The Time Heist arc centred on two teams of characters. This page contains tropes for both player character teams featured in the arc.
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The Rattlesnakes
A gang of mercenaries, thieves, assassins and general criminals contracted by the Konsortium to steal a compass from the estate of Lord and Lady Zeitrich.
In General
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Their team name pokes fun at the fact that each of their names starts with an 'S'.
- Anti-Hero Team: Occasionally crossing over into villain territory. Salumax is a mercenary with a fanatical obsession with unearthing the secrets of the Vigil; Stubby is an affable but dangerous brute who can crush an enemy's head with one swing; Stefano is a self-serving gambler and opportunist who abandoned his team at the earliest opportunity; and Sigmund is an unrepentant contract killer with a view to obtain only more power. Even Sabian, the most (or only) morally upright member of the group, is still a criminal and thief who plies a young man with drugs in order to rifle through his pockets.
- Badass Crew: All five are hardened criminals in a High Fantasy Crapsack World, which is a natural environment for producing badasses.
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Character Alignment: To reflect their selfish natures, everyone in the party is almost uniformly Chaotic Neutral, save for the Chaotic Good Sabian and Lawful Evil Sigmund (see Token Evil Teammate below). - Fire-Forged Friends: Largely averted. Despite everything they go through at Zeitrich Manse, most of the team's internal alliances ultimately collapse during their escape.
- Indy Ploy: Their plan to raid the Zeitrich estate devolves into this.
- No Honor Among Thieves: The Rattlesnakes are constantly suspicious of each other, and each is working to accomplish their own goals. The moment the heist is complete, they scatter and abandon each other to their fates.
- Only in It for the Money: All of them are after the Konsortium's reward bar Salumax, who wants the compass for his own reasons. Sigmund's exodus with Salumax is predicated on the latter's promise of riches in the Chronovault.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: While none of them are particularly scrupulous anyway, their victims during the heist are confined to the corrupt Zeitrich family, their sadistic staff, and the equally-violent rival burglars.
- Hans Zeitrich's brutal garrotting and throat-slashing is less horrifying when you learn that he was planning to assassinate his brother-in-law.
- The Rattlesnakes' most brutal kill goes to Sabian's disembowellment/decapitation of Morlov, a deranged fleshrending wizard who had just melted Stefano's face off.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: A drow cat burglar, a purple tiefling time-warlock, a 3' 2" halfling fugitive, a massive bugbear war priest and a shadow-walking assassin who can alter his appearance at will.
- Recruiting the Criminal: Each of them is wanted in at least one nation. Justified in that the job they're hired for is a heist, which plays to their natural skills.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: While the group works well together, their alliance is unstable at best, and not one of them truly trusts the other.
- Uncertain Doom: After Salumax and Sigmund flee Zeitrich Manse, the other three are left to varyingly uncertain fates.
- Sabian has vanished into the city to meet Leira as promised, but is still afflicted with maiden's shade poison.
- Stefano has abandoned the party and fled the manor with his money, searching for the next ship out of Kastalav.
- The Darkened Temple revealed that he survived and made it to Ferin, where he runs a casino named The Emerald of Gorgarten
- Stubby has been left time-frozen in the middle of the road outside the Manse, at the mercy of Drabscallow the Butler.
The Master Thief
Sabian Hearthfire
Played by: Luke Potter
- Race: DrowClass: Rogue (Thief)Alignment: Chaotic goodAppearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
Born in the Sunless Lands, Sabian Hearthfire has lived as a slave, an urchin, a pickpocket and a hired knife, but he’s never truly abandoned his principles. On the run from his enemies in the south, Sabian has landed in Kastalav, where it’s all he can do to survive amidst the Kingdom of Witches’ labyrinthine politics and murderous criminal underbelly. Sabian yearns for the freedom to live his life in peace, but in the meantime, his uniquely proficient skills in cat burglary have been called upon by the Konsortium: Kastalav’s largest criminal syndicate.
- Alone with the Psycho: Finds himself trapped in Drabscallow's office with the Butler himself, narrowly escaping detection by hiding under the bed.
- Back from the Dead: He was fatally poisoned by Lady Zeitrich's trap, before being killed and revived by Stubby.
- Back Stab: Courtesy of his Sneak Attack feature, which allows him to deal even more damage to an enemy if his allies are flanking it.
- Badass in Distress: After being knocked out by Lady Zeitrich's poison trap, he has to be carried by Stubby.
