Therefore, it came as a surprise to him (although perhaps not to others) when he was called before an Inquisition tribunal presided over by a zealous Inquisitor named Esteban Verdugo. Despite his plea that he was assigned to do so, Brother Ramon was charged with and convicted of heresy for delving into forbidden texts. The Tribunal called for him to be stripped of his religious status and imprisoned in complete isolation for the remainder of his life lest his heretical leanings taint others.

Isolation nearly drove the poor monk mad. Fortunately for him, a secret order of Knights long thought dead by most of the world, had witnessed his trial and had need of his skills. The monk was shocked when one night a man who entered his cell from the shadows. The man introduced himself as an agent of die Kreuzritter and despite his imprisonment, offered him a chance to continue his good work for the safety of mankind.

Since that day, Ramon Caldecina has waged a quiet war of information against the Inquisition and the Vaticine Church. Die Kreuzritter granted him the gift of Nacht sorcery by which he escapes his cell to mine the Church’s hidden libraries. He uses these clandestine forays to search the archives for information about activity that has damaged the Barrier. He is also in the process of systematically altering all the Church records he can find that concern the activity of die Kreuzritter since their “destruction” at Tannen. He has even infiltrated the Inquisition’s private and closely-guarded Hall of Records to remove evidence that could lead to the discovery of his fellow Knights, along with any documentation that would incriminate other monks who are trying to finish the very task that caused his imprisonment.

Recently, Ramon has taken to altering ciphers, timetables, and testimony in current Inquisition inquiries to mislead Church agents and give their targets time to escape. He is also altering many of the cases built by Cardinal Verdugo in an attempt to discredit the man he holds responsible for his own imprisonment and near loss of sanity.

Ramon is a small round-shouldered old man. Although he has lost count, he has certainly seen 70 winters pass during his lifetime. Anyone who might encounter him on one of his nightly searches will hardly notice him at all, discounting the old man as just another pale clerk shuffling through the vast bureaucratic capital. The only steadfast routine he holds is to be sure he returns to his cell at dawn so that he can play the crazed old man for his jailer at the meager morning meal. The isolation has taken its toll on Brother Ramon, and what few social skills he once had have mostly atrophied over the long years. The only topic of conversation that brings a light to his eyes concerns his old studies in heretical records.

Depending on the allegiances of the party, Ramon can either be a useful ally and source of information or a mysterious opponent who spins lies against the group, then fades back into the shadows. His imprisonment gives him the ultimate alibi and the Inquisition will dismiss nearly all evidence of his activity, secure in the knowledge that he is safely locked away and almost incapable of coherent conversation.

Brother Ramon Tómas Caldecina, Heretical Scholar ( d20™ )

Castillian Priest 7 / Nacht 3: CR 10; SZ M (humanoid); HD 7d6 + 3d10; hp 59; Init +2 (Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 12 (+2 Dex); Atks: +5 melee (knife 1d4); SA Apothecary, Attacking from the Shadows, Bless Object (2/day), Immune to Evil, Sneak Attack +2d6, Summon Miracle, The Dark Paths, Turn Evil (3/day); SV Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +10; Str 11, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 13; AL NG; Skills: Balance +4, Bluff +4, Climb +4, Decipher Script +8, Diplomacy +4, Escape Artist +8, Forgery +6, Gather Information +6, Hide +10, Intuit Direction +2, Knowledge (Religion) +8, Knowledge (Vaticine City) +4, Knowledge (Inquisition) +4, Knowledge (Heresies) +6, Listen +4, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +8, Perform +4, Search +8, Spot +6, Summon Miracle +2; Feats: Castillian Education, Membership (die Kreuzritter), Odd Sleeping Habits, University, Worldly (arcane).

Brother Ramon Tómas Caldecina – Hero ( 7th Sea™ )

Brawn: 2, Finesse: 3, Wits: 6, Resolve: 4, Panache: 2

Reputation: 23

Background: True Identity (3)

Arcana: Worldly

Advantages: Castillian (R/W), Tikaret-baraji, Tikat-baraji, Tirala-baraji, Eisen (R/W), Montaigne (R/W), Teodoran, Théan (R/W), Vodacce (R/W), Castillian Education, Faith, Linguist, Membership (Die Kreuzritter), Nacht Sorcery, University

Forger: Calligrapher 5, Forgery 5, Paper Maker 4, Research 6, Conceal 4, Cryptography 5

Guide: Ride 1, Stealth 5, Street Navigation (Vaticine City) 3, Cartography 3, Direction Sense 2

Merchant: Printer 3, Scribe 5, Accounting 4

Professor: Oratory 2, Research 6, Writing 4, Law 3, Natural Philosophy 3, Occult 5, Politics 5, Theology 5

Scholar: History 5, Mathematics 3, Philosophy 4, Research 6, Law 3, Natural Philosophy 3, Occult 5, Theology 5

Servant: Etiquette 3, Fashion 1, Menial Tasks 3, Unobtrusive 5, Accounting 4, Gossip 2

Knife: Attack (Knife) 3, Parry 3

Sample Plot Hook
Brother Ramon is becoming a little more ambitious in his schemes. Recently, the Order has found out that he left evidence of a recent incursion into a Church archive that could be traced back to both him personally and to the Order. The heroes are tasked, either as members of the Order or mercenaries who cannot be tied to the Knights, to break into the Library’s private section and destroy that evidence. Full Knights have also been tasked with this goal so the party’s break-in might be little more than a diversion or perhaps even a self-sacrificing cover story while the real Knights achieve their mission without any visible sign of entry.

A High Inquisitor believes that public opinion is turning against the Inquisition and seeks to remove all evidence that could be used against Cardinal Verdugo. Looking through Church records, he has found out about Ramon’s captivity and for him (or her), the prospect of a live prisoner is too much of a liability. He has dispatched two hired killers with forged Inquisition papers to enter the prison and kill Brother Ramon. Choosing outsiders will enable him to have them caught and executed as enemies of the Church who have killed a monk engaged in sacred penance. (To further complicate matters, it is possible that someone in the Order has learned about the assassins and must ensure that they never carry out their contract.) Even without this latter complication, the mission is sufficiently confusing that the heroes will be challenged to decide - who is the ally, and who is the enemy.

Based on an original character concept by Mark Annunziato

For more information about Nacht sorcery, see Die Kreuzritter™ (7^th Sea™) and Swashbuckling Arcana™ (d20™).