Background- Malark Party Members

Author's Note: The party I was in started out overly large and has been constantly changing. To avoid confusion, Malark's current five party members are up top and following that I will go through the previous party members and their reasons for departure.

Mataman O'Krungle- Tiefling Bard

Mataman travelled the world looking for fame and glory before joining the party. He was the only party member who was actually employed when the others met as he was working for the innkeeper of the tavern they gathered at as the entertainment. When Mataman joined with the party, he initially was most concerned with gathering additional fame and wealth, but also felt he needed more power. In the town of Greenest he joined the bardic college of whispers which granted him multiple deceptive and psychic powers. Since then he has been somewhat separate from the group, causing major distractions and prioritizing a good story over completing objectives. He often enters into battles he cannot win and has clashed with multiple party members but especially Thad and Zuriel, who entered the group after him.

Daesenriel Blackstorm - Tiefling Rogue

Daesenriel has a history as a thief, coming from the thieves' guild in the Underdark to join the party up on the main continent. She is known for her athletic exploits during battle, often climbing trees, jumping on chandeliers or climbing roofs in order to both evade a counterattack and use her range attacks from stealth. Daesenriel claimed to be entirely selfish and motivated by wealth, but as the party got smaller, she tended to act as one of the voices of reason. She and Malark were never close friends and often got on each other's nerves but during the battles that followed there was a level of trust and respect as they were often tasked with coordinating battle plans. Daesenriel acquired a Dagger of Life Drain from the coven of hags that the party battled and joined the Harpers alongside Mataman and Selenite.

Selenite- Moon Elf Druid

Selenite has fought alongside the party since its inception. She is oriented towards bears and tends to summon them in order to fight alongside her. Selenite also assumes the form of many animals, especially a bear form. Though she has had some major success in these fights, she has also occasionally caused collateral damage including a large bear claw mark on Mataman's face.

Thad Brannigan- Half-Orc Fighter

Thad joined the party in Greenest after the rescue of the Monk Liosin. Thad was a renowned arena and pit fighter for most of his life, and as such was treated as a captive, but a pampered one. Eventually he overthrew the slave pit owners and left to find his way in the world. Thad tends to take control of a situation even when he doesn't understand it. He charges like a bull and uses his brawn over his brain more often than not. He does possess some of the most impressive monster kills in the party. Thad slayed a troll in a single hit (though no one witnessed this kill) and decapitated the remaining heads of the Hydra in order to prevent its reanimation. Despite this he has had repeated personal conflicts with Mataman, who sees him as an interloper.

Zuriel- Human-Angel Hybrid Cleric

Zuriel joined the party in the Forest of Long Knives, right outside the Haunted Mansion, and has been a key part of the force ever since. A vision led the cleric to join the party and he is driven by his divinity to combat the cult of Tiamat. He is a Tempest Cleric in service to Thor and is similarly featured to the Thunder God, with long golden hair and wields a war hammer. Zuriel can channel his divinity to fly with angelic wings and had used them to battle flying opponents. There was some initial tension between Zuriel and Malark, as Malark questioned the identity of his divinity. Considering Talos and Thor share a similar spectrum, it had the potential to be an awkward first meeting. They have since moved past this misunderstanding.

Ridley Greenscale: Dragonborn Paladin

Ridley joined the party alongside Eravan after escaping from persecution of those of his race. Ridley was a folk hero among the populace after saving some of the smallfolk from various large wild beasts. As they traveled, Ridley and Eravan joined the party in the tavern on its outset. Ridley was always in the front of the battle, taking the attention of many of the deadliest foes. Ridley departed the party after the battle with Langdragosa. He departed Greenest with Amber, heading off to parts unknown, possibly in pursuit of Amber's wayward father.

Eravan: Elf Ranger

Eravan joined the party as an ally of Ridley, after saving him from a forest fire. The two travelled together until they met up with the party. Though Eravan was a pure elf, he was not typical of his kind and seemed to be well travelled and open to working with those outside his kind. Eravan was a stable presence, offering both close quarters combat and long-range options for attacking, and was always willing to protect his fellow party members. Eravan even went out of his way to include outsiders, mentoring a young mercenary during the caravan travels and inciting a wayward kobold to be friendly towards the party. This led to a conveniently distracting kobold rebellion. His fate was somewhat of a mystery, as ethereal forces pulled him from the mortal plane of existence as the party entered the Forest of Long Knives. Perhaps they had another mission for him.

Amber Frostbeard

Amber served as a dwarven cleric of the Goddess of the Moon Selune. She worshipped Selune diligently and shared her initial aversion to violence. Amber could only justify raising her weapon against non-human monsters unless the offenders directly hurt one of her companions. The dwarf was a very diligent healer and took care of the rest of the group with a motherly air. Her family situation was well known to the group as Escobert the Red, the master of arms at Greenest was an acquaintance of her father's. Her heritage was something important to Amber and it was believed she departed with Ridley from Greenest separate from the rest of the party in order to track down her missing father.

Dolan'er- Half-Elf Ranger

Dolan'er is a half-elf ranger who was known for his alcoholism. He drank constantly and searched for alcohol in each new dungeon or household that the party investigated. Often firing his crossbows from range, he was never fond of engaging the enemy directly and preferred firing from stealth or high places. Dolan'er was a mixed fighter, occasionally his crossbows made the difference in a fight, but his aim occasionally was shaky with withdrawal symptoms. He butted heads with some of the party members and often left without searching for missing members, under the assumption that they were already dead. Dolan'er left abruptly in the Forest of Long Knives, leaving a note saying "Gone to get crossbow bolts. Back later."

Balek-Rah- Aarakocra Ranger

An Aarakocra ranger whose entire village was razed to the ground by a green dragon. He pursued multiple smaller dragons without finding his quarry and eventually wound up in the human village that his other party members were drawn to. Balek-Rah joined the battle and travelled with the group, encouraged by the fact that he was able to track a cult based on representations of his mortal enemy. However, Balek-Rah was arrogant and easily distractible, often heading off on his own or stepping up to challenge enemies outside his ability. During the infiltration mission, he made time with a drunken elvish mercenary who was a groupie of Mataman. After a brief liaison which separated him from the group during the distraction, Balek-Rah charged in the opposite direction of the escaping party towards the heart of the camp. He was taken down immediately by the guard drakes that outnumbered him; they knocked him unconscious and the human cultists restrained him. In the morning he was personally executed by Langdragosa, making him the only party member confirmed to be deceased. Malark mourned Balek-Rah, waiting for him to rejoin the party the night after the mission after not knowing what happened to him, then burying his head after it was found left in the camp on a pike.

Rhevenil- Elvish druid

An Elvish Druid who very briefly served with the party before departing before the party left Greenest, she adapted animal aspects much like Selenite and was primarily known for her brief infatuation with Sergeant Celesta. An infatuation which ended unfortunately on her death. She vowed revenge but after the death of Langdragosa she departed for the forest to abstain from any more violence.