### Member of the Aureate Circle — Bronze Dracari Wizard-Fighter, Scholar, Insufferable Flirt _"I have studied magic across three continents and read texts in four dead languages. Nothing I have encountered has been half as interesting as you."_ — Zoriel, first words upon introduction --- ![[Zoriel.png]] ## Overview **Zoriel** is a bronze Dracari member of **The Aureate Circle** — one of Solare's rarest and most exclusive arcane institutions, comprised almost entirely of Dracari wizard-scholars whose existence is so uncommon that most people go their entire lives without meeting one. He is charming, accomplished, genuinely warm, and almost completely incapable of encountering a beautiful woman without doing something about it. He is not a predator. He is not calculating. He is simply a man with considerable confidence, a great deal of genuine interest in the world, and the particular Dracari tendency to pursue things that fascinate him with the same focused energy he applies to arcane research. He means every word he says. That is both his most disarming quality and, depending on who he is talking to, his most annoying one. He is currently travelling as a representative of the Aureate Circle — documenting rare magical phenomena, establishing contacts with arcane institutions, and, inevitably, getting distracted by interesting people along the way. --- ## Statistics |Attribute|Value| |---|---| |**Race**|Dracari (Bronze)| |**Age**|34| |**Alignment**|Chaotic Good| |**Class**|Wizard (School of Evocation) / Fighter (Eldritch Knight)| |**Challenge Rating**|12 (8,400 XP)| |**Faith**|Dijinus, God of Fire — loosely, culturally| |**Languages**|Common, Draconic, Elvish, Primordial, Celestial| --- ### Core Statistics |STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |18 (+4)|16 (+3)|18 (+4)|20 (+5)|14 (+2)|20 (+5)| **Armour Class:** 18 (Arcane Scale Armour, Dex modifier) **Hit Points:** 156 (16d8 + 64) **Speed:** 35 ft. **Proficiency Bonus:** +4 **Saving Throws:** Int +9, Con +8, Cha +9 **Skills:** Arcana +13, History +9, Insight +6, Intimidation +9, Persuasion +13, Performance +9 **Damage Resistances:** Lightning, Thunder (Bronze Dracari heritage) **Senses:** Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 12 **Languages:** Common, Draconic, Elvish, Primordial, Celestial --- ### Key Traits & Features **Bronze Dracari Heritage.** Zoriel has resistance to lightning and thunder damage. He can speak, read, and write Draconic fluently and has advantage on Charisma checks when interacting with dragons or draconic creatures. **Breath Weapon (Recharge 5–6).** Zoriel exhales a line of lightning 60 ft. long and 5 ft. wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10d10 lightning damage on a failure or half on a success. **Repulsion Breath (Recharge 6).** Zoriel exhales a 30 ft. cone of repulsion gas. Each creature in the area must make a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be pushed 60 ft. away and knocked prone. **Evocation Savant.** Copying evocation spells into his spellbook costs half the gold and time. **Sculpt Spells.** When casting an evocation spell that affects other creatures Zoriel can see, he can choose a number of them equal to 1 + the spell's level to automatically succeed on their saving throw and take no damage, even on a failure. **Potent Cantrip.** When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against one of Zoriel's cantrips, it takes half the cantrip's damage. **War Magic.** When Zoriel uses his action to cast a cantrip, he can make one weapon attack as a bonus action. **Extra Attack.** Zoriel makes two attacks when he takes the Attack action. **Action Surge (1/Short Rest).** Take one additional action on his turn. **Aureate Circle Training.** Zoriel has advantage on Arcana checks relating to draconic magic, ancient arcane texts, and First Age artefacts. He may cast _Identify_ as a ritual without material components. --- ### Actions **Multiattack.** Zoriel makes two attacks with his Aureate Blade, or makes one attack and casts one spell. **Aureate Blade** _(Longsword +2, lightning)._ Melee weapon attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 6 slashing + 2d6 lightning damage. On a critical hit, the target is stunned until the end of their next turn as a surge of electricity overloads their nervous system. **Lightning Bolt** _(3rd level)._ A stroke of lightning in a 100 ft. line, 5 ft. wide. Each creature must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 lightning damage on a failure or half on a success. **Thunderwave** _(1st level)._ A 15 ft. cube of thunderous force erupts from Zoriel. Creatures must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw, taking 2d8 thunder damage and being pushed 10 ft. on a failure, or half damage and no push