CoS: Ezmerelda D'Avenir

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#  Ezmerelda d'Avenir

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___
___
> ## Ezmerelda d'Avenir
>*Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good*
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 17 (+1 studded leather armor)
> - **Hit Points** 82 (11d8 + 33)
> - **Speed** 30 ft.
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|14 (+2)|19 (+4)|16 (+3)|16 (+3)|11 (+0)|17 (+3)|
>___
> - **Saving Throws** Wis +3
> - **Skills** Acrobatics +7, Arcana +6, Deception +9, Insight +3, Medicine +3, Perception +6, Performance +6, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7, Survival +6
> - **Tool Proficiencies** Disguise Kit +6, Poison Kit +6
> - **Senses** passive Perception 16
> - **Languages** Common, Elvish
> ___
>
> ***Spellcasting.*** Ezmerelda is a 7th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). Ezmerelda has the following wizard spells prepared:
>
> *Cantrips (at will):* fire bolt, light, mage hand, prestidigitation
>
> *1st level (4 slots):* protection from evil and good, magic missile, shield
>
> *2nd level (3 slots):* darkvision, knock, mirror image
>
> *3rd level (3 slots):* clairvoyance, lightning bolt, magic circle
>
> *4th level (1 slot):* greater invisibility
>
> ***Spellbook.*** In adition to her prepared spell Ezmerelda also has the following spells in her spellbook. She can swap prepared spells during long rest and can learn new spells similar to how wizards do it.
>
> *1st level:* detect magic, identify, disguise self, alarm
>
> *3rd level:* dispel magic, remove curse
>
> *4th level:* fabricate
>
> ### Equipment
> In addition to her magic armor and weapons, Ezmerelda has two potions of greater healing, six vials of holy water, three wooden stakes, spellbook and component pouch she uses for spell ingridients.
>
> ### Actions
> ***Multiattack.*** Ezmerelda makes three attacks: two with her +1 rapier and one with her +1 handaxe or her silvered shortsword.
>
> ***Rapier +1.*** *Melee Weapon Attack:* +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.
>
> ***Handaxe +1.*** *Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack:* +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
>
> ***Silvered Shortsword.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
>
> ***Curse (Recharges after a Long Rest).*** Ezmerelda targets one creature that she can see within 30 feet of her. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be cursed. While cursed, the target has vulnerability to one type of damage of Ezmerelda's choice. The curse lasts until ended with a greater restoration spell, a remove curse spell, or similar magic. When the curse ends, Ezmerelda takes 3d6 psychic damage.
>
> ***Evil Eye (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest).*** Ezmerelda targets one creature that she can see within 10 feet of her and casts one of the following spells on the target (save DC 14), requiring neither somatic nor material components to do so: animal friendship, charm person, or hold person. If the target succeeds on the initial saving throw, Ezmerelda is blinded until the end of her next turn. Once a target succeeds on a saving throw against this effect, it is immune to the Evil Eye power of all Vistani for 24 hours.
>
>  
>
>

Ezmerelda d'Avenir, a Vistana, is the protégé of Rudolph Van Richten - despite the fact that her first encounter with the vampire hunter was anything but pleasant.

### Character Traits

***Ideal.*** "Evil that feeds on the innocent is the worst of all evils and must be destroyed."

***Bond.*** "My mentor and teacher, Dr. Rudolph Van Richten, is like a father to me."

***Flaw.*** "I go where angels fear to tread." She can be reckless endangering others while not realizing it.

Her flaw makes her reckcless and overconfident sometimes. But make no mistake, Ezmerelda is not stupid.

She has the sense to run away when she's losing, but she probably won't run until she's actually losing. And the party should be able to talk her down from her initial plans in case they are dangerous to the group. She can even come up with better plans herself if she takes the time to think about it. It's simply that her flinch reaction is brash and reckless, rather than measured and thoughtful.

See the backstory below. We're talking about a girl who ran away from home at 15 to go find this random guy who her family screwed over, then almost killed her family in revenge, but chose not to at the last moment. Not exactly a measured, cautious individual.

It's a testament to Ezmerelda's skill that she's survived this long, despite her recklessness.

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### Witness to Tragedy
When Ezmerelda was a little girl, her family kidnapped Van Richten's teenage son, Erasmus, and delivered him into the clutches of a vampire. Even today, years later, she can still hear Erasmus's pleas for mercy. That event haunted her childhood.

