
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs

Alyce Quinley, Conflicted Champion

Alyce Quinley was born in the wilds of the Darkmoon Vale region in north-central Andoran. Her father, Erasmus Quinley, belongs to the Greenfire Circle, an order of druids in the Arthfell Forest who serve as intermediaries between the Vale's humans and fey. Her mother, Vandra Steiggerson, is a legacy member of the Fangwatch, a reclusive group of rangers dedicated to protecting Arthfell Forest locals from its many dangerous denizens, chiefly a large population of werewolves. Raised alongside other children of the Circle, Alyce and her peers grew up among the beasts and guardians of the wilderness, learning to spot, track, and stalk prey through the forest with a patient lethality.

Alyce's father saw to most her needs, for her mother's patrols often ranged far from home for weeks at a time. Erasmus expected Alyce to follow in his footsteps, becoming a druid. However, he soon realized her talents lay elsewhere. By the time she reached adulthood, she had already distinguished herself as a messenger, scout, and envoy, earning friends throughout the region, including Andoran's frontier military forces. This included the Diamond Regiment, a frontier force tasked with guarding the roads (and valuable duskwood shipments) leading from Darkmoon Vale.

It was in the course of delivering messages that Alyce learned of Eagle Knight Kelvan Drost, sole survivor of a recent hobgoblin ambush in northern Arthfell. The hobgoblins had grown tired of Drost after realizing their prisoner wouldn't surrender the information they wanted. Alyce realized that they would execute Drost soon, so she scouted the area, infiltrated the camp, dispatched the guards, and spirited the wounded prisoner to safety before anyone noticed anything amiss. Her actions earned her a special invitation from the Diamond Regiment's commander, commending her bravery and formally offering training and membership to Alyce.

Over a decade later, having proven her mettle performing dozens of missions all across Andoran, Alyce serves the Diamond Regiment as ranking military officer in the city of Bellis, a remote settlement buried in the Verduran Forest on Andoran's far northeastern border. While few Diamond Regiment personnel are stationed so far from Darkmoon Vale, Alyce's Greenfire Circle background has equipped her to negotiate with druids, fey, and other forest folk. This will be her third year representing Andoran at the annual Greenwood Gala, and as much as she privately resents serving as the public face of the despicable Lumber Consortium, it's still a pleasant diversion from her day-to-day duties to assist the Bellisian militia in maintaining order, despite the best efforts of the city's large transient population of unruly lumberjacks.

Alyce is a woman between two worlds in some ways, but she doesn't see it that way. She feels like she uses her deep knowledge of and experience with the wilderness to her advantage while serving her country. Many of her kin and friends don't fully recognize the Andoren state, and are content to live their lives hidden by the dense foliage of the forest. Alyce, however recognizes that the reach of Andoran is inevitable and the best way to make sure that the nation interacts with the wild in the best possible way is to put someone between these two worlds that have the wild in their best interest—a role she's happy to play. Alyce can come off as standoffish or too direct, but that's just her defense against the risk of giving too much away. In her daily life she has to negotiate between groups that are often diametrically opposed, and giving too much of yourself away in negotiations only leads to failure and exploitation.

Raised as she was, Alyce has a fondness for athletic pursuits, particularly lone ones where she can test her own capabilities. Her childhood love for climbing trees or going on days-long hikes just to reach a particular point and then return home has carried over to her adult life. In the rare times she's not burdened by responsibility, Alyce goes on “a wander” by herself for days, or even weeks, at a time. It's during these wanders that she catches up with friends from her childhood and others she's met during her life.

Campaign Role

When the PCs first encounter Alyce in Chapter 1, she's on a diplomatic mission representing Andoren interests at the Greenwood Gala and keeping a watchful eye on the other attendees so as to suss out any potential threats to those interests. Unlike Taldor, Andoran is not a signatory of the Treaty of the Wildwood, and its logging operations not officially under the Lodge's protection. Those operations have rapidly expanded in recent months to meet the ravenous shipbuilding industry's demands, driven by growing fears of imminent war with Cheliax. Complicating matters further, the infamously underhanded Lumber Consortium maintaining its stranglehold on Andoran's lumber industry continues to act with flagrant lack of regard for how its activities might provoke forest folk. Although disgusted by the Consortium leadership's unscrupulous behavior, Alyce remains well aware of the vital role they play in Andoren national security and the necessity of defending their operations, placing her in the unenviable position of having to attend the Gala as the unofficial representative of one of the Verduran Forest's most despised institutions.

Alyce is initially standoffish and curt, expecting Gala attendees to regard her with the same loathing they have for the Consortium itself. If the PCs get past her defenses, they should come to see her as a potential ally, as her personal goals likely align with theirs more than expected. When they encounter her again in Chapter 2, they'll have the opportunity to help her resolve a crisis threatening both the interests she's sworn to protect and the overall stability of the region, further intertwining their loyalties. By the end of Chapter 3, she should be fully cemented as a supporter of their cause, having both witnessed firsthand the threat posed by Ruzadoya's Lodge and fought alongside the PCs to escape it.

Alyce is an accomplished warrior, and won't hesitate to enter the fray if a fight breaks out in her presence. Although her title as an Eagle Knight holds little sway in the depths of the Verduran Forest, she'll use her position and authority to assist the PCs' efforts in any way possible should opportunities arise.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 32
Unspecific Lore: DC 30
Specific Lore: DC 27

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Alyce QuinleyCreature 6

Unique Medium Human Humanoid 
Source Pathfinder #201: Pactbreaker pg. 91
Female human Eagle Knight
Perception +17
Languages Common, Elven, Fey
Skills Andoran Lore +16, Athletics +14, Forest Lore +12, Medicine +11, Nature +12, Stealth +15, Survival +15
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +1
Items +1 striking rapier, lesser potion of healing (2), bedroll, crossbow (10 bolts), maps, pup tent, scale mail
AC 25; Fort +15, Ref +11, Will +14
HP 95
Liberating Strike [reaction] Requirements Alyce is wielding a melee weapon; Trigger A creature within Alyce's reach attempts to apply the grabbed, immobilized, or restrained condition to an ally; Effect Alyce makes a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If the attack is a hit, the triggering ally can immediately use a reaction to Escape. If the attack is a critical hit, any grabbed, immobilized, or restrained conditions imposed by the triggering action are negated.Reactive Strike [reaction]
Speed 30 feet
Melee [one-action] rapier +17 [+12/+7] (deadly 1d8, disarm, magical), Damage 2d6+6 piercingRanged [one-action] crossbow +16 [+11/+6] (range increment 120 feet, reload 1), Damage 1d8+8 piercingHunt Prey [one-action] (concentrate) Alyce designates a single creature as her prey and focuses her attacks against that creature. She must be able to see, hear, or otherwise detect the prey, or she must be tracking the prey during exploration. She gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks when she Seeks her prey and a +2 circumstance bonus to Survival checks when she Tracks her prey. Alyce also ignores the penalty for making ranged attacks within her second range increment against the prey she's hunting. Alyce can only have one creature designated as her prey at a time. If she uses Hunt Prey against a creature when she already has a creature designated, the prior creature loses the designation and the new prey gains the designation. Her designation lasts until her next daily preparations.