Merrick Finch
Merrick Finch
Sheet
AC 13 · HP 52 · 30 ft.Saving throws
Skills
- AcrobaticsDEX
- Animal HandlingSTR
- ArcanaINT
- AthleticsSTR
- DeceptionCHA
- HistoryINT
- InsightWIS
- InvestigationINT
- MedicineWIS
- NatureINT
- PerceptionWIS
- PerformanceCHA
- PersuasionCHA
- ReligionINT
- Sleight of HandDEX
- StealthDEX
- SurvivalWIS
Armor
Weapons
Tools
Languages
Features
24 featuresBonus action
- Bardic Inspiration, d8Level 1
Merrick can inspire another creature within 60 feet that can hear him. As a bonus action, he grants one Bardic Inspiration die, a d8, which the creature can add to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw made within the next 10 minutes. He can use this feature 4 times per long rest.
Always on
- Bardic Inspiration
When Bonus action, one creature within 60 feet that can hear him
Merrick adds a Bardic Inspiration die, 1d8, to an ally's ability check, attack roll, or saving throw made within 10 minutes.
- Cutting WordsLevel 3
When Reaction, when a visible creature within 60 feet makes an attack roll, ability check, or damage roll
Merrick subtracts 1d8 from a creature's attack roll, ability check, or damage roll within 60 feet.
- Bard Spellcasting
When When a known bard spell is cast
Merrick casts a spell using Charisma, often through his lute or voice.
- Counterspell
When Reaction, when a creature within 60 feet casts a spell
Merrick casts counterspell to interrupt another creature's spellcasting.
- Fireball
When Action, when a powerful area attack is needed
Merrick casts fireball at a point within 150 feet, creating a 20-foot-radius explosion that deals 8d6 fire damage, with a Dexterity saving throw for half damage.
- SpellcastingLevel 1
Merrick can cast bard spells using Charisma as his spellcasting ability. He uses a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for bard spells that require one.
- Jack of All TradesLevel 2
Merrick can add half his proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check he makes that does not already include his proficiency bonus. This includes initiative rolls.
- Font of InspirationLevel 5
Merrick can regain expended Bardic Inspiration uses when he finishes a short or long rest.
- Song of Rest, d6Level 2
Merrick can use music or oration to grant allies extra vitality during a short rest. Creatures who spend Hit Dice to regain hit points also regain an extra 1d6 hit points.
- Bonus ProficienciesLevel 3
Merrick gains proficiency with three additional skills of his choice: Insight, Perception, and Persuasion.
- ExpertiseLevel 3
Merrick gains expertise in Deception and Stealth. His proficiency bonus is doubled for checks using either skill.
- CountercharmLevel 6
Merrick can use words or music to distract and confuse creatures that hear him. Until the end of his next turn, friendly creatures within 30 feet have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed.
- Magical SecretsLevel 6
Merrick learns two spells from any class. The chosen spells count as bard spells for him and do not count against his bard spells known. He knows counterspell and fireball through this feature.
- College of Lore, Additional ProficienciesLevel 3
Merrick gains proficiency in three additional skills of his choice: Arcana, Investigation, and Sleight of Hand.
- College of Lore, Cutting WordsLevel 3
Merrick can use Cutting Words when a creature within 60 feet that he can see makes an attack roll, ability check, or damage roll.
- Ability Score IncreaseHumanStrength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma each increase by 1.
- AgeHumanHumans reach adulthood in their late teens and commonly live less than a century.
- AlignmentHumanHumans tend toward no particular alignment.
- SizeHumanMedium.
- SpeedHuman30 feet.
- LanguagesHumanCommon and one additional language.
- TraitHumanVersatile and ambitious, humans adapt readily to different roles and societies.
- Criminal ContactCriminal
Merrick has a reliable contact among the criminal underworld who provides information, introductions, warnings, and access to criminal networks, though favors may be expected in return.
Spells
14 spellsSpellcasting. Merrick Finch casts with Charisma (spell save DC 14, to hit with spell attacks).
Cantrips (at will): , ,
1st level (4 slots): ,
2nd level (3 slots): , ,
3rd level (3 slots): , , ,
4th level (1 slot): ,
Gear
9 itemsWeapons
- RapierA finely balanced one-handed blade, suitable for fencing and discreet intimidation.
- DaggerA simple blade kept as a backup weapon and concealed tool.
Armor
- Leather armorLight protective armor worn beneath Merrick's coat.
Tools
- LuteA lute with several replaced strings and a case containing hidden compartments.
- Thieves' toolsA set of tools for opening locks and disabling traps.
Gear
- Entertainer's packA pack containing blankets, rations, tinder, and basic travel gear.
- CrowbarA sturdy iron bar useful for forcing doors, prying crates, or threatening uncooperative clients.
- Dark common clothes with hoodDark common clothing with a hood, designed to avoid notice in crowded streets.
Purse
- 15×Gold piecesLoose coin kept in a small belt pouch.
Appearance
Merrick is a lean, sharp-featured human man with neatly trimmed black hair, warm brown skin, and watchful gray eyes. He dresses in a well-maintained but deliberately unremarkable leather coat over dark traveling clothes, with a rapier at his hip and a black-lacquered lute case slung across his back. A tarnished silver signet ring hangs from a cord around his neck, its face worn smooth from years of being rubbed by his thumb. His smile is polished, patient, and rarely sincere.
Mannerisms
Merrick speaks in a calm, conversational tone even during danger, often matching his words to a quiet rhythm tapped against his lute case. He rubs the worn signet ring at his throat whenever someone gives him an answer he does not trust, and he smiles a fraction wider when he has found a weakness.
Personality
Merrick is courteous, observant, and entertaining, with a talent for making strangers feel briefly important. He collects secrets the way other musicians collect songs, and he prefers to win through misdirection, social pressure, and carefully timed charm rather than open violence. He is genuinely patient with frightened people, but only because fear makes them easier to read.
Ideals
Control. Freedom belongs to the person who knows what everyone else is hiding.
Bonds
He possesses a coded ledger that could ruin several influential people, including the criminal who betrayed his old crew. He intends to sell it only when the price, and the danger, are both perfect.
Flaws
Merrick assumes every kindness is leverage and every friendship is a negotiation. He cannot resist improving a profitable lie, even when silence would be safer. When cornered, he protects his reputation before he protects the people beside him.
Quirks
Background
Merrick Finch was born into a respectable human household that valued appearances more than kindness. He learned early that a pleasant voice could open doors more effectively than a lockpick, and that people confessed far more when they believed they were being entertained. As a young man, he joined a burglary crew as its negotiator and lookout, using songs, forged invitations, and carefully chosen rumors to distract guards while his companions worked. He became especially skilled at turning a half-truth into a story that sounded like mercy. The crew eventually betrayed him over a stolen ledger that implicated a powerful magistrate. Merrick escaped with his life, but not with his share of the profits. He rebuilt himself as a traveling bard, carrying coded messages in song and using performances to identify wealthy marks, corrupt officials, and desperate adventurers. His criminal contacts still feed him opportunities, while his growing reputation as a charming musician gives him access to places a common thief could never enter. Merrick does not dream of redemption. He dreams of becoming indispensable to people who are too frightened to ask what he truly wants.
“He became especially skilled at turning a half-truth into a story that sounded like mercy.”
- Background
- Criminal
Connections
Species
Human
Media
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