The Party

Legend and lore adore the hero. Or it shanks the hero and leaves him bleeding on the side of the road so hypocritical priests can walk on the other side of the road and feel good about themselves. Either way, the hero is remembered. That's immortality, for ya.

We will remember the heroes, past and present for the sake of posterity. Or we will blackmail them with that time they kissed a frog repeatedly despite the other party members insisting it was just a poor confused amphibian. It was really embarrassing.

SHADE

    Shade does not remember much from his former life. What he has learned is that he was once a killer for hire who lived his life by luck and the passion of the moment. Time and again, he barely escaped capture, slipped past watches, getting the upper hand over his opponents and filled his ledger with violence and malice. 

    

But his luck, it had seemed, had run out. When he knew he was about to die, he flipped a coin, letting fate decide if he would perish. As the sword passed through his heart, he passed through the veil until he was awoken some 20 years later by Tymora, the goddess of luck.

    Shade begrudgingly formed a packed with Lady Luck, carrying out her will to reap the souls of other criminals who had lost their bets against death. He now lives his life as a Revenant, living every day at the toss of a coin. He will redeem every 96 lives he took in life, now in his afterlife.

    Known as Armande, the character wears dark tattered clothing, devoid of all color, save the flame which burns deep in his eyes. His skin is pale and deathly, his hair white as ash.

ANTONIO DE DELICADO

"Greetings! Antonio de Delicado, is my name! Where am I from? Oh, well, I am from the South. Where I was born and grew up is a minor detail. I move about quite a bit these days and do not really have a place I call home. What's that? What do I do? I am an adventurer. I feel passionately about my freedom to go where I will when I want so I can run into whatever adventure Najm might have planned for me. I offer a helping hand where I can, and if I see a damsel in distress there is a good chance I will save her. Secrets?! *uneasy laughter* I-I...I am not hiding or running from anything. That's not what you asked? Oh...well... Anyway, as I was saying, I am rather good with a sword, and I do like to use my whip on occasion. The occasional pint of ale, game of cards, or dance are all things I enjoy. Also, there is something to be said about a good pair of leather boots." 

GUILE

Though Guile was born two souls within one being, her body mostly remained her own, with her twin inheriting little more than the hideous maw in her side. So while the nature of her existence was both gruesome and troubling troubling, it was at length decided shortly after her birth that so long as she remained the master of her being, Guile would be accepted as one of the hunters regardless of her abnormality.

She was to be like unto a warlock, the demon a nameless familiar, though “Blight” was kept as Guile’s secret title for her permanent companion.

As such, conversation about Blight was kept locked away behind doors of iron. Demon hunters had no business being led into battle with a demon in their midst, even one born from the direct bloodline of their beloved mother. Thankfully, the child kept her wits about her, and Blight remained a concern amongst only the most elite evangelists, who were trusted only with the lineage’s most demented secrets.

Guile grew up good natured and obedient, harboring an uncanny compassion for the world, and a curiosity unbefitting her role in it.

Blight, better knowing their place, made an effort to dissuade thoughts of anything except loyalty, coaxing the child into unwavering submission to the order of Marai. With Guile easily influenced and Blight behaving benignly, their relationship continued in a state friendly coexistence until the inevitable day that Guile’s morality was tested.

In a small farming town near Murghôm, in the eastern forests of Faerun, a cult was discovered aiding and abetting devils, and Guile was assigned leadership over a troop of evangelists to wipe them out. This was no matter of contention, for Guile’s opinion of cultists easily fell in line with what was expected of her. The troubles only began at the apex of the secret society's extermination, when the slit throat of their leader caused a Blood Frenzy to break out.

Guile had been forewarned about such frenzies, but no amount of stories or explanations could prepare her for the slaughter that ensued once her sisters seeped out of the lair and into the surrounding town, stricken with a lust for carnage that refused to heed orders. When commands failed, Guile attempted to rescue what few she could– snatching up village children and hiding them away. But as the outbreak showed no signs of slowing down, the hellish red of her companions’ eyes glowing ever-brighter, she made up her mind to stop her sisters by force. And though the odds would all but ensure an imminent death, Guile didn’t care.

