Homework Assignments:

 

3/26/11 - Please answer the following two questions about your characters. Provide a good, solid paragraph for each and you'll earn 50 bonus XP. 1) If your character had a 'path to darkness' - a way to turn 'evil' what would it be? (Question submitted by Art); 2) Who do you think would play your character if a movie adaptation of the campaign were made? (Question submitted by Susan)

 

5/21/11 - 3) In the Shackled City adventure path, the group quickly decided on the name 'Freedom's Dawn' as a moniker at the request of the Town Guard. In this campaign, which takes place in the sparsely populated frontier, such a group title has thus far not been necessary. If the group WAS to name itself, however, what would name would you suggest they use? Why that name? Give me at least one name and a good paragraph in explanation and you'll earn 66 bonus XP.

 

5/28/11 - 4) Please describe the moment in your character's life they are least proud of. This can be an adventuring moment, or something from their normal everyday life. What gnaws at their subconscious, something better left undone or unsaid? Give me a good, solid paragraph to earn another 66 bonus XP.

 

7/23/11 - 5) If your character knew that he or she was going to die in 24 hours, name three things he or she would do with the time they had left. A good paragraph here will earn 100 bonus XP.

 

8/13/11 - 6) What are three things that your character always carries with him or her? Why do they choose to keep those things handy? (No generic magic items, please. If I see anything about Rings of Protection, the snack-stained DM in the sky will do some smiting next week.) Give me a good paragraph here to earn 100 bonus XP.

 

9/3/11 - 7) Tell us about a moment in your character's life that effects the way he or she views things today. A good paragraph will earn 100 bonus XP. (Question suggested by Josh)

 

9/10/11 - 8) Let's assume for a moment that *your* character was selected as the Baron or Baroness of the new kingdom. What goals, both short and long term, would you have for your new land? Once again, a good paragraph here is worth 100 bonus XP.

 

12/24/11 - 9) The holiday season has inspired me to ask a pretty simple question. Let's assume for the moment that a similar holiday celebration occurred in Tuskwood. What would your character get for the other members of the party, and why? Ideally I'm looking for personal gifts rather than adventuring stuff for this one.  Answer me this question to earn 200 bonus XP.

 

12/31/11 - 10) You recently faced off against a powerful tribe of trolls in the South, and although neither side was able to gain a decisive victory, the troll tribe was still decimated by your attack. Let's assume that things went the other way around - instead of you attacking the trolls in their lair, the Trolls attacked Tor Inna and sacked the town. Most of your people were killed in the attack, and a second strike could quite possibly finish you off. What do you advocate doing? Do you evacuate to save your remaining people? Dig in and prepare to fight to the bitter end? Something else? Why?  Give me a good paragraph to earn another 200 bonus XP.

 

5/26/12 - 11) An advanced extra-planar being wishes to learn more about puny mortals.  It arranges a free-for-all battle to the death between all the members of the party. All of the participents will be true-rez'd for free, and any equipment used (wand charged, potions, ammo) will be replaced. It promises the winner a Wish, and the losers a Limited Wish. Refusal to fight is not an option, nor is failure to try your hardest to win the prize. You have all the equipment, spells, etc that you are carrying now.  Do you think you would have a shot at winning?  If so, what is your strategy to win and who is the biggest threat to your victory?  If not, who do you think would win and why?  Give me a good paragraph in either case to earn 400 bonus XP.

 

9/1/12 - 12) Your character has just walked in to a room and a voice in your head says "make a wish". What do they wish for?  Why?  Give me a good paragraph to earn 500 bonus XP.

 

10/6/12 - 13) What is your character's birthday? What does your character usually do to celebrate (if anything)? If their birthday was previous to today, during the campaign, why didn't we celebrate it?

 

10/27/12 - Please give me a decent paragraph for the following questions to earn a juicy 833 bonus XP.  14) What one action/decision/lack of action in your character's life do they feel the most guilty about? (Submitted by Google)  15) What real-world occupation would your character pursue if they were a real person?  Would they be a doctor?  A priest?  A cop? (Submitted by Susan)

 

8/10/13 - 16) Before the campaign started, what did your character think they'd be doing in ten years?  Give me a good paragraph to earn a tasty 1,583 bonus XP.

 

8/17/13 - 17) Your character is offered lordship over a small keep on the edge of a wilderness area. You answer only to a distant king or queen, who trusts your leadership over the area. A group of gnolls begins causing trouble for your villagers for some reason shortly after your arrival.  On the third month anniversary of your arrival at the keep, a horde of gnolls rushes the keep. They shout bloodthirsty cries to their dark goddess and slaughter the men and women standing between themselves and you. 

 

You gird yourself for battle, and step out into the hallway adjoining your bedchambers, when you catch site of the huge gnoll chieftain. He steps out of the shadows, a massive waraxe slung across his shoulders, and you catch sight of a thick piece of leather hanging off of the axe's haft. At the end of the leather strap is something that makes you realize that the gnolls attacking here is no accident - they are coming for you! 

 

What's the gnoll' carrying that tips you off?  Why are the gnolls trying to kill you?  A good paragraph will earn you a scrum-diddly-umptious 1,583 bonus XP!

 

10/26/13 - 18) What is your character's favorite curse word?  Why?  Give me a good paragraph to earn 1,583 bonus XP.

 

 

Answers to any homework assignments:

 

 

Angus:

 

#1: Angus already toes a thin line between light and darkness..he tries to keep his cool when the situation calls for it, resorting only to blind rage when there is no other option. The tempting calling of true piracy on the open seas, preying on the weak and defenseless for personal gain may run in his blood, but for now, Angus chooses to follow the more "cavalier" path of only robbing those who would do harm to others, or to oppress the weaker masses for their own ends. Angus' fury may be legendary in combat (Someday, at least), but he tries only to direct it towards evil...woe if ever a day may come that he cannot tell the difference between friend and foe..

 

#2: No real great scottish highlander pirates come to mind. Maybe Ron Perlman acting, but voiced by Simon Pegg (he does a decent scotsman, for a brit.)

 

#9:  Drogza would get Whiskey, Seradin would get wine, Elsa would get some port, Kalinka would get some old woodsy scotch, and Solamus would get a nice pair of woolen socks, hand-sewn by Angus in the time-honored tradition that his family has been passing down for generations.

 

#10:  The townsfolk would be moved to a safe location, while a trap was laid for the trolls.  Straw men rigged to explode with alchemist's fire, then sweep in to attack as they were surprised.  Surround the town with deadfalls and make sure that not a one would live past that night to attack the town again.

 

#12 What else would a pirate wish for, but a nice strong ship, stocked with a supply of rum!  Now if only he could get a place to use it.  All his life, Angus has wanted a ship to sail, just like his grandfather.  He would never resign himself to the fate of a farmer like his father had, not with adventure to be had!

