Paela Nimblefingers
Paela Nimblefingers
She has always been fascinated by other cultures, from the most ancient and primeval lost lands to the most modern civilizations. By studying other cultures’ customs, philosophies, laws, rituals, religious beliefs, languages, and art, she has learned how tribes, empires, and all forms of society in between craft their own destinies and doom. This knowledge came to her not only through books and scrolls, but also through first-hand observation—by visiting far-flung settlements and exploring local histories and customs. Thus, coming through a Shadow Rift was not a distressing event for her, but rather an opportunity to explore a whole new set of cultures that she had previously not known existed.
Physical Description
Special abilities
Feature: Adept Linguist
She can communicate with humanoids who don’t speak any language she knows. She must observe the humanoids interacting with one another for at least 1 day, after which she learns a handful of important words, expressions, and gestures—enough to communicate on a rudimentary level.Skills
Arcana +15, History +15, Insight +11, Medicine +11, Perception +11, Religion +15Specialized Equipment
She believes in always being prepared. This means that she often carries an odd assortment of items in her back pack. Even while she is working in her Mundane job, she is likely to have her Heward's Handy Haversack and pouches with her. Plus, she is always wearing the tribal mask that she was given while wandering in the Shadow Realm. It is an orc shaman's mask and she believes that it protects her, but it has no magical properties.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
To the best of her knowledge, her parents are still alive. They certainly were when she was last within the Shadow Realm. However, she has not made any particular effort to keep track of them even while she was still within the Shadow Realm. Her family sold her into slavery—whether out of selfishness or extreme need, makes no difference to her and she figures that she will never know now that she is living in a different realm from them. She knows that she has 3 siblings, but nothing else about them as they were also sold into slavery along with her. She was young when this happened and thus her memories of her siblings are vary vague. She regrets that she will likely never find them now.
She managed to escape her slavers while she was still young, in her 20's. From there she began to make a life for herself. The first job that she tried was being a baker, but that career faltered. She was fired from the bakery in response to her odd manner.
This lead her to traveling. She found herself within Water Deep where she took up odd jobs to make ends meet. She worked doing what ever she could get paid for. This often meant she was cleaning or cooking for the wealthy. While living in Water Deep, she fell in love with a Half Orc, Thragul Tuskbreaker. He never returned her feelings, but they were able to become friends. However, this relationship ended in tragedy when Thragul died during a viral outbreak that swept through the poor in the city.
This experience led her to learn herbalism and alchemy. She was determined to be able to help in future situations where those she cared about became sick. There would never again be a time that she had to watch someone wither and die from an illness because she did not know what to do. This is also where her spark for learning was ignited. Upon discovering the world of books and learning, she found that she could never get enough of them nor of others who are knowledgeable.
She took a job within the library. While working there, she made an enemy by out shining others. This resulted in that co-worker setting her up and getting her fired from a much loved position.
Her next job was a cleaning position at the fighter's guild hall. While there, she was able to learn skills from several fighters who were willing to allow her to observe them train or who indulged her curiosity and allowed her to train with them. In this manner, she gained combat training learning to wield Blowguns, Whip, Longsword and Battleaxe.
While working for the fighter's guild, she fell in love and dated an orc, Dorag Brokenfang. They trained together and enjoyed a relationship that lasted the few years that she worked for the fighter's guild. But when management noticed how emmeshed she was becoming with the fighters, they decided to end her employment. She moved on and never heard from Dorag again, but she still looks back on that relationship fondly.
This led her to wandering and learning about other cultures. She took up a nomadic life style of learning. She came through a Shadow Rift in 2137 and since that time has been doing her best to learn about the world and cultures around her. She visits libraries whenever possible since she does not do well with the technology of this world; finding computers less satisfying then holding a proper book in her hands.
There was a short time that she worked for the Shadow Investigations Unit, but that didn't last long. She was unable to tolerate the way that they handled the Shadow Kind that came through the Shadow Rifts and unknowingly broke their rules. This led her to finding the Wildings whom she has been since living with. She also has a strong connection to the orc community in the Mundane world. She finds their culture and way of life to be fascinating as it evolves from the ways of the Shadow Realm and adapts to the Mundane world.
She spent all of her adult life away from her homeland, living among people different from her kin. She came to understand these foreign cultures and the ways of their people, who eventually treated her as one of their own. She has learned to easily blend into other groups and to pick up their manners. The Orc culture had more of an influence on her than any other, shaping her beliefs and customs. Because of this, she is often considered to be a "little orc" by the Mundane Orcs.
She managed to escape her slavers while she was still young, in her 20's. From there she began to make a life for herself. The first job that she tried was being a baker, but that career faltered. She was fired from the bakery in response to her odd manner.
