fellsing

Fall of Faerieland

I'm gonna defer to the people who are more experienced with 5e for this one. Though I'll admit, even I am aware of the reputation D&D Wiki has for unbalanced homebrew.

Fall of Faerieland

The moment Ferrin attempted to engage with Wyler, the Gallion dropped her proud posture and immediately became tense. Her pupils narrowed into her slits, her mane and tail tuft fluffed up, and she bared her teeth as the Scorchio approached. Fortunately, the new arrival - a brown bori - halted Ferrin's attempts to pet her, but it did nothing for the petpet's nerves as she suddenly turned towards Arma instead, a low snarl started to build in her throat.

Eloween must have noticed because she bent down slightly to stroke the Gallion's mane. "It's okay, it's okay," she said softly. This seemed to calm Wyler somewhat as she immediately stopped snarling. She remained tense, however, backing away so she was closer to Eloween and wrapping her tail around her ixi's legs.

Eloween sighed, half with exsperation, half with relief. She glanced at the Scorchio, then over to the Bori with an apologetic stare. "Sorry, she's... not great with strangers," she said to them, continuing to stroke the Gallion's head even as she spoke.

Fall of Faerieland

I suppose I should wait for Olive. What do you all think? She hasn't posted in a month so far.

@Birdboy

Yeah, I had noticed that. Maybe you consider PMing her, asking if she's still able to participate?

Fall of Faerieland

Eloween's ears perked up when the Draik suddenly addressed her. She hadn't expected him to notice her so quickly and, still shaken from her panic attack moments earlier, it took a moment to process what he had asked her. "E... Eloween," she stammered out. "Eloween... Pengelly." She then heard Wyler giving a small snort and quickly added, "Oh, and this is Wyler." She motioned to the Gallion, who stood up to her full height, head raised and tail held high in a proud manner, all while casting a suspicious glance in the direction of the red Scorchio in front of them.

Fall of Faerieland

"'Scuse me... pardon me... really sorry 'bout this..." Eloween weaved her way through the streets of Brightvale, pausing every now and again to mumble apologies to anyone she so much as brushed against. Most of them didn't even spare her a glance. They were used to the hustle and bustle of city life, and had likely battled against crowds far more ferocious than this. For Eloween, however, this was all new. She'd grown up in Bogshot, a small village composed of a few, ramshackle wooden huts and surrounded on all sides by dense, marshy wilderness. She'd spent her early years learning how to silently move through the trees, avoid quicksand and tell the threat of any given plant or creature from a glance. Her eyes were used to lowlight, her ears used to the only sounds being her own footsteps and the occassional call of some wild petpet. Even the past couple of years she'd spent in Meridell couldn't have prepared her for this. There, things were less developed, more spread out, with farms, ranches and shops all seperated by large open fields, small clumps of woodland and winding, empty roads.

Here, everything was so much louder, brighter, and instead of greenery and unstable ground, she had to navigate through buildings and people. It was overwhelming, especially whenever she caught one of the passersby glancing in her direction. Could they tell she didn't belong here? Could they sense the wild on her, smell the dampness of the bog, see the tears in her clothes, the mud on her hooves? Were they disgusted, appalled that such a person was allowed near their little piece of civilisation?

... was that how Nora viewed her now?

That single thought seemed to knock any remaining breath out of her, and she came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street. A few of the more disgruntled passersby muttered something along the lines of "Watch what you're doing!" or "Move it!", but otherwise continued on their way with little thought spared towards her. For once, she didn't notice. There was a tightness in her chest, like someone's hand grasped around her heart, and applying more and more pressure as the seconds passed by. She couldn't move, but she was vaguely aware that her legs were starting to give way beneath her.