 

#14 If given a second chance to do something, Angus would have liked to have spent more time with his parents growing up.  he did so enjoy the company of his grandfather and the tales of high-seas adventure that brought him into the life he now lives, but he still does think of his parents...strong, hard-working father, and kind, sweet mother back home on their farm.   Maybe someday he'll be able to spend some time back there, tilling the fields that he'd once played in..but at this point...would they even recognize him, a dwarf among humans?

 

#15 Does he really have to answer this?   If not an adventurer, then a pirate!   Perhaps not a pirate, but at very least a sailor, riding the waves on the high seas, always traveling..always free, just like the chaotic barbarian ways that he lives by now. 

 

#16  before this whole "daring heroics" shenanigans started, Angus thought that he'd be trying to live out his dream of becoming a pirate.  making his way across the stolen lands and down into a port to stea...Commandeer a ship, find himself a proper crew, and set off sailing.  Things may have turned out quite differently, without his current party to keep him in some sort of check, his barbarian neutrality could lean towards a much more widely destructive personality, instead of the focused destruction of the foes that threaten his kingdom right now. 

 

#17 When Angus caught sight of a bulging money-pouch on the war-leader's belt, stamped with the king's private treasury, he knew he had been set up.  sure, the deal had seemed like it was too good to be true, taking that small keep and growing it into a respectable little community to harvest the rewards of the local mine and stockpiling the gold in the keep's treasury.  But this betrayal, he should have seen coming, a band of hired mercenaries to wipe out the townspeople, so that the gold could be retrieved later..  (Also the wiki edit page is being a dick and not letting me change the fonts.  so i am shouting my homework answer at you apparently.)

 

#18  it would be difficult to pin down just one swear for Angus, as he tends to launch volleys of them during his sessions of rage, streams of disparaging statements towards his enemies combat ability, parenting, and overall looks, usually after they receive an axe to the face, only to continue on into the next target.

 

Drogza:

 

#1: Arguably, Drogza's already doing the whole "path to darkness" bit right now. Being raised with Traditional Orcish Values and then signing up to do the whole Lawful Good Paladin thing ultimately just as a gesture of good faith is going to involve a lot of moral compromise one way or another. There's potential for Falling over cultural misunderstandings ("What do you mean it's wrong to pit 5 year olds against each other in armed combat? Isn't it important to cull the weak ones early?") and following orders to clear out infestations of various sorts of monsters could run aground on personal morals ("But... my old babysitter was a gnoll!") could both lead to some problems. Politically there's plenty of potential for trouble too, because one of these days she really is going to have to set some people straight on the fact that she's totally a princess and if her father never shows up again anyone in any position of government in the region really should be paying her fealty or something.

 

#2: Hmm... this is a tricky one. Big tough looking youthful actresses are hard to come by and Zoe Saldana's already been called. Whoever ends up playing Brienne in the HBO version of Clash of Kings would most likely work, but if we can't stall for a year or so and let someone else do the hard work I suppose we'll have to settle for oh... Claudia Black.

 

#3: Drogza would probably suggest "The Reformation." It works on two levels. Morally, we're sweeping through, generally strong-arming people into treating each other with some civility, and dignity and pushing some more socially acceptable religions on them while we're at it. Then politically, we're ideally uniting all these little disparate groups into a single nation... which will then ideally be reintegrated with these other local splinters into the single unified empire they should all be part of when her parents get back together from the extended trips they both seem to be taking to properly rule over the whole thing.

 

#4: Well the whole being laughed at and turned away when going off to visit her dad the king there is going to be the pretty clear winner there, but that's already a committed point of backstory and goes without saying. Similarly, her early paladin training involved her taking the initiative with a lot of biting and kicking people when they're down and biting that in retrospect amount to pretty major faux pas. Plus the general embarrassment of trying to memorize a bunch of religious scriptures in a second language she wasn't especially familiar with yet in written form. Then more recently there was that bit with the horse refusing to approach the sleeping bugbear. That was just straight-up embarrassing.

 

#5: Well, only having 24 hours rules a lot out, especially if we're still out in the middle of nowhere when receiving this news. No real strong ties from Restov to send word to, just a bunch of jerk nobles and stodgy religious folks. Everyone worth talking to is along doing all this exploring and such. There would be something to be said for sending word back to her orcish relatives, but why give them the horrible news that she was going to die of some disease or curse or execution or whatever embarrassing cause you know about in advance instead of leaving them the comforting alternative that she was just a anonymous casualty in some big battle or something like any proper orc aspires to? Leaving behind a vengeance seeking and/or honor restoring heir is also clearly out of the question with that sort of timetable. Sending word to Oleg would be the classy thing to do. He's assumed we were all dead so many times he deserves to know when he finally calls it right. All that leaves is finding some big challenging horde of enemies to face off against, and either go down swinging, or pull one of those "Go! I'll hold them off!" sort of deals. Maybe give everyone some inspiring speech.

 

#6: The only thing Drogza has a real sentimental attachment to is Biter, the falchion that's been in for countless generations (which may not be that long of a history to be honest, as counting even two generations is beyond the record keeping skills of most orcs). Her reasons for keeping that around are pretty self-explanatory. Her mother gave it to her to kill things with while heading out to meet her father, and that's been working out pretty well so far. Beyond that, she tends to keep a bar of soap with her at all times, ready to preemptively counter any accusations of being a "filthy smelly orc," although it honestly has never seen any use, with Kalinka being around to start each day with some prestidigitation for as long as such talk has needed dispersing. When traveling through the wilderness, she also makes sure to keep some dried meat on hands at all times, still determined to partially domesticate at least a few of these local predatory beasts. Presumably she'll grow rather attached to this crown and custom-fitted and decorated platemail eventually too.

 

#7: This one might sound like kind of a cheat, since it's currently going on right when answering this question, but honestly? Hearing that these lizardfolk are torturing some punk kid for as long as they can manage to keep him alive. Prior to this point, Drogza's been all about being open-minded, non-judgemental, and totally respectful of other cultures' customs and values. If there's people in the area this blatantly, properly, evil for evil's sake though, it's time to get a bit more closed-minded.

 

#8: Not a hypothetical here. First priority, get roofs over the heads of all the crazy weirdos who agreed to settle here, and something to protect them from getting killed by all these wandering monsters. After that, time to get some serious boats and bridges around for convenience and an economically self-sufficient capital. Then it's time to seriously get some basic don't be a murderous thieving jerk laws in place, and generally keep everyone in the area from killing anyone who doesn't deserve it. As a long-term goal, really it's all about maintaining that general basic civic order, and spreading it over as wide an area as can be managed. This'll clearly take multiple lifetimes, so working out some system of succession down the road may be called for too.

