LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin dropped into a seat as she listened to Ridahne hum. The human couldn’t help the smile that graced her features. She didn’t want to help it. Ridahne humming was officially one of the best sounds in the world. She sprawled her torso across what little of the table was bare to soak in the sound and atmosphere. This place was peaceful, and Darin knew that she would grow to cherish happy little memories like this one. She did rise up a little as the Azurei mentioned the guardians that would come after her. That wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t wrong, but Ridahne would be the only one to wear the Guardian mark that she was designing. It was the Seed-Chained mark that others of all races and creeds would wear.

Darin’s voice desperately kept her voice light so she wouldn’t sound accusatory, “You know The Gardener had a Guardian, right?” She gave her head a shake as she pointed out, “And none of the Children of Astra remember them.” The Seed-Bearer gave a half shrug, “The only ones who carried the memory of them though the countless years were The Gardener and The Tree. I never learned their name, but The Tree told me a little about them.” Darin held up to fingers, “There should be two marks. The mark for Guardian is one you and you alone will wear. The mark for Seed-Chained is one that you are only the first to bear. There will be others, of all the Children of Astra.”

That lead Darin to a thought she hadn’t thought about. Seed-Chained wasn’t the only title and responsibility that The Seed-Bearer had to give. In fact, she had already given one to one man and planed to give it to others, Seed-Friend. To be a Seed-Friend was a lighter burden than that of Seed-Chained, but there was less, well, less potential honor. To be Seed-Chained was to have a chance to become Seed-Honored. Then there was the one that Darin hoped she never had to use, Seed-Cursed. There were two titles and two half titles that Darin had the power to give and there was a whole hierarchy that Darin had problems explaining even inside of her own head. Then her heart skipped a beat as she remembered that she had missed a title. She was The Seed-Bearer. That didn’t even account for the fact that when she inevitably became The Gardener the titles would shift to, Tree-Chained, Tree-Honored, Tree-Friend, and Tree-Cursed.

She gave her head a shake as she tried to explain to Ridahne, “And that is only half a title. To be Seed-Chained is to have the potential to be Seed-Honored. The mark for Seed-Chained needs to be white so it can be gone over in black.” She was insistent, “If it is possible for a tattoo to be completely covered the mark for Seed-Chained and Seed-Honored need to be exactly the same, save one in white and one in black. Seed-Honored needs to cover Seed-Chained completely. When you are finally redeemed you sin will be forgotten.” She looked RIdahne dead in the eyes, “It will not be allowed to be remembered by anyone.” She slumped back down, “Both titles belong to a family. There is also Seed-Friend and Seed-Cursed.” She swallowed nervously as she finished the family, “And of course The Seed-Bearer.” She didn’t seem so sure, “We need to come up with marks for those as well; all black. Yet it can’t just be for tattoos. There is one Seed-Friend right now. They are Eluri. I plan on making at least one human a Seed-Friend. Black is universal though. The marks should still be wearable.” Her next statement was barely a whisper, “The Seed-Bearer’s mark.” She swallowed drily before starting again, “My mark should be green. I know that it is not an Azurei color, but it is an Astran color.”

Darin couldn’t look at Ridahne anymore. What would the Azurei think of those declarations? Darin had just turned the task of crafting a new Oijh mark into crafting symbols for what basically amounted to, for lack of better words, her court. Yet Darin had no one else she could trust with this. She had no one who understood the importance of symbols. She wasn’t putting the task solely on Ridahne though. Darin wanted to help. She just wasn’t sure how. She finally forced herself to look at Ridahne. Darin couldn’t help but feel like she was being completely unfair. Yet there was a task to be done. Ridahne was already doing part of it. Darin could, and wanted to, help.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

Awesome. Thanks so much.

Can someone let me know if the picture in the charater tab is working?

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

Katrina Valance

Name(s):
Katrina Valance


Wait! I think I have one more! Wait. Wait! I have another. Wait! I lied. I still have more. Okay. I think that’s the last one. No! I forgot about this one.

Age:
Katrina is 26

Gender:
Katrina is female.

Race:
Katrina is definitely human.