- Combat Pragmatist: Sabian favours rapid hit-and-run tactics in battle, making him exceptionally hard to hit.
- The Determinator: Not even being poisoned and stabbed to death can keep him down.
- Designated Point Man: Thanks to his natural aptitude for stealth, he is sent alone to find the missing eye that unlocks the secret door in the Zeitrichs' library.
- Devious Daggers: Sabian's weapon of choice longside his shortsword.
- Dual Wielding: A feat of his, wielding a shortsword in one hand and a dagger in the other.
- Gentleman Thief: A chivalrous cat burglar who hasn't abandoned his principles despite the environment he works in.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: The only Good Cop in the group.
- Off with His Head!: What he does to Morlov.
- Pet the Dog: Diverts himself from the mission to free Leira, a young, terrified maid from the manor.
- Really 700 Years Old: Sabian appears to be in his mid-30s, but is actually in his early 200s.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Stefano's Red. He is far more cool and collected, while Stefano is a reckless opportunist.
- Resurrection Gambit: After being fatally poisoned by maiden's shade and with no restoration spells to cleanse him, Stubby allowed Sabian to die so that he could magically revive him. His revival quelled the poison long enough for Sabian to get up and fight.
- The Sneaky Guy: The most stealthy member of the Rattlesnakes, and is therefore deployed to scout areas, sneak into hostile territory, pick locks and identify traps.
- Unfinished Business: With Salumax and Sigmund, who stole the Chronovault compass and left Sabian and Stubby to deal with the chaos in their wake.
- Unscrupulous Hero: The only one of the five that can really be called a 'hero,' save perhaps Stubby. He has some shady methods, but he ultimately wants to do some good in the world.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems to share this dynamic with Stefano, his fellow rogue. The pair don't really trust each other, but partner up to steal from Nikolai Zeitrich and run point together in the mansion. Ultimately subverted when Stefano flees the manor with his money, leaving Sabian for dead.
The Timekeeper
Salumax
Played by: Brandon Hattam
- Race: Tiefling (Levistus-bloodline)Class: Warlock of the VigilAlignment: Chaotic neutralAppearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
- Alternate Timeline: Can view these using his hourglass (see Chronoscope below).
- Ambiguous Situation: Thanks to his constantly refreshed amnesia, even he doesn't understand his true nature.
- At the climax of the arc, the Observer reveals that Salumax is 'the sixth iteration,' and is ultimately destined to become the leader of the Vigil. However, it is not clear what he has to do to achieve that end. The Observer transports Salumax into a cabin without memory of his past or his name, but it's unclear which point in history he has been sent, or even which timeline.
- Amnesiac Hero: Salumax's earliest memory is waking up alone in a cabin, clutching a grimoire to his chest. As revealed in Prelude to a Heist, his dreams of 'The Entombed', a mysterious frozen creature who addresses him as a hated relative, bewilder and terrify him. It's the reason he doesn't talk about himself much.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Salumax's indigo skin is very distinctive in a nation mainly populated by humans.
- An Ice Person: Possibly due to his infernal bloodline, Salumax has a natural resistance to cold, and likes to utilise ice magic against his foes.
- Been There, Shaped History: Not yet, but he will eventually become the leader of the Vigil, who wield godlike power over the forces of time.
- Break the Haughty: After Sigmund and Pigeon Rustle enter one of his lost memories in the Chronovault's Hall of Confluence, his normally stoic demeanour is seriously shaken.
- Casual Time Travel: A minor example, but Salumax is able to alter time to effectively teleport. When he falls from the Zeitrichs' trellis, he simply turns his hourglass and transports himself inside.
- Chronoscope: His hourglass of green sand worn around his neck (a symbol of his pact with the Vigil) allows him to see into the past and future, though only to a limit. It also seems to be able to view alternate timelines, as it shows Drabscallow telekinetically choking Stefano in the burning trophy room, an event which never comes to pass.
- Clean Cut: Slices one of Drabscallow's imps cleanly in half with his scythe.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: He began as an amnesiac outcast but will eventually become the time-bending leader of the Vigil.
- Horned Humanoid: As a tiefling, he has a pair of horns that curl up from his forehead. An ethereal green eye appears between them when he is gazing through time.
- The Leader: Of the Seekers of the Vigil. Salumax's drive also distinguishes him as the unofficial leader of the Rattlesnakes during the heist. This is likely because his desires vastly transcend the money.
