Annabelle Marissa Lightfoot, Wandering Bard

[TheFred]

Annabelle Marissa Lightfoot

Forewarned and Four-armed | Pint-Sized Perforator | Not-So-Serious Swordshalfing

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Art by taghuso

Name: Annabelle Marissa Lightfoot Race: Halfling Gender: Female Classes: BardBard, Archaeologist, Champion Bard 5 | MagusMagus, Arcane Weaponeer 1 / Conscript 4 Party Role: Skill monkey, slice'n'dice, sassy one-liners   Quick Concept: Rebellious teen martial-artist who just happens to have four arms.

 

Appearance

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"Pah! I could take you with two arms tied behind my back!"

Despite her small stature, Annabelle seems to have a lot of presence, as if all the strength and personally of a human-sized person has been compressed into a smaller space and only made more concentrated as a result. She favours leather and metal, mostly black, and things with blades or spikes, as if trying to make some kind of statement with her manner of dress; nothing about her is ladylike, though she doesn't mind showing a bit of skin or flirting when she gets the chance.

The most obvious thing about Annabelle, however, is that she has not two but four arms, something unusual for most bipeds and surprising given that she appears to be in every other way a fairly ordinary halfling. Annabelle acts in every way as if this is perfectly normal, but she's clearly aware that she draws attention - and doesn't seem to mind it. Four short, curved swords hang at her hips, and she walks in a way that suggests she knows how to use them.

 

Personality

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A rebel without a cause, Annabelle is a headstrong character who seems set on picking a fight with the world. Everything about her, from the way she dresses to the way she talks, suggests someone trying to defy any notions of what society or fate might think she should do and carve her own path. Dynamic, energetic, and always seeking a new thrill or a good time, the very reason she left home was to avoid what she saw as a life of preordained boredom and drudgery, and sate her ever-growing wanderlust.

Carefree, friendly and outgoing, albeit with a slightly macabre sense of humour, Annabelle has few social inhibitions and is quick to strike up a conversation with anyone. Personable but also opinionated, she gets on with most but has more than once found herself in hot water by rubbing the wrong person the wrong way. Fortunately, her quick tongue and quicker swords skills have thus far been enough to get her out of most of the trouble they got her into in the first place, helped along by a more-than-generous helping of roguish good luck.

 

Background

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"All Lightfoots know two things: farming, and ninjutsu"

Annabelle prefers to look to the future than dwell on the past, and her stories of home - such as they are, given her avoidance of the subject - are often muddied and unreliable, like any of her tall tales. The truth is that she hails from a remote rural village of halflings who are almost all farmers. Rumours may abound of demonic blood far back in the village's ancestry, but nowadays jet black hair and a propensity for hot temperatures seem to be the only genetic traits that could have come from there - barring the occasional multi-limbed mutation; the villagers simply keep to themselves, hoping to avoid any suspicion by minimising contact with the outside world.

This isolationism always chafed at the fun-loving, thrill-seeking Annabelle. What was the point, she thought, of her father teaching her swordfighting if she never had the opportunity to use it? What kind of a life would it be simply to work on a farm forever, be forced to marry some boy, settle down, and have kids who could grow up also to be farmers and never even leave the village?

Not for her! Annabelle wanted to see the world, to meet new people, see new sights, fight monsters, drink beer, and generally sample all that the world had to offer!

Was life in the outside world harder and less glamorous than most of the young people in the village thought? Maybe. Did Annabelle have to spend as many nights sleeping under hedges in the rain as her father said a wandering warrior would? Quite possibly. Did she ever regret it? Not for the world!

Canismini is the natural place for someone seeking adventure to end up; surrounded as it is by such a wild and untamed land, it seems an obvious waypoint for those trusty explorers intent on venturing into the wilderness in search of solace or excitement. If only the trip here hadn't been so boring! Having seen so few settlements of any note for such a long time, Annabelle is craving a little fun. She might have had a few small adventures along the way, duelling bandits and hunting down wyverns that plagued a humble woodcutting village, but it's probably her unusual appearance and flamboyant personality that have most made a name for her. Now the four-armed slayer is intent upon getting a reputation in Canismini for fighting her way through an awful lot of wine and hard liquor rather than mercenaries and monsters.

Edited October 14, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Mechanics

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Annabelle is primarily a Dex-based melee dual quad-wielder. She makes a lot of attacks and stacks damage by hitting more.

