application (thediadem)

[longtooth]

Player Information

Player: Court
Contact: demonology | demonology @ discord | PM
Invitation OR characters played: Freya
Are you over 18?: Y


Character Information

Character: Fern Whitetooth
Canon: Dungeons & Dragons TTRPG Original Character (Curse of Strahd campaign); canonpoint is just before the final confrontation (we think?!) with Strahd at Castle Ravenloft
Age: 22

History:
Fern was born to a shifter colony on an island off the continent of Maztica, an ocean away from the main D&D continent of Faerûn, leading her to have an insular and isolated childhood among her own people. The colony was in a rural area removed from the nearest city, which was populated primarily by halflings (who tolerated the presence of shifters despite them being a people who are often distrusted and persecuted). Growing up, Fern was instilled by her parents and the rest of her “pack” with the philosophies of being a shifter: self-reliance, but also the importance of the pack. As a child, she also formed a bond with her “beast within” (a wolf, naturally).

Around when Fern was ten years old, her father, Cobalt, was granted the honored position of a loreguard within their clan. A loreguard is meant to interact with other cultures and to protect their community from prejudice and threats posed by the other races. Cobalt started to make trips to Faerûn. But then there was one trip he never returned from, and no one in the colony ever got a true explanation for what happened to him. It couldn’t have been good, though — not when an organized group of humans from Faerûn arrived with the intention of wiping them out and taking the land for themselves. Whatever truce her father had tried to create or peace he had tried to broker, it had clearly failed, and Fern’s home was raided.

Fern's mother, Autumn, ordered her to flee, to run as far and as fast as she could. When Fern asked where she should even go, her mother repeated the shifter mantra: “Always be prepared for the journey yet to come.” Fern let her wolf self take over and ran deep into the woods, finding a cave to hole up in, but by the time morning came and she returned to her colony, she found it razed to the ground and littered with corpses.

The halflings in the nearby city would not take her in, not wanting to provoke the ire of the human raiders by housing her, and so she had no option but to travel to the continent of Faerûn in hopes that she could find a place to hide and blend in, far away from the group that wanted to root her out and see her dead. Using what stealth she’d learned through the games she’d played as a child, Fern was able to sneak aboard a ship on its way to Faerûn and remain hidden during the long, grueling journey. Once she reached the mainland (specifically Baldur’s Gate), she was struck by incredible culture shock. Having grown up so isolated, there were races and types of people she had never seen in her life. Why, then, was her kind so despised?

Determined to be self-reliant, Fern did everything she could to obscure her shifter features as she lived on the streets and fended for herself. It was during this time that she had to learn to hide and obscure as much of herself as she could, and she also had to get a hold on her own strong emotions and outbursts (natural to a shifter) so that she didn’t attract attention to herself. She was eventually picked up by a halfling woman, Quara, who ran a local inn in Baldur’s Gate and took pity on Fern and her situation. Fern, who’d been scraping by just trying to survive and was incredibly alone, couldn’t say no to the offer.

Around when Fern was fifteen, a human woman named Kel rented a room at the inn for an extended stay (because as a spy, she was working a job in the city). Fern formed a bond with her and eventually opened up about her history. Kel saw potential in Fern and her abilities, with her natural physiology as a shifter making her well-suited to train as a rogue. She told her about the Harpers, explaining that one day Fern might even be able to find out who was behind the destruction of her home and get revenge. The Harpers are about righting the wrongs in the world to make the realm a better place, and they don’t shy away from espionage as a means of accomplishing that goal. So Fern decided to leave the inn and Quara to train under Kel and join the Harpers as a rogue and assassin. The Harpers gave her something she desperately needed: a new pack. This consisted not only of her mentor, Kel, but Fern was also able to make other friends and establish the close bonds she’d been yearning for ever since she lost her home.

