Katya Gatnom
A professional bookworm and absolute poker fiend. She often heads the discussion in the Book Club in the Wild Magic Tables Casino. She picked up poker after reading about it in a spy novel. She fell as much in love with the game as the book that inspired her spree. If there are two things she loves, its reading and deciphering. Whether that's reading and deciphering books or people, she loves how a story comes together. Without an ace up her sleeve, she is at a natural disadvantage against the cheats and lowlifes around the poker table. But this doesn't discourage her from trying to bluff and bait that ace right out of their hands, just like the characters from her favorite spy novels. She doesn't make too much against them, but its enough to fund her coffee addiction and lets her buy decorations for the book club.
Katya's high wisdom and perception, combined with her extensive history with detective novels makes her a sort of Sherlock Holmes. She has trained herself to remember specific details about her surroundings and perceive small clues. She geeks out over James Pond, who is a literal secret agent like the ones in her books. She also admires Dirk Diamond, as he is a detective, and a pretty good one too.
Katya sees the party as their archetypes. Marilka as the cursed child, Cedric as the cold and calculating sensible one, Toga as the street rat who had to fight to survive, Brilliance as the wounded good guy who tries to save everyone, Alloy as the hearty old man with a tragic past, and Daeran as the last of his powerful lineage.
Katya notices things about people which allows her to identify their backstory, class and levels of knowledge.
| What she noticed | How she knows | Exceptions | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| You work for, or were a part of the Navy | Navy personnel are trained to always wear their sleeves with exactly two folds. | Navy officers who were adopted into the navy without having to go through basic training. Alloy is a good exception because he did not stay with the navy for long. | Tarius Ransker served as a seer for the navy and would do so naturally. Andy Edward Mason undergoes training for the navy. Cedric would have his sleeves rolled in this way. |
| You do not live in a heavily Navy Area | When a Commodore walks by, it is customary to nod. The failure to do so typically means you grew up somewhere there was no Commodore. | Pirates, unless trying to blend in, will not do this. Nor will others who actively oppose the navy. But it is like standing when a lady enters a room in old times. Most people do it naturally just through observation. | Marilka would not nod, identifying her as a small island dweller. Nor would people from Yud'dha. Heidi Weft doesn't nod. |
| You are wanted by the Navy | When a Navy unit enters a room, most people turn to look and watch. Criminals glance and then turn away quickly, so as not to show their face. | High ranking criminals will sometimes stare down the Navy, but this is reserved for people like captains Alloy and Oshiro. | Brilliance would only glance at the navy before hiding his face. Twilliam would not want to make eye contact with them. |
| You are from Yud'dha | People from Yud'dha often belch after eating. It is a custom on Yud'dha to eat and drink quickly, almost as though there were a competition. | Some countercultural members of Yud'dha prefer to eat on their ships to preserve some sort of class. But this is rare. | Toga, Derick and Oshiro would eat quickly and Oshiro would let out hearty belches after he is finished. |
| You are from Patria Poetarum | Those from the great city of poets often slip the word "Ameliorate" or "Sublime" into their sentences. These are words that have blown up in popularity in that one city. It has yet to travel to the rest of Elysia. | Not many exceptions. The people of Patria Poetarum use very colorful, artistic language, but they cannot seem to escape these words which has made itself such a staple of the city. It has become as revealing as a strong accent. | Ptelea Amaryllis would use this word, as would the actor Stain Pitt and his posse. |
| You are lying | Liars, unless they are good, struggle to make eye contact while speaking. Their eyes dart around the room for something to save them from being discovered. | Liars like Cedric who are egotistical in nature, daring you to call his deceit, do not fall victim to this trick. She can only catch him lying by the incongruence of the lie. | Most of the players in the Poker lounge can be caught bluffing with this technique. She can just tell they are lying. |
Now free of the Casino, Katya tags along on the White Hawk to discover more of the world and be a part of their adventures.
Katya Gatnom CR: None
STR
8 -1
DEX
8 -1
CON
10 +0
INT
20 +5
WIS
20 +5
CHA
13 +1
Investigation +9, Perception +9, Insight +9, History +7, Arcana +7, Nature +7
Spellcasting. Katya casts one of the following spells, requiring no Material components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks):
Firebolt, Message, Blade ward
Shield, Sleep, Comprehend languages, Color Spray, Thunderwave, Alarm
Initiative Proficiency. When you roll Initiative, you can add your Proficiency Bonus to the roll.
Initiative Swap. Immediately after you roll Initiative, you can swap your Initiative with the Initiative of one willing ally in the same combat. You can't make this swap if you or the ally has the Incapacitated condition.
Keen Observer. Choose one of the following skills: Insight, Investigation, or Perception. If you lack proficiency with the chosen skill, you gain proficiency in it, and if you already have proficiency in it, you gain Expertise in it.
Lore Knowledge. Choose one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, or Religion. If you lack proficiency in the chosen skill, you gain proficiency in it, and if you already have proficiency in it, you gain Expertise in it.
Quick Search. You can take the Search action as a Bonus Action.
Expertise. Choose one skill in which you have proficiency but lack Expertise. You gain Expertise with that skill (Insight).
Thieves' Cant. Katya learned Thieves' Cant while trying to read House of Leaves. She hasn't gotten a good chance to use it yet, but sometimes writes her annotations in it for fun. Katya can read and write Thieves' Cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows her to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves' cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.
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