Anya Volkova - Pathfinder Ranger

Another of Svetlana's childhood gang, Anya's the only one who's cameoed in the game so far - she was Svetlana's bridesmaid and spent time in New Stetvon for the wedding. 

See also Svetlana, Devin, Misha and Piotr.

Anya Volkova (nee Kuznetsova) - Lawful Good Human Ranger (Level 1)

Abilities: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 11

Skills:  Climb 1, Handle Animal 1, Heal 1, Knowledge (nature) 1, Perception 1, Profession (hunter) 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Swim 1

Feats: Athletic (bonus to climb and swim), Run 

Trait: Free Spirit (+2 DC to intimidate her; +1 saving throw against language dependent/sonic descriptor effects)

Ranger Abilities: Favoured enemy (animals +2)

Languages: Common, Gnomic

Equipment: Basic outdoor survival gear/hunter's pack, shortbow, dagger, leather armour, bottle of Chekhov family mead. 

Appearance/Personality: Anya has the fair skin, pale blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair common in the village. Her build is sturdy; athletic: she hunts with the eye of an eagle, swims with the joy of an otter, climbs with the speed of a squirrel and runs like a leaping hare. She laughs easily and often and comes across as very laid back in comparison to her friends (except the calm Misha). She is hard to insult and quick to stand up for those she thinks are being picked on.

Background: Anya is very close in age to Svetlana, making her a little younger than Piotr and a little older than Devin and Misha, and is third cousin to Svetlana's mother. Her father, Ruslan Kuznetsov, is the village blacksmith, a role her brothers are likely to take on.  

Anya gravitated to her charismatic half-elf cousin and often acted as scout for the group when they played further from home than they ought - picking up a love of the wilderness that found her spending a lot of time with Misha's family, hunters and trappers who proudly traced their lineage back to the hunters saved by Erastil burning the oak that gave the name to the village pub. In an effort to tame the wild bunch, Devin's mother taught them tasks that required focus and patience - lockpicking and the like. Whilst Anya enjoyed these, she never dedicated the time to them she did to understanding the natural world.

She is bright and enjoyed school, but declined in surprise the suggestion by Olesya Chorkina that she move to Restov and continue her studies there. The teacher had expected Anya to attend university and pursue an academic career and put her decision not to down to the bad influence of her friends rather than the fact Anya genuinely preferred her more practical life.

It did not surprise anyone when Misha's elder brother Maksim asked Anya to marry him, nor how readily she agreed. The two had always been close and their wedding, in its elegance, had all the simplicity Svetlana had wanted in her own.

It was Anya who discovered the cellar of the Burning Tree was 'haunted' shortly before the fortuitous arrival of the ragged 'exorcist', Alexei Vassilev. She'd come to tell her cousins of her recently discovered pregnancy, and the shock of bottles flying round when she went to fetch supplies nearly caused her to fall. Alexei took the ghost with him and left the leaflet that drew Anya's best friend away, then Natasha (Svetlana's mother) left to be closer to her daughter in the Dawnlands (and opted to stay there rather than move again after Svetlana's relocation to New Stetvon). Natasha's parents were beginning to feel too old to run the pub themselves - had already handed the running of the orchard and brewery to younger family. Heavily pregnant, Anya was unable to hunt so it made sense for her to spend more time at the inn. Once the twins arrived, she was grateful for the extra space the inn offers, but ultimately she hopes to pass the pub to her sister-in-law, Marya, and return to hunting with Maksim.