Olympic Team Rosters

"To be merciful, one must first be strong."   Sonya was left as a basket baby at a Tender sponsored temple. She doesn't know her parents and doesn't even know if she is half-elf or half-satyr. Though with her natural athleticism, many believe she is half-satyr. Being raised by Tenders, it was natural that she would become a Tender herself. Growing up, Sonya had two interests beyond serving Mera: rough and tumble play and listening to stories of legendary heroes.   Sonya strives to become a great heroine herself, and trained hard to become a great warrior. She has a little bit of experience as an adventurer helping people in remote areas, but has mostly experienced fairly boring adventures such as guarding caravans that are never actually attacked. She is hoping to have a chance to prove her mettle in the Nonagon Games. If she does well, maybe ecclesiastical superiors will give her more leeway to go on quests in the future.   Sonya Stats   Scarterran half-elves get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls   Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half mace, shield, arming sword, two daggers,, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol

"Of course it'll work...you should do it though."   Anatol was a clever child. His parents and neighbors all kept saying so. Despite being born to a lowly peasant family, his parents and extended family had high expectations for Anatol and this put a lot of pressure on him. His parents pushed him to be train as a healer, and they pulled some strings to get Anatol inducted as an acolyte Tender since the Tenders represent the greatest collection of knowledgeable healers in Scarterra. Anatol did quite well when he was learning medicinal techniques from books, but he turned out to be very squeamish around blood, barely avoiding passing out. He was not very useful at stitching up wounds or delivering babies.   Anatol was intelligent and good at absorbing and recalling information, so the Tenders transferred him from a healer's hut to an alchemist's lab. So he still works on cures and medicine, he just doesn't do much field work. As part of his alchemist's training he can make more than medicines. Due to a loophole in this year's Nonagon Games, competitors can bring in weaponized alchemical mixtures to the games as long as they are made by one of the competitors, and the Tenders really want to win this year. So the Tenders voluntold to join this years games.

"We'll have fun either way, but it's more fun to win."   Breyoffa is from the Faun Herd which some humans call "the satyrs you can trust and what other satyrs sometimes disparagingly call "domesticated goats". Breyoffa did not play against her herd stereotype, Breyoff is a multi-talented jester, juggler, and dancer known for her acrobatic skills and generally family-friendly humor and antics rather than the bawdy entertainment other satyrs are commonly known for. Breyoffa doesn't mind, it's fun, and she is paid fairly well.   Breyoffa grew up worshiping Mera primarily above the rest of the Nine, and she has has counted many Tenders among her friends but until recently, she was not directly affiliated with the Tenders. When the Tenders learned that the other three teams all had a very athletic satyr on their teams, the Tenders wanted one too, and Breyoffa seemed like the obvious choice, so they fast-tracked making her into an honorary priestess, so she could play.   Breyoffa Stats

"If you don't show a little bit more caution, I won't heal you next time! I mean it."   (He doesn't mean it)   Gahim grew up in a Mera-loving family of gnome farmers, but Gahim was even more enthuasistic about Mera's values than most of his family. At his parents' encouragement, he applied to join the Tenders of the Sacred Hearth. His village sent many acolyte candidates to become priests and priestesses and Gahim was one of the chosen few.   Gahim eagerly studied medicine, first aid, and herbal remedies. The Tenders commonly make their acolytes study medicine in the hope that this will result in the development of healing based theurgy. Sometimes this works, and it worked indeed for Gahim. Gahim mostly wants to help people and is not a super competitive person by nature, but the Tenders thought it would be handy to having a healer theurgist on their Nonagon Game teams so he was voluntold to jon the Mera Team.   Gahim Stats

"Nami brings the rain, I bring the thunder!"   Vostrud was a son of miners in the Chainbraids Clan, a respectable but not especially influential dwarf clan in Stahlheim. He didn't find a miner's life to his liking. He also found Stahlheim society in general stultifying and one foolproof way to run away from your family responsibilities without being completely disowned is to join the Priesthood of Nami. He still visits home every six or seven years and writes home regularly.   Vostrud mostly lives on the road, befitting a religious faction nicknamed the Rovers. Rovers that can fight well are nicknamed "Lightning men" (or women). He finds the fresh air and variety of a life on the road preferable to sweating in a mine. Being of a dwarf of sturdy stock he is somewhat strong and imposing and often got typecast into the role of muscle for Rover caravans, but he is okay with that. He might not like dwarf social norms but he's not lazy.   Vostrud Stats   Scarterran dwarves get an extra health level (already factored in), Dwarves get -1 difficulty on rolls when working with metal and stone (not likely to come up this adventure), +1 difficulty to enemies trying to trip or grapple dwarves. +1 bonus die when resisting mental magic (in this adventure, this applies to any enemy with Hexing)

