Meet Sal Vation
For those of you that follow me on X (now under @WotCoasts) know that I love interacting with people and running surveys. Some time ago, I came up with some character concepts and everyone voted on would be my next character I played. Now the TMSynd is wrapping up Princess of Celene and running a few oneshots - I get to keep my promise….so allow me to introduce
Sal Vation
3rd-Level Cleric of Zagyg
“Groovin’ on Nature, Fightin’ Evil, Spreadin’ the Weird.”
Sal Vation (pronounced with great reverence as “Sal-va-SHUN”) insists he was personally “ordained” by Zagyg after a mystical, highly questionable experience involving a squirrel, a wheel of cheese, and a door that only appears on alternate Wednesdays. He tells this story loudly, proudly, and inconsistently—sometimes adding a raccoon, sometimes a choir of invisible frogs.
Originally born among the common folk in a tiny, muddy village outside Greyhawk, Sal was always what polite people call “different” and less polite people call “a walking misunderstanding.” He briefly served as an assistant to an assistant to an assistant cleric in the Temple of Zagyg, mostly sweeping up divine confetti and refilling holy whoopee cushions. But Sal dreamed of a higher calling—a calling involving enlightenment, travel, and far fewer supervisors.
One fateful night, after meditating atop a tavern roof (he claims this was intentional; eyewitnesses insist he was locked out), Sal gazed at the stars and felt the universe wiggle at him. A glowing raccoon offered him a puff of “sacred moss,” and in that moment Sal achieved what he proudly calls “Spiritual Groove Alignment.”
When he awoke the next morning in the tavern’s compost barrel, he knew without question that Zagyg had chosen him to spread joyful chaos across the world.
A Traveling Cleric Loved by the Common Folk
Sal wanders the roads of the Flanaess, preaching Zagyg’s glorious weirdness and “groovin’ on Nature.” He dresses in layered, mismatched robes decorated with ribbons, leaves, twigs, and occasionally a live frog (“Holy Hitchhikers,” he calls them).
Despite his eccentricity—or perhaps because of it—common folk absolutely adore him.
He speaks their language, literally and spiritually. He shares their fires, blesses their crops in ways that may or may not work, and tells long stories that end with profound lessons such as:
“Be kind, ’cause you never know when that chicken is actually a wizard.”
“Nature is your friend, unless it’s tryin’ to kill you—then it’s extended family.”
Sal’s sincerity earns him a rare gift:
🌾 Rustic Hospitality
Sal comes from humble roots, and because of that, he fits in effortlessly among peasants, laborers, farmers, and tavern regulars everywhere he goes. Wherever he wanders—from the Greenway Valley to the outskirts of Verbobonc—there’s always a cousin of a cousin or a friend of a friend who’ll say:
“Oh, Sal Vation? He’s harmless. Let ’im in. Give ’im a bowl of stew.”
Commoners offer him haylofts to sleep in, barns to hide in, and meals to share. More than once, whole villages have banded together to mislead the law on his behalf, saying things like:
“No, sir, we ain’t seen no holy man covered in leaves… Certainly not that fella snorin’ behind the turnip crates.”
They won’t risk their lives for him, but they will risk inconvenience, mild annoyance, and the occasional white lie.
Sal considers this a sign that Zagyg smiles upon him—because after all, what greater miracle is there than free lodging?
His Divine Arsenal
Though Sal calls himself “a peaceful spiritual guide,” he solves most problems with one of two things:
His spike club, “The Persuader”
Druidic-style nature magic he insists Zagyg invented first
He uses:
Thorn Whip – “Zagyg’s Holy Yo-Yo of Righteous Reprimandin’”
Barkskin – “Natural armor, and also fashionable”
Spike Growth – “Earth givin’ evil a real pointy back massage they didn’t ask for”
Combined with his cheerful humming, it's unsettlingly effective.
Eccentric Habits Include:
Trying to convert wild animals by handing them tiny pamphlets
Blessing each tree individually, loudly, and sometimes twice
Staring at clouds and muttering, “That one knows somethin’…”
Keeping a journal titled “Zagyg’s Hidden Messages in Mushrooms”
Asking necromancers if they’ve “tried just chillin’, maybe takin’ a walk?”
Why Sal Adventurers
Sal believes it is his destiny to:
“Bring the Holy Groove of Zagyg to all corners of the world - even the corners that don’t wanna be grooved.”
He joins adventuring parties to fight evil, uplift the simple folk, commune with nature, experiment with hallucinogenic fungi, and spread enlightenment that is either profound or profoundly confusing.
His ultimate dream is to establish:
The First Reformed Church of the Holy Groove
A temple open to all creatures great and small, especially those who bring snacks and don’t mind frogs.
