Ascension of the Drow

Player: Sugar
Age: 30+ Club
Invited by: Chris
Contact: DM or Discord

Character: Kolnatha Shavval
Canon: Forgotten Realms (DnD OC)
Age: 70

Background Information: Born to a lesser noble house who had long since fallen out of favor of the Spider Queen, life started out hard. Usually in drow traditions a twin birth was celebrated. Was a sign of fertility and power for the Mother Matron. A good omen her house sorely needed. However, no feast was held that night. Once Kolnatha entered the world, her younger brother, Rhyle, followed shortly after. A male. Inferior blood. Blood which she shared with him. It would forever be a dark mark that Koh would carry for the rest of her life. Despite all judgmental stares and foul rumors that circulated about her, Kolnatha was very close to her brother as they grew up. She's heard all the stories about how males paled in comparison to their female counterparts. It was not a sentiment she shared. Rhyle and her were one, equal. Birthed from the same womb. They were connected, a bond so deep that only other twins could understand.

From the moment either of them could walk, they were trained by the blade. Life as a drow living in the Underdark was cruel by most standards of the land above. Most kids her age all they had to worry about were scraped knees and runny noses. Koh went to bed with bruised all over her body and callused hands. One had to learn how to fight and fend for yourself or it could mean death down in the dark. Not just from the vile creatures that called this place their home, but from other rival drow as well. This constant dance for power was one Koh had to learn, though she lacked the tenacity typical of her kin. There had always been a tenderness to her, in the way she spoke and how she held herself. Love and compassion are seen as weakness amongst her people and had no place in the pursuit of ambitions. Again, they blamed the impurity of her birth for these flaws. Her brother was a bad influence on her. No matter how they tried to separate them, they would always find each other, drawn like a magnet. Rhyle was her world, the one thing that kept her grounded. No matter what happened, they would have each other to lean on. That was until they both started to show tendency to wield magic. Her talent wasn't fully nurtured but Rhyle had a gift. It had caught the attention of another matron and a deal was struck.

Awoken one night drenched in sweat, Koh felt something was wrong. Running to where her brother was kept, she found the room empty. He had been sold to an unnamed matron to an unknown place beyond her reach. It was like a part of her soul was torn from her that night. Their separation was all a part of her matron's devious plan to slice out Kolnatha's perceived weakness as well as gaining more politician power in the sale. Though her plan only half worked. Since the day her brother was taken from her, Koh's resolve hardened. They would not break her. Not with her brother out there lost somewhere. After countless years of trying to reforge her into the blade they wanted to smith, it become clear that no matter how much they hammer her, she was unyielding. So, her Mother Matron devised a plan. To send Koh out on a solo mission in which the stakes were high. A suicide mission. If she refused, her House would kill her or even worse… turn her into a drider. Either way, Koh’s hands were tied. Choosing to flee the Underdark was the toughest decision she had to make. With all its danger, it was her home. And the thought of leaving her brother tore her heart to shreds.

Facing the perils of the Underdark alone took every ounce of her strength and cunning to survive. By the time she clawed her way out of the dark, it was nightfall on the land above. Koh found herself in a dense wooded forest and she thought she heard…. Singing? As a child she had been told horror stories about never following songs at night. But exhausted, if it meant finding help, she would take that risk. Stumbling through the brush Koh found herself in a moonlit glad where the most beautiful drow maiden she had ever seen was dancing naked in the pale light. It was the goddess Eilistraee and from there, she took in the lost drow in. For the next few years, Koh would learn to adjust to life on the surface living that the temple. Surrounded by others like her, a new purpose blossomed within her. Before living under the cruel will of the Spider Queen, Koh would not have been one of faith. However, as she learned of the Dark Maiden's teachings something in her stirred. From there, the rest is history. For several years Koh called the monastery her home, learning about the Surface and her new faith. Finding a new purpose under her devotion to Eilistraee, Koh eventually sets off to wander the lands of Faerun in search of leads to find her brother, and to help those in need along the way.

Personality:
First and foremost, Kolnatha is an outlier of her people. When most people think of drow, they think of someone cruel and fierce. While Koh may be stubborn and strong willed like her Sisters, she never shared their bloodlust for power. Upon meeting new people, Koh is warm and welcoming. Unless you give her reason not to be civil. Such as running into other drow or duergar, she will meet them with caution until she knows about the individual. She knows not all of her kin share her gentle tendencies. This is mostly due in part to her having a younger twin brother. If her birth had been blessed with another sister, her fate may have been vastly different. Through her brother, she learned empathy and compassion, traits that the drow find weak. But in the love she held for her brother, Koh found strength. Rhyle is a huge source of motivation for Koh. And she carries the guilt of not being able to keep him safe with her.

