Kilwin of Cowersby

Kilwin of Cowersby is a human cleric and member of the Pog Champions.

Appearance
Kilwin is a human man in his mid-20's, of average height and stocky build. He has a ruddy complexion and dark blonde hair that he wears pulled back into a small ponytail. He also has a beard that he began growing soon after leaving Cowersby for the first time. His eyes are gray. At the beginning of his journey, he wore a suit of ordinary chainmail borrowed from Cowersby's Temple of Alethus, but later inherited Keras's suit of mithral chainmail, which was silvery blue and enchanted to allow him to move more quietly. However, since the party obtained the Plate of the Ancestors, a set of golden plate armor of dwarven construction with the symbol of a shield with a flame across the chest, Kilwin has begun to wear that to keep it secure. In an attempt to draw less attention to himself, he attempted to cover the golden armor with his Robe of Useful Items. Considering the robe's bright colors and patchwork design, this strategy was of questionable effectiveness. In Hommlin, he obtained a plain brown cloak that may prove more successful. Kilwin also carries the symbol of his deity, Alethus, on his shield and on the carved wooden amulet he wears around his neck. In his disguise as the false Len in the Exeter, he wore a set of studded leather armor borrowed from Jorah. His hair was worn down, and his hair and beard were dyed black with charcoal.

Personality
Eager to help others and quick to assume the best of people, Kilwin has taken to the adventuring life surprisingly well, although his trusting nature and somewhat lacking social skills occasionally cause problems. He deeply believes in the sanctity of life, as well as the grace and forgiveness of Alethus, and tries to embody these principles in all of his actions. However, these are sometimes lofty principles, and Kilwin is often quite hard on himself when he falls short.
 * Strengths: Compassionate, perceptive, altruistic
 * Weaknesses: Indecisive, awkward, inhibited

Background
As an infant, Kilwin was found abandoned near the temple of Alethus in a small village named Cowersby, about a day's travel to the west of Laketon. No one in the village knew who had left him, so most people assumed that his parents had traveled there to abandon the child discreetly. The situation being what it was, the temple raised Kilwin alongside the two other orphans in the temple's care. While he wasn't especially disliked by his peers (except for a boy named Len, who thought he was a prig), he didn't form particularly strong bonds with most of them (except for a girl named Eleanor, who didn't care to see how Len treated him), at least partially due to his tendency to report mischief to the priests as soon as he caught wind of it. However, his reputation as a tattletale endeared him to his caretakers, along with his interest in their teachings. Kilwin spent much of his childhood browsing the book collection of one of the head priests, an elderly gnomish man named Glasny Whitehall.

Surrounded by the word of Alethus from birth, Kilwin became a devout follower from an early age and deeply longed to join the clergy at the temple where he was raised. Even as his cohorts began to leave the temple to strike out on their own, Kilwin tried to involve himself further with the temple. When his divine magic first manifested, he was ecstatic, convinced it was a sign that he was on the right path. Glasny, now Kilwin's mentor, had some doubts. While he had come to view Kilwin almost as the son he never had and wanted to encourage him to pursue the priesthood, he also recognized that Kilwin had never known any life outside of the temple. Glasny suggested that it was for the best if Kilwin left the temple for a year before formally settling in as a priest, and travel Alethustria, helping people wherever he can and spreading the light of Alethus through good deeds. This would be both a good application of Kilwin's powers as a cleric and a chance for Kilwin to gain knowledge of the lives of the people he hoped to help through the temple. Kilwin agreed in order to better serve Alethus and set out on his own, with the understanding that he would return in a year's time, but was welcome back at any time.

Meeting the Pog Champions
Roughly six months after first setting out from Cowersby, Kilwin met Reides in Port Valor when they both accepted a job to help an old woman move. While dealing with a rat infestation in her new residence, the two of them followed one of the rats to the Silverbass Inn, where they encountered three other adventurers and an injured man named Alexandrius, who asked the group to rescue his brother from a mine that was under siege by goblins. Kilwin agreed to join the investigation and was willing to forego the offer of a reward.

Goals
Kilwin's original goal in leaving Cowersby was to learn more about the world to help him be a better priest when he returned, spreading the light of Alethus in the process. He wants to help as many people as he can in his time away from the village. Although he intended to return by his 25th birthday and remain at the Cowersby Temple of Alethus permanently, he's since picked up a number of more specific quests that might delay his return. After learning about Slumberjack's problems, he intended to stay on the road at least until he helped them be free of their guide's influence. Since Slumberjack's departure from the party, he hasn't given up on helping them, but this has become a secondary goal to helping the people of Alethustria secure the remaining Abyssal Crests and preventing the return of the demon lord Alzrius.

