Naelith Duneshaper

Naelith Duneshaper — The Primal Caster (Building Toward Shamanism)

Sand Elf expedition guide and spirit-negotiator from the Jazirah interior, now ranging north.

Naelith has been outside the Jazirah for eleven years, following the planar disturbance north in the way that a healer follows a disease, not to study it, but to do something about its effects on the people caught in it. She is not a military figure. She is not formally religious, though she acknowledges Kraut with the first food of any meal and is careful about rivers. She negotiates with the elemental and spiritual presences that most travelers either ignore or fear, and she has a talent for finding terms that hold.

She is mobile, perceptive, and cast in both the Primal and (at rank 1) the Divine tradition; the foundation for Shamanism, the combined tradition that will define her at higher levels. Right now she is a skilled wilderness operator with unusual capabilities and a SAV 4 that makes her very hard to surprise.

Species: Sand Elf (Aelvar-Dunar)    Background: Wilderness    Career: Expedition Member

Patron Deity: Kraut (Positive alignment); required because she holds Divine 1+

Sand Elf special abilities: Keen Senses (remove 1 Bane Die from all Perception and Readiness checks; never Surprised unless attacker beat a Stealth check first); Long Memory (once per session, free Lore check on any topic within elven experience; additional uses cost 2 Strain); Desert-Adapted (no strain or penalties from heat exhaustion, dehydration, or arid conditions; remove 2 Bane Dice from Survival and navigation checks in desert or arid terrain); Eye Membrane (remove all Bane Dice added by bright light, glare, airborne dust, or visual impediments to Perception checks).

Characteristics: Sand Elf base (MIG 2, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 3, WIL 3, CHA 2). Free swap: SAV +1 → 4, CHA −1 → 1.

Note: Keen Senses means Naelith is never Surprised unless an attacker specifically beat a Stealth check against her first.

Skills

Sand Elf free skill rank (no XP): Survival 1.

Talents

• Specialist (Primal (drawing on elemental sources) [Free Starting Talent, Tier 1]) Once per scene on a Primal casting check involving an elemental or natural source, upgrade one Ability Die to a Mastery Die (or add 1 Boon if none available).
• Wayfarer [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Remove 1 Bane Die from Survival checks involving travel, shelter, food, water, or route-finding in natural terrain.
• Cool Head [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Remove 1 Bane Die from Readiness checks to resist panic, surprise, fear, or being caught off guard.

Equipment

XP Accounting

Suggested Advancement

• Divine rank 2 (15 XP, out-of-profession): Buy this first. The Shaman talent only needs Divine 1, but every Shamanism spell requires at least Divine 2 and Primal 2, so the talent does nothing for Naelith until Divine reaches 2. This purchase also lifts her Shamanism casting rank from 1 to 2 (floor of the average of Primal 2 and Divine 2).

• Shaman rank 1; Initiate (5 XP): Buy this second, once Divine is at 2. Naelith can then learn and cast Scout Spirit and Spirit Drum immediately. Together with Divine 2 this spends 20 of her 25 banked XP and makes her a working shaman from her first session of advancement.

• Adventuring Lore rank 1 (5 XP, profession): The last 5 XP in the bank. It is the only other prerequisite standing between her and Wild Tongue, the Shamanism spell that lets her speak with beasts and spirits of the wild.

• Survival rank 3 (15 XP, profession, after play): The wilderness expertise that everything else hangs on. No one who does what Naelith does should have a Survival rank below 4 by mid-campaign.

Zurgan Dakrim — The Shot Nobody Saw

Dakrim clan orc out of the Antaean frontier, hired north into Irna as a contract skirmisher and route-watcher.

Zurgan took his Urgnak at sixteen in an Antaean border camp and spent the following nine years doing the work his clan is known for: walking ahead of the warband, leaving signs where they would be found, and putting one arrow into the one person whose death would make a fight unnecessary. The Greyfang tradition regards Dakrim methods as adjacent to cowardice and hires them anyway, which Zurgan understands as the same arrangement every orc outside Grakkan doctrine eventually learns to live inside.

He came north on a route-watching contract for a Frosthaven shipping factor and stayed because the frontier here is stranger and pays better. He is not talkative. He is not gentle. He does answer questions honestly when asked directly, which surprises people who have decided what an orc is before he has spoken.

