#aitha

Idk if I've mentioned it before, but Stonearm and Aitha's ship name is Excalibur because of a joke another player made. When Aitha still had her sword arm instead of a robotic one, they said "hey! Stonearm and Swordarm! It's like the Sword in the Stone!" Then everyone went "sword *in* the stone 😏😏😏😏" so it stuck

They talked about their relationship problems and Aitha running away (in a room full of the rest of the party and like 50 nerds, after a while they both switched to Gnomish) at a very inopportune and unplanned time, but Aitha said she was sorry and Stonearm said she wasn't mad and that she understood, she just wanted to make the decision (about what they were doing) together. Aitha said she couldn't make Stonearm leave the party because her mission was important, and Stonearm said that Aitha wouldn't be making her do anything, if she left it'd be because she wanted to. Hearing that, Aitha said that if Stonearm would decide what she needed to do, she was saying she wanted to be with Stonearm and for her to leave with her. Stonearm got sidetracked and cleared up that they could return to their home city eventually and that Aitha wanted kids, because they had never spoken about it, and Aitha said she wanted kids and that she'd be okay wherever as long as it was an adventure (but them being together has never not been exciting, it wasn't a hard promise for Stonearm to make.) They compromised that after Stonearm helped the party with their current mission (hopefully a day, tops) she would give Aitha an answer. Either way, they know that they want to be together and will make it happen when everything is said and done, and they agree on their future.

Stonearm is my favorite character I have ever made or played. She is so fun and sad, it is really fun to play with. She was found by her adoptive parents when she was around 8 with two unrecognizable dead bodies and a sword, with no memories. The couple assumed the bodies were her parents and took her in. They had previously adopted two other kids, first a boy (5) and second a girl (10), so Stonearm was the last but fell in the middle. they noticed that on her left side, her fingers were stone up to the first knuckle. They took her in and eventually found someone to help train her with the sword, as they thought it was a very important part of her story. Her parents have her the first name Davhace, but gnomes really only use nicknames so they called her Cranta (complete in Gnomish) and her siblings called her Aithwen (sword in Gnomish.) The stone grew, leading to other gnomes calling her Stonearm, but she hated the name and it meant a lot to her that her family did not ever call her that. She is extremely self-destructive and easily has a good time ruined. She has trouble enjoying things and consciously would choose the wrong thing to do on purpose, leading to a lot of bad streaks as a child. It was really hard for her parents to address this behavior and to help her make better choices, but she was impossible and kept getting deeper into vices and small crimes. She would disappear for a few days at a time and they could not find her, but she would quietly come back. She very easily slips into really bad emotional states, which caused her behavioral issues. When she was 16 she ran away for real and found Belusog ar Anord, a Gnomish gang. She traveled with them for 6 years, eventually dating the "leader," Aitha. She left the group when she was 21 because she got arrested to let all of her friends get away from drow guards. She got sent to Velkynvelve for 33 years before breaking out with the rest of the party at the campaign start. During the campaign, she learned that her arm was actually turning to ooze, but her birth parents had served Segojan Earthcaller, and he was turning the ooze into stone to help her. Juiblex, the demon lord of slime and ooze, was trying to talk to her but she was able to get the blessing of the Earthcaller, removing the demon's hold on her and restoring her arm (it had been worsening quickly.) She found out that in the time that she was in jail her city, Blingdenstone, got taken over by a tyrant named the Puddin King. 10 years before the campaign, the city launched a revolution attempt in which Stonearm's brother and three of the five other members of Belusog ar Anord died. There was a sickness in the city that was slowly killing people, and her mom as was sick. Stonearm reconnected with her ex amid all the chaos happening in the city and tried to figure out if they really could have a future together. She had to assume a position as a leader in the city and learn about the legacy of the chosen of the Earthcaller in a few weeks. A bunch of really, truly terrible stuff happened to her and she lost her sobriety. She also died right after finding out her brother died and had to be revived but the method of revivification messed with her Earthcaller sword and her arm before she got his blessing. They saved the city but she felt very useless in the process. Her gf ran away before she could talk to her after the battle and the party left Blingdenstone. The first night out of the city, they got captured by a cult. She recognized the city they were brought to and used a sending stone to message her sister to message Aitha to see if she was nearby. She was, and is helping them right now, but asked Stonearm to come home with her to the surface after. Stonearm's tattoos are my favorite part of her design and I love adding to them, especially in game. Stonearm has been carrying a ring around for a while, and I am leaving the game so she will leave with Aitha.

