Ezmerelda d'Avenir

Vistani and Thunderbird House student.

Ages slowly

As noted in that post, Vistani don't really age the way normal humans do...and nobody (except the Vistani, and they aren't telling) actually knows if they can die of old age. They certainly don't seem to get frail when they get old. By Vistani standards, Ezmerelda is extremely young--not a child, but still quite young. The fact that she is, for all intents and purposes, ageless may have an impact on her mindset. (Source)

Must travel or die

Possesses a ridiculous level of wanderlust. She must travel or, as mentioned in that post, she may cease to be a Vistana. If the PCs decide to take some downtime, she's going to wander off for a while, even if just to go for a drive/walk/ride to a different town to "clear her head." She will avoid explaining why she has to travel if she can help it...she'll make up an excuse for why she needs to drive off to a different town. (Source)

Knows most of the stories of the Doroq and is able to dance the Prastonata...however, she's not quite as good at the dance as she used to be, on account of her artificial leg--an immobilized ankle messes with some of the movements. (See Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani if you want to find three examples of Doroq stores she could share) (Source)

Skills

Expertises: Deception, Perception, Survival

Ez is a skill-monkey and is good at a LOT of things. She has Expertise in Deception, Perception, and Survival and Proficiency in a bunch of other skills. Make sure to draw attention to how multiskilled she is. (Source)

Skill: Sleight of Hand

How she hides weapons on herself (see following notes). She's quite good at it. (Source)

Skill: Animal Handling

Gets along with animals extremely well. Animals not under The Dark Wizard's control are not hostile towards her, and generally seem to like her. She might actually be able to communicate with them. (At the very least, she won't actually admit whether or not she can talk to animals). (Source)

Skill: Curses

Vistani are particularly gifted at laying curses on people and can do so without the need of casting spells. They have to be in a hostile enough state of mind, but they can curse you with nearly any doom they can think of. Ezmerelda has this capability--for using it, consider these guidelines: (Source)

Curse should be in response to a significant wrong. Just fighting something isn't enough for her to get a serious curse going--she has to be well and truly furious (though Vistani rage burns cold). (Source)

Curse should be poetically (or karmically) appropriate to the wrong that was done. (Source)

Curses should have a varying degree of severity based on how mad the Vistani is when they lay the curse--ranging from an annoyance (It now requires skill-checks for you to operate a doorknob) to damaging (You gain horrifying, monstrous features) to absolutely deadly (van Richten's "everyone you care about gets killed by monsters" curse). (Source)

All but the worst curses should have an escape clause...some way to either release the curse, or at least bypass its worst effects. A curse averted by using its escape clause does not trigger the psychic backlash. (Source)

The curse should be spoken aloud, and reference (however vaguely) its nature and its escape clause. It does not have to rhyme...but making it rhyme can be fun. (Source)

A curse should never reference game mechanics out loud. If someone is cursed, they should have to figure out what happened to them--rather than it being immediately apparent. (Source)

A Darklord (like The Dark Wizard) is already cursed by the Dark Powers. A Vistani cannot curse a Darklord. (Source)

Example curses from Ezmerelda

"May you look every bit as noble as you act." Curse used against someone who behaves in cruel fashion...curses them with some hideous deformity. Escape clause is that if they start behaving in a noble fashion, the deformity becomes less and less noticeable until it disappears. However, the curse is not gone, if the cursed individual reverts to their old ways, the deformity comes back. (Source)

"You of clever fingers who pulled my home apart, may your hands bear the stains of your heart." Curse used against someone who robs her wagon...curses them that their hands turn pitch black. Escape clause is that by seeking atonement for their wrongdoing (whatever form that takes), they may clear it up and return their hands to normal. (Source)

"May the world repay you with all the kindness you have shown me." Harder to escape curse against someone who was particularly nasty to her. Curse could include Disadvantage on Charisma checks, or simply degrading the 'attitude' of any individual they meet (Friendly > Indifferent, Indifferent > Hostile, Hostile > Violent). The escape clause is that you have to track Ezmerelda herself down again, and make up for how nasty you were to her. (Source)

"You thrum and strum and charm with lies, with the strings may your hands be forever tied." Curse used against a Bard who does something that ticks her off, likely involving lying to her. Curses them to be unable to play stringed instruments. This is a nasty one, because the 'Escape Clause' is simply that they can still play instruments that don't have strings. (Source)