Species: Orc (Dakrim clan)    Background: Wilderness    Career: Archer

Patron Deity: None

Orc special abilities: Relentless (reduce Critical Injury results by 10, minimum 1; once per encounter, when reduced to 0 Wounds, spend 2 Strain to remain at 1 Wound); Warrior's Rush (move toward and attack an enemy in the same turn to add +1 damage and the Knockdown quality; first attack only); Tusked (+1 damage on Unarmed checks; add 1 Boon Die to Intimidation checks involving visible physical presence). Dakrim clan: free Stealth rank in place of Intimidation, and The Fear Arrives First (add 1 Boon Die to Intimidation checks against any target who has not yet seen you fight this encounter).

Characteristics: Orc base (MIG 3, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 2, WIL 3, CHA 2). Free swap: AGI +1 → 3, CHA −1 → 1.

Skills

Dakrim clan free skill rank (no XP): Stealth 1.

Talents

• Steady Aim [Free Starting Talent, Marksman rank 1 (requires Light Ranged 1+)] The Boon Die granted by the Aim Maneuver is not lost when you spend your second Maneuver on something other than moving. Remove 1 Bane Die imposed by intervening allies, partial cover, or a moving platform.
• Keen Eye [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Once per scene, remove 1 Bane Die from a Perception check caused by poor visibility, distance, or concealment.
• Fast Hands [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Once per turn, draw, stow, or retrieve one accessible item as a Quick Action. Zurgan uses this to reach the broadhead quiver without giving up his Aim.

Equipment

Gear is the Wanderer package from Chapter Eight with the shortbow traded up to a longbow, the equivalent-package substitution that chapter permits with GM approval. The broadhead quiver comes out of starting funds at 4 gold flargons.

XP Accounting

Orc starting XP is 85.

Suggested Advancement

• Marksman rank 2; Practiced Reload (10 XP; requires Marksman rank 1, already held): Reduce the Slow-Firing rating of any ranged weapon by 1, and clear the Out of Ammo condition with a Maneuver instead of an Action. Buy this first. It is what turns a good shot into a shooter who never stops shooting.
• Precise Strike (Tier 2 universal, 10 XP; requires 2 XP-purchased Tier 1 talents, Keen Eye and Fast Hands, already met): Add 1 Boon Die and reduce the weapon's Crit rating by 1 against a target who is unaware of you or engaged elsewhere. This is Dakrim doctrine written as a talent.
• Light Ranged rank 3 (15 XP, profession, after play): The next real threshold for the bow. Everything Zurgan does is downstream of this number.

Tessolina De Ravollo — The Lockwise

Unaffiliated gnome out of Passhall, expelled from the Tinkerer Guild at ninety-one, working The Crown ever since.

The De Ravollos have held warehouse leases on Passhall's third quay since the Rhodars were still counting their first fortune, and Tessolina was apprenticed into a Tinkerer Guild lockwright's shop at forty because that is what a coastal trading family does with a child who takes the cabinet hinges apart. She was expelled fifty-one years later for opening a master's demonstration piece in front of witnesses without being invited to, which the guild recorded as theft of technique and which Tessolina still describes as a review.

She is in The Crown because The Crown has the highest concentration of things worth opening and the highest density of surveillance on the continent, and she finds the second fact more interesting than the first. She takes contracts. She does not take contracts that involve killing anyone, not on principle, but because a body changes how hard people look for you afterward.

Species: Gnome (Unaffiliated)    Background: Criminal    Career: Thief

Patron Deity: None

Gnome special abilities: Fine Motor Mastery (add 1 Boon Die to all checks involving delicate manipulation, instrument use, lockwork, mechanism repair, or any action where quality of touch matters more than force); Guild Expertise (once per session, a free Average Lore or Craft check on a topic inside the guild's domain; further uses cost 2 Strain); Insatiable Curiosity (once per scene, spend a Quick Action to observe a mechanism, creature, or situation for one round and ask the GM one specific question about how it functions or where it is weak).

Characteristics: Gnome base (MIG 2, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 2, WIL 3, CHA 3). Free swap: AGI +1 → 3, CHA −1 → 2.

Note: Fine Motor Mastery adds a Boon Die to every Subterfuge check against a lock or a mechanical trap, on top of Lockwise. Tessolina's lockwork is the best in most parties by a wide margin.

Skills

Gnome free skill rank (no XP): Streetwise 1, granted for Unaffiliated standing.

Talents

• Lockwise [Free Starting Talent, Rogue rank 1 (requires Subterfuge 1+)] Remove 1 Bane Die from Subterfuge checks to open locks, disarm mechanical traps, or bypass physical security. Improvised tools add 1 Bane Die to such checks instead of the usual two.
• Fast Hands [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Once per turn, draw, stow, or retrieve one accessible item as a Quick Action.
• Keen Eye [Tier 1, 5 XP]; Once per scene, remove 1 Bane Die from a Perception check caused by poor visibility, distance, or concealment.

