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Vaughn, Human Warrior
Submitted by Arislyn
Name: Vaughn
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Level: 5th
Alignment: Lawful Good
Gender: Female
| Strength: 18/98 |
Stamina: 18/98 |
Muscle: 18/98 |
| Dexterity: 17 |
Aim: 17 |
Balance: 17 |
| Constitution: 14 |
Fitness: 14 |
Health: 14 |
| Intelligence: 13 |
Reason: 13 |
Knowledge: 13 |
| Wisdom: 14 |
Intuition: 14 |
Willpower: 14 |
| Charisma: 16 |
Appearance: 16 |
Leadership: 16 |
Racial Abilities:
Just the natural versatility that comes to humans.
Class/Kit Abilities:
Proficient with all swords, all daggers and knives, all bows, quarterstaff, club and hand to hand combat. She is also versed in hunting, gaming, blind fighting, direction sense, setting snares and carpentry.
Physical Description:
A strapping, young woman in her mid-twenties steps into the tavern. She stands for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the low light levels inside. This gives you a chance to take measure of her broad shoulders, and lean, well-muscled physique. After a moment, she smiles and her brown eyes sparkle as she steps up to the bar. Long, light brown hair falls in a single braid down her back. She is dressed in piece meal armor - a metal greave, a leather armguard, a metal breastplate...It's fairly obvious that she has scrounged most of the armor she has, probably from defeated foes. A longsword is strapped across her back and a couple of daggers are sheathed at her hip.
History:
Though she was born to a family trade of carpentry, Vaughn had little desire to do woodworking for a living. She watched the city guard out practicing each day and longed to feel a sword in her hands. With little patience, she would sit through her father's lessons and then rush out as soon as possible to corner Jake, one of the Daggerdale watch, to nag him into teaching her weapons. Though he had some serious misgivings about it, Jake agreed.
As it turned out, Vaughn was a natural. With her extraordinary strength and quick reflexes, she proved to be an excellent fighter. It is no wonder that she was conscripted by the town guard when the goblin raids began to get out of control. It was a strange affair…Goblins by the thousands were attacking outlying farms and destroying them. They were not plundering the farms, as was the norm, they were just out and out destroying them. In fact, the goblins had started attacking the town proper from within. Goblins were just appearing and disappearing within the town walls before anyone could catch them. Needless to say, the citizens were becoming more and more afraid while the military and government became increasingly frustrated.
Vaughn volunteered to do some scouting to discover where the goblin army was originating. Through plan and accident alike, she discovered that someone had poisoned the goblin's food supply and then turned around to tell the goblins that the citizens of Daggerdale were responsible. Also, whoever had told the humanoids this tale had also supplied them with a magic of some kind, which allowed them to enter the city unseen and disappear without trace.
Immediately, she returned home to make a report only to discover that there had been a coup while she had been gone the three weeks scouting. She would only be allowed to re-enter the town if she vowed her allegiance to the new governor. Her family was in there…What choice did she have? She went on as if nothing had happened, reporting her finding to the new captain of the guard. He nodded and thanked her for her diligence, then released her to return to her home and rest.
As it turns out, her report was not needed. Within a week of the coup, the raids decreased and then stopped. Of course, everyone attributed it to the new governor's influence, but Vaughn suspected otherwise. This had the smell of a Zhentish rat, but she was at a loss to prove it. The town was prospering now and no one would dare to speak ill of their new leader. Almost two months later, open trade negotiations began with Zhentil Keep.
Vaughn had continued to excel at her job as town guard. As such, she had gained the notice of the captain who placed her as an honor guard for an important diplomat arriving from Zhentil Keep. She was not at all happy about this for she still suspected the Zhents were responsible for the destruction earlier that year. As it turned out, the diplomat, Alex, was an utterly charming and straightforward man. In fact, he took a bit of a shine to Vaughn after a few days of being in her company. And, though she loathed admitting it, she was actually beginning to like him. As the weeks he stayed in Daggerdale stretched on, their friendship grew. When she was off duty, they often ate together or practiced swordplay, for he, too, was a military officer and thus understood Vaughn quite well.
When it came time for Alex to depart, he urged Vaughn to join him in Zhentil Keep, to show her the city and prove that not all Zhents are evil, child-eating bogeymen. She agreed. The time she spent there was pleasant and filled with dinners, shows and shopping. She was not at all prepared when the dragons showed up and began tearing the city apart. Frost giants descended from the north along with white dragons, raging across the city and killing citizens and military alike.