 

#9: Angus- Some new clothes. A lot of his old stuff can't fit that well anymore. Elsa- Hmm... probably an old book of either history or fairy tales. Fasa- A great big steak. Kalinka- Barding for that there horse. Been too many close calls lately. Seradin- Cigarettes are too obvious, probably some nicely illustrated bestiary, seeing how he's been doing the Haryn thing so much lately. Solamus- Some proper fencing lessons, and since that seems rather cheap, his own personal anvil.

 

#10: Definitely push for digging in, yeah. We have one of the most defensible places in the area. Everyone should be safe enough in the castle, maybe with some crossbows so they can lend a hand without sticking their necks out, us on the front lines doing our whole cripple and kill thing as usual. Mounting a counter attack as soon as possible, naturally.

 

#11: In a straight up "who would win in a fight?" situation, Drogza would be a pretty darn safe bet, yes. Good fort and will saves to ruin Solamus' day, a truckload of hitpoints to burn along with decent armor, and freebie self-healing on top of that, plus enough accuracy and damage output I'm pretty sure it'd be a case of "you die if I don't roll a 1." Angus or Solamus could shut all that down with a lucky roll though. However, I would make the argument that the above scenario we're dealing with here is not, in fact, an anything goes, no holds barred situation. Without actually having some totally irresistible magical kill-everyone compulsion in place, she'd reject the whole premise as much as was possible, at the very least giving everyone the sound tactical advice to gang up and drop her first.

 

#12: First off, Drogza isn't really the type to take head voices at face value, and as such would immediately start detecting evil, searching around for faeries, and otherwise generally approach the situation in skeptical fashion. If offered a legit, no strings attached wish though, most likely it would be something along the lines of "I wish that any future enemies of mine will have the decency to personally challenge me to a straightforward fight." Something like "a peaceful reign" would be too dull in the long run, but between Hargulka's hostages, the old serial killer hermit, the Antipaladin-Dread-Grave-Knight taking a swing at Elsa, and the whole Varnhold situation in general really, it seems a prudent request. Not to mention an appropriate thing to say even if it was some hidden monster, come to think of it. Of course, if asked in the vicinity of this here wedding, odds are good she'd instead ask for something sappy, like raising some worthy heirs.

 

#13: Drogza was born Pharast 3, 4694, a fact that she is aware of only because having exact dates put to memory helps to explain her parentage. Some token appreciation is usually shown each year when the date rolls around by those close to her, but generally in very low-key fashion, such as being given a pile of exotic berries by her oldest friend Kalinka.

 

#14: If given the chance to do something over again, not sending a wedding invitation to a certain out of touch monarch would be the obvious choice, followed by handling that Hargulka business differently. As far as actually taking in-the-moment regrettable actions though, this recent political mess was a choice between three options, all with potentially hazardous consequences, and was made in haste. No way not to feel guilty there unless it all somehow works out just fine. The whole bit with incurring the wrath of a vengeful faerie queen will probably lead to a regrettable situation too, but you can't exactly go around caving to the unreasonable demands of genocidal lunatics.

 

#15: Well, independent monarch for life of a breakaway colony is still technically a real-world occupation one might have, but that's cheating. That said, we also can't go the "person of equivalent background" route, because there really isn't a real-world equivalent of being raised by orcs. What we can do is look at a hypothetical situation where Drogza's mind, as is, is somehow magically magically transfered into the body of some typical middle-class American, and we somehow get around all the culture shock, training, and certification issues, in which case I'd say she'd most likely go for a law degree and try to go the whole crusader for civil liberties activism route. Lots of angry shouting at bigoted CEOs and such, probably not so much with the chopping them in half when they refuse to listen to reason.

 

#16: Plan A was pretty basic. Go find this human father who's supposed to be a major bigshot, learn how humans manage things, generally pick up the basics of how it's done up in Brevoy, then thanks to that whole hereditary rule notion, snag a free army of humans and go conquer some folks. When that didn't work, plan B involved just learning the ropes with this whole paladin thing to get some respect and take another stab at the rightful rule angle. All that training though tends to broaden one's horizons, and even as it stands, this whole respect thing hasn't been working out too well, so... plan C- Off to the crusades?

 

#17: There are a lot of potential variations on the same theme here that would be perfectly sensible, but the common thread is that it's the head of someone Drogza has extended protection to. Might be Lizardman Ten, might be one of the centaurs, might be a local like Jhod Kavken, might even be the annoying fairy pair. The motivation in all of these cases (except for that last one where it'd be shooting the messenger) would be pretty clear though. "Let's see these people's so-called defender." And of course, as an added gnoll-y bonus, the head in question's probably going to be filled with wasps.

 

#18: Drogza really doesn't go in for profanity. She's self-conscious about keeping a level head and not playing into that particular half-orc stereotype, instead preferring to give moralistic lectures. Something like 'to the abyss with you!' could potentially find its way in there, but only in the most literal sense. In terms of just shouting a word or two in anger or exasperation though, the closest she's likely to come is "Angus!"

 

 

Elsa:

 

#1: Elsa's 'Path to Darkness' would not be a simple one - Elsa is rather self effacing and tends not to think as much about her own gain. So if she had a solid path to darkness it would have to lie in deciding that the ends justified the means in helping people. Through manipulating people and twisting them to meet her ends, Tricking them, as it were, into dancing for her like marionnettes on the end of strings. The goals would indeed be good, but it would be the means that would drift.

 

#2: Three actresses come to mind: Julia Roberts(When younger), Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathaway. All three known for: A big smile and an effusive personality - all three have the facial architecture similar to that I imagine for her, and I think would seem to portray her essential nature well. Naturally, any choice would have to use tricks to make them appear short, but given LOTR, I don't think that would be a problem. Alternately, I would go for a unknown classically trained young actress with a good smile.

 

#3: The Seventh Freedom. A play off of the six river freedoms and their, at least in her view shall we say. . incompleteness. Freedom must be expanded into new horizons, including a freedom from fear of the rule of the strong over the weak. And 'we can be their agency'. Topical and related to the area they are in, and likely at least somewhat meaningful to the locals.

 

#4: Every time she has manipulated people one step too far. (To be continued)

 

#5: Her first order of business would be to write a final message to those most important to her, a reverse eulogy, sort of - telling people her thoughts on them and her relationships therewith. Her second order of business would be to as with others, inform Oleg of their fate and arrange for her remains to be sent back to her parents. The third would be do find a tavern, find some friends, and go out and get completely roaring no holds barred drunk with friends. Go out with a bang, worshiping in the proper manner.

