First Name: Amara
Last Name: Calder
Appearance:
A slim, pretty young woman with long slender limbs, narrow hips and a somewhat boyish figure. Tends to wear a little too much makeup, but is certainly attractive without it. Her garb is typically expensive and she wears costly jewelry openly, even when it could make her a target for unsavory characters.
Race: Human (Chondathan)
Age: 23
Height 5ft4in
Weight: 94 lbs
Eyes: Bright emerald green
Hair: Glossy auburn, normally tied back into a ponytail.
Personality Profile:
Well-spoken, talkative and often overconfident to the point of arrogance, Amara's razor-sharp intellect is often undermined by her recklessness and lack of planning. While pretty and charming, she has little time for those she considers to be ugly, stupid or uncouth.
General Health: Healthy, but has never worked an honest day in her life; as a result, she shies away from physical activity and tires quickly when forced into prolonged action.
Deity: Mystra, Tymora, Waukeen ((Mystra is IG patron))
Initial Alignment: Neutral
Profession: None - tries her hand at countless things, growing bored of them rapidly.
Base Class & Proposed Development: Rogue => Rogue/Wizard/Arcane Trickster/Scholar
Habits/Hobbies:
Widely schooled in a broad variety of skills, she especially has time for art, music, drama and magic. Despite appearances, enjoys reading all manner of books and writing creatively in her prized pocket-journal.
Languages: Common, Chondathan (though not IG), Illuskan, Alzhedo, Thorass. Would love to learn Elven. ((mechanically has the Cant language but will be RPed as not knowing it))
Weapon of Choice: Trained with the rapier, though she prefers to avoid direct combat, raining down bolts with her tiny light crossbow.
Background:
Ephraim Calder was an ambitious Waterdhavian market trader of common birth who came upon good fortune, setting up a profitable imports business which soon gave him the resources to compete with several of the lesser noble houses of the City of Splendors.
Becoming a visible patron of the temple of Siamorphe, Ephraim hoped to earn acceptance amongst the old money, but earned only their disdain and, in some cases, resentment. Undaunted, the merchant wooed and married Berenice, an illegitimate daughter of House Phull, hoping to link himself to one of the city's older families.
Despite all his efforts, the nobility still treated him as a common upstart, and the self-made merchant sequestered himself in his new estate with his new bride. While the marriage was intended purely of convenience, Ephraim swiftly fell deeply in love with the lady, and before long, Berenice was with child. In the summer of 1326DR, a baby girl was born, but tragically, Berenice grew sickly after the birth, and had died by Midwinter.
Ephraim was heartbroken, and leaving his business in the hands of a capable subordinate, he ploughed his time and resources into raising the girl, who was named Amara.
As she grew, Ephraim continued to spoil his beloved daughter, giving her all he could afford. Hoping that she would inherit his business one day, he spent a small fortune on tutors to teach her in business and mathematics, as well as the arts and music in the hope that one day she would be the one to dazzle Waterdeep's high society.
For her part, young Amara showed little focus on business, preferring to learn about romantic tales of adventure and daring than dry balance sheets and finances. She sang and played the harp well enough, and danced capably, but she always longed to be the adventurer and not the lovestruck princess.
When his daughter was nineteen, Ephraim started to return to business. A misunderstanding led to a bitter business feud with his late wife's "family" in House Phull, and things rapidly escalated. Before long, assassins began to menace the merchant and his daughter. Most were incompetent street thugs, who the Calders' guards saw off with little trouble, but some overcame the defenses and menaced the family in their own home.
Alarmed, the merchant added self-defense to his daughter's intensive schooling, hiring a string of adventurers, mercenaries and swordsmen who rapidly grew irritated with the girl's lack of focus and application, dubbing her unteachable. For her part, Amara had also grown tired of her cloistered upbringing and would sneak out at night, running around the streets with an assortment of rogues and troublemakers.
Desperate that his daughter would fall in with the wrong crowd and embarrass him, or worse, end up in the harbor or the City of the Dead, Ephraim did the unthinkable and hired a travelling mage to see if she would find some focus studying magic. Ephraim did not understand mages and was somewhat afraid of them, but put his fears aside for his daughters' well-being.
Remarkably, Amara seemed to take to the study of magic, becoming more bookish and less reckless. Perhaps she was maturing, but just as she had started to master her first cantrips, the lessons came to an end. Unbeknown to Amara, the feud with House Phull had got worse and hired killers attacked the estate with a renewed vigor.
Conveniently, Ephraim managed to negotiate a deal with the Merchant's League in Baldur's Gate, and started to make plans to move his business operation south to that city. In early 1349, the pair arrived in Baldur's Gate, Amara soon causing her father annoyance once again by exploring the sewers and returning with tales of the filthy vagrants and ruffians who dwelled below.
Furious with fear for his daughter and his reputation, Ephraim vowed to "no longer finance his daughter's foolishness" and once again banned Amara from leaving their quarters. The headstrong lass naturally defied her father again and when he came to her room later, she had already left through the window.
Goals:
A pampered soul, Amara's first desire is to find a fixed abode where she can live in comfort and, if possible, a degree of luxury.
Apart from this, she wishes to continue her magical studies, the one thing she really found an interest in. Several characters she has spoken to have mentioned Candlekeep, and now she seeks to gain access to the great library and their arcane knowledge. Given her whimsical nature,
As an undercurrent to all of this, she requires an income capable of supporting her expensive tastes.
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
Amara is prone to saying what is on her mind without thinking first, which can get her into trouble when dealing with those who she disdains. This may include those she considers dirty, uncharismatic, unintelligent, uncouth or barbaric, and generally those of orc-blooded or fiendish heritage. She is not actively hostile to these groups, but merely considers them largely beneath her notice.
Given the opportunity, she will demonstrate what she considers to be her impressive intellect by using long, complex words where shorter ones would serve adequately.
For now, she is beyond the reach of House Phull's assassins.
