Borborybodboddynock
“Bory”
Full name: Borborybodboddynock Eric Heatherplanter Ezuri Badger Packmaster Rootwalla meadknocker Waterknott Daergel
1st level Druid
Forest Gnome
Chaotic Good
Male
Hit Points: 9 (d
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Armor Class: 16
Strength 10 (+0 Modifier)
Dexterity 16 (+3 modifier)
Constitution 15 (+2 modifier)
Intelligence 15 (+2 modifier)
Wisdom 18 (+4 Modifier)
Charisma 10 (+0 Modifier)
Speed: 25’
Appearance: 3’ (short even for a gnome. About 36 pounds.)
Borborybodboddynock is small even for a gnome and still fairly young at only 39 years old. People who meet him would not be shocked to learn that he is a druid, but neither is it obvious as he does not walk around with sprigs of mistletoe in his hair. His hair is bright orange and flies out in all directions, not because it is unkempt but because that is just what it does. He does comb it and it is not a mass of snarls or tangles, it just isn’t very controllable. When outside it is usually under a wide brimmed hat. His skin is a fairly light brown – he is not naturally overly dark, but has spent a great deal of time outside. He wears leather armor and typically has a shield slung across his back and a scimitar at his waist. His clothing and armor are always of a blend of browns and greens, although he is more than willing to put on a bold splash of color when in town and celebrating. He has a waterdrop shaped amulet around his neck made of oak. Sometimes it is outside his tunic and sometimes inside. In general, he gives off the impression of a common traveler with a big smile and a glint in his eye. He doesn’t try to attract attention, but frequently does anyway.
Age: 39
Languages: Common, Druidic, Elvish and Gnome (uses Dwarvish script)
Racial Abilities:
Darkvision to 60’
Gnome cunning – advantage on all Intelligence, wisdom and charisma saving throws vs. magic.
Minor Illusion cantrip- Intelligence ability
Speak with small beasts – sounds and gestures to communicate simple ideas to small and
smaller beasts.
Background: Hermit
*Bory is really not a hermit in the traditional sense and never has been one. He was raised near the village of Harper’s Crossing and even his druidic training was usually in the vicinity of that community. When it wasn’t, he was typically in the company of the druid Haradaya. Unlike most hermits he maintains strong connections to his home community of gnomes. (See Bond below.) However, the hermit background was the closest to his history that was available. While still quite socially precocious, he has spent a lot of time in the wilds alone contemplating the universe. Essentially, sure he’s a bit of a hermit and enjoys being alone, but he is still a gnome and funny is really only funny when there is someone else there with whom to share the laugh.
Bonus hermit skill Proficiencies: medicine and religion
Tool Proficiency: Herbalism kit
Bonus Languages: One – Elvish (Haradaya was ½ elvish)
Character Traits:
Ideals: Bory is amazed by the world and nature in particular. The same way a more typical gnome loves tinkering and seeing how the bits and pieces of something fit together, Bory is constantly in awe of how the universe fits all the pieces together. And he thinks it is wonderful and dynamic and an amazing thing to be a part of. He is filled with a sense of wonder and a desire to preserve that which he finds wonderful.
Bonds: Near the village of Harper’s Crossing there is a small community of wood gnomes. This is the home town of Borborybodboddynock. Although he has left it to see the wonders of the world, it will never leave him. The village will always be special to him and he will work very hard to defend it. As wood gnomes many of them share his passion for the wilds even if they aren’t druids, so a druid’s loyalty to a village is not as surprising as it might seem. His mentor in the world of druidism is also a very special individual for Bory. The ½ elf Haradaya took his burgeoning love of nature and gave it direction and focus. Haradaya is quite old by now, although still strong.
Flaws: Bory is a gnome and he comes fully armed with the usual gnome sense of humor. He never wants to hurt other people, but sometimes when his humor is combined with his natural sense of self-confidence (some might say a bit of arrogance) he simply can’t help poking fun at other people. Humans are a natural target because they are so big and so slow and so . . . human. They do the darndest things and sometimes it is Bory’s duty to point it out to the world. Especially over a pint of mead. Mead could also be considered a flaw. He isn’t a drunk by any means, but he does like his mead.
Skill Proficiencies: (2 from hermit backgroung, 2 generally)
Medicine
Religion
Survival
Perception
Tool proficiencies: Herbalism Kit
Spells:
Spells Available: wisdom + druid level – can memorize that many spells per day.
Spell modifiers = proficiency bonus + wisdom modifier
Spell slots per spell level
Cantrips: 2+
Minor Illusion (Wood Gnome ability)
Produce Flame
Poison Spray
1st Level: 2
Goodberry
Entangle
Weapons and Armor
Proficient with: clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, spears
Armor Proficiency: light or medium armor and shields – no metal
Scimitar 1d6 slashing. Finesse, light. (use dex for attack and damage rolls)
Sling: 1d4 bludgeoning. Range 30/120
Bullets (20)
Darts (6) 1d4 Piercing. Range 20/60
Dagger 1d4 piercing. Finesse, light, thrown, range 20/60 (use dex for attack and damage)
Leather armor: Ac 11, + Dex.
