The Lion and the Unicorn started as a concept party for Wilderness-focused adventures. Shayna (the Unicorn) is actually much older than that, but she was an obvious starting point when dreaming up this team. There is a pair of more obscure deities in the Realms named Nobanion & Lurue. Nobanion is explicitly Aslan come to Faerun, a lion-themed LG lord of beasts of the wild. Lurue is a CG part fey, part Queen of the Unicorns – but in focus and action often appears almost more NG than CG. But despite the alignment differences they are strong allies who are each other’s closest supporters against the likes of Thay and Malar. So the concept here was a union of champions. A paladin of Nobanion and a ranger of Lurue, with representatives of Sylvanus (representing the wilder aspects of nature less concerned with human impact) and Baervan Wildwander the Gnome God (representing the more mischevious aspects of the fey) filling out the set .

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Shayna “The Unicorn”

NG Half-Elf Ranger – Spear, Longbow

Shayna normally has a talk first, act second sort of bent, and can be quite diplomatic and engaging. But she has her mercurial side when it comes to certain factions. She has a borderline obsessive hatred for the wizards of Thay. She considers Shadow Druids to be traitors of the highest order. She has little use for armies, nation-state politics, and other such grandiose concepts that lose sight of the individual. And thus she has a guarded distrust of large cities and their ways that she struggles at times to see past.

As befits her patron her favored weapons are spear and bow. Her fighting style is a fluid, elven style that looks as much like ritualized dancing as it does like fighting… unless you are at the pointy end of the pirouettes and such. And she is quite adept at using both ends of the spear as well as interweaving elven unarmed techniques such as kicks, throws, and takedowns to keep her opponents off balance and reactive. And she will seamlessly mix in Ranger magic when the openings present themselves.

Shayna is best modeled as a fey-themed ranger, if such a kit or subclass exists in the system in question. Over time she has been many varieties and combinations. Ranger, Ranger/Cleric, or Ranger/Bard probably suit her best if a straight “Fey Ranger” is not available.

“serbian half-elf woman,mischievous grin,athletic,mid 30s,white bob hair,tanned skin,small unicorn necklace,ranger,light purple eyes,determined expression,brown leather armor with small unicorn motif”

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Jonas “The Lion”

LG Human Paladin – Greatsword

Jonas is from the Black Lion clan of Uthgardt barbarians, a tribe in transition from raiding culture to a more pastoral existence. He felt an inherent longing for a more “traditional” existence, but was drawn to neither the wider Uthgardt reverence for Tempos nor the Black Lion’s recent turn towards a more agrarian existence. He found his calling in another manifestation of the Lion totem – Nobanion, lord of beasts. He is absolutely dedicated to Nobanion’s ideals and his dogma. But with none of a traditional Knights’ ideas about proper form in combat, chivalry, and whatnot.

Jonas is frequently at odds with Shayna over basic philosophy. He values consistency, order, and sticking to one’s code no matter what challenges appear. Shayna takes a more flexible approach, where all that ultimately matters is the well being of the individuals being directly affected by a decision. So they can differ markedly on matters such as the proper way to help when a poor man is caught stealing. But in the end they are both trying to help,

Jonas is a Greatsword fighter, as befitting his stature. He is by no means unskilled or unfocused, but he prefers to directly leverage his size and strength – combining grappling moves to subdue where possible with more traditional greatsword techniques. And he is not at all above his own brand of “battle-rage”, though for him it is more of an intensely focused single blow (e.g. Smite) than a protracted state of mind.

Jonas is always some variety of holy warrior. If there is a mystical themed barbarian subclass or kit he might take that. Re-imagined Paladin works quite well as well – especially if there is a wilderness-themed kit available.

“muscular ukrainian man,long thick brown hair,brown eyes,thick beard,noble savage,viking armor with a lion symbol,holding a greatsword”

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Finnegan “The Fox”

CG Gnome Illusionist/Thief – shortbow, shortsword

Finnegan is very much in the long line of Gnomish tricksters, but like his patron Baervan Wildwander his “tricks” are normally harmless, and intended to teach lessons rather being mean-spirited. Its his way of showing big-folk the potential consequences of their attitudes and gut reactions, in a form where there are no lasting external effects as it all vanishes in an illusory haze at the end. This is decidedly *not* the case when he is applying his talents against the truly irredeemable.

In that case his talent for sewing chaos and confusion, and setting the ranks of the enemy at each other’s throats before conflict has even begun is unmatched. He is particularly fond of multi-layered effects – like digging a simple pit-trap, disguising it through mundane means, and then covering the whole with an illusion of the same pit trap. Initially seems pointless… but when Malarite priests or Thayan wizards have tired of his tricks and are on constant alert for illusions, they see what they expect to see. And are often too busy congratulating themselves for having outsmarted him to take it to the next level before stepping right in.

Finnegan is almost always some mixture of Illusionist and Rogue. Bard, Beguiler, and the like also can support his shenanigans, but the original really does it best.

“short male austrian dwarf walking down a path,neat brown hair,wide tan face,cunning,small goatee,wide build,wide shoulders,weathered face,short,scout,wide face,mid 40s,sly grin,brown longcoat over leather armor,rubbing his hands together,faint blue magical haze in wisps around him coming from his hands”

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“Raven”:

TN Elf Druid – Wild shape

Raven was once a wood elf druid of Silvanus. Technically she still is. But she has spent so much time in her favored Raven form that her mind is no longer entirely elven. And it is at this point arguable whether she is an elf who can turn into a raven… or a raven who can turn into an elf. She has all of a druid’s normal capabilities for taking other forms, but avoids non-avian forms unless she has no other choice. She finds it an “unsettling”, “alien” experience for which she has little taste.

Raven has a somewhat alien mindset compared to the others. She’s not evil. She’s not malicious in any way. But she always takes a long term, high level view of the situation. Literally the “bird’s eye view”. She is concerned with the well-being of species (including humans and demi-humans), eco-systems, and the land itself, and less so with individuals and their direct concerns. Which often puts her at odds with the others as they cannot so easily dismiss the immediate effects upon the people right in front of them. But she does force them to acknowledge and accept the long-term consequences of their actions. If she’s out-voted, so be it. But it will at least be a decision made with eyes wide open.

In battle she favors forms like giant raven, eagle, or owl. In a pinch if forced to expand beyond pure avian forms she will if possible select owlbear, griffin or the like. Only under extreme duress would she consent to spend time as anything completely non-avian.

Raven is best represented by whatever Druid sub-classes or kits have the greatest emphasis on shape-changing.

“short mongolian elf woman,blue facial tattoos,long black hair,mid 40s,mysterious,calculating expression,druid,witch,pale gray skin,black lamellar armor with black feathers,dark green cloak”

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