| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mzali Figure | Background | Personality | Contact | Discovery | Influence Skills | Perception | Will | Delegation Bias | Resistances | Weaknesses | Penalty |
2 | Nkiruka, Speaker of Walkena. | Comes for a line of diplomats, strove to be thes best in her family and came to Mzali to prove her skills. | Cunning, methodical, stern | None | None | None - earn influence by gaining trust of others | +25, discern lies, true seeing | +27 | None | Attempts to use intimidation or other aggressive negotiation tactics draw her ire. Increase all DCs of checks with other figures by 2 for 1 week | None | None |
3 | Council of Mwanyisa, Walkena's Inner Circle. Must meet with all four high priests (2 influence points each) | Ougan-Priest Dzonzi: religious services and the city's leader against "spirit intrustions" (non-Walkena faiths) Sangoma-Priest Gondwi: Plague-ward and master physician Suikiro-Priest Onami: uses divine powers to reach spirits of the past (only channels those that are tied to historic events Walkena wishes to perpetuate) N'ganga-Priestess Simbwala: city's seer and prophetess, using magic to keep an eye on Mzali's future and help guide council actions | Dzonzi - curt, tolerating no nonsense from others, but speaks with wisdom and gravity afforded to him by age and experience Gondwi - laid-back and prone to fits on spontaneous song and dance. Sees delegation offers to provide medical support as an opportunity to charge more for his "exclusive" healing services Onami - quiet and reserved, though clear that she's constantly assessing others and keeping mental notes of all events Simbwala - patient woman who loves to tell long-winded stories that only sometmes circle around to the point she's attempting to make. Sees the delegation as harbingers of the inevitable change for Mzali but wishes to put them through their paces | cannot be contacted until Nkiruka opens up meeting. DC 27 Diplomacy DC 25 Religion DC 30 Society | DC 27 Mzali Lore DC 32 Perception DC 30 Society | DC 27 Mzali Lore DC 30 Walkena Lore DC 32 Diplomacy DC 34 Deception DC 34 Intimidation DC 30 Arcana (Simbwala only) DC 30 Medicine (Gondwi only) DC 30 Religion (Dzonzi only) DC 30 Soceity (Onami only) | +25 | +22 | Koride assumes the council are sent here by the celestials to spy on him and isn't shy about sharing this opinion. While Zuma is present in social encounters, critical successes to Influence or Discover the Council of Mwanyisa are successes instead | None | None | None |
4 | M'bele Numbe, Head of the Anthusis Traveling Merchant Guild. | M'bele was the middle child of a merchant family. After his father passed when he was a een, he took it upon himself to serve as the family's representative with a Sargavan trade company. After Vidrian's rise, M'bele joined the Traveling Merchant Guild in hopes of helping his family rise to a greater economic standing. The desire to do well by his family compelled him to take on the role of the guild's leader | Ambitious, irritable, outspoken | First attempt to Contact a Mzali Figure, M'bele catches wind of their attempt and reaches out. After, no check: takes 1 day to arrange | DC 23 Mercantile Lore DC 28 Perception DC 33 Religion DC 26 Society | DC 26 Mercantile Lore DC 29 Society DC 31 Deception DC 31 Diplomacy DC 36 Intimidation | +18 | +21 | Ahassunu is eager to hear about recent Vidric history; although she heard much of it before, her memory of recent history is poor, and this makes her an eager listener. If Ahassunu is present in a social encounter, the heros' checks that would crit fail to Influence him fail instead | None | Assuring him that the heroes will work to aid the economic stability of Vidrian reduces the Mercantile Lore or Society DC by 2 | None |
5 | Sihar, Leader of the Bright Lions. | Sihar lived under the subjugating rule of Walkena until she learned of the Old Sun Gods. She then look their teachings, learned to fight, and formed the Bright Lions in hopes of liberating the city from Walkena's tyranny | Caring, inspiring, patient | First contact is the night after they meet with Nkiruka After: DC 30 Mzali Lore DC 35 Perception DC 33 Religion DC 33 Society | DC 30 Religion DC 27 Society DC 28 Perception | DC 23 Mzali Lore (to remind Sihar of innocents in the city) DC 31 Religion (to discuss the Old Sun Gods) DC 31 Warfare Lore (to discuss imporvements of Bright Lion tactics) DC 33 Diplomacy DC 35 Intimidation | +26 | +23 | None: all professors refuse to involve themselves for various reasons: Ahassunu, Takulu: following rules Izem: playing it safe Mafika: doesn't want to be seen as freedom fighter because bad optics for school Nhyira: very far out of her wheelhouse Koride: not her problem | None | Any hero who worships one of the Old Sun Gods or makes a promise to spread word of their faith reduces the Religion DC by 2 | None |
