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HACK THE lantern

NPCs
Fey noble, custom lineage with traits comparable to an eladrin · Cleric 9 (Trickery Domain) / Warlock 3 (Archfey patron, custom interpretation) · Level 12

HACK THE lantern

Fey negotiator, shadow-summoner, and itinerant keeper of bargains
AC16
HP110/110
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

At the table

Voice

A dry, papery rasp shaped by years around smoke, cold air, and courtly argument. Certain sibilants end in a faint whistle. He speaks at a measured pace, carefully articulating names and obligations; anger makes his phrasing more clipped and exact, not softer.

His voice has a dry, papery rasp from years of breathing smoke and cold night air, with a faint whistle at the end of certain sibilants. He enunciates names and terms with the care of someone who has watched a single careless word ruin a life. His pacing is measured but not slow; in an argument, his words become clipped and mechanically precise rather than louder.

Speech patterns

Frames offers as precise exchanges, naming the price before describing the benefit.
Uses old-fashioned courtly terms alongside blunt practical questions.
Asks people to repeat their own promises in their own words.
When embarrassed, changes the subject to the care and maintenance of lamps.

How to play them

Begin with respectful curiosity and identify what the other person wants before offering aid. Make terms clear and never promise more than he can deliver. He responds well to honest admissions of uncertainty and poorly to attempts to exploit small print. A sincere act of generosity disarms him more than flattery, though he may initially try to repay it.

Goal

Find the vanished household bound by his childhood bargain, learn what the Lantern King's messages truly mean, and decide whether either parent's court deserves his allegiance.

Motivation

He wants to turn inherited power into something he chose for himself, while making amends for the harm caused by his first consequential bargain.

Secret · GM only

Appearance

Hack is unnaturally tall, with a narrow, sharply planed face and grey skin like smooth river stone dusted with moonlight. His hair rises in hard, pale spikes resembling icy stalactites, and his pupil-less eyes continually shift through colors, as if reflecting lights from rooms that are not there. He moves with a gliding, forward-tilted gait, his long robe and vaporous cloak lagging behind him like a cloud trying to remember its shape. His hands are broad and heavily callused at the thumb and first two fingers, stained with soot and the green-black residue of lantern oil. Despite his regal clothes, he keeps his robe's cuffs crudely patched with mismatched thread, while the ornate eye-shaped buckle at his waist is polished obsessively. The overall impression is of a courtly apparition who has spent a lifetime handling practical, dirty tools.

Clothing

A dark robe that glimmers like moonlight on deep water, mended at the cuffs with plainly visible, mismatched thread. A cloak of water vapor and silk trails behind him and beads with cold dew. An ornate belt carries an eye-shaped buckle, the multicolored flame lantern, narrow tools, and stoppered vials.

Body language

He holds his shoulders erect as if under a crown too heavy to see. His hands make small, precise motions when negotiating, but become restless around the lantern, touching its handle or adjusting the wick. When listening closely, he tilts his head and his eyes cycle through colors more rapidly. He rarely turns his back on an open shadow.

Height
About 7 feet 2 inches
Build
Tall, long-limbed, spare, and elegant, with a deceptively sturdy torso beneath layered robes.
Eyes
Pupil-less, shifting through every color
Hair
Pale grey-white, with a hard, icy sheen
Skin
Cool, smooth grey, like moonlit river stone
Age
Elderly by human standards, though his fey lineage makes his apparent age difficult to judge; he has lived for several centuries.
Gender
Male
Size
Medium

Distinguishing features

Pupil-less eyes that continuously shift through the full spectrum of color.
Hair that stands in sharp, pale spikes like icy stalactites.
Broad, soot-stained hands with heavy calluses from years of tending lamps and handling tools.
The cuffs of his otherwise fine robe are visibly patched with crude, mismatched thread.
A multicolored flame burns inside the lantern at his belt without consuming its wick.

Personality

15 traits and drives

Hack can be gracious and attentive when someone is frightened, yet coldly exact when that same person tries to evade a promise. In a quiet mood he is curious about mundane crafts and asks practical questions; under pressure he becomes imperious, speaking as if every room were a court. He longs for sincere companionship but distrusts kindness that has no stated terms.

Alignment
Neutral

Quirks

Turns every vial so its stopper points toward the nearest door.
Counts the beats between a question and an answer, then gives the speaker the same number of beats before replying.
Replaces the word 'perhaps' with 'not yet agreed' when he catches himself saying it.
Leaves a little ring of soot on the underside of any table where he sits.
Tests a new room by asking the lantern a question in a language no one else understands.

Habits

Checks the lantern's flame before entering a room, reading its colors as a private omen rather than a reliable prophecy.
Offers a small, useful favor before making a significant request, but always states what he expects in return.
When genuinely pleased, stops gliding and walks with deliberate, ordinary steps.
When a bargain becomes dangerous, he repeats its exact terms aloud and asks each party to confirm them.

Traits · 4

Protective toward servants and messengers, but impatient with people who treat them as invisible.
Enjoys clever wordplay, yet hates being praised for being clever.
Can be warm and unexpectedly humorous in private, then formal and distant the moment a bargain is discussed.
Believes a clear refusal is kinder than a vague promise.

