"The time has come. The Kemi Kingdom is weakened by civil war and the the people are divided. With princess Rhônda we have the once in a lifetime opportunity to help someone to the throne of Khefu who shares the goals of the Black Alliance. But we can't appear as conquerors like 30 years ago. This time wo come as liberators."
Ravenwar is an adventure module for The Dark Eye TTRPG. In it, the Al'Anfanian Empire attack the neighboring Kemi Kingdom to help the exiled princess Rhônda take the throne. The players are part of a specialist group called the Ravenclaws meant to infiltrate and sabotage the enemies defenses.
In General
General
- Backstory: What the characters did previous to joining the Ravenclaws.
- Everyone Has Standards: While she Really Gets Around, Zephirina won't sleep with someone who she knows has or had an STD.
- Happy-Ending Massage: Downplayed. Takate massages Zephirina, a pleasurable experience for both of them.
- Ignore the Fanservice: Takate is much more reluctant in ogling Zephirina. Ironic, given that she is his Love Interest.
- It's Probably Nothing: Pretty much the reaction the guards of Quinsay have, even after both Hieronymus and Zephirina have failed their stealth checks.
- Massage of Love: Downplayed. More Massage of Attraction, as it's a bit early in Takates and Zephirinas relationship to talk of love.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Averted. Interestingly and much to Boroneos dislike, when the conversation turns to this, he finds out, that both Hieronymus and Zephirina are much more self-serving.
- Patrolling Mook: The guards patrolling the palisade of Quinsay at night.
- Pre-Climax Climax: Zephirina uses this as a ways to convince Takate to sleep with her before the invasion.
- Public Bathhouse Scene: After the four of them first meet after being recruited, they all visit a bathhouse together.
- Raging Stiffie: Takate quite enjoys massaging Zephirina.
- Sex in a Shared Room: Averted. The main reason cited why Takate and Zephirina haven't yet got it on. Both their families are poor and their houses provide no privacy, same goes for the tent they stay in during the training.
- Sleeps With Anyone But You: Zephirina likes to sleep around, but she refuses Boroneo not once but twice. Justified in that he had previously told her, that he once contracted an STD, which unsurprisingly grossed her out.
- STD Immunity: Averted Boroneo tells Zephirina shortly after their first meeting, that he once contracted the Horasian Illness (The Dark Eyes equivalent of an STD). Unsurprisingly, she is much less interested in him after that.
- War Crime Subverts Heroism: Some soldiers of the Al'Anfanian Army feel justified in mistreating the captured Kemi citizens.
- War Is Hell: The campaign doesn't shy away from the more serious implications of war.
The Group
In General
- Anti-Hero Team: Not all of them, Takate is definitely the Token Good Teammate, only joining the war to help his family. Boroneo however is a secret agent for the Middenrealm, Hieronymus is a gladiator indebted to the Paligans and Zephirina is a ruthless mercenary.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Boroneo grew up on the streets without ever knowing his parents.
- Takate comes from a city that was attacked by the Al'Anfanian Empire and his father enslaved. His mother moved his family to Al'Anfa to find and free him.
- Averted however with Zephirina. Even though people tend to assume, that her stutter must come from psychological baggage and she grew up relatively poor, her family is actually very close and loving.
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Character Alignment: All over the place:- Boroneo is Chaotic Good.
- Takate is Neutral Good.
- Zephirina is Lawful Neutral.
- Combat, Diplomacy, Stealth:
- Boroneo is all for Diplomacy and Stealth.
- Hieronymus is Combat oriented.
- So is Zephirina.
- Takate is somewhere between Combat and Stealth.
- Dump Stat: Different for everyone, so far we know:
- Boroneo with his Strength score of 9. To put this in perspective, a score of 12 is considered average.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief:
- Boroneo is both the thief, being a secret agent and a mage, because of his innate magical talent.
- Zephirina as the fighter, being a skilled swordswoman and brawler.
- Manipulative Bastard: Boroneo is quite the manipulator.
- Meaningful Name:
- Boroneo name is conspicuously common, giving a clue as to it being an alias. Which it in fact is. His true name, Answin Aurentian von Löwenthal, is obviously some kind of noble title.
- Hieronymus The Pale Reaper is an obvious reference to both his appearance, being an albino and his skills in the arena.
