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Artwork by BanishedShadow
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| Name: Remi Falkrivver
Nicknames: Rat Queen, Thordspaer, Danger Dame, Wylde Heart
Birthdate: 13 Uktar, 1333
Origin: Luskan
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Class: Shadowdancing daggerlock
Height: 5'8" (176 cm)
Weight: 133 lbs (60 kg)
Eye Color: Light grey, metallic, reflective
Hair Color: Blonde
Skin: Fair with a light tan, faint freckles
Description:
To a fellow Northerner, Remi’s rough speech will be as common
as the coarse grey shingle Luskan covers its dirt roads with.
To others, the clipped rattle of her accent will not sound tender or
pretty, although it may have a certain angular charm to it - much
like the rest of her person.
Willowy, with broad shoulders and a flat bust, Remi possesses a wiry energy that seems to celebrate defiance. Her androgynous frame
is at odds with a feminine gait, and her face, too, would have been severe were it not for the humor that lurks about her dimples.
She has a strong, square jaw, a straight and narrow nose, and with
the sun at her back, shadows mark the depressions beneath high
cheekbones. Under dark brows unnervingly pale eyes reflect like metal. They are lined liberally with kohl to elongate their shape.
A great deal of thick, blonde hair is barely contained by long braids,
and her gloves and boots are caked with the filth of the Coast more often than not. Men’s trousers and a loose linen shirt further add
to her tomboyish appearance. A leather belt is wound several times around her waist just tightly enough to bring out the shape
of her hips.
Layout by Nyssis |
Background
Her earliest memories are of life at the King’s Load on Luskan’s southern bank. The owner, Rick, fed and kept the street kid around as an "investment", hoping that with her forked tongue she would be a novelty for clients. Unfortunately for him, she grew too proud despite the harsh upbringing, so that at age twelve, he sold her to a baker, who, fed up with her attitude, passed her on to a fletcher, who in turn, so utterly annoyed by her unruliness, could not put up with her long enough to even resell her, ultimately setting her free in a fit.
Remi rarely bothers to mention all of the odd jobs that followed. Deliveries in Rat Alley here, scrubbing ship decks there; Whatever opportunity came her way, she often abandoned it as quickly as she found it.
Her rampant defiance didn’t subside until one strange day in Marpenoth, when a stocky woman of about forty stopped Remi on the Bloodrun and claimed to be her long-lost mother. Áshildr Falkrivver, a moderately successful horse breeder from the northern outskirts of Luskan, took Remi in and poured upon her all the affection and care she had been deprived of for the majority of seventeen years.
Áshildr didn’t ask much of her daughter but insisted that she learn to properly read and write. Appeased by the newfound loving environment, Remi agreed. Surprisingly, the former scapegrace not only soon found studying in "Uncle" Porfiðr’s stuffy little library acceptable, being there exhilarated her. It was as if the air was vibrating with a low, distant hum– a sensation Porfiðr claimed she felt only because she had gotten into his Haunspeir stash one too many times.
Over the course of several years, Remi got used to the ebb and flow of energy in Porfiðr’s home. One day, however, when she had stacked a chair upon uncle’s desk to browse some particularly hard-to-reach books, she could clearly hear a voice call out from a dusty corner in the uppermost shelf. Remi quickly found its source among the cobwebs, completely unaware that what she took hold of would drastically change her life.
//Spoilers!//
Between the pages of an unassuming-looking book on the migratory behavior of grassdragons lay an obsidian shard the size of a common knife’s hilt.
"Helpless, trapped in boiling tar; Echoing weeping, wailing calls."
Now that she held the sharp-edged object in her hand, the voice sounded close enough to have been in her head. It introduced itself as
The Deceived and explained in densely evocative words that it was an ancient and powerful Fey that had been betrayed and bound into a relic, which was subsequently broken into pieces and scattered. The Deceived promised to "let seething energy spill forth from palms" if Remi in turn would gather the lost shards. Intrigued not only by the promise of power but also the prospect of adventure and thrill, she was easily persuaded. The moment she agreed, the shard became scorching hot and, unable to let go of it, the relic burnt its sizzling mark into Remi’s right hand.
//Major Spoilers!//
The Deceived
Remi has entered into a pact with the fragment of a Glabrezu who is posing as a Fey named The Deceived. Remi is in the lucky position of being of use to the Glabrezu and therefore safe(ish) from crueler acts against her person. To maintain his cover, The Deceived is careful to incite violence outright but he misses no opportunity to drive Remi toward chaos. Through their pact, he whispers cryptic and grotesquely alluring messages that fascinate Remi and influence the way she perceives and interacts with the world.
He might, for example, encourage her to
"peel the light from their skin" and to
"warm her hands and watch the veins go slow". Endlessly intrigued by The Deceived’s beguiling poetry and the allure of the mystic and forbidden, she continuously tests her limits as well as those of her companions.
