Lots of good entries here! Still, lots of time for more.
Thank you those that have submitted.
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Hokay. I think Leonia is as complete as she is going to be.
Leonia Sybillica
LN Human Cavalier (Sister-in-Arms) 5
Init +0; Senses Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 24, Touch 11, Flat-Footed 24 ( +10 Armor, +2 shield, +1 deflection)
HP 44 (5d10+10)
Fort +7 Ref +2, Will +3, +2 bonus on Will saves against any effect that would compel her to attack or betray her allies
Defensive Abilities
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft., 20 ft in armor
Melee +1 warhammer+9 (1d8+9/x3) or cold iron dagger +9 (1d4+4/19-20x2) or heavy wooden shield +9 (1d4+4/x2)
Ranged cold iron dagger +5 (1d4+4/19-20x2)
Special Attacks banner +2/+1; half-hearted challenge (2/day) +2
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Statistics
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Str 19, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 16
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 20
Feats Shield Focus, Saving Shield, Shield Wall, Godless Healing, Bodyguard, Weapon Focus (warhammer)
per EitR: Power Attack
Skills climb [1] +8; diplomacy [2] +10; intimidate [3] +14; K.(local) [3] +5; perception [2] +6; sense motive [4] +8; survival [2] +6
Background Skills handle animal [4] +10; K.(nobility) [3] +5; lore (infernal dukes); [1] +3; profession (soldier) [3] +7;
Languages Common
Traits Region: Pure Legion recruit
Social: Grim Optimism
SQ Maiden’s Order ( order of the lion [lion’s call] order of the dragon [aid allies], tactician (standard, 2/day, 5 rounds), skilled replaced by silver tongued racial trait, maiden's loyalty, devoted defender
Favored Class +1 skill point/level
Combat Gear fuse grenade (2), lady’s mercy (2), slime grenade (2), potion of clw (3), potion cmw (2), potion of csw
Other Gear grey maiden plate, heavy wooden shield, longsword, cold iron dagger, maiden’s helm, entangling aiguillette, quick metal bracers (silver), ioun torch, silk rope (50 ft), mess kit, masterwork backpack, soldier’s uniform (style of cheliax), animal feed (3, carnivour), belt pouch containing 6 GP 7 SP 4 CP [total weight 114.5 lbs]
A Katapeshi man squirmed against a pair of manacles. His sweat soaked shirt clung to his hairy chest. He had been struggling for hours now to slip his hand free or, failing that, somehow snap the damned chain. That b&&&* had chained him to the side of a furnace and at such an odd angle too. Every time he felt like he was working free he would touch the scalding iron. That was her intent, of course, the man knew that. It did not change the fact that it hurt like hell whenever it happened. But feeling like he understood his captor was the only thing keeping the man from giving up at this point. That and fear of what she was planning when she returned. If only he had taken Slint up on her offer to build redundancies into their crew.
”I do the talking,” he had said, ”I’ll let you worry about cracking the locks.”
Stupid. He was so stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
Metal boots clanked against the wooden floorboards above. She was back. The man redoubled his efforts. He smelled meat cooking and realized his skin was blistering where it touched the furnace. He no longer cared. He just needed to get free.
The man leaned away from the manacle and pulled.
The shackle bit into his skin.
He pulled some more.
And heard a snap.
An instant later pain coursed up his left arm. A lump had appeared just below the manacle. The outer bone bone (Ulna, was it? Trilano would’ve known) of his forearm snapped. Somehow, the bone had not forced its way through the flesh.
The man ground his teeth and continued to struggle against the bent manacle.
”This is how we’re gonna do this,” a honeyed voice called from the top of the stairs, ”you are going to tell me where you sold the painting.” Boots clanked as his captor descended the stairs. She had caught him at The Gold Pearl. Evidently, his comrades had been right to avoid celebrating with a pint - or five - right after fencing their goods. How was he supposed to know that one of their previous marks had hired a bloody Gray Maiden to track them down?
Wood groaned and screamed out. Moments later the Maiden stumbled down the bottom steps. She cursed and pulled off that steel helm with its scarlet plume for which her and her devil-worshipping comrades were known. Oh yes, he knew her for what she was. The armor had been painted black and two sets of curling horns had been welded to the helmet in a vain attempt to hide what she was. But the man knew what she was.
And he knew that he would not be escaping.
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Leonia Sybillica felt the boards give way just a fraction of a second too late. The rotting wood turned to splinters under her feet and Leonia stumbled down the stairs.