Van Richten tracked down Ezmerelda's family soon after the kidnapping, but not before the Vistani had sold the boy. Though Van Richten could have done them harm, he instead interrogated Ezmerelda's mother and father on the whereabouts of his missing son. Satisfied with their answers, he spared their lives before departing with the information they had given him. Ezmerelda witnessed Van Richten's act of mercy and was deeply moved by it.

### Van Richten's Tragic Tale
At the age of fifteen, Ezmerelda, still troubled by what her family had done to Van Richten, ran away from home. After many harrowing adventures, she tracked down Van Richten two years later. Thinking she was a Vistana assassin, he put a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood. Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to help him find his missing son, whereupon Van Richten told her the saddest of tales. He had found his son, who had been transformed into a vampire spawn. When Erasmus pleaded to his father for salvation, Van Richten granted his request by ending his existence.

### Farewell
Ezmerelda remained by Van Richten's side for several years, helping him track down and slay many creatures of the night. But because Van Richten could never bring himself to fully trust a Vistana, he kept secrets from her. The two vampire hunters got on each other's nerves, and their arguments became more frequent. At last, Ezmerelda suggested that they part company with some shred of their friendship still intact, and Van Richten agreed.

### Ezmerelda's Secret
Since bidding farewell to Van Richten, Ezmerelda has amassed a sizable personal fortune, some of which she used to buy a wagon to carry her vampire-slaying paraphernalia. On one of her less successful adventures, a werewolf bit off her right leg below the knee, and although she avoided being afflicted with lycanthropy, Ezmerelda was sidelined for months. She commissioned a master artisan to craft a prosthetic lower leg and foot. After several tries, he delivered a prosthesis that restored her mobility. She has since adapted well to the false appendage.

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### The Great Vampire Hunt
While in the company of a Vistani caravan, Ezmerelda heard a rumor that Rudolph Van Richten had gone to Barovia to slay the most powerful vampire of them all. She decided that he might need help and traveled for months to reach Strahd's domain. She rode her wagon to Vallaki and learned about an old tower that seemed the sort of place Van Richten would use as a base. When she arrived there, she found some of Van Richten's belongings, but of the vampire hunter there was no sign. Although she is anxious to learn the whereabouts of her mentor, she is also eager to earn his trust and respect. To that end, she has been poring over Van Richten's research and learning about Strahd and Castle Ravenloft, with every intention of dispatching the vampire herself.

### Tarokka Deck
Ezmerelda keeps a deck of tarokka cards in her wagon. Ezmerelda can use them to perform a tarokka card reading for the characters. But a Vistana cannot foretell anything about themselves.

###  Legendary Monster Slayer Protege
Like Van Richten, Ezmerelda is a viciously talented monster hunter. She should have pretty much all the same knowledge as her mentor. She knows the monsters of Barovia and how to hunt and kill them.

Her overwhelming amount of monster knowledge makes Ezmerelda quite confident. She shouldn't question her own knowledge and answer inquiries without hesitation or doubt. If new information surfaces to prove her wrong, she is unashamed to admit her error and will file away the new information so she won't make the same mistake twice. She sort of a quick witted prodigy when it comes to monster hunting.

Ezmerelda is always a bit overstocked with weapons and tools. She's the kind of person who would willingly carry the extra heavy backpack because she doesn't want to leave behind something she might need. When it became apparent that such weight would slow her down in combat, she got herself that wagon and never leaves it too far behind.

###

At this point in her life, Ezmerelda could very well be a better monster hunter than Van Richten, simply for her youth. She's physically able to do slightly more than the 70-year-old Richten in a fight. However, she's not nearly as ruthless as Van Richten, though she likes to think that she is.

Ezmerelda sees herself as Richten's creation. And, subconsciously, as the inheritor of his legend. Though she doesn't realize she's doing it, Ezmerelda often emulates Richten's quirks and mindsets in an effort to be more like the old man. However, her own rashness and more solid morality often puts her at odds with her master. Think of Ezmerelda as a rebellious youth who's trying to both become her own person while honoring her father-figure, and finding it difficult to consolidate both sides.

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## Family History

Ezmerelda is a Vistani who has only spent about half her life with other Vistani. She knows all about curses and the Tarroka card and general Vistani custom and language, but is quite deficient in their culture-wide friendliness. Why? Because her family was not kind.

### Crooks

We've all seen that kind of family, whether in life or in film. They're the parents that would rather spend their last dollar at the liquor store than on food for their child. The kind of family where making quick money is better than making honest money.

Unfortunately, Ezmerelda grew up in such a household. Now, they weren't the worst of people. They weren't outright abusive and they didn't hoard mutilated corpses in their wagons or anything. They were just wholly dishonest and selfish folk.

