Hansel Bell

Hansel is a male half-orc CN fighter played by Izzy. He is everyone's dad, whether they like it or not.

## Testimonials

"Love that fucking guy. Crazy, though." -- Mishka

"That sick son of a bitch." -- Goro

"Fuck you, Hansel." -- also Goro

"That fucker just need[s] a hug." -- still Goro, somehow

"Who do I know who's a jackass but also nice? Oh! Hansel!" -- Goro, yet again

"Big fucking rampant idiot." -- Larkin

"You think it’s okay for you to fucking halfway kill yourself because I’ll just pop in and grab you? Well you’re goddamn right. Fuck me. Fuck you too. Hansel fucking Granger." -- Mishka

"A nice young gentleman." -- Amari, apparently

"Hansel looking sad is a fucking 9th level spell." -- Lina

"Hansel considers snapping the necks of everyone he loves, sooner or later." -- Lina

"Hansel had a nervous breakdown when Goro complimented him for too long." -- Lina, telling the unadulterated truth

## Background

   Hansel was raised (and named) by his human mother and stepfather, dairy farmers named Marion and Elijah Granger. He's never had any contact with his biological orc father. He also has a human half-brother named Leigh who is about ten years younger. Until recently, he hadn't seen or had any contact with any of them since he left home at sixteen.

He left Shepherd Hills following a traumatizing incident, and wandered the countryside for some time before ending up in Skyport. He signed onto a merchant vessel as a mercenary, but when the ship was attacked by pirates he ended up switching sides to survive, and found out he greatly enjoyed piracy. This became his life for about the next twenty years.

### Sterlings

When Hansel was twenty-three, a young Jonn Sterling attempted to pickpocket him in port, and he found the vicious, bloodthirsty kid and his baby sister endearing and tried to take them to the Sanctuary of Eldath outside of Skyport, but Jonn told him that they had already been there, and been abused by the Abbess. Hansel decided to solve this problem with violence, killing the Abbess to make the Sanctuary safe for the kids.

He continued to visit Jonn and Lucienne at least a few times a year after that, sending them letters, money, and gifts when he was in port. Jonn became quite attached to him, while Luci found him to be a rather terrifying virtual stranger who was a largely disruptive influence on their lives when he came to see them.

### The Red Blade

When Hansel was twenty-six, he was recruited onto the Red Blade -- an infamous pirate ship captained by Mikhail "Mishka" Haeth. Hansel and Mishka were immediately enamored with each other, and equally refused to acknowledge this fact for years. They did, however, slowly become friends and begin a romantic relationship -- Hansel became the only person Mishka really trusted, and Mishka undertook the laborious task of unpacking all of Hansel's traumas and anxieties, helping him become a calmer, more stable person.

Eight years after Hansel joined the crew, he and Mishka were married at sea. The same year, however, Mishka made off with all of the crew's earnings and sold their ship in order to buy himself an estate on land and a vineyard. He broke up with Hansel in an incredibly cruel way, and over the next year, Hansel and the rest of the crew floundered to keep their heads above water.

### The Albatross

The first mate of the Red Blade, Corven Lachance, became the captain of the Albatross, and Hansel became the first mate as well as the Master at Arms. The officers of the Red Blade tried to continue working as pirates and any other seafaring job they could pick up, but without the reputation of the Blade -- or the galleon itself -- it was difficult. Eventually, they hit it big by stealing a head of cattle, a get that promised to turn things around for them, but when they slaughtered one and tossed the offal overboard, it appeared to attract the attention of something hungry in the ocean.

The Albatross was wrecked by some sea beast Hansel was never able to even see, in the dark, and the officers were left drifting and stranded. They ran out of supplies and were forced to resort to picking lots and eating each other -- Hansel tasked with butchering his comrades, and Larkin's father Kheman tasked with cooking them.

### The Storm

When the crew's numbers had dwindled, a storm hit the ruined ship. In the thunder, Hansel heard the voice of the orc god Gruumsh commanding him to slaughter his crew, telling him it was the only way he would survive. He complied, though Kheman hid and managed to escape this fate. When the storm ended, the compulsion wore off, and Hansel -- faced with what he'd done -- saw no option but to continue eating his crewmates, desperate to live. Kheman survived on scraps.

