| 2nd Edition Statistics | |
| Alignment | Lawful Good |
| Class | 11th Level Paladin |
| Strength | 17 |
| Dexterity | 16 |
| Constitution | 16 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
| Wisdom | 13 |
| Charisma | 17 |
| HP | 72 |
Gilraen Caethl
Gilraen Caethl is a character created for a really crazy Forgotten Realms campaign which took the setting and kicked it over. Gilraen turned out to be a primary character for the campaign (although he was occasionally backburnered for Garan and Khrimden under certain circumstances). Back in the day, I was lousy with names, so I borrowed hard from names used in Tolkien's works.
| Gilraen Caethl | |
| Basic Information | |
| Titles | "Lord" of Mistledale |
| Former home(s) | Mistledale |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | Paladin of Tyr |
| Patron deity | Tyr |
| Known language(s) | Common, Elvish |
| Rules Information | |
Description
Gilraen is a tall man, and well built. His hair is golden, and his eyes are ice blue. He is often seen wearing a monk's tunic, though for battle he wears full plate mail, with a shield. Of late, he carries a mace at his side, where once he carried the sword Anglachel.
Personality
Gilraen is a patient man, knowing most of his life is still ahead of him. He is considerate of the rights of others as well. He also has an aura of self confidence, that he can do whatever needs to be done. An unusual quirk is that he is not nearly as serious as the stereotype; while he has been somewhat more subdued of late, he has been recovering it, as evidenced by his experiences as sheriff. However, the only times he gets angry is when he sees a great injustice being done to another. It is important to note that Gilraen is a Paladin of Justice, and that theme is the driving force behind his alignment.
Gilraen later chafed at the responsibilities of being a leader. But his sense of honor and duty prevent his more direct action. Moreover, he felt himself tainted with failed vows, and correctly feared his paladinhood would be stripped from him. That, with the leadership of the armies that march against Graz'zt, preyed constantly on his mind. In the end, he was almost hoping for death, if he could finish all he had begun.
At this point Gilraen is a peace with himself, and has been mellowing. The loss of his paladinhood has not changed his basic personality.
Abilities
Weapon Proficiencies: Longsword, mace, halberd, heavy horse lance, bastard sword, short sword, light crossbow
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Blind fighting, healing, herbalism
Possessions
Equipment: Medium shield, heavy horse lance, halberd, lt. crossbow w/20 quarrels, short sword
Magic Items: Horseshoes of Speed; Shield, +2; formerly Anglachel, a bastard sword +5, Holy Avenger, with intelligence: Al-LG, Int-14, Ego-9, detects invisibility 20' radius, speaks common and elvish. He used at various points assorted forms of magical plate armor.
History
Gilraen's name means "Wandering Star", which has come to fit him well. His family was noble, but they were in exile-Gilraen is thus a duke, but in name only. It is rumored that his family ruled in the Haunted Halls within Cormyr, before it became a bandit-hold. Since Gilraen's family is very old, it may be true.
Gilraen's father was Lord Fondor, a mid-level fighter; his mother, Lephylia, was a cleric of Tyr. It was almost inevitable that one of their children would one day become a Paladin. But the son destined for that fate would not be born first. First was a girl, Teril. But it was the next birth that convinced them that they would have a future Paladin in their midst.
Since his family was on the move so often, his birth occurred in an unexpected place-within the temple of the god Tyr in Waterdeep. The priests there took it as an omen that this child would become a champion of Tyr one day. The parents thought it was ridiculous, but privately wondered if it would be so. The last born was another girl, Archelia.
At the age of four, he learned a bit of the high seas from a sailor named Karl Darklighter, who was a friend of the family. It was quickly learned that the boy was not cut out for sailing life, as he got violently seasick. At six, he developed a hobby-not a big one, since he collected rocks. But it did teach him a valuable lesson about collecting things...things that might be important someday.
At age 10, he ran away from Waterdeep. He felt that he didn't belong there, and there was something in his mind that called to him to leave. In the years that followed, he searched for the voice in his mind, and finally found it at 13, in the form of a wizard named Funreal. The wizard told him that an artifact of great power awaited him in the city of Myth Drannor.
At the age of 15, he entered Myth Drannor, with Funreal's help. Funreal's spells of invisibility and protection prevented the Knights of Myth Drannor from detecting them. In their explorations, they came upon an altar, and upon it was a bastard sword. This was the sword, Anglachel, a Holy Avenger. Funreal told him that it was his destiny to take up this sword, crafted by the most powerful priests in the land, and use it to defeat evil. Funreal, in other words, put him on the path to Paladinhood. Funreal led him to a temple in Arabel, and called in a few favors: the result was that Gilraen began to be trained as a Paladin. After that, Funreal vanished.
When he reached 18, he inherited a fortune-which he promptly gave to the church. The priests were amazed at the donation, and proclaimed him a Paladin. Still, he was not done with his training. One year later, he felt prepared to enter the world as a Paladin. However, his first adventure proved to have deadly consequences. The adventuring group had a run-in with Zhengyi, the "Witch King" of Vaasa. The group was captured, and each given a special curse. Gilraen was cursed to be haunted-and sometimes fight-an evil spirit-usually a wraith.
When he reached 24, he fell in love with a half-elven woman, Teriala, in Shadowdale. He made Shadowdale his base of operations, in order to win her love. He has done much, and has indeed won her love-but her father demanded he prove himself. To this end, Gilraen followed the Knights of Myth Drannor into the caves of a black dragon, and met up with the group he is with now. A great battle was fought, in which Anglachel was instrumental in keeping the party alive. The dragon escaped, but the party gained the ring of mutations.
