Basic Info #

Full Name: Thelmivor Garrick
Race: Rock Gnome
Class: Wizard
Specialization: Necromancer

Backstory #

From an early age, Thelmivor’s tinkering whims always guided him toward more humanoid crafts. His earliest creations were small stick-men that would totter along, powered by springs and gears stolen from clocks. He wanted to learn how to re-create the warforged of old, and even dreamed of making a better species than what already existed. However, even with the innate tinkering skills that all rock gnomes possess, Thelmivor always seemed to fall short of his peers’ achievements, and the goal of making a thinking machine that would follow his orders always seemed so far away.

It wasn’t until Thelmivor stumbled across a hidden book in a darkened corner of a library that he made a breakthrough. It suggested using the parts of previously living beings to enhance constructs, so Thelmivor used the bones of a lizard that he had found nesting in his walls. The thought that killing an innocent creature simply for bones to research would be wasteful never even crossed his mind, yet another fact that would set him apart from his peers. And yet when he replaced the normal wooden struts of a mechanical minion with the lizard’s bones, Thelmivor felt a connection to it like he’d never had before. That’s when he finally realized that his interests might be best put in a different direction than his peers.

When Thelmivor turned 40 and chose a university, there was only one real choice for him - Feldsparn College of the Arcane. It was the one Gnomish school that allowed for the study of necromancy. While all gnomish colleges made sure to include a school of Artificing, each also chose a secondary specialty to attract students with other talents. For Feldsparn, that specialty was Necromancy. By the time Thelmivor had to make his choice, his use of bones in his automatons was well-known locally, so while his talent for working with the dead wasn’t known to others, his choice of school wasn’t a surprise. Thelmivor’s parents and siblings, while not entirely supportive of his choice, wished him well and hoped that he’d stay in the more respectable parts of the school while he studied.

While in school, Thelmivor’s interest in death, life, and the barrier between them grew. He began to question the “what” behind undead. What powers a soul, and what gives a body to come back to life? Something has to be powering the magic that Thelmivor studied, and he spent the next 110 years researching his questions. This often took him to unpleasant places such as tombs and graveyards, but the theoretical nature of the research meant that he never actually learned the mechanics of raising the dead. This wasn’t due to lack of interest, simply lack of time - learning to cast spells of that level takes time and effort, and wielding them appropriately is difficult to do without being shunned by society even more than he already was. Thus, Thelmivor contented himself with learning some basic defensive spells to aid his journeys, and with deciding that he would eventually have to give in to undeath himself one day in order to have the time to answer his questions. He hopes that day won’t come too soon, but he’s making the preparations just in case.

Allies and Organizations #

• Thelmivor is an alumnus of the Feldsparn College of the Arcane. He has also spent a considerable amount of time providing research for the college, and even acted as an associate professor at times.
• Like all gnomes, Thelmivor reveres the Earth Titan, and he also personally follows the Void Titan and Oghma, the god of knowledge, due to personal beliefs and alignment. He has never been very devout, but is still unlikely to stray from his beliefs.

Traits #

• Thelmivor has a very large tattoo depicting his own skeleton. The tattoo runs along the back of his hands and arms, then across his shoulders and down his back to his waist. He hopes to upgrade expand the tattoo down his legs someday.
• With his studies in mind, knowledge of the undead is Thelmivor’s #1 goal. He is willing to sacrifice even his own mortality and soul for that knowledge, if it comes down to that.

Appearance #

Thelmivor has fair skin and dark brown hair. He keeps his beard trimmed neatly, with the chin and corners of his jaw groomed into sharp points. His hair is neck-length and often swept back behind his ears, although it can fall forward into his face if he leaves it unrestrained. The bright green of his eyes carries the same mischievous glint that all of his race seem to have, even though he doesn’t seem to act in a similar fashion.

He often wears a very dark yellow cloak over an off-white shirt (with flecks of ink along the sleeves) and soft brown leather breeches, along with well fitted leather boots. He initially comes across as more of an academic and a scholar, but his research has led him to delve into crypts and tombs to research the dead.

His hands each have their skeleton tattooed on their backs, which goes up into the sleeves of Thelmivor’s shirt, presumably all the way up to the shoulders.

He carries a Mabaran Ebony staff that matches his height, topped with a baboon skull and a small pearl.