Note: Ezmerelda should feel no need to explain her ability to lay curses on people. It's simply "one of the reasons many fear to cross the Vistani". (Source)

Combat Curse

Ezmerelda's daily Curse power is kinda terrifying. If you choose to let her use it freely in combat (rather than her cursing people the old-fashioned "You have done something to greatly anger me" model), she is giving double-damage to a particular damage type against a single target. (Source)

Curse: Damage Vulnerability

Picking which damage type can have a huge impact. If Ezmerelda is soloing something, pick Lightning. a Triple Tap with Lightning Bolt against a target vulnerable to lightning damage will kill nearly anything. Depending on Saves, that's throwing down an average of between 72 and 144 damage. If you have a Rogue in the party, consider Piercing damage--double damage sneak attacks are astoundingly destructive. (Source)

I would recommend maintaining the idea that she can't curse The Dark Wizard. Giving him vulnerability to the party's favorite damage type can kill The Dark Wizard in a huge hurry...at the very least, she can eat one of his Legendary Resistances. (Source)

Skill: Disguise

Ezmerelda owns a Disguise Kit, several alternative outfits, and a few wigs. I made her Proficient with the Disguise Kit and, paired with her Expertise in Deception...she's really, really good at disguising herself. Here are her three 'stock' characters that I have set up for her: (Source)

Old Lady

A slightly disheveled black wig liberally streaked with gray, makeup to add wrinkles and disguise her eye shape and skin-color. She carries a gnarled walking stick that she hollowed out and hides her Rapier inside of, and dresses in ratty, faded clothing, particularly a faded cloak that she keeps tucked up over her head. Her clothing is quite obscuring featuring long sleeves and gloves to hide the fact that she is built like a young athlete--not an old lady...though she may use illusions to disguise her limbs in the event that she is 'exposed.' In this character she plays the part of a kindly but poor old woman...she gives little treats to kids, grumbles about her joints, and walks hunched over with a pronounced limp that leans on her staff. When she wants to largely avoid notice, this is her go-to disguise. (Source)

Bombshell

Sometimes the best disguise is being the most obvious thing in the room. She dons a voluminous blonde wig and dresses in fine (and alluring) clothing, adding makeup both to enhance her looks and subtly disguise the features that mark her as Vistana. She tailors this one's behavior based off where she is and what she's doing, but the character is always bold, proud, and at least a little flirty. Her fancy clothing, like her hair, tends towards the voluminous, allowing her to stow weapons under all the frippery. She also had the clothing altered such that it is very easy and swift to remove all the foofy bits so she can rapidly get at her weapons and be free to fight if needed. (Source)

Nondescript

An array of characters based on the idea of appearing 'normal.' As usual, she uses makeup to alter her distinctive Vistani facial features, and pairs it with a simple brown wig of straight hair that falls just past her shoulders. The simple design allows her to restyle the wig (sometimes incorporating some of her own hair--though her natural hair is quite wavy) to give an array of different looks. (Source)

Vistani are not popular in Barovia or in many other lands. And she doesn't travel in a self-sufficient caravan, leaving her dependent on giorgios for the necessities of life that she can't find for herself. As a result, she generally dons a disguise when going into town in order to hide her Vistani nature. Even though her Boemite 'you like me' aura can get her into most places...a Vistani still draws a lot of attention that she'd often rather not have. (Source)

When in disguise, Ezmerelda is always armed. She always finds a place to hide her component pouch or wand and can always find places to stash daggers and darts, and may strap her shortsword or handaxe to her back. The Rapier is harder, which is why she likes the Old Lady disguise, because it lets her carry the hollowed out walking stick that her rapier fits inside of. If she can get away with it, she'll try to incorporate the walking stick into any disguise she can. (Source)

Skill: Monster Hunter

Ezmerelda is a veteran monster hunter who was trained by the legendary monster hunter, Rudolph van Richten. As a result, she is really, really good at killing monsters. (After all, in this module van Richten is only CR 5...the same as a Vampire Spawn, but he has canonically soloed mature vampires (CR13).) Ezmerelda will often quote from the Van Richten's Guides from AD&D2E, providing both anecdotes and useful information. (Source)

