Varka Iron-Tongue
Varka Iron-Tongue
Sheet
AC 10 · HP 41 · 30 ft.Saving throws
Skills
- AcrobaticsDEX
- ArcanaINT
- AthleticsSTR
- DeceptionSTR
- HistoryINT
- InsightWIS
- IntimidationINT
- InvestigationINT
- MedicineWIS
- NatureINT
- PerceptionWIS
- PerformanceCHA
- PersuasionCHA
- ReligionINT
- Sleight of HandDEX
- StealthDEX
- SurvivalWIS
Armor
Weapons
Tools
Languages
Features
19 featuresBonus action
- TraitOrcAggressive, as a bonus action, she can move up to her speed toward a hostile creature she can see or hear.
Always on
- RageLevel 1
When Bonus action, when not wearing heavy armor
Varka enters a furious battle trance, gaining advantage on Strength checks and saving throws, bonus melee damage, and resistance to physical damage. As a bear totem warrior, her rage grants resistance to nearly all damage except psychic damage.
- Extra AttackLevel 5
When Attack action
Varka attacks twice with her greataxe or other weapon when she takes the Attack action.
- Reckless AttackLevel 2
When First attack on her turn
Varka deliberately exposes an opening to gain advantage on Strength-based melee attacks, accepting that attacks against her will also have advantage until her next turn.
- Greataxe Strike
When Action
Varka uses her greataxe to make a melee weapon attack, dealing 1d12 + 4 slashing damage, or 1d12 + 6 while raging.
- Thrown Weapon Attack
When Action
Varka hurls a handaxe or javelin at a nearby target, using Strength for the attack and damage roll.
- Unarmored DefenseLevel 1
While not wearing armor, her Armor Class equals 10 + her Dexterity modifier + her Constitution modifier. She can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
- Danger SenseLevel 2
She has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects she can see, such as traps and spells. This does not apply while she is blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
- Primal Path: Totem WarriorLevel 3
She follows the Path of the Totem Warrior, drawing spiritual power from the bear.
- Spirit SeekerLevel 3
She can cast the beast sense and speak with animals rituals, but only as rituals.
- Totem Spirit: BearLevel 3
While raging, she has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. This includes damage from magical sources.
- Fast MovementLevel 5
Her speed increases by 10 feet while she is not wearing heavy armor.
- Aspect of the Beast: BearLevel 6
She gains proficiency in the Survival skill. If she already had proficiency, she would instead gain proficiency in another barbarian skill.
- Ability Score ImprovementLevel 4
At 4th level, she increased her Strength score by 2, raising it from 17 to 19.
- TraitOrcDarkvision, can see in dim light within 60 feet as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light, though darkness appears gray.
- TraitOrcMenacing, she is proficient in the Intimidation skill.
- TraitOrcPowerful Build, she counts as one size larger when determining carrying capacity and the weight she can push, drag, or lift.
- TraitOrcOrcish resilience, she can drop to 1 hit point instead of dropping to 0 hit points once per long rest.
- False IdentityCharlatan
She maintains a false identity with forged papers, a convincing cover story, and a network of marks, contacts, and victims who believe she is someone else.
Gear
9 itemsWeapons
- GreataxeA massive two-handed martial weapon, favored for cleaving through armor and intimidating witnesses.
- 2×HandaxeLight thrown axes suitable for close combat or pursuit.
- 4×JavelinSimple thrown spears used for hunting and combat.
- RapierA finely made rapier carried as part of her false noble identity.
Tools
- Forgery KitTools for creating convincing forged documents, seals, and signatures.
Gear
- Explorer's PackA pack containing bedroll, mess kit, tinderbox, torches, rations, waterskin, and rope.
- Fine ClothesExpensive-looking clothing used to support her aristocratic disguise.
- PouchA pouch containing 15 gold pieces from her charlatan starting wealth.
- Forged DocumentsA set of forged documents establishing her false identity, including letters of introduction and travel papers.
Appearance
A tall, heavily muscled gray-green orc woman with a broad jaw, prominent lower tusks, and a shaved scalp except for a long black braid behind her left ear. Her amber eyes are sharp and watchful. Old knife scars cross her forearms, and a dark red brand marks her right shoulder, concealed beneath layers of leather and fur. She wears a battered hide vest, iron-studded bracers, and a wolf-gray cloak. Her massive greataxe is polished more carefully than her armor, and several small forged identity papers are tucked into hidden pockets.
Mannerisms
She speaks softly when making threats and loudly when pretending to be harmless. She taps one tusk with a fingernail while evaluating a lie, pauses before answering simple questions, and refers to every stranger by a different title until she learns which one earns the most respect.
Personality
Varka is controlled, observant, and relentlessly pragmatic. She prefers to win through preparation and manipulation, but when violence begins she becomes terrifyingly direct. She admires competence in others, especially when it can be purchased or redirected. She rarely lies without purpose, and she considers a well-crafted lie a superior form of craftsmanship.
Ideals
Order. Freedom is merely the privilege of those powerful enough to enforce their own rules. A properly controlled society is safer, richer, and easier to rule.
Bonds
She protects the hidden network of false identities, safe houses, and informants that she built after escaping her warband. Anyone who threatens that network becomes a personal enemy.
Flaws
She cannot resist humiliating anyone who doubts her intelligence, even when silence would be safer. She treats genuine affection as a weakness and assumes every kindness is an attempt to gain leverage.
Quirks
Background
Varka Iron-Tongue was born among an orc warband that valued obedience above all else. Her mother taught her that strength won battles, but Varka learned that information decided who was allowed to claim victory. As a young scout, she began impersonating messengers, priests, and minor nobles, first to misdirect rival clans and later to sell the same secret to both sides. Her talent for deception made her valuable, though never trusted, and she discovered that fear was often more reliable than loyalty. After a disastrous campaign against a fortified human city, Varka abandoned her warband with a stolen signet, a dead officer's identity, and a new name. She entered civilization as a traveling scribe and confidence trickster, using forged documents to acquire contracts, safe passage, and access to wealthy targets. When one of her schemes brought her face to face with an ancient spirit of the wild, she accepted its brutal lesson: the strongest creature in the room is the one no one dares to challenge. Varka now travels as an adventurer, gathering wealth, leverage, and secrets until she can build a domain where every law serves her and every oath has a price.
“Her mother taught her that strength won battles, but Varka learned that information decided who was allowed to claim victory.”
- Background
- Charlatan
Connections
Species
Orc
Media
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