Tabletop Character Sheets (Patreon)

          Hello wonderful readers! It's time for the first post for the amazing $4,000 stretch goal. I am so stunned we made it this far from out humble origins at less than $300 back in August. First up, character sheets! All of them will be attached to this post as pdfs. There will be 11 playable characters, with an additional secret unlockable character for Dungeon Masters to know about only (if the conditions to unlock this character are met, your DM will tell you). Credit and thanks to Exzircon for the character sprites that breathed some life into the otherwise dull sheets. I quite literally couldn't have done that part without him.

          Before I give a rundown of the attached sheets, let me just give some background. First off, the sheets are intended to represent the various contestants at the very start of the tournament (with one exception, which I will note), so think back to where these people were on day one and consider that as your starting point. There are two major changes to consider from the story as written: 1) I did my best to make these characters as balanced as I reasonably could. Yes, a few of them will have one-off abilities that are quite powerful, but I tried to balance those against other shortcomings. 2) I did my best to strike a balance between game mechanics and story mechanics. All the characters will have a version of their story abilities, but they might be slightly nerfed or buffed as I saw necessary.

          For those of you familiar with tabletop games, I based these sheets off 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Anywhere that a spell or ability existed that was similar to a character's in-book story/ability, I granted that character the DnD power rather than create something new. In other cases I "reflavored" existing spells where something as simple as a damage type change was all that was needed to translate a book spell to a DnD spell. In this way I tried to keep characters more balanced. Most of the customization will be noted on the first page of the character sheets.

          A Final Note: The next post that I hope to have ready later this month will include the campaign notes, and maps. I have already outlined a non-canon, in-world adventure for these characters to play out. There will be 7 different unique endings, not including all the many ways a team could screw up and end up dead. The different paths to get to these endings overlap and branch off, so there will be many different ways to achieve each ending. The world will be "open" in a sense, and allow players to choose what to interact with, but most of the results of these interactions will be scripted depending on failure/success. Players can even backtrack and explore missed opportunities as long as there's still time. This campaign could be done in a single session or take months to complete depending on the rate of play. For longer campaigns I'll be including "leveling" mechanics for the Dungeon Masters.

          Now I will give a rundown of each playable character, in alphabetical order. Refer to the attached pdfs to understand everything I have to say about each of them.

Alex

          Remember when I said there would be one exception to the "Day One" rule? Alex is that exception. Just pretend he'd read the books before the tournament started. He wouldn't have been "balanced" against the other characters without some magic. I based Alex on the Arcane Trickster Rogue subclass.

          Alex gains all the human racial abilities, like acting as a mana sink and immunity to greyskin poison, but he also has a few unique abilities. That includes his special equipment: 3 darts of greyskin poison, a mana potion, and a scalpel to fight with. As a torturer he can also compel information out of restrained victims, which can certainly be used a few places in the plot to gain knowledge when other means fail. He has a few basic lunamancy spells, but his "big finisher" that he can do once per day is called "Death" and when successful it can easily kill most enemies, ignoring all resistances and defenses.

          Alex may be Nuetral Evil, but he usually pretends to be Lawful Good, so keep that in mind when roleplaying.

Draevin

          Everyone loves to hate him, but with stats like these you might just want to play him! Draevin's a classic Striker, with a lot of damage output but not great at soaking damage. As an elf, he gains the racial trait to rapidly regain mana by eating. He can be ready for the next fight without even taking a short rest!

          In addition to his spell slots, Draevin gets 10 "Sorcery Points" (he's based on the Sorcerer class from DnD) to spend each long rest, which he can use to buff his damage or make it harder for opponents to resist his ice attacks. He starts with his Frost Armor, which boosts his Armor Class (which he can recast for a spell slot) and his wand, which buffs his cryomancy magic. Just like in the book, he can dissolve his Frost Armor to recover a spell slot in combat. All Masters also gain the ability to cast spells of the appropriate type as a bonus action (doubling his spell output compared to non-masters!).

          All the major abilities you see him use in the books, he will have as a character. Walls of Ice to cut off enemies, even massive Glacier Blasts. Sorry. He can not fly at this point. Be sure to protect your Draevin or he could die. A little-known ability he displays in the books which might come in handy is his ability to access a storage chest which he keeps a small library of books in back at his home in Caldenia.

Faernyl

          You might be surprised how appealing Faernyl's character is, so don't dismiss him out-of-hand. First off, you get to roleplay a cool "dude bro" elf, but when it comes to combat Faernyl has the highest potential for burst damage.

          He still has his Wand of Overwhelming Force, and if he wants to, he can blow his entire mana pool in a single attack. If your Faernyl decides to do this in a fight, you better hope all the enemies die, because he'll be close to useless when he's done. Faernyl also has Sorcery Points to spend on increasing his damage or doing twin attacks. Like Draevin, he also has a force-based armor to boost his AC which can be traded in for a spell slot, but he's a little more resilient in combat (depending how he's play) because he can also surround himself in a force barrier to soak up 100HP of enemy attacks.

