Artist's commentary
Angela Hawthorne sheet
Just a silly unofficial character presentation sheet I made on a whim.
This is Angie as she currently appears in our ongoing Dungeon of the Mad Mage D&D campaign.
When I first created her, I came up with a VERY simple backstory, the entirety of which you see in the image itself. Daughter of a captain of the city guard, wanting to become a great hero people would look up to, so that she can clear her wrongly exiled father's name.
The DM decided it was too simple and had me roll up more details. And oh boy, what a story came out! I really didn't like the whole pirate ship stint when it got rolled, but damn did it all grown on me when the story came together.
Her backstory, as it appears on her actual character sheet:
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Angela was born in Fall of 1475, as the middle child of a Waterdavian captain of the City Guard, and an inventive mother who stayed home where she unleashed her artistic creativity. Despite being blessed with loving parents and a comfortable family status, Angela's birth happened in rather unusual circumstances: while her mother was in hiding from an attempt at her husband's life, in the Waterdavian city sewers, sheltered there by her brother with old ties to a local thieves guild.
Angela's existence was kept secret from the family's enemies, and she was growing up peacefully, with her older sister and younger brother, her father's mysterious bitter rivals unaware of their existence.
Her father soon advanced within the ranks and became a highly respected instructor of military tactics not only for the City Guard but also other armed forces of Waterdeep. The little girl idolized him, and learned from him whatever she could, often nagging her dad for swordfighting lessons, which he happily provided.
She never understood why anyone would hate this sweet, kind man and want him dead. Her parents spared their children the burden of knowing his real origins as an illegitimate child of a Neverwintian high-born knight, whose very existence was deemed an unacceptable threat by the ruling house Neverember,
Angela was utterly unaware of her mysterious Neverwintian lineage, nor did she know her father's life in Waterdeep was an attempt to hide and protect his family from the schemings and dangers of the life he left behind.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF CHILDHOOD:
When Angela was 8 years old, a family friend, an old warrior, visited and stayed for the summer, sharing countless tales of grand adventure which little Angela would eagerly listen to for hours on end - her own imagination stoked and burning, leaving her fascinated with adventure out in the wide world, and wondering what wonders lie beyond the city walls...
That was one of the reasons why at the age of 11, the enthusiastic girl, in her naiveté, got involved with a gang of kids from the docks, with their first "adventure", "delivering" a suspicious item from a wizard's tower to his "friend" in a shady tavern by the docks, landing her roped up by the City Watch with the other kids. She was quickly released due to her father's position and learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of the world outside.
Shortly later however, one fateful night in 1487, her world shattered, when her dear father was arrested and taken away by strange armed men, uniformed in armor and colors that were unfamiliar to her, different than the City Watch or City Guard. Shoved back into the jeering crowd by guards, she could only watch in helpless despair as the prison convoy departed Waterdeep to parts unknown.
The family persevered, and Angela's uncle, her mother's twin brother who sheltered her before, took up protecting the family in his brother-in-law's stead. Curiously, on one of his adventures he got himself cursed or enchanted into the form of a Dire Lynx. It was quickly deemed, however, this misfortune was indeed a blessing, as he could now watch over his sister and her children in secret, concealed as the family "pet".
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF ADOLESCENCE:
Even though it seemed that the attacks against her family finally stopped after the disappearance of her father and several years passed peacefully, another finally occurred, unexpectedly. One fateful night a cleric of Shar attacked her on the streets of Waterdeep and although he was driven away, he managed to kill her protector, the twin brother in his dire lynx form. To Angie's horror, it was revealed that it was her mother's own life energy that kept her uncle alive following a grievous injury earlier, and only able to support an animal form. Since the two siblings' lives were bound, Angela's mother thus passed soon after, marking the end of Angela's childhood.
This blow shook Angela's world, and the thoughts of seeking justice would stir in her mind ever since.
With her caring and responsible older sister having taken over running the house and caring for the family, Angela could sit idly no longer and set off to find her mother's killer.
She tirelessly asked questions, heeded rumors, poked around every tavern in the city, finally catching a fresh lead. The killer cleric just set off to the Trackless Sea. Not wanting to waste a single moment, Angela decided to get on the very next ship departing in the same direction. By chance, it happened to be a privateer ship looking for hands. She wisely determined that being a teenage girl among sailors at sea for possibly weeks at a time wasn't a great idea. Driven by fierce determination however, Angie quickly hid in a nearby alley, tightly wrapped her chest with bandages and hurriedly used a dagger to cut her long hair short. Minutes later, pretending tp be a "young lad", she joined the crew and soon found herself at sea.
Pirate: "Hey you! Kid bushing the deck! I haven't seen you before, who are you?"
Angela: "I... uh... I'm just a guy... uh... <looking at the brush in her hand she's been impermeating wood with, and mumbling in mild panic> Guy... brush.... treating... wood...
Angela stands proudly and speaks in as deep a voice as she can manage:
"Guybrush Threepwood! Mighty pirate!"
The captain of the ship was the only other woman - with a fearsome reputation and notorious for harsh treatment of male . Angela later figured out this was merely a façade put up by a fragile and insecure woman ashamed of and trying to hide her own wants (WTF kind of weird stuff you had me roll up, Corwin? XD ).
She did catch up with her mother's killer somewhere in a pirate settlement in the Korinn archipelago... only to find him dead, stabbed by some kind of a strange hollow glass weapon, presumably designed to deliver poison. Thus she found out someone else was pulling the strings... but the trail was now cold.
Angela parted ways with the crew amicably next time they were near Waterdeep, after a month at sea, fearing eventually being forced to actively partake in robbery or murder at sea. Having to maintain her disguise was also a growing concern.
Albeit brief, this adventure left her with a decent set of seafaring and navigational skills and substantial know-how in operating a big ship. Getting to Know the captain also left a bit of an impression on Angela who was now blossoming into a young woman. She had already carried decent morals from her family upbringing, and seeing the captain's militantly prudish façade further reinforced her determination to steer clear of sexual matters - and turn down, sometimes with a knee to the groin or a fist to the face if necessary, any annoying, unwanted advances. She had her hopes and dreams of course, but she kept her romantic heart on a short leash and safe - waiting for its time, one day. For now, she had plenty of other matters to pay attention to anyway.
ADULTHOOD:
Now nearing the age of 16, Angela picked up the sword her father trained her with and once again walked the adventurer's path - this time around her home city itself, picking up minor mercenary gigs to clear out basement rats here, a monster praying on a farmer's livestock there, building up experience - and eventually became something of a local hero to the common folk in some areas of Waterdeep, having bravely stood against a dangerous monster in someone's defense - and defeating it.
Angela hoped that becoming a famous hero people would look up, or perhaps - dare she dream so bold - becoming a noble paladin, icon of virtue and justice - would help clear her father's name, and ultimately save him.
And this is when we find her sitting at the Yawning Portal in 1492, teamed up with her father's colleague Betheniel and two other adventurers, hoping for a chance to make a name for herself.

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