"Taking the easy path never leads to a good story."   Yuri's parents were Rovers, so he was born into the life. He might be less pious towards Nami than you'd expect for someone born into the faith, but Nami doesn't place many restrictions on her followers, so this isn't really an issue. Yuri was born with a great intellectual curiosity and loves to collect stories and eventually became good at telling stories.   Not all stories are oral, so Yuri is quite literate and he picked up a lot of bits of assorted knowledge and trivia in his hunt for stories. Since he travels a lot and sticks his nose into dangerous places he is no soft armchair scholar and is fairly fit. This means he was a good fit for the Nonagon Games, but for the Rovers, who they send to the Nonagon Games is often dependent on which Rovers happen to be available. But Yuri is happy to be doing that might lead to an interesting where he is a principle player in the tale.

"Watch THIS!"   Naborea was born to a nomadic satyr herd that made their living primarily as traveling entertainers. Her herd mates was generally pro-Nami, but they were not ordained as priests. Besides being the best clop dancer in her herd, she also had an impressive wit which impressed a traveling Nami Circuit Priestess who offered to take her on as a protégé.   Since Naborea grew up among nomadic satyrs, joining the Rovers was not a giant cultural shock. Naborea became a very showy and flamboyant circuit priestess, which most Rovers view as an asset more than a liability. She was voluntold to participate in then Nonagon Games because they believed her athleticism would be a strong asset.   Naborea Stats

"I don't know what that is...let's go closer."   As a boy, Jurek made things difficult for his parents. He wandered off a lot and got into all sorts of trouble. Scarterran farmers try to teach their children to avoid magical creatures, but Jurek had unhealthy fascination with Fair Folk, ghosts, spirits and other fantastic things and he ran off on wild goose chases as he took after various random shiny things. At age eight, this led to him being lost in the woods for quite a while. Jurek is fuzzy on the details, he mostly remembers being cold and hungry but when he came back he had the power to conjure fog.   Jurek's experience being lost in the woods actually mellowed out his mischievousness a bit, but his parents were not thrilled that their most difficult child now had magical powers. It didn't take much effort to discover that little Jurek was manifesting Nami's power and the Rovers were eager to take him into their ranks, and Jurek's parents didn't resist this much as they had other children to look after and it was sort of relief to have one less child to feed and look after. And Jurek's new family has no problem with him seeking out unusual and dangerous things, that's pretty routine for Rovers.   Jurek Stats  

"I strike for the Dark Mother."   Yaroslav was a son and grandson of a village blacksmith. He probably would have just been one more unremarkable blacksmith, but he had a distinctive and unattractive birthmark on his face. He got picked on a child a lot. He was big and strong and capable of physically harming people who bullied him, but he really had no friends and he couldn't take on a whole group, and he got fiercely punished by adults when he physically struck his bullies.   In between learning his trade, he thought of vengeance and prayed to Greymoria for aid, and eventually he became "Self anointed" meaning Greymoria bequeathed on him holy power despite him not have any ecclesiastical training. The Children of the Dark Mother are not normally interested in peasant blacksmiths, but they would never ever turn away a self-anointed theurgist because the anointed clearly have Greymoria's seal of approval. He still feels a little bit of an outsider being a big ugly mostly illiterate peasant in a faction of mostly well-read magic users. Also, Yaroslav is a theurgist, but he is not a particular powerful theurgist and he is a bit insecure about this. He is hoping that making an impressive show in the Nonagon Games will give him more respect from his peers and maybe persuade Greymoria to gift him with more theurgy.   Yaroslav Stats

"I will stay and observe a bit more."   On the surface, Katya is more soft spoken and more bubbly than one would expect for a any of the Children of the Dark Mother, let alone a poisoner. Katya is an expert in both medicines and poisons, motivated not by a desire to help people or to hurt people, but out of morbid fascination with the subject up to and including microdosing poisons on herself to test the effects and potential remedies. Her desire to learn more about life saving and life taking plants and toxins is what drove her to seek to join Greymoria's priesthood.   The Children found Katya's lack of vengeful instincts and raw ambition somewhat problematic, but they were impressed by her intellect and breadth of knowledge. They kept her on provisionally as an acolyte, unsure of her long-term potential, but apparently Greymoria weighed in and gifted her with theurgy which is enough of a stamp of approval for the rest of the Children. Katya is not especially interested in playing the Nonagon Game but she was promised increased access to medicines and poisons if the team wins.

