Sodoc

Erfel Pogr Poggnip Sodoc Nebarumvar Giduad Kirlan Fencalad "Mudgully" "Mummer" "Scree" "Ten-toes" "Hatshop" "Humbug" "Grassrat" "Mossfoot" "Gingersnap" "God-botherer" "Bartle" "Combs" "Blacktongue" "Sledgehog" "Steambun" "Elan" "Eye-licker" "Humandong" "Mephit-maker" "Spicerack" "Mooneyes" "Professor" "Not-to-be-confused-with-the-other-Erfel" "Rummy" "Wormy" Nyvo Abajub Iroleen Melinko Wedsegadinadd Telleqim is a gnome.

## Sodoc

### Skills:

Alchemy, Engineering, Mechanics, Natural Science, Arcane Science, & General Skulduggery

### Habits/Hobbies:

Gardening, Gemcutting, Eavesdropping, & Amateur Espionage.

## Description

Cheery orange hair, close-cropped yet still unruly, and an equally energetic mustache adorn a lightly tanned and heavily weathered face. Wrinkles and lines etch a story into every inch of his features, and none more so than the large crows' feet that spread from expressive blue eyes almost all the way to ears whose size are only matched by the prodigious nose resting atop the previously mentioned mustache.
The rest of him is much the same. His hands and feet, which would be comically large were he human, but which are just right for a gnome, are knobbly, calloused, and just as weathered as his face. And all of him--all not-quite-3-feet of him--seems to boil over from time to time with nervous energy, as if a much larger life were crammed into a too-small body.

### Clothing

The most common outfit he can be found in outside his home is a simple, comfortable blue robe under a supple leather jerkin with boots, belts, a few sashes, and lots of pockets and pouches to store things. All are of good quality and in excellent repair as a rule.
His outfit rarely shows obvious signs of mending, although it does show signs of love and wear. If any of it is mended, it has been done in such a way so as to appear that it was made that way all along.
When traveling, he often carries an oversized pack--as large as he is and probably weighing more. Just like his clothing, the pack is well-made, if occasionally close to bursting with his collected supplies and finds from the field. Despite that it likely weighs more than he does, he never seems bothered by the weight. This holds true even when he loses control and the weight he carries pulls him wildly off-balance.

### Gear

When not bereft of his possessions, he carries a variety of tools. The first to catch most eyes will be the pair of knives at his waist. They are simple, plain, and utilitarian--not even clearly made for fighting--but they are sharp and clean not hidden. Aside from these, he carries a smattering of small tools: a chisel, an awl, a pair or small tongs, needle and thread, quill and ink, a file and jeweler's hammer, and many more. And then, beyond all that, his belt-pouches bulge with weird-smelling reagents.

## History

Sodoc arrived in Kullinzios by boat along with twelve others. Their boat crashed in the red mountains, and they fled into the highlands. There, they met others who had recently come into the world by accident. There, they learned that there was no escape.

Panic swept through the group, and the decision was made that they had to escape. Sodoc was not the only mage in the group--indeed, he was the least among them in magical skill--and they believed that, together, they would find a way.

How long it has been since he arrived in this world, Sodoc does not say, but he is the last survivor of his crew of 13 and the last member of the cabal they formed with the others in the highlands. Their fates, he will only describe in grim generalizations.

He lives alone now. He travels the world as well, finally introducing himself to the world and the people in it. He is making new friends, discovering new things, and learning everything he can about the world that broke his companions and lays claim to the rest of his life. At times, he seems to still miss hid old homes. At other times, however, he seems entirely content to call Kullinzios his home now.

### Skills

**Alchemy:** Whether the product of focused study or merely the consequence of an intense desire to know what happens when *this* and *this* are mixed together, he seems suspiciously well-versed in the vagaries of alchemy.

**Engineering:** Perhaps the most esoteric and least pragmatic of his skills, his knowledge of engineering is almost certainly the product of wild fancy and unrestrained enthusiasm.

**Mechanics:** His proficiency with moving parts is noteworthy--be they the inner workings of a clever mechanism or the tumblers of a lock. Whether this is highly suspicious or a clue as to the life and world he left behind is anyone's guess.

**Natural Science:** His deep-seated curiosity is in no way limited to other people's business. The very natural world is not safe from his relentless investigations. He can contain himself, but chooses not to.

**Arcane Science:** Let it not be said that he lacks practical skills. Although his knowledge of field magic is not so deep and refined as many of the other mages, he has a functional understanding of the arcane arts and a deeper than normal understanding of the many methods that have failed to pierce the barrier keeping everyone in.

**General Skulduggery:** I don't know what you're talking about.

### Major Flaw:

**Recklessly Optimistic:** Kullinzios is a harsh, unforgiving land. Danger lurks in the wild lands, and even civilization is no haven from cruelty and violence. Given all that, the fact that he hasn't been eaten or enslaved seems very nearly a miracle in light of the carefree way he approaches every day and the daunting obstacles in his way.

### Minor Flaws:

**Curious:** There seems to be a nigh-compulsive need to know about things infecting his brain. Nothing is safe or sacred from his impetuous experimentation and eavesdropping. In its most benign form, this curiosity manifests in a flurry of questions or stopping everything to observe some interaction in nature not yet documented. On the other hand, it just as often manifests in him spying on people or performing dangerous experiments with uncertain consequences.

**Non-confrontational:** Perhaps it is because he is very small, but he at least feigns to abhor violence. When confronted with the prospect of a physical altercation, he backs down quickly. Even when others are preparing for a fight that won't involve him, he almost compulsively tries to talk both parties down.

**Meek:** For all his need to gather knowledge, he makes no claim to mastery of anything, and he tends to defer to others, especially when they speak with confidence. He seems to have a hard time standing up for himself. Moreover, his impulse to help others is strong. This is especially apparent when he is around those he considers friends or those who have been kind to him; the people around him seem particularly important to his happiness, and he seems to take their misfortunes harder than anything that might befall himself.

## Personality

Possessed of an almost indelible cheer, Sodoc approaches life with a both a sense of wonder and a can-do attitude. He smiles often. His frowns are fleeting. When faced with a question, he almost always comes up with a solution; they may not be good solutions, but that has never stopped him from trying.

He finds people and their lives fascinating, and questions have a tendency to bubble forth whenever he meets new people. At the same time, he is not free with the details of his own life and prefers to answer in vagaries or by changing the subject.

On those occasions where he is not his usual, peppy self, he turns wistful and reflective. In these moments, he will retreat from company and hide. He does not speak of what troubles him. He does not divulge his feelings even to close friends. But he does always come back. And, when he returns, he is always as bright and cheery as ever, as if the poor mood never happened.

### Beliefs

He recognizes all the gods and their power, and he may even be caught making offerings to the likes of Set and Yog. Despite all this, he has no shrine in his home and claims no divine patron. Instead, he seems to treat the gods as any other natural or anthropological phenomenon--respected for their power but no more important than the sun and the rain.

### Quirks

He has a tendency to misinterpret the things that people say. Curiously, he also tends to misinterpret things as less confrontational and more kind than they actually are, which makes it difficult to tell if he's dense or intentionally obtuse.

When meeting new people, he will either greet them enthusiastically or slink around and spy on them. The criteria that determines which is not always clear to an outside observer.

He tends to play with his mustache when thinking or when agitated.

### Relationships

He has surprisingly few relationships at the moment, although he does speak often of a group of friends that he had to leave behind. Speaking of them is one of the few times he appears genuinely sad. Perhaps the reason why is also why he is just a bit cautious when making new friends.