Twenty Rival Adventurers

Gage Lindsten

 

Created for a friend of mine's campaign, wherein various adventurers are competing to win a jinn-king's wish. Entries without spaces between one another form a party. 

1. Abelard. A young, flaxen-haired swineherd in a sheepskin vest. Carries a quarterstave and a knife. Quite naive, but surprisingly ready to do violence. Walks through the world as if it is a fairy tale, with vague dreams of princesses and newfound fortunes.

2. Agi, a fiery-tempered young noblewoman; dispossessed heir to a distant throne. Wields an antique blade taken from a barrow mound. Wishes for a mighty army to reconquer her kingdom. 
3. Börk. A spanglehelmed, maille shod, axe wielding warrior from the far north. Thinks magic is effeminate. Owes a life debt to Agi, but grumbles about the heat.
4. Rathskell. A gloomy, phlegmatic physician (and dabbler in magic). Hopelessly in love with Agi. Sees portents in everything.

5. Esme. A haughty witch whose body is woven together from thorny vines and continually blooming and dying flowers. Followed by a host of lovers/slaves who have been beguiled by her pheromones. Wishes to birth a florid kingdom amidst the deep desert.

6. Hamatakar. A spry warrior with a massive sword, many sashes, and a long, oiled mustache. Braggadocious, vain, yet anxious; he wishes for his legend to live on forever.
7. Amamina. An otherwise practical-minded thief; she wishes Hamatakar would love her back. Wears an amulet that silences her movements.

8. Jory. An old, grizzled hand at adventuring. His weapons and kit clatter as he walks. Carrying a weight of rock dust in a sack—his petrified and subsequently pulverized best friend, who he wishes to resurrect.

9. Gob & Magob. A twin-headed ogre carrying a huge kanabō; one head, Gob, is philosophical, an aesthete; the other, Magob, is brutish and gluttonous. They desperately wish to be split into two separate persons.
10. Waset. A decrepit old sorcerer, done up with unguents and perfumes, and carried upon a palanquin by animate shabti (of which he has many bundles). Wishes to have his youth again.

11. Arslan. A fast-talking, hard-drinking, joyfully-brawling horse thief from the steppe. Never stops smiling. Wears little more than robe, boots, and knife, and rides his steed like lightning. Wishes for a beautiful wife. 

12. Ray-Man. A wizard made entirely out of glass, who speaks with a sibilant voice. Casts various light based spells. Tends to hover. Wishes for the perfect lens.
13. Durm. A somewhat crazed warrior, shod in pangolin-scale armour, armed with mace and sword, and tattooed all over with glowing ink. Wishes for a portal to a demon dimension, for ill-understood reasons.
14. The Twins. A pair of lithe thieves, who communicate silently with little taps and signs. One shoots the crossbow while the other reloads. Both poison their daggers. They wish to find their long lost mother.

15. Margret. A level-headed young woman from another dimension; very lost. Just wishes she could go home. Gets by with wits, a dagger, and various minor magical items. Rides upon a sheepish, easily cowed lion (who can talk, if he wants).
16. Stagnum. A brazen head, a calculating engine, carried by Margret; animated by a bound spirit whose one wish is to have a real, irrational flesh body.
17. Effraye. A lanky, straw-haired youth; rather foolish, but happy to follow instructions. Wishes to be as cunning as Margret.

18. Hort. A worn out, peaceable man locked into a set of sentient, bloodthirsty armour, which refuses to let him die. The armour seeks glory and honour in combat. He just wishes to be free of the curse.

19. Carneaux. A jaded gourmand underneath a colorful parasol, attended by scampering servants and stolid bodyguards. He has grown weary with mundane foods, and wishes to be able to eat anything and everything in the world.

20. Jali. A massive, oiled up wrestler; a folk hero who has slain countless monsters with her own bare hands. Followed by a horde of adoring fans. Doing this for the sheer challenge of it—the wish is just a bonus.