Introduction

If you are playing a one-shot or short campaign, perhaps you'd like to choose from some characters I have prepared in advance, to reduce the time required in character creation, and get into playing faster. One of the characters you might choose to play is Tamsin Korrilie, the Gnome Sorcerer (Thief, if you're high enough level to choose a subclass).

You can play as Vaelen, or even just use his character as a template and change some things like name, gender, ability scores, level, subclass (etc). If you'd like to play as Vaelen, contact your assigned Dungeon Master, and they will make the character available to you.

Character Backstory

Tamsin was born a gnome in city whose wealth and safety depended on a complex system of arcane wards, locks, and defensive constructs. Her family worked within the city’s arcane infrastructure, maintaining enchantments that kept gates sealed, tunnels reinforced, and hostile magic at bay. From a young age, Tamsin showed an intuitive grasp of magical systems. She never seemed to need to study, she just seemed to understand how things worked.

Her talent was recognized early and encouraged. Tamsin advanced quickly, praised for her insight and confidence. By her own insistence, she took on more responsibility than was typical for someone of her age and experience. She thought she was ready. Worse, she started to take risks she didn’t truly understand.

The disaster occurred during an attempted optimization of the city’s primary arcane conduit. Tamsin rerouted power to increase efficiency, bypassing several containment thresholds she believed were redundant and overly conservative. She did not fully understand why those limits existed. She assumed she would notice any instability in time to correct it, but she was wrong.

The conduit overloaded. The resulting explosion destroyed an entire district, killing hundreds in a split second. The damage rippled outward, causing fires and further failures that took days to contain. The investigation was brief and damning. The catastrophe was the result of an under-qualified arcanist taking responsibility she did not yet understand. Regardless, by the time the cause was identified, Tamsin was gone. She had fled the city in shame, and fearful of the consequences she might face and – perhaps worse – having to face those whose lives she had harmed irreparably.

Character Personality

Tamsin is cautious to the point of hesitation. She distrusts her own instincts, especially when decisions affect others, so she feels almost relieved whenever a stronger personality steps forward to lead. When asked for certainty, she offers caveats. When pressed to lead, she deflects or delays.

She reacts strongly to arrogance, particularly in people who remind her of her former self, because she knows what can come from misplaced confidence. While capable and intelligent, she constantly doubts whether she fully understands the potential consequences of her actions. When forced into responsibility, she becomes painstakingly meticulous, afraid of missing details she does not yet know she lacks.

What Tamsin needs is to learn that responsibility cannot be avoided forever, and that refusing to act can carry consequences just as real as acting badly. As she gains power, she also needs to learn to develop a new – well-placed – confidence in it.

Character Description

Tamsin is a small gnome who is a young adult and quite attractive for a gnome. She has curly black hair and striking green eyes. There is a look of sadness or regret behind her eyes, even when she smiles. Her hands are marked by old burns that never quite healed. She dresses in layered, practical sorcerer’s robes that – although clearly well made and valuable – lack any colour or flair that would draw unnecessary attention to her.

Her magic manifests in controlled, restrained ways, favoring precision over power. In moments of stress, she withdraws inward, eyes unfocused as if tracking invisible flows, her body tense with the expectation that something is about to go wrong.