Celiquillithon Sidebottom

## Celiquillithon (Cel) Sidebottom (they/ them)

Art by @marimo-art on tumblr. Used with permission. If using this art as reference, please credit the artist.

## Meta Information

### Introductory episode

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Cel is a half-elf alchemist.

## Description

### Personality

Very curious and not very wise. Slightly overconfident in their own abilities. Extremely chipper. Not particularly concerned about their own safety, but seeks to keep others safe. Can be extremely gentle with those they're protecting, and generally very kind. Will talk people's ears off.

### Appearance

Jillian Holtzmann mixed with Gambit. Very Steampunk. They have a leather coat, a heavy crossbow, and carry tons of potions. Has one pointy ear, the other is mostly missing. Hair is quite vertical, blonde streaked with silver.

## Relationships

### Zolf Smith

Zolf and Cel have a complex relationship. They don’t always agree, especially on how they handle high-stress situations and deal with their own negative emotions, but ultimately they respect and care about each other.

Zolf takes it upon himself to be the mediator when recruiting Cel to help take down Yoshida Shoin in episodes 130 and 131, explaining the Blue Veins infection and politely asking to perform the physical inspection after a week of helping them build defenses for their village. Cel is uncomfortable with the inspection but allows it, informing Zolf of their neutral pronouns.

They initially take to Zolf very well, appreciating his assistance building the submersible to reach the Shoin Institute, and later telling him that they find him very competent and a nice guy. Zolf shows immediate confidence and support for Cel, vouching for them to Wilde before they leave.

However, during their time at the Shoin Institute, Cel and Zolf begin to clash as the situation grows both more confusing and more tense. In episode 142, Cel calls him out for his growing negative attitude toward frustrating situations and, in their opinion, adventuring as a whole. Zolf (and Azu) point out that not everyone has Cel’s sunny disposition, which they say took a while to get. Zolf pulls them aside and says that they can talk about this after they finish the mission and that he will try to contain his frustration better. He also suggests talking about coping mechanisms after Cel references pushing down their panic and anxieties for later in episode 145.

In episode 155, Zolf grows upset again when a subset of the kobolds from the institute come to the inn during quarantine, and Cel argues against his defeatist outlook and lack of nuance dealing with the whole situation. While in Hiroshima during episode 159, they speak to Hamid privately about Zolf’s overall disposition and want to know if they’ve done something wrong or if they can do anything to help him.

During this time, as well, Cel begins to refer to Zolf as “Mister Smith” possibly as a way of putting professional distance between them. A notable exception is when Zolf summons the elementals to power the Vengeance in episode 162, having specifically chosen lightning elementals knowing Cel’s love of electricity. In their excitement Cel switches back, saying “Oh, Zolf, it looks incredible!” Since then, Cel has frequently switched between Zolf and “Mister Smith” with the latter being more out of habit than intention.

In episode 163, Zolf asks for Cel’s trust in his ability to mitigate Captain Earhart’s self-destructive tendencies and keep the crew safe. Cel confirms that, while they find him overly aggressive and rude at times, they trust him and his good intentions. That evening, Zolf admits that their assessment of his personality is bang-on and apologizes. Cel, in turn, tells him that they understand how their energy and lighthearted attitude can be hard to deal with as well. They both affirm that they respect each other and wish to grow their friendship.

When Cel rebuilds the ship’s faraday cage to reverse the crew’s body swap in episode 172, Zolf picks up on their anxiety and plans to talk to them until he notices they’re confident with what they’ve built. Cel stops him on the way to fly the ship back through the Aurora Borealis, wishing him luck and giving him a trembly hug. Zolf assures them that they’ve done the best they can and apologies for the stress this situation has put on them.

After the airship crashes in episode 174, Cel reaches out to Zolf about potential resurrection which he has to shut down, adding that what happened was not their fault. In turn, Cel helps calm Zolf down after he has a spike of anxiety after the resurrection with the Ursans in episode 178.

Cel also shows concern when Zolf has an outburst after the team reunites in Other London in episode 192, wanting to go and talk to him after he storms out of Barret’s safehouse. They storm out themself in the following episode, joining him outside and confessing their concerns about working with Barret and not knowing what to do, with which he commiserates.

Zolf and Cel frequently show respect and appreciation for each other’s abilities, with Zolf calling Cel “an incredible engineer” in episode 171 and Cel commenting on Zolf’s strength in the Shoin Institute and flying through the aurora. They also compliment each other’s plans even when they aren’t the most practical in the moment.

