Professor Garrus Raphael Forfax

This was a neat little synopsis for my D&D character in a game that just never happened! I loved Professor Forfax, and the best way to remember him is to share him! I apologize for any format terrorizing in this post, Facebook does wonders to all things copypasta'd.

Professor Garrus Raphael Forfax

Garrus was born in Fallabor in 952 of the later called Dread Age. His father, Raphael, was a well off scholar in several of Fallabor’s more prestigious and knowledgeable guilds including the mage’s guild, the bard’s guild, and the astrology guild. His mother, Rosaline Maxwell, served as lore keeper in the mage’s guild, caring for the limitless number of well-used books and recording new developments in magical lore in addition to offering the Council advice in dealing with powerful dark mages.

Garrus showed himself to be intelligent at an early age, and by the age of eight was apprenticing in several useful crafts such as blacksmithing, carpentry, and clock-making. Both of his parents encouraged personal pursuits of knowledge for his own edification. Though, it wasn’t until the age of fifteen that Garrus began his study of religion and the arcane. Raphael had never been very religious, but Rosaline was doctrine in her worship of ___. At the age of sixteen, Garrus’s mother fell ill with a currently incurable sickness of the mind. The young scholar could do nothing but watch as a terrible affliction tore at his mother’s mind, who had done nothing to offend any higher power. Rosaline passed away in 970, a week after Raphael’s forty-fifth birthday. Garrus’s father never truly recovered from the loss.

Garrus’s interest in the subject of the gods grew greatly over the next six years. Quickly acquiring certificates in the education of theology and the arcane arts, then continuing on to his mastery in herbology, Garrus was elected as High Physician for the Fallabor Council of Guildmasters. For four more years Garrus healed some of the most deadly wounds, be they from poison or various assassination attempts that are not uncommon in Fallabor politics. At the age of twenty-eight, Garrus was nominated to join a covert mission into De Calivaria to deal with the growing problem with the Blackblood Syndicate, a clan of necromancers plotting to overthrow the local governments. Upon his return in 981, Garrus was awarded with several modest medals of service from various guilds, including the medal of the bardic dilettante, an award given to bard scholars and professors who not only share legends, but make them. Throughout his younger years, Garrus never aligned himself with any deity.

It wasn’t until 985, when Garrus was thirty-three, that his skills were called upon once again from the east. Disappearances in Mortania had acquired the interest of several regions to the west, and Garrus was considered an “ideal person” for the investigation party. Several weeks after the arrival in Mortania the investigation had revealed the disappearances to be linked to a lesser demon known as Mardraxis. In the end, Mardraxis was cast back into the abyssal realm, but not without the loss of several party members and the city folk who had disappeared. By the time Garrus had made it back to Fallabor, Raphael had been named Arch Seer of the Astrology Guild at the age of sixty. After two more years of service to the Council, Garrus was released from service as High Physician in 987 to pursue further knowledge of the gods and their existence.

Publicly, little is known about where Garrus spent the next five years. Rumors go from traveling abroad in the western lands, to more fantastic tales such as actually reaching the astral sea and even speaking with a god. Truthfully, Garrus traveled the western lands, visiting every place of religious significance he could find seeking enlightenment. Starting with Danath in the northern mountains and working his way down through the Dwarven clans. Along the way he met many impressive individuals and dealt with various adversities. Garrus returned to Fallabor in 992 to find that his father had passed away of natural causes. At this point, Garrus was wise enough to accept loss as a part of life.

While going through his father’s will, Garrus found documents left to him planning an expedition to the northern lands to study unseen stars. Garrus was happy to set up an expedition to finish his father’s work, and chartered a ship to the strange land, bringing with him several students and astrological equipment. Among the students was Garrus’s greatest pupil Henry Valerun. The journey went smoothly, until the arrival in the northern lands. The captain of the chartered ship had assumed Garrus was traveling to the north in search of treasure or some powerful artifact, when he learned otherwise he was not pleased. The captain took Garrus’s students hostage, and the professor was left for dead in the snow. It was at this point that Garrus truly began to question the gods. It is unknown what occurred when Garrus was left alone in the wastes of the north. The students were eventually sold into slavery by the chartered crew. Over the course of the next year, Garrus somehow escaped the northern wastes and freed his former students, killing every member of the chartered crew. When Garrus finally returned to Fallabor, he took a vow of pacifism.

For the next eight years Garrus continued working as the High Physician in the Fallabor Council. After that, Garrus became quite involved with the Dreadustrazus affair, even fighting in the war in 1005. Currently, Garrus still works as the High Physician in the Fallabor Council, hoping to soon attain a promotion to Guildmaster.