Carly Goldwin, thief and dark cultist
'I can acquire the item you seek, for a price… No I assure you the presence of dark tainted evils will in no way impede my ability to recover this artifact for you, now let’s discuss the details…'
(A character for the Warhammer Fantasy rpg setting, but can be easily adapted to any fantasy setting.)
Appearance
A slim 5’4' auburn haired girl of subtle beauty, often clothed in a short dark maroon mini dress and thigh high dark leather boots concealed under a thick black leather cloak.
She is usually wearing a dark red lipstick and has a secretive and seductive smile on, along with smooth almost purring voice that she uses to soothe people into a false sense of security.
History/Background
Carly grew up in the slums and gutters of the city Mousillon in Sylvania, offspring of Jacob and Marsha Goldwin; simple leather smiths and low quality jewelers.
One of her Earliest memories was of the inquisitors, and their brutal 'inquiry' concerning her 17 year old sister Myaldia. Although Carly was only 2 years old at the time she can still recall the pleas of her sister for mercy and unyielding sounds of the inquisitors spiked maces shredding her flesh as they set about brutalizing her into submission.
What happened to her sister afterwards she never fully knew, although when she grew older she heard rumors of her public torture and eventual agonizing death for being a heretic.
As she grew older. the very idea the Church of Sigmar, the ones whom represented the light and honor, were capable of such vile acts terrified her. Often she would avert her gaze and cringe when any who professed to be priests of light were near her.
When she turned 9 the inquisitors once again came to the door step of her home, this time taking her mother away for questioning from which she never returned.
It was a dark night shortly after Carly heard form her father that her mother wouldn’t be coming home that she fled into the streets, fearing the cult of Sigmar would come for her next.
At such a tender young age and alone on the streets of Mousillon, the chances of Carly surviving for long unharmed were slim. However her innocent appearance and youthful charm quickly attracted the attention of Kyle, a young thief in his early twenties. He saw in her an opportunity to further his own ends.
Quickly taking her in under the guise of sympathy, he taught her how to work as a lookout and distraction for him, at times causing a disturbance long enough for him to make a quick get away or distract a nearby guard at an opportune moment.
As she grew older Kyle taught her the other skills of a thief. After a group of street thugs took advantage of her and left her for dead in a gutter one night he also showed her the intricacies of handling a sharp blade.
As she grew older and wiser, Carly never lost her hatred and distrust of the Church of Sigmar, and the gods of light in general. One night when she was 17 while being violently sick in an alley behind the bar she had overindulged herself, in Carly was approached by a cloaked figure. Quietly he promised to heal her illness with but a touch.
Hesitant and fearful this stranger was a priest of light Carly reluctantly agreed to let him help her. His icy touch and prayers to an unfamiliar name Tzeentch’s took away her sickness with unnatural speed, leaving her feeling shaken, but filled with a strange energy.
In silken tones the stranger told her of the dark gods of chaos, and of Tzeentch, the god of vitality and volatility of change. as well as dynamic mutation, and grand, convoluted scheming.
While at first repulsed at the realization she had unknowingly accepted the aid of a chaos cultist Carly was none the less intrigued. Somehow she felt safer in the presence of this dark cultist then she ever had around the followers of the gods of light.
It did not take long for the warm reassuring voice of the cultists to lure Carly into the cult of Tzeentch, and the dark gifts that came with it.
Before long Carly found herself committed to the goals and ambitions of the chaos god, although she still remained true to her life as a thief. The gifts of Tzeentch enhanced her abilities and granted her a significant edge over the other thieves, as well as those that stood in the way of her profiteering.
Her friendship with Kyle, the man she had grown to love as a father diminished slowly, as she found herself pulling away. She kept telling her self she was scared of him discovering her new loyalties to the dark cult, but deep down knew she was afraid of her conflicting emotions surrounding him.
'Surrogate father? Or possible husband? 10 years isn’t that much of an age difference is it? Better to lose myself in my duties to Tzeentch and worry about it later.'
