AkioA tiefling bystander in Kingdom Grand who witnesses one of the Industrial Market robberies and recognizes the thief's guild badge—matching the adventurers' own—but is reluctant to say so where the City Watch might hear.
Alyndor "Aly" MarvaleA tiefling who serves as Guildmaster of New Arcanum's Adventurers Guild. Sharp-tongued, brilliant, and unshakably confident, she reads the weave with unsettling precision. She favors simple but elegant robes and a faint perfume, and is fond of small pranks and bad jokes. She stands with Master Thalin Fernstride, Guildmaster Teyla Coalmaker, and Elrin Veymar when the four great guilds unite against Holt and the Molokite. As Thalin's counterpart in the west, she agrees the string of caravan robberies "smells like trouble," and welcomes the agents he sends across the Western Wastes to investigate Aurelian's soul brokers. From New Arcanum's guild hall she directs the hunt for the Soul Brokers: posting a bounty for the location of their operations, promising a team for the hidden archive beneath the canals, and briefing the night infiltration of Aurelian's Spire over dinner at an evening-market cafe ("No one plans a successful infiltration on an empty stomach!").
ArdenA human bard and nobleman. Formerly the alter-ego of Skotos, but after Skotos was killed in Dead Wars II, he was resurrected in a way that made him become simply Arden again, and mortal.
ArhmA high elf of the Industrialists who runs Arhms and Armaments, a weapon and armor shop in Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market. He offers a service to transfer enchantments between weapons and stocks pieces such as the Clockwork Crossbow and the Rust-Biter Dagger. His shop is later robbed of a dangerous blade during a wave of thefts.
AurelianA charismatic demigod who collects mortal souls through Faustian "soul contracts," granting people their heart's desire in exchange for a small keepsake of sentimental value. Unbeknownst to the mark, forfeiting that token severs their anchor to their own soul, letting Aurelian claim them as a thrall—a flawless, emotionless soldier with glowing golden eyes who cannot speak his name or break their bond without their throat searing with divine golden light. His elite agents, the Soul Brokers, broker these deals and bank the collateral in the vaults of New Arcanum, and ordinary magic such as remove curse cannot undo his contracts. Biscuit was the first of his thralls to be uncovered by the Adventurer's Guild. His worshippers operate openly as the Church of Aurelian, and the Soul Brokers run in his name like a corporation—warehouses, archives, and regional sectors under directors such as Elara Voss—tallying the debtors, friends, and materiel of the army he is building in the Ledger of Souls.
BiddleA frog in a trenchcoat who knows a lot and loves magic. He has magic potions. Sometimes can be found in a back alley.
BiscuitA cheerful Dogekin member of Master Thalin Fernstride's Adventurers Guild who joined new recruits on jobs around Kingdom Grand. After suddenly striking it rich at the Industrial Market's Merchants Fair, he grew unnaturally tireless—never needing rest, never losing focus, and fighting through wounds that would fell anyone else. When a wave of sabotage and theft was traced back to the guild's own halls, the party discovered the awful truth: Biscuit had unknowingly sold his soul to the demigod Aurelian, becoming one of his mind-controlled thralls. Turned against his friends and beyond the reach of ordinary magic, he was hunted down across the city.
Brannik "The Ogre"A towering, bald half-orc and the third-in-command of the Road Thieves Guild. He is loud, crass, and loves to brawl, but is fiercely loyal to his leader, Rath, and protective of the guild's younger members. He wields a metal greatclub and wears Ogre Strength Gauntlets.
Captain Elira MornA sea-worn Dragonborn captain of the merchant schooner, The Copper Wake. Stern, practical, and fair, she respects competence above all else and hires the Adventurer's Guild for security on dangerous sea routes.
Captain KaelenA ghost in ceremonial armor who kept a century-long vigil at the eternal forge flame of the Sunsteel Forge, waiting for someone to relearn the lost rite for forging sunsteel blades. He guides the guilds through the forging sequence and escorts them into the deep as far as the dead are permitted to go. When the Living Seal is restored, his vigil ends and he fades for good.
CassA Festival of Peace merchant selling wands that emit colorful sparks with four charges.
