Notables of Terrasquestone 1-12

1. Ossuem Provost Lord Rothchilde Gjellar

Appearance - a tall and lean man with narrow shoulders, a pinched face, and the posture of a weasel. He favors dark blue, dark gray, and dark brown provost's regalia, long robes with stripes and bars denoting his position and status as a lord, a provost, and being the most senior of the bone path sages.

Portrayal - Gjellar is a nervous and reclusive man who at times demands to be the center of attention, especially if it lets him lord his intelligence over others, something he does by leaning down and towards them so the people he speaks to know they are shorter and less intelligent than he is. He treats actual low-intelligence NPCs/Characters/etc very decently, they're dumb and they know their place. He also has a passive aggressive childish misogyny toward women. The higher a female's charisma the more of a jerk he will be towards them and might attempt to charm them in a reverse world rules fashion. An absolute jerk.

Hook - Provost Lord Gjellar is a very intelligent man, and has written entire encyclopedias of monster lore, magical theory on monster summoning, and monster biology and the uses of their mortal remains. He also keeps the Magic School's Ossteum where a variety of monster skeletons and taxidermies are kept on display. Need to know how to face an umber hulk, the Provost has a display of three taxidermied exoskeletons, same for facing dragon fear, the bones of the black dragon assembled in the main hall of the Ossteum still radiates its fear effect.

2. Guildmaster Michelmass Carosel

Appearance - an average middle-aged human man with plain brown hair and unremarkable features, but exuding a preternatural charm. A charismatic father-like figure with kind eyes. He wears the regular garb one would associate with the upper mercantile caste.

Portrayal - Carosel is an upper middle manager at a merchant guild where he manages an entire cadre of guild scribes, surveyors (agents who go into the field to assess things) and fixers (agents who go into the field to liaison with adventuring guilds, mercenaries, noble and royal agents, etc). He is a bumbling, micromanaging, incompetent, but entirely and completely naive and sincere man. He means well but is only able to get things done because several of his scribes are amazingly competent, and these scribes could rise in the guild if they didn't spend so much time harassing and pranking each other out of the boredom of their tedious employment.

Hook - Guildmaster Carosel is the sort of NPC who assigns themself to an adventuring party as part of an escort mission where they have to take him somewhere dangerous, or he is constantly sending his agents to interfere with the party. Hate to be a bother, but the guild knows that you have an impressive line of credit, and its going to take a while to pay off the note on the armor, horse, horse barding, and all that, but we need a 'knight' to make an appearance at a county noble's kid's birthday party, and it would be keen if some goblins or something could be brought along, make a good show. And, is the armor being properly cared for?

3. Captain Henderson 'Henn' Norrenn

Appearance - The Captain is a short man built like a bulldog. He has a bald head, thick neck, and tank-like body. As a Captain the City Guard, he commonly affects a steel cuirass, and quilted arm and leg guards while carrying a long dagger and a heavy truncheon. He oozes Alpha Male high School Bully energy at all times.

Portrayal - Henn is a stoic leader in the guard who makes a good show of acting like he is on the edge of going off, a sort of seething hostility on restrained by his rank and position in the Guard. This is because he does most of his work facing down adventurers, mages, and other high power individuals who think they are above the law and peace, until he reminds them that spells and combat feats are hard to pull off when concussed and tied up in a cell.

Hook - Henn is well and familiar with the Gyre and has gone into it several times, where he picked up both some dungeon gems, but also a hobby of collecting minerals. He can find interesting things, and is quite well informed on geology in the dungeon without being a hard to get to academy researcher who loathes adventurers and PCs. As a captain in the guard he is also going to very definitely be up in the rogue's business reminding the PCs that the city isn't in the US, and there are no Miranda Rights, and the only way to have a fully enforced contract or law requires the involvement of an Axiomancer.

4. Maester Johan Heldspar, Evocationist

Appearance - A younger man with an olivine complexion, a mop of tousled curly hair, spectacles, and the most insufferable grin. He wears a variety of well-made green robes paired with the tumble-worn roughspun breeches and shoes of common folk.

Portrayal - A simpering, conniving, smarmy journeyman magic user, always chasing after the approval of the master Wizards while demeaning their spellcraft behind their backs, while being obsessed with the pop culture of the theaters and playwrights, and all but stalking the minority of women who have entered the academy. Only does spells and spellcraft in the laboratory, as he is a theoretical evocationist. Detonate a Fireball in the dungeon, that would be so so so dangerous.