Years later at 21 Carly counts herself as one of the most loyal of Tzeentch’s followers, and has mastered many of the darker abilities, at the expense of a portion of her humanity. Her eyes have begun to take on a vaguely slit shape, much like those of a serpent, which Tzeentch himself is often depicted as.
While barely discernible Carly herself is all to conscious of this alteration and takes great pains to hide this when in the presence of devout followers of the light. Often she keeps her hood drawn and head bowed looking firmly at the ground, hoping to pass herself off as humbled in the presence of such magnificent followers of the light.
Her other physical mutation is more noticeable, the growth of thin bony spines along her back bone. This gives her back a distinctly inhuman appearance whenever she wears tight fitting clothing, and pokes holes in flimsy or well worn cloth. She has tried her best to conceal such a obvious taint of chaos by wearing a thick leather cloak over her usual clothing, and being careful to avoid letting others see her unclothed from behind.
This difficulty has made intimate relationships with various men and women over the past few years tricky at best, and made her much more cautious then usual when getting to know others she finds herself attracted to.
Special Equipment
A slim finely crafted long sword usually worn on her left hip, and several small throwing dagger concealed across her body.
Roleplaying Notes
No one must ever suspect you are a heretic follower of Chaos, remember to play dumb as to the details behind Chaos’s abilities and pay lip service to the gods of light lest they suspect something is unusual about you.
The voice of chaos is seductive indeed. With a few well chosen words you can melt the hearts of any man or woman you desire. But such a gift is risky to use. Rely on your natural charm first, and dark influence second. Purr gently and seductively when speaking to others you are interested in. (either professionally or personally) Flatter them with compliments and your soft velvety caress. (perhaps slipping a few coins form their pocket and a ring form their finger int he process) Once they feel at ease in your presence you can negotiate the terms of your assignment as you please or do with them as you wish
.
Your deformities are part of the gifts chaos has granted you, and an obvious mark of your taint. You must hide them at all costs from those who wouldn’t understand, and silence those that discover them and would share such personal secrets with anyone.
Thieving is what you do best, and now with your chaotic gifts you can steal from places no other thief could even come close to. Such skills make you a cut above the rest, and your prices for any commissions should reflect your admirable skill. As long as the cult of Tzeentch gets a cut of your profits you are free to do as you please.
Kyle, you care for him yes, but his heart is too pure to ever be a follower of Chaos. Were he to ever learn of your true loyalties he may very well secretly report you to the church of Sigmar, or worst, force you to draw steel against him. Better to just stay away from him for now. Maybe someday you can tell him how you feel, but not now, it’s just too risky. Better to lose yourself in the arms of someone else and try to forget the strange emotions you feel when you are around him.
Plot Hooks
One of the characters is friends with Kyle, who has noticed the strange behavior of his adopted daughter and has asked the character and their friends for help discovering what’s gotten into her. As a prominent thief he can pay well in coin or hard to acquire goods.
Having need for a skilled thief that party hires (or otherwise acquires the services of) Carly, a well known thief that is said to be 'the best in the business' Although she may well seem loyal and friendly to the group, (perhaps even coming to care for their well being or become romantically involved with one of them.) Eventually her loyalties to Tzeentch will come into conflict with the parties best interest.
When such a situation arises the sting of betrayal will be painful indeed. Or if her loyalties to the group prove greater than those to Chaos, the retribution from her fellow cult members will be nothing short of ungodly.
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? Responses (13)
Sometimes the *good* religion is as bad as the *bad* one.
Brilliant NPC, I like the way that the roleplaying notes are layed ointo that the character can be given to a PC as well if needs be.
Nicely done Silveressa - I do like your stuff!
While I do like this as a character, and the descriptions and role-playing notes are quite good, she seems to lack something to set her apart from the Warhammer world's other chaos cultists.
Also, while it did not affect my vote, and it doesn't really have any impact on the character, I am compelled to mention that Mousillon is in Bretonnia, not Sylvania.