### Impact on Ezmerelda

Though Ezmerelda didn't inherit her family's dishonesty, her upbringing shows itself in her mannerisms. Unlike most Vistani, she doesn't trust easily. And her prodigy level of uptake in monster hunting stems from a desperation for recognition from a parental figure of Van Richten.

Ezmerelda doesn't like talking about her parents and feels a great deal of shame if she must mention them at all. Though she and Richten don't get along well, the elder hunter is still the closest thing to father figure Ezmerelda has, and she strives for his approval. And that approval is quite hard to come by, since Richten struggles from differentiating his protege from the Vistani who stole his child.

## Vistani

For Vistani deepdive it is best to look at the book "Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani". Here's just a handful of highlights.

The Vistani name for anyone not Vistani is a *giorgio*. A *giorgio* who has performed some great service to the Vistani may be redubbed a *giogoto* through a blood rite. A Vistani won't cheat a *giogoto*, and may offer even more information than they asked or paid for. And a *giogoto* is always welcome to spend the night in a Vistani camp.

Vistani don't age normally and it's uncertain if they can actually die of old age. The theory goes that they grow from childhood at whatever pace suits them, get to a degree of physical maturity that they like, and stop. There are 'old' Vistani, because they have great respect for their elders. But a Vistana's appearance is no indicator of their age. Most Vistani eventually stop counting "*giorgio* years" and will just make some cryptic remark about the nature of time and how brief mortal spans are if you ask them their age. So Ezmerelda, whom we know to only be in her 20s or so, is extremely young for a Vistana.

Vistani caravans are always led by a female seer, called the *Raunie*. The fact that the group near Vallaki is led by two brothers is a sign that something is wrong.

Vistani have their own language called the *Patterna* which is a cobbled together mess of gods-only-know how many different languages. It is extremely information dense, though - they can communicate very complicated ideas in only a few words. They also use a series of marks similar to hobo marks called *Tralaks* for long-lasting written communication, usually as tips or advice to other caravans that pass that way.

### Need for Travel
If a Vistana stays within a one mile area for more than a week, they rapidly grow ill and develop a nasty fever. When the fever breaks they are no longer Vistani. They have lost all of their special abilities - never to regain them, and begin to age as a human would. The Vistani term for such individuals is *Mortu,* and they are shunned from Vistani society.

They are uncannily good at starting fires. Give a Vistana a pile of wet seaweed in a thunderstorm, and he'll have a fire going for you shortly. They are also uncannily good at destroying evidence of their camps after they leave.

Evenings with the Vistani camps always play basically out the same way. First a one-woman dance called the *Prastonata* that is always improvised. The musicians follow the dancer, instead of the other way around. And the dance is meant to reflect the mood and thoughts of the caravan at large. Then story-time *Doroq* where they recount their legends and encourage visitors to share stories of their own. Vistani  don't particularly care if the story is true, false, or just a good joke - it's all good.

## Mistress of Disguise
Ezmerelda owns a Disguise Kit, several alternative outfits, and a few wigs. She is proficient with the Disguise Kit and has expertise in deception. Meaning she's really, really good at disguising herself. Here are her three 'stock' characters that she can use.

### Old Lady
A slightly disheveled black wig liberally streaked with gray, makeup to add wrinkles and disguise her eye shape and skin-color. She carries a gnarled walking stick that she hollowed out and hides her Rapier inside of, and dresses in ratty, faded clothing, particularly a faded cloak that she keeps tucked up over her head. Her clothing is quite obscuring featuring long sleeves and gloves to hide the fact that she is built like a young athlete, not an old lady. Though she may use illusions to disguise her limbs in the event that she is 'exposed.' In this character she plays the part of a kindly but poor old woman. She gives little treats to kids, grumbles about her joints, and walks hunched over with a pronounced limp that leans on her staff. When she wants to largely avoid notice, this is her go-to disguise.

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### Bombshell
Sometimes the best disguise is being the most obvious thing in the room. She dons a voluminous blonde wig and dresses in fine (and alluring) clothing, adding makeup both to enhance her looks and subtly disguise the features that mark her as Vistana. She tailors this one's behavior based off where she is and what she's doing, but the character is always bold, proud, and at least a little flirty. Her fancy clothing, like her hair, tends towards the voluminous, allowing her to stow weapons under all the frippery. She also had the clothing altered such that it is very easy and swift to remove all the foofy bits so she can rapidly get at her weapons and be free to fight if needed.

### Nondescript
An array of characters based on the idea of appearing 'normal.' As usual, she uses makeup to alter her distinctive Vistani facial features, and pairs it with a simple brown wig of straight hair that falls just past her shoulders. The simple design allows her to restyle the wig (sometimes incorporating some of her own hair) to give an array of different looks.

