Meet the Iconics: Droven

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

It’s strange what the mind will do when faced with a significant trauma. Some people scream or fight, others retreat inward, still others flee. As Droven’s storm-tossed ship was flung into the air only to crash and shatter upon the rocky shoals of Arcadia’s coastline, he found a strange calm settle over him. Even as a wooden spar tore free of its rigging and smashed apart his arm, he found himself calmly analyzing the situation.

Clearly, the expedition was a failure. He couldn’t find any of the other Pathfinders who had boarded ship with him, though for some reason he couldn’t seem to see out of his left eye anymore, so maybe they were nearby. The ship was clearly a loss, though. Even if its frame were somehow dragged ashore and enough of its crew survived to sail it home, the islets they’d crashed upon seemed unlikely to provide the timber necessary for repairs.

As Droven considered the likelihood of the ship even being repairable, another surge from the screaming winds and waves cast the battered wreck into the air once more, this time flipping the ship complete over. Droven’s last thought as he sank beneath the waves was that repairs definitely weren’t going to be an option.



A bald half-orc with a clockwork prosthetic arm and scar marring his left eye. He wields a large bronze hammer that looks like equal parts weapon and tool and is accompanied by a small mechanical goblin with a toolbox built into its back Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Much to his surprise, Droven awoke sometime later. His mouth was parched and dry and he still couldn’t make anything out through his left eye. Attempting to lever himself to his feet revealed that the arm that had likely saved him from a crushing death earlier was now incapable of supporting his weight. Worse, it seemed very likely to become a painful liability in short order.

Realizing that he had little time to spare, Droven spent the rest of the day confirming that he was alone on what he discovered to be a small islet, part of a chain ringing a larger bay between him and the continent of Arcadia proper. For supplies, he found only a half-empty wineskin and some brine-soaked hard tack. As he washed the salty biscuits down with stale wine, Droven found himself musing. “Whoever came up with the saying ‘any port in a storm’ almost certainly never saw that storm or this ‘port’. Ah, well. Am I a Pathfinder or not? There is an unexplored horizon ahead and if I’m to live, I’ll need to find a path from here to there.”

Twisting the fingers of his right hand into the sign of the key, holy symbol of Abadar, god of civilization, Droven invoked one last blessing to his lost compatriots. “May your works stand forever in the First Vault as testament to your skills and may the god that suits you each best watch over you. And if you have already claimed your final reward, do me a favor and distract any sharks between here and the coast. It’d be a shame to survive such a wreck only to feed the fish.”

His prayer complete, Droven grabbed the largest piece of wood he could find in the wreckage for floatation, bound his shattered arm in a tattered sling made from linen he suspected was once part of the wrecked ship’s sails, and began slowly swimming to shore.

Each stroke was an exercise in pain and every lapping wave seared his wounds with salt water, but somehow he reached the shore. He tried to stand and walk as the wooden plank ground into the beach, but he made it only a few steps before collapsing in a heap. As exhaustion weighed his eye shut, he thought he saw leather-booted feet moving towards him. Clinging to the optimism that had allowed him to shrug off pain and prejudice throughout his life, he hoped they belonged to someone friendly. Or at least, interesting.

Droven’s rescuer was a half-orc man named Darv, older than Droven by many years and with gray staining his long black hair. Darv and his family were from the Illani Plains, many miles to the northwest, but had settled here after a dispute with another nomadic clan had threatened to turn to violence. Darv was a gunsmith, skilled in the crafting of firearms both like and unlike those Droven had occasionally seen make their way to Absalom from Alkenstar. Darv’s son and son-in-law, Joach and Nadkym, operated a small smithy, where they forged armor, clockwork prosthetics, and other mechanical devices on par with, and often superior to, anything Droven had seen produced at Absalom’s Clockwork Cathedral.

Darv had been forced to amputate Droven’s arm to save his life, and Joach and Nadkym had already begun work on a prosthetic by the time Droven fully came to his senses and recovered enough from the wreck to move about. With nowhere to go and nothing but time on his hands, Droven joined them at the forge. Much of Droven’s knowledge of alchemy was useless here, so far from the plants and reagents with which he was familiar, but his keen mind was quick to unravel the secrets of clockwork mechanisms and forging techniques. He was able to assist in the construction of his new prosthetic arm, adding modifications to assist him in adventuring when the time inevitably came that he felt well enough to begin seeking a way back home to Absalom.

The healing process, as well as acclimating to his new arm, was a slow affair, filled with long and painful days of careful physical therapy to rebuild his strength and renew his coordination. Droven spent much of his free time tinkering with a clockwork construct. “What exactly do you have there?” Darv would ask each day. “All it does is whirp and spin around while looking like a goblin that fell in a smelting vat!” And each day Droven would reply “It reminds me of home, and an old friend. Plus, one day I’ll find a way back to Absalom and I can’t expect your family to accompany me on such a journey! I’ll need company.”

Darv’s constant references to the clockwork’s “whirping” stuck, and the little mechanical device—primarily a toolbox but one with an unusual propensity for offering assistance without being asked—was soon known as Whirp to everyone, including Droven.