 

#6: First thing for Elsa is her Journal, her personal journal - she writes her thoughts, her fears - and those things which bring her joy and sadness. Philosophical leanings and ideas. Periodically pages are copied off and sent home to her parents - and to the bard who trained her. Second, she carries the amulet which identifies her adoption by the Orlovsky. Despite her remaining identification as a humble commoner - she is still honored by it, and holds it close to her. Thirdly, is a book of quotes and quotations, and speeches by her former tutor and master, which she reads and studies nightly.

 

#7: The obvious moment for Elsa would have been the one in her background - where she saved the life of the Orlovsky son with only her tongue and her wits.  At that point both her life and her outlook changed - more specifically by exposing her to her teacher, the Bard - and from there her fascination with the power of words, written and spoken flourished and her focus changed from being talented. . to being an artist.  The Change gave her life a focus which it had lacked before.

 

 

#8: Short term, the immediate goal would be the safety of the citizens - eliminating bandits and outside threats.  Another goal, which is both long and short term would be a rewriting and expansion of the six river freedoms into a larger framework for governance that respects the rights of the citizens - all the citizens - and protects them from harm.    Long term, erecting a series of libraries and schools would be on the docket - people should be lifted from the darkness.  A stable relation with neighbors, with friendly exchange of ideas, goods, and people - and those unwilling to be at least peaceful to be dealt with.

 

#9: Angus:  Much like Solamus, part one would be the drink - more likely to be something in a whiskey or gin - and the second part, a book of military tactics, to aid in his new role.

 

Drogza:  A finely crafted tome, into which the story of the Kingdom of Tuskwood can be written for posterity, and a fine chair, a seat of power, for the comfort of her posterity.

 

Solamus: A bottle of fine wine - and her mentor invited to talk with him, and share his extensive knowledge about any topic which Solamus might so desire.

 

Kalinka:   A carefully carved wooden figurine of Inna - and a treatise on the wildlife of the Tuskwood area - and a fine book, blank, for her to write her thoughts on the same.

 

Serradin: A series of essays on the meanings of freedom, and the responsibilities borne by those who are able to those who are not.  A finely crafted journal, again, for him to write and record his thoughts.

 

 

#10: All who are helpless would be relocated to a place of safety.  All who were capable of helping and willing to help would be invited to come along to decimate the ability of those concerned to ever act in violence again.  A quick and surgical strike while they were still gloating over their earlier victory, an all or nothing roll of the dice to remove a scourge from the land.   At this point, negotiation would have to be a thing of the past.

 

 

#10: I would say Elsa is among the least likely to win overall, as the majority of her talents lay around improving others - not herself.  The favorite - to me at least - would be one of three people - Angus, Drogza or Solamus;  Angus and Drogza for the reason that they can deal out amazing amounts of damage - I favor Angus a bit out of those two because less of his abilities are centered around effecting 'evil' - for example, in this situation Drogza's smite would be neutralized.   The other would be Solamus, by staying above the fray and firing down upon people, using hexes and trying to pick people off from above while they take each other out.

 

If Elsa has a strategy it would be to stay as far away from the combat as possible, go invisible and let the others take each other on - perhaps releasing mad monkeys into the fray to help damage along - and wait for the field to be whittled.  At that point, try to stay at range and pepper people with sonic booms, arrows and her few offensive spells and pray allot.

 

#12 Your character has just walked in to a room and a voice in your head says "make a wish". What do they wish for? Why? Give me a good paragraph to earn 500 bonus XP.

 

Elsa, first, would share the suspicion.  Being a wordsmith, her wish would be very carefully crafted.  The essence of said wish would likely be for the ability to speak to anyone and everyone.  The ability to communicate her ideas to anyone or anything at will, to be able to read and write ... anything.  Anytime.  Always.

 

#13 Elsa was born on the first day of the year, just after midnight.   Being in the dead of winter, she was most likely at Tor Inna at the time.  She has a tendency to spend the time with close friends swapping and telling stories, drinking - have to honor Cayden in his own way for another year of life - and generally, trying to have a fine time talking and joking until the early hours of the next day.

 

#14 - What one action/decision/lack of action in your character's life do they feel the most guilty about? (Submitted by Google)

 

Leaving home and leaving behind her family;  she knows they supported her going out into the world and making her own way and yet -  and yet she misses them, and is sure she could be of use to them.  She has some feeling of having abandoned them, as unreasonable as those feeling might be.

 

 15) What real-world occupation would your character pursue if they were a real person?  Would they be a doctor?  A priest?  A cop? (Submitted by Susan)

 

Elsa, in the real world, would be ... either an actor or a politician.  Although I think she would more likely be an activist than someone running for office.  She would be using her verbal talents to effect change in the world, and to bring people along with her.  However, if she decided to be introverted ... she would likely end up an author.

 

18:  Elsa doesn't curse.  Not in the sense of profanity.  Instead, she is likely to use creative languages, references to stories or myths . . . or instead loudly say nothing.  Her normal mode is to be issuing verbal witticisms, quips and comments and well timed jabs.  If she goes silent?  That is when something is going on and you should pay the most attention.  

 

Kalinka:

 

#1: Kalinka doesn't really like people. Sure, she likes individuals, but people as a whole she doesn't like. They're loud, they gather together in big crowds, they cut down lots of trees and build stinky, overcrowded cities. Her brief time in Restov was one of the most stressful times of her life. Luckily, she's fairly easily able to head away from civilization for extended periods of time. Bearing this in mind, it would not be hard to see how she would go evil: if she were trapped in a city for an extended period of time, with no access to the natural world, it would drive her crazy. She would do anything to get out.

 

#2: She'd need an attractive, relatively versatile actress who was comfortable with action but capable of drama as well. This then gets narrowed down further by her dark skin. The two actresses that come to mind are Halle Berry and Zoe Saldana. I don't really need to say much about Halle Berry. She's a skilled actress who plays action roles often, and pretty much everyone knows her. Zoe Saldana played Lieutenant Uhura in the new Star Trek movie, and was also the only girl-pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean. She's comfortable with drama and action, but isn't already so well known that people will see the actress rather than the character. Having also been the female lead in Avatar, she would be capable of a slight alien otherness that goes with Kalinka's unusual heritage. Zoe Saldana is also closer in age to Kalinka. So she probably wins.

 

#3: Kalinka considers herself less of a settler and more of a wilderness guide. Likewise, she would avoid names that would be too civilization-oriented. Thus, her chosen name for the group would be something nature-oriented: like "Wardens of the Wood" or "Riverwalkers". That is, if she chose a name at all. After all, names imply organization, and organization is an inherently civilized action.