CassiusAn arrogant but craven soul broker in the service of Aurelian, charged with escorting a caravan of stolen soul-contract collateral west from Kingdom Grand toward New Arcanum. Dressed in fine merchant's clothes and never without his ledger, he prizes keepsakes far above coin—"Sentiment is the only currency that appreciates"—and, quick to flee and quicker to haggle, would sooner bargain a Writ of Exchange than trade blows, taking up his whip and hand crossbow only when cornered. The keepsakes recovered from his broken-down caravan are what set the guild's agents on the road to New Arcanum.
Cleric Ellowen ThornAn older female Tabaxi with orange fur striped with silver. She is a cleric and trainer for the new Church of Elina. She is gentle, firm, and nurturing, but holds others to high standards. She carries a lantern that burns with a blue flame in the presence of the dead.
CrenA wiry tiefling proprietor of The Black Pouch shop at the Festival of Rebirth in Kdor. He always seems to vanish and reappear, though he is not a magic user, just very stealthy.
Darnik De RocheA human Lieutenant and Quartermaster with the City Watch of Grand. He has red hair and blue eyes, and wears a blue tabard with the sigil of Grand over a breastplate, and carries a halberd. He is kind but has an anxious manner, speaking quickly and seeming unsure of his command, though he is respected by his troops. He is very confident in his skills with numbers and record-keeping.
DewyA gnome druid of Nature's Pathway who runs the Cozy Nook, a bookshop grown from living wood in Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market. Sleepy and easily haggled down, he offers a scribing service and stocks the Tome of Self-Cultivation.
Dora GoldspoonA stout dwarven cook with arms like tree trunks and a laugh like a war horn. She runs The Goldspoon Grill at the Festival of Rebirth in Kdor, serving spiced sausages, yeti-melt stew, gilded flatcakes, iceberry wine, and coalcrust skewers.
Durnan BronzeforgeA dwarf manager who runs the Soul Brokers' orientation department at the base of Aurelian's Spire, with a neatly braided beard adorned with bronze rings and a once-well-fitted waistcoat straining over a round belly. Curt, impatient, and commanding—but a bully and a coward at heart—he reads the enthrallment ritual over hopeful "recruits" from the employee handbook as if it were mundane paperwork. His own soul token is a broken pocket watch inscribed "To Durnan - Every minute with you is time well spent. Love always, Brynn"—a gift from the woman who was his fiancée when he joined the Soul Brokers, whom he no longer sees, having given every minute to his work.
Durven MeadAnvilA dwarf forge master and old friend of Master Thalin Fernstride in the Dwarven Mountains. Broad-shouldered, with a braided silver beard threaded with mithril rings, he carries a massive hammer on his back. Proud but hospitable, he speaks in slow, weighted sentences and respects bravery. He directs adventurers to the sealed Forge of Ash when they seek answers about the Molokite.
EdnaA half-elf who is over 200 years old. Polite, proper, and well-spoken. Weathered down over the years, she is bent over, using a cane. She wears a flowery dress and smells of sugar cookies. Has an animal companion named Mr. Whiskers, which is a Shadow Panther.
Elanor WestwindA weathered older human woman who leads a merchant caravan across the Western Wastes. When her caravan is besieged at a desert oasis by burrowing Giant Scorpions, guild agents bound for New Arcanum drive the creatures off and save her people. Genuine and grateful—"I'd say we owe you our lives"—she folds the party into her caravan for the remainder of the journey, sharing food and bedding in exchange for the safety of strong companions on a dangerous road.
Elara VossA half-elf woman who serves as the Soul Brokers' Regional Director of New Arcanum Sector 1, presiding over Aurelian's Spire from a penthouse off its rooftop observation deck. Dressed in tailored white robes embroidered with golden geometric patterns—every detail elegant, costly, and intentional—she is warm and encouraging, treating every interaction as a motivational speech and preferring leading questions over direct orders. Her statues, portraits, and framed quotes fill the tower ("Success is not the end of the journey. It is permission to begin the next."). For all her power, she is not the mastermind: even the Director is owned by Aurelian, her own soul token a small silver hand mirror inscribed "You were always meant to be seen. -Mother"—and through it she can speak, her face appearing in its tarnished surface.
EldarionA female tiefling rogue, and informant in the Unbound.
