Against the Court of Urdor: the Heroes

Below is an overview of the two player characters in my “Against the Court of Urdor” campaign. 
Since there are only two of them, I decided to give them 65 points to distribute among their stats (instead of the usual 50), so they’re tougher than usual for beginning characters.
(The final stats listed below take into account further kin and background modifiers.)

EINAR QUICKSILVER

Kin:  Green (Dusk) Elf.
Culture: Weald.
Vocation: Rogue.
Level: 1.

Stats: Brawn 0; Swiftness 35; Fortitude 10; Wits 15; Wisdom 5; Bearing 20.
Hit Points: 55.
Magic Points: 5.
Move: 15 meters.

Special Traits (Kin): 
- Immortal (+10 vs cold; needs no sleep but meditates 3 hours/day).
- Light-footed (not affected by terrain when wearing no/light armour).
- Sure shot (+10 to all ranged attacks).
- Lithe (+10 to acrobatics; +20 to stealth in natural environments).
- Keen sense (+10 perception; see 30 metres in dim light).

Background:
- Elven training: Use SWI for light blades (instead of BRN); Elven Spell Lores
- Served on the Koronande Border Patrol

Spell Lores: Elven Lore; Spell Songs.

Motivation: Protect Koronande from Tantûrak; deliver family necklace to Nuriel (cousin). 
Nature: Impulsive and impetuous but a friend to all who would live free.
Allegiance: Koronande and Green Elves everywhere.

Einar Quicksilver is a Green Elf of Koronande. More at home in the wilds than in cities or towns, he spent the first few decades of his life serving in the border guard. Travelling throughout the frontiers of the Republic, Einar helped to keep his homeland safe from ne’er-do-wells, orcish brigands, and raiders from Tantûrak. He became known for his uncanny sneakiness, acrobatic skill in moving amongst the branches of the trees, and careful aim with his trusty bow.

At the age of fifty, Einar felt it was time for a change. And so, he travelled to the city of Tauronde to figure out what to do with his life. While frequenting some of the city’s excellent taverns, he befriended the dwarf Kiren Hammerstone. 

A month ago, Einar’s Aunt Yvenna passed away. At first it was thought that she had lost her will to live, and so had chosen to return her spirit to Faerie, like most elves who have lived for a couple of millennia. But since Yvenna had given no indication that she was contemplating such an action, her close friend Pathric asked the healers of Tauronde to inquire further. Closer examination revealed that Yvenna had in fact been poisoned! However, the exact nature of the poison was unknown to the healers and scholars of Koronande. Astonished by this news, Pathric asked Einer – as Yvenna’s only known relative in Tauronde – to take a sample of Yvenna’s blood to the sages of Tilvirin in Taaliraan to learn more. Pathric wishes to know who could have been behind such a vile act, as Yvenna was widely loved amongst the Elves of Koronande. 

In addition to this mission, Einar has been asked to first deliver Yvenna’s enchanted jade necklace to her daughter Nuriel. According to Pathric, Nuriel leads a band of Green Elves – the “Emerald Wardens” – in the wildlands north of Taaliraan. She can be found in place called the Crystal Glade, which lies near a human settlement called Dawnfell (a village of “free” folk, outside the boundaries of any established realm).

Given that their missions take them both to the Blue Elf city of Tilvirin, Kiren and Einar have decided to travel together.   



KIREN HAMMERSTONE

Kin: Dwarf.
Culture: Deep.
Vocation: Animist.
Level: 1.

Stats: Brawn 30; Swiftness 5; Fortitude 15; Wits 10; Wisdom 30; Bearing 0.
Hit Points:  85.
Magic Points: 5.
Move: 15 meters.

Special Traits (Kin): 
- Dark Sight (see 30m in dim light; 3m in total darkness).
- +30 to save rolls versus Heat and Cold attacks.
- +30 to working/crafting with metals, stones, and gems (all items ‘high quality’).
- +20 to Nature and Wandering skills when underground.

Background:
- Battle hardened (+15 hit points; maximum hp = 160).
- Eccentric – friendly for a dwarf (+5 to Bearing).
- Gifted (+5 to Wisdom).
- Unorthodox Education (+10 bonus with blunt weapons).
 
Spell Lores: Cleansing, Healing, Lore of Nature, Master of Animals, Soul Soothing. 

