Status indicators: Alive Deceased Incarcerated Hospitalized In Hiding Unknown
Relationship stripe: ■ Ally ■ Contact ■ Antagonist ■ Neutral/Deceased ■ Unknown
Best friend of Aiden Barlowe and the late Daniel Ivy — the three met as children at the local orphanage in Grollen. Co-owns and tends bar at The Crystal Spyre.
For years he didn't believe Aiden's claims about what happened to Daniel after his death, and watched Aiden destroy himself chasing the case. That rift finally closed in Session 10: after the Blood Bowl celebration, the two had a long-overdue heart-to-heart, each admiring the other's resolve and admitting their own faults in the matter.
Old, cantankerous halfling wizard-cook. Half of his right ear is missing. The thick iron earring on his left ear is the source of his perpetual bad mood — it is a cursed torture device forged in the Abyss, and the curse prevents him from asking for help with it directly.
He was trying to find an item to reconstitute his missing ear before discovering what the earring actually is. Now he trades in small enchantments on the side to fund attempts at curse removal, unable to explain why.
Middle-aged halfling cook at the Crystal Spyre, proficient in leather craftsmanship — he makes things from monster hides in his spare time.
At night he is a mime vigilante. He dressed as a mime to propose to his beloved, only to watch her get trampled by a gang fleeing on horseback from local militia. He has been a comedic vigilante ever since.
A Bloodhound — a member of Emmerick's federal investigative agency. Mentor and pseudo-father figure to Aiden, Nathan, and Daniel in their youth, taking them in and giving them a home during the cold months.
He was the one who convinced Aiden to give up his dream of becoming a Halruuian enchanter and join the Bloodhounds instead. Aiden still meets with him for information and assignments off the books.
Old half-elf, easily over 140. Reserved and stoic, grumpy but not looking for a fight. Drinks scotch, likes manticore ribs, and played wide receiver for the Rauchstadt Firebolts in his youth.
Formerly a lieutenant in the Stahlwolke Royal Command, where he shadowed Hammerhand while Hammerhand was in witness protection in the decades following the revolution. Later transferred to the Brightsparks in Grollen.
Today he officially oversees Hammerhand's minor diplomatic immunity — keeping anything below trespassing from resulting in arrest or fine — and heads the squad patrolling the North Ward out of Brightsparks HQ.
Short, ill-tempered, sarcastic, and witty. A pescatarian who hates the sound of people chewing. Grew up in poverty south of the Twinned Forest and joined the local guard when he came of age, soon followed by his friend Clyde. Sent to Grollen at 28, made commanding officer at 32.
Keeps bees as a hobby. Owns a blue-eyed honey buzzard named Koda, who eats said bees. Has a strained relationship with his wife due to drug use.
Easygoing and amicable, not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Loves reading — especially comic books. Keeps his nails immaculate. A huge connoisseur of food from Senchi and Xueshan, neighboring nations on the continent of Druzane.
Grew up in poverty south of the Twinned Forest and joined the guard a year after Weltworth, to support his buddy. Rode Weltworth's coattails to commanding officer. Divorced before the transfer to Grollen; surprisingly chill about it.
Huge orc in a pinstripe suit that barely contains him. Cigars always. Shrewd, rude, and wealthy, with fingers in the pockets of powerful people across Emmerick.
Almost never goes to prison — he bargains his way down to probation or fines. His most recent and greatest scheme was robbing a casino in Himmelhaven that was protected by a vault security system made by his own company. Aiden Barlowe was the one who put him behind bars for that. After serving two months, he went into hiding.
Canisfolk — specifically resembling a doberman. A wickedly intelligent rogue with an affinity for illusion and abjuration magic, skills she picked up from a middle-aged professor at Globe Ward who took pity on her when she was living on the streets as a youth — giving her food and talking with her on his commute.
Leads The Naughty Dogs, the gang that hired the Cactus Bunch to loot Vellena Chezwick's warehouse and find a specific shard. The party fought through her gang in the Historical Ward bunker in Session 7 — Vivian escaped via a teleportation bead hidden in a fake tooth, but was cornered at the Golden Oriole Hospital in the West Underward. There she came clean: the shard was being used in minute dilutions at the hospital to potentially enhance memory and cognition for patients who couldn't afford conventional care.
She struck a deal with The Bannerless — let the Naughty Dogs and the Golden Oriole operate, and she would hand over the shard and everything her team had learned about it. She provided a rune for their speaking stone and said they'd be in touch. The shard changed hands peaceably.