Finding a monster that Ezmerelda doesn't know anything about should be spectacularly rare. As a rule, she'll know what she's fighting, what to expect from that enemy, how it is likely to fight you, and how to best kill it. If fighting with a party, she'll share that info. (Source)

Will do her best to drill 'vital information' into allies' heads. (Source)

Creative, cunning tactical

Ezmerelda is very, very creative. A common thread in Ravenloft lore is that the main characters aren't powerful enough to just roll over their foes--they have to be creative in how they fight in order to win. As a result, Ezmerelda is very creative and spectacularly pragmatic when it comes to hunting monsters. If there's a pack of foes, she'll try to separate them and pick them off one at a time. If there are natural features she can use to get an edge, she'll do so (after all, collapsing a cave on top of bunch of monsters will probably kill a bunch of them and those that survive will be tired by the effort of digging themselves out). "The imagination is a weapon. Those who fail to use it die first." (Source)

Asks for items strategically

If the party contains a Cleric or Paladin, she is likely to try to procure the materials to make Holy Water, and try to get them to make her more. (Source)

On top of the basics, my take on her has given her a few extra things she knows that are either homebrew in nature, or drawn from older editions, that she can share with the PCs. (Source)

Killing a ghost isn't always as easy as just blasting it until it dissipates. You have to figure out what binds them to this world and resolve that in order for them to not just reform later. (Source)

Skill: Potionmaker, poisonmaker

Knows how to make some exotic poisons and potions that she picked up in her travels. (Source)

Skill: Knows lycanthropy cures

Knows several possible ways to cure Lycanthropy if the curse is too strong for a simple 'Remove Curse' to resolve. (Source)

Skill: Stealth

Vistani are virtually impossible to track without magical aid. If she's traveling alone, treat her as if she is under the effects of Pass Without Trace for attempts to track her. Her ability to destroy traces of a camp border on the miraculous. (Source)

Skill: Survival

Can light a fire virtually anywhere in any conditions even with horrible fuel. (Give her a pile of seaweed in a thunderstorm, and she'll have a fire crackling away in moments) (Source)

Is a deft hand at foraging--treat her as if she has the foraging feature of the Outlander background. (Source)

Skill: Tarokka and Legilimency

It is explicitly called out that Ezmerelda is able to perform a Tarokka reading in lieu of Madame Eva. This means that she possesses the seer qualities common among female Vistani. This can be useful if the party gets stuck, but there are a few constraints to keep in mind... (Source)

Tarokka is usually pretty vague. The precision of the opening reading is weird for a Tarokka reading. Normally, only Madame Eva can reliably get Tarokka readings that clear. (Source)

A Vistana cannot foretell anything about themselves. Any attempt to do so results in either spectacularly vague results, or a completely random outcome. Ezmerelda can peek at the future of the PCs, but cannot peek at her own future. (Source)

There is no single, set way that Vistani arrange Tarokka cards. Make up arrangements, group sets of cards together to carry a message, and mess with this however you'd like. Alternately, find the Ravenloft Campaign Guide--it has sample card arrangements you can use. (Source)

Thus, if you're willing to stack the deck and put forth the effort to use the card descriptions in Appendix E, you can have Ezmerelda perform Tarokka readings for things above and beyond the initial artifact-placement reading. Just as an off-the-top-of-my-head example...if you need to drop a hint to the party that Vladimir Horngaard can be redeemed, rather than having to deal with a vicious revenant who intends to prevent you from killing The Dark Wizard.... (Source)

Ezmerelda shuffles the cards together and then, with a distant look on her face, begins laying them out. The One of Swords placed in the center. To its left is placed The Broken One, above it is placed the Eight of Stars. To its right is placed The Artifact, and beneath it is placed the Six of Glyphs. (Source)

Explanation: This arrangement is set in the 'Basic Cross.' The same format used in the original "where are the artifacts?" reading. When Vistani use this layout it uses the following rules. The Central card is the Subject of the reading--in this case, the One of Swords (Avenger): one who seeks revenge for a great wrong (Horngaard). The Card to the left represents The Past: The Broken One representing defeat, failure, and despair--but also (possibly) the loss of something of great importance. The top card represents the present: The Eight of Stars (The Necromancer) can represent one who is on a destructive path. The right card represents the future: The Artifact--emphasizing the importance of some physical object that must be obtained (or protected, or destroyed) at all costs. And the bottom card speaks of the result: The Six of Glyphs (Anarchist) represents a significant change brought about in one whose beliefs are challenged. (Source)