Shield: +2 AC
Other Equipment
A scroll case stuffed with maps, sketches and notes from his travels
A winter blanket
Bedroll
Traveler’s Clothes
Pouches (2)
Herbalism kit
Backpack
Candle (3)
Chalk (2)
Signal Whistle
Fishing Tackle
Ink Pen
Ink – 1 oz. bottle, ½ full
Soap
Tinderbox
Waterskin
Rations – 4 days
*Druidic Focus – This is a knot of oak shaped like a waterdrop that came from a huge old oak near Harper’s Crossing next to the pond where he first met Haradaya. It is worn on a chain around his neck.
Money:
12 gp
The Name Game Explained:
Full name: Borborybodboddynock Eric Heatherplanter Ezuri Badger Packmaster Rootwalla meadknocker Waterknott Daergel
Borborybodboddynock – It is a family name, ok?! My great grandfather had that name when he single-handedly beat the ogre of the High Moors in one-on-one combat! Not bad for a 38 pounder, is it? It is a proud name, so take that, “Bob.” (But you can call me Bory, most of the time.)
Heatherplanter – What sort of name was that? There were stories about his other great grandfather and a young gnome lass named Heather that everybody wanted to get to know and great gramps won her hand. And greatgrandma was named Heather. At least one of her names was Heather. But Bory wasn’t so sure. There were always stories.
Eric – What??!! What sort of a name was Eric? It wasn’t ‘Bob,’ but what else did it have going for it? “Hi! I’m Eric.” How exciting was that? Why’d they give him the name Eric? But at least it was better than that boy down the road named Sue. His father had really done him wrong. Poor kid kept getting in fights. But then, how can you not laugh when someone says, “Hi! My name is Sue.”? You respond with “Hi. My name is Eric,” to let him know he isn’t the only one with a dumb name.
Meadknocker – So he’d earned this one early on when only a young lad and he had raided his father store of mead. Honey and booze. What was there not to love???!! Yeah, he’d earned this one and had a few friends back home that still just called him “Mead.” The thought made him smile. And thirsty.
Ezuri – the legendary elf warrior. Supposedly his great grandfather had fought with the great elf once upon a time. He was beginning to wonder how many great grandfathers he had.
Waterknott – He’d been known to sit and stare at the swirls in the water for hours. It fascinated him. Nature. It was almost like the other gnomes and their tinkering and chemicals. He could stare at nature for hours and try to find the mystery in it. It worked for a glass of mead as well.
Badger – kinda boring, but he liked this one. He wasn’t sure if it was about when he raised those young badgers he’d found or about a personality trait, but either way it was kinda flattering in a stubborn sort of way. Not all names can be as good as BorBoryBodboddynock.
Packmaster – It was wolves that time. Who didn’t think running a pack of wolves through the center of the village was funny? I mean, come on! You should have seen . . . ok, so a few things got broken, but they could be fixed! Now those faces – they might be forever frozen that way!
Rootwalla – This was a personal favorite. He’d earned this one. He’d managed to make a wall of thorns and roots that saved several gnomes from some attacking goblins. He’d had a scroll. But ‘wall of roots’ really doesn’t sound great, so over a few mugs of mead the name had morphed. He liked this one.
Daergel – A clan name. A good name. Nothing interesting though. Except the family history. All those great grandfathers. That was interesting and something to be proud of. So, a good name.
A Brief History of Borborybodboddynock.
Boborybodboddynock was the beloved child of Bodborydigdunglethorn and Sue Daergel in the wood gnome community near Harper’s Crossing. Wood gnomes as a whole tend to be a bit isolated and prefer to stay out of the way of the larger world. This allowed them all to fit in quite well with the larger community. Everyone in the Deeper Wilds tended towards a strong strain of individualism and didn’t like the Arcaren or other authorities sticking their collective noses in people’s business. This attitude suited the Daergel clan and their neighbors perfectly.
Bory was a precocious young gnome and lived up to their reputation for curiosity and humor. (See his name for a brief hint of his history of jokes.) Like all young wood gnomes, he loved the woods and hills and spent a great deal of time wandering the wilds. Frequently this was with a troupe of other young gnomes who followed his lead, but more and more as he grew older he would wander deeper and deeper than the others were willing to go. The young gnome found almost everything about the world fascinating, but while many gnomes found fascination in alchemical and tinkering (less predominant among wood gnomes, but still common) Bory was drawn to the wonders of the wild. The world fascinated him. The woods, the sky, the rivers, the hills, the ponds, the life under rocks and up in trees and in the water and in caves. It all amazed him. And it all seemed to work together in an amazing mixture. The young gnome spent days at a time wandering the deeper wilds investigating the secrets of the world around him. His parents worried about him when he was gone for a long time but got used to it since there wasn’t much they could do to stop him.
