Rycin

Rycin is a 119-year-old elf druid from the Golgari guild. They are one of the eight PCs in the EGTD10 Campaign.

**Warning:** this character’s backstory contains mentions of **abuse** and **alcoholism**.

## Biographical information

### Aliases

Rycin the Golgari
Rycin Ponderosa (renounced)
[Redacted] Ponderosa (deadname)
Mom (Hamlin)

### Relatives

Father: Castor Ponderosa (deceased)
Mother: Morel Ponderosa (deceased)
Older sister: Reishi Ponderosa
Younger sister: Chanterelle (Elle) Ponderosa

### Occupation

Golgari agent
Farmer (formerly)

### Weapons

Quarterstaff
Shortbow
Druid magic

## Physical description

### Other Features

Stone patches on the left side of their face
White button mushrooms growing from their head

## History

### Early Life

Rycin was born in 9984 ZC to the Ponderosa family. They grew up on the Ponderosa Rot Farm in the Golgari undercity with their mother, father and sisters. They were particularly close with their mother, Morel Ponderosa

As a child, they were quite chaotic. Oftentimes, their parents would find them holding or eating all sorts of objects of unknown origin. Going out to play and coming home with a crocodile in hand was absolutely a regular occurence.

### The Accident

Sometime in their late teens to early twenties, Rycin and Morel were out foraging in the undercity, not far from the edge of their farm. Morel noticed a figure approaching and told Rycin to run and not look back. Rycin did, but could not resist looking back for a split second, only to see a medusa standing over their petrified mother. The encounter left Rycin with a partially stone face.

Upon their return to the farm, their father, Castor Ponderosa, asked where Morel was. Rycin, afraid and distraught, explained what happened: that she had died saving Rycin from a medusa. Castor became outraged over the loss of his wife and, in response, cut off Rycin’s hair and mushrooms.

Elves have an inherent tie to green mana since The Mending and their creation. In such, Ravnican elves often culturally associate their hair with their longevity and their belief in the earth in and around the plane, though that belief varies depending on the guild. Cutting their hair is as close as they’ll get to saying their dead without dying. By cutting off Rycin’s hair, Castor showed Rycin that they were practically dead to him for being the reason behind their mother’s death, and by cutting off the mushrooms, he cut off an important connection Rycin shared with their mother.

Eventually, Rycin moved their mother’s statue to a garden just outside of the farm which they visited and tended to often. To this day, Rycin still blames themself for their mother’s death.

### Abuse

In his grief, Castor fell into alcohol and became verbally and, occasionally, physically abusive towards Rycin. Their sisters, Reishi Ponderosa and Chanterelle Ponderosa, did the best they could to protect Rycin, but ultimately, the best solution seemed to be to lie low and avoid his wrath.

Eventually, Castor became more distant and neglectful, telling Rycin to stay at the farm to “avoid any more accidents.” Reishi taught Rycin necromancy and druid magic in secret. The role would have fallen on their mother or father, but neither were present to teach them.

Their isolation led to a difficulty making friends or interacting with people other than their sisters.

### The Incident

By their fifties to sixties, things had settled into a somewhat consistent situation. Their father would sometimes leave on business trips to sell their crops or bring more business to the farm.

Rycin used these trips to sneak out into town. There, they met an elven girl who worked at a flower shop. She was patient and kind, and soon, the two became close friends. While Rycin was trapped at home, they exchanged letters through Rycin’s sisters, who covered for the two. Rycin hid these letters under their mattress to prevent their dad from finding them.

Rycin fell in love with the girl. However, they were incredibly scared to tell her and held their feelings in for many months, unable to find the right words to say. Eventually, though, they mustered up the courage to go and tell her. They waited until Castor’s next business trip and snuck out to the girl’s flower shop in town. Just as they were about to enter the shop, however, they saw another girl walk in, talk to their friend, and give her a kiss. They had waited too long and she had already found someone else.

Brokenhearted, Rycin ran off to hide in the sewers. Several hours later, Chanterelle found them in a panic, telling them they needed to come home. Castor had come back early and, whilst tearing through Rycin’s room to find them, found the letters, and he was severely angry.

The two ran home where Castor was waiting. He was incredibly angry and took it out on Rycin. It was here that Rycin finally realized this was the breaking point. Later that night, Reishi and Chanterelle snuck Rycin out to stay at a distant friend’s place. They also warned Rycin’s friend and her girlfriend, who moved out of town not long after to avoid Castor’s rage.

