Derider Fanshen Constable of Greyhawk

AC 3 (full plate and shield, Dex penalty MV 6; Prl2; hp 58; THAC0 14; #AT1; Dmg1d6 +3 , 1d6 +6, or 1d6 +9 (staff of striking)(flail, mace, staff of striking, staff sling, lasso Str 13, Dex 4, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 16; AL NG.

Spells: 8 1st, 7 2nd, 6 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th, and 2 6th.

Magical item: staff of striking.

Derider Fanshen is 43 years old, 5'10", 152 lbs., with honey blonde hair and bright gray eyes. Her tanned skin testifies to an active life, although she has retired from adventuring for some years now. She is a devoted cleric of Pelor, and is very friendly with High Matriarch Sarana of Pelor's church and knows almost all the other clerics of Pelor personally.

Derider is Sental's second in command, and there is a major difference in their functions. Sental is overall com mander, receiving regular reports from Watch House sergeants and keeping the Directors fully briefed. Derider deals more with the day-to-day human contacts with the Watch, talking with the ordinary Watchmen and taking a personal interest in problems, crimes, and troubles. Sental is respected by the Watchmen, but Derider is held in stronger affection. She also has a soft spot for many people who offend against the code of justice in Greyhawk, if they are poor or underprivileged folk, and will often speak on their behalf at the Courts of Justice in cases where such people could receive harsh sentences if found guilty. She is a Director of the Free City, and her major concern is always the well-being of the poor and disenfranchised.

For more detail on both of these native Greyhawkers, see the GREYHAWK® Adventures book, pages 36-38. (now included as follows)

Derider Fanshen was born to middle-class parents in the Free City of Greyhawk. From an early age, she was fascinated with healing sick creatures, and innocently annoyed her parents by filling the house with every sick or hurt animal she encountered. Her talent and love for healing caught the attention of the priests of Pelor. They offered to train the young girl in the ways of their deity, the patron of sun, strength, light, and healing. Her parents were overjoyed, not only for the honor shown their daughter, but because they could finally have a normal household.

As a postulant of Pelor, Derider was quick to learn, rising rapidly to the status of a full (first level) cleric. Upon her investiture, she accepted an offer to join a party of adventurers. Her superiors were sorry to see her go because they loved her, but also were relieved that she was gone-she had won notice not only for her talent, but for her clumsiness. She was always sincerely sorry about her accidents, and she was not capable of malice, but even her most sincere apologies did not repair the mirrors, jars, and other fragile things she constantly dropped. While she was at the temple of Pelor, her superiors seriously considered hiring a low level mage just to minimize breakage.

Derider’s career as an adventurer lasted for several years, during which she travelled the length and breadth of Oerth with her friends. She advanced rapidly, gaining confidence in herself and faith in her deity as she saw the results of her prayers. At the same time, her clumsiness haunted her, causing her grief over the trouble she caused when she was near breakable items. She began to feel that fragile items just waited for her, so that she could drop them to shatter on the floor. Her companions loved her and were very patient with her, but when she managed to drop and smash a beaker of plentiful potions, the day after she had tripped while carrying a decanter of endless water, they suggested gently that perhaps the adventuring life was not for her.

Back in Greyhawk, Derider learned that the temple of Pelor needed a cleric who specialized in healing. She was taken on immediately, but on the condition that she swear solemnly not to touch anything breakable (the high priest was a former classmate, and he knew of her weakness).

Settled in at the temple, Derider was quite happy to have a position as a healer. Her adventuring background proved valuable when the temple district was plagued by a band of undead creatures. Her work among the poor of Greyhawk brought her to the attention of the Directing Oligarchy, and when a constable died after being nursed devotedly by Derider, she was offered the post.

As Constable of the City, she is an influence for mercy and moderation on the part of the city government. She is trusted by the entire Directing Oligarchy to care for them when they are sick or injured. Her clumsiness has not deserted her, but the Directing Oligarchy can afford to be more tolerant of the breakage than the priests of Pelor or her former adventuring companions. When she tripped over her own robe and knocked over a table of very expensive glassware, the Directing Oligarchs simply chuckled quietly and sent for a mage to repair the damage.

Derider Fanshen is a tall, attractive woman in her early forties, with tan skin, honey-blonde hair, and bright grey eyes. She is in excellent physical condition, and looks considerably younger than her true age. She has never married, preferring to form friendly relationships with the various men important in her life.

Although she has retired from adventuring, Derider Fanshen keeps her armor in good repair, and exercises daily in armor with her weapons. Her weapons are souvenirs of her adventuring days, and she will happily tell stories about how she obtained them. Her favorite weapon is a staff of striking that also functions as a staff sling +l.

Derider Fanshen’s goal as Constable of Greyhawk is simple: Keep the city safe and secure. Her relatives live in Greyhawk, as well as friends from her adventuring days, and she is quite conscious of her obligation to them. She keeps in touch with old friends and family, and is a popular guest at parties, once the breakables are securely stored away.

The poor people of Greyhawk often leave petitions at her residence, asking her to intervene for their friends and relatives when they face Greyhawk‘s justice. She does what she can, and Sental Nurev, Captain-General of the Watch, often has to remind her that his decision alone does not decide a criminal’s fate.

At the same time, she is not a fool. Real evil-doers know better than to ask her to intervene in their cases, since she hates cruelty and wanton malice (having seen too much of both). The only time she shows anger is when flagrant examples of unprovoked evil-doing come to her attention. When she gets angry, the people, as well as the Directing Oligarchy, pay attention. Although she doesn’t often use spells for purposes other than healing, she still has the capability, and the anger of a twelfth level cleric is nothing to invite.

PCs might encounter Derider Fanshen in several ways. They may have business with the Directing Oligarchy of Greyhawk, and she would be present at the deliberations of that body. She has a soft spot in her heart for adventurers, and a party of adventurers with a genuine need for aid from the Directing Oligarchy might find her willing to help them plead their case.

PCs might also meet her by letting her know that a party member is sick or injured, but cannot pay for clerical assistance. Her adventuring days paid well, and she is now financially secure, which allows her to indulge the same impulses that made her poor parents’ life difficult so long ago-healing every stray that crosses her path. She is known to disappear into the slums of Greyhawk for days at a time, healing every sick or injured person she finds.

From Adventure Begins

Derider Fanshen, City Constable [NG hf C13 — Pelor; hp 51; Dex 4, Con 15, Wis 18, Cha 16; age 52; areas GC6/H12/ H11/GC5/G10/Old City]. Plans to retire in 592 Cy and work as a legal defender; very active physically but clumsy and awkward; personable, wise, and warm, greatly loved and trusted by many; defends rights of the poor in Greyhawk and is concerned about homeless children in the Old City; close friend of High Matriarch Sarana of the Temple of Pelor and Jallarzi Sallavarian of the Circle of Eight; unmarried but has a small circle of male “romantic friends.”