Equipment

Gear is the Rogue package from Chapter Eight, taken as written.

XP Accounting

Gnome starting XP is 85.

Suggested Advancement

• Rogue rank 2; Trapwise (10 XP; requires Rogue rank 1, already held): Once per scene, ask the GM whether a mechanical trap, alarm, or triggered ward is present within Short range. Buy this first. It is the difference between a thief who opens things and a thief the party survives following.
• Low Profile (Tier 2 universal, 10 XP; requires 2 XP-purchased Tier 1 talents, Fast Hands and Keen Eye, already met): Remove 1 Bane Die from Stealth or Subterfuge checks to avoid attention in crowds or busy public areas. The Crown is crowds.
• Craft rank 1 (10 XP, out-of-profession, after play): The half of the lockwright apprenticeship the guild ended early. Fine Motor Mastery is already adding a Boon Die to the check; the rank is what lets her build the thing instead of only opening it.

Karrun Truce-Holder — The Envoy

Goliath from the high plateau north of Frosthaven, carrying credentials from a highland compact that most of The Crown has never heard of.

Karrun earned his adult name at nineteen and has spent the twenty-two years since doing the same work in progressively larger rooms: first between plateau communities, then between the plateau and Frosthaven's regional court, and now in The Crown, where the highland compact keeps a small office and no reputation at all. He is the office. The credentials he carries are genuine and almost worthless, and he has learned that a real letter from a small power opens roughly as many doors as an obvious forgery from a large one.

He does not perform warmth. He asks who actually holds authority in a room and then talks to that person, which unsettles people accustomed to being flattered first. He is also eight feet of blue-green density with Might 3 and sixteen Wound Points, and every table he sits at has quietly noticed.

Species: Goliath    Background: Rural    Career: Diplomat

Patron Deity: None

Goliath special abilities: Mountain-Born (no penalties from altitude, thin air, cold, or highland hazards; mountain terrain is not difficult terrain); Dense Frame (+1 Resistance, stacks with armor; upgrade the difficulty of any check to grapple, push, knock down, or reposition him once); Deed-Name Drive (once per session, on an action that could plausibly be deed-worthy, including a high-stakes negotiation, spend 2 Strain before rolling to treat one net Failure as a Success); Tactical Positioning (a free Easy Perception check on entering a location to find the strongest position, and 1 Boon Die to combat checks from a position held a full round); Large Frame (1 Bane Die in genuinely confined spaces; dwarven and gnomish interiors are effectively closed to him).

Characteristics: Goliath base (MIG 4, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 3, WIL 2, CHA 2). Free swap: CHA +1 → 3, MIG −1 → 3.

Note: Deed-Name Drive is the reason Karrun has 14 Strain rather than 12. Turning a failed negotiation into a success costs 2 Strain, and he expects to pay it.

Skills

Goliath free skill rank (no XP): Athletics 1.

Talents

• Read the Room [Free Starting Talent, Envoy rank 1 (requires Charm 1+ or Negotiation 1+)] Once per scene, on entering a social situation, ask the GM one of these about one person present: who actually holds authority here, who is afraid, or who wants something from us. You receive an honest answer about that one person.
• Helpful [Tier 1, 5 XP]; When you assist, your help counts as two dice instead of one (+2 Boon, or +1 Boon and +1 Ability if your relevant skill is higher).
• Steadfast [Tier 1, 5 XP]; +2 Strain Points (total Strain Points: 14).

Equipment

Chapter Eight has no diplomat package. This is a GM-approved equivalent kit built from the Scholar package's non-arcane half, and the short sword and padded coat are bought from starting funds at 10 gold flargons.

XP Accounting

Goliath starting XP is 70, the smallest budget in this chapter. The species package is worth the difference.

Suggested Advancement

• Envoy rank 2; Right Words, Right Person (10 XP; requires Envoy rank 1, already held): Spend a Maneuver to address one named NPC, and the next Charm, Negotiation, or Leadership check against them this scene, yours or a named ally's, adds 1 Boon Die. This spends the whole bank and is worth it.
• Convincing (Tier 2 universal, 10 XP; requires 2 XP-purchased Tier 1 talents, Helpful and Steadfast, already met): Add 1 Boon Die to Charm, Deception, or Negotiation when you have a plausible argument, a credible disguise, or a fair offer. Karrun almost always has a fair offer.
• Leadership rank 2 (10 XP, profession, after play): Speaking for a compact is one job. Directing the party when the talking has failed is a different one, and Charisma 3 makes him the best candidate at the table.