Malphas 'Mallow' Bright-Eye — The Curious Sentinel

Ability Scores

STR

15

+2

DEX

10

+0

CON

14

+2

INT

14

+2

WIS

12

+1

CHA

18

+4

Combat

Armor Class: 18; Plate Armor
Hit Points: 60; Hit Dice: 7d10
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft.
Proficiency: +3
Passive Perception: 11

Attacks

Longsword (Scholar's Edge)+51d8+2 slashing

Handaxe+51d6+2 slashing

Personality

He speaks with a breathless, rapid-fire academic enthusiasm, often forgetting to finish his sentences when he spots a particularly interesting bug or a shimmer in the air. He refers to terrifying aberrations as 'little fellows' or 'misplaced friends.'

Ideal

Preservation. The multiverse is a garden of infinite variety; it is our duty to ensure no flower, however thorny, is uprooted by ignorance.

Bond

The 'Field Guide to the Beyond'—his leather-bound journal containing a decade of observations that he believes can bridge the gap between worlds.

Flaw

His fascination with the Far Realm overrides his sense of self-preservation; he will literally walk into a collapsing portal if he thinks there's a new color on the other side.

Backstory

For twelve years, Mallow didn't see the sun; he saw the bioluminescent glow of the 'Unspeakable Horrors' in Archmage Xylander’s private menagerie. As a lowly cage-cleaner, Mallow learned a secret the ivory-towered wizards missed: if you scratch a Gibbering Mouther behind its vestigial ears, it stops screaming and starts purring like a kettle. He didn't see monsters; he saw lonely, displaced tourists from dimensions where the geometry was just a bit more creative. When a localized rift nearly swallowed the laboratory, Mallow didn't flee. He offered his ham sandwich to the 'Void-Stalker' emerging from the tear, leading it back into the ether with a gentle pat on its chitinous head.

Now, Mallow wanders the world as a knight-errant of the Gilded Veil. While his peers sharpen their blades to 'purge the alien,' Mallow polishes his spectacles to better observe them. He carries a massive, ink-stained journal filled with anatomical sketches and notes on which extraplanar entities prefer honey over salted pork. He took his holy oaths not to be a gatekeeper, but a cross-dimensional chaperone, ensuring that the 'beautifully weird' isn't snuffed out by the 'boringly normal.' He has been arrested in four different city-states for 'interfering with an execution,' which he maintains was actually a 'misunderstood biology lecture.'

Abilities & Actions

The Monocle’s Insight (Constant)

Mallow’s signature cracked monocle allows him to see the invisible. He has Truesight out to a range of 10 feet. Additionally, he can cast Detect Magic at will without expending a spell slot, but it only detects magic originating from the Conjuration school or the Far Realm.

Field Sketch (1/Short Rest)

As a bonus action, Mallow quickly sketches a creature he can see in his journal. For the next hour, Mallow and any allies who can see the sketch have advantage on Intelligence and Wisdom checks made to identify the creature's abilities, resistances, or habits.

Abjure the Extraplanar (Channel Divinity)

As an action, Mallow presents his holy symbol (a star-chart etched into his palm). Each elemental, fey, fiend, or aberration within 30 feet that can see or hear him must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15). On a failure, the creature is turned for 1 minute or until it takes damage. Mallow often whispers soothing reassurances while doing this, telling the creature it's 'just a little over-stimulated.'

Aura of the Sentinel

Mallow emits an aura of heightened awareness while he isn't incapacitated. He and all creatures within 10 feet of him gain a +3 bonus to initiative rolls. Mallow’s aura smells faintly of old parchment and ozone.

DM Notes

Mallow is a delight to roleplay—think of a cross between a wide-eyed naturalist and a seasoned knight. He should never act 'cool.' If a player draws a weapon on a weird creature, Mallow will likely step in front of the blade, not to fight the player, but to 'stop them from ruining the specimen.'

Sample Dialogue: 'Oh, don't mind the tentacles, dear boy! It’s just trying to taste the concept of afternoon tea. Remarkable, isn't it?'

Gesture: He constantly adjusts his spectacles with his pinky finger and licks his thumb to turn the pages of his journal, even in the middle of a frantic battle.