She suddenly caught a flash of orange and blue at the bottom of her vision, and glanced down to see her gallion, Wyler, pressing her body against the ixi's legs, as if in an attempt to steady her. Eloween opened her mouth, perhaps to reassure the petpet that she was alright, but no words came out, only pained gasps. Her vision started to swim before her eyes, and she stumbled awkwardly in an attempt to keep her footing. Wyler, realising she didn't have much time to act, grabbed up some of the fabric of Eloween's trouser leg with her mouth and started pulling the ixi to the side of the road and out of the pathway of any disapproving citygoers. Eloween didn't resist, allowing the gallion to guide her until they came to rest by one of Brightvale's many shops - this one helpfully labelled 'Royal Potionery' - which Eloween leaned against as she attempted to regain her bearings. Wyler kept close to her, her tail wrapped protectively around the ixi's feet. Any passerbys who dared so much as look in their direction were met with the glare of the gallion's eyes and the flash of her teeth, as if to say "What do you think you're looking at?"

Eventually, Eloween's vision returned to normal and she felt herself being able to breath again. Her legs still felt like jello, however, and under normal circumstances, she would have liked to wait a little longer until she was sure she could walk without the danger of falling flat on her face. Of course, these weren't normal circumstances, so, at risk of looking like a complete fool, she cautiously stepped away from the wall. Once again, she stumbled a little, and had to use Wyler to steady her, but she wasn't about to be deterred from her goal. If she remembered correctly, Brightvale Castle wasn't too far away from the Potionary, and with Wyler's help, she managed to make her way to the end of the street, where the dirt path was replaced with a cobblestone road, the castle looming just at the end. She could make out the shapes of two neopets - a draik and a scorchio - in conversation as the castle's gate began to lower. She approached them, not sure whether to call out a greeting or let them wait until they finished speaking, and instead just hovered awkwardly behind the scorchio, hoping to eventually be noticed.

Fall of Faerieland

Should have my post up by tomorrow. Sorry it's taken so long, I hit a bit of a writer's block when I tried to start the post, but I seem to have gotten over it.

Digimon Net Ocean: Nightmare Archipelago

Yeah, that seems good to me.

Fall of Faerieland

Eloween Pengelly & Wyler

Name: Eloween Pengelly
Gender: Female
Race: Ixi
Colour: Purple
Class: Ranger (Beast Master) [planning to later multiclass with Nature Cleric]
Sheet: myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2546527

Appearance: Eloween stands at about 5'1", and while her fur in mainly purple, her hair is a bright orange, with orange spots also on her face, arms and back. She has large magenta eyes, though her left eye is partially obscured by her bangs. Her hair is short but is also combed in a way where it can be hard to spot her small, stubby horns. She tends to dress in practical, outdoor clothes, often made of thick, protective material like leather or hide to offer some help against the elements and any dangerous flora or fauna she may encounter. These clothes tend to be in earthy colours so she can blend in to her environment, and often have some sort of hood to help hide her brightly-coloured hair and fur.

Personality:
- Kind and gentle, with not a mean bone in her body
- Patient and forgiving of the flaws and mistakes of others, while simultaneously being very critical of her own
- Sensitive towards the emotions of others, particularly animals
- Dislikes conflict, often trying to defuse it as quickly as possible
- Hardworking, putting a lot of pressure on herself to do a job as well as possible
- Has a hard time saying 'no' to people
- Plagued by anxiety and self-doubt
- Strives to be someone others can look up to, and becomes extremely upset if she feels she's let someone down

Backstory: Born and raised in the small, marshland village of Bogshot, Eloween is the oldest children born to Gustan and Syve Pengelly, and as such, as always strived to be someone her family, as well as the other villagers, can depend on. Very early on, her parents taught her how best to navigate the swamps, and in her teens, taught her basic combat and archery just in case she ran into anything particuarly dangerous. Her mother especially, who was the village's local herbalist and druid, taught her many things about what plants had useful medicinal properties, which were safe to eat and which were dangerous, and even taught her a few spells to aid her. Eloween was an obedient child and fast learner, so she quickly picked up these skills, and when her two younger siblings, Zennora and Austell, came along, she passed on these lessons and would often accompany them whenever they went out to play in the swamps. This protectiveness and responsibility soon extended to the other village kids too, and Eloween became quickly known as big sister figure to all of them, and other villagers would often congratulate her parents for raising such a responsible daughter. One day, however, one of the kids in her care went missing, and while they were eventually found alive and well, with only a couple of minor scrapes, the child's parents were very unhappy with her and both them and some of the other villagers were hesitant to put their children in her care for some time afterwards. This was the starting point of Eloween's anxiety, and while the village didn't hold this against her for too long, she started being much more protective, especially of her own siblings.

