Entry in the Unique NPC Contest.
_History:_
Rachel was the second daughter of the King of Carnelian, one of the
five major kingdoms of the planet Zerox.
Life would have proceeded fairly unremarkably; mooning about in long
dresses, endless needlework, vague dreams of being swept off her feet by
a brave hero on a white riding-lizard, before reality would have
reasserted itself an arranged marriage and endless children.
Life, as is its wont, did not proceed unremarkably subsequent to the
arrival of a dragon in the kingdom demanding that a princess be
delivered to it.
This caused some consternation: Rachel's father, although brave and
noble, wasn't very clever; and so made the standard declaration that the
slayer of the dragon would recieve half the kingdom and Rachel's hand in
marriage. Rachel's mother, practical, politically astute (and the main
reason for the kingdom's success), suggested that Rachel consume a vast
quantity of slow acting poison so that when the dragon ate her she would
take it with her.
Soon enough, heros came to slay the dragon. Rachel didn't want to marry
any of them, except possibly a young palladin of Phaella (the goddess of
sandstorms). The point was more or less irrelevant, however, as none of
them survived.
On the eve of the dragon's deadline, Rachel was quietly despairing when
the ghost of the palladin appeared, and led Rachel down to a hidden
crypt in the family castle where she found the tomb of the kingdom's
founder, and his sword, Teras.
The ghost explained that his goddess had tasked him to show her the
sword, and to tell Rachel that she would have divine assistance in her
fight against the dragon.
And so it was that Rachel rebelled against gender roles, stole an
ill-fitting suit of armour from the castle armoury, and rode out against
the dragon. And, against all expectation (and with a certain amount of
divine assistance), rode back dragging its head.
After all the fuss had died down, Rachel decided that needlepoint
wasn't for her, took the magic items found in the dragon's lair (and had
the armour discreetly altered to fit her) and embarked on a career of
adventuring on Zerox. Unfortunately, the prevailing feudal culture on
the planet had very definite ideas about women's roles in society, so
after a year of honing her skills against the planet's monster
population, she embarked on a spelljammer and headed for the stars.
_Statistics:_
7th level human fighter
S: 12, I: 16, W: 14, D:15, Co:13, Ch: 15.
HP: 43
AC: -5 (2 in civvies)
alignment: CG
age: 20
weapon proficiencies: (as combat and tactics. if you don't have it, see
calculated attack forms below, and AC above.)
longsword (mastery) shortbow
weapon and shield punching
shield
nonweapon proficiencies:
ettiquette appraisal
heraldry blind fighting
ride read/write
swim
leadership
languages:
space common
elvish
dwarven
hsienese (or whatever your local fantasy
equivalent of chinese is.)
equipment of note:
field plate +2
medium shield +2
ring of protection +1
ring of animal friendship (never used, so still fully charged)
black dragonscale doublet (AC4)
Teras the intelligent sword (see below)
_Teras:_
Teras is the Carnelian family's ancestral sword. It's a slightly curved
long sword with a large yellow gem set in the crosspiece. Much to its
satisfaction it has a scabard made of the same dragonscale as Rachel's
jacket.
Rachel and it seem to bicker constantly, although never over anything
important. Teras is a +3 sword, +6 versus dragons. It can
speak, but Int and Ego are unknown. Alignment CG. It can detect gems in
a 50' radius, and may have other as yet unknown properties.
combat values;
#Attacks: 2 + shield parry
Thac0: 8* (12 to parry)
SF: 2*
Damage: d8+6*
(*: improve by 3 v. dragons)
_Appearance:_
Rachel is of medium height and build, with blue eyes and shoulder
length black hair usually kept in a loose pony tail. She could be quite
pretty if she took time over her appearance, but she tends not to make
the effort, although she still looks attractive in an outgoing sort of
way.
When expecting trouble (ie: most of the time) she wears a reddish
bronze enameled suit of field plate, and a shield with a dark red
diamond emblem.
When in situations where dressing like this would cause comment, she
wears dark red lizardskin trousers (there are no indigenous mammals or
green plants on Zerox, so they've no cloth, wool or leather except what
they import), and a jacket/doublet type thing made from the skin of the
dragon she killed; something Rachel finds keenly ironic.
Whatever else she's wearing, she keep her sword with her at all times,
as over the years and despite their bickering Teras has become a firm
friend and good companion.
_Personality:_
Rachel is outoing and appears very self confident. This is quite
accurate, but at least in part overcompensation for her background. She
has inherited some of her mother's practicality, but is far more
free-willed. She is very smart, with a deductive streak that sometimes
catches people off guard. Rachel also has a keen grasp of small unit
tactics, and is a highly capable commander of boarding actions and
repelling boarders. She has a very good poker face, and is quite adept
at not letting on what she's thinking; on a similar note she's very good
at picking up on what other poeple let slip.
Rachel is sexually quite agressive, although emotionally quite
vulnerable. She avoids long term relaionships, and seldom makes the
first moves for fear of rejection, but if she notices someone taking in
a interest in her she's quite likely to take the initiative (assuming
she likes them, of course. Rachel can be quite picky at times), although
she never lets herself get into a situation that might cause friction
(both out of practicality and for subconscious fear of getting hurt).
Rachel is bisexual, although she tends to be more romantic about flings
with men, she regards liasons with women an "fun", but little more.
_Plot Hooks:_
* Rachel signs on with the same ship as the PCs loking for adventure
(although she disdains piracy)
* Rachel loses her sword and enlists the party's help
* Rachel allies with the party against the big bad guy of your choice
* romantic interest for a PC
* Rachel's family want to cement an alliance with a neighbouring
kingdom. As the kingdom of Carnelian contains quite a major spelljamming
port the PC's are hired to bring her back. They may have to be devious
about his, as if they mention "arranged marriage" they won't see her for
dust!
