2 Pre-Made Characters
Five complete D&D 5e characters with backstories tied specifically to Varenhold. Each has a personal hook into the campaign’s moral engine. Use these as session-zero starting points, or modify freely.
Each character is built at level 1 with standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), starting equipment, and one personal connection to the Dawnborn crisis. The “moral hook” section describes what this character cares about — and what they might be forced to choose between.
2.1 The Returned Exile
2.1.1 Maren Ashveil — Human Rogue (Criminal/Spy)
She left Varenhold nine years ago, at seventeen. She made it to the Arveth Compact, got good at certain skills, and has been telling herself for nine years that she doesn’t miss it. She’s back now because her mother sent a letter that said “we’re not going to make it through another year.” Maren doesn’t know what she owes the city that let her leave, or the mother who stayed.
Race/Class: Human (variant) / Rogue 1 Background: Criminal (specialization: Spy)
Ability Scores (standard array assigned)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 15+1=16 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 13+1=14 |
Human variant bonus: +1 DEX, +1 CHA; feat: Alert
Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Deception, Investigation, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Thieves’ Tools
Skills: Deception +4, Investigation +4, Stealth +5, Perception +1 (reliable talent eventually)
Combat - HP: 9 (1d8 + 1) - AC: 14 (leather armor + DEX) - Initiative: +3 (DEX) + 5 (Alert feat) = +8 - Attacks: Rapier +5 (1d8+3), Shortbow +5 (1d6+3, 80/320 ft.), Dagger +5 (1d4+3, 20/60 ft.) - Sneak Attack: 1d6 when advantage or ally adjacent
Rogue Features: Expertise (Stealth and Deception), Thieves’ Cant, Sneak Attack
Equipment: Leather armor, rapier, shortbow (20 arrows), 2 daggers, thieves’ tools, burglar’s pack (crowbar, hammer, 10 pitons, hooded lantern, 2 flasks oil, 5 days rations, tinderbox, rope 50 ft.), dark common clothes with hood, 15 gp
Personal Connections - Her mother lives in the Lowmark and is Stage-1 grey sickness - She knows the Compact well enough to recognize when its agents are in the city — and she’s already spotted three - She passed through Greenhollow on the way in and saw the Parish conditions firsthand
Moral Hook: Maren left because she couldn’t stand watching the city die slowly. She came back because her mother needed her. The campaign will force her to confront whether her nine years of useful distance gave her clarity — or just distance. Key tension: individual loyalty vs. collective obligation. What do you owe the people who stayed?
Connections to Campaign: Ask Theron if anyone named “Ashveil” in the Archive records died in Year 45 (her father, whose death she doesn’t fully know about). Helka at the Wayfarer’s Rest knew her mother; she’ll say so when they meet.
2.2 The Lowmark Child
2.2.1 Davan Stout — Halfling Fighter (Folk Hero)
Davan grew up in the Lowmark with a Stage-2 parent. He’s been running supplies, carrying messages, and doing what needed doing since he was eight. He’s twenty-two now and has never once considered leaving. He didn’t choose to be a fighter; he just kept getting in between things and people, and eventually got good at it. He has no idea that what he’s been doing all his life has a name.
Race/Class: Lightfoot Halfling / Fighter 1 Background: Folk Hero
Ability Scores
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 15+2=17 | 13+1=14 | 10 | 12 | 8 |
Halfling: +2 DEX, +1 CON; Lucky, Brave, Halfling Nimbleness, Naturally Stealthy
Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Perception, Survival, Smith’s Tools, Vehicles (land)
Combat - HP: 12 (1d10 + 2) - AC: 16 (chain mail) - Initiative: +3 - Attacks: Longsword +4 (1d8+2), Handaxe +4 (1d6+2, 20/60 ft.) - Fighting Style: Defense (+1 AC while in armor) - Second Wind: 1d10+1 bonus HP as a bonus action (1/short rest)
Fighter Features: Second Wind, Fighting Style (Defense)
Equipment: Chain mail, longsword, 2 handaxes, light crossbow (20 bolts), explorer’s pack (backpack, bedroll, mess kit, tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days rations, waterskin, rope 50 ft.), 10 gp
Personal Connections - His mother is Stage-2; his younger sister has just entered Stage-1 - Sera Voss has seen him around the Lowmark for years and knows him by sight; she respects what she’s observed - He’s done supply runs with Cormac Drell twice and likes him
Moral Hook: Davan has spent his whole life doing the work without anyone asking if he was okay. The campaign will ask him, maybe for the first time, to make a choice rather than just respond to a situation. Key tension: action vs. inaction. Is doing the work enough, or is there something he’s been avoiding by staying in motion?