Koh is also a woman of devout faith, following the teaching of Eilistraee, Lolth’s daughter. In her teachings Eilistraee wants to free her people for the evil grasp of her mother and return them the Land of Light. To have all the races free of discrimination and to live peacefully amongst one another. Koh holds this ideal close to her heart. She dreams of a better future for her Sisters and Brothers, free from Lolth’s web. So Koh hold herself to a high standard on how to act, to be an envoy of her people. Koh isn’t naïve to think that her alone will fix centuries of hurt caused on both sides, but it’s a start. Under her calm cool surface, Koh struggles with extreme self-doubt and imposter syndrome due to the extremely high expectations she feels she must hold herself to.

She has a strong sense of justice and will always help those in need. Even if she needs to break a few laws to do it. Cause sometimes rules are made by shitty people. Koh tries to find the good in everyone. Who is she to judge a book by its cover? To those fortunate to call her an alley, Koh is fiercely loyal to her friends.
Something about herself that she keeps close to the vest is about her past life living while under her Matron’s rule. What most people will see is this bright and friendly drow, however, she wasn’t always as nice as she wants people to see her as. While she didn’t share her Sisters’ beliefs, Koh had to do some pretty terrible things in order to stay alive. Drow like her tend not to live for very long. She was already pushing her luck with certain stances she took against her Matron. Koh doesn’t like to talk about all the innocent lives she was forced to take in the name of her House. The guilt of the pain she has put out into the world fuels her need to do good.

Abilities & Inventory:
Inventory:
* Heavy Chainmail with an ocean blue surcoat cover
* Sword and Shield (Her sword is very special to her since it is elaborately decorated in elvish, drow, script. All clerics that are followers of Eilistaee carry a blade blessed by her since it is her holy symbol. There is a whole special ceremony when receiving a new blade. If she has it with her, it would lose all his holy abilities and just be one really pretty sword.)
* Her traveling pack which has: A change of clothes out of her armor, healing potions, food, a music box, and her money.
Abilities:
Koh is a cleric, more specifically in the Life Domain, meaning she specializes in healing and defensive magic. She has a lot of different spells, so I’m going to summarize her abilities. Koh’s primary role is healing and support. She has multiple ways to heal her allies, either through words or touch. Some of her more potent healing can revive freshly deceased allies if their bodies aren’t too badly damaged. Her other role is to buff and defend her alleys, bestowing blessings on them to hit better or protecting them from status effects such as fear and charm. Other than her defensive magic, she does have powerful offensive abilities as well. Such as Guardian Spirits and Glyphs of Warding. As a drow, she also has a few special powers that her race has. Such as Dancing Lights (creates balls of dancing lights), Faerie Fire (prevents things from going invisible when caught in its light), and Darkness (cast a cloud of darkness that blinds people inside the zone until they leave). I can provide a detailed description for any spells that need to be clarified.
For a full list of spells, visit her Spell List.
Racial Traits:
* Superior Dark Vision: Can see in complete darkness like there is a light source up to 80 feet.
* Fey Ancestry: Due to drow’s Feywild ancestry, they are more resistant to magic that invades their mind, such as charm and sleep. Also Drow don’t sleep like normal people do. They go into a trance-like state to rest.
* Sunlight Sensitivity: Since living on the Surface for several years, this doesn’t affect her quite as much as it used to when she first left the Underdark. But her eyes can be sensitive to bright lights and being under direct beaming sunlight for too long does bother her eyes.

For Koh, she would best suit going into the Corsairs. While she may be good aligned character, with her upbringing under Lolth she knows sometimes that one needs to break the laws in order to do so. Especially law made by tyrants. She prefers to follow her own moral code under her faith and desires her freedom to make that choice. There was been occasions where she has gone against local law enforcement to do what she perceived as right. The corruption in the Paladins would also sour her attitude towards the faction.

Test Drive Sample: TDM

Questions: Not a question, but just for your information. Koh is taken from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of DnD. If you need me to also provide the years in which she’s from, I can gladly provide more information. I know Forgotten Realms has a lot of lore. Also in terms of her powers, I just gave you all of them knowing she won’t have all of them or needs nerfing. I will adjust accordingly to what you all have to say.

The other thing is the magical tattoo. I do have a question about that. When they get it, it can take any design they want and where?