Ship

A chaotic good hermit, the Half-elf Revised Ranger

A vaguely-masculine adult is surrounded by three children. With one arm, he unties the ropes binding one child's arms that have been tied behind the child's back. The other arm is occupied by a child chewing on the adult's arm. The third is holding a conversation with the adult — Halfway through summer and I’m so unfazed by the antics of tween boys that I calmly carried on a conversation about Giles Corey and the Salem witch trials with one kid, while another boy viciously gnawed on my hand. Didn’t break the skin, but came damn close - my other hand was busy helping one kid untie himself after his cabin mates bound his arms behind his back while their counselor wasn’t paying attention. 26 July 2016
Image is from this Tumblr post.

Backstory

Before embarking on the present adventure, Ship was a camp counselor. "Life of Seclusion: I was partaking of communal living in accordance with the dictates of a religious order" is one of the official texts in the PHB, but that can be warped to working at a summer camp. While at camp, Ship acquired the languages Infernal and Abyssal, and gained certain bloodthirsty thoughts from the children of the camp.

My campers drew a pentagram around me and stood in a circle chanting ‘all hail Satan’ while squirting their water bottles around my feet, and then declared that I was a vessel. — 03 Aug 2016

During one of the many times that the sadistic and malicious kids of the camp were performing their weekly sacrifice, they asked Ship to step into the goats'-blood pentagram. As the children chanted their Satanic verse, instead of hearing the usual mocking voice come from the fire, Ship found themself in a strange land,This is mostly the DM's writing, lightly edited. strewn not with fire and brimstone but cold and dark. Ship found themself stumping through this abyss when they hid behind a small rocky outcropping and saw a meeting between two figures. One figure stood nearly three stories tall, some combination of reptile and mammal with tentacles. (Not Noidesop.) The other figure was the same size, facing away from the entity, being arachnid in appearance. The two stood, and the arachnid handed a red metal crate to the half-lizard. At this point, Ship was pulled back to the material plane by the demon campers spashing the face with water. Ship was prone on the ground.

There was a demon hovering above me and like… leaking into my brain. I don’t remember what it looked like, just that it was mocking me. I couldn’t move, but I knew that if I could get someone to touch my hand, the trance would be broken and I’d be able to fight off the demon. I kept trying to call for help but all I could do was whisper faintly - not enough to wake anyone up. — 5 Jul 2016

Ship is free-thinking, utterly serene, goes along with most anything. Ship is androgynous, and glumshoe's sexuality generator has rendered Ship's gender as follows: "overprepared astronaut lesbian".

Oh, yeah, and they already want to perform a sacrifice this week. Oh, kids. — 27 Aug 2016

Demon Camper put his hand on my shoulder, smirked, and said, “Whenever you look in the mirror at night, you’ll see me waiting behind you. Goodbye, Ship! See you in your nightmares!” — 27 Jul 2016

The people of Ship's hometown have strong opinions on what gender Ship is, and some of those opinions are contradictory. Ship is half-elven, boundaries are often blurred. They tried to force Ship to one gender or another, and Ship was having none of it.

I like being a camp counselor because it gives me a chance to feel competent and collected during an age where my life is a mess and I am cloaked in uncertainty and feelings of inadequacy. — 1 Jul 2016

For various reasons, the class Revised Ranger from Unearthed Arcana seems most appropriate.

9:14 PM: weird, loud metallic-musical noises from the sky over Sucia Island, Washington, that sounded almost like gigantic wind chimes crossed with musical saws. Lasted about five minutes. I was not permitted to investigate. — 28 Jun 2015

Characteristics

From the PHB on half-elves:

Half-elven coloration and features lie somewhere between their human and elf parents, and thus show a variety even more pronounced than that found among either race. They tend to have the eyes of their elven parents.

Ship's skin is just shy of alabaster, with black irises in their eyes.

Size: medium, 5'1", 110lb

In crowded bars, Ship clams up and doesn't drink much. When possible, Ship retreats to a dark corner or the rafters. Ship will mockingly spurn all romantic advances from male creatures, or tenderly spurn nonbinary creatures. Ship has a 1d4 chance of not wanting to stay in the bar and will optimally climb up on the roof of the bar/tavern/whatever. The bear will be unattended in this case and will eat whatever's available.

As far as the "Feral Eagle Scout" thing goes, Ship will be responsibly pyromaniacal whenever the opportunity presents itself. Burning down a forest is not out of character. Ship is not afraid to do things with rope and knives. Ship will happily teach things to children if children are to be taught, but Ship is also stealthy enough to evade adults who would pester Ship. Ship will advocate doing things over not doing things.

Companion: Smokey the Black Bear

See separate character sheet.

Combat things

Stat	points	bonus	saving throw	proficient
Strength	13	1	+4	y
Dexterity	18	4	+7	y
Constitution	12	1	+1
Intelligence	11	0	+0
Wisdom	18	4	+4
Charisma	7	-2	-2

Stat	points	notes
Level	7
Armor class	16	studded leather armor is 12 + Dex mod
Speed	30	(Ranger class)
Hit points	54	hit die: d10
Proficiency Bonus	+3
Passive wisdom	+7	Wisdom (Perception)
Initiative	+4	Has advantage
Spell Save DC	15	8 + Wisdom mod + Proficiency

Defense

At earlier levels, at the start of combat, cast Barkskin with a handful of oak bark to raise AC to 16 for one hour. It's assumed that Ship has the materials for this on them.

At later levels, Ship's Dex is high enough that Ship doesn't need Barkskin, but the Bear does. Because the Bear has the hat that allows spells cast on Ship to target the Bear, Barkskin can be used to bring the bear's AC up to 16.