Well, she thought, there goes my air of superiority
With her feet on the solid, stone floor of the cellar, Leonia unlatched and removed her helmet. She let the drama build before letting the Katapeshi see her face. She found that tension made the reveal that much more intimidating. Leonia pivoted her head and gave the thief the full view of her face. A once comely face bore the scars of blades and burns. Her upper lip was missing a large chunk on the right side and now peeled back to show too much of the teeth and gums. A jagged gouge traced her left cheekbone. Where the left eyebrow should have been was a burn in the shape of an imp's tail.
Leonia let the Katapeshi gawk for a minute before she raised her eyes to meet his. There, right where Leonia had left him, sat Sadmehr Bashed. His skin was blistered and...was his left arm always bent that way? Leonia set her warhammer on the floor and slipped her gauntlets off to lay them beside the helmet on an empty wine cask. For a moment, Leonia made the mistake of looking into the face of her helmet and felt herself pulled back through the eye slits.
Old Korvosa. Hundreds of men, women, and children push against the shield wall. Some of them have a rash and blisters across their faces. Leonia and her Sisters push back the citizens. Leonia’s armor is still shining silver. A rock strikes Jalissa square in the forehead. A dent mars her helmet.
”Let me go!” The thief’s call pulled Leonia back to the present just in time.
Leonia sauntered over to the thief.
"As I was saying, I need you to tell me who bought the painting that you and your crew stole," Leonia said. She produced an iron key and let it dangle from a delicate chain. "Do that and you can walk out of here.”
The Katapeshi ran his free hand through his matted hair, ”Right, and on every third Oathday I get to bang Queen Telandia.”
Leonia frowned and put a boot on the man’s sternum, ”I’m not into elves...or women for that matter but, the queen of the elves? Color me impressed. Then again, I have something of a bias against queens.” She leaned on her knee with one hand and rubbed her eyes with the other. The man squirmed under the weight of Leonia and her heavy armor. His skin sizzled against the furnace. ”So, let’s try this again: who was the fence that bought the painting?”
Leonia drives the end of her sword into the flabby belly of a middle-aged man. Blood sputters from his lips as Leonia kicks his still-warm corpse from her blade.
”And you thought today was going to be boring!” Jalissa calls over the sound of battle. No, the sound of slaughter. Swords do not clash. Warriors are not competing for their lives. Civilians, innocent civilians, are fighting for their lives against steel clad women who show no mercy.
”Fine!” Leonia calls back, her voice reverberates inside her helmet. ”You were right. I’ll buy you a pint when this is through!” She drags the edge of her sword across the back of a woman. The woman passes a small bundle to a young boy as she falls. Leonia marches forward, sword dripping.
The boy - he has seen twelve years at the most - holds a butcher’s cleaver in a trembling hand the bundle in the other. First he warns Leonia to stay back. Then he pleads. Tears cut winding paths through the filth on his face. Leonia raises her sword high above her head.
The bundle stirs and begins to wail.
Something catches in the back of Leonia’s mind. It tries to force itself into her forethought and causes Leonia to falter. Something else, something more familiar, claws away at the other something.
The shining helmet hides a blossoming smile and the sword comes down.
”I said I’d tell you, you crazy b*&#@!”
Leonia flinched and lifted her boot off of the man’s chest. Sadmehr gave up the names of his fence, his crew, and the man that hired him. For a minute, she thought he might name everyone he had ever known.
And then he began to confess to other crimes.
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Sadmehr took the key from the Maiden with his free hand. Every ounce of remaining strength kept his fingers clasped around the precious piece of iron. He reached up and slipped the key into the lock of the manacles. The man was vaguely aware of his back against the furnace. He turned the key. And nothing happened.
”You lied to me. Calistria’s sting find you.” he said. No malice, only pure defeat coated his words.
Leonia sighed and pulled a metal box from her pack.
”Don’t bring the gods into this. They don’t give two shakes of a goblin’s ass about any of us.” She set the metal box on the floor at her feet. “You know, Korvosa has a pretty strict law on thievery. Too many Dancers - you'd call 'em Varisians - running around snatching purses and such. Burglary could get you anywhere between a fine and two years in prison. Robbery: lose a hand, maybe a decade in prison. Of course, if you happen to be a member of the Cerulean Society you might get off with just a small fine.” The Maiden paused to regard the man, ”You aren’t a member are you? Don’t answer. Rhetorical. Anyhow, my point is this: Korvosan law is pretty straightforward. Azir law, on the other hand, I haven’t quite figured all of the nuances out yet. I do know, however, that burglary is a crime. And while I’m not entirely certain of the proper punishment, I think we can figure something out.”
