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Twyla, Human Illusionist and Enevahr
Characters | Submission Guide | Submission Forms | Character Portraits
Twyla, Human Illusionist and Enevahr
Racial Abilities: Just the natural versatility that comes to humans. Class/Kit Abilities: Twyla gains a bonus illusion spell at each level, gains a +1 when saving vs. illusion, opponents get a -1 when resisting her illusion spells, and her spells have extended duration (+1 round per experience level). She is also proficient in gaming, direction sense, spellcraft, cooking -4, reading & writing, crytography, disguise, legerdemain, acting, heraldry and observation. She's proficient with both the staff and dagger, though she's really not very talented at using either of them. She's much more a fan of just being somewhere else when the fighting starts. Also, she speaks elven, common, dwarven, pixie, goblin and halfling. Physical Description: Twyla is a tall, lanky woman of about 28 years. Most of the time, she wears her long, honey blonde hair piled up in a precarious mound (it honestly can't be called a hairdo) which is held by two or three hair pins. That same hair-do always looks like it's about to slide apart, letting her hair tumble free, but somehow it always manages to stay up there. Her hazel eyes shine with a supressed humor from a delicate, heart shaped face. Being accustomed to much travel, she tends to wear loose, functional clothing such as clothe britches and an oversized tunic. History: Twyla grew up in the South Ward of Waterdeep. Her family were bakers and cooks by trade, but Twyla lacked the knack for whipping up a grand meal. After her first failed attempt at baking, which resulted in the kitchen being over run by over-yeasty dough and the bread she was attempting to bake catching fire and exploding (they're still trying to figure out how she managed that!), her parents banned her from the kitchen. She was, in their opinion, a culinary lost cause. Finding herself free from the traditional course of learning the family trade, she spent most of her time out by the docks. During that time, she found herself drawn to an old magician who worked the streets there, entertaining the newly arrived merchants and travelers with wonderful illusions and slight of hand tricks. Twyla found herself constantly stopping the man after he finished a show to ask, "How did you do that?" or "I think I know how you did that. Was it like this...?" Now, the magician, Soran, was old and had been considering taking on an apprentice. Impressed by her enthusiasm and keen perception, he offered her the chance to learn his trade. Gladly, she accepted and became the illusionist's student. During the years of study, she befriended a young man named Ken-wa. Now, Ken-wa was a wild one, constantly in trouble and evading someone for various reasons. This did not bother Twyla in the least, though she did wonder at her friend's recklessness. It was not long before she found out why he was that way - he was a member of a local thieves guild. This particular thieves guild was good aligned - sort of a Robin Hood affair. It was through their generous (though ill-gotten) contributions that an orphanage had been built in the slums, a family's home was rebuilt after a fire, and the street urchins did not have to steal to survive. They contributed much for the good of the downtrodden and poor of the city and many of the thieves who worked for them did so for little or no pay. However, the poor folk knew who was a part of the guild and always offered refuge and protection to those who helped them, thus the guild members often evaded the law. One evening, Ken-wa approached Twyla asking for help. They just needed a distraction to pull off a hit and her skills in illusion would greatly aid them. Knowing what she did of the guild, she agreed. More and more often, Ken-wa would approach and ask for aid after that. It was not long before she was considered a full guild member, though she was no thief herself. Many were the nights that she would provide a much needed spell or simply make sure that the guards were otherwise occupied during a burglary. As the years passed, she and Ken-wa became true partners in crime. When they were not working for the guild together, they often went to the pubs and gambling halls to hustle a few extra coins on the side. They were a brilliant team! Ken-wa's skills in gaming and exotic appearance (his parents were immigrants from the East) combined with Twyla's illusions and acting skills were more than enough to part many an fool from his money. Unfortunately, things turned bad for the guild. A rival guild moved into their territory with the intent of taking over. They did everything they could to bring the law down on the good-hearted thieves. Burglaries and murders were committed and pinned on good guild members as they found out who they were. The master of the good guild could not allow this to happen. After all, many of the townsfolk helped them and he could not allow innocents to be hurt in a guild war. So, after much soul searching, he decided to hire an assassin to kill the controlling members of the rival guild. Yes, it was brutal and nasty, but necessary, in his opinion. However, due to their charitable nature, they did not have the funds necessary to hire an assassin. This is where Twyla came into play. She hatched a plan to raise the money that would be needed. She cast a spell on an ordinary, brass cup to give it the illusion of being a magical item. Taking the cup to a loan shark who happened to be a member of the rival guild, she handed over the cup as collatoral for a large sum of money to be borrowed. The loan shark was able to detect that the item was magical, but not being a mage himself, was not able to discern that it was a false aura. He agreed and gave her the money along with all the usual terms of