synodiporia app - Version FINAL

[naturaltwohands]

P L A Y E R;
NAME: Jenn
AGE: 31
PLAYER JOURNAL: icelightning
TIMEZONE: EST
CONTACT: icelightning; Discord: icelightning#7000
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: N/A

C H A R A C T E R;
NAME: Drizzt Do'Urden
CANON: The Legend of Drizzt
POINT IN CANON: Passage to Dawn, End of Chapter 1 (After capturing two pirate ships)
AGE: 68
APPEARANCE: Drizzt is a handsome male drow elf with lavender eyes, a thick mane of long white hair just past his shoulders, and ebony skin. His build is slender, and he is about 5'4" and 130 pounds. He wears a cloak, armor, and a belt that holds his scimitar sheaths and belt pouches for carrying things. Drizzt looks like an adult, although he is still quite young by drow (elf) standards. He still has light sensitivity to the brightest of light, but he has adapted to the surface, so expect too see him with his cloak hood back more often than not.

Drizzt has been pulled from a point in his canon where he has been working and living on an old school ship. Which means no baths. Which means he stinks, but less than a human male, because elves are magical like that or something. I'm not sure. And because he likes hanging out on the very tip of the boat, he's been sprayed by brine, basically making himself into a salt lick. There are splotches of salt on his skin, especially a splotch or two encrusted on his cheek and more on his cloak, and his hair definitely has plenty of dried salt in it, too. Drizzt needs a serious bath.

Also a hair cut, because he doesn't really take too good of care of his thick mane. Dead ends are a thing. Deep conditioning is necessary. He's a gross hippie elf, I am sorry.
CANON HISTORY: Link
CANON PERSONALITY:

Drizzt is one of the most popular Forgotten Realms characters and is a bit... overleveled. Which is what people will focus on if you go to the wiki. They only see the fact that he's pretty much his own Nutri Ninja Blender®, and they miss the fact that him being less of a fighter would get in the way of his story. His imperfections are not with his blades but within the recesses of his mind. They also see him as an adult, where he is more of a child, specifically a teenager, still seeing a lot of the world in black and white, still full of childhood exuberance. He himself holds the view of being an adult, despite knowing that he is young by elf standards, since he has many if not all the responsibilities of adulthood and refusing to be without the corresponding privileges, because being refused those are more than his pride can bear.

Drizzt is still growing, still incredibly young by elf standards, and has only begun his journey into understanding the world. His is not a story of a person deeply conflicted, but of a child with adult responsibilities trying to understand the often harsh and unfair world around him. Drizzt's view is still self-centered, although it is often concerned with how others regard him and the pain he causes for his friends rather than thinking about how his friends might feel. He often runs head long into almost certain death, enjoying the thrill of battle, being perfectly happy if he ends up getting sliced down. More than once he has been shown to have a martyr complex, once delivering himself to be executed, thinking his death would allow his friends to live out the rest of their lives in peace. (Obviously, like many actions of teenagers, this was not properly thought through.)

This is why, for the sake of his story, his struggles are mostly not external, but internal. It's not a matter of right and wrong--he clearly knows that he wishes to be on the side of good and to do good. That was never a question to him, and it never will be a question to him. He was both born good and raised good, partially as the result of his first ten years with his sister, Vierna, who was less vicious and cruel than his other sisters (and most drow elves), and mostly at the handful of years he spent training with his father, Zaknafein, learning about friendship, how to use the blade, and why to use the blade. (He also inherited Zak's tendency to shoot his mouth off, despite Drizzt being far more of a gentle soul than him.) But Drizzt is unsure if he's good enough, not knowing that much of his doubt stems from years of having his inferiority as a male hammered into him by drow society and the feeling of a snake-headed whip upon his back whenever he tried to resist it. (Also, because he's a teenager, and a certain amount of doubt is quite frankly normal.)

The drow elf wonders more about himself and about the world around him. Is he good enough? He writes in a journal, giving himself, events in his life, and those important to him a deep dive introspective look, highlighting his own flaws, holding himself accountable, and forever working to improve his understanding of the world and those that live in it. Often, he writes of those that have shaped his life, heart, and soul, crediting them for all the guidance and love that they had provided for him. It is in these entries that he opens his heart fully as he is able, letting his laments and his joys both flow free onto the page.

