| Relatives | Farina Diablos (Former Owner) |
|---|---|
| Languages | Common, Sylvan, Elvish, ??? |
| Species | Stitched (Doll) |
| Gender | Doll (They/Them) |
| Height | Around 1ft tall |
| Weight | 10 oz |
Stix is cornhusk doll warlock for the community campaign Bedlam in the Badlands
Physical Appearance
Stix is a very short fellow, standing at just around a foot tall. This may seem unusual until one remembers that they are just a cornhusk doll. They don’t have ‘skin’ the same way fleshy mortals do, and are instead constructed by dried leaves and husks of the maize variety. Most of them is a dry, dusty tan color, sometimes shifting darker or lighter as is the nature of organic material. However, if the light catches them just right, their appendages and face plate seem to have an otherworldly glow and sparkle to it. They do have a face, contrary to popular belief, with eyes and an a mouth, both seemed to be etched into the husk that makes up their head. Stix also has a metal locket around their neck, a design etched into the lid of flowers from another place and time.
Personality
Stix is still finding their place in the world and learning what it means to be alive. As such, their personality is evolving and changing. Typically, they are fairly direct and a bit blunt. Most questions they will answer with the barest amount of information possible. They tend to keep crucial details about themself a secret, and are largely distrustful of others, especially those whom they have just met. Whether this is from the large amount of isolation they found themselves in after being kicked out of their previous home, or the fact that the master of the previous home was a black market witch is remaining up for interpretation. They have a largely nonchalant approach to life, and while they seem hard to please or upset, that also comes with being hard to disappoint. As they are newly awoken, they lack a decent moral sense of right and wrong. However, much akin to other awoken dolls and puppets, Stix does have an outside voice to guide them. When described to other people, it was largely agreed that it was Stix’s conscious, a presence occasionally in their mind to guide them on a ‘good’ path.
History
Stix began their life as a simple cornhusk doll. Truly and irrevocably, a doll. Stix the not yet awoken cornhusk doll was gifted as payment to a witch. The ‘great’ witch Farina Diablos received it in payment from some poor schmuck in one of the Federation cities from one of her less than legal deals and services she often provided. Stix stayed in her possession as a simple doll, until one day, Farina may have gotten a little too tipsy, and boasted a little too loud about her magical abilities. Her grave mistake that would eventually cause the start to Stix’ life was explicitly stating that she was more powerful than the gods themselves. One god in particular took great offense to this. To have some fun in the material plane and prove their magical prowess, they gifted Stix life! At first, this was not the worst outcome to the witch. She essentially got a free minion to take onto jobs and send on errands. And Stix found purpose in being useful. That was, until their fragile arrangement cracked when Stix, at a mere few weeks old, accidentally lit a potion bottle on fire with their own arcane power. Farina was so upset that a simple cornhusk doll could be more magically adept than her, she cast Stix out to fend for themself. Since then, Stix has been wandering the desert, looking for new adventures and opportunities.
Languages
Due to exactly who gifted Stix life, they know some strange languages for a cornhusk doll in the middle of the deserts of Pteris to know, including Sylvan and Elvish. Additionally, with living with a witch who worked within the perimeters of the Federation, Stix also picked up on ???. They also know Common, as is the basis of speech and communication on the great planet of Quelmar.
Powers, Abilities, and Combat Preference
Stix is a warlock, gifted innate magical and arcane ability from an unknown to them deity from an otherworldly plane. They can occasionally speak to them, whom Stix simply calls their conscious, as they have no other real grasp as to what the voice in their head is or can be. Their magic typically runs hot, with a natural proclivity to fire based spells and abilities. They also possess a locket that they 'woke up' with, that transports them to a private chamber to relax and recharge in. Additionally, Stix also has a small collection of small fire burnt skulls they can lend out to their associates to grant them aid as well. Being a small and squishy guy, in combat they prefer to stick to the back lines and sling long range spells, and let the larger and more physically apt adventurers take the front line. However, if there is a big and strong ally nearby, Stix is not ashamed to ask for a ride for more protection and a better vantage point.
Adventure Log
9/6- Sparkburn, Smash, & Cleave (MegaGame Table 1, DM Mercedes)
Stix, still a relative newcomer to the Arboretum without too much to do, looked for at least one familiar face when trying to figure out what mission they wanted to set out on. Seeing Delaiah make a beeline for the scrap yard, Stix decided to tag along and head out that way. On the not so long walk, Stix didn’t understand why everyone was so fascinated with them. They were just a simple cornhusk doll after all. Alas, many of the other adventurers, namely Cae, took a particular interest in them. After most definitely not avoiding questions by answering in half truths and being carried most of the way, Stix, along with the other adventurers, made it to the scrap yard. Raegina was waiting there with three of her goons, with a task for the group- to test three of her new battle golems, particularly in their combat skills. Fortunately for the group, however unfortunate for the junker queen, the initial test was over fairly quickly, the ragtag party victorious over the constructs. Raegina, supremely displeased with her minions, then pits the party against each other and them with a battle to build off. Stix got separated from their friends, and got put on a team with Himo and Raazdrog. However, this proved to be advantageous, and their bot, re christened as Sparkburn, came out victorious! The high of the win was short lived though, as word quickly spread that there was an attack on the Arboretum.
