Laura grew up in the slums of Baldurs gate, the daughter of a woman of ill repute and supposedly one of her elven customers. She always hated seeing the powerlessness of her mother and left the brothel early to take care of herself in the streets. She worked occasionally for the Guild as a con artist or a cat burglar but she didn´t like anyone telling her what to do so the relationship didn´t last. At a recent burglary at one of the citys many decadent patriar houses she came across a talisman that fate put in her way. As she started secretly wearing it a disturbing yet alluring voice in her head offered her eldritch powers in return for her loyal servitude in uncovering dark secrets and unearthing ancient artifacts. Seeing a chance to never more feel powerless Laura accepted without hesitation. The enchanting voice directed her to Candlekeep, not far from Baldurs gate, where her first mission awaited her. She hopes to return one day to her mother and take her far away from Baldurs gate to a place where they can live out their lives peacefully together.

Ludolf gained access to Candlekeep at an early age, as he practically grew up there.  Originally he was given to Candlekeep by the local orphanage to work in the kitchen, starting at age eight, cleaning, slicing vegetables, odds and ends.  He worked his way up to being the personal assistant to one of the Avowed.  He learned from an early age the value of books and the power contained within.  But also he liked to sniff them, especially old ones.  When his maester's back was turned, many a time he took a good long sniff of some old tome, as if his olfactory senses could translate the knowledge therein.  

What grew over time was a profound love of books.  Not just a passing fancy, or a quick consumption of a page turner, but a voracious appetite for books.  Ludolf learned that books for him would actually produce effects, give him actual power by reciting the words, imagining it in his mind.  He found that he could actually make a hand appear, and then make it turn invisible, and push things.  This was one of many tricks that he learned (and used to play all sorts of practical jokes on his friends) while growing up in Candlekeep.  He had no gift (such as an unknown tome) to give to the library, but he aspired to become an Avowed himself, all that he has really known has been within Candlekeep.  So he works to make a name for himself, to prove himself to the others so that he can serve in this way and help the library, all the while feeding his insatiable knowledge.  He is 35 years old, appears older than his stated age, already graying at the tips of his hair.  He smokes a pipe and delights in a well snifted cognac, book in hand.  His favorite book, his spell book, seems to be awakening to him, giving him more power than he ever predicted.  And.. it smells delightful !

Mara was born in the Southern Faerun City of Amn into a family of alchemists and grew up being raised to take over the family alchemy shop. She was fair at the actual practical alchemy side, but better up front with the customers, selling and buying ingredients. And as such, she got to know the shop's regulars, one of which was a man that introduced himself a.

Mara would see him about once a month or so for many years and was increasingly intrigued as he told her that the ingredients he bought were components for various spells. Eventually through long term persuasion and bargaining with discounts, Mara got him to teach her some magic and tell her some tales of his adventures. He even said that if she could find a rare enough scroll or tome to present to the Halls of Wisdom, that he would write her a recommendation letter to help her get in. So she told her family that she was going to set out to become a wizard herself. They were not very supportive and tried to keep her home and forbid her from leaving.

Eventually she plucked up her resolve and stole her family recipe book on alchemy ran away from home to set out on her journey to follow her dreams. Unfortunately reality is a bit more harsh than that, and she quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to get to Candlekeep without any coin. Let alone survive the journey. So with what little she took with her, she traveled by hitch-hiking on caravans and concocting salves and a variety of potions to start up her own small one woman business.

For a while, things were good. She traveled with a specific caravan for a while and even made enough of a profit to snatch up as many scrolls and spare parchment possible, soaking up magical knowledge like a gelatinous cube. Even eventually learning to use magic to write to save on the cost of ink. She didn't really learn all that she should have from her family about business unfortunately and found that while she wasn't a terrible alchemist she wasn't a very good merchant either. Getting swindled into a terrible deal and finding that the ingredients she had purchased from what she thought was a reputable source ended up being near literal garbage. 

Ideation Dongahan was once a member of the Smith's Guild in Waterdeep. However, her interests took her studies and her work to areas not allows approved by the guild. In particular, her exploration of the use of alchemy in her process meant that she was shunned by the purists and the Alchemists Guild fought hard to keep their secrets. Always eager to learn more, especially when she was told she could not, Ideation ignored the direction of the guild masters up to the point that she was finally written out of the books and shunned.

Now, in an effort to prove her place and show them they were wrong, Ideation travels Faerun in search of hidden and lost technology. Exploring ideas that others have thought were foolhardy. Candlekeep, being one of the greatest libraries around, has long been a fascination for her. Now is her opportunity to explore the depths of their catalogue, and she couldn't be happier.

He is a gnome wizard. You may be confused at him being over 6 ft tall, but everyone knows that gnomes have an unusual height. His white "Santa" beard doesn't match his jet black hair, but all gnomes have white bushy beards and unusual noses. You object to a wizard wearing armor and carrying a great sword? Here are official papers, showing that the kingdom recognizes him as a gnome wizard. If the bureaucrats don't object to his identity, why should you?