But he deludes himself into thinking that he opens himself fully on these pages, for he keeps the full force of his emotions locked away. Neither time his father scarified his life for him did Drizzt even allow himself to shed a tear, too afraid of the vulnerability that would be required--something dangerous in the world of the drow. He laments, but does not cry, too afraid to reach out and feel the emotions that would overwhelm him if he allowed them escape. The only thing he cannot escape is guilt, and it often weighs his heart heavy when someone is hurt because of him--his greatest fear is his friends dying because of him and his past.

Drizzt's fear of letting himself be emotionally vulnerable extends to his friendships--or to those that would be more. He holds himself back from acting on his feelings of Catti-brie, worrying too much about how he should feel, debating endlessly on his emotions, instead of simply feeling. When his heart aches, he does not reach out for others to help him weather through the gale, slamming them into a box and locking them away. It's not just fear of the power of his emotions, but his feelings of inferiority from his upbringing causing him to still consider himself to have a lesser worth than those he loves. Drizzt once returned to the city of his birth, Menzoberranzan, by himself, intending to let himself be sacrificed to save his friends from further harm caused by his past. This is in stark contrast to how Drizzt will travel to the ends of the world to save a friend and gladly give his life to protect them, not understanding (or letting himself understand) that they would do the same for him. As long as his heart does not fully open, he will not realize how friendship is supposed to contain mutual sacrifice. The only one in his life that Drizzt could accept sacrificing his life for his sake was his father, and only because he knew, even back then, that losing Drizzt would have destroyed Zaknafein.

It was his father's death that, in fact, saved him. While he had intended to escape Menzoberranzan with his father, his father instead willingly gave his life to be sacrificed to the evil Spider Goddess Lolth instead of his son, for his son's "sin" of saving a moon elf child during a drow surface raid. Without anything to keep him tethered to Menzoberranzan, Drizzt escaped into the dangerous underground wilds of the Underdark, with his just rescued panther friend from the Astral Plane, Guenhwyvar. It was here that he developed an alternate persona out of survival necessity, the Hunter. The Hunter comes to the surface when he's been alone for too long, or when something snaps him fully into a life or death situation. In this "mode", Drizzt forgets himself, becoming a merciless killer of pure instinct--often when he believes a companion has died, or when he's driven to the brink in battle. It's only in this mindset that Drizzt can equal his father in battle, if even only briefly.

Drizzt fears the Hunter as much as he's protected by him, and he almost once lost himself to the Hunter completely. But he sought out companionship in the small svirfnebli of Blingdenstone, where he learned that the hearts of himself and his father were not alone but apart of an entire orchestra of love and friendship. Here, he learned kindness from his friend, Belwar, that he had saved previously while still affiliated with Menzoberranzan. From there, when he traveled to the surface, he learned that families can love each other from watching a family of humans interact, only to have them murdered later. Then he learned about gentleness and mindfulness from the old ranger Montolio (otherwise known as Mooshie), as well as the name of the internal compass he had followed until now: the goddess Mielikki, the Forest Queen.

After Mooshie's death due to old age, he traveled again, eventually finding a tight knit group of friends that he'd go to the ends of the world for. Catti-brie the adopted human daughter of Bruenor the dwarf (another friend), Regis the halfling, and Wulfgar the barbarian, whom was taken by a handmaiden of Lolth during a battle years ago. It is these friends that give Drizzt's life meaning, and he will put any of their lives before his own. He defines his life with friendships, and worries about losing them. For he will lose them if he lives long enough, belonging to one of the longest lived races in his world. It's an aspect that has held him back from loving Catti-brie as more than a friend as well as the fear of letting someone in that close. His friends are precious to him, and they have his complete trust in all aspects, but he is still too afraid to open up his heart so that some of his wounds can be healed. Even Guenhwyvar, the friend that has been through so much with him, does not hear his innermost pains and desires, even though she can only listen, being a giant panther.