Arilin "Aitha" Pembleamble

Aitha means "to prick or sting" in Gnomish, and Stonearm calls her Caithi (kiss.) Aitha is two years older than Stonearm and three years younger than Peak. The Pembleamble's dad was abusive. One day when Aitha was 6, their mom broke and killed their dad. She and Peak saw everything. Their mom went to jail and the kids were sent to the orphanage then ran away so they would not be separated. They chose their own last name together. Eventually, they picked up more party members, Stonearm being the last to join. Aitha was the unofficial leader of the group, but Stonearm generally challenged her the most. Stonearm always felt safer around Aitha and slept way better around her (Stonearm has a lot of sleeping issues.) When Aitha was 21 and Stonearm was 19, Stonearm kissed her to shut her up in an argument where Aitha was mad Stonearm took a hit for her in a fight. They were purely physical for a while but eventually they fell in love. Aitha got really mad at Stonearm for "leaving" when she got arrested. When Stonearm found her after getting to Blingdenstone, she immediately offered to help her without any hesitation and without having to be asked. Aitha at this point owned a bar and ran the "Rouge Fold," a criminal group that ran drugs to the surface. When they spoke about their future and how they would work together, Aitha refused to float the idea of trying to get sober, which was not great. Despite this they established that whatever they did they would do together and that they would work together. After the battle, Aitha thought that Stonearm needed to go with the party and didn't want to stop that, so she left a note for Stonearm and ran. When Aitha showed up to help Stonearm later, she was guilty drunk and obviously felt horrible about it.

Relin "Peak" Pembleamble

Peak got his name from always operating at "Peak" performance. He has a -2 INT and a -1 WIS, but is a great fighter/barbarian. He follows Aitha most of the time, affectionately calling her Gumri (Gnomish for problem.) When they were teenagers, he met a gnomish girl named Tag and brought her around. Tag eventually joined Belusog ar Anord and was the one who designed the symbol they all have tattooed on their right hand. Tag and Peak loved each other but were never brave enough to commit to it. Tag died in the first revolution attempt, and Peak saved Aitha (but she did lose her right arm.) Peak has always been supportive of Stonearm and after a bit of their dating started to trust her. He occasionally would offer her advice with his sister, but mostly he just threatened her if she hurt her. He was invited by Stonearm to spend a lot more time with her family, as they are very open and he didn't have anyone besides Aitha and Stonearm.

Quissa "Cwess" Turen

Cwess is a recent nickname Stonearm gave Quissa, it means "proverb." Quissa is the head cleric of their city's temple to the Earthcaller. When she was little, most people called her Bean. Cwess was the second adopted of the siblings but is the oldest. She is very kind and has become very focused and effective. She led the first revolution attempt, which caused a lot of problems between her and Aitha because they blamed each other for losing their loved ones. They have been able to put that aside and worked together for the new revolution. Cwess for a while resented Stonearm for being chosen by their god without having been devout. She saw that Stonearm made poor and selfish decisions and she worked hard and was good, but by birthright, Stonearm was a member of the Earthcaller's chosen. Eventually, they got through this, and Cwess apologized for being hostile and resentful towards Stonearm over a blessing she didn't ask for. Now that the city is free, Cwess is going to explore the Underdark and spend some time with herself.

Pyre Miorvrois

Age: 18. Level: 11 Class: Ascendant Dragon Monk Race: Fire Genasi (base unknown)

