Varick Nomel

> I grin - as best as I can as a bear - and lay on my side to do a pose. Sapic takes out a bottle and takes a swig.
>
>

- Varick, describing the first time he directly confronted Sapic under Wildshape.

Varick Nomel
 **Status** | Alive

## Overview

### Description

Varick Nomel is a member of the Destiny Weavers, having joined some time after the group's founding. Most of his power comes from Wildshape, which is more potent because of his association with the Circle of the Moon. However, he also has a variety of spells at his disposal that make him at least decent in other situations, such as the ability to cure wounds or pass without trace.

### Appearance

Being a kobold, Varick is very small. He clocks in at just under two-and-a-half feet and a mere 25 pounds. Combined with a rather wiry frame and light armor, he has the potential to be very agile.

His scales are mostly a shade of bright yellow, with his underside a lighter shade than the rest. The horns and spikes on his head are painted a vibrant purple, the primary color of his former guild. The paint on them is chapped.

Varick wears a simple set of lilac common clothes underneath plain leather armor. The shirt and pants have a few tears in certain places but are still functional.

Among Varick's other equipment are his wooden staff, given to him by his guild; he later received a Staff of the Old Gods as a reward from Beaumont. He also carries around an explorer's pack and silken rope. He often wears a copper bracelet with a green gemstone attached to it.

### Personality

Varick loves harmless chaos - or what he perceives to be harmless chaos - and will not hesitate to participate if given the opportunity. This, more often than not, leads to him getting himself in inconvenient situations. This doesn't mean he appreciates more devious or harmful pranks, however.

He doesn't fear calling out someone for a perceived wrongdoing, but he's usually brash when going about it. This may end up provoking the perpetrator instead of what he intended to accomplish.

He's also a hearty drinker, despite his stature. If he's seen at a bar, he will most likely be drinking, especially so if there's a large crowd. The tavern is where he feels to be in his element the most; he loves to interact with other patrons, willing to start a brawl just to get to know them.

Above all else, Varick expects loyalty between himself and his crewmates. Seeing someone break a promise or hearing someone tell a bold lie can rile him up more than anything else.

### Expertise

Despite what his drinking habits may imply, Varick is surprisingly well-suited for Animal Handling and Perception. Other proficiencies include Survival, Athletics, Medicine, and Insight.

He can handle small weapons particularly well, and despite not having it with him, he can use Herbalism Kits very well.

Varick can speak, read, and write in Common, Draconic, and Druidic. He prefers to write in Draconic, whereas he tends to speak Common more often than not due to influence from his guild.

## Background

Although he was raised by a loving family, Varick's eyes were always set on becoming a sailor. Once he reached adulthood at age 6, he left home to attend the closest sailor's guild, better known as the Pyre of Vestige. This place also doubled as a druid's guild, and it wasn't uncommon for druidic sailors to journey the seas. However, the Pyre of Vestige primarily consisted of humans; Varick would be the first kobold to join them.

For 12 years, he sailed with a group of druids on their main ship, the Waterbender, occasionally stopping by the guild to rest. Being the only non-human aboard made him the butt of several jokes, but he always laughed it off - after all, it's only banter between crewmates. He often got assigned to clean the ship, even when it didn't necessarily need cleaning; it never truly felt like a chore to him, as the view of the sea was more than worth the work.

However, as the years went by, the rest of the crew seemed to have gained a hatred for Varick. None loathed him more than the first mate, Edward, who was usually the one to assign Varick the aforementioned dirty work. He was the most critical of Varick's work, scrutinizing it to almost a ridiculous degree, and punishing the kobold with less rations if the amount of "flaws" were too high.

This all came to a head on an unusually stormy night, a few months before meeting up with the Destiny Weavers. Varick was wiping the deck amidst the rainstorm before a large wave toppled over the ship. He was unfortunate enough to be caught in the wave and sent overboard, and he called for help. His last conscious moments were of looking up at Edward, who only stood and watched the kobold drown. While Varick survived this storm, he would never forgive his crew for abandoning him when he needed them most.

Varick would eventually encounter the Destiny Weavers during a tournament in Wolf's Den. He was swiftly defeated by Zevas Skybreaker, but he admired the bloodhunter's fighting style too much to sulk about his loss. He would soon join the Weavers after the tournament.

### The Dolorous' Eye

A curse that afflicted Varick at some point during his travels on the Waterbender. While the properties of this curse are unknown to him, it's commonly associated with a lighthouse amidst heavy fog, with a quiet tune accompanying its presence.

In Vundarth, he learned about it from a priest in the Dreamsender Temple. That night, the lighthouse shape appeared in his dreams again, this time looking like it was searching for something. When the light shined on him, it quickly disappeared, replaced by the smell of smoke and the sound of screaming. While Varick's unsure if this occurrence was a dream or not, he attributes the fire in town that night to the Dolorous' Eye and blames himself for leading it here.

## Abilities

Being a kobold and a druid, Varick has several features that aid and hinder him in and out of combat.

