge (history) +19, Knowledge (local) +18, Knowledge (mathematics) +24, Knowledge (nature) +22, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +12, Knowledge (religion) +15, Knowledge (the planes) +14, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +11, Use Magical Device +5 Feats: Diligent, Iron Will, Magical Aptitude, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (decipher script), Skill Focus (knowledge: mathematics), Skill Focus (knowledge: nature) Languages: Celestial, Draconic, Dronish, High Imperial, Low Imperial, Themnassic, Vaartan. Possessions: Walking cane, extensive library, Llazan town house, retinue of servants. Spells Per Day 3/1 Spells Typically Prepared: 1st level (Save DC 17) - alarm. 0th level (Save DC 16) - detect magic, mage hand, read magic. Spellbook: 0th level - all; 1st level - alarm, comprehend languages, erase, floating disk, hold portal, identify, protection from evil, protection from chaos, unseen servant. Using Magister Painu Magister Painu makes a good patron for competent characters. He knows a lot of mysterious lore but lacks the physical ability to pursue leads himself. He is able to appraise and identify magical items that the player characters may find (although he will not appreciate being treated like a library) but has no powerful magical spells that could overshadow player character spellcasters. He has wealth and power that he can bring to bear to assist or hinder. Painu knows of such things as the dark cults of the Followers of Vuul, and of ancient history like the Lesser Dragon Empire, both of which contain possible campaign seeds. His age and frailty makes it possible for enemies to remove him, although his fame and position make him a difficult target. Painu's position as Master of the Mint makes him a possible adversary (via intermediates) for criminal player characters. In a campaign using the sanity rules, the GM may like to swap a few ranks of Painu's Knowledge (the planes) skill for ranks in Knowledge (Forbidden Lore). (c) 2007 The Creative Conclave. Contact us.

Links Age of Dragons City of Llaza Followers of Vuul Merchants League Salsham'ai Apricot Trees Apricot Trees is an unremarkable village of about fifty people. Its sole claim to fame is the high quality of its eponymous fruit, the reason for which is told in the local legend of Apricot Girl. An elderly couple found her inside an apricot kernel after wishing for a child of their own. They raised her and looked after her despite many close scrapes with cats, birds and so on. When she was an adult, the tiny Apricot Girl revealed herself as an Immortal and repaid the kindness of her foster parents by making their orchard forever fruitful. There is a small shrine to Apricot Girl in the village, showing her stepping out of a kernel. To maintain her blessing the villagers make small offerings at the shrine, dressing her statue in 'her genuine clothes' every year and not allowing cats in the village.