###
Vistani are not popular in Barovia or in many other lands. And she doesn't travel in a self-sufficient caravan, leaving her dependent on *giorgios* for the necessities of life that she can't find for herself. As a result, she generally dons a disguise when going into town in order to hide her Vistani nature. Even though her Boemite Vistani Tribe 'you like me' aura can get her into most places a Vistani still draws a lot of attention that she'd often rather not have.

When in disguise, Ezmerelda is always armed. She always finds a place to hide her component pouch, she may strap her shortsword or handaxe to her back. The Rapier is harder, which is why she likes the Old Lady disguise, because it lets her carry the hollowed out walking stick that her rapier fits inside of. If she can get away with it, she'll try to incorporate the walking stick into any disguise she can.

## The Poisoner

Ezmerelda has a Poisoner's Kit that she is Proficient with. In addition to the regular poisons that take a lot of time to make, she knows how to make a few extra things:

### Gypsy Kiss
Must be applied to the lips of a creature and only takes effect after contact with another target creature's mouth, who is then the target of the poison. The poison has no effect on the person who first applied it. A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution Saving Throw or become Poisoned for 1 hour. The Poisoned creature can't knowingly speak a lie, as if under the effect of a Zone of Truth spell.

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### Corpseblight
Built upon harvested spores from a carefully curated fungus, this is a powdery contact poison often thrown in a glass vial, where it affects anything within a 5 foot radius of where it shatters. Any undead creature of CR 4 or less that is exposed to Corpseblight must make an immediate DC 15 Constitution save or take 1d6+6 necrotic damage that ignores resistance and immunity. Every hour afterwards, the undead must make another Constitution Saving Throw or take an additional 1d6+6 unresistable necrotic damage. The undead must succeed on a total of 3 such saves in order to ward off the infection. If the undead reaches 0 hit points, they disintegrate entirely. If Corpseblight is applied to an inanimate corpse, the corpse disintegrates over 24 hours, leaving no trace.

Corpseblight is infectious while active. Any applicable undead that comes within 5 feet of an afflicted undead or corpse for the first time in a round, or starts their turn there, must Save or be infected. Successfully throwing off the infection does not grant any sort of immunity to Corpseblight. Thus, a large mob of undead will often repeatedly reinfect one another.

Special: Corpseblight is a very rare fungus and she has to create more by 'breeding it' on actual corpses. If her stock is destroyed, it's gone.

## Positoxins

Unlike a normal poison, positoxins require Holy Water as a base ingredient. Furthermore, crafting one consumes a use of Channel Divinity from the crafter or a willing assistant. Thus Ezmerelda presently unable to make more without help from a Cleric or Paladin. Positoxins are special in that they explicitly bypass the resistance or immunity an undead creature has against poison or the poisoned condition.

### Bloodwine
This crimson liquid is specialized to harm the sorts of undead that bite you. Any living being can ingest bloodwine and it remains potent in their system for 4 hours. If an undead creature bites someone with Bloodwine in their system, they must make a DC 15 Constitution Saving throw or be Poisoned for 1 minute (ignoring immunity to the Poisoned condition). Additionally, if they drain the character's blood, they take 2d6 poison damage that bypasses its immunities and resistances.

### Gravedust
This gray-brown powder derives its name from its resemblance to the grime common in tombs and other long-enclosed areas. A corporeal undead that comes into contact with this poison must make a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw or be Poisoned for 1 minute (ignoring immunity to the Poisoned condition). Additionally, any undead that possesses the Undead Fortitude feature loses use of this feature while poisoned.

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## Habits and Flavor

Ezmerelda talks and interacts with animals as if they can understand her and they probably can.

Will scratch or draw *Tralaks* onto things as warning signs.

If she notices a *Tralak*  she'll usually adjust her actions based on it, but not explain why or point out the *Tralak*. For example, if she spots a mark that indicates a place is haunted, she'll recommend the party spend the night somewhere else. If they ask why, she'll tell them the place is haunted. She won't explain how she knows this unless someone explicitly asks her. And even then, she might be evasive.

Always knows the direction and distance to the nearest river, good place to ditch vampires.

Performs 'Safety Checks' to make sure she's not interacting with monsters. She always provides the materials for these checks. To test for Lycanthropes, she'll have you lay your finger on a silvered sword. To test for Vampires, she'll have you dip your finger in a vial of Holy Water, immerse yourself in a river, enter a home uninvited, or she'll check for your reflection in a mirror. Until you have passed her safety checks, she doesn't trust you. You may have to re-pass them at various points.

