Death Hermit

Overview
A strange, little man who has developed a method for defeating death.

Physical Appearance
A small, hunched figure of a man, whose dirty appearance and foul odor give the impression of not having bathed in a long time. He makes quick, sudden movements, like those of a dog, and walks low to the ground, which further adds to that impression.

Personality
He is utterly obsessed with death, and particularly how to defeat it. He considers death an entity like any other that can be studied, understood, and ultimately defeated. He has spent so much time around the deceased in his studies that he can tell, just by smell, the race of the deceased as well as cause and time of death with stunning accuracy. His habits have made him a social outcast, and he has little, if any, in the ways of social skills and mannerisms, but is always happy to help someone in need of finding a way of "giving death the finger."

Backstory
While his history is unclear, he has mentioned that he has been dead on more than one occasion, and each time had successfully returned himself to life. He had developed a way of pulling his soul back to his body from the Land of the Dead, and even developed a method of visiting this land using a mixture of herbs and druidic symbols. He has helped other using his methods in attempts to revive friends and loved ones, but few return alive from the Land of the Dead.

Campaign Log
After the death of Aravo Zacksted, the Party still had some hope that Aravo could be saved. The hermit approached the party and sniffed the bag containing Aravo's corpse. After realizing the party's intentions of reviving thier falling comrade, he offered his assistance as someone who had defeated death before. He led them to his cabin, where he gave the party some of his herbs and instructed them to sit in the druidic circles. The herbs, he explained, would allow the party to visit the Land of the Dead and bring back the soul of Aravo.

They did as he said and succeeded in the revival. Unfortunetly, they were followed back by a malicious spirit, which the hermit had failed to mention as a possibility until it was too late. The spirit took possession of one of the corpses in the back of the cabin and the party was forced to destroy it. Marcus Hildebrand warned the hermit that he was lucky that he had just helped them, otherwise they would not be leaving on "friendly" terms.

As they parted, Sam Fariman bought some of the herbs from the hermit, with intention to see the "other effects" causing by smoking them.