Fivey: Nymph Character Origin

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I think elves are kinda overdone. A while ago I talked about communing with nymphs as an alternative to the typical druid power. In the context of Fivey, here's another route: a nymph as a character origin which allows them to commune with their distant sisters.

Origin: Nymph

Nymphs are animistic spirits born out of relationships that human beings enjoy with nature. For example, a Dryad is born when a human being first speaks to a tree. The Nymph is then adopted by her family in nature, to grow together and bring about the well-being of the local ecosystem. A Nymph's personality is nurtured by her relationships with her sisters as well as by her continued relationships with mortals. Tragically, however, the only thing that would set a Nymph on a journey would be if her home or sisterhood were lost to her. Nymphs are, generally and otherwise, homebodies.

Nymphs have the Nature skill, and they start with either a manuscript of an ancient epic (tier 1 spell scroll) or a living relic of their natural form: Dryads have a sapling cut from their tree; Oreads have a rock hewn from their home mountain; and both Naiads and Nereids have a flask of water from their source. The Nymph's physical form may perish, but so long as her relic survives then so does she if only in another form. If the Nymph’s relic is entrusted to a sisterhood, they will nurse her back to health over the course of d6 days.

Nymphs also have the Girls Night feat: as a rest action, a Nymph may commune with other Nymphs of the same type if they would be found around where she is camping. Local sisters may have obscure knowledge of the area, especially pertaining to its ecology.

(The term “sister” isn’t literal, by the by; less a familial affiliation than a social or political one, and it could even be to some extent euphemistic.)

Commentary

I think this is a really nice basis for a character. It gives an explanation of their upbringing, their relationship to the world, and what may motivate them on their quest. It also comes with a realm of expertise and a special power, which is just for fun.

I mention "rest actions" above. The idea is that the rest phase is an approximately 12-hour period each day where characters take turns sleeping and keeping watch. A rest action is a mini-downtime activity within the space of about 4 hours, during which characters can e.g. cook or craft or cure their wounds. It stands that some feats might grant special rest actions, and I think this is a cute one for Nymphs.

Finally, it’s funny because if Fivey were a book, I would not expect the Nymph to be a listed origin—it feels like a character origin specific to a character I would want to play, and I think more people should get into the mindset of thinking about what makes characters fun and compelling for themselves.

Comments

  1. DanJuly 13, 2023 at 10:41 AM

    This is great, both for flavor and simplicity. Greek mythic creatures always get the short end of the stick in D&D for reasons I can never figure out.

    ReplyDelete

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