Hook - Being an evocationist, Maester Heldspar is the go to to get spell scrolls for Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Fireball, and the various Prismatic spells. He always needs the money, his eating habits are expensive, as his collecting of play props, costumes, and mingling with said entertainers. Likewise, he usually needs some supplies from the dungeon, and rather than pay with money, he is more than willing to pay with spell scrolls. He is also a liaison to the talents of other theoretical wizards who workin the academy and can offer access to enchantments, potions, and other such goods. He is also one of the more stable and less ... challenging wizards to deal with.

5. Lady Liriel Morganhouse

Appearance - a pre-teen girl with a severe expression, hair pulled into a tight slicked-back knot, and a suit of black plate armor custom made to her size and stature.

Portrayal - Lady Morganhouse is the youngest to sit the High Seat Morganhouse, and she intends to take this role with the severity of an ascetic monk, the determination of a orc warlord, and the personal warmth of a glacier. She knows if she shows a shred of weakness, emotion, or inexperience it very might lead to the end of her house, and that her position is tenuous, and then eventually she will be expected to wed, breed, and step aside for a new Lord Morganhouse to take over her leadership, none of these things make her happy. She takes this hostility and unhappiness out on her enemies, and does so in such a fashion that the family retainers have been impressed. The fact that she wears the Signet Ring of the house (Charisma magic item) is only minorly consequential.

Hook - Lady Morganhouse is routinely hiring adventurers to carry out missions at the behest of the House, as well as organizing campaigns in the field and into the Dungeon. She has raided the Gyre three times, impressive for a twelve year old.

6. Guildmaster Adjutant Trikerion 'Trike' Casketson

Appearance - An average looking human man who appears constantly annoyed, flustered, or all but pushed to his personal limit. Favors casual clothing of better than average make but nothing that denotes him as a senior official in the Guild of Adventurers-Upon-Return. No one really knows what he does in the Guild, he's certainly not an adventurer.

Portrayal - As an overworked man of higher than average intelligence, but denied access to magic, Trike is a paragon of sarcasm and a desert dry deadpan sense of humor.

Hook - In truth, Trike is an Axiomancer, a mage who uses ritual magic to create binding contracts and manage the laws that are extant in the City Codex, the Guild Codex, and third-party operations. This means a lot of bullshit, because rather than complete codices of laws, Terrasquestone is organized with an interdependent web of laws and contracts piled on each other, and thus the binding law of the city's issued script currency is reliant on the integrity of the Guild of Adventurers-Upon-Return's pension contract, which itself is reliant on the Wizard's Cache in the city's contract between the customers who leave things in their vault and the guild running the bank. Thus a run on the Cache could collapse three major guilds, the city guard, and possibly start a war between two distant nations that used Terrasquestone to codify their peace treaty ending a generational war. Trike always has some weird bullshit job for PCs to do.

7. Knight-Captain Yoran Scapegrace

Appearance - a lanky and awkward young man with pale skin and a mane of messy black hair. He wears black armor with fur accents and usually looks desperate, confused, or lost. He carries a dungeoncrafted longsword that radiated power.

Portrayal - Born an orphan in the city, Scapegrace has only known hard times, bad luck, and tragedy. As the Knight-Captain of the City Guard his special duty is to lead from the front when dealing with monsters coming up out of basements and catacombs in the city, and make sure things stay in the dungeon. If there is a rescue raid for someone in the dungeon, the Knight-Captain is the city's answer to assist or lead adventurers. He is seldom prepared for what he is doing, few people like him, but when the chips are down he is a man of bravery and competent swordplay.

Hook - the Knight-Captain is a limited immortal. So long as he is killed within the confines of Terrasquestone, he reappears a few days after his death with no knowledge of the day or so before his death. Knowing this, the city has no compunction about promoting him to suicidal leadership roles and sending him into the worst sort of messes. PCs can be recruited for these horrorshows, or be conscripted to participate.

8. Daravan Dykeson

Appearance - A greasy, thin looking human man, clad in a ratty green cloak and worn leather armor. He might have been handsome once, but it looks like he took a fall off the castle wall and survived.

Portrayal - A man of few words, and quick hands, Dykeson is a ranger who comes into the city on rare occasion to sell monster relics and loot. Typically appears either laden down with pelts, necklaces of claws and teeth, and a pull cart of bones, dried organs, and smoked meats from the forest.