 

#4: When she first was coming in to her power, Kalinka manifested her abilities in a dramatic way: All around her, the stand of trees surrounding her grew to great height, the canopy blocking out the sun entirely. Vines grew and twined around the trees. It was lush and pristine and beautiful - but it was more than nature could bear. The lack of sun made the vines wither. The vines strangled the roots of the trees. And all the lush greenery drank up all the ground water. Soon, the copse was barren and lifeless. This is Kalinka's greatest shame, and a reminder that her abilities are powerful and should be used with care.

 

#5: It would depend where she was. If she were in a forest or near a forest, she would walk deep into the woods alone, her shovel with her. She would find a tree, and begin digging at its base, taking care not to cut through the roots. Then as she was about to die, she would lower herself into the hole, curl up and let herself pass quietly away. Her body would become nourishment for the tree. If she were in the wilderness, but not near a forest, she would find somewhere quiet to meditate for a bit, then cast some acorns and other tree-nuts around. Once that was done, she would pour everything of her magic into breathing life into the seeds, with her last iota of energy bringing a sliver of woodland to the plains. If she were in a city or town, the first thing she would do would be to leave it if possible - if she were imprisoned or otherwise unable to escape, she would do what she would do in the wilderness, buildings and people be damned. Trees would grow around her, toppling walls, pushing through ceilings, creating wilderness in the heart of civilization. And then she'd die.

 

#6: Kalinka always carries with her, tucked away in a small leather pouch close to her heart, an acorn taken from a tree which sprouted from a cutting of her ancestor's great oak. This is her tie home, her connection to the family, and if and when she finds a permanent place to live she will plant it. Another great treasure is a pair of comfortable boots - although she prefers to go barefoot, when traveling over rough or thorny terrain a pair of comfortable, sturdy boots is a godsend, and one she would not dream of travelling without. Lastly, a recent addition to her outfit - when she was burying Inna, she took a lock of her tail. With this, she fashioned a braided bracelet, which she wears constantly - a keepsake of her first and truest friend.

 

#7: This would have to be the same moment as #4, but for very different reasons.  In her family, almost everyone was either a Ranger or a Druid, and she was expected to follow one or the other path.  She had all the understanding of the wilderness, and love of the outdoors, one would expect for one or the other class - and yet, she became a Sorcerer.  It wasn't a conscious choice.  She would have perfectly happily become a Druid, had she had the wherewithal to make her own decisions on it.  But she didn't have the choice.  One morning, BAM, her powers spontaneously manifested - and from that moment, her course of life as a sorcerer was set.    She was initially a little bitter about it, before coming to the conclusion that her abilities were no less natural than those of her family, and since she was clearly born to them it would be disrespecting Nature to force herself down another path.

 

#8: Leaving aside that she would not accept the crown even had it been offered, as she has little patience for politics and is not especially Lawful or enamored of order and social organization.  She is, however, inherently good at heart.  Although she doesn't really like people all that much, she doesn't want to see any harm come to them.  She would probably aim to strike a balance between the land and its new inhabitants - seeking out sustainable ways of obtaining food without disturbing the environment too much.  Encouraging sparing use of natural resources.  Guiding people in respect for the power of nature.  And generally being a hippy.

 

#9: Because of who she is, she is unlikely to give anything overly manufactured to her companions - and preferably she would supply the raw materials herself.

Angus:  A helmet made out of a turtle carapace, in memory of him slaying the great snapping turtle.

Drogza:  Fine furs to trim her regal raiment, or to keep her warm in winter.  Whether she wants to be practical or ceremonial is up to her.

Elsa:  Perfume made of assorted local herbs, spices and flowers.

Seradin:  Assorted local herbs and weeds that are good for smoking, hand-gathered and dried.  They may or may not have interesting side-effects.

Solamus: Bottles of mead made from wild honey gathered from the forest near Tor Inna.

 

#10: Her first priority, due to that nagging being Good thing, would be to get the remaining citizens out.  Send them to a neighboring kingdom, send them back to Brevoy, whatever.  Just get them out of harm's way.  Once that was done, she'd consider her contract with Restov to settle this area terminated rather terminally.  Marking it down as an indication from Nature that this place was meant to remain wild, she'd blend back into the woods from whence she came and have nothing more to do with civilization for the rest of her days - becoming a strange hermit.  She would help solitary travelers inasmuch as she could, particularly those who were ill-prepared for the wilderness.  Groups, she'd try to avoid.  If more settlers came at some point in the future, she'd stridently try to warn them away from settling this place.  If they persisted, she'd wash her hands of them as long as they left her alone.

 

#11: It's hard to predict how things would proceed with us fighting each other.  We work together so well as a team - Elsa buffing us or healing, Seradin healing, buffing or using his spank-ray, Kalinka and Solamus giving the enemies a very bad day, and Drogza and Angus going in for the kill.  I don't think Kalinka would win it, as she doesn't have a lot of HP and can't do much damage.  But she might last surprisingly long.  Elsa would not be a real threat against her, being primarily a buffer.  Drop her down an acid pit, stay away from the sides so she can't shoot, and wait for her to be digested.  Similar for Seradin.  His abilities require line of sight.  If he's down at the bottom of a pit, he can't see her.  If he can't see her, he can't hurt her.  It's the other three that are risky.  A single solid hit from either Angus or Drogza could take her out.  The trick would be to entagle them, ensnare them in webs or drop them down pits so they wouldn't get the chance to land that hit.  First round - scroll of Fly.  Second round, entangle. Third round, pits.  If they didn't get her before she left the ground, she could last for quite a long time against either just by staying out of range.  On the other hand, although some of her spells do HP damage, it would be very difficult for her to successfully whittle their large HP pools down to the point of killing either of them. She would be relying heavily on her wands to do the deed.  Solamus would be difficult for an entirely different reason.  As a flier, he could get away from her number one trick - namely, shoving things down the bottom of a pit.  A quick Hold Person or Blindness and some Lightning Bolts would quickly neutralize her.  Solamus would be the most likely winner. He can quickly rise above the fray with his Flight, and stay well out of the way of the meleeists and casters.  He can blind or put people to sleep.  And he has some damage-dealing capability.  Fly out of the way, blind the tough guys so that the less-tough ones could tenderize them for you, then pick off the weakened foes.

 

#12: What would Kalinka wish for if she could wish for anything in the Planes?  Her purely instinctive wish would be to become a Dryad.  She has always identified more with her plant ancestry than with her human ancestry, and the idea of being truly symbiotic with the trees would have a great amount of appeal for her. If she allowed herself more time to think of a wish, she would probably wish for people to learn how to live in harmony with nature or something like that.  She would lack the skill in legal-ese to request exactly what she wanted in a way that could not be misinterpreted by cruel wish-givers.

