Ashara

Born over two millennium ago during the height of the Vrinian Empire, Ashara is now a new, but welcomed, edition to the band of adventurers known as The Pog Champions. An incredibly knowledgeable arcanist and researcher, Ashara hungers for knowledge of the New World while sharing useful tidbits of what she knows of the Old World. Curious and kind, she wishes to help her new companions on their quest and eventually lead a peaceful, quiet life where she can continue working on her inventions.

Her prosthetic arm that was salvaged form the body of a warforged acts as a reminder to her that, although she is still learning about the New World and its people, she must work to thwart chaos and strife that destroyed her home and killed her people. As a result, she is cautious in using her psionic abilities to override other people's autonomy, but understands that some sacrifices have to be made for peace to be kept.

Appearance
Ashara is a short, thin woman with sickly lilac-pale skin, leading several to believe she is malnourished from her time trapped in a stasis pod and wandering from Bastion to Port Valor without a consistent source of food. She has white, shoulder length hair that is kept in several small braids that frame a sharp, angular face. Her eyes are a deep red, indicating her Drow heritage and light sensitivity, and are often hidden behind glasses with pitch black lenses that enable her to see during the day. Ashara wears flowing white robes that verge on being threadbare, offsetting the extravagantly decorated backpack filled with what little material possessions she has from the Old World.

Personality
Given her time in stasis, Ashara struggles to understand the social and cultural context of the New World, lending to her awkward mannerisms and shyness in most situations. Despite this, Ashara does her best to help those around her by lending her ear, power, or knowledge and is quick to step in when she feels she is able to help. Her past is both a bane and a boon: Ashara is greatly knowledgeable of magic and how to create arcane inventions, while the violent uprising that killed her people has made her fearful of strangers.
 * Strengths: Intelligent, empathetic, helpful.
 * Weaknesses: Cautious, socially and culturally inept, fearful.

Background
Born over two millennium ago during the height of the Vrinian Empire, Ashara grew up in a time of unprecedented magical advancements and was the daughter of two high-ranking arcanists. Though her parents had success later in her childhood, Ashara's early years were spent on the family farm, Mlezzane Farm, situated on the outskirts of the Empire, and away from the protection of the Capital's gilded walls. While her father, Charius, spent years away from the Farm working to procure success and crafting magical inventions for the Empire, her and her mother, Rhaella, tended to the Farm and worked to fund their survival and Charius' study. After succumbing to parental and political pressures, Ashara followed in her parents footsteps and attended the Empire's most prestigious college, the Arcane Studium. Though reluctant at first, Ashara found contentment spending her days hunched over thick tomes, complicated blueprints, and over a worn workbench. She quickly rose to be one of the college's most promising scholars and arcanists in the field of transmutation and thaumaturgy, and was particularly interested in the practical application of dimensional magic in thaumaturgy.

Two years into her education, the Imperial Family announced a collaborative project between the Studium and the Imperial Family to create the warforged to supplement army and labor forces. Despite being a vocal opponent to the project due to a moral position against slavery and concern over growing signs of sentience amongst the warforged, the project carried on. Following her publication against the creation of the warforged, the bi-institutional oversight board forced Ashara to work on the project due to her knowledge and skill – or risk her and her loved ones' lives. To everyone but Ashara's surprise, the warforged rebellion began shortly after the project's completion and started the Magewar overnight.

Soon the Imperial Family fell and the outskirts of the Capital were decimated, the warforged marched on their creators at the Studium. Without martial training and after losing her arm in a close call with a warforged, Ashara turned to the the only thing she could: her inventions. After placing herself in her Emergency Displacer, an untested invention whose blueprints were stolen from her by the Imperial Enchanter, she suspended herself in time.

After thousands of years of fitful rest out of time, the pod malfunctioned, and Ashara woke up in the ruins of the only world she knew. Before leaving the Empire for good, she grabbed the stray arm of a warforged to replace what she had lost and hopefully make herself less of a target in this "New World". Eventually, she fought her way out of the Badlands and came to a township. It was only then that she realized how much time had passed between her entering and leaving the pod. Wanting to distance herself from what she lost, she made her way north to a place she'd heard good things about - Port Valor.

Goals
Ashara's main goal is to learn all that she can and spread her knowledge to those she trusts and will bring the most good to the New World. She also hopes she may find descendants of her people among those she comes across in her travels, but understands that is next to impossible given what happened to the Empire.

Abilities
Drow Traits


 * Fey Ancestry: Ashara has proficiency in the Perception skill.
 * Keen Senses: Ashara has advantage on saves against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep
 * Trance: Ashara doesn't need to sleep, instead she meditates semi-consciously for 4hrs.
 * Superior Darkvision: Ashara can see in darkness (in shades of grey) for up to 120ft.
 * Sunlight Sensitivity: Ashara has disadvantage on attack rolls and on Perception checks that rely on sight when her, her target, or whatever she is trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
 * Drow Magic: Ashara uses Charisma as her spellcasting modifier and knows the following spells:
 * Dancing Lights (cantrip)
 * Faerie Fire (1/LR)
 * Darkness (1/LR)