interest and percentages that are part and parcel of being a moneylender. Next, Twyla memorized all of her most useful illusions and went to one of the gambling halls which she knew wasn't as heavily guarded against mages as most. Using her spells and slight of hand, she won - a lot. Luck was with her as none of her spells set off any alarms. Ken-wa had accompanied her to the hall as a measure of security. She knew that she would never be allowed to walk out with the amount of money that she had won. Therefore, Ken-wa had to stay out of sight and out of the hustle, lest they be prepared to fight two people instead of one when she exited the hall. When she left, sure enough, some toughs were sent after her to take back the gold. Ken-wa and Twyla managed to fight them off, accidentally killing the toughs in the process. Neither had meant to actually kill them, but things had gotten quickly out of hand. With a worried glance at her partner, Twyla quickly handed over the gold for him to deliver to the guild. She still had to take the fool's gold she had enchanted back to the loan shark. Things quickly went downhill from there. Of course, the spells she had used to enchant the cup and brass bits (the fool's gold) wore off and the loan shark was aware that he had been duped. He hooked up with the gambling hall owner who told of her winnings and the deaths of his henchmen. Thus, they decided to put out a bounty on her head. Knowing that she could not stay in the city, she bid Ken-wa farewell and fled. Unfortunately, the rival guild got the drop in the good guild before the assassin the master had hired could carry out his mission. The charitable guild was all but destroyed not long after she left. Ken-wa followed her and told her of what had transpired. (She had told Ken-wa which city was headed for.) He told her that many of the original thieves were killed in the guild war, but that those who were left were trying their best to depose the new underlords. Mainly, he came out to warn her of the bounty, though. Should she be captured, it would not take a great stretch for the rival guild to realize that she was a part of the guild and try to wrench information from her about her friends. Realizing that not only her own life, but the lives of her friends depended on her evading the bounty hunter's hands, she gave Ken-wa a quick kiss and bid him farewell without telling him of where she would go. No one could know, for she was now a liability to the guild. Addendum Twyla. The Enevahr. What does that mean? To some, the name signifies a somewhat shy girl from Waterdeep. To others, power incarnate. But, one thing remains the same, whether she likes it or not. She wields the spellfire. Many through the ages have wielded it, though all of the most powerful have been women. Why? Only the gods know for sure, but rumors abound. Is it the power of women over life? Is it to make men tremble in fear, knowing now that they are no longer the ones with the strength? Regardless, the one who now wields this awesome might is Twyla de la Croix. With it she can blast her foes to nothing, heal those at death's door, absorb the magics of others, and make her will reality. She is the Enevahr. Spellfire is the raw energy of the Weave. This gift was given to Twyla by Tymora and Sune, both powerful goddesses. The wielding of true spellfire is a rare and unique ability. Yes, some few others wield silverfire, but this is a much less powerful version of the power that the Enevahr wields. These are her abilities: Raw Weave Blast: As a standard action, the Enevahr may expend her spellfire energy levels as a ranged touch attack. The maximum range is 400', though there is no range penalty. For each spell slot that the Enevahr wishes to empty, she does 1d8 points of damage. Foes are allowed a Reflex save (DC 10+spell slots expended+Intelligence modifier) for half damage. Just as the spell Flame Strike, half of the energy is spell energy, and half is fire damage. Creatures with immunity, resistance, or protection against fire apply these affects to half the damage. Healing: The Enevahr can heal by touch, burning away impurities or mending wounds or bones. The Enevahr heals 6 points per spell slot expended. Other, more extreme cases of healing are not unheard of. Magic Absorption: Only the most experienced and powerful spellfire wielders manage to thwart magical attacks upon them. However, cases have been documented of spellfire wielders walking out of the strongest of magic without themselves or their friends being harmed. As a ready action, a spellfire wielder can elect to absorb spells targeted at her as if she were a Rod of Absorption. She gets one level of spellfire energy for each spell level that she absorbs. She can absorb no more levels than she can cast. Will to Reality: A rare few spellfire wielders have the power to manifest things from their very imaginations. Those that can have instant allies on tap. As a standard action, a spellfire wielder can manifest an item or creature in their mind's eye. Most illusionists know how to do this extremely well, and the rare few who have wielded spellfire actually tend to pick up this useful skill first. Most anything can be made, be it inanimate or alive. Other powers may be possible and simply unrecorded. But one thing is certain: Woe to those who would incur the wrath of the one who wields the spellfire. Advantages: Empathy and Impersonation. Disadvantages: Powerful Enemy. See above. Special Equipment: Spell Cache Ring Possible Uses for the Character: Hmmmm...the PCs could easily come across a large wad of cash if they are willing to hunt her down and take her in for the bounty. Also, Ken-wa could just as easily ask for aid in locating his long, lost friend. This could easily cause the PCs to get caught up in the guild war without them realizing exactly what is going on. - Arislyn Submitted by: Arislyn |