Routinely uses Detect Magic and Identify as rituals to check people and things for contaminating magic.

As she knows she is hunting a Vampire, she's cautious about its Charm. If you have been away from the party within the last 24 hours, she doesn't trust you. This is part of why she spends time near Van Richten's tower - an antimagic field suppresses a vampire's Charm effect, so when she needs to be absolutely sure she's thinking properly or that someone isn't Charmed, she goes there.

Is very cautious about curses and cursed objects. Her ability to lay curses makes her very much aware of how powerful they are.

May make references to places, events, and beings not native to Faerun. As a Vistana she traveled across the plans of the multiverse.

She is extremely fond of her vardos wagon -- it's her base of operations, mode of transport, and home. "Angry" is an understatement if somebody would blow it up. And angry Vistani are prone to curse people.

She doesn't like people knowing about her false leg and goes to significant lengths to keep it a secret. She will only remove it in the privacy of her wagon, with the door locked. If you want to set off a nice character-building RP scene, have something happen that reveals her false leg - arrow gets stuck in it, somebody walks in on her when she's removed it, etc.

She has a number of extra scars from a life lived hunting monsters without regular access to magical healing. She keeps most of them covered.

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## Complications

Ezmerelda is  Vistani and she learned that Barovians don't like Vistani. Thus she is not welcome in any town in the valley. She can circumvent some of this by putting on a disguise, and an average person has little hope of seeing through it.

Ezmerelda is used to keeping secrets. Vistani are not open with information about themselves and what they can do and Ezmerelda is used to playing her cards close to the chest. Add to that, she's a phenomenal liar and it's very possible that she could be reflexively keeping secrets from the people she is traveling with.

Ezmerelda has a temper. She's not the screaming and yelling type (no Vistani on record are) but she may very well curse someone in the middle of town if they inflict a significant wrong on her or go opposed to her ideal.

Ezmerelda has an option available to her that other non Vistani people don't - she can leave Barovia. Ezmerelda may decide that she's not ready to fight Strahd yet and, since she's effectively ageless, she might bail. She might decide to come back in a decade or three when she's had time to refine her magic and get better at fighting, then hop in her wagon and drive off into the Mists.

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## Ezmerelda's Vardos

### The vardos

Ezmerelda's wagon (*vardos* in vistana language) is parked in front of the Van Richten's tower.

Under layers of mud, this wagon sports a fresh coat of purple paint, and its wheels have fancy gold trim. A brass lantern hangs from each corner, and red drapes cover a tombstone-shaped window on each side. A steel padlock secures the back door, hanging from which is a cheap wooden sign that reads, "Keep out!"

The wagon has a hidden trapdoor in its underbelly. The trapdoor opens into the wagon and is the only safe way inside.

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The inside handle of the door has a wire looped around it, and the wire is connected to a flask of alchemist's fire hanging from the wagon's ceiling. When the door is opened, the flask will fall and explode, igniting one hundred more flasks of alchemist's fire that dangle from wires like ornaments along the wagon's interior walls.

The wagon radiates an aura of conjuration magic if tested with corresponding spell. Anyone who sits in the driver's seat and speaks its command word (*"Drovash"*) summons a pair of quasi-real draft horses, which are magically tethered to the wagon and can't be separated from it. The horses and wagon have a speed of 30 feet, and the horses heed the driver's simple commands. The driver can dismiss the horses with a second command word (*"Arvesh"*).

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### Inside the vardos

- A wooden trunk covered with claw marks that holds a battleaxe, a flail, a morningstar, a light crossbow, and 10 silvered crossbow bolts
- A narrow wardrobe containing three sets of fine clothes, two sets of traveler's clothes, several pairs of shoes, a harlequin mask, and three wigs
- A climber's kit, a disguise kit, a healer's kit, and a poisoner's kit
- A lyre with golden strings (worth 50 gp)
- A sculpted wooden cage holding a chicken and a silver ewer (worth 100 gp) with five chicken eggs in it

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- A tiny wooden box containing a deck of tarokka cards wrapped in silk
- A set of copper pots and pans (worth 50 gp)
- Three sets of manacles
- A shovel
- A wooden chest containing a gold holy symbol of the Morninglord (worth 100 gp), three vials of holy water, three vials of perfume, two vials of antitoxin, a 50-foot coil of hempen rope, a tinderbox, a steel mirror, a sharpened wooden stake, and a spyglass
- Two spell scrolls (major image and remove curse)
- A map of Barovia