### James Barnes

When the airship crew is bodyswapped, Cel and Barnes collaborate to keep Carter (in Natun's body) trapped in a room so he doesn't hurt Natun or use the increased dexterity to get up to any mischief. They end up spending a lot more time together doing this and have long, sometimes personal, conversations leaning against the door of the room. When Zolf offers to create a rota for watching Carter, Cel is noticeably disappointed to lose the time with Barnes. In episode 179, Cel reveals that they're interested in Barnes via flirting with him, saying that being back in his regular body suits him. Barnes is awkward and stammers in response, but is also clearly interested in Cel as well. They have a close relationship offscreen, and Cel talks to him about things they wouldn't necessarily share with the rest of the party. After the Change, Barnes travels on the Vengaboat with them.

## History

Cel was born in New Greenwich, a small town on the eastern coast of North America, to a merchant-sailor father from London and an American mother. This town had a few other half-elves in it, though Cel was the oldest. At some point, trade cut off, the defences against megafauna failed, and the town was destroyed; Cel feels a lot of guilt over this, but it's not clear why. Cel left the town when they were anywhere from 25-30.

Since then, Cel's travelled all over, though Europe has been "a no-go zone" for them their whole life. At some point, they've crossed North America twice (at least once on their own), and then all around internal North America, meeting a wide variety of peoples. They also went down into South America.

They travelled mostly to where there was trouble, spending "a lot of time in warzones" and getting involved with mercenaries, many of whom died or went missing. They've lost friends and family before, finding and leaving homes. When they've got involved in battles in the past, they have "quite literally" become a monster and hurt people. They've experienced self-destructive rage that has hurt people around them, and "arrogantly" took other people's lives into their hands, leading to them losing "everyone."

They've dated people of a variety of genders and species (though never tobacco chewers), some of which did not end well, and some of which may have ended up dead or missing; they've been married a few times. They don't seem to know what happened to their first fiancée. Most recently, they had a husband, an orcish sailor. They met when he was 25 and already had two sons who are currently about Azu's age. About five years ago, their husband died, and a year later, his sons left, taking their father's ship, doing trade routes across the Pacific (though more likely sticking around the Pacific Islands given the storms.) It's been four years since Cel saw them.

At some point, Cel moved to a small Japanese village, where they run a tea shop/apothecary. They met Shoin at one point, and believed him to have a crush on them, although he thought of them as a minor interference. When Shoin began expanding his control over the island, Cel fought off his mooks, protecting the town. They didn't mount any large offensive against him.

## Additional Information

* Uses Neutral Pronouns
* Is bad with directions

## Mechanics

### Traits

* **Elven Immunities:** Cel is immune to magic sleep effects and has +2 on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
* **Keen Senses:** +2 on Perception checks.
* **Low-Light Vision:** Cel can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
* **Student of Philosophy:** Cel can use their Intelligence modifier in place of Charisma on Diplomacy checks to persuade others and on Bluff checks to convince others that a lie is true.

### Class Features

* **Alchemy:** Cel can create potions that mimic the effect of spells in the form of extracts.
* **Poison Use:** Cel will never accidentally poison themselves when applying poison to a weapon.
* **Bomb:** Each day Cel can create 16 bombs. These bombs do 5d6+6 damage on a direct hit and an additional 12 splash damage to all adjacent squares. The splash damage allows a DC 21 reflex save for half damage. Creating and throwing a bomb is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity.  Thrown bombs have a range of 20 feet.
* **Mutagen:** By taking 1 hour, Cel can brew a mutagen. Upon brewing it, they decide which physical ability score it will augment and after drinking it they gain +4 to the chosen ability score and +2 to AC for 100 minutes. Depending on which physical ability score it augments, they take a corresponding -2 penalty to a mental ability score. If Strength is augmented, the penalty applies to Intelligence. If Dexterity is augmented, the penalty applies to Wisdom. If Constitution is augmented, the penalty applies to Charisma.
	+ **Greater Beastform Mutagen:** As a Beastmorph Alchemist, Cel's mutagen grants them animalistic features and when brewing the mutagen, they may pick three abilities listed under Beast Shape II. They gain these abilities upon drinking the mutagen and they last for the full duration of the mutagen.
* **Discovery:** Cel has made several discoveries that augment their abilities.
	+ **Feral Mutagen:** Cel's mutagen gives them +2 on Intimidate checks and they gain two claw attacks and a bite attack. The claw attacks deal 1d6 points of damage and the bite attack deals 1d8 points of damage.
	+ **Fast Bombs:** As a full-round action, Cel can prepare several bombs to the point where they function just like a full-attack with a ranged weapon.
	+ **Frost Bomb:** When creating a bomb, Cel can choose to have it inflict cold damage. Creatures that take a direct hit from a frost bomb are staggered on their next turn unless they succeed on a Fortitude save.
	+ **Sticky Bomb:** Creatures that take a direct hit from a sticky bomb take the splash damage 1 round later.