Motivation: Seek out the Elvish sages of Taaliraan to learn about the Night Elf allies of the Dwergar. 
Nature: Work and support all good peoples and do the unexpected. 
Allegiance: Unbreakable loyalty to friends who actively oppose the Darkmasters. 

Kiren Hammerstone hails from Grimhold, one of the five Halls of Pale Steel found in the Skyclaw Mountains of northern Urdor. (A Dwarvish “hall” is a city.) His people have been at war with the Dwergar of the mountains for over two centuries. When the Dwergar first attacked (in the year 797 of the current Age), the advantage of surprise enabled them to capture two of the great Halls. Since then, the Pale Steel dwarves have recaptured one Hall – but the struggle continues, as the Dwergar have recruited fresh orcish troops to assist them in recent decades. 

As a young dwarf, Kiren was noted for his strength, judgement, and impressive fighting abilities. His nickname was “Kiren the Wise” and Grimhold’s elders expected him to grow into a mighty warrior. But in his early thirties, Kiren became enraptured with the vast underground mushroom forests cultivated by his people’s sages and spell-crafters. He wished to learn more of the flora and fauna of the Deeprealms, and so decided to abandon the path of the warrior and become an animist. He studied the arts of healing and spell lore under Ovik “the Learned.” 

Eventually, Kiren began to engage in some decidedly “un-dwarvish” behaviour. He wandered far from Grimhold, spending increasingly long periods in the open air, learning about the animals and plants of the surface forests, hills, rivers, and lakes. He befriended the Kirani and Green Elves who dwelt in the lands south of the Skyclaw Mountains, learning their languages and about the realms of Urdor. 

A year ago, the Dwarves of Grimhold engaged in a difficult battle with Dwergar raiders. To the surprise of the Dwarves, among the Dwergar ranks was a powerful Elvish mage. Since the Dwergar, like their estranged Dwarvish cousins, generally eschew the wizardly arts, Kiren’s people were caught off-guard by this development, and especially the mage’s bolts of flame, frost, and lightning. Fortunately, though, the Dwergar were defeated in the end, and the elf slain. Upon recovering the elf’s body, the dwarves discovered that he had been wearing a robe died in shades of red, orange, and yellow, with a distinctive badge on his left breast: an inverted triangle embroidered with a flaming staff. Examining the elf’s body, Kiren realized that he did not resemble the Green elves with whom he had interacted in the past.

With the approval of the elders of Grimhold, Kiren took the badge to the Green Elves of the Singing Lake. Based on Kiren’s description of the elf’s body, Kiren’s friend, the Elf sage Ildetha, inferred that the Dwergar ally was likely a Night Elf. The Night Elves have rarely been seen by others since the defeat of their Queen, Everekka, at the end of the Era of the Elves, over thirty-seven centuries ago. However, the Dwergar were allies of the Night Elves in those ancient times. 

As for the symbol, Ildetha’s research indicated that it belonged the “Suit of Staves,” an order within an ancient Night Elf organization known as “The Court of Urdor.” The Court ruled the entire island during the Era of the Elves but was believed to have been defeated and destroyed with the fall of the Pale Queen Everekka. In any case, Ildetha informed Kiren that if he wished to learn more, he would have to travel to either the city of Tauronde in Koronande, or the city of Tilvirin in Taaliraan. 

Kiren went first to Tauronde, as it was the closer of the two, and Koronande had a reputation for being more welcoming to outsiders than Taaliraan. There he met with the Elf scholar Aeryth (the cousin of Ildetha). Aeryth was troubled by the news that Kiren shared with him. Following months of research, Aeryth learned that that the Court of Urdor in fact did survive the fall of the Night Elves, and persisted in a number of secret holds throughout Urdor. 

The scholar helpfully indicated the location of these holds on a very detailed map for Kiren. They are: Menelcarca, Naurlindol, Taurang, Mirisgroth, Tirgoroth, Angkirya, Aurax-Dûr, and Ithilkir. Aeryth stressed that Kiren should stay away from these places, as they no doubt were centres of dark power. In order to learn more about the Court, Aeryth advised Kiren to go to Tilvirin, and seek a bard named Klaen, who is a learned associate of the scholar.

During his time in Tauronde, Kiren became friends with the Green Elf Einar. They have agreed to travel together.