Bedlam in the Badlands/NPCs

🚧 Under construction

Significant characters the PCs encounter will be listed here.

The Arboretum

Sir Anthony

A tall, dignified bugbear paladin devoted to Pelor, Sir Anthony (he/him) serves as the alliance's formal leader -- chosen by the factions, after the initial attack on the Arboretum, for his equanimity and gravitas, but most of all for his impartiality. He reach the Badlands and took Pelor as his patron after fleeing Troverth, where he'd served all his life until disillusionment with his homeland's reliance on Abyssal magic led him to turn away from his emperor and his Oath of the Crown, and to take up a new solemn Oath of the People.

Jerbo

The Arboretum's head arcanist, the gnome Jerbo (he/him) oversaw the restoration of the magical artificery known as the Conservatory after its destruction in the initial demon attack.

Gnash

A stout half-orc with a history as a mercenary, Gnash (she/they) wears a short, well-kept mohawk that fully reveals the burn scar covering the left side of her head and the nub of an ear remaining there. She arrived at the Arboretum in bad condition in 134 PR and stayed on out of gratitude after Dulfri and Misfit patched her up.

When the initial demon attack on the trade hub united the factions, she stepped up as a combat trainer and as the de facto security director during the convalescence of her friend Sheriff Gooey. Possessing a clear devotion to the well being of the Arboretum and its surviving people, she soon proved a surprisingly effective leader in spite of her serious attitude and gruff mannerisms.

Dapple

With the curling horns and the woolly flanks of a bighorn ram, Dapple (they/them) the satyr is the current stable-master. Originally from the Shepherds' end of the desert, they agreed to become the stable-master after a nasty falling out with the "policies" of Duke Solon. Now they live happily in the Arboretum.

It's hard to tell how old they truly are, but they've been caring for the mounts and animals of the stables of the Arboretum for nearly a decade. They are outspoken and stern to those who would rent or buy the animals, but overall a caring soul. However, wary be the traveler who gets on their bad side by hurting or losing one of the mounts under their care.

Steven

Steven (he/him) is a bearded dragon styled lizardfolk merchant in the Arboretum. He has a slight build, medium height, and has dusty brownish scales. He will not talk about his sordid past, nor about his sawed off tail stub. But he will talk to you freely about trade goods and payment plans. In fact, you can't really get him to shut up about the mundane goods he is selling in the marketplace. He's pretty shrewd, so talking him down from his set prices is pretty difficult. However, he loves talking smack and appreciates good gossip.

The Junkyard

Raegina

Cambion leader of the junkyard, Raegina was sent by her duchess to find the remnants of infernal weapons left in the Pteris desert to face the incoming invasion of demons on Quelmar. She settled in the Western Badlands when she found some old war machine remnants there and a small uptick in abyssal attacks. She worked to kill any demon in her path and collected everything she could along the way to build the Junkyard, a place of destruction and creation.

Baftzmyr

(In Common: Butcher)

Once the daughter of the leader of a lorekeeping tribe, Baftzmyr, a high elf, was the lone survivor in an abyssal attack, hidden among their tribes writings. When she emerged from her hiding place, all she saw was a large woman with red wings, slaughtering the demons that had killed her people. She took Raegina's offer to come under her wing and dissect demons as an act of vengeance for her kin. She keeps her tribes traditions alive by keeping the lore of the events of the Demonic Infiltration in Pteris and wearing her father's headdress and cloak.

Kicyr

(In Common: Baker)

Sent by an underground city that feared the presence of Raegina and her growing Junkyard in the desert, Kicyr was to assassinate the cambion, but was caught by Baftzmyr's keen detection. The two wrestled and when Baftzmyr was on the verge of killing Kicyr, Raegina made the half-elf an offer: abandon your city and come be my poisoner. Simply looking not to die, the girl accepted and was given her infernal title of Kicyr, as do all of Raegina's hell-touched.

Cilvdywzutca and Picyr

(In common: Candlestick and Maker)

An undead human woman that Raegina continues to bring back time and time again, Cilvdy's primary purpose is to tinker with bombs that will draw the attention and then the destruction of demons. She just-- isn't very good at it and has a tendency to blow herself up in the process. She often makes bombs out of little origami animals, the one love she's carried with her from when she was alive. Often close by to Cilvdy is Picyr, a crow that was nibbling on Cilvdy when Raegina found her corpse and is still waiting around for his snack. He's protective of his meal though, so watch out for your eyes!

