Fishnet
Player: Fiona
Class: Warlock
Background: Bartender
Campaign Status: Active (Session 14)
Role in Party: Damage Dealer, Social Manipulator, Mystery Anchor
Character Overview
Fishnet is a silver-tongued warlock with a street-smart edge—a former bartender who has traded the bar counter for a path of infernal bargains and dark power. She has cut a deal with a powerful Patron of mysterious origins: a sea-entity, likely octopus-themed, that dwells in the deep waters and hungers for something Fishnet has not yet fully understood.
Her greatest strength is social manipulation and sharp observation. Her greatest weakness is a crippling fear of sharks. And threading through her entire character is an unresolved mystery: a mysterious entity consumed her drink at some point, leaving questions she cannot answer.
Stats (DC20 System)
| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Modifier | +2 | Charisma (social manipulation, persuasion) |
| Save Modifier | +1 | Average across saves |
| Combat Mastery | +2 | Warlock damage output |
| PD (Protective Defense) | 13 | Light armor or unarmored |
| HP (Estimated) | 35-40 | Warlock baseline; damage output over durability |
Ability Scores (Conceptual)
| Ability | Score | Modifier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 9 | -1 | Not physically strong |
| Dexterity | 12 | +1 | Street-smart reflexes |
| Constitution | 10 | +0 | Average durability |
| Intelligence | 13 | +1 | Quick-witted, good at reading situations |
| Charisma | 16 | +3 | High—silver tongue, natural persuader |
| Wisdom | 11 | +0 | Street smarts ≠ wisdom; can miss deeper truths |
Patron & Pact
The Octopus Entity
Fishnet’s Patron is a powerful being from the deep—a sea-entity with octopus characteristics that suggest intelligence, hunger, and alien consciousness. This is not a minor demon or spirit. This is something old and significant.
What we know:
- The Patron lives in deep water (likely far below the surface, in depths that are cold and dark)
- It hungers for something—the nature of this hunger is central to Fishnet’s arc
- It granted Fishnet the warlock pact in exchange for… something not fully articulated yet
- It perceives things through hunger and tasting; it tries to “understand” through consumption
- It has manifested at least once in the campaign (through the mysterious drink-consuming entity)
What Fishnet does not fully understand:
- What the Patron ultimately wants
- Whether the Patron is using her or genuinely invested in her
- What would happen if she tried to break the pact
- How deep the Patron’s influence in her life truly runs
Call of the Grave Enhancement
Fishnet uses an ability called Call of the Grave, which functions as a Death Bolt enhancement: when a target is bloodied (below half HP), her Death Bolt does an additional d12 damage. This represents a finishing strike, a pressure point attack that exploits weakness.
This enhancement flavor perfectly matches her style: she does not necessarily deal the most damage in raw totals, but she knows how to end encounters decisively. She reads targets, identifies vulnerability, and presses advantage. This is the bartender’s eye applied to combat.
Background: Bartender & The’nu
The Bar
Before becoming a full-time warlock adventurer, Fishnet worked as a bartender. This was not merely a job—it was a position of social power. Bartenders know everything: secrets, weaknesses, alliances, jealousies, hopes. They are confessional figures and information brokers simultaneously.
Fishnet was good at this work because she could read people. She knew what they needed to hear and what they needed to drink. She could manipulate a room without people realizing they were being manipulated. She could extract information through seemingly casual conversation.
Connection to The’nu
Fishnet has a connection to The’nu, a city with an underworld. This suggests:
- She has moved through criminal or semi-criminal networks
- She understands how underground economies work
- She knows people in shadowy places
- Her past is not entirely clean
- The underworld of The’nu may have been her home or her playground
Her past in The’nu’s underworld is a loose thread in the campaign. How deep were her connections? What did she do there? Who might be looking for her? What debts or favors are outstanding?
The Mysterious Entity & the Drink
The Incident
At some point in the campaign (likely before current session 14), a mysterious entity consumed a drink that Fishnet had prepared or was about to consume. This is not a small detail—it is a significant event that Fishnet has been trying to process.
What This Means
The entity that consumed the drink was likely a manifestation of her Patron, testing her worthiness. The Patron experiences the world through hunger and consumption. By consuming the drink, it was:
- Tasting Fishnet’s essence or intent
- Testing her reaction to violation of her space
- Learning about her through her medium (a bartender’s drink)
- Establishing its ability to act in her world even without her awareness
Fishnet does not know this. She knows something happened. She knows it was wrong. She knows she felt violated and confused. But she has not connected this to her Patron, or at least she has not fully accepted that connection.
Current Arc & Plot Hooks
Primary Thread - Patron’s Agenda: Fishnet’s Patron is aware of The Gate and has an agenda related to the dimensional instability it creates. The Patron may be:
- Using Fishnet to investigate the Gate’s nature
- Trying to access dimensional pathways
- Gathering information about other planes
- Positioning herself for advantage when magical structures shift
Fishnet may gradually realize that her participation in the party’s mission is not coincidental—her Patron guided her toward this. The Aetherium Battery theft, the party’s activities, the involvement of Dr. Allera Solaris—all of this may be pieces the Patron wanted Fishnet to experience.
Secondary Thread - The Shark Fear: Fishnet has a severe phobia of sharks. This is not quirk—it is genuine terror. The origin of this fear is unclear. Has she encountered a shark? Is it symbolic of something deeper? This fear may become tactically relevant at the worst possible moment.