### Feats

* **Exotic Weapon Proficiency:** Proficiency with repeating crossbows.
* **Brew Potion:** Able to brew potions of spells that are level 3 or lower.
* **Throw Anything:** +1 on attack rolls made with thrown splash weapons. No penalties for using improvised ranged weapons.
* **Point Blank Shot:** +1 on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
* **Rapid Shot:** Allows an additional attack at the highest bonus when making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, but all attacks suffer -2 on attack rolls.

### Skills

* Craft: Alchemy
* Diplomacy
* Disable Device
* Fly
* Knowledge: Arcana, engineering, geography, history, nature, nobility, religion, kobold culture
* Linguistics: English, Japanese, Draconic, Elvish, Gnomish, Spanish, Portuguese
* Perception
* Profession: Airship crew
* Stealth
* Use Magic Device

### Extracts

Cel can create extracts with magical effects, effectively casting a spell by drinking the extract. They have a limited number of extract slots per day and extracts only remain potent for 1 day before they must be re-prepared. One extract takes 1 minute to create and Cel can prepare all slots at once or leave them open for later allocation.

### Equipment

* Alchemist kit
* Small red panda plushie that occasionally gives off sparks. Won in episode 158.
* Mithril shirt: A chain shirt made out of mithril. +4 AC, maximum Dexterity bonus of +6, no armor check penalty.

#### Magic Items

* Potion of stoneskin
* Potion of darkvision
* Elixir of dragon breath: After drinking this potion, Cel can use a dragon's breath weapon to do 7d6 points of energy damage. Creatures in the area may attempt a DC 16 Reflex save for half damage. The magic of the elixir ends after one use of the breath weapon or after 1 hour has passed.
* Goggles of Vast Intelligence +2: Gives +2 to Intelligence. Functionally a Headband of Vast Intelligence but reskinned into a pair of goggles.
* Magic belt
* Bag of Holding: A cloth sack that open into an extradimensional space that can be used for storage.
* Ring of Protection +1: Gives +1 to AC. Purchased in episode 161.
* Cat Burglar's Boots: Give +2 on Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks. Once per day the wearer may also reroll any one failed Acrobatics, Climb, or Stealth check. Acquired in episode 196.
* Goggles of Night: Grants the wearer 60-foot darkvision. Acquired in episode 196.
* Headband of Mental Superiority: Gives +4 to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Reskinned into a pair of goggle lenses. Acquired in episode 204.

#### Weapons

 **Alchemist Bombs** | 16/day
 **Claws** | 2
 **Bite** | 1

## Quotes

"Ok, a lot of the conversations I've had recently have been along the lines of 'give us the stuff'."
―**Episode 130**[src]

"There are very few problems that explosions can not sort!"
―**Episode 131**[src]

"I mean, Europe's been a no-go zone for me my whole life, but yeah."
―**Episode 131**[src]

"You guys don't seem to really understand how physics works. Physics is how you convince elementals to do what you want them to do? Usually by physically beating them up."
―**Episode 132**[src]

"Hey! You understand Dolphin! Sorry I swore so much at you. I was really - I shouldn't have called you those things, but I was just panicking, you know? Just panicking."
―**Episode 132**[src]

"Why though... the little buddies downstairs, they were not bad people, this... this... First this guy, he attacks my village. He attacks the nearby ones, and now he's getting all of these, these, these... people to do stuff that they clearly do not really understand or want to do! I am- I am going to DESTROY him!"
―**Episode 138**[src]

"Guys, so this room is... maybe... so there's this concept I've been cooking around with where there's rooms you have to escape from? I've been thinking of like 'Mechanical no-go room', or 'Get me out of here please this is frustrating', or maybe just like, 'expensive brand tie-in story plot room'."
―**Episode 140**[src]

"Or it could be saying don’t go down there cause it’s dangerous. In which case, we should go down there because dangerous things are the most interesting things. In fact, I sometimes wonder why people have two words for that."
―**Episode 142**[src]

