Slice

First introduced in Quoth the Raven Issue 28 as a character in the Chibiloft comics. Slice is human woman from Gothic Earth who currently resides in the Demiplane of Dread, and actually finds it preferable to her home world.

Origins

Slice has revealed that she was born on the world of Gothic Earth in the early 21st century, in the state of Massachusetts in New England. She became a member of the Universal Life Church at some point in her youth. As Gothic Earth is firmly in the grip of the Red Death, it is a minor miracle that Slice has managed to grow as powerful as she has in both arcane magic and quarterstaff-based combat (she is a student of Okinawan kobudō-style bōjutsu) as she has without falling to Evil.

Slice has not revealed to her teammates how and why she came to be transported into the Demiplane of Dread by the Mists, mentioning only that at least in the Demiplane one can kill monsters when they appear, without needing to fear reprisals.

Demiplane of Dread

Slice first arrived in the Demiplane of Dread in 764 BC, when she appeared from the Mists in Barovia alongside Wick just in time to meet the fleeing Comoară and the brutish tax-gatherers who sought to kill the young Giomorgo. After the battle, Comoară insisted on forming an adventuring party with the two powerful Outlanders, and the Chibiloft Crew was formed.

Slice has fallen into the role of the 'Crew's leader almost against her will. Although she lacks diplomatic skills and subtlety, she is the only member of the group with mentionable and consistent tactical and strategic skills. She is well-aware of her teammates' strengths and weaknesses and makes plans that take both into account. While she grumbles a lot, Slice has found considerable relief in the adventuring lifestyle; she has much greater freedom to act in the relatively primitive domains of the Demiplane than she did on Gothic Earth, and the absence of the Red Death's taint on all magic is a never-ending wonder to her. The relatively subtle touch of the Dark Powers on magic in the Demiplane is a relief in comparison.

Personality

Slice is irritable, bears grudges and makes enemies like a craftsman. She is also honest to a fault, highly conscious of her responsibilities as her group's leader, and prefers to keep her given word whenever possible. While her teammates' antics often irritate her, she always listens to their input and tries to do right by them. If a situation is so completely out of control that running away is the best solution, Slice will order the retreat without feeling shame or regret; corpses cannot solve problems, only survivors can.

Combat

Slice is neither as fully combat-oriented as Slap, nor is she as magically powerful as Wick. On the other hand, she is more balanced than either or both of them, easily using her bōjutsu-skills to back up her magic, or her magic to enhance her bōjutsu. It is safe to say that she is greater than the sum of her parts, moving decisively but never rigidly in battle, forever seeking the optimal use for her varied talents.

Weapon

Slice's weapon of choice is a branch she snapped from a Barovian tree for her first battle in the Demiplane of Dread. Although she has refined this weapon into a mostly proper fighting staff, Slice has retained the twisted knot at the end where it once connected to its tree to increase its striking power. If asked about the weapon, Slice will jokingly refer to it as Twist. Sometimes, if in a rare humorous mood, Slice makes up outrageous stories about her staff's supposed power, but as far as she knows the weapon is just a well-turned staff that is imbued with power by herself.

Secret

Slice has not told her teammates that she was plagued by grotesque visions throughout her formative years; echoes of the influence of the Red Death on Gothic Earth's Weave of magic. The worst of these were attempts to either intimidate or tempt her into obedience.

The nature of the visions changed when Slice first entered the workforce, running errands for the campaign team of an up-and-coming politician; they became images of said politician committing heinous crimes. When Slice tried to repress these as she had so many other visions, the Red Death 'spoke' to her directly for the first time, revealing the politician to be a Renegade - a surprisingly successful one, close to gaining political clout by means of dark rituals and live sacrifices of children. Slice did not trust the Red Death, but conducted an investigation of her own - one that proved that this one time, the voice that had tormented her all her life had spoken the truth.

Slice was locked up in the Maine Correctional Institute for Women after she 'dealt' with her employer, and tried in absentia without ever having a chance to speak in her own defense. The Red Death whispered sweet offers to her - freedom and exoneration for obedience - but Slice refused these offers up to the day that she was to be executed for murder. While a huge media circus raged outside the prison, Slice was taken from her cell to the room where she was to be executed with cyanide gas. As cameras flashed, vapour rose around Slice where she sat strapped to the chair... and thickened... and changed. To Slice's stunned surprise, the chair and her bonds fell away from her and she could breathe normally. The Mists had come for her, and soon she would find herself in Barovia.

Statistics

Lawful Good female human Magus