One day the young gnome found a beautiful meadow in the woods while on one of his travels. Unknown to the gnome, he was no alone. The druid Haradaya was watching him from the woods nearby. The druid had taken the form of a giant wolf and had been following the gnome for a couple of days. He sat and watched as the young gnome ran around investigating everything while gasping in shock and wonder. When Bory sat down and stared into the pond at the center of the meadow the wolf slowly approached.
Bory spotted the wolf the moment it left the shelter of the surrounding woods. He froze. His instincts were screaming that he should run, but something about this wolf was different. It clearly saw the gnome and yet was neither running nor attacking. Instead it approached slowly. That wasn’t how wolves normally behaved. He slowly got to his feet not wanting to spook the creature – whether to keep it from running or to avoid startling it and spurring an attack, he wasn’t sure. Slowly the wolf approached and Bory reached up and scratched its ears. Bory wasn’t surprised when it didn’t run. It stayed for a few minutes to be scratched. After getting a brief drink from the pond the wolf turned to the gnome and winked. Bory was sure it had winked. Then it took off at a trot while looking back over it’s shoulder at the young gnome. He paused for less than a moment and then took off after the wolf.
The two spent the next two days running through the woods of the Deeper Wild. The wolf led the gnome to a variety of spots with amazing views, amazing plants, amazing beasts or just wonderful calming spots. Eventually the gnome was stumbling with exhaustion and the wolf led him to a cave in some hills nearby. The young gnome had not even had time to investigate the cave’s interior when he collapsed in exhaustion and fell asleep.
When he awoke many hours later it was dark except for a fire which only barely illuminated the inside of the cave. Still, darkness was a no enemy of a gnome. He easily made out the shape of an older half-elf sitting on the opposite side of the fire. When he stirred the elf looked up and smiled. “Come, you must be starving young one. You have run many miles.”
Somehow Bory was neither surprised nor afraid, but happily joined the other at the fire and received a bowl of vegetable stew. It was wonderful. He ate happily, not wishing to break the silence, but after the meal was done he felt something needed to be said. Silence had never been something Bory was good at. Even on his solitary wanderings he tended to keep up a running dialogue or a good song. So, eventually, he spoke. “I’m Bory. Borborybodboddynock.”
The other simply said, “I know.” And waited for him to say more.
Eventually the conversation became less one-sided and he discovered that this other was indeed the same as the wolf he had been following. He was a druid named Haradaya. He had seen Bory multiple times on his various journeys through the wild and believed the young gnome might have what it took to be a druid himself. Bory had suspected as much but had not dared to hope. He had heard of druids, there were a couple associated with the wood gnomes of Harper’s Crossing, but had never spoken to one. When the druid offered to teach him the ways of the Moon he nearly jumped in excitement. He didn’t, of course, for it seemed a more solemn moment, but it took all of his strength to avoid doing so.
Over the next few years Bory spent most of his time in the company of the druid Haradaya and learned much about the ways of the wild. He went home periodically for he was unwilling to completely sever his ties with his family and his community. The gnomes of Harper’s Crossing were a part of the wild and a part of its wonder. And they were his family. As time went on he progressed in his studies with Haradaya. His mentor was a part of a larger circle of druids operating in the area, although Bory did not meet the others very frequently. Most of his studies were spent with Haradaya alone. The two crisscrossed the region and studied every cave, tree, river and pond they could find. The elder druid seemed to share the young ones wonder and amazement about the world.
Eventually it was time for Bory to be initiated as a full druid. The ceremony was attended by a dozen other druids, by far the most Bory had ever seen in one spot. They were a diverse group of many races and they gathered on the summer solstice for the initiation. The great oak at the heart of the ceremony yielded a beautiful teardrop shaped piece of seemingly polished wood that would be the young druids spell focus. He was a druid.
But what did that mean? For many druids it meant protecting and preserving the wilds of the world from those who would endanger it. But it also meant studying the wonders of the world and trying to understand and revere the great mysteries that tied the world together. Bory wasn’t ready to settle down in one place and call it “his grove” or whatever. He still had all of the energy of a young gnome flowing through him and greatly desired to see all the groves of the world. And all of its rivers, oceans, forests, meadows, mountains and such. He felt that the great mysteries of the world were to be found everywhere and in how nature somehow touched all of these like small tributaries in the great river of the world. And to catch of view of that greater river he must go out and see as many of its tributaries as he could. Only then might he be able to piece together the greater pattern.
Haradaya did not try to stop him. He understood the curiosity and need that drove the young gnome as well as the need to feel the pattern. It was not something that could be taught but must be discovered for oneself. He encouraged the young gnome to search the world while encouraging him to return when in need of finding his center again. For that, nothing would ever match the original meadow and cave for the young gnome druid.
And thus the young gnome druid Borborybodboddynock, provided with equipment by his mentor and the other druids, set out to see the world. He wanted to see the world and make a difference in the world. And he intended to have fun while doing it. He headed off down the world’s road whistling and smiling.
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