Author: Shinobicow

“If that freight doesn’t get loaded on time, I am going to turn you into a cow catcher!”

[Looking at his stop-watch] “They are very, very late.  Someone is getting tied to the train tracks.”

Drig’Drall’s Story

Drig’Drall was once a Barbaric Monk of a wild tribe of Goliaths from a deserted wasteland of a country.  His clan practiced a strange form of primal magic combined with rigorous mental training which turned them all into powerful fighters.  However, after a raid into the low country (populated mostly by elves, humans, and half-lings), Drig’Drall was injured.  He lost his right eye at the hands of a group of elf rangers, and one of his legs was horribly damaged.  Drig’Drall was unable to flee and was left behind by the other members of his tribe.

Drig’Drall was held by the elves for many years as a makeshift prisoner of war.  Despite having slain several elves as a member of his tribe’s raid, he was treated fairly as a prisoner, and one day, the elves decided to let him go free.  They did have a caveat: he was forbidden from returning to the land of his kinsmen – he must remain in the lowland and make his own way amongst the people which he formerly wronged.

At first, Drig’Drall found life very hard.  He was hated by most people for belonging to a race which was historically at war with the lowlands.  But, over the years, he began to adjust to his new life.

But the world wasn’t waiting for Drig’Drall to adapt, the world was changing.  New technologies began to spread across the plane and from that, new metal behemoths called “Trains” began to spread.  The first time Drig’Drall saw one of these giant steel wyrms, he was horrified and scared.  However, a kindly gnome tinkerer, who was making some repairs on the train’s engine, explained to him how the machine ran.

Drig’Drall took a liking to the Gnome and he offered to lend him a hand in his repairs, making good use of his brutish strength.  This would be Drig’Drall’s entry point into a long career working on and around the trains.  In this career, Drig’Drall’s stature and appearance would serve him well and he earned his way up through the ranks to finally take the spot of the coveted station master.

Drig’Drall Now

Drig’Drall is currently a station master.  He has earned a reputation as being an incredibly rough Goliath to deal with, which has also earned him the reputation of having the most timely station on the rail.  Nobody wants to be late when they pull into Drig’Drall’s stop.  He makes sure that all the freight is always loaded on time, and that every train that comes into his station is in its peak working condition, even if this means that he has to get out there and repair it himself.

Drig’Drall’s Appearance

Drig’Drall stands out like the proverbial sore thumb.  He is about 7’6” tall and weighs over 300 pounds.  His pale gray face is marked with traditional Goliath markings; however, his fashion, is a bit different.  He usually wears a navy blue pinstripe suit, a perfectly clean pearl colored shirt, and a large red neck-tie.  He also usually has on a round black hat, that has a striped red and blue ribbon wrapped around it.  Apart from his fairly unusual clothes, he also always wears a single iron gauntlet on his right hand, and carries a long black and gold cane (which his peons have not so lovingly started referring to as his beatin’ stick).  He carries no jewelry save a golden pocket watch, which he keeps in his jacket pocket on an extremely long, Goliath-sized, golden chain.

Drig’Drall’s Personality

Drig’Drall is a fairly difficult character to deal with.  He is very wary of dealing with strangers and usually talks in a very grouchy manner.  Although he is usually pretty grumpy, he deals fairly with patrons of the rail and provides information to travelers who are curious about the area around his station.  However, when dealing with the other station workers, he is fierce – punishing those who do not work to his standard.  He is highly disciplined, and expects everyone who works with him to share that same work ethic.

Using Drig’Drall in your Game

Drig’Drall is designed to be used for games that have some type of technological element.  I currently am using him in a homebrew Steampunk world for 4e, but you could easily use him in an Eberron game, or virtually any other game that uses trains for that matter.  I have presented him here without stats, but for the purposes of game rules, he is a mid heroic tier Goliath Monk/Barbarian Hybrid.

Drig’Drall may simply make a single appearance as the players either arrive or depart from Drig’Drall’s station.  He can be used to get information about geography or even about local commerce, politics, or current events.  If he is attacked, he fights back fiercely.  He doesn’t have any magic items or money, but his extreme barbaric monk training has honed his fighting skills into an extremely dangerous weapon.

Famous Quotes:

• “Size doesn’t matter, all that counts is how you use me…eh, I mean, it.”
• “Call me an ‘ankle biter’ one more time and you’ll be missing an Achilles tendon!!”
• “Oy! Barkeep, get me like five beer bottles.  No, I don’t need the beer.  Time to start crackin skulls.”
• “Did you ever hear the one about the bartender that turned into a Platinum dragon? <a long pause> Neither did I.”