Fern has now been with the Harpers for seven years. While the first two or so years (ages 15-17) she’d mainly been training and honing her skills, she’s now been working actively for the group for five years and is a competent assassin. She hasn’t yet uncovered who murdered her father or the rest of her pack, but it’s one of her driving forces. She doesn’t want to be completely consumed with revenge and let her predator side take over, however, and so she also focuses on doing work that suits her, but that also hopefully improves the realm.

Then one day, Kel has a job for Fern, one that involves going to the town of Daggerford to address a disturbance. Something to do with... werewolves? This catches Fern's attention for obvious reasons, and while she'd be working with a few members of other guilds this time, she's ready for the job. Or so she thinks. After she meets the others sent on this task at River Shining Tavern, they find themselves in an unknown place, setting them on a journey they never could have expected.

More specifically, the Curse of Strahd campaign unfolds from here, as Fern and the others assigned to this mission unwittingly travel through the fog, crossing from the Forgotten Realms into another plane entirely. They find themselves in the mysterious and cursed land of Barovia with seemingly no way to get back to where they came from. This group consists of Fern, two magically-gifted nobles from the city of Waterdeep, Adrian Silverleaf and Alden Ravenbrooke, and a half-orc paladin, Shump Dredd. They all quickly learn three important things about this strange land: (1) the Dark Lord and vampire, Count Strahd von Zarovich, has a stranglehold over Barovia and rules it from his seat of power, Castle Ravenloft; (2) the land is deeply corrupted as a result, and its people live in fear and desperation, especially those who are not loyal to Strahd; (3) Strahd's ultimate goal is to claim and ultimately marry a woman named Ireena Kolyana, who he believes to be a reincarnation of his long lost love, Tatyana.

At first, all they really want to do is figure out a way to get home, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that the only way that will be possible is by defeating Strahd. He truly does control just about everything in Barovia, and that includes who can cross the barrier between worlds. However, during their travels the group also starts to realize just how terrible Strahd is and how much the people are suffering under his reign. This cements their goal to defeat Strahd for two reasons: so that they can all get home, and to save this land and its peoples. This leads them to travel all across Barovia in search of like-minded allies and powerful artifacts that might give them an edge against Strahd, with no small amount of danger found along the way.

An example of how terrible Barovia can be came when the party found a windmill that was occupied by three hags/witches, and on further investigation, the group realized that they were kidnapping children to cannibalize them. Naturally, Fern and the others took up their weapons and spells to stop this, but they found themselves sorely outmatched. The only way they were able to get out of the situation with both their lives and those of the kidnapped children was by giving the hags something of great value. In Fern's case, she gave them her hope, meaning that from that point on she found it difficult to believe that anything was ever going to work out for her and her companions. To be fair, Barovia often would prove her right about this, as almost every town or set of people they encountered was harboring some dark and terrible secret or hidden motive. The only reason she was able to push on was because of the other members of her party, who were able to hold onto hope for her. This also came to include a fifth wayward member of their group they ran into along the way, a goliath druid named Taulok. Despite herself, Fern started to see them all as her pack, as people who mattered to her and had earned her fierce loyalty.

This bond was tested when the group eventually came across the werewolves who they were initially sent to investigate. They first met a werewolf named Emil, and it was in Fern who he confided his true nature and explained that he wanted to oust the current alpha leading the werewolves, Kiril, who was allied with Strahd and oversaw the werewolves with a "might means right" mentality. Fern and the rest of her group supported Emil as he challenged Kiril to a trial by combat, which was their way of determining who had the strength and conviction to lead. With their assistance, Emil was able to triumph, driving Kiril and his supporters away from the werewolf den. At this point Emil offered Fern a place with them, which was something she truly had to consider given that it would be the first time since she lost her whole colony of shifters that she might feel a real sense of belonging. But she was already dedicated to her pack, the ragtag group of people she was stuck in Barovia with, and so she declined.