He glides through life when it comes to the racism he experiences at the hands of people who see him for the first time. Many are afraid, having heard of the murderous way of the drow, and paint them all with the same broad brush. Drizzt tries not to let it bother him, but it does. His friends, however, always react far louder, indignant of his treatment at the hands of people that Drizzt would gladly give his life to protect (and in some cases even saved from death just moments before). He keeps these emotions buried inside his heart, too. Like everything, he keeps them walled off and deeply buried.

But he will have to open his heart to Zaknafein once reunited with him, as he did once a long time ago right before losing him. They swore to have no secrets between them, and Drizzt will have to make the choice to open up his heart further than he ever has to help Zaknafein understand the "surface world", or at least the types of people that exist in Synodiporia. Will he open up entirely, let himself feel again the intensity of emotions that went through him on the day that Zaknafein died? Will he be able to do the one thing he regrets most in his life--being unable to help his father's tormented soul?

Only time, and the events that unfold after his arrival, will tell.

POINT OF DEPARTURE: N/A
ABILITIES: (With much love to Zak's player for compiling a list)
-Infravision (Sight in the Infrared; less now that he's adapted to light)
-Globe of Darkness (Casting a sphere of darkness over a target, blotting out all light)
-Faerie fire (harmless blue/green/purple flames)
-Detect Magic (Book only racial ability)
-Detect Planar Beings (A book-only ability)
-Two-handed combat, ambidextrous with twin scimitars (High level fighter)
-Minor Communication abilities with animals (Can see things from their point of view, calm an animal, communicate his intent, teaching simple tricks)
-Beserker/Rage (The Hunter: purely instinctive fighter, no mercy)
-Adapted to sunlight now
-Knows the following languages: Common, Drow, Drown Sign (language), Svirfneblin, Goblin; primary language now common
-Summoning: Technically not an ability, but he can summon his feline companion Guenhwyvar through the use of a figurine. I suspect this would convert into Liminal summoning. She's got her own section in "ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW?"

INVENTORY;
Magical Panther Figurine - onyx; summons Guenhwyvar
Bracers of the Blinding Strike - Bracers made of black material lined with mithral rings, worn around his lower legs
Twinkle - Scimitar #1, sapphire in its pommel; glows blue when danger is near
Icingdeath - Scimitar #2, absorbs fire and heat; also strong against fire demons/beings
Sword Belt - with sheaths and belt pouches, leather(?)
Cloak - thick, green, no magical properties
Clothing - Shirt, pants, undergarments; no magical properties
Pendant - Scrimshaw Unicorn, symbolizing his goddess Mielikki;no magical properties
Boot Daggers (2x) - One hidden in each boot; no magical properties
Boots - Leather, thin by design, well-worn; no magical properties
Custom Shirt of Mithral Chain Mail
Some Coinage

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW?
Guenhwyvar is Drizzt's animal companion, the spirit of a panther from the Astral Plane. She's an essential part of his being, a reflection of his heart and soul, and being parted from her involuntarily would cause him extreme distress/anxiety (every single time it happens in the book, he flips his shit, and I'd rather not be playing a Drizzt that's flipping his shit constantly even with his father near). I would like to bring her along to prevent any mental breakdowns. I'd be willing to have the skill replaced with the Liminal version of Summoning or have her made smaller, more in line with a normal jaguar or leopard. And less preferably, to have Drizzt need to work back up to the skill to summon her (I would say he already has the contract since they're pretty much inseparable save for Guen's time limit.) Alternatively, she could be around all the time, but I kinda feel like that would just be cheating a bit.

She just really, really needs to be around in some fashion. She's incredibly intelligent but not quite sentient, so that's why I 'm highlighting her in detail below. Also, because I'm a fan of overkill, whoops.

The panther in a way plays out the role of a wizard's familiar, intelligent beyond an ordinary animal and capable of understanding speech (no matter the language, it seems) while not being able to speak on her own. She's even solid black with green eyes! Unlike most familiars, however, she's not a house cat but a 600 pound black panther. (Being from another plane, she doesn't care that panthers and black panthers don't technically exist, and she doesn't care that she weighs like 4 times a jaguar or leopard, too.) Also,'unlike typical house cats, she likes water and knows how to swim!

