Gardolf the Grim's page

Gardolf was born near Diamond Lake, but he does not remember his parents beyond a vague notion that a beautiful woman with strange eyes and wings like a bird looked after him. He does not think she was his mother, but he has no idea who his mother was, and so he thinks of himself as an orphan: a "wild child" as they say among the followers of the Green Faith. Gardolf's first memories are serving Nogwier the druid in the Bronzewood Lodge where he lived as a boy. Unfortunately, the place was not kind to young Gardolf, and he grew up bitter and bullied by the other children.

Despite his fervent belief in the power of nature to eventually overcome all other divine opposition (a devout initiate of the druidic pantheon), Gardolf's supernatural abilities that began to manifest were not quite those of his fellow druids, but rather arcane and emotionally-fueled magic similar to that of a sorcerer. Against Gardolf's wishes, Nogwier made arrangements with Allustan the wizard to apprentice the young man in his Art, and Gardolf had to move into the old man's tower.

Gardolf's relationship with Allustan has been very rocky. First as a rebellious teenager and then later as a young adult, Gardolf has been a reluctant student and a great challenge for his exasperated teacher. Gardolf resents the long hours spent trying to master discipline and spellcraft, and being forced to memorize obscure bits of sage's knowledge about the area and its people. He is disgusted by the corruption that he sees everywhere in the town, and especially that demonstrated by Allustan's brother. He thinks his master is a hypocrite who refuses to use his powers for good and doesn't see why that's bad.

Gardolf's relationship with Nogwier isn't much better. He thinks the old druid is going mad with his constant mutterings about undead and worms and the properties thereof, and though Gardolf doesn't feel especially welcome at the lodge, he still thinks of it as his home and visits there often. But he has come to realize that neither of his mentor figures can be stirred from their strictly neutral positions to act against the evils that infest Diamond Lake, and so he has decided he must take matters into his own hands and strike out on his own.

• As much as he tries to hide it beneath his gruff exterior, Gardolf cares what Allustan and Nogweir think, and he still wants to impress them, despite their philosophical differences. He is hungry for praise from his father figures, either as a former student or (better yet) as an equal. This is his primary motivation for joining a group of adventurers exploring the cairns, though he tells himself it is to establish himself so that he is no longer dependent upon them.

• Gardolf would like to clean up Diamond Lake, or at least leave it better than he found it. He realizes that this probably means taking on all of the town leaders, as he suspects all of them are corrupt. For this reason he acts especially helpful and friendly toward his fellow adventurers (well, at least much less ornery and standoffish), as he views them as his only potential allies in this endeavor.

• The mystery of his origins will begin to draw at Gardolf once he is accomplished enough to consider it. He speaks Auran without any training that he remembers, and believes that to be a relevant clue. (He also speaks Draconic, but I imagine Allustan taught him that as a sort of "wizardly magic" form of speech. If there's a more appropriate language that he would have taught his apprentice, let's change it to that?)

Frazzled-looking and dressed like a scarecrow, Gardolf wears an oversized pointed hat and tattered robes over his tanned hide armor. He has grown a long, thick, bushy beard and huge bristly eyebrows that make him look older, and also might give the impression that he's been sleeping under a hedge. He carries a gnarled oaken staff that he doesn't so much lean on as wield. His voice is gravelly and curt, and he tends to speak in aphorisms and adages, a habit he may have picked up from his master.

In personality, Gardolf is grumpy and introverted, usually preferring to sit by himself where he can feel the wind on his face. He doesn't like most people, but he has always had an affinity for animals, especially birds and bees and other winged creatures. He used to believe he could talk to them in their special language, and he sometimes mutters and whispers to them when he is alone. He has very little respect for anyone long-established in Diamond Lake, but he hopes that maybe the band of adventurers he has fallen in with can overcome his negative expectations and make a positive difference in the world.

Just a brief OOC note about tone: Gardolf is obviously based on Gandalf and other fantasy wizards that are in turn based on him, but I've tried to make him his own character so that he isn't just a parody. He's a lot more, well, grim than Gandalf, like if Gandalf grew up in a world where evil was already pretty pervasive and many of his colleagues on the Wizard Council were openly working with Sauron, or at least not working against him. To match the tone of this adventure path, he is slightly more violent, bitter, and distrusting, as befits a bloodrager vs a wizard. He is still firmly good-aligned, and I like how it is born more out of spite than idealism or optimism.

Triangulating character influences as Cuchulainn suggested in the thread, I think that besides Gandalf two other major influences I can think of are Marwyn the Mage from George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (I'm so bummed that like so many excellent characters the showrunners didn't include him in the television series!), and Walker Boh from Terry Brooks's The Druid of Shanarra. It's been a while since I read that last one, but my memory of a reluctant druid/wizard forced to accept his place in a grimdark magical world resonates to me. I also enjoy Archchancellor Ridcully from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, but beyond his Teddy Roosevelt-like bluster I don't know how similar Gardolf is to him. :)

I picture Gardolf as primarily a hammer (according to the Forge theory of Pathfinder combat), meaning that he deals damage once others have debuffed the opponents and buffed the party. I picture him usually fighting from behind the frontliners while enlarged and with reach. (At level 11 he begins his bloodrage with a level 1 or level 2 spell cast automatically.) He can contribute arcane support in the form of spells, but he will usually be the recipient. He can read and eventually scribe scrolls, though, which may be a way for him to act as more of a team player. I've also focused most of his skills on Knowledges and Lore, which hopefully will not overlap too much with Alaïs, but it's always good to have backups. He also has full ranks in Spellcraft and Use Magic Device so he can identify and use non-bloodrager items.

