In September I created a Storm Sorcerer for a potential D&D game, only to find and join a Pathfinder 2E campaign titled “The Open Road”. I decided to take Verusha “ViVi” Vernyhora and rewrite her for Pathfinder 2E. This extended write-up includes her character history and a 100 question summary.
Verusha Vernyhora
Female Tiefling Air Elemental Sorcerer
Level: 1
Alignment: Lawful Good
Deity: None
Age: 23
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 125 lbs
Skin: Pale Purple; the color of a sky before a massive storm
Eyes: Orange
Hair: Bluish-Black; shoulder-length and thick
Nicknames: ViVi, Veru
Aspects
High Concept: Investigator at Heart, Sorcerer by Blood
Trouble: As Unconstrained as the Wind (can’t stay still long)
Upbringing: Laws Protect the People
Adventure: Mysteries to Solve
Teamwork: Trust is Constantly Earned, Never Given
Personal History
When Kazimir and Rada Vernyhora were given the opportunity to leave their home in Ardis, Ustalav for opportunities as ship medics aboard a trading vessel they left with was little hesitation. The human wife, Rada, became pregnant with her husband at sea and they worked tirelessly to pay off their debts before their child was born.
Verusha was born earlier than expected during a stormy night on the Steaming Sea. Despite the rain and the rocking of the boat, the delivery of the baby was unproblematic. Like her father, Verusha bore the traits of a tiefling. Unlike Kazimir, her skin was not a shade of red, but light purple. The sailors on the boat likened her skin to the color of the sky before a great storm. Her birth was seen as an ill omen and were it not for Kazimir’s skills as a medic and the aid he had given to the crew over the years, the family’s story might have ended there. Despite the misgivings of the crew, the remainder of the journey was peaceful with good winds and calm waters.
The Vernyhoras settled in Augustana, Andoran. The parents opened a small clinic; Kazimir worked as a doctor and Rada as an apothecary. Due to Kazimir’s infernal nature and both of their backgrounds as immigrants, the clinic primarily served the desperate and needy. Though they were far from wealthy, the family lived modestly and never wanted for food. In time the family was able to integrate into their section of the community as both medics and residents.
Verusha’s childhood was happy and healthy. There was still some suspicion given her infernal nature, but her family had become part of the community so she received little more teasing than any other child. As a young girl she was constantly inquisitive and sought the deepest truths, a trait that she did not lose growing up. But she was not as interested in the professions of her parents; medical matters were less compelling than finding lost items or determining who was lying. The lavender-hued tiefling became adroit at reading faces and body language.
When she was old enough, her parents encouraged her to hone her talents by joining the city watch. Verusha rose in her field and became an investigator within the watch’s ranks. Then, on a night when the wind and rain swept through the city and the waves crashed against the boats in the harbor the storm that had been dormant inside the tiefling woke, revealing her sorcerous abilities.
With her newfound spells came the desire–the need–to always be moving. Augustana was too small for the sorceress; she craved to travel the world and lay bare all the truths she could find. Verusha wanted to solve mysteries that may have been dormant for centuries. Adventuring called to her. She kissed her parents goodbye, with the promise she would write to them regularly and visit when she could.
Joining the Pathfinder Society was an easy choice. It gave her the means and ability to travel. Given her inquisitive nature and compulsiveness to stay on the move, she fell in easily with the Horizon Hunters.
Age History
16, joined city watch
18, became an investigator within the watch
18-20, trained and worked as an investigator
20, powers awakened and the need to travel grew
21, joined Pathfinder Society
22, chose the Horizon Hunters faction
21-23, Pathfinder Training
23, began adventuring
Family History
The Vernyhora family were a line of apothecaries and medics in Brevoy, often serving the nobles until the family was struck by scandal. Sofia was seduced by a Surtova nobleman who denounced her pregnancy as a lie to insinuate themselves into the family. When Sofia gave birth to a tiefling, the noble family claimed that as proof of the lie. Years later, planar lineage would show itself in the Surtova family but the damage to the Vernyhora name had already been done. Sofia fled with her newborn child, Kazimir, and her brother, Danilo. They crossed the dangerous lands of Numeria to try to start a new life in Ustalav. But the troubled pregnancy and following expedition had proven too much for the mother and she died shortly after crossing the border.