As the Pengelly children got older, attention shifted away from Eloween and over to her sister Zennora, who proved to be something of a prodigy in academics and magic, and even got a scholarship to a posh school in Brightvale. Eloween was happy for her sister, of course, but secretly felt resentment, not just because her sister was getting more attention than her, but because she feared that her little sister no longer needed, that she'd 'outgrown' her and one day all of Eloween's friends and family would do so too. Eloween fell into a bit of a depression after her little sister left, spending a lot more time at home and just altogether unhappy. Her parents grew worried about her and deliberated much on how they might best help her. Gustan, who had been a travelling musician back in his youth, suggested that perhaps Eloween should get out of Bogshot for a bit, that a change of scenery and new experiences would help her mood. Syve was hesitant; she'd spent pretty much all her life in Bogshot, and was afraid that seperating Eloween from her home and support would only worsen her mood. Eventually, they came to a compromise of sorts, and broached the subject with Eloween that perhaps she would like to go spend some time in Meridell with distant relatives. That way, she still had people she could rely on. Eloween was reluctant at first, even worried that her parents wanted rid of her. She did agree, however, and spent the next couple of years in Meridell.

Her extended family lived on a small ranch, raising and selling petpets for a living. It was hard work, but Eloween grew to enjoy it quickly, as her nurturing nature meant petpets were very receptive to her, and it grately improved her mood. During her time working there, one of the ranch's gallions had recently given birth to large litter, and the smallest and youngest of the litter was being bullied by its siblings, meaning it was getting a lot less food and attention from its mother. Feeling bad for it, Eloween started keeping an eye on the petpet, bottle-feeding it whenever it didn't get enough food, giving it attention and breaking up any fights between it and the others. Eventually, this little Gallion stopped caring too much about its own mother and started following Eloween around, constantly seeking her attention and sometimes trying to 'help' Eloween with her various chores, to mixed results. Eloween's family eventually decided to let her keep the Gallion, partly because no one else could even get near the creature without getting bitten or scratched. Eloween named the Gallion 'Wyler', and began training her as a sort of 'guard dog' for the ranch. There were a lot of beasts, monsters and rustlers around Meridell, after all, and there had been a few close calls with petpets almost being snatched up during Eloween's time there, and the ranger was determined to make sure they didn't lose any of their livestock. Using her own survival training, she set up traps, trained Wyler how best to detect and handle threats, and even stood vigil herself some nights, her bow at the ready. She and Wyler even gained a small bit of renown among the local farms after taking care a particularly troublesome creature that had been stalking around the area.

However, Eloween did eventually grow to miss her home and family, and was considering returning to Bogshot for a bit when she recieved a letter from Zennora, inviting her to come spend some time with her in Brightvale. Excited to see her sister, she made arrangements to leave the ranch for a bit. She DID initially try to leave Wyler there, telling the Gallion that she had to stay and protect the ranch, but a little ways into her journey, she quickly noticed that Gallion trotting behind her. After some failed attempts to get Wyler to return, she caved and let her stay.

She arrived in Brightvale and stayed with Zennora for a couple of months. While the two sisters were happy to see and spend time with each other, it was a little awkward as they hadn't seen each other in some time. Zennora had grown from the shy, quiet girl who loved reading into a confident and smart young woman. During their outings, they'd often be intruded upon by various school friends of Zennora's, who were always talking about how clever and talented she was. Eloween could also detect that they seemed surprised whenever Zennora revealed that they were sisters, and she could feel her old feelings of resentment and envy returning, much to her horror. She tried her best to keep this concealed, but musn't done a good job as one evening, after a particularly harrowing outing, Zennora called her out, claimed she had been 'weird' during dinner, and that her friends had told her she'd been 'rude' to them. This quickly turned into a full-blown argument, which ended when Zennora called Eloween a "sad farm girl who'd never done anything important in her life" and Wyler bit her arm. Half upset, half in panic, Eloween quickly ran out of there, heading to a local tavern and renting a room for a few days while she figured out what to do. She didn't think Zennora would want her back after that, she didn't want to return to Bogshot in case her parents asked about what happened, and she didn't feel up to going back to the ranch in her current state.

