1️⃣ Pippa “Pipbolt” Highspot

Halfling Woman • Aspiring Siege Engineer • Crossbow Fanatic

Goal: Serve on the city walls operating a giant ballista.
Personality: Eager, fearless, endlessly curious.

Pippa is a nimble, wide-grinning halfling with braids tied back in leather cords. She climbs everything—walls, rafters, fellow rookies—without permission. She disassembles training crossbows when the instructor blinks, tinkering them into “improvements” that sometimes explode.

She respects Gorran deeply… but keeps trying to climb him to “measure his horn angles.”

Gorran’s assessment:

“She’ll get herself killed. Or promoted. Hard to tell.”

Quirk:
Makes “pew-pew” noises under her breath during weapon drills.

2️⃣ Korag Stoneshoulder

Goliath Male • Self-Proclaimed Elite Vanguard • Not the brightest stone in the quarry

Goal: Become a front-line shock trooper.
Personality: Loyal, loud, proudly dim.

Korag is a massive slab of a Goliath, muscles bulging, face fixed in a permanent expression of heroic determination and mild confusion. He believes he is destined for legendary last stands, heroic charges, and dramatic sacrifices.

He also believes:

• spears go “poke side forward,”

• every shield should be painted with his face,

• and that marching in step is optional if you’re “too epic for rhythm.”

Despite his lack of brainpower, he is brave and kind-hearted.

Gorran’s assessment:

“He’s a boulder with legs. Useful. If pointed correctly.”

Quirk:
Ends every sentence with “for glory!”

3️⃣ Thaelarion Duskfrond

High Elf Lad • Ancestral Blade Idealist • Perpetual Grumbler

Goal: Achieve legendary duels like his ancestors.
Personality: Proud, melodramatic, mildly insufferable.

Thaelarion is a young, elegant elf with flawless posture, a flowing ponytail, and an ancestral longsword he cleans more often than he trains. He dreams of facing dark knights, cursed champions, and dragons in elegant single combat.

So he is deeply offended that Gorran forces him to practice with a plain short sword and spear.

Every. Single. Day.

He mutters under his breath constantly:

• “This is beneath me.”

• “A master duelist does not… poke things.”

• “A spear is a farmer’s tool!”

Gorran smacks the back of his head with a practice baton whenever he hears it.

Gorran’s assessment:

“Pretty. But useless until he learns to fight like a soldier, not an opera hero.”

Quirk:
Faints at the idea of his heirloom sword getting scratched.

4️⃣ Brunna Hillfleece

Young Dwarf Woman • Farmer’s Daughter • Loves Every Weapon Ever

Goal: Serve honorably and learn every weapon in existence.
Personality: Enthusiastic, cheerful, tough as nails.

Brunna is a short, stocky dwarf with bright eyes and arms like tree stumps from hauling rocks on her family’s struggling farm. She LOVES military training.

Every morning drill?
“Best day ever!”

Every new weapon?
“Can I try it next?! And that one? And THAT one?”

Rain? Mud? Running laps?
She considers it all a blessing.

She has the work ethic of a storm giant and the joy of a golden retriever.

Gorran’s assessment:

“If every rookie had her attitude, I’d retire.”

Quirk:
Keeps a notebook titled “Weapons I Have Loved.” It is 47 pages long.

5️⃣ Sir Zilvar Coppermantle

Noble Copper Dragonborn • Pyro-Optimist • Perpetually Confused

Goal: Be a flashy warrior worthy of his family name.
Personality: Sophisticated, polite, constantly puzzled by rules.

Zilvar is a well-groomed copper dragonborn with polished scales and perfect manners. He loves the idea of being a soldier but cannot fathom why he can’t solve every problem with a burst of acid breath.

“Why use a spear,” he asks, “when my ancestors gifted me with natural weapons of elegance and potency?”

Gorran’s daily response:

“Because YOU’LL SET YOUR FELLOW ROOKIES ON FIRE, ROOKIE!”

He tries anyway. Once.
The training yard still smells faintly of burnt grass.

Gorran’s assessment:

“He’ll be fine. Once he learns restraint. So… maybe in ten years.”

Quirk:
Waves apologetically every time he accidentally corrodes something.

6️⃣ Merrick “Quickfingers” Vance

Human Teen • Reformed Pickpocket (Sort Of) • Too Clever by Half

Goal: Avoid prison and maybe survive this.
Personality: Streetwise, sarcastic, sly.

Merrick is a lean human teenager with quick eyes and quicker hands. He chose “voluntary” service over a jail sentence after being caught pickpocketing a city clerk.

He’s naturally stealthy, observant, and good at slipping away—traits Gorran is desperately trying to turn into battlefield discipline instead of street-level crime.

He’s clever, but not malicious—just opportunistic.

Gorran catches him sneaking snacks, redistributing unattended gear, or “borrowing” superior weapons to test them.

“PUT THAT DOWN, ROOKIE!”
“Just checking the balance, sir!”
“CHECK YOUR OWN BALANCE WHILE RUNNING LAPS!”

Gorran’s assessment:

“Useful. When he stops thinking like a thief and starts thinking like a soldier.”

Quirk:
Has never stopped pickpocketing.
Just claims it’s “hand-speed training.”

🪖 Squad Dynamics

• Pippa and Korag are best friends. She rides on his shoulders to reach high shelves.

• Thaelarion and Zilvar have long, dramatic debates about “noble combat traditions.”

• Brunna tries to teach Merrick to use weapons. Merrick teaches her how to climb through windows.

• Merrick and Pippa are always in trouble when paired.

• Korag believes Brunna is “the strongest dwarf alive.”

• Zilvar tries to give inspirational speeches; nobody listens.

• Thaelarion pretends he’s above everyone else but secretly admires Brunna’s work ethic.

Gorran calls them:

“A circus. But a promising circus.”