Appearance:
If a passerby was to get one quick glance at Katrina, they would assume that she wasn’t dangerous and quickly disregard her. A second glance might revel the truth. She has grey eyes that go from unassuming to deadly in a literal blink of an eye. She is taller than even some men standing at 6 feet even in bare feet. She has a lithe fit physique that indicates years if not decades or physical training. Her hands are covered in callouses. When loose her think brown hair falls to her waist, but most of the time it is collected in a halo braid atop her head. She wears cotton pants as well as a cotton blouse. Over this she wears a steel breastplate, steel bracers, and steel knee high boots. Her coat is held in place with a leather shoulder pad. It is a heavy outfit that she wears with ease.

Personality:
Katrina is a private person that speaks only when spoken to. Even then she tends to speak only if her opinion is asked for or a response is necessary. Some find this disarming and she uses it to her advantage. Her thoughts tend to be sarcastic, cynical, and full of dry wit. She thinks over everything she says to ensure that this mostly rude thoughts do not slip out on accident. When they do, she physically cringes, but rarely apologizes. She simply moves on. She tends to do a job while others are in the middle of discussing it. She will simply do what needs doing. She has been caught helping down on their luck farmers for a day or two, handing beggar children sweets and coins, and bandaging up injured animals. She brushes off compliments and praise while inwardly screeching in terror while receiving them.

Class/Skills
Katrina is a fighter or possibly a ranger. She fights things with her fists and the variety of weapons she has on her person. She knows practically nothing of magic. Her fighting style is less head on and more duck and weave. She does her best to avoid being hit as she waits for the perfect moment to strike. When she strikes it is will almost deadly precision and staggering strength. That being said she is human. She falls prey to fatigue, hunger, thirst, and blood loss. She can go a longer than most humans and even if she is afraid of something, she will do her best to brush it off to continue the fight. Eventually she will succumb to physical and mental fatigue. She knows a wide range of martial styles and is proficient at almost all of them.

Equipment:
What weapons does Katrina not have? She has long thin knifes tuck into both sides of both her boots as well as thin sabers on both her calves. Then she has a pouch of throwing knifes on the outside of both her thighs. Attached to her right hip is a leather whip. Her left hip sports two swords, one a rapier, the other a gladius. Attached to the small of her back is a box containing a length of chain. Attached to the end of this chain is a battle fan. Various pockets on the outside of her coat contain smoke bombs of assorted sizes. The pockets on the inside of her pockets spot let more knives in a variety of shapes and lengths. She also keeps a few spearheads in there. On the inside of both her forearms short bo staffs are strapped. A twist of the base of both these staffs will reveal small blades. Attached to her wrists are grappling wire that she can shoot out to gain height, but respooling the wire is no fun. At her mid back are two short swords. Across her whole back is a broad sword as well as a quiver of arrows. She carries the short bow. She wears a set of knuckledusters on her left fingers, and a ring with a poisoned spike in it on her right pointer. Around her neck is a length of chain with a heavy weight on the end that she can unhook and use to beat people with. When her hair is braided in its customary halo there are several pointed hairpins, both metal and wood, placed into it. This is a short list. She’s that one person when you ask them to leave all of their weapons at the door you will both be standing there for at least ten minutes as she keeps remembering more things. If there is a space on her person that isn’t taken up by a weapon it’s simply because she hasn’t figured out how to put one there. Yet.

Other than the practical armory, Katrina has a small traveling pack that contains things like a sewing kit, a fork, knife, and plate, a basic bedroll, and basic stationary. It also has yet more knifes and everything she needs to keep her weapons in perfect working order. She also has a waterskin and basic spices. Besides her weapons she has just enough to survive till she gets to the next town. She also has a handful coins.

There is also Rolf, her hawk, that she took in when he still had his down feathers. She raised him and the hawk imprinted on her. She has trained him to hunt rabbits for dinner and to claw out the eyes of her enemies.

History:
Katrina Valance began training to be a monster hunter as soon as she could walk. She does not know if the person that raise her if actually related to her or not. All she knows is that the man that called himself her uncle was cruel and demanding. Mistakes were not tolerated and punished swiftly. She quickly learned to strive for perfection. As such she knows that she is good at what she does. When she was 18, she was given her first assignment. She was more successful than anyone thought she would be. She was given several more assignments. At 21 she left during the middle of an assignment and never looked back. Now she takes odd jobs in order to stay away from her so called family. Since she is not part of a guild she can’t charge as much for her skills as they are worth. Still, she doesn’t want to be connected to anyone ever again.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

@Tsar Gatto

Katrina Valance

Name(s):
Katrina Valance


Wait! I think I have one more! Wait. Wait! I have another. Wait! I lied. I still have more. Okay. I think that’s the last one. No! I forgot about this one.