This is not to say that everything was easy between the group. Adrian in particular spent his time in Barovia going down a path lined with good intentions as he tried to grip onto every source of power that might give him the strength that he needed to defeat Strahd and protect his friends. As a result, he made some choices that Fern thought unwise and at times outright dangerous, and even Strahd himself recognized this desire for power in Adrian and tried to convince him to join forces with him, as Strahd could teach him so much more. While Adrian was not at the point of falling that far, he still crossed plenty of lines in Fern's eyes, which all came to a head when the party reached an area called the Amber Temple. In this temple, powerful and dark entities had been sealed away, but it was possible to make a pact with them. Adrian wanted this power and while the majority of the party tried to convince him otherwise, pleading with him and even going so far as to physically try to stop him, he still went ahead with it, bonding himself to a dark force that corrupted him physically and magically to the point that it's unsafe for him to touch other people. This was a great betrayal to Fern, and while it hasn't completely shattered their friendship, it did take a strong hit and she is still coming to terms with it.

Not that there was much time to dwell on it, with so many quests to undertake in their goal to dethrone Strahd. This eventually came to a head with Strahd personally inviting them to Ireena's wedding, with a letter handwritten by Ireena herself (a call for help). Through an earlier failing on the party's part, Strahd had been able to take Ireena into his custody at Castle Ravenloft, and now he was going to ensure they were wed. He wanted Fern and the others to witness it — to witness their failure firsthand. Naturally, the group wanted to use this as an opportunity to take the fight to Strahd and stop him once and for all. Thus, they set out, as ready as they could be, traveling to Castle Ravenloft to attend the wedding — only for Fern to end up at Diadem instead.

Possessions:
- The clothes on her back, which includes leather armor.
- A pamphlet called "Van Richten's Guide to Monsters." This has details on a variety of creatures like vampires, werewolves, etc, along with their weaknesses.
- A small collection of gold, silver, and bronze coins, including a few which have Strahd von Zarovich's face etched onto them. (I assume these will have no value in this world, so it's just for flavor.)
- Two tarot cards given to her by a Vistani seer. These have no special power to them, but gave her clues on her quest in Barovia. Purely for flavor.
- An adventurer's backpack which holds a variety of items such as thieves' tools, a poisoner's kit, rations, a crowbar, a candle, a hammer, a rope, a tinderbox, a waterskin, pitons, a lantern and oil, etc.

Weapon: One silvered dagger. (Where she's from, silvering a weapon is useful because certain creatures [werewolves, etc.] are weak to silver.)

Powers/Abilities: As Fern is from a D&D setting, these abilities are all taken from her character sheet and based on D&D mechanics and language. I did my best to "translate" them, but if you need any further clarification, please let me know.

🔪 SHIFTING: Fern can briefly transform into a more bestial form, where her limbs and snout lengthen, her teeth elongate, she grows more fur, etc. As she's not a werewolf, it's not a full shift and she still maintains some of her normal appearance. This grants her additional health and the ability to attack with her elongated fangs.
🔪 DARKVISION: Range of sixty feet. She can see things in dim light as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light.
🔪 KEEN SENSES: Her bestial traits allow her to perceive things with enhanced senses such as keener smell, hearing, etc.
🔪 WEAPON PROFICIENCY: Fern can use a wide variety of weapons. Her preference is for blades such as daggers or a rapier, but she can also wield a longsword (and has recently done so with a Sunsword). She can also use both a shortbow and a crossbow if needed.
🔪 SNEAK ATTACK: Fern knows how to strike subtly or exploit a foe's distraction. If she has the advantage in a fight or the target she's attacking is distracted by someone else, she can do a great deal more damage with her weapon attacks.
🔪 ASSASSINATE: Fern is at her deadliest when she can get the drop on enemies. If she gets the jump on someone who isn't aware that she's there and/or hasn't taken an action in combat yet, she has the advantage and does a critical hit (increased damage). In the context of the game, this would be akin to identifying and striking at vulnerable places on the target's body.
🔪 SLASHER FEAT: Fern has learned where to cut to have the greatest results, granting her the ability to slow a target's speed when she does slashing damage to them and to grievously wound her enemies when she gets a critical hit (meaning they have disadvantage on attack rolls until her next turn).
🔪 UNCANNY DODGE: When someone attacks her, she can use her quick reaction time to halve the damage they would do against her by managing to dodge out of the way of some of the blow.
🔪 EVASION: Fern can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects. When she has to make a Dexterity saving throw (i.e., is put in a situation where she has to rely on her dexterity to get out of trouble), if she succeeds in her roll she'll take no damage and if she fails she'll take only half the damage.
🔪 CUNNING ACTION: Her quick thinking and agility allows her to move and act quickly. She can take an extra Dash, Disengage, or Hide action during her turn in combat.
🔪 TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Fern has proficiency with Thieves' Tools, which means that she has the knowhow to pick locks and disarm traps and is adept at both. She's also proficient with the Poisoner's Kit, meaning she is able to craft and use poisons. And, finally, also the Disguise Kit. She can use cosmetics, hair dyes, and props to put together a disguise, although she's much less likely to rely on this when compared to the first two (and doesn't tend to carry around a kit for this like she does with the others).