Danilo raised his nephew as best he could, but Ustalav was rarely a welcoming place and full of horrors. He taught his nephew all he could about medicine and, despite Kazimir’s infernal heritage, about doing good. Kazimir cared little for laws, but always sought to do right by the people around him. His charm, cavalier attitude, and courage were attractive to the young Rada Sokolov. It didn’t take long for the willowy, raven-tressed teen to fall in love with the tall and broad-shouldered medic. He transferred his knowledge of medicine and she took to the learning swiftly. The both shared a dream of living a better life far away.
With the constant upheaval in the country, any opportunity for escape was a welcome one. Smugglers promised to help them flee for their service as ship medics. Despite the high costs and the dubious nature of the crew, Kazimir and Rada could not let such a chance to leave pass them by. The tiefling’s uncle approved and wished them well. The human girl’s parents hurled angry curses at their daughter and lover, but her remaining brother protected both Rada and Kazimir and provided distraction to help the two escape. Kazimir and Rada had joined the crew of Captain Raphael Roberto Rodriguez Ramirez III as he smuggled precious Ustalav art down-river.
The river ship, Wanton Wench, was constantly on the move and rarely saw the same port twice. The captain was not unkind to the two, but was a notorious gambler. He lost their services in a bet to Captain Cyril Redmoon of the Last Star while docked in Conqueror’s Bay. Kazimir and Rada were moved from a river smuggler to a Cheliaxian privateer of the sea.
Though they carried a great debt, Cyril treated the two as proper crew and, eventually family. It was under his jurisdiction that the two were married. Rada became pregnant shortly after the ceremony and it was Cyril who helped protect the newborn Verusha from his crew, who believed her skin to be an ill omen. But, while he could calm the crew in the short term, a warship is no place for a baby and any storm could be blamed on the child. He considered the debt of the two paid off.
While the captain was duty-bound to his country of Cheliax, he placed the family where he though they would have a better life; the neighboring country of Andoran. The parents declared the captain the girl’s godfather and promised he could visit any time. The Cyril wasn’t a regular feature in the Vernyhora household, but the growing tiefling girl always recognized her “uncle.”
Personality
Fearless, and almost always smiling in a confident “I know your secret” kind of way—because she probably does. She moves like the storms that embody her powers—her stride is powerful and fast; her speech is brusque. She’s always on the move, her long coat sweeping with her movements.
Abilities
STR: 10 (+0)
DEX: 12 (+1)
CON: 12 (+1)
INT: 14 (+2)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 16 (+3)
Stats
HP: 15/15
AC: 13
Perception: 4
Languages: Common, Abyssal, Ustalav
Skills
| Name | Score |
|---|---|
| Acrobatics | 1 |
| Arcana | 4 |
| Athletics | 0 |
| Crafting | 2 |
| Deception | 5 |
| Diplomacy | 5 |
| Intimidation | 5 |
| Lore: Library | 4 |
| Lore: Legal | 4 |
| Lore: Underworld | 4 |
| Medicine | 4 |
| Nature | 4 |
| Occultism | 4 |
| Performance | 3 |
| Religion | 2 |
| Society | 4 |
| Stealth | 1 |
| Survival | 2 |
| Thievery | 1 |
Ancestry Feats and Abilities
Tiefling (Low-light vision)
Hellspan (Deception, Lore: Legal, Lie to Me feat)
Skill Feats
Background: Streetwise
Class Feats and Abilities
Bloodline: Air Elemental
Sorcerer Spellcasting/Spell Repetoire
100 Questions for Your Character
Adapted from http://dndspeak.com/2019/03/100-warm-up-roleplaying-questions-for-players/, some answers left TBD as the party becomes established.
1. If your character wasn’t an adventurer, what livelihood would they lead?
If the primal power of the air never awakened within her, Verusha would still be a city watch detective in her home town.