Purveyor of the arts. Likes fine wine, good food, and chess. Intelligent, and never forgets a face. There used to be two Thieves Guilds operating in Grollen — Lorenzo's absorbed the other one over the course of three months.
A Bahumia crime lord named Lucky owes him 50 gold — Lorenzo bet Lucky he couldn't lose even if he tried.
Thalen met with Lorenzo in Session 6 to hire Guild members to locate the Naughty Dogs. Lorenzo agreed — at the punishing rate of 50 gold per person per hour. Thalen left feeling thoroughly gouged.
In Session 9, Thalen returned to settle the bill after winning the Blood Bowl. Lorenzo's people had basically found the same information the party already had, and Lorenzo seemed offended when Thalen implied the Guild's help hadn't been necessary. Against expectations, Thalen actually managed to bargain the price down, walking out with the debt significantly reduced.
Was serving 15 months for caravan robbery. Known to the world as "Pitstop" — she'd shadow caravans until they stopped for the night, then move in when their guard was down. Known to Thalen as "Emerald Eyes", for the way her eyes caught the torchlight.
In Session 10, Thalen broke her out of the Arbic State Penitentiary using a scroll of Vortex Warp, teleporting her straight past the gates. The two snuck across the city to the Crystal Spyre, where she currently remains — a fugitive. She came down to breakfast in Session 11 and met the rest of the party properly, still wary; they did their best to assure her the Spyre is safe.
Serving 6 years for fraud and tax evasion. Bald, thick braided beard, yellowed smile. Didn't look like much, but he's the guy who knows a guy who knows a guy — acquiring goods and information for a price even from inside a prison cell. Thalen brokered information about Vivian Tate and the Naughty Dogs through him.
Former manager in the Storage, Disposal & Preservation division of the Office of Municipal Arcana. While cataloguing Vellena Chezwick's warehouse with his employee Chevier, he came into contact with a strange crystal shard — resulting in dizziness, nausea, and multicolored fluids from his orifices. His condition is severe but less extreme than Chevier's.
Was gagged, tied up, and left in the warehouse when the Cactus Bunch took over. Freed by The Bannerless in Session 4. Now recovering in hospital — and struck a deal with the party to compete in the Blood Bowl tournament in his and Chevier's stead.
The Bannerless won the Blood Bowl in Session 9 against The Hellhounds and The Cave Divers. Aiden contacted Artur and sent the agreed-upon portion of the 35,000 gp prize to cover the hospital bills. Artur was discharged in Session 11, and his contracting group immediately began work expanding the Crystal Spyre.
A young adult SDP worker at the OMA. Was cataloguing Vellena Chezwick's warehouse when he came into contact with the crystal shard — and decided to pocket it as a gift for his sister Charlotte. Began experiencing dizziness, nausea, memory loss, and multicolored fluids. His condition is severe.
Present when the Cactus Bunch stormed the warehouse. Was being shipped to Vivian Tate as a specimen before he escaped, was found unconscious in an alleyway by Aiden, and taken to hospital. Most disturbingly, he perpetually hums a Dorothy in Shackles song — a song he would have no way of knowing.
A fellow oracle and commune member of Caelistra's — also receiving the "Dark Star" prophecy, and also exiled for it. When Caelistra and her friend Tangela first scried on her, Nemora was seen on the Emmerick Express train, having a meeting with a large, mysterious businessman. The party suspects this may be Vankin Ergak of Armsmaster Inc.
In Session 8, Caelistra scryed on Nemora a second time and saw her still in a booth on the train, writing a message in a small journal in case someone finds it after her death.
An elephant-person — a Loxodon. Grand Inquisitor within the Halruuian Council, versed in folkloric, arcane, and religious knowledge. Teaches classes abroad when not occupied with council work; currently lecturing at Globe University in Grollen.
The party burst into his lecture in Session 5. He subsequently led them to Happily Ever Chapter and revealed the legend of the Hanged King in relation to their inquiry about shards of creation. In Session 8, Huggtand connected the party with his employer, Lord Olvashaun, who arrived through a portal at the university to retrieve the body of the dead adventurer Mud.
In Session 11, Aiden and Hammerhand had him cast Legend Lore on Project Brightburn. Working through several techniques until the spell filled his eyes and mouth, he revealed the project centers on the construction of “a large mechanism capable of solving mass computations,” built using Auruma — a material found in only one place in the world.
