Alexia: Another NPC Idea

[Solaufein]

Alexia Kalila Johara Al-Mustafa

Race: Half elf
Class: Thief/Assassin
Alignment: Neutral Evil


STR 14
DEX 18
CON 12
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 08

Background:

Alexia Kalila Johara Al-Mustafa or X as she has been known to go by, claims she's from the city of Calimport from the country of Calimshan. Soft spoken and quiet, she tends to keep to herself and says little to anyone. She is a well trained assassin who can get to anyone no matter how many traps or people are protecting her target. She enjoys the challenges present to get to her target. She's not a braggart but she does excel at being the best she is. Her calling card is leaving a note with an X on the body of her target and all witnesses are generally killed. Alexia does not belong to any guilds, she works alone and takes on contracts to her liking. One such contract is killing Irenicus, which is why she wishes to join your group.

[Solaufein]

Ramblings...


She would have many quests of her own, they are assassin jobs that various people hire her for.

When she takes a contract, she ensures there are no witnesses, except for those who are helping her of course. That means be prepared to take a rep hit. If she is contracted to kill a merchant and his family happens to be home when you arrive, well she will eliminate all of them. Women or children it doesn't make a difference.

She does this for the rush she gets from trying to get to her target or the hunt. Disarming traps, removing of guards, its all a thrill. She doesn't do it for money, she has plenty of it, she is a high priced assassin after all. She does it for the hunt.

[Bifflechips]

I'm trying to think how many people would realistically try to pick a fight with a character with no personal morals like that. Kind of limits the party members that would join with someone like that. Even many of the neutrals wouldn't join with someone that would kill children. I mean, if that's what you would intend to happen.

But it's a cool, interesting idea, nonetheless.

[Solaufein]

I doubt I would set up an encounter where children would be killed by her and your party. I'm just getting the point across on what nonexistent morals she has. She has a job to do, she does it. Collateral damage means nothing to her. What kind of morals would an assassin have any way?

[sdrake]

Fascinating idea, first thought is who hired her to kill Irenicus but obviously that can't be revealed. She's obviously an assassin with few peers to be given a contract to kill a mage as powerful as Irenicus, and
a person who would get such a contract would be very well known to people in high places in western Faerun who need such services.

Would she eventually reveal parts of her past that made her into a remorseless contract killer or would she say little, simply focusing on that contracts given to her?

Would she be SOA only and leave the party after Irenicus is dead?

As for the NPC"s I think only Edwin and Viconia wouldn't have a problem with Alexia, Korgan would be OK
but he has that banter where he says he doesn't harm children, Cernd might to try understand why she is what she is but likely wouldn't succeed, Haer'dalis might find her a fascinating puzzle to unravel, everyone else would have serious problems with her, with the righteous types like Anomen, Keldorn, and Mazzy
maybe having lethal conflicts with Alexia.

Finally, how does Yoshimo figure into this? Maybe the contract to kill Irenicus also included Yoshimo? Maybe Yoshimo has heard of Alexia from her reputation and was hired by Irenicus to kill her?

[Solaufein]

Correct. Who ever hired her to take out Irenicus wouldn't be revealed. It would be bad for business if she gave out her employers.

Actually I have thought of some of her background today. She comes from a wealthy family, her father is involved in some criminal activity. I rival wants him removed so an assassin kills him and anyone else who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Alexia (as a child) hears something going on in her father's study and see him get killed. She runs and hides and watches the rest of her family get killed. She remembers the assassin's face because she we seek him out later on. He belongs to an assassin's guild, she goes there, gets trained by him, does some investigation to find out who it was that hired him. When the time is right she will take care of business with those involved. She realizes that she is good at what she does, she becomes the thing she hates.

She would probably leave shortly when ToB begins. Her job is done, time to move on.

The other NPCs wouldn't know her true background, she is not the type to brag or reveal who she is. Yoshimo may know because of his contacts. She goes by her real name of Alexia in the group not by her alter name of X. Seeing that she is working with partners, being in <CHARNAME>'s party, she can't leave her note with X on it when she takes assassination contracts.

