Francis

Francis was born into a wealthy family, and spent his youth surrounded by luxury. Francis was known for wearing brightly colored clothing and participating in all activities typical of rich young men. However, after having an encounter with a beggar in the street, Francis began to reevaluate his life. Francis swore off his inheritance and left behind his wealthy lifestyle to seek a closer relationship with God through nature.

While praying in the ruins of a forgotten chapel in the mountains, Francis had a vision in which Jesus appeared to him and said “Francis, repair my Church.” Francis mistook this vision as a command to rebuild the ruined chapel, and spent years reconstructing it stone by stone. It was not until later that Francis understood that the actual meaning of the vision was a call to repair the Christian Church as a whole, which was falling into the corruption the politics of the Dark Ages. Francis spent the rest of his life repairing the Church not only through reformations within Christianity, but by building bridges between people of different faiths in a time filled with discrimination and religious violence.

Throughout all of this, Francis held a close relationship with nature. Despite his position of power as a Christian leader, Francis always wore a simple brown robe, tended to the plants in his garden, and was said to have had a special affinity with animals. According to legend, there was once a massive wolf that had been carrying out raids on a town called Gubbio. The Wolf of Gubbio had killed countless innocent people and the townsfolk appealed to Francis for help. Unarmed, Francis approached the den of the monster and commanded it to submit in the name of God.

The wolf bowed its head, and from that day forward lived among the people of Gubbio as their protector in order to atone for its past transgressions. It is said that Francis’s presence could still be felt in the mountains of Assisi hundreds of years after his death, as travelers report unusually friendly animals and abundantly fertile plant growth in the area of the ruined chapel that Francis rebuilt.

Francis

Medium Humanoid, Chaotic Good

Armor Class: 16 (hide armor)

Hit Points: 83 (15d8+15)

Speed: 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	20 (+5)	11 (+0)

Saving Throws: Int +6, Wis +10

Skills: Animal Handling +10, Nature +6, Perception +10

Senses: passive perception 20

Languages: Common, Druidic, Sylvan, Italian, Latin

Challenge: 11 (7,200 XP) Proficiency: +5

Features

Mighty Summoner: When Francis summons a creature, such as with Conjure Animals or Wolf of Gubbio, summoned creatures have 10 more hit points than they normally would, and their natural weapons are considered magic weapons.

Spellcasting: Francis is a 15th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (+10 to hit, DC 18), and he has the following druid spells prepared.

At will: druidcraft, mending, produce flame

1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, entangle, speak with animals

2nd level (3 slots): animal messenger, beast sense

3rd level (3 slots): conjure animals, speak with plants

4th level (3 slots): dominate beast, locate creature

5th level (2 slots): commune with nature, wrath of nature

6th level (1 slot): sunbeam, transport via plants

7th level (1 slot): fire storm

8th level (1 slot): control weather

Actions

Wolf of Gubbio (Recharges after Short or Long Rest): Francis summons a Dire Wolf, which appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet. While summoned, the wolf follows all of Francis’s commands without question. This wolf remains for one hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, or until dismissed as a bonus action. Once Francis has used this feature, he must finish a short or long rest before doing so again.

Azrael's Guide to the Apocalypse, printed page 235.