Left at the Monastery as a baby, Pyre grew up never being told why she was separated from her family. She was raised primarily by a couple, Utror Tussay Igen, the Champion and the Powerful One, and Arakli, Cleric of the Dragon Cycle, but the entire monastery had a hand in her rearing. Utror is the Grand Master of the monastery and the only monk to have completed two "Claimings." The Monastery is dedicated to maintaining what they call the “Dragon Cycle.” They believe that a dragon never truly dies. They do not have to return as the same type of dragon, or with the same alignment, they retain little to no memories from previous lives. The monks consider themselves the law keepers of dragons. They either kill or ally with dragons to keep the powerful beings in check. They speak in draconic at the Monastery. Once they have trained to their Shodan (beginner belt), they are eligible to go on their Claiming. When knowledge of a dragon reaches the Monastery, it is all recorded and organized in the archives. A student ready to Claim will be assigned this dragon and sent on their claiming, if multiple are eligible, it is whoever seems the fittest for the dragon, based on the knowledge known. At this point, they take the name of the dragon as their last name and are sent off to find and make contact. They are encouraged to meet and create an adventuring party, allies are good to the Monastery and, if their mission ends with a fight, backup is good. Pyre was always extremely high-energy, managing to piss off many of the older monks, but she was always just too sweet to stay mad at. As if her father being the Grand Master of the Monastery wasn’t enough to put pressure on her as she starts her claiming, he is the only monk to have completed two Claimings, taking two names and claiming two titles. Pyre was sent off with only the name Miorvrois to go off of. The monks were concerned about the dragon because it was so unusual and suspicious to not find more information. Pyre does not get along with one of her party members in particular but is very committed to her quest. She has found that her dragon is "The Dragon of the Masquerade," and was given the role of Jack the Giant Slayer in the past. The entity called the Library is forcing people into fairy tales, and the dragon ate all the old giants (who were big compared to her.) Now, Jack's role has been passed to Pyre, and the giant's role to Miorvrois. Pyre can basically email her parents with paper birds, and they are very concerned with the previously unknown size of the task that lies before their young daughter (this manifests in letters that are very funny to the players.) Pyre is also fully Charlie Kelly conspiracy red string and is 98% sure that her dragon is the dragon that destroyed Kryn (from before she did that) and that they are in a time before the spell plague right now. Pyre's skin is made of ash, so her tattoos are actually brands because her skin would not take ink and reacted to burns interestingly. She found this out by accidentally burning her hand as a child after her parents said not to touch really hot stuff and she was like, I'm made of fire nothing will happen I'm not listening to you! Unfortunately, I won't get any resolution for Pyre's story as am I leaving the campaign.

Utror Tussay Igen, the Champion and the Powerful One

A very put-together yuan-ti man, Utor lacks ears and has green skin. He was also left at the monastery as a baby, but his adoptive father was much more open with him about it (which makes Pyre more suspicious of why he wouldn't tell her about her origins.) Despite his father, Robin Lord of the Blue, being very easygoing and chill, Utror was always very up-tight and rigid. He loves order and does well now being a moral enforcer of the rules, as part of his job as Grand Master. He met Arakli when he was 16 and Arakli was 17, and they did not get along. When he came back from his first Claiming at 18 they realized that they had grown closer and liked each other. He got married at 21 and adopted Pyre at 35. When she was four, he went on his second Claiming. He was not happy to claim another dragon, but saw it as his responsibility as a high-ranking master who was probably the strongest and most able, as there was no one ready to start their claiming and the threat was very large. He did not complain and his only hesitation before accepting the task (without being asked) was to make sure everything would be set up for his family while he was gone and in case he didn't return. He came back scarred but in one piece and eventually rose to lead the monastery. He is quieter and more stoic but loves his family deeply.

Arakli, Cleric of the Dragon Cycle

Arakli is the charismatic son of a noble Seldarine half-drow family. He was a party kid who did not get along with his rude, prissy family. He ran away as a teen, eventually drunkenly stumbling upon the monastery. He traded chores for a bed for a while, before eventually chilling out and starting to train under the very, very old cleric that was there at the time. Because of his jovial and rambunctious nature, Utror fucking hated him at first, and he hated Utror for being so uptight and a stick in the mud. Arakli came around to Utror first and would try to be friendly to him after a while. Their relationship turned into aggressive banter, but they both would have vehemently denied that they would ever be able to not hate each other. When Utror left on his Claiming, Arakli didn't realize why he was so anxious at first. Their getting together after the Claiming was kind of awkward, as at that age Utror still kind of struggled to put aside his pride enough to admit he had been wrong about Arakli. Having been so disapproving towards Arakli, admitting that he had grown so much and become someone that Utror both trusted and really cared about required him to be much more vulnerable than he was used to, but he has never once regretted it. Leading up to their wedding ceremony, Utror gently asked if Aralki wanted to reach out to his family but he was very against this. Utor did not push this or think Arakli should have invited them or anything, he just wanted to make sure that Arakli had the option in case he wanted to take it. As a parent, Arakli is much more laid back and goofy than Utror, but he still enforces strong morals and supports Utror well. Arakli was not happy that Utor went on a second claiming, as he had already completed his “dues” and Pyre was four, but he understood and supported him. He ut up a little protest at Pyre getting branded, but she was very confidently okay with it so he dropped it quickly.

