Rich Rayburn's page

From what I've gathered of them, one of the things they are all about is opening up favorable trade routes for their interests. They are not above or beneath wholesale sabotage or murder on a grand scale if will get them the favorable economic access they desire.

I see them as more than just cells of shadowy bad guys in different cities; the agents of the Aspis Consortium have influence that they have deceived to get, or purchased or blackmailed within any societal level they have successfully infiltrated.

Since a big part of what they do is peddle influence to get the favorable trade access they desire; I would play the leader of the cell as, "connected," to high ranking members of the city/society, with all the loyalty complications that could come with that regarding if the agents went missing or was kidnapped/killed.

Halfling wolf-mounted (archer-focused) Samurai
I like tonyz's Paladin/Sorcerer concept, might have to lift that.

Nirmathas is an option, plenty of forest and well within fluff to have Rangers and insert small elf towns on the edges thereof.

As DM, I let her join the party as a PC under a player's control until after the Tower Girls and Ayala were not longer a threat (killed/captured), at which point I told the PC's she thanks them for their help and goes on her merry way.

There is opportunity there for side adventures; maybe the Washside Wringers capture her (as they have that rivalry with the Tower Girls), or maybe Natalya leaves the city altogether because she is "known" to the Magnimar Sczarni and the PC's have a chance encounter with her somewhere else in Varisia during the AP.