Waleed bin Jamal al Jaboori
by Giampaolo Agosta1st level Human (Alphatian) Wizard (Unseen Sea Mage)
Str 10, Int 14, Wis 8, Dex 13, Con 9, Cha 12
Station: 6
AC 8, HP 3, All. CG, THAC0 20
Ht: 1,76 m Wt: 68 kg MV 12 (12 w/ current load of 27.5 lbs)
Languages: Alasiyan, Heldanner.
Weapon Proficiencies: Cutlass, Jambiya
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Seamanship, Spellcraft, Genie Lore, Swimming, R/W Alasiyan, Fishing, Cantrip, Disguise.
Special: Two-Weapon Fighting Style.
Money: 4 dinar, 5 dirham, 3 fals.
Equipment: Jambiya, Cutlass, Leather Armour; Shirt, Breeches, Skull Cap,
Sash, Knife Sheath, Belt Pouch; Aba, Cloth Slippers, Turban; Backpack, 2
Waterskins, Whetstone, Large Sack, Fishhooks (2), Tinder Box; Travelling
Spellbook [no spells].
| Weapon | Speed | Dmg S/M |
| Cutlass | 5 | 1d6/1d8 |
| Jambiya | 3 | 1d4/1d4 |
Appearance
Waleed is of average height and in good physical shape. He has a natural coppery complexion, but due to his life on the sea he is very tanned. He has chestnut eyes and dark brown hair, but he shaves his head.
Even though he is an apprentice wizard, he dresses as a corsair, with knee-long white breeches and a shirt with large sleeves. He also wears a red skull cap and a high blue sash. Within the sash Waleed stores a dagger and a small pouch holding his meagre wealth.
He carries along a large backpack.
History
The Alphatians settled in the northern coast of the Emirates several centuries ago, in the attempt to counter the Thyatian expansion in Nicostenia and Dythestenia. Later, when al-Kalim unified the nomad tribes to cast off the invaders, many of the Alphatian colonists converted to the Eternal Truth and remained in the Emirates of Ylaruam, and especially in the coastal areas of Nithia and Abbashan.
Waleed is a descendent of these colonists, and like many Alphatians he has a special talent for magic. However, the Emirates of Abbashan and Nithia are not the most friendly environment for a wizard.
While the cultured town people of Ylaruam and the worldly Nicostenians value magic as a form of knowledge and study of nature, the Abbashani are mostly suspicious and conservative, usually seeing all magical practices as heretical, unless the magician is a member of the clergy. Nithia, while the not controlled by the Kin faction as Abbashan, is even more dangerous for wizards: here, an evil fire-worshippers sect has its strongholds, and vigorously, if covertly, attempts to wipe out all practitioners of magic.
The Abbashani and Nithian wizards usually fall into one of two camps: the followers of the Way of the Scholar, who practice their craft in the temples of the Eternal Truth, and the Unseen, wizards who prefer to hide their abilities from the common folk, constantly wearing disguise and avoiding casting spells in public. Being an Unseen is a crime in the Emirates, where wizards must clearly identify themselves by their clothes and register at the Ministry of Magic, but some wizards who do not subscribe to the tenets of the Eternal Truth do become Unseen.
Waleed, a would-be master of sea magic, has therefore built a cover identity as a bold sailor looking for a job on corsair or merchant ships. Actually, he only worked for a few years as a fisherman in Jaboor, his home town, then moved to Cubis, in the Emirate of Nicostenia. Here he befriended a young fisherman of Thyatian ancestry, Jibril. Jibril owns a small fishing boat, and Waleed often works with him. His sailing experience, other than on fishing boats, is limited to a couple journeys between the few Ylari ports.
Personality
In his cover identity, Waleed is only one of the many sailors looking for employment in the ports of the Emirates.
His true personality lies deep under the mask of the sailor, which is now a second nature for Waleed. The two personalities share a deep love for the sea, and some dislike for the arid lands -- Waleed does not like to travel across the deserts.
Waleed is not a True Believer, he just goes through the motions for the sake of his disguise. However, he does have an healthy dose of respect for some of the Immortal Guardians, especially the Old Man of the Sea, for their power over the element of water.
He also finds merit in the Dream of the Desert Garden, one of the main pillars of the Eternal Truth: transforming the desert into a garden seems a good proposition, if a bit too ambitious.
Notes
This character introduces a wizard kit from Al Qadim, the Unseen, a kind of Elementalist who disguises as a fighter or rogue. While the Ylari have no prejudices against wizards, there may still be reasons for a wizard to avoid being known as one, and, due to the laws on wizard dressing codes, any wizard who does not wish to make his profession known to everyone must actually become an Unseen.
The main reasons are those mentioned in Waleed's background: escaping the attention of the Magian Fire Worshippers, or those of fanatical Abbashani who believe that the only orthodox magic is the one that members of the Way of the Scholar (or the Military Orders) wield (these people may simply believe that the wizard is actually a priest of some kind of entropic power).
Since Unseens are breaking the law, most other people tend to react
poorly towards the Unseen. Spellslayers and Magians actively hunt down
Unseen mages, for different reasons.