2. Who in the party would your character trust the most with their life?
TBD
3. What are your character’s core moral beliefs?
The law exists to give people justice and no one is above it. Any law that causes disparity between people is no just law at all and should be removed or changed.
4. What relationship does your character have with their parents and siblings?
Verusha shares a loving relationship with her parents, they educated her and supported her. And she misses her mama and papa dearly on adventures, unable to share her day or hear about theirs.
5. Does your character have any biases for or against certain races?
Given her own race and the prejudices and teasing she went through as a child, she tries not to judge any other race. But she is wary around Aasimar, given their races typical animosity.
6. What is your character’s opinion on nobility? On authority?
Nobility and authority exist to help govern the people and provide resources in times of need. Some may live better than those below them, but any who actively harm those in their charge (physically, psychologically, or monetarily) are no longer fit to serve their duty and should be brought down in accordance with the law or, if needs be, by driving them down and establishing new laws.
7. Describe your character’s current appearance: clothes, armor, scars they’ve picked up along the journey, etc.
Verusha has light purple skin, in certain light it even has a trace of pinkness, like the color of a sky before a great storm. She favors gray, purple, and teal colors. Her teal shirt is often worn tied at the bosom for both fashion and to keep her cool as she loves to wear a long sailor’s jacket given to her by her “Uncle” Cyril.
8. What location encountered in the campaign has your character felt the most “at home” in, or just generally liked the most?
TBD
9. What deity, if any, does your character worship? What’s their opinion on other people’s worship?
While she knows the gods exist, she puts little faith in them. They are capricious and it’s proven they can fall or die–meaning they’re powerful but not all-powerful. Whenever possible, she prefers to heal through medicine or magic not linked to faith. She doesn’t outwardly disdain anyone of faith, but she does find the practice foolish–especially when choosing a specific god among many.
10. If your character had time to pick up any artisan’s tools, game set, instrument, etc., what would it be?
Verusha has little ability for crafting or song, but she does like to play cards or other games that require not only chance but the skill of reading people. If she had a different temperament towards law and equality she might have made a good gambler.
11. Describe your character’s current relationship with the player character sitting to your right.
TBD
12. What is your character’s current goal, summed up in one sentence?
To solve every mystery in her path.
13. Does your character ever want to “settle down” with a spouse, children, house, etc.?
If her powers never manifested, instilling her with a need to stay on the move, she likely would have sought love and children. Now, even a relationship seems like a chain against her freedom. She may calm down as she becomes more in tune with her power, but settling down is not currently in her plans.
14. Has your character ever been in love?
Verusha has had childhood crushes, most unrequited due to her race. In her late teens she was passionately infatuated with an elf bard named Ocelyn; he was just passing through and took advantage of her feelings. Shortly before becoming a sorcerer she flirted back and forth with a fellow member of the city watch, a human male named Kade Goldtooth.
15. What battle in the campaign has been most memorable to your character?
TBD
16. If your character wasn’t whatever class they are, what would they be instead?
Verusha is an Investigator at heart and she probably would never have become an adventurer in the Pathfinder Society were it not for her sorcerous awakening.
17. What is your character’s favorite season?
Early fall; the rainy season where lightning storms are plentiful. Even before her awakening, storms invigorated Verusha and she has no qualms about getting wet.
18. What would your character’s Zodiac sign be, following stereotypical astrology?
Verusha is a stereotypical Cancer: tenacious and persistent, with an intuitive nature. Like many Cancers, she may not always be seen as nice, but she is almost always kind.
19. Where in the world does your character most want to visit?
Despite the troubles in the lands she would like to meet her estranged uncle and grandparents in Ustalav, and to see where her mother and father grew up.
20. What is the biggest mistake your character has ever made?
Falling “in stupidity” (as she now calls her infatuation) with Ocelyn is one of her biggest regrets. Her biggest mistake was near the start of her job in the city watch, letting her captain run an “insurance” shake-down on townsfolk. She didn’t quite recognize what was happening at the time and had no direct part in him being brought to justice by the nobles. This mistake did help shape her views that no one should be above the law.
