the women

Larich - Short Soldier
Larich is a young (mid forties) Dwarf woman, actually somewhat tall for her kind, with a high pitched voice and a somewhat childish attitude.  Her mellow nature and friendly demeanor make her friends easily, a somewhat unusual trait, given that most adventurers are at best a bit rough around the edges.  Her size, voice, and attitudelend to most people (deliberately or otherwise) treating her like a kind of little sister.  She plays this up at times, but is every bit as capable as any other adventurer.  Larich was brought to the world of quests and conflict by equal parts wanderlust and being kicked out of Dwarfhome for refusing to choose a profession and stick with it.

While Larich is friends with pretty much everyone in the guild, if she takes a particular shine to the player she'll follow them around when not otherwise busy.  While sometimes annoying she makes an effort to be helpful when she can; sparring with the player, helping them study, or teaching them about the six different grades of granite recognized by the Dwarven Masonry Union.  If this develops along more romantic lines, Larich attitude towards the player is best described as puppy love.

Larich's story is about how - or even if - she decides to balance the serious with the silly, whether she 'grows up' or not.  It also deals with how outward appearances shape how people interact, intentionally or otherwise.


Caroline - The Amazon
Caroline is a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman thats simply tired of life on her family farm.  Fortunately, even a relatively normal Plainsdweller woman is still seven feet tall and nearly three hundred pounds.  Unlike most Plainsdwellers, though, rather than being rather humble about her strength she embraces it.  She's not the best fighter or the quickest learner, but her work ethic and determination to see her choise through more than make up for it.

As with almost any Plainsdweller, Caroline values honesty and reliability (humility, not as much).  If the player becomes friends with her they can rely on to go through Hell and back, so long as they carefully stoke her ego and make her feel like a hero.  Similarly, the key to ensnaring her romantically is to flatter her and keep her feeling like she's in control (or at least, allow her the space to outwardly say that she is).

Caroline's story revolves around the purpose of power, and to what end Caroline uses hers.  She can end up either as an example of exceptionalism (if she simply works to become the best she can and thinks of power as it's own reason), as a leader (if she uses her power to improve her own social and economic standing), or as a hero (if she uses her power to help others).


Esther - Queen of War
The middle-aged widow of an adventurer, Esther bicked up basic combat skills from her late husband and developed a desire to see the continent, intruiged by the mementos and stories he brought back from his travels.  As the daughter of a wealthy Doren merchant, she has a refinement and style that give her a rather regal bearing relative to the sort that usually become adventurers, earning her the nickname 'Queen of War'.  In spite of her relative newness to the profession, Esther holds a surprisingly large body of knowledge, thanks to her relationship with her late husband.

If the player befriends Esther she becomes a sort of advisor.  She's had enough exposure to the upper crust of her parent's world to understand the mindset behind the type that generally fund adventurers, and enough contact with adventurers to understand what drives them.  If pressed, she reveals the player reminds them of one of her husband's old friends.  As a romantic interest, Esther has the same feckless attitude towards sex shared by many adventurers, she is more reserved about holding a more serious relationship.

Esther's story deals heavily with the Adventurer's Guild and how such a powerful entity fits into the political dynamic of a fantasy world.  It deals with how the Guild maintains some degree of neutrality, how it reacts in times of outright war, and when different buyers pit adventurers against each other.


Kelson - White Rose
Kelson is a young Ratkin woman with creamy white fur, which has earned her the nickname 'mouse' among those she grew up with.  This name does not please her.  As a result she's become rather defensive and hot-headed (partly to counter the weak image that the name carries n her mind).  Even so, when she does reign in her aggression the name rather fits - she's a genuinely sweet and gentle girl with those she's comfortable around.  Kelson joined the Adventurer's Guild simply as a way of making extra money where she could.

Having come from a family and culture where reliance on others is tantamount to the survival of the group, Kelson can be relied on to do just about anything if the player befriends her.  However this works both ways - a player that refuses one of her requests will quickly find her becoming distant.  As a romantic interest, Kelson takes the same kind of ultra-aggressive childishness you might see on a playground.  She does make her interest in the player very clear however, coming across less tsundere and more crazy bipolar girlfriend.


to clarify since i didn't make it clear in the last post;
Pascavis - romance is open to females/herms
Caspar - romance is open to all
Rex - romance is open to females
Joachim - romance is open to females/herms

(there will be other male homosexual romance options available - a dwarf in the 'bear' mould and a sort of effeminate goblin guy)

Larich - romance is open to all
Caroline - romance is open to men/herms
Esther - romance is open to all
Kelson - romance is open to all

the decision to open more women to same sex relationships is very simply because in the polls i've had up in the past, more people stated that they played women (and herms), and more people expressed interest in fem/fem and fem/herm relationships than man/man and man/herm.

naturally all of these characters are going to be added rather slowly once the game proper starts getting out.  probably going to start with kelson and rex, adding the rest of the core eight, and then moving on, adding characters as their locations start coming up.  also worth noting is that these are all notable characters, intended to have romantic encounters beyond simple sex, and all capable of joining your party to fight.