Age:
Katrina is 26

Gender:
Katrina is female.

Race:
Katrina is definitely human.

Appearance:
If a passerby was to get one quick glance at Katrina, they would assume that she wasn’t dangerous and quickly disregard her. A second glance might revel the truth. She has grey eyes that go from unassuming to deadly in a literal blink of an eye. She is taller than even some men standing at 6 feet even in bare feet. She has a lithe fit physique that indicates years if not decades or physical training. Her hands are covered in callouses. When loose her think brown hair falls to her waist, but most of the time it is collected in a halo braid atop her head. She wears cotton pants as well as a cotton blouse. Over this she wears a steel breastplate, steel bracers, and steel knee high boots. Her coat is held in place with a leather shoulder pad. It is a heavy outfit that she wears with ease.

Personality:
Katrina is a private person that speaks only when spoken to. Even then she tends to speak only if her opinion is asked for or a response is necessary. Some find this disarming and she uses it to her advantage. Her thoughts tend to be sarcastic, cynical, and full of dry wit. She thinks over everything she says to ensure that this mostly rude thoughts do not slip out on accident. When they do, she physically cringes, but rarely apologizes. She simply moves on. She tends to do a job while others are in the middle of discussing it. She will simply do what needs doing. She has been caught helping down on their luck farmers for a day or two, handing beggar children sweets and coins, and bandaging up injured animals. She brushes off compliments and praise while inwardly screeching in terror while receiving them.

Class/Skills
Katrina is a fighter or possibly a ranger. She fights things with her fists and the variety of weapons she has on her person. She knows practically nothing of magic. Her fighting style is less head on and more duck and weave. She does her best to avoid being hit as she waits for the perfect moment to strike. When she strikes it is will almost deadly precision and staggering strength. That being said she is human. She falls prey to fatigue, hunger, thirst, and blood loss. She can go a longer than most humans and even if she is afraid of something, she will do her best to brush it off to continue the fight. Eventually she will succumb to physical and mental fatigue. She knows a wide range of martial styles and is proficient at almost all of them.

Equipment:
What weapons does Katrina not have? She has long thin knifes tuck into both sides of both her boots as well as thin sabers on both her calves. Then she has a pouch of throwing knifes on the outside of both her thighs. Attached to her right hip is a leather whip. Her left hip sports two swords, one a rapier, the other a gladius. Attached to the small of her back is a box containing a length of chain. Attached to the end of this chain is a battle fan. Various pockets on the outside of her coat contain smoke bombs of assorted sizes. The pockets on the inside of her pockets spot let more knives in a variety of shapes and lengths. She also keeps a few spearheads in there. On the inside of both her forearms short bo staffs are strapped. A twist of the base of both these staffs will reveal small blades. Attached to her wrists are grappling wire that she can shoot out to gain height, but respooling the wire is no fun. At her mid back are two short swords. Across her whole back is a broad sword as well as a quiver of arrows. She carries the short bow. She wears a set of knuckledusters on her left fingers, and a ring with a poisoned spike in it on her right pointer. Around her neck is a length of chain with a heavy weight on the end that she can unhook and use to beat people with. When her hair is braided in its customary halo there are several pointed hairpins, both metal and wood, placed into it. This is a short list. She’s that one person when you ask them to leave all of their weapons at the door you will both be standing there for at least ten minutes as she keeps remembering more things. If there is a space on her person that isn’t taken up by a weapon it’s simply because she hasn’t figured out how to put one there. Yet.

Other than the practical armory, Katrina has a small traveling pack that contains things like a sewing kit, a fork, knife, and plate, a basic bedroll, and basic stationary. It also has yet more knifes and everything she needs to keep her weapons in perfect working order. She also has a waterskin and basic spices. Besides her weapons she has just enough to survive till she gets to the next town. She also has a handful coins.

There is also Rolf, her hawk, that she took in when he still had his down feathers. She raised him and the hawk imprinted on her. She has trained him to hunt rabbits for dinner and to claw out the eyes of her enemies.