In short: The Avenger (Horngaard) presently follows a destructive path because of failure and something lost in the past--recovering said something will trigger a significant change in him. Naturally, don't have Ezmerelda explain it that clearly...be vague and cryptic and fortune-teller-y. (Source)

A few extra ideas for Tarokka

Pick specific cards to 'represent' certain PCs. There's a card for most classes, so you can just use those when you have a character-specific hint to dole out. Or you can pick them based off their personalities, for a little extra 'accuracy.' (Source)

The Four of Stars is a useful card...one of the things it represents is a "warning of an overlooked clue or piece of information." You can use this card to hint to the PCs that they missed something in a place they have been before. (Source)

You can use the orientation of the cards for extra meanings--if the card is placed upside down, you can claim that it means the opposite of its 'standard' meaning, or means a twist on the original. For example, The Raven normally means a hidden ally or source of good...flip it upside down, and it could be a warning of a hidden enemy or spy. The Four of Stars can represent someone guided by logic and reasoning--flip it over to represent someone ruled by their emotions. Or for a more nuanced one: The Two of Swords (Paladin) normally represents a Just and Noble warrior, one who achieves good while doing things rightly--inverted, it could mean treachery done in the name of good deeds (i.e. "For the Greater Good."). (Source)

Personality

Cold fury

Ezmerelda, like most Vistani, has a temper. But their tempers don't flare hot...instead, they get coldly furious, then curse you. Bear in mind that a Vistana is not necessarily restricted to only the curse in their statblock. If a Vistana gets mad and declares some sort of Doom on you, you'd better pay attention to what they said. (Source)

Inscrutable

Important: Ezmerelda, like all Vistani, is more or less inscrutable. She does not freely explain herself, her powers, or her people. The Vistani are most interesting (IMO) when players come to realize that the more they learn about them, the less they actually understand them. (Source)

Languages

Slang

Casually refers to anyone not Vistani as a giorgio...especially when they don't understand something about her or her abilities. It's not quite a slur...but it's not positive either. (Source)

Patterna

Speaks the Patterna (allows her to basically babble gibberish with other Vistani and communicate massive amounts of info with them in a very short period) and can read and uses Tralaks (basically Hobo Marks). She can also understand Paaterns, which are incredibly inconspicuous markers the Vistani leave around that are normally extremely hard to spot (such as a Feather lodged in the bark of a tree, or a knotted willow branch. These all mean something, but the Vistani won't explain what they mean). (Source)

Background

Faction

Based off old lore, Ezmerelda is of the Corvara Tribe, part of the Boem Tasque. (Source)

The Boem Tasque has an uncanny ability to make people like them...as long as they are physically present. A Boem caravan can roll up to a town that dislikes Vistani, draw the entire town into the carnival they pitch. People laugh and joke, spending their money to enjoy the attractions the Boem have brought and having a great time. Then the caravan leaves, and the town spits in their direction as they go, cursing them as layabouts and shysters. This is because the Boem seem to exude a passive, low-end Charm Person-like effect that has a potent (but temporary) effect on your average person. Ezmerelda possesses this ability. While she is present, NPCs will generally be friendly towards her, even fascinated by her--but as soon as she's gone, their attitudes snap right back to normal. This effect does not work on someone who has a true grudge against the Vistani beyond just prejudice. (Note: Unlike a true Charm Person, someone effected by a Boemite's "you like me" aura doesn't realize they were unnaturally influenced. Additionally, at your discretion, this may not work on the PCs at all.) (Source)

Vistani free passage vs. Mists

Has the standard Vistani free-pass to move through the Mists of Ravenloft and, in fact, has control over where they take her. She can come and go from Barovia at will, using the mists to travel pretty much anywhere she wants to go. She can't safely take anyone else with her without The Dark Wizard's blessing, though. (Source)

