Aunt Bootie

**Aunt Bootie** was one of the Desert Mothers in Beartoggle and the matriarch of the Hecklestan halfling clan. Raphina said of her, *"Aunt Bootie is one of those, maybe the only one, who is both a Desert Mother and an elder in the town in such a way that she basically knows and runs everything."*

## Description

### Appearance

When Raphina summoned a *Guardian of Faith* in the image of Aunt Bootie, she was portrayed as a terrifying spectre, very wizened but wearing very thick armour and Doc Martens and three or four cigarettes hanging out of her mouth. When the party met Aunt Bootie for real in Beartoggle, she was wearing maroon from top to toe and had a delightfully overblown hat, covered with feathers and beads and such. She was taller than the average halfling. She smelt of an ashtray, with a hint of liquorice.

### Personality and alignment

Aunt Bootie was clearly a formidable force not to be reckoned with. Raphina warned Will, *"Do not agitate her! She will just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. If she starts chain smoking, we're in trouble."*

## Abilities and traits

### Spells / Abilities

Aunt Bootie had some sort of magical ability, which Raphina seemed to think was formidable. She was also an insomniac, and was usually up in the middle of the night, wandering around and paddling up the river, for example. She had what she called "dreams", but they were more like visions in the stars. This may be partly responsible for her incredible insight, allowing her to not only cut through bullshit, but also for-tell the future.

## Relationships

Aunt Bootie described Raphina as her niece, but whether they were actually related is unclear. We do know that calling someone "Auntie" was a typical Beartogglian form of addressing one's elders and a general term of respect. However they might be related, they clearly had a very long-lasting and close bond. Aunt Bootie said to Raphina *"You haven't been around around to water my petunias lately"* and when Raphina claimed the neighbor's dog had eaten them, Aunt Bootie replied *"You tried that excuse about 40 years ago."* Aunt Bootie must have been something of a mother-figure or teacher to Raphina. She said to Raphina, *"Have you been keeping up with what I've taught you about tea?" "Oh, you would be so proud of the new flavours I've explored,"* replied Raphina.

## History

During the party's sojourn in Castle Ravenloft, they encountered a group of twisted halfling "witches" who Raphina recognised as being from a family of ne'er-do-wells from Beartoggle called the Hecklestans, who were always getting into trouble. A fight ensued and Raphina demanded the twisted halflings stand down, saying *"I know what you did by the Beartoggle River. I know. I will tell Aunt Bootie!"* During the fight, Raphina summoned a terrifying ghostly image of Aunt Bootie for her spectral *Guardian of Faith*, sending the Hecklestans into shock. She later told the group that Aunty Bootie was the matriarch of the Hecklestan clan, and a badass, but not evil. She explained that these halfling witches were Aunt Bootie's descendants. *"They are of her stock, but Aunt Bootie is not evil. I know they didn't come from evil; I don't know what has turned them evil."*

Much later, the group were approaching Beartoggle city itself and working on fake backgrounds for themselves because rumours abounded that Raphina was a serial killer. At one point it was suggested that Mo would pose as a lizardfolk who'd arrived in town to seek trade with Beartoggle, but Raphina warned him not to talk to Aunt Bootie. A little later, as they descended the Grand Staircase into Beartoggle proper, Raphina explained that Aunty Bootie was one of the Desert Mothers, the monastic matriarchs of Beartoggle society.

By chance, the party eventually met Aunt Bootie in person, when she arrived at the Toggle Hotel while they were there investigating the calliope. During their conversation she did describe herself as *"one of the elders of this city,"* pooh-poohed the idea of Raphina being a serial killer, and related details of a vision she'd had in which she had seen a broken and defeated Strahd, and then a host of dark powers escaping Barovia to settle all over Six Rivers.

## Aunt Bootie Facts!

* 291: Two or Three Minutes Per Minute: Raphina finds a teapot in the Beartoggle River and wonders: "I was thinking it was from the time Aunt Bootie dumped all of her drinkware into the river."
* 302: So Profound, and Yet So Unhelpful: Eric: "Down in the centre of the sand below, you see two figures laying back on these chaise lounges. And they are passing a cigarette back and forth between them. And everybody in the stands are just sitting there in silence. And the people down on the lounges aren't saying [...] anything." Raphina: "Is that Aunt Bootie and Great Aunt Tootie? It might be." Eric: "It is. You all recognise Aunt Bootie. You've never met Great Aunt Tootie."
* 303: This Is Going to Feel Very Unhelpful: Aunt Bootie's expression is "stern and fierce" / Eric: "She reaches into her clutch and she pulls out another cigarette. This one is very, very small though. And in her other hand, she pulls from her clutch a flint and steel. And she definitely with one hand strikes the flint on the steel and lights this small cigarette. And she hands it over to Great Aunt Tootie."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 273: Loaded Baked Potato Water
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 150: Ghost Booty
3. ↑ See episodes 247: He Still Doesn't Know He's on a Podcast and 248: I'm Bloodhorn Leghorn and I'm a Sheep
4. ↑ 149: But Do You?
5. ↑ 244: Saying Someone Sucks Is Evil
6. ↑ 246: A Pompion's Guide to Six Rivers