HeroMachine Character Portrait Creator

Once a well known and respected zoologist, Cassandra Combs (Cassie to her friends) was ostracized by the scientific community when she started espousing theories about cryptids and mythical creatures being real. What her former colleagues didn't realise was that Cassie was right, she had actually stumbled across real-life monsters. Well, she'd fallen through a portal into a fae pocket dimension and got stuck there for a few weeks, but it's close enough, especially when you're having to spend a week with a cù-sìth. Either way, she dedicated her life to studying these new discoveries, hitherto ignored by science, and immersed herself into the world of paranormal research. It was during this time that she met and became friends with Dr. Richard Mays, who shared her passion for studying the supernatural, though his research tended more towards spells and mysticism. He often still helps out in her research, bringing her interesting new cryptids that his team have captured and, in return, Cassie will often advise the team on the best way to handle various supernatural creatures. And then she found a dragon egg... She'd already been going a bit off the rails anyway and had been toying with the idea of human-cryptid hybridization, and, well, dragons are famous in mythology for being able to hybridize with almost anything. She was lucky that Dr. Mays and her friend/ room-mate Dr. Lily Roberts managed to stablise her in time and halt the more drastic morphological changes, though not quickly enough to stop Cassie from accidentally burning her research notes as a flame-sack developed in her chest. Of course, the lose of the research notes means there is now no way of reversing the changes, especially as Cassie seems very pleased with the results of her self-experimentation and isn't keen to research a method of reversion.

Prince Wilhem

Crown Prince of Doredain and heir to King Alain, Prince Wilhem was born into a position of power and privilege and has only been given more of both as he aged. But that was never enough for Wilhem. Power-hungry, Wilhem is a schmer, cunning and conniving, adept at making alliances and betraying them at a moments notice. It is no secret within the court that Wilhem desires the throne, even his father knows, though the revelation troubles him greatly. But the King is deathly ill and cannot hold back his sons ambitions for long (and if you believe the whispers of the court, the King's illness may not be as natural as it first seems). Wilhem has already made an alliance with the Church and with open rebellion brewing, Wilhem has good reason to take control of the military from his ailing father. Only the Lords could really have the power to oppose him, but they are divided and more loyal to themselves than to the King, it is unlikely they would care about Wilhem's ascension. Still, Wilhem fears them, they are a threat, a variable that he cannot control. But the Lords have many enemies, so perhaps a common rebellion may kill two birds with one stone.

King Alain of Doredain

For half a century, King Alain has sat on the throne of Doredain, the latest in an ancient line that has ruled Doredain for almost as long as there has been such a country. And in his youth he was every bit as you would imagine a King to be, charming and urbane with a commanding presence, heading a court that both feared and respected him with deft political manuevering and leading his knights into battle to defend the kingdoms borders from invasion. But that was a long time ago now. Ailing in his later years, the formerly glorious King now can only watch as the Church gather much of his former power to themselves and his Lords become more and more preoccupied with their own matters than matters of the state. But despite his worsening health, Alain will not leave his kingdom without a fight. He has an heir, but he does not see his son as being ready for the throne, despite his protests otherwise. And now with rebellion brewing in the East, he sees his chance to either regain some of his former stature or die in glorious fashion trying. After all, a King should die in battle defending his realm, not in his bed of sickness and old age. But the question still remains as to whether he will see this next war start, and if he does, whether there will be a kingdom left for his heir to inherit by the end?

King's Blade Gothartd

The right hand man to King Alain, Gothartd is one of the most powerful men in all of Doredain, but you would not know it by the way the man acts and speaks. A humble man, Gothartd started his service as a squire, becoming a Knight of the Realm after a long apprenticeship. He fought in the Border War with great distinction and it was during that war that he was thrust into the position of the King's Blade. The King was conducting an inspection of his Knights at the garrison where Gothartd was stationed and it just so happened that an enemy spy had infiltrated the garrison as well. Seeing his opportunity, the spy attempted to assassinate the King and it was only by Gothartds quick reactions that the King was saved. To reward his saviour, the King added Gothartd to his personal entourage and, despite his lowly beginnings, Gothartd soon garnered more and more favour. Practically immune to the politics and duplicity of court life, Gothartd is straightforward, reserved and, above all else, loyal, utterly devoted to the King and his kingdom. He is the last line of defence of the kingdom, personal bodyguard to the King himself and willing to cross swords with anyone who should threaten his master. But King Alain is growing old and his health is deteriorating. The Lords bicker and fight, more interested in themselves than the kingdom, the Church and its Archsage gather more power around them and the King's most likely heir; Prince Wilhem, well, Gothartd does not favour him when compared to the Prince's father. Duty is duty and Gothartd will follow whom so ever weareth the crown, but he cannot help but feel a great sense of unease.