Gear: Well-armed

Ez carries three melee weapons, a +1 Rapier, +1 Handaxe, and Silvered Shortsword. Normally, she should use either just her Rapier (to keep a hand free for spellcasting) or her Rapier and her Shortsword. She's a Dex-based fighter, so that pair makes the most sense and does the most damage. However, she carries that +1 Handaxe because it's the only other magic weapon she owns and will be more effective against monsters with Resistance or Immunity to non-magic damage (that don't have a Silver Bypass like Werewolves). (Source)

Ez owns more weapons than she carries. The only one really useful to her is the crossbow (It does make some sense that she wouldn't always be carrying this. Her Firebolt Cantip generally does more damage than a crossbow would. The main reason I could see her using the crossbow is if she had poisoned the bolts). She could lend out extra weapons to the PCs if they need them. Personally, I gave her some daggers and darts as well--she strikes me as the sort of person who would be armed to the teeth and disarming them is a bit hilarious as they produce an entire arsenal from their person. (Source)

Don't forget about her Holy Water. Tagging a Vampire with the stuff has a double purpose...the Radiant Damage is nice, but does less raw damage than her Firebolt or Rapier would...but it shuts off their Regen for a round, boosting its effective damage by +10 (or +20 vs. The Dark Wizard). (Source)

Class: Wizardess

As a Wizardess, she needs either an Arcane Focus or a Component Pouch, so I gave her one of each (wand for a focus)--she carries both at the same time. The component pouch is nice for valuable components (like the Pearl for Identify) and if someone is forcing her to disarm and finds the Component Pouch, they're less likely to keep looking until they find wherever she hid the Wand on her person. (Source)

Ezmerelda casts spells as a Wizard. Thus she should have a Spellbook and can learn/swap out spells. Using the Wizard character class, I realized that while she has the right number of spells prepared, she should have more spells than that in her Spellbook. As a 7th level Wizard, she should have a minimum of 18 spells in her Spellbook, she's short 7 spells. These are the ones I gave her... (Source)

1st level: Detect Magic, Identify, Disguise Self, Alarm 2nd Level: N/A 3rd Level: Dispel Magic, Remove Curse 4th Level: Fabricate (Source)

If she gets her hands on spell scrolls or spellbooks, she can expand her repertoire even further. (Source)

Wandless caster

If, by some chance, Ezmerelda is Disarmed and they find wherever she hid her wand...the following spells still work: Fire Bolt, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Magic Missile, Shield, Knock, Mirror Image, and Greater Invisibility. (Source)

Alchemist's Fire

Ezmerelda has access to 101 vials of Alchemists Fire. She may very well be willing to pull some down off the walls and carry them with her. (Source)

For flavor, here is how I laid out where she carries her loadout. (Source)

Rapier is on her left hip with a small wooden mallet just behind it. Shortsword and Handaxe on her right--the shortsword is in front. She has a total of 4 belt pouches. On her left, forward of the rapier is a small watertight case holding her spell components. On her right, forward of the shortsword is general purpose--money and other small objects. Positioned behind both sets of weapons are matching pouches, each one partitioned to hold vials: there are three vials of holy water and a potion of greater healing in each one. Set through loops on the very back of her belt are her three stakes, positioned to rest in the small of her back. Her overcoat conceals most of her gear--the only weapon that is immediately apparent is her rapier. If she is carrying her crossbow, it rides behind her rapier, and she has a small belt quiver for the bolts that is attached between her shortsword and handaxe. She has a significant number of darts and daggers hidden on her person: a dagger in each boot, strapped to the small of her back under her tunic, and slots for darts stitched into her overcoat and bracers, and more anywhere else you think she should/could hide them. Her wand is hidden...somewhere. (Source)

The Poisoner

Ezmerelda has a Poisoner's Kit, and it makes sense that she's Proficient in it. In addition to the canon (not terribly useful because of how long they take to make) poisons, she knows how to make a few extra things... (Source)

Gypsy Kiss: Must be applied to the lips of a creature and only takes effect after Contact with another target creature's mouth, who is then the target of the poison. The poison has no effect on the person who first applied it. A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution Saving Throw or become Poisoned for 1 hour. The Poisoned creature can't knowingly speak a lie, as if under the effect of a Zone of Truth spell. (Source)