Connections to Campaign: Aldric Stone’s dock office is two blocks from Davan’s childhood home; he’s seen Aldric his whole life and will have specific opinions about any decision Aldric makes. Lira Anwick has treated his mother for eight years.
2.3 The Former Spire Scholar
2.3.1 Ilessa Thorn — Half-Elf Wizard (Sage)
Ilessa did everything right. She tested into the Spire at sixteen, published a paper at nineteen, was on track for the Theoretical Division at twenty-four. Then she looked at the Spire’s actual evidence on the twilight’s mechanism and realized they were solving the wrong problem — and that several senior scholars knew this and weren’t saying so. She resigned, publicly, in Year 48. She’s been doing independent research ever since, mostly in the Archive, trying to understand why the institution she loved chose convenient answers over true ones.
Race/Class: Half-Elf / Wizard 1 Background: Sage (Researcher specialization)
Ability Scores
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 12 | 13 | 15+2=17 | 10 | 14+1=15 |
Half-Elf: +2 CHA, +1 INT, +1 CHA (total: +2 INT, +2 CHA); Darkvision 60 ft., Fey Ancestry, Skill Versatility (free proficiencies: History, Arcana)
Proficiencies: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Insight, Arcana (expertise)
Combat - HP: 7 (1d6 + 1) - AC: 11 (no armor + DEX) or 13 (mage armor) - Initiative: +1 - Attacks: Quarterstaff +1 (1d6−1), Light Crossbow +3 (1d8+1, 80/320 ft.) - Spells: Spell save DC 13, Spell attack +5
Wizard Features: Arcane Recovery, Spellcasting
Prepared Spells (4 1st-level): Mage Armor, Detect Magic, Identify, Comprehend Languages
Cantrips (3): Prestidigitation, Minor Illusion, Fire Bolt
Spellbook: All prepared spells + Find Familiar, Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep
Equipment: Arcane focus (crystal), scholar’s pack (backpack, a book of lore, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, 10 sheets of parchment, a little bag of sand, a small knife), quarterstaff, light crossbow (20 bolts), 10 gp
Personal Connections - She knows Scholar Fenn from her Spire days; he was junior staff when she was rising through the institution; their relationship is complicated by her public resignation - Her published paper — the one she was never allowed to fully pursue — had implications that pointed toward what the players will discover about the inversion pathway - Isolde Menth was two years behind her and has recently found similar conclusions through different means
Moral Hook: Ilessa has been right about the Spire being wrong for two years. The campaign will test whether being right is the same as being useful — and whether her pride in her own correctness has made her less effective than someone who worked from inside the institution. Key tension: loyalty vs. honesty. She left when she could have stayed and fought from inside. Was that principles, or self-protection?
Connections to Campaign: She was present for the public meeting at which Keseph dismissed Erem’s sympathetic void theory twelve years ago. She remembers his exact words. She has been waiting for an opportunity to use that memory.
2.4 The Parish Farmer
2.4.1 Teor Seld — Human Ranger (Outlander)
Teor is Harrow Seld’s younger brother, and he’s nothing like his brother. Harrow became a politician because he’s good at being angry in productive directions. Teor stayed on the farm and watched it die. He’s in Varenhold because the farm is no longer viable — three years of crops too poor to survive on — and because he thought maybe seeing the city that was supposed to fix everything might tell him what he couldn’t understand from the Parishes. He’s not hopeful. He’s not despairing. He’s just arrived.
Race/Class: Human (variant) / Ranger 1 Background: Outlander
Ability Scores
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13+1=14 | 14+1=15 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
Human variant: +1 STR, +1 DEX; feat: Sharpshooter
Proficiencies: Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, Survival
Combat - HP: 11 (1d10 + 1) - AC: 14 (leather + DEX) - Initiative: +2 - Attacks: Longbow +4 (1d8+2, 150/600 ft.), Handaxe +4 (1d6+2, 20/60 ft. or melee) - Favored Enemy: Undead (or Grey Sickness Afflicted — adapting to campaign context; Advantage on Survival and Investigation checks related to grey sickness symptoms and patterns) - Natural Explorer: Marsh terrain; advantage on checks, difficult terrain doesn’t slow, always have food/water on favored terrain
Ranger Features: Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer
Equipment: Leather armor, longbow (20 arrows), 2 handaxes, explorer’s pack, hunting trap, an eagle feather (memento from the last raptor he saw on the farm — they left in Year 45), travel clothes, 10 gp
Personal Connections - His brother Harrow Seld is in Varenhold and does not know Teor is here - He has Stage-1 grey sickness himself — the symptoms are recent, caught early, and he hasn’t told anyone including Harrow - He passed through the area where the Ashfen paths meet the Eastern Track and noticed things about the marsh ecosystem that a farmer raised on ecological observation would notice
Moral Hook: Teor carries the specific moral weight of someone who did everything right and still had it taken from him. He didn’t fail. The situation failed. The campaign will ask whether that changes what he owes Varenhold — the city that was supposed to fix it and didn’t. Key tension: justice vs. forgiveness. He has standing to be angry. Does standing mean he should be?
