Red Rivers

“You did good out there, no stink of cowardice on you. That’s good. I’m Red Rivers, yes, that Red Rivers. No, I'm not signing autographs right now. Here to offer you a job. I want to do more of that monster killin’ business, but for me. I’ll train you up and supply you, and with any luck you’ll survive and earn that fancy title of Riftgaurd and I’ll get a royal commission. That way the City’s saved, you’re set for life and I get my army. Everybody gets what they want. Deal?”

• Ambitious: She wants more: land, armies, renown and fame.
• Aggressive: In her mind, solutions start with the sword and end with the hilt.
• Impulsive: She doesn’t wait patiently, doesn’t ask for permission, strikes first, and asks questions if they survive.
• Outspoken: She will speak her mind, even when it breaks alliances and upsets nobles.

Red Rivers sees the Melding as a gift-wrapped opportunity:

• The Riftguard are a blade to be wielded.
• Her ultimate aim? Amass glory, coin, and power enough to raise another army that is loyal to her alone.
• She dreams of a march across Renna, banners dripping with Riftspawn blood, her enemies kneeling.
• She wants to find a husband or wife but struggles with monogamy.

• Ambition
• Greed

Red Rivers is, and always has been, the center of her world. She has a big personality and feels that she has a higher calling in life. Her heart’s true desire is to rule, and command all of Renna and she is willing to step over or break anything or anyone that gets in the way of her desires.

• Lover - Red is both a fighter and a lover and she has had many heated romances in her time on this world.
• Violently Angry - Red Rivers has earned her reputation as a killer and powderkeg She has little patience and has been known to get physically violent when angered. To date, she has killed over 37 individuals in personal duals and emotional outbursts.
• Rhabdophobia - Red has a severe fear of magic and spellcasters, particularly conjuration magic.

• Can teach Warrior or Rogue player characters 1 Tier I Maneuver before each Encounter
• • These are battle-tested, aggressive, and possibly unorthodox techniques.
  • She may also spar with characters directly, dealing real damage, but teaching them more techniques each time.
  • Perfect for melee-focused PCs looking to stay lethal and sharp.

• Acts as the leader of a mercenary army when Portaland needs aid and is willing to pay for it.
• Her “court” is a war tent, full of maps, sharpened weapons, gaudy throw pillows and mercenaries who fear her more than the monsters.
• Sometimes rides her warhorse(named Donkey) through the city for patrols, in a gesture that is half-symbolic, half-provocation.

• Use short, clipped sentences. Curse often, interrupts people frequently and hates cowardice.
• If a PC questions her judgment, she might challenge them to a duel to remind them who the warlord is.
• If PCs fail to act, she may take her own forces to do it in her own bloodier way that doesn't avoid collateral damage.

Red Rivers is built like a weapon, with broad-shoulders, a scarred face, and a muscular body coiled with tension. Her boots hit the ground like a war drum when she walks. Her skin bears the sun-darkened tone of a field veteran, with visible old blade scars. Her eyes are a fierce, stormy gray. She has a fiery personality and way of speaking. She is blunt and to the point. 

Her voice is low gravely, commanding, rasped by smoke and shouting. She keeps her long tangled mass of red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, streaked with silver from age.

Red Rivers dresses for war first, second, comfort last. Her clothing is a calculated blend of intimidation and practicality:

• Armor: Custom-fitted half-plate spiked at the shoulders, worn openly even at court. The design is practical, yet feminine. The garb of someone interested in attracting a mate or who is confident in their body.
• Color Scheme: Blood red, ash black, rusted bronze. Her cloak (if worn) is ragged but symbolic.
• Symbol: A stylized river of blood etched or stitched down one arm or her cloak.
• Boots: Reinforced steel-shod boots that clink with each step.
• Weapons: Always visible. She never disarms. Usually wears a massive blade on her back and a curved dagger on her hip, both clearly used and blood-worn.
• Jewelry: One or two trophies, a ring taken from a rival, or a bracelet made from a wyvern’s fang.

Red Rivers is a woman who knows what she wants, and gets it, or takes it as the situation demands. She’s loud, proud, and unapologetic, drawing every eye the moment she enters a room.

Her presence is gravitational. People stand straighter when she’s approaches and bow when she raises her voice. She commands through fear and admiration in equal measure, and she never asks, she demands.

• She Was Once a Cultist: Long ago, before she was known as Red Rivers, she fell in with a radical group that would later evolve into the Pinnacle. She left when the group showed her an entity that resided on the other side of the portals. It reached into her mind and she has never been the same since. While she left many decades ago, the brand burned onto her shoulder still glows faintly when the portals open.
• She Loves Poetry: Hidden in a false-bottomed crate beneath her bedroll is a leather-bound journal. It’s filled with handwritten war poems, elegies, and sonnets, some of which mention a woman named Del. No one alive knows who Del was.
• She’s Afraid of Magic: Despite her bravado, Red Rivers harbors a deep fear of dimensional magic, especially portals. She saw what was on the other side of the portals… and it was hungry.