dailyadventureprompts:Ally: Sokovir Kaolin, Quickscluptor “However… Active my creations
dailyadventureprompts:Ally: Sokovir Kaolin, Quickscluptor “However… Active my creations may be, it is important to remember that they are not alive. True life is something only the gods can grant, and whatever animation my gift bestows is only a culmination of the divine act worked by the artists and architects that came before me. A flourish applied to their already blessed labor.” Setup: While many artistic prodigies are said to have “The Touch”, it is seldom so literal as in the case of the architect of young master Kaolin, a structural sculptor blessed by Erathis, goddess of cities, with the power to make stone move. Kaolin discovered his powers when he was only a journeyman come to the city to work on a grand new cathedral, animating a dove he was tasked with detailing in a much larger relief and falling off the scaffolding in surprise when it began to flap about. After recovering from the shock and the several broken bones he sustained during the incident, Sokovir was recruited by the temple of the lawbearer, who’ve begun exploring his gifts and using the charismatic young artist as a new posterboy for the faith. Temple Scholars debate whether his gifts are indeed miraculous, or a simple fluke of sorcerous talents, as his creations seem less like divine messengers wrought from stone, and more simpleminded beasts compelled to follow any orders that their animator gives them. Still, the journeyman Kaolin has earned himself quite the reputation, becoming the temple’s voice in city politics, a shining star in its artistic set, and earning himself more than a pretty penny in faith-sanctions commissions of his work, transforming sculptures made by other sculptors into living works of art, things now prized by the city elites for their grace and novelty. Adventure Hooks: Sokovir never dreamt of a life in service to the faith, and often feels constrained by the sanctimony and ritual that has come to occupy much of his time. Taking any excuse to slip off the vestments and loosen his collar, the party can encounter him drinking incognito in taverns favorited by artisans and students, sneaking into grand buildings to admire the architecture, or simply wandering the local parks and gardens looking to get some space. The Quicksculptor may also literally drop out of the sky should danger be present, riding in on the back of his screeching gargoyle mount to lend a hand in case of an armed street brawl, a rampaging monster, or some other disaster. Strange disturbances in the crypts beneath the grand cathedral have resulted in the rise of numerous unquiet spirits, some of which have discovered that the animate-statues brought to life by Sokovir’s touch make for perfect vessels. The Sculptor ventured in to see if he could quell these graven images, but has since disappeared. Few have the bravery to go after him, as in addition to the manifold saints and grotesques that now prowl the grounds of the grand cathedral, the spirits have gotten ahold of the massive sentinel the faith commissioned as a guardian. It would take a siege engine to take down this walking pillar of armor and sanctified granite, so the party best keep their infiltration and exorcism quiet. The statues animated by the Quicksculptor’s touch are a capable pantomime of life, but fail at several marks. Marble Birds fly despite the weight of their stone bodies but do not lay eggs, stone trees bend and sway in the breeze but their flowers produce no smell and their fruit is inedible. Most obvious are the statues of people, which pantomime actions befitting a person garbed as they may be, but are capable of only doglike cleverness, no original thought, and spend their time in static vapidness unless Sokovir has instructed them otherwise. The Glaring exception to this is the statue of Saint Agreisa, which after given the command “ Never act in a manner unbefitting a saint of Erathis” nodded, walked forward, and ripped the head off a high-ranking bishop who was in attendance for the animation ceremony. Sokovir hasn’t animated anything since that incident, some months ago, and wants the party to investigate the dead bishop and why his creation was driven to murder him in the goddess’s name. Keep reading -- source link