Connections to Campaign: Harrow Seld is a campaign NPC with specific urgency and undisclosed personal stakes; Teor’s arrival creates a dynamic where players see Harrow’s public advocacy through the lens of a family member who knows what it cost. Erem of Saltgrass would recognize Teor’s ecological observations and take him seriously.
2.5 The Compact Factor
2.5.1 Vella Mourne — Tiefling Bard (Charlatan)
Vella was sent by the Arveth Compact’s third-most powerful eastern city to assess Varenhold’s commercial viability — specifically, to determine whether the city is a good acquisition target or a liability to be written off. She has been here for three weeks and has not sent her report. She’s been extending her timeline because something about the city is making it very difficult to write the usual report. She’s done seventeen of these assessments. She’s never needed more than five days before.
Race/Class: Tiefling / Bard 1 (College of Lore, technically; plays as College of Glamour in style) Background: Charlatan
Ability Scores
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 12 | 10 | 14+1=15 | 13 | 15+2=17 |
Tiefling: +1 INT, +2 CHA; Darkvision 60 ft., Hellish Resistance (fire), Infernal Legacy (Thaumaturgy cantrip, Hellish Rebuke 1/day)
Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Deception, Insight, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit, one musical instrument (violin)
Combat - HP: 8 (1d8) - AC: 13 (leather + DEX) - Initiative: +1 - Attacks: Rapier +3 (1d8+1), Hand Crossbow +3 (1d6+1, 30/120 ft.) - Spells: Spell save DC 13, Spell attack +5 - Bardic Inspiration: 1d6 (3/long rest, CHA modifier)
Bard Features: Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasting
Prepared Spells (2 1st-level): Charm Person, Disguise Self
Cantrips (2): Vicious Mockery, Minor Illusion
Equipment: Leather armor, rapier, hand crossbow (20 bolts), diplomat’s pack (chest, 2 cases for maps and scrolls, fine clothes, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, a lamp, 2 flasks of oil, 5 sheets of paper, a vial of perfume, sealing wax, soap), disguise kit, violin case (with violin), forged letters of introduction (three different identities), 15 gp
Personal Connections - She knows Trade Factor Dara Mell; they’ve done assessments in parallel cities before; Dara thinks Vella is one of the most reliable assessors in the eastern division - She has met Saret Onn of the Varenhold Merchants’ Compact and is quietly appalled that he is the most decent person she has encountered representing Compact interests in years - She attended a Dusk Sitting three days after her arrival and has been avoiding sending her report ever since
Moral Hook: Vella’s job is to render a verdict. The campaign will force her to figure out who she’s rendering it for — her employer, the city, or herself. She has the expertise to write a report that shapes the Compact’s response to Varenhold’s crisis. Key tension: individual vs. collective. Her professional judgment is a form of power she hasn’t used for anything except commerce. What’s it worth if she uses it for something else?
Connections to Campaign: She has the Compact’s payment trail for the Spire Quarter — the one that traces to Keseph’s predecessor. She found it during her commercial assessment and wasn’t sure what to do with it. She still isn’t. She will share it with players who earn her trust — but they need to ask the right question first.
2.6 Character Relationships
These connections exist regardless of which characters players choose. They create immediate social texture without requiring the GM to establish it.
| Character | Knows About | Has Met | In Tension With |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maren | The Compact’s Varenhold operations | Davan (Lowmark neighbors, years ago) | Ilessa (both examiners of the city’s failures; different conclusions) |
| Davan | The Lowmark’s daily reality | Maren (grew up same area), Teor (met on the Eastern Track) | Ilessa (she’s abstract; he’s immediate) |
| Ilessa | The Spire’s internal workings | Scholar Fenn, Isolde Menth | Vella (one studies the problem, one prices it) |
| Teor | The Parishes’ ground truth | Davan (traveled together briefly) | Maren (she left; he never could) |
| Vella | The Compact’s economic calculus | Maren (passed through the same city networks) | Teor (he represents what her report will determine) |
2.7 Session Zero: Questions for Character Creation
Before starting, each player (using pre-made or custom characters) should answer:
- Why are you in Varenhold right now? (Not “why did you come here” — why haven’t you left?)
- Who do you know here? (At least one named NPC or another player character)
- What do you believe about the Dawnborn? (Not what you’ve been told — what do you actually think?)
- What would make you leave? (And: are you certain that’s still the answer?)
- What did you lose to the twilight? (Can be abstract — opportunity, normalcy, a future you expected — or concrete)
These questions don’t have right answers. They’re the engine the campaign runs on.