- Master of Disguise: Not to the same extent as Sigmund, but Salumax can also alter his appearance at will using magic.
- Mysterious Past: Exaggerated and justified. Thanks to his amnesia, even Salumax himself doesn't know where he comes from.
- The Only Believer: Whereas the others partake in the heist for more cynical reasons, Salumax has no interest in gold. Instead, he wants the compass for himself, and will stop at nothing to get it.
- Only One Name: He doesn't appear to have a surname.
- Prophet Eyes: Gets these when peering into the past or future.
- Semi-Divine: Salumax is a tiefling, so is connected by blood to the Nine Hells.
- Sinister Scythe: Wields one of these in melee combat.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Sigmund after escaping the mansion with him. There is enormous mutual distrust between the two, and their alliance seems like it could break at any moment.
- Third Eye: An eye of ethereal green fire appears between his horns when using his hourglass to look through time.
- Time Master: Already this to an extent, being a warlock trained in the art of chronomancy, and is only seeking to become more powerful.
- Time Stands Still: Can magically inflict this on others, using the power of the Vigil to 'fracture' time and temporally paralyse his target. However, the frozen target becomes incorporeal and cannot be damaged.
- Whatevermancy: Practises chronomancy (time magic), an ancient and secret art that has largely been forgotten.
- Would Hurt a Child: When the heist is going south and the Rattlesnakes happen upon a defenceless teenage maid in the Zeitrichs' kitchen, Salumax momentarily moves to silence her. Luckily, Sabian stops him. It's unclear if he'd have ultimately gone through with it, though.
The Faceless Man
Sigmund 'the White'
Played by: Ben White
- Race: ChangelingClass: Monk (Way of Shadow)/Sorcerer (Shadow)Alignment: Lawful evilAppearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
- Barefisted Monk: Downplayed. Sigmund usually fights hand-to-hand, even against Hans Zeitrich's hulking shield guardian construct, but utilises a wider range of weapons (such as a garrote wire and daggers) when conducting assassinations.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Demonstrated to great effect in his treatment of the Seekers. Just after he ingratiated himself and urged Salumax to open up to him, it was revealed that he'd been betraying them all along.
- Catch and Return: His reflexes are so good that he can catch and redirect a dagger thrown at his head.
- Capture and Replicate: What he does to Alek Steppenfowl.
- Color Motifs: White, due to his natural form as a bald, milk-white, near-featureless humanoid.
- This is particularly fitting considering his changeling abilities, as white is the combination of the whole colour spectrum.
- Consummate Liar: Part and parcel of being a changeling. Sigmund is a silver-tongued master of disguise who deliberately uses misleading or false information to manipulate the Rattlesnakes into achieving his goals.
- In particular, his lie that Lady Attaline's death will cause the contents of the vault to teleport away was a crucial factor in the completion of his secondary contract.
- Dead Person Impersonation: When impersonating Hans Zeitrich, whom he has just killed.
- Differently Dressed Duplicates: One drawback of Sigmund's changeling ability is that he cannot copy people's clothing, forcing him to kidnap Lord Steppenfowl and steal his outfit in order to accurately impersonate him.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Changelings are said to be born of a confluence of human and doppelganger blood.
- Humanshifting: Sigmund's main power.
- Glamour Failure: Downplayed, but when Sigmund is punched by Hans Zeitrich's shield guardian, his face briefly ripples through countless faces before stabilising.
- Karma Houdini: After murdering the Zeitrich family patriarch and betraying the Konsortium, he manages to make it up to both parties by handing the Seekers of the Vigil over to Nikolai and the Reaper, escaping with all of the Zeitrich loot with some treasure from the Chronovault as a bonus. He's also getting paid one hundred thousand kronen for completing the assassination on Hans. He gets away with it all.
- Kill and Replace: Sigmund's primary technique. His changeling abilities allow him to flawlessly mimic the appearance of anyone he has seen, and he utilises this to terrifying effect as an assassin.
- Did this to Hans Zeitrich, whom he murdered and impersonated to gain access to Lady Attaline's study.
- As revealed in Prelude to a Heist, he also did this to Count Richmar, ruler of Castle Izolat.
- Lightning Bruiser: Can move extremely fast even when not teleporting through shadows, and can hit up to four times in a round.
- Manipulative Bastard: He ingratiates himself with the Seekers of the Vigil, only to prevent them from figuring out he'd betrayed them.