Blight, however, had a very different opinion on the matter.

A throbbing headache and a sudden sensation of struggle overcame Guile’s mind; a phantom gripping her by the skull and dragging her off into the darkness of the subconscious. Blight’s forceful nature was unprecedented, a brief struggle all it took before the body Guile had long thought her own became a puppet. Her soul was imprisoned below the surface, her eyes a window to a lucid nightmare where she could do nothing but obediently stand aside as all was rendered broken bone and smoldering ruin.

Once the danger passed and the frenzy came to an end, the reins were politely relinquished and Guile was back in control, left reeling in horrified silence with both her perception of The Evangelists and her understanding of herself shattered in a single blow.

Blight, of course, attempted damage control. He insisted that his actions were only for their safety before indulging in gruesome warnings, threatening what may occur if The Evangelists found out she didn’t have authority over them. So Guile kept the incident to herself, and while she was deeply troubled by the power Blight had withheld until self-preservation forced his hand, the demon had unwittingly evidenced the fact that secrets could be held between them.

So she formed a secret of her own and held tight for many years. She waited out duties with compliance and diligence until at last fate handed her the perfect opportunity. In the presence of paladins she pulled the wool over Blight’s eyes and dissented from the order of Mother Maria, the long-term danger of her betrayal unable to contend with the immediate threat of paladins in their midst. In a single sentence there was no chance of undoing the damage, only a hope of survival until Guile could fulfill her impossible mission: Separation.

If luck was on her side, she and Blight would become two separate beings, free to seek their own fate on their own terms, with everything to follow shrouded in mystery.

PELLANISTRA LAFEEN

Pellanistra was never destined to fit in among the other worshipers of Lolth. In a matriarchal society, being able to shift her physical appearance to resemble any gender was an affront to the Drow, the highest curse and betrayal. She was despised by both genders; one for being a female and the other for being male. Pellanistra saw the inconsistency in their perception of gender being what inherently defined you and rejected the idea. Falling in among her male brethren, Pellanistra adapted to the ways of men and learned to live among them, often preferring the company of some who sought to live apart from the arrogant, cruel, hedonistic, and murderous ways of the Drow. Pellanistra learned the ways of magic and became fascinated with the mechanical and natural power that presided in nature. Further driving her from her own people was the unflattering idea that there was power outside of Lolth and that she, a cursed being, could unlock its secrets. Eventually, Pellanistra had to leave the cities of the Underdark and learn to adapt to the outside world. She found work as a tinkerer and alchemist, crafting strange but useful power for the races of the material plains. She soon fell in with the Sea Maiden's Faire and joined its ranks, over time gaining the esteem of its captain, Captain Zord. She now uses her strange curse to her advantage, allowing her to use multiple identities wherever she goes. In her time with Captain Zord, she mastered firearms and grew in her power to craft and mix potions. But in all of it, she still senses a drive to prove she is defined more by her actions then her physiology.  

ROE'ELLINA

Roe'ellina has traveled far and wide from her home woods in Ariandel to many distant places in the world. The last few years she has been traveling the Sword Coast. During her travels she gathered many trinkets, all of which have a story to tell. Like all of her kind, she desires to learn of other cultures and their stories, gathering relics and odd items and keeping them until they have learned everything about it. But unlike her kind, she keeps them even after she’s learned all she can from the item. She doesn't interact with many people unless there is a story to be told or an item that catches her eye. Her thrill is the hunt. The high seas may be her home now, but the ground is where she belongs. Some say she is an odd Tabaxi, others say she is like the rest of her kind. But the truth is that Tabaxi often keep to themselves and the only information of her race is from the enslaved Tabaxis that were brought to this regain. As for Roe’ellina herself she often acts one way on ships and another when on dry land. She has a sharp mind, but no understanding of social manners. Through her eyes everything is a game of sorts, the hunt though is real and will be followed to the end. She loves sharing stories and will do almost anything if phrased as a game.