Gro'shak

          If you need a voice of even-tempered wisdom in your party, consider asking someone to play the old orc, Gro'shak. He may technically be younger than some of the other characters, but he gains the benefit of eons of ancestral wisdom.

          There aren't any special racial bonuses for playing an orc, but Gro'shak doesn't need them. His special ability is to spend Mana Points (which he gets 10 of each long rest) to access the power of his ancestors. He is based on the Monk class. He also has a staff which he can both fight with AND activate to restore all his Mana Points (so you can almost think of him as having potentially 20 points to spend). He can spend his Mana Points to access a number of abilities including attacking twice, disengaging, jumping incredible distances and protecting himself from attacks both physical and mental.

          Just like in the books, Gro'shak can do the one-two punch of separating an enemy from their body, and then instantly kill them. It won't be as perfectly reliable as it was in the books (or will be, if you consider how Draevin was able to resist it) but it is one of the only ways to kill without a damage roll. There are a number of potentially challenging bosses, so having a Gro'shak might come in handy (assuming your enemy has a soul).

Grrbraa

          No team is complete without a lovable Grrbraa! In fact, he's actually one of the only tanks available, so I expect most teams to have him. He possesses a lot of unique abilities. He is based on the Barbarian class. For racial bonuses, he possesses amazing senses and the highest strength stat of available characters. If you play as Grrbraa you can also expect to (likely) go first in every encounter and be the go-to for any needed strength checks. Grrbraa is also considered large, so he will take up a 2x2 square in combat and can make melee attacks from 10 feet away.

          Just like in the books, Grrbraa has a Circlet of Intelligence, but just like in the books you do NOT want to take it off! The circlet boosts the Intelligence stat of the user by a third, which increases Grrbraa's baseline from 6 to 8. Each long rest, Grrbraa gets 10 Blood Points to spend. He can use them regenerating damage each turn with his bonus action, entering a voluntary Blood Rage, or casting a few basic geomancy spells. When raging voluntarily, his damage and resistance goes up. When raging involuntarily (like if someone is foolish enough to remove his circlet) he will attack enemies and allies alike with equal abandon until his circlet is returned (and then get really sad when it's over).

Istven

          Another recommended character, Istven possesses one of the only healing abilities a team will have access to via his crown. He is based on the Paladin class. Be careful though, because you can and will cause a game over if you overuse the crown and summon the Everstorm (not instantaneously, it is escapable, but summoning it will likely immediately derail any campaign). As the only eldrin in the party, it's important to note that he has a native ability to drain ambient mana from his surroundings to regain spell slots outside of combat.

          At this point, Istven does not have Mastery of umbramancy, so try to recall his abilities in his first fight. He fights with shadows, and starts with a full set of plate armor and a rapier. He can of course always wear his crown, but just like in his first match, wearing it too long will cause his plate armor to be destroyed, which will permanently lower his Armor Class. With his armor, Istven is easily the 2nd tankiest character next to Grrbraa.

          I did my best to balance the absolutely broken artifact that is Haedril's Crown, while still staying true to the story. The crown now restores 50 health per turn that it's worn and requires a saving throw to wear any longer than that (unless you're Istven). Wearing it more than one round destroys the character's equipment. The bearer of the crown cannot take lethal damage, but if they wear it too long they will  become a cloud of ash and smoke. In this form, they can still attack their enemies, but risk summoning the Everstorm and derailing the campaign. Just like in the books, a recently-deceased ally can be restored via use of the crown.

          Final note: Istven is Lawful Evil. I encourage players to strike a balance between being true to his character and needlessly antagonizing their allies.

Korack

          Yes, you can play Korack. Just because he and Draevin don't get along doesn't mean he would be above joining forces if the situation called for it. Despite Draevin not liking Korack, he's actually a decent person under the competitive bravado (hmm, sounds like someone else I know).

          Like Draevin, Korack is a tad squishy but can deliver massive damage output. His racial bonus even allows him to combine spell slots together to cast stronger spells (for example, he can use 2 level 1 spell slots to cast a level 2 spell, or combine 2 level 5 spell slots to cast a level 5 spell as a 10th level spell, et cetera). Like Draevin, he gets 10 Sorcery Points. He uses his points to boost damage output and make his spells more likely to hit. As another Master, Korack can cast fire spells with bonus actions and even recycle spells that miss. Many of Korack's spells are different flavors of throwing fire around. A couple spells to make note of include his ability to imbue an ally's weapon with fire, summon meteors from the sky, encase himself in fire armor (which hurts attackers, without providing much in the way of protection), and yes, UNLIKE DRAEVIN, KORACK CAN FLY!

Peter

          I'm sure Peter will be a favorite, but read up before picking him automatically. Just like the character from the book, you won't be able to rely on brute strength to take out your enemies if you play as him (with two exceptions). Like Alex, Peter gains the racial advantages of soaking up mana passively and immunity to greyskin poison. For his items he has a dagger, his glasses, a mana potion, and his spell scroll.

