In the friendly City of Windbreak, orphans and urchins still run rampant. A good source of information, an able spy network, and incredibly loyal to coin, it's easy enough to get the attention of one of these children. And Suzette leads them. Suzette doesn't remember her parents, nor the orphanage that turned her out so many years ago. She is 14 now, and has a young woman's body. She has learned to use it to keep eyes away from her business. There are around 30 children in her employ. She is human, pretty, and well liked. She is not publicly associated with the urchins. She walks through the streets of the city with a basket of flowers, which she sells. She uses this guise to keep her eyes out for children who steal food, or eye a coin purse. She reprimands them, and runs them off. Her employees, the Kenku Klan, have learned. They watch her constantly. This serves a double purpose. They keep her safe, and also watch for the children that she reprimands. They find these children and take them in. They are treated well, and taught skills. Life in the Kenku Klan teaches you to be smart and fast. Suzette rules the Kenkus with an iron fist. The lovely maid selling flowers would not be recognized when she is with them. They are a rigid militaristic organization. They know better than to talk back or question her. She controls the food supply. All knowledge they gather goes to her. They are forbidden from sharing information with each other. The kenku, recognized by their cloaks and small frame, have a reputation of taking seedy jobs, like spying on townsfolk. They will gladly take the coin and keep your secret. They only tell their mistress. If the information is worth following up on, she often does it herself, while selling flowers. No one would ever suspect that she is also a master assassin. She keeps no trace of poisons on herself, but she always has it when she needs it. No one will ever threaten her life, or that of any member of the Kenkus. Publicly, she does not allow them to blatantly break the law or draw attention to themselves. They work as unloaders on the dock, lightrunners, or paper deliverers. She does not set these contracts up directly, but if her employees are not selected for this work, then something unfortunate tends to happen to adults who are hired in those positions before children. This has lead to many a superstition about not hiring children in Windbreak, and now most adults respect this superstition, which has improved the quality of life of all children seeking work, not just those on the streets, but also in poor families, or orphanages. Roleplaying SuzetteSuzette should be heard more than seen. Newspapers delivered with scraps of information for the PCs inside, an innkeeper with a message left by some young child, Notes nailed to the door of their carriage or on the seat of their wagon. Whatever the means, the point should be clear: She is a capable spy. She risks as little as possible.
If there is a threat to the town or her employees, she might lead the PCs towards a goal discretely in the above manners. She does not like to become more personally involved than that. If met, she does so in a cloak, and allows the other children to do the talking as much as she can. If threatened, the children fight (Use guard statistics or similar, they ARE trained for this). She will wait as long as possible before speaking, and refuses to show her face, lest her flower sales be endangered. If she does speak, it is in riddles and questions, and rarely in information. She whispers her commands to the children (Who vary in age from five to early teens). She is a valuable ally, and a deadly enemy. She doesn't like to become either. Gaining her friendship or her enmity is a feat within itself.
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NPC TuesdaysWhen you need an NPC you don't have time to make one up on the Fly. A good storyteller has between 6 and 7 NPCs on standby that can breathe life into your campaign. Don't worry, Here is a weekly update for you to use! Bag of Holding
January 2016
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