 

#13: Kalinka was born sometime in early spring.  She can't narrow it down further than that, as instead of the standard calendar her family marked the passing of time in cycles of the moon, sun and seasons.  She counts her age by the number of winters she's seen - mentally marking it off on the day of the winter solstice. She doesn't celebrate her birthday, and doesn't really see the point.  Birthdays, anniversaries, and so forth are artificial and don't really make much sense to her.  That said, she does observe other people's birthdays, because although it makes no sense to her it is important to them and she cares about them.  She usually provides interesting herbs or berries from the woods to aid in festivities, or particularly nice food for a feast.

 

#14: Kalinka has a very laid-back view of the past.  There isn't anything she can do to change it, so what is the point of regretting anything?  However, she does feel some guilt for the death of Munguk. She liked that big oaf - and he'd promised to stop fighting them, and she gave her word that if he surrendered he would live. But a troll fell on him due to her pit, and killed him.  This guilt was somewhat ameliorated by talking to him on the night when the spirits of the dead walked among us.

 

#15: This one is ridiculously easy. There are only really two options: crazy hermit living in a shack in the woods, or park ranger.  She would probably go for the latter, because it would enable her to help safeguard the wilderness.  She might also be actively involved in the environmentalist movement.

 

Seradin:

 

#6: The biting rain stung Seradin's face as he slumped himself against a warped stump twisting out of the ground. His eyes trained closely on the treeline in front of him while a cigarette silently burned to ash between his two fingers. How long had it been since he had come out here to the Stolen Lands to help Solamus with this ridiculous quest? five months? six? he couldn't quite recall. Seradin had always felt outcast from the others, he knew he never really belonged out here in the wilderness, that his native element was in the city, the hustle and bustle, sound and feel of people all around him. He felt comfortable there, In the city he was just another face among many, In the city he could easily hide himself amongst the crowd whenever he pleased. Out here he was always in plain sight, easy to see, unable to be hidden, and it always made him incredibly nervous.

 

To behold Seradin during his first few days as an adventurer out in the wilderness was to behold a spectacle that nobody would expect to survive out here. He shook so much that he could not, for the life of him, keep his hand steady. The only vice that could cure his insatiable bouts of shaking was to delve deeper into a habit he had embraced only casually embraced in his city life. Seradin sat up against the stump and brought the freshly rolled cigarette up to his mouth, inhaling the river of smoke, holding it tightly within his lungs before releasing it out into the bitter rainstorm surrounding him. Had it not been for Kalinka's generous instruction on how to find and roll his own cigarettes out of the local fauna he might not have lasted more than a month out here.

 

Finishing off the cigarette, Seradin stood up and, like a cat suddenly disinterested in its current task, flicked the butt off somewhere into the tree line. He shuffled over to the tent and removed his bag from where it sat just under the flap, careful not to let any rainwater seep in. From his bag he removed a sizable notebook and a small, pencil sized length of charcoal he had fashioned earlier before the rain had begun . Using his bag as a cover from the rain Seradin opened the notebook to an empty page, took up his charcoal, and began to fervently write whatever flowed into his mind. This was Seradin's other vice, one he always endeavored to keep hidden from the rest of his group. Every night during his watch he would write whatever he pleased in this journal. Accounts of daily events were just one of the many subjects that populated its chaotic pages along with bad poetry, chintzy short fiction, and a few cleverly phrased ideas.

 

Seradin continued to write until the rain finally began to let up. Standing up once more for another cigarette he thought deeply for a moment about how things had been changing of late. He had never anticipated that this "ridiculous quest" as he often intimated it to Solamus would result in their appointment to rule over the now rapidly growing country of Tuskwood, or that Drogza, the half-orc companion that he had come to know as a friend would be appointed its duchess.

 

Drogza... now there was a contentious subject. Perhaps it was because he was still sore from losing out on the position of duke himself but some of Drogza's decisions as of late had Seradin silently boiling over with fury. Oleg's appointment to treasurer had made sense enough but following this she had been dead set upon appointing pixies to the role of spymaster, PIXIES! Perhaps it was not the decision itself that bothered him but how cavalierly it had been made with little heed to his constant protests. Thankfully the pixies seemed to have declined the offer but Seradin had noted the slight against him duly. Things were indeed changing for this little troop of adventurers and plenty more changes were on the horizon. For some reason however, Seradin didn't feel like it was all that different. At times it felt as though he was still the outcast member of a band of roaming mercenaries, only now the mercenaries were charged with the running of a country. Only time would tell if Tuskwood would be a success for its people, or if Drogza would shape up to be a competent leader. Thousands of other questions swirled through Seradin's head as well. On how tight a leash would the swordlords of Restov hold Tuskwood? What will happen when the rest of our leadership is forced to deal with problems that can't simply be solved by routing the nearest bandit stronghold?

 

Shaking the rain off of his trusty hat Seradin let out an audible sigh, his watch was over and it was time to wake up the next pair. He nonchalantly tossed away his final cigarette of the night, secreted his journal back into the bottom of his bag, and hunched over to enter the tent.

 

#15: If living in the real world Seradin would have more or less the same occupation he had before venturing out into the stolen lands: he would be a reporter. Seredin takes exquisite enjoyment out of his writing which oftentimes takes on a very counter-hegemonic slant. However while this trait may have hindered him in the kingdom of Brevoy in the real world he would be able to find many avenues open to him to express his dissatisfaction with the government and social ills without batting an eye.

 

#16: So a lot of this was going to be done in a big long short story/narrative experiment I wanted to do for about a year and a half now (or maybe two?) but I failed to realize when I came up with all this that ‘ain’t anybody got time for that’ so allow me to be a bit long winded here. I also feel that it is about time that other people had a better idea of who Seradin is and why he is the way he is as I don’t feel I do a good job communicating it in game.

           

Before the campaign began Seradin felt as though he had little control in his life. In his childhood he went to a school (technically a temple to Irori but a temple to a goddess of lore and understanding would probably double as a school in most cases) that taught him to be critically conscious of the world around him. The education he received would be considered Freirean by modern pedagogical standards. That is to say that it was highly politicized and taught students to see themselves as both a vital part of society and as a positive force within it. Seradin thrived in the school environment and was one of two students afforded special attention, the other being a young man named Mori. Mori would have been more important but as I said, ‘Ain’t nobody got time for that’.

 

Anyway Seradin thrived in the school but once he had to leave the school grounds and enter the real world and its immediate demands he found his concientization to be more isolating rather than freeing. Seradin is very much a victim of isolation. He is often such an idealist that it hurts him to see injustice in the world, and yet he has always felt that he has been powerless to stop it. Eventually he found himself working for a printing press that essentially functioned as a mechanism of propaganda for Brevoy. He was tasked with writing articles and painting untruths in journalism that he knew quite well were false, often serving to paint an unpopular conflict in a more appealing light. The dissonance between his education and his occupation came to a head when he was forced to report on the execution of an individual who spoke against the conflicts who just happened to be one of the instructors from his school.