Assault

Name	Attack bonus	Damage/type	comment
Shortsword (x2)	`+7`	1d6 piercing + dex
Dagger	`+7`	1d4 piercing + dex
Longbow	`+9`	1d8 piercing + dex	Has `+2` from Archery
Longbow of Twilight	`+9`	1d8 pierce (magical) + dex	Has `+2` from Archery

Natural Explorer: advantage on initiative rolls; On your first turn during combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted.
Longbow of Twilight: When you score a critical attack with this weapon, the spell Hunter's Mark is cast on your target as well.; Weapon attacks made with this bow are magical in nature and count as magical (piercing) for the purpose of overcoming resistances.
Fighting Style: Archery, +2 to attack rolls made with ranged weapons (Then add Dex plus proficiency.)
Favored Enemies: +4 to weapon damage rolls against monstrosities and fiends.

Spells

Spell Save DC: 15
Spell attack modifier: +7 used for attacks directly with spells.

name	level	time	range	duration	notes
Cure Wounds	1	bonus action	touch	instant	A creature you touch regains `1d8 +` spellcasting ability mod, or nd8 when cast at the nth level
Spike Growth	2	action	self	up to 10 min	With seven sharp thorns or twigs, the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on a chosen point twists and sprouts hard spikes and thorns. The area becomes difficult terrain for the duration of the spell. When a creature moves into within the area, it takes `2d4` piercing for every 5 feet it travels.
Hunter's Mark	1	bonus action	90 ft	1 hour	Choose a creature you can see within range. Until spell ends, you deal extra `1d6` whenever you hit it with weapon attack, and have advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom(Survival) check you make to find it. If the target drops to 0 points before this spell ends you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to mark a new creature.
Hail of Thorns	1	bonus action	self	up to 1 min	The next time you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack before the spell ends, this spell creates a rain of thorns that sprouts from your ranged weapon or ammunition. In addition to the normal effect of the attack, the target of the attack and each creature within 5 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes `1d10` piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful. At higher levels, the spell damage increases by `1d10` per level.
Barkskin	2	action	touch	up to 1 hour	Needs a handful of oak bark. You touch a willing creature. Until the spell ends, the target's skin has a rough, bark-like appearance, and the target's AC can't be less than 16, regardless of what kind of armor it is wearing.

Other Mechanics

Darkvision: Can see in dim light to 60 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Favoured Enemy: Monstrosities: +2 +4 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against monstrosities; advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track monstrosities; advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about monstrosities
Greater Favoured Enemy: Fiends: +4 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against fiends; advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track fiends; advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about fiends; advantage on saving throws against spells and abilities used by fiends
Natural Explorer: Advantage on initiative rolls; On your first turn during combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted.; Ignore difficult terrain; Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel; Your group can't become lost except by magical means; Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger; If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace, and so can the Animal Companion.; When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.; While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Primeval Awareness: Through sound and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas to a beast as an action, read its mood and intent, learn its emotional state, whether it is affected by magic of any sort, its short-term needs (food, safety), actions I can take to persuade it not to attack.; Can't use this ability against a creature that I've attacked in the last 10 minutes.; Attune senses by spending 1 uninterrupted minute in concentration, sense whether any of my favored enemies are present within 5 miles. This reveals which are present, their numbers, and the general direction and distance (in miles) from me, for each group.
Companion's bond: Current companion: Ship's Bear.; Animal companion obeys commands as best as it can. It rolls for initiative separately.; Animal companion moves stealithily with Natural Explorer; Companion has proficiency in two skills of my choice, and is proficient in all saving throws.; For each level after 3rd, animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.; When Ship gains ability score improvements, the companion also improves; can increase one score by 2 or 2 by 1. Companion shares alignment, has personality trait and flaw to roll for.
Discovery (Hermit backstory feature): Ship's campers had sent Ship to a demiplane, where the vision described above occurred.
Saving Throws: Strength; Dexterity
Proficiencies: Medicine; Religion; Light Armor; Medium Armor; Shields; Simple Weapons, Martial weapons; Pennywhistle
Languages: Common; Elvish; Infernal (bonus language from race); Abyssal (bonus language from backstory)

Equipment

Hermit's pack from camp:: Scroll case of notes from camp; Boy Scout book/American Boys' Handibook; winter blanket; common clothes; herbalism kit
Adventurer's backpack: bedroll; mess kit; tinderbox; torches; rations; waterskins full of water; healing potions
Leather armor: 11 + con mod

World map

Local map

Later things

This is notes for the player for later in Ship's character progression. It was written when Ship was Level 1.

Ranger Conclave: 11th, 15th
Ability score improvement: 8th, 12th, 16th, 19th
Fleet of foot: 8th; use Dash as bonus action on turn
Hide in Plain Sight: 10th; remain perfectly still to set up ambushes; When you attempt to hide on your turn, you can opt to not move on that turn. If you avoid moving, creatures that attempt to detect you take a −10 penalty to their Wisdom (Perception) checks until the start of your next turn. You lose this benefit if you move or fall prone, either voluntarily or because of some external effect. You are still automatically detected if any effect or action causes you to no longer be hidden.; If you are still hidden on your next turn, you can continue to remain motionless and gain this benefit until you are detected
Vanish: 14th; use Hide as bonus action on turn; Can't be tracked by nonmagical means unless I choose to leave a trail
Feral Senses: 18th; when attacking creatures I can't see, inability to see it does not impose disadvantage; Aware of location of all invisible creatures within 30 feet of me, provided it's not hidden and I'm not blind or deaf
Foe Slayer: 20th; Once on each of your turns, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.

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