Cait









The character commonly known as Cait is a Paladin (2)/Sorceress (13). However, all the names and identities below are merely those associated with their corresponding form. Very few people have ever seen her in her true Changeling form; the Company have done so only once.

She most commonly takes one of three forms: Cait, a female Half-Elf adventurer; Andara, a female Human Paladin; or Malthir'ku Inriina (Mal for short), a female Drow Sorceress.

As she initially met the Company as Cait, spends significant time in that form and the Company seem to think of her mostly as Cait, that is how she is referred to in this page and in most other references to her throughout this wiki.

Early years
Cait was raised by her Changeling parents in Sigil. She was brought up very aware of how people can react negatively to her race, and she has had a share of prejudice against her because of it. However, she also knows the possibilities of being able to fit in anywhere. Her Drow form name Malthir'ku translates as 'Mystery Change' (Mal - Mystery - for short). This was a nickname her parents gave her when she started manifesting her Changeling ability. They would never know who or what she might look like from one moment to the next, particularly with the variety of folk she would see from day to day. She added Inriina (Drow for 'Enchanted Spellcaster') as her surname some time after her Sorcery powers manifested; a result of her Fey lineage.

Paladin Training
Cait was a young and somewhat idealistic girl when she became more aware of some of the evils in the world and wanted to do something about it. Later than she'd have liked but earlier than her parents might have wanted, she left her childhood home, travelled to Faerun and entered the halls of an Order of Paladins. This Order had an aspect of being an Academy to it and she spent seven years training with them, learning their ways. It was here that Andara became one of her commonly used forms.

As an Order, they are highly disciplined and tactical, methodical in their planning, precise in their execution and selfless and cooperative in their teamwork. They would do a group exercise assessing strengths and weaknesses of any enemy they would face, planning what they could do to mitigate against its strengths and take advantage of its weaknesses. All novice Paladins joining the Order would start using this model by planning a theoretical assault on an Illithid Hive. From that beginning, whenever such planning is done, it is known as doing an 'Elder Brain Storming' exercise.

Whilst all of this group were Paladins, most were multi-classed and every class was represented. For example, during her time there there was a Paladin/Druid who would Smite his enemies in his Bear form, and twin sisters who were Elven Paladin/Bladesingers, whose fighting style seemed almost choreographed and was as beautiful as it was deadly. Over her years there, she went battling with them in the Underdark, fighting a variety of monsters including Drow, Duergar, Illithid, Beholders, Purple worms, Umber Hulks, and also against various evils and undead including vampires. It is from them that she gained most of her combat prowess and tactical thinking, and further developed her Sorcery abilities.

Fey Ancestry
Although many paladins are devoted to gods of good, a paladin’s power comes as much from a commitment to justice itself as it does from a god. All of Cait's class powers and abilities are linked to her Fey Ancestry and her Changeling heritage. She has, to date, been far more focussed on her Sorcerous abilities than her Paladin ones, but the combination of the two have served her well over the years.

Travelling and Sigil
Having effectively graduated from the Order she'd been part of, she went on to make her own way in the world. She has a curiosity about different realms, secrets and mysteries, which has led to extensive travel over many years. Sigil had always been relatively welcoming to one of her kind, being a very cosmopolitan city. So she returned to it as her home, from which there are possibilities of going anywhere. She has tagged along with a few different groups for one off adventures, been part of protecting trading caravans and the like, but never stuck with any group for too long, mostly just joining them if they were headed off to a location interesting and new to her. Through her travels she has loved meeting with (non-evil) Fey beings: Dryads, Faerie dragons, Pixies, Satyrs and Sprites and feels a connection with them through her Fey heritage.

To make a living, she will collect treasures from evil creatures and monsters she kills, and takes any unusual hides for Mr Skinner; she knows how to do a basic job of skinning them for him. In that capacity she has effectively been something of an ad-hoc monster hunter, working either alone or with others as required, to find particular hides which Mr Skinner requires. This goes alongside her desire to travel, as she is on a personal quest to see (and so be able to transform into) every type of humanoid creature there is throughout all the realms. She will always be on the lookout for humanoids she's not seen before, especially in Sigil, that hub of inter-planar travel. She would also jump at any chance to travel to new planes, exotic locations or distant lands.