Guenhwyvar can only be called every other day for half a day without becoming drained and exhausted, although Drizzt has kept her out for longer on occasional when a dangerous situation warrants her presence. This is done through her figurine, which Drizzt generally carries around in a pouch. Simply calling her name is enough to bring her, sending her walking or running along the planar tunnel to the Material World until a mist forms near the figurine and eventually becomes her. On occasion, Drizzt has controlled where the mist could go in order to make her form in a certain area. Guen always knows the general situation she is being called for by listening to the tone of Drizzt's voice for context clues. If she has not been too gravely injured, Drizzt generally is the one to dismiss her back to the Astral Plane, but she can also leave of her own free will (but usually doesn't due to loyalty to Drizzt). Magic can also be used to dispel her summon and send her back home, and it can also be used to trap her from answering the call, but only if strong enough. [Note: These are the mechanics that would need alteration for her to exist in the game! I would highly suggest Liminal Summoning combined with the statue, replacing the swirling mists with a portal.]

She is resistant to many poisons and can take heavy damage, beyond what a normal mortal can take, before dissipating back into mist and being sent back home. Guenhwyvar cannot be killed on the material plane, but she can be severely injured enough that she must take several days if not weeks to recover from horrific injuries. No matter how bad the injuries, she always fully regenerates.

Guen is a powerful fighter and hunter, using her teeth, claws, and weight together to kill, maim, or subdue opponents. Like a typical large cat of prey, she will go for the neck if available, but also just outright kills something rather than slowly suffocate it. She can bat small opponents aside with just a swipe of her paw, and often larger ones as well. Guen is also stealthy, often taking to trees (somehow without breaking them, because 600 lbs) or the higher ground as a scout when the battle has yet to start.

Thankfully, she's pretty friendly, which is a good thing considering her strength. Guen is loyal to Drizzt so much that she broke free from the enchantment on her figurine that forced her to obey its owner. She has a playful side, seen both with helping Drizzt with pranking his friends (by laying on them, mostly), occasionally play fighting, racing her friends (she always wins) or simply having a grand old time with children. The panther also knows and understands Drizzt's principles, once stopping him from breaking a vow by, yup, sitting on him. Drizzt will talk to her when he simply needs one to listen, feeling safe in her unjudging eyes. If she believes it's necessary, she will bring things to Drizzt's attention, generally by pawing items and using body language to answer Drizzt's questions.

She is protective to a fault, often taking blows meant for others. Guen has experienced great joys and great sorrows over the course of her existence, but she knows that Drizzt is the one "master" that she will never forget. She would follow him to the ends of the world--and already has by the canon point in which Drizzt comes from!

But even though she is loyal and protective, she is also fiercely independent. Guen follows Drizzt out of love and friendship, not due to being enslaved by the figurine that calls her. She knows Drizzt, so when he gives a command that she disagrees with, she knows to disobey for Drizzt's sake. Once, she stopped Drizzt from killing someone when the Hunter had control of him, and then she dismissed herself when he tried to get her to help him kill the person. She has also knocked the figurine out of Drizzt's hands when he was going to dismiss her when she felt she still needed him, and kept a vigil with him when he needed her presence, despite how much it taxed her. She also does not hold onto grudges, anger, or other particular emotions, existing in the now of thought unless otherwise needed.

I plan to use her in infiltrations, such as making her into a house cat, if that's technically feasible. Drizzt is smart enough to not call her unless it is safe to do so, and he won't be calling her to walk with him in the middle of a crowded street, for example. Drizzt generally only summons her for three reasons: battle, scouting, or companionship. I suspect there will be a lot of the third.

S A M P L E S;
ACTIONSPAM SAMPLE:
[Anyone nearby Drizzt will see him put down his writing instrument, whether it be pen or quill, and take up the paper that he had been writing on. He looks over it again for a minute or so. When he determines it is to his liking, he nods to it, and leans back in his seat before raising his "mental voice" to speak over the network in a cheerful, melodic voice, smiling as he does so. None of it is spoken out loud.]