After some time, the ship finally made it to Skyport, and Hansel stumbled ashore, half mad from starvation and guilt. It was almost a year before he had any solid idea what had happened to him -- whether he had chosen to kill his crew or been forced, whether he'd lost his mind, whether it might happen again. He has since been terrified of the ocean, which was once his home, and of thunder.

### Recovery and the Graverunners

Jonn, now living in Skyport, took Hansel in as he recuperated. Hansel refused to eat anything for some time, and continues to not eat meat as a result of the storm. He suffered intense night terrors that made him avoid sleep and sleep restlessly when he did; he was unable to physically take care of himself and had to rely on his son for every basic need. Once he had recovered somewhat, his guilt and doubt made him a danger to himself, and Jonn stayed with him for every waking moment to ensure his safety.

When Jonn's money ran out, he managed to coax Hansel into accepting a job as a bouncer at the inn where they lived, the Grumpy Sausage. After he became more stable, Hansel also took on some one-off mercenary work to try to regain his strength, but he met Joan Ripley at the Sausage when he had to throw her out one night, and joined the Graverunners Guild.

### Kheman and Mishka

   When Mishka discovered that Hansel had survived the shipwreck, he attempted to get back in touch with Hansel, devastated by the thought that he'd truly lost him and seeking to reconcile, explain himself, and help Hansel heal. Hansel ignored his efforts, unfortunately, assuming that Mishka was still trying to manipulate him and ultimately hurt him further.

Kheman sought Mishka out and told him the story of the storm from his own perspective: that Hansel had appeared to go insane or become possessed and murdered the entire crew. Mishka sent Kheman to the Sanctuary of Eldath, concerned for him, and began to believe that Hansel was a monster and changed tactics, sending Hansel hateful letters, trying to provoke him into retaliation to prove himself right. Hansel continued to ignore him.

Eventually, however, he was unable to -- when Mishka decided to blackmail Hansel with Jonn's life in order to make him turn against the Graverunners.

## Present Day

Through the course of the campaign, Hansel ultimately did reconcile with Mishka. He's not as close to Jonn, but somewhat repaired his relationship with Lucienne. He now knows that he was being controlled by Gruumsh when he murdered his friends, and has largely shed his guilt over it; he's also been open with his new crew about things, including Larkin, and reconnected with Kheman. He's on good terms with his mom and half-brother, found out that his abusive stepfather is deceased, and that his biological father was an innocent orcish merchant named Yehuda Novad who was killed by the townsfolk.

He works as a freelance adventurer with the Graverunners outside of Glimmerton.

#### **Notes**

* Hansel owns a maple mandolin, which he plays extremely poorly, as well as a copper collapsible spyglass and compass. Currently, Jonn has the compass. He gave the mandolin to Roddy for Candlenight.
* His old hoplon shield is painted black and emblazoned with a red downward-pointing chevron, a recreation of the trademark pirate flag of Mishka's ship, The Red Blade. The symbol is now also the logo of Mishka's wine.
* His old silver trident previously belonged to Taavit, the first person he ever loved romantically.

#### **Appearance**

    Hansel is 6'4", ~250 lbs, and 37 years old. He has gray skin, dark brown eyes that appear black, black hair, and a neatly-trimmed beard. Both ears are pierced several times in the lobes and cartilage, but he only regularly wears the silver scrying stone earring connected to Mishka's necklace. He also wears a Lover's Locket that matches Mishka's -- a silver, ornately-engraved pendant shaped like a heart -- and a simple silver and black wedding band that matches Mishka's, inscribed with the Orcish phrase *I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.* Usually has a collection of strings, ribbons, and twine tied around his right wrist, and one green ribbon is strung with a red Sending Bead given to him by Roddy. A black one is strung with an enchanted silver Mask charm given to him by Goro as a pre-engagement token. On his left wrist, he wears the green-beaded Vitality Bracelet linked to Goro's.

