Overview
Hook NPC of Chapter 1. Posted at the Starving Stirge for companions. If the table uses the book’s pregens, Corian is a PC instead — same secrets, different sheet (09 - Pre-Generated Characters).
As an NPC he is a fighter, not a spellcaster. The GM ruled that on 2026-09-13; the block below is the one to run, and the pregen sheet is only relevant if a player takes him over. His interest in Eralion’s keep is the staff, the tracts and the spellbooks as plunder and leverage — he cannot read a spell out of any of them.
Appearance & Manner
Reluctant to tell the full story. Nursing a fear of Talon.
Motivations
The keep, the staff, the books. Glory and gold as advertised.
Stat Block (5e 2014)
Corian Medium humanoid (human), neutral good · Fighter 3 (Champion)
Armor Class 16 (leather, shield, Defense)
Hit Points 28 (3d10 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 8 (−1) |
Saving Throws Str +3, Con +4
Skills Insight +2, Perception +2
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Common
Proficiency Bonus +2
Fighting Style (Defense). +1 AC while wearing armour, already counted above.
Second Wind. Bonus action, regain 1d10 + 3 hit points. Once per short or long rest.
Action Surge. One additional action on his turn. Once per short or long rest.
Improved Critical. His weapon attacks score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.
Actions
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320, one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Equipment. Rapier, shield, leather armour, light crossbow, 20 bolts, 5 potions of healing (2d4 + 2 each, action to drink, action to administer to another).
GM-authored choices
Six things were decided rather than derived. Change any of them freely — they are the GM’s, not the book’s.
| Decision | Why | The alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Standard array 15/14/13/12/10/8 | Matches the pregens’ build standard rather than inventing numbers | 27-point buy per Campaign Rules |
| Dex 15 as the primary | Leather, a shield and a light crossbow is a Dexterity build; heavy-armour numbers would contradict his own gear | Str primary with a longsword |
| Rapier, not longsword | “A sword” that is finesse, so Dex drives it. A longsword at Str 12 would hit at +3 for 1d8+1 | Longsword, and move Str up |
| Defense fighting style | He is an ally the party must keep alive; +1 AC every round beats +2 damage sometimes | Dueling: AC 15, rapier for 1d8+4 |
| Champion archetype | Nothing to track at the table. A Battle Master needs superiority dice managed for an NPC | Battle Master, if you want him tactically interesting |
| Cha 8 | He hired four strangers with coin rather than charm, and folded to Helga’s haggle in one step | Raise it if he should be persuasive |
He is an ally, not an encounter-budget line. No CR is assigned, because assigning one would imply a precision this block does not have. If he fights beside the party, he is roughly a match for one of them.
Current Standing (as of Session 01)
Travelling with the party, two days south of Fairhill, at the farmhouse where Vortigern died.
- He told them everything on the road, the night the weather broke — the apprenticeship and its failure, the theft, the letter, the lich question, and the raven at his window. He asked for nothing in return and did not soften the theft.
- Vortigern and Talon are dead and he watched it happen. He has not been hunted since; he has also not slept well since.
- He holds himself responsible for the farm family, because Vortigern murdered them for corpses to throw at him. He said so aloud and refused to dress it up.
- The five-way split stands and he restated it unprompted. He also released anyone who wants to take their coin and leave at Fairhill, and expects at least one of them to.
- Eralion’s Amulet never left his neck. Vortigern came nine days and never touched it.
- His uncle — the wizard who apprenticed and then released him — is unnamed in the source and has no entity file.
Relationships
- Owns Eralion's Amulet — Stole it; optional bonded item
- Knows Feriblan — Not his master — his uncle's colleague, whose library he visited and whose reading stand he robbed at nineteen. Later asked him directly whether Eralion could have become a lich; Feriblan laughed and said the magic was far beyond him, then volunteered the keep, the staff and the unreturned spellbooks
- Rival of Vortigern — Vortigern hunts him for the amulet
- Allied with Galdar — A priest sent by vision to follow where the amulet leads