Hook - Missing person in the forest, there are no better trackers than this moldy piece of fruit shaped like a man.

9. Dame Carrine Trollshaw

Appearance - a cosmopolitan human woman with impeccable fashion sense, something of a long face, seldom without either her beau of the month or her cadre of girlbosses.

Portrayal - Just the most tedious and self-important woman in Terrasquestone. As a gossipist and orator she makes her living by taking all the gossip in the city, the courts, and the guilds, and makes it public knowledge, typically through the Banner Guild, which will have young boys and girls stand in plazas and street corners, a banner waving above their head, while canting or singing the gossip in not especially great prose. When not working at her trade, she is the woman about town, assessing bachelors, ranking the season's debutantes, and grading merchants and their offerings. She's the most important opinion in the city, and she will let everyone know with the least convincing humility a human being could farce.

Hook - Dame Trollshaw HATES Lord Firethorn and has offered a bounty for his identity, and a prize for his head. She is also an avid collector of jewelry, magical regalia, wedding regalia, and sponsors dungeon raids for these items. Lastly, she is a follower of attractive people, if any of the PCs has a high charisma or appearance attribute, they can expect a visit from, or a sense of being followed by, Dame Trollshaw and her retinue of yasss queen girlbosses.

10. Guildmaster Theodoric Radagan

Appearance - an average human male of younger middle age, very ordinary and plain. Dresses well, but a decade or so out of common fashion.

Portrayal - as a master of the Taverner, Inn, and Hostellers Guild, Master Radagan keeps a blockhouse and an attached tavern in operation. But as a master, he doesn't work at either, he just patronizes both. He is a complete paradox of being bored, or overworked, excited to see people and burnt out on being in public, is looking to settle down and become a family man, but cannot stop from bum rushing every relationship. He is the sort of man who proposes to his GF after a month, and when she says yes, breaks up with her three days later.

Hook - As a master in the glorified barman guild, Radagan is possibly the best go-to to get jobs and finding missions. In addition to pouring the most mediocre ale in the city, his tavern does have the best Postings Board for rare hunts, no contact jobs, and commissions. Plus, being a master taverner, there is no one in the city that Radagan doesn't know, or have access to by proxy. The High Lord, yeah, my bar brother dated his niece a year or so ago, they split on good terms and I think he still gets invited to the Lord's Keep to play cards, why?

11. Lord Edon Dinoncreek

Appearance - a tall, charismatic human male of what might be idealized physique, with slick hair, a charming smile, and flawlessly simple and elegant fashion sense. His voice is resonant, rich, and gravid with authority and big dick/daddy energy. Women blush in his presence, and men either idolize him or hate him with every fiber of their being.

Portrayal - Lord Edon is a hard-drinking, pipe-smoking, womanizing man's man. He has a wife, three mistresses, and is multiclassed into Noble, Sorcerer, and Bardic classes. Talk about triple-dipping on the CHA build classes. Despite all of this, his wealth, his libido, his charisma, his success, Lord Edon is almost cursed to not make wise decisions. When plans are on the table, he will gravitate to either the most simple, or the worst plan. Frontal assault, sure, kill the messenger, every time, negotiate while the mercenaries rally to kill the rebels, is there any other way to negotiate?

Hook - Lord Edon is a front and center Lord. If there is a bad idea or a bad situation, you can bet he's involved.

12. Sky Knight Emma Dragonflame

Appearance - a waifish human woman with a penchant for sheer clothing and thin robes, and haughty arrogance. Accompanied by a cadre of grovelers, yes men, disgraced former knights, disenfranchised nobles, and freed slaves. Always accompanied by a terrifying black dragon.

Portrayal - raised from a lifetime of abuse and molestation, Emma Dragonflame is a woman who found a dragon as a hatchling, raised it, and will now use this bond and power to raze those who abused her. She is a champion of the common and the downtrodden. Rather than go on to become a villain, she cooled her temper, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and is now a leader in the Guild of Heroes, championing the poor, the enslaved, the oppressed, and anyone else who needs power for their cause.

Hook - The Sky Knight is functionally a Marxist revolutionary who wants to see the Guild of Heroes destroy the other adventuring guilds, replace the city guard, and overthrow the Lords of Terrasquestone and turn the city into functionally a central soviet style state and then unleash the Terrasque and destroy the other nations that are unwilling to kneel to the throne she wants to raise.