I wanted to stop down and take a look at some of the new background material presented in Ghosts of Saltmarsh and how they can be incorporated into character ideas. Today we’re going to take a look at Celcitorn, the young cleric of Procan.
Celcitorn was born in a small fishing village to the son of a fisherman and to no one’s surprise, he took after his father’s trade from an early age. He proved to be a very capable fisherman, always ready to take on whatever task needed to be done without complaint. Even though his lack of people skills kept him from being very good at the actual selling of the daily hauls, he was quick and bold on the water, many times tempting fate to get a bigger catch. He was convinced that he would spend the rest of his life fishing, and this fact didn’t bother him.
But fate had bigger things in store for him. Shortly after his 19th birthday, he was caught in a storm that came out of nowhere and by all rights should have killed him. Lightning struck the water right next to his boat and the concussive blast ripped the wood and metal beneath him to shreds and threw him deep into the water, unconscious. While underwater, he dreamed. He dreamt of a great ship sailing next to a small fishing boat. The boat had a curious symbol carved into the prow, one that he had seen on trips to the larger cities to buy more specialized supplies – that of Procan, the Sailor of Sea and Sky. The larger ship had no such iconography up it. Suddenly a great storm overcame the ships, high winds, driving rain, and torrential waves battered at both ships. The great ship was soon taking on water and sinking below the waves, but the small boat was able to ride the storm out. The message was not lost on young Celcitorn.
When he regained consciousness, he was staring at the worried face of an otherwise imposing figure, a lizardman that had fished him out of the water. He was called Kepesk, an exile from his own tribe. Celcitorn knew that their meeting was no chance coincidence, and he told the lizardman of his dream. Kepesk called it a message and call to action from The Storm Lord. As Kepesk accompanied Celcitorn on his journey back to his home village, they talked of the sea, of storms, and of the god Procan. When they reached a larger settlement with a temple consecrated to the god, Celcitorn dedicated himself to the deity. A bolt of lightning from otherwise clear skies lanced down to the roof of the temple and a massive peal of thunder sounded as the young cleric finished his paean. Infused with the power of the storm itself, Celcitorn knew that he needed to become the sea’s avenger. A quiet life of fishing was no longer in his future.
But he was okay with that.
Still young and impulsive, Celcitorn has yet to grow into his power fully, though he bears the blessing of Procan modeled through the Elemental Adept (Thunder) feat. He’s not a talker, preferring direct action to solve a problem, but is prone to fits of depression when things don’t go his way, though his mercurial nature means his moods often swing back into the positive before long and oftentimes without any cause.
Ben Erickson
