Paladin, leader of the Order of the Raven.

Early in your careers as adventuring heroes, as you began to deal with others in the “do-gooding business”, you began to hear about Valeria, leader and founder of the renewed Order of the Raven. There were all sorts of stories about her exploits, her exciting adventures, the evils she’d defeated. They seemed unbelievable—exaggerated, unlikely, contradictory…

When you finally met Valeria, and got to know her, your suspicions turned out to be right: most of the stories about her are fabrications. You get the sense, though, that Valeria has had adventures worth telling of; but she doesn’t like to talk much about them.

From the stories, you might’ve expected a typical crusading paladin of legend: proud, fearless, ready to stride into the darkness, with a cry of “Justice!”, carrying a sword of made of light held high (yes, they do say she has one of those). The reality is different. Valeria’s a quietly practical woman, who spends most of her time traveling, recruiting, making allies, speaking to important people about her Order’s cause, and finding and befriending people like you. When she’s not away, her time is taken up by the mundane tasks of keeping the Order running, and trying to expand it.

You’ve never seen her fight—though you hear she’s an excellent swordswoman, and skilled in hand-to-hand combat as well. In fact you’ve never so much as seen her dressed for battle; the most combat gear you’ve seen her wear—when she ventures, on occasion, into one of the city’s seedier neighborhoods—is a leather cuirass and a dagger at her belt.

The brothers and sisters of the Order of the Raven idolize Valeria; to them she’s a role model, the image of the ideal paladin. And it’s no coincidence that the members of the Order have always struck you as much more… sensible, than many other “holy warriors” you’ve encountered.

Appearance

From bits and pieces of her life story you’ve picked up, you know Valeria must be about 40, perhaps in her early 40s, though she looks younger, and has kept in excellent shape. She’s of average height and medium build, and has a fighter’s musculature. Valeria’s human, Videran by nationality, with blond hair cut short, and blue eyes. She is good-looking but not strikingly attractive, and otherwise unexceptional in appearance.