"Oh, he was just saying ‘Did you enjoy the puzzle’ and ‘Well done’, and ‘That half-elf amongst you is devastatingly attractive and brilliant and everyone should listen to them more’."
―**Episode 142**[src]

**Azu**: "Not all of us can have your sunny disposition."
**Cel**: "It took a while to get there."
―Episode 142[src]

"Could anyone tell me what’s going on? I just — an innate curiosity, I’ve been accused of this before. Just, uh… it’s been great fun, guys, but I, uh, I, I can’t see. I can’t see for nubbins. Uh… I would offer many nubbins in return for being able to see. It is *not* fun. I have some things I could do to, to be able to see but I can only do those for a short period of time, and I, y’know — you that thing where, like you have something’s that a limited resource and then you never use it? And you get to the end of a difficult day and it turns out that you should have used it, you should *really* have used it, but in the end you actually just don’t use it — by the way, is there limited air? I suppose that doesn’t really matter. Folks, if you have not taken your potion of water breathing, I *really*recommend that you do. I’m just, I’m just trying to get some information, is there — are you guys alive? Little buddies! Folks! Ladies and gents and anyone else, *please*. Are you alive? Oh no. *[Starts waving their hands like they’re doing the breaststroke.]* Folks, are you alive? Oh no, what if I’m alone down here… okay, so, so, it’s, so, you’re alone in a dark, underground… like, I wonder, I mean, I wonder if there are any science experiments I could get done while I’m down here…?"
―**Episode 144**[src]

"I've got a small amount of extra life that would be nice? My-my inner vigours are-- I would assume that about like, maybe, 8 to 15% of my vital - like, I-I call them health percentage? It's a proportion of my health. Now, it's a very unique, personal system. Other people may have different health percentages, it really, it depends on other things, including I think one's constitution - also I think, personality and star sign. I haven't quite worked it out."
―**Episode 145**[src]

"That's such a great survival technique! Now, I mean, look. Obviously it's not the healthiest way, but really like, having a bit of a panic afterwards? You know when you have a really busy day and at the end of it you just have a little cry?"
―**Episode 145**[src]

"Where have you been, Mr. Smith? Cause I spent my whole life going through different war zones."
―**Episode 145**[src]

"So this is just basically, you know, it’s melodramatic trash, I don’t see why anyone would read that kind of thing."
―**Episode 149**[src]

"It's one of the nicest things you can learn about someone, that at a point of stress, confusion, and intense emotion, they continue to be lovely and caring before anything else."
―**Episode 162**[src]

"There are very few things scarier than the passage of time."
―**Episode 165**[src]

"That sounds a lot like the internal area of the northern American continent, which I spent quite a bit of time passing through, and back through, and then down, and then for a while up again but mostly down, and then through the southern continent."
―**Episode 165**[src]

"You know that if you leave this room, you could… you could lose control. You could, you could lose control. You could become a problem. And there is no one awake to deal with that problem. So, you should probably stay here and just look after everyone. […] I’m gonna wait. The wise choice is to… wait."
―**Episode 168**[src]

"No. No. No. No. It’s not that Mr Smith or the ship is being attacked, uh, that was a minor knock. You’re using this as an excuse, you’re gonna, you’re gonna sit down, you’re gonna wait. If the ship comes under attack and you’re absolutely certain of that, yes, you get to leave, yes. But before that, we stay in here where we know that they are safe, that we are safe, that no one, no one’s gonna become a monster and hurt anyone. It’s gonna be fine. Okay. Sit."
―**Episode 168**

**Cel**: "You do your best, right? Uh, and it’s um… but, you know, it’s very hard to tell when, when you’re doing your best or when you’re kind of… arrogantly… taking other people’s lives into your own hands and destroying them, uh, by thinking that you’re doing the right thing for them."
**Earhart**: "We’re talking about you, aren’t we?"
**Cel**: "What? Yeah, uh, yes, of course, sorry, I, um, I, it’s gone wrong before. Um. And I uh, I… I… lost… I lost everyone. So. I. I just, I know it… it’s probably going to be okay!"
―**Episode 173**

"The things about these puzzles, right, is that they always lead to other things. And that — that’s what — that’s what *being* is, right — I thought that was what being alive is like, but it seems it’s even bigger than that, is that whatever you do, it becomes something else. And that’s — that’s, that’s great, you don’t get to get a completion score, though, always, on problems. And, and I think this — look — I just — I — I feel like there were other things that we left unfinished"
―**Cel, talking to Sassraa**[src]