Lyra du Vectari

Description

pc-card-lyra.png|left|320

Lyra is an ageless sexless Shardforged, with metallic lambent green eyes, small build (5'), no hair and bronze, platinium, verdigris, wood and iron "skin".

Lyra is a short, lythe humanoid. Almost child sized, she looks like a stiff breeze might blow her away. A warm leather coat and a hood over a peaked cap hide most of her away from the cold and a large pair of blue glassed goggles cover her eyes. When her gaze swivels to you she appears to look through you, like she’s studying your spine instead of your face. Then she remembers and smiles and tries her best to look normal.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ship Role

Lyra is the ships Helmsman, which is a custom ship role.

Role Proficiencies

Character Level Role Proficiencies Gained
1st Optimise Load, Ride the Lightning
5th In the Flow, Leaf on the Wind
11th Advanced Combat Manoeuvres, Evasive Action
17th Fluster, Manoeuvre Training
Character Level Role Proficiencies Gained
1st Optimise Load: The Helmsman orders the crew to move cargo and passengers around until the ship is perfectly balanced. All manoeuvring rolls gain +1 until the loadout changes (shift change, mealtime, etc).
1st Ride the Lightning: The pilot taps into inner reserves to run long term. They can man the helm for 36 hours straight, but fall into a deep sleep for 16 hours afterwards. If awoken early they gain an exhaustion point. Once used this cannot be tapped again the helmsman takes a long rest.
5th In the Flow: At tier 2, helming the ship becomes second nature. Once the helmsman has been attuned to a ship for more than a week, they can cast momentum for free once per short rest.
5th Leaf on the Wind: The helmsman goes into a deep focus, gaining advantage on all manoeuvring rolls for 1 minute. All other rolls are made at Disadvantage. You can use this feature once per short rest.
11th Advanced Combat Manoeuvres: While the helmsman is piloting during combat, all gunnery crews receive a bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to double the helmsman's proficiency bonus.
11th Evasive Action: At tier 3, you can choose manoeuvre completely defensively. By declaring that you are ‘fully defensive’, the ship gains +5 AC until the start of your next turn, and no ship weapons can be fired until the start of your next turn.
17th Fluster: At tier 4, once per round you can use a ship action to perform a ‘jink’ with the ship - making it look like you’re going one way when really going another. If an opposing spelldriver sees the movement then make a contested spelldriving roll. If successful the opposition ship halts as its spelldriver attempts to compensate incorrectly. The affected ship makes all attack rolls at disadvantage, and all attack rolls against it are made with advantage until the start of its next turn.
17th Manoeuvre Training: The crew trains in manoeuvres with the helmsman. All combat manoeuvres are performed with a +2 bonus for the next month (or until the crew changes significantly).

Character

Lyra du Vectari's Character Sheet - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)

Journal for Lyra du Vectari | The Lead Zeppelin - Google Docs

Attribute Value
Sex None
Race Shardforged
Class Wizard
Sub-Class School of Divination
Played By Benson Taylor

Personal Quest

Hook: Seeking fortune to save his family.

Lyra was hired to pilot a racing skiff – and win glory for the syndicate or something.

Lyra became involved after hearing about an opportunity in Ezdin to fly as a replacement pilot for the Arrodan Syndicate in the Cin’Dar Jubilee skiff races – replacing the disgraced previous polit, an elf named Meras.

She is a passenger of her own accord aboard the Ladies Luck, having insisted to Elvar that she “evaluate the thrust performance directly myself”.

Hands of Fate

tarot-the-chariot.png|left|350

Prophecy

Signs and portents are the life-blood of Sordane. Like all beings adrift on the floating sphere, Lyra is subject to the forces of destiny.

Merrick is “The Chariot” - her destiny represents the need for control and balance. It represents the ability to harness conflicting forces and steer them in a harmonious direction.

Divine Tarot : The Chariot

Control and Balance: The Chariot signifies the need for control and balance. It represents the ability to harness conflicting forces and steer them in a harmonious direction. This card advises finding a balance between different aspects of your life, such as work and personal matters, and maintaining control over your actions and emotions.

Decision-Making and Direction: The Chariot signifies making decisions and choosing a clear direction. It suggests the need to evaluate your options and select a course of action that aligns with your intentions. This card advises you to trust your instincts and make choices that will lead you toward your desired outcomes.

 
 

Backstory

Lyra's first memories were signing on to the Cin'Dar merchant navy and entering airship service. She was an incredible pilot and slated for great things - however she still had to work through the ranks just like anybody else.

Her turning point came during a battle when her helmsman was killed and the ship risked destruction. Lyra grabbed the wheel, performed a high yoyo into a firing solution on the Corvette pursuing them, destroyed their rudders and used the resultant confusion to extend and escape.

Unfortunately, the captain had been running to stop her and the manoeuvre literally dropped the ship out from underneath him. It's possible he's still falling. Whilst the crew knew she'd saved their lives and stood by her, the captain's family was both very powerful and very upset. She was stripped of her commission and dishonourably discharged. Even 🚹Navarch Primus (Rear Admiral) Androneous Scoliae was forced to disown her and she left the navy in shame, but she found that suddenly every other ship in town had an opening for a first mate. She has not seen home since.

Lyra has spent the last few years contracting with as many crews as possible - exploring new lands or dangerous routes that drive her to increase her skills. Currently her mind is more valuable than her hands - she can see that manoeuvres are possible, but might not be able to control an airship well enough to pull them off yet...

Her experience with airships has run counter intuitive to her understanding of aerodynamics, control surfaces, aspect ratios and thrust mechanics. She has recently come to the conclusion that airships are designed very, very poorly - based more on the vagaries and creatures of the sea than birds of the sky. She has started planning how one might build a pure combat craft. A machine capable of destroying any flying device currently in service, whilst retaining full combat capability itself. Her quarters are filled with sheets outlining design ideas and carved wooden models of airships. She has a second spell book with no spells in it, just confirmed designs.

In the words of people who’ve spent time around her, she is batshit insane. Her mind is constantly taking in data from every angle and extrapolating various potential futures. She has to quiet this down in order to focus on the present. On the upside, she can actually calculate the future…

Other Notes