Over time, Remi has grown downright addicted to this driving pact force, despite having experienced some of the irrefutable pitfalls: Whenever she only so much as attempts to speak to anyone of The Deceived, her mind is overwhelmed with the sound of dismal, droning barks, her skin begins to burn and itch, and her nose to bleed. Not to mention the eerily bizarre dreams.
Pact Depts
The Deceived surrenders some of his power to Remi and in return Remi renders some service onto The Deceived: The search for the remaining shards and the promotion of chaos. When Remi uses an eldritch invocation, the drain on the Glabrezu’s power is so minuscule that he does not typically take any notice. Such minor spellcasting is like the buzzing of flies to him. But when Remi uses a greater amount of his power, he becomes aware of the drain and it is at these moments that he may choose to extract payment.
The DM decides whether The Deceived is interested in calling in a pact debt at any time. The following are suggestions and may be altered as the DM sees fit.
If a debt is called in, Remi must decide whether she will resist paying any debt. If she does, she must make a will saving throw against The Deceived (e.g., DC 10+warlock level). If the save is successful, no debt is exacted. If it fails, Remi receives the pact debt rolled (1–20).
1 Soul Rip: Remi suffers an instant and painful death as her soul is ripped from her body to become a tool or a toy for The Deceived in his prison for what may only be a few seconds on the Material Plane.
2-5 Eldritch Impotence: Remi instantly loses access to all warlock abilities until she completes a long rest.
6-9 Transformation: Remi undergoes a physical shift to a form more pleasing to The Deceived. This form and any other effects of the transformation are determined by the DM.
10-12 Rapid Aging: Remi instantly ages a number of years equal to her warlock level. This effect lasts until she completes a long rest.
13-16 Material Taxation: The DM may choose an item or an amount of gold belonging to Remi. That item or the amount of gold is immediately taken by The Deceived, presumably never to be returned.
17-19 Mind Wipe: Remi loses all memory of an amount of days equal to her warlock level.
20 Promoted to Glory: Remi must immediately make a Charisma saving throw against her pact debt saving throw DC. If the saving throw is successful, Remi gains some amount of XP. If the saving throw is failed, Remi receives the pact dept rolled.
(Inspiration taken from A.D. Feltham’s Warlock Pact Debts)
Artwork by BanishedShadow
Personality
♦ Impulsive, reckless.
Remi doesn't often think through the consequences of her actions nor their wider meaning. She is driven by the thrill of adventure and takes pride in readily taking risks whenever they present themselves. The only force capable of restraining her to some extent is genuine affection, as has been proven by Áshildr.
♦ Fearless.
With her recklessness comes an undeniable valor, which, however, does not necessarily translate to emotional self-confidence.
♦ Inquisitive, witty.
Remi is no bore in a conversation and will generally show interest in peoples’ stories. When it comes to herself, she has a tendency to evade questions and to stretch the truth for the sake of a good tale.
♦ Possessive.
Having spent a fair amount of her life in poverty, Remi dreads letting go of any precious possessions, even for the purpose of storage. To ensure the security of her belongings, she will use them as a pillow rather than sleep comfortably.
♦ Successible to peer pressure.
Remi enjoys being driven by the unknown and can therefore easily be coaxed by her peers. Although she has strong convictions (e.g. regarding the protection of freedom and the innocent) Remi could be convinced to partake in crueler actions if pushed hard enough by the right people.
♦ Loyal.
Impulsiveness aside: A friendship forged in the exhilaration of shared adventures is a friendship not easily abandoned by Remi.
♦ Closeted horse-girl.
Self-explanatory.
Goals
- Find the remaining shards
- Leave no sensation unfelt, no adventure undiscovered and no limit untested
Misc. Facts/Possible Plot-Hooks
//Spoilers!//
| ♦ Remi has never truly questioned the reason for her early abandonment and late reunion with Áshildr, too afraid to shake the foundation of a relationship so precious to her. She feels a great deal of guilt for having abandoned her home in Luskan to chase after a new adventure, and copes by writing letters to her mother. Rather than send them, however, she stuffs the notes under the saddle on Rochus, an exceptionally beautiful dark bay horse Remi "borrowed" from Áshildr’s stables.
♦ Remi has imparted a fraction of her powers granted through the pact onto her friend Finn Macallister’s greatsword. He can since hear snippets of The Deceived’s whispers when holding onto the weapon’s hilt in Remi’s vicinity. The Deceived would not allow it if it wasn't to somehow further his own agenda.
♦ While Remi knows that she is not entirely human, she is unaware that her blood is tainted with that of a Marilith (despite the obvious split tongue and patches of scales on her legs). The abyssal heritage may account for her intellect and chaotic nature to some degree.
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Artwork by BanishedShadow |
