Riph Redstone and Amerelda

A tricky gnome and his lovely assistant

Riph Redstone is a traveling con man who swindles people out of their hard-earned cash with charm and illusion magic. He works with a number of accomplices to pull off elaborate deceptions, often playing on the gullibility of young adventurers.

Appearance:

Riph: A brown-skinned gnome with long black hair, pulled into a ponytail, this man appears to be simple traveler. He wears a red shirt and black breeches, and carries a longsword and buckler to defend himself.

Amerelda: This beautiful human teenager is tall and well-endowed, with silky black hair and a winning smile. She wears an expensive dress that reveals quite a bit of her body, and is clearly not hiding any weapons or armor. A black raven sits upon her shoulder.

History:

Riph Redstone was born to a pair of gnomish musicians, but never had any talent for performance. His greatest skill seemed to be lying; he managed to talk his way out of uncounted childhood indiscretions, and thus never learned any sense of discipline or self-control. As a young man, he tried his hand as an actor, but soon found his talent was better suited to tricking people. Since Riph despised hard work of any kind, he found this to be a far more interesting method of making his living.

During one of his more elaborate swindles, Riph actually tricked a poor couple into giving up their 8-year old daughter, a human girl named Amerelda. The girl had displayed natural affinity for magic, and Riph was able to convince them that he was an itinerant cleric who would take her away and exorcise the "demons" that plagued her. Riph raised her from that day on, focusing on her magical tutelage as well as training her in deception and trickery, and she grew into a very attractive and crafty young woman. She has recently begun aiding him in his scams, allowing him to set up even more impressive schemes.

Personality:

Riph sees himself as lazy and disaffected, but in fact expends a great deal of energy formulating con jobs when he could easily just beat people up for their money. He sees himself as above that, however, and tries hard to set up schemes where the victims will not even know they have been cheated. He cares greatly about Amerelda, more than he admits, and will go through great lengths to keep her out of direct danger. His feelings do not extend to his followers, however, and he is willing to sacrifice any of them to get some rube's money.

Amerelda, for her part, thinks of their activities as one big game. She loves to dress up and put on a show, and if that show involves fooling (or even killing) someone, well, so be it. She is surprisingly willing to use her sexuality to further Riph's plans. What the gnome does not know is that she harbors a secret crush on the man who swept her away from the tedium of farm life and into a world of intrigue and danger; her willingness to seduce marks is her way of trying to show her gnomish guardian that she is not a little girl anymore.

Schemes:

Riph and Amerelda are almost always in the midst of one swindle or another. They specialize in tricking adventurers with false money-making plans or reports of phony artifacts. They use Riph's followers as plants, often having them pose as another adventuring party to tell whatever tale is needed for the current scheme. Amerelda's familiar is utilized as a helpful communication tool, allowing Riph and his protégé to trade messages.

Here are five simple prototypical plans they might pull:

The Damsel in Distress: Amerelda approaches the heroes, pretending to be a weeping widow. She attempts to persuade the pure-hearted heroes to take on a known monster infestation somewhere nearby, asking for them to retrieve her "husband's" wedding ring (which does not exist). The threat is beyond the heroes' skill, however, and they are not told that Riph has already made arrangements with the city to be paid for the destruction of the monsters. Riph and company tail the heroes, and when they are wiped out, the bard and sorcereress finish off the weakened heroes and collect the reward themselves.

The Caravan: Disguised as a halfling merchant, Riph contacts the heroes to serve as guards for his caravan. Once the wagon gets to a pre-ordained spot, however, a group of orcs that Riph has charmed/manipulated leaps out and attacks the caravan, led by Amerelda in orc shape. To the heroes' surprise, Riph and his servants draw weapons and turn on them as well.

The Oracle: As a travelling bard, Riph spreads rumors about a wizened old woman who can tell the future. Amerelda, of course, plays the part of the woman, who tells the heroes of several "omens" to come. Using illusion and invisibility, Riph makes certain the heroes see the proper omens, hopefully convincing them of the oracle's truthfulness. Once the heroes return to seek her wisdom again, she begins planting ideas that will help Riph and her eventually strip them of their wealth.

Mistaken Identities: Riph will disguise himself as any halfling or gnome in the heroes' party, and begin a pickpocketing spree. If he is really out to get the heroes, he might have Amerelda pose as either a victim or one of the other heroes.

Bill of Goods: Riph loves to sell fake magic items, using his wand to bestow false magical auras on objects. He is careful to only sell items that cannot be tested by the prospective buyer, such as potions or weapons. He can also work it both ways, "identifying" magic items as weak and insignificant, then offering to buy them at a generous price.

