Vesta Fire-Brand, Highwayman with Regrets

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Name

Age/Gender:19/Woman
Homeland: Nemedia
Caste/Trait: Escaped Serf/Regrets
Archetype: Highwayman
Nature/Education: Wrathful/Thug
War Story: Tavern Raid

Appearance: Raven hair, Fair face, ember-brown eyes, leather armor or fine silks
Personality: Boisterous, Agressive, Greedy, Sultry, Secretly Renorseful
Languages: Nemedian, Shemitish
Social Standing: -1

XP:
Fate Points: 2/3

Beliefs

• I deserve to take what I want, because fate hasn't given me anything.
• I need to stop running when things get hard

Combat

Bonus Damage: Ranged +0 | Melee +2 | Presence +3

Weapons

• Battleaxe: Reach 2, Grip U, Size 1, Damage 4, Intense, Vicious 1
• Whip: Reach 3, Grip 1H, Size 0, Damage 3, Fearsome 2, Grapple
• Mace: Reach 2, Grip U, Size 1, Damage 3, Knockdown, Stun, Piercing 1
• Tower Shield: Reach 2, Grip U, Size 3, Damage 2, Knockdown, Shield 4

Stress & Harm
Vigor: 12/12 | Wounds:
Resolve: 10/10 | Trauma:

Courage Soak: 0
Armor Soak: Head 3, Right Arm 2, Left Arm 2, Torso 2, Right Leg 2, Left Leg 2
Armor Qualities: Heavy (Head)
Items: Brigandine Coat (Armor 2: Torso, Arms, Legs), Helmet (Armor 3, Heavy), Leather Jerkin (Armor 2: Torso, not usually worn)

Attributes/Skills

Agility: 10

• Acrobatics:
• Melee: 5/5
• Stealth:

Awareness: 8

• Insight:
• Observation:
• Survival: 2/2
• Thievery: 1/1

Brawn: 10

• Athletics:
• Resistance: 2/2

Coordination: 10

• Parry: 3/3
• Ranged Weapons: 2/2
• Sailing:

Intelligence: 6

• Alchemy:
• Craft:
• Healing:
• Linguistics:
• Lore:
• Warfare:

Personality: 10

• Animal Handling: 1/1
• Command: 1/1
• Counsel:
• Persuade: 1/1
• Society:

Willpower: 8

• Discipline: 2/2
• Sorcery:

Talents

• Cosmopolitan, Homeland: Your homeland has many visitors and people dwelling within it, all with different customs and tongues. When speaking with a non-player character that also has the Cosmopolitan talent, it is assumed that you each possess enough of each other’s languages in common that you are considered fluent when speaking with one other.
• Embittered, Caste: You have long since given up fealty to your lord. You avoid taxes and play fast-and-loose with the law. Within the borders of your homeland, Embittered reduces your Social Standing by 2, and as a result, reduces the cost of your Upkeep. Outcasts are at –2 Social Standing and escaped slaves at –1, hence Upkeep is reduced by –2 and –1, respectively.
• Vagabond, Caste: The road is more home to you than any town or city ever has been. Whether a nomad by choice or necessity, you can reduce the Difficulty of Survival tests by one, so long as you are on a maintained road. This may reduce the Difficulty of tests to Simple (D0).
• Force of Presence, Archetype, Rank 1/1: Your damage bonus on mental attacks is increased by +1[CD].
• No Mercy, Nature, Rank 1/1: When making a Melee attack, you may re-roll a number of damage dice equal to the total number of Melee talents (and ranks in those talents) you have acquired, if desired. You must accept the results of the re-rolls.
• Strong-Arm Tactics, Education, Rank 1/3: You recognize others’ limitations and can easily exploit them. When attempting to intimidate an opponent, you are able to recognize the most effective strategies to use. You gain one additional d20 to any Persuade or Command test per rank of Strong-arm Tactics. Further, you gain Piercing X on your Threaten attacks, where X is equal to your ranks in Strong-arm Tactics.
• Deft Blade, Rank 1/1: You wield a blade as if it were an extension of your arm. Whenever you make a melee attack, any Momentum spent or points added to Doom to add bonus d20s to the Melee test adds two dice instead of one, though the normal limit of three bonus d20s still applies.

Belongings

Gold: 10 | Upkeep: 2
Encumbrance:

• Plain traveling clothes
• Traveler's survival kit
• Cheap riding horse
• Branding iron
• Fine silken clothes, stolen

Character Story

Vesta was born a serf in Nemedia, destined for a life of toil for the benefit of an indolent lord. But that was not to be, as raiders from the north descended upon her hamlet when she was not yet a woman, killing most and enslaving many of the remainder; she was overlooked, being caught in a burning house, barely able to stumble out after the raiders had already moved on to other families' houses. The survivors - mostly young enough to be able to hide away in spaces adults wouldn't check - would never be able to rebuild the village on their own, so they set off on the road the taxmen always came down.

But the guards at the lord's manor turned them away, and they took over a run-down building at the edge of the town around it and turned to begging and petty thievery out of desperation. This... sort-of worked, and some of them were even picked up as apprentices and indentured servants by townsfolk, but their situation couldn't last forever. The nominal leader of their band of orphans, Bran, grew jealous that she didn't look at him like she looked at some of the others as they grew, and he would constantly call attention to her burned right hand to try and tear her down. So when the band of brigands showed up and wanted the old building for themselves, Vesta was angry enough that instead of helping drive them off, she snuck out to show them the secret way in they'd found through a disused cellar. Most of the orphan band fled rather than making a bloody fight of it, but they knew who betrayed them... and some of them might have gone on to adventuring careers of their own.

For her part, she leveraged the secret into a place among the brigands who called themselves the Starving Wolves, impressing them with what she already knew of using her fists. They taught her the sword, and swearing, both of which she took to vigorously. She was often the one who would step out to stop and threaten passerby on the road, as they would usually assume she was a damsel in distress - and be all the more shocked when she backed up her demands with steel. For a time, she lay with the leader, Thurl, but a guardsman's arrow found his eye socket and his less-desirable brother Hoag took the lead. Before he could get ideas, she started a relationship with Lilin, their healer and a purported (incorrectly) witch. That all came to an end, too, after the Wolves were bold enough to try and raid the tavern in town. Vesta performed masterfully (at least she thinks so) as a drunken slattern, drawing the attention of most at the bar while the robbers set up outside, but one of the serving-girls had been in Vesta's orphan band, recognized her, and slipped out in time to call for the guards. Vesta managed to get away by shambling among fleeting tavernfolk, but most of the band weren't so lucky.

And that's pretty much where she's at now, wandering and getting by with her her silver tongue and the steel of her axe, looking for a crew that she really hopes she won't bail on this time. That weighs on her conscience far more than any acts of robbery she's committed (and continues to do so); she still really likes other people's stuff.

Despite her right hand being badly burned - which she always keeps covered with a glove, unless she wants to scare people - she has more of a fascination with than unease around fire, and love to find a weapon that can be set alight, like a mace with a naphtha reservoir or something. She just as frequently bears a torch instead of a shield in her offhand when she wants to be most intimidating.