She survived the attack only though sheer luck. A white dragon passed over Alex's house, breathing its deadly ice breath across the villa, destroying it forever. Vaughn managed to survive only because she had been standing on the roof, watching the battle. She saw the dragon approaching and immediately ran to the cellar where she curled up into a ball in a corner. Frozen timbers and furniture fell all around her, but managed to not do her any fatal damage. She's not sure how long she was trapped there before Alex returned with some men and dug her out.
The ordeal was hardly over, though. She joined Alex's group as they made their way to the island off of the Zhentish shore. It was the only part of the city not completely destroyed or occupied by enemies. Of the twenty who set out that day, only five survived the trip, including Alex and Vaughn. Many days passed as they continued to hide and wait for the dragons and giants to return to the frozen wasteland from whence they came.
Afterwards, the few who survived began to try and put the city back together. She truly wished to go home, just to let her folks know that she had survived the incident, but was turned away at the guard posts. "None are allowed to leave," she was told. "Especially not ones who can wield a weapon to defend the city." She was then informed that she could certainly return home; she merely needed to pay the 500 gold passage fee and she would be free to leave. Otherwise, she was to consider herself conscripted into the Zhentilar.
So, she found herself neatly trapped. She could not swim, so she could not try to escape that way nor could she get a boat…they were far too well guarded. She did not blame Alex in the least for this. In fact, she had not seen him since everything had calmed down. She could only assume that he had been pulled into very active military duty himself. Weeks passed and she was approached by the new lord of Zhentil Keep with a contract to serve the Zhentilar for a period of 10 years or until she could raise 500 gold. She figured, "I'm trapped anyway. I might as well get paid for the work!" and signed.
After that, she was picked to be part of a special, elite team of Zhentilar. The team was kept apart from the rest of the military. They ate only with their own, trained with their own, slept with their own…they were not allowed to mingle with the other soldiers. They were worked harder and longer than any normal soldier could possibly be expected to work.
On one fateful afternoon, her company had been taken out into the wilderness for maneuvers. They discovered towns that seemed to be completely deserted, as if the populace simply got up and left with no signs of struggle. What Vaughn discovered was a breed of giant insect, which was raiding towns and taking prey back to their nest to feed. They carried the victims through the air, thus leaving no signs of struggle. Unfortunately, while Vaughn was out discovering this, the insects struck her company, killing them all to a man. Vaughn was the only one to survive, though she was badly wounded upon discovering their nest.
For several days, she wandered the forests until she ran across the town of Phlan. The citizens were distrustful and wary of a lone Zhentilar wandering to their town, but she eventually convinced them that she meant no harm. They took her to the Temple of Tyr where they healed her and discovered that a foul spell had been placed upon her. If they had not realized that she had been enchanted, her very soul would have eventually been corrupted. (Her alignment would've shifted from LG to LE and she would have had no choice but to serve the Zhentilar mindlessly). They informed her that the particular spell used worked slowly and was one that required the victim to sign a contract…the only contract she had signed was with the new Zhentish Lord…
After thanking the priests, she set out heading southward in hopes of figuring out some way to end the new evil that was obviously taking root in Zhentil Keep.
Advantages:
The only true advantages she has is her incredible strength and versatility with weapons.
Disadvantages:
Well, she did get a "brain worm" when being tortured by the goblins in her first adventure. She does not remember being tortured at all; it is as if it never happened. However, they placed a "worm" of some kind in her head (Wrath of Khan style!). So far, it has not affected her in any way. I have no idea what it will do. My husband (who DMed this adventure) won't tell me. It might be a disadvantage, it might not...
Special Equipment:
Ring of Jumping
Possible Uses for the Character:
Should someone need a reliable and honest source of information about the Zhentilar, she is your woman. She served as both a regular guard and was trained as a death commando by the elite forces. Also, if someone needs the inside track to a person of influence within the keep, Vaughn knows that Alex is a reliable man. (FYI, Alex's alignment was LN). The only problem is that, as far as the Zhentilar are concerned, she perished along with the rest of her company. The only ones who know she is still alive are the priests of Tyr and the guard captain in Phlan. The priests warned her that the Zhentilar rarely like to let go of that which they consider their own. If she were to be discovered……
Also, she lived through the destruction of the Keep. She has seen first hand many of the monstrosities that were born of the calamity. She could be a source of information for someone who wished to delve into the ruins of Zhentil Keep
- Arislyn
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