Tim

Overview

Tim was Nate's character in Under the Bus. He was a wizard who became one of the party's primary strategists, investigators, researchers, and magical problem-solvers.

Despite an intentionally Monty Python-esque appearance and a somewhat ridiculous name, Tim developed into one of the party's most serious analytical thinkers.

Character Concept

Tim was loosely based on the eccentric wizard played by John Cleese in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The inspiration included the character's eccentric wizard persona, tendency to perform seemingly arbitrary acts of magical destruction, and his cryptic response when asked his name:

“There are some who call me… Tim?”

The campaign character was a Wizard rather than a Sorcerer, apparently adapting the movie character's concept to the campaign's mechanical framework.

Despite the deliberately absurd inspiration, Tim's actual role in the campaign was considerably more serious. The surviving reports portray him as an intelligent and analytical wizard who frequently served as a researcher, investigator, strategist, negotiator, magical communicator, and party leader.

Tim was a wizard who excelled at figuring things out.

He frequently approached problems through research, magical investigation, negotiation, and analysis rather than simply attempting to overpower them. He eventually became an important leader within both the adventuring party and The Chosen.

Wizard

Nate provided a final character sheet for Tim. The sheet establishes a number of final statistics but is not a complete character record. In particular, the equipment section is incomplete and the hit-point field is blank. Therefore, omission from this sheet must not be interpreted as evidence that Tim lacked an item, ability, or other characteristic.

Ability Scores

The recorded Intelligence of 25 should not be treated as Tim's natural/unmodified Intelligence. Tim possessed a Headband of Intellect; the exact enhancement bonus should be established from the campaign record/equipment history.

Combat Statistics

• Level: Wizard 16
• AC: 18 as recorded on the sheet
• BAB: +8/+3
• Grapple: +10
• Fortitude: +12
• Reflex: +12
• Will: +16
• Spell Resistance: 18
• Hit Points: Not recorded on the final character sheet; establish from campaign records rather than treating the blank field as an absence of information.

Wizard Specialization

• Specialization: Transmutation
• Prohibited Schools: Illusion, Necromancy

Feats and Other Recorded Abilities

The final sheet records:

• Scribe Scroll
• Spell Penetration
• Greater Spell Penetration
• Negotiator
• Spell Focus (Transmutation)
• Leadership
• Toughness
• Cooperative Spell
• Silent Spell
• Eschew Materials
• Maximize Spell
• Forge Ring
• Quicken Spell
• Improved Cohort
• Point Blank Shot

Chosen Powers & Other Abilities

The player characters of Under the Bus were extraordinary individuals known as The Chosen. Their advancement included special abilities that placed them above ordinary people and sometimes reproduced abilities associated with prestige classes.

Tim's Known Chosen Progression

• 12th: Tenacious Spells
• 13th: +2 ability score — Intelligence.
• 14th: Bonus feat — specific feat unknown.
• 15th: Mastery of Shaping
• 16th: Fast Healing 1

Other Recorded Abilities

Tim's surviving snapshot also lists:

• Circle Magic
• Cooperative Spells
• Negotiator
• Cold Resistance 10
• Spell Resistance 18
• Detect Chosen

Legacy Magic Item

Tim's legacy magic item was an:

Arcanist Gloves of Resistance +1

The surviving character information associates Sticky Spell with the gloves.

The precise mechanics and progression of this legacy item have not yet been reconstructed.

Magical Specialization

Tim's surviving spell use shows a broad and highly practical Wizard repertoire.

Documented spells and magical capabilities include:

• Rary's Telepathic Bond, Teleport, Dimension Door, Dispel Magic, Haste, Cone of Cold, Air Walk (through party resources), Other utility and investigative magic

His magic was frequently used for communication, transportation, research, magical investigation, battlefield support, and problem solving rather than exclusively for direct damage.

Tim was heavily involved in the party's attempts to establish magical communication and understand the limitations of long-distance communication. He also worked on magical research and the production of books and other arcane resources.

Boccob's Blessed Book

Tim worked with Smah Tepants on copying spells and obtaining the materials needed for magical research, including work related to Boccob's Blessed Books.

