#wiris tag

i just like that being a starting point for cobwynn, who's a very black-and-white thinker, to get it in their head that aberrations are Always Bad and Dangerous. they probably did a bit of casual research when the group lingered in cities with libraries long enough, just enough to confirm what wiris said. (zenith was also doing some research then to get a better idea of what people here know about things like him lol.) so when cobwynn discovers that zenith is an aberration they're immediately ready to fight. doesn't matter that he's not hostile, doesn't matter that he's trying to stay calm and talk them down, because he stops being a person and starts being a monster as soon as cobwynn makes that connection. the friendly act is just to get them to lower their guard, obviously. there may have also been an element of cobwynn feeling like they'd been tricked and feeling stupid because of that, when cobwynn is a very prideful person, so that just making them mad on top of the immediate alarm and distrust.

vinzin is quiet and doesn't talk much, and he's the stoic type who doesn't like to complain or let others know when he's having a rough time. he was definitely puzzled by not-dreams but he'd be fine once he woke up, if a little rattled, so he figured it wasn't a big deal. he also wasn't very familiar with magic, not enough to determine that what was happening was unnatural.

wiris is more talkative than vinzin, though not by much, but more importantly she is more of the loner type. she was traveling with the party kind of as an experiment, to see how she liked it. she isn't big on opening up to others. she figured there was something odd about the not-dreams, but couldn't figure out WHAT it was. and none of the others were talking about having the same experience. might've lightly pried like oh hey how did you all sleep last night? fine? okay cool me too, anyway.

cobwynn WAS talkative but also like... very full of themself while simultaneously trying real hard to prove themself. they were the baby of the group and the only one who hadn't done ANY adventuring before this, and they were presenting themself as competent and confident. they didn't want to be like 'guys i had a bad dream :(' and they really didn't want to ask the others about it if they couldn't come into the conversation with answers. they knew enough to realize this was some kind of magic or something at work, and did a bit of research when they'd stop in towns with auguries or libraries or the like and they had some free time. it wasn't that pressing of an issue to them since it happened less than once a week and didn't affect them much beyond being deeply unpleasant. it started getting more pressing when it started happening more often, after vinzin and wiris left the party and zenith had no other options for snacks when they weren't staying in inns. again, not really impeding them at all, but still unpleasant! but idk if they ever figured it out. if they DID bring it up with zenith he'd just lie and say he had those not-dreams too.

(did they make the connection when they figured out the aberration thing? not sure! they were smart, and aberrations have historically been bad news so they were instantly deeply distrusting and hostile and trying to figure out what zenith's game was. would they make that leap? idk! gotta consider that more!)

realize i never posted the set i did for zenith's previous traveling party. vinzin (he/him), wiris (she/her), and cobwynn (they/them). i'm working on the doc discussing them and their time together again, or rather i'm trying and starting by re-reading what i've already written and here's a few bits about them i enjoy under the cut. for context on some of these, i'm figuring out a lot of details about this group and their travels by rolling on tables and asking the dice questions, which has been loads of fun

i’ve got a doc i’m working on about the last group zenith ran with. we’ve got vinzin (triton barbarian), cobwynn (half elf paladin), and wiris (aarakocra ranger). i haven’t gotten too far in the doc beyond their introductory meeting after vinzin put up a Looking For Group flyer. these sketches are from their first meeting/conversation. general impressions from everyone:

vinzin’s got a reputation as a tough ex-pirate, quietest person at the table but looks strong and seems reasonable, also he’s the one who put this together so everyone just kind of accepts him immediately. no complaints. seems chill.

cobwynn’s a bit pushy and a lot loud, outs themself as a baby adventurer very quickly. zenith thinks they’re amusing, wiris thinks the group would be better off dumping the baby for a lot of reasons but they’re not a deal-breaker, vinzin thinks that if the baby can prove they can hold their own then their strength and magic will be handy so he’s willing to give them a chance. he thinks they need a drink and a nap though they’re wound so fucking tight

wiris is a local hero where she comes from and has plenty of experience under her belt, and she’s very confident without being grating about it like cobwynn is. vinzin just cares that his group can fight and she seems like she can. cobwynn doesn’t love that wiris seems to look down on them but thinks she seems competent so like they GUESS that’s what’s important. zenith hears that she’s a monster hunter and the alarm bells go off in his head because hey real quick how do you define ‘monster’ but like it’s probably fine. it’s fine. he’ll just have to be careful around her.

once again, vinzin only cares about ability, and zenith has magic, so it’s fine. cobwynn thinks he seems nice, and he’s got magic and goes along with what they say, so that’s great. wiris thinks he’s a bit cheerier than she’d really like but she can deal with that.