- Takates surname, Elburumi, might be derived from the city Elburum, pointing to his Aranian heritage.
- Multinational Team:
- Boroneo is from the Middenrealm.
- Takate from Sylla, a harbor town in Meridiana.
- Zephirina is a citizen of Al'Anfa.
- Punch-Clock Hero: All of them are in it not because of conviction, but either for the money or because their employer told them to.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni:
- Zephirina is the Red Oni, being extroverted and fun-loving.
- Boroneo is the Blue Oni, being very calculating and shrewd in his approach to things.
- Running Gag: Zephirina giving up halfway through the traditional greeting every time, as her stuttering makes it hard to finish.
- Speech-Impeded Love Interest: Zephirina is this for Takate.
- The Squad: They are a special operations squad.
- The Squadette: Zephirina as the only female.
- Token Religious Teammate: Averted Multiple members are shown to be religious. Boroneo sacrifices to the gods and even carries around pictures of saints. Hieronymus believes in Kor, the god of gladiators. Takate also prays to Obaran.
- Token Trio: Boroneo is a white male, Takate is the Token Minority and Zephirina is the only female.
Boroneo Treufreund / Answin Aurentian von Löwenthal
Boroneo Treufreund
- Race: HumanCulture: MiddenrealmProfession: KGIA AgentRank: Corporal
- Chaotic Good: To say that Boroneo has a peculiar moral codex is an understatement. He has no qualms about giving away goods that he was paid to retrieve, but he is also the first to give money and assistance to the less fortunate and seems to be quite religious.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He follows his own set of morals, but will give assistance where he feels it's needed and/or earned.
- Mysterious Past:The backstory he gives is actually a cover for the facto that he is a member of the KGIA, the Middenrealms Secret Service.
- Parental Abandonment: For whatever reasons, his parents weren't around when he was growing up.
- The Face: As the one with the highest rank.
- The Smart Guy: Definitely the smartest member of the team.
- The Sneaky Guy: Since Boroneo isn't particularly strong, this is his preferred approach if manipulation is out of the question.
- Secret Identity: He is actually an agent for the KGIA and uses the alias Boroneo Treufreund instead of his real name Answin Aurentian von Löwenthal
- Special Person, Normal Name: Boroneo is the aventurian equivalent to Kevin, being named after a popular god. It's implied this might be a case of Mr. Smith.
Takate Elburumi
Takate Elburumi
- Race: HumanCulture: South AventurianProfession: RangerRank: Soldier
- Army Scout: He is the most knowledgeable about the dangers of the jungle.
- Token Good Teammate: The most objectively good person in the squad.
- Token Minority: As the only black man in the group. He is actually of mixed heritage, with his father being an Uthulu and his mother originating from Arania.
- Wild Hair: Black, long and curly.
Zephirina Lupinez
Zephirina Lupinez
- Race: HumanCulture: South AventurianProfession: MercenaryRank: Soldier
- Action Girl: Comes with being a mercenary by profession.
- Blood Knight: She really likes fighting.
- Book Dumb: Justified in that she never received a formal education.
- Braids of Action: Wears her long hair braided and pulled into a knot.
- Character Alignment: Lawful Neutral.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and brown eyes.
- Good Bad Girl: She really gets around and isn't ashamed of it.
- Handicapped Badass: Can barely get two words out without stuttering, but is a terrifying opponent.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Likes celebrations and drinking in equal measure.
- Never Gets Drunk: Averted Though she can drink a lot, she still gets tipsy. Interestingly stutters less when drunk.
- Never Learned to Read: Played Straight Never received a formal education.
- Really Gets Around: Loves sex and isn't picky about who she has it with.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Has no issues with being seen naked.
- Speech Impediment: Stutters severely.
- The Charmer: Not exactly a charming conversationalist, but otherwise very open and affectionate to the people she's interested in and hard to dislike.
- The Lad-ette: She enjoys fighting, drinking and sex as much as the next guy.
- The Hedonist: Besides money and her family, Zephirina only cares for having fun.
- The Medic: Downplayed. While her primary ability is her fighting skill, she is quite capable of treating wounds sustained in battle.
- The Tease: She's certainly fond of walking around naked.
