The New World Campaign: Character Background

Yzma (Mary)

Name: Yzma
Class: Barbarian
Race: Half-Orc
Background: Folk Hero + Gladiator
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hometown: Lofoten, a small fishing village in the far northern-western part of the Armin
Empire. It’s in a territory that was only annexed by the Tide Kings within the last 100 years and
still retains many of its old ways. The village is comprised of mostly humans but has cordial
relationships with neighboring orc tribes.
Religion: Similar to Celtic Paganism in that nature itself is worshiped, believing that all aspects
of the natural world contain spirits, and that communication was possible with these spirits.
She is not an active practitioner, but these beliefs form her respect with nature and she turns to
these beliefs in times of trials.

Brief history: Yzma grew up in Lofoten, raised by human mother and stepfather. She has two
younger half-siblings, with whom she had a close relationship growing up, but naturally there
was some distance because of their differences. Yzma always felt a strong connection with
nature and enjoyed going on fishing and hunting exhibitions with her father and overall felt she
had a warm childhood.

Yzma worked hard to control her temper, but skirmishes with other young villagers inevitably
popped up. Her rage would overtake her and, after she had essentially blacked out, she would
come to and see that she had fended off foes in quite a violent manner.

When Yzma turned 16, her uncle Ander came to visit the family. He witnessed one of Yzma’s
outbursts and saw an opportunity. Telling her parents he was taking her on a hunting trip, he
tricked Yzma into attending a battle and a local fighting arena outside of Lofoten and was
essentially kidnapped by a traveling group of fighters — essentially being the operative word, as
Ander facilitated this exchange for a finders fee.

Forced to fight in areas across the Armin Empire until she earned enough to buy her freedom,
Yzma started to learn to channel her anger and became a skilled battler — not out of joy, but
out of necessity. At a large invitational battle on the arena outside of the Armin Empire capital,
she won the tournament and its victory pot of 100 gold or a ticket aboard the E.S. Arrow setting
sail for the New World. Seeing her way out of the violent life of fighting and the promise of a
fresh start, Yzma chose the ticket.

Important life event: When Yzma was a young child, she wandered too far from the family
during a trek through the nearby forest at the base of the mountains. While she was lost, she
encountered a mountain Fey spirit. Taking pity on her, the spirit gave her the connection with
the Wild Soul to ensure she returned home to her family safely. Ever since, Yzma experienced
outbursts of powerful emotion and felt a mysterious magnetism to the mountains — an
intermingling of fear mixed with an unmistakable draw. She has no active memory of this
encounter.

Why she is going on this journey: After her victorious battle, most assumed Yzma was leaving
for the New World to build a reputation for herself in the unregulated fighting pits, and she
didn’t correct them. If she has to engage in some fights to drum up cash and get people off her
backs, so be it. But, she wants to carve out a peaceful, fresh start for herself in the New World.
She’s afraid to go back home — deep down, she worries her uncle’s plot to get her out of
Lofoten was what her whole family wanted, and if she went home she’d have to face that. So in
the New World, she hopes to build a new family for herself. She does want connections with
people — she enjoys alone time, but isn’t a loner. Her ultimate goal is to explore the land,
explore get a feel for the various landscapes, see as much of the country as possible and build
genuine companionships.

Rivals: While an overall positive individual, she carries an absolutely unresolved hatred for her
uncle Ander. He’s the only person in the world that if she ever saw again, she might relish doing
him harm.
Love interests: Another fighter at the arena located on the outskirts of the Armin Empire
capital, Yzma only caught her name once — a tall, imposing fighter with deep brown hair and
green eyes named Rowan. They shared a meal after a particularly brutal round where we both
won in our respective groups and there was a spark — but she disappeared the next day.
Mentors: A fighter Yzma fought alongside on her early days in the circuit. A Dragonborn named
Torinn, he trained early mornings with Yzma and taught her a few “dirty” fighting tricks that,
while Yzma protested their fairness in the moment, they came in hand in later battles. Every
time she does a leg swipe to knock an opponent down, she thinks of Torinn.

Appearance: 6 and a half feet tall, greyish tinted skin mixed with an earthy tan from spending a
lot of time outside. Wears her long black hair in a braid down her back with two small ponytails
framing her face. Many fresh but not too deep scars from her recent battle days on her face,
arms and legs, with one particularly nasty one down the full extent of her left forearm. Wears
navy blue halter top, dark beige loose pants and a fur wrap around her hips.
Likes: Simple meals, grew up eating a lot of fish so prefers that, spending time alone in the
woods.
Dislikes: Big cities and their overly baroque inhabitants. Makes her think of the people who
would watch the fighting matches.
Habits: A messy eater. Hasn’t grown out of that habit since childhood. Enjoys a good joke and
jab, but has a habit of turning hot-headed in an instant. Keeps a set of smooth pebbles from the
Lofoten shore in her pocket that she often toys with.