Regardless, I could easily imagine sliding into a campaign in any setting.
Aye I know, in my campaign I've kicked around some of the locations to lose that "been there done that" familiar feel worlds that have been gamed in for a long time have when you try to do another campaign in them. (it works surprisingly well too since players don't immediately know what lurks over the next hill top or around the bend in the road. Especially if they are playing someone from a small village that;s only ever heard vague rumors of what lies beyond their small town stead and kingdoms borders) Hmm, there's an article in that somewhere.... thanks for the idea. ;)
Nicely done. Good description. Nice hooks. Easy enough to adapt to other things. Not a DnD variation is a plus to.
I never did like the DnD concept that it's Evil, because it's Evil, therefore it must be Evil, ...
The whole thing is so one-dimensional, so cliched and (more to the point) so BORING
What I like about Carly is that she isn't "evil for evils' sake" - there is a logical (and more to the point believable) reason that she has become one of the "bad guys".
Traumatised as child be the actions of the "good guys", offered precious little succour from a father powerless to protect her and abandoned by an indifferent world, she naturally turned to those who offered her a helping hand.
If I have a gripe, it's the presumption that Tzeentch is, by definition, "evil" or "chaotic" while Sigmar is, by definition, "good" (unfortunately WFRP also has the "evil things" and "good things" concepts).
It would be better to define Sigmar as the established state religion and Tzeentch as cult that is suppressed by the state. It is then not at all clear who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy".
Overall, a pretty good character with a believable history - base score 4/5
But I feel I must deduct a half point for the presumption that Carly is a "bad guy" and therefore, by definition, "not to be trusted"
So, final score - 3.5 / 5
Mainly I went by the Tzeentch source book, which paints it as one considered an "evil" god by a civilized "normal" persons definition. (randomly implicating innocent people as victims of atrocities so they are burned at the stake/tortured instead of the Tzeentch heretic that caused the crime, or healing the sick but causing them disfiguring mutations that get them killed by their loved ones as chaos worshipers etc..)
Of course it all varies depending on the setting and how one chooses to portray the "dark god" in question she worships.
In my WF campaigns I tend to portray Tzeentch as more or less chaotic "neutral" in that it (as Tzeentch can appear as either male or female)often works against the other forces of chaos and the gods of light for it's own crazed ends, and at times commits random acts of cruelty (or kindness)simply for the chaotic pleasure of it.
Of course the forces of "light" condemn Tzeentch as "vile and evil" simply because of the harm it does against innocents and because it;s one of the "chaos gods" which they consider the enemy of humanity.
So basically she would be considered "evil" by the definition of the forces of "light" (and "good guys" in general) more because she follows an "evil god" than is truly "evil" herself. Technically followers of Tzeentch are more "chaotic neutral" than anything if one felt the need to label them with a clear cut alignment.
(this is a pretty fascinating discussion in it's own right)
I really like the idea of her dedication to the evil god causing mutations. I think I could find a place for her, or a variation, in my next campaign.
Ah, Warhammer. Gotta love it. I've been a fan of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 (Go Hammer of the Emperor!) for years, and I'm in the process of creating an Imperial Guard army. What's cool about this is that I could easily adjust your character to serve in a Warhammer 40,000 setting. Great entry, mate!
Great submission!
I wont lie, I've been meaning to join Strolen's for years, but, oddly enough, this NPC finally tipped me over to the side of Strolen's. I had to join to vote and comment on it!
I was wondering, however, if you'd mind me adapting it slightly for use in a supplement I am making for WFRP2e, about the Kislevite city of Praag... Basically, I would be adapting her name to be Karly Geltseig (which just means "Goldwin" in very loose German) and that after the events in your timeline, she was 'discovered' by a to-be lover, and since fled to Praag where she continues her trades.
I promise, if you allow me to use it, that I will include you in the credits and make sure it is attributed to you :)
Thanks
A sub that finally made you join? I cheer, and 'uptick' :)
Sure, I'd love to see her published in an official work.