DND Character Concept
An eccentric Tabaxi Wizard who makes a living studying and selling ancient magical artifacts - nothing unusual, except the strange sheen of golden spots on his snowy fur, and the lingering questions. Why does he know so much about ancient magical objects and customs, and yet so little about practical, modern magic?
Over the course of the adventure the party starts being targeted by a mysterious cult, one that seems to have the Wizard especially terrified. When he first hears rumours of them poking around the town they're in, he insists they take off to continue their travels as soon as possible. The party grows more suspicious as he hides his face in any confrontation with them, avoids casting magic or speaking of they're anywhere nearby, even in battle.
Eventually, their relentless pursuit and his paranoia culminate in the reveal - he's not an ex member, or their victim - he was their false idol.
The mortal body is nothing but an outer shell, a vessel in which the cult managed to trap an ancient, powerful magical entity. They stripped him of autonomy over his powers, locking them behind intricate magical rituals only they know how to perform. They presented those rites and ceremonies as "prayers" and used his magic to convince followers that their sacrifices and worship was making their wishes come true, performing "miracles" by tapping into the magical energy of the entity against his will.
After his escape, he remains near powerless - his magical energy is still within him, but he'd only ever harnessed it intuitively, inherently. With the channels blocked, the only way he can access even the smallest residual bits of it is to study as a Wizard from scratch, and to use artifacts - many of them sourced from his home realm - to supplement his powers.