6 | Themba Sufu, Leader of Walkena's Secret Police. | Themba grew up as a cruel child subservient to Walkena. Once he reached adulthood, his violent heart earned him a place at Walkena's side. | Calculating, manipulative, wrathful | Ochieng may be contacted or suggested first. She commands the guards by the Temple DC 35 Diplomacy DC 33 Mzali Lore DC 35 Society | DC 30 Diplomacy DC 25 Mzali Lore DC 38 Perception DC 27 Society DC 25 Underworld Lore | DC 31 Mzali Lore (to discuss the loyal state of Mzali's citizenry) DC 31 Underworld Lore (to hint at Themba's sttus as a master of secrecy) DC 34 Stealth (to appreciate the secret movements of Walkena's Hand) DC 36 Diplomacy DC 38 Athletics (to discuss combat) DC 38 Deception DC 41 Performance (to flatter Themba without coming across as patronizing) | +29 | +26 | Themba knows that Izem fled Mzali and belives him to be working to undermine the city, not repair his reputation. While Izem is present in a society encounter with Themba, critical successes to Influence him are successes instead. | Themba is upset at Worknesh's current position. Any attempts to suggest the secret police and Worknesh's forces should work together increases the check's DC by 4. | Themba is bloodthirsty, so any anecdotes that feature brutality or the slaying of others cause him to perk up. Weaving these into a story with Athletics, Deception, or Performance reduces the DC by 2. | Bringing up the Bright Lions in any capacity causes Themba to fly into a rage. Immediatly ends the meeting, checks to Discover or Influence automatically fail. If heros attempted some of these checks, they retroactively fail and lose any Influence Points they, but retain the knowledge they Disocvered. Themba becomes unwilling to meet for 2 weeks and the heroes must Contact a Mzali Figure again to arrange a new meeting. |
7 | Wekesa, Voice of Mzali. | Zenj refugee who was welcomed into Mzali as a child following a flood, Wekesa grew up believing Walkena to be a benevolent figure and followed the god-king's teachings to the best he was able. He therefore fell deep into the propaganda and is wholly immersed within it. This propaganda has turned him into a selfish man loyal only to an idealized vision of Walkena. | Friendly, reserved, observant | DC 35 Diplomacy Dc 33 Mzali Lore DC 30 Perception DC 30 Religion DC 35 Society | DC 35 Diplomacy DC 33 Mzali Lore DC 30 Perception DC 35 Society | DC 31 Mzali Lore (to talk about all Walkena has done for the city) DC 34 Deception DC 34 Walkena Lore DC 36 Diplomacy DC 36 Society DC 41 Intimidation | +23 | +26 | Nhyira is eager to talk about culture and art with Wekesa and how it can lift public sentiment. While Nhyira is present in a social encounter, checks that would succeed to Influence him are crit successes instead. | Suggesting that Wekesa is bad at his job by noting that he doesn't follow up on the citizenry's requests or that little has changed for the people of Mzali infuriates Wekesa, increasing the DC of the check by 4. | None | None |
8 | Worknesh, Master of Spears, head of Mzali's military. | Worknesh grew up knowing constant violence in her life. After losing much of her family to an attack on the city, she joined with the city guard, slowly moving up the ranks until reaching the position of Master of Spears. | Determined, proud, stoic | Must work through the chain of command first. First standard guards --> guard captains --> chief guard --> Jackal Guard --> Worknesh DC 30 Mzali Lore DC 37 Diplomacy DC 35 Warfare Lore | DC 32 Mzali Lore DC 37 Perception DC 35 Society | DC 32 Warfare Lore (to discuss offensive combat techniques) DC 35 Acrobatics (to discuss defensive combat techniques) DC 35 Athletics (to discuss training techniques) DC 35 Intimidation DC 35 Mzali Lore DC 37 Deception DC 39 Diplomacy DC 39 Performance (to discuss performative aspects of combat) DC 39 Society | +28 | +28 | Even Worknesh has heard of Mafika's combat prowess in the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and she's wary of his martial abilities. If Mafika is present during a social encounter, checks that would fail to Influence her are crit failures instead. | Worknes is intent o proving the might of Mzali and, by extent, herself. Any attempts to questoin the techniques of Mzali's military, compare Mzali's fighting style to other's, or something else in a similar vein causes Worknesh to go on the Defensive increasing the DC of the check by 2. | Leaning into Worknesh's pride in her work and that of Mzali pays dividends. Expressing praise for Mzali's forces or intentionally disucssing clearly inferior combat techniques causes Worknesh to see the heroes as unskilled in stategic analyss which endears them to her and lowers the DC of the check by 4. | None |
9 | Zubari, Head Priest of Walkena. | Zubari is a Mzali-born man who joined the priesthood of Walkena as a way of improving his own status in life. He moved up the ranks in the priesthood voer several years, eventually earning his current position after uncovering the previous head priest's connection to the Bright Lions | Distracted, quiet, tense | Meetings are short as he's called away to other issues DC 35 Mzali Lore DC 35 Walkena Lore DC 37 Diplomacy DC 32 Religion DC 39 Society | DC 35 Mzali Lore DC 37 Perceptoin DC 30 Religion | DC 32 Administration Lore (to discuss administrative shortcuts to getting tasks done) DC 32 Legal Lore (to suggest improvements to city regulations) DC 35 Mzali Lore DC 35 Religion Lore DC 37 Diplomacy Lore DC 39 Intimidation DC 39 Society DC 42 Deception | +27 | +27 | Takulu realizes that many of Zubari's administrative problems are due to a failure to teach his underlings properly. Takulu offers Zubari some advice in this regard, and the priest considers this valuable. If the hero fails (but doesn't crit fail) a check to Influence Zubari while Takulu is present, that hero can rerol the check and take the new result. This is a fortune effect. | Non-Walkena faiths make Zubari uneasy. Bringing up other faiths, or openly wearing a religious symbol of another faith, increases the DC for the check by 1 | Zubari has a lot to manage and the heroes can make his life easier by encouraging the high priests to cooperate. The heroes gain a cumulative +1 circumstance bonus to checks with Zubari for every high priest whose support theyv'e earned. |