Rowan Sipreet

Rowan was born a human and turned into a werewolf at a young age. When Elturel fell, their family was on the outskirts of what was left on the material plane. Their family died, but the draconic monks who resided nearby found them while doing damage control and search and rescue. The monks took them in, Utror and Aralki especially watching them. Rowan was asked by Arakli to watch over Pyre when she was adopted. They use their divination wizard magic to do this, which Arakli is uncomfortable with but like they are doing what he asked. Rowan has some of the monastic tattoos but got away with as few as they were allowed to get. Pyre only actually met Rowan when the campaign started somehow, but Pyre loves them so much. They are her best friend. Rowan is the only DM-created NPC in this post, but they are very important to Pyre and her backstory.

Vesryn “Ener” Ayen

Age: 117 Level: 11 Class: Phantom Rogue Race: Kalashtar (Elf base)

I play Vesryn in two campaigns, for ease, I refer to them as the Baggage and Ryn timelines. In both, her middle name refers to the Quori spirit she is bound to. Her people are Kalashtar, dual souls, one elven and one dream spirit. They keep the spirits very, very secret both to protect the spirits and to protect themselves. In the Ryn timeline she is from the Feywild, so keeping her Quori name secret also protects her from Fey. In both timelines, her father is the chief of the city, and she is an heir. When the chief dies, everyone they have appointed as an heir enters a fight to the death, anything goes competition. The heirs can either renounce heirdom at this point, concede when they are obviously going to lose to another heir, stand until they are killed, or they can win. While Vesryn expects one of her siblings to renounce heirdom, she is not sure if the others will concede or force her to kill them. Not all of the chief's kids are heirs. The chief can appoint anyone they see as strong, capable, and good as an heir, which often happens to include their children because they are raised to be good leaders and fighters. Vesryn is the third oldest of the chief's kids but would refer to herself as the second oldest. Her oldest sibling, Aila, ran away 36 years ago under very suspicious circumstances. The family does not acknowledge her existence, so Vesryn knows she did something very bad if her parents won't address or acknowledge it after decades. One of her brothers, Aeson, is 37, and does not know his oldest sibling even exists, as he would have been too young to remember her and they would not have talked about her at all. Vesryn's parents separated around when her brother Arel came of age (he was around 100. Vesryn and him have the smallest age gap of any of her siblings: only 6 years.) Both parents have new partners and children, leading to a total of 10-11 (in Baggage her mother is pregnant, in Ryn she has already had the baby) siblings, half-siblings, and step-siblings. Because the elven Kalashtar live to be 1,000, the kids are often born very far apart. Her story hook is that she has been having nightmares of her city being destroyed for months, and her people take dreams incredibly seriously. Her father has sent her to the material plane to decipher these and solve the problem. In Baggage, the dreams include hideous flesh monsters, in Ryn it is a dark smoke accompanied by alternating types of massive death (plague, undead, war, famine, etc.) In Ryn, Vesryn will have a romance with the changing bard PC played by my best friend (the PC, Naya, has nicknamed her Ryn.) Time moves much more quickly in the Feywild here, so the few months before the game started were years for her family. That game is much newer than Baggage, we have only played a few sessions. I joined Baggage late into the campaign, so we have addressed some really fun dream stuff in her city, and now she is helping with the end game, fighting the litch responsible for the flesh monsters. She believes Aila to have been somehow dragged into this and corrupted.