There is no reason to think that this gnome wizard is a githyanki caught on the Prime Material Plane and unable to return under his own power to the Astral Plane. None whatsoever.

Bryson leaped out of bed in shock. The horned demon that had appeared at the foot of his bed, had done so without warning and the young man was frightened out of his mind. About to go to sleep, this strange thing was not what Bryson expected when he finally tucked himself in.

With the appearance of the demon, however, Bryson was equally shocked to hear a voice in his mind that he hadn't heard for over 5 years.

"Mr. Bookish. I have not yet found the need to call in my favor of you, but I wish to pay closer attention to your knowledge gathering efforts, so I have sent down a creature to monitor you. Fear not, for it will not hurt you."

The strange demon cackled in Abyssal before shrinking down to a small amphibious creature that croaks once before leaping onto Bryson's bedside table. The bookish human pauses for a second as he stares at the toad. Not quite sure what to make of the whole situation, Bryson blinks his eyes a few times. The toad doesn't disappear, but Bryson shakes his head and writes it off as a trick of the mind.

The next morning, however, when Bryson wakes up the strange toad is still there and staring at him with beady little eyes. The aspiring scholar approaches the amphibian with the curiosity of an infant, and the caution of a 90-year-old. Reaching out and poking the toad with the spear that was lying unused on the other side of Bryson's bedroom, the toad croaks in response.

In Bryson's head, a slightly raspy voice says in Abyssal, "I won't bite." Bryson identifies the telepathic voice as coming from the frog, and his eyes widen in surprise. The frog licks its lips as it yawns and then leaps up onto Bryson's spear and eventually his arm. From there, the creature finds a comfortable perch on Bryson's shoulder and promptly turns invisible. The rest of the morning passes with a semblance of normalcy. With the strange presence of the demon-turned-toad watching him, Bryson finishes brushing his teeth, changing into his robes, and eating breakfast. Before he slips out, the toad leaps into one of the scholar's pockets and communicates up to its new master, "Let's make today interesting shall we?"

Bryson just shakes his head as his mind races through the reasons why this strange creature could have been sent to watch over him. As the demon speaks up again Bryson doesn't respond loud enough to be heard or over the telepathic link but to himself, he mumbles, "I could have sworn that it already is..."

(This can be adapted to fit wherever the adventure starts... But I was hoping, it would still be the same day that the Quasit showed up.)

Artwork used for Representative Purpose: Aida Ruel- WGtE

Jimena Lenhareth must earn a considerable amount of money to repair a special Mirror that she shattered into pieces out of irritation. Incidentally, she gets involved with a group of adventurers while trying to pursue the quest.

[WIP]
Rus is a bit of a loner, even among his own but deeply connected to the rhythm of the earth mother. Though uncomfortable in the outerlands, Rus has been tasked with a mission for his tribe. A mission to help heal his homeland.  He is both in awe of the outside world and quenched for knowledge of everything he finds (and touches), but at the same time reserved and shy when others are looking. Rus is very cautious of all but the most gentle creatures in the outside world and is slow to trust them.

Deep in the forest swamp that Rus calls home, his tribe has lived quietly for so many generations it is difficult even for a Firbolg to contemplate. But lately, the forest seems… sick.  The elders are concerned and whatever is causing this issue has yet to be identified by the tribal masters. The community was abuzz with talk of the problem. Russ tracked his grand uncle one night to an elder council meeting where he overheard the elders discussing sending emissaries into the outerlands to search for clues or tales of such sickness as they were seeing in their forest. Leaning in to hear as much as he could, the softw peat of the ground gave way a bit and Rus lost his footing, falling headfirst into the circle of elders. He quickly brushed himself off, blushed a bit and began to retreat when one of the elder mothers grabbed his wrist and pulled him back into the circle. All agreed, someone with such qualities could do well in the outerlands and tasked Rus with going out into the world. This mystery was new to their home, but something about it seemed “old”.  They hoped that some cure or magic could be found that would help them heal their beloved forest.

His role in combat is likely to change as his bond grows with fellow travelers. Though shy and initially untrusting, his loyalty to the tribe may expand to others that he finds aligned with his on goals.

Tragedy is a charming, slick-talking bard with a dry and dark sense of humour. Raised by a pair of traveling entertainers/con artists, she has learned the art of being an entertainer, as well as how to help herself to extra tips. She can be selfish and seeks to serve herself over others, but can nevertheless be a great support if you earn her loyalty. Tragedy often alludes to her own murky past filled with crimes, but it is unclear whether she has actually done the deeds, or whether the tales are purely fictional. Probably, it's a mix of both - storytellers always exaggerate, and that thing about hiding the bodies - well, that was surely just a joke, right? Right, definitely just a joke.