Dr. Piper Hellebore

Art by Tricksterair

### Family

Dr. Ignatius Hellebore (Adopted Father), Enchantress Evangeline Hellebore (Adopted Mother), Lily Hellebore (Sister)

### Faction

Hellebore Family, Beardthrone Academia (formerly)

### Connections

Dash Whiskers, Eugene, Cheets, Dr. Obadiah Oshi, Ayla Fern

## Campaign Appearances

### Main Campaign(s)

*Deadbeats*, *Deadbeats X Pipe Dreamers*

> "*I'm an amalgamation of dreams... and leftover body parts!*"
>
>

> -Doctor Piper Hellebore
>
>

**Doctor Piper Orientalis Hellebore** is a member of the *Deadbeats* party. The problem child of the prestigious Hellebore family, Piper's intellect is often overlooked in favor of his ethically dubious antics. Chief among them was a failed experiment that resulted in his death by explosion. Though he was successfully reconstructed and raised back to life, Piper's behavior has since become increasingly mercurial, as if another person entirely had been brought back in his stead... He is played by SummersSalt.

## Description

### Appearance

Doctor Hellebore is a relatively short humanoid man with dirty white hair. As a result of his death and resurrection, Hellebore's body consists of a lot of body parts from different races stitched together, with very little of his original body left. The right and bottom portion of his face appears to be his own, albeit with a grey skin tone, while the left portion is a dark purple seemingly originating from a half-elf. His right eye also appears to be original, while the left is a milky white, implying some form of damage. His ears also follow this same dichotomy, with the right one being the floppy green ear of a goblin and the left being the pointed ear of an elf. Piper's hip-length hair is messy around his head, with a distinct forelock standing straight up, and loose long bangs falling down his face. The ends of his hair are tied back in a neat French Braid starting just above his waist. After returning to Hellebore Manor, Hellebore also added a long tail to their body, with purple flesh and a grey plume at the end, much to their other half's chagrin.

Doctor Hellebore's outfit comprises of a set of worn black trousers, knee-high black boots, a white shirt and a red tattered overcoat with a black fur mantle. His clothes show sights of wear, with a set of white bandages covering his right thigh, holes at the ends of his overcoat and a tattered light green tie that is frayed at the end. He also carries a leather satchel which is, like his coat pockets, full to the brim with body parts, alchemical ingredients and other assorted knick-knacks.

When the Piper persona is dominant, he uses magic to assume his original Human appearance. His skin returns to its original sallow complexion with no sign of the patchwork job that he's had. His hair becomes a lustrous blonde with some white streaks, and his eyes revert to a pale blue. While in this form, Piper is normally seen wearing a similar set of black pants and boots with a white shirt tucked in at the waist. Beneath the shirt, a black harness with a crisscross pattern can be seen.

As a child, Piper retained much of his original appearance, though smaller and less mature. However, his hair was lighter in color, making the white sections more pronounced, and it was only shoulder-length. A purple Hellebore flower adorned his hair. He was usually dressed in a white shirt with brow suspenders and a bootlace tie knotted in a bow.

### Personality

Hellebore is very 2-faced in his personality. 1 side is Hellebore, and the other side is Piper. As Hellebore, he acts very crazy and isn't really at-touch with the world, preferring to just go with the flow and doesn't really retain much information. As Piper, he is a lot more calm and controlled in his nature.

## History

### Early Life

The child that would become Piper Hellebore was born on Southern Ishtar approximately 25 years before the events of Phase 3. The exact circumstances of his early life are unclear, but according to Evangeline Hellebore, he and his older sister Lily were in the care of their biological mother, a single parent with a crippling drug addiction. The plight of these two children came to the attention of Evangeline Hellebore, a prodigious enchantress and the matriarch of the wealthy but disreputable Hellebore Family. Evangeline, unable to conceive a child of her own and pitying the two young children, approached the mother with an offer of money in exchange for them both. The mother agreed to sell them and Evangeline informally adopted Piper and Lily as her own. Though Lily had no recollection of this event, Piper held on to some vestigial memory of their previous home, which would lead him to the erroneous conclusion they had been kidnapped, something that festered within him during his maturity.

### New Home, New Family

Life as a Hellebore was dramatically different from his previous one. Aside from being an old and well-off family, the Hellebores were also somewhat unconventional. His new father, Ignatius Hellebore, was both a Changeling and a famed medical doctor and scholar, while his new mother was skilled in a number of magical arts, especially necromancy. Thus Piper grew up around corpses and undead as well as any number of strange magical curiosities, becoming accustom to all these things from a very young age. While his father was standoffish and engrossed in his work, his mother was overwhelming in her affection for her children, dressing them, watching movies and playing with them. To cap it off, the two children were also attended by servants, most notably a number of butlers with a rapid turnover. Unable to keep up with the revolving cast of servant, Piper gave them all the epitaph of "Eugene".