Flaws · 4

Treats even gestures of affection as potential negotiations until proven otherwise.
Takes too much responsibility for old bargains, including those he could not have understood as a child.
His fascination with exact wording can make him slow to respond to urgent danger.
The pride of his royal lineage makes it hard for him to ask for help without offering payment.

Fears · 3

That the vanished servants from his childhood bargain have suffered for centuries because of his mistake.
That his father's weakening is contagious, and that the lantern's strange colors signal the same decline in Hack.
That one day he will become so skilled at bargaining that he can no longer recognize a gift freely given.

Wants and needs · 4

Wants the lost servants' fate confirmed, even if they refuse to forgive him.
Needs to know whether his father's weakening is real or another courtly deception.
Wants companionship that does not begin as a transaction.
Needs allies who will challenge him when careful wording becomes an excuse to avoid doing the right thing.

Combat

AC 16 · HP 110 · 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

Hack avoids fair fights. He opens with control or misdirection, uses flight and shadow to break lines of attack, and summons allies when doing so will not violate a promise. He favors spirit guardians, greater invisibility, and conjure animals to reshape the battlefield, reserving his strongest magic for protecting an ally or securing an escape. He negotiates a surrender whenever he believes the other side can be trusted to honor it.

HACK THE lantern

Medium humanoid (fey noble, custom lineage with traits comparable to an eladrin), neutral
Armor Class16
Hit Points110
Speed30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Level12
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsWisdomCharisma
SkillsDeceptionInsightPersuasionReligionStealth
SensesDarkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 14
Languages
Common,
Elvish,
Sylvan,
Infernal
Fey Ancestry. Hack has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic cannot put him to sleep.
At-Will Flight. Hack has a flying speed of 40 feet and can hover. This is a custom feature reflecting his fey nature.
Trickery Domain. Hack's cleric magic draws on illusion, misdirection, and shadow. His spellcasting ability for cleric spells is Wisdom.
Pact Magic. Hack's warlock magic comes from his fey blood and an uneasy inheritance from the Lantern King. His spellcasting ability for warlock spells is Charisma.
Shadow Summoner. Hack can call forth fey and shadow creatures through spells such as summon fey and conjure animals. He favors bargains over commands.
Spellcasting. Hack is a 9th-level cleric and 3rd-level warlock. He has cleric spell slots as a 9th-level cleric: four 1st-level, three 2nd-level, three 3rd-level, three 4th-level, and one 5th-level slot. His warlock Pact Magic grants two 2nd-level slots, which return on a short or long rest. He knows two warlock cantrips and four warlock spells.

Spells

Mage Hand (cantrip, conjuration). A flickering spectral hand appears within 30 feet and can manipulate objects, open an unlocked door, or perform other simple tasks. It cannot attack or activate magic items.
Minor Illusion (cantrip, illusion). Hack creates a sound or image within range that lasts up to 1 minute. The effect is minor and cannot cause direct harm.
Vicious Mockery (cantrip, enchantment). Hack creates a brief, unnerving illusion that distracts one creature, dealing psychic damage and giving one ally advantage on its next attack against that creature before the end of Hack's next turn.
Thaumaturgy (cantrip, transmutation). Hack creates a brief light, sound, or other harmless sensory effect.
Prestidigitation (cantrip, transmutation). An invisible, harmless force creates a sensory effect or performs a minor trick within range.
Cure Wounds (level 1, evocation). A creature Hack touches regains hit points. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
Invisibility (level 2, illusion). For up to 1 hour, Hack or a willing creature he touches becomes invisible until it attacks or casts a spell.
Mirror Image (level 2, illusion). Hack creates a duplicate illusion of himself. When a creature targets him with an attack, he can roll a d20 to determine whether the attack targets a duplicate instead.
Darkness (level 2, evocation). Hack creates a 20-foot-radius sphere of magical darkness that spreads around corners. Darkvision cannot see through it.
Pass without Trace (level 2, abjuration). Hack or a willing creature he touches becomes invisible for up to 1 hour. The spell ends early if the target attacks or casts a spell.
Summon Fey (level 3, conjuration). Hack summons a fey spirit in an unoccupied space within range. It obeys his commands and disappears when the spell ends. Use the spell's standard 5E stat block and rules.
Spirit Guardians (level 3, conjuration). Spirits circle Hack in a 15-foot radius for up to 10 minutes. Enemies in the area take radiant or necrotic damage when the spell is cast or when they enter the area for the first time on a turn; a Wisdom save halves the damage.
Greater Invisibility (level 4, illusion). Hack becomes invisible for up to 1 minute, and the invisibility does not end when he attacks or casts a spell.
Conjure Animals (level 5, conjuration). Hack summons fey spirits that take the form of beasts to fight for him. Use the spell's standard 5E rules and creature options.
Sending (level 3, evocation). Hack sends a short message to a creature he knows on the same plane. The target can reply in a whisper only Hack can hear.
Hex (level 1, necromancy). Hack curses one creature he can see within range. The target takes an extra necrotic damage whenever Hack hits it with an attack, and has disadvantage on ability checks using one ability of Hack's choice.
Charm Person (level 1, enchantment). Hack magically charms a humanoid he can see within range. The target has advantage on the saving throw if Hack or his companions are fighting it. When the spell ends, the target knows it was charmed.
Misty Step (level 2, conjuration). Hack forces one creature he can see within range to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it is frightened of him for up to 1 minute, repeating the save at the end of each of its turns.