Abilities
As a level 8 cleric, Kilwin has access to the entire cleric spell list for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level spells, but can only cast from a limited list of prepared spells each day. He also knows the following cantrips:


 * Light
 * Mending
 * Sacred Flame
 * Toll the Dead

He also has the following class features available:

Kilwin also possesses the Heavy Armor Master feat.
 * Spellcasting (Wisdom-based)
 * Ritual Casting
 * Channel Divinity (2 uses per short rest)
 * Turn Undead
 * Destroy Undead (CR 1/2)
 * Harness Divine Power (2 uses per long rest)
 * Divine Domain: Life Domain
 * Bonus Proficiency: Heavy Armor
 * Disciple of Life
 * Channel Divinity: Preserve Life
 * Blessed Healer
 * Cantrip Versatility
 * Blessed Strikes

Kilwin and Reides
Kilwin met Reides briefly before meeting the rest of their future adventuring party and quickly became good friends. As the two most pacifistic members of the Pog Champions, they often find each other on the same side of intra-party conflicts. Kilwin occasionally worries about Reides, due to the triton's lack of experience on the surface (and willingness to eat strange things), but is more often impressed by Reides's knowledge and ability to navigate social situations. He greatly admires how Reides can make other people feel at ease and recover from missteps, and Kilwin hopes to someday develop some of those skills himself. Although he was surprised to learn the truth about Reides's background, the revelation changed little about how Kilwin views him, and he considered Reides's apology for the deception unnecessary.

Kilwin and Slumberjack
Kilwin's relationship with Slumberjack was originally somewhat contentious, due to their radically differing views on faith and the value of life. However, a bond of trust (if not necessarily warmth) began to form between them on their travels, where they had to rely on each other at times. Eventually, Slumberjack's admission of their struggles with their bloodthirsty guide and Kilwin's willingness to help rid them of it established them as real friends. Kilwin is convinced that helping Slumberjack with their problem is the best way to prevent them from killing more people. The process showed Kilwin a different side of Slumberjack and made him realize how few people they've had to support them before. Kilwin was devastated by Slumberjack's decision to go with the Burning Knight, blaming himself for not doing enough to disrupt their guide's influence. However, he still believes that Slumberjack is redeemable, and Kilwin is determined to meet them again and follow through on his promise to free them from their guide. He hopes to take them up on their offer to teach him Celestial once the matter of the Abyssal Crests is settled, declining to learn the language from Ashara to wait for his missing friend's return.

Kilwin and Jorah
Initially, Kilwin didn't feel as close to Jorah as he did to his other companions, partially due to the pair's differing philosophical outlooks and Jorah's penchant for finding business away from the party during their early travels. Even early on, though, he cared about Jorah's well-being and considered him a friend. Jorah's comments about his experience with the Memory Plague also gave Kilwin a lot to think about regarding his future path, whether Jorah realized it or not. Although Kilwin disapproved of most of Jorah's actions during the party's time around Cowersby, he was willing and able to put that aside when larger problems arose soon afterward. Nevertheless, he appreciated Jorah's drunken apology for the incident. Jorah's openness and admission of a feeling of kinship during that same conversation also endeared him further to Kilwin, regardless of whether Jorah remembers saying any of it. Since that conversation (and the bonding experience of going through the more serious problems the party has encountered since leaving Cowersby), Kilwin has grown closer to Jorah and he's come to understand the ranger's perspective on the world better. As his opinion of Jorah has grown more positive, though, so has Kilwin's distress at Jorah's more reckless behavior and tendency to be badly injured in combat. After learning the full details of Jorah's past in Hommlin, Kilwin better understood what Jorah meant by feeling a kinship with him, with both of them unaware of their parents' fates at the time. As far as Kilwin is concerned, Jorah's newfound connection to the Nameless God further strengthens that kinship, although he recognizes that it has a very different context than his own awakening as a cleric. Kilwin accepts Jorah's occasional corrections of his tendency to overshare, but after Jorah's slip about Reides's royal status in front of the Heartkins, Kilwin is resolved to gently hold that over Jorah's head for a while. Kilwin also likes that Jorah has a dog and would like to pet Julius more.

Kilwin and Erak
On first meeting Erak, Kilwin was startled by his volume level and flaunting of social norms. However, Erak's good heart quickly won Kilwin over. He's willing to defend the barbarian from those who think he's here to start trouble, whether those are thoughts are based on false preconceptions or Erak's actual occasional mischief. Although Kilwin think it's important to accept Erak's need to pursue his visions on his own, he was still saddened by Erak's departure and worries about how he's doing on his own. After the devastation in Port Valor, Kilwin contacted Erak via Sending to make sure he wasn't caught up in the chaos.