The Maiden slid the metal box across the floor. It stopped between the man’s legs.
”I never said the key was for the manacles,” she replied. The woman had already fit both gauntlets back onto her bloodied knuckles.
Sadmehr jammed the iron key into the locked box. Inside was a single vial of a bubbling, green liquid.
The Maiden picked up her helmet. She seemed to be avoiding looking into its blank face, ”Most people don’t know how much acid it takes to melt through a person’s arm.” She slipped the helmet on and clasped it shut. Her voice echoed inside the steel, ”Less than what it takes to melt iron.”
Sadmehr watched in disbelief as the Maiden hefted her large hammer and stalked up the stairs.
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The Enforcer placed a coin ladened purse into Leonia's hand. The former Gray Maiden tucked the purse away.
"Will you not be counting it then?" the Enforcer asked. The corners of his eyes crinkled whenever he asked a question. Something Leonia recognized as a sign that he was accustomed to receiving a prompt answer.
She smirked and reached for the pocket where she had placed the bounty.
Leonia estimated from the weight that he had, in fact, paid her no less than twenty percent more than the agreed upon amount. The Enforcer just wanted a reason to say it out loud. She obliged him.
"Did you short pay me?"
The bronze skinned Rahadoumi man shook his head. "No," he said, "there is an additional fifty percent for you."
Leonia nearly choked on her own spit.
"Certainly, The Pure Legion made an error. I hardly doubt my services were worth-"
The Enforcer held up a hand, "You recovered several religious iconographies that had been smuggled in. On top of that, you provided the names and locations of several wanted criminals. One of which had dealings in several other criminal activities." The Enforcer paused to review a piece of parchment, ”For future reference, we prefer to arrest our criminals in Rahadoum. What you did-”
It was Leonia’s turn to interject, ”Bad habit. One that I’m working on.” She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and chewed on the inside of her bottom lip. Leonia found herself wishing she had kept her helmet on for this conversation.
The Enforcer nodded his head and stepped to the side, gesturing for the other Legionnaires to do the same.
”Then I consider our arrangement to be concluded.”
Leonia righted herself with a soldier’s ease and headed into The Gold Pearl where she would sit. And drink. And try to forget.
Having been a Paladin of Iomedae, Leonia was naturally inclined to help the people of Korvosa. However, after being taken against her will to suffer the mental, physical, and magical abuse required to create a new Gray Maiden the kind-hearted woman no longer exists. Either that or she's buried deep beneath layers and layers of stone and adamantine. Quite simply, forced servitude under Queen Arabasti broke Leonia. She cares little for people who put stock in prayers. After all, where was the Inheritor when her loyal knight was being beaten and tortured? Ironically, the one aspect of Leonia that the Ileosa could not take from her was her dark sense of humor. As a Paladin, the other knights welcomed the smiles that she brought to their faces during dark times. As a Gray Maiden, her Sisters often chided Leonia for making light of their Queen’s work.
The first thing Leonia did upon regaining her own mind was toss aside her longsword. It had been a symbol of Iomedae’s light. It had been a symbol of Ileosa’s fury. The idea of wielding one again disgusts her. She opts for a weapon that is as for from a sword as she could think. A blunt warhammer. Ironic since the artwork I chose as a reference image shows a woman inspecting a longsword.
Leonia has a...prejudice against Varisians. One that often comes out whenever she's looking for a an insult to sling at someone.
Leonia is still struggling with the influence that the Maiden initiation left on her. She sometimes finds herself being needlessly cruel. She has taken great steps toward atoning for her crimes while serving Ileosa but every now and then…
Look, I’m a crazy person. I once wrote a full journal chronicling the 6 years of my character’s life leading up to the start of a campaign. All because I wanted to keep an in-character journal of the game and didn’t think it made sense for him to “just start” the day the campaign began. I love exploring the “why” of a character and I think a solo game is perfect for that.
GM, did you want us to anchor some connections in Azir if such contacts would be reasonable for our characters? Zullin is there, but I am unsure if you want to be the one to forge the social parameters. I wouldn't be suggesting he is, for example, best friends with the queen (not like they have one), but rather detailing which people he can lean on for information, advice ... or needs to avoid in fear of needing to pay-off a debt.
Feel free to add NPC links. They are often useful.
Two more days! Plenty of time, folks.
Recrutiment is Closed.
Thank you all for submitting a variety of interesting character. Alas I can only choose one.
@Yiannisph your character, Iustino has been chosen!
Again, thank you everyone!
Thanks for the recruitment and good luck lustino.