I want to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens...

Here's the options I've come up with in thinking about it:

1. Demoralizing. Gardolf is a pretty intimidating fellow. Maybe not as much as the specialists in the pool, but I'd say he has a decent chance of making low-level humanoids (and cursed/mischievous halflings!) tremble in fear when he pulls himself up to his full height and speaks in his booming voice.

2. Reach. I intend Gardolf to eventually fight with reach from behind the front lines, but maybe I should make sure he has a few scrolls of long arm for the first few levels. (Probably too greedy to hope for him to be able to cast shillelagh and wail on enemies too early on.)

3. Spells. Once Gardolf gets cantrips at level 4, he can always cast guidance on the people between him and the enemy, if he is out of spell slots and scrolls. And much later on, he will be able to cast his pseudo-wizardly area spells with Selective Spell so that they ignore his friends and harm their foes.

4. Ranged weapons. I notice that Alaïs is investing points in Craft (alchemy), so I am hopeful that we might have access to things like acid flasks and tanglefoot bags for Gardolf to throw. He's not especially ranged-focused, but he has a full BAB and that's pretty great for splash weapons-- close enough is good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades!

5. Skills. If all else fails, Gardolf can still make Knowledge and Lore checks, though granted he could do that anyway. If he's really stuck, I could also have him just try to move through his allies' and the enemies' spaces. Acrobatics is a class skill for him, but he also might be a heavy enough heavy that he can just absorb the attacks of opportunity. Since we all have Dirty Fighting, having a flanker in among the enemy is probably worth the risk.

I've flavored it with the Fey Magic human trait, but I imagine that young Gardolf was actually raised by magical creatures of the air, sort of like a sylph or genie-kin. That would suggest that at least one of his parents was associated with airy spirits. Otherwise I've left his origins deliberately vague so that they can easily tie in with whatever would make the adventure path more fun. For example, maybe he is distantly related to Allustan or Nogwier, or is even the child of one of them.

I thought it might be interesting to evaluate Gardolf's opinion and likely relationship with the other applicant characters.

• Reknar: Gardolf would be anxious to see the ex-military ex-miner overcome his unhappy background and demonstrate his idealism more as Diamond Lake's evil influence lessens.

• Annurian: The strange outsider puzzles Gardolf, and he watches Annurian carefully and distrustfully as he sees little evidence that their goals and ethics align.

• Skender: Gardolf recognizes Skender from the Bronzewood Lodge growing up, and appreciates that the young man may be the scion of a new era of local druids that will work to change Diamond Lake for the better.

• Terrov: The unusual and compelling story of his origins notwithstanding, Gardolf feels nothing but hostility for someone whose predatory and selfish attitude reminds him of the worst traits of Diamond Lake.

• Jenny: Though he admires her desire to change her status and become a better person, he is still wary that Diamond Lake's influence has left her too much of a violent loner for them to connect. Given more time, their superficial differences (heavens-influenced Istari vs daemon-tainted outcast) might lead to intriguing and mutally-beneficial interactions between them.

• Lucia: Gardolf strangely admires the manipulative arcanist for using her hold on Allustan and other corrupted members of Diamond Lake. However, he sees her as a bit of a double sword, because she cuts both ways and no one behind her is safe. He is uncomfortable turning his back on her and has a hard time finding cause to trust her. She seems rather too well-suited to Diamond Lake as it is now for Gardolf to believe she would want to change it-- or leave it.

• Phoibe: Gardolf finds little reason to trust this dangerous and haunted assassin. She is good at what she does, but how does he know her wicked shadow won't overpower her mercenary self-interest?

• Elvina: While he grudgingly admires her focus on nurturing and protecting nature, Gardolf sees many similarities to Nogwier in her apparent ambivalence, and that worries him.

• Harran: Gardolf sympathizes with Harran's desire to sever ties with the disappointing Bronzewood Lodge and its undependable leader, and respects his dedication to the Green Faith in spite of his poor treatment.

• Dragomir: Gardolf is impressed by the shining young knight's outspoken denouncement of Diamond Lake's corruption. He worries that the Cult of the Lady of Mint will slowly suppress his fervor in favor of their darker, more death-focused agenda.

• Anya: Gardolf admires her idealism and desire to improve Diamond Lake. He feels that such a warm and inspiring soul should be encouraged and rewarded for her efforts.

• Elek: Gardolf is suspicious of the jaded warrior's lack of ties to Diamond Lake, but is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as he seems to have a similar outlook.

• Jenner: Gardolf is intrigued and impressed by this mysterious stranger and his unusual weapons of alchemy and fire.

I've been running and playing Pathfinder 1st Edition games since around 2010, and I've participated in PbP games for about four or five years now. I live in the Pacific time zone, and tend to keep odd hours. I often find in my PbP games that my friends in other timezones post early in the evening and then I follow up immediately afterward. I'm a native English speaker, and I've written professionally for several roleplaying game supplements published in the United States. I enjoy the character interactions as much as the mechanics of the game-- I perform amateur theater as a hobby and RPing scratches my acting itch. I promise to post at least once a day if you invite me to your game!

I don't think I'll be triggered by any of the content of Age of Worms. It looks like we have similar opinions on sex work as work and trans people as people. From years of LARPing I'm quite appreciative of the two-step method of alarm where you first indicate that you want to put the brake on uncomfortable content, slowing it down but not ending the scene, and then you indicate a hard stop if you're sure that you need it to fade to black. Lots of communication with other players is great with me!