Greetings, my fellow Travelers! I am Drizzt Do'Urden, son of the reclusive Zaknafein, for those of you who know him. [He tries to keep his grin from growing wider, as his father is in fact, literally, right by him, intentionally so. Drizzt continues without skipping a beat.]

This place, and everything with it, is new and confusing to me. Is there a way that I may learn more of this place or of the Jaunts that we are sent upon? What is it that we know about these Trumps? This is all so different than anything back home, so I would be most grateful for any information.

[A pause. His 'voice' has slowly slid to something more serious as be continued to ask his questions, but it is no less friendly.]

Lastly, what sort of cantrips can we learn, and how does one learn them? While I prefer--[His amusement returns, if only for a moment.]--much prefer!--my blades to magic, I am not one to let an opportunity go to waste, especially if it may aid in our survival!

[Drizzt pauses he looks over the last paragraph again before giving a helpless shrug, knowing it is too late now to change it. He grew tired of trying to figure out the proper conclusion, not used to such addresses, and is just going with what he has.]

My apologies if I am asking a bit too much at once, but I was unsure of where to begin. I do not wish to take up too much of people's time, so if you can point me in the direction of books or scrolls on the subjects, I would be most grateful.

[And with that, Drizzt takes up a new paper to write some of the answers that he hopes to gain this day, all while pretending to not look at his father out of the corner of his eye, attempting to hide his grin about the earliest portion of his little speech. Someone has amused himself greatly this day!]

PROSE SAMPLE:
Note: This was written before I knew the power limits on summoning and how it'd probably convert over to the Liminal Skill.

Drizzt was more lost than he had ever been in his entire life. Physically, not metaphorically, for he had no clue of what sort of plane of existence he was now on, and he had firm control of the Hunter within him now. In a blink of an eye, without sensing any sort of magic, he was simply here.

And where was here? Drizzt did not know. This placed followed no logic that he could understand, and that had him disturbed. He did not know what any of this meant, and what it meant for him. All that he knew was that he was very, very lost.

It didn't seem one of the more dangerous planes, at least. Demons and others of their ilk were not present. Things were simply--for the lack of a better word for it--wrong. Growing quickly ill at ease, Drizzt had placed Guenhwyvar's figurine onto the ground and summoned the panther, Guenhwyvar, and was very relieved to see the swirling mists around her figurine heralding her appearance.

When she stood before him a moment later, Drizzt Do'Urden knew that, at the very least, he was not dead. She would not be able to come to him if he was gone from the mortal coil. So that was one question answered. One question out of many dozen, if not hundreds, that Drizzt knew he would have if he did not find quick return to his home plane.

Guenhwyvar sniffed the air, and detecting the difference in the very fabric of the place they were, flattened her ears. Drizzt heartily agreed with her sentiment. The difference between this place and the world they knew was unnerving.

"It seems we are lost," Drizzt replied, trying to sound calm; Guenhwyvar looked up to him as he pulled up the hood of his cloak and drew his scimitars. "Come, Guenhwyvar. We must find a way to return home; preferably before something of this plane finds us as a tasty meal instead."

Drizzt scooped up her figurine and replaced it in his belt pouch, putting a hand on her flank for a moment as the two of them began to move away towards the unknown. They walked on for a while, Drizzt keeping his swords in an easy but ready position, and with Guenhwyvar staying close to his side. Normally, he might send her to scout the trail ahead, but in a place so unbeknown to him, Drizzt preferred to risk nothing.

Eventually, they came upon the first thing that made any sense at all: a pointing hand made by someone of great skill. In another situation, Drizzt might have stopped to admire the work as Guenhwyvar stopped to sniff the thing, but there was not time if this place did indeed turn out to be dangerous. Still, Drizzt knew what this meant--this was art, made by a person! Art that meant to point a path, Drizzt hoped, to a safe haven where he could learn more of this place.

A save haven he hoped would not mind a dark elf as guest. He gave a bit of a sigh, but there was no use worrying about that now. The drow needed to be someplace with people first before he could worry about how they would react to his heritage. Survival came first.