on a success. **Fireball** _(3rd level)._ A bright streak that explodes in a 20 ft. radius sphere at a point within 150 ft. All creatures in the area make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 fire damage on a failure or half on a success. **Chain Lightning** _(6th level, 1/Long Rest)._ A bolt of lightning leaps toward a target within 150 ft. (DC 17 Dex, 10d8 lightning) then arcs to up to three secondary targets within 30 ft. of the first (DC 17 Dex, 5d8 lightning each). **Hold Person** _(2nd level, concentration)._ One humanoid Zoriel can see within 60 ft. must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be paralysed for 1 minute. He uses this only when genuinely threatened, and is privately a little embarrassed about how effective it is. **Counterspell** _(3rd level, Reaction)._ When a creature within 60 ft. casts a spell, Zoriel attempts to counter it. Automatically counters 3rd level and below. Higher: DC 10 + spell level Intelligence check (+9). **Shield** _(1st level, Reaction)._ When hit by an attack or targeted by magic missile, Zoriel gains +5 AC until the start of his next turn, potentially causing the attack to miss. --- ### Bonus Actions **War Magic Strike.** One weapon attack after casting a cantrip. **Second Wind (1/Short Rest).** Regain 1d10 + 4 hit points. --- ### Spell Slots |Level|Slots| |---|---| |1st|4| |2nd|3| |3rd|3| |4th|3| |5th|2| |6th|1| **Full Spell List:** _Cantrips:_ Fire Bolt, Lightning Lure, Shocking Grasp, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand _1st Level:_ Shield, Thunderwave, Mage Armour, Identify, Feather Fall _2nd Level:_ Hold Person, Misty Step, Shatter, Blur _3rd Level:_ Lightning Bolt, Fireball, Counterspell, Fly _4th Level:_ Storm Sphere, Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door _5th Level:_ Cone of Cold, Telekinesis _6th Level:_ Chain Lightning --- ### Equipment **Aureate Blade** — A longsword +2 with a blade that crackles faintly with contained lightning. The crossguard is shaped like two dragon wings, and the pommel bears the seal of the Aureate Circle — a scaled circle in gold. **Arcane Scale Armour** — Fitted armour of polished bronze dragonscale, clearly custom-made and well-maintained. Provides AC 16 + Dex modifier and resistance to lightning damage (stacks with his racial resistance, making him immune to lightning in practice). **The Aureate Tome** — His spellbook, bound in bronze-tinted leather with gold clasps. Considerably more ornate than necessary, which he is aware of and does not apologise for. **Ring of Spell Storing** — Currently holds one casting of _Counterspell_ and one of _Shield_, pre-loaded for emergencies. **Sending Stone** — Paired with the Aureate Circle's main hall. He is required to check in monthly. He does so approximately every six weeks, which the Circle has learned to accept. --- ## Appearance Zoriel is tall and broad-shouldered in the way bronze Dracari tend to be — built for presence rather than agility, though he moves with more ease than his frame suggests. His scales are a warm, burnished bronze that catches the light in amber and gold tones, darkening toward copper at his shoulders and the ridge of his jaw. His eyes are a vivid amber-gold, large and expressive, and he uses them with the practised ease of someone who learned young that they were one of his better features. He keeps himself well-groomed, his armour polished, and his robes — worn open over the scale armour — in deep navy and gold. He dresses for an audience without appearing to try, which is itself a skill. He smiles easily. Often. With the full, unhurried confidence of a man who has rarely been told no and has made peace with the occasional exception. --- ## Personality Zoriel is genuinely warm, intellectually curious, and completely lacking in self-consciousness about his attraction to beautiful people. He does not pursue as a conquest — he pursues because he is interested, and he is interested in almost everything. The difference between his arcane research enthusiasm and his romantic enthusiasm is primarily one of subject matter. He is a good listener and a better conversationalist. He asks questions that are actually good questions and remembers the answers. He is funny without trying particularly hard and charming without being performative about it. He takes rejection gracefully — with a slight incline of his head, a warm smile, and the absolute certainty that the conversation can continue on different terms if the other party prefers. He is also, underneath the charm, a serious scholar and a capable fighter. Members of the Aureate Circle do not earn their place through personality alone. When something genuinely threatens him or someone he has decided to care about, the easy warmth does not disappear — it