Athelia is an NPC from the Temphere universe, and was originally a member of the Island Party before parting ways with them after their second adventure. She is a tiefling wizard, and an ex-vigilante-pirate. As with all of the Temphere NPCs, Athelia is played by Tiger.
History
Pre-Game
Athelia was at one point an ordinary sailor. However, she and her crew got involved in the efforts of a revolutionary named Bayde to overthrow a dictator controlling his hometown. The group became vigilante pirates, attacking the noble's ships coming in and out of the port in an effort to undermine his authority and weaken his forces.
Ultimately, during the final battle against the noble's forces, the crew of Athelia's ship boarded his flagship to end his reign once and for all. However, though the dictator was killed during this battle, Bayde witness something in the bowels of the ship that seemed to rattle him badly. He ordered all of his crew off the ship, and for the ship to be sunk. Athelia never knew what he saw, but she did know that everything changed after that.
The crew went from vigilante pirates to true pirates- attacking any passing merchant or passenger vessels and striking innocent towns. The dictator was dead; this was purely for the sake of the plunder. Athelia wasn't interested in being a criminal, and so she decided to leave the crew behind. Bayde, however, was paranoid that Athelia would rat him out, and set the entire crew to hounding her every step. For months she lived in hiding, flitting from one place to another in an effort to keep out of the cross-hairs of her former compatriots.
Eventually Athelia took up residence in a small hut in the forest of Rose Bay, befriending the local merpeople as well as a pair of eccentric inventors named Zora and Makaria Helder. She lived in relative peace there, until one rainy day when the Helders came under attack by a local clan of Kuo-Toa... and very nearly simultaneously, Bayde finally tracked her down.
First Adventure - Pirates, Fish-Men, and Technomancers
Athelia was first made aware that something was going on when Zora's bonded homunculus, Pumpkin, lead McGuiggan, Fracture, and Kindrin to her door. Although Athelia was confused and untrusting of the group at first, when she realized that they'd found Zora and Makaria knocked out and unresponsive on the beach, she was quick to agree to help. Though at first cagey about her personal history, when the party let slip that there were also pirates combing the beach, Athelia realized that her past had finally caught up with her. She told the group her history, and that the pirates were likely looking for her. In spite of this, the tiefling agreed to come along with the party to the Helder's workshop at Pumpkin's prompting, in the hopes of finding something there to bring Zora and Makaria around.
At the beach, Athelia attempted to contact the merpeople, but wasn't able to, so she cast Cloud of Fog over the bay and took the party out in a small rowboat towards the island where the Helders' workshop was located. Halfway there she finally got a response to her earlier call, with the sociable and chatty merman Dart accosting the small craft. Dart explained that they'd been unable to answer her earlier because the Kuo-Toa were acting up, and at the party's request the merman agreed to investigate what the fish men were up to more closely in exchange for a trade of some gold pieces.
Later on, it was revealed that earlier in her acquaintanceship with the merman, Athelia had traded him a small seashell that could instantly communicate with a matching one in her possession. Dart called the group, providing them with a crucial hint to later getting past the guardian at the entrance of the workshop.
Things continued to escalate, with both the pirates and the kuo-toa attacking the party. Finally, the situation culminated in a three-way pitched chase scene, Athelia frantically trying to row the party back to the mainland before either the kuo-toa or the pirates sunk their small boat. She managed it, watching in aw as the kuo-toa instead sank Bayde's ship- her old ship, the ship that had been chasing her for months.
Once the Helders were patched up, Athelia agreed to their request to take a message to the courier in New Skyhorn- and invited Fracture and McGuiggan along to help.
Interlude - Festival of Masks
Athelia was surprised to learn that Fracture had never before participated in a Festival of Masks, and resolved that she would get to enjoy herself at this one. The tiefling bought masks for both Fracture and McGuiggan, and (somewhat begrudgingly) for herself, before departing their company to take care of her errand. She later rejoined the duo at the end of the festival to watch as small pumpkin lanterns were floated out to sea.
Adventure 2 - Old Skyhorn Lighthouse
Athelia knew that she couldn't stay at her cabin in Rose Bay anymore- even though the ship had sunk, it was very likely Bayde and at least some of the crew was still alive, and they'd no doubt still be eager to silence her. So while wandering New Skyhorn with Fracture and McGuiggain, she was very excited to run into an old friend of hers, a half-elf named Jolene who was the captain of her own vessel, the Jade Lion. Athelia asked Jolene for passage away from the area on her ship, and Jolene agreed on the condition that Athelia would help her find a friend who'd gone missing in the area of the Old Skyhorn Lighthouse recently. Athelia agreed, Fracture and McGuiggan volunteering to help as well.
The group found the area besieged by water elementals, and the lighthouse infested with kuo-toa. It took quite a bit of doing on the parts of the three party members and Jolene, but the eventually managed to run the fish men out and retrieve the artefact they'd been using to summon elementals- the Aquan Bowl.
Fracture and McGuiggan suggested taking the bowl to the Helders for safekeeping against further abuse. Athelia agreed this was a good idea, and sent a message ahead to the Helders that the two would be coming back to visit them... but naturally she wasn't really eager to return to Rose Bay herself, with Bayde and his crew likely still stranded in the area. So, after returning to New Skyhorn, Athelia and the Island Party parted ways.
Personality
Athelia is at first wary and curt with strangers, her past as a pirate and current life on the run from her old crew not affording her much luxury for trusting new people. Very canny experienced, she doesn't suffer foolish mistakes all that well and can get easily exasperated when a situation doesn't go her way. However if you can convince her of your good intentions, she is a fairly upbeat, cheerful sort of person with a snarky sense of humor.
Reference Images
Trivia
- As far as we know, Athelia still has her half of the Shell Phone linked to Dart. Which means even though she has left Rose Bay Island, he could hypothetically still call and pester her from time to time.