Tertiary Thread - The’nu Underworld: People from her past may resurface. Debts may come due. Allies may need favoring. The underworld of The’nu is a loose thread that could complicate the party’s mission.
Relationships
- Illiolus: Party member; respects his discipline; uncertain of his true nature
- Hubert Little: Party member; appreciates his genuine goodness; perhaps uses it as contrast to her own manipulation
- Burburra Bardborn: Party member; may find her intellectual distance relatable
- Teevis Sweet Tea Snik: Party member; grateful for the healer; perhaps protective of her innocence
- Angus Umber: Party member; curious about his magical power; suspects he carries dark secrets like she does
- NYC: Party member; kinship in mystery; two manipulators trying to read each other
- Patron: Complex relationship; hunger, obligation, power, and uncertainty
- The’nu Contacts: Loose threads of her past
Character Development Arc
Early Campaign
Fishnet was establishing her role in the party. She may have been primarily focused on proving her combat utility and managing social encounters. The Patron’s presence was background noise.
Mid Campaign
Fishnet began to realize the Patron was more actively involved in her life. The manifestation of the mysterious entity (consuming the drink) created cognitive dissonance. She could not ignore the Patron any longer.
Current
Fishnet is in a state of uneasy acceptance. She knows the Patron is using her. She does not know if she has chosen this path or is being led. She continues forward because the power is useful, the party is valuable, and turning back seems impossible.
Potential Arc Forward
- Path A - The Pact Deepens: Fishnet makes a more significant deal with her Patron, gaining greater power but accepting greater obligation
- Path B - The Rebellion: Fishnet tries to break free from her Patron; this becomes a personal arc involving spiritual warfare
- Path C - The Merger: Fishnet accepts the Patron fully and undergoes transformation; she becomes more Patron-touched than human
- Path D - The Double Agent: Fishnet plays multiple sides—party loyalty, Patron loyalty, and her own agenda—seeking advantage in the chaos
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Silver Tongue: Exceptionally persuasive; can talk her way into or out of situations
- Social Reading: Understands people; knows what they want and how to give/deny it
- Combat Damage: Death Bolt and Call of the Grave make her excellent at finishing enemies
- Street Smarts: Understands underworld logic, black markets, and shady dealings
- Self-Preservation: Good at identifying danger and positioning herself safely
- Charisma & Magnetism: People naturally want to trust her (even when they shouldn’t)
Weaknesses
- Shark Phobia: Severe, crippling fear that could compromise her in crisis
- Limited Trust: Difficult to genuinely bond with others when trust is transactional
- Patron Dependency: Relies on Patron power; vulnerability if that relationship is disrupted
- Moral Flexibility: Not necessarily evil, but comfort with ethical gray areas could create party conflict
- Low Durability: Not built to survive direct combat; relies on positioning and finishing strikes
- Vulnerability to Manipulation: Can be manipulated herself; the Patron proves this regularly
DM Notes
DM Only
Fishnet’s Patron is aware of The Gate and has an agenda related to dimensional instability. The Patron may be:
- An entity from another plane entirely, using The Gate’s existence to position itself
- An old power that predates the current world order and sees The Gate as an opportunity
- Something connected to the forces that brought magic into the world 1,000 years ago
The “mysterious entity that consumed her drink” was definitely a manifestation of her Patron testing her. When you’re ready to reveal this, it should come as Fishnet’s realization, not as DM exposition. She might encounter the entity again and realize: “That was you. You’ve been in my life longer than I knew.”
The Patron is not evil, but it is alien. It thinks in ways that are foreign to human/humanoid consciousness. It perceives through hunger and consumption. Fishnet may eventually realize that the Patron does not think in terms of good/evil—only in terms of satiation and growth.
Shark phobia has a source. You can seed hints of what caused it, or reveal it suddenly. Either way, this phobia is a crack in Fishnet’s confidence that becomes relevant when least convenient.
The’nu underworld is an asset and a liability. People from her past may offer help when needed, but they will also demand payment. Use this as a tool to complicate the party’s plans in interesting ways.
Equipment & Abilities
- Warlock Patron Abilities: Death Bolt, Call of the Grave (d12 against bloodied), other warlock features
- Personal Charm Items: Possibly tokens from her Patron or mementos of her past
- Street Clothes with Flair: Practical but styled; probably stands out in a crowd
- Weapons: Likely secondary to magical abilities; possibly a blade or firearm
- Social Armor: Confidence and charm used as protective barrier
Voice & Mannerisms
- Speaks smoothly and persuasively; adjusts tone to audience
- Uses humor and casual references to disarm tension
- Moves with deliberate grace; comfortable in her own space
- Eyes never stop reading people; always assessing
- Drinks are meaningful to her; preparing one is almost ritualistic
- Can shift from friendly to cold in a blink; the warmth is sometimes performed
- References to the Patron slip in occasionally—half-joking but tinged with something darker
Campaign Significance
Fishnet represents the price of power and the danger of making deals with forces beyond understanding. Her story asks: “When does using a tool become being used by it?” Her arc could be the campaign’s investigation of agency, autonomy, and what it means to bargain with the hungry unknown.
Her connection to the Patron and awareness of The Gate may make her uniquely valuable to understanding the campaign’s central mysteries. The party may need her to translate between human and alien modes of thinking.
She is also the character most likely to surprise the party—not through betrayal necessarily, but through complexity. She serves the party because it serves her, and those purposes align—for now.