Application Questions

Who is the most important person in their life and why? What might be different if this person hadn't been around?
This would be Kel, the woman who identified Fern's potential and took Fern under her wing, mentoring her into becoming a trained rogue and joining the Harpers. Kel took a chance on Fern despite the fact that she was a shifter, seeing past any prejudice to understand that she was a young girl with a lot of talent and a need for direction. Joining the Harpers gave Fern a sense of purpose, allowing her to make use of her natural talents to make some sort of difference in the world. Sure, that difference in the world often means killing people, but those are people who sort of needed killing as far as she's concerned.

On top of this, the Harpers allowed her to feel like she was part of a pack for the first time since she lost everything. She felt like she belonged among a group of her peers, which is something that every longtooth shifter craves, even if they are also intent on being self-reliant.

If it hadn't been for Kel, Fern might have drifted through her life in Baldur's Gate, helping out Quara with her inn but also not really knowing what to do with herself or where to fit in. She also might have fallen prey to her desire for revenge for what happened to her parents and the rest of her shifter colony, and could have foolishly pursued that without the support or knowledge needed to succeed, getting herself jailed or killed in the process. With the Harpers she actually has a chance of tying off that loose end successfully and without being consumed by it, though her role within the group has also allowed her to focus on her job, which allows her to unleash her predatory instincts in a more controlled way. Yes, she does still want to figure out who's behind the attack on the colony and make them pay, but it isn't her sole driving force. That might not have been the case if Kel hadn't stepped into her life at the right time.

Is there an event in your character's life that they'd do differently? How so and why?
The encounter with the hags at the windmill, mentioned above. To be clear, it's not that she would have avoided it outright. She has no regrets about saving those children, but if she could do it over again, she would have snuck them out of there and avoided a direct confrontation with the hags. Their group lost much in that encounter, and she most of all, having to give up her hope to them. This has led her to being a liability to her traveling companions quite a few times since then, as she's the one most likely to throw her arms up and believe that there's no point to things and they should just give up. It's often only by their encouragement and her own innate tenaciousness that she keeps going.

It doesn't help that the nature of Barovia means that she's only ever had this outlook reinforced by the events around her. For example, they visited a town named Krezk and met the burgomaster and his wife there. They seemed like kind, well-meaning people, but then Fern and company learned that the couple had entreated the local abbot to bring their son back to life after he succumbed to illness. Which would be all well and good, but that did not come without a price. The boy was afflicted with a terrible hunger that turned him into a horrific creature, and he was eating all of the town's sheep and depriving the people of their main food source. The group decided to put him out of his misery, and as a result the town turned on the boy's mother, who had hidden it all from them simply so she could have her son back in some form.

