Backstory:
Olivia lost her father to a bandit attack when she was still a baby, and lost many other friends and family as she grew up, either because they were killed or because her family would constantly move around the Nesmian Plains whenever a region got dangerous. While she was raised to accept this reality and just try to survive the events as best as she could, Olivia aways felt like she should stay and fight agaisnt injustice, fortunatelly for her, she never had to for a long time. When she was 15 years old, her family's farm was finally attacked by a group of bandits; true to her toughts, Olivia tried to fight back, but even poorly-equipped bandits with no combat training proved to be a challenge bigger than what the small halfling could deal with. Olivia only survived because a chernasado ranger was in the region and managed to save her, and her mother was still gravely injured by the attack.
At this point, her family moved to Phaendar, were they would be safer. And yet the contact with real danger only emboldened Olivia's view that she should learn how to fight and protect her family. For the years to follow, Olivia trained diligently on her own before enlisting to fight against the Molthune, there she honed her skills, but weakened her will as the horrors of war were too big and unending. After losing almost her whole platoon to an ambush, Olivia retired from the front lines and came back Phaendar with the only other survivor from the ambush, the now blind and armless liutenant she served under. Now she just wants to rest and keep herself and her family away from danger and conflit. Little she knows that conflict might come to her very soon...
Personality: Despite her rough looks, Olivia is actually very friendly and pleasant to be around, a childhood of moving constantly and taught her how to quickly make new friends, and years of war made so she doesn't get bothered by small thinks like offenses or indiscretions. She is simple-minded and earnest, and sometimes melancholic.
Character Growth: Olivia is still more of a warrior than a woman of faith, and though her ideals align with those of Erastil, she has yet to temper her faith and become a divine warrior. She is also tired of conflict as the real war didn't match her expectations of what fighting for justice would be like. Over the course of the game is expected that the faith in Erastil and the immediate threat to her community will become reminders that moment-to-moment action of fighting should serve a bigger picture.
Mechanically, Olivia is focused on protecting her allies with her paladin abilities and defensive feats such as Bodyguard, while still being able to deal decent damage thanks to Smite Evil, Power Attack and possibly bonuses from mounted combat (once she gets there). She'll later pivot into more offensive feats (since the Vanguard/Patrol feat chain is way too lenghty for a non-fighter), either focusing on the trip maneuver (with Fury's Fall to compensate the strenght and size penalties) or in mounted combat.
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NPCs:
Seffana (F | N | 85 | Halfling | Olivia's mother | Farmer) - Olivia's mother was gravely injured during the bandit attack and moved to Phaendar eight years ago in search of a safer life, the locals quickly took to her and the farmers appreciate her experience and insight about weather and crops. Seffana loves Olivia but is constantly worried about her foolish behavior.
Lucca (F | N | 42 | Halfling | Olivia's older sister | Herbalist) - Olivia's beautiful sister became an apprentice herbalist soon after she got into town, when she is not working she spents her time at the Taproot drinking and flirting.
Rikel (M | CN | 65 | Halfling | Friend of Seffana | Fisherman and gambler) - A native of Phaendar, Rikel is a fisherman who spends all his earnings gambling at the taproot; sometimes rich, often times broke, Rikel and Olivia hated each other from first sight and he occasionally invents bad gossip about her.
Verchiel (M | CG | 150 | Elf | Saved Olivia from bandits | Chernasado ranger) - The elf who saved Olivia's family from certain death at the hands of bandits comes to Phaendar surprisingly often. He has become a good friend of Olivia ("still trying to make her give up on that stupid sling and use a real ranged weapon, like a bow") and is rumored to have a crush on Lucca.
Henoke Hutov (M | LG | 42 | Human | Olivia's ex-liutenant | Retired soldier) - A war veteran from Andoran who came to (in his eyes) free Nirmathas, Henoke lost his sight and his arms at the war, but not his wits nor his discipline. The retired soldier keeps what is left of his body in top condition and can be seen exercising around the town or dispensing advice about battle and defense to those who will hear.