 

Following this Seradin took up heavy smoking/drinking and it was at this point where he met Solamus. Solamus is the one who would eventually introduce Seradin to the potential opportunities in the Stolen Lands and Seradin, having felt as though he had never had the chance to be in a position of power before finally began to see an opportunity to make a difference (By the way, he really wanted to be Baron/Duke/whatever but just lacked the proper language to bill himself in that position. I think he still harbors a slight grudge against Drogza about that today).

 

Anyway, to answer the question Seradin had no idea what his life would be in the next ten years before the campaign began, or even if he would still have it. HE knew that he should be accomplishing more but he just couldn't.

 

This was all going to come to a head in a super sad side series of short stories I wanted to write involving the Mori character where Mori would show up trying to start a drug empire or something in our cities (Mori took his education in the other direction you see. He saw himself as wholly separate from society and used that realization to seek and acquire the power to alter the world around him through whatever means necessary. He was a complex character who was built around this odd idea of reminding people that they are mortal, thus his name being a reference to Memento Mori). Mori would attempt to do this in a manner that would implicate our government and Seradin would have ended up sacrificing himself in a in a way through which Mori is destroyed and only Seradin is implicated in the drug ring, not the rest of our players. I would have replaced Seradin with a batman like character Called super fist or something silly like that. But again, ‘ain’t nobody got time for that’.

 

 

Solamus:

 

#1: Solamus' path to darkness would be his arrogance and pride, taking out his insecurities and self-recriminations on others, using his witchcraft and eldritch powers to make others suffer and reveling in their suffering, cursing them to be worse than he is, less than he is, and using his meager abilities to make them suffer in that state. To start seeing others as objects, as things. To let his temper get the better of him and lash out at annoyances, sure in his own intellectual and magical superiority.

#2: In a movie adaptation, the actor that springs to mind would be Joaquin Phoenix. His portrayal of insecure characters is excellent, such as his Oscar-nominated best supporting role as Commodus in Gladiator. He has a bit of a Taldan look about him, as befits Solamus' ancestry, and he has a slightly bookish feel to him, with an appropriate non-muscular frame.

 

#3: 'Victum Flumen', because Solamus knows Jistkan and can be a bit pretentious at times. It roughly translates to 'conquerors of the river', alternately 'The life of the river'. It's not necessarily a very good suggestion, but there's a reason Solamus isn't the main social contributor to the group.

 

#4: There are a great many to choose from. Being rejected due to his incompetence from swordmastery tuition. The looks of scorn and contempt, there but swiftly hidden, upon the faces of his family. The realisation that he would never be as good with a blade as his father or grandfather, the crushing sense of inadequacy, of being a fifth wheel, and one out of alignment at that.

 

#5: Top of the list would be 'Find the bastard responsible and take him/her/it with you'. Solamus is very attached to not dying and enjoys it immensely. The very least anyone who took it from him could expect would be to have it repaid in kind: Solamus would probably want the culprit to suffer immensely prior to that death as a final act of defiance. Next would be 'Return the family sword to the family, together with his personal journal'. Let a future nephew or niece inherit the blade, and hopefully the deeds recounted in the journal will polish off some of the tarnish to his name in his family's eyes. Finally, 'See to it Sk'zzk will be cared for, or otherwise returned whence he came'. He is responsible for his familiar, and he would see that responsibility carried out to its fullest.

 

#6: First and foremost would be the recently-improved Aldori duelling sword once owned by his grandfather Brimalus Aldori. This carries a lot of emotional weight due to it symbolising his family history and heritage, the adventuring spirit that led them from Taldor initially, the conduct of those who wielded it before him, and the excellence that is the hallmark of the lineage. It is, to a large extent, the reason why he's here and adventuring. Its practical applications as a melee weapon also help, given the relatively short range of his most potent abilities. The next item changes often, but its nature remains the same: Solamus is extremely studious by nature and is constantly working to improve his breadth and depth of knowledge. To this end, he will have with him tomes of information on one of his many fields of study or a new language, to be perused at leisure during down times. Thirdly, Solamus is meticulous in his record-keeping: In mapping their assigned lands, in keeping track of the group's inventory and resources, in recording his thoughts and observations in his private journals, all of these would be much harder if not for the pen and parchment perpetually in reach.

 

#7: Solamus' actions are characterised by a certain recklessness, something seemingly out of place on a genius scholar. He has the reactions of an aldori-trained fighter because they were drilled into him from an early age, at the knee of his grandfather and father. Whilst his sister took to it like a duck to water, her bookish younger brother never did, although he tended to be enthusiastic in what he perceived at the time as an interesting game with his family.

 

#8: Solamus takes this kind of thing very seriously. After asking for a recount (He really doesn't think he's the best choice for leader, but does think he'd be an excellent advisor), he would get to work going over the history of the stolen lands and the neighboring kingdoms, what they did and what their downfalls were. Short term priority is security, being able to protect the kingdom from local dangers and hardships. Longer term, stability and expansion, growing the kingdom at a sustainable rate according to negotiated borders with rivals, with contingencies in place to intervene should neighbors fall to past vices, or unpleasantness be attempted at their nation. Internally, he would want to foster strong martial and magical traditions within the nation in order to safeguard it for the long term, longevity through education and preparation.

 

#9: Solamus tends to be practically-minded about such things. For the Pirate, a bottle of the finest spirits available, blessed by the nearest Caydenite, and a book on Dwarven culture. For the Baroness, a hand-carved seal branded with her personal escutcheon, and a book of regional history.  For the Orator, a hand-crafted decorative shield bearing the Orlovsky crest and motto, and a book on the methods of the greatest public speakers. For the guardian of nature, a hand-carved walking staff made from deadfall wood, and a book on the ways of city folk and how best to avoid them. For his old friend and boon companion since their youth in Restov, a handmade new tobacco pouch, pre-stocked, and a tome on the varieties of the tobacco plant.

 

#10: Counterstrike, fast and hard. If the walls could not protect our people the first time, they will not the second. Tuskwood cannot afford a second by any stretch of the imagination. This is now an existential battle, against a force well capable of eradicating all we have worked for, and almost successful towards that end at the first attempt. No matter the cost, our first priority, by whatever method, through whatever means, must be to ensure our enemies are utterly incapable of making that second attempt. In addition, given the assault killed all the significant personages, whoever or whatever killed Brimalix is going to suffer so horribly that they will beg for the mercy of oblivion.