No tattoos. An assortment of scars. The most noticeable are the crescent shark bite on his left shoulder / chest and back, and the burn/slash on his back running from right shoulder to left hip. On the right side of his abdomen, just under his rib cage, is a round stab from a tiefling horn. He also has a pale line across the base of his neck, though it's very faint. He acquired a slash across the left side of his face from a bear's claws. When he was killed by Aleksei, he obtained a scar running through his left eye, though the eye is undamaged. After being killed on Shatterstone Isle, he has a scar running across his chest from left shoulder to right hip.

He's missing his right pinkie finger, and his right tusk is broken low to the gums; it appears to be missing entirely when his mouth is closed.

## Family

### Marion Granger nee Bell

Hansel's mother, a human woman who is currently about 55 years old. She was around seventeen when Hansel was born. When her parents, who owned a general store in town, found out that she was pregnant with a half-orc child, they hastily married her off to Elijah Granger, an older man who wanted help running his family's farm and knew that orc-blooded children grew up fast and strong.

Marion was a curious, wild girl, and there were scandalous rumors that there was orc blood in her, as well. These were supposed to be insults. She always thought it was neat. When the Novads stopped in Shepherd Hills, she took an immediate liking to them and bothered them with her incessant curiosity.

Her father held her back and made her watch Yehuda be hanged.

She has no love for her farm or town, and is a calm woman with a vicious protective streak. She just wants her sons and grandchildren to be safe and happy.

### Elijah Granger

Hansel's human stepfather. About ten years older than Marion, he agreed to marry her for purely pragmatic reasons: he wanted her child to work his farm, her to keep his house, and eventually, his own heir to inherit the farm. He was verbally abusive towards Hansel, and it escalated to physical abuse after his own son, Leigh, was born. His family remembers him as a lazy, spiteful, vindictive alcoholic. None of them are under any illusions about what kind of man he was, including his own son.

He died of a creeping cough several years before Hansel reconnected with his blood family.

### Leigh Granger

    Hansel's human half-brother, who is nine years younger than him. He was born sickly and weak, but after the event that traumatized Hansel and spurred him into leaving home, Leigh became hearty and healthy almost overnight. He also gained the ability to do very minor lightning magic, although it hurts him to use it.

As a child he adored his brother, though Hansel was always warned off touching him for fear of hurting him; Leigh was an adult before he understood this. It took him some time to understand why Hansel left home, as well. He's now just happy to have Hansel back in his life, to whatever degree, though he's somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of found family Hansel brought along with him. He particularly likes Goro and Jonn, though.

Leigh is a quiet, dependable young man who works hard and does his best to take care of his loved ones. He's slightly anxious and prefers to avoid conflict. Unfortunately, he strongly resembles his father.

### Yehuda Novad

Hansel's blood father. A young orc traveling with his family's merchant caravan, he was described as kind, gentle, and clever. When a Shepherd Hills local discovered that he was sleeping with Marion, the town hanged him, and his family fled.

His mother, Naomi Novad, still runs the caravan.

## To-do List

1. Parent sociopath(s) - ✓
2. Save ~~idiot ex-husband~~ the city from eldritch abomination - ✓
3. Slay dragon
4. Kill god
5. PTSD therapy
6. Get Mishka to chill the fuck out and tell the truth - ✓
7. ???
8. Marry Goro!! - ✓
9. Retire and open a vegetarian tavern
10. Remarry Mishka - ✓

## Hansel Guide

    **Do Not:**

* tell him what to do
* try to coerce or manipulate him
* in any way threaten his family
* use charming/compulsion magic on him
* question his past
* try to help him without being asked
* try to make him talk about feelings
* leave him

**Do:**

* be loyal
* stand up to him
* threaten him (he'll probably find it funny)
* initiate physical contact
* be blunt and honest
* befriend his family members
* ask for his help
* be vulnerable around him
* understand him when he can't talk
* give him space
* let him think he's in control, even if he's not
* remember that there are exceptions to every rule

## Report Card

Hansel is kind, respectful, and a wonderful helper to his fellow students. We will continue to work with him on strategies for managing his emotions. A goal for next semester is to carefully check his work after he is finished instead of turning it in right away. Homework Assignments Completed: 10/10

- Lina

## Cheat Sheet for Playing Hansel

He gets two attacks per action, and can attack again as a bonus action with his Clockwork Trident. Two more attacks if he action surges, which he can do once p short rest. All of these are +11 to hit, and 1d8+9 damage -- 1d10+7 if you unequip his shield.

