About Rissa FarseerFemale rock gnome foresight wizard (scroll scholar) 4
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AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11
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Speed: 20 ft
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Str 9, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 12
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Forest Senses (Racial, Gnome): When in any unsettled, uncivilized terrain, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Perception checks to act during a surprise round, and take no penalty on Perception checks while sleeping.
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Small: +1 AC, +1 attack rolls, -1 CMB & CMD, +4 Stealth, 20 ft speed
Spellbook:
Cantrips:
Resistance Acid Splash Detect Fiendish Presence Detect Magic Detect Poison Read Magic Dancing Lights Flare Light Ray of Frost Spark Ghost Sound Haunted Fey Aspect Mage Hand Mending Message Open/Close Scrivener's Chant Arcane Mark Prestidigitation 1st level:
2nd level:
Spells Prepared:
(S) = school slot
Cantrips:
1st level:
2nd level:
Background:
High Dale isn't much of a dale. It's basically a flat spot along a pass through the Thunder Peaks, with several valleys branching off. This makes it perfect for people who don't want to be bothered by the outside world, such as gnomes. The valley of Hidden Vale in High Dale is home to the Dales' largest gnome community, where the Forgotten Folk mine, farm, and craft in peace. This is where Eirissanelyndel Tavarlunn was born sixty-five years ago to the renowned gemcutter Barveyrondden "Barvey" Crystalgleam Tavarlunn and the equally renowned magesmith, Ormilandrianna "Andri" Sparkfingers Tavarlunn. Rissa is their younger child; her brother Williverundelan "Willin" Cleverhands Tavarlunn is twenty-five years older. Her parents envisioned young Rissa following in one of their footsteps, especially once Willin decided to become an engineer instead.
They were half right. Rissa showed a keen intellect and a talent for magic early on, although she also enjoyed cutting gems and making jewelry with her father. But her curiosity was remarkable even for a gnome. Rissa wanted to know everything and anything, and decided to specialize in divination rather than her mother's school of transmutation. By the time she was fifty-five years old- still young for a gnome, especially one studying a difficult field such as wizardry- she couldn't contain her curiosity about the wider world any longer. Accompanied only by her weasel familiar Chiktikka, Rissa set out for Battledale. Surely a place with that kind of name would have plenty of work for adventurers! Battledale does indeed have work for adventurers, as do several other dales. Over the next eight years Rissa wandered from Battledale to Deepingdale, where she made friends with the priests of Oghma at the Leaves of Learning temple, to Cormyr, Sembia, Archendale, Harrowdale, Mistledale, and finally Shadowdale. By then the diviner had made a name for herself, which caught the attention of Lord Mourngrym. He offered Rissa a very lucrative but risky job. Many bigfolk underestimate gnomes, especially scholarly gnomes, and the Lord of Shadowdale wanted to capitalize on that. She was to spy on the nearby Zhent towns of Voonlar and Teshwave under the guise of a historian researching lost Teshendale, sending Lord Mourngrym information on Zhent military movements. Rissa wavered for a bit, but the prospect of learning more about the Zhents and Teshendale, as well as the generous amount of gold involved, won her over. The gnome spent a little over a year in Zhent territory. Sure enough, all she had to do was babble excitedly about Dales history and the locals wrote her off as an eccentric but harmless gnomish scholar. (It helped that Rissa truly is interested in all sorts of history.) But eventually she pushed her luck a little too far. A Zhent army officer caught Chiktikka snooping around and recognized the weasel's behavior as that of a wizard's familiar. He shot and killed Rissa's beloved companion, then started investigating to see who had a weasel familiar. She knew something terrible had happened the moment she felt the bond break, and fled back to Shadowdale one step ahead of the Zhents. Lord Mourngrym honored his word and paid the grieving wizard what he had promised and then some. Rissa knew she was in no shape to go adventuring for a while, so she traveled to Highmoon and had a gnome-sized house built with her reward money. She had meant to establish a base of operations there for a while, since the Leaves of Learning is there and Deepingdale is near the road to High Dale. The gnome spent several months in her new home, mourning her lost familiar, making friends with her new neighbors, and doing research. Now she feels ready to venture forth again. (Also, she needs money. Arcane research isn't cheap.) The Lord of Mistledale has called for adventurers, so Rissa has traveled to Ashabenford to see what he has in mind. Appearance:
Rissa is a fairly typical rock gnome, three feet tall with pale blonde hair, tan skin, and blue-gray eyes. She's considered reasonably attractive by gnome standards if she puts some effort into her appearance, which she usually doesn't. Her everyday attire is a sturdy ensemble of brown trousers, dull green shirt, dark green cloak, and brown many-pocketed vest, with dark brown tooled leather boots and belt. She always wears a silver pendant set with an agate cameo depicting Oghma's open book symbol in white on a reddish-brown background. Her hair comes to mid-back when she lets it down, but she prefers to put it up in a variety of travel-friendly styles.
