Player Character All-Star: Ilona Lorien

ILONA LORIEN (AD&D 2nd Edition, converted from 1st Edition)

Female high elf NG 11th-level priest of Orelia
Str 11, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 17
AC -5, hp 61, THAC0 14, Move 12, Size M

XP (+10%) 682,506 – next level at 900,000

Saving Throws: PPD 6, RSW 10, PP 9, BW 12, S 11. +4 to save vs. mind-affecting magic (Wisdom), +2 to all (cloak), +4 vs larger/hotter fires (ring).

Weapon Proficiencies: horseman’s mace, quarterstaff, footman’s mace, longsword.

Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Ancient History (military)-14, Ancient History (Achea)-14, Bureaucracy-15, Ceremony-18, Dancing-15, Healing-16, Herbalism-13, Local History (Solomaria)-17, Reading/Writing-16, Religion-18, Singing-17, Spellcraft-13.

Languages: Common, Elven, Solomarian.

Racial Abilities: 60 ft. infravision. +1 to hit with long or short swords or bows. 90% resistance to sleep or charm-related spells. 1 in 6 chance of spotting secret/concealed door in passing, 2 in 6 to find secret door if searching, 3 in 6 to find concealed if searching. -4 (-2 if door must be opened) bonus to surprise foes when alone and not wearing metal armor. -2 penalty when disbelieving illusions.

Class Abilities: Cleric spells: 7 1st, 6 2nd, 5 3rd, 4 4th, 2 5th, 1 6th. Major spheres allowed: All, Combat, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Travelers. Minor spheres allowed: Charm, Divination, Guardian, Sun, Wards. +3 points/die on all healing spells. Can detect evil 6 times/day. Can turn undead and attract followers. May use an edged weapon, but only in self-defense.

Possessions: Wyrmbiter (longsword +2, red dragon slayer), staff of curing, footman’s mace +3, elven chain +3, shield +3, ring of fire resistance, cloak of displacement, 2 candles of invocation, holy symbol, backpack, 170,514 gp.

Height: 5'10", Weight: 140 lb., Age: 156
Eyes: Green, Hair: Blond, Skin: Fair

APPEARANCE
Ilona is a strikingly beautiful elf, with her mother’s long, lustrous golden hair, and sparkling green eyes. Nearly six feet tall and 150 pounds, she is 156 years old, but only her adventuring scars betray any sign of her age.

Despite being both Queen and Archbishop of Achea, she still wears the austere blue and white robe of a traveling priest, though elven chain hides beneath it. She still uses the same basic holy symbol that she received upon her ordination. A small gold crown adorns her brow; she wears a simple silver band upon her right hand, and her wedding ring, comprised of intertwined loops of platinum, gold, and mithril, on the left. She also wears hard, high boots and a sturdy leather belt.

The longsword Wyrmbiter hangs at her hip, along with a functional mace. She carries her staff everywhere she goes.

BACKGROUND
Ilona is the only daughter of General Taran Lorien, a renowned Crusade veteran who settled in Zeno’s Gate with his wife Shaena. When Taran mustered an army, determined to carve a new elven kingdom out of wild Alfheim, Ilona went after him, finding her faith in Orelia along the way. Though too late to save her father, she became a cleric upon returning home with his body.

She traveled to Solorune for her education. Tending to the infirm in the temple there, she encountered Nicholas Sharpe, and the wizard’s rescuer, the drow fighter Nightshade. Fearful at first of Nightshade, she became an unlikely friend to both him and Nicholas.

When her friend Erik Holder went missing, Ilona, Nick, and Nightshade tracked him to a temple of the lost god Taros. Enlisting the help of Fredek the rogue, the four adventurers slew the cultists – and exposed a deeper conspiracy at work.

Defeating that conspiracy was only the beginning of Ilona’s adventuring career. Her adventuring company, the Destroyers, have traveled the length and breadth of Brynthia, and to worlds and planes beyond. (See Nick's page for a more detailed description of their adventuring career.)

But the island realm of Achea is their adopted home. Ilona married Nightshade shortly after he became a hero to the Achean people; she persuaded the Clave to make Achea an archdiocese under her jurisdiction after recovering the Chalice of the Saint, and she and Nightshade united the island under their rule when it faced foreign invasion.

Today Ilona has retired from the adventuring life – being a queen and an archbishop keeps her hands full. Still, if evil should rise, she will be there to meet it.

PERSONALITY
Ilona’s faith in her deity is matched only by her love for Nightshade, though she blames herself for their inability to conceive. She is also devoted to Nick and Fred, but has never cared for Alexandrine’s company. Though she loves and admires her late father, she no longer shares his hatred for the drow.

A fearless enemy of evil, Ilona would walk across Brynthia to smite her goddess’s foes, and never refuses a request for aid. Indeed, her tendency to jump right into things has always been her greatest flaw, though she has some control over it now. She also came across as haughty in her youth, but her years in the priesthood have brought her humility, even in her current stations.

A natural leader, Ilona is honest (sometimes harshly so) and trusting (perhaps too trusting). She strives to bring reform to the One True Faith, and is considered the most liberal element of the Clave.

She feels naked without her holy symbol, and never lets it out of her sight. Her wedding ring is the only other possession in which she places such value.

COMMON EXPRESSIONS
"The Bright Lady's miracles aren't meant to win your faith, but to reward your faith."

THEME SONG
"Fight the Good Fight," by Triumph

KNOWN FAMILY MEMBERS
Taran Lorian, father (deceased)
Shaena Lorien, mother
Nightshade, husband

COMMENTS
Ilona began as a 1st-level NPC in The Hand of Fate, but became a PC when another DM offered to run G1-3 Against the Giants for us. Since it was just my brother and I, we each played two characters; Ilona and Nick were mine.

By then, Ilona had overcome her hatred of the drow to fall in love with Nightshade, so she was essentially devoid of negative character traits. But she gained depth over the four years that I played her, and she formed the selfless, vigilant foundation that I've since based a thousand clerics upon. I still think of her as my first "real" player character.