Who is Cornelius Fibble?
Cornelius Fibble is a bard who has developed something of a reputation across the lands.  He is well-known for being a traveling storyteller, minstrel, philanthropist, and entertainer, but he is also infamous for being a trouble maker, bar fight starter, and general public nuisance.  He is something along the lines of a rock star in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

On paper, Fibble is a bard first, but he also has picked up skills from his former adventuring companions in the past.  He has learned some Rogue Skills, Wizard Spells, and Martial Talents.  He is a bard among bards and a true dabbler in a variety of combat styles.

Physical Description / Appearance
Cornelius Fibble is a short, even by gnome standards, but he is fairly handsome.  He has deep green eyes and a short goatee.  He has well kept, short, brownish-blond hair, with some salt and pepper gray coming in as of late.  He looks like he might be nearing middle age for a gnome.  Cornelius has several magical tattoos over his body: one on each of his forearms and one on his neck.  He has other non-magical tattoos as well, and some distinctive facial piercings, which he has picked up all over the world.

Fibble is always decked out from head to foot in the nicest clothes that money can buy.  He is extremely conscious about his appearance and is always staying in tune with the latest fashions.  However, over his clothes, he wears a set of old leather armor, with a few studs here and there, which he inherited long ago.  He will never be rid of it.

In addition to his armor, Fibble wears an assortment of weapons.  He usually has a bastard sword slung over his back, a small rapier, a few daggers, and a crossbow hang at his waste.  He also has a pretty hefty spellbook full of rituals and magic spells which was were passed on from his old wizard buddy.  On top of that, he sports an incredibly handy utility belt which hold all kinds of tools.  Although it might not be obvious to the simple observer, he also has several hidden pouches around his being which hold a variety of alchemical and thieves tools, as well as stowed daggers and shuriken.

Finally, Fibble always has his trusted lute and pipe.  He usually carries them either swung around his back, or in his hands.  He never lets them out of his sight.  They have served him very well over the years.

Personality
During the day, Fibble is kind, enthusiastic, and fun.  He often shows up in a village and puts on free performances for the children of the town.  Women flock to hear him tell stories in village squares.  He is popular with virtually everyone.  He has lots of stories to tell, most of them are grossly exaggerated stretches of the truth, but they are all entertaining none-the-less.

However, at night, Fibble hits the town in a big way.  He is usually found in bars, pubs, and other alehouses, flirting with the tavern maids and making very crude jokes.  He is an extremely strong drinker and puts most humans and even some dwarves to shame with the sheer quantity of flagons that he can put away.  He often challenges people to drinking games in order to get a hold of some easy gold pieces (not as though he really needs them, just that he finds the process exhilarating).  When Fibble gets his way and has a chance at catching a taste of some night life, past outcomes have resulted in: groups of wild drunk naked men having a swim race across a river in the middle of the night, taverns burned to ash and cinders, week long stints in the public jail, forgotten slumbers with demon princesses, etc.  The list goes on.  Fibble has a knack for always getting himself in trouble, but somehow, he always manages to get himself back out again.  After all his years spent as a hired minstrel, adventurer, dungeon delver, and sometimes burglar, Fibble has stocked up quite a fortune, which is put to good use whenever he gets into a little too much trouble.

Using Cornelius Fibble in Your Game
Fibble is an NPC which can fulfill a great many roles.  He is designed to be the infamous fifth man, that last party spot which you just can’t fill.  As such, he is also made in order to fill a variety of combat roles.  He is firstly a leader, but also has some striker, defender, and controller powers.  His dabbling has honed these skills to something akin to perfection.  He can be hired to take the role of an empty spot in a party containing only 4 players and he will tag along on virtually any adventure the party could dream of.

Apart from meeting Fibble randomly and having him join the party, Fibble can be met just about anywhere.  He might be found in the middle of town singing or telling stories to a group of young children, or the party might find him flirting with a pretty lady in just about any part of town.  At night, he can be found in just about any tavern in just about any city in any world.  He might have a reason to be there, he might not.  If there is alcohol involved he might very well be in the area.

Fibble is always eager to help out new adventurers.  He cherishes the fire and spirit that true dungeon delvers cling to.  He might ask to tag along on an adventure just to watch and write a poem or story about it.

He never appears as an antagonist to the Player Characters.  He can be killed, but killing him grants no experience.  He is not an evil character, just misunderstood.  If a fight gets real between the party, he will attempt to negotiate or simply run away (something he has also gotten very good at over the years).

Cornelius Fibble Stat Block

You could easily change up Fibble’s Stats to fit into any game or setting.  He is a fairly basic fantasy character in so much as the powers and traits he possesses can be found in virtually any type of Role Playing Game out there.  He is presented here as a snapshot at level 8 (the upper heroic tier) for Dungeons and Dragons 4e, but changing his stats to fit into a different game, or a different level of play is not a difficult task.