EliseA human of the Arcane Registry who runs the Registry's Index, a magic shop in Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market, watched over by an invisible eye. She offers a service to transfer enchantments between items and stocks curiosities like Sending Stones and a Bottomless Component Pouch.
Elrin VeymarGuildmaster of Evenfell's Adventurers Guild. A tall, tan-skinned human with greying sandy brown hair. He wears black slacks, a grey open shirt, and a leather vest. Sour, cold, depressed, and often drunk, he is burdened by the city's decline. He hopes new adventurers can restore some spark of life to Evenfell.
GaiusAlso known as Ring Master Gaius. A tiefling with crimson skin and curling horns who always wears a long coat lined with silver coins. He owns an underground fighting ring called the pits in Evenfell's undercity. Charismatic, greedy, and honor-bound to his word, he sees lives as wagers and always ensures he profits from any situation.
Galen LamiurAlso known as the Minister of Civil Projects. A human noble in Evenfell who is lavishly dressed with a jeweled cane, feathers in his hat, and strong perfume. Flamboyant, witty, and secretly cunning, he plays the fool to disarm his foes. Despite his peacock-like demeanor, he is a valuable ally who helps uncover the truth behind the city's disappearances.
GelGel is an old human wizard who is the sole survivor of Grimsby. He has lived in the town a long time and was able to defend it against Shadows, until his leg got injured. In Dead Wars III, he was revealed to be a dragon in humanoid form, and a guest of the Arcane Registry.
Guildmaster Teyla CoalmakerA proud and energetic dwarf with dark hair, keen dark eyes, and a mechanical monocle. She wears an oil-streaked apron and silver-laced red armor and has a prosthetic robotic arm. She is the Overseer of Kdor's Adventurers Guild and believes in second chances, but not thirds. She likes using mechanical metaphors and is known to be a fast talker. Always has a backup plan.
Harlan StonefootA middle manager of the Soul Brokers in Aurelian's Spire whose third-floor access was suspended by Director Voss after he filed his paperwork incorrectly. Unable to figure out how to re-submit it, he swept the papers off his desk in frustration, threw down his soul token—a macaroni necklace made by his oldest child—and stormed out for the night, unwittingly leaving guild infiltrators everything they needed to file the paperwork, restore his clearance, and climb the tower in his stead.
HoltA Firbolg who rose to Adamantine rank in the Adventurer's Guild and wore fine orange silk with red trim while posing as a monster expert and mentor. He is dismissive, arrogant, and blunt, and shared running commentary via a magical resonator while hiding years of kidnappings and cult work. After betraying and murdering Sage Elbera at the dungeon mosaic—unleashing his paper dragon Jeffery to cover his escape—he vanished to lead the Molokite and Slumber Cult in awakening He Who Slumbers. He was raised among the Molokite as a child, learned The Evil One's biomantic secrets, and believes Lullwater will let him control the sleeping god. He owns a monkey with neon green hair named Elanor.
James RackenA were-dragon monk with a criminal background.
JenhornAn anthropomorphic hare, and a powerful wizard who uses knowledge and big words. 100% logical with no emotions.
KoriA cheerful, clumsy, earnest twelve-year-old delivery girl in New Arcanum who pilots a flying gondola in a black smock dress and a wide-brimmed conical hat, making deliveries all over the city. Endlessly curious, she loves tagging along with real adventurers. After watching a man in a white duster transform into a swan and vanish into a canal culvert—and memorizing the strange tune she heard from inside—she led guild agents to The Swan's hidden archive, and piloted their gondola through the flying chase that followed. She insists she is the best pilot in the city, having crash-landed only recently.
Lady MardellA human noblewoman in her 60s from an old noble house in Grand. She is amiable and well-mannered, but eccentric, pretentious, and largely out of touch with the lives of commoners. She collects powerful and rare artifacts, like The Grand Grimoire of Grotesqueries, purely as decorative conversation pieces without understanding their true significance.
LillyA tiefling of The Unbound who runs Brews & Potions in Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market. A chaotic potion-brewer, she offers healing and antidote services to adventurers passing through.
Marda HillsmenA halfling proprietor of Glint & Glitter shop at the Festival of Rebirth in Kdor. She has twelve rings on each hand and never stops to breathe while speaking.