Role in the Party

Tim repeatedly occupied a position near the intellectual and strategic center of the party.

His recurring functions included:

• Party leadership, Magical research, Investigation, Analysis of supernatural phenomena, Long-distance communication, Teleportation and transportation, Magical problem solving, Negotiation, Strategic planning, Battlefield spellcasting

When the party encountered something mysterious, Tim was frequently one of the characters attempting to determine what was actually happening and why.

Leadership

Tim was at one point designated party leader by Effron.

This had significant consequences. Because Tim was the party leader, the Chosen established a magical connection that allowed them to scry on him through the Tower of Plinth's scrying pool and communicate with the party.

The party initially did not know that this connection existed, contributing to growing distrust of the Chosen.

Later, Quentin promoted Tim and Marcus to Senior Chosen, a rank equivalent to that of a Founder.

Investigation & Analysis

Tim repeatedly demonstrated a tendency to analyze unusual events rather than simply accepting them.

The Traveler

When the party encountered the mysterious Traveler, Tim noticed that The Traveler appeared to possess knowledge inconsistent with his apparent age.

He observed changes in the Traveler's voice and demeanor and concluded that the man was probably accessing some supernatural ability.

Tim hypothesized that the Traveler possessed a prophetic Chosen Power.

This is one of the clearest examples of Tim attempting to infer the underlying mechanics of an NPC's mysterious abilities from observable behavior.

Orinder

Tim similarly noticed a pattern in Orinder's behavior.

Orinder's power appeared to increase dramatically after using his unusual Raise Dead ability. Tim observed the pattern and concluded that the ability was probably usable approximately once per week.

Tim then developed the more ambitious hypothesis that Orinder might be the individual described in the prophecy as eventually becoming a god.

He told Orinder this directly.

Orinder rejected the idea and insisted that he was merely a humble cleric.

The Quest for the Cure

Tim played an important role in determining the party's next destination after learning about The Quest for the Cure.

The party discovered that the book had previously been kept in the Great Library of Aegea but had no corresponding record of it being transferred to the Great Library of Toreon.

Tim reasoned that Aegea had been destroyed relatively shortly before the city was flooded and therefore might not have been extensively looted.

Because the book was magical, he theorized that it might still be present somewhere in the submerged ruins.

This reasoning helped lead to the expedition to Aegea aboard the Sunchaser.

Magical Research

Tim was heavily involved in the party's magical preparations.

During preparations for the Aegea expedition, Tim and Smah spent weeks copying spells into their spellbooks and acquiring scrolls.

Tim also created a Boccob's Blessed Book, with assistance from Smah.

His willingness to devote substantial time and resources to expanding the party's magical capabilities was a recurring feature of his character.

Relationship with Beldin

Tim showed sympathy toward Beldin, a half-elf worshipper of another god who had entered Toreon illegally while seeking a healer for his dying mother.

Malachi regarded Beldin as a blasphemer.

Tim, however, approved of Beldin's decision to maintain his religious convictions.

Later, when the party encountered surrendered slaves in the gladiatorial arena, Bo chose to knock them unconscious rather than kill them.

Beldin subsequently dropped his weapon rather than participate in the killing.

Tim followed Beldin's lead and also dropped his weapon.

Beldin was eventually executed by Bishop Ward after refusing to renounce his beliefs.

This is a significant piece of evidence for Tim's Chaotic Good characterization, although his complete personality should not be inferred from this incident alone.

Relationship with the Chosen

Tim's relationship with the Chosen was complicated.

He:

1. Joined the Chosen.
2. Became party leader under Effron.
3. Was unknowingly subjected to magical surveillance because of his leadership position.
4. Became increasingly distrustful of the organization's secrecy.
5. Temporarily cooperated with Samos during the Toreon crisis.
6. Eventually returned to the Chosen.
7. Was promoted to Senior Chosen.

Thus, Tim ultimately remained affiliated with the Chosen despite having strong reasons to distrust them.

Samos

Tim played an active role in questioning Samos when the party was deciding whether to cooperate with him.

He asked practical questions concerning:

• Whether the party could continue its research
• Whether they could remain in Toreon
• What would happen if they refused to cooperate

Samos became increasingly irritated with Tim's questioning.