Vexra Stone Dumont's half-brother, tied to her now-remarried mother. Rich and described as snobby. He was behind the invitation to Iger Masterson's celebration sent to Vexra in Session 5 — something Vexra only worked out in Session 6 when she confided in Aiden. His motivations for reaching out are not yet known.
Vexra also disclosed in that conversation that she has an active bounty on her name in Neu-Bergbau. Whether Bartholomew is connected to that or not is unclear.
The laboratory director of the Golden Oriole Hospital, the underground medical facility operating in the West Underward. Was present with Vivian Tate when Caelistra scouted the storage closet and the party charged in. Part of the deal struck in Session 7 — Carver and the lead medical team will share all research gathered on the shard in exchange for the party leaving the Golden Oriole alone.
One of the two Prime Ministers representing Stahlwolke in the Grand Parliament. A half-elf, age 84. Hammerhand has documented history with her — the nature of which has not been fully disclosed. In Session 7, Hammerhand looked into the scrying basin in the abandoned Shar chapel beneath Grollen and saw Korra speaking with an assistant about a current project, saying she wants to see it herself before moving to the next phase, and asking the assistant to contact someone named Basil for a lunch meeting.
In Session 11, Lord Olvashaun brokered a meeting between Korra and The Bannerless. She accepted — but with her schedule full, she arranged with Iger Masterson to hold it in one of his lounges following Scryger’s 25th anniversary party.
A lord and Huggtand’s employer. Arrived via portal at Globe University in Session 8, accompanied by a large construct fitted with a single peering eyeball. Thanked The Bannerless for bringing Mud’s body to the university and shunted Mud’s skeleton into a necklace before leaving.
Before departing, Aiden struck a deal with him: Olvashaun will help supply the Golden Oriole Hospital with whatever they need going forward, providing significant material support to the underground clinic.
Session 11 revealed he heads the council of Halruaa. Presented with the party’s findings on Project Brightburn — the mass-computation mechanism, the Auruma, and the pattern of dead workers — he agreed to arrange and personally mediate a meeting with Prime Minister Korra Engather.
An orc adventurer found dead in the underground tunnel network beneath Grollen with a small pack of cards from the mythical Deck of Minor Things on his person. The skeleton bore powerful residual magic — particularly temporal — and carried an arcane letter sealed with wax.
In Session 8, Calliope cast Speak With Dead, using her own blood to form the musculature needed for the skeleton to speak. He gave his name as Mud. The man who killed him was “kind of tentacle-y on one half.” His final words: “tell Nora to go fuck herself.”
Lord Olvashaun retrieved the body and transferred the skeleton into a necklace.
A younger, dark-haired dwarf who runs Mind Over Metal, an armor-specialist smithy in the Electrum Ward. Several people work the shop under him, including a goliath named Angel. Struck a deal with The Bannerless in Session 10 for armor and raw materials.
A middle-aged human with short black hair and a prominent nose, working at The Enchanter’s Emporium in the Electrum Ward. He was once a doctor, but lost his medical license — the circumstances haven't come up. In Session 10 he sold Thalen a very special pair of daggers, Nacht and Licht, crafted to be fully utilized through the act and art of Bladesinging.
An assistant to Caroline Neverend, one of Grollen’s two Prime Ministers. In Session 10, Caelistra sent him a blackmail letter designed to force a meeting — comply, or certain sensitive information gets out. In Session 11 she went to Grollen Keep in person, only to be told by the secretary that he was out of town, so she sent a second note. Still no response.
Lyra’s fellow student and neighbor at Riverhaven. Both studied defensive enchantments and competed for the same government job — Garte got it. Three months before the explosion at Riverhaven, he moved back into the building, closed off and paranoid.
The Session 10 investigation found Project Brightburn in his salvaged papers, along with notes on a material tied to a related project: Auruma — a word Hammerhand vaguely remembers overhearing from regime soldiers during the Civil War. The party’s conclusion: Garte was likely the explosion’s real target, and Lyra was caught in the crossfire.
A clergyman at a chapel of the Raven Queen in Grollen. In Session 11, a grieving and badly drunk Aiden Barlowe stumbled in before dawn and knelt at the statue, demanding to know why Daniel was taken.
