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Ilyan - AI-generated fantasy NPC

Ilyan

NPCs
Half-elf · Magus (custom D&D 5E martial spellcaster) · Level 5

Ilyan

Watch patrol captain and arcane investigator
AC17
HP38/38
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

At the table

Voice

A dry, clear voice with a slight rasp from shouting patrol orders through winter streets. His consonants are sharply articulated, and his breath catches faintly when he speaks for too long after a spell has strained him.

He speaks in a measured, workmanlike rhythm, shaped by years of giving clear watch instructions over clattering armor and street noise. His phrasing is precise but not ornate, and his dry jokes arrive with the same straight face as his warnings.

Speech patterns

Uses short, precise statements when discussing danger or duty.
Asks practical questions before answering personal ones.
Names the likely consequence of a choice rather than calling it good or evil.
When caught off guard, gives an overly exact correction about distance, time, or a spell's effect.

How to play them

He offers useful, verifiable help before asking for trust. He responds well to direct questions and practical cooperation, but shuts down if pressed to confess in front of his subordinates. Evidence that could protect the dead volunteers' families may persuade him to disclose what he knows.

Goal

Find the surviving subjects of the warding experiment, stop the procedure from being repeated, and decide how to expose the truth without sacrificing the families already caught in the cover-up.

Motivation

He wants to make the damage caused by the experiment count for something, while avoiding a truth that could bring retaliation down on vulnerable people.

Secret · GM only

Appearance

Ilyan has the composed, watchful look of a guard who has learned to count exits without turning his head. Fine, symmetrical lines of raised scar tissue run over his scalp, face, neck, and every visible stretch of skin, interrupted by small arcane marks that seem inked into the scars themselves. His eyes are unusual without being mismatched: warm brown-tan sclera and irises, crossed by delicate gold tracery. He moves with measured economy, stepping heel-to-toe as if testing a floor for hidden runes. An unexpected detail for a hard-edged guard is his habit of carrying a tiny, carefully folded paper kite, which he repairs whenever he has a quiet moment.

Clothing

Standard medium guard armor of fitted plates and linked mail, with every visible panel of cloth dyed a deep, worn violet. The violet is faded at the cuffs and seams. A plain dark-blue sash holds his spellbook close against his side.

Body language

He stands with his weight balanced slightly forward, ready to move, and keeps his elbows close so his armor does not rasp. His scarred hands are steady when handling a weapon or book, but his thumb rubs the pad of his forefinger when someone mentions the old experiments.

Height
5 feet 10 inches
Build
Lean, compact, and conditioned by long patrols rather than showy strength.
Eyes
Brown-tan sclera and irises crossed with fine gold markings
Hair
Auburn, with a distinct blonde streak through the bangs
Skin
Warm olive with fine, raised scar lines across the face and body
Age
Thirty-four
Gender
Male
Size
Medium

Distinguishing features

Symmetrical raised scars cover his body, with arcane symbols worked into their pattern.
Brown-tan sclera and irises carry fine gold markings echoing the symbols in his scars.
His hands are callused at the heel of each palm from years of cutlass practice, with faint, perfectly spaced nicks from handling etched instruments.
He carries and mends a small paper kite, an unexpectedly tender keepsake for a guarded watch officer.

Personality

12 traits and drives

Ilyan is controlled and serious in public, yet has a soft spot for the frightened and the overlooked. He trusts evidence more readily than people, but will take a personal risk for someone who has earned his confidence. When calm, he is patient and methodical; when cornered, he becomes rigid and speaks as if delivering a report. In private he can be unexpectedly playful, repairing his paper kite or inventing absurd names for clouds.

Alignment
True Neutral

Quirks

Folds scrap paper into tiny kites and tests their balance by breathing across them.
Counts door hinges rather than doors when entering an unfamiliar building.
Turns his cutlass hilt a quarter-turn in its sheath before beginning a difficult conversation.
Corrects maps by adding tiny, precise notes about puddles, loose stones, and stray dogs.
Keeps a running list of clouds that resemble badly drawn animals.

Habits

Checks reflective surfaces for movement behind him, but pretends he is inspecting their quality.
When a spell is cast nearby, studies the caster's hands before looking at their face.
Repairs his paper kite at the end of a difficult shift, even if it is already beyond saving.
Keeps an orderly watch while on duty, then forgets meals and ordinary errands when research catches his attention.

Traits · 3

He wants every detail accounted for, but will quietly break a rule if the rule endangers someone in front of him.
He dislikes being comforted, yet is quick to offer comfort through practical help.
He can be dryly funny with people he trusts and brutally literal with people he suspects.

Flaws · 3

He confuses keeping a secret with protecting people.
He treats emotional distress as a problem to be scheduled and managed.
His caution can become paralysis when every choice carries a cost.

Fears · 3

That the surviving experimental subjects will be used as test material again.
That telling the truth will cause the dead volunteers' families to be punished instead of the officers responsible.
That the scars have permanently altered something in him that he cannot detect.

Wants and needs · 3

He wants a complete account of the experiment's surviving subjects.
He needs evidence strong enough to expose the cover-up without putting the volunteers' families in immediate danger.
He wants his former partner to understand why he made the choice he did, though he cannot bring himself to ask.

Combat

AC 17 · HP 38 · 30 ft.