This lead her to traveling. She found herself within Water Deep where she took up odd jobs to make ends meet. She worked doing what ever she could get paid for. This often meant she was cleaning or cooking for the wealthy. While living in Water Deep, she fell in love with a Half Orc, Thragul Tuskbreaker. He never returned her feelings, but they were able to become friends. However, this relationship ended in tragedy when Thragul died during a viral outbreak that swept through the poor in the city.
This experience led her to learn herbalism and alchemy. She was determined to be able to help in future situations where those she cared about became sick. There would never again be a time that she had to watch someone wither and die from an illness because she did not know what to do. This is also where her spark for learning was ignited. Upon discovering the world of books and learning, she found that she could never get enough of them nor of others who are knowledgeable.
She took a job within the library. While working there, she made an enemy by out shining others. This resulted in that co-worker setting her up and getting her fired from a much loved position.
Her next job was a cleaning position at the fighter's guild hall. While there, she was able to learn skills from several fighters who were willing to allow her to observe them train or who indulged her curiosity and allowed her to train with them. In this manner, she gained combat training learning to wield Blowguns, Whip, Longsword and Battleaxe.
While working for the fighter's guild, she fell in love and dated an orc, Dorag Brokenfang. They trained together and enjoyed a relationship that lasted the few years that she worked for the fighter's guild. But when management noticed how emmeshed she was becoming with the fighters, they decided to end her employment. She moved on and never heard from Dorag again, but she still looks back on that relationship fondly.
This led her to wandering and learning about other cultures. She took up a nomadic life style of learning. She came through a Shadow Rift in 2137 and since that time has been doing her best to learn about the world and cultures around her. She visits libraries whenever possible since she does not do well with the technology of this world; finding computers less satisfying then holding a proper book in her hands.
There was a short time that she worked for the Shadow Investigations Unit, but that didn't last long. She was unable to tolerate the way that they handled the Shadow Kind that came through the Shadow Rifts and unknowingly broke their rules. This led her to finding the Wildings whom she has been since living with. She also has a strong connection to the orc community in the Mundane world. She finds their culture and way of life to be fascinating as it evolves from the ways of the Shadow Realm and adapts to the Mundane world.
She spent all of her adult life away from her homeland, living among people different from her kin. She came to understand these foreign cultures and the ways of their people, who eventually treated her as one of their own. She has learned to easily blend into other groups and to pick up their manners. The Orc culture had more of an influence on her than any other, shaping her beliefs and customs. Because of this, she is often considered to be a "little orc" by the Mundane Orcs.
Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Heterosexual
Education
She was first informally educated while living in the Shadow Realm. When she worked in the Shadow Investigations Unit, they helped her earn her high school diploma and a degree in history. After leaving the Shadow Investigations Unit, she has gone on to educate herself further by getting a masters in history.
Employment
She has been able to blend into the Mundane world fairly well and has been using her history education for employment. She currently works as an Acquisitions Librarian at the University of Washington.
Mental Trauma
She has an irrational fear of drowning that she cannot explain. There are some vague memories of someone having held her under water while she was young, but she isn't sure if these are memories or nightmares.
Intellectual Characteristics
- I would rather observe than meddle.
- I’m a stickler when it comes to observing proper etiquette and local customs.
- Discovery. I want to be the first person to discover a lost culture. (Any)
- I want to learn more about a particular humanoid culture that fascinates me (Mundane Orcs)
- I wear a tribal mask and never take it off
Morality & Philosophy
Neutral characters do not feel compelled to follow every rule and societal belief, nor do they feel the need to ignore or rebel against societal order. A Neutral character follows the rules that align with their own goals, that are convenient to them, or they think are necessary. Neutral characters will usually follow the rules because they generally lead to a better outcome for them. However, they can break the rules if they believe the benefits to them outweigh the risks.
Good characters care about others and act in ways that help and benefit them. They protect the innocent, defend the weak, and go out of their way to help other people.
Neutral Good characters are in the middle of the ethical axis because they believe that some rules and order are useful in society to a point, but only when individuals are still generally free to do what they want on a daily basis. They are aware that too much order can restrict people’s freedoms, but likewise, that too much freedom can lead to societal collapse and people making decisions that negatively affect others.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Their primary motivation is to help those around them. Then they want to learn as much as they can about other cultures and the people around them. This is what drew them to history.
Likes & Dislikes
She really likes being around other people who are intelligent and who value having discussions about culture, religion, medicine or history. She loves books.
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Location
Species
Year of Birth
2107
40 Years old
Birthplace
Shadow Realm
Children
Current Residence
Central Park Apartments
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Sex
Female
Gender
Female
Presentation
Female
Eyes
brown
Hair
brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
brown
Height
3' 5"
Weight
44#
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Character Prototype
Artificer
Comments
Author's Notes
Character images created in Hero Forge.