History:
Katrina Valance began training to be a monster hunter as soon as she could walk. She does not know if the person that raise her if actually related to her or not. All she knows is that the man that called himself her uncle was cruel and demanding. Mistakes were not tolerated and punished swiftly. She quickly learned to strive for perfection. As such she knows that she is good at what she does. When she was 18, she was given her first assignment. She was more successful than anyone thought she would be. She was given several more assignments. At 21 she left during the middle of an assignment and never looked back. Now she takes odd jobs in order to stay away from her so called family. Since she is not part of a guild she can’t charge as much for her skills as they are worth. Still, she doesn’t want to be connected to anyone ever again.

I will totally take out the hawk if I need to. I am also open to constructive criticism.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

@Tsar Gatto

I have thought long, though not too long, and hard, super hard for sure, and I don't think that Maggie would be a good fit for this. Magic is an intrinsic part of her that it seems, at least to me, wrong to try to limit her magic or make it a secondary weapon. Out of respect to your vision I think it would be better to just return Maggie to the shelf for the time being.

That being said, I would still like to be a part of this campaign. Would you be alright with be crafting a character that's basically that cliche where when told to leave their weapon they pull out an surprising amount.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

@Tsar Gatto

Would you like me to create a new character or am I good to refine Maggie?

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich.

@Tsar Gatto

Awesome. Let me know if we get enough interest.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich.

@Tsar Gatto

I get where you are coming from. I really do. Playing with OP characters tends to be no fun. If you feel Maggie is too OP that is criticism I am willing to listen to. (Especially since you havn't been rude about it.)

However. Maggie is Maggie Gamble. She is a gambler and her magic is based mostly on Luck as well as The Playing Cards. In the current version she has absolutely no control over what card she draws only how she plays them. From a role-playing point of view I was planning on using this site to decide what cards actually came up. It was suppose to ensure that Maggie's luck truly was random rather then just giving her the cards I wanted her to have. On another note using higher leveled cards does take more energy out of her. For example using a king card would knock her unconscious for at least several hours if not a day and leave her weak and starving when she woke up.

If we can come up with a system of spells or magic that is based on A. Luck and B. The Playing Cards that we are both comfortable with I would be more than happy to alter Maggie's powers. If not I would be more than happy to craft a new character.

Though, while typing this, an idea for using dice did occur to me. I suppose I would be alright with Maggie using a pair of dice. There are 36 possible combinations with two dice. That would limit the number of spells she could use. However I would still like her to be an elemental mage. Perhaps she can't summon elementals but can still combine one or two elements together. If you give me a minute I can work out a little better list and work out some of the kinks of this idea.

Edit:

I gave it some thought and came up with two different systems using a pair of dice.

First System

In this system the first die would be the elemental die and the second die would be the multiplier. Using the list below as a base the roll Maggie rolled would allow her to know what type of blast she could send at a target. For example, rolling a 2 and a 4 would mean that she could send a fireball that was four times as strong as a regular fireball at a target. Water would be a blast of water. Earth would be some sort of rock and Air would be a blast of air. If she rolled snake eyes, she wouldn’t be able to cast anything until she had recovered her energy. Sending higher powered spells would use more energy.

Second System

This system is a little bit more complex since both dice are elemental dice. Rolling doubles would allow her to send a blast of pure elemental power while rolling a 2 and a 4 would mean she would send a blast of steam. Snake eyes would still be a bad roll and double sixes would knock her out for at least a week.

Dice List

Elemental Dice
1 – Nothing
2 – Fire
3 – Earth
4 – Water
5 – Air
6 – Magic

These are just rough ideas that I thought of as a way to at least limit the number of spells she can do. At most she would have 36 spells instead of a near infinite number of spells that a deck of cards allows. Another idea is that her patron god is some sort of god of gamblers and tricksters and luck. As far as my feeble understanding of D&D extends that would make her some type of paladin/rouge, but I’m not really sure how that would work.

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich.

@Tsar Gatto I have next to no experience with D&D. So I'm not entirely sure what you mean by traditional spellcaster. Can you elaborate? Please and thank you!

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich.

@Tsar Gatto I have a character I polished up for @ReedeThe23rd attempt at this. If you do decide to do it I would love to submit her for you approval. I would love a chance to be a part of this story.