21. Does your character have any noticeable scars? If so, what are their stories?
While she suffered the standard scrapes that most children and teens go through and has been in some tight spots within the city watch, she remains mostly unblemished.
22. What animal best represents your character?
A peafowl; confident but self-aware. What she may lack in humility she makes up for in honesty and integrity.
23. If your character could go back in time and change one thing about their life, what would it be?
She would have turned her old watch captain in the moment she discovered he was breaking the law and taking advantage of the people.
24. Which other player character does your character find themselves having the most in common with?
TBD
25. Does your character regret any particular choice the party has made?
TBD
26. What would your character say their best trait would be?
Her ability to read others and catch them in a lie.
27. What is your character’s greatest fear? Deep, irrational?
Verusha is mostly fearless, but restraining her makes her very anxious and, often, angry. There are many things that would hurt her life, but they aren’t fears that drive her. She may be cautious and a bit mistrusting of others, but not out of fear.
28. What is currently motivating your character to stay with the party?
TBD
29. What are your character’s hobbies and interests outside of their class?
Solving mysteries, bringing justice, and traveling. She also likes playing cards with others and listening to music.
30. What would most people think when they first see your character?
“That half demon must be after something–she moves with such direct purpose.”
31. What role would your character play in the “Five Man Band” trope?
TBD, but likely “The Smart Guy.” Possibly “The Leader” if no one steps up.
32. What is your character the most insecure about?
Verusha feels at a bit of a loss as to how to form meaningful connections and relationships, especially with her newfound demand for freedom.
33. What person does your character admire most?
She admires both her parents, but her father a bit more than her mother as he constantly overcomes the stigma of being a tiefling.
34. What does your character admire and dislike the most about the player character sitting to your left?
TBD
35. Why is your character’s lowest stat their lowest (the in-character reason, not “because there’s no reason for a wizard to have 16 strength, duh”)?
Verusha has always relied more on her personality, wits, and intelligence over her physicality. Even within the city watch she used the crossbow more than any melee weapon. She keeps in shape for health and agility’s sake, but her lowest priority is building strength.
36. What would be your character’s theme song/favorite band/favorite genre of music?
Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles is probably the obvious theme song.
If Verusha lived in the present she’d be a fan of the 80’s revival sound: iDKHOW, Naked and Famous, La Roux, etc.
37. What stereotypical role would your character play in a high school AU/if they attended a normal high school? (Nerd, jock, bully, goth, etc.)
Narc and debate nerd
38. What treasure/item/artifact that your character has collected during the adventure is the most important to them?
TBD
39. Is there any particular weapon, item, etc. that your character longs to find?
Not really. Verusha isn’t adventuring with any physical goals in mind.
40. Where does your character feel the most at home?
It’s less a place and more of a state of mind. Verusha is most comfortable during a journey or in the thick of solving a mystery.
41. Does your character care about how they’re perceived by others? How do they change themselves to fit in with other people?
She cares that people see her as competent; this is as much about self-perception as how she hopes others see her. She tries to be quick to correct and adapt to any mistakes.
42. What does your character think is the true meaning of life?
Verusha doesn’t believe in an overall “meaning of life.” You’re born, you die, you make the best of it (for yourself and others) in the meantime.
43. What is your character’s scent? (Bonus points for a description that sounds like it could be from a bad [or awesome] fanfic.)
The sorceress smells a bit like the rain during a thunderstorm, fresh but somehow dangerous.
44. Does your character think more with their heart or their brain?
More with her head, but not absent of heart.
45. What is your character’s most recent or frequent nightmare?
Lately, if she has nightmares they’re of imprisonment or being shackled.
46. What opinion does your character have on the Pathfinder Society?
The organization, as a whole, seems to be too diverse to do much direct good, but it’s a means to an ends–giving her the ability to travel and providing mysteries to solve.
47. How did your character spend their childhood? Where did they grow up/who were their childhood friends?
Verusha grew up in the poorer streets of Augustana. She never had much, but she also never wanted for much or went hungry. The various workers in the neighborhood spent time teaching her and children her age and she had a share of friends and enemies alike. They all grew up together but few moved from the small district at all. At 16, the tiefling joined the city watch, and many of her friendships grew apart–some died as not all the children adhered to legal activities to keep their family fed.