This reinforces the pattern of Tim wanting to understand the terms and consequences of a decision before committing to it.

Scholars & Negotiation

Tim also handled negotiations with scholars hired by the party.

The scholars complained that they were receiving too little information and demanded greater access or additional compensation.

Tim refused to provide information that he believed could not safely be disclosed.

The dispute eventually led to a Battle Chess wager.

After the party won, Tim and Doogan nevertheless negotiated a compromise: the scholars would receive only half their normal pay according to the wager, but would receive the withheld wages as a bonus if they completed the translation satisfactorily and on time.

The scholars were impressed with the arrangement.

This provides evidence that Tim could combine firmness with practical compromise.

Demetrius

Tim eventually selected Demetrius, a 4th-level bard, as his cohort through the Leadership feat.

Their relationship became significant.

As Demetrius became increasingly obsessed with the coming Messiah, Tim attempted to steer him away from sounding like a fanatic.

When Demetrius's behavior continued to change, Tim became suspicious that his cohort might no longer be completely trustworthy.

Later, Demetrius was killed by an adult red dragon. The death visibly affected Tim.

After being knocked unconscious by the dragon's fire and subsequently healed, Tim responded to Demetrius's death by attacking the dragon with Cone of Cold.

Demetrius was later raised by Orinder, and his experience of the afterlife became connected to the prophecy concerning the Messiah.

Detect Chosen

During the party's imprisonment in Toreon, the party discovered that their Detect Chosen abilities had somehow improved to match Tim's.

The others were consequently able to skip directly to the second round of detection.

The reason for Tim's superior version of the ability has not yet been determined.

Notable Combat Behavior

Tim was not merely a passive support caster.

During the adult red dragon encounter, he was caught in the dragon's fire and knocked unconscious after failing his saving throw.

After being healed, and after learning that Demetrius had been killed, Tim immediately attacked the dragon with Cone of Cold.

His combat magic appears to have been used flexibly according to circumstances rather than following a single narrowly defined damage specialization.

Characterization

Analytical

Tim repeatedly examined unusual behavior and supernatural events for patterns and underlying explanations.

Curious

He demonstrated a strong desire to understand mysterious people, powers, prophecies, and magical phenomena.

Practical

His questions to Samos and negotiations with the scholars demonstrate an emphasis on practical consequences rather than purely theoretical concerns.

Independent-minded

His sympathy toward Beldin and his complicated relationship with the Chosen are consistent with the reconstructed Chaotic Good alignment.

Eccentric

The character was deliberately inspired by the bizarre wizard persona of John Cleese's character from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The surviving campaign narrative, however, portrays Tim as much more competent and analytical than his inspiration's deliberately ridiculous presentation.

Protective / Personally invested

Tim's reaction to Demetrius's death indicates that his relationships with party members and followers could become personally meaningful.

Relationships

• Bo Duke — fellow Chosen and frequent scout.
• Smah Tepants — fellow wizard and research collaborator.
• Dew Gooder — cleric of Demmazon and fellow Chosen.
• Dugan Lifebrew — brewer and fellow Chosen.
• Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest — ranged specialist and fellow Chosen.
• Malachi — paladin of Demmazon.
• Kamal — later party member.
• Clowe — rogue and scout.
• Effron — made Tim party leader.
• Quentin — Senior Chosen authority.
• Marcus — promoted alongside Tim to Senior Chosen.
• Brother Tomlin — associated with the party's historical and magical research.
• Orinder — subject of Tim's theories concerning unusual power.
• The Traveler — subject of Tim's investigation into magical inconsistencies.
• Beldin — involved in questions of religion and independence.
• Samos — major source of conflict for the party.

Source Notes

Nate's Final Character Sheet

Tim-under the bus.pdf

This is the strongest source for the statistics actually recorded on the sheet, but it is not a comprehensive final character record.

Campaign Records

Session recaps, planning notes, previous character information, and other campaign sources remain necessary for:

• Hit points
• Complete equipment
• Chosen progression
• Abilities not written on the sheet
• Legacy-item history
• Spell history
• Campaign events and actions