Toimeen Panija

Age: 41 Level: 7 Class: Thaumaturge Race: Mostly Elf Half-Elf

Toimeen is my Pathfinder character! She is a very elven half-elf who grew up on the edges of the Empire. Her mom died when she was 7 and her sister, Viine, was 4. When she was 27, her dad died in a farming accident. They had extended family in the town, but Viine and her moved to a big city, Dunwall after. She started dating a half-elven man named Darith after a few years in the city, and Viine started dating a woman named Kaly. After studying and saving up, she started to study at the arcane university to join the elite squad of thaumaturges and magi that worked for the Empire, and her sister started working to become a scholar. She got married to Darith after around a year of enrollment in the University. Two years later, her sister was killed. Because they were not rich or powerful, the guard did not really care. Despite Toimeen pestering them, they didn't do anything, so Toimeen started ignoring her studies in favor of looking into it. She found her husband's family ring, a rip of fabric that matched one of his tunics, and other assorted clues in the room of Viine's house where she was killed. She couldn't figure out a motive but was convinced of his guilt after she discovered Darith's alibi was false. Toimeen arranged for them to leave the city and go to the countryside. She killed him and ran from the city, using her skills to become a traveling mercenary. She found an occult temple sword in a crypt while fighting a monster. Now it has been 6 years, and she's starting to make a few new friends (the party.) They just found out that her killing her husband is the reason why she is can't go back to Dunwall and she is so nervous around members of the city's guard. She is assumed dead in Dunwall right now but she knew a lot of guard members and thaumaturges/magi, so if any of them were to see her she would be in trouble. The party just got the deed to Blackwood Manor in the town of Mournhold, which is so obviously haunted so the bard and Toimeen are very excited. The bard's occult magic interacts weirdly with Toimeens, recently causing her temple sword to become a scythe. Besides the party, she is friends with a member of a smugglers guild, a noblewoman, and tries to check on Kaly, her sister's girlfriend every so often.

Lopun Landosis

Age: 0? Level: no levels in the Laughing Moon System Class: Mage, but no classes in Laughing Moon Race: Sinowen Elf (Drow) (former Bandiar)

Lopun was my first character in the Laughing Moon system and setting. This was where I met one of my groups! We all were brought back as bandiar (resurrected heroes, the word means fate bound in-universe) to serve the Wheelhouse, the entity keeping the broken world together in the third age. Her base race was the equivalent of drow, and she had spent her first life fighting underground in a territory war against the deep dwarves. She also had two younger sisters that she was responsible for. She used chaos magic, which is very risky but has big rewards. She died in the first age because her magic blew up in her face. Her use of chaos magic (and selfishness in that she would endanger herself and the party for knowledge or new spells) caused lots of rifts between her and party members, so she became a loner. The group was okay with her though, we made sure she wasn't selfish or divisive to the point of being a bad character to play with. Eventually, the wheelhouse almost nuked her for not obeying it. Later, the whole party was kicked out of the order and returned to their base races instead of bandiar. The party TPKed to save the world, but the child that knew the party had made a deal for them to be resurrected with their old loved ones from their touchstone lives in order to have an actually good life. When he was old and dying, he called them all together and in doing so they got most of their memories back. Lopun now has a husband and three kids, the youngest of whom is named after a party member. He was not brought back, but his name had appeared in her dreams before she got her memories back. She has two girls (both 7) and a son (baby.) She still researches magic, but is much more chill now.

Promise

Age: 20s Level: 1 Class: Paladin Race: Tiefling

Promise is my newest character, I haven’t played her at all! She is purposefully ridiculously edgy. She has bat wings, patches of black scales, and no shadow. Her parents were adventurers, and her dad had a warlock pact. He ended up breaking the pact, unwilling to cross any more lines. He and his girlfriend settled down and got married. After some time, Promise was born (not with that name, I just haven’t figured out her birth one yet.) Her being born a Tiefling allowed the government to connect her father to demonic crimes, so the family went on the run, and she mostly grew up in this situation. Her parents lo he and treated her well, but it was a stressful upbringing. At some point, she found faith in the Raven Queen and allowed her to guide her. Fate is a promise, as are pacts. She is living proof that even with a broken pact a promise still exists, and that proof will continue as her whole bloodline is now cursed. As so much of her life is attached to promises, she took Promise as her virtue name. Despite her edgy backstory and appearance, she’s really pretty chill, happy, and go with the flow. She was made to fill a gap in a party that needed both a martial and a healer.

Karne d'Honaire (not pictured)

Age: 29 Level: 11 Class: Paladin Race: Scourge Aasimar

Karne is my backup for Pyre in Dementlieu. Karne was born to be a personal, specialized soldier to serve the Dutchess. She is not technically the Duchess's child, but she is her aasimar "divinity." She has been repeatedly broken and almost killed doing dangerous and secret missions for her "mother." Most notably, she broke her back a few years ago and it was months before the healers could get her walking again. If she gets used, Karne will join the story having just had a bit of a mental break and tearing away from the crown, finding the party as they pose the strongest opposition to the Dutchess. She is a follower, having always been forced to do exactly as told, so she will start being very subservient in the party.

Edryn Whitecaller (not pictured)

Age: 23 Level: 4 Class: Profane Soul Bloodhunter Race: Variant Tiefling