simply moves aside to make room for something considerably more dangerous. He finds Saurians fascinating. There is nothing calculated about this — the Dracari have a deep cultural reverence for draconic lineages of all kinds, and a Saurian is, to his eye, extraordinary. That this appreciation is also aesthetic is something he sees no reason to conceal. --- ## The Aureate Circle The **Aureate Circle** is one of Solare's rarest arcane institutions — a guild comprised almost exclusively of Dracari wizard-scholars, with membership so limited that most people encounter the name only in academic footnotes and historical records. Given how uncommon Dracari are across the continents, the Circle has never been large. At present it counts fewer than thirty active members across all of Solare. What it lacks in size it compensates in reputation. Aureate Circle members are considered among the foremost authorities on draconic magic, ancient arcane history, and the intersection of martial and magical discipline. Their research focuses on the recovery and analysis of First Age magical texts, the documentation of draconic magical phenomena, and the preservation of arcane knowledge that would otherwise be lost. Members are expected to travel, research, and file regular reports. They are not expected to stay out of trouble, because the Circle has learned over several centuries that this expectation is unrealistic for Dracari scholars operating alone in an interesting world. The Circle's seal is a scaled ring in burnished gold. Members wear it on a chain or as a ring, and it functions as both identification and a minor ward — creatures that would be hostile to the wearer must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or hesitate for one round upon first seeing it, compelled by an instinctive draconic unease baked into the enchantment. **Known Circle Members (partial):** - **Zoriel** — Bronze, active field researcher, North Angoria - **Thessavrix** — Silver, senior archivist, permanent residence at Circle headquarters - **Kauldren** — Brass, field researcher, South Angoria - **Miravel** — Gold, Circle Head, rarely travels --- ## Roleplaying Guidance **Default mode:** Relaxed, observant, warm. He notices things and mentions them. He asks follow-up questions. He takes up the right amount of space without overcrowding a conversation. **When genuinely interested:** He becomes slightly more focused — the easy charm sharpens into something more attentive. He stops performing and starts actually listening, which is somehow more disarming than the performance. **When rejected or rebuffed:** Graceful, immediate, no sulking. A slight incline of the head, a genuine smile, and _"Understood. The conversation stands regardless, if you're willing."_ He means it. **In combat:** The warmth steps aside. He is efficient, precise, and fights with the particular controlled ferocity of someone who has trained in both martial and magical disciplines for twenty years. He still talks during combat, which his opponents find annoying. **On draconic topics:** The most animated version of himself. He has strong opinions about arcane history, draconic lineages, and First Age scholarship, and will share them at length if given any opening at all. **Voice:** Deep and warm, with a slight resonance that is naturally draconic — not intimidating, just present. He speaks at a measured pace and does not rush. He has learned that silence is also a tool. --- ## Adventure Hooks **The Circle's Request** — Zoriel has been tasked with retrieving a specific First Age artefact currently in the possession of someone who does not know what they have. The problem is that someone is in the middle of something considerably more dangerous than Zoriel expected, and he needs assistance navigating it without getting killed before he can be charming at anyone again. **The Incomplete Research** — Zoriel's current field research has hit a wall that requires information only the party is positioned to provide. He is willing to trade considerable arcane expertise in exchange. He will absolutely also try to make it dinner. **Old Draconic Business** — Something Zoriel encountered on his travels has triggered a very old draconic instinct — a warning built into his heritage at a level deeper than memory. He does not know what it is or what it means. He knows it is connected to something the party is already involved in. He would very much like to compare notes. **The Circle Calls** — One of the thirty members of the Aureate Circle has gone missing in circumstances that suggest something considerably more dangerous than a research accident. Zoriel has been asked to investigate. He is going to need people who are good at the kind of situations arcane scholars are not trained for.