48. What aspect of your character’s future are they most curious about? (If they could know one thing about the future, what would it be?)
Verusha is not mistaken about the changes in her personality that came with her magical abilities. She wonders if she will calm down in the future, maybe once she has seen or grown enough.
49. What colors are associated with your character?
Purples, pinks, and light grays
50. Who in the party would your character prioritize rescuing, in dire circumstances?
TBD
51. Is your character the most swayed by ethos, pathos, or logos?
Ethos > Logos > Pathos
52. If your character was granted a single use of Wish, what would they use it for?
Given the dangerous nature of Wish spells and how they can be distorted Verusha would only use such a thing in dire circumstances; to turn back the clock to right a very recent wrong.
53. What is your character’s favorite spell? If they don’t use spells: what is their favorite personal weapon/combat maneuver/skill/etc.?
She’s still coming into her power, but Gust of Wind feels so natural to her–like the spell is a true extension of her power.
54. How does your character feel about keeping secrets from the rest of the party?
Verusha is rarely secretive in general; mysteries are to be exposed. But no one needs to know everything.
55. What type of creature in the world is your character the most intrigued by?
Gryphons. They carry a certain majesty and nobility; intelligent and faithful. Verusha has never seen one in her life, but would like to meet, and perhaps ride one.
56. When they were a child, what did your character want to be, or think they were going to be, when they grew up?
As a child Verusha thought she would follow in her parent’s (and overall Vernyhora) footsteps as a medic. But being part of the city watch was a calling.
57. The player character to your left admits that they’re passionately in love with your character. How would your character respond?
TBD
58. If somebody (an NPC, someone from their backstory, etc.) your character trusts/loves asked your character to do something against the party’s best interest, who would they side with?
She’d side with justice, equity, and the law first in any sort of dispute. Outside of such situations, Verusha would side with whomever she had known and trusted the longest.
59. Does your character value their own best interest more than the party’s?
As she doesn’t know her comrades at all, yes.
60. What decision would the party have to make in order for your character to consider splitting off from the group?
If the party ventures to do anything morally wrong or illegal, Verusha would likely leave and turn them in. Or, if only a single member of the party, punish them directly.
61. How does your character imagine the way they will die?
Now that she’s adventuring, Verusha expects she’ll die fighting a monster of some sort. She only hopes it’s long after her parents have passed from old age.
62. What is your character’s greatest achievement?
Thus far, providing key insight when taking down a rising crime ring in Augustana.
63. Is your character willing to risk the well-being of others in order to achieve their goal?
No, as her goal usually is the well-being of others.
64. What is your character’s opinion on killing others?
It’s only necessary if rehabilitation is an impossibility or in self defense. She doesn’t go for the killing blow, but if her opponent dies in combat it won’t weigh heavy on her conscious.
65. What is your character’s favorite food? Beverage?
Spiced duck and dry white wine.
66. How generous is your character? Especially to those they don’t know?
Verusha’s friends and family wouldn’t call her generous; she’s fair and doesn’t fuss when splitting costs, but she rarely splurges or pampers anyone. That said, she will always drop a coin or two in a beggar’s cup.
67. What is your character the most envious about, regarding anyone in the party?
TBD
68. The player character to your left and the player character to your right are both telling your character two different versions of the truth. Who does your character believe?
TBD, but neither on face value. She’d question both, using her powers of deduction.
69. What is your character’s sexuality/relationship with sex?
Verusha is primarily straight. She’s also mostly chaste as sex demands trust and when one is traveling often, trust is a rare commodity.
70. What is your character’s biggest pet peeve?
Braggarts, especially those who not only stretch the truth but lie in their bragging.
71. Describe how your character feels about the party’s current situation/objective/etc.
TBD
72. Who in the party would your character trust the most to keep an important secret?
TBD
73. If your character knew that they were going to die in a month, how would they spend the rest of their life?
If Verusha knew she only had a month to live, she would spend it with her family and lost friends in Augustana; even if her need to travel chafed.
