STRENGTH: 9
DEXTERITY: 15
CONSTITUTION: 13
INTELLIGENCE: 18
WISDOM: 12
CHARISMA: 10
AC: 6
THAC0: 18
HIT POINTS: 24
ALIGNMENT: NG
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: 30% resistance to pleas for mercy
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6'4")

Weapon Proficiencies: Quarterstaff, Henchman.

Nonweapong Proficiencies: Spellcraft (16), Henchcraft (18), Ancient Languages (18), Reading/Writing (19), Forgery (15).

Appearance: Artax is a tall scarecrow of a man dressed in plain, green robes. His most oustanding feature is his navel-length moustache (which contains enough food particles from previsous meals to be the nutritional equivalent of one iron ration, if ingested).

Background: Artax comes from a long line of magicians, a few of them successful. Some of his ancestors went on to greatness in the field of magic, while others were lucky enough to have procreated before they spent a long night in the lab followed by a longer night in a temple's ICU.

As a lad, Artax decided to become a mage, learned in all schools of magic. (He wanted to be able to transform a carrot into a top hat, pull out a rabbit, immolate it with a fireball, and communicate with its spirit to see whether it wanted to be brought back as a chicken or a turtle.) Soon he found that the most powerful magics were found by adventurers, so he struck out to seek his fortune. He discovered that relying on four-sided Hit Dice to stay alive wasn't much of a bargain, so he sought out companions to aid his quest for power and glory.

The first bunch he hooked up with were consummate professionals. They evenly distributed wealth in the party, aided the helpless, and fought ancient evils. These weren't the folks Artax needed to hang with; power never came from even shares of anything, and the opponents they were going up against were downright dangerous! It was when the party was interviewing adventurers to replace a footman who had been mysteriously hit by lightning-Artax, the only witness to the death, swore a passing thunderstorm was to blame-that he met Yeagar. The party had just rejected Yeagar's application, which was good enough for Artax. The two have been together ever since.

Magical Items: Grimoire de Copperfield. This magical tome is of Artax's own design. Among the pages one can find many unique spells: Bigby's middle digit, power word: noogie, Mordenkainen's backscratcher, Kevorkian's rope trick, and Melf's marvelous meltdown. There is also a much sought-after leaf in his book described by sages only as "Miss October."

Wizard's hat of protection +4. This rare item grants the wearer magical defense against attack. IT appears as a small, green, conical hat, ordinary in every way. The item, available in all fashionable shops and fairs this fall, was designed for wizards who find bracers and rings a tad too obvious and overdone.

Roleplaying Notes: Artax is most interested in new kinds of magic and related lore. He isn't quite as combat-hungry as Yeagar, but he knows all too well that the best stuff is usually guarded by nasty things. Luckily, a henchman often comes in handy when one needs to deal with things that have large teeth and fire breath. As a mage, Artax doesn't hoard his spells, and he uses them freely in combat (which often results in collateral damage). As of yet, he hasn't learned any magecraft that requires the use of a henchman as a spell component.