However, despite this unusual but lavish lifestyle, the Hellebore family was regularly met with controversy. Ignatius Hellebore's attempts to improve the lives of those around him with science and magic were often met with hostility and fear as a result of his reputation and experimental medicines. On more than one occasion, the entire family had to uproot and move elsewhere on the Arks of Io to escape the ire. As a result, Piper had no real connections to anyone outside his immediate family. Eventually, when Piper was around 7 years old, the family was forced to move once more. Their destination was Keld, a relatively remote village in the southwestern reaches of Alabhastar, where it was hope they would be left in peace.

### An Unlikely Friendship

Upon arriving in Keld, the Hellebores were greeted by a young frail boy around Piper's age. The boy introduced himself as Dash Whiskers, the son of the local cleric. Though initially disappointed Dash was not adoptable, Evangeline was ecstatic at the prospect of Piper having a friend his own age and forcibly introduced her son to Dash. Though shy, Piper offered to play with Dash if he had the time. Unfortunately, Dash remembered that he had errands to run, but promised to visit sometime soon. Piper then followed his parents and sister to their new home to settle in.

Dash and Piper quickly became close friends, spending nearly every day together after their first meeting. In addition to playing games of pretend, the two would often watch movies together, several of which were inappropriate for children of their age, and hunt bugs, sometimes accompanied by Lily and Dash's brother Cooper. Piper thoroughly enjoyed Dash's company and optimism, developing an enduring affection for him. About one year after the Hellebore's arrival, a young woman named Ayla Fern moved in to study under Evangeline Hellebore. Ayla would often spend her free time minding the children, and Piper became quite attached to her as well. To further deepen their bond, Evangeline also raised a cat for the boys to play with, which they called Cheddar.

However, not everything was as idyllic as it seemed. Dash's time with the Hellebores drew the ire of his father, Tucker. As the zealous leader of the local Church of Haio, Tucker inherently distrusted science and modern medicine, both of which were encapsulated by Dr. Ignatius Hellebore. The feeling proved to be more than mutual, as both Ignatius and Evangeline found Tucker to be sanctimonious and ignorant in equal measure.

### The Knight and the Princess

For the next year, the Hellebores continued living in Keld, attempting to keep their heads down while Tucker's power and influence continued to grow. The once small village became a bustling town of worshippers dominated by the extravagant church to the God of Nature. To further the isolation, Piper's outings with Dash became more infrequent as his friend became sicker and sicker. Eventually, Dash's condition worsened to the point he was unable to walk and he was left bedridden. Piper had been unable to see Dash for several days at that point. Restless with worry, Piper snuck out of his house one night to go to the Grove of Haio in the hope that Dash might be there, following the undead cat Cheddar. However, when he arrived, he saw Tucker carrying his son to the graveyard and placing Dash within one of the crypts. Piper stayed hidden until he was certain that Tucker had left and then approached, confused by what was happening.

Entering the tomb, Piper asked why Dash was in the tomb. Dash urged Piper to leave, relaying his father's instructions to stay in the crypt to prove himself worthy to Haio. Realizing his friend was at death's door, Piper decided to try and bring Dash to see his father, which Dash pointedly refused. Rather than giving up, Piper changed tact, suggesting instead that the two play a quick game before Dash went back to praying. Offering his back, Piper suggested they play a game of "the knight and the princess", only this time Dash would be the princess and Piper the knight. Convinced by his friend, Dash weakly got up on Piper's back, who then carried him back to his father's office.

Piper found Ignatius working late and immediately pleaded with him to save Dash, telling him it was an emergency. Taken aback, Ignatius inquired what happened, to which Piper told what Tucker had done. Locking the door, Ignatius explained that they would be in trouble if Tucker found out what they were doing. Furthermore, Ignatius had previously raised the issue with Tucker and been rebuked. Angry at his father's hesitation, Piper argued with his father, reminding him of his duty as a doctor. When Ignatius stated that this good deed would mean the Hellebores would have to leave and Piper might never see Dash again, Piper remained adamant, stating that Dash would be alive regardless. Impressed by his son's conviction, Ignatius smiled and agreed to save Dash, cursing Tucker under his breath.