On any attack that uses his Clockwork Trident, Hansel can activate his **Ancient Battery** and deal up to 10d6 damage to a target that he hits. He can chose to break it up, eg deal 5d6 now and 5d6 on a later attack.

He also gets five superiority dice p short rest. They're currently d8s. The main maneuvers I use are Maneuvering, Goading, and Precision.

* **Maneuvering Attack** lets an ally take up to half their movement speed on Hansel's turn without taking opportunity attacks. Add 1d8 to his damage roll.
* **Goading Attack** forces the enemy to make a DC17 WIS save, and on a fail, have disadvantage attacking anyone but Hansel until the end of his next turn. Add 1d8 to his damage roll.
* **Precision Attack** adds 1d8 to his attack roll. Can't be applied after you know you didn't hit.
* **Commander's Strike** lets Hansel forgo one of his attacks to use a bonus action and let an ally who can see and hear him attack on his turn. Best paired with Larkin's sneak attack! Add 1d8 to the ally's damage roll.
* **Menacing Attack** forces the enemy to make a DC17 WIS save or be frightened of Hansel until the end of his next turn. While frightened, the enemy can't willingly move closer to Hansel and has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while he's in line of sight.

Hansel also can use his entire action, ie one attack rather than two, to use **Thorn Whip**. It's +8 to hit and reaches 30ft. On a hit it can pull the enemy 10ft closer. 3d6 damage.

Similarly, he can use his entire action to cast **Booming Blade,** which is a regular melee attack with +11 to hit (assuming you use his Clockwork Trident), and deals an extra 2d8 thunder damage. If the enemy willingly moves before the start of his next turn, it'll take another 3d8 thunder damage.

His **Javelin of Lightning** is +9 to hit, 1d6+9, and can reach 120ft. All enemies along that 120ft line make DC13 DEX saves and take 4d6 or half lightning damage. The enemy it hits also takes 4d6 in addition to the 1d6+9.

Hansel can throw his **Javelin of Misty Step** (+9 to hit, 1d6+9), and if it hits an enemy, he can use a bonus action to teleport to that enemy and make a second attack with the javelin.

If Hansel gets a crit, he rolls an additional damage die because of **Savage Attacks**.

The **Achillean Shield** lets him take half the damage of an enemy attack if it's targeting an ally within 5ft of him.

The **Mirror Gem** lets him force a spellcaster to make a DC16 concentration check, and if they fail, it counters the spell they were casting and he can then cast it as his own action. The gem can only hold one spell, only absorb one spell per day, and can hold a spell for 24 hours.

**Absorb Elements** grants him resistance to a type of elemental damage when he gets hit by it, and on his next melee attack he deals 1d6 extra damage of that type.

## Vignettes

### Backstory

* Crew
* Motek
* Storm
* Good
* Yes
* Nightmare
* Golden
* Dukhal
* Swordplay, pt 1
* Swordplay, pt 2
* Swordplay, pt 3
* Ignition
* O Captain
* Trussed
* Comfort
* Voyage
* Spent
* Promises
* Mal Karash
* Don't Be Afraid
* Lottery
* Commander
* Tusk
* The Note

### Campaign

* Aftermath
* Backstab
* Kittens
* Here
* No
* Drown
* Problem
* Breathe
* Touch
* Culmination
* Hearthfire
* Alone
* Wait
* Complaint
* Progeny
* Homecoming
* Breathless
* Collar
* Trying
* Achim
* Foreknown
* Brother, Dad, Motek, Ishi