9/6- Addressing the Olliphant in the Rig (MegaGame Table 2, DM Mercedes)
The party rushed toward one of the major entrance ways for the Arboretum, nestled in the roots of the giant tree. However, they were stopped in their tracks by a large undead Olliphant, who t-boned the war rig, completely turning it over and causing quite a bit of damage. Raegina beheaded the olliphant in retaliation. She then ordered the crew to fight the demons and create safe passage to the Arboretum. According to the great voice in the sky, the fought against Pustuloids, Capra demons, Incultis and Lesser Rage demons. After the coast was clear, the adeventurers worked together to clear the entrance of the olliphant carcass. They then spent some time practicing their new harvesting skills on the fresh demonic corpses. Not all good things last, however, as a resounding boom is heard from the Arboretum. In the fray, the conservatory housing the arcane was destroyed, sending out a wave of wild magic, and causing a last bit of chaos for the fight.
9/24- WereVultures by Night (DM Chris)
Stix was summoned along with Delaiah, Davin, Dee, and two other familiar faces, Raazdrog and Leonard by Suki, who identified herself as a healer for the Arboretum, and also runs the Casino in the Federation. She introduced the crew to an escaped Shend prisoner named Brandran who was driven to madness from his imprisonment, mumbling about bugs and bats. Suki assigned the mission of escorting Brandran to the Federation HQ and delivering him to Hektor, the leader of the Federation himself. She also provided two horses with carts, one filled with water for the 7 day trek and one to help transport Brandran. For the most part, the first 3 days went fine. The group hunted for food and kept an ample look out. However, on night 3, during watch, some vultures were noticed circling camp. In the morning they were still there, and Delaiah pointed out that it might signal to other caravans that we were also out in the deserts. Davin managed to shoot them both out of the sky, and the party continued on the way towards the mountains. In the middle of the fourth night, the camp was attacked by several more vultures, two large vulture creatures, and four foul smelling sand worms. Stix immediately shoved Brandran into their locket to keep him safe from the adversaries. It succeeded in that goal, but caused most of the enemies to then hone in on the doll. The crew fought quite well, warding off pecks and scratches from the vultures and the larger bird creatures, and withstanding the poisonous gas from the worms. However, Stix did eventually go down, and Brandtran was expelled from the necklace. At that point, the two larger vultures shifted into personoid forms, revealing their nature as werevultures. They claimed Brandran as theirs, and tried to take him back. They were stopped by multiple grapples and attacks from the party, downing them and the rest of the creatures. It was also revealed that Brandran is a shifter as well, and all three perpetually heal themselves. In the end, the crew tied all three of them up, and brought them to Hektor for questioning. He thanked the group, and arranged for a safe caravan back to the Arboretum.
10/14- Tracking Demons 102 (DM Mercedes)
Stix heard about a new mission headed up by Baftzmyr and showed up to the Junkyard. They met up with some familiar faces, Himo and Raazdrog there, as well as Steady Wind. There were two new faces as well- Ozmir, who Stix hadn’t seen around the Arboretum at all, and Koro, whose path always seemed to just miss the doll. The six of us get to the Junkyard, where Baft was waiting for us. She explained that there is a very large demon creature that’s stuck in the sand someplace west of the Junkyard. Shortly after, the party headed out into the desert. They were adventuring out for a couple of hours before Baft spotted some rippling in the sand. It became appearant fairly quickly that it was another kind of dretch, which were the sand swimmer creatures Stix fought with the WereVultures. However, these ones looked different and were mutated in some way. Stix was the first who realised this when Sparkburn punched one, and the fire damage the bot was enhanced with healed the dretch instead. Koro rushed up and dispatched it pretty easily, and Raazdrog and Stix noticed the rest of the dretches running away. The group followed them to find a rather large crater in the ground. Baft then offered the group a large oragami pig bomb, who Stix then volunteered to carry it to the edge, drop the bomb in, and run away. The bomb went off, causing a large wall of force and sand to push over the party. After the dust settled, a few rushed up to the edge, to see in the middle of the crater a large demonic creature. Baft informs the party that this was the Baron of Filth. It used the lantern on his chest to shoot coils of magic and energy at us with differing effects and As the fighting really got started, the ‘Baron’ summoned more of those mutated Dretch things to just cause more complications to the fight. Additionally, anytime the Baron struggled or tried to free himself, the sands shifted, causing a sandslide down the crater to the large monster. Most of the fight consisted of the group attempting to hurt the Baron while picking off the dretches and doing their best to avoid falling into the crater. However, some of the group decided to willingly slide down into the pit and face him head on. Unfortunately, this caused Koro and Dee to both get knocked unconscious and Himo to get buried in the sand. The adventurers did manage to hit the Baron enough to down him, however, that caused the lantern in his chest to overload, causing a massive fireball explosion, which resulted in some of the party being hit with both flames and sand. It took a few minutes to recover everyone and heal back up to standing. The group then took some time to scrap the Baron for some components before making the way back to the Junkyard and Arboretum to report about the mission.