Kilwin and Ashara
When meeting Ashara in the ruins of Port Valor, Kilwin was immediately concerned about her, healing her despite her claims of being uninjured. As he's learned more about her, he hasn't grown much less concerned, but enjoys her company. Kilwin appreciated Ashara's willingness to join the party in their new quest to secure the Abyssal Crests, especially considering her lack of personal connection to the current problem. Coming so soon after Slumberjack's departure from the group, he also welcomed the chance to form a new friendship. While he had some more pointed concerns about her aggressiveness with the guards and other prisoners in Magmaslag Rock, Kilwin was primarily concerned for Ashara's safety, as well as her obvious distress at the situation. Although Kilwin declined Ashara's invitation to learn Celestial from her, it wasn't from a lack of interest or disregard for Ashara's skills, but simply a feeling of betraying Slumberjack by not waiting for them. Kilwin has asked Ashara to help him develop a few other skills, however, namely the use of spices to flavor the tasteless food summoned by Create Food and Water and, through the use of Ashara's Mask of Many Faces, an opportunity to practice talking to Grinlief about his feelings for him.

Kilwin and Glasny
Glasny was the person who first discovered Kilwin after he was abandoned and was his primary caregiver among the priests at the Temple of Alethus. Growing up, Glasny quickly became Kilwin's favorite teacher as well, and he gladly taught Kilwin Gnomish when he expressed interest in learning it. Kilwin also enjoyed leafing through Glasny's personal library, even before he could read well enough to fully understand the books. After Kilwin was bestowed with magic from Alethus, Glasny also became his mentor as a cleric as well. Glasny is probably the person who knows Kilwin best, as well as the person Kilwin trusts most. Although Kilwin corrected Reides's assumption that Glasny is his biological father, it was out of a desire for clarity rather than a lack of familial affection. Likewise, Glasny loves Kilwin as a son, but also worries about both his safety in the face of the troubles plaguing Alethustria, and Kilwin's tendency to judge his own actions harshly when situations spiral out of his control.

Kilwin and Grinlief
Although Kilwin was initially caught off-guard by Grinlief's unusual mannerisms and sometimes offensive assumptions about the party, he tried to make a good faith attempt at working with him. While Kilwin didn't discover that Grinlief was secretly competent, he did start to suspect that there was a bit more to him than was obvious after hearing him talk about the Memory Plague and soon found himself charmed by Grinlief's enthusiasm and self-confidence. He quickly attached himself to Reides's offer to get drinks with Grinlief after Irwin was brought to justice. Kilwin was quietly disappointed when their plans were indefinitely delayed, but hoped to return to Vila's Watch at some point to see Grinlief again. In the meantime, he hoped that the feelings he was developing for the detective would fade with time and kept them private from his friends, although he did bring up Grinlief and the idea of returning to Vila's Watch for a visit several times without prompting. After Thorak's attack on Port Valor, Kilwin sent Grinlief a letter apologizing for needing to continue delaying drinks and urging him to stay safe, not quite discussing his actual feelings. Soon after, Kilwin at least admitted to himself that he was romantically interested in Grinlief. In relatively safe confinement under Magmaslag Rock, Kilwin told his friends about his crush and, under their advice, sent Grinlief a few late-night Sending messages, assuring him that they were still on for drinks and getting permission to continue contacting him through the spell, re-establishing contact between them. While Kilwin isn't sure how their relationship would work long-term, he is excited to make an attempt at establishing one and thrilled with the progress he seems to have made so far. Grinlief, for his part, is most likely unaware of any of this.

Kilwin and Keras
Although Kilwin only knew Keras briefly, and despite some suspicion caused by Keras's initial attempt to magically charm him, Kilwin appreciated the paladin's company. Kilwin offered to accompany Keras in his attempt to spy on the orcs' ritual, and Keras's refusal inadvertently saved Kilwin's life. Keras's death was Kilwin's first experience with the Fireaxe Clan's anti-life magic, as well as his own first close brush with death, which gave him a lot to think about. At Keras's home temple in Quadroad, the priestess Pandora allowed Kilwin to keep Keras's enchanted armor and his journal, as a way of allowing Keras to live on. Kilwin continues to wear Keras's armor, even when presented with the opportunity to get something more protective. Although Kilwin is under the impression that Keras left his original home on bad terms, he's still interested in attempting to find someone from Keras's old life. Kilwin's own experience with familial abandonment, along with the nagging feeling that Keras's face reminded him of someone, make him think that the information in Keras's journal could do a lot to provide someone with much-needed closure.

Quotes

 * Kilwin (completely sober): "That's a... That's a really nice table!"
 * Kilwin (out of character): "Is Kargath single?"
 * "For what it's worth, I hope Alethus has mercy on you."

Trivia

 * To date, Kilwin has never said a swear word, unless you count "bussy," but he also didn't know what it meant.