However, I've also tried to lean into the Bard/Rogue side. She has a lot of skill points in a lot of skills, social skills, trapfinding, etc, and the Scout sphere and Spell Combat make her a bit less of a one-trick pony in combat.

Naturally, she's somewhat weak to damage reduction and mobile foes/large areas since she needs to full-attack (somewhat mitigated by options like Marauding Momentum). He Fort save also looks like a bit of a weak spot.

Statblock

[URL=https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?id=2840164][B]Annabelle Marissa Lightfoot[/B][/URL] [B]Senses:[/B] Low-Light Vision, Perception +12 (Trap Sense +1), [B]Init:[/B] +10 [B]HP:[/B] 54/54, [B]Resist:[/B] Acid 5, Fire 5 [B]AC:[/B] 25, [B]Touch:[/B] 24, [B]Flat-footed:[/B] 17, [B]CMD:[/B] 21 (+2 vs ranged attacks) [B]Saves:[/B] Fort +8, Ref +15, Will +12 [B]Spell Points:[/B] 21/21, [B]Archaeologist's Luck:[/B] 14/14, [B]Veils:[/B] Courtesan's Cloak (2 essence) [B]Special:[/B] Spell Resistance 11

Annabelle Marissa Lightfoot
Senses: Low-Light Vision, Perception +12 (Trap Sense +1), Init: +10
HP: 54/54, Resist: Acid 5, Fire 5
AC: 25, Touch: 24, Flat-footed: 17, CMD: 21 (+2 vs ranged attacks)
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +15, Will +12
Spell Points: 21/21, Archaeologist's Luck: 14/14, Veils: Courtesan's Cloak (2 essence)
Special: Spell Resistance 11

 

Proposed Casting Tradition: Veiled Warrior

An ancient spiritual tradition handed down between secreted martial artists, the art of the Veiled Warrior is intrinsically tied to elaborate weapon kata. Just as wizards trace arcane sigils with their hands, these warriors learn to trace such signs of power with their blades, so as to be able to cast without needing free hands; some adherentsi.e. Magi even learn to blend these motions into their weapon strikes, allowing them to invoke their magic seamlessly whilst fighting. Unlike the flashy and dramatic spells of arcanists, however, the Veiled Warriors channel raw akashic power through their bodies, allowing them to form semi-tangible "veils" of energy which imbue them with power.

Drawbacks: Emotional Casting, Galvanised, Magical Signs, Verbal Casting, Akashic Spells
Boons: Essence Pool (+1, +1/6 levels)
Bonus SP: +1, +1/1.5 levels

 

Proposed Martial Tradition: Halfling Ninja

Equipment: Ninjutsu Training
Scout Sphere
Fencing Sphere
Variable: Halfling Ninjas gain one talent from either the Fencing or Scout Sphere

Edited October 13, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Notes

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I originally envisaged this character as a kind of cheery goth chick (absolutely just inspired by the picture), with more focus on being a bard/rogue-type character than anything. I didn't realise at first that she was an assassin from a tribal of rural demon-halfling ninjas, and thinking about the martial and casting traditions I've kind of moved in my head towards more of a sort of dervish/Aiel-from-Wheel-of-Time/Serenity/Akashic-Mysteries-themed fighter. But, she's still a rebel who ran away from home and got a tattoo because she's basically a teenager, and I believe that teenagers just do the opposite of whatever their parents want them to do.

Origins lets me have four arms, which is weird, but I'm very tempted just to style it out and act like that's totally normal. 🙂

Why choose Annabelle? Apart from her charming personality, of course, there is definitely space for some Evil DM Plot Hooks here if you were so inclined (perhaps a rival feuding halfling Sith duellist type?) but, more importantly, I'm sure there are lots of "four arms" puns if you get creative.

Edited October 11, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Spare (just in case).

[Steel Warrior]

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Steel Warrior (see edit history)

[TheFred]

That was, actually, on my list of things to check with Ark (though it's far from crucial).

[Arklytte]

Heya Fred.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. You know how it is.😵

Traditions both look good, approved.

Re the size change to Small, in this instance, for consistency with the other house rules, yes, you'd get the appropriate change from dropping a size, per the Alteration Size Change talent.

[TheFred]

The question isn’t about that, it’s the Extreme Specialisation talent. That is also an Origins talent but looking at it now your rules say size bonuses from Origins talents are the only thing allowed so maybe that wasn’t meant to be included after all?