Threshold: The Knowledge (Patreon)

In the last poll we established that the Flame is an urchin who grew up in Zarashk'ak after being shipwrecked in the Shadow Marches, that their dreams have helped them develop the powers of a Divine Soul Sorcerer, and that there may be something unusual about the spirit that's bound to them. Now it's time to move on to The Knowledge. Regardless of what classes are chosen, these are characters who know stuff. Need to know about the history of those ruins in the foothills, or the significance of the upcoming planar convergence? These are the people to talk to. 

Many of these characters will be present in town as NPCs even if they aren't chosen as PCs—though as NPCs they won't have the same abilities they'd possess as PCs. And as with the Fury, there will be one more chance for a Kobold PC in the next poll if the Dragon isn't chosen here. So let's take a quick look at our options...

The Envoy is a warforged who serves as the steward of Count ir'Blis, handling the administrative details while the Sheriff maintains the law. They love amassing information and have calligrapher's tools built into their body. The success of Threshold rests on the Envoy's shoulders, and they are sure that knowledge is the key to success.

The Chronicler is a Khoravar reporter for the Sharn Inquisitive. They're here for the story, keen to record the interactions between the town and Droaam and to be on the scene for anything newsworthy. It's possible they have a background in espionage, but that will be up to the follow-up poll...

The Scholar is a Mror dwarf sage with a particular interest in the Xoriat incursion that destroyed the Empire of Dhakaan. They're keen to seek out ruins and artifacts that could shed new light on this ancient conflict. While they're devoted to their work, they've also volunteered to run a schoolhouse for the local children. Depending on the follow-up poll, they may or may not be Ruinbound...

The Stonespeaker is a dragonmarked gnome from House Sivis. They were sent to maintain a message station for the house, but something's interfering with the stones. The Stonespeaker is an arcane troubleshooter and sure they can get to the bottom of this problem; and until then, they're an expert in language and communication, and also the town notary. 

The Dragon is a kobold who wields devastating magical powers. Whatever their class, they can strike down their foes with fire. Are they celebrated by the local kobold community, or are they feared by their family and needing to prove their power is a blessing and not a curse? While the Dragon doesn't have the experience of the other characters here, they are actively trying to GAIN arcane knowledge; their Arcana proficiency reflects "Hey, I JUST read about that!" as opposed to having learned about something while studying at Arcanix years ago. 

There is a Cannith artificer—The Tinker—in Threshold, who runs a store with the Smith and could be considered a Knowledge character. However, as the Smith is a PC I've decided to keep the Tinker as an NPC. Someone's got to run the store!