### Transitioning Period

Rycin stayed at their sisters’ friend’s place for many years. During this time, they came to terms with their own identity and transitioned. They were finally able to grow their hair out again, wearing it long and loose. The mushrooms also returned and they grew to accept the stone on their face as a part of themself.

They kept in touch with their sisters through letters, who were happy to see Rycin was starting to heal.

### Returning Home

Eventually, Rycin resolved to come back home and help their sisters. The farm had belonged to Morel and with Castor’s current state, their sisters needed the help.

Rycin and their sisters pretended that Rycin was a distant cousin completely unconnected to [deadname], which Castor believed, and helped out around the farm. They also officially joined the Golgari guild and began doing jobs every so often to bring in extra money. Their dream was that one day, after their father was gone, they and their sisters would have their mother’s farm to themselves

### Finding Hamlin

When they were around 100-years-old, Rycin found a 16-year-old Azorius Arrester named Hamlin in a dumpster. He had been sent on his first official job and gotten beaten up. After the events of their childhood, Rycin had developed a soft spot for kids and helped him out. Hamlin, however, was a persistent kid and kept coming over to talk to Rycin. Rycin accepted his company begrudgingly, nicknaming him “Nitrogen” because he was an “airhead.” Nitrogen found it funny and the nickname stuck.

Eventually, the two formed a kind of mentor/mentee relationship. If Rycin needed to clean up a body in a really secure location, such as an Izzet laboratory, they would call Nitrogen to come with them. As an Azorius Arrester, Ravnicans saw Nitrogen as an official authority figure. He would stand by Rycin and intimidate people so they would not question what they were doing and Rycin could get the job done. After the job was finished, the two would go out for lunch and hang out.

### Eckel

Eckel was a local findbroker that Rycin had met looking for spell books after their mother died. The two share a strictly business relationship. He is the one who introduces Rycin to The Party’s first job.

## Personality

Rycin is rather socially anxious after being isolated for so many years. They find interacting with other people difficult as they are used to talking to their sisters. As a result, they have scared away quite a few people by rambling about mushrooms, fungus, death, and decay.

They have a natural curiosity and cannot help picking up any random objects off the floor. Their bag is filled with all sorts of random objects, including but not limited to various rocks, mushrooms, several bugs, and a live bird. They also never quite grew out of their “investigating objects by putting them in their mouth” phase. There were quite a few times where they accidentally ate poisonous mushrooms and they would absolutely do it again.

Their past also gave them a soft spot towards most people, but particularly kids. Ravnica is not a particularly safe place and many people have committed murder. They are rather forgiving and believe that the most important part is not what you have done, but whether you learned and grew from it.

### Fears

Rycin’s biggest fear is becoming like their father. Their appearance is naturally similar to Castor’s and they still blame themselves for their mother’s death. Although it had lessened over time, the recent incident leading to Castor’s death has brought back that fear and self-loathing. They feel as though they are a monster who only brings bad things to the people that they are close to. As a result, they tend to overcompensate and be as kind as possible to everyone, especially those younger than them, to the point of burn out.

Rycin also fears being left alone and, on the occasions where they do form bonds with people, they are incredibly strong. They will stick by that friend no matter what. Especially after losing their connections to the remainder of their family, they will stick by the people that they still have because it is better than being isolated again.

Their experience being isolated and trapped at home has also caused them to develop claustrophobia and a fear being trapped. While they enjoy hiding in small places, they value their freedom and fear being unable to leave said places. This can extend to leaving conversations, situations, people, and places.

## Appearance

Rycin has copper skin with stone covering the left side of their face. Their hair is long and dark brown, often worn loose with two small braids. White button mushrooms grow from the top of their head. Their eyes are a light green.

Although elves are usually tall, they are only 5’3, the shortest member of the party except for Smokey, who is a Cat Tabaxi. Their height is believed to be a result of the stone incident or the amount of random things they ate as a kid, which could have affected their growth.

Their usual outfit includes a white button up shirt, green pants, and a leather over-shirt and boots. They also wear a dark green cloak with the Golgari insignia and a large leather bag.