          Peter's glasses, like most of his skill set, won't be immediately usable in combat. It will certainly be useful in perception and identification actions though. His main use in combat will be to be annoying and hard to hit. He will mostly act as a supporting character. He will have all manner of illusion spells at his fingertips including invisibility. He also has the ability to save himself from certain death by revealing that the version of himself that was just hit by an attack was merely an illusion.

          Remember those exceptions to his combat ability? Here they are: By consuming his spell scroll, Peter can blast several enemies with a powerful Levin Bolt. But be careful! He's going to be in need of healing as soon as that spell goes off! He might even kill himself using it. It additionally has the restriction of dealing half damage if the open sky isn't available. His other powerful ability, Solar Lens, also requires open sky so pay attention to your surroundings. Without a sunny sky, Solar Lens won't even work!

          There is going to be a special rule to deal with Peter's hidden 14th Book which isn't listed on the character sheet. Dungeon Masters can choose to allow or disallow the mechanic as they see fit. My intention was for a character to use the pages, they must know how to read, and then they can give up the benefits of a long rest to gain access to Mastery spell casting for their chosen magic (casting with bonus actions). Depending on the choices the players make, there might not always be an opportunity to use the books, and either way it will require some roleplaying (at DM discretion) to justify Peter's trust in the chosen characters.

Sylnya

          Every party need a white mage, but this one won't have one. The best you'll get is a evil maniac with a god-delusion and a knife-wielding plant person. Sylnya is based on the Ranger class. Yes, Sylnya can heal her allies with a Healing Lotus, but she's far from helpless in combat. As a dryad, Sylnya can recover 1 spell slot for every hour she's exposed to sunlight. She's also incredibly hard to kill, unless you bring fire. She can only be killed by fire or a manual coup de grace.

          Sylnya comes with her beast companion, Kot. And he's far from useless in a fight. In addition to being able to serve as a steed (for Sylnya only!), Kot can potentially grapple enemies and pull them into shadows where they will never be seen again. In addition to fighting two-handed, Sylnya carries 2 extra daggers (which will be hard for enemies to find in the event she's captured) which she can throw at her enemies. She also has a number of useful combat spells that can entangle enemies. If she is willing, Sylnya can supply her party (or specific vulnerable members) with Healing Lotus's outside of combat, which will wilt after a long rest if not consumed. Just like a mana potion, a lotus can be consumed in combat as a bonus action. Healing in combat will require Sylnya to both spend a standard action growing a lotus, but also reach the ally in need and physically hand it over. Plan accordingly!

Tenna

          She's back! (or in this version of events, she never left). Many of Tenna's abilities are similar to Draevin's, but unlike Draevin she can use Invisible Ice and has access to Tambril's Thieving Magpie. Unlike in the book though, the magpie will only be usable once per short rest, but don't underestimate the ability to STEAL SPELL SLOTS from an enemy. Perhaps someone will have fun roleplaying this lovable girl and finally get senpai to notice her!

Trundle

          Another interesting character that didn't get nearly enough screen time in the books, Trundle will be playable! He is based on the Warlock class. If you thought Korack was a glass cannon, wait till you see Trundle. Truly, he must avoid combat at any cost, but if he can't he still has his Belt of 10,000 Strikes to soak up some of the incoming damage.

          Just like in the book, Trundle consumes his own health to summon his demonic allies. Careful that you don't let him drop too low, or he could die to a single attack. When using his own blood, Trundle temporarily loses health and lowers his maximum health until he's had a long rest. With foreplaning, he can leverage the blood from dead bodies instead, just be careful who you antagonize.

          Trundle has a number of demon allies he can summon in addition to some neat abilities like being able to use portals to Hell to travel great distances (or even effectively teleport in combat). His "big finisher" is his demonic eye, which can spew out hot ichor at an enemy at a larger cost of health (which can't be subbed with someone else's blood). The biggest drawback to his character, is the loyalty of his demons isn't guaranteed. Every demon ally has a 50% chance of being friend or foe. Friendly demons can be controlled by the player controlling Trundle and can voluntarily leave at the end of combat. Unfriendly demons don't discriminate between friend and foe and will resist attempts to banish them back to Hell.

          That's it for characters! If you have questions, leave them in the comments. If anyone has a stronger grasp of the rules of DnD than me and has suggestions for improving character balance, I'm all ears. This post with the characters will be available for all patrons and I encourage anyone to use these characters in a homebrew campaign of your own design (though you'll need a flexible Dungeon Master, considering none of these characters are "balanced" to normal DnD). As for the campaign notes with custom maps? That's quite a bit more work. I have the plot of that outlined and hope to deliver it before the end of the month. It will be recommended that you only read it if you're either not planning to actually play a campaign and just want to enjoy a pseudo-choose-your-own-adventure story, or if you're planning to (at least try to) DM a campaign. If you read the campaign notes it will spoil the campaign (but I will include a set-up section at the top that players can read safely to understand where the plot will start). These additional campaign notes will be permanently locked to the Serious Contender tier or higher.

Index