Mercedes Vela

Mercedes Vela grew up watching her mother clean offices at night while her father disappeared into the boxing gyms of East Los Angeles, and she learned early that women's labor was invisible while men's violence was celebrated on every screen. At twenty-three, she signed with a national wrestling promotion as a promising prospect, only to be relegated to pre-show squashes and backstage valet roles despite her technical superiority—a humiliation she carried like a stone until the day she walked out mid-contract, telling herself it was principle when it tasted more like fear. She spent a decade wrestling in VFW halls and church basements, building a reputation as Serpentine, the woman who could make anyone look like a star, until she realized she was tired of making other people rich on their terms. Nine years ago, with money borrowed against a house she barely owned and a burning need to prove something she could never quite name, she opened Vanguard in a converted bingo hall and wrote the permission slip she'd been waiting for someone else to give her. Her knee gave out the way things do when you're forty-one and still trying to be twenty-five, but she convinced herself the injury was a mercy—a clean excuse to step back rather than admit she'd been terrified of failing at ownership the same way she'd failed at ambition. Now she sits at the crossroads between building something that will outlive her and keeping her wrestlers close enough that they'll never realize they could leave, and every cigarette she smokes outside that loading door is a prayer she hasn't learned how to pray.

Strength

14, modifier +2

Dexterity

12, modifier +1

Constitution

18, modifier +4

Intelligence

16, modifier +3

Wisdom

15, modifier +2

Charisma

20, modifier +5

Coil

Make a melee attack against one target. On a hit, deal 3d8 + 5 bludgeoning damage and restrain the target until the end of their next turn.

Smoke Break

Take a moment to regain composure. Regain 1d10 hit points and gain advantage on the next Charisma check.

Contemptuous Taunt

Target one creature within 60 ft. They must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on their next attack roll.

Legacy Builder

Choose up to three allies. They gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier at the start of their next turn.

Masterful Booker

Advantage on all persuasion checks when negotiating matches.

Ring General

All allies gain +2 to attack rolls while within 30 feet.

strength

+5

dexterity

+1

constitution

+8

intelligence

+6

wisdom

+5

charisma

+9

Bludgeoning

Piercing