During the procedure, Ignatius realized that Dash was almost beyond saving and that this once-treatable illness had become too strong for the medicine. Piper insisted that his father should still try something, even something he had been working on. In response, Ignatius reluctantly retrieved a syringe full of multicolored liquid, stating it would save him, but he was uncertain of the side-effects. Piper held Dash's hand as his father administered the shot. Though Dash reacted violently to it, causing Piper to cry in response, he eventually calmed and his breathing returned to normal. The doctor made some final checks and was satisfied that Dash would recover, but that the lasting effects were still uncertain. Staying up through the night, both Piper and Ignatius monitored Dash until morning. With little time left to them, Piper and Ignatius then returned Dash back to the crypt, placing him inside once again. Before they left, Ignatius suggested that Piper say goodbye to Dash, as their family would probably leave soon to escape Tucker's wrath. Piper said goodbye, despite Dash's protests that everything would work out, and gave him a hug before leaving the tomb.

### No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Just as Ignatius predicted, Tucker's wrath was formidable. Over the next few days, the senior cleric made daily sermons, spreading the story of the Hellebore's "treachery" and fomenting hatred against the family. Evangeline's apprentice Ayla contacted her work partner in Qethos to arrange transport for the family to the Capital Ark, while the family hastily packed their things. At the climax of Tucker's denouncement, a mob of the Keld townsfolk marched to the Hellebore's old house and burned it to the ground. However, the Hellebores themselves were nowhere to be found, having left shortly beforehand.

Piper and his family arrived in Qethos some time later and, with the help of Ayla's contacts, made a new home in the capital Llwendolyn. Over the following years, the Hellebores established themselves with the success of Ignatius Hellebore's new pharmaceutical company, finally earning the family a degree of respect among their peers. The family eventually moved into a manor near the capital's cemetery, working with their neighbors to establish a cadaver donation service for Evangeline's practices. For the first time in years, the Hellebores finally had safety and security. Despite this, Piper did not find the same level of companionship that he had shared with Dash. A few years after settling, Ayla Fern finished her apprenticeship and effectively vanished, leaving Piper to grow up without any meaningful friendships.

### Great Expectations

As the the Hellebore children grew into adulthood, it became evident that they would have to live up to their family name. These expectations came chiefly from their father, who had a vested interest in maintaining the new reputation his family had earned. For Piper, this meant following in Ignatius Hellebore's footsteps as the heir apparent to Hellebore Pharmaceuticals. To this end, Piper began studying to become not only a medical doctor but also a magister of the arcane arts. He would eventually enroll in the venerable Beardthrone Academia back in Southern Ishtar. Piper proved to be just as gifted as his father and graduated with a Doctorate in Osteopathic & Naturopathic Medicine in his early 20's, while also dabbling in various other areas such as alchemy. Another of these accolades was an Academic Minor in Dance. In addition, Piper took inspiration from his mother and devoted a heavy interest in necromancy, often experimenting with bodies from his home to augment his mastery of the art. This necromantic knowledge allowed him to create his own familiar in the form of a severed hand that he called "Eugene", in no small part because the previous Eugenes's body parts were used as part of the process.

However, with these great achievements came an equally great strain on the young doctor. Under the weight of the expectations of his father, Piper became resentful and rebellious. Disregarding his parent's wishes, he began to engage in reckless behavior, causing friction with his family members. A prominent example of this was an incident with his sister Lily, now a Dhampir cleric in the Church of Hollow, where he exchanged one of her blood bags for wine in retribution for her breaking his designer brand Malcolm heels. In Piper's mind, this was both an act of revenge and of mercy, as his distrust of religion (likely stemming from his experiences in Keld) made him want to distance Lily from her faith for her own good. However, this blasphemous act instead caused a significant rift between the two siblings.

Pranks like this were not, however, the limit of Piper's shenanigans, as he started engaging in a number of illicit activities. These included, but were not limited to, graverobbing, petty theft and drug trafficking. Travelling across Qethos and Ishtar, Piper drew the attention of the authorities on several occasions, including a number of arrests. This further acerbated Piper's relationship with his father, leading to a series of arguments and falling-outs. Piper was eventually cut off from the family's riches and forced to make his own way for a time. To get by, Piper entered into a drug trafficking operation in Klaybury, where he would smuggle illegal performance-enhancing substances from an unidentified source. He became quite friendly with one of his main customers, a young paraplegic woman named Cheets. Luckily for Piper, his mother managed to assuage her husband and allow Piper to be forgiven. This clemency was not enough to turn Piper away from this path, as he continued to engage in dangerous deeds as his family attempted to pick up the pieces.