Corpseblight: Built upon harvested spores from a carefully curated fungus, this is a powdery contact poison often thrown in a glass vial, where it affects anything within a 5' radius of where it shatters. Any undead creature of CR 4 or less that is exposed to Corpseblight must make an immediate DC 15 Constitution save or take 1d6+6 necrotic damage that ignores resistance and immunity. Every hour afterwards, the undead must make another Constitution Saving Throw or take an additional 1d6+6 unresistable necrotic damage. The undead must succeed on a total of 3 such saves in order to ward off the infection. If the undead reaches 0 hit points, they disintegrate entirely. If Corpseblight is applied to an inanimate corpse, the corpse disintegrates over 24 hours, leaving no trace. (Source)

Corpseblight is infectious while active. Any applicable undead that comes within 5' of an afflicted undead or corpse for the first time in a round, or starts their turn there, must Save or be infected. Successfully throwing off the infection does not grant any sort of immunity to Corpseblight. Thus, a large mob of undead will often repeatedly reinfect one another. (Source)

Special: Corpseblight is a very rare fungus and she has to create more by 'breeding it' on actual corpses. If her stock is destroyed, it's gone. (Source)

Note: Corpseblight is intentionally balanced to not be useful in combat and solitary undead will likely save against it before it kills them. But it's great for clearing out a horde of zombies (who will keep reinfecting each other even when they save)--so long as you aren't in a rush to get past them. (Source)

Positoxins

This is a set of poisons I've imported from older editions. Unlike a normal poison, they require Holy Water as a base ingredient. Furthermore, crafting one consumes a use of Channel Divinity from the crafter or a willing assistant. Thus, while Ezmerelda may have a few of these in stock, she's presently unable to make more without help from a Cleric or Paladin. Positoxins are special in that they explicitly bypass the resistance or immunity an undead creature has against poison or the poisoned condition. (Source)

Bloodwine: This crimson liquid is specialized to harm the sorts of undead that bite you. Any living being can ingest bloodwine and it remains potent in their system for 4 hours. If an undead creature bites someone with Bloodwine in their system, they must make a DC 15 Constitution Saving throw or be Poisoned for 1 minute (ignoring immunity to the Poisoned condition). Additionally, if they drain the character's blood, they take 2d6 poison damage that bypasses its immunities and resistances. (Source)

Gravedust: This gray-brown powder derives its name from its resemblance to the grime common in tombs and other long-enclosed areas. A corporeal undead that comes into contact with this poison must make a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw or be Poisoned for 1 minute (ignoring immunity to the Poisoned condition). Additionally, any undead that possesses the Undead Fortitude feature loses use of this feature while poisoned. (Source)

Ezmerelda's Habits and Flavor

As a result of her background and upbringing, Ezmerelda has a few odd habits. (Source)

When adding seasoning to something while cooking, she always sprinkles it in a triangular pattern. "Ground to Plant to Body to Ground" is a cycle the Vistani revere, and represent in this pattern. (Source)

Many of her day-to-day behaviors have a ritualistic feel to them, from how she gets ready in the morning, to how she saddles a horse, to how she cleans up a campsite before leaving it. She always does things in the exact same way. (Source)

"Lunadi" is a Patterna term meaning 'By the Moon.' She uses this in place of any sort of oath to a deity. (Source)

"Koorah" is a Patterna exclamation of utter agreement. (Source)

Ezmerelda owns a very nice Holy Symbol of the Morninglord, but doesn't actually worship that deity. (Source)

If asked her age, she always qualifies it as "By Giorgio counting." (Source)

If she clasps her hands together in front of her, it's a non-verbal signal that she wants to be left alone. Likewise, she will utterly ignore anyone who has their hands clasped in front of them (the Vistani do this to get some 'privacy' despite living in caravans). She will explain this if asked, or if she is spoken to outside of an emergency when she has her hands clasped. (Source)

By 2E lore...Vistani don't have a distinctive accent. However, Ezmerelda may have taught herself to fake multiple different accents so that she can either blend in to an area more easily or sound just foreign enough that people leave her alone...but also consider her enough of an outsider that when something outside of their experience happens, they listen to the outsider who seems to know what's going on. Perhaps she first learned to do this around van Richten so she wouldn't "sound like a Vistani" and he'd be a little more comfortable around her. This might also be where she first started disguising herself. (Source)

Her idea of a Compliment is "Proud and defiant, clear-eyed and wise." (Source)

Talks and interacts with animals as if they can understand her...they probably can. (Source)

