Kane

Kane was a human monk and the Grand Master of Flowers at the Monastery of the Yellow Rose in Damara.

Description
Kane appeared to be in his early 70s. He was wiry, but muscled. He had fraying white hair and beard. He dressed in simple rags and wore no jewelry other than a pair of magical rings. His belt was a simple length of rough rope, his sandals worn and threadbare, just as befitted an ascetic.

By 1484, Kane had transcended the restraints of the human body. He appeared very old, just skin and bones under a white robe.

Personality
Kane meditated at least four hours each day and practiced his skills for another four. Whenever he needed food or other items, he took the most menial jobs he could find, preferably involving hard physical labor. This preserved his sense of connection with the world.

At one point in time, according to some, Kane shared the position of "most dangerous man in all of the Bloodstone Lands" with Artemis Entreri.

Pre-Spellplague
In 1357 DR, Kane was recruited along with six other adventurers, Olwen Forest-Friend, Friar Dugald, Riordan Parnell, Celedon Kierney, Emelyn the Gray and Gareth Dragonsbane to protect Bloodstone Village from an army of bandits. After a difficult battle, in which Kane personally defeated the Grandfather of Assassins, the heroes prevailed and were next sent to investigate the recently abandoned Bloodstone Mines. At this point Kane was called back to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, and did not partake in the subsequent discovery of the temple of Orcus. The duergar of the temple were planning on gating in Orcus to the Material Plane, but Kane's friends foiled their plot by killing the duergar clerics before they could complete the summoning. They then helped set up a mining agreement with the svirfneblin living in the mines that ensured increased prosperity for the Barony of Bloodstone.

With Bloodstone now prosperous from the reopening of the mines, the town flourished. But then an assassination attempt on Gareth and the other adventurers now on the council of Bloodstone roused Kane and company to action once again. Following leads, Baron Tranth, father-in-law to Gareth, suspected that the attack was from the Duchy of Arcata, a theory proved when Arcata marched against Bloodstone soon afterwards. It was war. Arcata was added to the Bloodstone territory after a lightning counterattack on the city of Valls. With Arcata defeated, the Duchy of Carmathan joined the fray but were defeated as well. With this news, the Vaasan puppet baronies of Ostel, Morov, and Polten attacked, but lost to the armies of Bloodstone too. The territories of Damara had finally been united. The newly chosen Grandfather of Assassins, a close ally of Zhengyi the Witch-King, lured Kane and his party to his mountain stronghold, which could not possibly be taken by force. Brilliantly though, the adventurers snuck into the fortress disguised as assassins themselves and succeeded in neutralizing their threat. Unfortunately, this was the last straw for Zhengyi who amassed the armies of Vaasa to put down the impudent ones to the south.

The battle was held at Goliad, the scene of the greatest defeat for Damara in the first war with Vaasa. This time though, the Damaran army battled to a stalemate after it was realized that Zhengyi's undead troops could not move south of a certain line on the battlefield as it was too far from the magic that animated them in Vaasa. The mortal warriors were defeated and the Damaran army left the field of battle for Heliogabalus, where Gareth was soon crowned king of all Damara.

There was still an undead army waiting at the northern border and the Witch-King was still alive to threaten the new kingdom, however. Attacking Vaasa head-on would be suicidal, even if the armies they had at their disposal had not already been weakened in the battles of the past months, so it was up to Kane's party once again to save the day. The party traveled to Castle Perilous, where they defeated the demons there and three dragons that defended the place to reach Zhengyi himself. It was an epic battle, and Zhengyi was finally killed—Kane being the one to strike the fatal blow and freeing the Bloodstone Lands from the Witch-King.

Before his death, however, Zhengyi had teleported to another part of the castle, where he defended a portal to the Abyss with the last vestiges of his unlife. Saint Sollars, the patron saint of Bloodstone Pass, appeared to the party and informed them that Bahamut wanted to prevent Orcus, Zhengyi's patron, from getting to the Material Plane. They were tasked with traveling through the Abyss to the realm of Orcus, to where they were to steal his famed Wand of Orcus and deliver it to Bahamut in the Celestial Planes. Traveling through dozens of Abyssal layers, they finally made their way to Thanatos, where they snuck into the demon lord's castle and, utilizing a pre-organized distraction that lured Orcus away, stole the wand and fled to the Astral Plane. There, they were escorted by archons to Saint Sollars in Celestia. Told that only Bahamut could destroy the artifact, the party went to him and he then told them to steep it in the blood of Tiamat's heart. He transported them to where an avatar of Tiamat lay in wait; after a terrible battle, they killed her. The Wand was destroyed, leaving behind a gem, and then they were returned to Bahamut. Bahamut told Gareth to plant the gem in his castle's courtyard. Kane and the rest of Gareth's party were then returned to the Material Plane, victorious.

Zhengyi's undead crumbled without the Wand of Orcus, leaving only the surviving monstrous elements of his armies in various hiding places in Vaasa. The gem was planted and within two weeks it had sprouted into a 10-foot tall (3 meters) white tree with golden leaves. This tree was called the Tree-Gem of Bloodstone. It was from a branch of this tree that Kane later fashioned his formidable jo stick. With this adventure and war now over, Kane went back to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, where he eventually became Grand Master of Flowers, the head of the order.

It was rumored that Kane once battled one white and two red dragons. A brigade of King Gareth's warriors were fighting the three dragons at Great Fork Ford, and were about to lose. Kane rushed in, avoided fire and frost, and tricked the dragons into breathing upon each other. All three dragons suffered severe damage from their breaths, the blows of Kane, and the charge of Gareth's soldiers.

Post-Spellplague
In 1484 DR, Kane was residing at the Monastery of the Yellow Rose as the Grand Master of Flowers. He was the most highly regarded of the monks there, although he did not hold an active position. Somehow, he learned of events occurring in Luruar (the Darkening) and of Jarlaxle's attempts to get involved. He gave the monk Afafrenfere a diamond attached to a band to wear on his head and sent him with Jarlaxle to serve as his eyes, thus giving Afafrenfere the opportunity for penance for leaving the order to join Cavus Dun. After giving Afafrenfere the item, Kane disintegrated into diamonds; Afafrenfere was able to sense Kane in his mind.

Spysong
Kane led Spysong, a spy network of scouts ran together by Kane, Celedon Kierney, and Riordan Parnell. Spysong operated in Damarra, Vaasa, and the Galena Mountains. The network relayed information back to Gareth Dragonsbane and his allies about threats to the kingdom. Kane was the principle agent of Spysong in Vaasa and handled the long-range missions by way of his carpet of flying and spirit walking ability.

Combat
Kane fought in the style of kuo-toa, his body being his weapon.

Equipment

 * Carpet of flying, which also served as his meditation rug.
 * Jo Stick of the White Tree
 * A pair of magical rings, one of which allowed him to gain control of others' bodies.

Background
Kane first appeared as a pre-generated player-character in the 1985 ADnD BATTLE SYSTEM supermodule titled Bloodstone Pass by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. Kane continued to appear as a pre-generated character in the subsequent adventures: The Mines of Bloodstone, The Bloodstone Wars, and The Throne of Bloodstone.

Appearances

 * Sourcebooks:
 * Bloodstone Pass
 * The Mines of Bloodstone
 * The Bloodstone Wars
 * The Throne of Bloodstone
 * The Bloodstone Lands


 * Novels:
 * Road of the Patriarch
 * Rise of the King