For weapons, Rissa carries a light crossbow with a quiver of bolts and a dagger at her waist. These are just for emergencies, though. In regular combat, the gnome prefers to rely on her spells or the wide assortment of scrolls and wands tucked into her vest and cloak pockets. Personality:
Above all things, Rissa is curious. About anything and everything, no matter how obscure or useless a topic may appear to others. This being the case, the school of divination was a perfect fit for her. While she is willing to take risks in the pursuit of knowledge, her foresight helps to curb her more reckless impulses. A ten year adventuring career in the Dales, Cormyr, and Zhent territory has also contributed to this; Rissa has had to learn some lessons the hard way.
Despite this, the gnome remains cheerful and optimistic. She's sure that she can figure out a way around just about any problem, given time, information, and resources. She enjoys the company of most other races, welcoming the opportunity to learn about their culture and way of life. However, Rissa respects her relatives' wish for privacy. She does not use her family name outside High Dale, nor does she say much about the gnomish community there other than to encourage people interested in gnomish crafts to visit the weekly market in Highcastle. Rissa has learned over the years that other races don't appreciate the fine art of the prankster. She saves those impulses for her enemies, making use of divination and illusion magic to play with their minds. When angered, though, the gnome has been known to play nasty tricks on the perpetrator. She is a patient person with a long fuse, but that fuse does have an end. Like most gnomes, she enjoys crafting, although she chooses not to do it for a living. Her craft of choice is jewelry, both gemcutting and setting those gems in gold or silver. Rissa always carries a piece or two of semiprecious stone to carve in the evenings after making camp. Of course, she also carries several journals to write down interesting things she's learned that day. Her faith is both multifaceted and casual. While Rissa identifies most with Oghma as god of knowledge (and thinks that spending the afterlife in the multiverse's biggest library sounds pretty great), she also venerates Mystra and the gnomish pantheon, including Gond under the name Nebelun. The gnomes of Faerun believe that Nebelun Wonderbringer was originally a gnomish deity whose worship was adopted by the big folk. She wears her agate holy symbol as a reminder of her parents who made it for her, and to convince the Oghmanyte priests at Highmoon's Leaves of Learning temple that she really is one of their faith so she can get the Oghmanyte discount on library services. Contacts:
Parents, Barveyrondden "Barvey" Crystalgleam Tavarlunn and Ormilandrianna "Andri" Sparkfingers Tavarlunn: Residents of Hidden Vale in High Dale, a gemcutter and magesmith (transmuter wizard specializing in creation of magic items) respectively. They are proud of their daughter's magical prowess and scholarly knowledge, but wish she would come home and settle down as part of the community. Adventuring is so dangerous!
Older brother, Williverundelan "Willin" Cleverhands Tavarlunn: Twenty-five years older than Rissa, Willin is a journeyman engineer with their uncle. He makes all manner of clockwork devices, trap kits, and weapons for sale to bigfolk merchants. Willin doesn't understand Rissa's drive to explore the outside world, but he loves her and defends her choices to the rest of the community regardless. Former divination teacher and aunt, Tamzinnadruendri "Zinna" Stareye Merfannis: Zinna had Rissa pegged as a wanderer early on. She recognized that there would be no keeping her apprentice at home once she was confident in her skills. Thus she taught Rissa the combat and defensive applications of magic, as well as drilling her in the crossbow and perception exercises. Zinna herself is an ex-adventurer who decided to retire back home and raise a family. High Priest Danali the Indexer, Leaves of Learning temple: The Leaves of Learning in Highmoon, capital of Deepingdale, is the region's largest temple to Oghma. Danali enjoys Rissa's enthusiasm and love of knowledge, especially given that the Leaves of Learning eschews any books of magic. The fact that she donates copies of any books she finds certainly doesn't hurt. Lord Mourngrym Amcathra of Shadowdale: He sent Rissa on her ill-fated mission to Zhent territory. While he regrets the death of her familiar and its impact on the wizard, the information she sent him was invaluable. Tanathriel Moonsong: A half-elven conjurer and one of the few wizards in Highmoon other than Rissa. She was curious about the gnome-sized house being built near her home and made friends with her fellow student of the arcane. Tanathriel is a quiet and unassuming sort of woman who often lets Rissa take the lead in social situations. She'll help when Deepingdale is threatened, but prefers not to travel much. Zhents: By now, they've probably figured out that they're looking for a female rock gnome scholar. Rissa used an alias while she was in Voonlar and Teshwave, but it wouldn't be a far stretch to assume that the spy they're looking for has ties to Shadowdale and/or the Leaves of Learning in Highmoon. |
