| 2nd Edition Statistics | |
| Alignment | Chaotic Good |
| Class | 9th Level Thief (Swindler kit) |
| Strength | 14 |
| Dexterity | 18 |
| Constitution | 15 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
| Wisdom | 10 |
| Charisma | 15 |
| HP | 46 |
Khrimden
During an early Forgotten Realms campaign, my primary character had to be sidelined for a time, and I needed a character to play-so I developed Khrimden, who managed to assist in a number of key points in the campaign for the most noble of reasons: cold, hard gold.
| Khrimden | |
| Basic Information | |
| Nicknames | "Shade" |
| Former home(s) | Great Glacier, Hillsfar |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | Swindler |
| Patron deity | Mask (well, at least with lip service) |
| Rules Information | |
Description
Extremely variable. However, his true form is that of a lithe, agile man, with dusty colored hair. His eyes are light brown, and he often wears loose fitting clothing. He likes to look somewhat foppish, as this causes marks to underestimate him.
Personality
Shade loves a good scam. But that is hardly all there is to him. He has a forgiving nature, which he admits will be the death of him one day. He is very energetic and self-confident. He thinks about himself a bit too much, however. He is also flippant-it's rare to see him very serious about anything.
It is important to note that he does not hide anything from people-rather, he is able to set up his own mind to think like another totally different person. The core is his own, but he can act any other situation required-from a noble to a serving wench!
Abilities
Weapon Proficiencies: Throwing knife, short sword, dagger, short bow
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Fast talking, forgery, locksmith, appraising, gaming, fortune telling, information gathering, voice mimicry
Thief Skills: PP-55% OL-60% F/R-40% MS-80% HS-75% DN-35% CW-80% RL-55%; backstab at X4
Possessions
Equipment: Leather armor, short bow w/50 flight arrows, dagger, six throwing knives, biased dice, marked cards, mini-blade, blade boots, personal signet ring
Magic Items: Hat of Disguise; Short Sword +2; Bag of Holding (Undefined volume)
History
Khrimden's family were members of the barbarians of the Great Glacier in what is commonly known as the Bloodstone Lands. His father, Risharl, was a fisherman in one tribe. His skill was considerable; he had even gained a fierce rival for the honor of being the head fisherman. Risharl lost for only one reason-he fell in love.
Risharl and his wife, Elayl, had four children. The eldest was Yimra, the first of three daughters. But it was the second child that showed some greater promise. They named him Khrimden. The other children were Vanyli and Mylie. The children were all normal, but there was something different about Khrimden.
At an early age, he showed himself remarkably intelligent. He had an aptitude for learning new skills and ideas that was astounding among the tribe. This brought him to the attention of an elf named Lathandros Ferros. Lathandros befriended Khrimden, in hopes of encouraging a career in magical talents. Unfortunately, Khrimden had no desire-or real aptitude-to become a wizard. The two remained friends. When he became eleven years of age, the barbarian tribe outlawed Risharl and Elayl. There were rumors of theft among the fishermen, and Risharl's rival took advantage of it. He not only managed to turn the tribe against them, but he managed to become the head clansman. Two years later, though, he was deposed. Risharl and Elayl were permitted to return.
Later that year, they were killed by Risharl's rival.
During this time, Khrimden was growing up to be a little monster. He had teased and hurt his fellow children mercilessly, and he had used his intellect to greatest advantage, causing most of the blame to fall upon others. At the age of thirteen, when the will of his parents was read, he discovered the truth-they had not been fooled. He was left with no inheritance. In fact, they outright condemned his actions before the whole tribe. He spent the next year in abject misery.
That was when a new friend was made. Stark Shadowhand was his name. He was a thief of great skill, and he saw the potential in the youth. Khrimden left with Stark to learn some of the talents of the thief. However, the two parted company when he decided that he was not ready for that kind of life yet.
At the age of eighteen, he was. However, he participated in a revolt in Hillsfar. The plot failed, but he was never discovered. A later revolt set up the Red Plumes. To escape retaliation, he joined the thieves' guild. He was soon discovered to have an exceptional ability to talk his way into almost anything. That, coupled with his intelligence, enabled him to set up blackmail attempts. But it was with racketeering that his abilities truly began to shine.
