Sadis Keck

Special Equipment:

Two rings, one of which allows him to shift his appearance to that of Tulius and one which shifts it to that of Quickknife.

Appearance:

Sadis - Tall and lean. Gray hair and a handlebar mustache, which he frequently tweaks. Presents a very cultured look.
Tulius - Tall and broad. Wears a two-handed sword across his back and has a long jagged scar down the right side of his face. Tan skin.
Quickknife - Albino. Short and lean. Wears two knives on his belt and a third in left boot.

Background:

Sadis is the son of Finqui Keck, a bard who knew almost every thief, assassin, and scoundrel in the country. Finqui acted as a liason between nobles and these thieves, hiring their services to the wealthy noblemen. This way, the thief never knew who hired him, and the noble never knew who they hired, leaving Finqui as the only person who knew it all. Sadis picked up much of this knowledge while he traveled with his father (his mother died in chidbirth.) When Finqui died in a duel with a rival bard, Sadis, now about 17, took up the business, excluding the bard part. However, although the job was very lucrative, as one would imagine, Sadis wanted more. So, using a large portion of his wealth, he purchased the first of the rings mentioned above (the Tulius one.) Occasionally (about 1 in 10 jobs) Sadis would disguise himself as Tulius and then go and sell out the assassin or thief whose services he had just sold to the target. This way, Sadis made money for finding an assassin and for saving the target's life/possessions. Sadis continued this for many years, but eventually his greed returned. This time, Sadis began to spread rumors of an incredible assassin from a foreign land. He called this assassin Quickknife (an anagram of his father's name.) After a few months of spreading rumors, Sadis purchased the second ring mentioned above. Now, Sadis would, on somewhat easy assassinations, sell the services of Quickknife. Sadis is talented enough to pull off any jobs he accepts, and in those which would be too difficult for Quickknife, Tulius 'sells him out.' However, Tulius has since announced a grudge against Quickknife (if asked why he rubs his scar, not verbally answering.) Tulius always demands the privelege of fighting Quickknife for himself. And, of course, he never fails. Thus, on Sadis' most profitable jobs, he makes money as Sadis, Quickknife, and Tulius. Also note that Quickknife succeeds on enough jobs to keep up his reputation as a remarkable assassin. For Sadis, the having of wealth is not nearly as important as the acquisitionof it. He is far from miserly. Approximately 1/3 of his wealth he distributes amongst his contacts. Another 1/3 goes to maintaining his gear and his (Sadis') mansion. The final 1/3 Sadis spends on necessities and valuables. A note on his mansion: Sadis has a remarkable love of traps, and his mansion is full of them. It is the perfect place to put a 'Who would be crazy enough to build that' trap.

More Background
As a youngster, Sadis worshipped his father, for he never had a mother. He loved watching his father's shows and eventually came up with a way to help make them better. He learned to juggle knives, throw them, and to act. He would frequently act out his father's ballads as they were sung. Occasionally, he even wrote songs for his dad. One year, he wrote an epic for his father. It was a story about two eternal enemies - an angelic mercenary named Tulius, and a demonic assassin known as Quickknife - who are locked in a deadly struggle for the king's life. At the end, the two's roles are reversed as Quickknife finds himself protecting an accomplice from the vengeful Tulius. The concluding stanza is:

For eternity light and dark shall sway
For nothing shall ever remain the same
Two heroes come from two seperate worlds
Each ends at that from which the other came

Unfortunately Finqui was killed before Sadis gave him the song, and Sadis, having memorized it, destroyed it. Sadis would have sworn revenge but for two things: 1) He was smart enough to know that his foe could kill him without really trying and 2) His foe was assassinated by someone else before he got a chance. So, Sadis picked up where his father left off: being a bard. However, the bard's life didn't include enough wealth for Sadis, so he also picked up his father's criminal liason profession.

As mentioned above, this contented Sadis for quite a while, but eventually, he began using Tulius. This ring (the one which lets him turn into Tulius) was fashioned by a wizard of just enough ability to construct it. Several months went by, but then this wizard (Iltharusk the Bald) showed up at Sadis' doorstep, planning to blackmail him. Sadis, furious with himself, escorted the wizard inside and began to give him the money he desired. However, Iltharusk grew so nervous when Sadis reached for his wallet that he fired off a spell. Sadis' mansion is notorius for its many traps, and one of them was triggered by the spell. What was left of Iltharusk was in no shape to blackmail Sadis. Sadis thanked his lucky stars and vowed to be more careful next time. Sadis had been careful to pick a wizard with no family or friends, so he didn't need to worry about vengeance.

Years passed. Sadis, wanting more wealth, decided on another plan: he would go into the magic potions business. To do this, he needed a wizard. This is where our second wizard comes in. Sadis hired a gnomeish mage as his alchemist. Sadis calls him 'gnome-y,' as the gnome does not feel that it is necessary to reveal his name (he's paranoid about this). The potion business failed miserable, due to gnome-y's potions having a penchant for only working about 25% of the time, but the two became fast friends. In fact, they made a deal. Sadis had a wing built onto his mansion just for gnome-y, and gnome-y would keep him company and make him another ring, the Quickknife one. Gnome-y is the only person who knows Sadis' secret, and Gnome-y is very good at keeping his mouth shut. Gnome-y also encourages Sadis to test his inventions on his outings, which Sadis does, albeit reluctantly. Since then, the two have remained fast friends.

Roleplaying Notes:

Personalities: Sadis, of course, has three seperate personalities; those of Tulius, Quickknife, and, of course, Sadis himself.

Tulius' personality is gruff and quiet. He is almost a walking picture of the saying 'Walk softly and carry a big sword.' He prefers to stand then to sit and gives the impression of being always alert, although this is not always the case (it usually is). He speaks his mind (or what Sadis thinks of his mind as thinking), and if told that his services are unneccessary against Quickknife then he will deride the defenses and soldiers of his potential employer. This shows that he knows what he's talking about and often gets him hired. When not working on a job, Tulius, if his guise is being used, which it probably isn't, can be found sitting in bars, where he simply listens to gossip.

Quickknife is almost never seen when not on a job. However, if he meets another assassin while on the job, he will be willing to work with them (unless Tulius is supposed to show up). He will speak few words but make his point.

Finally, Sadis' most noticeable characteristic is his sardonic sense of humor. He greatly enjoys puns and clever insults. He is very talented at making verbal ripostes and is fun to speak with. He is far from modest but maintains a realistic view of his skills. He is fairly friendly quite likeable.

Some plot ideas:
The PCs could be hired to stop Quickknife, who would, of course, flee as soon as he saw any real sign of opposition. If they chose to hunt him down, they would certainly come in contact with Sadis and Tulius.
Somebody could have found out Sadis' secret and be blackmailing him with it. Sadis might then hire the PCs to 'deal' with the blackmailer.
If one of the PCs is looking to hire an assassin/thief, then they've just thrown you a chance to use Sadis.