74. What makes your character feel safe?
Freedom; the feeling she can go anywhere at any time.
75. If your character had the chance to rename the party/give the party a name, no questions asked, what would it be?
TBD
76. What memory does your character want to forget the most?
None; she may have painful memories, but they helped shape and define her. Pain is not something to be tossed aside and forgotten, it is to be learned from.
77. If your character had to multiclass into a class they currently aren’t the next time they level up, what would it be and what reason would they have for doing so?
Ignoring Investigator for the moment, Verusha will probably learn some Fighter skills in the near future as spells can be limited or negated.
78. What television/book/video game/etc. character would your character be best friends with? (Or: what media character is your character the most influenced by/similar to?)
If Jessica Fletcher (of Murder She Wrote) and Verusha lived in the same universe, they’d probably get along very well. Both are constantly getting embroiled in mysteries and have a yearning for the truth. (She’d find Colombo too messy and Sherlock Holmes too much of an addict–regardless of his abilities.)
79. What unusual talents does your character possess?
She can engage someone in conversation, weaving it into knots and exposing any lies.
80. How does your character feel about receiving/giving orders? Are they more of a leader, or a follower?
Verusha never considers herself a leader or wants that responsibility, but will question any order she feels is wrong. If she could place herself in an organization it would be as a second-in-command; able to give orders but not burdened with thinking of everything.
81. What does your character’s name represent to them? (Or: why as a player did you choose your character’s name?)
Verusha is born from the Latin verus and means “truth.” Justice is found in truth, exposing lies to the light.
82. Is your character more of an introvert, or an extrovert?
She is no wilting flower and is not afraid to speak her mind; definitely an extrovert.
83. How far is your character willing to go to pursue the “greater good”? Do they believe in a greater good at all?
The “greater good” is justice and equity for all. While not a “meaning of life,” it’s a founding principal of Verusha’s belief and she will fight to the death for it.
84. What does your character want to be remembered by?
Verusha doesn’t solve mysteries for acclaim, but because they are there to be solved. If she were to have a legacy, it would be in bringing a great justice to the people.
85. What would be your character’s major in college?
Criminology
86. Does your character consider themselves a hero, villain, or something else?
She’s more heroic than villain, but she doesn’t see herself as a “hero,” just someone who fights for what they believe.
87. What major arcana tarot card best represents your character?
Justice (XI)
88. Where does your character see themselves in 20 years?
The arrival of her powers has changed everything and she’s still too new in coming to terms with it to speculate even 5 years out at this point.
89. What is your character’s relationship with magic? Are they scared of it, wish to know more about it, indifferent to it?
Magic was a tool, now it’s part of her. She wants to know more about it–especially the primal elements within her. Why did it choose her?
90. Who is your character’s biggest rival?
Her life has recently changed and any rivalries were lost when she left the city watch.
91. What is your character’s guiltiest pleasure?
Those moments when she feasts or experiences fine dining; she enjoys the food but feels guilty about living life so well when others don’t.
92. What does your character hope for the afterlife?
That, despite her lack of faith in the gods, she lives a good enough life to be ushered into Utopia.
93. Who in the party does your character trust the least?
TBD
94. What is your character’s biggest flaw?
Either her brusqueness, as it can be taken as dismissive; or her confidence, as it can be construed as over-confidence.
95. How did your character learn the languages that they speak?
She learned common from all the people around her growing up. Her parents taught her Ustalav and her father taught her Abyssal.
96. What is your character’s favorite school of magic/type of weaponry?
Primal magic flows through Verusha’s soul. It’s not only her favorite, it’s a part of her.
97. What is most important to your character: health, wealth, or happiness?
Health. Wealth and happiness are both transitory.
98. What advice would your character give to a younger version of themselves?
Never take your parents for granted and always listen to them; they’re usually right. (This way she could spend even more time with her parents before the change.)
99. Are there any social or political issues your character feels strongly about?
Any injustice being done to people needs to be righted.
100. What, currently, is your character the most curious about?
The source of her powers: the whys and wherefores of how she was infused with primal energies.
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