Actions

Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 () piercing damage. Hack usually uses this attack only to create an opening for escape or negotiation.
Misty Feint. Hack makes one attack with his dagger and then teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. Until the start of his next turn, the first attack roll made against him has disadvantage. This is a custom action, usable once per short or long rest.
Spellcasting. Hack casts one of his available spells. His spell save DC is 16 and his spell attack bonus is +8. He uses Wisdom for cleric spells and Charisma for warlock spells.

Reactions

Borrowed Image. When a creature Hack can see makes an attack roll against him, Hack can impose disadvantage on that roll by creating a brief illusion of himself standing up to 10 feet away from his actual position. The attacker must be within 60 feet. Hack must be able to see the attacker and cannot use this reaction while incapacitated. This custom reaction is usable three times per long rest.
Shadow Intercession. When Hack or a creature he can see within 30 feet takes damage, he can use his reaction to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. If he ends adjacent to the damaged creature, he becomes the target of the triggering attack's remaining damage instead. This custom feature is usable once per long rest.

Services they sell

Negotiating with fey courts and translating the practical consequences of their bargains.
Providing a safe, temporary escort through dangerous shadowed routes.
Summoning or identifying fey creatures, provided the request respects their agency.
Offering divination and protective magic in exchange for a clearly defined favor.

Rewards they can give

A carefully negotiated favor from a fey court, if the characters honor its terms.
A vial of rare fey oil that can serve as a valuable spell component.
Information about secret paths between the Feywild and the mortal world.
A future audience with Ceredwen or the Lantern King, at a price Hack will state plainly.

Equipment

  • Eye-Buckle Belt (wondrous gear)An ornate belt with an eye-shaped buckle; it carries his lantern, vials, and compact tools.
  • Lantern of Many Colors (wondrous item)A hooded lantern with a multicolored flame. It sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. Its colors shift with no known pattern. Custom cosmetic item, with no additional combat benefit.
  • Silvered Dagger (weapon)A narrow silvered dagger, balanced for throwing, kept as a last resort.
  • Vial Roll (adventuring gear)A tidy collection of glass vials containing lamp oil, powdered silver, bitter herbs, and several unknown substances.
  • Lantern-Keeper's Tools (tools)A compact set of fine tools for opening locks, trimming wicks, repairing fittings, and preparing ritual components.
  • Moonlit Robe and Vapor-Silk Cloak (clothing)A dark robe and cloak woven from silk and fey vapor. The cloak's trailing mist is an appearance effect, not concealment.

Possessions

Lantern of Many Colors
Eye-shaped belt buckle
Silvered dagger
Vials of lamp oil, powdered silver, and herbs
Lantern-keeper's tools
A folded scrap of the contract that caused the servants' disappearance

Background

Hack is the son of Ceredwen the Witch Queen and the Lantern King, conceived while the King was weakened and trapped in humanoid form. His childhood was split between two courts that each treated him as proof of a claim and as a threat to it. Ceredwen taught him the cost of a promise; the Lantern King taught him that a promise can also be a weapon. When Hack was young, a bargain he brokered between rival fey courts ended in a disastrous breach of hospitality. He had trusted the wording rather than the people, and a household of servants vanished into a pocket of shadow. That failure made him a careful negotiator and a reluctant summoner: he now insists on knowing what a summoned creature wants before asking what it can do. He travels the mortal world collecting names, debts, and fragments of his father's lost power. He remains in intermittent contact with Ceredwen, who wants him to return and take a formal place in her court, while the Lantern King sends cryptic requests through the colors of Hack's lamp. Hack also owes a favor to a mortal ferryman who once hid him from a fey hunting party. He is currently trying to find the missing servants from his childhood bargain, though he fears they may no longer wish to be found.

Role in the story

A dangerous but potentially generous patron, mediator, or uneasy ally. Hack can help the party navigate fey bargains, summon aid, and locate hidden crossings, while his family obligations and unresolved guilt can draw the characters into courtly conflicts.

“His childhood was split between two courts that each treated him as proof of a claim and as a threat to it.”
From their background
Faction
Connected by blood to Ceredwen's court and the Lantern King's domain, but formally sworn to neither. His loyalties are personal and conditional.

Known connections

Ceredwen, his mother and the Witch Queen, expects him to return and accept a place in her court.
The Lantern King, his father, communicates in riddling requests and shifting lantern colors; Hack does not know whether the King wants a son or a tool.
Oren, a mortal ferryman who once concealed Hack from fey pursuers, is owed a favor that Hack has never managed to repay.
The vanished household from Hack's childhood bargain may still be trapped in a shadow realm, and he searches for signs of them.
Major secret · GM only
Minor secrets · GM only

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