Master Thalin FernstrideA towering Firbolg who serves as the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild in the century following the Dead Wars. He has long black hair braided down his back, piercing blue eyes, and dark green fur, and wears a forest green and white Gi. His personality is calm and measured, and he is known for giving inspiring speeches that relate adventuring to baking. He expects discipline and creativity from his guild members. As Holt's treachery unfolds, Thalin grows weary but resolute, coordinating the four great guilds against the threat beneath Kingdom Grand. After the tremors from the Elderdungeon crack the city's streets, he opens a fresh recruitment drive to replace the guild members lost in the fighting, and later leads the hunt for a saboteur hiding inside his own guild. Troubled by a caravan of strangely well-guarded stolen keepsakes bound west, he hand-picks a party and dispatches them across the Western Wastes to New Arcanum to work with his counterpart Alyndor "Aly" Marvale, convinced the thefts are somehow tied to Biscuit's fate.
Merric GoldbrightThe builder of New Arcanum. After the Arcane Registry lost political power in Kingdom Grand and moved its headquarters into the Western Wastes, he raised a city where none should be possible: dowsers found an aquifer beneath the sand, blasting through the sheet of cooled magma above it created the artesian well now called Origin Lake, and the blue sodalite syenite from the excavation was formed into the colossal Senate Obelisk that hovers above the lake at the city's center. Sand cooked into massive glass sheets became the dome that seals the city's water into a closed loop, cooling the desert metropolis like a terrarium.
Milo VennAn elderly, bitter, crotchety human who owns "One Man's Trash," a second-hand shop on New Arcanum's Market Circle. When a Soul Broker passed through offering patronage in exchange for a token of enormous sentimental value, Milo turned the deal down as a scam—and watched his longtime friend and next-door neighbor, the owlfolk merchant Renna Vale, accept it and move up to a prestigious middle-ring shop without so much as a goodbye. Left behind and bitter enough to complain to anyone who will stand still long enough, he remembers the stranger's creed: through the gods, all things are possible.
Monk TzaoA Githzerai master of wits who tests prospective Codebreakers with riddles, ciphers, and puzzle chambers. He oversees recruitment trials at the request of Elrin Veymar and the united guilds.
Mundor SharphideA nearly nine-foot-tall minotaur barbarian with black fur, dark gray skin, and bright blue eyes. Known for his immense strength and constant smile. He comes from another world. He eventually gained a class in Paladin. Mundor motivated troops and oversaw army organization in the Divine Realm in Dead Wars II.
NathanialA half-elf, and contact in the Adventurer's Guild. Red-haired, awkward, and clumsy. He has a mousy face and a big nose. He is a polite and friendly person, always looking for a chance to prove that he's a hard worker.
Nessa VeyA warm, energetic elf woman who owns the Fortunate Flagon, a bustling tavern overlooking New Arcanum's seventh-ring canal. She traded her mother's bracelet to a Soul Broker in exchange for business success, and soon after discovered an astoundingly talented young bard who drew in customers like crazy. She cannot speak of her bargain—a ring of golden light flares around her throat if she tries—and lies about having lost the bracelet, though she touches her bare wrist whenever her new success comes up. Later summoned to Aurelian's Spire for a "new opportunity," she was moments from being enthralled in the orientation office when guild agents interrupted the ritual; returning her bracelet broke the daze and sent her home shaken, though possession of her soul token alone could not lift the curse of her contract.
O'HareA politician on the monorail from All Aboard to Kdor who was secretly helping the Mechanist Raiders. He is not a fighter and can be easily restrained when confronted.
Orville Thrice-CheckedA young owlfolk clerk at New Arcanum's Office of Mercantile Transit, with wide eyes, a cheerful demeanor, and a genuine passion for paperwork. Proud that his office is open 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, 342 days a year, he happily helped guild agents trace shipments of "secondhand goods" through the customs records—shipments expedited, unsearched, by the Church of Aurelian, a demigod Orville had never heard of—straight to the Soul Brokers' rotating rented warehouses.
