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Scarlet

Elf • Engineer and Spellcaster • Keeper of the Pocket Village

Overview​

Scarlet is an elf engineer and spellcaster who travels with the party. She is Topher's own character: he plays her as a player character when someone else guest-DMs (Interlude 12, Session 44) and voices her as the DM the rest of the time. She did much of the dimensional work on the pocket village, carries it folded into a capsule, and as of Session 63 holds the shrunken sun stolen from the Eldoran spaceport factory in her Leomund's Secret Chest. The party watches her closely, because in another timeline a time gun destroyed a whole universe, and they fear she might build one.

She is not Red and not Elspeth.

Background​

  • Origins: In Session 62 she told Elspeth she is three hundred years old and was born under an apple tree. She keeps her birthday somewhere in late summer or early autumn.
  • Her alternate self: In Interlude 11 the party met a different Scarlet in the wrecked world of the Quizzites. That Scarlet was a short blonde elf and former assassin who held her floating world together with enchanted paint. She, the chronomancer Marcus and the world tree Matthew Broadtwig had spent two millennia trying to undo a time gun disaster. She gave the party a magical paint set that alters reality when used on maps or canvases.
  • This world's Scarlet: In Session 25 the party met the Scarlet of their own dimension. Her role is reversed: here she is the scientist researching time and space, and Marcus is the painter. The party talked her out of her temporal experiments and into helping with their pocket-dimension workspace.
  • Engineer: "I'm an engineer. I have a PhD. Even worse" (Session 44). Her spells in the field have included Fireball, Slow and Haste (Session 44) and Leomund's Secret Chest (Session 63).

The Pocket Village​

Scarlet researched the dimensional side of the project that became the pocket village:

  • She and Silas made interdimensional glass spheres for it in the party's van, the Zoomfall (Session 35). She worked on it with Bru and Elspeth after Arc 2, when it was about half finished (Session 37; the recaps of Sessions 37–38 call the project "the Stellaro").
  • She asked for the reality stones from Red's old Goliath village to stabilise its interior (Session 38).
  • At Iro's workshop in Greyport she ran the first trials in the catalytic chamber (Session 44). After it began forming hills and streams on its own, she calibrated it with Victor's instruments and opened it (Session 45).
  • When void beings attacked inside, she held the space together from outside (Session 46). She then locked the door with a key and folded the village into a small capsule that she carries (Session 47).

The Time Gun​

The time gun that destroyed the Quizzites' universe gets built in every timeline by someone: Marcus in one, an alternate Scarlet in another. Because this world's Scarlet is the time-and-space scientist, the party worries she might build one too. Silas raised this in Session 38, and in Session 63 the party agreed to keep steering her away from it.

Relationships​

  • Silas Fairbanks: Warned her not to be inspired by interdimensional travel (Interlude 12) and keeps her off time guns. In Session 60 he told her she is part of the team and steps up when needed.
  • Bru: Works with her on engineering projects and gave her brown for her birthday. After she stored the sun he said, "I could kiss you right now, Scarlet, but I won't cuz you're disgusting."
  • Elspeth Cooper: Confided in her about following Lady Viper. Scarlet promised to keep it secret and told Silas at once (Session 62).
  • Leliana: Gave her a hand-braided string necklace, the only jewellery Scarlet owns (Session 53).

Session History​

  • Interlude 11 — An alternate-timeline Scarlet, an artist and former assassin holding a dying world together, gives the party a reality-altering paint set.
  • Session 25 — The party meets this dimension's Scarlet, a time-and-space scientist, and recruits her away from temporal research to help build the pocket-dimension workspace.
  • Session 35 — She and Silas craft interdimensional glass spheres for the pocket village project.
  • Session 37 — She works on the pocket village with Bru and Elspeth, and the project is about half finished by the end of Arc 2.
  • Interlude 12 — She joins the trip to the Lotus Casino, pulls books out of a bag of holding throughout the basement puzzles, and volunteers to pull the lever.
  • Session 38 — She says the reality stones from Red's old Goliath village will stabilise the pocket village. The party agrees to keep her away from dangerous inventions such as a time gun.
  • Session 44 — At Iro's workshop she runs the first pocket village trial in the catalytic chamber, rigs the defences, and fights the attackers with Fireball, Slow and Haste.
  • Session 45 — She reports the prototype forming its own terrain, traces interference to the dragon orb Silas carries, calibrates the chamber with Victor, and opens the pocket village.
  • Session 46 — She stabilises the pocket village from outside during the void beings' attack, then brings a map of where the remaining dragon orbs lie.
  • Session 47 — She locks the pocket village and folds it into a pocketable capsule.
  • Session 53 — Taco Cat throws her a surprise birthday party. That night she is the bait in the Iron Claws ambush and joins the infiltration of the Cog & Steam, where a feral man bites her on the ankle.
  • Session 55 — She travels with the party as an extra hand. Mid-operation, with Leliana leaning on her, she admits telepathically that she skipped breakfast and lost track of the plan.
  • Session 60 — She pays for the supplies at Fredo Boggins's shop and plays the orphanage's elderly chaperone for the barracks scouting.
  • Session 61 — Dressed as the nun "Sister Margaret," she escorts the party, disguised as orphans, into the barracks.
  • Session 62 — She goes with Elspeth to the Tony meeting and passes Elspeth's secret straight to Silas. She tells Elspeth she is three hundred years old and was born under an apple tree, and helps Elspeth into a swimsuit disguise at the lake party.
  • Session 63 — The party agrees to keep steering her away from a time gun. She stores the shrunken sun in her Leomund's Secret Chest.
  • Session 64 — Scarlet carried the stolen star from the spaceport factory in a pocket dimension.