Sorcerer Features


 * Font of Magic: Ashara has 6 sorcery points that she regains when she finishes a long rest. She can use her sorcery points to gain additional spell slots or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points as a bonus action.
 * Magical Guidance: When Ashara makes an ability check that fails, she can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll the d20, and you must use the new roll, potentially turning the failure into a success.
 * Sorcerous Origin: Aberrant Mind
 * Psionic Spells: As she levels up, Ashara can learn spells on the Psionic Spells table that do not count towards her total number of sorcerer spells learned.
 * Telepathic Speech: As a bonus action, choose one creature she can see within 30 ft. of her. Her and the chosen creature can speak telepathically with each other while they are within 5 miles of each other). The telepathic connection lasts for 6 minutes.
 * Psionic Sorcery: When she casts any spell of 1st level or higher from the Psionic Spells feature, she can cast it by expending a spell slot as normal or by spending a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level. If she casts the spell using sorcery points, it requires no verbal or somatic components, and it requires no material components, unless they are consumed by the spell.
 * Psychic Defenses: Ashara gains resistance to psychic damage, and has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Extras:


 * Glasses of Darkness: Glasses with circular lenses that are black as night that are her dearest invention and a relic of the Vrinian Empire. While wearing these glasses, she gains these benefits:
 * If you have the Sunlight Sensitivity trait, you are unaffected by the trait.
 * You can see up to 10 feet in magical darkness
 * Warforged Limb (arm): This item replaces a lost limb—a hand, an arm, a foot, a leg, or a similar body part. While the prosthetic is attached, it functions identically to the part it replaces. Ashara can detach or reattach it as an action, and it can’t be removed against her will. It detaches if she die. This limb is an arcane focus. A sorcerer, warlock, or wizard can use such an item as a spellcasting focus, as described in the Spellcasting section.
 * Veiled White Sunhat: Sun hat with a lace veil, the sunniest of hats, in white. (4sp)

Ashara and Jorah
Ashara is very fond of Jorah, but carries deep regret at causing him stress and fear of her powers during their initial meeting. Though they have bonded over a distrust of unethical magic users and share an understanding of the burden of responsibility on the powerful, she enjoys their lighthearted conversations around the campfire much more. Despite poking fun at his mercenary background, Ashara deeply respects his linguistic, arcane, and worldly knowledge and wishes to learn more of and from Jorah. Ashara also enjoys Jorah's personality, specifically his strong sense of justice and morality, as well as his animal companions and the kind treatment he extends to them. Ashara hopes Jorah considers her a friend as much as she considers him one.

Ashara and Kilwin
Ashara bonded to Kilwin quickly as he was the first member of the party to approach Ashara and the first to offer her aid when they met in Port Valor, and her bond was only strengthened after he broke bread with her and helped her discover a love for baked goods; as a result, Ashara is extremely protective of the man despite joking about hiding behind him during combat. As they travelled together and grew closer, everything Ashara has learned about the man has made her cherish him more, as well as appreciate his protectiveness over the party - and by extension, her. After hearing of his childhood in Cowersby, Ashara hopes to meet his adoptive father and learn more about the man and his god, Alethus, especially after witnessing Her intercession when he was afflicted by the basilisk's gaze.

Ashara and Reides
Though they have only been travelling together for a short time Reides is Ashara's closest friend among the party, and perhaps of her entire life. Reides' wealth of knowledge and scholarly background had them become fast friends, and his empathy from having similarly limited experience in the New World has made her feel safe to be open about herself far more and quicker than she thought possible. After learning of his princely origins, Ashara felt embarrassed at having given him a glowing rock ("Rocky") as an introductory gift even though she knows Reides is still the kind, intelligent man he has been since their first meeting. She is deeply fascinated and excited to visit his home, Laverathia, and learn more about her friend and where he hails from; though she knows of his difficult circumstances there, she is ready to lay down her life to ensure her friend's happiness, safety, and freedom.

Ashara and Kain
Upon first meeting, Ashara and Kain did not quite get along; Ashara's knack for Old World arrogance and lack of knowledge on mineral scarcity soured their interaction, and almost ended their blossoming acquaintanceship with accusations of Kain working for an impoverished kingdom. Despite a tenuous start, the two proved fast friends; they worked together to create a more feasible stasis pod design, spent hours together pouring over tomes, and even discussed arcane and alchemical theory prior to the Pog Champions leaving Port Valor. Upon their departure, Ashara asked him on two dates which Kain accepted thinking it was a 'friend thing'. Prior to entering the Exeter, Ashara would often burn her precious Level 3 spell slots to send to Kain to update him about their journeys and to check up on him, often ending her message with a casual 'love you'. During the party's incarceration at Magmaslag Rock, Ashara's certainty in her feelings and ability to waste spell slots were diminished in the face of the violence and suffering they witnessed. Encouraged by Reides and Kilwin's own pursuit of romance, Ashara Sent to Kain to clarify the nature of their relationship and their future together; shortly after, the two exchanged their first "I love you" and agreed to have an official date together upon reuniting.

Ashara and Tinariel
Tinariel Hzlan, or Tiny as Ashara affectionately refers to her, is a person in Ashara's life that dates back to Old World and Ashara's youth. Though mentioned in passing, Ashara did say how they were engaged prior to the Vrinian Empire's collapse and has hinted at how Tinariel's memory is wound that hasn't quite healed for her. When pressed about if the engagement was arranged or out of love, Ashara admitted to love flowing naturally out of their arrangement and that it was a normal thing in the Old World. Their engagement was uncharacteristically long for the Old World, spanning several seasons while several lasted mere weeks before a marriage ceremony, but Ashara has not elaborated on how or why that was the case.

Quotes

 * Name: "Quote".

Trivia

 * Ashara likes pastries but after seeing horrifically moldy bread in Kahzdurga, she is reconsidering her fondness of bread.