Keziah Black, the Graveyard Stalker

[TheFred]

Keziah Black, the Graveyard Stalker

"Leave me be, spirits; I have no grief for you" In the dark of night, lit only by a pale moon, the people of San Muerte might spy a solitary figure lingering amongst its ramshackle outskirts, most commonly by the overgrown cemetery by the old mill. His coat moves around him as if stirred by a breeze none else can feel, and his lantern casts a wan and eerie light upon the overgrown headstones whose silent declarations are now all but worn away. At so late an hour, when all good men are fast asleep, those few still abroad will wisely pull their coats tighter around themselves and continue on with their business in another direction, for even those up to no good have no business with this graveyard stalker. Footpads and outlaws may seek out trouble and coin alike, but few wish to truck with the souls of the dead, or he who speaks their tongue.

Robin Tran

Overview

---

Name: Keziah Black

Race: Human

Class: Investigator (Gravedigger)

Skills: Straight shooting (but not straight talking), excellent communication skills (with the undead, not the living), self-medication

 

Description

---

To those few who know him by daylight, Keziah Black is a surly and uncouth character, his appearance unkept and his mannerisms unwelcoming. He seems to prefer his own company, often lurking in the corner of a room like some gargoyle. Get a little closer and he can often be heard muttering to himself, and one quickly gets the impression that despite his obvious intellect he is not entirely sound of mind. Sometimes, as a result, those who meet him dismiss him as a wasted-addled old coot - but usually do so to their peril. In addition to his knowledge of potions and poisons, Keziah Black knows his way around a gun as well as anyone, and has proven himself capable of dealing with unwanted trouble on more than one occasion.

It is not Keziah's trigger finger that gives most people pause, however, but the rumours that surround him of far darker things than a few barroom brawls. Speak speak of strange experiments, of forbidden knowledge beyond those formulae known to most respectable alchemists, and night-time excursions amongst the silent stone sentinels of San Muerte's cemeteries. Some say that Keziah Black is only here because he killed a man in Avron - and not in a simple duel, either, but some gruesome murder of a nature which varies from telling to telling. Some say that the ghosts of the dead follow him, perhaps because he is the only one who can hear them, or perhaps to seek some vengeance for crimes committed against them. Some get a little closer and hear him muttering to himself, and wonder... is he muttering to himself... or to someone else?

 

Background

---

Few get to know Keziah Black well enough to ask him many questions about his past, and such things are often avoided by the enigmatic alchemist. It's not hard to surmise that, rumours or not, there is some truth to the tales that are told about him; he clearly left Avron after an incident of some kind, and doesn't the fact that he's done things in his life that many would find reprehensible - indeed, he seems to have that same opinion himself.

Whatever the case, he's since found his way to San Muerte where he seems to manage to get embroiled in all sorts of intrigue. He even takes on work as a sort of private detective on occasion, seeking out clues about seedy and unpleasant crimes and interrogating the souls of the dead for the secrets they've taken with them to the grave.

Edited November 11, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Mechanics

---

My plan is Investigator with the Gravedigger archetype.

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?id=2852766

The weird wording on the Investigator's Studied Combat means that the damage bonus is still applied to ranged weapons (and... spells?) even though the attack bonus is only for melee... though, Gravedigger reduces that against non-undead anyway. In a hypothetical future I'd take Ranged Study but I hardly have enough feats to do mediocre ranged combat as it is (turns out, Paizo hates ranged attackers 🤷‍♂️).

His extracts offer a few buffs but more interestingly he can turn bones into familiars, speak with the dead, and I'm considering the implement power that lets him summon a spooky magical horse.

Edited November 11, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Spare