Rather than turn him out, Clover sat with him — speaking of death’s neutrality in the grand scheme of things, and of the Raven Queen’s domain as one of the few genuine constants in the universe. Aiden went home and slept.
An old-money entrepreneur and CEO of Scryger, the magitech company behind most of Emmerick’s speaking stones, emergency broadcasting illusions, and radiotech. His dominance over the nation’s communications infrastructure gives him considerable indirect influence over how information moves.
He first touched the campaign obliquely: Bartholomew Dumont used one of Masterson’s celebrations as the vehicle for contacting Vexra in Session 5. Then, in Session 10, Daniel Ivy’s spirit appeared in Aiden’s dream, wet a finger, and pointed directly at Masterson’s mansion before dissolving into fog — leaving Aiden holding a raven’s feather.
In Session 11 the threads converged. Scryger’s 25th anniversary party is imminent, the party already holds tickets, and Korra Engather has arranged to meet them in one of Masterson’s lounges once the festivities end. They will be walking into his house by invitation.
Runs a dispensary and tincture shop in the East Underward of Grollen. Kalashtar — she reads faces and minds, communicates telepathically, and is quick with a shortsword. Has a good rapport with Hammerhand and has provided the party with intelligence on multiple occasions.
Protégé of Hammerhand, now a wealthy southern aristocrat. A builder and sculptor by heart from Favela, a community on the northern edge of the Witchfire Marsh built on doing things yourself.
During the revolution he became a primary architect for Concord structures, then pivoted to repairing and reverse-engineering regime constructs — a real prodigy. In Year 8 of the war, he was chosen as a delegate to convince the high elves of Helton (the high elf citadel in the Jade Forest) to join the war effort. He succeeded, helping broker the elven alliance that turned the war's final years. He and Hammerhand meet up once a year to talk shop.
Friend and fellow commune member of Caelistra Moondawn. Now runs an augury store stocked with crystals and herbs, with a palm reading station in the back. Helped Caelistra scry on their mutual friend Nemora — revealing the unsettling meeting on the Emmerick Express.
A myconid — a mushroom-person — who runs a plant store. She looks like an Amanita mushroom, wears large glasses and a frilly dress, and is described as a real sweetheart. Sells unique and rare herbs, including components used by Witchers.
Artur Kendel stopped at her shop in Session 6 to pick up herbs while recovering from his hospital stay. The party accompanied him.
Best friend of Aiden Barlowe and Nathan McCloud — the three met as children at the Grollen orphanage. Co-owned The Crystal Spyre. An exceptional vocalist and guitarist, lead singer of the metal band Dorothy in Shackles. Due to a genetic condition he lost his left arm and had it replaced with a prosthetic so he could keep playing.
Brutally murdered in an alleyway alongside his wife Jane Osbourne. His grave was found empty when exhumed in Session 4, with a divine arcane signature in the coffin. The song Chevier hums continuously is a Dorothy in Shackles song.
In Session 8, Aiden scryed on Daniel and saw a pinpoint of light in a dark mechanical expanse, energy shunting into "corridors." In Session 10, Daniel appeared in Aiden's dream as a semi-corporeal spirit — tangible but not feelable — and pointed to Iger Masterson's mansion before dissolving, leaving Aiden holding a raven's feather.
Musician, painter, and devoted metal fan — she was there near the beginning of Dorothy in Shackles. Met Daniel after a concert, became fast friends, then lovers, then married after five years together. Wouldn't hurt a fly.
Loved going to art shows, always looking for inspiration or a new piece for her own collection. Murdered in the same alleyway as Daniel.
A gnomish tinkerer and enchanter with ties to Halruua — she went to university in Rauchstadt and undertook an apprenticeship with a Halruuian mage. A devout opponent of Halruua's involvement in the revolution. After the war she received a letter of commendation which got her consulting work on several Grand Parliament projects, some of which were later redacted.
She married, had two kids, moved to Grollen, and opened Glyphs and Sundries. Then she was mugged and murdered in an alleyway. Her files on Project Brightburn and her connection to Caelistra have made her death central to the party's investigation.
Big goliath cowboy who led The Cactus Bunch. Wielded a six-shooter revolver. His gang was hired by Vivian Tate and the Naughty Dogs to loot Vellena Chezwick's warehouse and find a specific shard.
Captured and interrogated by The Bannerless after the warehouse fight. When he gave up everything he knew, Hammerhand shot him through the head. Body burned to conceal evidence of the interrogation.