Avantika

 was an elven pirate and the captain of the Squall-Eater. She later returned in undead form. As an NPC, Avantika is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
In life, Avantika was an elven woman with fine features, light brown skin, and wild red hair that fell in clustered strings across her face. She wore a sleeveless coat with a high collar, a thick scarf, heavy, elbow-length gloves, and weathered knee-high boots. She wore gloves on her hands to hide the Cloven Crystal embedded in her right hand.

Her appearance changed when she returned in undead form: signs of her broken neck were still apparent, her skin was pale and clammy, and her eyes were glowing faintly blue. She wore a large brimmed hat with a plume of feathers.

Personality
Avantika was snarky, confident, and astute. She had a commanding presence and a penetrating gaze that has seen through a thousand lies. Avantika was a fervent believer in Uk'otoa and sincerely wished to free it in the hope that she would be rewarded. Avantika was willing to remove, sometimes by murder, anyone who she saw as getting in the way of this goal. Despite this fanaticism, Avantika was no fool and showed a remarkable amount of wisdom regarding the people she interacts with. Avantika intentionally built a reputation for being a little bit crazy, knowing that would make people less likely to interfere with her and her plans. She was also extremely protective of her weapons, especially her dagger. She went so far as to kill Frumpkin for landing on its hilt while she was assumed to be asleep. The same caution extended to her quarters on the Squall Eater; she trapped her journal's hiding place with a gas that induces Confusion when inhaled.

Background
Avantika became a pirate around 823 P.D., around the same time that she met Vandran and learned of Uk'otoa. He and Avantika planned to go to Urukayxl, but they never made it. They discovered a Cloven Crystal was being auctioned off in Port Damali. Avantika and Vandran stalked the collector who bought it to an unknown island and killed him. Avantika absorbed the crystal, causing Uk'otoa's eye to appear in her palm. Avantika's zeal for Uk'otoa increased in this period, while Vandran got cold feet at some point. When Vandran left and secretly became a merchant, Avantika saw this as a deep betrayal. She attempted to sacrifice Vandran to Uk'otoa as a gift, but he got away. She spent months searching for him and his Crystal before giving up.

Unable to find Vandran, Avantika turned her focus to earning enough money through piracy to hire others to search. She eventually hired The Mist, captained by Javeed Jawgrasp, out of Darktow Isle to run errands for her. She hired the Jagentoth Family of Shadycreek Run to find the cloven crystal for her, claiming it was a stolen object of great sentimental value to her family.

At some point, Avantika found out about the Tide's Breath explosion, but she did not learn the location of the wreck or that Vandran was on board at the time.

In this time, Avantika dreamed of the power Uk'otoa might grant her in the future and converted most of her crew to its worship. She speculated that with the control over the seas Uk'otoa promised, the Plank King would have no choice but to accept her as his ruler.

Avantika was waiting for the Mighty Nein when they came aboard the Squall Eater. She saw through Fjord's Disguise Self spell that made him look like Captain Jawgrasp.

The Mighty Nein, now serving under Avantika, follow her and their new guide Jamedi Cosko into the jungles of Urukayxl. The party encounters some lizard-folk and some yuan-ti before reaching the Temple of the False Serpent. The party begins to explore the temple and finds a staircase leading to a ritual chamber. Nott accidentally sets off a trap and the stairs become a giant slide, alerting the yuan-ti inside of potential intruders.

Avantika, Jamedi, and the Mighty Nein defeated the group of yuan-ti facing them. While taking a short rest following the battle, Avantika asked Fjord when was the last time he had a dream from Uk'otoa. Fjord told her the night they had met he had a dream where people from his past appeared (but did not mention who) and heard the word "Reward". Avantika appeared to be jealous and told Fjord that it had been a few years since her last dream. While exploring the ancient deserted temple on the island, the party battled a yuan-ti abomination and a hydra. Avantika joined the Mighty Nein in battle while Jamedi hid. They managed to defeat both creatures after a difficult battle.

Within the temple, Avantika and Fjord raced to the bottom of a well filled with salt water that had an indentation at the bottom. Avantika was able to touch her hand to it first, which ripped the Cloven Crystal from her hand and flooded the temple. After the Mighty Nein, Avantika, and Fjord returned to the Squall-Eater, Avantika told Fjord that she wanted to have a conversation with him over a glass of wine.

When Fjord came to her room, Avantika was naked on her balcony controlling a pillar of water. Avantika told Fjord that the one who introduced her to Uk'otoa was Vandran, Fjord's former captain/mentor. She also said that Vandran had wielded a sword that was just like Fjord's, and that Vandran had a Cloven Crystal. She referred to Vandran's blade as the "Sword of Fathoms." Fjord attempted to lie to Avantika, denying any connection to Vandran. She saw through his deception, and Fjord showed her on a map where his former ship sank. Afterwards, Fjord and Avantika slept together.

Avantika introduced the Mighty Nein to the Plank King and vouched for them as part of her crew. She paid The Revelry a tribute of 500 gold.

The Mighty Nein questioned Avantika about the terms of belonging to The Revelry. She told them she's built a reputation as being a bit crazy so people do not bother her. She took the group to the Bloated Cup tavern to join the rest of her crew for a drink. Avantika caught a woman named Allison, a former competitor, attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation. The group also ran into Avantika's friend Sorris Cade, a gnome sniper and fellow member of The Revelry.

Avantika told the crew the location of the wreck of Fjord's former ship, the Tide's Breath. Avantika did not seem to take Sorris's warnings about Dashilla and the Diver's Grave seriously. She felt like they could handle whatever dangers were there. Avantika stated some people on the island owed her favors. She was planning to cash in those favors to secure the group a means of breathing underwater for the salvage mission. Avantika gets a room at the Bloated Cup and subtly invites Fjord to join her upstairs. Fjord slept with her as a distraction while Nott and Jester broke into her quarters on the Squall Eater.