Drizzt was pleased when he found the next pointing hand and the next after that. It was indeed a trail! He almost sagged with relief when he finally spotted a door in the distance that very much resembled a door that he would see at the surface! It did not matter if it was floating, because something of an extraplanar nature would be even better suited for a safe haven.

Still, that gave him pause. This door likely was created--or at least belonged--to a wizard of measurable power. One that could even be responsible for his current predicament. He could not simply walk into the place. Not only would that be impolite, but the door could be warded against any but its master or entering the dwelling unbidden could bring a swift end to his exploration by way of a magical fireball. It was best to be cautious. While his heart bid him to move faster, Drizzt did not quicken his pace, instead being wary of traps that might lie in its wake.

When the drow came up to the door, and this time he paused for a long moment. It was beautiful, and Drizzt felt a pull towards relaxing his ready stance. He could not, as his anxiety was increasing by the moment, as this was the moment more dangerous to him than anything else had been. What would be behind that door?

Drizzt fell into himself and debated, trying to keep an eye on his surroundings as he did so. Guenhwyvar sat when Drizzt did not open the door immediately. A minute later, she yawned and sniffed the air curiously, but still, Drizzt did not make a movement towards or away. Three minutes later, and still, nothing, although Drizzt had moved to look around the door for any signs of what was beyond it.

So Guenhwyvar got up, padded right up to the door, and batted at the door handle with her paws until she managed to open it, and to Drizzt's horror, slipped right inside.

"Guenhwyvar!" Drizzt cried out, and then catching himself, whispered loudly. "What are you doing? We do not know--"

Her head reappeared then, and Drizzt locked eyes with her. There was no fear or concern in her eyes. Annoyance at him, perhaps, but nothing more than that. He also noted that there were no voices, nor screams from sight of her, coming from within the door.

"On with it then," Drizzt shook his head, some of his white mane falling free of his hood, and sheathed his scimitars slowly.

The drow pushed the door open gently and entered the workshop. "My pardon, we do not mean to intrude, but we--"

Drizzt did not finish his words. His eyes went wide in amazement, and immediately he understood why Guenhwyvar was so at ease. This was not the dwelling of any ordinary wizard, but a workshop! Drizzt was immediately filled with wonder, eyes trying to take in every sight at once. He could not even begin to understand half of what his lavender gaze full upon, and he could barely remember to even shut the door behind him!

This was not the cold lair of a wizard whom was only concerned with the arcane arts, but of a scholar that worked far beyond simply understanding magic! He--or she, Drizzt reminded himself--wanted to understand the world with their human eyes. For, if the several drawings were any indication, the wizard was indeed a human. What luck!

The workshop was lived in, recently lived in, and existed in a controlled chaos that spoke of the mind behind the many things within it. Such a person, Drizzt could only come to believe, would ask questions and seek to understand long before attempting to kill an sudden visitor, even if that visitor was a drow and his six hundred pound panther. One concerned with only making themselves stronger, or of a darker race, would not care to explore the world so. And for humans, Drizzt only saw such open exploration of things around him in Longsaddle and Silverymoon, two places where Drizzt has been welcomed openly. He just hoped it was more the latter than the former, but he would take either at this point.

"It seems we have come upon a place where we can find some answers!" Drizzt laughed in relief, glancing down to Guenhwyvar laying on the wooden floor nearby as he pulled his hood away from his face and shook free his hair. "The wizard behind such wondrous things can only be a goodly one."

He considered dismissing Guenhwyvar then, worried that her presence would give the wizard, and really any sensible person, a good reason to panic beyond his own presence. The last thing he wanted was to cause distress. But one glance into her eyes as he reached into his belt pouch for her figurine let Drizzt know that she had no intention of leaving. She did not want to take the chance, and truthfully, neither did he. Drizzt gave her a thankful smile.

Gathering his courage, Drizzt called out with his customary gentle voice, "Pardon the intrusion, good wizard, but I must beg for your assistance!"

The explanation could wait until they were face to face, and initial impressions were dealt with.