Branwys Skyratchett II
by Thorfinn Tait
"Greetings, my noble friend. Welcome to the City of Aqualine. Did you come by Seal or Dolphin? What? Don't be daft, not the animals, the contraptions! I see you had a bad voyage. The elemental must've been playing up again. Well, never mind, come let me guide you to your lodgings.
"You know, this whole city that you see above and around us was built by our noble master, the great Master Skyratchett himself. The crystal dome which keeps the water out, the under-sea-contraption docks, the resource mines, the magically-operated gardens... all were built by Master Branwys' magic and meddling powers. Why, even the wonderful contraption you came in was designed and built by him.
"What? You haven't heard of Master Skyratchett? Well, this is most unfortunate. If you are to meet with him to discuss trade agreements with our fair city, you should know a little of his illustrious history. And I would be only too pleased to help you.
"His story begins with a clever skygnome from the Flying City of Serraine, whose name is Branwys Skyratchett. No, not our friend and inventor of the crystal domes and under-sea-contraptions, but his father, Branwys the first..."
Branwys Skyratchett II is my longest running PC. His adventures started in 1991 or 1992, and continued for two or three years, under more than three different DMs, until finally he was left stranded, DM-less.
Since then, he has advanced to the position of major NPC in one of my current campaigns, as well as some cameo roles in my other campaigns. All in all he is the best character I have ever had, and I would dearly have loved to play him up to Immortality and beyond. Alas, it will never happen.
In any case, below I have presented Branwys' character sheet and some additional info about him. I hope you enjoy looking at Branwys as much as I enjoyed playing him!
Note: Branwys comes from the latter days of my "power gaming" years... as such some of his stats are a bit over the top. If I were ever to use him in an adventure properly, as either PC or NPC, I would first make his stats more realistic.
Additionally, Branwys has some powers which reflect his nature as a solo character, never played as part of a party but always on his own (notably he is ambidextrous and very skilled in using his weapons).
Branwys Skyratchett II
History: Branwys is the son of another Branwys Skyratchett, an eminent skygnome in the Flying City of Serraine. He left his home city when he was 17 years old to pursue a career of adventuring. His adventures led him first to Karameikos, then through a number of adventures to Glantri, some of the tiny islands south of Ierendi and Minrothad in the northern Sea of Dread, and finally back to Specularum where he founded an invention shop ("Gnomecrafts and Inventions").
Following his success in this venture, Branwys combined many of his inventions with some revolutionary new ideas and came up with the under-sea-contraption. Using these special submarines, he decided to colonise the sea floor. After meeting the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Undersea, he decided to place his colony in the mineral-rich deeps of the Sea of Dawn, where it would be within trading range of Undersea, but also not so close as to be vulnerable to attacks by races from that area, or to be an annoyance to the people of Undersea.
Now, at the age of 25, Branwys is a skygnome (or rather a seagnome, now) in the prime of his life, enjoying every new invention and discovery as it comes. At the rate he is progressing, he is likely to begin to seek Immortality sometime soon - once he realises it is within his power to achieve.
Peronality: Branwys is a clever and cunning gnome. He does not frighten easily, but nor does he run into battle any longer, as he did in his younger days. He most enjoys meeting fellow adventurers, inventors and magic-users of all types. Branwys has a very good relationship with his father, who he considers his friend and mentor as well as parent. He also knows and is very fond of Starwatcher, an elven Treekeeper of the Long Runner clan. Indeed, he has always had a very good opinion of elves, who he finds to be very good friends, and who tend to appreciate his quirky sense of humour more than most other non-gnomes.
Three other notable friends of Branwys are his three intelligent magic weapons, detailed below.
Appearance: Branwys is a young skygnome of 25 years. He is of medium build and stands 3'7" tall, weighing only 60 lbs. His hair is long and white, often braided in the fashion of the humans of the Northern Reaches. His eyes are a brilliant blue. Unusually for his race, Branwys has no beard, but he does have a small moustache. He loves to wear dark blue and pure white cloaks and clothes, often with a belt made of silk rope.
DMing Notes: Branwys is always looking for more gnomish colonists for his underwater city, Aqualine. He does not yet know about the Hollow World, but if he were to find out about the gnomes of Oostdok he would first help them to liberate themselves, then invite as many as wanted to come back with him to Aqualine.
Otherwise, Branwys is always looking for ways to keep his city and submarines safe and as secret as possible from the other nations from the Known World, until he has built a large enough fleet of Shark, Swordfish and Dolphin submarines to protect Aqualine.
Combat Notes: 18th level skygnome shaman/wicca (Branwys exceeded his racial maximums); AC -5/-8 (chain mail + 5, ring of protection + 2, dexterity bonus/as before plus shield + 2); hp 140; MV 150' (50'); #AT 2 (ambidextrous - short sword and warhammer); Dmg 1d6 + 3/1d6 + 4; Save (best of) M18/C18/F18; AL L. S16 I18 W18 D18 Co18 Ch18. Languages: Skycommon (Gnomish - Serraine dialect), Dwarf, Goblin, Halfling (Hin), Kobold, Giant (Cloud Giant dialect), Elvish (Alfheim dialect), Ogre, Fairy, Giant Eagle, Harpy, Giant Roc, Leprechaun, Thyatian, Alphatian, Hobgoblin, Darokinian, Glantrian, Orc, Dragon, Bugbear, Doppelganger, Gargoyle, Gnoll. General Skills: Fantasy Physics (W), Machine Building (I), Craftsman (Jeweller, I), Knowledge (Known World, I), Mapping (I), Science (Astronomy, I), Storytelling (Ch), Hiding (D), Navigation (I), Engineering (I).
Weapon Mastery: Grand Master of the warhammer, short sword, light crossbow, repeating crossbow and short bow.
Magical Items in Possession: gold chain mail + 5, 6d6 lightning bolt twice a day (made of magically lightened material - only 350 cn. - lined with blue dragon hide); shield + 2; short sword + 3, "Excraber" (lawful, intelligent, web once a day, speaks Dwarf, Dragon, Gnome); warhammer + 4, "Narwald" (lawful, intelligent, read all runes, speaks Dwarf, Gnome and all runic languages); short bow + 2; magic ruby (ESP once a day); Sky hooks + 4; old ornate holy symbol; plus an unspecified number of lesser weaponry and armour and general trinkets.
And that's it for now. I may put up some more info on Branwys and his adventures if anyone is interested.