Natalya Vancarskerkin

Natalya Vancaskerkin
Titles
Alignment	Chaotic neutral
Race/Species	Human
Class	Roublard(acrobat) 1 / Sorcerer 2
Gender	Female
Homeland	Magnimar, Varisia
Organization	Sczarni (Tower Girls), Pathfinder Society
source	Shards of Sin p.60-61

Twice a betrayer, Natalya Vancaskerkin has turned against both her Sczarni kin and her fellow

Pathfinder Society agents. She alone holds the key to one of the greatest discoveries of ancient Thassilon, but it has cursed her with madness.

NATAYLA VANCASKERKIN CR 2

XP6oo

Female human rogue (acrobat) 1jsorcerer 2 (Pathfi RPG Advanced Player's Guide 132)

CN Medium humanoid (human)

Init +3; Senses Perception +12

DEFENSE

AC 21, touch 13, fl 18 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +4 shield)

hp 20 (3 HD; 1d8+2d6+s)

Fort +I, Ref +s, Will +2; +2 vs. illusions

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft

Melee mwk mithral short sword +s (1d6+I/19-20)

Ranged light crossbow +4 (1d8/19-20)

Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6

Bloodline Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +4) s/day-touch of destiny

Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +4) 1st (s/day)-charm person (DC 14), grease (DC 13)

o (at will)-acid splash, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13),

prestidigitation, read magic

Bloodline destined

TACTICS

Before Combat Once Natalya knows combat is nearing (likely aft she hears the PCs fi elsewhere in her hideout), she uses her wand ofmage armor. She uses a scroll ofshield as soon as she can once she fears combat will begin.

During Combat Natalya uses charmperson on non-spellcasters, and grease on beams or ladders leading to her position to prevent anyone from reaching her in melee. She prefers fire at range with her crossbow and acid splash, but if forced into melee combat relies on her magically increased AC to protect her as she moves around to try to get into positions where she can use sneak attack. If she's confronted by two or more foes in melee, or if she's reduced to 10 or fewer hit points, she uses the Shard ofPride to create a major image of her shooting fl out of the shard to light the room on fi takes care to not put any PC directly in the flxxxx but puts up illusory fi between herself and any enemies.

Morale Natalya's megalomania prevents her from fl or surrendering. If the PCs wish to take her alive, they'll need to keep that in mind and use appropriate tactics on her.

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 16, Con 13, lnt 10, Wis 8, Cha 15

Base Atk +1; CM B +2; CMD 15

Feats: Alertness, Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse

Skills: Acrobatics +15, Climb +13, Disable Device +13, Perception +12, Sense Motive +I, Stealth +13

Languages: Common

SQ: bloodline arcana (gain luck bonus on saves when casting personal-range spells), expert acrobat

Combat Gear: scrolls ofshield (2), wand of mage armor(n charges), smokestick, tanglefoot bag; Other Gear masterwork mithral short sword, cat burglar's boots (see page 64), Shard ofPride (see page 69), climbers' kit, second­ story harness (see page 6s), masterwork thieves' tools, 55 gp

Histoire

Natalya Vancaskerkin is the daughter of one of Riddleport's most notorious fi Vancaskerkin. Half-Varisian, Natalya was born of Saul's fi wife, a beautiful Varisian harrower from Magnimar named Adreea Valitrosa. Unfortunately for the star-crossed lovers, the Sczarni to whom Adreea belonged did not approve of this relationship, and a month aft Natalya was born, the gang attempted to "reclaim" the babe as payment for Adreea choosing Saul over the Sczarni. Saul's criminal contacts warned him in time, and he and his family fl to Riddleport to escape, but not before Adreea took a poisoned bolt to the back. She died soon thereaft leaving Natalya entirely under her father's care.

Saul mourned, but eventually remarried-a marriage that produced Natalya's half-brothers. Eventually, they left home for their own reasons, leaving Natalya alone with her father and his third wife, Bertrida-a woman who despised Natalya. Feeling neglected by her father and persecuted by her stepmother, Natalya sought solace with some of Riddleport's Sczarni, who happened to be bitter rivals of her father's own criminal enterprises. When Bertrida discovered Natalya's activities and then gleefully revealed them to her father, Saul was outraged. At Bertrida's urgings, he disowned Natalya, turning his daughter out into the street with orders to never return. Saul never saw his daughter again.

And so Natalya returned to Magnimar. As she began to build her new life, the only thing she retained from her time in Riddleport was her father's name-something she kept out of a mixture of guilt and shame. She resigned herself to what would likely be a short life working with the Tower Girls, one of Magnimar's more notorious gangs.‌

But Natalya was impatient. She wanted to be the one in charge-the one who was making the most money and drawing the most respect. In the Sczarni, she grew increasingly frustrated at how much of each take got kicked up to her superiors. When the Pathfi entered an alliance with the Sczarni in Magnimar, Natalya saw a chance to pad her pocket and, just perhaps, build her reputation in another group as well. She approached Sheila Heidmarch in secrecy, and Sheila recognized Natalya's potential and hired her as an informant on the spot. Still part of the gang of second-story burglars known as the Tower Girls, Natalya used the skills and knowledge acquired in each organization to benefi the other as well.

Recently, the Tower Girls fell out of favor with the Wreckwash Blades, another Sczarni gang. Forced to relocate their hideout, the Tower Girls spent a few miserable days squatting in Underbridge at Fenster's warehouse. This changed when Natalya found a hidden sanctuary for the gang within an Irespan piling locally called the Crow for its signature exterior carvings. The Crow contained undiscovered chambers within it, and Natalya led the exploration of the chambers within the upper levels that then became the Tower Girls' current hideout. When exploration of their new hideout led to the discovery of a shard from an ancient Thassilonian artifact, it was Natalya who took possession of it. She intended to return to Sheila Heidmarch at that point, hoping for a big payday, but hadn't planned for the artifact's curse. She soon fell victim to the full inf luence of the Shard oJPride.

Now fully under the Shard ofPride's spell, Natalya's set her sights even higher. No longer is she content with the idea of running a Sczarni gang. That's just a stepping stone now-a stepping stone to progressively greater positions of power. If she can rule her own gang, why not all the Sczarni gangs in Magnimar? And if Magnimar's Sczarni... why not Magnimar itself ?