Darlingverse/Pip

Pip: The Heart of Whimsy

Before Darling: Pip was a cheerful, slightly mischievous halfling boy of around ten, whose boundless energy and infectious giggle brought light to his family's small bakery. He loved the warmth of the ovens, the sweet smell of rising dough, and especially the joy he saw on people's faces when they tasted his little creations. He was quick with a joke or a playful prank, always seeking to cheer others up, perhaps to mask a deeper, quieter sadness over his mother's long-ago illness.

Captured by Papa: One blustery afternoon, Pip was skipping home from a local market, humming a tune and planning a new type of berry tart. A sudden, unsettling silence fell over the usually bustling street, followed by a sharp, suffocating blow to the back of his head. He remembered feeling dizzy, seeing bright, swirling colors, and then falling into an inescapable darkness.

Papa's Basement and the Void: He later recalled fleeting, terrifying moments in a cold, damp basement. The smell of metal and something acrid mingled with the cloying sweetness that was now associated with fear. He heard the muffled sobs of other children, their frightened eyes reflecting the dim, flickering light from a single lantern. He saw a tall, shadowed figure looming over a small cage, and then, as a terrifying realization began to dawn, the scene became a screaming, formless blur that violently wrenched itself from his memory. It remains a gaping, painful hole.

Life in the Darlingscape: The Spontaneous Spirit: When Pip materialized within "The Golem's Canvas," his initial reaction was to infuse it with joy, to counteract the underlying melancholy he instinctively felt. He took to the Shifting Bazaar, making it his domain, ensuring a constant flow of sensory delights and emotional energy. He views this world as a grand, if sometimes confusing, performance that needs constant, cheerful tending. His natural spontaneity means he often acts on a whim, sometimes to the exasperation of others.

Pip with other Vocies

With Jinx: Pip is closest to Jinx, seeing her as a kindred spirit in mischief and performance. They often collaborate on grand, attention-grabbing displays within Darling's mind, creating distractions or infusing parts of the landscape with vibrant, unpredictable energy.

With Skree: He is fascinated by Skree's mimicry and quiet observation, often trying to coax him into performing or helping him create new sounds for the Bazaar. Pip finds Skree's odd sense of humor strangely comforting.

With Flicker: Pip appreciates Flicker's unconventional inventions and often tries to incorporate them into his sensory displays, finding his ingenuity a source of endless amusement.

With Lyra and Borin: Pip finds Lyra's rigid adherence to order and Borin's strictness utterly baffling and stifling. He deliberately (and often playfully) tries to introduce chaos into their structured environments, viewing their seriousness as a challenge to be overcome with whimsy.

With Kael and Grut: He sees Kael's caution and Grut's bluntness as tedious, often poking fun at them or trying to lighten their moods with silly pranks, which usually just annoys them further.

Pip Statblock

Pip is the Shifting Muse of the Darlingverse, providing emotional support, versatile skills, and the curiosity needed to find new paths.

Core Stats & Proficiencies

• Gender: Gender-Fluid (They/Them)
• Race/Class: Halfling / Bard (College of Lore)
• Armor Class (AC): 16 (Studded Leather Armor +1)
• Hit Points (HP): 60 (10 hit dice)
• Speed: 25 ft.
• STR 10 (+0), DEX 16 (+3), CON 14 (+2), INT 12 (+1), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 18 (+4)
• Proficiency Bonus (PB): +4
• Racial Traits: Halfling Luck (reroll 1s on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws), Brave (Advantage on Saving Throws against being frightened).
• Saving Throws: Dexterity +7, Charisma +8
• Skills: Performance +12, Persuasion +12, Stealth +11, Acrobatics +7, Insight +4, Investigation +5, Cook's Utensils +5, Baker's Tools +5

Fluid Pip (free action)

• Pip alters appearance slightly moving from or to female/male presentation at will.

Combat & Tactical

• Spell Save DC: 16
• Spell Attack Modifier: +8
• Weapon: Dagger +1 (Melee/Ranged Attack)
  • Attack: +8 to hit, Reach 5 ft. or Range 20/60 ft., one target.
  • Damage: 1d4 + 4 Piercing damage.
• Weapon: Light Crossbow +1 (Ranged Attack)
  • Attack: +8 to hit, Range 80/320 ft. loading, one target.
  • Damage: 1d8 + 4 Piercing damage.
• Vicious Mockery (Cantrip, At Will)
  • Effect: Deals 2d4 Psychic damage to target that can hear you within 60 ft, and it has disadvantage on its next Attack Roll.
• Bardic Inspiration (5/Short or Long Rest)
  • Effect: Pip can use a bonus action to grant a creature a 1d10 Inspiration die to add to one Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw within 10 minutes. If the result is a 10, you re-gain that die.
• Cutting Words (Reaction)
  • Effect: When a creature Pip can see within 60 feet makes an attack roll, damage roll, or ability check, Pip can use a reaction and spend one Bardic Inspiration die to subtract the result from the creature's roll. If the result is a 10, you re-gain that die.
• Spell Slots: 5th (2), 4th (3), 3rd (3), 2nd (3), 1st (4).

Prepared Spells

• 1st Level: Healing Word, Dissonant Whispers, Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, Tasha's Hideous Laughter.
• 2nd Level: Invisibility, Suggestion, Shatter, Lesser Restoration.
• 3rd Level: Dispel Magic, Hypnotic Pattern, Fear.
• 4th Level: Polymorph, Dimension Door.
• 5th Level: Greater Restoration.

Custom Stabilizing Abilities (Darlingverse Focus) These abilities focus on curiosity, emotional healing, and revealing new, helpful mental paths.

1. Minor Stabilization: Whimsical Redirect (Bonus Action)

• Requirement: Pip must be able to see a hostile Aberration or Denizen.
• Effect: Pip uses a fragment of pure, chaotic joy to distract the target. The target has Disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of Pip's next turn. Alternatively, Pip can use this to inspire a non-hostile Denizen, instantly restoring its confidence and granting it a boost of 1d8 temporary HP as well as Inspiration that lasts for 1 minute.

2. Major Stabilization: Baking Reality (Action & 1 Minute Concentration)

• Requirement: Pip must expend a Spell Slot of 1st level or higher.
• Effect: Pip channels the mind's curiosity to stabilize companions and the environment. Upon cast as well as at the start of Pip's consecutive turns, allies as well as objects within a 15-foot radius regain lost HP. If the it's a creature and its' bloodied (at half HP or less), they regain HP equal to twice the level of the spell slot expended, otherwise the creature or object regain HP equal to the level of the spell slot expended. If Pip maintains concentration for a full minute, the ritual reveals a hidden Mnemonic Vein or safe passage (GM's choice) leading toward the nearest objective or away from the nearest danger, allowing for immediate travel. After using this ability, Pip needs to rest for at least 10 minutes before casting it again.