 

#11: Free-for-all battle to the death is a tough one to call. Presuming familiars and companions count as equipment, Drogza and Angus are the most dangerous threats on the ground, having the capability to one-shot any of the others that they can reach. On the other hand, reaching Kalinka and Solamus is frequently rather difficult, the former due to her formidable battlefield control and the latter due to flying around dropping spells and hexes, with both having the capability to blind their enemies for good measure. For Solamus, the strategy would be to keep to the skies, and make use of the free for all format by using blindness or hold person to cripple anyone looking to favour ranged over melee, making them much easier targets. Whilst Solamus is a bit of a glass cannon, he has enough hitpoints to survive quite a few arrows, can heal himself and can outrange Admonishing Ray. Kalinka's Stinking Cloud might be a debilitating effect, but flying out through the top of it would keep the rest of the party from having any line of sight to Solamus, giving time to recover from any nausea without any danger of reprisal, and giving those on the ground a few rounds to thin their own numbers. So the plan is be a hard target, cripple anyone targetting him for those on the ground to deal with, then try to slumber or hold any survivor to set up a coup de grace with Angus' anchor to try and claim the win. Biggest threat is probably Elsa, as she's the most accurate at range and can do the most damage the most consistently to Solamus at a distance, and is likely to start with a bow unless she fancies taking her rapier against a Drogza charge or Angus anchor.

 

#12: Blindsided like that, with no time to think or plan something of greater use to the kingdom, Solamus' heartfelt desire would likely rise unbidden: 'I wish, without forsaking my magical abilities or curtailing their future improvement, to be as good with an Aldori duelling sword as my grandfather, father and sister managed to be.' Selfish, petty, impractical and probably regretted as soon as wished for, it is nonetheless what lies within his heart, his regrets and inadequacies, his what-might-have-been. To share in the defining trait of his family, and by extension no longer be quite so much the scorned outsider amongst them.

 

#13: Solamus' date of birth is Rova 20th, 4690. As is only proper for a devout Caydenite, he prefers to spend the night in wine, women and song, in accordance with the holy placard of wisdom. Fortunately, the party have been in Tor Inna each time the date has occurred, with Solamus' 22nd birthday taking place prior to the first expedition against Hargulka, and his 23rd a couple of months before the last. That 23rd was largely spent in the company of Lily Teskertin, at least latterly after the convivial drinking session. 

 

#14: Tough one. Solamus does tend towards self-recrimination and self-doubt, but less as a factor of a guilty conscience and more through his inability to meet the expectations of his lineage. In general, he considers his actions carefully and accepts them for what they are: There are remarkably few instances of second thoughts once he's committed himself to a decision. Perhaps rushing in less, but even then, that is a wilful choice, with the consequences painfully clear and accepted as such if he is proven wrong. He regrets not being able to save the likes of Akiros Insmort and Munguk after their eleventh-hour conversions, but there's a large gulf between regret and guilt, and he doesn't agonise over what he might have done, tending more towards vengeance where applicable. Solamus has felt inadequate, he has regretted not being able to save more, but guilt? He has very rarely felt its scourge. This is definitely something of a flaw in his mental state, and may cause problems later, or when he may have reason to feel remorseful for his actions.

 

#15: The problem with porting across a character to reality is how much they are shaped by their context. In a world without magic, Solamus would likely still feel the bonds of family and heritage, and would likely put his mind to the family business, whatever that may be in this reality. He would want to do as his grandfather and father did, and as his sister is doing, over here as much as over there, and it is likely his aptitude as a bookish student would see him well placed academically. Perhaps a bookkeeper, accountant or personal assistant for the family business, something fairly low-key that makes use of his mental acuity. 

 

#16: Somewhere between childish fantasies of being an Aldori Swordlord in ugly duckling to swan style and being a powerful and respected magic user. Beside that lurked fears of being a broken, regretful drunkard lost in thoughts of what might have been. At the back of his mind, the fear of becoming something evil, with enough power to 'show them all'. He didn't truly know what he'd become, but he was open to a wide range of possibilities.

 

#17:There is a common thread behind much of Solamus' life. It is no secret that he prizes the Aldori Duelling Sword he carries above all else, but why, given his relative incompetence with it? Why is an obscure type of regional swordmastery such a big deal for him? When Tor Inna was in need of competent people to help on the council, who did Solamus seek out? In the hypothetical case above of Tor Inna being destroyed,  who would Solamus have avenged? Family, family, family. The sword is important because it was his Grandfather's, and was of the profession his grandfather was famous for. His grandfather, father and sister were Aldori duelists of various levels of repute, and so it *matters* to him. He asked his sister to be Tor Inna's justicar, and she has served nobly in that role since. In the hypothetical destruction of Tor Inna, 'whoever or whatever killed Brimalix is going to suffer so horribly that they will beg for the mercy of oblivion.' It follows that if you really want to hurt Solamus, if you really want him disoriented and too angry to be rational, if you want to stab him in the heart just by an object seen from across the room, then you strike at his family. It'd need to be recognisable: His father's severed head, or that of Brimalix or Lily. Maybe his father and sister's blades twisted together into uselessness, or the ring he made for Lily, perhaps still on her hand. Something that says instantly that someone he cares about deeply is dead, died horribly, and it's all to get at him.

 

#18:'Cayden damn it'. There really isn't much to it: He swears by that which he holds sacred, and doesn't generally swear that much. Curse words, though? That's a whole other story. 'Sleep' is still one of his favourites, 'Be healed' sees frequent use, and 'No, you're not a storm. The skies are clear. Got that?' can be the ideal pick me up in inclement weather. He occasionally adds invective to his spellcasting, usually related to whichever gift he chooses to bestow upon an enemy. Just a little something to echo in their ears when all sight is taken from them or their last breath rushes out of their lungs.

 

Yeva

 

#16: Had Yeva not found herself unexpectedly imprisoned in Fort Drelev, she would imagine that her life would have continued much as it had until that point - acting as the voice of House Medvyed in trade agreements with far-off lands, exercising her financial acumen to her family's benefit. Eventually marrying a low-ranking member of one of the other noble houses, having children, and conducting business from home. Distantly, in the back of her mind, she doubted that that was how it would turn out. She has always had too much of a connection to the wild, to the Fey. She would not know how it would happen, but it would inevitably shape her destiny.

 

#17: The tattered remains of a banner, a broken shield, a jerkin or some other object with the Medvyed crest on it. This far away from her family holdings, there would only be one reason they would have such a thing - if they had attacked other representatives of her family and then sought her out to finish the job. 

 

#18: "By the Green Mother's teats!" - Yeva isn't one for religion, having much more interest in the Eldest of the fey than gods, so her chosen form of profanity reflects this. She has slightly bowlderized this expression out of a desire to not be unseemly.