As one with a Sailor background, he may secure free passage onto a sailing ship for himself and his group.

### Kobold Features

* Darkvision
* Grovel, Cower, and Beg
* Pack Tactics
* Sunlight Sensitivity

### Druid Abilities

As a 3rd level druid practicing under the Circle of the Moon, Varick has access to the following abilities:

* Wildshape
	+ Combat Wildshape
* Circle Forms

## Relationships

Varick's relationships with various others, seen or referenced throughout the campaign thus far, roughly in order of when they met. All the following characters are those who have spoken or interacted directly with Varick at one point or another.

### Zevas Skybreaker

Varick originally viewed Zevas as somewhat of a model to look up to. While he has since started thinking more for himself, Varick still goes to Zevas first if there are certain questions he needs answered. He doesn't mind Zevas' rather large ego, but he's not exactly enthusiastic about it either. Zevas was the reason Varick lost in the tournament.

### Beaumont Mithanmyr

Initially meeting Beaumont between rounds of the tournament, Varick wasn't (and honestly, still isn't) quite sure what the others in the group had against her, but seeing that she's essentially the head of the local police around here made him somewhat wary around her. He gained a little bit of appreciation for her when she rewarded the group for saving Diana and dealing with the night hag.

### Barace Kennald

While he had originally met Barace during the fight between Zevas and Jewel, he was mostly interested in watching the fight and planning to help Zevas. He later met up with them after the battle and his foiled attempt, receiving a small reprimanding from them. Aside from that first meeting, Varick has somewhat taken a liking to Barace, and he would hate to see them hurt.

### Den Hawkstorm

Like Barace, Varick briefly passed by Den before he tried to help Zevas in his fight with Jewel. He finds Den alright, though he doesn't like their insistence on keeping him from drinking too much.

### Cilio

Cilio is Barace's familiar, summoned with the Find Familiar ritual. Varick initially met Cilio during his attempt to assist Zevas during his fight with Jewel. While he wasn't sure what to make of the familiar, he wasn't pleased to learn about their association with Barace. He's since mostly ignored Cilio.

### Sapic

Varick's first encounter with Sapic was after Zevas' fight with Jewel. Unlike Barace, who was with her at the time, Sapic nearly strangled Varick to death for the attempt. It didn't help that Varick hardly had a chance to explain what he was intending to do, but it seemed Sapic wasn't keen on an unfair fight like that. Sapic is easily the one party member he fears the most, but he has almost warmed up enough to buddy up with her. He definitely appreciates her willingness to drink like he does, at least.

### Diana

The day after Sweet Night - and subsequently after gaining a hangover - Varick met Diana when she was looking for someone to team up with her in the berry-picking competition. He begrudgingly joined after learning there was prize money involved. Diana did most of the work during the competition, but on the third and final round, she left without much of a trace and without notifying Varick. Concerned yet unwilling to abandon the competition, Varick opted to let the others know about her disappearance after the competition ended. He tied with Sapic and Zevas and won the tourney. He then joined the group in searching for Diana, feeling she at least needed a portion of the prize money for essentially (and at one point literally) carrying him to victory. They eventually saved her after a long day of investigation.

### Isolde de Mowbray

Varick first met Isolde after saving Diana. They were, considering their sister had just been saved, very grateful and refused Varick's offer of splitting the prize from the berry-picking competition. He doesn't mind their presence, and it seems that the rest of the Weavers are familiar with them too.

### Alat

Varick and the rest of the Weavers met Alat while investigating the town of Bhalduar. He didn't appreciate the construct's blunt attitude, but after all that he'd been through in Bhalduar, he believes that Alat isn't the worst - which is a better accolade than their initial meeting.

### Rauva

Rauva is Barace's adoptive mother. Varick's first real encounter with her was after entering the past in Bhalduar. While initially suspicious of her and uncertain whether or not the Weavers were talking to the real Rauva at the time, his encounter with the false hydra changed his view of her for the better.

## Quotes

> Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck *fuck*. Fucking fuckin' fuck fuck. Mother*fuckin'* fuck. Fuckity fuckin' fucker fuck. ***Fuuuuuck***.
>
>

- Varick's thoughts when Vundarth lit up in flames.

## Trivia

* Varick's voice is a blend of his other crewmates on the Waterbender, as most of his knowledge of Common stemmed from them.
	+ This, coincidentally, makes him sound a bit like a pirate, if a pirate were from Australia.
* The wooden staff Varick carries is more than double his height.
* Varick's scimitar has been often described as sexy.
* Varick didn't use his Wildshape ability in combat until the fight in Vundarth. This can be attributed to the player not knowing how Wildshape works and just generally being an idiot.
	+ In total, it took 13 sessions between Varick's first two uses of Wildshape. This has to be a world record, right?
	+ It's likely due to this that Varick has been brought close to dying in many fights. Way to go, Lime.
* The amount of bars Varick has been banned from is currently 2, one of which ended in his arrest.
* What do you mean the ship's name is the Bellend?
* What do you mean the first mate's name is Edgar?