Fero Feritas

Art by Haidee Samuels

Skin of the Mountain

Of Foot, Of Paw, Of Hoof, Of Claw, Of Tooth and Maw

Very Handsome

Deserves the Longest Name

Little Bird

Lord Baron of the Outhouse

Mountain Party

Sister

*Spring in Hieron*

**Fero Feritas**, the Druid, is a halfling with a deep connection to the natural world.

## Appearance

Fero is a wild-eyed, messy-haired and unshaven halfling of about 4'8". He wears leather hides from various animals, all practical and weathered. In both halfling and animal form, he has a mark from his shoulder up to his lower neck which appears similar to quartz and rock.

Prior to departing from Rosemerrow for the New Archives with the Mountain Party, Fero purchased a new set of intricate leather armor which is made up of a bunch of different leather pieces woven together in a complicated way, with one big pocket. He also took this opportunity to spend some coin on getting his hair cut and beard trimmed.

He carries Hella's pre-Erasure brass spyglass.

## History

Born to a farming family in the Flank Fields district of Rosemerrow, Fero turned his back on agrarian society and went to live in the mountains near the New Archives, where he grew close to the creatures and living things of the wilderness and also came to meet his longtime friend Lem King.

### Alignment

Fero's alignment is *Chaotic*. To gain experience, he has to favor his instincts over fear of consequence.

During *Autumn in Hieron* and *Winter in Hieron*, to receive experience he had to "Pull the weeds of the past out by the roots."

### Bonds

#### Old

* ~~The spirits spoke to me of a great danger that follows Hadrian.~~ (Fero disagrees with Hadrian's belief in bringing things back to the way they were before the Erasure)
* ~~Lem King has tasted my blood and I theirs. We are bound by it.~~ (Metaphorically speaking - the two have gone into battle together)
* ~~I think Hella smells more like prey than hunter.~~
* ~~The Great Fantasmo~~ ~~has something to teach me.~~
* ~~Hella's ethics are not lining up with what I believe in.~~
* ~~Lem King is a true friend, and might get us all killed.~~
* ~~Lem King only thinks I can help myself when it suits him.~~
* ~~Prince Ephrim~~ ~~and I might agree, but we might not be right.~~
* ~~I HATE LEM KING.~~
* ~~I would like to rebuild my relationship with Hella.~~

#### Current

* "Lord" Ephrim thinks helping means being in charge.
* Throndir is a fool who will get us in trouble.
* Lem King is as clueless now as he was when I last saw him.
* I hope Hella will realize how wrong we've all been.

## Abilities

   As the Druid, Fero possesses a number of unique nature-based abilities.

* *Born of the Soil*: Fero learned his magic in the towering mountains, whose spirits are strong and ancient No matter where he goes, their spirits live within him and allow him to take the shape of any animal native to the mountains.
* *By Nature Sustained*: Fero does not need to eat or drink, though he still likes to when food is available.
* *Spirit Tongue*: Fero can understand any animal native to his land or one whose essence he has studied.
* *Shapeshifter*: Fero can change his shape into that of any species whose essence he has studied or that lives in his land, giving him that form's innate abilities and weaknesses.
	+ *Studied Essence*: When Fero spends time in contemplation of an animal spirit, he may add its species to those he can assume using shapeshifting.
	+ *Red of Tooth and Claw*: Fero's damage is increased when in the form of a dangerous animal.
	+ *Shed*: If Fero is hurt while shape-shifted, he can revert to his halfling form to avoid injury.
	+ *Thing-talker*: Fero can apply his spirit tongue and shapeshifting to plants and rocks as well as animals.
	+ *Origin of the Species*: Instead of spending time in contemplation of an animal spirit, Fero may conceive of a new type of life. When he spends an extended amount of time (a week or more), he can make progress toward creating the essence of a new species. It is possible that he may hit a dead end, in which he cannot feasibly make the current idea work as a living thing, though his progress gained prior to this point can be put toward another concept.
	+ *Breath of the Wild*: When Fero uses *Shapeshifter* and/or *Origin of the Species* to change his shape, the world may change with him, either seeding the world with the presence of a new species or causing the Heat and the Dark to consume each instance of that form except for him.
* *Balance*: When Fero deals damage, he takes balance that he can then use to touch someone and heal them.
* *Communion of Whispers*: When Fero spends time in a place, making note of the resident spirits and calling upon the spirits of the land, he can be granted a vision of significance to the spirits and himself.
* *God Amidst the Wastes*: Fero has dedicated himself to Samol and by communing with him (spending an hour or so in quiet contemplation) can be granted the ability to cast spells.

### Cleric Spells

Fero can potentially cast any of the following *Dungeon World* spells; which ones he chooses to make use of within the setting of Hieron and the exact nature of his having been empowered to do so by Samol will be seen over the course of *Spring in Hieron*.

* Rotes
	+ *Light*
	+ *Sanctify*
	+ *Guidance*
* First level
	+ *Bless*
	+ *Cure Light Wounds*
	+ *Detect Alignment*
	+ *Cause Fear*
	+ *Magic Weapon*
	+ *Sanctuary*
	+ *Speak With Dead*

## Possessions

* Ragged bow and arrows
* Shortsword and shield
* Ornate throwing knives from the Tower of Severea on Eventide Island, with pearl inlay on spine and birds-eye maple handle
* Orcish fillet knives
* Halfling pipeleaf

## Origin

The name "Fero Feritas" comes from Latin words meaning 'I bring/bear' and 'wilderness'.

## Notes

1. ↑ The original phrasing of Fero's alignment was "Destroy a symbol of the old civilization."
2. ↑ This move is a two-step means of giving Fero access to the spellcasting abilities that *Dungeon World* would normally give the Cleric, since *God Amidst the Wastes* is a Ranger move that Fero gained through the Druid move *Hunter's Brother*. Interestingly, this makes Fero the second of the Hieron player characters to gain access to Cleric spells without actually being the Cleric, since Hadrian's move *Divine Favor* gave him the ability to cast spells as the Paladin. Either by coincidence or design, Fero's acquisition of this power roughly lines up with Hadrian's loss of it towards the end of *Winter in Hieron*.