Name

Silas

Aliases/titles

The "Kind Thief" is the name Neris/town gives the mythicized figure behind the faith. In the written Goblin Hunt continuity, Silas is strongly established as the mortal thief whose act inspired it, though Neris does not know this yet.

Species/lineage

Not established.

Age

20 (latest explicit user decision).

Pronouns

he/him.

Background

Village troublemaker and actual thief.

Occupation before adventuring

Thief / mischief-maker; exact formal background not established.

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral.

World/continuity

Neris / Kind Thief / Goblin Hunt continuity.

Current circumstances

Young rogue adventurer, childhood friend of Corren, old friend of Lysa, new friend of Neris, secretly connected to the event that founded her faith.

• Smart and easily bored.
• Village troublemaker.
• Curious, impulsive, irreverent.
• Enjoys making situations more interesting.
• Flexible relationship with ownership and rules.
• Uses humor as defense and social weapon.
• Fiercely attached to Corren and Lysa despite acting casual.
• Increasingly attached to Neris despite resisting her interpretation of him.
• Does not need to be "actually good" beneath the surface; CN is current alignment.

Values

• Freedom.
• Novelty.
• His chosen people.
• Competence and cleverness.

Bonds

• Corren, childhood best friend.
• Lysa, old friend.
• Neris, initially stranger, then increasingly "one of theirs."
• The hidden memory of the silver ring incident.

Flaws/vulnerabilities

• Theft is real wrongdoing, not merely cute flavor.
• Boredom pushes him into risk and trouble.
• He avoids emotional honesty.
• He is deeply uncomfortable when confronted with evidence that his actions matter to other people.
• He can be extremely useful in almost any technical obstacle but helpless in situations that require care/medicine, as shown when Corren is dying.

Humour / habits

• Deflects sincerity with jokes.
• Calls Neris "priest," "founder," or "prophet" specifically because she insists she is none of those.
• Owns/carries several knives; the running joke is that this is the opposite of medical competence.

• Sardonic, quick, irreverent.
• Often undercuts solemnity.
• Can become suddenly quiet when something hits too close emotionally.

Established story quotations / lines

• "That's generally how sneaking works."
• "Excellent religion."
• "I'm observing a religious experience."
• "Your god is useful."
• "Because that's just what you do." — about grabbing Corren at the river, unintentionally articulating Neris's theology.
• "Don't make it weird." — when giving Corren his blanket / watch relief.

Proposed/example dialogue

• "I have never cared about anything." / "Investment protection." / similar denial-of-affection jokes.
• "I don't think he teaches anything." / Neris: "That's exactly what he said!" — proposed future theology argument.

• Young man, age 20.
• Leather/dark rogue clothing in the written story.
• Multiple knives, short blade(s), thieves' tools implied.
• Exact species, height, build, hair, eyes, skin, scars, clothing palette: Not established.

• Knives.
• Thieves' tools / lock and infiltration competence.
• Short/dark leather rogue silhouette.
• Combat philosophy: do not fight fairly; exploit the opening.
• Hidden connection to the silver ring.
• Symbolic emoji shorthand from conversation: 🗡️🩶 — he pretends the knife is the important part while the party discovers the heart.

D&D 5.5e / 2024 intended.
Homebrew/third-party: None intended.

Not explicitly locked; story assumes an early adventurer.
Class: Rogue intended.
Subclass: Not yet established at level 1; Assassin is the favored level-3 direction.
Alternate subclass direction: Thief was considered as a more literal occupational match.

Not established.
General priority: Dexterity strongly implied; mental/social secondary priorities not established.

Not established.

Intended utility

- Stealth.
- Sleight of Hand.
- Locks/thieves' tools.
- Infiltration.
- Traps/technical obstacle solving.
Exact proficiency/expertise allocation: Not established.

- Leather/dark rogue clothing/armor in story.
- Knives/daggers are signature weapons.
- Short sword/short blade appears in the prose.
Exact mechanical weapon setup: Not established.

None established.

Primary: Damage.
Secondary: Utility.
Pillar identity: Combat / Skill.
- Finds an opening and makes one attack count.
- Exploits Corren's front-line pressure and enemy distraction.
- Avoids fair fights.
- Stealth/infiltration and precise knife use are central.

Status: Favored plan, not fully locked.
Rationale:
- Silas begins as an actual thief, not an assassin-guild professional.
- Adventuring reveals that the same precision used for theft and infiltration transfers frighteningly well to lethal combat.
- Assassin therefore represents development rather than backstory.

Concept-level only, not a complete verified 2024 sheet.

Level 1
Status: Intended current direction.
Class: Rogue.
Identity: Thief by occupation; knife-focused damage/utility.
Exact stats/features/expertise: Not established.

Level 2
Status: Unresolved mechanically.
Narrative: Continues learning that adventuring rewards his mobility, stealth and opportunism.

Level 3
Status: Favored plan.
Subclass: Assassin.
Narrative meaning: Not "joins an assassins' guild"; rather, he discovers he is terrifyingly good at converting precision, stealth and timing into lethal combat.

Alternate Level 3
Status: Alternate.
Subclass: Thief.
Rationale: More literal extension of his occupation and utility identity.