As Droven’s inquisitive mind devoured everything Darv and his family could teach on the subject of clockworks and forge techniques, the Pathfinder eventually realized that the time had come for him to seek a way back to Absalom. As he packed a backpack with supplies, Jaoch and Nadkym presented their departing friend with weapons they had forged for him in secret: a hammer integrated with a variety of useful tools for repairing Whirp, and a finely crafted dagger. Darv gave his young friend a pair of armored boots and an admonition. “The soles on these will take you a good while to wear out, my friend. If you still haven’t found a way back home by the time they’re worn thin, come back here, instead. You’ll always have a home.”

With a nod and a smile, Droven and his new companion, Whirp, began their long search for a way back to his home in Absalom, starting by heading toward the land Darv and his family had spoken so fondly of—the Illani Plains.

Michael Sayre
Designer

Author’s Note
I’m Michael Sayre, a designer at Paizo. As a former member of the United States Army, I couldn’t help but see the strength and resilience of the people I served with in Droven, particularly those who lost a limb or suffered significant injuries during their service. I’d like to accompany Droven’s story by bringing your attention to two organizations that are very important to me. The first is the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides financial aid and medical service assistance for members of the armed forces injured in the line of duty. The second is the Amputee Coalition, who provide assistance and advocacy services for people who have lost a limb, were born with limb difference, or who are faced with the possibility of amputation.

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Tags: Meet the Iconics Pathfinder Pathfinder Second Edition Web Fiction

7 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I feel invested in this guy's story.


12 people marked this as a favorite.

Another great iconic! Being disabled myself, I really appreciate this story.


20 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

SOMEBODY TELL FUMBUS!!! PLEASE SOMEBODY TELL FUMBUS THAT DROVEN IS OK!!!


9 people marked this as a favorite.
Valantrix1 wrote:
Another great iconic! Being disabled myself, I really appreciate this story.

Massive same here.

Also, gotta love fiction that demonstrates drastic in-universe retraining. I'm pretty sure Droven was an alchemist before learning the inventor class.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I'd just be worried that the reunion would be Fumbus about to be overjoyed... and then seeing Whirp.

"Wait. Fumbus' not good enough so you make mechanical Fumbus??"

:>

That all aside, glad to see the backstory of other Iconics being repurposed and expanded upon.

Upgraded, even!

Still a shame we'll not be seeing this or the dwarven gunner as Iconic PFS2 pregen
characters, though -- or Seltyiel/Ija +Tuku...

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

HUZZAH DROVEN!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Really enjoyed this.

Vigilant Seal

7 people marked this as a favorite.

Droven?? As in Fumbus's Droven??

I need the full NOVEL of their reunion.

Now please.

Vigilant Seal

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm even more impatient for the Fumbus kickstarter now.

Paizo Employee Designer

8 people marked this as a favorite.
Tea4Goblins wrote:
I'm even more impatient for the Fumbus kickstarter now.

Here's some more Fumbus web fiction to tide you over, if you didn't see it already-

Ominous Tides.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Tea4Goblins wrote:

Droven?? As in Fumbus's Droven??

I need the full NOVEL of their reunion.

Now please.

It could happen sooner than you think. Remember that (as pointed out just above) Fumbus needs to get home too, from a less dire but still related situation . . . .

Silver Crusade

6 people marked this as a favorite.

This was.... SO WHOLESOME I LOVE IT.

Give me more please, just inject it right into my veins!

Dark Archive

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Mecha-Fumbus is go!

Hooray for Drozen gaining a new family.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

Love the back stories on the iconics!

Great work fleshing characters out. The Grand Bazaar has been a joy to read through.

Can't wait for the next set of iconics mini's to be announced.... still watching for the Advanced Iconics and Return of the Runelords sets to have sales pages here :D

Also, can we get a whole line of mech mini's for our companions? Asking for future inventors. Not to mention humanoids with aftermarket upgrades to replace limbs lost in combat or whatever other reason arises for the need to have a steel foot or a gun for a hand... :D

@Michael Sayre thank you for your service, both to our country and to our community. you did great work here :D

Grand Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Q_Q
That was really good! I knew I was in for a great read for this Meet.

Silver Crusade

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I am all for wholesome stories of heroes overcoming trauma, injury, and prejudice. I am also all for stories of heroes being heroes even if they're not assembled the same way as many others.

What I hesitate at is the first clause of the second sentence in the tenth paragraph.

"With nowhere to go and nothing but time on his hands,"

Like... ouch Michael Sayre, you already called out the salt in the wound from the seawater, this is egregious.

Paizo Employee Designer

15 people marked this as a favorite.
Alayern wrote:

I am all for wholesome stories of heroes overcoming trauma, injury, and prejudice. I am also all for stories of heroes being heroes even if they're not assembled the same way as many others.

What I hesitate at is the first clause of the second sentence in the tenth paragraph.

"With nowhere to go and nothing but time on his hands,"

Like... ouch Michael Sayre, you already called out the salt in the wound from the seawater, this is egregious.

They're still his hands even if parts of one were in a forge at the time.


You are a man of many talents, Michael Sayre. I really enjoyed this little background.


4 people marked this as a favorite.

Good news, everyone: Fumbus and Droven reunite on G&G page 11, and page 202--they made it all the way back to Absalom!

Liberty's Edge

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Just now had a chance to skim-read G & G and have to doff my hat at Michael and Mark as well as the additional creators!

No exaggeration when I say this is my favorite PF2 book. From the art, which is diverse and fresh to the class options that at first pass seem far more interesting than what we ever got in PF1 gunslinger or constructs.


Does anyone know the actual character build for Droven?

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