- Only in It for the Money: His partnership with Salumax after the schism of the Rattlesnakes is predicated on this.
- Professional Killer: A self-employed assassin who takes high-profile contracts for exorbitant sums of money.
- Red Baron: Almost word-for-word: 'The Pale Baron'
- Supernatural Martial Arts: Empowers his monk fighting style with shadow magic.
- Token Evil Teammate: All of the Rattlesnakes have their dark sides, but Sigmund the White stands out as the worst of the bunch. A shapeshifting contract killer who hobknobs with the elite by day and then slits their throats when the price is right, often by impersonating their loved ones.
- Sigmund truly earns this title by the end of the arc, betraying the Seekers of the Vigil - a cohesive team of close companions - in order to escape with the money and gain immunity to reprisal from the Konsortium.
The Muscle
Stubby "The Friendly"
Played by: Felix Gunstone
- Race: BugbearClass: Cleric (War)Alignment: Chaotic neutralAppearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
- Barbarian Longhair: His shaggy look goes nicely with his physical might.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He may be a mentally handicapped sweetheart, but if you provoke him he will carpet the floor with your brains.
- The Big Guy: Fulfils this role in the group, standing at least a head taller than everyone else. Not to mention his weight...
- Blood Knight: Downplayed. Stubby is far from a bloodthirsty individual, but he enjoys what he is good at, and he is very good at destroying things.
- Book Dumb: He has to count on his fingers, but has a knack for survival and a surprising tactical awareness.
- Crutch Character: Stubby is the only healer in the group. Paired with his brute force exceeding any of the others, he definitely qualifies as this.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Morlov and his gang were awful and in the way, but Stubby's gleeful obliteration of Druigg Dyavol's skull is pretty ruthless.
- Dumb Muscle: His entire raison d'être, brought along as a warrior and healer who won't ask too many questions.
- Gentle Giant: No, his nickname is not ironic.
- Handicapped Badass: He took a head injury in his youth that gave him severe and permanent brain damage, but it has done nothing to impair his skill in combat.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his head-injury-induced stupidity, Stubby displays quite a sophisticated grasp of strategy at points.
- Hulk Speak: Slips into this on occasion, especially with more complicated words. For example, he translates 'lepidopterologist' into 'butterfly woman'.
- Street Smart: Worked as a bouncer in the backalleys of Gorgarten, so he knows how to survive in a Wretched Hive.
- Unfinished Business: With Salumax and Sigmund, who not only stole the Chronovault compass and abandoned him at the mansion, but froze him in time just feet from the furious Zeitrich estate.
- War God: Worships Bellukk, goblin god of war, but isn't particularly devout. His 'worship' comes in the form of healing his friends and smashing his enemies.
- Your Head Asplode: Is fond of inflicting this with his massive warhammer.
The Wild Card
Stefano Cartavani
Played by: Joe Monk
- Race: Halfling (Lightfoot)Class: Rogue (Swashbuckler)Alignment: Chaotic neutralAppearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Don't be fooled by his easy charm - he'll happily abandon you as long as his pockets are full.
- Con Man: Operated as one of these in his home city of Ferin, where he used weighted dice and scented cards to scam fellow gamblers out of their money.
- Eye Scream: Morlov uses fleshwright magic to melt Stefano's eyelids shut, forcing Sabian to cut them back open with a dagger. Without painkillers of any kind. Yikes.
- The Face: Fancies himself as this thanks to his rakish charisma.
- Facial Horror: Ends up on the receiving end of Morlov's fleshrending magic, which melts the flesh of his face to the point where he is blinded.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Downplayed. While he gets on generally well with the others (especially Sabian), he quickly earns the groups ire with his continuousnote attempts to flee with the loot the moment combat erupts.
- The Gambler: Stefano's defining characteristic. He's an opportunist who sees life as one big game of chance.
- The Gambling Addict: To the point of experiencing genuine withdrawal symptoms. His debts have gotten so bad that he's been chased out of his home city.
- Greed: His primary motivator.
- Only in It for the Money: His only concern is how much treasure he can stuff into his pockets. Once he has what he came for, he flees at the earliest opportunity.
- Opportunistic Bastard: The moment he acquires the Eye of Izumrud from Valerya Zeitrich, he immediately begins scanning for opportunities to escape with the treasure, and ultimately abandons the party when all hell breaks loose.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After getting the Eye of Izumrud, he tries three times to pull this. He succeeds the third time.
