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Gabriel Lightbringer Jr. was the only son of a Palladin of Pelor, his father, and Anastasia Farseer, a cleric of Pelor. As their only child, he was quite spoiled by his parents. Although he's always been disposed to selfishness and cruelty, his parents had a hard time believing that their son could be "bad". So he found it quite easy to lie to them, trick them, etc, when he needed to cover up some "bad" thing he'd done.

He took his parents' excessive piety, obedience, and charity as weakness, foolishness, and naivety. However, he did learn the value of appearing good to the public eye from them. Their "irrational" faith and altruism was evidence to him that they were completely brain-washed by their church. He has never believed in the "goodness" of Pelor, or any other god. He was always sure that the gods had some selfish motives for wanting more followers, and as an adult he's convinced he's solved that mystery with his discovery of the power inherent in souls, and emotions. Indeed, he is as much an expert on souls as almost anyone, having learned to move his from one host body to another, to bind the souls of powerful entities to his own to tap their powers, and to extract the souls of others and sell them, or use them in the construction of magic items.

Although his parents at times suspected his unsavory nature, as he got older he became more and more adept at hiding it. Ultimately, they were convinced that their moral guidance had ultimately prevailed over his inherent selfishness, moulding him into a decent and good man. His peers and teachers were not always as easily fooled, but over time any that he couldn't eventually win over have had unfortunate "accidents".

Gabriel was never a physically powerful man, and although what he lacked in physical attributes was more than made up for by his charisma and perceptiveness, he still often coveted those with stronger and more healthy physiques. As he aged and his own body began to fail, he became even more envious, and began researching magical ways with which to strengthen himself. The easiest way seemed to simply steal someone else's body, so he bought the necessary scrolls and managed to permanently steal the body of a younger and stronger adventurer (scrolls of Magic Jar + Imprison Possessor, or psionic equivalent). He kept his own frail body and the adventurer's trapped soul hidden in secret rooms beneath his home, and assumed a new identity. The adventurer was from a distant land, and that coupled with his dangerous occupation assured that noone ever came looking for him.

Although Gabriel is selfish, cruel, greedy, petty, ruthless, and very distrustful of religion, he is a consummate liar, and knows well the value of a good "public face". He has always strived to be a respected member of his community wherever he resides, publicly giving to charities, beggars, attending to his civic duties, making appropriate and often useful suggestions at town meetings and sometimes even holding minor public offices. Although he is almost completely amoral by most peoples' standards, he has always went to great lengths to appear on the surface to be an upstanding citizen and genuinely "nice guy".

In his "dirty dealings", he has always made it a priority to hide his own identity, and make sure there is someone he can easily blame for his crimes: a "second in command" who is actually a "scape goat", whom he himself will implicate when necessary, if the authorities get too close to his "business operations". Thus, his "operations" have always been conducted in secret, and he always maintained disguises when interacting with any of his associates in "unseemly business transactions". Most of the people who have worked for him in these types of things have never even suspected who their true employer was. These "transactions" can and do include every kind of horror imaginable, as long as some profit or personal power can be gained from it. He uses bribe, blackmail, kidnapping, and murder to keep authorities away from his operations, and increase his own wealth and political power.

Of course, things have changed somewhat with the loss of his physical form. Since he no longer has his own physical body, he is basically always "disguised". He maintains a "presence" in different major cities on the prime by enslaving and periodically possessing the heads of a few seemingly unconnected organized crime rings, and spy/assassin networks. He travels around in his raven familiar to "visit" them on occasion when he needs to take care of something himself. His existence isn't even suspected by most members of those organizations, only occasionally whispered about in fear in dark and secret places. Anyone who digs too deeply into these rumors usually quietly disappears.

Not having a physical body has also changed his perspective somewhat. He now looks at things over a longer term, and beyond the scope of the prime material plane, focusing more on the accumulation of immaterial power as opposed to wealth. Wealth can only get you so far. He's thus began "branching out" his operations into other planes, trafficking in souls, with the payments often in services and favors owed to him by devils and powerful political figures on the prime material and other planes.

Gabriel Lightbringer

Magic-blooded Spellscale Sorcerer 4/Binder 1/Anima Mage 7/Stranger with the Burning Eyes 1

Ability Scores

HD: 12d4+1d8 (34 hit points) (130 in troll)
Saving Throws: F +18 (6+6con+6res), R +12 (3+1dex+6res+2insight), W +20 (13+1wis+6res)
AC: 16 (10-1size+1dex +2insight-1flaw-1trait+6nat)
Initiative: +17 (+5nerveskitter +5primalinst +2insight +2good_pact +1dex +2trait)
BAB/Grapple: +6/+13
Attacks: 2 claws at +12 (1d6+7) and bite +7 (1d6+3), Rend for 2d6+10

Feats
Versatile Spellcaster (flaw 1), Sculpt Spell (flaw 2), Still Spell (1), Knowledge Devotion (to get Knowledge: Religion, and as a buff)(3), Improved Binding (6), Mother Cyst (9),Imperious Command (12), Silent Spell (spellscale ritual)


ACFs:
Dragonblood Sorcerer Substitution Levels (RDr, p 107): lose craft and profession, gain UMD
4th level: +2 insight on Know: Arcana, Spell-Like Ability (took Nerveskitter as my SLA. Lost one 1st and one 2nd level spell slots.)

Skills: Bluff +16 (5), Conc +? (9), Know (Dung, Local, Nature, Planes) +8 (5), Know (Arc) +10 (5r+2insight), Know (rel) +12 (9), Know (arc&eng, geog, hist, nob&roy) +4 (1), diplom +16(1), Spellcraft +10(5r+2syn+3int), UMD +14(3), Intimidate +28(15), Gather Information +13(0), Disguise +11/13(0)

Skill Tricks: Collector of Stories: +5 on knowledge checks to ID creatures
Never Outnumbered: Can affect all within 10' with intimidate/demoralize attempt (+Imperious Command makes them cower for 1 round, then be shaken for 1 more round)

Spells known (per day) (casts as a 12th level sorcerer) (possible reformat)(updated)

Equipment and Wealth

Current Conditions and Effects
Exploit Vestige (gained an extra spell slot, lost ability from Astaroth; see below)
Vestigal Awareness (+2 ini w/good pact)
+2 Init from Balam
24 hr buffs: Primal Instinct, (MM Rod Extended) Dragonsight, (MM Rod Extended) Overland Flight, Superior Resistance
Permanent Invisible Arcane Sight, See Invisible, and Darkvision

In troll body: Darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision, regeneration 5 (fire and acid), scent

Other Class abilities:
Bind Vestige (EBL 10 for purposes of the level he can bind, 8th otherwise, 2 vestiges at once)
Vestige Metamagic 2xday
Exploit Vestige (take -5 penalty to binding check. If successful, gain an empty spell slot. Either way lose one vestige ability.)
Vestigal Awareness (+2 unnamed to Init)
Magic Jar (Su, at will, DC 27, not subject to spell resistance)
Rebuke Undead (with certain vestiges): +2 syn to checks from Know (rel), effective cleric level is 8

Bound Vestiges: (Binding check is 1d20+19 vs the vestige DC)
Raven familiar (Max), as 4th level sorcerer (needs to be updated)