Personality
Her most common three forms are in fact generally reflections of aspects of her personality, varied, but never untrue to her good nature. Whilst she could play out any aspect of her personality in any form, it just feels more comfortable, more natural, to behave in the ways described below which are more normally associated with that form. When Taliesin began to understand this about her, he astutely observed, to Cait's amusement, that we each of us put on masks when we relate to different people and in different contexts: to family, friends, authorities and so on, and that Cait is no different, but perhaps more honest about it than most, as you can clearly see the mask she wears.

She would always want to be referred to by the name associated with her form if it's one of the three below. She would respond to being called by any of her given names if she was in a temporary form e.g. as a Werewolf or an Aarakocra.

Cait, the (Irish) Half-Elf redhead, is generally easy going, fairly chilled out, often good humoured, sometimes playful. It's her go-to form in most situations.

Paladin Andara, the Human blonde, is very measured in her language and responses, sometimes bordering on the deliberately formal. She is more obviously just, compassionate and kind. She is the diplomat, for example, mediating ground rules of the Bard-off between Iola and Taliesin during The Celebrations at Greenbank. She will often use this form by default in combat if there isn't a practical tactical need for any other.

Malthir'ku, the Drow, is direct, decisive, cunning, problem solving and efficient. She is task oriented, strategic and tactical, analysing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as considering assets and liabilities for both general and combat situations. She wants to be well prepared for any fight generally, but would always want to be particularly prepared for fights that are chosen, thinking through what might be done to gain advantage over who or whatever it might be that she is fighting against.

Partly from her nature and partly from her Paladin training, she is almost obsessively tactical. She keeps a record of the fights she's been in, and the monsters she's encountered. In her down-time she would take copies of these and return them to the Order she trained at, to add to their records and knowledge.

Role in the Quest
Cait joined the Company during the quest A Black Star over Sigil and has travelled with the Company ever since. Occasionally she does take time out to visit Sigil, often to return unusual hides she has collected for Mr Skinner.

Initially she attuned to Taliesin, who gave her a head knowledge of the Quest and persuaded her to stick with the Company during her early days. Pretty much all her spare time with him was spent listening to his songs telling the tales and history of the Company. She was also the first of the Company to allow one of the Champions to take full control, prompted by Zeerith's character reference when at one point he very begrudgingly said that Taliesin was 'good' and 'trustworthy'. During Werewolves of Greenbank she critically failed to Storyweave, and the mental backlash which followed caused her to revert to her Changeling form. She was only part of a successful Storyweave once during The Celebrations at Greenbank, allowing Taliesin and Iola to perform an astonishingly performed love song duet and a polymorph to allow Gwynivar and Lancelot to dance together.

She also spent a few days attuned to Gwynivar, who gave her a heart knowledge of the Quest too, and also allowed her to take full control at times. It was Gwynivar that Cait would credit as being the person who persuaded her to fully commit to the Quest and the cause of the Company.

She is currently attuned to Morgana. She is more reluctant to allow Morgana to take full control, given her attitude and alignment. However, she firmly believes that each and every Soul Stone will play a critical part in defeating the Horror and that the Company will need to be united and work with the Champions, even allowing them to take full control, in order to bring this about.

With the exception of Iola, Cait is the only member of the Company to have been attuned to more than one of the Soul Stones.

Notable abilities
As a Changeling, Cait can read surface thoughts of other creatures. She can also transform into any Small to Large humanoid she has seen, gaining its natural abilities and weaknesses, but not changing ability scores nor equipment. Her Glamoured Studded Leather lets her change the appearance of her clothes and accessories. Together, these can give her good disguises. Aside from her most common three forms noted above, she can and will shift to other forms to fit in with others, not stand out, or to play a specific role to solve a problem, overcome a particular obstacle or provide a specific tactical advantage in a combat.

Her favoured spells include mirror image, blink, counter spell, booming blade or green flame blade, polymorph, dimension door and teleport. As a Paladin, she is also able to Divine Smite, converting spell slots into melee attack Radiant damage.

As Sigil is her home, she is easily able to travel to and from it by passing through doors, and may take others with her. This is all at the will of The Lady of Pain.

Quotes

 * Thank you for the music [To Taliesin]
 * Can't give you songs, can't give you songs, I'll give you something to sing about [To Taliesin]
 * Let the Storm rage on [Casting 'Investiture of Ice']