Jictwal

The junkyard dog, this friendly desert vulpine runs the scrap shop in the junkyard's entrance and can be found there to buy and sell what the adventurers of the Arboretum are looking for. He sells the scrap for double its value to make money for the Junkyard.

The Shepherds

Duke Solon

The Duke was the political leader of the Shepherds in Arrafell until his assassination by demon-allied cultists, after which Viscount Liestralo assumed his office.

Lord Pavan

The Duke's son, and his right hand man before his death, Lord Pavan (he/him), is far more hands-on with the happenings in the badlands than the Duke. He is the go between for relations between the Arboretum, the political side of the shepherds, and the agricultural side of the shepherds. He is constantly trying to find commonality between the factions in order to promote trade and facilitate cooperation. He is of medium height with short military styled hair and a slightly overgrown beard. His sweeping cape, regal demeanor, and faithful retainer Krispin, make him easy to spot in a crowd.

Lord Pavan went into hiding after being accused participating in his father's murder.

Swordmaster Krispin

Lord Pavan's faithful retainer and bodyguard. Though he might sound impressive, Krispin (he/him) is actually not that good with a blade. In fact, he harbors some resentment towards those who are better swordsmen. Nevertheless he does his job to the best of his abilities. He can almost always be found two steps behind his lord, quietly observing those around him. He is only slightly taller than Lord Pavan and is soft spoken. If Lord Pavan is not able to go on a quest or job posting, he usually sends Krispin in his stead.

Viscount Virtumal Liestralo

Viscount Liestralo assumed Duke Solon's office after cultists murdered him. Liestralo holds the position that Duke Solon was a cult leader who was betrayed by his own people, including Lord Pavan and several adventurers from the Arboretum.

Kareek and Stanley

Though shifty by nature, Kareek (he/him) was brought into the Shepherds' fold after some trouble with the Federation. If pressed about it, Kareek won't say anything more than "It wassss a nassssssty businesssssss". The hissing lisp doesn't seem to be because he's a lizardfolk, but rather something he developed after a mouth injury. He is of medium build with yellow tinted scales and looks to be more like a spiny lizardfolk rather than a smooth scaled one.

Now Kareek works as a trader, carrying goods across the badlands with his beloved mount Stanley. Stanley is a giant monitor lizard that was hand raised by Kareek. Naturally bad tempered and suspicious of others, the animal really only seems to tolerate a few apart from Kareek.

Recurring Antagonists

The Shabby Scales Posse

A gang of lizardfolk and yuan-ti that have banded together to take bounties, steal supplies and be a general nuisance in the Badlands. They have a hide out to the East of the Arboretum, along the road to the mountains under a couple of fall rocks. They are led by a powerful bard who calls herself "Sandra Sanderson". Her sisters Solange and Sybil are also a part of the gang.

Those Who Wallow

The Baron of Filth was a huge demon who one day found himself stuck in a sinking pit of sand. He sent out lesser demons to find the best way for him to get free and even sent news back to his partner that he'd gotten caught, but before she could send aid for him, he was found by the Scrappers. They killed him and destroyed his lantern, leaving only an empty crater in the sand for the Baroness' aide, Leiloni, to find. With this discovery, the Baroness wished for the Scrappers and those associated that slayed her husband, to be brought down into her grime.

Other Recurring Characters

Erland Nimz

The elf ruler of Jewelspar, Archmage Nimz (he/him) visited the Badlands several times in his fabulous sandship, Shimmerwing, hiring adventurers to assist in his quest for a powerful weapon against the demons assaulting his city. On one occasion, he had a number of them accompany his Right Arm, Lirizel, to the Moon via Ta-Shedet to earn Eros' approval to craft Alchemical Frost there as part of his quest. He engineered other bleeding-edge alchemical tools, Theriac Effluvium and Galanodite, to breach a vault nested inside a Prismatic Sphere within an Antimagic Field -- and in the end, the "weapon" he sought turned out to be a Mutated Chimera, regarding which he had been explicitly warned by the Osteomancer, "You cannot wield it. None of us can."

The Osteomancer

A loxodon diviner residing in a desert bunker northwest of the Arboretum, the Osteomancer (she/her) has been in contact with alliance adventurers on several occasions. In one instance, she allowed a party to see each others' memories, tasked them with sealing a wound in reality, revealed how Swikedom's Blood Law explained kobold involvement in the initial demon attack, and prophesied Erland Nimz's release of the Mutated Chimera. Her kobold contact Eddarux (he/him) once guided a party into Swikedom to seize infernal weapons, and he helped another group gain entry to the lost dwarf hold of the Blazeforge clan.