After returning to Shadowdale, Gilraen had a cloak of displacement stolen, a prize of the battle. After a chase, he learned that a man known as Bearlos was behind the theft. Bearlos then kidnaped Teriala, and Gilraen pursued him with the help of Forgarst, a ranger of the Company of the Tree. The following events led to an encounter with demons, and a devil princess called Glasya. With the help of Roksterhold the cyclops, and Staroke, a mutated panther, he defeated and slew the devil, and rescued Teriala.
When he returned to Shadowdale, he learned that Bearlos had gone completely insane. Gilraen and Forgarst found him at last, but the assassin killed himself. Gilraen at this point was asked to leave Shadowdale, due to the violent events that had recently occurred. With Roksterhold and Staroke, as well as Forgarst, he left for Teshwave, where he met assassins of Bearlos' order. He was informed of a large gathering of demons in a dark castle outside of the town.
With the condition that the assassins leave the dalelands forever, Gilraen traveled to stop the demons. He was forced to take up the Black Blade, a weapon of great evil power, for it was the only weapon capable of destroying the generators linking the demons to the Realms. With help, he succeeded, but fragments of the blade impaled into his body.
While recovering from the damages, he had several experiences: the first involved a meeting with Malagan, the original owner of Anglachel. Then, he traveled to a small town as temporary sheriff. There, he met Teriala's brother, who was later killed in Shadowdale. Deciding to solve the mystery of Teriala, he finally discovered the identity of Teriala's true father, a cambion lord named Cralicon. After taking an oath to defend his daughter against any and all threats, he was given the Skull armor, a set of magically powerful dragon scale armor. Hearing about a Zhentil plot to turn Teriala against the forces of good, he departed with her from Shadowdale to the Haunted Halls, where he felt he could defend her with all of his ability.
His plans were changed when the band of heroes stumbled upon a minor war with an entity only known as D. C. (later revealed to be a psi-lord named Derek Collarson). The entity was seemingly slain after a brutal combat in the underdark, and after a minor encounter with a mutated wizard known as Bluedeath, he reached the Halls.
But the Halls had been recently been auctioned off by Azoun, and to give sanctuary to Teriala, he was asked to clean out an undead infestation, which finally culminated in a personal combat with a death knight. As a result of this victory, he managed to secure a fortress he dubbed Caethl Keep.
After an encounter with Dalesmen who had been driven out of their homes, he ended up with a large group of refugees and a fighting group of about 500 men. But Gilraen was aware that this would not be enough to defeat the Zhentarim and their forces. He met with Azoun, and has his support. A recon force was sent to investigate the strength of the opposition, and Gilraen himself began to train his force for the battle ahead. He had hoped to have an elite fighting force dedicated to the destruction of the demonic forces.
Gilraen sent recon groups into the Dalelands, and because of that action, he learned of an amulet that was reputed to contain Graz'zt's life. In hopes of gaining an advantage in the confrontation ahead, he sent one group to retrieve it.
Derek Collarson, a wizard of undefined power, revealed himself to Gilraen, bearing gifts of healing potions and news of a revived Trast. Trast was put into a golem form, while another portion of his spirit replaced the curse-spirit of Gilraen.
Trast eventually returned to Caethl Keep, with an ultimatum from Teriala, and Gilraen rode to the Haunted Halls to stop her. What he found was ruins. A "relative" of Cralicon's decided to destroy it while searching for Teriala. Derek Collarson revealed he saved her, but was eventually found by that relative, a demon called Vextalor.
Unable to keep Teriala's secret for much longer, plagued by Vextalor, preparing to fight Graz'zt, and dealing with the situation presented by Trast, Gilraen called upon Cralicon for aid. From the long conversation that followed, Gilraen gained the three things he needed most: a safe place for Teriala where Vextalor could not find her; the location of the gate where most of the demon hordes are coming through; and a ring with a wish stored in it. With the ring, Gilraen wished it daylight in Vextalor's presence and killed the demon with Anglachel.
Gilraen then traveled to a gate with Trast, cutting off reinforcements from the lower planes. It was at this time that Gilraen began doubting his ability, and wondered if Tyr would overlook his failures. The Army of Caethl Keep went on the march. Their mission was to retake the Dalelands, and to destroy the gate of demons. Also, the destruction of Graz'zt was a must. Gilraen met up with them, with aid from Tymerain. Tymerain, Gilraen, Jasper and Saloria went on a brief mission to gain a pint of Graz'zt's blood, in order to create an arrow of slaying.
The quest successful, the group returned to a disenchanted army. Gilraen, after discovering an assassin in their ranks, disbanded the army, and prepared to meet the attack of Graz'zt himself. After a brief and violent battle, Gilraen distracted the demon lord enough for Tymerain to send the arrow into the creature, killing it. It is of interest, however, that Graz'zt had received massive damage from Anglachel in order to be distracted.
Teriala arrived on hand afterward, confronted Cralicon, and proposed to Gilraen. The two planned marriage, and also planned to reside in a magic dead zone afterwards. Shortly after, Gilraen lost his paladinhood, and put Anglachel into a temple of Tyr about a mile or two away from Graz'zt's detonation site.
The marriage went though without a hitch, and Gilraen was given the barony of Ashbenford, with its several magic dead areas. Gilraen has seemingly no interest in regaining his former status as a paladin.
Rumors and Legends
There are rumors that four years after the Incursion, Gilraen was forgiven his sins by Tyr, and took up Anglachel once more to perform a holy quest, which coincidentally allowed him to assist Trast with his own personal mission. Not long after, the Lady Teriala gave birth to their daughter, whom they named Teril. Archelia, Gilraen's sister, is rumored to have been slain by a magician in the Nine Hells.