The guildmaster was pleased with Khrimden, who had at this time gained the nickname "Shade". Shade had managed to gain extensive contacts with the underworld of Hillsfar, and was even being groomed to take the place of the guildmaster when his time came.
One of the side events that occurred at this time was an encounter with an old man. The old man was being mugged by some young toughs. Since Shade had a bit of a soft side, he stopped them. The fact that they were not guild-sponsored was just an added bonus. The old man smiled, and spoke a blessing upon him-saying that his hands would always be sure to strike. Khrimden thought at first that he had been given exceptional skill with weapons. After time, he discovered that he never fumbled his weapons or tools in a dangerous manner.
Not that was a guarantee against dropping things or being a klutz.
Khrimden was converted to Mask's religion at 21. He quickly tired of hearing the rhetoric time after time, and decided that whenever he needed a god's help, then he'd worship Mask. But he hasn't worshiped another since.
At the age of 22, he fell in love with Diselle the Blade. The romance seemed perfect until he found out about certain indiscretions-such as her numerous affairs. This outraged Shade temporarily. It lasted until he remembered that he hadn't exactly been faithful to her either. The two have since had an understood agreement that they would both do whatever they felt like, as long as their love for the other was true.
Khrimden was nothing if not pragmatic. Both held their ends of the bargain, and gained a reputation in Hillsfar for being a lady's man. He himself spread some of the rumors. Some of the rumors are even true.
For about five years, he was doing well. One of the more interesting encounters he had was in Zhentil Keep. Using a hat of disguise he had acquired a few years before, he entered as Fzoul Chembryl, and acquired a map of Myth Drannor. This map had certain treasures indicated upon it. He almost went in and out without anyone the wiser, until he ran into the real Fzoul. He managed to escape after several wrong turns. He eventually sold the map to a wizard named Funreal, who wished to locate a holy sword there.
At that point, he began to think of his successes. He had penetrated the most guarded places in the city. He had become fairly wealthy-so much so that he had even bought a barge of his own to start some shady business dealings. For a time, he even thought about retiring from the guild, and just working on a legitimate business.
Then Zhentil Keep invaded Hillsfar and screwed all of his plans. The guild was fragmented. Using his hat of disguise, he managed to escape the city with his life. Which was fortunate, considering his trip to Zhentil Keep.
Soon, he encountered a wizard named Derek Collerson and a golem named Trast. Hired by them, he managed to find out much of demonic lore, and came out with a magical deck of cards in the bargain. Of course, he almost got killed by a cambion, but that's business. Collerson and he left on friendly terms.
Collerson was so impressed, that he hired Khrimden yet again, for a mission he called dangerous. Realizing that the "easy" mission was nearly fatal to Shade, he was all set to refuse. However, it was awfully hard to turn down 10,000 platinum. After insinuating himself into the party to find the lich Kyuss, he proved himself a somewhat trustworthy ally. The party eventually gained the amulet, at the price of the lives of Garan and Forgarst, with Roksterhold as well.
Upon return to the army, he discovered that Derek was using the hoard of a bronze dragon (which he killed) to pay Khrimden. Khrimden nearly killed Derek, but was stopped by Cralicon, who dealt with Derek himself. Angered, he left the group, but took the bag of holding the party had been using.
He met up briefly with Catara, a fighter/mage, outside the Dales. The two teamed up temporarily for monetary advancement. After they became heroes in a barbarian tribe, the two parted ways, and Khrimden fell out of sight.
Now he has two main goals. First, Khrimden wants to get filthy rich. Really filthy rich. Second, he wants to be reunited with Diselle. After that, he can settle down. With one exception, he has spent the last year traveling, conning people out of items and money alike. With his vocal mimicry and his disguise hat, he has cultivated several aliases in towns, so he could be two people in town at once.
Rumors and Legends
Khrimden is a subject-and perhaps source-of several rumors.
One indicates that he located Derek Collerson some years after their previous meeting, and passed that location along to the bard, Trast de Kuth al Stantos, who had a better claim on vengeance upon the psi-lord. Another says that he managed to meet up with his lady-love Diselle-and found that she no longer loved him. Some say that he amassed a small fortune as a merchant lord, while others say that he left the Prime Material Plane entirely to seek his fortune in the City of Doors, Sigil. And some say that he met his end on the end of a rope, payment for his many swindles over the years.
Some or none of that may be true. Or even more unlikely, all of it may be true.