Harry Clarke Bestiary Project: Jon Tatterdemalion

For Emmy Allen's Harry Clarke bestiary project

Jon Tatterdemalion

Armor Class: Unarmored
Hit Dice: 3 HD
Move: Double human
No. Appearing: 1
Attacks: See below
Morale: 10
Treasure: See below
Alignment: Neutral


A wanderer from an ancient land, hovering half a man's height or more above the desert sands with his feet never touching the ground. He was once married to a spirit of fire, but was exiled from her homestead for dalliances he only ever hints at. He spends his days searching for the stylites of Irem, City of Pillars, hoping to join them (and perhaps run away with their stolen knowledge).

Jon is guileful, haughty, gossipy, terribly intelligent, easy to flatter and difficult to fool.

If he is given a magical item, he will exchange it for another. There are no takebacks. On request, he may offer to teach a spell instead.

If attacked, he will surround himself in a whirlwind and fly away in the chaos. He may also create illusory copies of himself and throw his voice to further confuse matters.

He wears the Ghibli Cloak, which permits him to fly. If given clues towards Irem's location, he will give travelers strips of his cloak, which will slow their falls when held or worn.

Jon's ex-wife is...

1. Amassing armies against the greater outside world.
2. Really just glad he's gone, frankly.
3. A mercantile genius, head of every caravan in the desert.
4. A fragment of the sun, preparing to return home.
5. A mirage-illusion that slipped out of Jon's control.

Irem, City of Pillars, is...

1. A myth; it never existed.
2. Under new management. 
3. The hollowed-out shell of an underground megabeast.
4. Undergoing a bloody schism.
5. Filled with black magic goats for some reason.
6. Built upside down, with pillars reaching deep into the earth.

Jon is...

1. Not human and never has been.
2. Guilty of at least fifteen murders.
3. Avoiding creditors from the homeworld.
4. Excessively fond of prophetic limericks.
5. Cursed to speak backwards.
6. An escaped wizard's assistant.

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