Lorian Heibner
Lorian Heibner
Race Human Class Level 1 cleric of Zeus Alignment Chaotic Good Age 27 Height 177 cm Weight 58 kg Appearance Untidy black hair; brown eyes Band The Faithful Companions
Lorian Heibner is a cleric of Zeus who was once a thief. He grew up on a poor street plagued by disease and crime, raised by his father alone. By twenty he was already an experienced thief, with the stealth, shadowing, lockpicking, and pickpocketing ability of a second-level rogue. He had learned to see life as unfair and temporary, and taking what he could as therefore meaningless rather than immoral.
That detachment ended when his father was murdered by Dipshane Grohav, the half-orc “King of Thieves.” Dipshane earned the name less through skill than by killing every thief who refused to serve him. Enraged, Lorian tracked him to the roof of a temple that Dipshane planned to rob. They fought through a violent storm until Lorian lay exhausted and bleeding, his left ring and little fingers severed, while Dipshane raised his sword and told him that strength alone gave life meaning.
A bolt of lightning struck Dipshane first, reducing him to ash, and then struck Lorian. Priests of the temple found Lorian alive. The lightning had closed enough of his wounds to save him; they reattached his little finger, but never found the ring finger. It left a branching, tree-like mark across his back and arm that the priests called the will of Zeus. Seeing only compassion in them, Lorian asked the name of their god and understood his survival as a second life granted for a purpose.
Lorian spent the next seven years in the temple, studying with discipline and resolve so that he could become a cleric, leave the temple, and use that second life in the wider world. He remains capable of moving quietly, hiding in shadow, opening locks, and picking pockets as he did before his conversion.
Personality
Friendly, honest, patient, outgoing, and quick to forgive, Lorian makes companions easily and does not judge suspicious people too quickly. Trust is difficult for him, but he consciously works at it. He is an irrepressible optimist whose faith gives him both purpose and a durable source of hope.
His faith is deeply personal. He wants others to see the light that he found without becoming overzealous, and he does not automatically defer to more senior clerics. Law, discipline, and authority still grate on him. In hard situations his formerly neutral outlook can resurface; when it does, he seeks divine forgiveness and tries to atone. Easy opportunities for theft still distract him.
He sought the Ring of Unshackled Desire in the hope it would tell him whether his kidnapped mother still lives and how to save her. He wishes he could honestly claim a grander desire, such as ending poverty or curing disease, but does not believe himself good enough to pretend that is what he wants most.
- Ideal: Freedom is great; purpose is greater.
- Bond: I must help others who don’t see the light, as I once didn’t; my god enables me to do so.
- Flaw: Old habits die hard, easy thefts distract me, and authority grates on me.
Appendix
See Also
Sources & Attribution
- Primary lore:
content/private/_originals/NPC/NPC-The Faithful Companions.md, author TrueMichato.