Lanroth; Lord of the Legion

Which brings us to Lanroth, the current Lord of the Legion. Gaining his title through a challenge of combat against his predecessor over 40 years ago, Lanroth is quite simply, the strongest fighter in the Legion. Strong-willed, perseptive and valuing loyalty above all else, he is an astute tactician and a fearless warrior. His actions almost single handedly won the last border war between Doredain and her eastern neighbours. But in the 30 years since that war, many amongst the Legion have grown tired of peace and, despite his best efforts at statesmanship, Lanroth is one of them. He is a warrior, not a politician and finds himself bored by the intricacies of governance, even if he understands their importance. He only hopes that his chosen heir, his lieutenant and eldest son, has more of an aptittude for such matters, but given his proclivity for drink and womanizing, it is doubtful. Despite all of this, Lanroth still remains a peerless fighter, as a swordsman many would say he is unrivalled in all of Doredain, and he inspires such loyalty amongst the Legion that it is concievable that if he were to give his word, they would, to a man, rise up with sword in hand and burn Doredain to the ground like the Legion of old. In many ways, Lanroth is not just the Lord of the Legion, he is the embodiment of it.

Dragon Knightess

The Dragon Knightess, Lord Alvarard's personal bodyguard and his greatest creation. A product of Alvarard's magical experimentations, nothing is known about who the Knightess was before her transformation. Well nothing is known to anyone but Alvarard, if he even cared to know to begin with. What is beyond doubt is that whoever she was she was most definately a magic user of some form, be it a sorcerer or witch, as she displays the ability to use magic (although in a much more primal and animalistic way than any trained magic caster, probably down to the experimentation). It is also certain that she was not a willing participant, none of Alvarard's test subjects ever are. It isn't even clear if she is truely partially dragon as her name suggests, the dragons of myth have not been recorded in thousands of years, so where Alvarard would have collected material for a successful cross-transfiguration is a mystery to say the least. What we can know for certain is that there is little, if anything, left of the woman she was before. Nobody undergoes the physical and mental trauma she has gone through and come out the other side anything other than broken. And yet, she is looked upon with reverance in Foegnear, the denizens of the pit gazing upon her as the best hope of what they might become.

Alvarard; Lord of Varaen

One of the four Lords of Doredain, Alvarard has dominion over the north-eastern region of Varaen and the great city of Paeltovar, nestled in the icy mountains that give the region its name. The most reclusive and secretive of the Lords, Alvarard did not come into his position through wealth or military might, he was born into the lineage of the Lords of Varaen and had to survive long enough to inherit his title. Surviving multiple assassination attempts before he was even 10 years old, Alvarard knows that in order to survive, one must strike before the enemy. As one might expect, he is the last of his family still alive. At face value, Alvarard is probably the least tyrannical of the Lords. He shows little interest in governance, prefering to allow local authorities to handle the day to day running of the region. But don't be fooled. Alvarard is far from a benevolent Lord. It is in his private residence of Foegnear Castle, high up in the Varaen Mountains, that his true interests become clear. You see, the trials and tribulations of Alvarards youth led him to a twisted philosophy of survival of the fittest. Only those who are able to survive are worthy of life, those who have the most get to survive whilst those who have nothing obviously don't deserve anything. But even beyond that, Alvarard became obssessed with his own survival, his fear of death driving him to near madness. He began to see assassins in every corner, believing that every person he saw that he did not recognise (and even some he did) was there to rob him and kill him. Eventually, this madness saw him turn to magic and he secretly started conducting horrific experiments on kidnapped commoners, trying to find a way to improve the human body in both physical prowess and longevity. Most of those experiments just left mangled corpses or twisted, malformed wretches that are thrown into the pit to die. Very few come out of Alvarard's Castle and, alongside their master, they are the most monsterous of all.