Valora Gann

[shadedwonder]

Template For Character Creation Reward:

First Name: Valora, although she never tells it to anyone
Last Name: Gann (which she proudly adopts, but also never tells to anyone)

Appearance: Above average height, scantily clad dark clothing, black cloak, ponytail, always wearing a mask
Race: Human
Age: Unconfirmed, probably late teens
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 130 to 135ish
Eyes: Green
Hair: Dark Brown


--Personality Profile--
General Health: Very athletic
Deity: Shaundakul
Initial Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Profession: Mercenary
Base Class & Proposed Development: Barbarian, Rogue, Shadowdancer
Habits/Hobbies: She tends to focus on where her next coin will come from.
Languages: Common, Cant
Weapon of Choice: Greataxe

Background: Valora was born in the region of the Ten Towns in Icewind Dale. Little is known about her childhood except that her mother died when she was a baby and her father decided to take her to a safer, more civilized environment. (He lost one love in his life to the savage nature of the wild and refused to lose his daughter—the only thing he had left) Much to the disappointment of their tribe, he took a job as a mercenary in exchange for room and board on trip to the south—to Waterdeep. He sought to separate himself and his daughter from a difficult past. In fact, he so longed for her to have a different life that he changed her name to Valora since she was still young enough that he could.

While Val’s father was working as a mercenary, he met and befriended a highly skilled rogue by the name of Sari. Their relationship border lined on romantic but Sari, for some reason, was reluctant. Among others, the two of them took jobs together and made a decent living in doing so. Over time, Sari became a big sister figure and role model. As years went by, the three of them lived together and begin to function like a family. There was always speculation as to rather Val’s father and Sari had started a relationship, but there was no outward proof.

One day while out on a hunting contract, Valora’s father was mortally wounded. His dying wish was for Sari to raise his daughter. Sari gladly promised she would do so, and bore the burden of breaking the news upon her return. The loss of Valora’s father changed her forever.

Despite a rough patch in the early going, Sari and Valora grew closer as family. Valora became very hearty as a result of her barbarian blood and Sari’s rogue training. When she was a teenager, Val was able to earn her keep by assisting on mercenary contracts. Though it wasn’t the situation her father would have wanted, Val’s life was finally showing some stability.

Sadly, the stability was short lived. Sari had a dark past, and it finally caught up with her. The two of them were ambushed in their home by unknown assassins. They gave Sari an ultimatum: submit to her ‘master’ or forfeit her life, along with the ‘dark gift’ she had been given. A fight ensued. Sari and Valora were able to defeat the assassins, but Sari was seriously wounded and one of the assailants placed a magical symbol on Val’s face. They bandaged her wounds to slow the bleeding, and Sari told her the unfortunate story of the Amnian Ganns. She recognized that the mark on Val’s face was a Deathbrand, a symbolic message to others who were in league with the assassins. With Sari’s wounds and Valora’s mark, both their days were numbered.

Sari was deeply grieved that Valora had become a victim of the circumstances. In an effort to give Val a chance, she gave Val the ‘dark gift’ the assassins mentioned—a very unique cloak that aided in hiding, along with a mask to cover her branded face. Sari apologized, instructing her to live her life protecting her identity until she can find some way to remove her Deathbrand, since the brand isn’t removable by just any priest at a temple.
Knowing that either the wounds or more assassins would eventually claim her life, Sari said her teary, heartfelt goodbye and suggested that Valora use the shadows to travel to the south until she became more skilled with the cloak.

Sari gave Valora 4 rules to live by for the time being:
1) Always keep the cloak safe, as it would be a horrible tool of evil in the wrong hands.
2) Never tell anyone her real name.
3) Never show her face.
4) Coin is the only thing that can fully be trusted.

Grabbing only a few belongings, her father’s axe among them, a masked and cloaked Valora leaves Waterdeep that night and heads south, gladly accepting the burden and personally considering herself an adopted child of the Amnian Ganns.

Goals: Ultimately, she wants to make ends meet as a mercenary while secretly searching for some way to remove the deathbrand. That way she can attempt to live like a normal person, without fear of being assassinated by servants of Gargauth.

Misc Facts: The epitome of Valora’s CN alignment comes from her constant moralistic struggles. Examples: If an ally has foolishly rushed into battle, she has no qualms hiding in the shadows and awaiting the outcome in a “told you so” sort of manner. At the same time though, she sympathizes in a way that if they’ve fallen she’ll try to recover them and administer aid. (She may or may not loot before doing so—haha) She also has a sadistic since of humor that would make people wonder if she is evil, but at the same time she’d come to the aid of innocent people—in a situation where she wouldn’t be risking her life, of course.

Possible plot hooks/ideas/twists: Finding out her birth name, struggles with assassins from Gargauth if they see her face, a high lored-scholar recognizing the cloak, encountering any of the Amnian Ganns (Sari's siblings)