The next morning Avantika called her crew and the Mighty Nein to the deck of the Squall Eater to determine who broke into her quarters the previous evening. She calls Vera forward to cast Locate Object. As Vera begins casting the spell, Caleb casts Wall of Fire across the deck separating Avantika's crew from the Mighty Nein.

After Caleb's Wall of Fire, Avantika fought hard to reassert her control of the situation. She ordered Vera to charm the guards, and personally engaged Nott before getting attacked by Yasha who managed to injure her. When Caleb's Fireball took down four of her crewmembers, she ran inside the Squall-Eater.

Once revelry guards found her, she was placed in manacles and brought before the Plank King to stand trial and give testimony on the events that had occurred.

She began by lying about the way in which she met the Nein, insisting they had convinced her into letting them sail with her. That she had no knowledge of Uk'otoa prior to their joining her crew and only explored the prospect of such a deity to create some semblance of an alliance. She tried to claim that her journal belonged to Fjord, and accused him of seducing her to further plant the seeds of trust, only to throw her to the proverbial merrow. She also denied any plot against Wyatt. After this, Beauregard used Extort Truth on her, forcing Avantika to tell only the truth for the next minute. When the Plank King asked her again about the Nein's account of the journal's contents, she refused to answer or meet his gaze.

Her refusal to talk was taken as affirmation of the plot, and the Plank King ruled that she would be made an example and pay for her deceit. The Plank King then lifted Avantika effortlessly and broke her neck with one hand, telling his servants to place her on a pike.

Avantika returned as an undead in an attack on the Mighty Nein, aboard the Midnight Hammer on their journey to Eiselcross. She attempted to pull Fjord overboard, but was unsuccessful.

Allison
Avantika calls Allison a former competitor. She implies Allison has spied on her for the Plank King or told him lies about her in the past.

Fjord
Avantika acted extremely affectionately towards Fjord. She physically flirted with him on multiple occasions and slept with him twice. The relationship seemed to have been a tactic to manipulate Fjord. Her journal stated a hope he will be "more useful" than Vandran was.

Avantika took a special interest in Fjord's connection to Uk'otoa. She was visibly enthusiastic upon finding another "chosen" of Uk'otoa. When she asked Fjord about how long he had been having the dreams about Uk'otoa, Fjord mentioned that he had a dream just after the two first parlayed. At this, Avantika seemed both enthralled and slightly jealous.

She was able to see through his deceptions; once when Fjord was attempting to deceive her as "Captain Tusktooth," and once again when the two met in her quarters aboard the Squall-Eater when Fjord attempted to lie about his connection to Vandran.

Sorris Cade
Avantika and Sorris seemed to have a friendly relationship, as she does not mind him overhearing her plans to dive for the wreck of Tide's Breath.

Uk'otoa
Avantika referred to herself as a "chosen" of Uk'otoa. She worshipped it and recruited her crew to worship it as well. In, the Mighty Nein noticed Avantika had an idol in the shape of an orobouros covered in eyes in her quarters on the Squall-Eater. While looking through Frumpkin in owl form, Caleb witnessed Avantika cutting her finger and spilling some blood on the idol after Fjord left the room.

After completing an unknown ritual, Avantika had dreams similar to Fjord. She saw a great eye and heard the words "Provoke, Consume, Learn, Reward". Avantika believed that if she released Uk'otoa she would have been granted great power over the sea.

Vandran
Avantika believed Vandran to be another "chosen" of Uk'otoa. It is unclear if their relationship was romantic or platonic. Her journal speaks of Vandran guiding her towards being closer to Uk'otoa. Vandran gave her a ritual, after which she began to have dreams of a great eye. They traveled together for a few years, working together to murder the owner of a Cloven Crystal so they could take it. Avantika considered his leaving her quest cowardly and a betrayal. She attempted to gift Vandran as a sacrifice to Uk'otoa, but he got away.

Vera
Vera was quartermaster of the Squall Eater before Avantika appointed Fjord to the position. She seems to be the crew's most zealous worshipper of Uk'otoa besides Avantika.

Wyatt Maranoss
Avantika seemed both distrustful and slightly afraid of the Plank King. She described him as a "hard-headed and forthright leader". She credited him with doing a good job maintaining organization within Darktow Isle while also leaving her well enough alone.

Avantika denied she had any interest in becoming Plank King when asked by Beau. This was later revealed to be a lie when Nott and Jester stole her journal from her quarters on the Squall Eater.

Abilities

 * Multiattack
 * Parry

Elf Abilities

 * Darkvision
 * Fey Ancestry
 * Keen Senses
 * Trance

Warlock Abilities

 * Eldritch Invocations
 * Dank Water Powers (Boon from Uk'otoa)
 * Otherworldly Patron (Hexblade?)
 * Expanded Spell List
 * Pact Boon (Pact of the Tome)
 * Pact Magic (Charisma-based spellcasting)

Cantrips

 * Eldritch Blast
 * Produce Flame

2nd-level

 * Invisibility

4th-level

 * Control Water

Notable Items

 * +1 Rapier
 * Necrotic Dagger

Quotations

 * "Darling, we have business elsewhere." (to Fjord, as she returned, now undead, and tried to pull him overboard off the Midnight Hammer).

Trivia

 * Several parallels can be made between Avantika and Anna Ripley. Each of them has a particularly antagonistic relationship with a certain member of the party (in this case, Fjord and Percy respectively) with whom they shared a patron (Uk'otoa and Orthax respectively).