Backstory: Lemmatta is a small town with a tiny, but profitable, emerald mine. Most of the population is human but there is a small Dwarven enclave that helps run the mine and sell to their clans. Longer ago than most of the human residents can recall, a Drawf returning from a trading visit to his clan came back with a young Half Elf child he called Lya, the closest he could come to the name she told him.
Her grandpa, as she called him, raised her for years. Lya often roamed the surrounding woods, hunting with her darts. Then a raider band got wind of Lemmatta’s mine and attacked. Lya, now an adolescent, had been out hunting when the raiders arrived. Trying to sneak back in, she encountered a band of adventurers who helped rout the raiders who had to flee with barely any gems.
Tragically, Lya’s “grandpa” was one of those killed trying to defend the town’s citizens and mine. Lya, grieving the loss of her only family, and appalled at her fellow Lemmattan’s unwillingness to reward her new friends, left town with them–and a few gems.
Name: LYA of LEMMATTA
Game: D&D 5e
Race: Half Elf
Class/Level: Fighter 1
Alignment: Neutral Good
Background: Folk Hero
Strength 11
Dexterity 16
Constitution 10
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 13
Charisma 15
Armor Class: 14
Hit Points: 10
Class Abilities: Second Wind (1d10+1)
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Armor Proficiencies: All armor & shields
Weapon Proficiencies: Martial, Simple
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Athletics, Nature, Perception, Stealth, Survival
Save Proficiencies: Strength, Constitution
Tool Proficiencies: Fletcher (arrow/dart crafting), Vehicles (land)
Languages: Common, Elvish, 1 open
Equipment: Atlatl & 20 Darts (Attack +7, 1d6 piercing), Quiver, Dagger (Attack +2, 1d4 piercing), Padded Armor, Common Clothes, Belt Pouch, Explorer’s Pack, 8 Gold Pieces
Defining event: I led a militia to fight off pirates/raiders.
Personality: I am confident in my own abilities and do what I can to instill confidence in others.
Ideal: People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Bond: The family I know is gone, now my friends are my family.
Flaw: I am full of witty aphorisms and comebacks.
Design & Advancement Notes: Lya is based loosely on the character Lydia in John Flanagan’s Brotherband Chronicles young adult novels. (My family highly recommends them and his companion Ranger’s Apprentice series for grown up fantasy or adventure fans, as well as youngsters.) This is a “low fantasy” setting; that is, little if any magic and no non-human races in this case. For D&D’s more classic high fantasy approach, I opted to make the PC a Half Elf, which also helps explain why she felt so few ties to her human/dwarf hometown. Lydia’s signature weapon is darts thrown with an atlatl, or throwing stick, a simple gadget that allows users to cast darts or other thrown weapons farther than is possible with just muscle.
I was surprised that 5e doesn’t have official atlatl stats; I think previous versions had stats. I did find homebrew stats by Rlyehable, on the D&D wiki. There are 3 sets, for dart, javelin, and spear; I used the dart for Lya.
When she reaches third level, the most fitting Martial Archetype is Champion. For the first ability score increase, upping Constitution &/or Strength would be a good idea. Possible useful feats are Alert, Athlete, and Sharpshooter. Resilience applied to a non-physical ability score will help Lya make her saves.
Linda Whitson
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