 

Riph Redstone Chaotic Evil male gnome (Small humanoid) Bard 4th / Rogue 2 Hit Dice: 6d6+24 (47 hp) Initiative: +6 Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) Armor Class: 18 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +4 armor, +1 shield), touch 13, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+0 Attack: Longsword +6 melee (1d6) or hand crossbow +8 ranged (1d3 plus poison) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Sneak attack +1d6, +1 to attack rolls against kobolds and goblins. Special Qualities: Bardic knowledge +8, bardic music (4/day; countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1, inspire competence), evasion, low-light vision, trapfinding, +4 dodge bonus to AC against giants Saves: Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +6 (+2 vs. illusions) Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18 Skills: Bluff +13, Concentration +4, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +15 (+25 with hat), Forgery +6, Gather Information +7, Hide +13, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (history) +7, Listen +5, Move Silently +9, Perform (acting) +11, Sense Motive +3, Sleight of Hand +11, Spellcraft +5, Spot +3, Tumble +5. Feats:Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Leadership Bard Spells per Day: 0th: 3, 1st: 3, 2nd: 1 Bard Spells Known: Casts as 4th level caster. 0th: daze (DC 14), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, message, prestidigitation 1st: charm person (DC 15), hideous laughter (DC 15), silent image (DC 16). 2nd: invisibility, suggestion (DC 16). Spell-like Abilities: 1/day: dancing lights (DC 15), ghost sound (DC 15), prestidigitation, speak with animals (burrowing mammals only). Caster level 1st. Equipment: Masterwork chain shirt, mithril buckler, masterwork small hand crossbow, masterwork small longsword, hat of disguise, ring of mind shielding, wand of magic aura, potion of cure medium wounds (x2), hand crossbow bolts treated with carrion crawler brain juice (x5; Contact DC 13, initial damage: Paralysis). Cash: 1500 gp. Cohort: Amarelda Chaotic Evil female human (Medium humanoid) Sorcerer 4th Hit Dice: 4d4+8 (21 hp) Initiative: +1 Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) Armor Class: 15 (+1 Dex, +4 mage armor), touch 11, flat-footed 14 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+2 Attack: Dagger +3 melee (1d4) or dagger +4 ranged (1d4) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Saves: Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6 Abilities: Str 11, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 16 Skills: Appraise +4, Bluff +12, Concentration +9, Diplomacy +5, Disguise +6 (+16 with alter self, Hide +5, Intimidate +7, Listen +1 (+3 with familiar), Move Silently +3, Profession (farmer) +2, Spellcraft +4, Spot +1 (+3 with familiar) Feats:Extend Spell, Persuasive, Stealthy Sorcerer Spells per Day: 0th: 6, 1st: 7, 2nd: 4 Sorcerer Spells Known: Casts as 4th level caster. 0th: acid splash, daze (DC 14), detect magic, message, prestidigitation, read magic. 1st: burning hands (DC 14), hypnotism (DC 14), mage armor. 2nd: alter self. Equipment: Masterwork dagger (x2), cloak of resistance +1, wand of sleep, wand of enlarge person. Amerelda's Familiar: Magpie, a raven. HD 2, hp 10; Init +2; Speed 10 ft., Fly 40 ft. (average); AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 14; Base Atk: +2; Grp -11; Atk: claws +6 (1d2-5); SQ Improved evasion, share spells, empathic link, deliver touch spell; AL CE, SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +6; Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 7, Wis 14, Cha 6; Skills: Bluff +7, Listen +3, Spot +5; Feats: Weapon Finesse. Followers: Except for Roknok, all of the followers have maximum ranks in Bluff, Disguise, Hide, and Move Silently. All use short bows. Roknok uses a great axe and knows the Power Attack feat. Firki Leafwiddle, CE male halfling, Rogue 1st. Jeph Rankin, NE male human, Rogue 1st Lilinda, CN female human, Rogue 1st Roknok, CE male half-orc, Barbarian 1st Sikil, CE male kobold, Rogue 1st Tactics Round-by-Round Riph and Amerelda usually avoid open combat, only fighting when one of their plans goes south. They always seek to incapacitate opponents first, unless their attackers are significantly weakened. If their initial attempts to ensorcel their foes fails, they will retreat. Prior to combat: Amerelda casts an extended mage armor every morning. Surprise Round: If Riph decides to launch a preemptive strike, he will begin with casting of hideous laughter on whatever hero he thinks has the weakest willpower (usually a warrior). Amarelda will open with hypnotism, hoping to eliminate as many combatants as possible before the fighting starts. If present, Riph's followers will fire arrows into the party, except for Roknok, who will stand to defend either Riph or Amerelda. First Round: Riph will follow up his casting with a poisoned bolt in an attempt to paralyze a hero. Amarelda will try either another hypnotism or expend a charge from her wand of sleep. The followers will fire more arrows, then retreat. Second Round: If necessary, Riph will tumble away from any melee combatant and cast a silent image of something that will encourage foes to not chase him; Amerelda will cast burning hands on any active foes, then retreat. Third Round: Riph and Amerleda will only continue combat by this point if they have immobilized at least three-quarters of the party. Otherwise, they will flee under cover of invisibility (for Riph) or alter self (for Amerelda). Challenge Rating: Riph and all his allies combined have a Challenge Rating of 6, as Amerelda is a cohort.

 

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