Magellus Black

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Magellus Black

Magellus Black is a tall, middle-aged human man with broad features and brown skin. His dark eyes twinkle with wisdom and the crinkles around his eyes suggest that he smiles and laughs often. His hair is long, kept in a ponytail, and he has a long beard bound in a leather cord to match. His hair is dark and was once jet-black, but it is beginning to frost with gray. As a professor of the University of Bridgemoor, he wears academic robes (the deep green color and silvery trim signifying his mastery of historical anthropology), and as a Meritocrat, he wears the pressed pants, vest, and short cape standardized for folk in Bridgemoor’s public office.

Magellus gives off an air of both deep knowledge and personal mystique; a sort of magnetism that makes anyone want to lean in and see what he has to say. Although he is soft-spoken, when he walks into a room, everyone notices, despite his preference to keep a low profile.

Magellus is a Tenured member of the Meritocrats that legislate Bridgemoor’s code of laws and international trade agreements. He has outsized influence for his role, but wields his influence sparingly and with great temperance.

Magellus is a senior professor at Bridgemoor University, teaching courses on both history and introductory arcane magic. Out of his students of magic, he occasionally takes on promising apprentices and trains them more intensely in arcane abilities, serving as a one-on-one tutor.

Subtle Influence

When asked what he thinks of a situation, Magellus will politely decline to give his opinion. If pressed, he might say “my opinions are my own,” and instead focus on the indisputable facts of a given situation, putting the pressure back on other folk to make the decisions. When he uses this tactic, he may emphasize certain facts in order to get other people to make decisions that Magellus himself would prefer to see play out.

Magellus worries about the corruptibility of anyone in a position of power, and so by making other people make decisions, he shields himself from accusations of corruption. By wielding his influence with great care, Magellus tries to only sparingly get directly involved in a decision. When he does get involved in direct fashion, he can almost always sway the situation in his favor. He knows that most Meritocrats will exploit any situation, especially chaotic economic or political time periods, for their own personal gain. Magellus does what he can to covertly undermine the efforts of any strongman or demagogue, although his efforts are not always direct enough to really stop committed dictators from coming into power.

Arcane Power

Magellus is a powerful arcanist, more so than most people realize. In his daily affairs as a professor and a political figure his arcane abilities tend to not come up much. In part this is by choice, as showing an inkling of power comes with responsibilities Magellus would rather not take on. It would also mean that other people could consider him a threat, which is something he wants to avoid. He intends to stay in the background, and showing off his magical capabilities will only draw unwanted attention to him.

Connections

Despite various concerns other Meritocrats may have about Magellus, he’s on good or neutral terms with most of them. He’s especially on good terms with Melki, in whom he sees potential power that he can’t quite pin. Magellus tends to clash with Hyleth Othen on occasion, usually due to Hyleth’s preference to deal with problems using decisive action, whereas Magellus tends to be more indirect. Despite that, Magellus respects Hyleth and tries to stay on his good side. He has also been trying to form an alliance with Ser Kellion Blacksky, though hasn’t been successful so far. It appears that the Bridge Commander has not made his mind up about Magellus just yet.

Waning Trust

While Magellus thinks that he’s being clever by using his influence indirectly, he doesn’t seem to realize that there are people who consider him cowardly for that exact same reason. There are Meritocrats who believe that Magellus is unreliable because he refuses to take a clear stand on anything. They think he cannot be trusted because it is difficult to determine where his loyalty lies and as such, they are losing trust. As one of the Meritocrats has put it, “you cannot safely speak your truths with someone who refuses to speak theirs.”

Magellus Black
Monster Level: 16
Medium. Humanoid (Human) (Arcane)
STR	DEX	END	AWR	INT	CHA
1	0	3	4	6	5
	Ref: 10	Fort: 13	Ant: 15	Log: 17	Will: 17
Armor Rating 11 (starlight robes)			Resist Energy 2, Fire 2, Cold 2
Hit Points 170
Speed 30 ft			Traits Iron Will, Steel Mind, Vigilant
Skills (AWR) Eavesdropping +4; (INT) Arcana +16, Astrology +4, Astronomy +4, Economics +8, History +14; (CHA) Empathy +4, Instrument (Tambourine) +4, Leadership +8, Persuading +8
Features
Student of the Arcane. Using INT, Magellus can cast the following cantrips and spells. He has 90 SP/Rest. Cantrips: Frostbite, Illuminate, Lend Power, Minor Conjuration, Prestidigitation, Signature Spells: Arcane Column, Arcane Swap, Carrier, Circle of Power, Circle of Warding, Dispel Circle, Enchant Weapon, Fire Shield, Gateway, Grimoire, Grounded, Identify Magic, Locate Creature, Mage Armor, Major Illusion, Major Teleportation, Possess Object, Seal/Unseal, Sense Magic, Shield, Swift Teleport, Unerring Sphere, Unravel Magic, Wall of Fire
Actions
Magellus can take FOUR of the following actions, or take the same action four times.
Move. Magellus can move up to his speed. Knife. Thrown (20 ft) One-Handed Weapon. +6 vs AR or ANT. Hit: 8 (1d4 + 6) sharp. Cantrip. Magellus can cast one of his cantrips.
OR Magellus can take TWO of the following actions, or take the same action twice…
Move. Magellus can move up to his speed. Knife. Magellus can make a knife attack. Cantrip. Magellus can cast one of his cantrips.
…AND take the following action.
Spell. Magellus can cast one of his spells, provided that he has the available SP.
OR Magellus can MOVE and take the following action twice.
Spell. Magellus can cast one of his spells, provided that he has the available SP.
Reactions
Reactive Cast (1/Round). Magellus can cast one of his reactive spells, provided that he has the available SP.