- Trapped by Gambling Debts: How Stefano is roped into the heist. His home city of Ferin is unsafe for him thanks to his debts, but the Konsortium enticed Stefano with a one hundred thousand kronen reward. Not to mention the prize Stefano is really interested in: the Eye of Izumrud, a priceless emerald worn by Valerya Zeitrich, which Stefano plans to sell in order to pay off his debts.
The Seekers of the Vigil
A team of outcasts and exiles who came together to hunt down the secrets of an ancient cabal of time mages. Led by Salumax, the team is also joined by Sigmund. In General
Tropes about the Seekers of the Vigil in general.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- The team's dynamic as a whole is very different to the Rattlesnakes. Four of them have been working together for years and share a common goal, whereas the Rattlesnakes were thrown together from various corners of the world and were divided by their separate motivations.
- Where Stefano was a debonair
Magnificent Bastard motormouth who was Only in It for the Money, Mormenos is a deadly serious, unsmiling man who is desperately seeking to prevent an apocalypse. - Stubby the Friendly was Dumb Muscle without magic, whose first solution to a problem is to smash it. Pigeon Rustle, on the other hand, is a cunning spellcaster who - as the Seekers' designated healer - mixes frontline combat with a support role.
- Fire-Forged Friends: The Seekers, bar Sigmund, are held together by their mutual, singular goal and the hardships they've endured to reach it.
Erith Cazarian
Erith Cazarian
Played by: Brandon Hattam/Felix Gunstone (in-combat) | Jack Mackay
- Race: Dragonborn (white)Class: Fighter (Echo Knight)Appearances: Time Heist (Prelude to a Heist)
- The Lancer: To Salumax. She's more cynical and suspicious than Salumax, and acts as a tempering influence to his The Determinator tendencies.
- True Companions: With Salumax. While the Seekers are all close, Erith and Salumax have been travelling together the longest, and are fiercely loyal to each other.
- Uncertain Doom: While the other Seekers are inside the Vault, she takes cover somewhere outside, and it's unclear if Sigmund caught up to her after his betrayal.
Mormenos
Mormenos
Played by: Joe Monk
- Race: Tiefling (Baalzebul-bloodline)Class: Bard (College of Spirits)Appearances: Time Heist
- Bad Powers, Good People: Mormenos is a well-meaning person who uses a skull as his spellcasting focus, can breathe toxic gas, and wields the voices of the dead in combat.
- I See Dead People: Since his meeting with a Kochevni witch, Mormenos has been cursed to hear dead people for all time.
- Magnetic Medium: He can commune with the dead, and they follow him everywhere he goes.
- The Paranoiac: After having premonitions of the apocalypse in his dreams, Mormenos has become terrified of his prophecy being fulfilled. The constant stream of ghostly voices in his head doesn't help his fraying mental state.
- Sanity Slippage: Is constantly teetering on the edge of this thanks to the unshakeable voices that never leave him alone. His recurrent visions of a coming apocalypse do not help.
- Signature Move: His stinking cloud spell (see Stink Bomb below).
- Soul Power: His primary ability. He can draw power from the voices of the dead and the tales they whisper to him.
- Stink Bomb: Mormenos' signature spell is a cloud of foul, odorous gas that can incapacitate his foes.
- Whispering Ghosts: This is what the inside of his head sounds like. It starts to seriously affect him.
Pigeon Rustle
Pigeon Rustle
Played by: Felix Gunstone
- Race: KenkuClass: Druid (Circle of Dreams)Appearances: Time Heist
- Beware the Silly Ones: Pigeon Rustle is a sweet, short little bird-lady with difficulty understanding social cues. She can also transform into a vicious bear, and can use its claws and teeth to great effect.
- Brief Accent Imitation: As kenku can only talk via mimicry of phrases they've heard throughout their lives, Pigeon Rustle does this rapid-fire.
- Bird People: Pigeon Rustle is a kenku, a.k.a. a raven-person.
- Healing Hands: As a druid, she has a natural affinity for healing.
- Magic Staff: Her staff is her spellcasting focus.
- Shapeshifting: She can transform into various animal forms, but seems to favour a bear.
- Shapeshifting Heals Wounds: By transforming into other, healthy creatures when wounded, she effectively extends her own durability. Only when she drops (or loses) her animal form can damage be done to her natural form.
- Voice Changeling: Kenku do not have the vocal apparatus for normal speech; instead, they communicate by perfectly mimicking voices and sentences they've heard in the past.