## Abilities, Tools, and Weapons

Rycin primarily uses spellcasting and necromancy against their opponent. They have named the Giant Spider that they create using Summon Beast “Gregorio.” They also have an invisibility spell that has been used subconsciously as a reaction while afraid. Their spell repertoire includes:

* Chill touch
* Infestation
* Shillelagh
* Spare the dying
* Absorb elements
* Cause fear
* Healing word
* Ray of sickness
* Blindness/deafness
* Gentle repose
* Invisibility
* Protection from poison
* Ray of sickness
* Summon beast
* Wither and bloom
* Animate dead
* Feign death
* Gaseous form
* Meld into stone
* Plant growth

Rycin also has a quarterstaff and a shortbow, although they have yet to use either weapon.

## Relationships

### The Party

**Judas:** Rycin considers themself good friends with Judas. They respect him as a leader after seeing him work with his legionnaires and see a lot of themself in Judas. They’re not sure how to interact with people, let alone help people, but Judas appears to have the same problem, so they ended up gravitating towards each other. They see themself in some of the mistakes Judas makes and tries to guide him but ultimately, they enjoy having someone who relates to talk to. They do recognize, however, that Judas has a *lot* to work on.

**Theo and Fysika:** Rycin has a soft spot for kids and they find Theo and Fysika endearing. They also thrive on chaos and wholeheartedly support any shenanigans the two get up to. As someone who did not have much freedom when they were young, they take on the role of the “responsible one” who covers for the two when the other adults are being to stifling. They are a little more biased, however, towards Theo because he is also a nerd.

**Arc:** Although they are not that good at reading people, Rycin is well-aware that Arc is not part of the Golgari. I mean, look at him. They do not particularly care, however, and are simply vibing. Arc hiding who he is not a problem, especially coming from someone who did the very same thing.

**Helaena:** Rycin likes Helaena, she’s chill. They admire her command over her Wild Shape and as an overall cool person.

**Smokey:** As someone who enjoys chaos, Rycin thinks Smokey is pretty cool. He carries around a gun, several bombs, and also lets Theo and Fysika get away with Shenanigans.

**Patchwork:** Rycin is neutral on Patchwork as it is still quite new to the party. They do find its skeletal arm and ties to nature very cool though.

### Family

**Morel Ponderosa:** Rycin was very close to their mother and wishes they had more time with her. They carry around a stone finger that had fallen off of her statue decades ago. They miss her dearly and hope that, one day, they could find a way to bring her back.

**Castor Ponderosa:** Rycin hates him for what he did to them but also cannot stand up to him. They are not upset over his death, but rather, the situation it happened in and the state it left their family in.

**Reishi Ponderosa:** Rycin loves and looks up to Reishi, who had taught them how to use their powers in the first place. They wish that their father’s death had not affected her so badly.

**Chanterelle Ponderosa:** Rycin loves Chanterelle dearly as well. Closer in age to Rycin than Reishi, they were incredibly close growing up. They are on good terms again after their father's death, although they have agreed that Judas should never come back to the farm.

### NPCs

**Eckel:** Rycin knew of Eckel and done business with him before, but ultimately, did not know much about him as a person.

**Hamlin:** Rycin cares for Hamlin (nicknamed Nitrogen) like a mentee/son. They care a lot about him and want him to be happy. They try hard to be the kind and caring person that their father never was for them towards Nitrogen.

**Elm:** Rycin is neutral/positive on Elm, but respects the fellow Golgari. He’s chill and cares about his sons.

## Quotes

* "It wasn't hard to make him forget his third daughter when he forgot she was there in the first place."
* "I'm cursed to raise every body except the one who raised me."
* "When you've lived longer than you've known someone, do you still miss them? Or just a fragmented memory of who you thought they were?"
* Where you feel your identity is taking you away from your family, mine saved me from mine."
* "Grief can corrupt the goodest of people."

## Trivia

* Rycin named themself after the poison “Ricin,” however, they spelled the name wrong on the name change form (and not at all because the player doesn't know how to spell).
* Rycin has two pet bugs in their bag:
	+ Gregory: a spider
	+ Beelzebug: a beetle
* While moving their mother’s statue, one of the fingers fell off. Rycin used their magic to replace it with one made of mushrooms and wears the stone finger as a necklace as a way of keeping their mother with them.
* Rycin was originally an anarchist inspired by Technoblade from the DSMP, but was later revised to balance out the party.
* Rycin and Hamlin’s relationship was originally based off of Puss and Perrito from Puss in Boots 2.
* Rycin’s hair is constantly damp in order to support the mushrooms growing from their head.

## Links

* Pinterest board
* Spotify playlist
* Tumblr