Osborn TallmenA halfling leader of the Southern Trading Company with a loud and boisterous personality. An excellent and prideful businessman, he enjoys work. Will not back down to a challenge and is gracious in defeat. Beneath Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market he keeps a second, quieter business: The Hideaway, a black-market shop reached through a concealed alley door, where he deals only with adventurers he trusts.
Prince NathanielA historical figure known as the 'heroic Prince of Grand'. He was assassinated, and his killer was subsequently trapped and died in the infamous Ash House.
RaphiraAn elderly Molokite medicine woman who survived the Molokite cult's reign by hiding in a false shrine to Vitalia beneath Kingdom Grand. She holds the formula for the Antidote of the Wardens, used to cure the Bliss Leeches infesting the surviving Cinder Guard, Withered Crones, and Witchlings.
Rath "The Gilded Maw"The Guild Master of the Road Thieves Guild, also known as Golden Maw. He is a calm, calculating, and cruel Lizardfolk with navy blue scales, an orange frill, and distinctive gold teeth. He rules his guild like a predator from his headquarters in the mining town of Red Hawk.
RayanA wood elf druid, who stalks interlopers in East Port.
Rich Goldsteil the 4thThe current ruler of Kdor and a very roguish-looking bugbear. He is a member of the Goldsteil family, which presides over the annual Festival of Rebirth and The Gauntlet competition in Kdor.
Sage ElberaA half-elf Elemental Researcher at the Arcane Conservatory. She wore a purple robe with a silver sash, had blue eyes, and wore her brown hair up in a bun. She was eager and direct, and loved to talk about elementals to the exclusion of all else. She hated Holt's attitude but admitted he knew a great deal about monsters and dungeons—until he murdered her in the dungeon beneath Kingdom Grand. Her final intelligence from beyond the grave led the guildmasters to Holt's Laboratory beneath the temple of Vitalia.
Silas DrennAn owlin and the Minister of Trade in Evenfell. Impeccably dressed in layered silks, jeweled rings, and a sharp goatee. Proud, calculating, and obsessed with power, he has the ear of the crown and works with the princess to take over the kingdom. He is responsible for the disappearances of nobles, merchants, and other citizens, keeping them captive in a hidden dungeon beneath his mansion. He prefers to avoid direct combat, escaping and letting others fight for him.
SpeckAn imp who has been confined to a wearable amulet. Ruse and crass, but whenever he gets out of hand, a run on the necklace will zap him.
The Evil OneDeath: ADW 0. A powerful necromancer and the primary antagonist in Dead Wars I. Tried to ascend to godhood. Holt's journal beneath Kingdom Grand reveals that the Molokite's god, He Who Slumbers, was one of his biomantic experiments—a beast grown from a tarrasque corpse and meant to be unleashed if he ever failed to dominate the mortal world.
The OneA shapeshifting, androgynous merchant of uncertain race who runs the Augment, a fashion and enchantment shop in Kingdom Grand's Industrial Market. The One charms visitors without meaning to and offers a costly "Finishing Touch" cosmetic enchantment service.
The SwanA tall, slender wild-shaping druid with a long neck, spindly fingers, black eyes, and white hair, never seen without his white duster. Smooth, resonant, and gracious, he is—like most of Aurelian's organization—absolutely true to his word, honoring every promise down to the letter. He built and runs the Soul Brokers' hidden archive beneath New Arcanum's canals, protected not by magic, which a city of mages would detect, but by ingenious hydraulic locks, musical doors, and puzzles ("The key to success is knowing your obstacles are nothing but a facade"). His muscle is a pair of thugs called the Ugly Ducklings. When cornered he transforms into a literal swan and escapes into the city's flocks of waterfowl—and he knows where the vault is.
Valerian (I Don't Know)A small, talking fox, about four feet tall, with a fluffy, bright orange coat and white patches. Wears a green suit and bowtie. Notable for missing a finger. Has a mischievous nature and enjoys causing confusion with his alias, I Don't Know.
VeylA Cinder Guard—an ancient Molokite construct-warrior—who serves as liaison between the guilds and the last of his kind after the Bliss Leeches are cleansed from the survivors. The first to shake off the leeches' stupor and recover his name, he helps track down the lost sunsteel forging rite and, when no one else steps forward, volunteers to become the Living Seal that keeps He Who Slumbers bound.