#ilten

The write-up, as promised, of @dndhomebrewandart ‘s campaign.

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Ceros, 400 years ago

The Session

With Elena absent from the team (and the sorcerer Nina deciding to stay with her), we had to call in two pinch hitters. Using magically imbued artifacts that would allow our friends from the present to survive in the past, we brought in Ilten, a combat bard, and Livie, an archery fighter. And then it was time to take on the shadowman. We knew we had to let him kill Persephone to right the timestream. Her sage self had promised us her essence once the deed was done.

Rory kept the Chosen of Ceros and his boyfriend off our back, but it was Ilten and Livie who first struck Persephone so that Rith could consume her. We got away with it without raising too many eyebrows, it seemed, and we were quickly back to the demiplane.

Session end.

Criminal: If your character were to be arrested, what would it be for?

Ilten definitely would get arrested for opposing the evil Empress’s guards (can’t keep a low profile). But otherwise, he’s most likely to get arrested for dueling.

Sage: If your character were to become a teacher, what subject would they teach?

Ilten would definitely be a music teacher or a gym teacher, but he’d be the kind that all the kids like because he’s goofy and legitimately gives a crap.

Acolyte: If your character were a deity, what would they be patron of?

Miyuki would be the patron of justice, solitude, and things unseen.

Criminal: If your character were to be arrested, what would it be for?

Under the evil Empress’s reign, it would easily be for defending someone her soldiers were trying to kill or imprison. In general, though, he sometimes doesn’t pay his bar tabs.

Urchin: Who had the most influence on your character during their childhood?

His mother. His father was dead before he was born, so his mother raised him alone, and did a damn fine job of it too.   

Did I ever tell you about the time that Elena traveled to the aboleth plane to rescue an island full of people and came back with an 8 foot tall albino fish son whom she named Nicolai? No? Well, that’s a story in and of itself, but all you need to know is that Nicolai calls her mother and they love each other like family. They split up when Elena was in one of her panics and decided she was too close to him and needed to be on her own.

But this story is about Ilten. Ilten, Sif, and Alyndra, the paladin who travelled back in time with Elena. The three of them were chosen for a dangerous job. They had to go before the evil empress, Talis and convince her that they were the best people for the job of closing up portals to the aboleth plane. They were each given a stone that allowed them to lie to or disobey Talis.

Their ‘test’ was to kill another member of the resistance, which Sif did without blinking. And then they were off! Into a horrifying cave system where we had to fight a bunch of fish people. And that’s when we met Nicolai! Turns out he’d been cleaning up the portals himself, eating the aboleth energy and growing stronger himself. We had a nice little combat. Did I say nice? I meant utterly horrifying.

7. What fictional character are they most like? Was this an intentional or accidental influence?

Elena: I really couldn’t say who she’s most like just yet! In reality, she’s a little like my sister. Only a little. Time will tell if I’ve been accidentally influenced.

Ilten: Again, I’m not entirely sure who he’s like…Sir Ulrich from a Knight’s Tale comes to mind. It was entirely unintentional.

Martha: She’s most like Alanna from the Lioness Quartet, or maybe Meliara from Crown Duel, though neither of those influences were intentional (Meliara was maybe a little intentional).

13. If they can use magic, what’s their favorite spell?

Elena: easily haste right now. Just makes her quicker in battle.

Ilten: summon drink. no question.

Martha: gotta go with a classic here and pick detonate.

14. Most heroic thing they have ever done?

Elena: The thing with Elena is that she doesn’t really see her own actions as heroic. But I’d say that jumping through a mysterious interplanar portal to rescue an island full of people qualifies as pretty dang heroic.

Ilten: Gosh, lying straight to Talis’s (evil immortal empress) face is heroic I guess? Though it didn’t feel heroic.

Martha: I mean…the whole endgame of the campaign qualifies here. Facing down Gavin Guile and all. Big scary illusion caster.

19. They have to go live on a deserted island. They can take one thing and one person. What do they take?

Elena: really the one thing would be the key to her demiplane, but I suppose that’s kind of like cheating, if the intent is for her to only be able to take one person, since the key lets her see several people. In that case, I’d say the one item would be a music box or instrument of some sort, so she’d have something to dance to. The person, assuming they have to be alive, would be Nicolai, the 10 foot albino shark man she rescued, to save her from choosing between either of her mothers.

Ilten: He’d bring a tent or something to keep off the sun, and as for the person…well, he’s more of a ‘love em and leave em’ type, but he’d try to bring an actual friend from Espy’s group. Maybe Miyuki, to her displeasure.

Martha: The person is James, of course it’s James, and the item is probably her uncle’s wedding ring. Sentiment before practicality with her.

27. They’re at a tavern. They bump into a big burly angry drunk with a combative attitude. What happens?

Ilten would break into a huge smile, start talking the guy’s ear off with apologies and tangents about times he was in other taverns, buy the guy a drink and just generally charm the pants off him. Failing that, well, he’s got a sword for a reason.

30. Would they smooch a ghost?

Liadan is quite happy to only smooch her living lover, Niamh the dryad, but depending on who the ghost was, she would consider it.