Campaign: Fly By Night
A serial killer and political terrorist hailing from an ancient, broken world on the fringes of Yggdrasil, the man now known as Klatz has devoted his life to the “art” of murder. On his home plane of Halcyon, his macabre sculptures and gruesome performances serve as a grim reminder of the fragility of life and the folly of man’s attempts to prolong it. To Klatz, life is a comedy: a sad tale with a happy ending. From the moment one is born, they are thrust into the torments and pain that is existence. It is in Death that one’s potential is finally reached, that the torment can finally finish. Death is release. Death is joyous. In the face of such irony, one can only laugh.
And Klatz does. He laughs and he kills, and he gives his victims what they are in too much pain to know they want yet is unable to have himself. It is in honor of this philosophy that he has taken up the moniker of Jester, one who plays the fool and brings joy at their own expense.
He has made an art of Death, and takes considerable pride in his work, though, wanton murder is an excellent way to draw the attention of those with less refined tastes. Thus when not “creating”, Klatz maintains a very cordial and polite demeanor, though he has considerable difficulty disguising his disdain for those who do not understand his genius. On the flipside, he revels in the adoration of those that have an eye for his work, sometimes to the point of blind obsession. Yet even at his most well behaved, the constant undulating of his fingers, the subtle twitch of his head, or the faint whispers that escape his hooded lips betray his true intent.
Eventually, everything will be released from this mortal coil. Klatz just hopes he is around to enjoy the show.
Donning a cobbled suit of colorful cloth and leather armour, Klatz is difficult to miss in a crowd. In addition to his signature mustard hood, each piece of satin, silk or steel he wears is a memento of one of his past subjects. It is this ostentatious garb, in addition to his sadistic work that has earned him the nickname “The Patchwork Bastard”. His true appearance is unknown, as he only plays the character of the Jester when he is working, though given the very personal connection his works have to their victims, it can be surmised that he is able to blend in with everyday traffic and stalk his prey without drawing attention.
In addition to his costume, Klatz wields a custom razor bladed whip named Chwerthin, a small, spiked shield, and a flamberge dagger for short range engagements and more delicate artistic work. While preferring surprise attacks and psychological warfare using his knowledge of bardic magics, Klatz is able to hold his own in a fight for at least a short time. He is not opposed to fighting dirty or using his allies as a distraction to deliver cheap blows. If ever in an advantageous position, Klatz will happily make a performance out of his fights, eager to give his victims the exquisite death they deserve.
His favorite spells are Hideous laughter and Vicious mockery, and will use psychic damage whenever possible to toy with his foes.
Jester Klatz’s home plane of Halcyon has survived two apocalypses and sits on the precipice of a third. From the idyllic hamlets built in the corpses of Giants to the sprawling ruins of Old World and the Sky Spire that bisects the horizon, espionage, war, and folly pollute the zeitgeist. This is the world Klatz was born into, and it shaped him immensely. While he has since abandoned his past identity in favor of one derived from a children’s fable, the trappings of his home continue to manifest in both his art. Themes of betrayal, madness and hubris, alongside imagery of bazare four-armed humanoids are omnipresent in his work.
Klatz joined the Drifters by chance, after “freeing” an adventurer in the depths of the Borsian Marsh. The key the victim was carrying seemed to be calling deeper into the bog. A lone doorframe amidst the trees paradoxically opened into a crowded workshop. A wayward call, answered by chance, unwittingly freeing the Patchwork Bastard from prison he didn’t even know was trapping him.
Yet even as careful as he has been, and with an entire multiverse to wreak havoc upon, the Jester’s actions have not gone unnoticed. It is only a matter of time before one of his ”Detractors” catches up.
Klatz’s life as a drifter began rather unexpectedly. A memento from a recent subject, a seemingly mundane key opened his mind to the limitless canvas of Yggdrasil. No longer planebound, Klatz has been using this newfound power to spread his art to other branches. The patronage of various local rulers and deities in these new realms has afforded him many wonderful new tools to carry out his business.
After aligning himself with the Gold Master of Nida, Klatz was given a golden prosthetic arm known as the Chilo Vambrace. Now his most prized possession, Klatz has become fanatically devoted to the Gold Master. He has gone so far as to castrate himself when his murderous tendencies displeased his idol. Devotion to an ambivalent god rarely ends well for anyone involved.
However, like many before him, his good fortune was no accident, each action subtly progressing the machinations of an unknown entity. The Watcher’s plans may yet bear fruit….
Mytherius Orthello Casimir II: Klatz has a deep disdain for the cowardly mage. He is a man that flails against his destiny, and his open opposition to and distaste for Klatz’s work has garnered him no favor. His death will not be a pleasant one. Klatz will see to that.
The Drifters: Among the Drifters, Klatz is a stranger in a strange land. Their homes and ways are so different, not only from Klatz but from each other. Though he prefers to work alone, their blatant tolerance of his craft is a welcome change from having to work from the shadows on Halcyon. Their goals are quite different, but assisting them may prove to be mutually beneficial. To shake a hand is to double one’s power.
The Golden Master: A true patron of the arts! The Golden Master has Klatz’s undying loyalty. Being the first powerful being to understand his work (or at least acknowledge the ideas behind it), Klatz has become fanatically devoted to pleasing his Chaotic patron. It is likely the jester’s delusions of grandeur obscure his Master’s true feelings and intentions.
The Persistence Hunter: Even monsters can know fear.