D&D Characters: The Bright Blades

"Greetings stranger, is that a map to some lost treasure in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" Fidelity Carson upon meeting a potential new employer

Since the start of the year, I've been detailing a couple of sets of roleplaying game characters, one for D&D and the other for Scion.

This time, I'm going to collate the characters' bios and sheets in one place and talk about how they work as a group. I'll also add some detail to the city of Gallanburgh, which the adventuring party calls home. The party consists of five people, drawn from across the world (which currently needs a name, because I'm building it piece by piece). 

The Bright Blades are led by Fidelity Carson a Human Rogue from Ballenmouth. Her girlfriend is the Elven Wizard Talisker Sexton, the latest person to join the party.

Joining them from the north is the Half-Orc Barbarian Tullox, following a dream where a bear spirit led him south. He joined the group after they were hired to help clean out the giant rats for a nearby manor's cellars. The last two members of the Bright Blades are Taaka Sipsmith a Half-Elf Ranger and the Gnome Monk,  Zippim.

Group History: They met in Gallanburgh after each of them had been drawn there for their own reasons. Specifically, they met at the Red Dragon, one of the oldest inns in the city, during a local talent contest for would-be Bards. The prize, a year's scholarship at the prestigious Academy in Ballenmouth. While the group didn't take part - though Fidelity was tempted to - they found themselves sitting at the same table in the crowded inn, listening to the acts (and noisily critiquing them after a few aies). This was shortly before Tullox, Zippim, and Fidelity started having a burping competition and got the group thrown out of the pub and then made such a ruckus the local watch arrested them for being drunk and disorderly. They spent the night talking and decided that they'd get more money if they worked together, agreeing on the party name. Once they'd paid their fines, they returned to the inn and were hired to clean out the manor's cellars. The Dragon became their local haunt and they stayed there whenever they were in town. Here, they met Talisker Sexton, who was working a second job as a barmaid. After this they worked around the city, taking on jobs, getting drunk, and doing what they could to grow stronger over the next year, culminating in a job which took them north to recover stolen books from the university library. 

After a few more months of work, the party was recognised as an official adventuring group by the city's council, the Blades were granted passes and permits to enter and leave the city at night in the line of duty and granted a discount if they shopped at various stores (an initiative created by the Merchant's Guild to boost trade in the city). It's believed that the university put in a good word, clinching the deal. 

 Most of the group's members have their own business, and they're currently deciding what they'd like to deal with first. 

Talisker's family's past fascinates her, and she feels drawn to take up their ancient duty as guardians against the Underdark. She's also concerned by the actions her former classmate, Simon, took and worries it's a sign of worse things to come. 

Tullox seeks the purpose he's been sent south by the spirits, believing that some sort of disruption to the world is imminent. 

Zippim's quest to find the Dragon Scale Mirror weighs heavily on his mind. So far, he's discovered few clues to the artefact's whereabouts and he's starting to lose heart. 

Taaka and Fidelity are the only members who aren't weighed down by additional responsibilities, but they're concerned for their comrades because of their extra duties. 

In game terms, while I've only presented the characters at the First Level, their fictional careers likely put them at Third Level. 

Gallanburgh: sitting in the region's temperate lowlands. Gallanburgh is a small city of around 3000 souls. Originally a small village, its path changed dramatically when the Wizard Gallan set up a school there. In time more arcane magic users made their way there, either joining Gallan or setting up their own school. Over time, stories of the excellent teaching and resources made Gallanburgh highly successful, it became the main teaching university in the region around the Haggard Coast. 

At first, the schools were very involved in running the city, but they began to take a back seat. The Convention of Unity, enacted by Gallan as his last act before retirement, forged the schools into one body. This would allow two representatives to sit on the city council but retain balance with the city's other burghers. 

 Today, it boasts the world's largest magical library and most of the court wizards in this part of the world receive their education at one of Gallanburgh's colleges. The university has gone on to become one of the biggest employers of adventurers in the region, primarily using them to find rare or dangerous spell ingredients. Other large employers include the Merchant's Guild, the Cult of Mystra and a newly established Bardic College of Lore. These groups often seek similar things to the university, the recovery of lore, ingredients, and the like. The College of Lore has also hired adventurers to investigate disappearances and deaths - and at least part of their motivation for founding the new college in Gallanburgh is to move against a dark force that's gathering strength in the area.