Will scratch or draw Tralaks onto things as warning signs. (Source)

If she notices a Tralak or Paatern, she'll usually adjust her actions based on it...but not explain why (or point out the tralak). For example, if she spots a mark that indicates a place is haunted, she'll recommend the party spend the night somewhere else. If they ask why, she'll tell them the place is haunted. She won't explain how she knows this unless someone explicitly asks her. And even then, she might be evasive. (Source)

Is entirely aware of her passive "You like me" aura and happily exploits it. This may result in a few temporary crushes on the part of NPCs (between Ezmerelda's Cha, Performance Skill, and her Aura...she can be quite alluring when she wants to be). If she can make the Gypsy's Kiss poison listed above, she may exploit her charm to 'plant' the poison on her target. (Source)

Will be deeply unsettled by the Vistani near Vallaki. The Vistani are always lead by a female seer (called the Raunie) who handles high-end decision making, justice, etc. partnered with a male Captain who runs the day-to-day operations of the caravan. The Vallaki camp being run by a pair of brothers is just... wrong. (Source)

Always knows the direction and distance to the nearest river (good place to ditch vampires) (Source)

Performs 'Safety Checks' to make sure she's not interacting with monsters. She always provides the materials for these checks. To test for Lycanthropes, she'll have you prick your finger on a steel dagger. To test for Vampires, she'll have you dip your finger in a vial of Holy Water, immerse yourself in a river, enter a home uninvited, or she'll check for your reflection in a mirror. Until you have passed her safety checks, she doesn't trust you. You may have to re-pass them at various points. (Source)

Routinely uses Detect Magic and Identify as rituals to check people and things for contaminating magic. (Source)

As she knows she is hunting a Vampire, she's cautious about its Charm. If you have been away from the party within the last 24 hours, she doesn't trust you. This is part of why she spends time near Khazan's Tower...an antimagic field suppresses a vampire's Charm effect, so when she needs to be absolutely sure she's thinking properly (or that someone isn't Charmed), she goes there. (Source)

Is very cautious about curses and cursed objects. Her ability to lay curses makes her very much aware of how powerful they are. (Source)

May make references to places, events, and beings not native to Faerun. Her ability to control the Mists for travel means she has visited numerous other planes. (Source)

Is extremely fond of her wagon--it's her base of operations, mode of transport, and home. "Angry" doesn't begin to cover it if the party blows it up (and angry Vistani are prone to curse people). (Source)

There is a contradiction between her book description and the picture of her...the book says she takes care to hide her prosthetic leg from view, the picture shows it plain as day. Because it's more interesting, I went with the book description. She doesn't like people knowing about her false leg and goes to significant lengths to keep it a secret. She will only remove it in the privacy of her wagon, with the door locked. If you want to set off a nice character-building RP scene, have something happen that reveals her false leg (arrow gets stuck in it, PC walks in on her when she's removed it, etc.) (Source)

I gave her a number of extra scars from a life lived hunting monsters without regular access to magical healing. She keeps most of them covered. (Source)

Extra Hook

If you need an extra plot hook for Ezmerelda--something for her to be doing besides just meandering around Ravenloft trying to figure out how to kill The Dark Wizard...Ezmerelda is based out of Krezk or Khazan's Tower, which puts her really close to the Werewolf den. The Werewolves are harming kids, which sets off Ezmerelda's Ideal...if you need a hook for the werewolves, she could be targeting them as well as The Dark Wizard. (Source)

Complications

By her stats, Ezmerelda is one of the most potent allies a party can draw. In terms of simple CR, she's second only to Mordenkainen as an ally, and vastly easier to make friends with. In addition, Ez's versatility is amazing (By HP she's on par with an 11th level Paladin, her stats are absurdly good, she's a skill-monkey, a 7th level Wizard, AND has enough martial prowess to have Multiattack with her mainhand weapon. And then you add her Evil Eye and Curse features. Girl's a beast.) (Source)

But...it's not all sunshine and rainbows having her as your ally. Here are some complications that may arise because Ezmerelda is their friend. (Source)