More than that, the abbot was performing horrific experiments where he was keeping half-human, half-animal, chimera-like creatures called the mongrelfolk (think Island of Dr. Moreau-style "man-beasts") captive in cages. They were created by his dark and twisted magic over many generations and Fern in particular felt for them, as she is some version of a human combined with a beast as well. Yet even though they eventually did defeat the abbot and "free" the mongrelfolk, it's not like there was a simple or easy answer to that. The people of Krezk feared the twisted beasts, many who had been driven mad by years of torture in captivity, and it's not like they had much in the way of extra food to share with them even if they wanted to.

All this is to say that Fern has had her current viewpoint of hopelessness reinforced time and time again by the horrors of Barovia. Even when she finds it in her to try to help people, that doesn't ever mean that there's a "happy ending." But if she still had hope in her soul, maybe she would be able to push that much harder and muster up the sort of protagonist energy needed to truly make things better. As things stand, she feels like her efforts are never quite enough.

What's the greatest challenge you foresee your character facing in the setting?
Contending with her loneliness and finding a sense of belonging, I would say. This is now the second time that she's been thrown into an unknown world with no warning and just has to figure things out. Last time, though, there was at least a group of other people who had been sent on the same mission, so it was natural for all of them to stick together. This time, it's a lot more scattered. For as much as Fern yearns to feel a part of a group or pack, she isn't actually very good at making that happen for herself. In the past, it's always been other people or simply circumstance that's allowed for it.

In this lawless land, with all of the fluxdrifts keeping to their name and drifting around, I think she'll feel much more solitary. She can take care of herself, so that's not the issue, but reaching out to people and making connections is hard for her. She tends to start off with distrust and suspicion when meeting others, as she's used to receiving the same simply for being a shifter, and Barovia has only sharpened that instinct.

Thankfully, she does at least have Adrian, who is far more personable. Fern will likely get dragged into things by him as she tries to make sure that he doesn't get into trouble (and this will also probably fail, but she still has to try). I'm curious to see how she'll manage herself in this setting, which is far less structured and where a possible path home (or even back to Barovia) won't be clear to her. It's likely she'll quickly realize there's no chance of getting back (her lack of hope will contribute to this) and that means she'll have to contend with how to exist in this new world. That might mean just getting a mundane job to make ends meet at first, but with any luck she'll find ways to put her rogue skills to use too.

As another note, the technology level here is definitely another obstacle. Fern's from a world where electricity isn't even a thing, so she's got a bit of a learning curve, but I think she'll learn what she needs to in order to get by and just shrug at the rest. (Maybe someday she'll fully understand how the engine of her motorcycle works.)

What's the easiest thing you foresee your character adapting to in the setting?
Honestly? Just dealing with The Horrors™. As is probably clear by now, Curse of Strahd is a horror campaign that includes things like undead creatures, cannibalism, torture, abduction, body horror, various monstrocities, the genocide of half of a whole race, and so on. On top of that, Fern has dealt with other strange things such as a manor that was caught in a time loop, a magical gem that could be used to fashion an artificial soul, and entering a strange underground portal where she maybe temporarily died. In their very first "dungeon," Fern was briefly swallowed by a grotesque creature that turned out to be the malformed infant of a cursed family. She's basically dealt with any kind of ghost or ghoul you could think of at this point.

In that sense, the general lawless nature of Diadem, the way that most people are only looking out for themselves, and the general creepy nature of the Fringes will all be old hat to her. Fern's adaptable and more than capable of taking care of herself in most situations. She may not have any magical advantages, but she's a competent fighter and tends to at least have the common sense and street smarts to wriggle her way out of most situations. That, and while Diadem is different in a lot of ways from Barovia, she does have experience in navigating through a world that's completely unknown to her. This will be her second time getting isekai'd (arguably her third time, since she left her home country to integrate to Faerûn), so to some extent she'll just be able to sigh to herself and think, "Again? Really?"


Samples

Sample: TDM top level