Ilyan uses Shield to blunt a sudden hit, then holds a narrow approach with his cutlass while allies reposition. He prefers control and clean retreats over pursuit. He uses Arcane Edge to interrupt dangerous spellcasters or stop an enemy from escaping, and reserves his higher-level slots for a threat that could endanger others.

Ilyan

Medium humanoid (half-elf), true neutral
Armor Class17
Hit Points38
Speed30 ft.
Level5
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsStrengthDexterityConstitutionIntelligenceWisdomCharisma
SkillsArcanaInvestigationAthleticsPerception
SensesDarkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 11
Languages
Common,
Elvish,
Dwarvish
Spellcasting. Ilyan is a 5th-level spellcaster. Intelligence is his spellcasting ability (spell save , to hit with spell attacks). He has four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots, and knows the spells listed below.
Arcane Edge (custom). Once on each of his turns when Ilyan hits with his cutlass, he can expend a spell slot to deal an extra force damage per level of the slot. The target also cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Half-Elf Traits. Ilyan has darkvision out to 60 feet and advantage on saving throws against being charmed. Magic cannot put him to sleep.

Spells

Shield (level 1, abjuration). Abjuration, 1st level. As a reaction when hit by an attack or targeted by magic missile, gain +5 AC until the start of his next turn, including against the triggering attack, and take no damage from magic missile.
Shield (level 1, abjuration). Abjuration, 1st level. As a reaction when a creature Ilyan can see attacks a target other than him within 5 feet, impose disadvantage on that attack roll.
Fire Bolt (cantrip, evocation). Evocation, cantrip. Ranged spell attack to hit, range 120 feet; fire damage.
Magic Weapon (custom cantrip adaptation) (cantrip, transmutation). Transmutation, cantrip. Ilyan touches a weapon; it becomes magical for the duration and gains a bonus to attack and damage rolls.
False Life (level 1, necromancy). Abjuration, 1st level. Touch a willing creature to grant it temporary hit points.
Protection from Energy (level 2, abjuration). Abjuration, 2nd level. A shimmering field grants a willing creature resistance to one damage type chosen from acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder.

Actions

Cutlass. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 () slashing damage, or 8 () if used with two hands. Ilyan can use Arcane Edge on a hit.
Multiattack. Ilyan makes two cutlass attacks.
Fire Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: to hit, range 120 ft., one creature. Hit: 11 () force damage.

Reactions

Shield. When hit by an attack, Ilyan adds 5 to his AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss. He must see the attacker and be able to move.
Guarding Cut. When a creature Ilyan can see moves out of his reach, he can make one cutlass attack against it. If the attack hits, the creature's speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.

Services they sell

Can arrange a discreet meeting with a watch contact.
Can identify common magical wards and explain how to copy their visible markings.
Can provide an escort through the district and point out safe routes.

Rewards they can give

A copy of his mother's annotated survey map, revealing concealed routes through the district.
A safe introduction to watch officers willing to help with a discreet investigation.
Access to his practical notes on identifying and disrupting warding marks.

Equipment

  • Cutlass (weapon)A practical curved blade, balanced for quick cuts and close quarters.
  • Spellbook (adventuring gear)A leather-bound spellbook containing annotated formulae and a few pages written in his father's hand.
  • Violet guard armor (armor)Medium guard armor with violet cloth panels; treated as half plate for these statistics.
  • Patrol kit (adventuring gear)A whistle, a watch badge, chalk, and a compact kit of ink, needles, and paper for copying magical marks.
  • Paper kite (keepsake)A little folded paper kite with patched corners.

Possessions

A marked spellbook taken from the warding experiment's lead arcanist
An old survey map annotated by his mother
A folded paper kite made from a page of a childhood primer
A sealed copy of the watch-house cellar report

Background

Ilyan was raised between his human mother, a toll-road surveyor, and his elven father, a traveling scribe. He learned to read maps before he learned to ride, and joined the city watch because its predictable routines seemed safer than his parents' unsettled life. That changed when he volunteered for an experimental warding procedure intended to protect guards from hostile spellcraft. The procedure was conducted in a sealed watch-house cellar; its patterned cuts and arcane inscriptions left the marks across his body, and the test killed two volunteers. Ilyan survived, but helped cover up the names of the dead after senior officers threatened to blame the victims. He now carries a spellbook taken from the experiment's lead arcanist and works as a patrol captain in the district locals call Nine, a name left over from an old survey map. His former partner, Borka, believes he knows more about the deaths than he admits. His mother, Tessa, still sends him route maps with corrections in the margins. He is quietly trying to identify the remaining subjects before the procedure is repeated.

Role in the story

A cautious ally, witness, and potential obstacle: Ilyan can help the party navigate the watch and understand arcane scars, but his concealed role in a past cover-up may put him at odds with characters seeking immediate public justice.

“That changed when he volunteered for an experimental warding procedure intended to protect guards from hostile spellcraft.”
From their background
Faction
City watch of Nine, a district named for an old survey designation. His loyalty is to the people on his route more than to the watch's senior officers.

Known connections

Borka, his former watch partner, now works as a patrol sergeant and suspects Ilyan concealed the truth about the cellar deaths.
Tessa, his mother, is a surveyor who sends him annotated maps and worries that he has mistaken duty for penance.
The dead volunteers' families in Nine have never been told the full account of the experiment.
Major secret · GM only
Minor secrets · GM only

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