### The Accident

At the age of 23, during a break from college, Piper's increasingly rash behavior finally came to a head in the worst possible way. The young doctor had been embroiled in an alchemical experiment in his family home, of which the purpose is currently unknown. However, whatever substances Piper had been mixing underwent a dramatic volatile reaction, unleashing a devastating explosion. Piper was caught in the full force of the blast and was instantly killed. The explosion caught the attention of Evangeline and Lily, who rushed in to discover his body torn apart and strewn about the room. However, the grisly demise of her beloved son did not dismay Evangeline Hellebore, for a master necromancer would never let death stand in their way. She and Lily swiftly got to work, using as many body parts as they had available. The two constructed a patchwork tapestry of flesh from different species and Piper's own to act as a new vessel for the deceased doctor. Undergoing a necromantic ritual of great power, both women managed to retrieve Piper's soul from beyond and resurrect him in his new body.

Though many would appreciate a second chance of life, Piper found his resurrection to be less than satisfactory in a number of ways. For one thing, he was utterly traumatized by his death to the point of tearfully begging his mother to erase his memories of the event. However, Ignatius intervened, firmly declaring that Piper should retain the experience of his death as a much-needed lesson regarding his behavior. Evangeline reluctantly yielded to her husband's judgement, leaving her son to deal with it on his own. Piper never forgave his father for this act, further widening the rift between them. Piper was also disgusted by his new body, seeing it as disgusting and constantly in need of maintenance via sewing and embalming. To counter this, Piper would use magic to disguise himself as his previous appearance to appear presentable in public and distract himself from his new self.

While these factors were horrid in their own right, a more serious development had emerged from his hasty resurrection. During the process, the young doctor's brain had been damaged, causing the left and right sides to become misaligned. As a consequence, Piper Hellebore's personality was split into two, one going by the name "Piper" and the other by "Hellebore". The "Piper" personality retained the logical and practical aspects, conducting himself with some calm and decorum at the cost of creativity and emotional understanding. Meanwhile, the "Hellebore" personality proved to be something of a wild child, acting immature and lackadaisical and prone to spontaneous impulses. While both personas had access to the same knowledge, powers and body, the two did not get along and constantly fought over custody of these resources. To the concern of his family, the Hellebore personality proved to be the more dominant one, forcing Piper to watch from the sidelines as the "other one" ran rampant in his body.

### Crimes and Punishments

If Ignatius hoped Piper's brief death would be the end of his recalcitrance, he would be sorely disappointed. In fact, both Piper and Hellebore were more of a burden on the family name, partially to spite their father for his treatment of them. Over the next two years, the two doctors would escalate their criminal activities, especially as a result of Hellebore's carelessness and impulsiveness. Despite their differences, the two personas had managed to find a common goal to work towards: separation. Under Piper's direction, the two conspired to create a new body so they could coexist in separate vessels. However, a simple body was not enough for Piper. Instead, the two would make a "super-human", created from the body parts of powerful and gifted individuals.

This proved to be much more challenging then they had initially envisioned, as some of the "donors" for this project were revered heroes or legendary figures. One of the propose components was the hand of the fame founder of Piper's alma mater, Alice Beardthrone himself. Locating the sorcerer's tomb in Southern Ishtar, Piper managed to break in only to discover that only Alice's husband Nigel was present, and the legendary hero was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, Piper was found out during the break-in and arrested by the Jotun Defense Force, ending up spending some time in jail as a result. He was eventually freed via his family's influence, but his father, offended by this defilement of a hero's tomb, made it clear that this intervention would be the last time Piper could rely on their help.

Finally, Piper Hellebore crossed the line as far as the law was concerned. While back in Qethos, Piper and Hellebore continued on their quest but were subsequently arrested by the Xiros Defense Force for arson and graverobbing. Piper was to be put on trial, but until then the XDF decided to locked up in the Vault, a secure super-prison under the Ark, deeming him to be a great danger to the people of Xiros. True to his word, Ignatius convinced the others in the family to leave him there to face responsibility for his actions, leaving Piper without anyone to contact. Thus, the two doctors stayed in the Vault for some time, with Piper trying to "sleep" while Hellebore passed the time by singing, screaming and dancing in his cell, greatly frustrating the bemused guards and his fellow inmates.

