Jarmo Maulgrave - Characters

The last of the "Oregrove Goliaths", Jarmo was born to a clan of twenty enslaved giantborn miners in the North Mines. This group had escaped their imprisonment and traveled to Oregrove, a lush paradise within the crater of a long-inactive volcano in the Emberpeak Mountains. At its center was an oasis of rainwater pools, flora, fauna, and gorgeous volcanic rock; in their new home, they lived modestly, but they lived happily.

However, after some time, the goliaths began to mine the volcanic rock. This angered the Spirit of the volcano below, who Cursed them for turning to the very thing that once enslaved them. The skin of the clan became tough and stoney, expanding over weeks into thick stone. A young Jarmo escaped Oregrove to learn if the curse could be stopped, boarding a raft down the River Ashwater that flowed through the Sea of Trees and into the Astralwood.

Finding the young giantborn near-death, Ylyana the Starseer quickly diagnosed the curse manifesting in the near-dead boy. Alongside a circle of Archdruids, she manifested Tremair into a laurel-like Dreamweave Circlet, which was able to contain Jarmo's curse so long as it never left his head. In exchange for the powerful item, he agreed to assist with duties as a junior Keeper of the Astralwood Enclave, and reported directly to its head, the Woodswatcher Arbor Forrester. In its ranks, he found friends in Shakti of the Wildhunt and Ghalwin Forrester, who would eventually became his roommate and closest ally. He lived with the Keeper Ghalwin and Speaker Cormac Orcharder in the Eldertree, cooking meals for his roommates while spending his days studying and lifting heavy objects.

Months after his initiation, a scout from the enclave informed Jarmo that all of the giantborn had turned to stone; they were later dubbed the "Doomgolems". Jarmo believed that he was now the only unpetrified member, the last of the Doomgolems, and worked to avoid this fate and rescue his clan. He began to intensely study Alchemy, looking for properties he could use to permanently stave off the curse; in this journey, he discovered Hemocraft. Though considered dangerous by many Spellcasters, Ylyana had a vision and encouraged him to study the dark art. Over the course of years, Jarmo became the Enclave's first Blood Hunter.

Curse Of Strahd

In Curse Of Strahd, Jarmo was having a regular day of studying, cooking, and carpentry until he was central to a prophecy made by the archdruid Ylyana the Starseer. Alongside Shakti, and was sent to "fulfill his destiny" in the mists northeast of the Astralwood. Ghalwin secretly joined the two in cross-Realm adventure, and they were taken from the Vanishing Grove into the dread Demirealm of Barovia, where souls could never return.

They quickly came into contact with the Vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich, who nearly killed them all before Jarmo successfully begged for their lives in exchange for being bitten. Swearing to defeat Strahd and return to their homeland, the group began calling themselves Pack after adopting a stray Dog named Lancelot. They were accompanied by the noblewoman Ireena Kolyana, who Strahd obsessed over, and looked to bring her to safety from the Village of Barovia. Though Ireena could be obstinant and somewhat childish, Jarmo took a quick liking to her, and she responded in kind; the two fell in love during their travels.

At Tser Pool, he underwent a Tarokka Deck reading that told him vague descriptions of items and allies that would be needed to defeat Strahd. In this reading, he learned that an answer to his curse could be found in the Abbey of Saint Markovia. Adventuring through this land lead to many hardships for Jarmo, who narrowly avoided several near-death experiences as he made his way to Vallaki. Once in the town, he found out the identity of the famed monster hunter Rudolph van Richten, a fated ally indicated in their prophecy. The Pack assisted in saving Saint Andral's Orphanage from a deceitful Shadow Demon, learned the secrets of the Keepers of the Feather, and became an ally of the noble Vallakovich and Wachter families.

van Richten joined them in a quest to find the bones of Lugdana Andral, as their removal from Saint Andral's Church had unconsecrated the land. This investigation hastened an insidious plot already in motion, ending with Vampire Spawn tearing through the streets of Vallaki and the arrival of Strahd within the Vallaki Town Square. Strahd had been watching Jarmo, and was incensed that he "betrayed" him by courting Ireena.

The vampire lord charmed Jarmo and Ireena while Ghalwin and Shakti were busy dealing with vampire spawn on the other side of the square. He kidnapped her atop his Nightmare Beucephalus before removing Jarmo's Dreamweave Circlet. Both his best friends were forced to watch as Jarmo slowly turned to stone, finally succumbing to the curse of his family. His body remained in the square, petrified, until Ghalwin took his stone body to the altar below Saint Andral's Church.

January 30th, 2025 July 30th, 2026

Curse Of Strahd Continued

The Pack would end up decimated in the swamps of Berez, but Ghalwin survived, and regularly visited Jarmo to ensure his body had not been disturbed. The paladin joined a new adventuring group called the Heralds of Dawn, and this team was ultimately responsible for the Slaying Of Strahd.

July 11th, 2025 September 21st, 2025