Serandi grew up as an urban goat, and fell in with "the wrong crowd" at a young age. Becoming a pick pocket, and occasional a con artist and a burglar. Given their risky dangerous lifestyles, many criminals turn to superstition, and Serandi found herself praying to Greymoria more and more for good luck. Eventually, she did mental gymnastics to rationalize that Serandi's enemies and targets were displeasing to Greymoria. This spiteful brand of piety eventually resulted in Serandi manifesting her first bit of theurgy giving her the ability to create minor Hexes.   Once Serandi was a theurgist, she clearly had Greymoria's seal of approval, so the Children were happy to take her in. The Children were quick to recognize that a nimble streetwise thief would be useful for their shadier operations. Serandi was delighted to have won the favor of Greymoria, and to enjoy the higher standard of life that the Children could offer her, so she's happy to help out the Children in return by helping them win the Nonagon Games.   Serandi Stats

"The Dark Mother has chosen me to be the instrument of Her will!"   Efim was born to be a theurgist...at least that's what he told himself. His parents were both Children, a theurgist and a wizard, so he grew up worshiping Greymoria and coveting mystical power. Efim would never admit it, but he struggled with arcane magical theory so he focused on studying theological lore in the hopes of awakening theurgy and eventually it worked.   Efim is a fairly accomplished theurgist for being at a young age though has cost him in other ways. He is a little bit of a cloistered cliché, and he has a fairly well-inflated ego. Since he spent almost his whole life in Greymoria temples he doesn't have much seasoning with the so called "real world." His social and practical are practically non-existent, but among the Children, magical prowess trumps all other concerns, at least on paper. This doesn't neccesarily his team mates will accept Efim as their leader.   Efim Stats

"May the Lady of Light guide my sword."   Lord Leonid was the third son of a Baron. Since his father already had “an heir and a spare”, he opted to send his “extra son” to Nonagon for a monastic education, so his son could still have a high status vocation and honor the family name. Leonid joined the Keepers as much due to his parents' wishes as it was for his own.   His parents wanted Leonid to be a canny scholar and bureaucrat, so they send him to Khemra’s Keepers, famous for producing great scholars and bureaucrats. Leonid didn’t want to be scholar and dreamed of being a great knight. The Keepers are famous for their scholars, but they also recognize that strong warriors are sometimes needed. Recognizing Leonid’s inclinations, they trained him as a holy warrior for Khemra.   Leonid Stats   Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, shield, one handed mace, two daggers,, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol

Arina was a daughter of simple farmers but was blessed with great intellect and drive. Khemra is the goddess of literacy and knowledge. Khemra’s Keepers sponsor many schools to make sure peasants at least can read and write simple things and do basic math. The schoolmaster quickly realized that Arina was a cut above the other peasant children from her village and opted to recruit her. Her parents agreed to let the Keepers train her because this meant one less mouth to feed.   Her lowly birth gave her some early challenges among the Keepers, but the Keepers value merit. Arina’s keen mind and discipline quickly earned her the respect as a young scholar. She was no stranger to farm chores and was physically hardier and tougher than a lot of her highborn scholarly peers, so she was a natural shoe-in for the Nonagon games.

Lukyan was born to very poor and often inattentive parents in an unforgiving city. The School of Hard Knocks was brutal and Lukyan often had to resort to begging and petty theft to survive. One day he impulsively defended a passerby from a pair of muggers and that passerby happened to be a priest of Khemra.   In gratitude for saving him, the priest brought him into the priesthood of Khemra as an acolyte and attempted to straighten him up the wayward lad and direct him towards the Lady of Light. And given a chance, Lukyan has opted to turn over a more respectable leaf, but he hasn’t forgotten his old street survival skills, and it was deemed that his skillset would be valuable in the Nonagon Games.   Lukyan Stats

Vera is technically a highborn lady, but her parents are part of a landless branch of a relatively minor noble family. Her parents were respectable but relatively unimportant bureaucrats. They were avid Khemra worshipers and pushed their daughter to take the entrance exam for an ecclesiastical education at a Khemra temple.   Vera passed the entrance exam, and she didn’t see her parents often after that though they were supportive and proud. Vera took to Khemra worship easily and manifested the combination of piety and will that lets someone become a theurgist. Eager to prove herself to Khemra and the elder Keepers, she volunteered to join the Nonagon games.   Vera Stats