Levels 4-20
Status: Unresolved.
General direction:
- Keep strong single-target damage.
- Keep broad skill/utility competence.
- Preserve knife/stealth/infiltration identity.
No exact feats, ASIs, subclass feature choices, gear or level plan established.

D&D 5.5e / 2024 intended.
Homebrew/third-party: None intended.

Not explicitly locked; story assumes an early adventurer.
Class: Rogue intended.
Subclass: Not yet established at level 1; Assassin is the favored level-3 direction.
Alternate subclass direction: Thief was considered as a more literal occupational match.

Not established.
General priority: Dexterity strongly implied; mental/social secondary priorities not established.

Not established.

Intended utility

- Stealth.
- Sleight of Hand.
- Locks/thieves' tools.
- Infiltration.
- Traps/technical obstacle solving.
Exact proficiency/expertise allocation: Not established.

- Leather/dark rogue clothing/armor in story.
- Knives/daggers are signature weapons.
- Short sword/short blade appears in the prose.
Exact mechanical weapon setup: Not established.

None established.

Primary: Damage.
Secondary: Utility.
Pillar identity: Combat / Skill.
- Finds an opening and makes one attack count.
- Exploits Corren's front-line pressure and enemy distraction.
- Avoids fair fights.
- Stealth/infiltration and precise knife use are central.

Status: Favored plan, not fully locked.
Rationale:
- Silas begins as an actual thief, not an assassin-guild professional.
- Adventuring reveals that the same precision used for theft and infiltration transfers frighteningly well to lethal combat.
- Assassin therefore represents development rather than backstory.

Concept-level only, not a complete verified 2024 sheet.

Established

• Corren and Silas are childhood friends.
• Lysa joins their circle a few years later and becomes Silas's friend independently of Corren.
• The three leave their village together as young adults.

Strongly favored/proposed origin detail

Silas is the village kid every adult knows by name because he is bored and clever. Locked doors become interesting questions; rooftops, pockets, windows, and forbidden places become ways to make a small village less predictable. Over time, mischief becomes real theft.

Knife competence

The intended explanation is mundane rather than exotic. Village knives begin as tools; Silas carries several, gets into scraps, practices throwing/palming/drawing, and becomes frighteningly coordinated. He is not initially a trained professional assassin.

The ring incident

Before meeting Neris as an adventuring companion, Silas passes through a market and steals a modest silver ring from a young Sea Elf woman without paying much attention to her face. Later he gives the ring to a beggar. His motive is intentionally open in the original concept: guilt, impulse, memory, practical indifference, or simple recognition that the beggar needed it more could all fit. In the written Goblin Hunt prose, he remembers the act but not a grand reason; it was "just something he'd done."

Adventure start

Silas strongly encourages leaving the village once Lysa raises the idea. Home feels too small and too fully explored. The trio's first serious mistake comes when goblins overwhelm them and Corren is badly wounded. Silas, normally able to solve problems with skills, has no useful answer to a dying friend. Neris's miracle saves Corren and changes the group.

Corren

• Childhood best friend, nearly sibling-like.
• Silas can joke with him, steal around him, and frustrate him, but Corren's near-death is devastating.
• In the Goblin Hunt, Silas stays on watch longer so Corren can sleep.

Lysa

• Old friend in her own right.
• Silas is not a third wheel to the couple.
• Their banter and mutual competence form an independent friendship.

Neris

• Initially does not recognize her as the person he stole from.
• Increasingly unsettled by her Kind Thief theology.
• She likes him and sees kindness in acts he considers ordinary or meaningless.
• In the Goblin Hunt, he privately connects Neris, the ring, and the market.
• Planned emotional core of eventual reveal: Neris realizes "It was you" about a trusted friend; Silas realizes that one impulsive act mattered enormously to someone.

Current identity

• Damage / utility.
• Combat / skill.
• Thief by occupation.

Favored plan

• Rogue progressing toward Assassin at level 3 rather than making him an assassin from the beginning.
• The subclass is meant to emerge as a mechanical expression of how he already fights, not as membership in an assassin guild.
• Adventuring may force him to confront that he is extremely good at hurting people.

Alternate

• A more straightforward Thief subclass / efficient killer-thief route was considered.

Unresolved

• Exact subclass lock.
• Exact motive for giving away Neris's ring.
• Exact species, background, ability scores, expertise, feats, weapon mastery, and progression.
• Exact timing of Neris learning his identity.

Role

Rogue/thief, damage/utility member of original trio, Corren's childhood friend, Lysa's old friend, secret mortal source of the "Kind Thief" story in the written version.

Key story events

• Helps get Corren to Neris's village after the goblin ambush.
• Is helpless to medically save his friend, highlighting the limits of his normal competence.
• Joins the goblin hunt and infiltrates the camp to free prisoners.
• Gradually realizes Neris is the woman whose ring he stole and gave away.
• Argues with Neris about whether ordinary acts of help can be "holy," accidentally articulating the exact principle she believes in.
• Leaves a silver piece at the shrine at the end of the Goblin Hunt story; a candle remains lit in the breeze, unseen by him and Neris.

In the reusable version of the opening, Silas need not be the Kind Thief. The secret-identity connection began as an optional player prompt. The current written Goblin Hunt story, however, strongly establishes him as that thief through his private memories.