The Obsidian Web: Principal Characters
This document provides a concise overview of the core adventuring party in "The Obsidian Web" campaign. More detailed individual profiles are available for deeper context.
Nyssia: The Pragmatic Shadow, Striking for the Light
Mouse: Child of Shadowstone
- Race: Deep Gnome
- Core Role: Reluctant Leader, Scholar, Rogue, Artificer
- Defining Traits: Young, intelligent, driven by trauma (lost parents/enslavement), wields innate elemental magic, speaks precisely with dry wit. Has a deep-seated connection to ancient gnome magic and a faint mind-link to her lost father
- Mouse is more than just a survivor; she's a living archive of her people's quiet tragedy. Young and burdened by the trauma of her parents' loss and the brutal enslavement of her kind, she carries the weight of their legacy and the desperate hope for their freedom. Her intelligence is sharp, bordering on genius, allowing her to unravel complex problems and devise intricate plans. She speaks with a precise, dry wit, often masking a profound emotional depth. Beyond her formidable mind, Mouse possesses a unique connection to ancient gnome magic, manifesting as subtle innate elemental abilities – a whisper of the earth's fury or a tremor of the stone's memory. This connection also links her to a faint, unsettling mind-link to her lost gnomish deity, Callarduran Smoothhands, or perhaps a collective consciousness of her enslaved kin, which sometimes grants her cryptic insights or pangs of shared suffering. She's stepped into leadership out of necessity, yearning for the quiet scholarship she once knew, but driven by an unwavering resolve to liberate her people and prevent the horrors inflicted upon them from ever happening again.
Thalin Stonehammer: Prince of the Forsaken
- Race: Dwarf
- Core Role: Frontline Guardian, Enforcer
- Defining Traits: Exiled prince, burdened by false accusation, fiercely loyal. Speaks gruffly with a Bronx/Scottish accent, prone to grumbling, but deeply honorable.
- Thalin is a prince not by his own choosing, but by birthright stolen. Exiled and burdened by a false accusation that haunts his every waking moment, he carries the weight of a kingdom he can't reclaim. His loyalty, however, is not to a crown, but to those who earn his respect, and once given, it's unshakeable as granite. He speaks gruffly, with a thick accent that might evoke the industrial clang of a forge or the stubborn pride of the Scottish Highlands, often accompanied by a low grumble. Beneath the gruff exterior, however, lies a deeply honorable and protective spirit. He despises injustice and hypocrisy, seeing in Mouse's cause a reflection of his own fight against wrongful accusation. In combat, he's an immovable bulwark, his dwarven axe singing a grim tune of defiance, always standing between harm and those he's sworn to protect. He views his role in Mouse's group as a chance for true redemption, a path to reclaiming not a throne, but his honor.
Cynthia Silvermoon: Priestess of Two Worlds
- Race: Half-Drow (Wood Elf/Drow)
- Core Role: Divine Spellcaster, Arcane Archer
- Defining Traits: Noble, serious, self-sacrificing, devout priestess of Eilistraee (Artemis), torn by her mixed heritage, speaks with poetic reverence for the moon and hunt.
- Cynthia is a woman of profound contradictions, gracefully navigating the spiritual tightrope of her heritage. Born of the sunlit forest and the shadowed Underdark, she carries the beauty of both worlds and the pain of belonging fully to neither. Her demeanor is noble and serious, marked by a quiet self-sacrificing nature. She is a devout priestess of Eilistraee, the Drow Goddess of Moonlight, freedom, and beauty, whom she often reverently refers to as "Artemis." Cynthia speaks with a poetic grace, her words often laced with reverence for the moon's gentle glow and the hunt's ancient wisdom. In battle, she channels the celestial light of her deity, weaving divine magic and striking with arrows imbued with moonfire, defending the innocent with fierce precision. Her presence brings a rare sense of hope and moral clarity to the dark tunnels, a living testament to the possibility of redemption even for the cursed lineage of the Drow. She sees her mixed heritage not as a curse, but as a unique bridge between worlds, making her a powerful advocate for those trapped between light and shadow.