Ezmerelda is Vistani and Barovians don't like Vistani. She is not welcome in any town in the valley, and NPCs may dislike the players because they are hanging out with "one of them." She can circumvent some of this by putting on a disguise, and your average person has little hope of seeing through her disguise...but if her cover is blown while she's in town, expect a very alarmed response from the town. Few people will seek to harm a Vistana (fear of being cursed), but it will not be a good reaction. (Source)

Ezmerelda is used to keeping secrets. Vistani are not open with information about themselves and what they can do and Ezmerelda is used to playing her cards close to the chest. Add to that, she's a phenomenal liar and it's very possible that she could be reflexively keeping secrets from the PCs. (Source)

Ezmerelda has a temper. She's not the screaming and yelling type (no Vistani on record are) but she may very well curse someone in the middle of town if they inflict a significant wrong on her. (Source)

Ezmerelda cares little for townie politics. She doesn't care that Victor Vallakovich is the Burgomaster's heir. If you're using my take on him and Ezmerelda finds out...that spits in the face of her Ideal, and she is going to at least curse him for it. (Source)

If Ezmerelda is not the party's destined ally, she has an option available to her that the PCs don't have: she can leave. Ezmerelda may decide that she's not ready to fight The Dark Wizard yet and, since she's effectively ageless, she might bail. She might decide to come back in a decade or three when she's had time to refine her magic and get better at fighting, then hop in her wagon and drive off into the Mists. (Source)

Ezmerelda's Flaw

I go where angels fear to tread. (Source)

Looking at her character write-up, her Flaw hardly seems like a flaw. In fact, if you take that flaw at face value it looks like the character trait that every adventurer has. Seriously...who intentionally picks a fight with a dragon!? (Source)

However, if you look at the origin of what that line is referring to: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" (Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism) you get more of an idea of what it means. It means she is reckless. It means she will charge headlong into situations that a wiser person would avoid or approach more cautiously. If you look through the book, you can see glimmers of this. (Source)

Examples of her flaw

Chapter 4: Ezmerelda is solo-exploring Castle Ravenloft. She burns her one use of Greater Invisibility to sneak up on the PCs. (Source)

Chapter 7: Ezmerelda stole a horse from the Vallaki Vistani camp, just so she could get to Argynvostholt faster. (Source)

Chapter 8: Ezmerelda plans to try to suckerpunch The Dark Wizard in Krezk, right in front of the Abbot and Vasilika. (Source)

Chapter 11: Ezmerelda just tried to solo The Dark Wizard and got her butt kicked (and stole a horse in the process of getting away). (Source)

This can complicate the lives of the PCs significantly, because she'll boldly face down opponents that are beyond her (and the party's) depth. Of course she'll engage the Night Hags at Old Bonegrinder...they're killing children! Of course she's going to raid the Werewolf laid, they're also killing children! The Dark Wizard shows up? Bring it! (Source)

Bear in mind, Ezmerelda is not stupid. She has the sense to run away when she's losing (but probably won't run until she's actually losing), and the party should be able to talk her down from her initial plans. She can even come up with better plans herself if she takes the time to think about it. It's simply that her flinch reaction is brash and reckless, rather than measured and thoughtful. I mean...we're talking about a girl who ran away from home at 15 to go find this random guy who her family screwed over, then almost killed her family in revenge, but chose not to at the last moment. Not exactly a measured, cautious individual. (Source)

In fact, her plans aren't always bad. For example, her plan to ambush The Dark Wizard in Krezk isn't a bad one...if a vampire is reduced to 0hp and can't get back to their coffin via mist form in 2 hours, they are destroyed. Krezk is far enough away from Ravenloft that this would be the case if she killed The Dark Wizard here. She just....kinda missed the fact that the Abbot and Vasilika may act to defend The Dark Wizard. (Source)

It's a testament to Ezmerelda's skill that she's survived this long, despite her recklessness. (Source)

BACKSTORY NOTE

Ezmerelda's backstory and the handout "Journal of Rudolph van Richten" contradict. (Artifacts of 2E...Ezmerelda didn't exist back then) You will need to find a way to resolve this if Ezmerelda is to play anything like a large part in the story. I won't go into it in heavy detail here, but there are numerous other takes and rewrites of the journal that tidy this up. Perhaps he simply moved on (and Ezmerelda mistook his distraction for mercy), perhaps Ezmerelda survived the attack and sought him out for revenge...but ended up working alongside him, or something else. Either way, give it some thought. (Source)