## Mechanics

#### Wizard Abilities

* *Arcane Recovery*
* Necromancy Abilities
	+ *Necromancy Savant*
	+ *Grim Harvest*
	+ *Undead Thralls*

#### Feats

* *Healer*
* *Skill Expert*

#### Spell List

##### Cantrips

* *Chill Touch*
* *Firebolt*
* *Message*
* *Prestidigitation*

##### 1st Level

* *Catapult*
* *Detect Magic*
* *Disguise Self* (at will)
* *Find Familiar*
* *Identify*
* *Magic Missile*
* *Mage Armor*
* *Shield*
* *Sleep*

##### 2nd Level

* *Gentle Repose*
* *Hold Person*
* *Invisibility*
* *Misty Step*

##### 3rd Level

* *Animate Dead*
* *Counterspell*
* *Fireball*
* *Haste*
* *Sending*
* *Summon Undead*

##### 4th Level

* *Blight*
* *Dimension Door*
* *Locate Creature*

##### 5th Level

* *Dance Macabre*
* *Legend Lore*

### Special Abilities

* *~~Skeleton Party~~*
	+ By spending an inspiration and a bonus action, you may summon a skeleton that will make an attack before disappearing.

### Notable Items

* *Brilliant Emblem* (Attunement)
	+ While Unarmored, you may add your Dexterity and Intelligence modifiers to your AC.
* *Ch'i Elder Eye* (Attunement)
	+ As an action, you attach this eye to an object of your choice. This item counts as a spellcasting focus. Whenever you cast a spell with this item in your possession, as a follow-up, you may teleport up to 30ft away from your current position. You may use this a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all uses on a long rest.
* *Wand of the War Mage +1*
* ***Amulet of the Deep One*** (attunement)
	+ When first attuning to this item, you feel the fleeting despair of Levin. While attuned, you get the following effects
		- You get a +3 to Spell attack rolls and DCs
		- You are permanantly under the effects of the *Freedom of Movement* spell.
		- You are under the effects of Death Ward. Once this is used, it replenishes on a long rest
		- You may cast the spells Enervation and Evard's Black Tentacles (DC17), you can cast any combination of these spells 3 times every long rest
		- You cannot be charmed or frightened
		- You regain 1d6 hp per round as long as you are not at 0 hit points
		- You must consume 6 times the amount of food and drink each time
		- You must spend a bonus action to drink blood to use the properties of this item for 1 minute. You must have a piercing or slashing weapon and the person you drink blood from takes 1d4 damage of the respective amount.
		- You may commune with Asmodeus, shattering the item. When this happens, you may cast one of the effects:
			* Invulnerability without a concentration check
			* Power Word Kill (DC19) with double the HP theshold (If the target has over 200hp, they lose 200)
			* Wish with the spell being granted by Asmodeus
			* Gate to the deepest reaches of the Shadowveil where Asmodeus awaits
* *Dapper Cufflink*
	+ While a Tiny creature is wearing this, you may change their appearance to any creature you can normally summon with the Find Familiar spell after completing a long rest.

## Etymology

Piper is a gender neutral given name derived from the English word "piper". A "piper" is one who plays a pipe, a type of tubular wind instrument found in many cultures worldwide.

Orientalis is a Latin word that translates to "from the east". The term is often used in the nomenclature of organisms via their binominal or scientific name to denote their geographical origin.

"Hellebore" is the common name for a flowering plant from the *Helleborus* genus, consisting of approximately 20 species of mostly poisonous winter-flowering Eurasian plants of the buttercup family. The scientific name, coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, possibly comes from the Ancient Greek word *helléboros,* constructed from the words *heleîn* ("to injure") and *borá* ("food").

## Trivia

* SummersSalt's conception of the Hellebore family was inspired by the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938. As such, Dr. Piper Hellebore is possibly an analogy for Pugsley Addams.
* Piper's familiar is a disembodied hand named Eugene, which uses the Spider statblock.
* According to SummersSalt, who has synesthesia, Hellebore's art evokes the scent of stinky cheese and the Chicago River. Piper's art, conversely, reminds them of vanilla.
* According to SummersSalt in Deadbeats Season 3 Episode 7, Hellebore's middle name was initially planned to be either Aldoras or Tremmer as a homage to those characters. However, they did not feel right and the name Orientalis was chosen instead.
* Hellebore is one of two characters played by Summer to not know the Guidance cantrip, As well as one of two to not have any levels in Cleric, the other being Aria

## Images

### Official Art

Dr. Hellebore as he appears in Seasons 1 2 & 3 before Episode 5 (Art by AishaSoup)Dr. Hellebore post Season 3 Episode 5 (Art by Tricksterair)Piper Hellebore as he appeared before the accident that killed him (Art by AishaSoup)Piper as he appears in a family photo (Art by AishaSoup)Piper's family photo (Art by AishaSoup)Piper Hellebore as a child (Art by AishaSoup)