Zephyr: The Silent Hunter
- Race: Giant Black Panther
- Core Role: Cynthia's Guardian, Scout, Melee Combatant
- Defining Traits: Fiercely loyal, silent, highly intelligent, expresses emotion through body language, fights as one with Cynthia. A direct gift from Artemis.
- Zephyr is more than just an animal companion; he is a silent force of nature, a direct gift from Eilistraee (Artemis) to Cynthia, embodying the primal grace and lethal efficiency of the wild hunt. His coat is the color of true shadow, allowing him to melt into the deepest gloom of the Underdark. He moves with uncanny silence, a ghost among the rocks, his muscular form a testament to his strength and agility. Fiercely loyal to Cynthia, he acts as her vigilant guardian, her eyes and ears in the dark, and a devastating force in combat. Zephyr communicates not through words, but through an intricate language of body language – the twitch of an ear, the swish of his tail, the subtle shift of his gaze. He and Cynthia fight as one, a seamless dance of claw, fang, and moonlit arrow. Beyond his ferocity, Zephyr possesses a surprising, almost unnerving, intelligence in his eyes, often observing the nuances of conversations or the subtle shifts in emotion around him, reflecting the ancient wisdom of his divine patron.
Fizzlebop: Bard of the Tangled Path
- Race: Goblin
- Core Role: Comic Relief, Crowd Control, Support Caster
- Defining Traits: Completely insane with an absurd, existential logic, navigates the Netherworld, controls spiders, plays a rusty harmonica. Speaks in riddles and metaphors with a Shakespearean clown cadence. Fizzlebop
- Fizzlebop is a delightful paradox, a Goblin who has not only survived the brutal depths of the Netherworld but thrived within its absurd logic, emerging as a bard unlike any other. He is utterly, wonderfully, and often terrifyingly insane, operating on a plane of existence where cause and effect are suggestions, and reality is merely a pliable concept. His "logic" is a chaotic blend of profound insight and complete nonsense, delivered in riddles, metaphors, and non-sequiturs that would make a Shakespearean clown seem straightforward. He wields a rusty harmonica, coaxing forth not just unsettling melodies but powerful magic capable of sowing confusion, charming foes, and controlling the eight-legged denizens of the deep – spiders, his true comrades. Despite his erratic behavior, Fizzlebop possesses a surprising capacity for loyalty, particularly to Mouse, whom he views with a mixture of childlike awe and chaotic protectiveness. He is the unexpected heart of levity and unpredictable chaos within the group, often stumbling into brilliant solutions through sheer, glorious madness.
Click: The Brilliant Scholar
- Race: Surface Gnome
- Core Role: Artificer, Alchemist, Medical Expert
- Defining Traits: Inquisitive, obsessively devoted to study, humorous, likable, tries to live up to impossible standards for Mouse's affection. Can get lost in technical discussions with Mouse.
- Click is a whirlwind of inquisitive energy, a surface gnome whose bright intellect shines even in the dim Underdark. He is obsessively devoted to study and invention, seeing every challenge as a fascinating puzzle to be solved with gears, potions, or a cleverly devised gadget. His humor is infectious and often self-deprecating, his likable nature making him an easy companion, even if he sometimes gets lost in highly technical discussions with Mouse. Click holds Mouse in impossibly high esteem, often striving to impress her with his latest invention or insight, driven by a desire for her affection and intellectual approval. He's the group's resident medical expert, able to mend bones and synthesize antidotes with equal proficiency. While initially overwhelmed by the dangers of the Underdark, his boundless curiosity and commitment to problem-solving quickly adapt. He represents the resilience and ingenuity of gnomes, a testament to what can be achieved when intellect and resourcefulness are combined with genuine affection.
