Threshold: The Tailor and an Update (Patreon)

Before I go further, I just want to make an important announcement. I was hoping to run the first actual session of the campaign by the end of the month. However, we still have three character polls (the Unexpected poll and the two detail polls)—and on top of that, I need to write the main Arcane Science and Industry article (which could end up being two articles)... And that's not taking my commitments to my family and my primary job into account. With that in mind, the first session will be in early December. I hope this isn't too much of a disappointment; the decision to develop ten potential player characters lengthened the Setting Zero process and has taken a lot of my time, but I feel that it is the right choice in the long term and it's certainly helping me to build up an arsenal of adventure hooks. Beyond that, I've enjoyed and appreciated the discussions here and on the Discord server. My favorite part of D&D is the collaborative storytelling aspect, and as someone said on Discord, from that perspective we're already playing the game. 

Looking to the Wandslinger: Long a daring gambler, the Wandslinger won both a beautiful wand and a battered flask in a risky game with an efreeti. She unlocked the powers of the flask (though she's still discovering its full potential) and used its abilities to help her as a smuggler on the western border. While she still has smuggling contacts throughout the region, she's currently taking a break from that career—in part because she's having some problems with the Boromar Clan. So for the moment, she's largely laying low in Threshold, avoiding the cities of the east and trying to come up with a big win to pay off her debt. 

This brings us to The Tailor. Here's what we already know. 

The Tailor is a goblin, a member of one of the Sharn families that have settled in Threshold. In addition to being an excellent tailor, they have a surprising number of connections and know a great deal about what's going on in Threshold and beyond. It's possible that their Sharn upbringing hides a deeper connection to the ancient Khesh'dar...

First and foremost, the Tailor is a character that is going to require recognition of player knowledge versus character knowledge. WE all know whether the Tailor has ties to the Khesh'dar (the ancient order of Dhakaani spies and assassins). Whatever the answer to this question, the other characters don't know anything about it. As far as the town is concerned, this character is a simple tailor. Yes, he has many connections, but this is a Coin town; that's hardly reason for concern. Having said that, it's important to understand that this doesn't mean the character is a traitor. The Khesh'dar want to know what's going on in the region. But their interests won't necessarily conflict with those of the other characters, and may even be aligned. Beyond that, I expect the Tailor to form attachments to the town and other characters—if there is a conflict of interest, that should be an interesting story to explore, not "And then the Tailor kills everyone in their sleep."

My general inclination is that the Tailor is a rogue; the question is whether they specialize in killing people, gathering information, or in the broader strategic vision of the Mastermind. However, there is one other possibility—the College of Eloquence bard. If they followed this path they wouldn't be in any way an entertainer, and notably I'd swap their musical instrument proficiencies for artisan's tools. It would simply mean that they rely on words more than weapons, and that they possess an arsenal of illusions and enchantments to help achieve their goals. The issue is whether the Tailor will kill you with a knife to the back or a truly vicious mockery. 

The next question is how the Tailor is connected to the Silent Folk of Dhakaan. One option is that he's NOT connected to them at all; he's just a simple tailor, people! Otherwise, he may have been born into a family of city goblins in Sharn and recruited to be a Khesh'dar agent as a child. In this case he's never actually SEEN the deep vaults of Dhakaan; he's just working with the Silent Folk. The alternative is that he was born and raised as one of the Shaarat'khesh, but assigned as a deep cover agent in Sharn—and that he married his way into an established family of city goblins, who have no knowledge of his true origins or loyalty. This option would mean that he has a spouse and possibly children in Threshold (though the facts may further impact that!).

Our remaining options simply add more flavor to the character. Is tailoring his greatest love, or does he really want to dance?  

This poll will run for 48 hours. Thanks for your support!