[sdrake]

OK, so Alexia is all about rational, logical, tactical precision thinking combined with complete emotional
suppresion. After witnessing the extent of Irenicus' power in the dungeon (not many can boast of killing
Shadow Thieves by the score) she sees who she is dealing with. Upon meeting the party in the dungeon she sees that this group is after Irenicus as well, and it only makes perfect sense to have allies to hunt and kill someone like Irenicus. So her time in the party to her is simply one long business
transaction, with some other contracts given to her in the meantime. Maintaining good business practices and the thrill of the kill. That's all there is.

Regarding her background: So in the process of doing a good deed (seeking justice for her family) she discovered she had some talent as an assassin, developed a hunger for the thrill of her work, and was consumed by all of this into becoming a precise, killing machine. Excellent irony.

Would her mission to avenge her family be a quest in the game? Instead of the usual speeches of "why did you kill my family, how could you?" she's more likely been contemplating some advanced torture
techniques for those involved. Any emotional pain in her life as been buried under countless layers of cool, calm precision.

OK, so the NPC's don't know of her and she does nothing to make them suspicious. But when she takes a contract that when the conflicts begin. Maybe a charismatic PC helping Alexia can spin things that make it look more favourable.

[Bifflechips]

sdrake, that would be a good idea... it'd make good use of a charisma modifier to try to... calm the more goody NPCs down or something. I like the sound of that.

[Solaufein]

That would be an idea, the person who contracted her family's death is still around and she finds him. She surgically dismantles his organization and finely meets him and tortures him slowly to death.

She's like the terminator, she is unemotional, can't be reasoned with, can't be bargained and will not stop until her target is killed. Once a contract is accepted its carried out.

[Raven]

I like her already. I would surely play her.

[sdrake]

No emotions, no morals, not after power, no boasting or arrogance, aquisition of wealth is irrelevant, no addictions to vices and/or pleasures, any trace of humanity completely eradicated, this kind of evil is perhaps the most deadly. Even more, the targets are killed so fast that by the time the bodies are found it way to too late to even begin to comprehend where the killer went.

So Alexia only really pays attention to her relationship with the PC, as she logically concludes she needs his/her help to seal the Irenicus contract. All the NPC's she could care less about, and only monitors them for potential threats. So her having no banters with the NPC's (except for maybe some lethal conflicts)
would fit her personality. She might have several talks with the PC (getting info on Irenicus, tactical advice, etc.) and interject something when a big party decision is being made, but is not going to say much else.

Perhaps Alexia should be like Saerileth in that if she is kicked out of the party she is gone for good. She has a MAJOR contract to fulfill and doesn't have time to wait around at the PC's leisure.

As an ultra elite assassin with few if any peers Alexia should have some awesome custom items that she has aquired in her career. A +5 short sword with a double poison rate maybe? Or perhaps leather armor
that boosts all thieving skills massively and has very low AC? I think she should have boots of speed at the very least.

Anyway, I'm very excited about this mod and will post more ramblings as they come. 

[Raven]

Awesome.

[Solaufein]

The crossbow is her main weapon and she has specialized ammo that a seller found in the Shadow Thief compound will have.

[sdrake]

A few more sporadic thoughts:
What is Alexia's relationship or connection to the Shadow Thieves? They obviously have some sort of business arrangement with Alexia getting the special ammo inside the compound. It seems the Shadow Thieves, being unable to bring someone of Alexia's talent into their ranks, then seeing lucrative contracts go to this one-woman killing machine instead of their top assassins, would want Alexia dead ASAP. They've come to some understanding I guess (after too many failed assassination attempts the Shadow Thieves did the if-you-can-beat-join-em).

What is Alexia's position on joining Bodhi or the Shadow Thieves? Perhaps she welcomes Bodhi's wiping out of the Shadow Thieves as this eliminates some of her competition, and she can get the special ammo in other places. Or her business arrangement with the Shadow Thieves is beneficial, and while they are her competition, they also want Irencius (the PC, Alexia, and the Shadow Thieves goals are all aligned).

Thanks CoM Solaufein for your mod releases over the years, looking forward to this one.

[Solaufein]

I haven't forgotten this. I've been preoccupied with other things at the moment.