During this time, news about King Hagan searching for adventurers for a unknown mission started spreading, and, both unable to turn away from someone in need and out of a need to prove herself to her sister, Eloween signed up as part of Hagan's test to see if she was worthy to help out on this mysterious mission.

---

Name: Wyler
Gender: Female
Species: Gallion

Personality:
- Acts as both as Eloween's emotional support and a bodyguard, being sensitive towards her emotions and protecting her from those who might take advantage of her kindness
- Wary of and slow to trust strangers
- Has been known to bite under very little provocation
- Stubborn and independent; doesn't listen to anyone except Eloween, and even then, she has been known to go against her ranger's wishes if she thinks she knows better
- Proud of her power and skill, tending to show off from time to time and loving compliments, even from those she mistrusts or dislikes

Stats

(Stats courtesy of @Birdboy and @Digizel)
Medium beast, unaligned
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 18 (4d8)
Speed 35 ft., fly 20 ft.
STR
12 (+1)

DEX
16 (+3)

CON
11 (+0)

INT
2 (-4)

WIS
10 (+0)

CHA
13 (+1)

Skills Acrobatics +5, Performance +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Keen Smell. The Gallion has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Pounce. If the Gallion moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the Gallion can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Actions
Bite. Bite: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claws. Claw Attack: [+5] to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.

Burning Bright (D&D 5e)

While it was partially obscured by their mask, Tamzen had shot a pretty fierce glare in Graham's direction. The man had completely regarded their concerns, seemingly ignorant of the kind of troublesome position they were in. "Listen," Tamzen said. Had they been able to move, they might have taken a step towards Graham, as if in an attempt to intimidate him. However, their feet remained anchored to where they had first spawned, and instead they could only lean forward slightly to get their point across. "We don't even know if we can fight in our current state, do you really think-" They were cut off suddenly when Whisper spoke again. He chanted each of the group's names in turn, perfectly mimicking the sound of each of their voices. It took all of Tamzen's will not to shudder as hearing their own voice coming out of another's mouth... err, beak.

Then the Kenku did something else unexpected. With a flick of his scythe, he enveloped Yin in a shroud of darkness, causing her to disappear completely from sight. Tamzen's body tensed again, only to immediately relax once he realised what had happened. A spell... the Kenku had used a spell to hide Yin.

"Magic still works, it seems," Tamzen muttered, more to themself than anyone else. Still, that didn't help them much. Their power didn't come from magic - not in the traditional sense, anyway - but from the energy that runs through all living things, that which some monastic traditions referred to as 'ki'. Tamzen glanced down at their hands, grimacing slightly. If their power was tied to life force, and they were no longer alive, how could they still possibly use it?

They didn't have much time to ponder on this however, as a loud piercing shriek sounded from the sky. Tamzen tensed up again. They heard Yin admit that she didn't know how to fight, and they had to resist the urge to mutter another curse. It couldn't be helped.

"We need to get her out of here," Tamzen said to the others, though those words were barely out of their mouth before both they and their new compatriots were suddenly pulled away from the temple. "What..." As they couldn't see Yin, it took a long moment to realise that she had bolted, and in the process had pulled them along. Eventually, they came to stop a few feet away from the well. "... ok," they said. They were starting to sound exhausted. This was just too much, and just when they thought they could barely handle any more of this chaos, they spotted the shadow on the ground. Tamzen raised their head up towards the sky, and muttered another halfling curse to themself as they caught sight of the creature. It seemed, despite Whisper's spell, it was still making a beeline towards Yin.

"What do we do now?" they asked the others, unable to hide the slowly building panic in their voice.

Fall of Faerieland

I'm just going with with predetermined stuff the ranger gets, plus using one of the backgrounds.