Sslithas Vane — The Silver-Rain Serpent

Ability Scores

STR

10

+0

DEX

14

+2

CON

14

+2

INT

12

+1

WIS

18

+4

CHA

14

+2

Combat

Armor Class: 18; Half-plate and Shield
Hit Points: 67; Hit Dice: 9d8
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft.
Proficiency: +4
Passive Perception: 18

Attacks

Vapor-Stave (Mace)+41d6+1 bludgeoning + 1d6 thunder

Sacred FlameDC 16 Dex2d8 radiant

Personality

Sslithas speaks in a soft, melodic sibilance that sounds like wind through tall grass. He is obsessively attentive to the physical comfort of those around him, often pausing mid-sentence to adjust a comrade's collar or offer a cooling draught of water.

Ideal

Renewal. The old, dried-out structures of tyranny must be shattered by the storm so that new life can take root in the mud.

Bond

The 'Cloud-Gatherers,' a ragtag band of desert orphans and escaped prisoners who are the only family I have ever truly known.

Flaw

I am so terrified of returning to the cold-blooded apathy of my kin that I often over-extend my own vitality to soothe others.

Backstory

In the subterranean spires of the Yuan-ti, empathy is considered a genetic rot, a vestigial weakness of the 'lesser' races. Sslithas was born with this 'defect' in abundance. As a scion of a powerful smuggling house, he was expected to calculate the overhead of human misery. Instead, he felt the psychic resonance of every lash and every chain. His rebellion began in the shadows of the 'Veins of the Earth,' the secret trade routes of his kin. He began replacing crates of prohibited spices with political dissidents, spiriting them away under the cover of night. He was eventually found out, not by a slip in security, but because he was caught weeping over a dying slave he couldn't save.

Exiled and hunted, Sslithas fled into the Great Parched Expanse. During a month of record-shattering drought, he climbed the Peak of Broken Glass and screamed at the silent heavens, demanding mercy for the thirsty. The sky answered with a localized typhoon that nearly took his life, but in the heart of the storm, he saw the truth: the lightning does not strike to kill, but to bridge the gap between heaven and earth so the rain may follow. He emerged as the first priest of the 'Gentle Gale,' founding the Cloud-Gatherers to bring down the Sultan who hoards the desert's few remaining wells.

Abilities & Actions

Vapor-Stave Channeling (3/Day)

When Sslithas casts a spell that deals Thunder or Lightning damage, he can use his signature Vapor-Stave to create a 20-foot-radius sphere of heavy fog centered on himself or the target. The fog lasts for 1 minute and grants half-cover to his allies within it.

The Peacemaker's Rain

Whenever Sslithas uses his 'Wrath of the Storm' feature or deals lightning damage with a spell of 1st level or higher, a restorative mist rises. One creature of his choice within 30 feet regains hit points equal to 1d8 + his Wisdom modifier.

Oilskin Protection

As a reaction when a creature within 30 feet takes cold or fire damage, Sslithas can conjure a shimmering, spectral oilskin cloak. The target gains resistance to that instance of damage and cannot be tracked by non-magical means for 1 hour.

Cracking the Sky (1/Day)

Sslithas slams his Vapor-Stave into the ground. Each creature of his choice within 20 feet must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they are knocked prone and deafened by a peal of thunder. Immediately after, a cleansing rain falls in the area, ending the Blinded, Deafened, or Poisoned conditions on all friendly creatures in the radius.

DM Notes

Sslithas should never raise his voice, even in combat. He treats a battlefield like a garden that needs 'pruning.' He will constantly check if the PCs are hydrated or if their armor is chafing. If a player acts with cruelty, he doesn't get angry; he gets quiet and intensely disappointed, which is far more unnerving. Signature gesture: He absent-mindedly polishes a single scale on the back of his hand when he is worried.